Secure?

Great post today from AmberCadabra called "Reassurance and Insecurity." As someone who's usually fairly insecure (and trying so hard not to be), it resonated with me quite a bit. Like Amber, I also just finished a book in which the main character was an introspective, intelligent, insecure young woman in love with a supportive and reassuring guy. (Could it be the same book?) The reason I loved the book so much is because the main character is very much like me. And that guy would be nice to find. Plus, as Amber says:

"We crave reassurance as humans. In fact, many of us are quite capable of recognizing that our thoughts and feelings are often irrational and driven by wayward emotion. But we want those we care about to not only encourage us to share those torturous thoughts, but we want to hear that they have them too. We want them to tell us it will be ok. That they care about us. That they’re going to be there anyway. The dialogue I’m reading is moving, if only because it satiates the wish we (or at least I) have to have someone look you up and down, and still tell you that you hold a very special place in their world."

Uh... okay... go!

Well, Meredith and Matt were pimping the Shrimp on a Treadmill video today on the Today Show. They interviewed the scientists who were performing this experiment on the show, and they said that this poor shrimp ran for 5 hours. Can you imagine that? Apparently it didn't want to stop, but the scientists thought 5 hours was about enough for Scamp (that's the shrimp's name, apparently).

How does the Today show get such crazy stories on there all the time?

Anyway, I searched around for the video on YouTube and various people have set Scamp's video debut to different soundtracks. My personal favorite is the one below, which is set to OK Go's "Here it Goes Again," the song whose music video features OK Go performing tricks on treadmills. You'll notice the video creator also mocked the opening title screen. Very clever.

Pushing Daisies will be pushing daisies

Well, it's official. Pushing Daisies has been canceled. Dave tried to warn me, but I just wouldn't believe him.

Man, I loved that show. ::tear::

Quotables

"He has never claimed to be anything but a human being chosen by God to fight an axis of evil and defeat a mortal danger to all humanity."
- The Colbert Report

RDJ!

Robert Downey Jr. was selected Entertainment Weekly's Entertainer of the Year!

Can I get a hell yeah? I love this man. Seriously, I think he's my favorite actor.

In honor of RDJ, I'll include some pics and quotes. Enjoy.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
"It's hard to believe it was just last Christmas that Harmony and I changed the world. And we didn't mean to and it didn't last long. You know a thing like that can't."

(and another, because this is my favorite movie...)

Harry: [narrating] "I tell him about destiny; he's shaking his head. About dreamgirls; he doesn't care. I mention the underwear thing? He has a *fucking conniption*. And you? How 'bout it, filmgoer? Have you solved the case of the - the dead people in L.A.? Times Square audiences, please don't shout at the screen, and stop picking at that, it'll just get worse."


Charlie Bartlett

Principal: "Charlie there are more important things than popularity."
Charlie: "Like what? Cuz I'm seventeen. And right now, popularity is pretty damn important."
Principal: "Like what you do with that popularity."


Iron Man
"I had my eyes opened. I came to realize that I had more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark Industries."


Zodiac
Robert Graysmith: "Does anybody ever call me names?"
Paul Avery: "What, you mean like retard?"
Robert Graysmith: "Yeah."
Paul Avery: "No."


Good Night, and Good Luck
Shirley: "Name me one woman who asks her husband to take off his wedding ring before he goes to work."
Joe: "Ava Gardner."


Wonder Boys
Terry Crabtree: [Looking at James Leer's book] "The Love Parade... I've got a feeling about this, Tripp. I feel this kid in my bones."
Grady Tripp: "ONLY in your bones?"

Taste the Rainbow

From cnn.com today:

"A source close to transition team tells CNN that Obama is also trying to build a diverse Cabinet that includes women and minorities and that works as a team."

Hooray! Finally. GoBama!

Someone to Fall Back On

I'm in love with Jason Robert Brown.

He wrote awesome musicals like Songs for a New World, The Last Five Years, and Parade. The song below is one of my new obsessions - ever since I saw him perform live at Birdland. The song is called "Someone to Fall Back On," and it's from his solo album, "Wearing Someone Else's Clothes." Listen and love it! (PS - if it doesn't work the first time you press the play button, pause it and press play again. It should work the second time.)

Emergency Pants

Speaking as someone who talks with her friends about "comfy pants" "fat pants" "skinny pants" "work pants" "workout pants" and "weekend pants" (we like pants), I seriously appreciate this clever comic strip.

(It's from Sluggy Freelance, which I read about on Today on the Interwebs.)

Enjoy:

Doesn't Remind Me of Anything

This is a great music video - and this is coming from someone who does not typically like music videos. I can't embed it here (embedding has been disabled), but here's the link:

"Doesn't Remind Me" by Audioslave

i <3 rives

This is fantastic poem from Rives. Even if you don't like "poetry" - give this a shot. He really is terrific. Plus, this one uses emoticons! I could listen to this man all day. (Thanks Ben for the vid.)

Merger

So I'm thinking of consolidating Mad Street Cred and The Televisionista, my tv blog. Mostly because I rarely publish on The Televisionista anymore, and I have less and less time for TV anyway. So I'm thinking of retiring The Televisionista and posting my tv rants at Mad Street Cred.

(I'm also thinking of resurrecting my Live Journal. Mostly because I never write about my life anymore, and my posts in there used to be pretty fun. Plus, I love the layout.)

Any thoughts? Objections? I know none of you read The Televisionista anyway, so if I post about TV in here it's actually more stuff for you to read. Get excited!

Friday Cuteness

I could not make this stuff up - a live feed of puppies. The cutest thing EVER:

Puppies!

Oh The View

A Sarah Haskins video from current.tv about The View:

Quotable

"The only freedom deserving of the name is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it. Each is the proper guardian of his own health, whether bodily, or mental and spiritual. Mankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seems good to themselves, than by compelling each other to live as seems good to the rest."
- John Stuart Mill, "On Liberty"

"Electing a U.S. President - in plain English"

Here's a great vid from CommonCraft about how the electoral process works:

Quell your voting jitters

I was talking with one of the younger people on my team at work today, and she expressed some anxiety about voting tomorrow. Like many younger citizens, she has only ever cast an absentee ballot before, and she has no idea what to do tomorrow. I was in a similar situation for the primaries, so I know how she feels. And I'm glad she's going to rock the vote! But in case you're nervous like she is, here are a few things that can help you prep for tomorrow:

- Know where to go. Your state's Board of Elections will tell you where you should go to vote. (This is the polling location website for the state of NY.) Also, sites like Rock the Vote are committed to making sure first-time voters know what they need to know, including everything from where your polling place is to what you have to bring with you. Another good reference is Vote411.

- Make sure you weren't "purged." Sites like Can I Vote? can tell you whether you exist according to registration records. Make sure you check, since many registrations were purged recently. You don't want to not find out till you show up tomorrow!

- Preview the ballot. Enter your address information into Smart Voter to see what will be on the ballot you see tomorrow. This gives you a chance to review any Propositions you may be voting on ahead of time so you don't hold up the lines tomorrow. Also, in case you don't know much about your local candidates, this gives you a chance to research them in advance so you can make an informed decision tomorrow.

- Know the equipment. Different polling locations have different kinds of voting machines. Articles like "How to use a voting machine to vote" from DIY Rules can give you the low-down in advance so you don't end up accidentally voting for the wrong candidate. (Hanging chads, anyone?)

- Know the rules. Different states have different rules about whether you need an ID to vote, whether you can wear campaign gear (i.e. an Obama t-shirt, etc.) at the polling site, etc. You don't want to take the chance of being rejected from voting once you've stood in line tomorrow! Along with sites like Rock the Vote, also check out articles like ABC News' "Voting 101", CNN's "Voting Guide" and Time Magazine's "7 Things That Could Go Wrong on Election Day" to get more information.

Whoever you're voting for, just make sure you vote tomorrow! Because remember - if you don't vote, you can't complain.

'Llectuals

This is a great spoof of what the OC would be like if it aired on PBS. "Who needs Girls Gone Wild when you could have Girls Gone Wilde?!" Ha - so great. It speaks to the geek in me:

If you care enough to vote, Starbucks cares enough to buy you coffee