Deezer

Deezer is one of those old-fangled interweb radio sites. It used to be called blogmusik.net. It's french. And I found it by looking at my AIM profile (I hadn't checked that since 2007!) There you go.

More Awkward Political Family Photos

More Awkward Political Family Photos is a picture list article on Buzzfeed that shares a collection of awk-sauce first family photos. Pretty Ace. The Sarkozys win for prettiest AND most non-awkward.

Awkward Yearbook Signatures

Awkward Yearbook Signatures is a tumblr blog about awkward yearbook signatures. THey have scans of the signatures, time and date, and a running commentary. Example:

"Give me my money back or I'll kick your ass."

--Longfellow Middle School, McLean, VA, 1994
“Gym class was great”? “You really cracked me up in science”? “Never change”? All such niceties go out the window when it comes to the end of the year and someone still owes you a petty amount of cash.

Incidentally, this site is 20x better when you listen to that one Ben Folds song as a soundtrack.

(From Buzzfeed)

[NSFW?] Beautiful Cervix Project

Beautiful Cervix Project is a website that features pictures of different cervices. There is one that shows the same cervix every day for a whole month. Other images include a post-menopausal cervix, an IUD cervix, and a pregnant cervix. If you're not ready to see pictures of such things, wander away now.

Don't know quite what to make of the site. Enjoy?

(From Boing Boing)

100 GREATEST HITS OF YOUTUBE IN 4 MINUTES

100 GREATEST HITS OF YOUTUBE IN 4 MINUTES is a meme-fest video. It joins together a bunch of snippets from recent web memes. It's sadly itself not that great.

(From Buzzfeed)

Missed Connections

Missed Connections is a blogspot blog that illustrates missed connections postings.

"Monday, August 17, 2009
- m4w - (greenpoint)
asked myself why the letter 'n' all night long, then you were gone before i got a chance to ask. also, i saved you a piece of cake.
do you always sit in a circle of asian girls? and sit at the top of the stairs so everyone gets a crush on you when they get to the roof?"
(From Kottke)

The Asian Spanish Teacher

The Asian Spanish Teacher is a comedy video about Señor Chang, a Greendale Spanish instructor who challenges and confronts your Asian stereotypes.
(From T. J.)

Internet Refill

Internet Refill is an image from juliasegal.tumblr.com. This is where I went today, when I ran out of interwebs. There was nothing good on the interblags today.

(From Buzzfeed)

Will Ferrell stands up for the real health care victims

Will Ferrell stands up for the real health care victims is a pro-health care reform satire PSA.

It features Will Ferrell, Jon Hamm, Olivia Wilde, Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant, Masi Oka, Jordana Spiro, Linda Cardellini, and Donald Faison.  Pretty heavy-handed, pretty awesome.

(From Chels)

15 Famous People Who Have “Fiveheads”

15 Famous People Who Have “Fiveheads" is a vapid picture-list-article on Buzzfeed that made me actual-laugh-out-loud. Only because I'm self-conscious about my four-and-a-half-head. I digress. 

Buzzfeed totally made up the following term: "For those unfamiliar with the term, a 'fivehead' is when a person's forehead is so big, that it's more like a 'five'head."  

Very informative article. For example, I learned the following fact: Christina Ricci's face is 90% forehead.

(From Buzzfeed)

Dating Montage

Dating Montage is an 80's video-dating video on Daily Motion. Amazing.

So many questions & comments!
--Did that guy just seriously say, "no hamsters"?
--I'm interested in *no* phases of data processing.
--Oh Fred.

From Metafilter:

"WTH is a Donna Juanita? My best two minutes of googling come back with this. That seems a very specific dislike if that's what the guy at 2:55 is talking about. posted by mindless progress"

"Whoa, the guy at 2:43 is 25?! 25 going on 42?
posted by geoff".

"I do consider myself a 'refined valley dude.'
Something about the way he says it.... you can actually hear the quotes.
posted by Afroblanco"

"mindless progress: 'WTH is a Donna Juanita?'
A female Don Juan, ie. a smooth operator, seductress, a woman out to make a sexual conquest.
posted by idiopath"

"Oh, God, what is that word that's the opposite of schadenfreude? The one for the shared shame of seeing someone embarrass themselves? posted by maudlin "

(From Metafilter)

TRAILER: Michael Moore's 'Capitalism: A Love Story'

TRAILER: Michael Moore's 'Capitalism: A Love Story' is the trailer for the newest Michael Moore film. The consensus seems to be that the film appears dated, and that Moore should re-release Sicko isntead.

Still probably going to see it.
(From Facebook)

Slow Jam the News: Health Care Reform (9/14/09)

Slow Jam the News: Health Care Reform (9/14/09) is a self-explanatory video from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, where Jimmy and the Roots jam about health care.

Accordign to the Huffpo, "Jimmy Fallon and the Roots sexualized the health care debate last with a sensual slow jam about reform. 'Bipartisanship means everyone can partay,' they crooned.

Jimmy, of course, cracks up through the entire thing. It's incredibly juvenile. And sexey.

Highlights:
"Let's do it with the lights on" [crack up]
"...diaphanous... I don't mean to be too pedantic."
Enjoy!
(From )

I'm Not Here to Make Friends!

I'm Not Here to Make Friends! is a YouTube video showing a montage of reality TV stars uttering the now-cliché line, "I'm not here to make friends." It was mentioned on This American Life.

This week's TAL talks about frenemies.

We head to deep inside the natural habitat of frenemies: reality TV. Rich Juzwiak is a full-time blogger for VH1 and his own pop-culture blog which means he's spent a lot of time watching and dissecting reality TV shows. And last year, he noticed that one sentence seems to repeat an awful lot in the frenemy friendships that happen on reality TV.

It's fantastic.
(From This American Life)

The world's most patient cat

The world's most patient cat is a Youtube video showing an impatient baby trying to kick away a lazy cat. According to Buzzfeed, the baby hates the cat, but the cat doesn't care. According to me, there was nothing good on the internets today.

(From Buzzfeed)

Zach Braff & Donald Faison talk health care reform

Zach Braff & Donald Faison talk health care reform is a Youtube political PSA by the two scrubs guys, encouraging young people to be mroe vocal about the need for American health care reform. I couldn't agree more, so here I am, being vocal in my small way. Way to go guys. Healthcare is a right. YOU SHOULD GO THERE. SPEAK UP.
(From EA)

Today's Web Crush -- Peggy Wang, Blogger and Musician

Today's Web Crush -- Peggy Wang, Blogger and Musician is an article on Asylum about the best senior editor at Buzzfeed: Peggy Wang. Apparently, she moonlights as the keyboardist and backup vocals singer for an indie band called The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Who knew?! A+.

PS: yes, I know the picture is ill cropped. ARTSY!
(From Buzzfeed, immodestly)

FIGHTING DIRTY IN SCRABBLE

FIGHTING DIRTY IN SCRABBLE is a video about how win dirty. I don't play enough scrabble to comment on the merits of this video. According to the author, "Scrabble isn't a game of who can get the best 6 letter words. It's a game of points and squeezing 2 letter terms into corners."

I've been playing it wrong all along.

(From Kottke)

Internet Stats

Internet Stats is a website for stats about the internets. Pretty dry, unless you're into geeky web stuff.

By election day, fully 25% of people who pulled the lever for Obama were already connected to his campaign electronically.New York Magazine, January 2009

Social media use has taken off in the UK. eMarketer estimates that 39% of UK Internet users - more than 15.4 million people - will use social networks at least once per month in 2009.eMarketer, April 2009

According to Nielsen, 67% of the global online population visited a "member community" site in Dec 2008.Nielsen, March 2009

20 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute.YouTube, May 2009

Although men and women follow a similar number of Twitter users, men have 15% more followers than women.HarvardBusiness.org, June 2009

In mid-2008, social networking accounted for around 10% of worldwide online time. This is a category that didn't exist 3 years ago.Nielsen, March 2009

Social networks have a penetration of nearly 75% among European Internet users.Comscore, February 2009

5% of all time online is spent on Facebook.Comscore, April 2009

Of the 282.7 million European Internet users age 15 and older who went online via a home or work computer in December 2008, 211 million visited a social networking site – representing a penetration of 74.6%. Comscore, February 2009

eMarketer estimates that 39% of UK Internet users - more than 15.4 million people - will use social networks at least once per month in 2009. By 2013, the social networking population will reach 21.9 million and represent 50% of UK Web users.eMarketer, May 2009

Globally, social networks have enjoyed a 25% growth in unique visitors in the last year. Some sites have doubled their user base.Comscore, August 2008

In May 2009, YouTube reached 15.4 million unique users in the UK.Nielsen, May 2009

93% of Brits are making major financial cutbacks in the home to survive the economic turmoil. The top 5 ways to beat the downturn are: 'buying cheaper food' (65%), 'savvy initiatives to keep fuel bills down' (65%), 'cutting down on takeaways/eating out' (50%), 'switching energy suppliers' (39%) and 'shopping around for cheaper home insurance' (32%).Legal & General Report, November 2008

In January 2009, JP Morgan estimated that 2008 worldwide retail eCommerce spending, excluding travel, totaled $438 billion - of which one third ($152m) was in Europe.JP Morgan, January 2009

41% of Europeans claim to have changed their mind about what brand to buy as a result of researching choices online, according to EIAA's latest Mediascope survey.Mediascope Europe, November 2008

In the UK, searches for "discount vouchers" grew by 94% between November and December 2008.Google Insights for Search

In the past year, UK female Internet users have made an average of 17 online purchases of products/services and spent an average of £600.eMarketer, February 2009

97% of UK female Internet users research products online and 92% of UK female Internet users buy products online.eMarketer, February 2009

In February 2009, Eurostat reported that 32% of citizens in the EU-28 had purchased an item over the Internet during 2008. (Figures for big markets: UK 57%, FR 40%, DE 53%, IT 11%, ES 20%).Commission of the European Communities, February 2009

According to Forrester, nearly 45% of European Internet users say that in the past three months they have researched a product online and then bought it in a shop.Forrester, March 2009

33% of shoppers in the UK shop a lot more online since the recession.Media & Marketing, March 2009

Online spending in the UK grew 25% to £18.4 bn in 2008, outperforming the 2.1% increase in total retail.Verdict Research, May 2009

Price has become a less significant determinant in online purchasing: online shoppers citing price as the deciding factor in choosing a retailer has fallen to 44.0% in 2008 from 50.0% in 2007.Verdict Research, May 2009

Despite the recession, UK online shoppers had spent an average of £10 more per site visit in April 2009 than this time a year ago. (April 08 to April 09)NMA, May 2009

34% of Brits spend a whole day trying to find the best holiday deal online.Greenbee.com survey, January 2009

20% of Brits will spend at least 8 hours trawling the Internet for a cheap travel-related deal. Greenbee.com survey, January 2009

YoY from the 2007 to 2008 Christmas Sales period, online sales increased by 31% while in-store sales decreased by 1.3%.Retail Week, January 2009

50.1% of online shoppers who placed items in their shopping carts did not go on to place an order.Core Metrics, March 2009

With online sales up 13.3% in 2009 and 10.9% in 2010, the Internet will take further share from the high street.Verdict Research, May 2009

51% of Internet users purchased a new Financial Services product in the past year.GFK, February 2009

Remote (home) shopping has grown three fold in a decade - from £9.7bn to £26bn. Growth fuelled by the Internet accounts for 74% of the market, compared with 4% in 1998.Verdict Research UK, 2009, December 2008

UK Internet visits to the Insurance category increased by 43% over the quarter.Hitwise, January - March 2009

Moneysupermarket.com received the most traffic from searches in 6 out of our 8 featured insurance and finance product ranges over the quarter.Hitwise, January - March 2009

Searches for health insurance increased by 165% over the quarter.Hitwise, January - March 2009

Searches for ISA’s increased by 176% over the quarter.Hitwise, January - March 2009

Searches for mortgages decreased by 19% over the quarter.Hitwise, January - March 2009

Over 1 in 3 (34%) UK adults have researched a brand that they have seen advertised online.TGI Net Q109 (Oct 07 - Sept 08), Q2 2009

41% of shoppers use search engines to identify new websites.Verdict Research, May 2009

According to the European Commission, cross-border eCommerce remained stable between 2006 and 2008, despite EU consumers shopping online increasing from 27% to 33%.Verdict Research, May 2009

Average spend per head in the UK was £691 in 2008… and is forecast to reach £895 in 2013.Verdict Research, May 2009

For the third successive year it is those aged 25 - 34 who are the most frequent online shoppers.Verdict Research, May 2009

Over half (51.0%) of consumers are using the Internet before making a purchase in shops, educating themselves on the best deals available.Verdict Research, May 2009

Over 8 million people used the Internet for arranging the purchase of a new financial product in 2008.GFK, February 2009

A reported 28% of TV viewing time by UK broadband users (aged 16-55) is now on demand (either recorded for later viewing or using an on-demand TV service or watched on the Internet).TNS/YouTube Media & Audience Study (broadband users aged 16-55), December 2008

The big screen continues to do well in the recession as Cineworld, the UK's second-biggest chain, announced box office takings have risen 19% in the 17 weeks preceding April 17. Cineworld's results follow figures released by the Film Distributors Association UK in March showing admissions rose 1.1% to 164.2m in 2008 with box office takings rising 3.7%. The rise in cinema takings comes as consumers continue to desert UK pubs and clubs. Traditionally the leading place for consumers to spend money socialising, rising taxes and a growth in home drinking have led many pubs to struggle. This was underlined by figures released by PRS for Music, the organisation that collects royalty payments for musicians. It said its takings in pubs and clubs were down 2% to £39.7m for 2008 and blamed this on the recession forcing many venues out of business.Film Distributors Association, March 2009

Many people are forgoing expensive nights out, but are instead willing to pay more for home entertainment. The number of customers using “video on demand” services, which allow customers to watch films on a pay-as-you-view basis, almost doubled last year with an average 45m views a month, according to Virgin Media.Enders Analysis, September 2008

In the three months to the end of December 2008, sales of premium high-definition (HD) TV subscriptions doubled on the previous three months, according to Sky, 39% owned by News Corporation, owner of The Sunday Times. Charlie Ponsonby at price comparison service simplifydigital.co.uk said: “It’s taken a while, but high-definition TV is going mainstream in the UK, with over 1m UK homes now enjoying a high-definition service.”Enders Analysis, December 2008

39% of UK broadband users (aged 16-55) watch TV programmes on the Internet. Among those that watch TV online, on average 16% of their total viewing of TV programmes was on the Internet.TNS/YouTube Media & Audience Study (broadband users aged 16-55), December 2008

Nearly three in five (57%) of youth consumers logged on to YouTube to watch a music video in the last 12 months, compared to 56% who watched a music TV channel.Ipsos MediaCT, March 2009

In 2008 the digital music business internationally grew by around 25% to $3.7Bn. Digital platforms now account for around 20% of recorded music sales, up from 15% in 2007.IFPI, 2008, January 2009

There are 1.5 million business searches daily on YouTube, making it the second-most-visited destination for business searches, behind Google.Google, Forbes, BtoB, June 2009, June 2009

64% of C-level executives conduct six or more searches per day to locate business information.Google, Forbes, BtoB, June 2009, June 2009

76% of UK adult Internet users find out about local services online.Ofcom, August 2008

76% of Internet users said they had looked up news online in the past month according to a TNS survey of 30,000 Internet users in 16 countries in late 2008. TNS, December 2008

1 in 3 YouTube users are DIYers.TGI Net, April 2007-March 2008

In May 2009, Google had over 4.0 billion search page views in the UK.Nielsen Netview, May 2009

There you go.
(From Guy)

Cheese or Font

Cheese or Font is a self-explanatory game where you get to guess if the word is a cheese or font.

(From MT, who got it from Serious Eats)

Obama Health Reform Address Close - "The Character Of Our Country"

Obama Health Reform Address Close - "The Character Of Our Country" is the Youtube video clip of the last bit of Obama's Health Care Reform Speech that aired on C-Span.

If you didn't swoon, you better get that checked out--you don't have a heart. Fact. I'm going to be a great doctor.

PS: Who is the speechwriter? I would like a date with them, thx.
(From RE, TV)

New Gladwell book: What the Dog Saw

New Gladwell book: What the Dog Saw is an entry on Kottke.org that talks about the new Malcolm Gladwell book. It's a collection of his New Yorker writings, which are already available online for free... But you know. Laid out in nice book format.

Anyway, the kottke link has an index with all of the stories linked. I've read probably 75% of them. Particularly enjoyed "John Rock's Error - What the inventor of the birth control pill didn't know about women's health. (Mar 13, 2000)."

Enjoy!

Sinead's Hand

Sinead's Hand is an Irish pro-marriage equality PSA. Very cute (both conceptually and the actor-wise!).

(From Kian)

Snacks and Shit

Please welcome our semi-regular music contributor, Cambopants. --WEBdB
Today on the (Musical) Interwebs brings you Snacks and Shit, a NSFW website that provides pages upon pages of ridiculously terrible rap lyrics that question how these rappers can be considered legitimate. In the words of the writers:

This blog is about rap and hip-hop lyrics that are absolutely absurd, ludicrous, nonsensical, ridiculous, basic, basically stupid, basically bad, basically basic, or preposterous. We also take some lines and examine them literally. In the words of one of our critics, we are "willfully obtuse". Call it what you want. Hopefully we don't get capped. You have to understand that we really do love rap and all of these artists that we kid about.

I give them two thumbs up for being able to listen to any rap songs and able to discern any words from the song as I usually hear a slew of beats and slurs of words. If you can get past the homophobic, sexist, and/or derogatory lines, there are some gems. My favorite include:

"Put that mayonnaise on your child." -Plies
"I'm a choo-choo." -DJ Quik
"I like breathing." -Dr. Dre

(From Cam and my ability to troll the web for music news)

The Uniform Project

I'd seen this project when it launched, but they didn't have enough dresses/variation to justify posting.
The Uniform Project is a part art, part sustainability and part charity project where Sheena Matheiken, founder and creative director, re-invents a single dress for a whole year. That's not entirely accurate. In her own words,

"Starting May 2009, I have pledged to wear one dress for one year as an exercise in sustainable fashion. Here’s how it works: There are 7 identical dresses, one for each day of the week. Every day I will reinvent the dress with layers, accessories and all kinds of accouterments, the majority of which will be vintage, hand-made, or hand-me-down goodies. Think of it as wearing a daily uniform with enough creative license to make it look like I just crawled out of the Marquis de Sade's boudoir."

She does this with the help of Eliza Starbuck, dress designer and creative partner on the project.

According to the FAQ, "the Uniform Project foundation is a registered non-profit and we are currently in the process of acquiring 501c3 status. This may take a few months, but your donations will be tax deductible retroactively."

So there you go.
(From Cambo)

Idsgn

Idsgn is a blog about design. In their own words:

"We like to talk about graphic design, branding, typography, and sometimes we might post a video or two...

We love to hear from you. Please send submissions, links, and news tips to blog@idsgn.org. If you are sending images, please make them at least 980 pixels wide (where possible)"

Recent posts discuss the IKEA change from tailored Futura to Verdana (!), the Kayak.com logo facelift, and redesigning Craigslit.

Solid.

(From M.A., MD )

Fucking Delicious

Fucking Delicious is a cute website that shows pictures of adorable animals eating laced with profanity. For example, this picture is captioned "What? I’m not the one who’s been stealing your fucking peanuts."

A+.

(From T. J.)

Auto-Tune the News (feat. T-Pain)

Follow-up!Auto-Tune the News (feat. T-Pain) is the 8th episode of Auto-tune the news (previously).

This one actually features T-pain himself! Skip to 2:32 for the cameo.

(From Kottke)

The Unlikely Writer

The Unlikely Writer is a Harvard Magazine profile of surgeon-cum-writer extraordinaire  Atul Gawande. (Tehee). Atul caused a stir earlier this year by writing "The Cost Conundrum," a piece for the New Yorker about the best and worst uses of our health care dollars.

Atul is one of my many literary crushes. SWOON. Pretty stellar.

(From Kottke)

People of Walmart

People of Walmart is a website devoted to mercilessly mocking Walmart customers of questionable fashion tastes. The site has gone viral and crashed a few hours ago, but since I checked it was back up.

It was founded by "three friends" after an "inspirational trip." The authors explain the purpose:

"This is purely for entertainment purposes and strictly limited to the outrageously bad / ugly / creepy / crazy shoppers. We don’t need to see pictures of you and your dumb friends dicking around at Walmart. There is no reason to send us pictures of people that are seriously and unfortunately handicapped so don’t be an asshole. We are trying to have some fun here and there is a difference between someone who is mentally challenged and a person who has a fu Manchu and is still rocking MC Hammer pants."

Enjoy!

PS: Why is there a Busted Tees advert in every single viral comedy site? Every single one.

(From MTMcC, who saw it at TIME.)