Outside of the Classroom

It feels like a very long time ago when I was in a high school classroom. There were no real computer classes (except learning how to type on a keyboard), no blogs, no myspace, no text messaging. We had beepers! And only the rich kids had cell phones.

But the world has changed and so has the classroom. I got an email from a friend today pointing me in the direction of a blog that is written by a class of sophomore high school students in Connecticut. They have been given the assignment to write a blog post about a current event. It seems like both a writing assignment and an experiment at the same time. Will random people find their site? Will they get comments? Will they spark interest? Will they be linked to? (Yes!)

So far they have touched on Darfur, the war in Iraq, global warming, the death penalty, obesity, college drinking, Jena 6, abortion and religion. It really represents all the issues that this country (and world) discusses and thinks about every single day.

Check out Olmstead/Wasserman 212 and leave a comment showing them some love!

I wish them the best of luck and welcome them to the blogosphere!

Bad Taste?

When I saw this shirt online this morning I laughed. I mean, the premise is funny and I know people (maybe me?) who online-stalk (thank you google, myspace, friendster...facebook one day soon?).

But I didn't realize that some people actually live in fear of their stalker. One woman in particular was really upset about this shirt being sold at Wal-Mart.

"People don't realize how serious stalking is," she said. "You constantly live in fear, look over your shoulder and suffer from psychological and physical symptoms due to the stress of the stalker."
She wondered aloud: What's next?

"Some say it's rape, I call it hot sex"? Or: "Some call it domestic violence, I say I'm just teaching her a lesson"?

Again, not funny. Right?

What If You Spent Every Day of the Last Year Following Every Rule of the Bible?

You would look like this guy.

For a year A. J. Jacobs lived his life by every rule set out in the Bible. That includes the prohibition of certain hair cutting, as seen in the picture above. But what wasn't he able to cut out? Coveting.

But he did manage to stone an adulterer!

From a Newsweek interview:

What rule was the hardest to follow?
Two kinds of rules were hard. Avoiding sins we commit every day like lying, gossiping and coveting was hard, and then there were the rules that were hard to do in modern life, like stoning adulterers. But I did manage to fulfill that one. What happened was, I was in the park, dressed in my white garb, and this man in his 70s came over and asked what I was doing. I explained I was trying to follow every rule in the Bible as literally as possible, including growing my beard, not mixing fibers, stoning adulterers, and he said, “I’m an adulterer, are you going to stone me?” I said, “Yeah that would be great.” The Bible doesn’t say what size the stones have to be, so I had been carrying around these pebbles in my pocket for just such an occasion. I took the pebbles out of my pocket, and he instantly picked one up and threw it at me, so I decided, an eye for an eye, and I tossed one at him. It did provide an entry for talking to people about capital punishment and the Bible. How could they stone adulterers, what was life like back then, does it apply today. I tried to say to the guy, you shouldn’t sleep with other women, but I don’t know if it sunk in.

I like how now his perception has shifted and he appreciates good things that happen and how he sees his life as one of responsibility rather than rights and entitlements. I guess that's the real point of religion? To give your life some meaning and to help you get through the days when they are hard.

Learn more about A. J. Jacobs and his new book, The Year of Living Biblically, at Newsweek.

(via Boing Boing)

ANTM

I know there are many fans of America's Next Top Model out there. And although I do not watch the show during its first run (but I have to admit I watch past seasons in rerun on MTV/VH1) I still love to check out Four Four's review each week.

This guy has the best reviews of every single reality cheese-fest out there. So if you haven't jumped on the train already - be sure to check out Four Four's review of the first episode of the new season (Cycle 9) of America's Next Top Model.

LOLSECRETZ

What do you get when you mix
Postsecret with I Can Has Cheezburger?

lolsecretz - Check Out More!

The weird part is you can't tell if it is a joke or not...

Bored?

Check out this list of 15 Websites that are sure to waste some time.

What's Going On Up There?

10 facts that differentiate men's brains from women's brains.

Ohhh Such An Excellent Find!

I just came across this blog and I LOVE IT:

Behind the Counter - All the drama from the Service Desk of the Wal-Mart.

This person rants about people returning shit at Wal-mart to get back $2.64. And the things that get returned -- oh you just have to check it out.

The Best Worst Movies

Check out Maxim's top 13 Best Worst Movies We Can't Stop Watching, But Totally Should

The Last Dragon:
Back before hip-hop and R&B was ruined by poser thugs and kung fu movies started taking themselves way too seriously, the two had a torrid one night stand and birthed this beautiful love child. In fact, stand up in your cubicle right now and shout "Who is the master?" Anyone who doesn´t answer ´Sho´ nuff!" is someone you never need to speak to again.

Scarface:
Settle down, holmes. I know your Tony Montana silk-screened shirt, bedsheets, pool table cover, and mudflaps bristle at the thought of Scarface being called a "bad" movie, but ignore the hype and the fake gangster posturing and do something you´ve never done: Watch the movie. It´s aiiight, but it´s not the masterpiece it thinks it is. Still, as generally trashy B-movie stuff goes, it´s good stuff, and we don´t mind wallowing in Tony´s sleaze any chance we get. Just wipe your nose and keep it in perspective. You´re not a Cuban cocaine kingpin in Miami, you´re a Home Depot stockboy from Passaic, New Jersey.

(Digg)

Crazy Advertisments

I don't even know where to begin on this one....so I will just direct you to a link of some crazy vintage advertisements.

Top 10 Ways to Look Like a Total Toolbag

Check out this list and avoid these fashion mistakes

The Tragedy of Bravo's Near-Fame

A great article from the New Yorker talks about the Near-Fame Experience, and how some have thrived off the reality fame while others are still trying to make ends meet.

For the contestants, the implicit promise of these shows is that they’re time machines, compressing the brutal urban mechanics of getting ahead—the political maneuvering, the grinding incremental labor—from a matter of years to months. The problem is that reality-show success is no substitute for real-world experience. “There is something a little bit cruel about all the attention,” says Ted Allen, the dignified cooking guru of Bravo’s Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and a recurring judge on Top Chef. “Because during the season you’re in one of the shows, you are famous for a while, and you get to enjoy all the fun of that. But you’re not someone who has any sort of expertise that’s going to keep you on television. There’s no certain road map for translating that kind of ephemeral success into a life of yachts and bling.”

The talented reality stars on Bravo's hits like Project Runway and Top Chef look like they have it made. They compete, they win, they get the hook up to set up their own fashion line or internship or whatever-the-hell it is. But looks can be deceiving.

People like Jay McCarroll (winner of Season 1, Project Runway) is practically homeless, living out of his tiny NY studio where he produces his designs. No bathroom, no kitchen. How is that possible after being the winner of this huge TV competition? Jay turned down the Banana Republic deal. Do you blame him? Well, according to Jay, it went something like this:

“A week after I won the show, I met with two ladies from Banana Republic at the top of the Soho House, which is like, big time,” he says. “And they were like, ‘Oh, we can give you numbers for factories to get your clothes produced.’ But that was totally not anything like what I needed. What I needed was someone to sit down with me and say, Here’s how you start a fashion label.”

also..."After he won the first season of Project Runway, he discovered that the Weinstein Company would forever own a 10 percent stake in his brand—and he didn’t yet even have a brand—if he chose to take their $100,000 prize. He turned it down."

So, no, I don't blame him. All he knows is the design aspect. What good would it be to find a sweatshop to produce his clothing if he didn't have the know-how to market and get his stuff in the stores?

And what are his other choices if he can't run his own business? Pretty much put the designing aside and live up the reality fame by hosting parties and gigs where his name will bring people in. Sure that works for some people, but when he signed up to become "Americans Next Great Designer" he actually wanted to design.

“You get everything you’re promised from the show,” says Andrae Gonzalo (Season 2, Project Runway). “I am now a famous fashion designer. But that is so different from a successful fashion designer.”

Note - the New Yorker article is very long - but it takes an interesting deep look into the before (casting), during (taping) and after (the reality fame) of running a show on Bravo. Plus a little more about past contestants, hosts and executives of the network.

Monthly Rituals

Every month I have certain rituals that I go through. Most important being paying my bills - but at a close 2nd, I check my monthly horoscope at www.astrologyzone.com. Susan Miller uses the planets and all that other astrology stuff to tell us what we have in store in the month ahead. It is updated the first of every month.

So what's in store for me, Leo, in my birth month of August?

According to Susan, I have been going through a "growing up" phase since July 2005 that is about to come to an end. And now it should feel like I have completed a rite of passage. This month will be my last to make some big decisions and complete my growth. I wonder what's ahead for me?!?!? It has been just about 2 years since I have started my career and it has forced me into this "adult" lifestyle. It still feels pretty strange but I guess it is time to get used to it.

Also, this month will bring more stress related to money, which Susan admits has had a hold on me for awhile (since March 2006). Next month the "financial shocks" might not be over - so I have to continue to stay on top of the money situation. Geez, I really wished this would be over already, but according to Susan, it ain't over yet.

What else is on my astrology hit list? Free Will Astrology, brought to you each week on Wednesday through the Village Voice. You can also check it out weekly directly through Free Will Astrology. I have to admit, this guy Rob Brezsny is a piece of work. His horoscopes often talk about things that you wouldn't normally associate with horoscopes - but hey - it's entertainment and insightful.

Can You Walk The Walk?

Alesh - finder of great websites - scored again today with the me-friendly site, Walk Score, that calculates the walkability of your neighborhood by using a fancy algorithm to find the nearest restaurants, grocery stores, and parks. My Design District/Edgewater apartment building scored a modest 68, which puts it right below the "True Urban" marker, in that some places are walkable but many still require getting in a car. Which is true.

A quick glance at my old apartment in San Francisco brought up a not-surprising 100 out 100.

How did your neighborhood do?

MMMM...Ice Cream

What your favorite ice cream flavor says about you

Mine:

Rocky road: You tend to be a balanced mixture of charm and practicality. While you are outgoing in social situations, in the business world you tend to be more aggressive and goal-oriented. You are most compatible with other rocky-road fans.

The Strangest Sights On Google Earth

Arizona Loves Oprah

Google Earth has captured some of the strangest sights on the planet - and PC World has spent time putting them together for you.

Places I Would Rather Be Right Now

In Space


In a tub of Cheetos

Playing basketball with the Arcade Fire

What Did You Say?

Catch phrases are often repeated but rarely make sense. Like, why would we say someone who gets away with a crime got off "scot-free" or how is "painting the town red" equal to bar hopping with your friends?

Check out this list of familiar phrases and their origins...

And just in case you were wondering...

PAINT THE TOWN RED

Meaning: Spend a wild night out, usually involving drinking
Origin: “This colorful term … probably originated on the frontier. In the nineteenth century the section of town where brothels and saloons were located was known as the ‘red light district.’ So a group of lusty cowhands out for a night on the town might very well take it into their heads to make the whole town red.” (From Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins Vol. 3, by William and Mary Morris)

GOT OFF (OR GO) “SCOT-FREE”

Meaning: Escape punishment
Origin: “In the thirteenth century, scot was the word for money you would pay at a tavern for food and drink, or when they passed the hat to pay the entertainer. Later, it came to mean a local tax that paid the sheriff’s expenses. To go scot-free literally meant to be exempted from paying this tax.” (From How Does Olive Oil Lose its Virginity?, by Bruce Tindall and Mark Watson)

Check out more here.

Yahoo's Deep Insight Into Men

It is a lifetime struggle that has taken up covers of women's magazines for years and years - What do men think? And Yahoo has figured it out....well sort of. It says a lot that the list only has 11 points. I guess that is all you need to figure guys out.

1. Getting angry at us for not reading your mind is like getting angry at yourself for not being able to fly. It's not just futile, it's physically impossible.

2. Yes, we do think Jessica Alba is hot. Sometimes we're even dumb enough to admit it.

3. Don't ask us to understand your shoe fetish. Asking us to respect it is even sort of pushing it.

4. You do look good without makeup, just not as good as you look with it.

5. Ever notice how we don't fight with our male friends? That's why we get so frustrated when we fight with you.

6. You care what you're wearing infinitely more than we do. In fact, if you're naked when you open the front door, you won't hear an argument from us.

7. You don't like to get hit on in public, you don't want to date online and you don't want to be set up on blind dates. Tell us if sending messenger pigeons is an appropriate way of courting. Because if it is, we're all over it.

8. There should a statute of limitations on stupid things that we said that can come back to haunt us. I propose 24 hours.

9. Cooking dinner for a man is like buying flowers for a woman, except it takes a lot more time, effort and thought for you to do it. Thanks. We appreciate it.

10. We actually like your girly pet-names for us, but please, not in front of the guys!

11. Just because we like looking at the women in Maxim doesn't mean we want to actually converse with the women in Maxim. Not for long, anyway.

12. Your nice guy friends are the most reliable source for telling you if your new boyfriend's a jerk. And he probably is. (By the way, you might want to consider marrying that nice guy who's giving you advice about the jerk.)

If Cute Overload Isn't Your Thing....

Try Ugly Overload.