What's black and white and making green all over? Village Voice writer Dan McGraw on race, money and the "foreign invasion of the NBA game":

In 1995, according to figures from the University of South Florida's Institute of Diversity and Ethics in Sport, the NBA was 82 percent African-American. By 2002, the percentage fell to 78. It's a good bet that it will continue to fall, based on predictions of what will happen in this year's NBA draft. Last year, six foreign players were chosen in the first round of the draft. According to an average of three mock drafts conducted ahead of this June's real thing, that number will be going up significantly

Damn, another blow to my love for John Cusack -- now he's put a stop to the Cusack for President campaign...bastard! What's next? Telling us that he really hated playing Lloyd Dobler???

At some point yesterday I saw a print reference to the city of Poughkeepsie. I don't remember exactly when or where or why, but it must have made an impression. I do faintly remember that at this point when I came across this reference that it made me recall an earlier brush with the city - or rather the word - back when I was living in New York City. If I remember correctly, I was talking to a telephone operator about something and for some reason I had to mention the city of Poughkeepsie and apparantly I pronounced it wrong and the operator sniffed because she could tell I was not a NYC native (as if my Texas-meets-California southern Valley Girl drawl hadn't already given it away). I remember feeling stupid and irritated and homesick.

Amazingly though, to this day I could not tell you how to pronounce the word. I'm sure the operator told me, but even though it bugged me the actual correct pronounciation did not stick. I guess this bothered my subconcious because last night I could not stop dreaming about Poughkeepsie - or rather about how to pronounce it. I don't remember the particulars of the dream (who was there, where we were, why it came up), I only remember obsessing over how it should sound. (note to subconcious: why do you care? Poughkeepsie is a small town - 30,000 population, 4.8 square miles - that's 3,000 miles away! Let it drop already!) Does it sound like "rough" or "tough"? Maybe it rhymes with "push" or "rush". No, wait, maybe it sounds like "knew" or "grew"....or maybe "wow"?
Help me! I don't know if I can handle another nightmare-ish eight hours of sleep spent contemplating this topic.

Dear John Cusack
I want my $24.50 back.
Last night my husband Cory and I went to see your new film "Identity"
It was, by far, the worst film that I've seen all year and that includes the Philip Hoffman Seymour yawner and even that Jack Nicholson piece of crap.
I'm sure then, that you can understand why I'm upset. Especially considering that I don't go to see many films in the theater due to both a lack of time and a lack of interesting options. Especially considering that I trust you John Cusack.
Or, rather, trusted you.
Ever since the days of your small but memorable role in Sixteen Candles and your own early starring roles in flicks like the cult fave "Better off Dead". Do you know that "I want my $2!" was one of the original film catch phrases? At least it was at Sacramento High School, circa 1985.
The Sure Thing? Dumb but fun.
Say Anything? Lloyd Dobler remains to this day my dream movie boyfriend.
The Grifters? Sexy smart film
Grosse Pointe Blank? Did you know I was obsessed with this film? I saw it three times in the theater. It was smart, sexy, funny - simply amazing.
High Fidelity - cool music and you, what more could a girl want?
Sure, you've had stinkers over the years.
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil? Not a great film, but not horrible .....
Pushing Tin? Well, even then I said I'd watch you in a film about watching paint dry.
No, I didn't see Serendipity or America's Sweethearts...but that was OK, I knew you needed to 'break out' a little into something more decidedly mainstream and I applauded your industry gusto - hey make more money, I'm not against that. I'm smart enough to know that you've got to make a few romantic comedies now and then and I don't hold it against you. I know that when you're in a film with Julia Roberts this is your way of sending me a secret message:
hey, Rachel - don't go see this film, just save your cash and wait til the next go-round cuz I'm just slumming here.
But Identity?
Identity?
Where was my secret message to not go see this film?
You mislead me John Cusack.
On Conan O'Brien you said it was like a Hitchcock film and then you played a deceptively interesting film clip.
And so I bit.
It was OK at first. Lots of rain, lots of shots of you looking moody. Lots of longing gazes between you and Amanda Peet.
Lots of blood - but I'm OK with that.
Then, as the story started to turn, morphing from something Hitchcock-esque into something more like a third-rate Sixth Sense, I tried to be patient. "I'll just go with it,"I said to myself. "After all, it's Saturday night - this doesn't have to be art or anything. As long as it's entertaining and makes at least a little sense."
I mean it, I was really OK with it even if it did seem fairly mediocre by your standards.
But the last two minutes of the film?
The whole evil-child thing? The glaring evil child?
The whole "whores don't get a second chance" thing?
Good lord I've never laughed so hard. And not in a good way.
John darling, that was bad even by C-list, Hollywood slasher film standards.
That was just horrible. The last two minutes of the film rendered the rest of a movie that was simply forgettable into something memorably atrocious.
Did you even get to that part of the script before you signed on to do the film?
Please tell me that you didn't. Please tell me you were just as shocked and embarrassed by its stupidity but had no legal recourse and are now in therapy to work out your impulse issues. Please restore a little bit of my faith.
If you can't do that right now, you can at least cover my losses.
It breaks down like this:
$9 x 2 for two tickets to the 9:15 showing.
$2.50 for one medium Diet Coke
$2 for one medium coffee
$2 for one chocolate chip cookie.
I'm not asking for gas money - I'm not that petty. But, I do think that when this is all said and done that we probably need some space. It's going to be a while before I can look you in the eye again.
sincerely, me

Today's Friday Five....just because:

1. What brand of toothpaste do you use?
Arm & Hammer - usually whatever kind gets me the most results - i.e., it's chockful of flouride and peroxide and whiteners...

2. What brand of toilet paper do you prefer?
Um, whatever's soft and thick and on sale

3. What brand(s) of shoes do you wear?
I have way too many pairs to adequately answer this question. Today I'm wearing a pair of Nine West slip-on sandals...they're black with a high wedge heel and a buckle strap across the toes....

4. What brand of soda do you drink?
Diet Coke ...all the way baby...

5. What brand of gum do you chew?
I like Orbit....it's ultra minty fresh...

Your Guide to Indie Rock Hair (via Gawker)

Google's pop culture dominance continues at Google Fight

So what is the truth about Jessica Lynch? This BBC article makes some serious allegations which, if at all true, make me wonder why we spend so much time worrying about someone like Jayson Blair and not more time worrying about our own government.

Damn.
So, after last night's game was over, Cory and I didn't feel like doing much of anything - even though it was still light outside and the weather was nice. We ended up just going to Jamba Juice and then back home to watch last week's episode of Six Feet Under. We loaned Michelle & Richard our Six Feed Under season one DVD -- maybe once they're done with it (and this current season is over) we'll actually go back and watch it. It's kind of sad really - we buy all these DVDs and watch only a few of them. We have the first three seasons of The Sopranos on DVD - and have barely watched any of them. I guess it's the consumerist security of knowing they are there that keeps us satisfied. Actually, most of the time they are not there. Most of the time they (the Sopranos DVDs) are on loan to somebody else who does not have HBO. But that's OK. Just call it a humanitarian effort on our part - a pledge to free the world from a Sopranos-less existence.
Am now on my third cup of coffee this morning. Cory went down to Berkeley (to Amoeba, of course) and I opted to stay home and enjoy my first study-free weekend in months.
It will be a short-lived vacation, however. The independent study officially starts June 2.
The course that I put together with four other students is called Surrealist Feminist Fiction.
These are the books we're studying (I'm too lazy to provide links):

Angela Carter
"The Magic Toyshop"

A.M. Homes
"The Safety of Objects" - short stories

Octavia Butler
"Kindred"

Aimee Bender
"The Girl in the Flammable Skirt" (short stories)

Laura Esquival
"Like Water for Chocolate"

Laurie Foos
"Ex Utero"

Virginia Woolf
"Orlando"

RIght now we are contemplating dropping one of these titles. In its place, we would each add replacing it with a book of our own choosing - either an additional title by one of the authors listed or a new author. I'm thinking about possibly doing the new Margaret Atwood book "Oryx and Crake" - it's an apocolypse now look at genetic technology and catastrophic environmental changes, corporate greed and social inequalities. Atwood is one of my favorite authors - whether she's tackling topics like feminism through science fiction ("The Handmaid's Tale"), surrealism ("The Edible Woman") or more straight forward literature ("Cat's Eye"). So, adding this book would just be an excuse to read it -and get academic credit....I'm crafty that way....
Now on my fourth cup of coffee...which means it's time to get off the computer... it's a lovely Sunday and I've got some being lazy to do....

Last night's show in the park was good - though I missed much of it because I was too busy gabbing with our friends...but I did, of course, catch the Haints set (though evil Mikey told me I'd missed all but the last song when it turns out they'd only finished their soundcheck) and the Groovie Ghoulies set. Afterwards, weak with hunger (fueled only by the fumes of the two beers I'd had) and exhausted, we headed over to Hamburger Mary's with Kepi & Roach and their friends Chris & Heather from Colorado. I barely even remember eating ... it was all I could do to not put my head down on the table and just sleep.
Sleep, lovely sleep. I slept 10 hours last night. It was wonderful and I feel remarkably refreshed right now - except for the part where my allergies are starting to kick in. Damn wind. I hate it when it's warm and windy. I mean, I'm not a big fan of wind in general - light breezes, yes, wind, no - but combine it with heat and you've got an icky, blustery mess.
One particularly nice moment from the show last night: Kepi dedicating "Lonely Heart Blues" to Johnny Cash.
A friend of mine has said we should all clap like Tinkerbell for Johnny - because he's going to think that we don't believe in him (or at least his ability to survive) now that his wife, June Carter Cash, has passed away. And maybe she's right - maybe we need to believe that Johnny's one tough old coot - but really, they were the lovebirds of the century and it breaks my heart to know that she is gone and he is here without her.
Yes, yes, it's the sappy sentimentalist in me and you know what? I'm going to stop apologizing for that side of me, it's just a part of who I am. And I'm sad that June Carter Cash is gone and I'm even sadder for Johnny Cash and although I don't want him to be gone, I do want him to be with the one he loves.
Argh.
Onward.
The Ghoulies hit the road again on Monday - they're going to Europe for two months and we will miss them very much - but lucky for us they should be back in time for the annual State Fair trip.
One of the biggest things I hate about being an adult is missing people.
Missing people, missing places, missing certain times...nostalgia is over-rated but then again sometimes it's just enough to get you by, no matter how much it aches.
I really should stop rambling now, I'm making no sense. It's very apparent that I need more coffee - and allergy medicine.

This week's Friday Five - on Friday, no less.

1. What drinking water do you prefer -- tap, bottle, purifier, etc.?
I admit that I'm a bottled water junkie - I love Dasani. Why? Because I like the blue bottle. I know that doesn't really make sense - other than that I also know that it is specifically marketed to women. Guess it worked. After bottled water I prefer purified water. We have one of those Brita filter water pitchers at home - a wedding present from my brother - and we use it religiously...

2. What are your favorite flavor of chips?
I like Kettle Baked French Onion quite a bit....sometimes I get the odd hankering for some salt and vinegar chips, but I rarely indulge...

3. Of all the things you can cook, what dish do you like the most?
Lately, I hardly cook at all...but I love making soup. I love the process of it. All that chopping of vegetables and pinches of spices and hours of simmering. In the winter time it's the best thing ever to make soup on a cold and rainy Sunday afternoon....

4. How do you have your eggs?
I like egg white veggie omelettes. Also, Cafe Bernardo, here in Sac, makes a mean breakfast burrito with black beans and verde salsa and a hearty tortilla.....mmmm, Bernardo Burrito...

5. Who was the last person who cooked you a meal? How did it turn out?
Um, does Cory making me veggie dogs count? They were great! Hmmm, besides that, the last person to make me a meal was a woman who I'm writing a story about - she made me macrobiotic soup and oatmeal for breakfast. Sounds like an odd combo but it was good and the company was fun...

Enough talk about food, now I'm hungry...so last night was the Kings-Mavericks game at Arco, it was absolutely great. We had amazing seats which more than made up for the drunk obnoxious guy who kept yelling DEEEEEEEFFFFFFFFFFFFFFENNNNNNNNNNSSSSSEEEEEEEE in the loudest, raspiest voice ever until he finally disappeared - presumably to pass out somewhere in his own puke.
I guess I did a lot of my own yelling though. My vocal chords are certainly aching today. Not to mention my muscles - all that jumping around and tensing up, you know. The last 8.5 seconds of the game were definitely tense - but the Kings pulled through and now it's on to Game 7 in Dallas...

No matter what happens from here on out though, I'm glad to know that the Kings outlasted the Lakers by at least one game.
But yes, the Bad News Bear in me did feel bad for the sight of Kobe crying...but not for Shaq though -

Anyway, I'm super super tired today but Cory's playing a show in the park with the Haints (acoustic Groovie Ghoulies) and he might even hit the stage for a couple of songs during the Ghoulies' proper set ....should be fun even though it's a bit gray and chilly outside...

Oh, wait, before I go...random web site of the day
Modest Clothing via the 601am site. There were definitely a couple of ladies at the game last night who could have benefitted from the lesson that less is not always necessarily more...

A good day today. Got the grade for my Craft of Fiction final - which was pretty damn hard - and I got a 99 percent! Not only was it the highest grade on the final in the class - but it means I got an A in the class...I'm really happy and relieved right now. Then, I actually made it to the gym today for the first time in forever - did the weights/cardio class - I know I'll be super-sore tomorrow, but it felt good today. And, tonight...tonight we are going to the Kings game. The do-or-die Kings game. The do-or-die Kings that, if they win, precedes the do-or-die Kings game on Saturday. I have a co-worker who thinks they'll win tonight and lose on Saturday. I don't know what to say or think - they certainly haven't been very consistent in this round against Dallas - and they certainly can't blame it all on the absence of Chris Webber. But the Bad News Bear in me wants them to pull out of the slump and succeed. I'm such a sap when it comes to this kind of stuff...I don't have quite the emotional mettle that one needs for sports, I think...It's not just with the Kings. It's anything - I always root for the underdog. I felt so bad when John Stockton and Karl Malone lost their last game with the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City - what a way to end their career there - and I felt horrible that the people in Salt Lake left before the game was even over. Cory tells me I'm too soft-hearted for this whole sports thing, but hell, that's just me. Anyway, what I was trying to say is that even though I have my logical doubts about the Kings advancing to the next round, right now I'm playing the part of the die-hard fan and believing in them every step, rebound and assist of the way....But check back with me tomorrow - if they play anything like they played on Tuesday I won't be feeling sappy, I'll just be pissed....but I won't dwell on it too much because I am now officially out of school for about three weeks. The independent study starts June 1 and I'll probably start reading the first book early, but I also plan to indulge in some good old-fashioned slacking off between now and then...let the channel surfing and magazine flipping commence...

This is hilarious - got it from my new favorite site Gawker-
Top Ten Signs There's Something Wrong With the New York Times.
If you haven't yet read the NY Times' four-plus page piece on sham journalist Jayson Blair, here it is - (requires free registration).
For a bit of balance on the NY Times' perspective, however, you might want to read this Newsweek piece on diversity in NY Times newsroom or this more general article that questions the paper's editorial communications breakdown.

I know I should be studying....but, here's the Friday Five only a day late (yes, considering this week's Friday Five subject, you may now take due notice of the irony ...)

1. Would you consider yourself an organized person? Why or why not?
By nature, I am not an organized person - at all. Ask anyone who knows me really well and he or she (OK, mostly he - Cory being the person who knows me best and must live with my lack of organization) will tell you that I am constantly losing and misplacing things, cramming to meet deadlines, etc. I try to keep my organizational horrors mostly limited to the home however, which means I go to great strides to overcompensate in the ares of school and work. I rely on several calendars and an army of post-it notes to keep me on track. Why am I this way? I don't know, why are we who we are? I have a cluttered brain and am either thinking about 10 different things at one time or else I am burnt out and trying not to think of anything at all...that and I think I just have the disorganized gene....I'm not sure who I get it from though, probably my dad...

2. Do you keep some type of planner, organizer, calendar, etc. with you, and do you use it regularly?
In addition to a calendar at home, I use two calendars at work (one paper, and one on my computer) plus my Palm Pilot in an effort to keep myself on track. The Palm Pilot (m515 model) was my birthday gift to myself last year. I bought it hoping it would make juggling my home, school and work life easier. Sadly, all it seems to do so far is record the tasks, reminders and ideas that I punch into it. Requests to have it actually perform said tasks, follow through on reminders or implement ideas have been repeatedly ignored. Damn technology.

3. Would you say that your desk is organized right now?
We just moved into new desk spaces at work so yes, my desk is actually rather organized right now. It's kind of nice to know where everything is and have it within reach. Wonder how long it will stay that way....

4. Do you alphabetize CDs, books, and DVDs, or does it not matter?
Ha....the only reason my CDs are organized is because when Cory and I moved in together he took it upon himself to alphabetize my collection - he is VERY organized, it's true what they say about opposites attracting. It drove him crazy when neither of us could find anything on my racks. I guess it does make it easier, especially considering that between us we have more than 5,000 CDs...The DVDs in our house are also organized (also thanks to him) but the books? No, not really. Other than having all my reference books on one shelf near our desk and all the music books in one area and some of the authors' works grouped together - it's fairly haphazard.

5. What's the hardest thing you've ever had to organize?
My life, on a daily basis...

So, last night - after the disastrous (but to be expected) Spurs-Lakers game, Cory and I finally cued up our Survivor tape and I've just got to say, that as slimy as Rob is, I was extremely happy to see "I'm the Mastermind" Heidi finally get her comeuppance. So now the question is, slime or not, does Rob deserve the million dollars? The soft-hearted, sappy, can't-we-all-just-get-along part of me (the part that was pissed when he helped to vote Christy off) says NO. But the screw-em-all, life's-not-fair-so-get-over-it side of me says HELL YEAH....Whatever the case, I agree with this Salon article - (in order to read, requires either a membership or one-time viewing of advertisement), this is definitely the best season since the first one...
In other news, the NBA gods were not kind to us and we're NOT going to tonight's game. Looks like we'll be going to game six if there is a game six and part of me hopes there is no game six - if only because I want the Kings to rise from the ashes and pummel the Mavericks and the Shaggy and Scooby team into oblivion....hey, a girl can dream can't she? ... Seriously, even with Chris Webber out, I think we do stand a decent chance and even if I can't be at Arco Arena tonight then I will be making a lot of noise at home (probably annoying our neighbor, Slamson - so named for her slamming-of-doors habit, not because of any likeness to the Kings mascot).
Other than the NBA games it's just a weekend of studying up ahead - the final is Monday - and I've got plenty of notes to peruse and books to look over....until then...

I know it's just a game, but this really bummed me out....I think last night's hail storm was the first sign that it was going to be a bad, long haul....

So, what do you want to know? Yes, I am alive...almost almost ALMOST done with school. The final is Monday and although the instructor has promised to make it extremely hard, she has also granted us use of our notes. It's an act that relieves the stress a bit - and gives me more time to watch the NBA playoffs.
Yes folks, it's sad. I've been completely bitten by the NBA bug. It started last year when we were watching Kings games and then during the regular season that started in October. Then, during this year's quarterfinal playoffs, I found myself not content to watch just the Kings games...I had to watch all the Western conference games that I could possibly catch. I even had to watch some of the Eastern conference finals...Luckily we're down to just a few teams but we're still talking about games almost every night...I have been watching basketball for almost 3 weeks straight and there is no end in sight...Saturday night we are hopefully going to the Kings-Dallas game at Arco....oh please basketball god, please let this happen...
So, other than basketball it's just been school. And that's about it over in my little corner of the world...
Since especially boring right now, I thought I'd take a stab at the Friday Five - almost a week late, but what the hell...

1. Name one song you hate to admit you like.
This is really bad - but I blame it all on the basketball...repeated viewings of that Christina Aguilera NBA clip with the song "Fighter" has me humming the song on my own. I know...bad, bad BAD...you can disown me now...

2. Name two songs that always make you cry.
As emotional as I am, there aren't two songs that always make me cry...well, I take that back, Harry Nilsson's "Everybody's Talkin'" can do the trick...but do you blame me? It's the song to which Cory & I got married...other than that, other songs will make me cry at random times, but I can't think of anything else that always turns on the spigots...oh wait, "Grace" by Jeff Buckley can sometimes do that trick...yes, indeed....

3. Name three songs that turn you on.
no specific song titles are coming to mind right now but...
-almost anything by Prince
- much of Caetano Velosa's stuff
-lots of stuff by the Rolling Stones

4. Name four songs that always make you feel good.
ouch, this is making me have to think...ummm...do you know HOW hard it is to narrow this down to just FOUR?!!?!
- I Love Rock'n'Roll - Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
- I Am the Cosmos - Chris Bell
-A Perfect Day to Chase Tornadoes - Jim White
-Call the Doctor - Sleater-Kinney

5. Name five songs you couldn't ever do without.
ouch again, see my note above...
Teenage Riot - Sonic Youth
Mesmerizing - Liz Phair
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry - Hank Williams
Dear Darling - Mary Margaret O'Hara
Fireman- Jawbreaker