Archive for February, 2010
The Wonders of YouTube
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010Almost everyone has explored YouTube at one time or another. The entertainment possibilities seem endless. There are even YouTube shows now. I am not that into YouTube, nor do I spend much time searching it. I usually find things by following links friends recommend. So in the interest of spreading the joy, here are some of my favorites.
The Treadmill Music Video
I think almost everyone has seen this one. But if you haven’t, it is worth your time to take a look. I have wondered how long it took to figure out the choreography. However long it took, I’m glad they did it because the choreography is what makes this video interesting. Don’t get me wrong, the song is catchy, but it is the choreography that has me revisiting this video every once in a while.
The evolution of dance
This one is a mix of comedy and dance. Even though I don’t follow music and dance very well, I still recognized most of the dance steps he was doing. They are just iconic and we have seen most of them even if we haven’t seen the music videos they came from.
The Perils of Travel
This is a clip from some Australian tv show of a comedian from Wales complaining about the troubles he encountered during his trip to Australia. I know that at least one of my friends can really relate to this one.
Supernatural videos
As you already know if you have read many of my posts, I am a big Supernatural fan. I generally don’t search out videos myself, but after going to a convention (yes, I admit it, I am a one of those fans) and seeing a video, I decided to try to find it on YouTube. I found it and several others. Here are my favorites.
The first video is the video I set out to find. It is set to the song ‘Not Yet Dead’ from Spamalot and shows at lot of scenes of Dean and Sam (but especially Dean) getting pummeled. (A warning for those who have not seen all of Supernatural and are thinking of catching up, this video takes scenes from the first season and the first half of the second season.) I will say that although the video is funny, I like it mostly for the song. After seeing this video, I really want to see the show Spamalot.
The next Supernatural video recaps the episode ‘Mystery Spot’ from the third season. I love this video both for the song (very gripping – it was used in an episode of Smallville. The only reason to watch that episode is to see the end sequence where Lex is touring 33.1 to the sound of this song.) and for the way the editor cut together the scenes to give you a very good recap of the episode. For those of you who have not seen the episode, the beginning of show is their version of Groundhog Day with each day ending with Dean dying in a different way. It is both funny and disturbing.
After seeing the CW commercial using Johnny Cash’s song, God’s Gonna Cut You Down, the creator of this video was inspired to do a full length video. I think I like it mostly because I like the Johnny Cash song, but the editor does a good job of recapping the first season with a few scenes from the beginning of the second season thrown in.
There are so many more videos out there, but I will stop for now. Happy YouTubing.
Olympics, anyone?
Friday, February 19th, 2010Don’t you hate the let down after sweeps? I was just getting used to having most of my shows back, and then they go back to repeats again! So what am I watching until Sam and Dean come back? I have actually become kind of obsessed with the Olympics.
I am not usually a sports fan, so I am surprised at how interested I am in the Olympics. Maybe it’s because it’s an international competition? Maybe because there are more individual sports than team sports? I don’t know. Whatever the reason, I am hooked.
Some of the highlights for me so far: Lyndsey Vonn winning the women’s downhill (those women are crazy! Did you see how many of them wiped out? And at those speeds it is amazing that none of them were seriously hurt!); Petra Majdic of Slovenia who won the bronze in women’s individual cross-country sprint (she fell into a deep ditch during practice and yet still managed to win a bronze. After the race was over she had to be carried off the track. Apparently she had several bruised or broken ribs.); Shaun White winning the men’s halfpipe (I didn’t know people could go that high! After watching him, I now understand why there is so much hype about him. Amazing!); Evan Lysacek winning men’s figure skating (I don’t know why I was more into men’s figure skating then the couples, but I was. I watched almost all of both the short and long programs, and I just wanted Evan, or maybe the Japanese guy, to win. Maybe it was that the Russian guy just rubbed me the wrong way, maybe it was because Evan was an American. I don’t know, but I was so happy when he won.)
Anyhow, I intend keep watching. Whatever you are watching, I hope you are entertained.
Petra Majdic
Happy Singles Awareness Day
Thursday, February 11th, 2010I know I am a few days early, but I would like to wish everyone Happy Singles Awareness Day. I know that you who have significant others call it something else, but for me, it’s Singles Awareness Day. It’s the day when those of us who are single go out and buy ourselves our favorite candy, take a long bubble bath, and curl up with our pets and contemplate whether or not we are better off than our encumbered friends.
I was just going to let this Singles Awareness Day go by uncelebrated, when my mother dropped a huge hint: “If you get me anything for [Singles Awareness Day], get me some Lindt chocolate balls.” Since I love Lindt chocolate balls as much as anyone with taste buds, I have of course gone out and procured some. Mom always shares. She doesn’t want to be saddle with all of the calories, so she likes to spread them around. Needless to say, come Sunday I will do my part to make sure that all the calories do not all end up with her. I have also gotten her a less calorie ladened gift: a scented oil warmer. She likes candles and aromatic things, so I think she will like it.
Anyway, however you plan to celebrate your own Singles Awareness Day, I hope that you have a good day.
I’m done!
Thursday, February 4th, 2010I’m so happy! I finished my taxes and sent them in yesterday! I feel so accomplished! I even filed my paperwork.
I’m gloating, I know, and I don’t want to bring anyone down. If you haven’t done your taxes yet, you’re in the majority at this point. I received the last of my W-2s last week, and money is really tight for me. So, I just set out to see if I would be getting money back or paying. Since I found out that I would be getting money back, I decided to go ahead and complete my tax returns and send them in.
And how did I do it? Did I use a tax program or one of the on-line sites? Did I go to a professional? No, as I said, money is tight. I just pulled out last year’s returns (which I completed with the help of TaxCut) and used them as a templates for this year’s returns. I went to the federal and state websites and downloaded the forms and instructions I needed and just followed them. It took several hours but was relatively easy.
You might ask, why would a computer geek like me not use a tax program or a tax website? There are two answers for that: I’m broke and I’m cautious. I didn’t use a tax program because I do not have the money to pay for them. I didn’t use a tax website because even though some of them offer free returns (at least federal), I am wary of entering my personal information, including my social security number, into an online site. I know that at least the one I looked at claimed they would never do anything with the information, but what if they are hacked, have a disgruntled employee, or simply change their mind down the line? I just didn’t want to chance it. Besides, the being broke issue decided things for me, anyway.
I now just have to sit back and wait for the refunds. Since I mailed my returns in, I assume it will take longer than e-filing to get my refunds. I am hoping that since I sent in my returns early that I might get my refunds within a month. We shall see. I could really use them. My car registration and insurance is due soon.