The Great 360 Playlist Challenge.

So, I have friends. Not as many as some, but quite a few nonetheless.



And today has been sort of a day for theme music.



So: I've decided to create a playlist of music, with videos depending on YouTube, for my friends.



But Wait, There's More. â„¢



See, what I'm gonna do is one song per person, granted not for EVERYONE on my friends list, but for the ones I cross-comment with the most. You know who you are.



I'm not tagging anybody, or anything retarded like that; this is my idea, but if anyone else feels like doing the same thing, feel free. I was just thinking about how people are always saying that such-and-such song reminds them of so-and-so, and figured "Why not try it out?"



So, without further ado: The Great 360 Playlist.





April. Because even if there's no Amish where you are, you know EXACTLY what living in the sticks is all about.


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\r\nBill. Because dammit, you just say anything that crosses your mind. And that should be applauded.
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\r\nJim. Because if there's anyone who lives in his own world, dude, it's you - but you're interesting and cool anyway.
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\r\nKJ. Because you're a total pervert, and EVERYONE wants you. BECAUSE you're a total pervert. That rocks.
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\r\nLinda. Because yours is. And it's cool, and funny.
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\r\nRina. Because you claim to be evil, despite the fact that you're actually just cool.
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\r\nSamara. This was such a toss-up... this one, or Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. This one edged it out.
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\r\nSheila. This song only because I know this is your guilty pleasure band, or one of them anyway. You're way cooler than this song, IMO.
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\r\nAmy. Because if there's anyone EVER, in ALL THE WORLD, who's familiar with the subject of this song, it's you, babe.
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\r\nWendy. Because you always make me laugh, and if there's anything sillier than this song, I've never heard it.
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\r\nAnd last, but most definitely not least, Tara. Because you have; you do; you will; and most likely, you are right now.
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\r\nIf you're not on this list, don't think I don't care; it's most likely just that I wanted a videos-only list and couldn't find a video for you.

Thinking Outside The Box

You've no doubt heard people use that phrase. "You gotta think outside the box." They explain it, correctly, as a demand that you orient your thinking outside of your pre-conceived limitations.



However, WTF does that have to do with a box?



Well, I'll tell you. Or rather, show you.



In the beginning, there's a thought puzzle, which takes the form of a square of dots, as follows:





The object being to connect the dots using the fewest number of lines, without ever lifting your pencil from the paper. Or, in this case, your Line Tool off the "canvas" in Photoshop.



The conventional wisdom is that 4 lines is the correct solution, as follows:





Notice this solution having been achieved by drawing the lines outside the boundaries of the box itself, thus the term "thinking outside the box," as the box shape does not imply a boundary, yet we tend to think in terms of pre-conceived limitations, and as such wrack our brains ferociously trying to find a solution with less than 5 lines.



Unless you're me. In which case, you can solve it with 3 lines.



See, the "conventional wisdom" is still subject to preconceived limitations itself. If you're thinking outside the box, why think only a little outside the box?



Why not think WAAAAAAAAAAAY outside the box?



Like this:





Now, THAT is thinking outside the box. And now all of you know the solution to that puzzle, and if you ever see this in some meaningless corporate presentation, or as a classroom exercise of some kind, when the teacher tells you "but, see, you can solve it in four lines," you can tell them "it's only a solution if it has the smallest number of possible lines. The smallest number of possible lines is three."



And then demonstrate.

Ok, Now That's Funny...

Probably not work safe, but funny as hell.



Gotta love Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. I'd vote for them in '08 - I don't personally agree with most of Jon Stewart's personal politics, but his bullshit detector is unparalleled.



Without further ado:









Now THAT's funny.

Remember That Trifecta? Good Luck With That.

Well, apparently, there's not gonna be a trifecta in the works after all.



For those of you who missed it, not one, but two different Australian high schoolers asked out Miss Universe 2004 and 2006 respectively, and got "yes," as their answers.



Way to go, and bragging rights forever, right?



Until it leaks on the Internet, and Miss Universe 2004 backs out because of the publicity.



"It's not supposed to be about celebrities," my ass. Miss Hawkins, you are breaking a young man's heart, and spoiling an opportunity few will ever achieve, because you're afraid of reporters?



Well, you must have hated this moment, then. Maybe you're just afraid it'll happen again?

Gee, Welcome To Being Right On Top Of Things, MSM...

Remember I blogged about finding out The Prez is Google's #1 result for the word "failure" a few weeks ago? Yeah.



I love it when the MSM is way behind the times.



Now, honesty compels me to admit that this was old news when I posted it, too; a bit of digging makes me go "Gee, Z, Welcome to 2003, and stuff," because that's when the Google-bombing resulting in this silly situation originally happened.



That just makes it worse. I'm a latecomer, getting the story in 2006, anyway; for the MSM to be behind my already-late-so-there's-no-damn-excuse ass is just pitiful.



Anyway. Just thought you'd like to know.

The Music Challenge!

Since I'm in a good mood, I will share.



I read and commented on Sheila's blog post about this, so here goes:



When you comment, and ask for a letter, I assign you one. You have to ask - I'm not tagging, because it's irritating. But I give you a letter, and then you have to come up with 10 song titles starting with that letter. Then, if anyone wants a letter, you assign them one.



Sheila gave me "O," so here goes.

1. Omens - King Diamond, Abigail
2. Out From The Asylum - King Diamond, Them
3. Overlord - Bolt Thrower, Who Dares Wins
4. The Oath - Mercyful Fate, Don't Break The Oath
5. Obsolete - Fear Factory, Obsolete
6. One Last Sunset - Killswitch Engage, Killswitch Engage

Now give me a sec...






Only - Nine Inch Nails, With Teeth
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\r\nOnly - Anthrax, Sound of White Noise
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\r\nOf Mice And Men - Megadeth, The System Has Failed
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\r\nOf One Blood - Shadows Fall, Of One Blood
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\r\nNow that's more like it. Any takers?

You're Busted: Minimum Wage Myths.

You have to love it when someone is caught in blatant hypocrisy.



Especially when it's someone who consistently accuses their opponents of the exact behavior they get caught in.



For example: it's damn funny when a Democratic pro-minimum wage increase group pays its canvassers less than the minimum wage.



I mean, come ON, guys! If you seriously expect to convince the public that you're looking out for their interests, rather than merely grandstanding for an election year, then you can NOT be caught doing something like this.



I could go into a huge rant about this, but there's no real point; the story itself is silly enough that it doesn't need my help.