AOL Video is actually pretty cool! I had never actually been to the website since they began their advertising campaigns for the "new AOL" You can download full length shows and movies... and of course, watch videos like these.

American Idol Insider Blog

Check out #1 and #7! Holla!

SNL - Sofa King


Hard to make me LOL, but this made me LOL today.

Last night, I was in class for the third to last time for what I hope will be a very long time. We turned in our papers and were set free at 7:40 PM, nearly two hours before our regular 9:30 PM release. I was excited to be out so early so that I could rush home, get dinner, watch Idol Gives Back (Carrie Underwood...you are ridiculously hot...just so you know, you know...when you randomly stumble upon my website...yeah.), and sleep at a reasonable time. What could be better, right?

I walked back to my car in USC's Parking Structure "D" and while I was walking up to my car, I saw a girl was circling my car and her Red 2003 Ford Explorer parked next to mine. I was a little confused, a little prepared to get pepper sprayed for no reason, but continued to walk over to my car. I opened my trunk, put in my bag, and walked over to the driver's side of my car to open the door and head home. Normal, wonderfully early night, right?

As I moved to open the door, I was greeted with the sounds of crunching, broken safety class beneath my orthopedic-like Reebok Classics. Someone had broken into the car next to mine, leaving shards of broken glass where her passenger window had once been and a glass party on the ground between our cars. The girl, who I later found out was named Susana, was visiting USC for an information session because she was considering transferring to the School of Social Work at USC from Cal State Los Angeles. And of course, on a day where she was excited at the possibility of perhaps transferring schools, her car gets broken into, and her briefcase gets stolen in the very parking lot of the school that was vying to take $33,000 a year from her and put her in debt for years to come. Fan-effing-tastic.

I wanted to go home. Honestly, I'm pretty burned out from two years of work and grad school. I look forward to the weekends for the sleep as much as I do the faces that appear on the weekends. But what are you supposed to do? Do you just jump in your car and say, "Oh man, that sucks...well, hope it works out!!", wave, and leave a girl who doesn't even go to your school stranded in a parking structure with a busted window while she waits for the campus police (USC's Department of Public Safety) to show up?

So I waited with her. We walked around her car and found that DPS had left a business card with a note that said "Found damage to your vehicle @ 1800 hours, please call if you want to file a report." I don't think the 1800 hours was accurate because I parked at 6:30 PM and I don't think I'm that oblivious that I wouldn't notice a mountain of broken glass beneath my feet after parking my car. But then again, I was on the phone. I wouldn't put it past me.

What do you do with a total stranger while you wait for DPS to show up (35 minutes) and you are standing next to a violated car? You small talk, a lot. I found out that she lives not far from where I used to work, has a boyfriend, and that she interns at a school right now for her passion, social work. She found out that I was in grad school, asked about my job, and of course, asked me a ton of questions about USC and well, DPS. It was a lot of joking around, trying to keep her mind on anything but her car. When we did talk about the car, we tried to be optimistic and light-hearted about it - "At least they didn't take this...." or "Why didn't they want my CDs?"

Waited for an hour with her and helped her get in contact with DPS and provide them with a report. There was a blatant handprint on the side of her car from who we would assume to have been the person who broke her window, but DPS is currently not allowed to take fingerprints at crime scenes (per LAPD). Our DPS officer described this problem as a "stupid, power thing," and lamented how the LAPD was requesting Susana to drive her car downtown with a busted window if she wanted them to take prints. She fervently declined. Another car break-in at USC, another person goes free. Story of our parking structures.

Then it was time for me to leave. Caught up with some old friends, picked up Tito's Tacos, and watched Idol Gives Back. Got three votes in the night before (two for Jordin, one for Chris) before I passed out at 12:45 AM. I thought it was a great special and hope that it's something that continues every year in some capacity. I cannot think of a better stage to try and raise awareness of an otherwise invisible problem for us here in the United States than the Idol stage - the biggest stage on television today.

America's Top 10 Most Bloggiest Neighborhoods

And I have belonged to two of them. Rep your hood!! *starts dancing around with a computer mouse dangling around his neck like a G-Unit Spinner*

Article pasted below:

Since we've been tracking local bloggers in over 3,000 US neighborhoods for the past six months now, we thought it would be fun to run the numbers and finally answer the question that's been on everyone's mind: what exactly are America's bloggiest neighborhoods? The results below are based on a number of variables: total number of posts, total number of local bloggers, number of comments and Technorati ranking for the bloggers. If your neighborhood's not on the list, start a placeblog or let us know about a placeblog we're missing — we'll calculate this list again next year and let you know what's changed.

1. Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
The Neighborhood: The rapidly gentrifying tree-lined blocks of 19th-century townhouses are also home to the Pratt Institute of Art.
Local Blogger: Jonathan Butler, creator of Brownstoner, who quit his Wall Street job earlier this year to run his popular real estate and home renovation blog full-time.
Local Obsessions: Will the nearby mega-development Atlantic Yards destroy the neighborhood's quiet charm? Is the still-hot Brooklyn real estate market headed for a crash?

2. Shaw, DC
The Neighborhood: Emerging from a generation of economic decay, these centrally-located 19th-century Victorian row houses and their residents harbor the rich history of this "pre-Harlem center of African-American intellectual and cultural life".
Local Blogger: An undisclosed Shaw resident behind Remaking le Slum Historique and The Shiloh Baptist Church blogs.
Local Obsessions: Will H Street's historical significance as the center of the 1968 MLK assassination riots become a fleeting memory in the wake of the multi-million dollar redevelopment plan for the area?

3. Downtown LA
The Neighborhood: After the Adaptive Reuse Ordinance was passed in 1999, developers were able to swiftly convert Downtown LA's vacant commercial buildings into renovated lofts and luxury apartment complexes.
Local Blogger: Eric Richardson, creator of blogdowntown and member of multiple neighborhood council committees.
Local Obsessions: The displacement of the homeless population, particularly in the Skid Row area.

4. Newton, Mass
The Neighborhood: Comprised of 13 villages that form a bedroom community of nearby Boston. Home to the various campuses of Boston College, Newton has graced the top of the FBI's annual "Safest City" study for the last five years.
Local Blogger: Kristine Munroe, monitor of The Garden City
Local Obsessions: Houses appear to be selling - does this mean that the Newton housing market is picking up? How is the increase of Route 9 traffic from Chestnut Hill Square going to affect the Parker Street area?

5. Rogers Park/North Howard Chicago
The Neighborhood: Located in one of the last remaining pockets of poverty in Chicago's North Side, it‘s home to a culturally diverse group of residents that have very mixed feelings about the rapid gentrification.
Local Blogger: 24/7 North of Howard Watchers
Local Obsessions: Don Gordon and Joe Moore's heated race for Alderman of the 49th Ward.

6. Pearl District ("The Pearl"), Portland
The Neighborhood: Previously known as the "Northwest (Industrial) Triangle", it was dubbed "The Pearl District" in the early nineties when a local compared the newly emerging artist lofts and galleries to pearls hidden within the crusty shells of this former warehouse district. The Pearl is now Portland's largest art district and has notoriously expensive real estate.
Local Blogger: Lynnette Fusilier (aka PearlGirl), the woman behind Neighborhood Notes
Local Obsessions: New neighborhood restaurant watch! Get Bento, Park Kitchen and Bay 13 are all on the radar this month.

7. Watertown, Mass
The Neighborhood: An affordable alternative to its rival Boston suburbs, noted for its citizen involvement in community issues and local politics.
Local Blogger: Lisa Williams, vocal advocate of citizen journalism, author of H2otown, and co-founder of the newly-launched Placeblogger.com
Local Obsessions: A lack of interest led to the cancellation of the Watertown High School's 2007 Girl's Softball season - will someone start a youth softball league to seed the passion of softball to a younger generation?

8. Harlem, NY
The Neighborhood: Residents of this legendary cultural epicenter saw gentrification catalyzed in the 1990s by new federal and city policies and the development of the $66 million Harlem USA retail complex on 125th St.
Local Blogger: UPTOWNflavor
Local Obsessions: Will buildings such as the Corn Exchange continue to sit vacant and tempt vandals? Or will community leaders and real estate developers finally come to an agreement over the best way to revamp these landmarks while preserving Harlem's history?

9. Potrero Hill, SF
The Neighborhood: While families lived on the hill, flatland manufacturing by firms like U.S. Steel, the Union Iron Works, the Western Sugar Refinery, Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co. and American Can Co., among others, ensured that the area remained largely industrial through most of the 20th century. But a combination of deindustrialization and the late-1990s Internet boom began driving the conversion of factories and warehouses into housing or offices.
Local Blogger: Potrero Hill, San Francisco
Local Obsessions: Will the new Whole Foods, San Francisco's largest, be a foodie's dream come true or a commuter's traffic nightmare? Can the Good Life Grocery, a staple in Potrero Hill since 1974, survive the competition?

10. Coconut Grove ("The Grove"), FL
The Neighborhood: Originally an independent community that was annexed by Miami in 1925, The Grove is home to enough restaurants and open air malls to have earned it the nickname, "Miami's Food Court". An active boating contingent takes advantage of the southern border along Biscayne Bay.
Local Blogger: Coconut Grove Grapevine
Local Obsessions: Will city officials go through with the rezoning of Mercy Hospital to allow for the development of three new condominiums? Coconut Grove residents protest this "Mercy Land Rape" for fear that it will destroy their scenic vista of the historic Vizcaya house and gardens.

Man Gets Hit with Pizza at Boston's Fenway Park

The most random, yet entertaining story out right now.

Boston

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I know the song is about going to Boston because someone is tired of California, but I assure you, I'm staying on the West Coast.

I know this song has been out for a while and it's probably for girls (as is most of the music I seem to like), but I am really intrigued by this video for some reason. Something about it is really sad (beyond the lyrics) to me about waves crashing into pianos and totally destroying them and rendering them useless. I've never been a destructive person (I hate watching people break things just to break things), so watching the waves crash into these pianos which could probably have gone to good use for families that otherwise can't afford them for the sake of a capitalist music video is painful, yet powerful in a weird way to me. This makes no sense. I need to get to sleep.

Rapper Lil Romeo to play basketball for the USC Trojans?

According to the Los Angeles Daily News, what was once a dream could become a reality (for me). Lil Romeo (you know, "Romeo! Make them elbows swing, Romeo make them elbows swing!") hopes to suit up in the Cardinal and Gold and play for Tim Floyd and the University of Southern California Trojans.

Can Romeo do what Bow Wow couldn't and make it to the league? He stands at about six feet tall right now as a high school junior and genetically, the kid has game through his father Master P, who had a couple summer league stints in the NBA. I would personally love to see this kid come to USC and play with OJ Mayo. I have no doubt that Romeo has game and that he's come a long way since telling girls that he "ain't need a girlfriend" despite the fact that girls once proclaimed, "Oh Romeo, you're the cutest boy I know..." To which Romeo could only respond "I know, I know," like any rapper at the top of his game.

Put this guy on the court. Sell tickets. Sell jerseys. And finally give USC more hood appeal than UCLA (a mystery that makes no sense because UCLA is in the 'burbs, while USC is South LA)

I'll proclaim it here. If Romeo sends in his letter of intent to USC, I'll drop whatever it takes to get season tickets so that I can watch P. Miller's kid and OJ Mayo take USC basketball to a level of popularity that has never been seen and will never see again. Follow your dream, Romeo and come to USC. I have little doubt in my mind that you will break the record for being asked to the most sorority invites, exchanges, and formals in USC history. For this reason alone, fax in that Letter of Intent.

Romeo + Mayo = Sold out Galen Center and a Final Four Appearance.

Bobby Lee is a funny guy


I had the pleasure of meeting Bobby Lee while working as a Production Assistant for a small comedy special called "Comedy Zen" my senior year of college.

After introducing himself to me and exchanging small talk, one of the first things Bobby said to me was, "Hey man, you like white girls?"

Obviously, I responded in the affirmative (who doesn't? Modern media won't allow otherwise).

Bobby went on to tell me about his girlfriend, getting along with parents, and all kinds of other random insights that he could offer me, a then-21 year old college student, about life and love. The funny thing about him and this conversation was that it was completely genuine. He was totally interested in anything that I said and was probably asking me more questions about myself than I was about him.

And then, in true Bobby Lee fashion, he proceeded to do his routine, strip down to a man-thong, and show his anus to the crowd.

Conrad / Wahler "Sex Tape" said to be "very vanilla"

Last week, cable internet bandwidth providers were able to breathe a sigh of relief because apparently, the rumored Lauren Conrad / Jason Wahler sex tape was more hype than substance.

How long until another similar celebrity scandal breaks out? I give it two weeks...

Man Receives 5,000 Phone Calls After Posting Phone Number on YouTube

5,000. Wow.

So this guy posts his number on YouTube in case people "just want to talk," I suppose he is there to listen. He doesn't know people, but yet says he "cares" about these people. This whole concept is so bizarre to me that I cannot even begin to put my finger around it. What makes this situation even more interesting is the fact that the guy is paying for his cell phone bill and the extra minutes and text messages that come as a result of his YouTube phone number posting.

I can understanding eating the cost of building a website because you're hoping to get swallowed up by a larger media conglomerate, but a cell phone bill? I know that this guy is trying to be a friend (and is likely a wonderful conversationalist), but there has to come a point where you need to sleep and cannot handle the beeping of call waiting interrupting you every second of the day, right? Am I completely off base here? What even weirder to me is the fact that this guy is 20 years old! He's not some nice 70 year old lady who has a lot of money to burn from her 401k and IRA, but a "spiky haired" 20 year old male. I hope he makes something of this.

Otherwise, things are going pretty well. School is winding down and I'll be turning in my third to last paper on Wednesday and submitting my thesis next Tuesday. You guys were right, the excitement builds as graduation gets closer... Can't wait to get there.

American Idol Insider Blog - Sanjaya Malakar Top 10 Book Titles

Check out #3! I'm pretty proud of myself.

I really want to believe that the Internet is going to empower voters and encourage young people to learn more about candidates so that they can make educated votes. I checked out the Barack Obama page on YouTube, hoping to learn a little bit more about one of the more intriguing candidates for the 2008 Presidential Election. I watched some videos and thought that it would be very cool to see if people were engaging in intelligent discussions about the videos that I could learn from myself.



While some of the comments were great, others definitely included...

"dude charlie rose is so intimidating"

"Obama, Clinton, McCain, Edwards, Romney... Who cares?
They're all puppets on the same New World Order police state string!!
A vote for them is a sure vote for destruction and tyranny.

Vote Ron Paul before we fall!!
In 2008, we regulate!!

He has never voted to raise taxes.
He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.
He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.
He has never voted to raise congressional pay.
He has never taken a government-paid junket.
He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.
He voted against the Patriot Act.
He voted against regulating the Internet.
He voted against the Iraq war."

"you suck obama"

Well, it'll get there.

There were also some really interesting posts like these:

"To all that say the war in Iraq is wrong. I have one question, why then do most troops who have fought in the war support it and the president? Well, one reason is all the Iraq veterans, including myself, know the truth about what is going on there. If you really think the media accurately portrays this war you are sadly mistaken. I have seen evidence there that supports every reason why we went. I am proud to have crossed the boarder into Iraq in 2003 with the U.S. Army."

And straight forward, "you thought it, I said it," posts like these:

"His record is that he is the only major candidate that had the good judgment to see that this was a "dumb" war."

Check out the MySpace/YouTube pages when you have a chance. I'll check out the Clinton ones over the weekend as well. Interesting stuff when no one is there to edit (is anyone editing?)

Three top prospects for this year's NFL Draft have admitted to using marijuana, NFL team sources have confirmed to The Sports Xchange.

The players cited are Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson, Clemson defensive end Gaines Adams and Louisville defensive tackle Amobi Okoye. None of them tested positive for drugs in tests done by the NFL or in any of the random tests conducted in college by the NCAA.

Three top prospects? If every player was this honest, it'd be more like "All but three top prospects have admitted to using marijuana." I love how fans and some sportswriters forget that a large percentage of athletes don't come from perfect, drug-free lives, and that it somehow becomes big news when *gasps* someone has done drugs before.

NBC looks for a story on Facebook


Really don't know how I feel about this, nor the "Today, we are all Hokies" profile pictures that people are putting up on Facebook. It's confusing... Despite the fact that so much of the media coverage on this tragedy is about Cho Seung-Hui and repeatedly talks about how he is South Korean, I feel a strange disconnect with this event - perhaps because I didn't watch the news coverage the day of the shooting. I did read about it, but I wonder if it's because I haven't been exposed to as much of the mainstream media on this story that I am left less affected.

On a completely unrelated note, I love these American Idol bobblehead widgets.

Get this widget!

Rest in peace, Sid Brooks.

I just heard that my former boss in the USC Football Equipment Room, Sid Brooks, has passed away. Sid was the head of equipment operations for USC Football for two of the three years I was part of the USC Football program. While Sid did a lot of things that made us make confused faces at each other and really asked a lot (oftentimes seemingly unreasonable requests) of us, he always treated me with respect and cared a lot about me.

It was always funny how Sid always tried to get on TV with Coach Carroll and how he liked to be the first person off the bus or the first person to walk into a stadium so that he could lead the team. It seemed ridiculous at the time, but looking back, I knew it was because he really cared. Of course, all of the student managers had their battles with Sid, but that's inevitable in any sports environment. At the end of the day, Sid was always there to give me a firm handshake, or even a hug for a job well done. I remember when he came into the room, shook my hand, and gave me a hug, congratulating me on becoming the head student manager for the team for the 2005-2006 season. Yes, I already knew and the paperwork had already been signed and turned in, but Sid just had so much pride that he felt like he had chosen me to do a great job for the program, even though he was retiring. I remember that he told me that he knew he was leaving the student managers in good hands and that he'd still "be around," if we ever needed him. At the time, we laughed about it. Now that I look back on it, it almost brings tears to my eyes.

Now that I think about it, it's with a heavy heart that I say goodbye. Rest in peace, Sid.

"Once you have made the small changes that I requested, this looks ready to go!"
- My Thesis Professor

And with those words, a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. A small edit and a one paragraph abstract away from being done with my thesis.

- One take home final (going to be hard)
- One 20 page paper (3 pages done so far)
- One test (47% to pass the class)
- One thesis (could finish in an hour)

And then I'm done. Wow.

Blogging for Dollars

That'd be so sweet...

Hilary Clinton: 1984



Definitely not breaking news, but in case anyone hadn't seen this, I wanted to post it on my webpage to keep us up to date with interesting, "grown up," water cooler talk. This video was posted on YouTube, apparently by someone who wasn't an official member of the Obama camp, in support of Barack Obama and obviously, against Hilary Clinton. It's a take off of the Super Bowl commercial that Apple used to introduce the Macintosh to the American public.

It's a bit inspiring and eye-opening about how much America has been able to slowly embrace at least some change that this upcoming Democratic nomination battle is going to be decided by a race between an African-American man and a White woman. Well at least it will remain inspiring, until they both get beat by a Republican White guy (kidding!...well, kind of).

I wonder what it would say about our country connotatively if in a year where everyone thinks a Democrat will take over as the POTUS (what up, West Wing), a white rich Republican still manages to win the election. It's also interesting that the election has candidates (other than McCain and possibly Edwards) that have don't have the traditional experience (both military and in terms of years) that typical candidates seem to have. I don't really know that much about political history, but I'm wondering if any city mayors have made the jump to become the President of the United States like Rudy Giuliani is attempting to do. Regardless, wanted to share the video. Original video is posted below.



It's funny how this commercial to introduce the Mac was so dark and yet today, Macs are advertised like this.



Out with the old, in with the new.