The deeper side of autotune.

Hide your kids, hide your wife.

Just in case you were hiding under a rock somewhere as I apparently was, here is the newest YouTube craze. As Cubby says, he's a soldier of love!

Take that Limbaugh! Motor Trend tears Rush a new one.

After Rush Limbaugh strongly criticized Motor Trend for picking the electric Chevy Volt as the 2011 Car of the Year Motor Trend's blog spells out exactly why he's wrong- with a much better sense of humor, I might add. A highlight:

"All the shouting from you or from electric car purists on the left can’t distort the fact that the Chevy Volt is, indeed, a technological breakthrough. And it’s more. It’s a technological breakthrough that many American families can use for gas-free daily commutes and well-planned vacation drives. It’s expensive for a Chevy, but many of those families will find the gasoline saved worth it. If you can stop shilling for your favorite political party long enough to go for a drive, you might really enjoy the Chevy Volt. I’m sure GM would be happy to lend you one for the weekend. Just remember: driving and Oxycontin don’t mix."

Way to go Motor Trend. Keep it classy Rush.

A complete, succinct explanation of what caused the financial crisis.

If you've tuned out the analysis of the causes and effects of our current financial crisis, you're not alone. Most of it has been worth ignoring since it's so out of our hands. With the perspective gained through hindsight people are finally able to give a coherent synopsis of how we got into this in the first place. Give this a read so we don't have to go through this mess again: All the Devils Are Here by Joe Nocera and Bethany McLean.

Free tunes.

Girl Talk is a mashup dj who streams his music online for free here. I like the track "Jump on Stage" to start. He's an interesting dude...

Pretty Lights is an electronic artist who lets you download ALL of his music for free here.



Enjoy!

Girls, girls, girls!

Sick new Girl skateboards...

Damn you autocorrect!

This blog is something we can probably all relate to. I say enough stuff that I regret already without autocorrect getting me into further trouble! One of my favorites:

Relive your middle school days from the safe distance of middle agedness.

This blog is at times hilarious, kind of always sad.

A posting sample... Student definition: “Strident- when you chew Stride and Trident at the same time”. Yikes, at least she’s creative.

Here's what the author says of his blog: I am a Middle School English teacher, and a vast percentage of my students have NO common sense whatsoever. Some of the things I see and hear are absolutely hilarious. Some of the things are overheard from conversations between students, others (unfortunately) are spoken aloud in my classroom and posed as legitimate (in their minds) questions. In this blog, I will be posting the best (worst?) things I hear my students say or see them write. IMPORTANT: at no point in any of these posts will I make fun of or ridicule any students with learning disabilities or difficulties of any kind. All of the students quoted are standard students without Individual Education Plans or any evidence of mental disabilities.

Why did we choose gold as the standard for wealth?

Gold has represented wealth to humans for centuries and I've always wondered why. In India gold is so popular that around auspicious dates for weddings the demand for it actually affects the price in the entire world market! NPR's analysis of the periodic table reveals why gold is the only element known to man that could be worthy of such status. Listen to the story here.

Service time swapping.

A bartering bank in Maine helps people develop community and get services they need but can't afford. Like Burning Man, without the nudity and drugs. Watch the story on the PBS Newshour.

Fact free "news".

There is a HUGE problem with some sectors of the American news media - the lack of actual truth in what they report. Thomas Friedman wrote about it recently in the New York Times. I think that Rachel Maddow said it well that when you just repeat what you've heard without checking it's veracity that's not news, that's publicity. Although MSNBC and other more liberal cable news outlets may seem like the mirror image of Fox News, the difference is that the former still relies on real journalism instead of just talking heads. The speed with which rumors spread across the world thesedays makes it ever more important to speak truth.

Don't be fooled.

Vaccinate!

It's not just so you don't get the flu - it's so you don't turn around and give it to the rest of us. That's what's called "herd immunity". If you have an ounce of altruism you'll get over the hype and skepticism and believe in science. You trust your doctor when he or she gives you a cancer diagnosis, so why don't you believe them when they tell you to get a flu shot? Vaccines are, on the whole, very safe and effective. Read more about this issue here.

Cat fends off alligator.

Even my puppy Blue is less deterred by these tactics, but I guess it's an opponent this alligator's never seen.

One giant leap past autotuned music.

Computer generated Japanese pop star Miku sings songs that you create on your computer. "She" also sells out concerts performing her own songs as a hologram backed by a live band. And you though lip synching Ashlee Simpson was bad...

Dog genius.

The lazy way to eat with a clear conscience.

Do you want to support local, family owned farms instead of companies like Monsanto? Would you rather eat food that's organic and doesn't guzzle gas on its way to your grocery store? Don't have time for the farmer's market, or don't have one in your area?

Get a subscription to Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). You can get fresh, seasonal, locally grown fruits and veggies delivered to your door on a schedule of your choosing. If you'd rather, you can even go pick it up at the farm iself, turning grocery shopping into a fun and educational field trip for kids.

The kids are alright.

Apparently lesbian moms don't abuse their kids, and they may actually contribute to a greater openness in their children's sexual identities. As Jezebel says, it's time to panic!

The power of China.

This time lapse video of the construction of a hotel in China puts a visual to the title of that country as an emerging world superpower. Without thinking about the socioeconomic and political contexts in which this takes place, I'm kind of jealous of the productivity...

No H8.

Props to Mrs. McCain for taking a difficult stand.

Flip it and reverse it.

So cute. 3 year old recites poetry by heart.

Watch my favorite clip where he recites "Litany" here.

You may be worth more than you realize.

But you probably won't see a dime of it. Why? If you work for a large corporation there's a chance that they've taken out what's called a "dead peasant" insurance policy on your life. This isn't the same as your employer insuring you as an asset because they have a vested interest in keeping you safe, like they did with Mary Hart's legs. It's pure economics: "...the purpose is basically profit. The life insurance proceeds are tax-free. The policies have an investment component that allows companies to earn tax-deferred returns while the employee is still alive. And, of course, companies can take out tax-free loans on the policies. All these gains and income are used to fund operations, pay for executive compensation or boost other benefits", according to MSN. They can even cash in on these policies if you die after you leave the company.


Shady.

Unbelievable.

A new approach to an old issue.

A heterosexual couple in London want to tie the knot, but don't want to get married. They want a gay civil union.

Going to Vegas?

Here's something to do that's off the beaten path and does not involve drugs, alcohol, or gambling.

WATCH THIS MOVIE.

Blue Gold: You'll never guess how deep the world's water problems run.

WTF has Obama done so far?

Check out this site to see a funny take on his first half of his first term's accomplishments. Just remember that this was HIS agenda, but it was made possible by our CONGRESS. Now let's see how much the Republicans can do...

What's YOUR comfort zone?

Richard Renaldi is a photographer in the midst of an interesting project - to document strangers touching each other. Read the NPR interview of the artist here.

One step closer to robotic soldiers.

Watch the "robot mule" at minute four maintain its balance after being kicked and slipping on ice. More on robots here .

Signs from The Rally to Restore Sanity.

See the entire list.

Ranking drugs.

A British study conducted recently has ranked drugs based on their cost to individuals and to society as a whole. Overall, alcohol actually beat out heroin and crack cocaine as the most damaging drug with pot, ecstacy, and LSD rounding out the bottom of the list. Read the full article here.