paiging

Susan Boyle...

… just isn’t that good. I’ll admit that I was moved by the video when I saw it too, but not for her voice. Google Shaheen Jafargholi, and then watch the Susan Boyle video again.

Comic sans

Apparently there’s a movement to ban Comic Sans font.  Hear, hear.

Twitter

My friend Ted, a social media guru, convinced me last night to join Twitter. When you create an account, Twitter searches your gmail address book to find people already using the service. Apparently 36 of my friends are already on Twitter!! Who knew?!

Monsters vs. Aliens

I saw Monsters vs. Aliens last night in 3D.  I thought it was super cute and a lot of fun. Overall I loved the voice acting, especially Seth Rogen and Kiefer Sutherland.  I didn’t enjoy Stephen Colbert, as his voice in the film is the same as his TV persona’s. It’s too familiar to my ear, and it “breaks down the fourth wall” a little too much for me. 

The movie also does well on the feminism front. Pros: clear female protagonist; the ultimate “lesson” from the movie (which comes when Susan realizes she shouldn’t sacrifice her dreams for her husband’s. Good for you, Susan!) Cons: that impossible bod, clad in skintight jumpsuits; a few leering references to said bod.  (Forty-foot legs?! Good for you, Susan!) 

Much as I enjoyed the movie, I did leave the theater with a bit of headache - apparently a real side effect of watching movies in 3D. 

Who knew...

…that proscriptive and prescriptive are two different words, and they’re actually antonyms of each other?!  You learn something new every day.  Also, I should become a grammarian.

Metallica!

Metallica gave a show on March 20 to promote their new video game, “Guitar Hero Metallica Madness.”  But apparently their lead guitarist won’t play it:

“To be totally honest I’m the kind of person that once I start playing a video game, I don’t ever put it down,” Hammett told us. “I don’t eat; I don’t sleep, I just play and play. I realized years ago that if I didn’t watch it, I’d have to go into a twelve step for video games, so I just better cool it. Then this comes around, and of course I get addicted instantly and start playing obsessively. The entire time I should be playing my guitar instead of this toy guitar. It was like, ‘What am I doing’?”

Why are about video games so addicting?  It’s not surprising the average person would rather play a video game than actually play guitar, but I find it astonishing that an awesome guitarist would too.  Maybe it’s something about the challenge/reward intervals being so close together in a video game - instant gratification.  It only takes 2 minutes to complete a stage in the game, and then you get the feeling of accomplishment.  Whereas there’s no stage to complete in playing guitar. 

Cruciverbalism

Today, I’m going to download a demo of this software, which is used by “professional crossword constructors.”  I’ve never tried constructing a crossword puzzle before, but it seems like a fun, creative challenge.  

I'm on a boat

Thank you, Wikipedia! T-Pain was born September 30, 1985. He’s the same age as me and my friends! But he’s on a boat with Andy Samberg … and I make PowerPoints :(

Favorite T-Pain quote: “I think I’ve spent well over $50 grand, just on $6 drinks. Sometimes I’ll tell the whole bar, like, “Every drink is on me.” It’s common courtesy. [Pauses] Well, it’s not that common. But it’s definitely a courtesy.”

troubled times for consultants

A revised earnings estimate from Accenture yesterday.  Not surprising, since you would think that consulting budgets would be among the first to go during a recession.