Song of the Mo: "Pardon Me"

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you "Pardon Me" by Maxine Swaby circa 2001. Sooooo catchy.

Weekly WTF?: "Mr. Fix It"

Is it ironic or do the quotation marks cancel out any irony? Or do they make it even more ironic since they provide a fix for the potential misnomer given the state of the van? Oh lord. Someone make me stop.

Roxxxy

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, a sex doll with feelings. Some perv invented this real life sex robot (as in, you can actually have sex with it) that also can spout out some pretty generic love messages. The inventor claims that sex isn't just about pleasure, it's about intimacy and emotion. His solution? Create a robot that you can have your way with and, once you're finished, can tell you how much she enjoys holding your hand. That's what I think about when I'm lonely and missing intimacy in my life: I wish a had a robot to make me feel real human emotions. Makes me long for Teddy Ruxpin.

My favorite part of the article is this direct quote:

"An engineer, Hines said he was inspired to create the robot after a friend died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks."

I shit you not.

Game Show Gaffes

Thanks to HuffPost for these pretty funny game show moments. Here are a couple of my faves.

Weekly WTF?: The Unicorn Samurai

This is more than a WTF? This is a strong contender for the 'Weekly WTF? of the Year for 2010' ... and it's only January. While I am puzzled beyond belief about this video, it makes me laugh soooooo hard.

The Unicorn Samurai has only had 17,226 hits on YouTube so far. PLEASE help him go viral. I dare you to find someone/something more deserving.

I Most Certainly Approve: Chair Tracking

Very interesting experiment. Chairs were placed on the streets of NYC and as people showed interest in the chairs, and inevitably took them, a GPS device was enabled that would track the new location of each chair. A video crew documented the actual act of "theft" and later went to the homes of the pilferers to follow up and interview them.

It's essentially a social experiment in modern-day dumpster diving.

Blu Dot Real Good Experiment from Real Good Chair on Vimeo.

Give Soliders the 'Credits' They Deserve

Great article in the New York Times today about the G.I. Bill. I've run into quite a few people in my liberal lifestyle who seem to disagree with the bill that, since 9/11, states that servicemen and women who have served active duty for more than three years, or have been injured, are entitled to free tuition and housing at any public university in the United States. It's unfair, they say. What makes their accomplishments better than those of other applicants? Why do we owe them something so great for upholding a war we don't believe in?

I don't necessarily think it's about "owing" them anything. That's condescending and implies that the only rationale for sending a solider to college is to compensate for the time they spent serving our country. It's more about how they've earned it. In any situation, a person who has experienced extreme challenges in life is going to have a different perspective on how they approach their education - often a much more mature and disciplined point of view. They have persevered in the face of great adversity. How many of you can say that?

Sending soldiers - men and women who are forced to survive, persevere and think on their feet every waking hour in a war zone - to college for free might be one of America's best ideas. Capitalizing on the skills they've already learned in the field and educating and training them as leaders in various fields will only push our society further in terms of progress. Aside from the notion of "owing" them anything, it's also in the best interest of our country.

Listen, I have pretty strong views when it comes to the wars we're engaged in, but I'm not going to blame our soldiers. There are soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan as we speak who disagree with those wars too, but because they have made a promise to protect our country upon enlisting, they go off to battle anyway and make the best of a bad situation. They actually go to war torn countries and form their opinions about war by living and fighting in them. That gives them a lot more credibility than any politician, news correspondent or everyday person.

I say, give them credit - and I mean that literally. 15 credits a semester should work just fine.

Avahontar?

Best Albums of 2009

Ladies and gentlemen, 2 days overdue, I give you my favorite albums of 2009. And instead of descriptions, I give you my favorite songs from each album. Why describe music with words?

And yes, Lady Gaga made the list.

1. The Antlers, "Hospice"


2. Antony and the Johnsons, "The Crying Light"


3. The Swell Season, "Strict Joy"


4. Animal Collective, "Merriweather Post Pavillion"


5. Passion Pit, "Manners"


6. Miike Snow, "Miike Snow"


7. Lady Gaga, "The Fame Monster"


8. Grizzly Bear, "Veckatimest"


9. Phoenix, "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix"


10. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "It's Blitz!"


Honorable Mention: Lily Allen, "It's Not Me, It's You"

Happy New Year!

Thanks to everyone who has read my blog for the past year. 2009 was certainly a pretty interesting year. I started the year as a Peace Corps volunteer in Moldova, only to find myself burying my father three months later. I moved to Seattle, celebrated in friendships new and old, spent two weeks in Scandinavia and got a pretty cool job. A lot happened in 2009. A lot of emotions, a lot of growth, and - of course - a lot of absurdity.

I hope everyone had a wonderful time ringing in the new year. May 2010 bring you happiness and health - nothing else really matters.