nuttin' butt love / nothin' but love

what's up, everyone? menlove is drunk & happy, or at least i was until i read the message board from yesterday's post, and had to delete one of the lamest comments of all time...

to the loser who posted at 10:53 pm last night, you know who you are. don't use my discussion boards to denigrate your classmates. this isn't high school, and this isn't a frat house. grow the fuck up, moron.

***

so also on the message board, someone asked for a bit of dating advice for the "lustful" "Mister Creamer." (great nickname... put it on the resume.) well, here's what i think...

either she reads menlovian or she doesn't. let's assume she doesn't. if that's the case, then there's no problem because she won't know the whole backstory of your feelings about her, and the ejaculatory response they elicit. just buck up, smile, and give it your best shot.

on the other hand, if she does read menlove, then anything i suggest to you here, she'll end up reading as well. if that's the case, then you're screwed.

perhaps if i were better at writing the html code, i could figure out a way to turn menlovian into a dating website. it would be super-cool if everyone logged in and submitted all of their crushes to me, and i could match people up. what would be even cooler is that i would then know who was into whom, and whenever i got bored in class, i could think about them boning each other.

alas, this ain't happening. on the topic of html, i've got a message for "saucy intruder." i'm not sure if you even read menlovian these days, but on intermeddler's site, you mentioned that you'd be emailing me some tips on how to edit the html on the template. unfortunately, i never received this email from you. if you have a chance, please resend it to menlovebls@hotmail.com.

also, i've been enjoying the submissions from those of you who have been taking guesses about my identity. for those of you who haven't taken a stab at it yet, feel free to give me an email, and let me know your top 1-3 candidates.

***

by the way, i have to admit that gora actually got me to chuckle a couple times today. once when when he asked, "what is she doing driving around montreal with this couple from texas... you ever wonder about that?" also great was when he described the Piper case as "delicious."

way to go, G!

***

ok, now on to the business at hand. i've selected a charity for the "menlove-identity" fund: Africare.

africare is one of the world's premier non profit organizations. as their name suggests, they specialize in aid to africa.

i think it's a really good cause. when you have a chance, check them out here to learn about all of the amazing work they're doing. it's also quite reputable; Charity Navigator gave it a 4-star rating, and the American Institute of Philanthropy called it one of its "Top-Rated Charities."

this is a cause that i feel very strongly about. i know that some people choose to isolate themselves from the harsh realities of what goes on everyday outside of our BLS bubble, but many of you are undoubtedly aware of the dire and desperate lives that so many african people lead.

for instance, did you know that

• twenty percent of Africa's children die before the age of five.
• more than 29 million people in sub-saharan africa are HIV-positive. more than 12 million african children have been orphaned by AIDS.
• lack of AIDS education has led to the perpetuation of myths such as the "virgin cure," which has led to the rape of countless young african girls, many of them only infants.
• last year in africa, 30 million were people at risk of starvation or are facing severe food shortages. this includes 14 million people in ethiopia alone. sub-saharan africa has the highest proportion of people who are starving, with poverty affecting 46.3% of the population.

the more i learn about this stuff, the more i realize that my little problems and law school stresses are ultimately insignificant.

as i said yesterday, i am setting a very ambitious goal for all of us: $1,500. for this amount, we will become life members of africare. brooklyn law school's name will be added to the life membership wall in the main lobby of the africare house (the africare headquarters building in washington, d.c.), and we'll all have the satisfaction of knowing that we did something really amazing for people who need our help.

in the next few days, i'll fill you in on all the details as to how you can make your pledge to donate. as i said before, if we raise 1500 dollars together, you'll get full menlovian disclosure on my part. if we fall even a dollar short, then all of your pledges will be cancelled, i'll never "come out," and you'll all go to your graves wondering who the fuck i am. (jeez, that was a bit melodramatic!)

by the way, what happens if we exceed the goal i'm setting? well, it just so happens that our very own joe nivin emailed me about another extremely worthy cause called the YAI/National Institute for People with Disabilities. you can check it out here. every cent we raise beyond $1500 will be sent on behalf of BLS to provides services and healthcare for people of all ages with a wide variety of developmental and learning disabilities including mental retardation, autism, and asperger's syndrome.

(thanks, joe, for bringing YAI/NIPD to my attention!)

so that's it for now. on monday, i'll lay out all of the details of the "pledging" process, and start accepting bids. as these last two months of school go by, i'll keep you all posted as to how close we are to our goal, and i'll also make public the names of people who have contributed (aside from those of you who wish to give anonymously - or, in the spirit of legal writing class, pseudonymously). all the while, i'll keep on posting my usual idiotic inanity, observations, and horrifying works of fiction. how this story ends is up to all of you.

maybe this weekend, if you've got a minute or two, you could follow some of the links i've provided above, and learn more about Africare. it might also be a good idea to think about which of your wealthy aunts, uncles, friends and employers you could hit up for a donation.

much love,

-menlove