Tuesday Links

OK, so last week was bad. I didn't blog. I was busy and lazy. I could've done the links and Jam of the Week only, but I felt like that was cheating.

I'll tell you later on in the week what I was doing. (How's that for a big market tease?) I promise to do better with the blogging this week. And now that I've typed that, I actually have to do it.

In the mean time, here are the Tuesday Links.

1. Still mad about Netflix's price hikes? Well, Walmart has jumped in the game. Better yet, there's a relief fund for white people who love GAP khakis.

2. College athletes don't get paid, but schools and conferences make MILLIONS off them anyway. And some student-athletes do get paid and the schools get into all kinds of trouble when it's discovered. This guy thinks we should just end the charade and pay star student-athletes out in the open. Hmm. Maybe I'll blog my thoughts on the subject someday.

3. This video is just too funny. A Dad turns into the Double Rainbow Guy at a Little League game.

4. Any Mad Men fans? An  enterprising fellow took some time to do an unofficial remake of the opening credits.

5. Love this column about the time-honored tradition in baseball of trading talented, proven players for a gaggle of prospects who may or may not develop into Major Leaguers. It seems like a good idea, but I'd rather have the proven player.

6. Want to know who invented the high five? Yeah, you do.

7. This twitter exchange makes me giggle. Over and over.

8. An NFL player demonstrates his love for his wife through song.

9. So you already know I love nostalgia. Or my 80s and 90s versions of it anyway. I worshiped Saved By the Bell, so this video of White Collar's Matt Bomer doing the Bayside cheer melts my heart. And this columnist is crazy for being mad at Zack. She should totally be mad at Kelly for breaking Zack's heart!

And speaking of nostalgia...

10. Kenny Ortega plans to direct a remake of Dirty Dancing. Sigh. I love Ortega. He was Dirty Dancing's choreographer, and since this is my favorite movie, I knew that and adored him for it. He also choreographed Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Shag, two movies I also love. He directed High School Musical, which I think is supercute. And I haven't mentioned that he choreographed Michael Jackson's tours. So yeah, I have mad love for Ortega. But WHY he is remaking a movie that is so classic and iconic? Leave it alone, Kenny! Even Baby agrees!

What I Like About Twitter

Last year, I did what I was supposed to do as a new writer wanting to "make connections" and stay up on the latest industry news.

I joined Twitter. I'm the first to admit, I'm not an early adopter. I don't like change. I was the one clinging to my VHS tapes when DVDs were becoming more popular. Granted, the reason I did this was because VHS was cheaper, but still.

I joined Myspace years after everyone else did. I wasn't keen on joining Facebook because I rarely went on Myspace. Why did I need to join another social media site? Eventually, I did though. But I'm not a Facebook aficionado. It is fun to catch up on people's lives, but that becomes boring after awhile.

I always feel like I'm missing something with Facebook. What are people doing that they can spend hours on it?

But that's not the case with Twitter. I joined and immediately fell in love. The posts were fast and fast to read. There's no superfluous information. All I have to care about or pay attention to are the posts.

It's fun when someone tweets something random (and most tweets are random) and you connect with it. You reply and bam you're having a conversation.

But I've gone completely off on a tangent.

What amuses me most about Twitter is how it's become a news source. I imagine that the founders thought it would be a place for friends to talk to each other in real time and a place to make new friends based on shared interests. Which it is.

But it's also a place that news organizations, especially the kind that report celebrity news, rely heavily on. And it cracks me up. I watch too much a lot of ESPN. I know it's not a Sportscenter until an anchor says, "Athlete A said blah blah blah on Twitter."

It happens every night, and it's great. There's no need to conduct an interview or heck even ask for an interview. Athletes put it out there for everyone to see.

I don't know why, but this amuses me to no end.

Do you like Twitter? What do you like most about it? Are you #teamtwitter or #teamfacebook?

Commercials - Love or Love to Hate 'em?

The beauty of the DVR is that you can skip past the commercials. With a press of the fast forward button, that hour-long episode of Grey's Anatomy becomes 40 minutes. When I do DVR a show, I like being able to skip the commercials, but honestly it doesn't bother me to watch a show live. That's how I watched TV for the first twenty-five years of my life, so it's all good. And by not skipping commercials, I get to discover commercials that I love that become part of pop culture. For instance, a few months ago, I kept seeing people posting about the Sun Drop commercial on Twitter. I had no idea what they were talking about, but it was on my radar. I could have looked it up on Youtube, but that requires effort and we can't have THAT, can we? Psshh. Anywho, I finally saw the commercial and I got excited and felt like I was one of the cool kids. I love the ad because it's soooo ridiculous and has a cool song.

Anywho, I have a new favorite commercial. I crack up every time I see it. I stop what I'm doing so I can give it my full attention.

I love the guy's passion. He is READY. You know he practiced the moves at homes after rehearsal every night. And the looks of disdain on his fellow flash mobbers' faces? PRICELESS.

Hooray for great commercials? Do you like commercials or find them annoying?