Perfunctory Cheers this week to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but we’re going to have to go with big time…

Jeers to the Super Bowl itself.  In this time of economic difficulty for all, what the hell are we doing spending 3 Million Dollars for 30 seconds of advertising time?  From musical celebrations to fireworks to confetti to advertising, it’s a gigantic waste of time and resources.  But hey, the free market will go where the people making the money push it.

Cheers this week go out to Daniel Koppelman, professor in the music department who, in addition to receiving his second Fulbright Scholarship to present a concert of music in Odessa, Ukraine, has just secured a record deal with Everglade Records to sell his 5.1 DVD of music, entitled Escapement (and available for purchase at Amazon.com).  This just confirms the growing awareness of what those of us who are acquainted with Dr. Koppelman have known for a long time: He’s a raging badass.

Jeers to our school newspaper, who always seems to find a place for the stunts of the Conservative Students for a Better Tomorrow (CSBT) on the front page.  I understand that the object of a school newspaper is to report on the happenings of a school, but let’s be honest: Giving a high-school level summary of the event, using the speaker’s words as documented fact without referencing sources or doing independent research, and placing any reference of competing opinions into a blurb on page 4 is not my idea of a well-written news story.  To be clear: this has far less to do with CSBT as with the journalistic integrity of the Paladin, but in the interests of full disclosure, I do think that CSBT is a perfect name for such a worthless group: brazen in its propagandist nature, and with a name that is perfect in its ironic perfection.

And, of course, it wouldn’t be C&J without giving Cheers for Puppies.  This week?  It’s the Puppy Bowl, the annual excuse to ignore sports in favor of cuteness; having puppies run around on a field for an hour.  What could be cuter (or cheaper)?

We want to hear from you.  What are you Cheering and Jeering about this week?