New Yorker blogger gives Wishbone a nod

I was an avid Wishbone watcher. I saw him don a beard in Rip Van Winkle and also challenge the Phantom in Phantom of the Opera.

So, you can imagine how excited I was to see this interview on The Book Bench.

What’s the story, Wishbone? Woof!

Check out my other Wishbone post…

The IT Crowd presents the mystical Internet

I have read a few different articles discussing the Internet and cybersecurity over the past few days. One piece addressed the government’s role in protecting information, another piece discussed the issues of protecting copyrights across international borders and a collection of pieces focused on digital publishing and online libraries.

Despite the differences in subject matter, each of these pieces made an attempt to simplify technical information for their target audiences. These articles did a great job of making the information clear for those, like me, with a limited understanding of computer-related properties. However, I could not help but think about comedic sketches that exaggerate the population’s minimal understanding of technology that it uses every day.

Once again, I refer you to clips from the British sitcom The IT Crowd.

Jen and the Internet Box — from Season 3
** In this clip, Moss and Roy play a joke on their computer-illiterate boss, Jen.

You can break the Internet — from Season 2
** In this clip, Jen presents faulty information (courtesy of Moss and Roy, of course).

Tweet with Caution

I may be one of the few people my age who does not Twitter. That is right. I do not tweet on a daily basis. Tweet, tweeet, tweeeeeeet!

While perusing the news, I read an interesting article at msnbc.com. With Twitter playing a key role in the dissemination of info during recent breaking news events, more and more questions arise concerning the role that Twitter will play in the future of media industries. Check out this quote included in the article:

“Twitter absolutely changes the media landscape,” said Ross Dawson, author and communications strategy analyst. “I like to refer to Marshall McLuhan’s description of media as `an extension of our senses.’ Now, Twitter is extending our senses to tens of millions of people who are often right on the scene where things are happening.”

Ah, part of me wishes I was still studying Communication. One can only imagine how many Ph. D. candidates and professors are attempting to learn more about the effects of this young media technology.

Twitter has both good and bad characteristics. Though it connects people, there is no guarantee that what is shared is accurate. For example, a stream of tweets claimed that Jeff Goldblum was dead. Hmmmm. I wonder who broke the news to Mr. Goldblum—who, by the way, is still alive and kicking?

Colbert Report—Jeff Goldblum will be missed.

Aunt Irma’s Candy

I stopped in at my local grocery store to buy some lunch. A benign trip.

While there, I made a pit stop in the ‘feminine isle.’ Items in this isle are pretty standard. As I perused the items, my eyes came across a rather humorous product placement. A spattering of Sour Patch Kid candies were hanging from the shelf that contained boxes of tampons.

Ha! Candy! My favorite candy, none the less. It is like the store knew I was coming.

I wonder what wise-crack thought to have the stock person place candy in this isle. It’s like they know. Even at a different store, in a different state the ‘feminine isle’ shared an area with ice cream.

Oh, jokes.

Well, this incident reminded me of a hilarious episode from the UK show The IT Crowd. For those of you who are not familiar with this show, look into it. The show is hilarious! Any who… in the Aunt Irma episode, season 1, Jen has to explain her sudden mood swings to Moss and Roy.

The episode then evolves into a joke about Moss and Roy getting swept up in the effects of Aunt Irma . Whoooosh.

Jen: What did you have for breakfast this morning?
Moss: Smarties cereal.
Jen: Oh my god! I didn’t even know Smarties made cereal.
Moss: They don’t. It’s just Smarties in a bowl with milk.