Just SO FREAKIN COOL - Jimmy Fallon & Justin Timberlake HIP HOP

Just WATCH IT!

Geography of the Recession

This is a shocking video that depicts the expansion of unemployment from 2007 to 2010. It gives a new meaning to the term "black and blue" - the highest unemployment rates are depicted using the colors black and a dark purple/blue.

The meaning of life = FREE HUGS

I love this; this is me! I especially like the two-sided European hug, I'm going to start doing that!

Alright already, David Cook - it's time for the new album

Another teaser from Cook for his fans, one at least of whom is getting cranky waiting for the new album. Too bad Sony pulled the video of David singing "Paper Heart" at Busch Gardens before I got to hear it. :(

Flash Opera in Philly

Members of the Philadelphia Opera Company Chorus and the cast of La Traviata broke into song in Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia. What a beautiful sound. I'm surprised there were not more people simply beaming - who can resist Brindisi?

Shakira - Waka Waka - This Time for Africa

I love Shakira, I love her dance moves, I love the colored things in her hair and the colors and textures of Africa, I like this song, I love the way this video distills the most exciting moments of soccer into a few seconds.



The video for the Spanish version is different!

Things I have to keep track of now that I didn't have to keep track of back in the day

No wonder I am losing my mind, I have way too many things in my life that I have to keep track of. For instance: passwords; tiny little pieces of electronic equipment, such as the transformer card that lets me put my really tiny little memory card from my phone into the card reader so that I can look at all the pictures I take whenever I can't keep track of my camera; flash drives, chargers,etc. ad nauseum.

David Cook - new song

David Cook performed a new song - which hopefully will be featured on his new album - at a show at the Morongo back in February. I like it, it is a little different from the songs on his first album DCTR. "You and I ... suicide." David always has interesting insight into life and relationships. I wish he would write more melodic songs that show off his beautiful voice, though.

Here is some video of the song from YouTube: ">

"Every Rose has a Thorn"

Every minute of being a Casey James fan on American Idol this year was totally justified by this duet on finale night. These 2 got a standing ovation and were voted as the top performance that night on every poll I've seen. It would be great if Casey would sing this on the tour, along with maybe "Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be Cowboys."

Maybe Casey James can erase a little bit of the Bush stink from Texas.

Comment in Reply to David Brooks' Op-Ed "The Story of An Angry Voter"

David Brooks' latest Op-Ed column "The Story of an Angry Voter," describes 'Ben,' a hard-working person looking for a moderate who shares his views of the way society should be, rewards for those who work hard, and no rewards for those who don't. In a comment in reply to this column, Elizabeth Fuller of Peterborough, NH makes some great points that epitomize the problem with the Tea Party movement. She wrote, "You're making it sound as if it is government that is making things unfair for Ben and those like him. Was it government that outsourced jobs? Was it government that created the huge pay imbalances between CEOs and the people who work for them? Was it government that forced banks to charge 29% interest rates on credit card balances? Was it government that invented financial products that ruined the retirement funds and savings of so many people?

No, it was lack of government and a belief that things run more smoothly when unfettered by government regulation. It is not our political system that undermines the relationship between effort and reward; it is the way business is structured, and it is the way markets work. Markets, for demographic reasons alone, richly reward undisciplined talk show hosts and manufactured pop stars who may not be putting in half the effort of a truly dedicated teacher or an office cleaner who works two jobs to eke out a living for his or her family.

If Ben is smart, he may be finally realizing what many before him have learned -- that the market is amoral and unjust, and that hard work alone can't always overcome the unfairness thrust in one's way. He may be growing up enough to understand that right and wrong are infinitely complicated constructs that cannot be reduced to the idea that they are contained in the relationship between effort and reward. Does the good that those who work in obscurity and without financial gain among the world's poor have anything to do with the relationship between effort and reward? A thoughtful Ben may be finally understanding what people mean when they say virtue is its own reward.

If Ben gets angry only because he feels he's not getting all he deserves, if he doesn't make the leap to acknowledge that without government "interference" life can be very unfair for many of us, then his anger and extremism will probably get nothing done. But if in his own discomfort he finds the key to making society more just and workable for all, then his anger and "extremism" may be much more effective than centrist gentility."