03.18.2012 Bing.com

Bing is a wonderful search engine for two reasons. (1) Their travel search feature aggregates all flights from the major travel sites and recommends to buy or wait on those tickets to that place you love. Helpful. (2) Their daily photo selection is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get... Including a picture of the inside of the Calatrava at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Hello, Wisconsin!

03.17.2012 Shamrock Shake

St. Patrick's Day is known for many things. Most important of all the things we do to celebrate this religious figure (or the entire Irish culture) is purchasing and drinking Shamrock Shakes from McDonald's. Who would've thought pretending mint flavored milkshakes doesn't exist during any other time of the year would be this exciting! 

It gets more exciting. Check out this year's commercial. Recognize anybody familiar here? If you're a fan of the 2000 ballet classic "Center Stage," you should. Jody Sawyer, everybody (insert awkward applause here). That was a reference to the closing scene of the film... Just go with me here.

03.16.2012 Grand Forks Olive Garden

This image is not an image of the Grand Forks Olive Garden but is instead an image of Marilyn Hagerty, the local food critic for the Grand Forks Herald in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It is thanks to Marilyn Hagerty that the Grand Forks Olive Garden (and all Oliver Garden restaurants for that matter) achieved increased popularity since her review went to press on March 7.

(Note: click the link below and READ this review. It's great.)

Source: Grand Forks Herald

I have a few things I'd like to say:

a) I want this to be my job. I want to write reviews of an Olive Garden, where I describe the place as "the largest and most beautiful restaurant now operating" and say it without the slightest sense of irony. 

b) All the people that are criticizing Marilyn for her critique should stop. Okay, she drank water instead of the raspberry lemonade the waitress recommended, but at least she said "on a hot summer day, I will try the raspberry lemonade that was recommended." She's open to the lemonade. Get over it. 

c) I forgot how much I liked Olive Garden restaurants. And I never thought I'd hear myself admit that. 

"Olive Garden has gained a following since 1982 with its ample portions and relaxed ambiance." Marilyn knows ambiance. 

03.15.2012 March Madness

It's the most wonderful time of the year. Every basketball season builds to this, and even if you don't follow every team and every game during the regular season, you can still participate in the phenomenon that is March Madness. It's a season that knows no discrimination (except for when I get angry that non-legitimate basketball fans do better on their brackets than I do...), and it brings joy and reduced productivity to all people.

Source: ESPN

Even as leader of what many believe is the greatest country in the world, you can still find the opportunity to pick your favorites. I disagree with a few of Obama's choices, but picking Wisconsin to win in the first round is not one of them.

With that, I'll return to obsessively checking the scores of my co-workers' brackets and yelling at my television..

03.14.2012 Vitamin D

Vitamin D is cool! You know what's not cool? Being Vitamin D deficient. Not cool.

But where does one find vitamin D? Apparently there are very few foods that contain vitamin D. Let's name them: a few varieties (or all... I skimmed the list so I"m not sure) of fish, dairy products, and food voluntarily fortified with vitamin D.

Based on this research, I'm confused. How am I from Wisconsin and Vitamin D deficient? What am I implying here? I'm implying that people from Wisconsin over-index in dairy product consumption. Something doesn't make sense. That rumor about sunlight being a source of vitamin D? Still up for debate.

One more source. Vitamin D supplements. Found these on Soap.com and might be buying them. One potential outcome of Vitamin D deficiency is rickets. Sounds terrible. No thanks.

03.13.2012 $25,000

Let's talk about this. The Chicago Bulls beat the New York Knicks last night. (That's not what I wanted to talk about, but that's the background for what I want to talk about.) Even though the Bulls won, Derrick Rose decided to announce to the world that he has "got to be the only superstar in the league that's going through what I'm going through right now."

What are you going through exactly, Mr. "Superstar?" Please, tell us. We'll listen to you as you complain about the fact that people don't give you enough space while you're playing basketball. Superstars shouldn't have to deal with that. Cry a little more about it.

Why "$25,000?" Because that's how much Derrick Rose's complaining cost him when the NBA wrote him up a nice fine. And for what? Criticizing the officiating in a game that HIS TEAM WON. I'd expect this kind of behavior from Joakim Noah but not you, Derrick Rose.

Source: USA Today

03.12.2012 "Call Me Maybe"

This song has been a favorite on my playlist for a little while now, but I was just waiting ANXIOUSLY for the music video. Similar to how Rebecca Black's "Friday" was nothing without the image of her actually riding in the back seat with her "friends," this song takes on new meaning when you can see this normal teenager spontaneously perform in her garage, while wearing entirely too much make-up for somebody her age (kids these days).

Also, I'd like to get on my soap box for a second and just say how disappointed I am. Have a little confidence. Sure, the lyrics "call me maybe" might fit the rhythm of the song better, but couldn't you have at least said "call me definitely and don't take your sweet time doing so?" I think you could.

03.09.2012 Victor Enrich

I'm certain that you probably took a look at the headline here and thought, "Victor, who?" My thoughts exactly. Mr. Enrich is a Spanish artist that uses Photoshop to mutate images of existing architecture to look surreal and, well, physically impossible (not that I'm an engineer or anything). Leave it to the Spanish to mess with architecture like that..

My personal favorite photo is the one shown above, entitled "Medusa." When I look at this photo, I think more of a Happy Meal than a monster of Greek mythology (not that I'm an art expert or anything).

Source: VictorEnrich.com

03.08.2012 Color

Went to the mall today and was repeatedly slapped in the face by color. Retailers have taken it upon themselves to tell society that color is "the new black." As somebody who prefers the comfort of a neutral-toned outfit, I'm open to the idea of color.

However, I'm not open to the idea of being told when color is in style. I understand being told that mint green is trendy or that argyle is the "it" pattern of the season (argyle was a bad example, but you get my point). Nobody tells me to wear color. I wear color on my own terms, and I just want that to be clear.

But let's take a moment to appreciate color, and a few of its various retail advocates. First and foremost, Target and their "color ninjas," as I like to call them, want you to know that "color changes everything." A French nursery rhyme soundtrack just makes the change seem chic.

Gap has adopted the slogan "Be Bright" in what I assume is an attempt to hint that "being bright" doesn't just mean wearing colorful clothing but being smart enough to decide that a pair of green denim pants is a practical addition to your everyday wardrobe.

Source: Daily Billboard

Ann Taylor LOFT lost me a little, but I'll give it to them. There's no reason why I couldn't wear an all pink suit to the office and still be respected for my intelligence, business acumen, and work ethic. Let's be clear. Head to toe pink might not be the best idea.   

Source: SaraZucker.com

03.07.2012 Angry Birds

Yes, I know this game has been popular for awhile, making me a little behind the times. Yes, I know it's simple-minded and childish (there may or may not be a four year-old that has beaten me and unlocked secret levels I didn't even know existed). Yes, I should probably be a little ashamed of myself for promoting the game. I'm not.

When I find myself getting angry at work, I can't stay angry for long when I start playing this game. Not sure that any sort of accredited association of medical professionals would recommend this as a stress reliever, so I will recommend it for them. Don't take out your stress on co-workers, family, and friends. Don't let yourself be angry. Let the birds do that for you.

Source: Technorati.com

03.05.2012 Dream

I was recently re-introduced to one of my early musical influences. Anybody that knows me knows that the words "musical influence" should be taken very lightly. They had their shining moment with "He Loves U Not" (yes, with a "U") but fell short with the song "This Is Me." However, the success of their individual songs is irrelevant. 

This group knew how to speak to me when I was 12 years old, and the fact that I owned and loved the full album should say nothing but good things about the kind of person I was in middle school. In all honestly, I just want to know what happened to "Dream" and when's their reunion casino tour?

03.04.2012 Peyton Manning and Brett Favre

On today, the four-year anniversary of Brett Favre's retirement (his first retirement, and the only one that matters), the comparisons to the essentially team-less Peyton Manning won't stop. And they should. These comparisons should stop. Peyton Manning did not retire like Brett Favre, and he's not a spokesperson for Sensodyne like Brett Favre was.

There are probably more reasons why they're not similar, but those two are the only ones that matter, in my opinion. Peyton Manning did not intentionally step out of the game, and he hasn't landed that major dental care endorsement deal. Keep working, Peyton. You'll get there.

 

Source: Bleacher Report

03.02.2012 Amazon Kindle

The whole "tablet" phenomenon can just keep on being phenomenal. I'll stick to the eReader known affectionately as the the Amazon Kindle. Haven't even read anything beyond the User Manual (which is automatically loaded into the Kindle... intuitive, yet I was amazed at the genius behind that decision), and I'm in love.

Start throwing book title suggestions my way, and there is now a higher likelihood I will actually read the book instead of decide that I'm too lazy to buy it or navigate the Dewey Decimal system to find it!

Source: Amazon.com

Side note on the picture: I love the choice of hand model. The Kindle is "lighter" and "smaller," you say? Perhaps, it's light enough and small enough for the gentle, less-than-tech-savvy woman in your life.

03.01.2012 Davy Jones

As a former viewer of "The Monkees," I'm still a little upset about hearing of the death of Davy Jones. Yes, I may be a little too young to have truly appreciated him (I said I watched the show but probably should mention that I watched it on Nick at Nite while I was in grade school... about 10 years ago), but that doesn't mean I can't happily listen to "Daydream Believer" on my iPod while I brush my teeth in the morning.

Source: Business Insider

People said you monkeyed around, but you were too busy singing to let anybody down.