=DA HEADLINE in Monday’s Daily News, “He regrets his role in ‘postal’ vid,” implied that Richard Marino, the subject of a YouTube video, was sorry for an incident in December at a Brooklyn post office. Marino, in fact, is not sorry. The News regrets the error.

From regretthiserror.com as linked to by Medibostro.

"You are not a pop star with a No. 1 album, so you don't know," [Brittney Spears Lawyer Anne]Kiley told the judge, according to TMZ.com.
------After telling the judge that spears hadn't answered the telephone for drug testing b/c she was sleeping. Courtesy of New York Daily News "Gossip Page"

In other news, Beantown beat Denver in the Celtics vs. Nuggets game on Weds. Go Boston...who says the team sucks. Can't wait to go home to CT and watch the game on TV. =D

I just finished watching the TRAVESTY called the MTV VMAs. Brit's opening was HOT...like a hot mess!
What the hell was that? She didn't sing..she didn't dance she just gyrated and lip synced. No kisses, no cat suits, no sparkles or snakes. The show was a snooze from the jump off. Perhaps her lack of mobility was a result of her 40 inch heels she was wearing. Maybe if she laid off the fast food she could have looked thin without standing on stilts. Plus, her outfit was BORING. The only entertaining part was watching the confused reaction of the crowd.
Even Alicia keys, known to be smart, seemed flustered and confused during her hosting gig.
SARAH SILVERMAN is not funny. She is boring...and obnoxious. Brit is a schmuck, but damn leave her kids alone.
Overall, the show was an ADD kids dream. What was with all the cutting back and forth? I hear it was done on purpose, but why?
The only things that didn't suck were Chris Brown and Alicia Keys. Granted Brown was lip synching, but atleast he gave a performance. Plus, he is adorable, if only I were 16.
Alicia sang well, and the song was okay...but what was with her hair? Where is What Not TO Wear when you need 'em?
What a crappy show!

A recent article in The New York Times "Cocaine: Hidden in Plain Sight" discusses the current trend for people to be open about their cocain usage.
The article quotes many bar and club owners about how they see it in the clubs a lot, and although they kick people out when they see it 9or so they claimed on record) it remains prevelent.
Apparently, the current "Meth crisis" has made it a media focus, with the cocaine problem going unnoticed. In the past, I have heard others say that Coke was no longer the problem drug of the moment.
I am not so naive that I don't know that Coke is every where, from NYC to small towns in Montana. Yet, what distirbed me about the article was the quote in which someone called coke "the new weed." I am not a fan of weed, which I know makes me odd, but I have learned to accept the fact that I am the minority in my stance against weed. I have begin to take for granted that I am the only one in the room who doesn't smoke, atleast occasionally. While I'd prefer to not be around it, I cAn handle it. However, I really don't need to have people doing lines of coke in my presence. One source in the article described that the attitude towards coke makes it m ore socially acceptable than cigarettes. Yeah, we all know the dangers of cigarettes, but when's the last time you heard of someone missing work to smoke a cigarette? Or a person robbing a convience store to pay for cigarettes the way many a coke/crack heads have (and continue to do)? Where have people gotten teh impression that coke is the safer version of meth? Is it because LiLo and KaMo have admitted to doing it that it is socially acceptable to use cocaine? I'm not much for coke, I'll stick to my diet pepsi.

Today was my third day of training at my new job as a cashier and sales associate at Serendipity restaurant and general store in Manhattan. one of my coworkers is kind of a jerk. This guy is 25, and only three years older than me. Today, he said something that really irritated me, after I commented on his rudeness towards my fellow female coworkers and I, he said "I don't have to be nice to you guys, I don't get with people I work with, so I have no reason to be polite to you." He went on to insist that when he likes a girl he treats her nicer than she ever dreamed of being treated. "I only act like this at work," he said.
Now the guy in question is not a complete prick. He can be nice, however, he is frequently rude, and arrogant. It is not that i care what he thinks of me, I could care less about whether he likes me or not. However, I feel he should treat us with respect anyway, whether he wants to "get with us" or not. Why is it that people save what should be common human decency--as human behavior reserved only for people who's pants they want to get in?
While I know many guys (and girls) put on similar acts, i find it nauseating that someone can be so open about this. What difference does it make that this guy is "much nicer outside of worker"? How nice are you if you are only nice to a girl you wanna get ass from?
Not very.
On top of this, this guy has the lamest game ever! He shamelessly checks out and flirts with any girl that walks by. After being called out about this blatant check out, he answered "Girls get self conscious when I don't check them out," Tsch, whatever dude. Equally nauseating, were his lines. Twice he told a girl that he didn't answer them because "he got lost in their eyes." "Girls go crazy when they hear that, you would if you didn't work with me..."
Sadly, the girls he said this too, did seem sickeningly, and surprisingly...flattered. While they seemed to find the line cheesy, the giggle implied that they bought. I imagine that the line would infuriate me and would probably be ignored or meet with a dirty look and snide comment about how many other girls he's said that too. While I often blame girls for falling for such stupid lines, thus encouraging guys to be sleazy, I can't help but wonder how many times, if ever I have fallen for a guy's stupid game.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westboro_Baptist_Church

This is not what religion looks like. I am not incrediably religious by any strech, but it sickens me to the core to think that these "people" if you can even call them that, would have the nerve to classify themselves as Christians. Relgion gets enough flack as it is, the last thing we need is this group making things worse.

The recent shooting at Virginia Tech. has been on many people's minds the past few days. Students at colleges across the nation have expressed grief over the situation, regardless of whether they knew anyone at the school or not. What is most disturbing over the situation is that despite the grief many people feel toward the situation, others are using the incident to further perpetuate hate.
The horrific act that occurred at VT was an act of a disturbed young man, who happened to be Asian, it was not performed by someone representative of Asian people. An article in The New York Times discusses how many Korean Americans are afraid of becoming a new target. One student already reported being spit on and taunted at school as result of the shooting. Following Sept. 11, Arab Americans were not the only people who faced prejudice, many people from the Middle East or India, regardless of religion, were attack. Even Spanish people, mistaken for being Arab because of their skin color were also targets of discrimination and hate. I worry that this will happen in this case, with people of Asian descent being punished for the acts of this one individual.
I find it deplorable that people would respond to such a tragedy with hateful acts. I don't understand how people can find comfort in spreading hate following such a tragedy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/15/education/15direct.html?pagewanted=3&_r=1&hp

The above article is another piece on the University loan situation. I admit, the media is getting a little obsessed with this issue, however as a college student directly affected by these scams, I am biased, and it angers me. The article above discusses how Sallie Mae and others, offered universities money to leave the direct loan or Stamford loan programs. These programs are the federally funded student loans. Apparently, as the article explains, as there are two federal loan programs, the universities decide which one to participate in. what makes this situation even more sickening than the original announcement is that while private loan companies such as Citibank and Sallie Mae offer similar rates, federal programs offer much cheaper rates. While the difference between private and government loans may seem insignificant (about 2 percent) the difference is huge when you are taking loans out in the thousands. Also, private loans like Sallie Mae start charging interest from the get go, where as federal loans don't start charging interest until after you graduate* excluding of course parent plus loans, which require borrowers to start paying at the end of the year they borrowed. Of course, Pace University is mentioned in this article as well. According to the article, the University was offered 4 mil to abandon the Direct Loan, and they passed it up, but later left it anyway.
I can't even imagine how much worse my debt would be if I had only could get outside loans. Shame on you Sallie Mae.

As I drag my heels through my last month (where did the time go?) of college, I wonder, was it worth it? Is college necessary? I mean is it really necessary, or has society just forced us to think it's necessary? These days, there are so many jobs that you can't get without a college degreee. Some jobs, which at other times required very little schooling. Worse, a BA/BS is nothing these days, everyone has them. Now many jobs require a master's or PHD, but in the end, what does it all mean?
I look over the past four years, and I can't help but ask myself, what did I learn? What skills have I really obtained? It would be unfair to place all the burden of my skilllessness on my University or the education systems as a whole, as much of the blame is mine. Yet, I can't help but feel like college is overrated. In an article in The Pace Press, an administrator said, that while we don't like to think of it that way, a college is a business.
Okay, so this isn't an earth shattering announcement. They take our money in exchange for percieved services. But the more I think about it, the more I can't help but feel that college is just a big scam that everyone is in on.
Think about it. Most kids, and it is getting worse now, are primed for college from the get go. University bookstores sell infant onesies(sp?) with slogans expressing the desire to go to the university(Please, at one-years old, the kid wants to make it through the day with out barfing on himself); six-year olds are running around in Yale sweatshirts. Parents pray, whine, and fight for spot's for their children in exclusive preschools. They pay extra money to have their children take all sorts of extarcurricular's to "build their resume", signing them up for mandarin lessons, the newest trend, so they can be competive in today's global economy.
Then high school hits. And every kid has to take A.P. classees, so there comes more money for books and the test. Then comes the S.A.T. tests and of course you NEED to spend $600 for S.A.T. so we can figure out how to take the test which is supposed to measure our appitude. Then you pay more money to take the damn thing, and cough up more money to send your scores out, if god for bid, you haven't decided on your life goals at 16 when you take the test and don't know what school your going to. Notice that college board monopolizes both A.P. and s.a.t. and CLEP etc. Then more money to apply....all this money before you even pay a cent for tuition.
Then they slam you with extra fees: special course fees, activiry fees, insurance, manditory meal plans and over priced books in the bookstore.
Then just when you think that they could rape you anymore, you get your financial aid packet, and realize "crap! I need to take out a loan."
Then on top of the loan companies making a killing off of you with their 8.5 percent rates on your loan. Then comes the icing on the cake. As if your school isn't jacking enough of your money as it is, they come up with deals with loan companies to promote their company in exchange for money and stock.
I am not against education or learning. I am in favor of both, actually. Some how knowledge and college have become completly unrelated.
I am about to graduate, and all I can think is...I've been striving my whole life for THIS?


So, what do you think???

NYT.com asked if rich countries have an obligation to help poor countries cope with global warming?


March 31st,20079:13 pm
The NYT will always make up a problem when one does not exist. Anything to report on a negative topic. Never anything positive to say. Gets old.
— Posted by john canington

Apparently, According to Canington, there is nothing to be alarmed about. Well, glad to be updated on that.

In other unrelated reader opinion news, in a blog on the website of hip-hop magazine XXL, one reader declared that rapper (lil') Bow Wow was better than veteran rapper Nas, saying that BW's music was better than everything from "I am " and after.
To which, another reader responded: "Anyone who thinks lil' Bow Wow is better than Nas should go kill themselves."
While the response was harsh, it made me laugh, and my day.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/04/business/04leonhardt.html?hp

Circuit City fired people who were "making too much money" as in 10-20 an hour=20-40K a year. They fired these people, so they could hire younger, unexperienced people and pay them less for the same job. The reasoning was it was costing too much. Now these people need to find new jobs so they don't lose their house. I somehow doubt that the "Big guys" are living check to check...more likely they are living in luxary.
But, hey who cares if joe shmoe has a home, as long as they have a mansion in three states.

Yeah, this is why as materialistic and selfish as I am/can be, I could never be a business person.
Although, the way things are going with the job hunt, I might wind up a bag lady.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/04/business/04leonhardt.html?hp

Circuit City fired people who were "making to much money" as in 10-20 an hour=20-40K a year. They fired these people, so they could hire younger, unexperienced people and pay them less for the same job. The reasoning was it was costing too much. Now these people need to find new jobs so they don't lose their house. I some how doubt that the "Big guys" are living check to check...more likely living in luxary.
But, hey who cares if joe shmoe has a home, as long as they have a mansion in three states.

Yeah, this is why as materialistic and selfish as I am/can be, I could never be a business person.
Although, the way things are going with the job hunt, I might wind up a bag lady.

Ever since I wrote the feature for The Villager about the rats in Washington Square Park, I have become obsessed with them. The story was written the same week as the story broke about the Rats [I capitalized this because they have been mentioned in the news so much that I feel they are like celebrities] in the KFC--Taco Bell on 6th ave in the Village.

For anyone who was sleeping in a cave recently, and after hiting the streets of NYC, I know some people have, a camera crew caught a dozen rats running around KFC. Now first, lets reitterate, a dozen. They were huge too, the size of cats.

My story, was on the rat problem in W.S. but I was also assigned to reference this incident. I saw the KFC rat video so many times, I have become paranoid. Since then, I constantly look for rats, expecting them to come out of the crack of every wall at any given second. Which brings me to my rant.

So, yesterday, I was walking from around uptown around 50th street, and I see this woman. She is standing near an entrance to the subway, but it is gated off. She was standing there with bread in her hand, breaking pieces off and throwing it into the subway. She threw it in there the way people do when they are feeding the birds. But there weren't any birds in there, that's where the rats live! Is she crazy? NYC is dirty enough, rats have plenty of food already. They are already as big as cats, does she want them to be the size of tigers?