"Unfortunately, ATC has assigned us a holding pattern for at least the next 45 minutes."

Yeah, this announcement is VERY unfortunate for those of us who didn't make "last call" for the bathroom! (Hustled out of line and scolded back to our seats like children, but that's another story.) Is there a reason why passengers can't use the restroom while the plane is in such a holding pattern? Or have I just been the victim of multiple masochistic crews with some control issues?

I haven't seen "Spring Awakening" on Broadway, but being a longtime fan of Duncan Sheik and an owner/appreciator of his solo output, the soundtrack album has been in near-steady rotation in my car and on my iPod for months. Those familiar with Sheik's music will notice similarities between his solo work and "Awakening's" musical score, particularly in the guitar chords and string arrangements. The man has a way with a pensive minor chord which serves this work so well. The orchestration is layered, lush and gorgeous.

I don't know if Sheik was the only person who could've scored this play, but wow, I admire what he and lyricist Steven Sater have done with it. What an accomplishment. The show-ender "Song of Purple Summer" - its harmonies and its hope - still chokes me up, even after hundreds of listens.

Crank it up.

...the mass media tries to pass off crap as news, not HOW.

Why? Ka-ching. It's simple capitalism. The news budget is allocated to on-air "talent" reading stories they've aggregated off the AP Wire and TMZ.COM, bad actors narrating viewer cellphone video, making sure they remember to plug their station's evening TV viewing schedule, and narrating live video feeds - all with no context, which contributes little to our understanding of our world, but definitely helps Media Conglomerate X “delight shareholders” and turn a profit. Investigative journalism is not being funded during a time when the Administration is running amok. Most significant investigative work is being done by newspaper reporters.

RANDOM BREATHLESS NEWSREADER: “BREAKING NEWS! This just in. Tanker fire! We have no actual information about what is happening here, but what we do have is this free live feed from a police chopper of an actual fire, which fills air time. It's BREAKING NEWS! We’re keeping an eye on the situation FOR YOU, and we’ll let know when something actually happens!” Um...thanks? Blip. Then on to the next story, which is given the same amount of time and importance as the previous one - even if the story is about members of the Administration STONEWALLING SUBPOENAS. News stations - are you REALLY that asleep at the wheel? Am I simply fantasizing when I imagine CNN Headline News's Chuck Roberts ritually banging his head against his desk during commercial breaks, muttering, "Only 5 more years until I pay off my debt to the devil. Only five more years."

And gawd, the saturation level is such that I knew when Sanjaya (Needs No Last Name) was kicked off “American Idol” – and I don’t even watch the damn show.

The so-called "news" has become "Short Attention Span Theatre." Important international news gets the same amount of airtime as "Celebrity Bump Watch." I think cable news networks need to decide, once and for all, whether they’re journalists or entertainers. (CNN Headline News, you lost the battle a long time ago. Call yourself “Entertainment Today” and admit defeat.) Do they fund investigative journalism? Do they hold themselves to journalistic standards governing source attribution (journalist), or is such verification sacrificed to make it to the air first (entertainer)? Is it sufficient to put something on the air because some other station is broadcasting something which they can’t confirm either?

Another question I'd like to see someone take on is why they're largely succeeding at passing off crap as news. Why are we, the viewers, content to bend over and take it?

THAT'S the book I'd like to see someone write.

deep breath. Rant over.

I occasionally read Fark, but it's a bit too testosterone-fuled for my taste most of the time. Shades of the Little Rascals "He-Man Woman Hater's Club." I go there to look at the Photoshops people post. Some of them are pretty damn clever.

Good calls, EasyWind and Xrandadu H.

Salon.com considered something similar on May 22, 2006 but reversed itself after receiving overwhelmingly negative feedback within its user community - including a flurry of user name changes, mass post deletions, and movement of some threads to the Members Only lounge.

Check the TT Central thread entitled "Searchability: TT and Google?" for people's responses to Salon.com's proposed experiment.

FOr those of you who weren't in "the shit", the Google option was considered for TableTalk.

One thing I'd like to recommend from personal experience is to accept and learn to appreciate the fact that you're an introvert. There are a lot of us out here. But we tend to not be as loud/noisy as our extroverted friends! You have plenty of company. There's nothing wrong with not wanting to be the life of the party - even if others, even well-meaning others - might occasionally feel like you're a freak of nature. Study introversion, its pros and cons. There are a lot of online resources which can help you learn strategies to socialize when you need or want to.

If you're going to socialize, it might be less of a bombardment to do it with people who enjoy the things you enjoy - a book club. Chess players. Gamers. You know what you like to do, and with a student community of 40,000, you're likely to find some simpatico people. But you will need to put out some effort to find these people. So investigate university clubs, or interest groups in the larger community. Go to a meeting. Meet up with a small group afterward for coffee.

Also, if you haven't found us yet, come and play at TableTalk's Private Lives...Introverts UNITE! thread.