Britney and Facebook

Second things first today:
I read an article yesterday that chastized college students for not effectively marketing the important skills they have gained over years of using Facebook. Honest. It claimed that students without much work experience should really push the fact that they are comfortable with reaching out to potential customers or contacts using new and evolving technology. Skill with Facebook (earned from hour and hours of procrastinating and avoiding actual course-work) should be termed "connecting with customers through new and expanding technologies."
Interesting ...
But the larger questions becomes this: could I really sit straight-faced in an interview and extrapolate when asked just what those new technologies are? I can see the picture clearly. A young, nervous recent college-grad who is desperate to impress, well, anyone who is in a position to give him or her a job that could help pay for those looming student loans freezes for a moment before answering the question. "Well, sir, I have had extensive experience networking and making new contacts utilising online technology." Actually, that doesn't sound half bad. I might even have to remember that one. But, when the time were to come, I think I would unfortunately fail to pull it off without a telling grin washing over my face. The real story that should capture my potential employer's attention would be the fact that, courtesy of 6 years in the world of higher education, I am able to twist virtually anything to my advantage with a little word smarts. Making all that procrastination pay for itself is no easy task, I tell you.

And now on to Britney, covering two pop culture phenomena in one fell swoop. (Impressed, no?)The latest news from the ever-cringe-inducing Spears camp is that Britney has now taken a liking to dinging up others' cars on her way to dire shopping or salon appointments and then leaving the scene without so much as a note. A personal run-in in a Panera parking lot that shall stay between my roommate and me aside, this seems quite careless, even for Brit. But then, her record when it comes to obeying basic rules of the road leaves something to be desired. Who can forget those photos of her trying to elude the pursuing paparazzi, little son perched on her un-fastened lap.
Also in recent news is talk of some late-night escapades with a twenty-one-year-old college student who has clearly spent far too much time on Facebook to make it useful on his resume, many of the brain cells we presume he once had having leached out during the hours staring at the computer screen. You would think through the mere fact that Britney leads such a colorful and interesting life that she would be able to find someone a bit less insipid, but maybe this is her way of toning things down.
I actually feel bad for Britney. The girl is seriously like a walking war zone, with casualties dropping like flies on every side. But as a public, we should remember to thank her as much as we can't help criticizing. For one thing, her story -- or stories, more often than not -- make for one hellacious boost to the hallowed self-esteem. Seeing photos of her most recent late night activites cannot fail to make one feel so delightfully normal and grounded despite whatever craziness one's own life may hold. Britney is like a national public service to the altar of self-respect, selflessly dragging herself down for our benefit.
You heard it here first.