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 School
We got our exams back this week. I missed the question on
suction, as did 99% of the others, but I noticed that he didn't
indicate it as an extra credit question as he's previously
done on our other exams. While we got oral assurances from
the instructor that it wouldn't count against us, he hasn't
engendered a whole lot of confidence in me about his abilities.
I suppose I shouldn't really care too much about it considering
I got the highest score in the class, but at City College,
that's not saying very much.
 Final
Four
As further proof that I'm totally out of step with the rest
of the planet, all my picks so far have lost. Going in to
the NCAA finals, I supported Florida coz its Matt Bonner's
senior year and he's shown so much improvement. While the
squad was well seasoned, the freaky finals won out and Michigan
flounced Florida in the first round. I transfered my alegiance
to Michigan in the next round and they got totally shanked.
Going in to the final four of the NCAA finals, I've decided
not to support anyone. I still have a flicker of hope that
Texas won't take it, but judging by the 'success' of the shrub,
I think my feelings have more to do with him than they do
with the team.
 Ba-Da-Bingo!
My pal Sister Betty reserved some seats for my tall club
at her monthly event, BaDaBingo! I brought a few of the guys
from the group and one of them won $175! After that, I think
it's safe to say we're planning on returning next month too.
Electro Clashing
While my pal Marc is totally over electro clash and has since
moved on to "Coco Disco" the rest of us are still
loving it.
W.I.T. was the headliner as DJ Larry Tee returned with a new
installment of the electro clash tour. The first opening act
was a guy called, "My Robot Friend" his raps were
tight and the backpack powered light covered suit rocked!
He put on a great show even if the ending was a little disturbing
and confused. I wish he went out on a high note, but that's
part of the fun of seeing edgy, underground entertainment.
It's a mixed bag at times. Next up was Avenue D. These chicks
took a page out of Peache's notebook and while they are by
no means physically beautiful, they work it so hard that they're
kinda sexy in a 'round the way girl' sort of ghetto hottie
kind of way. Their sound is a mix of fierce electro beats
and hyper tight, tag team raps. The lyrics show an insight
and intelligence that's super funny when juxtaposed with their
incessantly sexual subject matter. My favourite line was:
You didn't care to vote
when it was vital-
but you're sure to vote for American Idol
Too true ladies! Finally up was W.I.T. I must say I was a
little disappointed with their presentation this time. The
gold lame outfits were gone, in their stead the girls were
featuring some tired cream numbers that looked like something
Marilyn Monroe wore. This time, THEY ACTUALLY SANG! When they
were here last year, they lip-synced and I think that put
some people off seeing them this time around. The outfits
and choreography were so fresh last time that I think it would
have worked better had they sang last time and lip-synced
this time. Though having said that, I might feel a bit ripped
off to pay money to see a live act with no new material except
one song that they can't remember the words to. With no outfit
changes and the same choreography as last year, I was left
wanting. Thank goodness the other acts were so great and Larry
Tee DJed between acts and the SLO Posse was in full effect
so all in all = it was a great night out!
 Drums
of War
America is Cowardly:
Opinion pages and interviews have been inundated this
week with people saying they think the media shouldn't portray
the reality of war. One lady today said that by showing dead
or mutilated bodies on TV it would tramatize people, especially
children. DUH! That's what war is all about. The sooner American
children get traumatized the sooner their parents will be
able to empathize with the Iraqi parents mourning the loss
of their children. When people say they support military action
in Iraq, I wonder if they really know what they're supporting.
Al Jazeera has continual coverage of civilian casualties and
the horrors of war while the American media's 'sanitized'
and embedded coverage amounts to propaganda.
 America
is Racist:
This week a pretty young white girl became a 'hero' when she
was rescued. She only joined the military because her family
is poor and she wanted to go to college. Because of that,
the Govenor of her home state of West Virginia is giving her
a free ride all the way through college. For those of you
that know about West Virginia, it's got a shallow tax base
of mostly rural constituents. I think it's utterly immoral
to ask them to foot the bill for her education when the millitary
has to under the GI bill. Now that she's been injured and
almost paralyzed, she won't have to go back in harm's way
but it just whipped up the patriotic fervor surrounding this
girl. As with last summer's child abduction cases, the black
MIA/POW girl gets barely a whisper in the media. Now that
Ms. Lynch has been found and she's safe you might think they
would concentrate their reporting on the Black or Navaho women
who are still M.I.A. In the reports I've seen about the rescued
soldier, her family said it was an answer to their prayers.
What a crushing blow to the friends and family of the still
missing. The underlying message of this coverage is that the
White God loves War and White Women. How many 'W's are in
that message? According to this week's news, Native American
or African-American prayers are ineffectual at saving soldiers
and once again its proof that brown people's lives aren't
worth as much as white ones.
 America
is Hypocritical:
US troops used chemical weapons against Iraqi civilians this
week. The American media called it 'tear gas' to disburse
crowds trying to get fresh water in Basra. The Geneva convention
expressly forbids the use of such materials in times of war,
but that's never stopped the US. The Bush administration has
condemned Iraq for showing prisoners of war on their national,
state controlled TV while US television has shown Iraqi prisoners
of war everyday and every chance they get. I've included an
oft repeated picture and by doing so, I'm helping America
make the Geneva convention irrelevant.
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Week
Ending 06 April
Workin'
It 
