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).

Princess Teresa Hard Lemonade’s Movie Marathon

It is almost like I am 15 again. But this time around, I get to enjoy my princess, romantic happy-ending movies with a side of alcohol. Yeah!

My beau is working in the city for the week. Thus, I am left to find my own entertainment during the evenings. Tonight I am enjoying some fluffy, extra-girlie movies and a whole bunch of Mike’s Hard Lemonade. I have not felt this stereotypically girlie in quite some time.

Six bottles and three movies in and I am longing to don a tiara and a beautiful ball gown.

Ladies and gentleman, introducing the crowned princess Teresa Hard Lemonade the Sixth!

Check out some of the clips from a few of my ‘flicks of the evening’:
Made of Honor – Patrick Dempsey is sooooo dream*eyelashes fluttering*
Enchanted – an adorable movie clip (Amy Adams steals the screen)
The Princess Diaries – the shots on San Fran make me miss the city =[

To multitask or not to multitask?

To multitask or not to multitask? That is a good research question.

Researchers at Stanford University conducted a study to determine if there is an attention difference between those who multitask and those who do not. In short, are multitaskers really better at multitasking?

I am not a multitasker (the extent of my multitasking practices rarely go beyond having music on in the background) but I have lived with plenty of people who regularly have multiple mediums consuming their attention at once. I must admit that I have always wondered if the practice of multitasking was efficient or not.

The study states that those who multitask are not as good at ignoring irrelevant info. Also, multitaskers are more easily distracted (ha ha, big surprise).

Now, this is not the study to end all studies; the topic certainly needs more attention. If I can get my hands on the study, I will. I am curious to see what the researchers have to say about the limitations of the study findings. I mean, it is one thing to test people on a task they are not familiar with. It is another thing entirely to see the multitaskers, in action, performing tasks that are almost second nature or are so familiar that the action does not require full attention. Does the type of task influence the results?

Also, what differences are there between ages? Undergraduates are hardly representative of the entire media-consuming population.

Any who, take a gander for yourself.
article on BBC
article on MSNBC
the AP article