LEWIS BLACK, DAVE MATTHEWS, AND SPLENDA

Lewis Black Cracks Me Up: Lewis Black has performed his caustic, cranky, bile-spewing, dead-on comedy at clubs throughout the U.S for years, for which he's received considerable critical acclaim and lots hate mail, I'm sure. In a recent commentary on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Black tells us that from wars and spelling bees to hockey and the horses, the United States of America loves a winner. Click Here to watch for yourself, and be sure to stick around long enough for his commentary on LL Cool J and Carol Channing. Classic stuff!

Dave Matthews Concert: My buddy Rick Epstein, a Denver/Boulder architect, and his wife Lisa, both of whom I know from my days in Colorado, were in town on Monday evening for the Dave Matthews concert up at Verizon/Deer Creek. Rick and Lisa (pictured here with their adorable children, Zivy and Micha) were kind enough to score me a ticket to the concert, so on pretty short notice I got to see great friends, listen to some good music, experience a so-so contact high, and pose for a group shot for an upcoming Abercrombie & Fitch catalog. Not bad for a rainy Monday night in Indiana.

Aliens Exist, and Splenda is Bad for You!: Back on March 23rd of last year I posted a piece to the Beli-Blog titled "Aliens Really Do Exist." Since that time, a number of people have found the link and have chosen to share their alien-related stories. Click Here to see for yourself. On the Artificial Sweetener front of things, back on March 26th of last year I posted a piece regarding my concerns with Splenda, and since that time a number of people have commented similarly. Click Here to read what people are saying about Splenda.

I love Splenda AND aliens

DMB was great! In case you didn't make it to the show, here's a link to the set list for Monday night! http://www.antsmarching.org/tour/ViewShow.php?ShowID=3408&PHPSESSID=82a2cf23e0d5412412e6bd34ae3e62d9

Luckily, no aliens have visited me lately. Maybe they've all been sick from Splenda?

Dude, Splenda is filled with baby laxatives. Really. I looked at the label, and all of the ingredients end in -ol, like sorbitol, which is a sweetener in lots of sugar-free candy and also an ingredient in chocolate Ex-Lax and baby laxatives. Ain't that grand to know? So, if you are using this as a sweetener regularly you will end up being more than "regular" (if you know what I mean), which can feel a bit painful if you don't require a laxative in the first place. Also, excessive "regularity" will lead to dehydration, resulting in dry skin. These seem to be the two symptoms people are describing.

Dude, Splenda is filled with baby laxatives. Really. I looked at the label, and all of the ingredients end in -ol, like sorbitol, which is a sweetener in lots of sugar-free candy and also an ingredient in chocolate Ex-Lax and baby laxatives. Ain't that grand to know? So, if you are using this as a sweetener regularly you will end up being more than "regular" (if you know what I mean), which can feel a bit painful if you don't require a laxative in the first place. Also, excessive "regularity" will lead to dehydration, resulting in dry skin. These seem to be the two symptoms people are describing.

I would stay away from Splenda. I don't go for the artificial sweetners. Unless you are a diabetic, you're better off just eating (non-refined) sugar. (I saw a commercial for Splenda last night and everyone in it was dancing around and happy to be eating it. Ridiculous).

Aliens probably do exist, but I'd really rather not know for sure. That would be creepy.

Now that I think about it, I know why the aliens haven't visited me lately... probably because of that thin line of Splenda I spread on the floor around my bed.