I am in love

will Paul Rudd.

I have always enjoyed Paul Rudd, even back in his Clueless and Friends days, but this video sold it. I am in love now. It's odd that Sesame Street would do that. Well, they tend to make good things overly cute. Like when Feist was on:



Anyways back to dreaming about Paul Rudd. That video is amazing because -

1. He is wearing an earth costume (GO GREEN!) that only reveals his forearms making his limiting dance moves absolutely adorable.
2. His lip snarl and sexy rendition of "Earth Rocks" trumps those muppets by far.
3. His comedic genius. His subtle actions are priceless. The Huffington Post put it well - "infectious joy and self-deprecation can't help but make you laugh."

His sexy dancing can even make Jon Stewart laugh, a lot.



Random thoughts >>

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Stop the drama over the Obama dog! There are bigger issues at hand. Ahhhh I hate the media. I almost cried during the Inauguration when one station spent a good half hour with a writer from Harper's Bazaar in order to discuss Michelle's outfit. We have a new president and you want to talk clothes? Or remember when Obama was in his "honeymoon" period and several stations covered his diet and his exercise routine. Jon Stewart had a nice response to this earlier this year:

Random News station: "Obama likes herbal tea, trail mix, and guacamole"
Jon Stewart: "We have all been to a grocery store, this isn't news. This is news - Barack Obama eats only bugs."

Thank you. Trivial news is pointless especially during our current situation. Well, then again, this trivial stuff is more entertaining than the economy, and actually it is helpful because the economy runs on confidence and if all the public sees is economic failure then things will spiral out of control. But current news - Pirates! Not awesome, but then awesome.

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So, Sir David Attenborough, the narrator of BBC's brilliant series Planet Earth, has recently become more vocal about the need to reduce the population to help protect wildlife. Predictable but too funny. I do agree, a continuously growing population does have ill-effects on the environment, but their proposals are in line with China, the only different is that they are requesting not mandating a limit to family size. Also, this organization, Optimum Population Trust, is focused in the UK. I am pretty sure that island is not the biggest threat in terms of population and environmental damage. Their three aims all start with the phrase "to advance," but how have I never heard of them before? Hmmmm


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Worst case scenario - you have swallowed the Higgs Boson, the God Particle, what do you do? Follow Michael Rottman's 10 steps or die. This is a real threat. Be prepared.

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Nooooo I followed a link and it was to something entertaining on Twitter!! My hatred is dwindling. I was convinced that the triviality of Twitter was worthless (kind of a redundant statement but true), even for an internet addict like myself, but things of interest/value can be found. Damn. Ahhh I love MythBusters. I am glad they keep only "human food" in their fridge.

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Countdown - 1 day until I am 21!

design + function = good

I have always been a fan of products that are both practical/functional and designed. It can add delight and beauty to the monotony of some products, and in my case often humor as well. I believe it makes life fuller and more enjoyable. And as Oscar Wilde so brilliantly stated, "life is too important to be taken seriously."

For example, I own a Das Kapital safe and a tape dispenser man.


I don't claim to only own designed items that are functional because I do have perfectly useless but INCREDIBLE items like my Mickey Mao (I have it in red).


But there are certain items that everyone needs, like ice trays. So why not buy an Ice Invader Tray? The only reasons not to is if you don't know what a space invader is, you don't like space invaders, or style scares you. My point - if you need it why not go a little farther and make it special? Being a designer, I am all about personalization. It's great for self-expression.


Now on to totally worthless designed items (excluding my Mickey Mao, because it really is brilliant). This Monday, the HRP-4C humanoid robot was revealed at Japan's fashion week. Yes, not a tech conference, fashion week, because this robot has been designed to be a runway model. According to the director of the humanoid robot engineering, "Our robot can't move elegantly like the real models that are here today." No kidding, that half squat below is really sexy... However, Darth Vader would totally buy what ever clothes are going to be modeled on that rigid metallic frame.


With 2 million dollars in production it is a little disappointing, actually no, really impressive, but why for fashion?! Sometimes I feel people develop technology just to say they developed it, but it's totally unnecessary (kind of like the new shuffle). There are some things that artificial intelligence can not replace. The research director says that another 20-30 years is needed before this robot is perfected. I think that is science wasted. However, it can easily be applied elsewhere and I never like to frown on research because any progress in science is fantastic.

The only thing this "model" could possible wear is this new clothing line that was inspired by the recent UFO sightings in China...


If I was an alien, China would be the last place I would land. Plus with all their surveillance projects I would be quickly discovered and destroyed. Unfortunately, You-Tube is banned again in China, so my brilliant alien discovery would never be broadcasted and poor Moulder would still be left believing.

I miss you blog

I am now mildly addicted to blogging. I haven't written on my blog for a few days and I feel guilty, like I am flaking on a obligation. When in reality I don't have to write anything besides the few posts required for my writing class. I have only had one required post so far.

I have had plenty of stuff to write about over the past few days, but I have been overwhelmed. One reason is the Undergraduate Student Government election. The ticket I was volunteering for encountered several obstacles. On Tuesday we were banned from campaigning for 36 hours. Then on the last day of the election the ticket was completely disqualified. Minor transgressions were punished with harsh rulings by a biased elections commission. One of the other tickets has made similar and more extreme violations, yet has seen no punishment. I don't want to rant, I was very frustrated and now I am just indifferent towards USG and their structure. We ran an honest and educated campaign and I am proud regardless. My friend Mat said that this is just politics, which it is, but usually there is some form of checks and balances like another commission that we could appeal to. One biased student geared the hearing towards unfair results. She claims that she only did what was right, but it is only right if you apply those harsh standards to all other tickets. Not only is this a sad situation for my campaign, but also for all the students who voted for Owen and Maya.

The Daily Trojan editors wrote, "Discarded votes are worse than unchecked boxes. When students on this campus exercise their right to abstain from political involvement, it can be disappointing. When that same bloc shows up to the booths to say who it wants to see elected and is ignored, it is disgusting…Undergraduate Student Government is muting the same voices it has so much trouble encouraging to sound off in the first place.”

For additional reading on this situation, check out two Daily Trojan articles linked below. Also, read the student responses. Some are eloquent describing the unfortunate situation and some tell the election commissioner to burn in hell... This is quite the election year.

Caine-Babla barred - Elections Commission said promise of $10,000 for student groups violate USG bylaws.

USG needs to address lack of transparency.

Due to my busy schedule I am unable to watch a lot of live tv, so I catch up on shows on my computer. I was watching a little Jon, then a little Colbert, then a little Conan... and I stumbled upon this brilliant video!! Enjoy the Conan and Colbert dance off!



It is incredible what Colbert can do with invisible string. I am quite jealous. I have been practicing and have yet to successfully lift my eyebrow.

On the topic of entertainment, I am really excited for the Watchmen movie. It is a movie based on one of the most celebrated graphic novels of all time. I recently re-read it on my plane flights to and from New York to get even more pumped for the movie. Not only is it an exciting moving for comic book fans, but it will be a remarkable film regardless of your Watchmen knowledge. Below is a video that shows how they are bringing Dr. Manhattan to life. So incredible! The Wired website has additional videos that go behind the scenes of Watchmen. Midnight showing anyone?



For a few years I have been a huge fan of the New Zealand folk comedy duo, Flight of the Conchords. They are getting big now, but I am proud to say that I knew about them before their wonderful HBO show. The group just ended a poster competition on their website and I missed the deadline!!! It ended at 11:59 AM EST, but I assumed it was midnight along with several other participating fans. Either way, I am not too sad because I didn't actually finish the posters I was working on. I did create one (below) based on the Conchord's Hiphopopatamus vs. the Rhymenoceros song. I got flows that glow like phosphorus...




Now off to do some laundry. A presto!

PS - cutest thing ever!!! Kittens!!!