“The Internet is like alcohol in some sense. It accentuates what you would do anyway. If you want to be a loner, you can be more alone. If you want to connect, it makes it easier to connect.”
–Esther Dyson, Interview in Time Magazine, October 2005
[Posted by Mallory]
Filed under random, technology
I’m guessing they’re keeping this up throughout the World Cup. If you Google “world cup” and scroll to the bottom of the page, here’s what you get:
Oh Google, I love you. Thanks for the tip, Miss Madeline!
Speaking of the World Cup, here are some reasons I love where I live:
1. This Saturday, there will be a screening of the World Cup games in Dupont Circle. How fun is that?! Just like with the Superbowl, I’d never pretend that I care about soccer in general, but I accept any excuse to get excited about a large-scale sporting event. Especially when adult beverages are involved, and lord knows they will be.
2. Yesterday, there was a man who looked to be about 45 driving down my street in a convertible, unabashedly blaring the Glee soundtrack.
3. A few days ago, a dude was casually walking down the street with an enormous parrot perched on his shoulder. Is that even legal?
[Posted by Mallory]
Filed under random, sports, technology
CNN wondered, Gawker wondered, and now Six Words wonders: was Barack Obama in the 1993 video for “Whoomp, There It Is?”
Here’s the screenshot that started it all:
Gawker gives a pretty comprehensive pro/con list debating whether our POTUS is a video star:
FOR
- It really really looks like him!
- Obama has a well-documented fondness for hip hop. He likes Kanye West and Ludacris.
- Obama has a history of hip hop cameos. In 2008, reports said he was featured on an upcoming Q-Tip track. Though Q-Tip ended up simply sampling one of his speeches.
- As one commenter on SomethingAwful noted: The man in the video is playing dominoes with his left hand. BARACK OBAMA IS ALSO LEFT HANDED!
- The video was released in 1993. Barack would have been around 31 when it was filmed, a year or two out of Harvard Law. Seems like something cool that our coolest, cigarette-smoking, hoops-shooting future president would do as an early 30-something.
AGAINST
- But, actually, by 1993, Obama was deeply involved in community activism in Chicago. In 1992, Obama famously helped boost voter turnout among blacks through his tireless organizing. How would Obama had the time to film this video? And why the hell would the director of Tag Team’s video seek out a notable community organizer to play a domino player? Maybe they were buddies from Harvard or something.
- Also, Tag Team is from Atlanta. If Obama wanted to make his rap video debut, wouldn’t he have chosen an early-90s act from his beloved Chicago? Maybe Da Brat, or Crucial Conflict? And he would obviously be wearing a Bulls hat—not a Compton one.
- Most of these conspiracy theorists base their observation on a low-quality YouTube version of the video. Take a look at this screenshot from a higher-quality video: Doesn’t look much like him, actually. Also: earrings? Obama is cool, but not that cool.
I think I’m going to conclude that it’s him, because that would just be the greatest. But what do you think? Is that our beloved Barry?
Thanks to Wegs for the tip!
[Posted by Mallory]
Filed under celebrities, dance, music, news, politics, pop culture
Hi strangers! Since I lasted posted, I officially entered the real world. Meaning, I started my job. A real job, not an internship. With a salary and a 401k. I’m pretty excited, but also a little terrified. I wonder when I’ll stop feeling like a college student pretending to be an adult. (Do people ever stop feeling that way?)
I got to spend the weekend gallivanting around New York, which was wonderful — did you know you can eat dinner at a regular restaurant at 1 a.m. in NYC?! — and I took the bus back to DC today. I made the mistake of sitting next to a girl who smelled terrible, and for some reason the floor under my seat was disgustingly sticky, but I had my iPod and some “work” to do (read: attempt to do for five-minute intervals before falling asleep), so I survived.
My friend Kelsey and I have been talking about this Sugarland song “Stay” recently, for no real reason, and I can’t stop listening to it. The video is so raw and amazing, and Jennifer Nettles has the coolest voice. On the bus, I was listening to my iPod on shuffle and I was all, “Hmm. I wonder if I have ‘Stay’ on here.” Literally five seconds after I thought that — and out of 5,000 possible song options — “Stay” came on. Crazy shit, am I right?
Anywaaaay, enjoy:
[Posted by Mallory]
Filed under adventures, music, YouTube
My parents and I maaaay have referenced this video regularly throughout the weekend:
Thanks to ex-Guest Blogger Madeline for the tip! (And Kelsey before that. But I only watched when Madeline sent it. Because I actually like her.)
[Posted by Mallory]
Hi guys! GUESS WHAT?! I OFFICIALLY GOT GRADUATED! After three hours of wearing polyester and sitting in the most miserable heat (let’s just say my “friend” who was sitting next to me kept saying things like, “Um, Mallory, the sweat is dripping down your legs. Again.” And I was like, “Want me to wipe it off with my hand and rub it on your face?” And he was like, “Want me to MURDER you?” Stuff like that…), I was given a diploma and partied the weekend away with my parents (who are cooler than me) and my friends (who agree that my parents are cooler than me). Point is, with all of the chaos leading up to the big graduation day, I missed a few Google holidays. Without further ado:
That day’s Google Holiday: 170th Birthday of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Insert some cool facts about ballet here.
What I was Googling: NOTHING, OKAY? I was in a hurry to get a screen shot.
That day’s Google Holiday: Mother’s Day. Yay! We all love mamas, although I also love Anne Lamott, and she wrote a great article on why she (a fellow mama) hates Mother’s Day.
What I was Googling: keep calm love blogs
That day’s Google Holiday: Pac-Man’s 30th Anniversary. This was easily one of Google’s best. It was a real game, and come on, who doesn’t have fond memories of playing Pac-Man at the local pizza shop? (I might be confusing my childhood with the movie version of my childhood, but I did love that game.)
What I was Googling: crumping. Turns out, it’s krumping. Thanks, Google!
And speaking of Google, remember how much I love Google’s predictive feature? Whelp, I stumbled upon another excellent one, and I thought I’d share:
Never fails. Have a good Monday, everyone! (I know you will, because you’ve already said your daily affirmation.)
[Posted by Mallory]
Filed under blogging, history, pictures, pop culture, technology
Just a friendly reminder, courtesy of PostSecret.
GUYS. Guess what? I’m officially done with grad school. Do you know what that means?! I’ll tell you: I get to wear a hood and stand out in the sun wearing polyester on Friday, and I get my nights and weekends back. Let’s celebrate with a collection of assorted finds from the Internets:
Happy Monday, everyone! And a happy belated birthday to co-blogger Kathleen! I think we successfully proved this weekend that your mid-twenties don’t really have to be any different from college. Thank goodness for that.
[Posted by Mallory]
…this is just…not okay. Coincidentally, this gem was sent to us by our favorite Woodland Creature Correspondent:
Wow. And you thought that these babies, or maybe these ones, were as horrifying as shoes could get. You were so wrong. You know, I once had a hamster named Elvis. He was black and white and adorable, and I got him mostly because we earned extra credit in my middle school science class for keeping pets (which is actually extremely strange now that I think about it). Elvis once went missing for several weeks, and we finally discovered him next door in one of the cabinets in the art classroom. He was alive, and we are convinced that he must have survived by eating paint chips. Or maybe he was just Jesus in hamster form. Either way, this story makes me think that hamsters might be able to survive being tossed around in hideous clear platforms, so long as you take them out and feed them a few paint chips every now and then.
[Posted by Mallory]
Pandora (thank you, technology!) introduced me to this song. I enjoy the song, but even more than that I love that the lyrics are so dead-on. It’s both sad and hilarious, because we’ve all been there. (And if you haven’t been there, kindly get out of my life. I never liked you anyway.)
“We Get On,” Kate Nash
Simply knowing you exist ain’t good enough for me
But asking for your telephone number
Seems highly inappropriate
Seeing as, I can’t
Even say hi
When you walk byAnd that time you shook my hand, it felt so nice
I swear I never feel this way about any other guy
And I never usually notice people’s eyes, butI conducted a plan to bump in to you most accidentally
But I was walking along and I bumped into you
Much more heavily than I’d originally planned
It was, well, embarrassing
And I think you thought that I was a bit of a twatI just think that we’d get on
I wish I could tell you face to face
Instead of singing this stupid song
But yeah, I just think that we might get onSo I went to that party and everyone
They were kind of art-y
And I was wearing this dress
Because I wanted to impress
But I wasn’t sure if I looked my best
‘Cause I was so nervous
But I carried on regardless
Strutting through each room trying to find youAnd when I saw you kissing that girl
My heart, it shattered
And my eyes, they watered
And when I tried to speak, I stuttered
And my friends were like “Whatever!
You’ll find someone better!
His eyes were way too close together!
And we never even liked him from the start!
And now he’s with that tart
And I heard she’s done some really nasty stuff
Down in the park with Michael
He said she’s easy
And if your guy’s with someone that’s sleazy
Then he ain’t worth your time
‘Cause you deserve a real nice guy!”
So I proceeded to get drunk and to cry
And lock myself in the toilets for the entire nightSaturday night I watched channel five
I particularly liked CSI
I don’t ever dream about you and me
I don’t ever make up stuff about you and me
Because that is insanity
I don’t ever drive by your house to see if you’re in
I don’t even have an opinion on that tramp that you’re still seeing
I don’t know your timetable
I don’t know your face off by heart
But I must admit that there is still a part of me that still thinks
That we might get onWe might get on…
Yep, sounds about right.
Love “Foundations,” too (holler HLH!). Terribly literal video, but a great song. I’m so happy that Ms. Nash’s accent actually comes out when she sings. Why can’t more people make that happen?
[Posted by Mallory]
Filed under humor, music, technology, YouTube
I apologize for the unbearable lightness of blogging (see what I did there?!); it’s finals time, and apparently I have to write a few more papers in order to graduate. Lame. In the meantime, a song (and hopefully a Google Holiday post a bit later…it’s a good one!):
This is the only video I could find of this song, which struck me as odd. But then I got over it because, you know, Snoopy!
[Posted by Mallory]
six words to change the world. 