The Daily Special 8.11.09

• Need more evidence that people are not even remotely conscientious consumers of media? FOX just picked up OctoMom's two-hour special.

• Clearly, Angela Merkel has "more to offer" than her competition. Hey, baby! Flaunt 'em if you got 'em.

• My So-Called Life is now on Hulu. Angela, Rayanne, and Ricky captured the bleeding hearts and tortured minds of early-to-mid 90s teens (including me) with their flannel, babydoll dresses, heavy eye liner, and bright red hair. This, of course, was back when Jared Leto was still amazingly hot and such a good leaner. The emo kids of today have nothing on the angst and apathy of the grunge era. It was so beautiful, it was painful. And yeah, we had a time.

• Sometimes, I wish my blog, like my life, had a clear focus and purpose. Like the girl in Julie & Julia who had a goal of doing a new recipe per day. Or even the dude who runs this blog. He scours the news every day to find the craziest screw-ups. Then again, I do have a lot of TV to watch and food to eat, so where's the time?

• Ever since a brief text conversation the other night with my friend, Adam, I've had this song stuck in my head. Enjoy!

The Daily Special 8.6.09

• Republican or Democrat, this is the kind of politics I can't support. If you lack the better argument, you use subtle deflection and reframe the issue. You don't incite fear and hatred.

• Wanna know what kind of music mood I'm in on any given day? Check out my Blip.fm page or follow me on Twitter.

• Because this blog is further evidence of why sterilization should be a condition of your probation.

• Yes, Johnny Depp is finally on Hulu with Season 1 of "21 Jump Street," but as my friend Allison graciously reminded me, you're not cool if you don't already have the first three seasons on DVD.

• I'm really excited about Bobby Long's show tonight and Marcus Foster's show tomorrow night. My chicas, Casey and Bri really hooked a bored and broke girl up. Enjoy the following Marcus Foster vid.

The Daily Special 8.5.09

• The news of Euna Lee and Laura Ling being released warms my cold, stone heart. Well done, Pres. Clinton, and welcome home!

• I'm really excited these boys are getting the recognition they deserve. I pretty much despise the Twilight fandom and everything that has surrounded this mediocre series, but I love Bobby Long, Marcus Foster, and Sam Bradley's music, so I go see them play any chance I get. In fact, I will be at Hotel Café tomorrow and Friday night for Bobby's and Marcus' shows (respectively).

• I was always a huge fan of Michael Crichton, and his passing was sad, indeed. His website, though, is still up and if you're a fan of his work, I'd suggest you check out some of his essays and speeches on topics ranging from genetics to dating.

• Head on over to Sexy People to see some of the most outrageously gorgeous portraits, ev-ahhh! I challenge you to find my favourite.

• This wild tirade is getting some attention from LAist. Personally, I love LA, and I don't think it can hold a candle to the meanness of Chicago. But people will get their panties in a wad over just about anything -- honking and tailgating, really? Someone gave you the finger? Horrors! What I find most humorous is the fact that his/her only base of comparison is what was surely a tourist experience in NYC. Hey, softy! Get over your break-up baggage and move your ass in that crosswalk, or I'm gonna start scowling in your general direction!

A Worthy Cause

It warms my heart when celebrities use their status to support charitable causes. I'd like to highlight them for all four of my readers just so you know this is sruzbiznus.

This time, Canadian actress Rachelle LeFevre (Twilight, "Boston Legal", "What About Brian") is donating $100 for every 10,000 Twitter followers she gets and encouraging people to click the Pink Button to get corporate sponsorships for free mammograms. Follow Rachelle (@RachelleLeFevre) and check out her Susan G. Komen charity site.

The Daily Special 8.4.09

• I was so excited about this last week and I'm still excited. Twenty-six episodes of She-Ra are now available on Hulu! Someone promised me a BattleCat, and I'm going to make them deliver.

• I don't know what everyone's so sad about, but the tally of Americans on anti-depression meds has shot up to nearly 27 million.

• People are up in arms about Pres. Obama being portrayed as The Joker, saying it's "mean-spirited," but no one fussed when Drew Friedman did it to Pres. Bush. Perhaps it's the exhaustion after the effort spent on that self-righteous indignation that's got people so down.

• In my personal opinion, former Pres. Bill Clinton has done more good out of office than he ever did in. So, I was happy to see that he's going to try to charm the North Korean government into releasing journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling. Godspeed, sir!

• I keep forgetting one or two at the end of this game.

Nanny State 911

I was absolutely bowled over by this article coming out of the UK's Daily Express about the government expanding its use of "sin bins" for 20,000 of England's families enrolled in Family Intervention Projects.

Sin bins are private homes subject to closed circuit television monitoring to ensure kids are being raised right (sent to school, properly fed and disciplined). Parents and children sign a behaviour contract with the British government, and the government, in turn hopes/thinks the extra attention will reduce the number of kids getting involved in random delinquency and hard crime.

Aside from the obvious comparisons to Orwell's 1984 and the implications from such a widespread invasion of privacy, this is really just a by product of today's voyeuristic culture combined with the pervasive political apathy.

Imagine that. Britain, which has more CCTVs watching its people than the whole of Europe, has decided to take reality TV for the government employees to a whole new level. It's like the Dr. Phil House without the free counseling at the end of the rainbow.

Can't wait until they decide to make it pay per view to make some money off it.

These private eyes are watchin' you...B

The Daily Special 8.3.09

• Ever since my mom and my sister announced they were coming to visit me, and that we are going to the San Diego Zoo, I cannot get enough of the Zoo's critter cams. Keepers have webcams trained on the polar bears, the elephants, the apes, and, of course, the pandas. In fact, today the Zoo is celebrating the birthdays of Su Lin (4) and Zhen Zhen (2). Check out their rockin' ice cakes and the gifts they got in Tiffany-blue boxes.

• My friend, Casey tricked me into watching this video, and now I can't get the song or the images out of my head. Further evidence that the Japanese are magical and weird.

• Warwick Davis (Willow, Harry Potter, Leprechaun) recently joined Twitter. which makes me immensely happy. He put together Snape's iPod playlist. I would pay good money to see Alan Rickman rock out to "Barbie Girl."

• Yeah, baby! It's Shark Week, again!