Observations:

1. This shit looks expensive as fuck. There’s a point where a video just becomes too epic for it’s own good.

2. How many times is Interscope gonna recycle the rebuild/rehab/recovery, “we can rebuild him, we have the technology” theme. It’s been damn near 10 years since the “In Da Club” video, give it a rest already.

3. This nigga Dre was looking like the Michelin man in those work out scenes. I feel like if he bumps into a sharp object it’s all over.

Wiz answers the standard promo tour questions and plays a Q&A game with a girl from the station after the jump.

While the Facebook Breakup Notifier app, the Internet sensation that was quickly shut down this week, provided stalkers with an anonymous, passive means of tracking their crush's relationship, the new WaitingRoom app gives users an active role in breaking them up. After you indicate that you're anxiously awaiting a particular person to end it with the loser they're currently dating, an e-mail is sent to that person letting them know that someone is in their "waiting room," i.e., they have an interested suitor should they become single. Forty-eight hours after changing their relationship status to "single," the identities of anyone in their "waiting room" will be revealed. “If you’re already in a relationship,” according to the app's website, “WaitingRoom will give you the confidence to become single again — if that’s what you really want." Unless, of course, the person in your waiting room turns out to be someone who just wants to ruin your life — like the last guy you broke up with, for example.

Encourage Your Crush To Break Up With Creepy Facebook App [Mashable]

Read more posts by Dan Amira

Filed Under: post-modern love, breakup notifier app, dating, facebook, waitingroom

Beautiful. I’ve been a fan of Grayagent ever since I found Vaunt. A tweet from pal girl jo prompted me to see that he uploaded this 6 hours ago. Yummy.

Let's be friends.

I think we should see other people.

It's not you. It's me.

I just don't love you anymore.

If you've finished reading this list and your hand is raised, please bring it down to face level. Cup your hand to your cheek. Pull it back three to five inches, and, traveling at an increased velocity, slap yourself firmly on the face. Why? If you haven't experienced rejection from a breakup, this exercise serves as a simulation of what rejection feels like. Actually, a slap in the face is much more pleasant than rejection.

Chances are, though, you didn't raise your hand. I'm willing to bet that if you are reading this article, you are, unfortunately, familiar with the pain of rejection from a breakup.

Rejection Is Physiologically Heart-Breaking

"Rejection" comes from Latin, meaning thrown back. When we are rejected, we feel not only halted, but pushed back in the opposite direction of which we were headed. Now consider this: When rejected, how do we describe the event? We tend to say, "I was rejected." Notice what is going on here. We are using passive voice. This indicates how we feel about the part we play in rejection. We view ourselves as passive, as being the victim of an action, as inactive, as non-participative.

Well, studies have found that after rejection not only do we think passively, but also we act passively. Scientists from the University of Amsterdam found that unexpected social rejection is associated with a significant response of the parasympathetic nervous system. Let's take a quick time-out to discuss just what the heck is the parasympathetic nervous system. When the body is active, generally in fight or flight mode, the sympathetic system engages, heart rate quickens, pupils dilate and energy is directed towards allowing the body to react quickly. However, the parasympathetic system is responsible for when the body is at rest.

When faced with unexpected rejection, research has found that "feeling that you are not liked" results in our heart rate actually slowing down, an activity of the parasympathetic nervous system. Thus, feeling rejected results in you reacting both psychologically and physically. It is interesting to mention that in this study, participants' heart rates fell not only when they heard a person's unfavorable opinion of them, but also in anticipation of hearing a person's opinion. If told that the person's opinion of him or her was unfavorable, the individual's heart rate plummeted even further and took longer to return to baseline. Additionally, heart rates slowed even more when individuals expected a positive opinion, but received a negative one. This explains how rejection, especially the kind that blindsides you, literally feels heartbreaking.

We Are Hard-Wired to Fear Rejection

As human beings, we are extremely sensitive to rejection -- especially forms of social rejection. We have a strong motivation to seek approval and acceptance. If we take an anthropological perspective, we can see how back in the day -- I'm talking about back in 10,000 B.C. -- you knew that if you were on your own, your chance of survival was nil. You needed your tribe for food, shelter and protection. Being rejected from others meant imminent death. Evolutionarily speaking, we are hardwired to form relationships and strongly motivated to feel liked and feel like we belong.

Getting Over a Breakup Is Like Getting Over Cocaine

Five out of five neurologists agree: Rejection sucks! And arguably, the worst type of rejection is romantic rejection. Getting over a breakup is like getting over an addiction to cocaine. That isn't just my personal viewpoint; it is also the opinion and the scientific finding of researchers at Stony Brook University. The researchers found that the area of the brain that is active during the pain and anguish experienced during a breakup is the same part of the brain associated with motivation, reward and addiction cravings. Brain imaging shows similarities between romantic rejection and cocaine craving. Rejection hurts so acutely because we get addicted to the relationship, only to have it taken away from us. And after, just like a drug addiction, we go through withdrawal.

We Aren't That Good at Dealing With Loss

In general, humans aren't good with dealing with loss. The pain of losing something is much stronger than the joy of gaining something. Psychologist Daniel Kahneman received the Nobel Prize for his work in Prospect Theory. Prospect Theory describes how people make choices in situations where they have to decide between alternatives that involve risk. For example, individuals view the pain of losing $50 as much stronger than the joy of receiving $50. What this means as far as rejection is concerned is that ending a relationship can often hurt much more than the joy of starting a new one. This is because of the psychological fact that our brains view loss as more significant than gain.

Because loss feels stronger than gain, we tend to be loss averse, meaning we will be motivated to avoid risks that involve losing rather than to take risks involved in the potential for gains. Thus, after a breakup, we often say, "That's it for me! No more relationships." We want to avoid the risk of losing, even though there could be a chance for true love.

The More We Fail, the More the Goal Seems Insurmountable

Studies have indicated that as the frequency of rejection increases, the more insurmountable our goal appears to be. Psychologist Jessica Witt at Purdue University found that after a series of missed field goal kicks, players perceived the field post to be taller and narrower than before. However, after a series of successful kicks, athletes reported that the post appeared larger than before. It is easy to witness the power of rejection. The more we encounter rejection and the more we view our efforts as pointless, the less we try and the farther away true love seems.

Breakups and rejections suck! And now science can tell us why. Rejection from a breakup feels heartbreaking and overwhelming because, physiologically, it is.

References:

Bregtje Gunther Moor, Eveline A. Crone, Maurits W. van der Molen. The Heartbrake of Social Rejection: Heart Rate Deceleration in Response to Unexpected Peer Rejection. Psychological Science, 2010; DOI:10.1177/0956797610379236

H. E. Fisher, L. L. Brown, A. Aron, G. Strong, D. Mashek. Reward, Addiction, and Emotion Regulation Systems Associated with Rejection in Love. Journal of Neurophysiology, 2010; DOI: 10.1152/jn.00784.2009

Schwartz, Barry (2004). Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
Witt, J. K, & Dorsch, T. (2009). Kicking to bigger uprights: Field goal kicking performance influences perceived size. Perception 38: 1328-1340 DOI:10.1068/p6325.

***

Adoree Durayappah, M.A.P.P., M.B.A., is a writer and psychologist with an addiction to academia. Her passion is helping people understand themselves better by bringing academic research into the public domain in an entertaining and relevant fashion. You can learn more at AdoreeDurayappah.com.

Let's be friends.

I think we should see other people.

It's not you. It's me.

I just don't love you anymore.

If you've finished reading this list and your hand is raised, please bring it down to face level. Cup your hand to your cheek. Pull it back three to five inches, and, traveling at an increased velocity, slap yourself firmly on the face. Why? If you haven't experienced rejection from a breakup, this exercise serves as a simulation of what rejection feels like. Actually, a slap in the face is much more pleasant than rejection.

Chances are, though, you didn't raise your hand. I'm willing to bet that if you are reading this article, you are, unfortunately, familiar with the pain of rejection from a breakup.

Rejection Is Physiologically Heart-Breaking

"Rejection" comes from Latin, meaning thrown back. When we are rejected, we feel not only halted, but pushed back in the opposite direction of which we were headed. Now consider this: When rejected, how do we describe the event? We tend to say, "I was rejected." Notice what is going on here. We are using passive voice. This indicates how we feel about the part we play in rejection. We view ourselves as passive, as being the victim of an action, as inactive, as non-participative.

Well, studies have found that after rejection not only do we think passively, but also we act passively. Scientists from the University of Amsterdam found that unexpected social rejection is associated with a significant response of the parasympathetic nervous system. Let's take a quick time-out to discuss just what the heck is the parasympathetic nervous system. When the body is active, generally in fight or flight mode, the sympathetic system engages, heart rate quickens, pupils dilate and energy is directed towards allowing the body to react quickly. However, the parasympathetic system is responsible for when the body is at rest.

When faced with unexpected rejection, research has found that "feeling that you are not liked" results in our heart rate actually slowing down, an activity of the parasympathetic nervous system. Thus, feeling rejected results in you reacting both psychologically and physically. It is interesting to mention that in this study, participants' heart rates fell not only when they heard a person's unfavorable opinion of them, but also in anticipation of hearing a person's opinion. If told that the person's opinion of him or her was unfavorable, the individual's heart rate plummeted even further and took longer to return to baseline. Additionally, heart rates slowed even more when individuals expected a positive opinion, but received a negative one. This explains how rejection, especially the kind that blindsides you, literally feels heartbreaking.

We Are Hard-Wired to Fear Rejection

As human beings, we are extremely sensitive to rejection -- especially forms of social rejection. We have a strong motivation to seek approval and acceptance. If we take an anthropological perspective, we can see how back in the day -- I'm talking about back in 10,000 B.C. -- you knew that if you were on your own, your chance of survival was nil. You needed your tribe for food, shelter and protection. Being rejected from others meant imminent death. Evolutionarily speaking, we are hardwired to form relationships and strongly motivated to feel liked and feel like we belong.

Getting Over a Breakup Is Like Getting Over Cocaine

Five out of five neurologists agree: Rejection sucks! And arguably, the worst type of rejection is romantic rejection. Getting over a breakup is like getting over an addiction to cocaine. That isn't just my personal viewpoint; it is also the opinion and the scientific finding of researchers at Stony Brook University. The researchers found that the area of the brain that is active during the pain and anguish experienced during a breakup is the same part of the brain associated with motivation, reward and addiction cravings. Brain imaging shows similarities between romantic rejection and cocaine craving. Rejection hurts so acutely because we get addicted to the relationship, only to have it taken away from us. And after, just like a drug addiction, we go through withdrawal.

We Aren't That Good at Dealing With Loss

In general, humans aren't good with dealing with loss. The pain of losing something is much stronger than the joy of gaining something. Psychologist Daniel Kahneman received the Nobel Prize for his work in Prospect Theory. Prospect Theory describes how people make choices in situations where they have to decide between alternatives that involve risk. For example, individuals view the pain of losing $50 as much stronger than the joy of receiving $50. What this means as far as rejection is concerned is that ending a relationship can often hurt much more than the joy of starting a new one. This is because of the psychological fact that our brains view loss as more significant than gain.

Because loss feels stronger than gain, we tend to be loss averse, meaning we will be motivated to avoid risks that involve losing rather than to take risks involved in the potential for gains. Thus, after a breakup, we often say, "That's it for me! No more relationships." We want to avoid the risk of losing, even though there could be a chance for true love.

The More We Fail, the More the Goal Seems Insurmountable

Studies have indicated that as the frequency of rejection increases, the more insurmountable our goal appears to be. Psychologist Jessica Witt at Purdue University found that after a series of missed field goal kicks, players perceived the field post to be taller and narrower than before. However, after a series of successful kicks, athletes reported that the post appeared larger than before. It is easy to witness the power of rejection. The more we encounter rejection and the more we view our efforts as pointless, the less we try and the farther away true love seems.

Breakups and rejections suck! And now science can tell us why. Rejection from a breakup feels heartbreaking and overwhelming because, physiologically, it is.

References:

Bregtje Gunther Moor, Eveline A. Crone, Maurits W. van der Molen. The Heartbrake of Social Rejection: Heart Rate Deceleration in Response to Unexpected Peer Rejection. Psychological Science, 2010; DOI:10.1177/0956797610379236

H. E. Fisher, L. L. Brown, A. Aron, G. Strong, D. Mashek. Reward, Addiction, and Emotion Regulation Systems Associated with Rejection in Love. Journal of Neurophysiology, 2010; DOI: 10.1152/jn.00784.2009

Schwartz, Barry (2004). Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
Witt, J. K, & Dorsch, T. (2009). Kicking to bigger uprights: Field goal kicking performance influences perceived size. Perception 38: 1328-1340 DOI:10.1068/p6325.

***

Adoree Durayappah, M.A.P.P., M.B.A., is a writer and psychologist with an addiction to academia. Her passion is helping people understand themselves better by bringing academic research into the public domain in an entertaining and relevant fashion. You can learn more at AdoreeDurayappah.com.

Let's be friends.

I think we should see other people.

It's not you. It's me.

I just don't love you anymore.

If you've finished reading this list and your hand is raised, please bring it down to face level. Cup your hand to your cheek. Pull it back three to five inches, and, traveling at an increased velocity, slap yourself firmly on the face. Why? If you haven't experienced rejection from a breakup, this exercise serves as a simulation of what rejection feels like. Actually, a slap in the face is much more pleasant than rejection.

Chances are, though, you didn't raise your hand. I'm willing to bet that if you are reading this article, you are, unfortunately, familiar with the pain of rejection from a breakup.

Rejection Is Physiologically Heart-Breaking

"Rejection" comes from Latin, meaning thrown back. When we are rejected, we feel not only halted, but pushed back in the opposite direction of which we were headed. Now consider this: When rejected, how do we describe the event? We tend to say, "I was rejected." Notice what is going on here. We are using passive voice. This indicates how we feel about the part we play in rejection. We view ourselves as passive, as being the victim of an action, as inactive, as non-participative.

Well, studies have found that after rejection not only do we think passively, but also we act passively. Scientists from the University of Amsterdam found that unexpected social rejection is associated with a significant response of the parasympathetic nervous system. Let's take a quick time-out to discuss just what the heck is the parasympathetic nervous system. When the body is active, generally in fight or flight mode, the sympathetic system engages, heart rate quickens, pupils dilate and energy is directed towards allowing the body to react quickly. However, the parasympathetic system is responsible for when the body is at rest.

When faced with unexpected rejection, research has found that "feeling that you are not liked" results in our heart rate actually slowing down, an activity of the parasympathetic nervous system. Thus, feeling rejected results in you reacting both psychologically and physically. It is interesting to mention that in this study, participants' heart rates fell not only when they heard a person's unfavorable opinion of them, but also in anticipation of hearing a person's opinion. If told that the person's opinion of him or her was unfavorable, the individual's heart rate plummeted even further and took longer to return to baseline. Additionally, heart rates slowed even more when individuals expected a positive opinion, but received a negative one. This explains how rejection, especially the kind that blindsides you, literally feels heartbreaking.

We Are Hard-Wired to Fear Rejection

As human beings, we are extremely sensitive to rejection -- especially forms of social rejection. We have a strong motivation to seek approval and acceptance. If we take an anthropological perspective, we can see how back in the day -- I'm talking about back in 10,000 B.C. -- you knew that if you were on your own, your chance of survival was nil. You needed your tribe for food, shelter and protection. Being rejected from others meant imminent death. Evolutionarily speaking, we are hardwired to form relationships and strongly motivated to feel liked and feel like we belong.

Getting Over a Breakup Is Like Getting Over Cocaine

Five out of five neurologists agree: Rejection sucks! And arguably, the worst type of rejection is romantic rejection. Getting over a breakup is like getting over an addiction to cocaine. That isn't just my personal viewpoint; it is also the opinion and the scientific finding of researchers at Stony Brook University. The researchers found that the area of the brain that is active during the pain and anguish experienced during a breakup is the same part of the brain associated with motivation, reward and addiction cravings. Brain imaging shows similarities between romantic rejection and cocaine craving. Rejection hurts so acutely because we get addicted to the relationship, only to have it taken away from us. And after, just like a drug addiction, we go through withdrawal.

We Aren't That Good at Dealing With Loss

In general, humans aren't good with dealing with loss. The pain of losing something is much stronger than the joy of gaining something. Psychologist Daniel Kahneman received the Nobel Prize for his work in Prospect Theory. Prospect Theory describes how people make choices in situations where they have to decide between alternatives that involve risk. For example, individuals view the pain of losing $50 as much stronger than the joy of receiving $50. What this means as far as rejection is concerned is that ending a relationship can often hurt much more than the joy of starting a new one. This is because of the psychological fact that our brains view loss as more significant than gain.

Because loss feels stronger than gain, we tend to be loss averse, meaning we will be motivated to avoid risks that involve losing rather than to take risks involved in the potential for gains. Thus, after a breakup, we often say, "That's it for me! No more relationships." We want to avoid the risk of losing, even though there could be a chance for true love.

The More We Fail, the More the Goal Seems Insurmountable

Studies have indicated that as the frequency of rejection increases, the more insurmountable our goal appears to be. Psychologist Jessica Witt at Purdue University found that after a series of missed field goal kicks, players perceived the field post to be taller and narrower than before. However, after a series of successful kicks, athletes reported that the post appeared larger than before. It is easy to witness the power of rejection. The more we encounter rejection and the more we view our efforts as pointless, the less we try and the farther away true love seems.

Breakups and rejections suck! And now science can tell us why. Rejection from a breakup feels heartbreaking and overwhelming because, physiologically, it is.

References:

Bregtje Gunther Moor, Eveline A. Crone, Maurits W. van der Molen. The Heartbrake of Social Rejection: Heart Rate Deceleration in Response to Unexpected Peer Rejection. Psychological Science, 2010; DOI:10.1177/0956797610379236

H. E. Fisher, L. L. Brown, A. Aron, G. Strong, D. Mashek. Reward, Addiction, and Emotion Regulation Systems Associated with Rejection in Love. Journal of Neurophysiology, 2010; DOI: 10.1152/jn.00784.2009

Schwartz, Barry (2004). Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
Witt, J. K, & Dorsch, T. (2009). Kicking to bigger uprights: Field goal kicking performance influences perceived size. Perception 38: 1328-1340 DOI:10.1068/p6325.

***

Adoree Durayappah, M.A.P.P., M.B.A., is a writer and psychologist with an addiction to academia. Her passion is helping people understand themselves better by bringing academic research into the public domain in an entertaining and relevant fashion. You can learn more at AdoreeDurayappah.com.

Let's be friends.

I think we should see other people.

It's not you. It's me.

I just don't love you anymore.

If you've finished reading this list and your hand is raised, please bring it down to face level. Cup your hand to your cheek. Pull it back three to five inches, and, traveling at an increased velocity, slap yourself firmly on the face. Why? If you haven't experienced rejection from a breakup, this exercise serves as a simulation of what rejection feels like. Actually, a slap in the face is much more pleasant than rejection.

Chances are, though, you didn't raise your hand. I'm willing to bet that if you are reading this article, you are, unfortunately, familiar with the pain of rejection from a breakup.

Rejection Is Physiologically Heart-Breaking

"Rejection" comes from Latin, meaning thrown back. When we are rejected, we feel not only halted, but pushed back in the opposite direction of which we were headed. Now consider this: When rejected, how do we describe the event? We tend to say, "I was rejected." Notice what is going on here. We are using passive voice. This indicates how we feel about the part we play in rejection. We view ourselves as passive, as being the victim of an action, as inactive, as non-participative.

Well, studies have found that after rejection not only do we think passively, but also we act passively. Scientists from the University of Amsterdam found that unexpected social rejection is associated with a significant response of the parasympathetic nervous system. Let's take a quick time-out to discuss just what the heck is the parasympathetic nervous system. When the body is active, generally in fight or flight mode, the sympathetic system engages, heart rate quickens, pupils dilate and energy is directed towards allowing the body to react quickly. However, the parasympathetic system is responsible for when the body is at rest.

When faced with unexpected rejection, research has found that "feeling that you are not liked" results in our heart rate actually slowing down, an activity of the parasympathetic nervous system. Thus, feeling rejected results in you reacting both psychologically and physically. It is interesting to mention that in this study, participants' heart rates fell not only when they heard a person's unfavorable opinion of them, but also in anticipation of hearing a person's opinion. If told that the person's opinion of him or her was unfavorable, the individual's heart rate plummeted even further and took longer to return to baseline. Additionally, heart rates slowed even more when individuals expected a positive opinion, but received a negative one. This explains how rejection, especially the kind that blindsides you, literally feels heartbreaking.

We Are Hard-Wired to Fear Rejection

As human beings, we are extremely sensitive to rejection -- especially forms of social rejection. We have a strong motivation to seek approval and acceptance. If we take an anthropological perspective, we can see how back in the day -- I'm talking about back in 10,000 B.C. -- you knew that if you were on your own, your chance of survival was nil. You needed your tribe for food, shelter and protection. Being rejected from others meant imminent death. Evolutionarily speaking, we are hardwired to form relationships and strongly motivated to feel liked and feel like we belong.

Getting Over a Breakup Is Like Getting Over Cocaine

Five out of five neurologists agree: Rejection sucks! And arguably, the worst type of rejection is romantic rejection. Getting over a breakup is like getting over an addiction to cocaine. That isn't just my personal viewpoint; it is also the opinion and the scientific finding of researchers at Stony Brook University. The researchers found that the area of the brain that is active during the pain and anguish experienced during a breakup is the same part of the brain associated with motivation, reward and addiction cravings. Brain imaging shows similarities between romantic rejection and cocaine craving. Rejection hurts so acutely because we get addicted to the relationship, only to have it taken away from us. And after, just like a drug addiction, we go through withdrawal.

We Aren't That Good at Dealing With Loss

In general, humans aren't good with dealing with loss. The pain of losing something is much stronger than the joy of gaining something. Psychologist Daniel Kahneman received the Nobel Prize for his work in Prospect Theory. Prospect Theory describes how people make choices in situations where they have to decide between alternatives that involve risk. For example, individuals view the pain of losing $50 as much stronger than the joy of receiving $50. What this means as far as rejection is concerned is that ending a relationship can often hurt much more than the joy of starting a new one. This is because of the psychological fact that our brains view loss as more significant than gain.

Because loss feels stronger than gain, we tend to be loss averse, meaning we will be motivated to avoid risks that involve losing rather than to take risks involved in the potential for gains. Thus, after a breakup, we often say, "That's it for me! No more relationships." We want to avoid the risk of losing, even though there could be a chance for true love.

The More We Fail, the More the Goal Seems Insurmountable

Studies have indicated that as the frequency of rejection increases, the more insurmountable our goal appears to be. Psychologist Jessica Witt at Purdue University found that after a series of missed field goal kicks, players perceived the field post to be taller and narrower than before. However, after a series of successful kicks, athletes reported that the post appeared larger than before. It is easy to witness the power of rejection. The more we encounter rejection and the more we view our efforts as pointless, the less we try and the farther away true love seems.

Breakups and rejections suck! And now science can tell us why. Rejection from a breakup feels heartbreaking and overwhelming because, physiologically, it is.

References:

Bregtje Gunther Moor, Eveline A. Crone, Maurits W. van der Molen. The Heartbrake of Social Rejection: Heart Rate Deceleration in Response to Unexpected Peer Rejection. Psychological Science, 2010; DOI:10.1177/0956797610379236

H. E. Fisher, L. L. Brown, A. Aron, G. Strong, D. Mashek. Reward, Addiction, and Emotion Regulation Systems Associated with Rejection in Love. Journal of Neurophysiology, 2010; DOI: 10.1152/jn.00784.2009

Schwartz, Barry (2004). Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
Witt, J. K, & Dorsch, T. (2009). Kicking to bigger uprights: Field goal kicking performance influences perceived size. Perception 38: 1328-1340 DOI:10.1068/p6325.

***

Adoree Durayappah, M.A.P.P., M.B.A., is a writer and psychologist with an addiction to academia. Her passion is helping people understand themselves better by bringing academic research into the public domain in an entertaining and relevant fashion. You can learn more at AdoreeDurayappah.com.

Apple claims the new machines, which include FaceTime HD cameras with "triple the resolution of the previous generation," Intel Sandy Bridge Core i5 and i7 processors, and Thunderbolt I/O technology, are "up to twice as fast" as their predecessors.

The new line of MacBook Pros will be available in three sizes: 13-inch ($1,199 and up), 15-inch model ($1,799 and up), and 17-inch ($2,499).

Apple offers more details on the specs:
The 13-inch MacBook Pro is available in two configurations: one with a 2.3 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 and 320GB hard drive starting at $1,199; and one with a 2.7 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 and 500GB hard drive starting at $1,499. The new 15-inch MacBook Pro is available in two models: one with a 2.0 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, AMD Radeon HD 6490M and 500GB hard drive starting at $1,799 and one with a 2.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, AMD Radeon HD 6750M and 750GB hard drive starting at $2,199. The new 17-inch MacBook Pro features a 2.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, AMD Radeon HD 6750M and 750GB hard drive and is priced at $2,499.

The new MacBook Pros are currently available for purchase on Apple.com, as well as in stores.

The 41-year-old joined KJR in Seattle with Dave Mahler and Ian Furness on Wednesday and called Griffin's final dunk "weak."

"I'm a big Blake Griffin fan, but that dunk at the contest might've been the weakest dunk in the dunk contest that I've seen in a long time," Kemp said. "I love the choir and all that stuff was great, but you at least gotta jump over the car though right."

Kemp also said that he could jump over a car.

"I'm 41 years old and right now I could do it. Two Smart Cars," he said.

The interview was transcribed by Sports Radio Interviews and you can listen to the entire segment here.

The welcome Wale to the family edition.

Rozay also confirms “bidding war” rumors, does a meet-and-greet at Macy’s (bawse sighting @ 2:18) and has his jeweler come through to hit off Wale with a signing bonus.

“Same music, better energy” – Wale

Day 1 blog here.

Off the Doe Or Die: 15 Year Anniversary Edition, in stores now.

“Let’s be honest about this, this young upstart who did “Black & Yellow” is not in Wayne’s league…” #SkipBaylessShotsFired@Wiz

Weezy checks in with Skip and them on ESPN’s First Take. He speaks on his Packers fight song and whether or not it’s gonna backfire and end up firing up the Steelers, and why he roots for the Pack rather than the ‘Aints.

Previously: Lil Wayne vs. Skip Bayless

For Valentines day I will post a new heart comic daily until the 14th. Enjoy.

All text and images copyright Nikole Beckwith

[Make sure you sign up for the VSB VIP List so you get more info about next week's National VSB Day events!]

1. For the past three years, every Thursday night or Saturday afternoon I’ve played pick-up basketball at a local high school with a group of the same 15-25 guys. We gather up, try to split teams evenly, play for a couple of hours, and drink beer in the coaches’ office when we’re done. It’s basically a basketball version of everything that happens in a Brett Farve Wrangler commercial.

Now, out of those 15-25 regulars, I’m one of maybe five black guys — 5½ if you count one of my biracial buddies. As you can imagine, there are many opportunities for good-natured racial humor, and most of this can be categorized as just typical male-on-male locker room banter. (For instance: A few months ago, I got stuck in traffic and I ended up being 15 or so minutes late. When I finally got to the gym, one of the guys joked “You know we’re not on CP time, right?” Hardy har f*cking har.)

But, one of the regulars occasionally — and intentionally — pushes the appropriate banter envelope. Not a hateful guy by any stretch of the imagination, his jokes are more a product of his social awkwardness than any type of venom. He says off-color things because, well, he’s expected to say off-color things and he wouldn’t be him if he didn’t. In this sense, he’s merely filling his expected role, and we all deem him to be pretty harmless.

Still, one of his particularly off-color (and particularly flat) jokes about watermelon or chicken or black booty or something a few months ago prompted me to pull him aside later and advise him of the importance of humor. Basically, I reminded him that off-color and borderline offensive jokes about any subject are cool…as long as the joke is actually funny.

This brings me to “The Bride of Blackenstein,” a skit/parody of blaxploitation horror films that ran on Saturday Night Live last weekend. The six minute long short — which featured the increasingly ubiquitous Nicki Minaj in a parody of “The Bride of Frankenstein”– has been racked across the internet coals in the days since it first aired; accused of everything from racism to blatant misogyny. (In an especially biting, especially funny, and typically hyperbolic critique, Gina Mccauley of What About Our Daughters remarked “Nicki Minaj’s goal is to make sure she’s at the top of the bottom of the totem pole.”)

But, after finally getting a chance to sit down and watch it yesterday morning, it seems like the only thing this skit was guilty of was making an uninspired attempt at humor. Seriously, I’ve seen tree limbs and air conditioners with more wit than this skit. This matters because borderline offensive comedic material becomes just plain ole’ offensive sh*t when it’s completely devoid of comedy.

“The Bride of Blackenstein” offends and insults me, not because it’s racist or sexist or anything but because it’s offensive and insulting to think about how much better that skit could have been — especially when considering the outstanding comedic writing chops of the people on the SNL staff.

2. Thing is — and this is probably going to contradict everything I just said in #1 — the only way to tell if a joke works or not is to actually try it. To make edgy humor you need to step on the edge, and sometimes you risk offending people. But, as long as you’re an equal opportunity offender, I don’t see a problem with taking a couple jabs at black women or black men or homosexuals or Aboriginal midgets or whoever. No one is above occasional ridicule, and while there’s a time and a place for safe humor, 12:30 am isn’t that time, and SNL isn’t that place.

In my opinion, “The Bride of Blackenstein” skit was a bad effort at humor, but that’s just my opinion. Humor’s inherent subjectivity makes it so that there’s no inherent wrong in the actual effort, though.

3. A term coined by uber-popular ESPN columnist Bill Simmons, “The Tyson Zone” describes what happens when a person becomes so known for their outrageous behavior that nothing they do can surprise you. I bring this up because between her outrageous outfits, equally outrageous body, and surprisingly lucid verbal schizophrenia, Nicki Minaj has officially reached Tyson Zone territory.

Seriously, you could tell me that Nicki Minaj’s ass cured cancer yesterday and the most you’d get out of me would be “Word? Cool.” My Minaj surprise quota has been completely exhausted. Sh*t, she could be sitting in my bathtub while rocking a dolphin suit and reading “The Things They Carried” right now and it still wouldn’t shock me.

With that being said, I think she’s extremely intelligent (Yes. Extremely intelligent. She has us all thinking she’s Pinocchio when she’s really Geppetto.), extremely shrewd, and extremely self-aware, and I still think the music industry is a much, much better place with her in it.

4. I don’t think I’ve ever been on the fence with a comedian more than I am with Keenan Thompson. Yes, his comedy tends to be wrapped in a not so subtle tinge of, for lack of a better term, “coonism,” and yes, he’s probably rocked more dresses and pumps in the past year than each of the Mean Girls of Morehouse combined. But, he does occasionally crack me the hell up, and I’ve been known to sing “What’s up with that?” to myself at random times during the day. I really can’t call it with Keenan.

Speaking of black comics…

5. I’ve had my cup of “Jay Pharoah is the next black comedy superstar” lemonade sitting on my dining room table for four months now. Hopefully I’ll be able to drink it some time soon. I really, really, really want him to be the next Eddie Murphy, but I’m not sure if SNL is the right place for that to happen.

6. The funniest part of this skit occurs at the 5:10 mark of the video, when a song starts playing in the background and Jesse “I’m going to tell you one last time. I am NOT Michael Cera!!!” Eisenberg claps so offbeat that it looks like he’s trying to kill a gnat. He’s either the best young actor on the planet, or concrete proof that “the average white man” and “rhythm” goes together like “Cromartie” and “condoms.” No in-between.

7. I guess this is where I’m supposed to end this piece with 150 or so words about the many virtues of Nicki Minaj’s gravity, sense, and nature defying ass. In fact, I’m sure those who remember my Anchorman-influenced ode to Erykah Badu’s ass are expecting it. Surprisingly, though, I’m completely unmoved by her hindparts, and I can’t exactly figure out why. I mean, I’ve let the whole “artificial or not?” thing slide before when appreciating certain magnificent booties, so I know it’s not that. I’ve also gone gaga for the backside assets of women who weren’t nearly as blessed as the black barbie, so I know it’s not that either.

I think my problem with Minaj’s ass is that it just seems like an excessively ostentatious and useless accessory, like an Olympic diving board attached to the trunk of a Bentley. Sure, it’s amazing, but it doesn’t really entice because it doesn’t seem to serve any practical purpose other than amazement.

While Badu has “the perfect three baby booty,” Minaj’s can best be described as “the perfect 3-D booty.” Great to look at while at the theater, but disorientating and distracting if you tried to watch at home. (Champ’s Note: She’d still get it, though)

Remember, if you haven’t done so already, you can purchase Your Degrees Wont Keep You Warm at Night: The Very Smart Brothas Guide to Dating, Mating, and Fighting Crime at Amazon.com for $14.99.

—The Champ

Related posts:

1. 5 Thoughts About “The Mean Girls of Morehouse”
2. Black Barbie and The Guiltiest Pleasures Possible
3. 8 Thoughts About The Bishop Eddie Long Scandal

I’ve held off on posting about YouPorn’s foray into 3D red-cyan glasses porn (Anaglyph – or amber-blue for purists) – only because YouPorn a) did not have enough videos for me to send you there for a decent post, and b) they violate my sensibilities by not allowing me to embed a video player in the spirit of sharing/common currency of media transference of the modern internet.

But hey, it’s worth a look if you have the glasses. I have high hopes that they will develop this category, especially to facilitate user-uploaded submissions, and of course, to enable embeds of explicit 3D porn videos. Also that the porn will be hot. At least the nice thing about glasses is that we are always “hands-free”.

Rihanna just became one of my fetish pop heroes with this new video for her song S&M. There is so much to love about this one – she’s not only giving Lady Gaga a run for the money, but Rihanna’s doing it all her own way. It’s fun, it’s sexy, it’s all kinds of dirty and playful… Watch it – even if you don’t like this kind of music you will really enjoy the rubber fetish fashion, bondage, edginess and more. This is totally what Xtina wanted to do but didn’t have the balls or the interest to explore.

Love: Perez Hilton as Rihanna’s bad puppy, while she’s in see-through pink rubber. Ball-gagged journalists at a press conference. Big sexy mama getting vinyl bondage taped and kissed by Rihanna. Ri-Ri tying men up and whipping them. Banana fellatio. I could go on… I am such a fangirl.