This year's Big Game Gaieties, Stanford's pre-Big Game comedy musical extravaganza, premieres tonight in Memorial Auditorium. And, as in years past, it will make fun of campus groups, feature plenty of nudity, and more than enough scatological humor to appease even the most lewd Stanford students. As such, this year's show is the epitome of what the modern Gaieties has become: the perfect example of why Gaieties could be, and should be, so much better than it is right now.

I say this from the point of view of someone who has been a member of the writing staff for the past two years. The actors, directors, and producers perform the marvelous feat of completing the show in a mere two months, and for this they deserve major credit. The fault, then, does not lie in the performance of Gaieties--it is in the writing of the show, which has pushed the play into a spectacle that is not even close to being the best show Stanford students can create.

As I dive head-first into midterm/paper week without a paddle, I can only offer my best tools to help you be similarly unprepared in your studies.

Even if you've heard of it before, Cake Wrecks blog--When Professional Cakes Go Horribly, Hilariously Wrong--is a highly entertaining time-waster featuring an assortment of sugary treats that either look repulsive, feature inept spellings/decorations, or some combination of both. There are few things more entertaining than human stupidity, and since you are laughing at the cakes, not the people, it's a guilt-free way of releasing a little repressed schadenfreude. Eating the cakes, though--probably not guilt-free.

The most enthusiastic cake ever created.

The best whiteboard comment ever.

From Synergy's kitchen board

This building, of course, holds Stanford's new Departments of Murder and Death by Stoning. Next quarter I will hopefully be taking Death by Stoning I: Introduction to Large Blunt Objects--it's a prerequisite for Methods of Torture, taught by Condi Rice.

Dear Barclays Global Investors,

I attended Stanford's 2009 Career Fair in White Plaza last week. I have zero interest in working for you or for any of the companies represented, and neither you nor any of the other companies represented should have any interest in hiring me. We have a great symbiotic understanding in that sense.

I attended this event, however, just as I attend every possible Career Fair. This is not to seek out jobs, or marvel at all of the juniors, seniors, and graduate students at Stanford attempt to look professional for a small portion of the day; rather, my attendance is solely based on the ubiquity of free pens and other desktop knickknacks being dispensed like free candy.

It's free advertising, and I'm happy to do it. We have a great symbiotic relationship in that sense.

Let me just say that I love twitter. I LOVE it, and I seriously don't get why some people are not down with tweeting. First of all, twitter is da bomb. Yes da bomb, like that play in NFL Blitz that EVERYONE used to run. (Good times) So why does it seem like maybe four of my friends are on twitter? Look, I get it. It can seem weird, juvenile, or maybe even daunting. I saw it as a burden to be constantly funny. I mean that's what I was thinking before I decided to jump in. Believe me, tweeting takes practice. You'll probably start off with the "I'm going to eat an apple now." or "taking a sip of some vita water." It's cool. I'll let it slide. You're a noobie. But after a while, you get the hang of it, and start to appreciate all it has to offer.

Things I've learned from Twitter: via Trending Topics

1. #lilmamais creating buzz for her new show w/ kanye called "so you think you can make things awkward"

2. if #SouljaBoyIsGod then I wanna go straight to hell!

3. there are certain #textthatgetnoreply like "ay girl. Remember when I said I aint got no herpes? Psyche, I does got some herpes!"

Satirical newspaper The Onion has found two new targets with relevance to campus: people who complain about beer being too warm and physics professor-slash-Nobel prize-winner Doug Osheroff.

This week's Opinion piece, written by "Pete Goldwag," is titled: Looks Like We Got Ourselves A Regular Nobel Prize-Winning Physicist Douglas Osheroff On Our Hands.

I expect to see Osheroff expounding on why the beer at the parties this weekend is not as cold as it could be, though everyone around said beer will probably leave before the explanation is finished. Unless there's a party at Phi Psi, that is.

The first in a set of television commercials for the university was unveiled during the today's Stanford-UCLA football game. This is easily the best and one of the few memorable university commercials I've seen.

Kudos to the university for taking a risk in going with an unconventional, irreverent, and funny ad campaign. As I understand it, there are a few more spots like this on the way, which will be featured on the Hail Stanford website. I'll be sure to post them to TUSB as soon as they are up.

In the meantime, it would be cool to see these spots catch on with a wider audience -- especially since our football team won't be televised as frequently this season. If you like the spot, be sure to vote for it on Digg.

As you no doubt know, the five-second Dramatic Chipmunk video has taken the Internet by storm, spawning an entire series of Star Wars knock-off videos, chipmunk remixes, and dramatic staring contests. BustedTees has a dramatic chipmunk shirt. There's even a Facebook App.

For everyone who thought the Internet would usher in the reign of the lowest common denominator, here is your Exhibit A.

I'm with Dan Hopper when he says he's come to believe that "not all of these videos are actually made by people, but merely willed into existence by the Internet."

If you're curious about where the original video came from, click here.

I found what looks like an absolutely hilarious parody of those old Saturday morning cartoon shows we used to watch. Although some of the comments claim it was actually shown on Nickelodeon. It is so much more random and funny because it is a big joke. Featuring a 12 year old boy and his magic dog, Jake. It's totally worth 8 minutes of your life and it's a way better adventure than the infamous Candy Mountain.

I was innocently surfing along on my usual internet routine the other day when I stumbled upon a hair-raising HIV/AIDS awareness ad:

The text reads: "Without a condom you’re making love with AIDS. Protect yourself."

The ad was produced by a French NGO called AIDES ("aide" means "support" or "help" in French), which was founded by Daniel Defert in 1984 following the death of his partner, philosopher (and former Berkeley professor) Michel Foucault. AIDES now operates in over 70 small towns and villages within France, and is recognized as one of the most important European HIV/AIDS NGOs.

While I was googling around to find out more about AIDES, I also (not surprisingly) stumbled upon ads from other NGOs which, through YouTube's helpful "related" feature, led me to even more anti-AIDS ads -- some good, some great, some not so amazing. Continue reading this entry if you'd like to to see some of the best, in my humble opinion.

Notably, most of these ads were produced for broadcasting in the First World, where infection rates are low and AIDS is now considered a "manageable" disease. Some of the ads will make you laugh. Some will shock you. Some might even warm your heart. But after watching several ad spots clearly designed to shock and scare, I can't help but wonder, "Is there such a thing as overkill when it comes to AIDS awareness?" (Pun not intended.)

My friend sent me a video of these hilarious comedic musicians called Flight of the Conchord. They're from New Zealand and they are unbelieveably funny - albeit nerdy and awkward. This video is called "Business Time". Also check out Jenny, and Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros.

The perfect Valentine's eCard for that special hippie co-op someone.

This Valentine's Day, why not make that "I love you" a sustainable one? We're not suggesting that you propose to anyone necessarily (that might be a little too sustainable)... but how about greening it up a little bit? Some easy things you can do today to say "Happy Valentine's Day, Valentine" in a greener way:

• Shower together. It saves water, and it's a sexy treat! Just, for the sake of your housemates, make sure you clean up afterwards. You can learn more about greening your sex life here and here.


• Cook 'em a nice, organic dinner. Head on down to Whole Foods on Emerson and pick up all the tasty organic ingredients you need. While you're at it, pick up some organic chocolates, too.


• Offset your loved one's carbon emissions for the next year. A $30 gift certificate is enough for them to purchase a TerraPass for their dorm room, and best of all, you can send these gift certificates via e-mail!


• Rent An Inconvenient Truth and watch it together. If you still haven't seen it, or watching Al Gore talk about global warming is a turn-on for either one of you, this documentary could be the perfect lead-in to foreplay. Or even foreplay itself. (Unfortunately, there are none available from Green as of this writing.)

For more, check here and here.

In other news, Google appears to have dropped the "L" from its name for Valentine's Day. "Googe"? That just sounds gross.

Maybe there was another chocolate-covered strawberry there and somebody ate it.