Start Today With A Laugh.

I was reading articles this morning about notable public figures who dumped their twitter accounts for whatever reason. Among them—Chris Brown, after a vulgar word feud with a comedienne; Alec Baldwin, for no reason; Charlie Sheen, for no reason; Adele, for arbitrary murder threats against her then-newborn child...

And then Kendrick Perkins. Which didn't really ring a bell, until I looked it up. He plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder (#who?), and was apparently so odiously ridiculed after a run-in with Blake Griffin's nether regions that he needed to shed his online presence altogether (and that's fair—I wouldn't want to be dunked on by Blake Griffin, either). I submit this video of the nastiest dunk I've seen in a while—we've seen it before, but I can't get enough of it.

Now, granted, this video is old. It's no less awe-inspiring, though. Perkins looks like he has the I'm-gonna-beat-my-puppy face...

That aside, I've settled in nicely in central New York. I won't drive too far in any direction, because they force you through toll booths eventually, and you wonder how you got there. I can navigate the city—I don't live far from SU's campus. I've met some awesome people. I've run to Walmart countless times (it's not a short drive), and I'm supposed to go to Wegman's eventually. It's apparently something of a religious experience.

I had a crash course tour of Syracuse's campus. Obviously, yes, it's not Ole Miss. However, they don't fit in the same class by any means. Ole Miss is situated in its own corner of Oxford, with its own zip code. Syracuse is more or less integrated with the city, and tries to expand that integration. The campus is downright beautiful. No, there is no Grove, and the density of flowers is not quite near Ole Miss (I think... I don't really look at flowers). Glass is to SU what columns are to UM. I rather like the look. In lieu of the grossly abundant springtime pollen, we are subject to overwhelming amounts of snow and frigid conditions (again, don't know, haven't experienced it). Looking over a wall near the law school, you can see a valley to the west, and hills in the distance. I fell in love with this view instantly. This brings me to the next point. Apparently, some SU undergrads feel privileged (yep, never have seen this before) and believe the university is the center of the city universe—this is false, of course. The doorknob to the universe, in fact, is on the Ole Miss campus in Oxford, MS. We know where the center of everything is, of course.

There's a disconnect between students and the less-affluent areas of the city—UM's Big Event, UMS Fusion... I believe these would have a place here. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has ever thought of such a thing.

Northern culture is radically different from everything I'm used to. It's exciting. I miss my friends, but they're coming to visit at some point, and I'm making new ones, so I'll survive. The only universal constant is change.

Happy Friday.