Wanna be a tween or just blog for some?

From MTV's current blog:

WHO CAN ENTER:
Now, I'm not looking for just anybody. I want someone who worships flicks, loves to blog about them, and isn't afraid to tell me how they feel (in a thoughtful and entertaining way, not in a red-faced scary way please). If you're the kind of fan who can make an impassioned case for why Harry Potter could defeat Spider-Man in a fight AND explain to me definitively that Michael Bay is or is not the anti-Christ, well then this might be the thing for you.

Beyond you being you, you'll just have to look to be between 18-30 years old, a legal resident of the 50 United States or District of Columbia, and available to come to L.A. on or around the dates of May 29-June 2. The deadline for your entry 12 noon EST on May 14th.

They have since posted one submission by a girl named Laura. She writes:

I'm terribly funny, personable, and not easily star struck. When the Backstreet Boys came to visit my junior high, I didn't even flinch!

All we have to say is that we wish not flinching helped in this job. It doesn't. That and the Backstreet Boys were visiting jr. highs?!

As we mentioned, we went to Arianna Huffington's house for a party last week. And there we met self-confessed sweaty palmed Pandora Young of LA Weekly. She wrote about her experience at the party and it made us laugh. So we must share:

I have loved Arianna Huffington since she was the voice of the right wing on KCRW's Left, Right & Center. I loved her before I knew she was a gorgeous red-headed Amazon with some serious junk in the truck.

Read the whole post here.

We found this blog dedicated to CNN's headlines stating it's a,"Weekdaily drawings inspired by cnn.com's efforts to inform."

Our favorite for no reason is "Pit Bull Kills Cancer Boy's Miniature Horse."

Then there's, along the same line WTFCNN? Which posts gems like,"Minced onions force emergency landing." and "Cattle vs. Cops Battle Ends in Gunfire."

Which all proves that if you can't laugh at yourself - someone else is going to.

WSJ's Buzzwatch has a story about why people read blogs:

When University of California at Irvine researchers delved into usage patterns, they found study participants who labeled their blog-reading time as "chilling out" and "doing nothing," with one describing his impulse to read blogs as similar to his cigarette habit. Another talked about following through on her blog-reading routine even when she wasn't interested in some of the content.

Hey you - reading this - right now - break's over - get back to work!

The video "It's Raining McCain" by the McCain Girls that we posted last week turned out to be actually be a joke. It was concocted by the hucksters at 23/6. The singers were paid and we bet the casting call had more than 40 people.

The NY Times ran a piece debunking it today:

Indeed, the videos' makers say they were trying to tread the line between sincerity and irony.

Here lies the problem: There's now only a LINE between sincerity and irony.

Mystery indeed solved.

There's nothing more entertaining than watching two accomplished writers going at each other in prose. Hooray for Huffington Post and the niche of liberals cannibalizing one another!

There will be blood. And it will all be on Huffpo.

Here's the recap:

Erica Jong started it with her essay titled,"Misogyny, Momism and Militarism." She called out Matt Taibbi by name for referring to Hillary Clinton's arms as flabby. Then accused him of having an Oedipus complex. Writing:

You cannot fuck your mother so you must revile her.

So then Taibbi posted,"Erica Jong Thinks I Want to Do My Mother: A Response." The gist of which was an articulate,"Nu-huh!" Calling Jong an 'eight hundred year-old sex novelist'.

Then it was up to Jong to defend herself and that she did. Her next post was then titled,"Eight-Hundred-Year-Old Jong Responds to Callow Youth Taibbi."

Where Jong brought out the big guns:

Your writing smacks of ignorance and insecurity. You lean on insults because ideas evade you. Propaganda often relies on physical mockery. Remember the stereotypical images of Jews the Nazis circulated? The hooked nose, the thick lips, the swarthy complexion, the protuberant eyes?

POW! It's the 'you're just as bad as Hitler' jab! Didn't see that one coming - oh wait - yes we did! Is there no discourse in this country complete without a Nazi barb? If there is one - we can't think of it.

Now it's in Taibbi's court to get this thing in the arena of being civil. Cough.

We'll keep you posted!

The internet has exploded with this picture of Dick Cheney's sunglasses. According to BoingBoing William Gibson spotted it first. It looks like there is a nude woman in the reflection. Nude woman or alien or his own arm or Satan.

We think the Satan theory holds no water. He can't BE Satan and have him reflected in his sunglasses at the same time. We've caught a re-run or two of Angel in our time. We know things. It's a rule. We scoff at such silliness!

What do you want? It's the internet on a slow news day on a Friday. Ahem.

Here's the bigger pic.

There are two parts to this post:

One to announce that we here at FBLA, will by next week enable comments. That's right. Now finally you can have a place on the internet where your opinion is welcomed.

Which is our segue to a story in the WSJ about Heather Armstrong, Dooce.com's creator and writer:

She says she has sought therapy to cope with vitriolic posts.

But don't worry about us - we don't need therapy - we drink.

Blog damn it - people are dropping like flies!

From the NY Times:

Two weeks ago in North Lauderdale, Fla., funeral services were held for Russell Shaw, a prolific blogger on technology subjects who died at 60 of a heart attack. In December, another tech blogger, Marc Orchant, died at 50 of a massive coronary. A third, Om Malik, 41, survived a heart attack in December.

Wait till next fall when the iDefibrillator debuts! Then there will no longer be any excuses for not posting more.

Discuss.