Really cool way to kill time

I’m baaaaaaaack, sort of. I just downloaded Cool Iris, a browser plug-in that lets you look at Google Images, pictures on Facebook, and a few other sites in a really cool way. It’s hard to explain but download it! Plus, I know some people working for this start-up so have to spread the word.

http://www.cooliris.com

screw my apt. i want to move here.

Don’t you?? Check out more cool treehouses here.

should you change your name?

My parents made the choice to give me a very Western name, despite the fact that many of their friends chose to give their children Asian first names. I’ll admit that these names can be hard to pronounce at times, but I’m pretty sure this Texas politician just shot herself in the foot with the comment that Chinese, Korean, and Japanese American citizens should change their names to make it easier for poll workers. Read the article here.

ivygate

I was browsing The Choice, the New York Times’s blog about the college admissions process, and read one student’s recent post. Though accepted to every school to which he applied, including Yale, Stanford, Havard, and Princeton, this student was still reluctant about the aforementioned schools. His apprehension was largely shaped by the article, “The Disadvantages of an Elite Education.”

Though the article is very long and a bit hard to get through, former Yale professor William Deresiewicz raises many interesting points, particularly about how students at these types of schools have have a huge knowledge base…but do not actually know anything at all. Why is it that I can, and did, write 150 pages about 1960′s American drive-in movie theaters, restaurants, and churches, but am still confused by my tax forms, basic home repairs, and the definition of capital gains?

weekly someecards shoutout

a little scarier than “bend it like beckham”

I came across this anti-abuse PSA starring Keira Knightley on PopSugar. It’s really intense and I had to look away at certain parts, but I think that just makes the PSA more effective. I’ve already written about the whole Rhianna-Chris Brown debate, but I think domestic abuse is an important issue to continue discussing.

are you a library dork like me?

Turns out, I might not be the only one, though it seems the new influx of library patrons are not necessarily there for pleasure reading. It seems public libraries around the country are seeing more and more unemployed people going to the library to use the free Internet and job resources. As for myself, I just stopped by the other day for some tax forms – finally sent today! – and browsed the “new book releases” section. Do you guys use your public library?

I’ve also included an image of my favorite library in the world – the one in my hometown in Michigan – that has recently been renovated. Looks nice, no?

i’m stressed

Because I haven’t finished my taxes yet! They are almost done but I have just have to pull the trigger and send them, but I’m scared. Last year, I did them literally side by side with my mom, and this year I did them all by myself. I don’t know why, as a reasonably intelligent, college-educated person who works with numbers, I am so nervous. Are you done with your taxes??

pppppoker face

Here an interesting article about how Lady Gaga became “Lady Gaga.” Turns out she was a goody goody Catholic school girl (aren’t they always). I think she should start wearing pants or a bottom occasionally, but I can’t deny that her songs are catchy.

random cute commercial

I don’t know if you guys have seen this commercial for Mott’s Apple Juice with Marcia Cross, but for some reason those red-headed kids make me happy. And I loved the song so much I tracked it down, and included the full song below as well. Enjoy!