1 Lady Gaga - LoveGame
2 3Oh!3 - Don't Trust Me
3 Pitbull - I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)
4 Black Eyed Peas - Boom Boom Pow
5 Katy Perry - Waking Up in Vegas
6 Pink - Please Don't Leave Me
7 Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling
8 Sean Kingston - Fire Burning
9 Keri Hilson - Knock You Down
10 Beyonce - Halo
11 Shine Down - Second Chance
12 Kelly Clarkson - I Do Not Hook Up
13 Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me
14 Jeremih - Birthday Sex
15 Miley Cyrus - The Climb
16 Nickelback - If Today Was Your Last Day
17 Jordin Sparks - Battlefield
18 The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name
19 Lady Gaga - Poker Face
20 Jamie Foxx - Blame It
21 Kristinia DeBarge - Goodbye
22 The All American Rejects - Gives You Hell
23 The Fray - You Found Me
24 Flo Rida - Right Round
25 Daughtry - No Surprise
26 Jessie James - Wanted
27 Kid Cudi - Day 'n' Nite
28 Kelly Clarkson - My Life Would Suck Without You
29 Cobra Starship - Good Girls Gone Bad
30 T.I. - Dead and Gone
31 Soulja Boy - Kiss Me Thru The Phone
32 Theory of a Deadman - Not Meant To Be
33 Jonas Brothers - Paranoid
34 Matt Nathanson - Come On Get Higher
35 Kings of Leon - Use Somebody
36 Drake - Best I Ever Had
37 Britney Spears - If U See Amy
38 The Fray - Never Say Never
39 Rob Thomas - Her Diamonds
40 LMFAO - I'm In Miami Trick
Friday, July 31, 2009
jungle monkey
Wow, Henry Louis Gates now has his own tag on CNN. Congrats, man.
'Look, just because I think black people are Jungle Monkeys doesn't mean I'm a racist!'
--
'Look, just because I think black people are Jungle Monkeys doesn't mean I'm a racist!'
--
Friday, July 24, 2009
I wish
I wish I was billionaire, then I'd offer the state of California $26.3 billion dollars to legalize gay marriage. Yeah, put that in your pipe and smoke it, damn potheads.
Thoughts? Is this even illegal?
--
Thoughts? Is this even illegal?
--
greeeeeeen line
Boston MBTA's green line extension project has been delayed again! :D
Estimated Date of Completion: Not 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011 or 2013!!
--
Estimated Date of Completion: Not 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011 or 2013!!
--
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
two peices of good news
I just heard on NPR a woman saying that she graduated from a (small) school in Kentucky specifically for low-income people in the Appalachian. She said that most of the graduates can't send their kids there because they make too much money. :)
Yesterday at the movie theater, an old woman asked me if "I love you Beth Cooper" was any good. I replied that it was mostly teenagers doing dangerous things, like crashing cars. She said that she wanted a love story since her husband had passed away 6 years ago and this was the only movie showing at this time. Hours later, she returned very happy. Apparently she went into the wrong theater and saw "Up" instead. For those that don't know, "Up" can be described as an old man getting over his wife's death. It was also the third time I heard it summarized as "really funny dogs". Go Pixar :)
--
Yesterday at the movie theater, an old woman asked me if "I love you Beth Cooper" was any good. I replied that it was mostly teenagers doing dangerous things, like crashing cars. She said that she wanted a love story since her husband had passed away 6 years ago and this was the only movie showing at this time. Hours later, she returned very happy. Apparently she went into the wrong theater and saw "Up" instead. For those that don't know, "Up" can be described as an old man getting over his wife's death. It was also the third time I heard it summarized as "really funny dogs". Go Pixar :)
--
Physical power of Dental Floss
Okay, I'll admit that almost no one I know flosses after brushing their teeth. Why not!? Almost everyone I know conditions their hair after shampooing (even though I don't). It's metaphorically similar!
The physical reason to floss is that brushing your teeth only removes the bacteria from whatever surface you brushed. Bacteria is microscopic and can still crawl in-between your teeth, where the bristles on your toothbrush can't reach - I don't care how loud Oral-B advertises otherwise.
I use this metaphor on the assumption that shampoo cleans your hair and conditioner makes it look pretty. You might think brushing cleans your teeth and flossing is just some secondary helper but the metaphor works better backwards. Flossing prevents gum disease and brushing makes your teeth whiter (i.e pretty). I AM NOT RECOMMENDING YOU STOP BRUSHING YOUR TEETH.
I'm just telling you that you should floss too if you want to be healthy. What's that? Sometimes your gums bleed when you floss? That means you don't floss frequently enough! That blood is because your gums have become weakened due to bacteria. If you flossed every day (or even every few days) the bleeding will stop immediately and your gums will thank you.
What are you waiting for? Go! I wanna see some blood run.
Good news for those too lazy to floss, Mouth Rinses are just as effective at preventing gingivitis
--
The physical reason to floss is that brushing your teeth only removes the bacteria from whatever surface you brushed. Bacteria is microscopic and can still crawl in-between your teeth, where the bristles on your toothbrush can't reach - I don't care how loud Oral-B advertises otherwise.
I use this metaphor on the assumption that shampoo cleans your hair and conditioner makes it look pretty. You might think brushing cleans your teeth and flossing is just some secondary helper but the metaphor works better backwards. Flossing prevents gum disease and brushing makes your teeth whiter (i.e pretty). I AM NOT RECOMMENDING YOU STOP BRUSHING YOUR TEETH.
I'm just telling you that you should floss too if you want to be healthy. What's that? Sometimes your gums bleed when you floss? That means you don't floss frequently enough! That blood is because your gums have become weakened due to bacteria. If you flossed every day (or even every few days) the bleeding will stop immediately and your gums will thank you.
What are you waiting for? Go! I wanna see some blood run.
Good news for those too lazy to floss, Mouth Rinses are just as effective at preventing gingivitis
--
Legal power of counteroffers
the tl;dr: In the real estate world, making a counteroffer renders the original offer void.
What does that mean!!??
A: Anyone that offers me $500,000 will get this house instantly [Offer]
B: How about $490,000? [Counteroffer]
A: No.
B: Okay, I'll give you $500,000 then.
At this point, person A is under no legal obligation to sell the house to B. Making a counteroffer permanently erases the original offer from the books.
--
What does that mean!!??
A: Anyone that offers me $500,000 will get this house instantly [Offer]
B: How about $490,000? [Counteroffer]
A: No.
B: Okay, I'll give you $500,000 then.
At this point, person A is under no legal obligation to sell the house to B. Making a counteroffer permanently erases the original offer from the books.
--
Historical Event Today!!
Well, first things first. I saw this on youtube:
What is it? Pretty simple, an ad for the SATs.
I know what you're thinking, "this is nothing special", right? Wrong! The College Board is advertising! Have you ever seen such a thing before? (NO IT JUST STARTED!) Sure, you've been bombarded with ads for prep-classes, online courses and study guides, but it's never been the real thing. Part of the blind elitism that lead to the popularization of the SATs was "only the best get to take this thing anyway, why advertise and let riff-raff in?", along with "prep classes?! that's just a cheap trick a jew created, there's no way you can get your score higher!"
Fast forward to 2004. Anyone remember this?
You should, it was the first of it's kind. Sure, The College Board sold copies of old tests for money in the 1980s, but this is a STUDY GUIDE. A big step for a company that refused (for 60+ years!) to admit that anything besides your genes could give you a higher score.
And on today, July 21, 2009, the Second Issue was released!
Yup, it's got the solid colorful speech bubbles and everything!
Hey, those guys shoulda listened; advertising to riff-raff always leads to trouble. (Screenshot from the official site which lets you fill in what you wanna be.)
Monday, July 20, 2009
Song of Ice and Fire
The real tl;dr - Is the music that we think "goes with" Deserts or Glaciers a socialized choice or a natural/biological choice?
Actual tl;dr - This post describes the blueprints to a psychology experiment regarding the socialization of certain styles of music with certain settings in video games.
If you're any bit familiar with videogames (henceforth referred to as the proper "video games"), you'll know what I'm talking about. In almost every video game, there are various "backdrops" like Deep in the Forest, an Underwater Palace, Muggy Desert, Trapped in the Arctic, Bustling City and/or even Outer Space. It doesn't matter if it's a fighter, shooter, adventure, puzzle, RPG, tactics or platformer, video games like to have various settings.
The other thing video games like to have is Music! Put the two together and you're going to get something you'll need to be very familiar with video games to understand: The music that goes with the "ice stage" always sounds kinda similar. At the very least, it sure doesn't sound like the "outer space theme" or the "enchanted forest battle theme".
Okay I was wrong, you don't have to be familiar with video games to understand that. It's far more common and obvious in movies. There's the creepy "don't turn around!" noise and the "okay something hilarious is about to happen" tune, not to mention the "you should be crying now" chorus is stuff we all know and see parodies of.
*Truncated. Sorry, my organizational skills are lacking. Please try to follow where this is going.
Sadly there is a deadline for this project. The video game industry is already more popular than the movie industryand thanks to the Nintendo Wii, almost everyone has played a video game before (just like almost everyone now has seen a movie). What i'm going to need is some people that aren't familiar with too many games yet and get them to play the following game: (I made this up while meditating)
You play either a Camel or Penguin, protecting your mud-brick home/igloo from sand/snow during a sandstorm/snowstorm. Sand/snow comes in from all sides and you move your animal left/right/up/down to automatically push it away, outside your home. You play this until you either uhhh "die" or survive the two minute storm. That part doesn't matter. What matters is that you're either getting the matching background scene music, or you're getting the wrong one. After playing, will the participants be able to "correctly" identify the music choice as right or wrong?
Well, I guess there might not even be a deadline. This could probably be an alternate way to tell how socialized people are to video game music, if done every year.
On the topic of movies, I recall hearing of (no pun intended) research that showed a biological connection between music and emotions. Music that's fast makes us happy and music that's slow makes us sad. It was inferred that a slow violin makes us sadder not because we heard it whenever it was the sad part in the movie but because we naturally perceive that music as sad. I wonder if what we perceive as "Icy" or "Heated" music can also be biological?
Okay I think this post is long enough, hopefully you've read this far because you are a kind soul and not because you're confused as hell and looking for answers.
--
Actual tl;dr - This post describes the blueprints to a psychology experiment regarding the socialization of certain styles of music with certain settings in video games.
If you're any bit familiar with videogames (henceforth referred to as the proper "video games"), you'll know what I'm talking about. In almost every video game, there are various "backdrops" like Deep in the Forest, an Underwater Palace, Muggy Desert, Trapped in the Arctic, Bustling City and/or even Outer Space. It doesn't matter if it's a fighter, shooter, adventure, puzzle, RPG, tactics or platformer, video games like to have various settings.
The other thing video games like to have is Music! Put the two together and you're going to get something you'll need to be very familiar with video games to understand: The music that goes with the "ice stage" always sounds kinda similar. At the very least, it sure doesn't sound like the "outer space theme" or the "enchanted forest battle theme".
Okay I was wrong, you don't have to be familiar with video games to understand that. It's far more common and obvious in movies. There's the creepy "don't turn around!" noise and the "okay something hilarious is about to happen" tune, not to mention the "you should be crying now" chorus is stuff we all know and see parodies of.
*Truncated. Sorry, my organizational skills are lacking. Please try to follow where this is going.
Sadly there is a deadline for this project. The video game industry is already more popular than the movie industry
You play either a Camel or Penguin, protecting your mud-brick home/igloo from sand/snow during a sandstorm/snowstorm. Sand/snow comes in from all sides and you move your animal left/right/up/down to automatically push it away, outside your home. You play this until you either uhhh "die" or survive the two minute storm. That part doesn't matter. What matters is that you're either getting the matching background scene music, or you're getting the wrong one. After playing, will the participants be able to "correctly" identify the music choice as right or wrong?
Well, I guess there might not even be a deadline. This could probably be an alternate way to tell how socialized people are to video game music, if done every year.
On the topic of movies, I recall hearing of (no pun intended) research that showed a biological connection between music and emotions. Music that's fast makes us happy and music that's slow makes us sad. It was inferred that a slow violin makes us sadder not because we heard it whenever it was the sad part in the movie but because we naturally perceive that music as sad. I wonder if what we perceive as "Icy" or "Heated" music can also be biological?
Okay I think this post is long enough, hopefully you've read this far because you are a kind soul and not because you're confused as hell and looking for answers.
--
AT 40 Week of July 20th, 2009
1 3Oh!3 - Don't Trust Me
2 Lady Gaga - LoveGame
3 Pitbull - I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)
4 Black Eyed Peas - Boom Boom Pow
5 Katy Perry - Waking Up in Vegas
6 Beyonce - Halo
7 Pink - Please Don't Leave Me
8 Sean Kingston - Fire Burning
9 Kelly Clarkson - I Do Not Hook Up
10 Shine Down - Second Chance
11 Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling
12 Miley Cyrus - The Climb
13 Jeremih - Birthday Shhh*
14 Keri Hilson - Knock You Down
15 Kristinia DeBarge - Goodbye
16 Nickelback - If Today Was Your Last Day
17 Lady Gaga - Poker Face
18 Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me
19 Jordin Sparks - Battlefield
20 The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name
21 The All American Rejects - Gives You Hell
22 Jamie Foxx - Blame It
23 Flo Rida - Right Round
24 The Fray - You Found Me
25 Kid Cudi - Day 'n' Nite
26 Kelly Clarkson - My Life Would Suck Without You
27 Daughtry - No Surprise
28 Soulja Boy - Kiss Me Thru The Phone
29 T.I.- Dead and Gone
30 Jessie James - Wanted
31 Britney Spears - If U See Amy
32 Jonas Brothers - Paranoid
33 Matt Nathanson - Come On Get Higher
34 Lady Gaga - Just Dance
35 Theory of a Deadman - Not Meant To Be
36 Rob Thomas - Her Diamonds
37 Jesse McCartney - How Do You Sleep?
38 Flo Rida - Sugar feat. Wynter
39 The Fray - Never Say Never
40 Cobra Starship - Good Girls Gone Bad
* Actual song title "Birthday Sex", editied version is always aired instead.
2 Lady Gaga - LoveGame
3 Pitbull - I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)
4 Black Eyed Peas - Boom Boom Pow
5 Katy Perry - Waking Up in Vegas
6 Beyonce - Halo
7 Pink - Please Don't Leave Me
8 Sean Kingston - Fire Burning
9 Kelly Clarkson - I Do Not Hook Up
10 Shine Down - Second Chance
11 Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling
12 Miley Cyrus - The Climb
13 Jeremih - Birthday Shhh*
14 Keri Hilson - Knock You Down
15 Kristinia DeBarge - Goodbye
16 Nickelback - If Today Was Your Last Day
17 Lady Gaga - Poker Face
18 Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me
19 Jordin Sparks - Battlefield
20 The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name
21 The All American Rejects - Gives You Hell
22 Jamie Foxx - Blame It
23 Flo Rida - Right Round
24 The Fray - You Found Me
25 Kid Cudi - Day 'n' Nite
26 Kelly Clarkson - My Life Would Suck Without You
27 Daughtry - No Surprise
28 Soulja Boy - Kiss Me Thru The Phone
29 T.I.- Dead and Gone
30 Jessie James - Wanted
31 Britney Spears - If U See Amy
32 Jonas Brothers - Paranoid
33 Matt Nathanson - Come On Get Higher
34 Lady Gaga - Just Dance
35 Theory of a Deadman - Not Meant To Be
36 Rob Thomas - Her Diamonds
37 Jesse McCartney - How Do You Sleep?
38 Flo Rida - Sugar feat. Wynter
39 The Fray - Never Say Never
40 Cobra Starship - Good Girls Gone Bad
* Actual song title "Birthday Sex", editied version is always aired instead.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
New lowest-divorce-rate record!
The tl;dr : one in every two marriages don't end in divorce, okay?
The newest divorce rate is now...uhhhh 0.7% or 35 per 1000 people (lowest since 1970!). What does that mean? I thought "one in every two marriages will end in divorce" ?!?
Lets say the divorce rate is 50%. Well, what IS a divorce rate? Think about it, is it how many people get divorced every year? Then what's it 50% of, total marriages? So that means 50 people got divorced last year for every 100 that got married last year. If you get divorced last year, remarry, and divorce again this year do you count twice?
Maybe it means that for every 100 marriages, 50 end up not working out. That's actually exactly what it's supposed to mean. But how are you supposed to know that? By reading the future of course!
Yeah, you can't read the future. They stockpiled some data from the past and decided that "if current trends continue...it could be as high as 50%..." This was in 1996. What data were they looking at? Those from after 1970, when divorce rates were soaring. In 2001 though, the Census Bureau decided that the numbers had made a full U-turn (in retrospect, it peaked in 1981). Eight years later, many Americans still believe the divorce rate is 50%. Oh well?
More on divorce rates and excerpts from the 1996 Bureau report that started it all: http://www.divorcereform.org/rates.html
"The National Center for Health Statistics recently released a report which found that 43
percent of first marriages end in separation or divorce within 15 years. The study is based on
the National Survey of Family Growth, a nationally representative sample of women age 15 to
44 in 1995. Bramlett, Matthew and William Mosher. "First marriage dissolution, divorce, and
remariage: United States," Advance Data From Vital and Health Statistics; No.323. Hyattsville
MD: National Center for Health Statistics: 2 1.
"Data in the Census report were collected from both men and women, age 15 and over, and a
different methodology was used than in the NCHS report.
"About 50% of first marriages for men under age 45 may end in
divorce, and between 44 and 52% of women's first marriages
may end in divorce for these age groups. The likelihood of a divorce
is lowest for men and women age 60, for whom 36 % of men
and 32 percent of women may divorce from their first marriage by
the end of their lives. A similar statistical exercise was performed in
1975 using marital history data from the Current Population Survey
(CPS). Projections based on those data implied that about one-third of
married persons who were 25 to 35 years old in 1975 would end their
first marriage in divorce.
"This cohort of people, who in 1996 were about 45 to 55 years old, had
already exceeded these projections as about 40% of men and
women in these ages had divorced from their first marriage. Current
projections now indicate that the proportion could be as high as
50% for persons now in their early forties."
Rose M. Kreider and Jason M. Fields, "Number, Timing, and Duration of
Marriages and Divorces: 1996", U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Reports, February 2002, p. 18.
--
The newest divorce rate is now...uhhhh 0.7% or 35 per 1000 people (lowest since 1970!). What does that mean? I thought "one in every two marriages will end in divorce" ?!?
Lets say the divorce rate is 50%. Well, what IS a divorce rate? Think about it, is it how many people get divorced every year? Then what's it 50% of, total marriages? So that means 50 people got divorced last year for every 100 that got married last year. If you get divorced last year, remarry, and divorce again this year do you count twice?
Maybe it means that for every 100 marriages, 50 end up not working out. That's actually exactly what it's supposed to mean. But how are you supposed to know that? By reading the future of course!
Yeah, you can't read the future. They stockpiled some data from the past and decided that "if current trends continue...it could be as high as 50%..." This was in 1996. What data were they looking at? Those from after 1970, when divorce rates were soaring. In 2001 though, the Census Bureau decided that the numbers had made a full U-turn (in retrospect, it peaked in 1981). Eight years later, many Americans still believe the divorce rate is 50%. Oh well?
More on divorce rates and excerpts from the 1996 Bureau report that started it all: http://www.divorcereform.org/rates.html
"The National Center for Health Statistics recently released a report which found that 43
percent of first marriages end in separation or divorce within 15 years. The study is based on
the National Survey of Family Growth, a nationally representative sample of women age 15 to
44 in 1995. Bramlett, Matthew and William Mosher. "First marriage dissolution, divorce, and
remariage: United States," Advance Data From Vital and Health Statistics; No.323. Hyattsville
MD: National Center for Health Statistics: 2 1.
"Data in the Census report were collected from both men and women, age 15 and over, and a
different methodology was used than in the NCHS report.
"About 50% of first marriages for men under age 45 may end in
divorce, and between 44 and 52% of women's first marriages
may end in divorce for these age groups. The likelihood of a divorce
is lowest for men and women age 60, for whom 36 % of men
and 32 percent of women may divorce from their first marriage by
the end of their lives. A similar statistical exercise was performed in
1975 using marital history data from the Current Population Survey
(CPS). Projections based on those data implied that about one-third of
married persons who were 25 to 35 years old in 1975 would end their
first marriage in divorce.
"This cohort of people, who in 1996 were about 45 to 55 years old, had
already exceeded these projections as about 40% of men and
women in these ages had divorced from their first marriage. Current
projections now indicate that the proportion could be as high as
50% for persons now in their early forties."
Rose M. Kreider and Jason M. Fields, "Number, Timing, and Duration of
Marriages and Divorces: 1996", U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Reports, February 2002, p. 18.
--
Translated Free-style Rap Battle, and Mary Sues.
Yes, it's old, but I always forget the link: Translated Free-Style Rap Battle (in a overly-fancy suburban white manner)
Easy-to-take Mary-Sue litmus test, with a link to the original. What is a mary-sue? Well, in the world of Fanfiction it's a character that the author inserts into a story that is perfect to the point of being unrealistic. The character often doesn't obey the laws of physics, won't fit in with the atmosphere of the original characters, is disliked by no one, has no physical belmishes, no mental weaknesses, etc...
I took it and got a whopping 133! (Over 35 is considered terrible)... then I realized I wasn't an original character inserted into a fanfiction.
Easy-to-take Mary-Sue litmus test, with a link to the original. What is a mary-sue? Well, in the world of Fanfiction it's a character that the author inserts into a story that is perfect to the point of being unrealistic. The character often doesn't obey the laws of physics, won't fit in with the atmosphere of the original characters, is disliked by no one, has no physical belmishes, no mental weaknesses, etc...
I took it and got a whopping 133! (Over 35 is considered terrible)... then I realized I wasn't an original character inserted into a fanfiction.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Gender Guessers
Two posts on gender in a row? Too bad!
First, http://www.mikeonads.com/2008/07/13/using-your-browser-url-history-estimate-gender/ , which is what is says... It uses your browser history to guess if you're male or female. How? Well, it knows for example www.google.com is visited by 100 females for every 98 males that come by it and Slashdot hosts a magnificent 174 males visitors for every 100 females that swing by. Then it just "checks" your browser history for popular sites that you might have visited.
A bunch of math later, it guessed that there's an 80% chance i'm male.
Secondly, the "gender guesser" looks for the use of certain words or phrases that scientists have found males and females use in differing frequencies. It's based off the Gender Genie.
Gender Guesser on the post "Why Invest": Genre: Informal / Female = 781 / Male = 1053
Difference = 272; 57.41% Verdict: Weak MALE (Weak emphasis could indicate European.)
Gender Genie on the post "Why Invest": Female Score: 609 / Male Score: 467
The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: female!
Gender Genie on a recent piece of fiction I wrote: Female Score: 663 / Male Score: 813
The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: male!
Crazy / fun stuff!
--
First, http://www.mikeonads.com/2008/07/13/using-your-browser-url-history-estimate-gender/ , which is what is says... It uses your browser history to guess if you're male or female. How? Well, it knows for example www.google.com is visited by 100 females for every 98 males that come by it and Slashdot hosts a magnificent 174 males visitors for every 100 females that swing by. Then it just "checks" your browser history for popular sites that you might have visited.
A bunch of math later, it guessed that there's an 80% chance i'm male.
Secondly, the "gender guesser" looks for the use of certain words or phrases that scientists have found males and females use in differing frequencies. It's based off the Gender Genie.
Gender Guesser on the post "Why Invest": Genre: Informal / Female = 781 / Male = 1053
Difference = 272; 57.41% Verdict: Weak MALE (Weak emphasis could indicate European.)
Gender Genie on the post "Why Invest": Female Score: 609 / Male Score: 467
The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: female!
Gender Genie on a recent piece of fiction I wrote: Female Score: 663 / Male Score: 813
The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: male!
Crazy / fun stuff!
--
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Q and A
"Do you identify as male or female?"
"Why are you asking me to pick between two shitty stereotypes?"
--
"Why are you asking me to pick between two shitty stereotypes?"
--
Records!
from the I-Hate-Linking Fandango Movie Blog,
'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' to Beat 'Twilight' in Advanced Ticket Sales
Posted by: Erik Davis on July 13, 2009
Take that Bella and Edward! Just when we all thought The Twilight Saga was poised to shove Harry Potter aside and take full command of the Tween-iverse, Fandango (hey, that's us!) is reporting that advanced ticket sales for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince are on track to beat Twilight and take over the third spot on their all-time advanced ticket-sellers list, behind only The Dark Knight and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Just check out some of these stats on the film so far …
The sixth Harry Potter movie currently represents:
• One of the fastest-selling titles in Fandango's nine year history, on track to replace Twilight as the company's third top-selling advance ticketer (following Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and The Dark Knight, occupying the #1 and #2 spots, respectively).
• A higher number of advance tickets sold for Harry Potter 6 than sold for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Iron Man or Sex and the City at the same point in the sales cycle on Fandango.
• 96% of daily ticket sales on Fandango.
Advance buzz on Half-Blood Prince is extremely high, and people have been waiting an extra long time to see it (considering it was supposed to be released last November) – both of which combined make for a pretty frenzied scene as theater owners hurry to add additional shows in advance of Potter's return to theaters tomorrow at midnight.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
radio is heard here
"TD Bank North has become... *long drumroll* TD Bank! Visit us at tdbanknorth.com"
wow... good to know this merger really is gonna be universal...
wow... good to know this merger really is gonna be universal...
Monday, July 13, 2009
"reasons to keep a cat around #546"
other captions include 'for all you cat-haters, which would you rather find in your house?"
and 'shez gon' luff it wen i gif hur diz!' and "Falcon Punch!"
also, because it's the third time in a month i've had to consult wedding photos, here's a site with great wedding cake bride-and-groom toppers.
--
Feel Better!
Yeah, most readers of this blog are aware that high-tech hackers aren't responsible for most cases of identity theft (nice try, mass media). Dumpster-divers and administrative oversight are the most likely culprit. Still, there's good news in all this: if a folder containing your credit card information somehow flies out of the window of the 18th floor of the Bank of America building due to someone being an idiot, the person that finds it is probably too stupid to steal your money.
"Only 2% of all data breaches result in ID fraud", says a Ponemon researcher Mike Spinney in the August 2009 issue of Smart Money Magazine. The article also says a lot of other things but I can't seem to confirm a-
Edit: Oh my god I got a reply. Turns out there is confirmation here that the state of Louisiana mailed a couple of taxpayers reminders that had another taxpayer's data on the back.
--
"Only 2% of all data breaches result in ID fraud", says a Ponemon researcher Mike Spinney in the August 2009 issue of Smart Money Magazine. The article also says a lot of other things but I can't seem to confirm a-
Edit: Oh my god I got a reply. Turns out there is confirmation here that the state of Louisiana mailed a couple of taxpayers reminders that had another taxpayer's data on the back.
--
AT40 Week of July 13th, 2009
1 Black Eyed Peas - Boom Boom Pow
2 Beyonce - Halo
3 3Oh!3 - Don't Trust Me
4 Shine Down - Second Chance
5 Pitbull - I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)
6 Miley Cyrus - The Climb
7 Lady Gaga - LoveGame
8 Katy Perry - Waking Up in Vegas
9 Kelly Clarkson - I Do Not Hook Up
10 Pink - Please Don't Leave Me
11 Sean Kingston - Fire Burning
12 Lady Gaga - Poker Face
13 Kristinia DeBarge - Goodbye
14 Jamie Foxx - Blame It
15 Nickelback - If Today Was Your Last Day
16 Jeremih - Birthday Sex
17 The All American Rejects - Gives You Hell
18 Flo Rida - Right Round
19 The Fray - You Found Me
20 Kelly Clarkson - My Life Would Suck Without You
21 Keri Hilson - Knock You Down
22 Britney Spears - If U See Amy
23 The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name
24 Jordin Sparks - Battlefield
25 Kid Cudi - Day 'n' Nite
26 Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling
27 T.I. - Dead and Gone
28 Matt Nathanson - Come On Get Higher
29 Soulja Boy - Kiss Me Thru The Phone
30 Daughtry - No Surprise
31 Jessie James - Wanted
32 Flo Rida - Sugar feat. Wynter
33 Taylor Swift - Love Story
34 Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me
35 Lady Gaga - Just Dance
36 Jesse McCartney - How Do You Sleep?
37 Kanye West - Heartless
38 Jonas Brothers - Paranoid
39 Rob Thomas - Her Diamonds
40 Theory of a Deadman - Not Meant To Be
2 Beyonce - Halo
3 3Oh!3 - Don't Trust Me
4 Shine Down - Second Chance
5 Pitbull - I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)
6 Miley Cyrus - The Climb
7 Lady Gaga - LoveGame
8 Katy Perry - Waking Up in Vegas
9 Kelly Clarkson - I Do Not Hook Up
10 Pink - Please Don't Leave Me
11 Sean Kingston - Fire Burning
12 Lady Gaga - Poker Face
13 Kristinia DeBarge - Goodbye
14 Jamie Foxx - Blame It
15 Nickelback - If Today Was Your Last Day
16 Jeremih - Birthday Sex
17 The All American Rejects - Gives You Hell
18 Flo Rida - Right Round
19 The Fray - You Found Me
20 Kelly Clarkson - My Life Would Suck Without You
21 Keri Hilson - Knock You Down
22 Britney Spears - If U See Amy
23 The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name
24 Jordin Sparks - Battlefield
25 Kid Cudi - Day 'n' Nite
26 Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling
27 T.I. - Dead and Gone
28 Matt Nathanson - Come On Get Higher
29 Soulja Boy - Kiss Me Thru The Phone
30 Daughtry - No Surprise
31 Jessie James - Wanted
32 Flo Rida - Sugar feat. Wynter
33 Taylor Swift - Love Story
34 Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me
35 Lady Gaga - Just Dance
36 Jesse McCartney - How Do You Sleep?
37 Kanye West - Heartless
38 Jonas Brothers - Paranoid
39 Rob Thomas - Her Diamonds
40 Theory of a Deadman - Not Meant To Be
Why invest?
The tl;dr - Invest to avoid inflation.
American Media loves to give bad news. Someone's been murdered, the stock market has fallen for 5 weeks in a row, a big chain is laying off 21,000 employees. I never hear about babies being born, the stocks rising for 5 straight weeks, or new companies looking to hire (all of which happen quite often) but that's besides the point right now.
This post is about not stuffing money under your mattress. True, the mass media isn't scaring everyone to seem useful; the US economy actually isn't doing that well these days. That doesn't mean you should liquidate everything you have and put all the cash in a giant safe. If you're looking for some way to save for the future, stick to investments.
Why invest instead of hoarding them Ben Franklins? Simple. Remember when candy cost five cents? No? Okay, remember when your grandparents used to talk about candy costing five cents and retro/vintage-themed stores full of 10 Cent coca-cola posters? That you probably do. Inflation happens. If you had stashed away a nickel so that you could buy yourself some candy in the distant future, well... the only way that could work out now is if it turned out to be a Buffalo Nickel.
Seem far-fetched to you? I hope not... most of the readers of this blog have barely hit their 20s so retirement isn't setting in for at least 40 more years. When was candy five cents you ask? Well... Before World War II i suppose... (That was 60 years ago. Oops?). Still, things are going to cost more in the future. Unless your $100 bills turn out to be the holy grail of future coin collectors (bills aren't coins, don't hold your breath) saving a few of them isn't going to buy you a Playstaton 17 in the future. I mean, look at the NES! "The Control Deck retailed from US$199.99 (equivalent to US$406 today) and included the console itself, two game controllers, and a Super Mario Bros. game cartridge." That was 1985. See how 20 years passing has doubled the cost? (Lets ignore the fact that you can get this for $40 something on Ebay for now).
So I think we've figured out the answer to the question "Why Invest". Invest that nickel because a penny stock now could be worth 25 cents in 60 years, meaning you still get your candy bar. Invest because putting away $199.99 now means you can have whatever Nintendo puts out in 20 years and have $150 to spare. Invest to protect America from commies!
--
American Media loves to give bad news. Someone's been murdered, the stock market has fallen for 5 weeks in a row, a big chain is laying off 21,000 employees. I never hear about babies being born, the stocks rising for 5 straight weeks, or new companies looking to hire (all of which happen quite often) but that's besides the point right now.
This post is about not stuffing money under your mattress. True, the mass media isn't scaring everyone to seem useful; the US economy actually isn't doing that well these days. That doesn't mean you should liquidate everything you have and put all the cash in a giant safe. If you're looking for some way to save for the future, stick to investments.
Why invest instead of hoarding them Ben Franklins? Simple. Remember when candy cost five cents? No? Okay, remember when your grandparents used to talk about candy costing five cents and retro/vintage-themed stores full of 10 Cent coca-cola posters? That you probably do. Inflation happens. If you had stashed away a nickel so that you could buy yourself some candy in the distant future, well... the only way that could work out now is if it turned out to be a Buffalo Nickel.
Seem far-fetched to you? I hope not... most of the readers of this blog have barely hit their 20s so retirement isn't setting in for at least 40 more years. When was candy five cents you ask? Well... Before World War II i suppose... (That was 60 years ago. Oops?). Still, things are going to cost more in the future. Unless your $100 bills turn out to be the holy grail of future coin collectors (bills aren't coins, don't hold your breath) saving a few of them isn't going to buy you a Playstaton 17 in the future. I mean, look at the NES! "The Control Deck retailed from US$199.99 (equivalent to US$406 today) and included the console itself, two game controllers, and a Super Mario Bros. game cartridge." That was 1985. See how 20 years passing has doubled the cost? (Lets ignore the fact that you can get this for $40 something on Ebay for now).
So I think we've figured out the answer to the question "Why Invest". Invest that nickel because a penny stock now could be worth 25 cents in 60 years, meaning you still get your candy bar. Invest because putting away $199.99 now means you can have whatever Nintendo puts out in 20 years and have $150 to spare. Invest to protect America from commies!
--
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Taking Screenshots
Yeah, it's easy to take a screenshot, for those that know how (On windows there's a Prnt Scrn button on the keyboard somewhere, for Macs there's a keyboard shortcut.) but sometimes you'll notice that when you paste this screenshot into something like MSPaint it just becomes a black square or a moving video. Not a screenshot at all :(. That's probably because you're using Window's Media Player, Realplayer, or Winamp.
Thanks internet, for the solution (Eventually..)
Windows Media Player - Disable Video Acceleration from the Performance tab. Restart program/video
Realplayer - Disable Video Overlay, under Video Card Compatibility (a slider or a checkbox, depending on what version you have) under Hardware under Preferences. Restart program
Winamp (..3?) - Disable Video Overlay in Preferences, under Options. Restart program
Thanks internet, for the solution (Eventually..)
Windows Media Player - Disable Video Acceleration from the Performance tab. Restart program/video
Realplayer - Disable Video Overlay, under Video Card Compatibility (a slider or a checkbox, depending on what version you have) under Hardware under Preferences. Restart program
Winamp (..3?) - Disable Video Overlay in Preferences, under Options. Restart program
AT40 Week of July 6th, 2009
1 Black Eyed Peas - Boom Boom Pow
2 Beyonce - Halo
3 3Oh!3 - Don't Trust Me
4 Miley Cyrus - The Climb
5 Shine Down - Second Chance
6 Pitbull - I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)
7 Lady Gaga - LoveGame
8 Katy Perry - Waking Up in Vegas
9 Kelly Clarkson - I Do Not Hook Up
10 Lady Gaga - Poker Face
11 Sean Kingston - Fire Burning
12 Pink - Please Don't Leave Me
13 Kristinia DeBarge - Goodbye
14 Jamie Foxx - Blame It
15 Kelly Clarkson - My Life Would Suck Without You
16 Jeremih - Birthday Sex
17 Kid Cudi - Day 'n' Nite
18 Britney Spears - If U See Amy
19 Nickelback - If Today Was Your Last Day
20 The All American Rejects - Gives You Hell
21 The Fray - You Found Me
22 Flo Rida - Right Round
23 The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name
24 Jordin Sparks - Battlefield
25 Soulja Boy - Kiss Me Thru The Phone
26 Keri Hilson - Knock You Down
27 Taylor Swift - Love Story
28 T.I. - Dead and Gone
29 Jesse McCartney - How Do You Sleep?
30 Kevin Rudolf - Welcome To The World
31 Flo Rida - Sugar feat. Wynter
32 Matt Nathanson - Come On Get Higher
33 Jessie James - Wanted
34 Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling
35 Daughtry - No Surprise
36 Lady Gaga - Just Dance
37 Kanye West - Heartless
38 Jonas Brothers - Paranoid
39 Pink - Sober
40 Rob Thomas - Her Diamonds
2 Beyonce - Halo
3 3Oh!3 - Don't Trust Me
4 Miley Cyrus - The Climb
5 Shine Down - Second Chance
6 Pitbull - I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)
7 Lady Gaga - LoveGame
8 Katy Perry - Waking Up in Vegas
9 Kelly Clarkson - I Do Not Hook Up
10 Lady Gaga - Poker Face
11 Sean Kingston - Fire Burning
12 Pink - Please Don't Leave Me
13 Kristinia DeBarge - Goodbye
14 Jamie Foxx - Blame It
15 Kelly Clarkson - My Life Would Suck Without You
16 Jeremih - Birthday Sex
17 Kid Cudi - Day 'n' Nite
18 Britney Spears - If U See Amy
19 Nickelback - If Today Was Your Last Day
20 The All American Rejects - Gives You Hell
21 The Fray - You Found Me
22 Flo Rida - Right Round
23 The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name
24 Jordin Sparks - Battlefield
25 Soulja Boy - Kiss Me Thru The Phone
26 Keri Hilson - Knock You Down
27 Taylor Swift - Love Story
28 T.I. - Dead and Gone
29 Jesse McCartney - How Do You Sleep?
30 Kevin Rudolf - Welcome To The World
31 Flo Rida - Sugar feat. Wynter
32 Matt Nathanson - Come On Get Higher
33 Jessie James - Wanted
34 Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling
35 Daughtry - No Surprise
36 Lady Gaga - Just Dance
37 Kanye West - Heartless
38 Jonas Brothers - Paranoid
39 Pink - Sober
40 Rob Thomas - Her Diamonds
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