I laugh every time there's a Twitter post followed by scores of people asserting how silly and useless Twitter is. There are some hyper-productive people whose opinion on this matter I would respect. Someone who finds it a *good* use of their time to post a redundant "hate!" comment on a blog post about a service they don't use and/or don't "get" cannot possibly be an authority on productivity, lol.
Personally I enjoy Twitter, though I don't find it indispensable. I think the noise to signal ratio is probably pretty bad for the general user (a potential pitfall at any large social networking site), but I'm choosy about who I follow so it works well for me. I often find myself aware of relevant developments in my areas of interest several hours before they hit my RSS. (I also like seeing the people I follow posting their second- and third-tier items of interest - the links that won't quite make it to their main blogs but are still of interest.)
@CodenameV: Your points have already been thoroughly rebutted here, but I did have to question your basic premise: "Seriously, draw the line somewhere."
Why? Where? Whose standards should we use as a guideline? At what point in history has the nature of the human condition been improved by the imposition of dated, Puritan standards onto evolving media forms?
Whether or not you approve of slash is immaterial; your argument that you have the right to impose a set of standards on a community of which you are proudly *not* a member is absurd.
Most arguments against a particular form of media eventually run aground on the shoals of simple literary snobbery. Now, I love and revere the Bard, in no small part because he is one of the boldest and most hilariously obscene writers ever to have achieved canonization. If you don't like slash, don't read it; but to point to some particular sub-genre of writing, smutty or otherwise, and proclaim it worthy of ghettoization is to reveal an embarrassingly shallow understanding of the genre- and gender-bending work done by great writers from Shakespeare to Huxley and beyond.
Also: the irony of your icon in conjunction with your position is killing me absolutely dead.
@Edouard Eldred: I thought it was a play on "Angela", like "Anna Banana." And "Angela Banangela" just doesn't have the same ring to it.
@mecow: They haven't explicitly established that Sylar has touched any of the people he's copied, have they? It's certainly plausible he touched Coroner Lady and Agent Guy, but Sandra? I see your objection, but I would comfortable with the idea that Sylar has enough control over his powers to shift without having to physically touch the person.
@limber: I totally second this.
I guess I'm in the minority here, but I thought the football commercial was adorable! On the other hand, I'm a sucker for the Heroes cast (more so than their actual characters), and I love Friday Night Lights, so the Heroes cast playing football is basically like crack. And I admit I laughed at Elway being a super.
Overall I wasn't that impressed with the ads this year. None of them really jumped out at me. Luckily, the actual game this year was awesome. Go Steelers!
I'm more fascinated by the shows turning shippers into witting incest fans. At least Brothers and Sisters had the good sense to retcon their 'cest ship before it got out of control.
Also, that Splinter of the Mind's Eye reference equals PURE WIN. My sisters and I first read that book when we were too young to really understand what was happening, and now we have a tradition of gifting each sister with the same battered copy when she turns 18 and is "mature enough to understand it." Thanks for the laugh :-)
A post about actors who get fandom with no love for Grunny?!? That is just not cool, dude.
Actually, I think the Heroes cast and crew in general set a high standard for being appreciative and friendly towards fandom. From Grunberg on Twitter to Pasdar on YouTube, they have really grasped the sense of community that makes geekdom so rewarding and fun!
We haven't had cable for about three years. The networks look great on our big screen in over the air HD, and with the advent of decent streaming sites like Hulu we don't even have Netflix anymore (it ended up being more cost-effective to rent or purchase media through iTunes or Amazon in the event it's not available for free).
We also have a dry loop DSL, so our entire Internet/entertainment bill averages about $30/month. I can't see going back to fattening the cable cow anytime soon :)
I love The Office, but I'm really disappointed in the direction they've taken Pam's character. She went from thinking she was incapable of more than being a receptionist with a part-time art hobby and an overbearing boyfriend who just wants her to live his parents' life in Scranton...to knowing for sure that she is incapable of more than that. Doesn't anyone remember that heartbreaking "They don't even make houses like that in Scranton" line from "Boys and Girls"? And I threw up a little when she came back to her boyfriend instead of sticking it out (for once in her life) at art school.
I actually don't have a problem with Pam having that life if it's what she wants, but I don't like how she failed her way into it. I hope they show her demonstrating out a new, more mature sense of herself, professionally and personally, in the next few episodes.
The sight of her giving that speech about double standards *while* standing in the kitchen making dinner is making my brain explode. How can someone so completely lack self-awareness? How could she reach this stage in her life with no sense whatsoever of irony? I don't think the question is if McCain or Obama would be shown that way - can you imagine Hillary, under pain of death, giving an interview in full wardrobe and makeup while whipping up a heart-healthy salad for Bill?
On other note, HOLY CRAP that is a great house. With the view, an the open floor plan, and the pretty crazy lady making food in the kitchen...to quote Wonder Boys, it's the sort of house you want to wake up in on Christmas morning.
Oh my GOD, I just snorted coffee up my nose. Perfection.
I never thought I'd say this, but I really, really want Palin to go on The View. Like, a lot. Katie Couric's professionalism clearly prevents her from giving Caribou Barbie a piece of her mind, but the ladies of The View would have no such compunction. I'd love to see Palin look Barbara freakin' Walters in the eye and talk about the intricacies of foreign policy, and the damaging effects of the sexism in the professional arena.
It's also creepy how clear it is that "My understanding is..." is code for "The only talking points they gave me on that subject were..." She can't even fake sounding like she knows what she's talking about, an area in which GWB frankly excelled.
The fact that McCain heard the expression "lipstick on a pig" and immediately assumed the speaker had to be referring to Sarah Palin tells me more about him than it does about Obama.
Okay, it's official. "I say that with concern and love" is the new "with all due respect." Leave it to Anderson to find a phrase that is a withering insult and *simultaneously* seems warm and compassionate.
Thanks, Coop!
When will the so-called watchdogs realize this is like free advertising for the networks? Doesn't this story make most people way *more* likely to watch NBC?
Does anyone remember when the the Parents Television Council used to have "The Worst Clip of the Week" on their front page? It was fantastic, you didn't even have to search YouTube for the most incestuous, underage, bestial threesome of the week!
Hi, all! I'm Erin from the original post. Thanks for all your words of encouragement :-)
The only reason I called them back in the first place is that we were recently in serious car accident and I wanted to make sure it wasn't related to that in any way. Once I figured it out it was just some scummy scam artist I started seeing red. I do take the threat of identity theft seriously, but, I swear, if you had talked to this guy it was just comical the way he was trying to use faux-legalese to cover the fact that the whole thing was total BS and he had no actual information. My favorite part was how fervently he wanted me to believe that the proof of the debt, claim, and judgement was "in the folder," as if the existence of some paper generated in their own office was proof enough of my liability.
I'm sure I could win a claim against them for FDCPA and/or FCRA violations, at the very least, but I'd prefer they go away. (Also, I doubt I'd ever see a dime, so I'd just be out the filing fee.) If they don't go away, though, I'm fully prepared to go after them in court. As I said before, for me this is an annoyance, but it makes me really upset to think about them taking advantage of people who would understandably be intimidated by this sort of aggression.
