Browsing Tag

TV

It’s ‘Like’ a Four Letter Emoticon

Upon reading a friend’s witty status update, it seems natural to click the ‘like’ button to notify them that you feel the same way about something or find their comment amusing.

This reaction is logical because it’s classier (and quicker) to click the like button, than to write a comment with an emoticon at the end and pretend to be simultaneously winking and sticking out your tongue. You can see for yourself how ridiculous this looks in real life the next time you’re standing in front of the bathroom mirror (possibly with a digital camera in hand, if that’s something you like to do with your friends before uploading said pictures to Facebook).

With the proliferation of SMS-inspired abbreviations and acronyms, shorthand language is becoming increasingly appealing. So instead of saying “That’s funny” or “I agree”, now all it takes is the click of a button to alert your friend that you share similar interests. As Facebook continues taking over the Internet, our use of technology continues changes as well.

Instead of texting or calling someone to say that you empathize with them, you can simply say you “like” their comment (or link etc.). Friends disagree with each other too, which is precisely why people join groups advocating for Facebook to introduce a ‘dislike’ button. Facebook won’t do this anytime soon though because it would lead to too much negative feedback for their invaluable advertisers. Thanks to the ‘like’ button, people who haven’t seen each other in months can maintain a bond they established months ago, without needing to organize the necessary logistics involved in making plans.

As virtual forms of communication become more popular, fewer people need to co-ordinate which friend’s house to go to, where they’d inevitably spend time deciding what to do together. Smartphone apps designed to locate the nearest coffee shop are only useful for someone who actually meets their friend there (or who goes on their own and rudely carries on a phone conversation while placing an order). Secondly, online communication becomes even more enticing, once Internet users recognize the convenience of video chatting on Skype, while wearing pyjamas during a blizzard. As much as Facebook helps us stay in touch with acquaintances and classmates, it is also cultivating a culture of laziness.

No longer is there the same motivation to sit in a friend’s living room and flip through a photo album of vacation snapshots, as this can all be done online now. Sure, there are cords available to connect computers and cameras to big screen TVs, but are people really inclined to do this during family reunions? With Picasa and other web albums, friends and family can view photos at their own pace, read any captions the photographer (or Web 2.0 savvy curator) includes, and comment as often as they like, regardless of geographical distance.

Clicking the like button is an easy way to be friendly, without the social awkwardness of tapping someone on the shoulder and randomly saying hello, so it’s clear why people like it.

As depicted in The Social Network, the Facebook team brainstorms many nifty tools during their late night sessions and I’m curious to see what they release next.

American Music Awards

I enjoyed live tweeting the American Music Awards last night, but I wasn’t all that impressed overall.

It’s great that Canadian singers have garnered critical acclaim internationally, but are the American Music Awards really the right time to recognize Michael Buble or Justin Bieber? We Canucks have our own version of the award show; it’s called the Junos.

1.    I think it would have been more fitting if Miley performed ‘Party in the USA’, but showbiz told her to do otherwise I suppose. In any case, I muted the TV after she took the stage.

2.    I loved when Enrique’s marching band emerged in the aisles. This was also the first time I saw what Pitbull looks like in real life.

3.    Bieber’s sneakers were cool, but his attempt to be the new Michael Jackson – not so much. It was no surprise when the camera immediately panned to Usher’s reaction after Bieber concluded the song by kneeling on the ground, as if he were praying. Anyone could anticipate that Bieber’s mentor would be smiling.

4.    It was nice to see Christina make use of the vocal chords that made her famous when Disney featured her in Mulan’s soundtrack. She was a cute pop star back in the day, but then she started releasing such awful music that I barely take an interest in her new releases. Nevertheless, I can’t wait to see her and Cher on the big screen next week in Burlesque.

5.    Rihanna is beautiful, but what was with her hair?! That shade of red is so unnecessary.

Quoted: Two and a Half Men

Charlie Harper from Two and a Half Men would make some highly entertaining contributions to MIT tutorials!

Alan: Check it out! Rose’s engagement announcement is in the paper.

Charlie: Nah, I still don’t buy it.

Alan: What do you mean? It’s right here in the paper. *points to online edition on his laptop*

Charlie: Oh, grow up. Do you know how many times I’ve had that paper print my obituary?

— Episode 8.07

Lindsay + Lyndsy = Friends?

While perusing what Lindsay Lohan has tweeted in between her visits to jail and rehab, I immediately noticed when she called Lyndsy Fonseca her “friend”. I hardly think they bonded simply because they have the same name spelled a different way.

You may know Fonseca as Ted Mosby’s future daughter on How I Met Your Mother, or from this summer’s action-adventure flick, Kick Ass. As the face of Barbizon School of Modelling (for which an ad is often found at the back of teen girl magazines), she’s always been a charming actress famous for her girl-next-door look.

I’ve been a fan of Fonseca ever since she joined the cast of The Young and the Restless in 2001 to play Colleen Carlton. I’ll even admit that I was jealous of her character Colleen when J.T. sung her ‘Nothing At All’. The two lovebirds were one of the cutest couples in soap opera history, during a time when soap operas were still decent. The incestuous-like behaviour on Bold and the Beautiful and ridiculous new storylines on Y&R make it no surprise that two soaps have been cancelled within the last year.

I’m not an avid reader of Soap Opera Weekly or Star, so I haven’t been kept apprised about her personal life. Given Linsday’s recent behaviour however, I was appalled when I discovered that this is someone she spends time with. The fact that Lindsay calls her a friend and felt obliged to promote Fonseca’s role in Nikita makes me question what she is like behind the scenes.

Dear Greyhound, you have some explaining to do.

In this season’s Cougar Town, Laurie suggests Bobby start a blog. He is unemployed, with plenty of time to goof around, so why not? She tells him how a lot of people just use their blog as a forum to complain about bad service at restaurants. Well my experience with Greyhound last night certainly calls for a rant of my own.

I joined the line of Western students ten minutes prior to the scheduled 8 pm departure. It was busy, but it was Thanksgiving Monday, so that was to be expected. Then fifteen, twenty, thirty minutes went by, without a sign of a bus. There was supposed to be another one arriving to pick us up at 9 pm, but that never came either. If you were Brampton-bound, you could take your pick of GO buses, but us Mustangs had to wait.

Yorkdale’s bus terminal became quite the scene, as irate parents grew concerned about how their kids would safely return to campus. One father gave up, asked for a refund, and felt he had no alternative other than to drive his daughter to school himself. Meanwhile, another father retrieved an armful of forms to distribute to the antsy, frustrated students. “There’s no way they can ignore 30 complaints”, he said.

Inside the terminal, a mother demanded that the Greyhound sales reps contact head office, but still no explanation was offered. She even asked them to call the west coast office, hoping that the time difference would make them easier to reach, but no luck.

Instead of taking any chances on the buses leaving early Tuesday morning, I stuck around and took a 3 hour bus with stops in Guelph and Waterloo. We didn’t make it to London until 1 am.

It’s a shame that Greyhound rarely offers guarantees.