This Christmas, I will give you nightmares!

And the award for the most disturbing and disgusting image put in my head by a news story goes to this article on CNN. I mean, did the guy really need the legwarmers in addition to everything else? Looks like no sleep for Vitak tonight.

Picture of the Day: Cooking for fecalphiliacs

Poor Winnie the Pooh, he is the butt (pun intended) of so many jokes. And this one is certainly no exception.

I love cooking, but I think I may just have to pass over this cookbook.

Pooh, you’re looking a little constipated in this picture. Are you sure those are chocolate chips in that batter?

The Bubble video is back!

The Bubble video, a catchy song about the “second tech bubble” and put to “We Didn’t Start the Fire” is back online, after it was temporarily removed due to a threatened lawsuit by photographer Lane Hartwell regarding unlicensed use of an image of hers. (The image in question was removed.)

The song is actually quite funny and relevant. It amazes me that anyone who has been alive during 2007 could actually suggest we’re not experiencing 1997 all over again. Hopefully, this time the bubble burst won’t be quite as painful.

Oh, and I felt compelled to blog about this, because the song said I would. Then again, the song also said I should blog during sex. I have to figure out logistics for that one still.

Hulu: Is that YouTube’s demise I see on the horizon?

So I was lucky enough to get onto the beta version on Hulu earlier this month (good to see my ridiculous amount of blog reading did something positive for me besides eating away my soul), and so far, so good.

For those who aren’t familiar with Hulu, it is a new video on demand website that was created by NBC and News Corp. As of right now, it is not offering any video sharing capabilities; however, the addition is expected sometime in the future. What the site does have, however, is content. A whole lot of content. You’ll find episodes from almost every major show on a FOX or NBC network (i.e., NBC, FOX, FX, Sci Fi, Bravo, USA, and more), plus plenty of content from other networks like ABC, MTV, CW, etc. The best feature the site offers in comparison to YouTube is that videos are not broken into 7-9 minutes sections, but rather you watch an entire episode from start to finish. The only interruption is a 15-second commercial every 10 minutes or so, which is more than bearable. For videos from NBC or FOX, the screen is much larger than that on YouTube (of course, you can maximize the screen size just like you can on YouTube, but I found this causes the picture to “blink” every few seconds). When you are viewing content from other networks, it links you to that network’s page, so the screen size and other functions will vary.

Overall, I give Hulu the thumbs up. However, I am 100% certain this site will not cause YouTube many problems as the two sites serve pretty separate services — at least at this point. We’ll have to see if the pendulum begins swinging when Hulu begins offering video-sharing capabilities. It would take awhile regardless, if for no other reason than the sheer number of videos already existing on YouTube.

I would definitely advise trying to sign up for the beta version so you can check out the site for yourself. Just don’t expect it to happen too fast — I waited for about a month to get my invite.

Paging all men: please check your balls

Health campaigns are often a hard sell, so ad execs have to find a creative way to push a message. For example, in order to encourage more adults to have colon exams, at some health fairs you’ll see a giant, inflatable colon that reminds me of some twisted moon bounce (fun for the whole family!).

Here’s a hilarious 45-second PSA for testicular cancer, featuring what must be the ugliest testicle ever, getting “checked” by a hockey player as he skates around merrily. The dozen or so pubic hairs hanging off the sides are a nice touch.

C’mon boys, it shouldn’t be too hard to check your testicles each month. I mean, most men have their hand down their pants every possible waking moment, so instead of just letting it hang out down there, give the boys a little once-over.

Ok, now I think I’ve grossed myself out. Watch the video!

Picture of the day: Even whales get into the holiday spirit

Even though environmentalists are up-in-arms about how the Japanese have offered the final humiliation to these beluga whales by placing Santa hats on their heads, I still find this picture oddly endearing. The whales certainly seem to be enjoying the attention. The one of the left looks like he’s just gotten the best fin massage ever, resting against the glass with his eyes closed and a gentle smile.

And furthermore, do environmentalists actually think whales have feelings? If so, we may have to offer them some counseling at the least, and more likely some white coats.

Who’s a good little Christmas whale? You are!

New Pew Internet blog post: getting “googly” wit it

Ok ok, so I just made up the word googly in a lame attempt to combine Google and jiggy. Sue me.

Anyway, my latest blog post is up on PIP’s website, offering my personal experience with googling my name. This is in reference to our recent PIP report, “Digital Footprints,” which contains data on how individuals manage their online identities, including data specifically on googling oneself, as well as googling other people (i.e., potential employees, first dates, ex-boyfriends, random people you’re stalking, ex-boyfriends you’re stalking, etc. You get the point).

Vote for your favorite viral video of the year

Mashable has released its nominees for viral video of the year. There’s that stupid kid who cried about Britney Spears; the most dramatic chipmunk to ever walk this earth (you heard it here first: this chipmunk has a future in acting); a girl opening her 300-page iPhone bill (which is the only video in this group I had never seen before); Will Ferrell’s first FunnyOrDie.com video, The Landlord; and my favorite, the Late Show series, Will it Blend? I’ve seen these skits on various late shows over the past couple years and always enjoyed watching random things getting thrown into a blender. But in this version (seen below), Chuck Norris is thrown into a blender with a bunch of bad guys. You can guess what happens.

Man, I do love you Chuck Norris.

I think I may just cry (from joy)…more VOLTRON!

I already got uber-excited last month when I realized that Voltron (the 1980s anime show about five lions who form Voltron) had been released on DVD (and yes, I put it on my Christmas list). I mean, don’t get me wrong, I made sure to tape every single episode when the show made a brief reappearance on USA in 1991. However, as we all know, VHS tapes like to degrade, and so those tapes aren’t exactly in the best condition.

Well, today I cam across this little gem, which made me wonder if maybe Voltron will come back again, this time to take over our world? How awesome would that be?

Of course, the more likely explanation is that Voltron looks somewhat like Transformers (who, I believe, came out AFTER Voltron) but it was cheaper to use Voltron on shoes instead on Transformers. And Reebok, just an FYI, but they’re lions, NOT tigers. Geez. Do some research people!

Does anyone have any Qualudes? I think this LOTR fan needs a few dozen or so

New Line Films, the makers of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Peter Jackson, the hobbit-looking director of those films, have finally settled their financial bickerings, a mere four years after the third film was released. So now we can finally all breathe a sigh of relief as plans to turn the prequel to LOTR, The Hobbit, into another big-screen success, right?

Well, kind of. New Line, who must apparently think Jackson is the devil to start such a ridiculous fight with him (I mean, the trilogy grossed more than $3 BILLION at the box office. Come on people!), does not want Jackson directing The Hobbit films. And yes, I said films (the plural of film) because apparently they’re making two films, not one, to cover the breadth and depth of The Hobbit (or, more likely, they’re just seeing twice the profits from two films). Actually, the second of the two movies is envisioned to cover the 80-year gap between when The Hobbit occurs (during Bilbo Baggins’ youth) and when the LOTR began (when, if I remember correctly, Bilbo is celebrating his 111th birthday). Don’t worry your pretty little heads though, as Jackson (and his wife, who was also involved in LOTR) will serve as executive producers, aka the iron grip, for the films.

Anyway, the funniest thing I pulled out of this article I was reading about this story was comments regarding LOTR fans who had demanded Jackson be involved, and were excited when the announcement was made about him directing. I can just imagine masses of 20-something guys foaming at the mouth as they angrily posted on message boards late into the night.

Here’s what one such fan said:

“Fist in the Air! YEEEEESSSSS!!! … “TRUST PETER!!! THE MASTER, THE COMMANDER, THE WIZARD!”

I love that he actually says “fist in the air” to give me a visual cue as to just how excited he is. And if that wasn’t enough, I have four extra “e”s and four extra “s”s to convince me of his sincerity. Then I get a little confused with the Master and Commander reference, as I thought that was Russell Crow, followed by a comment calling him a wizard, which in my mind means Harry Potter or Ian McKellen. But even with that confusion, I still think this kid wet himself just a bit while typing this.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy to see these movies made and I’m happy Jackson will be involved, but these kids should probably get out to see sunlight more often than the handful of times each decade that he makes a movie. I’m also happy that seeing Peter Jackson’s head on a clock will always make me smile, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to buy one anytime soon!

Of course it’s not too late to buy me a Christmas present! In fact, I’m happy to receive presents at all times of the year

I love cooking. In fact, I love cooking so much that in those weak moments where I have thought all this higher education I’m going through was not worth it, I’ve seriously considered going to either culinary of pastry school. My friends can attest to my love of cooking, too. There’s the ridiculous amount of cookies I make each year (see these posts), the fancy dinner parties with two appetizers, two entrees, four sides AND dessert, and the weekly dinner I cook for friends to eat while watching House and reruns of The Office.

Anywho, one of the best parts of cooking is getting to use knives. Another dream of mine is to run away to the circus and become a knife thrower, or a knife-throwing trapeze artist, or something fun like that. My friend Matt bought me a beautiful 7-inch Furi East/West granton-edge knife a few years back, and I think I love that knife more than anything except my teddy bear. I love chopping up garlic and onions, dicing tomatoes, slicing peppers and meats… Ah, even thinking about it relaxes me.

But alas, that is just one knife. And while I do have others, they rest in a boring wood block. I need some excitement for my knives, a way to take out frustration at the men who have caused me grief. I need this! This beautiful knife holder known as “The Ex,” allows me to stab boys through the heart whenever I go into a rage. This would make my kitchen – and me – much happier. So buy me this for Christmas friends. In fact, I think one of those lovely men who caused me past grief should buy it for me as it is a just dessert.

There I go getting all bitter again. Stupid holidays. (But I still want the knife stand.)

Tor Books chooses author to finish Wheel of Time series

If you thought I was a dork before, man were you off the mark. Here I reveal my true dorkiness: my love of fantasy. It’s not really my fault, but the combination of nature and nurture, including one parent so obsessed with Tolkien that the first real book read to me was The Hobbit, and the other parent having read almost every fantasy book ever written (along with most other books ever written really). It started with Tolkien, grew into Anne McCaffrey as a preteen, and was then followed by the likes of Melanie Rawn, Robert Jordan, Terry Goodkind, Tad Williams and many others.

Robert Jordan has been one of my favorite authors of all time since I was a teenager. His Wheel of Time series covers 12 books, hundreds of characters, an entire world, and nearly 20 years of writing. Jordan lost his battle with amyloidosis in September while writing the 12th and final book. The 11th book was released nearly two years ago, but the 12th book has been slow going, predominantly because he was sick during the entire time period and also because the book is expected to be extremely long (ranges suggest between 1000-2000 pages).

Even though I was devastated by Jordan’s death, part of me (and I’m sure all fans of the series) was nervous as to how the book was going to be finished. Shortly before he died, Jordan told his wife (who is also his editor), his cousin and potentially a few other people exactly how the story ended. And he has apparently kept copious notes over the years outlining the series, including the final book.

Last week, Tor named the successor to the series: Brandon Sanderson. My initial reaction: um, who? I’ve never heard of this author (although I guess I didn’t expect to know the person), but he has apparently written at least five books, including Elantris, which I have also never heard of. Meh. Jordan’s wife Harriet will remain as the primary editor on the book and will hopefully help guide Sanderson in achieving Jordan’s goal. Right now the tentative schedule is to release the book in fall 2009, a mere 3-3/4 years after book 11. Well, I guess that’s better than nothing (and better than Melanie Rawn writing two books of a trilogy and still not having published the third and final book 10 years later!). Not that I’m bitter or anything. Oh wait, yes I am.

Digital Footprints report now live on Pew Internet Project website

My first report (it’s not really my report, but I’m a coauthor) was published today on Pew Internet’s site.

What do we mean by digital footprints, you ask? Here’s a brief overview:

Internet users are becoming more aware of their digital footprint; 47% have searched for information about themselves online, up from just 22% five years ago. However, few monitor their online presence with great regularity. Just 3% of self-searchers report that they make a regular habit of it and 74% have checked up on their digital footprints only once or twice.

Indeed, most internet users are not concerned about the amount of information available about them online, and most do not take steps to limit that information. Fully 60% of internet users say they are not worried about how much information is available about them online. Similarly, the majority of online adults (61%) do not feel compelled to limit the amount of information that can be found about them online.

Check out the full report here.

Check out gnovis’ new issue

I can’t believe I didn’t post this earlier (sorry Brad), but everyone should check out gnovis’ fall issue here. For those not familiar with gnovis, it is the official peer-reviewed journal of Communication, Culture and Technology (CCT) at Georgetown University (and I am the peer review manager there). Thanks to our fearless leader, we released the best issue ever this past Sunday, with six articles spanning the full range of CCT research.

That said, it’s time for me to get back to work.

And back to crying.

New blog post on Pew Internet Project website

Here’s my latest post, which looks at some recent reports linking broadband expansion to decreased greenhouse gas emissions. Save the planet, get broadband! And since it is the Word of the Year, let me also add w00t!

Could broadband help the environment?
Environmentally friendly business practices have become commonplace over the last decade, and the technology sector is no exception. With organizations like Gartner and publications like E-Commerce Times listing Green IT among their top trends for 2008, many people may be wondering what they can do to make their technology usage more environmentally friendly. (Read more)…