I just got an e-mail from my college friend Matt Curreri, who has a new album out. You should order it. I saw him perform several times back at ND and I guarantee you’ll enjoy his work. (His label says he appeals to fans of “R.E.M., Belle & Sebastian, Elliott Smith, Velvet Underground, and the Beach Boys,” if that helps.) I’m curious to see how this album turns out, because on his website it sounds as if he’s changed direction from the “silly” stuff he did at school. That’s fine with me… I always liked the sincere stuff better anyway. Give him a listen.

Suddenly that trip to Australia in March isn’t looking so good. Mir could fall on us. Great. And that blurb about there not being any “biological nasties” on board isn’t reassuring… Wasn’t there something in the news a few months ago about it being covered in space fungus? Oh yeah, there it is.

Everybody today’s talkin’ about the third-grader whose race-related science fair experiment was banned. You know what my third-grade science fair project was? The Solar Heated Home of Tomorrow. I got my dad to build me a house out of plywood and cut a big hole in the roof, which I then covered with plastic wrap. Then I taped Ziploc bags full of water to the inside walls. A carefully aimed desk lamp and a stick-on thermometer completed the set-up. No offense to my dad’s excellent craftsmanship, but it was seriously the worst “experiment” ever. The whole thing was just an excuse for me to decorate the house with markers. (But since not many kids even bothered to try, I did get to go to Regionals!) What I’m sayin’ is, this kid actually conceived of a legitimate experiment with a purpose. Why are they censoring her? The school system should be giving her research grants.

Sweet! I’m on an e-commerce kick. I also just renewed my membership in the R.E.M. Fan Club. Oh, how I relish the Christmas singles. They’ve got a nice gallery of them — I’ve got 1992’s “Where’s Captain Kirk” Vinyl 7″ and 1999’s CD with Neil Young. The News page also reveals some of the song titles from the forthcoming album. Now I just wish they’d get some decent T-shirts in the Thriftstore so I could display my fanaticism to one and all.

What a satisfying feeling. I just donated $25 to Planned Parenthood in George W. Bush’s name. Seriously. Someone came up with this great idea to show the President exactly what we think of his policies. Here’s the message I sent along (that he’ll receive): “I’m lucky to live in a country where my reproductive rights are secure–the UK. Please reconsider your position on such rights in the US. Otherwise I cannot, in good conscience, return home to a country that doesn’t allow me sovereignty over my own body.” It’s a bit clumsy, but you’re only allowed 255 characters so I had to significantly chop my first rant draft.

Some online comic sites are running an interview with Berkely Breathed (part 1, part 2). You do know who Berkely Breathed is, right? This reminds me of sophomore year of college, when Liz and I correctly identified the comic strip that “Bill the Cat” appeared in and won a gift certificate from the local radio station. (It was “Bloom County.”) Read the interview; it’s pretty good.

Regis Philbin is donating $2.75 million for a studio theater in the new Performing Arts Center his (and my) alma mater is building. Which is really generous and nice and all, but I find this quote from the chair of the theater department hilarious: “We would welcome this gift for any purpose, but to designate it for a theater that will be the home space for our lab and performance-art productions — a place for experiment and adventure in the arts — is especially appropriate.” What? Since when did Regis Philbin become “experimental” and “adventurous”? It’s not like we’re talking about Lars Von Trier here. That ass-kissing seriously pushes the boundaries of credibility.

The Observer has a good story about Planet Irish, which is apparently a student-run online community for ND students. I was actually really impressed by the site. It looks like something I would’ve made my start page.

My dad’s a big fan of Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks NBA team. Apparently Cuban just got suspended for two games for rushing onto the court at the end of a Dallas-Cleveland game. The players got in a fight because the Dallas team was trying to run the score up to 100 so the home crowd would win 99-cent chalupa coupons as part of a Taco Bell promotion. How wacky is that? From the article: “Fans began chanting “Cha-lu-pa! Cha-lu-pa!” in the game’s waning seconds…” The opposing team was not amused. “It’s bigger than chalupas,” Wesley Person said. “Their coach called a play with 10 seconds left in a 20-point game. That’s disrespect.” Fair enough. I just wish I could get a damn chalupa in London.

Ironminds argues that Fred Durst should run for President in 2004. Why? Because “the nookie can be lots of things. Like Jerusalem.” Heh.