Woah.

Can I just say that I love CNN? Like, actually. Here's why; first, Anderson Cooper bashes Paris Hilton on air, which I talked about last night, (Cooper on how Paris Hilton seemingly had a life changing experience in jail: "It seems odd for her to just... get smart."), and then, him and another reporter had this witty repartee on air.

_____

Erica: And let's lighten it up here. Already lining up around the country at stores. Not Harry Potter. That's not for a few more weeks. We're talking, of course, about Apple's new iPhone. It goes on sale tomorrow. It is hyped, of course, as the next big thing.

A whole lot of gadget heads seem to be buying into that hype. So much so, we are hearing pretty crazy stories, including one guy in Seattle who reportedly sold his car to pay for one. For an iPhone. Plus, a moped for him, to get around.

COOPER: Woo, iPhone! [Raises hands in 'rock on' symbol]

HILL: Yes. [Does the same]

COOPER: Rock on, iPhone!

HILL: Yes. You have a new little tool there.

COOPER: I got a new BlackBerry, actually.

HILL: Got a little camera on it.

COOPER: It's got a little camera. I'm going to take a picture and send it to you.

HILL: OK. But it's not an iPhone, Anderson. So I mean, it may be cool and all, but not really...

COOPER: [Indignant] Well, it's got a color screen.

HILL: Not going to be in with the in crowd.

COOPER: Yes. No, I know. It's totally not in.

HILL: That's all right. I don't get it either.

COOPER: The iPhones are cool. But again, I'm worried that as soon as -- you know, that in a month from now, there's going to be, like, the little mini iPhone. So I'm going to be there with the obsolete, big, old-fashioned iPhone.

HILL: There very well could be. And you don't want to be, you know, walking around with the brick of the iPhone world.

COOPER: I want to be on the cutting edge. I don't want to be, you know...

HILL: Cutting edge? You're so on the cutting edge. You don't need to follow the hype to get the iPhone. You create your own edge.

COOPER: Yes, you're right, Erica Hill. Thanks.

HILL: OK.

COOPER: Now for our "Shot of the Day". It is pretty crazy. Check this out.

A 72-year-old former Marine, fighting off a pick-pocket. That's him right there. Bill Barnes says he was scratching off a losing 2- dollar lottery ticket when he felt a hand slip in front -- into his front left pants pocket. He'd just put $300 from an ATM in there.

Barnes went into action, pulling the guy's wrist with one hand, pummeling him with the other hand.

HILL: No messing with (ph) him.

COOPER: Yes. The store manager -- yes, I know -- then intervened, and the suspect was treated for bloody nose and cuts, charged with unarmed robbery.

We should also mention, not only is Barnes a former Marine, he was a runner-up in a Golden Gloves competition before enlisting in the corps in 1956.

HILL: Hey, hey. How about that?

COOPER: So don't mess -- don't mess with Mr. Barnes.

HILL: That's right. Once a Golden Gloves runner-up, always a Golden Gloves runner-up.

COOPER: That's right.

HILL: I didn't get your e-mail, by the way.

COOPER: Oh, well, yes.

HILL: Maybe I'll get it tomorrow.

COOPER: I have to figure that one out.

______

For some reason, CNN's news reports are more amusing then the majority of sitcoms on television nowadays.

I guess the next question to ask is why I'm such a nerd...

Can you die of laughter?

Anderson Cooper, on how Paris Hilton seemingly had a life changing experience in jail: "It seems odd for her to just... get smart."


*dies*

Hah!

67% of Americans oppose the war in Iraq

54% of Americans say it's not morally justified.

32% is what? Say it again? Bushes approval rating? No? Oh, wait. Yes. Yes, it is. Only a few other presidents, including the infamous Richard Nixon, saw lower ratings.




Gee, what a time it is when we can gain valuable knowledge from a six year old and his stuffed tiger.

Hah. Stay the course. That always gets me.

??

How far can we go before out hearts give way? I think that should be the motto for some of the presidential candidates. Honestly, if I was a member of Bush's presidency, I'd feel massive amounts of guilt every time I turned on the T.V. to see families crying over loved ones going to war. I'm not saying some don't feel bad... they likely do... but you know that there are some, if not many rich, pretentious a-holes just wallowing in their title and "ass"ets and not caring about the state of the entire goddamned world.

Huh.

Just Rambling

After a discussion on one of my classes, I was required to write an assessment. Here are the somewhat naive, yet thoroughly heartfelt ramblings of a teenager.

"

After the discussion in class, if anything, I feel like my opinions have been further solidified. To start with, I am strongly against splitting up Iraq into three separate states (one state for each the Kurds, the Sunnis, and the Shiites). These three factions have been warring against each other for over one thousand years… why would it be any different now? If anything, the separation into states would only cause a power struggle for democratic power. Not to mention, right next door to Iraq is Iran, a dominantly Shiite nation, who would likely be more then willing to aid the Shiite state of Iraq if a civil war broke out, which could likely happen. I am also against the US’s continuing occupation in Iraq. As many stated in the discussion, America caused this chaos in Iraq, so we should fix it, whatever ‘chaos’ and ‘it’ is. However, the US’s continuing occupation in Iraq is what is causing this chaos to persist… it is a catch22. I strongly believe that the US needs to create a time table and slowly pull out of Iraq. Because this ‘chaos’ is existing, it’s hard to see which chaos we, as the US is creating, and what chaos is being created by the Iraqi insurgents. If we pull out of Iraq, we would take out the variable of the US’s presence, and be able to clearly see what ‘chaos’ is still existing in Iraq. Then, our government will be able to see what still needs to be done, or if anything needs to be done at all, and we can proceed from there. As of right now, it seems like we’re just fighting for fighting’s sake… and nothing good can come from out. The fighting has flat-lined, in a sense. Our soldiers, our sons and daughters and friends are not renewable resources. They’re going to Iraq, and dying, and for some, they don’t know why.

This all aside, I’m merely a seventeen year old high school student. I don’t have a degree in politics, or foreign policy. However, I do have morals and values. And I truly do believe that when it comes to foreign policy, the people in charge are becoming seriously desensitized to everything. We’ve become jaded by war and fighting and always being in conflict… I think we need to focus on how things can become better, not what is already wrong in the world. Perhaps we need to focus on international cooperation, or humanitarianism. But, as stated before, the leaders of our country are more qualified then I am to make decisions regarding foreign policy, and one must trust our leaders to do their job.

But how far can trust go?"

Special

I can read minds.

No, actually. I can. Just put me in a room with my twin brother, Andrew, and we can do amazing things. You think I’m lying? Once he said, “Hey, Sammy, you know that thing in the place that we had at that one time? Where is it?” And I knew what he was talking about. People often wonder if we’re just kidding. But it’s true. We’re special. Our mom told us so.

If we can read each other’s minds, you’d think we would have a lot in common. And we do, though not in the traditional sense. I like to act and play music. He likes science and computers. I listen to Coldplay. He listens to Mozart. I read Grisham, King, and Crichton. He reads ‘Dilbert.’ Despite these somewhat superficial differences, however, my brother and I relate with each other on a much deeper, much more intellectual level. For example, be both boast a rather disturbing knowledge on all things Star Trek (thanks, mom). We laugh at jokes that others don’t. Consequently, we also share the same birth date- shocker, I know. We also share a love for finding amusement in the everyday mundane.

For instance, one Saturday night, I was sitting on the couch, getting my weekly dose of Saturday Night Live. Andrew was there, too, and it was obvious by his fidgeting and occasional barrage of napkins-turned-projectiles that he was bored. I, like a good sibling, ignored him.

“Sam, I have an idea.”

“Shhhh…”

“No, like, a great idea.”

Thanking the lords for TiVo, I paused my show and turned to him. “What?”

“I made up a game.” Not needing a response, and before I could interject, he continued. “So, one of us picks a letter, and then in like, a minute, you write down all of the things you can think of that starts with that letter. Whoever has the most wins.”

I laughed: “That’s stupid.” He shrugged. I turned back to the T.V. After a short pause, I sighed, and threw the remote at Andrew. He yelled and ducked. “Find some paper.” I said, “It was a rerun anyways.”

After a couple of minutes, he was set at the kitchen table, and I was on the floor. “Ready?” he asked.

“No. What letter are we doing?”

“Uh, T.”

“Okay.”

“Go!”

Fierce scribbling ensued. Being academically inclined, I wrote, Tome. Turnip. Telepathy. Transcendental. After about thirty seconds had passed, I yelled, “Stop!”

“Okay,” Andrew said, lowering his pen. “Read yours off, and if we have the same word, cross it out.”

“Okay… tome.”

“What?!”

After a minute, it was obvious that he had none of my words. Then it was his turn.

“To.”

“Er, no…” I said, cursing my over-analytical self.

“Too.”

“You just said that.”

“No, like, T-O-O.”

“That’s not fair!”

“It’s a different word.”

“Fine. Next?”

“Two.”

“Andrew!”

“What?”

“Just- keep going.”

“Three.”

“Okay.”

“Thirteen.”

I didn’t say anything; I knew what was coming. After all, I could read his mind.

“Thirty. Three-hundred. Three-thousand. Three-million…”

Now it was my turn to throw napkins.

Needless to say, we woke our parents up with our fighting and laughing that night. Truly, I believe it takes a special sort of person to find something so ordinary amusing… and I believe that my brother and I are the epitome of special. After all, we are telepathic.

And that makes you pretty darn special, I think.

So does trying to make your mark on the world through an online blog.

Oy vey.