Al Gore INd Bay Area

If you're a local reader of gossip columns keeping score at home, there sure has been an uptick in Al Gore sightings over the last few months. Of course, considering the weight gain and the beard he was sporting after the 2000 election, we have a feeling he's probably just up here picking up a couple ounces of Mendocino kind to take back to Tennessee with him.

Really, of course, it's because of his new project, INdTV (pronounced "indie TV" -- such clever use of case). INdTV is currently accepting video entries for consideration -- you can register and then upload your submission (here are the guidelines). In fact, if you send in the best spot by March 1st, you'll win fifteen large! And any other spots they choose to air will receive 250 American Dollars! Because, of course, it's not indie if you don't lose money on the project.

What are they looking for? Well, ther's a handy guide to just that on the homepage. 'Citizen Reporter,' 'State of the Union,' 'That's F*&^#ed Up,' and 'All Nighter' are some of the suggested formats. The one that really cracked us up, and we wondered if Al wasn't smoking just a little too much of that reefer (our stuff is really strong, bro, not like that crap back east), was 'Slanglish:'

Is your vernacular cooler than mine? What are the new words in your scene? Define one and show us how you use it. Dude, it best be the sickest, flyest, illest, most fo'real shiz in your hood. No frontin. Word! lol

Considering that they feel "viewers in their twenties and thirties don't have much of a chance to help shape what actually makes it on TV," couldn't they have gotten a different copy writer than the one who prepared Al's notes for MTV's 2000 Rock the Vote appearance?