Terminally Geeky

Sad news. Sam Simon, co-creator of The Simpsons has been diagnosed with terminal colon cancer. The Simpsons have been my foster family on plenty of occasions, and the thought of one of the masterminds behind that groundbreaking television show passing away saddens me. My thoughts and prayers are certainly with his family.

He was not married and had no children. In his last months, he's been dividing his fortune into several important causes that he believes in. He hopes to help lead the world into a better place before he leaves this world for a better place. For this, he is quite the venerable gentleman in my book!

His generosity, and the causes in which he decided to align it with, made me wonder what I would invest my fortune in if I were a dying television mogul...

It is noble to invest in things you believe will right the wrongs of the world. For example, you thousands of dollars to an organization committed to reversing the effects of global warming because you see it as being a great problem with the world.

However, there are so many problems in the world that even the richest man in the world couldn't leave nearly enough money to make a dent in creating a utopia. Call me selfish, but I'd rather invest my money in something more positive.

Kickstarter is a crowd-sourcing way of raising money for projects. It's the Internet-equivalent of passing around a hat and asking people to invest in your idea. A surprising amount of money has been raised using this website, and some of the projects are simply amazing!

This challenge to the Next-Gen consoles (Xbox One & PS4) started on Kickstarter! Over 63,000 backers raised $8,596,474 for it!

Many of these projects have been innovative and creative hits! I would love to donate money to a cause that creates something new and enjoyable for everyone. 

Also, greater investments yield lasting rewards. Many projects name something after their big time investors; with enough money, your name could be all over the United States. What a legacy!

Could you imagine if a mega-corporation like Apple or FOX had begun through a Kickstarter project? The next big thing may be there waiting to be discovered.

If you get a chance, some of the awesome ideas on Kickstarter. And remember, you don't have to be a millionaire or terminally ill to donate to a cause you deem worthwhile!

Also, check out this funded project for a carnival that is essentially on fire!!!

How would you give it all away?

Share your ideas on Facebook!

Web Therapy & Your Quarter Life Crisis

Back in March, I wrote about my quarter-life crisis. For those unfamiliar with this phenomenon, a quarter-life crisis is the suffering of young adults as they transition from the comfort of adolescence to the harsh realities of adulthood.

After much investigation and plenty of thinking, I have composed a few (healthy) ideas for coping with a quarter-life crisis...

So you have a quarter-life crisis? Feeling down about where you are in life right now? Need a change of pace from your everyday? Here comes the Internet to your rescue:

Reintroduce Yourself To Yourself

What do you like? What are you really interested in? Do you have a hobby? What do you like to do? Take some time to dive into something that you absolutely love. For example, I recently began researching things that interest me like new technology, wrestling, tattoos, and cars. 

By doing this, you're getting to know yourself better. Instead of simply being able to say you like something, you can like something-specific-about-that-something and have in-depth conversations with people who share that interest.

Sometimes our interests are so vague, it's questionable whether we're interested in it at all.

If you don't know who these men are, you are not a wrestling fan.

Get Serious About Getting Your Life Together

Stop whining and start planning then doing! You may not be able to turn everything around today, but the first thing you can do a 180 on is your attitude. If your unhappy about your weight, decide to go on a diet and start an exercise regimen. If you wish you were like someone else, make a list of the qualities you admire and start adapting some. It starts with you!

Challenge Yourself

Self-esteem is a major hurdle for everyone going through a crisis. (After all, if you felt good about yourself, you wouldn't be having a crisis.) Taking on a [reasonable] challenge gives you an opportunity to boost your self-esteem; at the end of the day, you can say you did it!

Days 1-5 are going to suck, but on Day 6 you're going to feel awesome.

Distract Yourself

There is only so much progress you can make in one day. Sometimes you have to be happy with what you have until you can achieve more. Take your mind off the disappointment of your life not being the way you'd like by adopting a new hobby.

Sure, laugh. But while you were whining about your job, this guy got broke a record.

Note: It is especially worth it to do something creative! A painting or a good screenplay is something to show people and be proud of, which boosts the self-esteem.

Try Not To Make It Worse

Social Media Anxiety Disorder  (SMAD) is an easy way to discourage a quarter-life crisis sufferer. While you're worrying about your future, your classmates and friends are grasping theirs.

No one wants to be Gretchen Weiners!

Use your social media skills and censor yourself from this if you have to. There is no shame in not wanting people to gloat about their lives to you every day. You may even want to log off of your social networks until you can deal with your situation better. And remember...

Feel Good and Be Better!!!

And spread the love on Facebook!

The Next Great American Soap Opera Drama...About Barbie?

On Pinterest, I decided to take a look at JayBird53's Crazy For Barbie board. The little girl in me kicked in, and I began daydreaming - playing with the dolls in my head! And what I thought was quite entertaining.

[Note: If you're expecting to learn anything, this isn't that kind of post. Sure, if you're not well-versed in Barbie, you'll learn a little something. But overall, this is more of an entertainment post. That being said...]

The thought I had was about a 80s-/90s-style drama, like Dynasty...

Fun Fact: I (indirectly) got my name from the bad-ass main character Alexis Carrington-Colby (far right).

...about a mother and daughter.

 As we know, Barbie Millicent Roberts was "born" in the late 1950s. If you look at her then and now, you'll notice she's changed quite a bit.

I like to think of the older, more stern Barbie as actually being Barbie's mother, Margaret Millicent "Millie" Roberts. Millie's the queen-bee, wealthy socialite responsible for the family's image. She met her husband, George (the first Ken), when she was in her late teens and together they built the Roberts Family Empire.

Millie was much more agreeable in her youth. But she became an iron lady as she grew older.

By her late-20s, Millie Roberts was a fashion icon and a mother. Though she had features from both her parents, Barbra "Barbie" Roberts shined as brightly as her mother. 

However, as the young heiress grew older and her relationship with her mother became strained. Barbie wasn't satisfied with her mother's fashion-oriented lifestyle; she used her weather and family name to achieve different goals...

Among several other careers before the job market crash...

Disappointed, Millie tries to talk Barbie into returning to the fashion world claiming "women don't belong in careers like law and medicine". Her efforts fail, though, and Barbie and her mother stop speaking to each other. Barbie meets Ken, and they have an on-and-off relationship. 

I could go on, but where's the fun in that? Let your imagination run wild for a moment about your favorite childhood doll/action figure. 

(Barbie goes all "Amanda Bynes" in the later seasons of this imaginary television series.)

LOL! Don't worry. She eventually gets her act together.

Chromecast: Because Who Needs Cable

Google - in it's quest for media domination - may have finally conquered television by releasing Chromecast yesterday.

This USB-looking device is expected to revolutionize online streaming through television. 

This is not Google's first attempt at online streaming through television. Most notably, Google TV was the companies latest & greatest failure at this.

Did you see that remote?!

I think it's awesome that the same team that developed Google TV learned from their mistakes and created a far-better improvement: Chromecast! From what I've seen, Chromecast is very easy to use - the major selling point.

Pros

• Price - It's $35! The Apple TV is $99; these things can cost upwards of $100! $35 is a steal!
• Minimal Hardware - Chromecast is the size of a Flashdrive! No boxes, wires, etc. No finding a place for it in your entertainment center. It just plugs into your television!
• Minimal Software - One simple button press and voila!

Cons

• Still kind of new - Sure, it's compatible with YouTube, Hulu, Pandora... But I'm sure that the Chromecast is still lacking when it comes to apps. But give it a few months, and it will be up to speed! However, who knows what glitches users will find once Chromecast gains more popularity...
• Unsure how multiple devices work - What if you tried to stream video from both your phone and tablet? What would happen?

I don't typically write about new technology. (It's just so much to keep up with!) But this little gem caught my eye yesterday, and I had to share! Gizmodo highly recommends buying the Chromecast, and, for $35, you'd HAVE to be crazy not to get one.

(P.S. Fantastic gift idea!)

What's new that moves you?

Share your thoughts on Facebook!

G4 Becomes Bravo (For Men)

I know it's been a while (and I should have posted something sooner), but I am still mourning G4's Attack of the Show and X-Play. As a young geek, these shows have been a great source of information and entertainment.

The entire channel will be undergoing a re-branding in September. On September 23, 2013, G4 will become the Esquire Network.

The Esquire Network is the channel's way of "growing up". G4 is apparently television for older boys, whereas Esquire Network is for young men. Along with games and technology, the Esquire Network will consist of programming about food, travel, fashion, and other things.

I'm too old for shows about video games... I like other things, too, now... but, yes, I still like games though.

Reading through the list of upcoming shows, I instantly thought it sounded familiar...

Cooking: Knife Fight / Top Chef

Fashion: How I Rock It / Project Runway

Real Estate: Risky Listing / Million-Dollar Listing

It all sounds like manly versions of shows on Bravo!

Add a hot guy & a few explosions, and rename it Knife Fight.

Television for men, television for women... Sure it's a little sexist to assume "men like this whereas women like that", but it's always interesting to see what network producers put together for these broad target audiences.

G4 was one of my favorite networks. I hope the new Esquire Network measures up to its glory - and is hopefully different than the Bravo network!

With online streaming and DVRs, a time will likely come where you're able to make a television channel that caters to your personal interests. What would your daily line-up be?

The Post-Grad Student

Although I'm sure a "post-graduate student" is a real thing in another context, I wanted to write a post about those of us who are finally in the "real world" and still crave the academic culture.

Upon graduating from The University of Michigan, one of the first changes I had to adapt to was no longer being a student. After work, I sometimes feel like there is an assignment I should be doing. I still occasionally have stress dreams about a final for a class I haven't attended!

Am I the only person here without a paper to write?

Don't get me wrong! The freedom of post-graduate life is sweet. No deadlines, exams, cramming, scheduling, or course catalogs. However, I sometimes feel the urge to learn.

Another freedom that comes with being released from an educational institution is the choice of what to learn next. Sure, you majored in a subject you were passionate about and learned quite a bit. But everyone has taken at least one class that had nothing to do with anything but served as a credit you needed to graduate.

Schrodinger's cat is dead! Now, I can I take another theater class?

Here are a few ways to satisfy your thirst for knowledge online (and without student loans):

SkillShare

I was reading an Forbes article about how to be an expert in your field, and it suggested teaching a course on the website SkillShare. SkillShare is a start-up site that allows experts to share teach their talents for free to anyone willing to learn.

Check out the submitted projects from this guy's class! Delicious!!!
Note: Only some of the classes are free, but most are very affordable.

TEDTalks

I remember spending a day of Spring Break in my dorm room watching Ted Talks.... I am a nerd. But, hey, TedTalks are entertaining, informational, and inspirational! Ted Talks are also great ways to spark intelligent dialogue. You'd be surprised at the decrease in intellectual conversation when you're not required to talk about readings at least once a week. 

Here's an exceptionally entertaining Ted Talk I saw recently...

Howcast

You've likely come across a Howcast video or two online before. They're quick tutorials on how to do things. It wouldn't be a bad idea to learn a few new things through the Howcast website.

Tutorials for everything from "how to understand heart disease" to "sexy dance moves for the club" can be found on this helpful site.

Google

Duh... you can always google something you want to learn more about and follow the rabbit hole until you become an expert.

I hope this post inspires you to learn something new this summer. Just because you're not obligated to learn things doesn't mean you shouldn't! Everyone could use a little more knowledge here or there.

What subject matter are you yearning to dive into?

Share your thoughts on Facebook!

Update: Break-up Anthem

In a previous post, I mentioned that my boyfriend of 5.5 years and I broke up...

We're back together now!!!

I also found something worth sharing other than the ups and downs of my personal life...

In that post, I also talked about an idea that had been floating around in my head about an app or website that gives you songs to listen to in any situation. I didn't find THAT per se, BUT I did find this site called 8Tracks!

8Tracks is a cool virtual community where people put together playlists and share them!  (It's just like my idea except with more human labor than computer algorithms.) I found it on Pinterest while looking for tips for incoming college freshmen; there was a rather long (6+ hours worth) playlist of study music.

If you've never heard about it, it's something to check out! At the least it will bring life to a silent night. It'll likely introduce you to new songs, too!

P.S. Where was this a month or so ago?!