"You know what you need? A little comic strip called 'Love Is...' It's about two naked eight-year olds who are married." - Homer Simpson

Maybe posting that pic will cause some people to consider me flamish, but oh well. I'm quite secure enough in my manhood and heterosexuality to include a "Love is..." thing in my blog, at least as just a one-time deal.

Anyways, you can ask me in private whether or not I think naked kids in a comic is "cute", but I definitely like what that one says. They managed to express something that I totally agree with so well, using only a few words and a cheesy little sketch. Anyone who reads my blog regularly knows that I probably would have written pages upon pages of unnecessary verbage to try to say the same thing.

I think the idea applies to all relationships, not just between a boyfriend-girlfriend, husband-wife, or naked kid-naked kid. Another nice little saying I like is "I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I'm not".

I mean, everyone has faults, and to some point, it can be reasonably expected of us to change and improve ourselves over time. But what it all really comes down to is, we should all worry less about what you would change about other people, and be more concerned with what you need to change about yourself.

Other than that, all I can say is, life is short so appreciate everything for what it is. For me, I think there is already plenty to love about basically every single person I know, and I want everyone to know that I love you all.

Hugs and Kisses,

Joe

*****

Ok, hopefully that blog wasn't too gay. By the way, if anyone reading this happens to have a copy of my original essay on Britney Spears, could you send it to me? It was originally posted on my students uiuc .plan and I had it saved as a text file on my computer, but that was lost when I botched up formatting my hard drive last time. But I think I sent it as an email attachment to some people. If I can somehow track it down, I wanna re-post it here on this blog.

*****

Currently playing on my Winamp: Ben Folds Five - Brick
For some reason I went back through my collection last week and started listening to this CD again ("Whatever and ever amen"). Not a top 10, but definitely still good. So now my Winamp and my Rio are loaded with Ben Folds Five songs. By the way, I gotta say there's something about this song that is just a bit eerie to me. If you see abortion merely as a one-time act of removing a fetus, and nothing else, you should listen to this song. Really makes you think a little differently about it, that's all I can say.

Hip-hop

Has anyone heard the Jay-Z remix of Aaliyah's "Miss You"? Apparently it is all the rage on GCI. Well, maybe I'm just grumpy, but I could not imagine a crappier song. It sounds like it took him all of 5 minutes to put that together. Just cause it's a "nice thing to do" don't mean we gotta like the song, you know?

Hip-hop is annoying me. There's a remix of everything - last week I heard a remix of R. Kelly's Ignition Remix. A remix of a remix, what the hell? And pretty much every song is sampled. It's so ridiculous that 2 of the top songs in today's rotation sampled the same beat (Smilez & Southstar "Tell Me", Ja Rule & Ashanti "Mesmerize"). All of the "collabo" business is out of hand too. When was the last time Ja Rule did a song on his own? And who's the next rapper that's gonna do a song with J-Ho? Only a matter of time...

Questions ... to no one in particular

- Is the "white person trying to talk ghetto" joke ever gonna get old? I swear, there's some form of this joke in every movie or every sitcom on TV. It's becoming more prevalent than the Mastercard thing ("priceless"). With that said, I saw a preview for a Chris Rock movie coming out and I will probably end up going to watch that anyways. Gotta love Chris Rock.

- Any good books out there to read? I haven't seriously read a book in a long time, maybe since the Choose Your Own Adventure days. Haven't been to the library or anywhere other than the magazine section at Barnes in a while either. I feel like I should pick up a quality non-fiction or classic fiction book and read it in my free time before I go to sleep every night. Damn, I really am getting old...

- If Gwen Stefani didn't wear so much makeup, would I like her more? I think I would, but I don't know. Must say I'm not a big fan of girls with makeup. A little bit is good sometimes, but moderation is key. And, I think in many cases it borders on false advertising.

- Do news anchors like Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw, or Suchin Pak (haha.... ewwww) ever get sick of reporting the same exact story every day? They should probably have the reports memorized by now. "Today, some people died in a suicide bomb in Israel. In other news, France opposes the US stance on Iraq. Meanwhile, inspectors say that Iraq is partly cooperative and partly not cooperative. On the Korean peninsula, the North is pissed at America and they threaten to make nukes. The South wants a peaceful solution. Finally, in sports, Tiger Woods wins the latest golf tournament." I could've turned on CNN a month ago and heard basically the same thing I did this morning. We shouldn't be calling it the "news" anymore, it should be called the "olds". har har har

- If it took 3 years for Brian Cook to get good in college, is he ever gonna be good in the NBA?

- How cool is Bill Self? I hope he stays at Illinois forever, but I don't know if that's gonna happen.

- Is it even possible to survive an early zealot/marine rush when you're zerg? I get lurkers about as fast as I can, while still having a few sunkens behind buildings, but if people decide to team up on you early, you're pretty much porked.

- What is DMX gonna do now that he's officially retiring from hiphop? Oh wait, he hasn't put out any good music since his first 2 CDs. I guess he's probably just gonna continue making movies with Jet Li.

- When is Britney's next album coming out? I'm feeling deprived. Someone told me October, but that's way too far off for me. >:-O

- Are there any good wing places around here? Such as BW3 maybe? I feel like having a nice big plate of wings. My craving for sushi has turned into craving for wings, I think. Hooters is not bad but I miss BW3 in Champaign. One of these Tuesdays I think I'm just gonna drive down there after work by myself and have some. Seriously, I will.

Meet The Elder Chens

Fact: When my grandpa was my age, he was a father of 4.

One of my earliest blogs was about how my dad likes to watch Fear Factor. Well, it's still one of his favorite shows. As I write this, he is flipping between Fear Factor and Connie Chung Tonight. When one of the contestants used a curse word and it was bleeped, he laughed for like 5 minutes straight.

*Conversation I just had with my mom while making my lunch*

Mom: So do you get tired when you're at work?
Me: Yeah, sometimes.
Mom: Do you ever sleep?
Me: No, we're not allowed to sleep.
Mom: Wow... that must be tough. Are you allowed to chew gum?
Me: (puzzled but laughing) uhhh... yes
Mom: You should chew gum then.
Me: Okay.

Sometimes I wonder how I turned out to be such a cool person.

What I Love About College Basketball

- Senior Night. Seeing the guys on the team who have been around for 4 years say goodbye to the fans is always cool. It doesn't even have to be the big stars like Brian Cook, we love Harrington as well, and even cheer for guys like Jerrance Howard and Blandon Ferguson.

- The fans. College fans are definitely more immature than pro fans. And in my opinion, the less mature, the more entertaining. If you put up a shot in an away game, better make sure you draw iron at all costs. Or else be ready to have the crowd chanting "AIIIIIIR BAAAALL" every time you touch the rock for the rest of the game. My sister went to the game today and she told me that when a Minnesota player that was kind of chubby (Hagen) was shooting free throws, they were taunting him with "Eat a salad" chants. Very typical, I said. It's all part of the game.

- Tournaments. Within reason, any team can upset a much higher ranked team on any given night. And that makes these tournaments so interesting. You start with 65 teams and I'd say at least about 15 of them have a decent chance of winning it all. And "cinderella stories" happen every single year, it's expected. Much nicer than seeing the same exact teams in the NBA playoffs every year and the same teams winning.

- Change. This is the most obvious difference between college and pro ball. I used to think it was not good, because you couldn't get attached to your team and its stars. But now, I think it's great. From year to year, you are guaranteed to have new faces on your team, and even though watching freshman play is kind of frustrating sometimes, watching them develop is half the fun. Then when they actually do well, like Dee Brown, it's always a pleasant surprise. It's also nice that there aren't so many dynasties like the NBA. Pistons, Bulls, Rockets, Bulls, Lakers... nice if your team is up there, but it sucks for the rest of the league.

- Loyalty. Because I went to U of I, I'll always be an Illini fan no matter what. In the pros, you could be a Cubs fan or a Sox fan. And when the Bulls suck, you lose interest. Worse yet, there's the possibility of your team moving away, which I guess in Chicago we haven't really had to deal with, but still. Also, with the exception of the occasional transfer student, there isn't "free agency" or players demanding trades. From the time you recruit a high schooler to the time he graduates or turns pro, he's gonna be on your team and nobody else's. One thing I do wish is that the good players didn't turn pro early so much these days, but I guess you can't help that.

- More team concept. My sis noticed that in college, after every stoppage of play, the guys on the court huddle, while they don't do that in the pros. There seems to be more love between teammates, not as much selfishness and personal ego. It's more fun to watch a team play when they are having fun together, than if it's like Allen Iverson or Vince Carter just taking over and dominating.

There's a lot more I could write, little stuff like the band, the cheerleaders, the announcers, the CBS music... but I'll keep this one short as I can. My readers deserve a break.