Shitty News for Plungers
“Polar Bear Plunge” set for February in Point Pleasant Beach

POINT PLEASANT BEACH -- The Polar Bear Plunge, the annual submersion into the near-freezing water and the New Jersey Special Olympic’s largest fund-raiser, will be held here next year. Yet unless the Special Olympics can successfully curb problems associated with drinking after the event, Mayor Thomas S. Vogel said he doubts the event will be held here again.The Borough Council on Tuesday approved the organizations’ request that the event be held at Jenkinson’s Boardwalk on Feb. 26. This year was the first year the organization was forced to formally apply for permission to have the event here.Yet Vogel said the approval came with the understanding that the event’s organizers will host a meeting urging local bars and liquor stores not to sell alcohol during the event, as well as several hours after it. Jenkinson’s spokeswoman Marilou Halverson said.Jenkinson’s will not open at all on that day.

MYSPACE is really OURSPACE

When someone sends you a good photo of yourself, where do you put it? When you want to wish all of your friends a Happy New Year at once, where do you go? When you are feeling blue, where can you find proof of your myriad of friends? If you're not thinking about MySpace by now, you're out of the loop. If you read my last sentence and thought, "MySpace? What the heck is MySpace?" you may want to get yourself on line and check it out.

Since its inception in July 2003 (this and all subsequent facts retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MySpace on January 1, 2006), MySpace has grown into a social phenomenon the likes of which this reporter hasn't seen since AIM. I've lent my ear to countless snippets of prattle regarding MySpace: "Oh, that's a good pic for MySpace." "Did you see what she wrote about me on MySpace?" "I hope my mom doesn't see those pics on MySpace!" Trust me, if you open your ears and pay attention, you'll find that MySpace is everywhere!

What is it about MySpace that people love so much? What is it that makes it worthy of $580 million? I kid you not; the owner of Fox Media bought the site for $580 million. That's five hundred eighty million dollars. American ones. Luckily for us, even though it's now part of a media empire, it will remain free for everyday users like you and me. Tom says that there will eventually be premiere features, but everything we get for gratis now will remain that way. Phew!

But seriously, what exactly is MySpace, and why do we love it so much? As obscure as this sounds, it's officially defined as a "social networking" site. Ok, so what does that mean? Is it a dating site? Is it a place to make new friends or connect with people you already know? Is it just a place to waste more time? It's all of the above. The site is strangely addictive; I cannot begin to add up the hours I have spent reading profiles, bulletins, blogs, and comments, looking at pictures, leaving comments of my own, and reading and sending messages to my friends.

The thing I like best about it is that it is kind of a sneaky way to get to know people who you may otherwise not take the time to befriend. People are (sometimes) comfortable showing their true selves on MySpace, and it's fun to read their ramblings when there's no way anyone can detect you. Even just looking at lists of books, movies, music, and hobbies can glean meaning and insight about someone you want (or don't want) to know better. It's a way to stave off conjecture about someone whom I'd otherwise judge without opening my mind a little more.

If you don't have a MySpace account by now, what are you waiting for! Didn't you see that I said it's free? Tom Anderson, President and co-founder, will automatically be added as your first friend, but go to my profile (http://www.myspace.com/mesha77) and make me your second. I hope you find it as entertaining as I and the other 1.2 million users do.