funny after 5: Shiba Inu Dude Cam

this is the funniest thing since the spider drawing. if you thought the Shiba Inu Puppy Cam was epic (and it is--it was even mentioned in Wired), or the supporting drinking game, then you need to check out the Shiba Inu Dude Cam. guaranteed to make you giggle, and sometimes "aww," as much as the original. these guys are crazy and i love it.

Twitter Secret Santa

or Secret Snowflake, or whatever. basically, your shot to give & get this holiday season. i am hoping that it will also encourage you to meet new people on twitter--especially if you get someone that you aren't already following!

this will be done in "real life," so the only mandates are that you're on twitter and that you send me your real life address. only 2 people will know it: me, and whomever your Secret person is who sends you stuff. me, i'll burn my copies in my fireplace Christmas Eve and put a picture up of all the addresses burning. :D

here's who is in so far:
@jaredwsmith @ldwatters @windo @kylecameron @faris @caff @Adrigonzo

want in? DM me @thegirlriot or email me @ thegirlriot[@]gmail[dot]com.

you CANNOT spend over $20 on the present.
you also should not spend less than $10.

ALL PARTICIPANTS DM or email me the following:
--Your preferred address
--3 things you like.
(not items, but things... like knitting, True Blood, and candy corn.)

my cat will then pair us all up i mean elfster (thanks Kyle!) and i will send each of you your secret person. you will be paired up by Black Friday (this Friday, the 28th). i can't monitor when you send out your gift, but it would be nice if you could have it arrive by December 21st, in time for the full holiday season. any questions, just comment! thanks.

on that live-streaming suicide...

some people found the whole thing repulsive, some folks blamed social media, but i just got really depressed and decided to watch PuppyCam after reading an article on it. after reading David's post, i decided i did want to talk about it.

i don't think it's about the fact that it was online, really. he was depressed from the outset. being online didn't make him more depressed. i really think being in a chat room didn't make him more or less likely to commit suicide. he seemed pretty intent on that, anyway. he talked about how he was going to do it, just as many people tend to do beforehand. in fact, it just seems like many other teen suicides:

"I have let everyone down and I feel as though I will never change or never improve. I am in love with a girl and I know that I am not good enough for her."

and i don't mean that in a belittling way. as some of you know, i'm a major supporter of To Write Love on Her Arms, which is a charity in support of getting people help who deal with suicide, depression, and self-mutilation, among other aspects (you can donate via PayPal here). he loved a girl and didn't love himself enough (or didn't get enough love through relationships, hat tip to @mtartag) to discover whether or not he was 'good enough for her.' and that just makes my heart hurt.

i think perhaps it was executed on justin.tv mainly as a last act of attention, of a version of love-seeking. i think the intent here was different, and in some way intriguing (after all, i favourited it on twitter), when @anniemal said "if I'm going to die, I'm going to broadcast it. I'm not going out without an audience."

and yet, the heart of it isn't the broadcast. it's just bringing it to your attention because so many eyes are on it. for once, you don't have to die alone. you can die with a thousand people watching. you are not alone. but you need to tell the kids that before they die. the take-home message isn't ban social media, but instead reach out and help them. it's in your face. don't you think it's time to believe this isn't some "stupid teen thing"?

"But love is the answer to a question That I've forgotten But I know I've been asked And the answer has got to be love." - Regina Spektor <3

PS: another effort in loving your fellow stranger, brought to you by zoomdoggle. check it out.

interlude: just beautiful image

via Le Love via @andreafjeld
check out Le Love if you want to feel all warm and glowy. or just jealous.

$20 if you can find me that Prego commercial*

i have been scowling the net since last week for the "newish" Prego commercial. lemme set the scene for you. medium shot of bowl of spaghetti. you understand it is spaghetti. a jar of sauce--literally, a jar--is dropped onto the spaghetti. bounces. unappetizing. pan right. bowl of spaghetti. SAUCE is poured on it. mmm. sauce. Prego. "for when you want sauce, not a jar." (paraphrase, but the intent is the same). WTF?!? hi. Prego IS IN A JAR. YOU EVEN PICTURE THE JAR. NEXT TO THE SAUCE ON THE PASTA. what creative director says, oh yes, let's use our unique selling point! we're not a jar sauce! we just happen to be in a jar. dumbasses.

PS--want to laugh? i got more images of pregnant women when image searching Google for Prego than the jar sauce. on the first page, Prego appears only once, at #3.

*and by i will give you $20, i mean that i will give you a drawing of a spider. for real, click that link. it's one of the funniest things i've seen this month. maybe ever. i'm half in love with Jane Gilles. because it wouldn't be anywhere near as funny if she hadn't gone along with it. we need more people like her in the world. or at least in customer service. so cheers to you, Jane and David.

it's Monday & i feel like complaining.

i'm not one for complaining.
no really, i'm not. i may be cutting and snarky about shortcomings of things, but very rarely am i actually discontented and willing to chew your ear off about it. but in this case, as i'm procrastinating more substantive posts, i feel like complaining.

1. RESPECT VS AGENCY BATHROOMS.
i just went to the bathroom (congrats, i know). i walk in and the toilet... oh well hold on and let me explain. i work in a small agency. 2 bathrooms. 1 assumed as "men," the other "women," mainly due to placement of urinal. now. there are more men here than women (shockerrr!) and sometimes the men use the ladies' bathroom because their own esta occupado. i'm all for gender fluidity. so whatever. problem? put the goddamn toilet seat down. don't pee all over the place. or if you have to, clean it the fuck up, gents, cos i'm not your mommy and i don't feel like it.

that being said, because of this i cannot attribute this morning's bathroom issue to male or female. all are suspect. bottom line? if you take a crap, flush. wait. maybe flush again out of courtesy. because Monday morning i don't want to see a ring from the unflushed crap lying there after a whole weekend of fermentation. thank you. and i approve this message.

2. POST ANXIETY & FEELING LIKE A DUMBASS
it is hard to get back into daily blogging. i didn't think it would be. i mainly blame this on the copious amount of braincells my fever killed. because i don't think i lacked opinions for a whole week (as i now have 8 posts in the docket). now that i'm back on my "A Game" (ha!) a few things have come to my attention and remind me of my own stupidity:

the Obama logo--there was an O in it? fuck me. i must be lame. i feel just like i did when i realized there was an arrow in FedEx. on another O note--i can't look at the Overstock logo without thinking of Oprah.

secondly, most of you know i'm an Alice in Wonderland obsessive. my VHS broke like 6 years ago and my Disney copy has long since gone unwatched because of it. i don't know why i don't have a DVD copy. it only dawned on my stupid ass yesterday that i could watch it online. yeah, i'm a winner. social media ftw.

i suppose this is a good thing, because sometimes my ego and self confidence is larger than my body weight. it's humbling to realize i'm still as stupid as i ever was. rock on.

3. TWILIGHT: A WASTE OF $27

WAIT HERE LET ME SUMMARIZE IT FOR YOU: 40 minutes close up shots of two peoples' faces saying trite lines that are supposed to make me connect with the INTENSE DEEP EMOTIONS in their eyes. another 40 minutes of bullshit filler where we meet people who suddenly become friends for no reason.

and then the rest of the godforsaken 2 hour movie is composed of a sparkly-faced man trying to save some chick's ass. but the only worthwhile part--the fight scene--is quick and anticlimactic, 20 mins at best. please blow some more shit up because it's boring me to tears.

i realize that for fans of the books the movie may have been better, because you read the story and know innately, in that way you can recite, exactly what Bella and Edward were "saying" during those scenes where to me it just looks like they're eye-fucking each other. but for me, it was just tedious and lame. i can has money back nao? for a funnier, more accurate summary of the movie, check out this guy.

what runs at a speed of 104?

my brain, boiling. ok, not boiling. but my fever is pretty intense. nyQuil and i have again entered into a secret, torrid love affair.

i swear i will be back in full gear shortly. please, please bear with me =/ i will catch up on followers and blog posts when i can type a coherent post without needing spell check every 2 seconds.

meanwhile, i have had a lot of time to compare and contrast various soup commercials... i enjoy how they're as targeted as video game consoles. oh niche.

i can has change nao?

it's official. lolcats have made it to the white house. alright, clearly not. but it enabled me to have a good friday feline giggle at the same time as address the new change.gov that debuted.

of course there's been considerable buzz around the launch of the presidential-elect blog and website, since it carries his campaign past his election, which some folks thought would end when the road to the white house did. granted, people are still wondering what he's going to do with his new phone list.

i like this "transparency" and carry-through... though it does make me wonder how it will effect the reception of his years as President. if he makes good on promises, it could be a great thing. if he doesn't, it could be detrimental, moreso than previous politicians' promises.

but back to the "phone lists" and all the involvement the Obama army has had. will there be a way for them to continue to stay involved? i'm sure that will be resolved if the folks running his web2.0 stuff are as clever as they've been so far. "tell us your story" is a typical, if nice, gesture. as of right now, you can't leave comments on his blog.

how much involvement do you think is appropriate in this new "2.0" presidency?
UPDATE: & then there's this... obamachangefor.us and his flickr.

&PS>> if you're still here just for kitties and puppies, someone made up a drinking game to go with the live puppy stream i mentioned yesterday. find it here. i chose Autumn. happy weekend!

[img via.]

busy sucking at life.

hey kids. i have not disappeared. things just got massive busy. i will be doing posts tomorrow. even some of substance. to make up for the silence this week. big projects eat my life.

but i have comments on things, including Andy Warhol and how he applies to social media. so there. in the meanwhile... check out a live stream of these puppies. they will make your life better. 8000+ viewers at a time can't be wrong.

and if for some reason you still need me, want me, oh baby, oh baby, then as always infiltrate my twitter stream. sometimes i say valid advertising and social media things. sometimes it's just a better look at my own randomness. but it's always entertaining ;)

xxo