In the last 5-10 years, these cunning social networks have sprouted up like mushrooms and have managed to manipulate and infiltrate the cyber scene. Here are some examples:
1. TUMBLR. Blogging for Lazy people. I was EXTREMELY hesistant to add this one, but it is so easy to add someone, and reblog or like their stuff. It is a haven for wannabe fashionistas, but also home to simple gems like these:
2. TWITTER. Or microblogging. Can you speak your mind in 140 characters? People got so addicted to Twitter… so much so that they hooked it up to their phones, connected to facebook and other social networking sites. When natural disasters struck, we got news faster than CNN, BBC and other big media outlets. It took them three days to figure out what was going on in the Philippines during one of the strongest typhoons in recorded history in 2009, that it rained extremely hard for days and flooded streets up to more than 4 storeys in some areas. American Idol alumnus Elliott Yamin was caught in Chile when it got hit by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake. He was tweeting events in real time as they waited for clearance to fly back to the US. I was able to research a bit about the robbery near my area via Twitter as I saw the dozen cop cars closing up the street. I was the third person to tweet about it, too.
3. CRAIGSLIST. So maybe it is older than 5 years. but here is where I post all my things and sell most of it. The bigger ones are always harder to dispose. It is not restricted to tangible, but also trades, tickets, job openings, bandmates, orgy partners (so i’ve heard) ideas, even gags.
4. EBAY. I once sold a 3rd hand Takamine guitar on ebay for more than what I paid for it. Nuff said. Amazon is also a site for really good deals, but individuals cannot resell on Amazon, unless they have a store.
5. FACEBOOK. From communities like friendster, myspace and multiply comes this new breed that has everything that will waste your time. status updates people can comment and like. A sharing link for everything your contants post. Games. Videos, Photos and Note-posting (and liking your friends posts) is encouraged. GAMES. For people who hate having to write people individually just to update them what is going on in their lives (engagement, marriage, pregnancy, childbirth, new job), this is perfect! People are lazy correspondents.
6. LINKEDIN. My hubs deletes most of his facebook contacts to protect his privacy , however, he prefers staying connected to them via a professional network. Enter LINKEDIN and its Facebok, Multiply-like structure in which you see your connections. It also has that status update thing (which I think is lame).
7. WORDPRESS is a great tool. mainly cause you can fix it with HTML. You can plug in existing themes to give your site a look. its so pro, you can put up a website using wordpress and it would still look great! (I miss the community I made in Multiply though)
8. YOUTUBE – everyone’s online resource for how-tos, music, entertainment, viral videos. If you are a regular on Youtube, you, my friend, have your finger on the pulse of neo-global culture! (ok i made that phrase up. hah!)
9. SCRAPETORRENT – is where i get my torrent files. Hurray for free shared media!
10. GOOGLE – we know Google’s great. Google’s changed the way we think, and everybody knows this. We’ve gotten so lazy because, we have now coined a phrase “google it” when trying to remember about someone, or something, or if we wanted to learn something new about someone or something entirely.
In the last 10 years, it has developed Google Maps (which gives you accurate directions, time frame, bus schedules from point A to B to C, etc), Google Talk, Google Buzz, Google Reader and recently Google Voice, which for me serves as an alternate number in which I can actually BLOCK undesired callers and telemarketers. Of course, Google Mail is the best free mail server, with very vigilant spam prevention and ‘Download All Attachment’ functions, interconnectivity with other google apps such as Google Reader, Google Documents, etc etc.
Plus, I really love it when they change their GOOGLE logo to match every holiday that comes up. A few weeks back, it was PACMANs anniversary, and the screen had a built-in mini pacman game that sucked everyone right into playing for a few minutes at least. Great strategy Google!
That’s pretty much all I can think of now, mainly because they’re all I use. The forums, online banking, online shopping sites are worth a mention, however, I can do without those. Maybe.
I haven’t been able to blog as much as I wanted this season, and even if I did, I wasn’t sure how many people are actually reading this anyway. With Paula Abdul gone this season, and Ellen deGeneres in, I was not sure how the show would hold up.
However, America’s got some talent, and some of them got through to American Idol. Allow me to present to you the highlights and best performances of the show this year!
1. MICHAEL LYNCHE This Woman’s Work
2. ANDREW GARCIA Straight Up (Hollywood Week)
An early (hunky) favorite but kinda one-trick
3. CASEY JAMES – I dont Need no Doctor
Someone who didnt even make Top 12! Awful AI Audience!—
4. LILLY SCOTT Lullaby of Birdland (memories flood back when i used the original song on my film thesis many years ago)
5. Siobhan Magnus – Think
Got goosebumps from this one -
6. LEE DEWYZE & CRYSTAL BOWERSOX – Falling Slowly
From our American Idol 2010 Winner
7. LEE DEWYZE
postnote: I feel sorry for the popular-but-soso talent Tim Urban who sang that last song. Simon made Lee sing it again, and Lee PWNED IT! haha
8. IDOL GIVES BACK NIGHT had a great comedy skit from George Lopez. It is not available on youtube, but you may want to torrent it. It is sooo worth it.
EDIT, its back up!
Lastly, because this is Simon’s last time to judge on American Idol, the producers (oh, that’s Simon too LOL) spared no expense and hired the coolest peeps to appear as guests. Alice Cooper, Joe Cocker, Bret Michaels, BeeGees, Cristina Aguilera, the fabulous Janet Jackson and my teenage idol, Alanis Morrissette.
9. CRYSTAL BOWERSOX & ALANIS – Alanis medley, AI Finale/Results Show
That’s pretty much it for the American Idol highlights. I’m going to miss Simon. I don’t know if I’ll watch it as much next year without him.
The show’s become routine, formula, tedious. Hey, nine years of anything, even Police Academy movies gets old. The contestants are now cookie cutter types. And without Simon Cowell, there quite frankly is no show. Love him or hate him he was compelling… while the rest of the judges were just gristle you cut around to get to the steak. – Ken Levine, Huffingtonpost
Job-hunting takes me away from American Idol. Therefore most of my real time comments were limited on my twitter. I will repost them here for your benefit.
AMERICAN IDOL GRAND FINALE with Crystal and Lee
Tangina!!! Crystal performing witth alanis!!!!! Swerte! %^*#@&$ this is the best finale evar
TOP 2 – PERFORMANCE NIGHT with Mamasox & Lee
I think crystals more in the zone. do i vote for her? she looks like lil pete fr pete &pete. So i get confused (& lee looks like my cuzn) 8:51 PM May 25th via Twitterrific
Oh no lee you di-int! Not U2!!! No one should touch U2!!! AI finale is almost over but feels lame & bitin. 8:40 PM May 25th via Twitterrific
TOP 3 with Lee, Casey and Crystal
looks like a crystal – lee showdown for AI next week. wooot! 8:46 PM May 18th via web
DUETS NIGHT / TOP 4 with Lee, Casey, Crystal and Big Mike
OMG! i got goosebumps from AI’s crystal and lee doing Falling Slowly from ONCE 8:51 PM May 11th via web
***
How funny that both finalists Crystal and Lee auditioned in Chicago (with Crystal laughingly telling Lee on the top4 show that he was her Chicago crush).
The winner, as it turns out, is Lee Dewyze. I really would’ve loved for Crystal Bowersox to win this year. The best don’t always necessarily win, as we can attest over the last few years of AI. Lee has an extremely commercial voice, and his looking nervous and stoic makes him feel human. Crystal, who looks perennially stoned, makes us feel like she’s someone you can never relate to, someone who doesn’t really care. Her voice is very strong however (and crystal clear!). It has been a boy winner for the last 3 years and I felt it was time for a girl. Ah well. Blame it on the prepubescent girl voters and grannies.
THE APPEAL OF LEE DEWYZE
Lee is wildly popular and yet he’s the underdog. He doesn’t play guitar that well, he has a regular crappy 9-5 job back home and without AI, he is just a regular Joe. He looks nervous all the time, and seems like a simple quiet guy.
People love underdogs. And because they champion the underdog, I find myself championing the new underdog that is Crystal Bowersox. I was originally rooting for her – for any girl to reach the finals; yet Lee’s quiet charm gets to you, and week after week, he picks the songs well and owns them. It doesn’t hurt that he’s good on the eyes too. He’s got those big blue eyes that tell their own story… like a soulful puppy in a window saying “Take me home! please!” Why wouldn’t you love him?
The judges regularly criticized Lee for seeming like he can’t contain an ounce of confidence (while Crystal just looks like she’s extremely confident but doesn’t care) but he’s not gonna be brilliant outside of AI like Crystal is without being picked up by bigwig producers & arrangers. Let’s face it, even finishing at #2, Crystal will make records like Janis and Tracy Chapman and Stevie Nicks combined. She’s got it made. Her talent alone does that.
We’ve been friends for a long time ago. We come from the same alma mother. Actually, our paths crossed one time on another. But it’s only now that I gave him a second look. I realized that beauty is in the eyes. The pulpbits of my heart went fast, really fast. Cute pala siya. And then, he came over with me. He said, “I hope you don’t mine. Can I get your number?” Nag-worry ako. What if he doesn’t give it back? He explained naman na it’s so we could keep intact daw. Sabi ko, connect me if i’m wrong but are you asking me ouch? Nabigla siya. Sagot niya, The! Aba! Parang siya pa ang galit! Persona ingrata!!! Ang kapal niya! I cried buckles of tears.
Na-guilty yata siya. Sabi niya, isipin mo na lang na this is a blessing in the sky. Irregardless daw of his feelings, we’ll go ouch na rin. Now, we’re so in love. Mute and epidemic na ang past. Thanks God we swallowed our fried. Kasi, I’m 33 na and I’m running our time. After 2 weeks, he plopped the question. “Will you marriage me?” I’m in a state of shocked. Kasi mantakin mo, when it rains, it’s four! This is true good to be true. So siyempre, I said yes. Love is a many splendor.
Pero nung inaayos ko na ang aming kasal, everything swell to pieces. Nag-di-dinner kami noon nang biglang sa harap ng aming table, may babaeng humirit ng, “Well, well, well. Look do we have here.” What the fuss! The nerd ng babaeng yon! She said they were still on. So I told her, whatever is that, cut me some slacks! I didn’t want this to get our hand kaya I had to sip it in the bud. She accused me of steeling her boyfriend. Ats if! I don’t want to portrait the role of the other woman. Gosh, tell me to the marines! I told her, “please, mine you own business!” Who would believe her anyway?
Dahil it’s not my problem anymore but her problem anymore, tumigil na rin siya ng panggugulo. Everything is coming up daisies. I’m so happy. Even my boyfriend said liketwice. He’s so supportive. Sabi niya, “Look at is this way. She’s our of our lives.”
Kaya advise ko sa inyo – take the risk. You can never can tell. Just burn the bridge when you get there. Life is shorts. If you make a mistake, we’ll just pray for the internal and external
<This is an email that has been going around for years now. If you know the original writer, please let me know. I would love to add him/her on facebook! haha>
Now, it’s really a competition! Still in the running:
Lee Dwyze, Michael Lynche, Crystal Bowersox, Casey James, Aaron Kelly, Siobhan Magnus
Last week they did Inspirational songs, mentored by Alicia Keys. The week before that, it was Elvis week, mentored by last year’s Adam Lambert. Last night, they did country.
Judging from last weeks elimination, I suppose Casey and Aaron are in trouble. Little Aaron is running out of tricks, except for his great tone (for-a-17yo), Casey is no longer relying on his looks or hiding behind the perfect guitar licks.
So for last night’s theme, which was Country mentored by Shania Twain, the idol hopefuls went all out. I wasn’t crazy about Lee’s Still The One rendition, it was way rough (I missed his whole performance though, and the critique), Siobhan did something weird and country but I do like her belt-outs more than when she sings without. Crystal did something laidback (but she still looked stoned), Big Mike did a Maxwell-esque number and it was good; both were praised but not as high as before.
The big surprises came from Casey James, whose vocals totally shone through without any fancy guitar licks and Aaron Kelly.
The funniest thing about last night’s show was: Simon. He looked like he had diarrhea and couldn’t wait to get out of that country-hellhole.
