If I Were A Cat Lady...

Just chillin with my tigers

I went to the zoo this weekend and had the urge to cuddle every animal I saw. I knew that doing so would not end well on my part but the temptation was definitely there. I blame LOLcats. Those mischevious little buggers just look so cute and fluffy all the time.

Anyways, it seems as though Riana Van Nieuwenhuizen feels the same way about these kitties as I do but has a larger disposable income and more balls than I'll ever have. She has rescued numerous big cats that are at risk of becoming extinct and has welcomed them into her home. By numerous, I mean 11.

Good for RVN, but tigers and friends aren't known for their loyalty to humans.

Let's hope Riana doesn't turn into a giant cheezburger.

Seeing Green

Not that kind of green you potheads.


I made this vid for Screw You Recession but I figured I'd post it here too so you can love it and treasure it and watch it alll the time.

You're welcome.

Chaining My Macbook To My Desk From Now On...

Manoeuvre that Broccoli!!!!!

Thank goodness for spell check. I try so hard to ween myself off of it, becoming ashamed when I see those red squiggly lines appear under words. At least I still make the effort to type like a normal human being and not LyKe A 15 Yr oLd MySpAyZe AdDIcT. We all make mistakes, and a new study has caught us in the act of misspelling.

The most misspelled English word is.... 'definitely'. Most people spell it 'definately'. This surprised me somewhat since I do know how to spell it but I will admit to shortening it more often than not to 'def' or 'defs'. I am single handedly dumbing down the English speaking population. Oopsies.

The top ten misspelled words are less surprising, give or take. Here they are:
1 Definitely;
2 Sacrilegious
3 Indict
4 Manoeuvre
5 Bureaucracy
6 Broccoli
7 Phlegm
8 Prejudice
9 Consensus
10 Unnecessary

Just like everything else, our lack of spelling expertise is blamed on technology. Text messaging has corrupted us and we can never look back. Ya tech has shortened our words but who the heck is using 'sacrilegious' or 'phlegm' when sending texts to their friends?

"Oh ya, that party was sooooo sacrilegious. OMG I cannot believe the prejudice I endured from Tommy. So unnecessary. We should totally indict him!"

Come on; brushing up on our spelling should be on a to-do list but our lack of skill is more likely due to our limited vocabulary.

I suggest getting a library card.

I'm still going to see it

Poor Kid...

Oh gosh, Roger Ebert gave the new Transformers flick the worst review ever. Even if you're planning on seeing the film, read it anyways. I got a kick out of it. Ebert's advice to you:

"If you want to save yourself the ticket price, go into the kitchen, cue up a male choir singing the music of hell, and get a kid to start banging pots and pans together. Then close your eyes and use your imagination."

Sometimes I crave mindless garbage in my life, hence why I watch the Bachelorette. Likewise, I'm sure I'll make it to see T2. Perhaps I'll use my Scene points and see it for free. Yes, that's what I'll do.

Are you going to see it?

hehehehe

Nothing wrong with a little shameless self promotion

www.screwyourecession.ca

Rose coloured Versace Sunglasses

Elisabeth Eaves
Putting the fun in Recession...can't you tell?

The recession has been a wake up call to well, everyone on the planet. The majority of sane individuals are working their asses off to conserve the little money they have while keeping their jobs in tact. A large chunk of people have already been kicked to the curb while struggling to support their family but for a small yet depressingly powerful percentage of people, the recession is FUN! Elisabeth Eaves, the deputy editor of Forbes, is one of those lovely people.

In an article entitled "The Recession is Great" she describes the upsides to this economic downturn, that is if you are a member of the wealthy elite. Why you can get a new boat where you'll hang your new Picasso while wearing your new Burberry ALL for discount prices! What great times we are living in!

Don't bother reading the article. It will hurt your eyes and probably give you cramps. Instead, read this 'fabulous' response. A perfect summary to the most obnoxious recession related article on the interweb.

Point is, even us regular folk get so enchanted by sweet sales and deals on just about everything that we lose sight of the importance of conservation. Sure you may get a steal on a new pair of shoes but in turn you will be a couple days late on paying your rent. Spending is good for the economy but smart and reserved spending is good for the economy and your well-being.

For some more tough love and some regular love, check out SCREW YOU RECESSION! a.k.a. The 2nd best blog ever (guess which one is #1) and the most helpful resource for kicking the recession in the butt.

It's a bird! It's a plane!! No, It's.....

BIBLEMAN!!


Where's my DVD box set?????

As much as my possible future spawn (sounds more evil) would stay far far far away from this, for those who believe that god is the "man", it's way more exciting than other Christian TV programming I've seen (i.e. almost everything in the proximity of Christmas). All hail the god fearing Power Ranger!

A separate yet related thought: Who would be his nemesis? The Liberal Lightning Bolt? Demolition Darwin? A ruthless atheist gang called the Nonbelievers? All of the above?


First person to make me an action figure gets a Holy High Five (one of Bibleman's divine superpowers) and a slap on the ass (for good measure).

Looking up

Something to think about....


This might sound cliche, but I try my best to not take things for granted. This has been my mantra for years, since my days working as a camp councilor. During my camp gig, I noticed the happiest campers were those who could hardly walk or talk while those that complained about the most insignificant things were very able-bodied and I don't want to say spoiled, but it's the only word that comes to mind.

I realized how lucky I was to have what I have and how important it is to not dwell on the little things. It's impossible not to be in a bad mood sometimes. Naturally, things get us down but it's always a great feeling knowing that I have a roof over my head, running water, a fridge full of food, a solid group of family and friends etc.... I honestly believe that I am way happier thinking this way.

Point of the story is, lighten up. Yes, we're dealing with some shitty stuff right now (i.e. recession), but there's still so so much to look forward to. It's friggin summer! Take your broke ass outside and appreciate the non-smoggy (yet) air.

p.s. sorry for being a cheeseball


Oh, and listen to these guys:

Soul Patches, a haiku.

Why get a soul patch?
Looks like chin vagina,
George, no exception.

This was not on my Raffi tape

But I wish it was...

Watch Bananaphone Lil Jon Mash Up on CollegeHumor

Blogging WIN

So I ended up getting a blogging position for Virgin! Thanks to all of you that voted for me.

I get to do what I already do AND get paid for it! WOOOO!!!

Next week the blogging begins. Keep reading RJ but keep an eye on Screw You Recession for some awesome posts by yours truly :)

HAHAHAHAHAHA

Sometimes, photographs come along that make me laugh harder every time I see them.

This is one of them:

Ryan Seacrest circa 1980something

I am not one to make fun of awkward husky kids but he's rich and famous now so let me laugh a little.

He would be a good candidate for one of those "look at me now!!" episodes of Maury. Maybe not since he isn't an exotic dancer.

He kind of looks like the SNL character Gilly (Kristen Wiig)



I'm a terrible person.

Anyways, thank you Ryan Seacrest for making me smile tonight. Sorry for being a meanie.

Watch out Snuggies....

There seems to be a trend of wearable objects in the infomercial sector. Following the genius that is the Snuggie, a wearable blanket, comes a wearable towel:



How stylish! I know what I'm asking for for my birthday. Never will I be in need of drying AND unfashionable ever again!


Thanks wearable towel!!!

Tweetology

A while back, I addressed the Twitter phenomenon. At that point, I had just gotten it so I wasn't exactly sure how it worked and what its significance was in a larger context. I did see the potential but I didn't realize how much potential Twitter really has...which is a lot. So much that it's the cover story in Time Magazine entitled: "How Twitter Will Change The Way We Live".

That's a pretty big deal. For most people Twitter seems like an annoying fad where people can tell other people they may or may not know how their stomachs reacted to last night's burrito. For companies, celebrities, and technologically optimistic folks, Twitter is so much more than that.

Considering one of the founders of this social networking site is Evan Williams who happens to be one of the founders of blogger.com, it's obvious there is some genius behind this phenomenon. Williams, we could say, brought blogging to the public eye transforming it into an extremely important venue & outlet for expression and conversation.

On Twitter, conversation is made easier, quicker, and more compact. By entering certain subjects in your post (i.e. #blogging), you can respond to those who have something to say about certain issues without having to be their friend, follow them, or know them at all. Keeping the character restriction helps us to summarize our points instead of rambling on meaninglessly. How democratic is that? Anyone anywhere (to an extent) can put their two cents into a public forum.

Interestingly, there has been a lot of scholarly criticism regarding the lack of a true public sphere where action and change can happen. I argue that this active public sphere is in fact the Internet. Although we aren't staging a revolution per se, the net can create global communities of people who can fight for a cause and defend their beliefs.

Beyond being a stage for discussion, Twitter is the master of networking. Yes, Facebook keeps you in touch with friends, and lets you "creep" non-friends, but it isn't as strong of a link to companies and organizations. Being able to read a series of headlines and follow links to what you're interested in changes the way we read the news in a good way. We all know that newspapers are a dying breed and you know what, that's okay. Online news means more news and faster news. When something happens, a story can break online where one used to have to wait until the next day for a print paper.

Twitter is exercising its potential well but there are possible scenarios that may devalue this service:

1. Advertising: Once Twitter receives advertising, the site won't be as organic as it is now. People will be distracted and discouraged to tweet and be tweeted at.

2. Applications: although Twitter is slightly extending one's abilities at the moment, their applications (i.e. Twitpic) are more beneficial than unnecessary. I mentioned in my previous Twitter-themed article that there may be a day where one can play TwitterGames. I personally hope this doesn't happen because it will cause the same kind of disturbance that advertising would.

Fingers crossed it won't succumb to that.




Alright, enough rambling.

If you're down with Twitter, follow me: www.twitter.com/romeh

Etiquette

Certain concerts should not take place in venues with seating. That being said, those who prefer to be seated should not come to said concerts. Why? Because they act like douchebags.

Tuesday night, I saw TV on the Radio (incredible) at a larger venue in Toronto (Docks). TVOTR fans are extremely diverse (in age and concert-going experience) which makes for an interesting crowd. There are, however, those who are accustomed to a different vibe and do not appreciate being sandwiched between sweaty people. I have no sympathy for those people. It baffles me that people will come to a concert and think that they're untouchable. Tough luck homeslices.

There was one particular 'human being' that snarled at everyone who tried to get past her. What was even funnier is that Snarly was situated close to the bathroom so those poor souls that had to empty the bladder had to feel her wrath.

Turns out there is legit concert etiquette behaviour on the interwebs categorized by genre. In a pretty cute (and comprehensive) list entitled "The (Rock) Concert-Goer's Guide to Etiquette", section VI. Pre-Concert Behaviour promotes the mantra: "push and be pushed". Regular concert goers will adhere to this rule but that doesn't exempt the newbies.

Just thought I'd give you all a heads up. If I ever catch you pouting at those "damn teenagers", you will feel MY wrath....or I'll just yell profanities at you.

The future of Jonas

I have a confession to make: I think the Jonas Brothers are adorable... in the same way that I find puppies and babies adorable. What I find creepy about them is that in two years from now, their appeal will change completely yet they are in denial about it. The oldest one is my age (21) meaning he'll be 23 singing to 8-13 year olds in a couple years. Does that seem odd to you? I was watching part of a Barbwa Walters interview with the JBs and she asked the same question. Their delusional response in a nutshell was: "our fans will grow with us". I don't know about that, boys. Pop music, especially of the Disney persuasion, isn't something that people stay devoted to for the rest of their lives. If they don't break away from this genre, or break up soon, they will forever be 20-something 'virgins' trying to live the Disney dream.

I guess it worked for Timberlake and the Mickey Mouse clubbers though so perhaps I'm wrong

...but maybe I'm right?