There has been a lot of speculation concerning this image of Vice President Dick Cheney. Some bloggers argue that a naked woman can be seen in the reflection of his sunglasses, while others argue it’s simply the handle of a fly fishing rod. What do you think? Personally, I think it’s a kangaroo wearing boxing gloves.

Being that the school year is coming to an end, I’m sure all of you feel like sleep deprived zombies, whose only salvation is a can of Monster. Well, I want to help, and being that I can’t do your homework for you, I have the next best thing: a movie! Hopefully this clip can help reassure you that you’re not alone in this dizzying world of facebook profiles, homework, and beer.

What does Barack Obama have in common with Pickachu? Well, more than you may think.

In my Foundations of American Education class, the author of the critically acclaimed memoir, Holler If You Hear Me: The Education of a Teacher and His Students, Greg Michie, came to speak to my classmates and I about his experiences as a teacher in the predominately Mexican-American South Side of Chicago. While speaking, he recommended we watch two videos.

The first is titled “A Girl Like Me,” and it focuses on how African American girls grapple with the concept of beauty as defined by American society. The second clip, which is titled “Nice White Lady,” is much more humorous. It is a Mad TV spoof of the stereotypical film genre, where an outside teacher comes to an inner-city school and saves his or her students from a life of poverty and crime.

I think both clips, in spite of their stylistic differences, make an equally profound point concerning how minorities and urban society are perceived in American society. There is something fundamentally wrong with how we treat and represent our often marginalized minority population, and hopefully these two clips help to spell that out for you.

In public, they may appear as rivals, but don’t let the media fool you. Behind closed doors, senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton share more than a lust for the presidency.

I hope this clip helped to alleviate some of the pains brought about by campaign fatigue. And for those who disdain crude humor…sorry.

After reading a blaring comment concerning my March 4th blog, Elitists rejoice!, I feel the need to defend myself. The intention of my blog was not to pay homage to elitists, but, instead, ridicule them. Websites, such as Virgil Griffith’s Booksthatmakeyoudumb, reassure people who like books, such as Lolita, that, yes, they are in fact smart. However, by using subtle sarcasm, I was attempting to let the people who have not read Griffith’s top ranked books know that they, too, have potential.

According to Griffith’s websites, smart people read Lolita and listen to Beethoven, and dumb people read Zane and listen to Lil’ Wayne. However, life isn’t that simple; SAT/ACT scores are not the sole determinate of our likes and dislikes. More important variables, such as our family and friends, have a greater impact. My roommate is the quintessential example of this. According to Griffith’s Musicthatmakesyoudumb list, the people with the lowest SAT scores (889) prefer the rap artist Lil’ Wayne. However, my roommate, who scored a 29 on his ACT (which is the equivalent of 1300 on the SAT), adores Lil’ Wayne.

Thus, Griffith’s lists should not be taken literally. By telling students who like Lil’ Wayne that they are among the worst test takers in America, Virgil Griffith is doing nothing but associating their taste in music with unintelligent behavior. Moreover, he is categorizing these students in such a way that belittles their self-worth and indirectly encourages them to give up and let the Lolita readers of the world take over.

  Is your favorite book Lolita, Catch 22, Freakonomics, or Crime and Punishment? If so, then according to the website, Booksthatmakeyoudumb, you’re a genius! The website, using Facebook’s “favorite book” preference, compares college students’ favorite books to their SAT/ACT scores. U of I’s cumulative SAT score was 1249, meaning that our favorite book is a toss-up between Atlas Shrugged or Catch 22…too bad I’ve read neither. 

  Aside from ranking books, the site’s creator, Virgil Griffith, has compiled a list of college students’ favorite bands/artists. Beethoven, Sufjan Stevens, The Counting Crows, and Radiohead top the list.     

  After stumbling home from a long night last Friday, I turned on Vh1 and came across the music video for the Academy Award winning song, “Falling Slowly.” The song was written for the independent Irish film Once, and it’s sung by the movie’s two main characters, “Guy” (Glen Hansard) and “Girl” (Markéta Irglová). Hansard’s and  Irglová’s harmonizing compounded by the song’s acoustically driven melody struck a chord with me, and I think it may do the same for you. Enjoy!

This past Tuesday, my roommate and I were sitting in our room when we heard a sudden knock on our door. “Come in,” I said. Suddenly, the door swung open. Two students, who looked to be a year or two older than me, walked in. “Have you voted yet?” the taller one asked. Thinking of the on-line ballot I completed just moments before their arrival, I proudly replied, “Yes.”

“Great, who did you vote for for student trustee?” the taller one prodded. “Isn’t that supposed to be private” I thought to myself; however, I hesitantly replied, “Rob Main.” “That’s great,” he replied, “because you do know that the other candidate has never had a drink, smoked, or kissed a girl. And he’s trying to shorten winter vacation.” Quickly, after noticing that my roommate and I weren’t buying into their hardball antics, the two Main supporters left our room, leaving me speechless.

 Now, although the accusations being leveled against Schmitt were harsh, they are just elementary examples of how dirty the game of politics can get. Look at the presidential election, for example. Photos of Barack Obama in traditional African attire are being leaked to the media; moreover, Conservative radio talk show host, Bill Cunningham, repeatedly referred to Barack Obama as “Barack Hussein Obama” and called him a “hack-style Chicago Daley politician” during a McCain rally last week.

 When having slander being leveled against them, it is important to give a candidate the benefit of the doubt. In the case of Paul Schmitt, he wasn’t there to defend himself; and until I hear it from his mouth, never will I believe that he wants to shorten winter vacation. Moreover, unless the personal life of a candidate directly affects his or her ability to facilitate action, never should we bother ourselves with it. If anything, fretting about a candidate’s personal life only distracts us from what really matters: the wellbeing of our university and our country. 

  I just finished watching the rock musical, Across the Universe, and I’m very tired (look at the time I wrote this). However, its soundtrack was so good, I had to publicize it. 

  Below is a scene that takes place fairly early on in the movie. It captures two funerals; one is of a young boy who died in Detroit’s 12th Street riot, and the second is of a young man who died fighting in Vietnam. The scene is underpinned by an outstanding gospel version of the Beatle’s hit, “Let It Be.”