Based on the frequent charge that we are just too negative around here, we've decided to set a precedent for happy, inclusive, uniter-not-a-divider rhetoric, by compiling a list of Things Which Don't Suck.  We envisioned this is as a rapidly-changing, frequently-updated list, which takes into account our reader's suggestions.  So far, this has meant you'll be lucky to see it change more than once a month, and it currently reflects entirely our overworked staff's opinions.

E-mail your suggestions to: truedorktimes@truedorktimes.com if you think a different strategy should be in order.

These are a few of our semi-favorite things, in no particular order.

1. The Jesus Lizard.
Quite possibly the coolest band, ever.  The Jesus Lizard is a band whose early work (especially Head, Pure, Liar and Down) still stands out as forward-thinking, especially amidst the quagmire of current "hard" music.  Every dimwit who thinks Limp Bizkit is badass should be strapped into a chair and forced to listen to "Boilermaker" over and over again, at high volume, until their ears bleed.

2. The City, by Derf.
Always funny, but how does Derf know so many intimate details about the crappy lives of nerds, geeks and other grad students?

3. The looming PS-2 / Game Cube / X-box battle.
The funny thing is, Microsoft (X-box makers) actually thinks they have a chance against Playstation 2.  Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!  Their bitter defeat will be a sweet, satisfying spectacle to savor at length.  And we can't count out Nintendo, whose N64 was still the best thing available until PS2 hit these shores. We will be happy to endorse whichever company sends us a console to review.

4. Fantasy baseball on espn.com
Especially when, as the official True Dork Times team does, your team has a 95% overall rating.  Success is always a sign of owner genius.  Failure can only be blamed on overpaid, pampered, underperforming players, and the cold, crushing brutality of cruel, heartless fate.  Usually, there's more of the latter.

5. Pedro the Lion.
Some would say that being a successful Christian indie-rocker is almost as difficult as being a gay, African-American rabbi who rises through the ranks to become Grand Wizard of the KKK.  But Pedro the Lion perform their craft well, pairing spare, quietly tuneful music with non-preachy lyrics.  Start with It's Hard to Find a Friend, and you'll be hooked.

6. Drive Like Jehu.
Sadly, when people think of San Diego punk bands, they probably think of Blink-182 or Rocket from the Crypt.  Jehu shared John Reis with Rocket, probably leading to their eventual demise as Rocket spurted briefly into international prominence, then promptly fizzled like a Saturn V.  But Jehu was the real band, especially as compared with Rocket's money-making enterprise.  Buy every album Jehu made.

7. Zev Borow's "Learning Page" in Spin
We didn't think Sean Landers could ever be replaced, but Zev's stuff is ten times funnier.  Unfortunately, there's now been two straight months of Travis M. Millard's amusing-but-no-comparison "The Last Page" where Borow should rightly be. Could Spin be this stupid twice?  We're not sure that "Spin 20" and "Reader Stats" are really worth the subscription price on their own...