Blog by Sumana Harihareswara, Changeset founder

10 May 2003, 13:40 p.m.

Silly News, All Flavors

Hi, reader. I wrote this in 2003 and it's now more than five years old. So it may be very out of date; the world, and I, have changed a lot since I wrote it! I'm keeping this up for historical archive purposes, but the me of today may 100% disagree with what I said then. I rarely edit posts after publishing them, but if I do, I usually leave a note in italics to mark the edit and the reason. If this post is particularly offensive or breaches someone's privacy, please contact me.

My spiteful, stubborn tendencies put me right in Pike's camp. It's his house and he should be able to add a stoop. Intellectually I know the law wouldn't support me on the "if you don't like the way it looks then don't look at it" argument, but it's mighty appealing.

A Salon Premium fanfare for the uncommon schemer:

Rob Cesternino has single-handedly saved "Survivor" and made all of my dreams of Aguirre-style manipulation, power struggles and delusions of grandeur come true. "But is there paranoia and hand-wringing?" you're wondering. "Is there relentless scheming and ruthless one-upmanship? Are there unpredictable, ever shifting alliances and petty grievances and enraged, spitty outbursts?" You have to stop yourself from smiling now. "I know it's too much to ask, but ... are there tearful recriminations?"

The answer is yes. All this and more are yours, thanks to one man: Rob.

The Potter plot thickens, and the book's not out for another five weeks! Somehow shady employees of the publisher and a Sun sting operation play into this.

Eminem won't let Weird Al parody the "Lose Yourself" video. Yes, Eminem, as long as you avoid the ominous embrace of Weird Al Yankovic, the artistic community will take you seriously. Did the careers of Coolio, Michael Jackson, TLC, Nirvana, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Madonna death-spiral because of Weird Al covers? Do listeners hear the parodies and think, "The work of New Kids On the Block is absurd! Weird Al, you've opened my eyes!"