In Case You Wanted To Smile

I can't believe I'd never seen this before. The fact that this took place in a church just spreads my grin that much wider. This is beautiful.

Why Diane Tucker Might Be A Contender On My "Wouldn't Kick Out of Bed For Eating Crackers" List

Perhaps this is simply journalist humor best suited for those who have read and reread The Elements of Style as if it was the bible, but this is truly one of the most brilliant things I've read in quite some time. In one swoop, Diane Tucker has been added as a potential contender on my brilliant people I admire list (otherwise named "People I Wouldn't Kick Out of Bed For Eating Crackers").

Check out the article below. I'm curious to find out if this is funny to people who don't write.


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She's the female Jack Johnson equivalent in a way, and if you haven't heard of her yet you ought to listen now. Behold Tristan Prettyman.

Hilarious Video: Facebook Messes Up Relationships

Psychologists confirmed that Facebook increases jealousy and these people turned our tendencies into one hilarious video about how the site has changed our relationships. Watch it below, and listen for hilarious quotes like:

1. Because you LOLing all up on her comments. Is she that funny now? That funny?

2. "I'm going to change my relationship status to 'In a relationship...WITH A LOSER.' Can I do that? 'WITH A LOSER.'"

3. So you just going to do movie quizzes all day, huh? Movie quizzes?

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Diamond Rings - "All Yr Songs"

When Will This Happen In the NCAA?

It's only a matter before something like this happens in college sports. A female to male or male to female student athlete will want to continue to play the sport they love. But how will people react and what will happen?


Adoring Andrew Bird's use of language and absolute brilliance. I've never heard a more beautiful song when it comes to words as craft in pure sound.

Andrew Bird - "Tenuousness"

The Real Way to Play Hit Machine

The second I saw Hit Machine I knew I'd spend my next sleepless night shredding my keyboard with the online Rock Band equivalent. But in watching an online video all I could think was, "No she didn't!"

The person playing in the demo video below is playing while sitting down. For all practical purposes I couldn't tell whether they were writing a report or playing what might be a milestone of an internet gaming release. It seems like a sin.

The beauty of Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and now Hit Machine is its ability to allow us to pretend that we are the band. In other words, I'm kicking my desk chair into the hallway for awhile, taking my lampshades off so I can shine the bare bulbs like spotlights in my eyes, turning on every multicolored light I have, and BEING the band. I've already rigged a way to mount my wireless keyboard on a baseball bat so that I can "play guitar" until the club shuts down. So don't call me tonight, unless of course, you want to be my drummer.

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Get revved up with supercharged bassline heavy The Girls Can Hear Us.

The Girls Can Hear Us remix of Beach Boys - "Wouldn't It Be Nice" (Please excuse the disturbing image. It's well worth enduring because this combination of old and new is about as fun as it gets.)

Another Reason Why the MTA May Cause You More Aggravation

If you've ever taken public transportation in NYC during the summer, you know the feeling of peering down a dark tunnel and waiting for the light as sweat streams down your back and your pants stick to your legs. It's aggravating, especially since the MTA raised their fares and reduced service. But now we may have something else to worry about.

Chris Schoenfeld tried to save some suffering with an iPhone app called StationStops. Meant to provide people with MTA schedules, it would reduce wait time and help people navigate schedules with ease. But then the MTA sent him a cease and desist letter. Apparently MTA schedules are copyrighted material and therefore off limits to people like Schoenfeld.

Why does the MTA care so much? Maybe they're worried about losing control or website hits? I'm not really sure, but it seems that they've left me sweating, staring at that dark tunnel and waiting for the light.

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You may have heard him on This American Life, but if not you'd best check him out now. David Berkeley.

Where The Wild Things Are Is Turning Kids Into Consumers of Cool

I'll admit, I've never read Where The Wild Things Are (WTWTA). It's a sin, I'm sure of it, but I plan on seeing the movie if only for the soundtrack. From what I can tell it seems like WTWTA is a movie about finding a place of belonging. It seems like a film where if only for an hour or so, anyone can take adventures and dreams can come true. It looks like a fun movie, but more than that, the font, the soundtrack, and just about everything else in the way the film is being presented makes me believe that WTWTA's marketing team wants to appeal to a group of kids who they hope will grow up to consume cool.

Not cool in the everybody's doing it sense, cool in an independent sense. Cool like Juno cool, or cool like the kids who listen to Arcade Fire (the trailer track) and Karen O (the woman behind the soundtrack). Everything about the movie says alternative in a subtle way, not counterculture alternative, but alternative in a "Sundance has suddenly turned mainstream but still seems independent" sort of way.

Maybe the day of uncool becoming cool has actually arrived. It's in our sweaters and nerdy glasses. It's in the fact that statistician has just been named one of the sexiest fields to enter into in the near future. Will the alternative remain cool? WTWTA seems to think so, at least for a little while longer.

Where the Wild Things Are Trailer #2

Why Yogi's Might Appreciate Your Next Computer

Your next computer purchase might be a touchscreen. If you're skeptical about that claim you might point to the not so popular HP Touchsmart, but I would counter your argument with rumors about the new Apple Tablet. Supposedly a larger, more laptop like iPhone sort of device, the tablet is just one step along the way toward incorporating serious touch technology into regular laptops and desktops.

If Apple releases their tablet the right way and brings us into the realm of touchscreen computing, there's no doubt that others will follow. So unlike the laptops of yesteryear, when touching your screen and blurring the graphics was a mortal sin, the next generation could encourage intuitive touches and gestures.

What's significant about all of this to me though, is something I've never heard anyone consider. Of course I'm interested in flicks and resizing, but what seems more important is the way that such technology will naturally change the office environment. As traditional computing combines with the touchscreen technology we'll find ourselves reaching up and grabbing the world rendered on our computers. We'll open our shoulders and work against the all too known I-spend-too-much-time-on-the-computer-so-I-look-like-a-gorilla slump. The next generation computer might release us from the confines of our keyboards, but more than that, we will literally free our constricting pectorals and open ourselves up to a freer world. That, to me, seems like technology at it's best.

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Open your life up to the easy flow of Aussie singer-songwriter ">Jamie Hutchings.

Jamie Hutchings - "After the Flood"

Healthcare Explained On Napkins

Dan Roam, the man behind napkin illustrations that can explain just about anything, has created a slide show that explains health care. Clever, but even more than that, it reiterates how well we respond to stories.

Healthcare Napkins All

View more documents from Dan Roam.

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Check out Thrillmagazine.tumblr.com for some music recommendations and a few blasts from the past.