Things Online

I had a friend in high school that could do this amazing trick, and I’ve always wanted to learn how to do it. Fortunately, now I can!

Learn How to Spin A Pencil

After watching Across the Universe, not only did I fall in love with the love story, I also fell in love with the story of a generation.

I never cared about The Beatles, but Across the Universe made me care. It gave me compassion for a generation that I felt I couldn’t identify with.

I admit that I originally agreed to watch the movie because I had enjoyed Evan Rachel Wood’s previous films. I also thought that Jim Sturgess was dreamy. When the movie started,  I realized that there was much more to the film.

I took my dad to watch the movie for a second time in theaters, and I was curious about what he would think of the movie. He pointed out that while these are re-makes of Beatles songs, they add their own spin. He agreed that the songs were done tastefully.

Now I own the movie on DVD, and I listen to the soundtrack every once in a while. I love the music, and I even listen to some of the Beatle’s original tracks now. Without Across the Universe, I never would have discovered just how great the music was.

If you’re curious about the film and haven’t seen it yet, there is an Across the Universe channel on Youtube that has a lot of scenes from the movie.

Here’s a list of 10 different “How To” sites that I’ve found to be useful. If you know of some that I’ve missed, feel free to share them!

1. Youtube - Youtube is a great place to learn how to do things. This is where I found how to introduce my bearded dragon to drinking water.

2. E-How - They  have everything from “How to get pet insurance” to “How to look taller”. It’s very easy to use, and gives you very convenient steps. You can also write for them for cash.

3. Wikihow - You can learn how to cook a snake or the proper etiquette if you’re going to a Broadway show. This site uses a lot of pictures and diagrams.

4. How to do things -  This site is both practical and easy. This one is also looking for contributors for cash.

5. Wonder How To -  This site is a bit harder to navigate. It does seem a lot more in-depth and informative though, as it’s made up of videos.

6. PC World - You can learn how to do some of your more “techy” things here.

7. How To Study - This is a great resource for all grade levels, in every subject from math to spelling.

8. How Stuff Works -  This comes in handy when you’re trying to take care of something or repair something.

9. How to Clean Anything - I used a couple of the bathroom cleaning tips. This site can come in handy.

10. How To Geek - More “techy” help!

Where would the internet be without Youtube?

With it, I can watch movie trailers and clips. Sometimes I even catch a whole movie. If I’m lucky, somebody has put up episodes of a show that I missed last week, and I can catch up there.

Music videos are the other advantage. If there’s a song I want to hear, any song in the world, I just have to look it up.

Youtube even has “how to” videos now.

It especially came in handy for a film class I took this quarter. I was lucky enough to find a wealth of silent films to refer to.

Speaking of film making, Youtube has become a great way for new and aspiring filmmakers to get feedback on their videos.

What’s my favorite thing about Youtube? Mainly the fact that it brings all the cultures in the world right to my home.

 What do you love most about Youtube? 

Feministing is one of the blogs that I read everyday. I can’t say that I agree with absolutely every point that they make, but I do like to think of myself as somebody who wants equal rights for men and women. I have a lot of respect for the ladies there.

I  love Feministing’s new community blog . It’s pretty awesome to hear what other readers have to say.

Feministing asks a lot of great questions and brings up many great points. The fact that they support my rights as a woman really rocks. They cover a wide range of topics relating not just to feminism, but the rights of human beings.

I encourage everybody to have a look and read what they have to say, even if you don’t agree. I check it out daily.

For my first “Monday Rant” I want to talk about somebody that bugs me a lot - Dr. Laura. If you haven’t had the joy of listening to Dr. Laura, you can look her up. She has a three hour talk show each weekday where she gives “advice” to callers.

For one thing, this woman presents herself as a therapist, and implies that she has a mental health degree. She misrepresents herself, and I don’t think that’s fair to her listeners or callers. She has a degree in physiology, and I’m sure she would be competent working with something physiology related, but even the license she had as a marital and family counselor has expired.

I find her hate-filled values hypocritical. She basically insults her listeners and callers about their own moral failures, seemingly forgetting some of hers. Years back, it was revealed that there were nude pictures of Dr. Laura circulating. These were taken when she was married, having an affair with a married man.

Yes, I listen to her show for the entertainment value, but it scares me that some people take everything she says and make it the gospel. Not only does she berate the people who claim to love her and her advice, but she’s very rude to them. She assumes what the question of her caller is going to be before they even ask it, but gets furious when they interrupt to correct her on the details.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that this lady endorses tons of products. If you spend twenty minutes listening to her show, you will be able to hear at least one block of commercials, of which she is always the endorser. I wonder if she even knows what she’s endorsing half the time.

Another problem I have with Dr. Laura is that she always talks about how parents need to be so involved with kids for 18 years - then kick them out. Yes, apparently the day your child turns 18 they should be able to pay rent, pay bills, and be able to go to school all at the same time! You don’t need to help them out at all.

Here are some links and resources related to Dr. Laura, either her own sites or ones that are against her. Thanks!

http://www.drlaurablog.co

http://www.sonomacountyfreepress.com/liver/dr-laura.htm

http://www.psychpage.com/family/library/lettertodrlaura.htm

http://www.drlaura.com/main/action_figure.html

http://www.tmz.com/2007/05/31/did-dr-lauras-son-have-a-deathwish/

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_5934072

http://www0.epinions.com/book-review-6B6D-7CB09E3-3918C298-prod3

http://www.stopdrlaura.com/

http://www.drlaura.com/main/

http://www.psychpage.com/family/library/drlaura.htm

http://jezebel.com/343305/dr-laura-blames-whiny-women-defends-her-soldier-son

World’s Oldest Blogger Passes Away

CNN article

An Australian woman named Olive Riley passed away at the age of 108. What’s so special about Olive Riley? Well, she started blogging in February of 2007, and her last blog was dated June 26. Olive was born in 1899, and died July 12 of this year.

NiceCritic.com (Link )

This is just something I stumbled upon this week. Basically, if there’s somebody you want to send a “helpful suggestion” to, you can send them something anonymously. I sent one to myself just to see what they look like.

Here’s one of my personal favorites: “You don’t release your hug in a timely manner.”

Economy Down, PC Sales Up (Article )

K-Fed Gets The Kids (Article )

Mama Mia Opens

Am I going to see it? Probably not. But that song on the trailer sure does get stuck in my head a lot.

The Dark Knight Opens

This is the movie I’m sure my boyfriend is going to drag me to see. I don’t think I’ll mind it.

So did anything else happen that I missed?

This is my first “Reader Response” question, so I don’t plan to get too many responses. I would like to post a question anyway.

Is there a website out there that you wish you made before the real creator did?

What would have been your main reason for this? Is it money you’re interested in? Is it the fact that you really like whatever it’s about?

I have decided that to keep this blog up to date as often as possible, I will be writing about specific topics on specific days. Here’s the set up as of now, with the possibly of adjustments:

Monday - “I Hate Mondays” - Generally a rant on something I dislike, and I encourage you all to rant along with me.

Tuesday - “Things I Like” - Generally something I like, and I encourage you to talk about something positive too.

Wednesday - “Reasons to love the internet”

Thursday - “Review” - I will review something - movie, music, book, website - and ask for your input or requests

Friday - “Video Day” - I share a video and a brief blurb about it. Video requests are welcome.

Saturday - “Reader Response” - I post a question (sometimes 2) and ask the readers to respond.

Sunday - “The Week In Review” - I go over topics that were relevant over the course of the week, but I didn’t get to talk about.

There are also other topics thrown in randomly. If you ever have any requests on what you want me to talk about, feel free to throw them my way! I hope to keep this blog very interactive, and love to get input from my readers.

I feel that every blog should have a mission statement, and I would like to kick off this blog with my own personal mission statement for “Things Online”.

As the writer of “Things Online”, I aim to keep my readers up to date with current events, mainly online, but often not. I also strive to keep my readers entertained.

I’m hoping to learn something too. I want to learn what people like to hear about, and what they don’t. I hope that my readers can take something from this blog as well.

Speaking of the readers, I hope to interact directly with them. I want to hear what my readers have to say about this blog. I feel that I’m writing for the readers, and they have the right to write back for me. Let me know when I’m not living up to my own expectations so I can change this.

I also aim to be honest with my opinions. If I don’t like something, I’m going to write about it. If I like something, I’m going to write about. I will also listen to my reader’s opinions, and respect them.

Thanks for reading, and I hope to really get this place up and running over the next few weeks.