The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Less Than Jake, "Never Going Back to New Jersey" from Losing Streak (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: This weekend, at the Hat City Debates in Danbury, Connecticut, hosted by Western Conn. State University, my partner Too Sly & I were befriended by a most fetching lass from the massive Cornell team by the whimsically intoxicating name of Lacey. We'd faced her & her partner in Saturday's last round & while waiting out in the hallway for the judges to make their decision she'd mentioned that she's from New Jersey; at that point, rather by instinct, I began to sing the following, the state song of N.J. "I'm From New Jersey," excerpted by Less Than Jake in their song, "Never Going Back to New Jersey."

"I'm from New Jersey and I'm proud about it,
I love the Garden State!
I'm from New Jersey and I brag about it,
I think it's simply great!
All of the other states throughout the nation may mean a lot to some,
But I'll take New Jersey, 'cause New Jersey is like no other!
I'm glad that's where I'm from!"

Too Sly & I won the round, earning the 1, while Lacey & her partner had the misfortune of receiving the 4. Back in the central hall where all the room assignments & topic announcements were made, Lacey, now transformed with her spectacles removed, her hair pulled up, & sporting a bright red Cornell hooded sweatshirt, approached us & struck up a conversation. On Sunday, in the little time before Too Sly & I had to prepare for the quarterfinal round, Lacey passed us a scrap of paper bearing her surname & asked us to find her on the Farcebook. By & large, & even beyond Lacey, we found the Cornell debaters to be much more personable than their counterparts from St. John's, Vermont, the Claremont Colleges, & Portland State.