Detour

Tonight I planned on being productive.
Tonight I planned on doing a real post, since quality has been lacking lately.

Instead...
Tonight I spent the night playing around on VistaPrint.com.
You can make all this cool stuff--like business cards, post-its, stickers, notepads, etc.-- for free.

FREE.

All you do is pay shipping and handling.

Too amazing.

Spell Check

Nice work, NBC Action News. Or was it AP? "Who's" fault was it?:

Woman who's car went into river dies

Last Update: 11:56 am

ST. LOUIS (AP) - A woman's whose vehicle went into the Meramec River has died, a day after her grandson also died.

Sandra Branham, 63, of Crestwood, died Saturday at St. John's Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on its Web site.

And so on...

Who's vs. Whose
Don't we learn the different in elementary school?

You'd think the headline writer could get it right since it's correct in the first sentence of the article. Guess NOT!

Media Addiction Wordle

Make your own at wordle.net

Comic Sans to the Rescue!

This video* made me laugh out loud. Maybe just because I am a font geek.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

*I have no idea why it is so wide/big. Deal with it.

Make Out Session

Have you seen the Converse "ad" online featuring a video entitled "Kissing with Ross"???

If you haven't, click here

Ick. Does it really help sell shoes to have some guy's lips and tongue mashed up against a plexiglass wall? I don't get it.

Always the clever ones, BestWeekEver posted their own interpretation but with no shoes attached...

These guys look like they've had a little too much practice making out with themselves.

Best Thing I've Read All Week

David has been in Chicago only a month and is already a celebrity!

Read the article in the Sun-Times about his use of the awesome budget website Mint.com

I love it! Even the picture of him mid-sentence...

Don't Hold Him To It...

How to Get the Arrested Development movie made, according to Will Arnett (aka the amazing GOB) and courtesy of EW.com:

Click here to watch the video

A Book Nerd's Virtual Dream Come True

I came across this site today and was actually really excited about it!

Zoomii.com is like a virtual bookstore--everything on Amazon.com in a more Borders-like, browsing-friendly set up. Zoom in, zoom out, click on a book to read a summary, add books to your check-out basket, etc. etc.

It won't replace going to the bookstore to browse and pick out books, but it's definitely another fun option--especially for passing time online.

Jobs, You Genius, Stop!

Being a Mac freak, Steve Jobs is one of the coolest people in the world to me. Yeah, I'm a geek.

Anyway, yesterday he announced the new iPhone and all its cool new features and specifications.

The biggest news? The iPhone will now be available for ONLY $199!

OH. MY. GOD.

The high price was really the only justification I could create for not buying one when they first came out. I have no reason to have one but I WANT ONE. I want one so very badly. And I even have a super cool green RAZR--but, alas, I still dream of an iPhone.

Literally.

Last night after reading about the new iPhone, I dreamed someone gave me one. I carried it around and rubbed it in people's faces that I had one (apparently I am mean in my dreams). And when I woke up and didn't have an iPhone, I nearly cried. Okay, not really, but I was disappointed. I hate dreams like that.

Anyway what do you think? Should I get an iPhone when the new model comes out in July?

Damn you, Jobs! Quit releasing new amazing Mac stuff month after month. It's impossible to keep up! And I want it all!

Told Ya So

When I talked about Weezer's "Pork and Beans" video last week, did I not say it bore a striking resemblance to that South Park episode with the battle of the web celebrities?

Well now a writer over at TVSquad.com is totally calling them on it.

I called it first!

Hillary to Call It Quits

Poor Hill.

ABC News and BBC News (and every other news) are all reporting that Hillary Clinton will call it quits as of Saturday and throw her support to Barack Obama.

I guess I'll have to keep waiting for the day we have a female president. I really hope it is in my lifetime. This seemed like the best chance, at least for a while. Hillary, you put up a great fight and should be damn proud of yourself. I know I am!

Now that we FINALLY have our democratic nominee, it's time to focus on the VP. Will the dream ticket become a reality? It seems like a long-shot but I'll keep my fingers crossed. Beyond Hillary, there's Edwards (ugh), Dodd, Biden, Bill Richardson (I'd vote for him), etc. etc.

Over on ABC.com, they took a different route. Instead of listing a top 10 list of possible VP's, they created a video report of the BOTTOM 10 list of possible VP's. I can't embed it, so click here to watch the video.

Even though one chapter may be closed, this story is far from over.

Yet Another Video... Sorry

I know I've been posting a LOT of videos lately, but this one is AWESOME!

Weezer's new video for their song "Pork and Beans" is great--full of web "celebrities" and reminiscent of South Park's episode with the YouTube Celebrity Showdown.

And everyone is talking about it--People.com, Best Week Ever, Perez Hilton, etc. etc.

Plus I couldn't get the song out of my head during my first day of subbing today!

So You Think You Can Dance Audition Night 1

I've never watched So You Think You Can Dance (apart from snippets of reruns on MTV) but after watching a little bit of Dateline, being bored by the Bachelorette and already watching several home shows earlier tonight, I determined there was absolutely nothing on TV except this and figured why not try it out?

Overall, it wasn't anything too exciting. There was a cute Asian couple who really danced well, a soon-to-be-Sorority-girl who bounced around and apparently brought "joy" to the room and one creepy guy who did a sort of robot act the judges couldn't get enough of. I felt like I was watching a street performer. Which, incidentally, he is!

Now, granted, I really have no room to talk because I couldn't dance my way out of a paper bag, but still!

Here's a clip of the creepy guy. I'd say I won't watch the show again, but now that most of my shows have concluded for the summer, I may not have a choice.

Disheartening News

In my continuation of trying to catch up on the 1000+ blogs I had sitting in my reader from day of neglect, I came across these two articles:

Reluctantly, a Daily Stops Its Presses, Living Online

and

Yearbooks Vanish from Houston Schools in Facebook Era

Both are pretty disheartening when I am about to embark upon a career teaching students about journalism and encouraging them to pursue it as a career. According to these articles, not only are student publications becoming obsolete, but also regular newspapers. These topics hasve been big in discussion lately and I try to remain positive amidst so much negativity!

I guess I just need to come up with ways to appeal to the Facebook generation and combine the two mediums together. I can't wait to start working with my students and talking to other teachers about ideas!

Graduation Secrets

Needless to say this was a busy weekend so I got a bit backed up on the blog reading.

Here are my favorites from the graduation-themed Post Secret edition yesterday:

Happy Mother's Day

Unfortunately I can't be with my mom today, but in a few short days I will be moving back to KC for good and I'll get to see her every day. I can't wait!

This secret from PostSecret today sums it up perfectly (sorry friends, I love ya, but...):

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there and the best one of all: mine!

Primary Results Not So Hot for Hil

Is it the end for Hillary Clinton? God, I hope not.

Last night, she took the Indiana primary... but only by this much. Barack Obama won a landslide victory in North Carolina. Most people were saying Hillary needed two victories last night.

This morning on the Today Show, Tim Russert was shooting his mouth off, repeating his statement from last night and saying that every objective Democrat believes that Barack Obama has now won the nomination and that there is no way Hillary can come back.

CNN Analysis



Is this true? Could it really be the end for Hillary Clinton? Sad day.

Sunday Secrets & More

TOO perfect. I am sure my RAs do this occasionally:

It's like these secrets are in my head!


In honor of Cinco de May tomorrow...


I honestly laughed out loud at this one!


And last but not least, more RA craziness over at passiveagressivenotes.com!
Two in one week, now that is exciting.

Honest to Blog?

Here's a new deal I cooked up...

FROM THE BLOGS

News: Sam's Club, Costco limit rice purchases as prices rise
I saw this on the Today show this morning, too. Apparently we are so busy using grain for fuel that we kind of forgot it's for eating, too. And now people are paying the price!

Entertainment: Aliens in America's Raja Joins Nip/Tuck
I just love that they are already planning the next season of Nip/Tuck. Even though it's not coming until this fall, I am already waiting in anticipation. Plus who doesn't love a Doogie Howser-type?

Images: This Says It All

Life: I Swear This is a Happier Post
Just when I start to whittle down my big pile of books to read, Jen goes and throws another stack of must-reads in front of me. By the way, have I mentioned how much I love the Amazon Marketplace and their $0.01 books? I plan to read 27 hours a day this summer. Right.

Random: I don't getz it.

Journalism Going Down?

Everyone and their brother (including, weirdly enough, Perez Hilton) is reporting on the sudden down turn of the print journalism industry. Apparently layoffs are happening everywhere and nobody's making any money anymore.

It's all the buzz... in the online journalism world at least:
Time Blog
Editor and Publisher

Even the freaking New York Times is getting ready to lay off 100 people!
The Observer

Obviously with the surge of online journalism and sudden popularity of going green, print journalism would inevitably take a hit. But doesn't somebody still have to write the stuff for the Internet? I guess I don't understand--people still want news. Whether you're reading the New York Times in paper copy or headlines sent to your inbox each day, some reporter needs to be there reading it.

What does this mean for my future career? I'm getting ready to start a job teaching students to be journalists right when the industry is apparently failing. It makes me a bit nervous, but when you think about it, do that many high school journalists really pursue journalism as a career? Something to think about I guess--and even more reason to focus on convergence and inclusion of an online journalism format.