This is my favorite Christmas video of 2010

http://cuteoverload.com/2010/12/23/merry-quarium/

Another video from CuteOverload.com to make your day a little merrier :)

Facebook: The Origins

Sorry for the long absence. Good news! (Though mostly relevant to me) I found a job. It's just eating up alot of my time now, but I'm trying to get back to writing in this.

Facebook. There's a HUGE article in Time Magazine about Facebook and Zuckerberg. And it's odd. I find myself wishing for the return of the old Facebook. The one where I had my full name, college, and dorm (down to the room number) posted for all to see because it was only for college kids! Back when I friended strangers who were going to be living in the same dorm as me. Back when I would strike up a conversation, for the first time in my life, with a hot guy and absolutely know that life was about to get better.

Now with Facebook's worldwide and age-wide range of members, the rules have changed. It was like the virtual handshake to your potential new best friend became taboo as the crowds filed in. 13 years olds blatantly pretended to be 19 and made that previously small world awkward. Old alumni friend-requested young college girls, and attitudes instinctually shifted toward suspicion. Family members expected invites to inspect your pictures. The entire network of "friends" went bust (at least to those college kids who were originally present for the transition).

And I stare at this article, knowing where Zuckerberg was trying to go with the Facebook concept, and indeed achieving it for a precious fraction of time, but also realizing that it will never return to that first, sincere, and probably naive, virtual handshake.

LAN Parties

The ultimate geek party. I've been to several of them for World of Warcraft, but only found out today that they have a name. LAN Parties. They occur when geeks amass at one house to play computer games with each other (ex. Diablo 2, WOW, . Computers can be found anywhere there is room for them, with cables running across the room like an Indiana Jones trap.

It's the ultimate group of friends. No one's going to care if you're wearing makeup (in my case) as long as your character is useful and you can wait your turn for loot drops. There's no awkward conversations about who's going out with who and 'what do think of her flakiness'. It's all, 'Let's keep to the walls so we don't draw the enemies' fire too soon,' and my favorite, 'Can anyone use this purple? It's not compatible with my characters armor/weapons'. Music to my ears.

There are friendships, enemies, and as I found out the hard way, mercenary farmers. That gets to be a touchy subject around friends when they kill you all for 'invading their turf'. Just wait til you have a group of level 80s and go hunting, my friends.

Trust me.

Cracked.com

I'm still waiting to become a staff writer at Cracked.com. Supposedly, a few days after you reply to a specific thread and say "I wanna write comedy for Cracked!" or some such variation, the staff will look over all of the posts and give the members access to the writer's workshop (along with a rather odd title, "Purveyor of Dick Jokes").

One month later...

Nada. There are a few people on my page of the thread that have been approved, but nothing more. I have an article ready and everything. Go cry me a river, you say? Well, it just so happens that I agree.

So, here I am trekking through the online jungle to find other websites that let people submit material. (-,-)

2000-2010 style

This question bothers me from time to time:

What would you classify the clothing style of 2000-2010?

1990s: Grungy, couldn't-care-less clothes and messy hair
1980s: High waist tights, neon clothes with geometric patterns and perms
1970s: Hippie clothes and long, straight hair with headband
1960s: High waist shorts and long, straight hair
1950s: High waist, cropped pants and shoulder-length, curled hair

The closest thing I can come up with are big boots/high heels and short, flowing dresses. This is wayyyy too narrow though.

oDesk warnings

oDesk is a website for freelancing writers, SEO researchers, data entry, etc. Unfortunately, it has loopholes for scams.

Reason 1: The site does not allow freelancers to lowball other freelances on job offers, although it is a common occurrence and the site administrator ignores the problem.
Reason 2: Providers, or, the people hiring, will pay a freelancer only if they believe the work met expectations. This allows employers to say that the work was poor quality and refuse to pay; in effect, they receive outside labor for free. I’m not saying that this happens often, but the quality of employers is unstable.
Reason 3: The above is also true for freelancers. Lowballers often receive the jobs that experienced professionals apply for, though they have almost no experience. This frequently prompts the employers to hire more people to re-do the shoddy work.
Reason 4: Work is not guaranteed, even if the provider/employer gave you the job.

I'm back with more rants than ever.

I finally have a job, thank goodness. It's a freelance writing gig for Demand Studios. I'm still stuck in the Biography phase, but once it gets going, it should roll like a tripped yetti.

I'm also engaged and enjoying it. He thought I was a weird one when I told him I hate diamonds. Well, that's me. Give me a stone that lives! Opal, ruby, emerald, anything that looks like it has a personality waiting to beat down the door.

I can't wait to see the newest Twilight. I'm a big skeptic, but I enjoy the books. The acting seems to get better as the movies progress, so hopefully this 3rd one won't disappoint. What do I have to lose? If I don't like it, then I'll just go back to being a skeptic. I suppose this leads to the next point:

I do believe that I'm a closeted hopeless romantic. Yet with a strange twist.

I speak practicalities, but in my mind I've been rooting for you all - every single lost heart, psychopath, manic depressive, jock, nerdette, geekling, Everyman (not a typo). I see the unconventional storybook ways that you could meet, annoy each other, and become Person 2.0.

Here's to you all.