Falling in Love With Google

A Google+ commercial came out not too long ago that made me stop and say "aww" because it was one of those cute little videos that you know never really happen in real life, but wish were true:

Google picked the right music and the right demographic for their ads. A lot of guys I know who saw this were a little angry at it, but overall it had a great effect. Well, Google has done it again, this time with a simple e-mail that turns into a complex message:

Once again, the music is right, the pictures and videos are perfect and there's a ton of romance behind this guy's request for coffee. I guess this happens in real life, but does it really happen in real life? 

I think the message is clearly that we should fall deeper in love with Google than we already are because we too can transform our lives with the help of Google. What do you think?

The End of Concert Going?

I was a music fan by the time I was six (more than likely before then), but I didn't get my very first CD until I was twelve. Before then (okay, and after) I would buy blank cassette tapes and record my favorite songs off the radio.

Throughout high school, I think I got to see one concert of my choice. I was never able to do that simply because my parents were too conservative and thought something might happen to me if I went.

That all changed once I was able to get my license (I didn't have it until I was nineteen), a car and work a semi-steady retail job. It was easy, you would look up the shows you wanted to see and buy a ticket. I think scalpers will always be around, but the equivalent of waiting until tickets are available online was waiting in line the night before.

Is that all over now? I think so. My friend actually sits on the computer prior to tickets going on sale and buys massive amounts for himself, friends and family members. Sometimes he has more than one computer going to ensure he gets them.


If you don't find out about a show in time, the place to go now is Ebay or Craigslist. I think this is all making concert going a lost activity. Sure, people go and venues get sold out, but there are still so many that get lost out in the cold and will never get to see their favorite artist play. They may even be their biggest fan!


It's pretty unfair. I guess there's no real way to make it fair, but when people get to buy pre-sale tickets and later charge people an exorbitant amount of money. It's already a pain paying almost as much in fees as the cost of tickets. I looked up a show that was $45 and the fees brought the cost to $83. Yes. Really. Almost the cost of the ticket.

So what's the deal? Is there a fairer way to do this? I say there should be. Especially for the fourteen-year-old sitting in his room buying all the albums and learning all the words. They should get to be the first to go.

Fairness in an Intimate Wash

A story appeared on Jezebel.com about a video for an intimate wash that advertised that it will make a woman's private area cleaner and brighter. It's been circulating for about a day or so now and people are...well, let's just say surprised?

Fairness creams and bleaches have been around for a long time in Southeast Asia and Africa. This is not a new trend and this is not something we're unfamiliar with. It's been an ongoing debate that hasn't died down. In fact the woman in the video above is a well-known Indian actress.

http://www.desihits.com/news/view/aishwarya-rai-bachan-refuses-loreal-fairness-cream-ads-20081229

Most people who are white take this as a woman's rights issue, which it is, but it really is no different than fairer skin women going tanning or laying out in the sun. The adverse effects may be different, but both can cause damage so the outrage should be more equal.

As someone whose mother has told her countless times how fair I was when I was born; it's seen differently in Pakistani/Indian culture. Modern women in those countries are outraged in a way that the generations before them were not, mainly because it has been acceptable to see a girl as "too dark" (as being ugly) and "very fair" (as being pretty).

Maybe it comes from the caste system or maybe it's a side-effect of colonization. Whatever the case may be, this is not a new debate and I personally feel that it's a little hypocritical for people who embrace tanning so much to be surprised if someone wants to be fairer.

The Ting Tings Are SO Underrated

When a band like The Ting Tings are coming on, you at least expect the opening act to be a little fun. This was not the case Tuesday night at Webster Hall in NYC. The coat check people were mean and the guy taking tickets warned us there was no re-entry and after seeing MNDR I know why.

The one woman show (who I found out via Wikipedia is actually part of a duo) is signed to Ultra which makes me question their generally great choice in picking dance music acts. She was a train wreck which is why I couldn't stop watching her or making fun of her. I tried to like her, but it just wasn't happening.

The Ting Tings are known for at least two songs which are "That's Not My Name" and "Shut Up & Let Me Go". I was so excited to see them live and I was not disappointed. I definitely think that they are an underrated band that should get more attention if for no other reason that they put on a fun show.

Their music is somewhat repetitive, but that's what makes it a lot of fun! They have the kind of music that makes people want to dance. To me, seeing a band that really gets people excited about just having fun is a great one!

Customer Service & Bad Economy

I think I've been hearing less about the economy, but with unemployment still high, it's obvious that we haven't recovered. As a student in a graduate program, I'm not only a graduate assistant in my school's music department, but I'm working in retail. Again.

This time around, I'm actually enjoying it more than in my younger years. I was a book slave at Barnes & Noble for almost five years in four cities. Let's just say it's a nicer place to go to rather than be employed with. It's not the company, but the customers aren't exactly the most pleasant. Surprising, huh?

So you would think with such a bad economy, customer service would be the priority of companies and employees. Both desiring to make money, right? I was surprised to see that it's not necessarily the case. I work for a small, local consignment store where the people I work with are great, as are the customers and when they're not; we do everything we can to make it right.

I can also say that at Barnes & Noble, Best Buy and Starbuck's (amongst others) I have received exceptional customer service. There's a reason certain places are still in business. It's probably a combination of service, product and happiness of the employees themselves.

I walked into a certain department store that has been around for decades. It's not JC Penney's and it's not Macy's, but a similar retailer (I'm sure many can deduce which one) that I think has been struggling in this economy. Well, I thought I was buying two towels at $5.99 a pop. So I told the cashier...she was tired, but walked over to the section and did in fact find a stack next to the sign.

She said she couldn't do anything so I asked for the manager and explained to him that I should not be penalized for their mistake. Not only did he mumble about how I couldn't "read the sign" (I have a Bachelor of Arts in English and am pursuing an MFA in Writing), but he also said "whatever" when I said he had to validate the posted price.

I got my wish, but what was the cost? Do bad economy and bad customer service go hand in hand? And is it always the fault of the company or is it sometimes the fault of management and employees?

The Sisterhood of Travel

I went on vacation to Miami recently with expectation in my eye that this would be a great trip with my friend of fifteen some odd years. I was disappointed to learn the truth. When someone is a certain way in everyday life; they're not going to change suddenly because the locale changed.

She and I apparently have different ideas of what's fun and what's not. Although I had told her my intentions (and she agreed on the terms) for our time there, it seemed like when we got there; suddenly she was tired. She got way more sleep than I did. I think I slept all of twenty hours that week.

I tried to do the things she wanted to do, drink and eat the things she wanted and tried to be as entertaining as possible. But it was to no avail. This was not what I imagined and suddenly I was having a not so great time. The energy (or lack thereof) a person can sometimes determine how you feel too.

Sufficed to say, it wasn't my favorite trip ever. The last time I went on vacation with a friend it was to California and it was awesome. We didn't eat, we stayed out late and we laughed a lot. But she's a completely different person than the friend who I recently went with.

So what's the deal with traveling with a friend? Make sure you're on the same page. Drill them and get to the bottom of it. Because whoever they are in daily life is who they will be on vacation. Eventually you have to trust them, but my advice is that if you have fun with them in your normal environment; you'll have fun out there: wherever that is. What do you think?

Justice for Trayvon Martin

By now most people have heard the story of of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed teenager who was killed by a self-appointed neighborhood watch "captain" George Zimmerman. Zimmerman was not arrested although he fatally shot the young man because he looked suspicious to him.

Reverend Al Sharpton has planned a protest rally for later this week in central Florida where the boy is from and a support website for justice can be found here: http://www.justicefortrayvonmartin.com/ I am personally saddened to hear that a boy lost his life because of the obvious crazed suspicions of an armed man who has not been brought to justice.

Broken American Dreams

Whether you want to blame the economy, politicians, war or price of oil; everyone agrees the American landscape has changed in the last few years. As a formerly full-time employed worker who has been on unemployment in the past, I can say from experience things aren't what I expected once I graduated college.

People across the country from all socio-economic backgrounds are facing the same struggles with earning and spending money. Some of us can hide out for a time in grad school, but what are we going to see when we finally get out of the protection of school?

I just heard a story about a young professor I work with who was beat out for a tenure position to a sixty-something professor who should be ready for retirement, but apparently had the connections to get the job. The scale seems unbalanced to me.

Everyone has heard of the American Dream: Get married, find a stable job, buy a house and have 2.5 kids. But is that still happening? What are the changes that are coming with the advent of social media and jobs being redistributed overseas? Are we working more for less money?

I've found in the last few years that I've been having to do several projects just to have what would be considered a normal "salary". Is this the norm these days? What's the opinion out there?

Limbaugh's Apologies for Fluke Comments

Huff Post posted in an article today that Limbaugh has lost some sponsors thanks to his comments about Sandra Fluke, but LifeLock (anti-identity theft company) said that he apologized and that's good enough for them! Some experts are even suggesting that sponsors stay on the show as advertisers so when people watch for the next (inevitable) slip-up--they'll get more exposure.

Is it just me or does everyone think apologies will make up for the stupid things they said? Kirk Cameron hasn't apologized yet, but it seems like whenever there's a racist comment, a threat made or a "slip-up", people just apologize and it's all forgotten!

Who can forget the following gems of saying or doing the wrong thing and later apologizing for it:

• Imus apologizing for his nappy headed hoes comment
• Chris Brown apologizes to Rihanna
• Mel Gibson apologizes to Jewish people

This is just a cowardly way to do something you actually think or believe and then later back out from it with an apology.