Today, April 22, is Earth Day! And if you’re wondering how you can contribute to our planet’s conservation, gather your junk and take it to Old Navy or Office Depot. Until tomorrow, people can take their unwanted pens, markers and mechanical pencils of any brand to Office Depot. TerraCycle, a recycling company, will then use them to make office supplies like organizers and trash cans. Meanwhile, until May 21, people can take their unwanted flip-flops to Old Navy. TerraCycle will mix, melt and extrude the footwear into plastic boards. The boards then will be used as structural pieces in playgrounds which will be donated to communities across the country. DAILY DEAL: Get A Free Starbucks Coffee On Earth Day How To Recycle Anything
(YouTube link) Simon’s Cat encounters a bunny in this new animation from Simon Tofield. Could it be the Easter Bunny? -via The Daily What Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Neatorama Discovery Date : 22/04/2011 01:22 Number of articles : 3
People always talk about how much cell phones and Facebook have ruined society’s ability to talk to each other face to face, and generally I have scoffed at the suggestion. I mean, I still spend the majority of my waking hours talking to real people, and don’t rely on Facebook to keep me in touch with my friends. However, I am starting to see their point of view, where I could never before. I don’t necessarily think that the internet and social networking sites are creating a generation of illiterates, incapable of communicating without a Blackberry in their hands, but I do think that the growing number of online forums and networking sites, has contributed to a decline in manners and the anonymous nature of the internet has created a culture where it is deemed acceptable to say whatever you want to the person on the other side of the computer, with no regard for their feelings. ‘Cyber Bullying’ has become a fashionable tag line for politicians and school administrators. However, cyber bullying isn’t only a problem for teenagers who are harassed by other kids at school, on social networking sites. Cyber bullying can be seen, at least to a certain extent, with the way people talk to each other on online forums, online magazines or even with the pictures and video they upload to sites like YouTube and Facebook. I was always told, as I’m sure a lot of people were, that ‘If you don’t have anything nice to say, say nothing at all’. And although most people live by this in their daily life, when they are let loose on the web, this no longer seems to apply, and all their inhibitions seem to fade away. For example some of what is written on this website at times, is cruel stuff, stuff that you would never say to somebody face to face. So why then do people think that it’s cool to write it down? Is it simply because you don’t have to see the person about whom the comment is written? The issue of anonymity and the lack of inhibitions it creates can probably be seen best on Facebook. I know people who wouldn’t say boo to a goose in real life, but create arguments on Facebook, simply because they can. It also seems that people get petty with social networking, and will ‘de-friend’ someone, even someone the are close with in real life, for next to no reason at all, yet they will not actually physically talk to the person they have the problem with. For example, just before Christmas, I received a phone call from a friend who was losing the plot over something she read on Facebook. A conversation between two mutual friends had come up on her news feed, which, for all you non Facebookers out there, (if there are any left), is basically, just a web page telling you everything that all your friends have done on Facebook since you last logged on, such as added photos, changed their status, updated their location information, relationship status blah blah blah. Anyway, my friend, who we shall call ‘Lily’, was mad about what she read between people we shall call ‘Jasper’ and ‘Sam’. They were discussing how they needed to cut out their old friends from their lives (meaning Lily, and some others). To make a long story short, earlier this week, she called me again, to tell me that both Jasper and Sam, had ‘de-friended’ her on Facebook. She hasn’t spoken to either of them in at least a few months, and before they de-friended’ her, I don’t think she was really too bothered about whether or not she spoke to them again. What bothered her the most, I think, was the fact that being ‘de-friended’ on Facebook, is generally not done, as, for some people at least, having hundreds of Facebook friends is very important. And so as silly as it is, being de-friended’, and by someone you actually know personally can be quite hurtful (even when you only keep them as a friend, so you can stalk their status updates and photos). Being de friended, is an abrupt, kinda rude way, of cutting someone out of your life. What makes it rude is the fact that there is no personal aspect to it. Would you actually tell someone in person that you never want to hear from them again? Probably not, but I know that everyone has deleted at least one person from Facebook, and probably didn’t think anything of it. However, losing our manners doesn’t just refer to bullying, or ‘de-friending’. Even simple things, like sending out invites, or calling to thank someone for a birthday or Christmas gift, seems to have fallen by the wayside with the explosion of the web. In the last few weeks, I cannot even tell you the amount of events I have been invited to from friends on Facebook. But, even for ‘serious’ events, such as baby showers and twenty first birthdays, I did not receive even one hard copy invite. Last year, a very good friend of mine, who at the time hadn’t jumped on the Facebook bandwagon, wasn’t even invited to an event, because the party planner didn’t even think to double check who of their (very good) friends wasn’t invited. Oh, and while I’m at it, how many of us have just clicked ‘not attending’ to an event, and not even bothered to tell the host why?. I also attended a wedding in the middle of last year, and got a text thanking me for my attendance and gift. I mean really? I know we’re all busy, and I don’t want to sound like a whining grandma, busting out the ‘back in my day…’, but how hard is it really to write on a damn card?. I don’t know, you tell me, am I over reacting or has what is deemed acceptable behavior changed drastically with the explosion of social networking? Is Common Etiquette Still Alive In 2010? Gym Etiquette: Do You Make These Mistakes? 5 Things That Have To Stop On Facebook
We profile Sleeping in Class MC for New West Week. By Alvin Blanco, with reporting by Steven Roberts Casey Veggies Photo: MTV News Main Pick Rap Scholar : Casey Veggies Representing : Inglewood, California Mixtape : Sleeping in Class Real Spit : Casey Veggies is an MC who’s looking to make sure you don’t snooze on him or his talented peers, and MTV News is spotlighting the artist to start off New West Week . After catching the rhyme bug and getting positive feedback from some tracks he posted on MySpace, Casey released the Customized Greatly, Vol. 1 mixtape in 2007. Steadily improving with each new song, Odd Future knew what was up early, with Tyler the Creator throwing a couple of beats on Casey’s sophomore mixtape, Customized Greatly, Vol. 2 back in 2009. Last year, he dropped Sleeping in Class, an offering that further reveals the Inglewood, California native to be from the school of fresh beats and rhymes. “I didn’t really want Sleeping in Class … for people to think, ‘Oh he’s sleeping in class.’ That’s ignorant,” Casey told Mixtape Daily . “Really, it was like a sub-meaning and it meant that I was sleeping on everything that everyone else was telling me was the truth and what was right to do. That’s class, that’s the teacher talking to you. I was sleeping on that and I chose my own route. I chose to do what I wanted to do. So that means I’m sleeping, I’m dreaming big and I’m doing my thing.” We weren’t kidding about Casey being a student of the game, literally. While making a name for himself as an artist to watch from the West side of the map, the Inglewood High School senior made the honor roll with a 3.5 GPA. Commend the man. Joints to Check For
On-Air Blooper of the Day: Nine News Adelaide anchor Kate Collins interrupts your regularly scheduled programming to bring you this urgent news update. I hope you’re sitting down. [ dpaf .] Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : The Daily What Discovery Date : 17/04/2011 16:06 Number of articles : 2
After 82 hard fought games it is time for the NBA’s ”second season.” This is what fans have been waiting for ever since LeBron James stunned the basketball world by announcing he would be taking his talents to South Beach. While the team he left behind (Cleveland Cavaliers) went on to win 42 fewer games without him (19-63 down from 61-21 with James a year ago), James only went on to finish second in the league in scoring and led the Heat to 58 wins, putting him in the discussion for his third straight MVP award. Ask James and he’ll tell you that means nothing. After being accused of quitting on the Cavs last season against Boston and going out in unsportsmanlike fashion to Orlando in 2009, King James wants everyone to witness him carry the Heat to the promised land and put all the doubters to rest. To do that he will have to do what he couldn’t do at the end of last season and 3 out of 4 times this season with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in tow: beat the Boston Celtics. Will he succeed? Check out my predictions on this and the rest of what promises to be one of the best NBA Playoffs ever. EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND 1 Chicago Bulls vs 8 Indiana Pacers When the Indiana Pacers fought to make the playoffs they were probably expecting to face the Miami Heat, who they beat earlier in the year. Instead they got a Bulls team clicking on all cylinders led by MVP front runner Derrick Rose . The Bulls won 62 games this season and locked up home court advantage throughout the entire playoffs. The Bulls only won 60 games five other times in franchise history (hint: all in the 1990′s) and each time they went on to win the NBA title. Read on to see if I think they will make it six, but they will get off to a good start. Prediction: The Bulls finally get out of the first round (not being a #8 seed helps that way) in a sweep 4-0. 4 Orlando Magic vs 5 Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks won the season series 3 games to 1, however I am not sold on an Atlanta team that lost by more than 30 points on their home floor three different times. Al Horford has made strides this ear but he is not a true center and will be overmatched by Orlando center Dwight Howard . Atlanta is a mystery to me. They play well enough to be a mid-level playoff team (more a testament to the weak Eastern Conference) but you never expect them to progress to title contender. They are getting no respect and it feels like they don’t really care. I can’t take a team seriously if the road team’s fans are louder than the home fans in your own gym. Joe Johnson is a quiet superstar and may need to change that perception (especially since he signed a huge contract to stay for five years when he could have went elsewhere) if the Hawks are going to go anywhere in the future. I just want to see him get mad and carry the Hawks for once. It won’t happen this year, however. Not even this round. Prediction: Orlando shows regular season matchup is a fluke taking out the Hawks 4-2. 3 Boston Celtics vs 6 New York Knicks This will be the most interesting series in the first round of the East playoffs. These two teams haven’t met in the playoffs since 1990 where the Knicks upset the favored Celtics in a best of 5 series by winning the final three games. This current crop of Knickerbockers have the tools to repeat history. The loss of Kendrick Perkins will be glaring for Boston if Shaquille O’Neal is not productive coming off a calf injury. The Knicks have the best closer in the game in Carmelo Anthony and a confident Amare Stoudamire . Chauncey Billups’ championship experience will help the Knicks, but will they play any semblance of consistent defense? Paul Pierce , Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen have been down this road before but never without Perkins. Rajon Rondo the best player on the team a year ago is reportedly playing hurt and is still sulking over Perkins’ departure. This will be the longest series of the first round only because the Knicks potent offense will win a few games by default, especially over a Celtics team that has the lowest scoring average in the entire league (90.2 ppg) since early March. Boston has been doubted before and they took all that talk of their demise all the way to the NBA Finals last year. They still play something called good defense and will win the series in seven only if Shaq is a factor and Rondo returns to form, otherwise the Knicks pull the upset. Prediction: Boston has yet to lose to the Knicks this season and have come too far to go home early. They will move on 4 games to 3. 2 Miami Heat vs 7 Philadelphia 76ers With all the hype, drama and media coverage that bordered on overkill (there are at least two national media outlets that have season-long sections dedicated to the daily exploits of The Miami Heat — ESPN’s “Heat Index” and USA Today’s “Heat Check”) The Maimi Heat’s season starts now. All eyes will be on the new Big 3 of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to see if LeBron can back up the tough talk from the narcissistic pre-season coronation/pep rally in July that introduced the trio to the Miami faithful. They get off to a great start against Philly who are a nice story, but will not be able to match up to the firepower of the Heat. Prediction: Heat burn the Sixers 4 to 1 . EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS 1 Chicago Bulls vs 4 Orlando Magic This series is a tough one to call. The Magic are playoff tested. The return of Hedo Turkoglu along with the experience of Jason Richardson (a Western Conference finalist last season in Phoenix), Gilbert Arenas , and Jameer Nelson will be a factor in this series. Chicago may be the #1 seed, but losing to Orlando would not be considered an upset in my opinion. Orlando will win this series, however I give Chicago an outside chance only if Derrick Rose gets Dwight Howard in foul trouble with his signature acrobatic drives to the cup thus leaving the middle open for Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer to go to work. Orlando has their own point to prove with Miami getting all the press and prestige in the “sunshine state” and their veteran leadership will trump youth this year, not for lack of effort from Mr. Rose. Prediction: Orlando stops the Bulls 4-2 2 Miami Heat vs 3 Boston Celtics When the NBA season tipped off in October with the first installment of Heat-Celtics everyone watching figured this would be a preview of the Eastern Conference Finals. Unfortunately the Chicago Bulls had something to say about where these two teams would end up so the showdown comes one round early. I hate to beat a dead horse, but the absence of Kendrick Perkins effectively brought Boston back to the pack in the East. Miami reportedly loved the deal as shown in the last regular season meeting where Miami did as they pleased in the paint en route to a 100-77 win. The series won’t be as lopsided as the depth of the Celtics bench will keep the games competitive. Again, the effectiveness of Shaq (or any big other than Kevin Garnett) will swing the series. Former Heat Jermaine O’Neal will have something to prove in this series against the team that let him walk and will have a decent series. Prediction: In another seven game marathon, the Miami Heat will upset the Celtics 4-3 and send Doc Rivers into retirement. Let the finger pointing (and rebuilding) begin in Beantown. EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS 2 Miami Heat vs 4 Orlando Magic Ironically this will the toughest test for the Heat. Dwight Howard will be the only thing standing in the way of a trip to the NBA Finals for LeBron James and the Heat. For the Heat to win this series they have to get contributions from a bench that has been invisible all season. The Heat should have Udonis Haslem back by this point giving them a much needed body to bang with Howard, but the three-headed monster of Erick Dampier, Joel Anthony, and Zydrunis Ilgauskas have to use their fouls to frustrate Howard. Technical fouls accumulated in the regular season are wiped clean in the post season so unless Howard has a major meltdown that gives him 7 techs, he isn’t missing any time. Unlike the Bulls series, getting Howard in foul trouble will not matter as the Magic have proven they can beat the Heat without Howard touching the ball on offense (as witnessed in the classic comeback from a 24-point deficit back in March). LeBron may have flashbacks to the 2009 Conference Finals with Turkoglu alongside Richardson, Arenas, and (wait for it) Ryan Anderson taking the place of Rashard Lewis behind the 3-point arc. The Magic live and die by the 3 pointer and if they are on it could extinguish the Heat. LeBron has personal incentive (proving Orlando general manager Otis Smith wrong) to make the Magic disappear, but his exploits along with Wade and Bosh may not be enough without consistent play from the Ringo Starr’s on the bench. Prediction: Orlando upsets ”The Heatles” denying LeBron a trip to the NBA Finals 4-2 in year one of “The Process”. WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND 1 San Antonio Spurs vs 8 Memphis Grizzlies This is the matchup the Grizzlies wanted for reasons only known by the team itself. It has been reported that Memphis tanked the last few games to assure themselves of the 8th seed and avoid facing the Lakers. Spurs forward Tim Duncan responded simply ”we see what’s happening”. Uh oh, bulletin board material. This series won’t go more than five. The Grizz are still without their star Rudy Gay, lost for the year with a shoulder injury, and while super sub Tony Allen has been playing out of his mind the last few weeks and Memphis boasts the fourth best record in the Western Conference since the All-Star break, the Spurs have their own Big 3 in the aforementioned Duncan, Tony Parker , and Manu Ginobli . Even though Ginobli hyperextended his elbow in the regular season finale, they won’t need him in this round. Prediction: Spurs move on 4-1 4 Oklahoma City Thunder vs 5 Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets traded away the face of their franchise and didn’t miss a beat en route to a 50-win season. If that doesn’t put coach George Karl in the discussion for Coach of the Year I don’t know what does. The Nuggets have no standout superstar yet share the ball effectively in a way not seen since the Detroit Pistons of the 2000′s. The Thunder have two superstars in the NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook . OKC also has Kendrick Perkins. It is hard to believe one man can swing the balance of power from one conference to the next, but it goes to show how important a serviceable big man is to a championship contender. Perkins brings the toughness that can offset Nene and any antics by Kenyon Martin. The players that came over in the trade from the Knicks will be fun to watch, but the Thunder’s defense will prove to be too daunting. Prediction: Thunder bury the Nuggets 4-2 3 Dallas Mavericks vs 6 Portland Trailblazers This will be as exciting as the Knicks-Celtics series. The Dallas Mavericks have been a Jekyll and Hyde team known to excel in the regular season only to flame out in the playoffs. Their inability to get out of the first round the last few years is the reason why former Mavs coach Avery Johnson is currently wasting away in New Jersey. Since blowing a chance to go up 3-0 on the Miami Heat in the 2006 NBA Finals, the Mavericks have not gotten past the second round, losing in the first round twice. Not having Caron Butler hurts but Shawn Marion and Jason Terry lead a formidable bench which will be needed to help Dirk Nowitzki . Portland has a snubbed all-star in LaMarcus Aldridge an emerging star in Wesley Matthews , the high energy of Gerald Wallace , and their star player Brandon Roy currently coming off the bench (?!). They have not moved past the first round since 2000, but they will give Dallas all they can handle. Prediction: Dallas hears the whispers of another collapse and because of it they will respond to the perceived disrespect by advancing in a tough series 4-3. 2 Los Angeles Lakers vs 7 New Orleans Hornets Andrew Bynum only has a bone bruise in his hyperextended right knee. That means he will not miss significant time, if any at all in the playoffs. That is bad news for the rest of the Western Conference. The Lakers may not even need Bynum in this series as the Hornets will be without star forward David West. That leaves Emeka Okafor on an island against the size of the Lakers. Chris Paul will do his best but the Hornets are undersized and overmatched against the two-time defending champs. Prediction: Lakers win 4-1. WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS 1 San Antonio Spurs vs 4 Oklahoma City Thunder The experience of the Spurs and the multiple big men (Antonio McDyess, Dejuan Blair, Duncan) they can throw at Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka combined with the neutrilization of Kevin Durant’s offense by Manu Ginobli will make the difference here. This series may go the distance as Durant and Westbrook try to set up a rematch with the Lakers in the Conference Finals, but the Spurs will prevail. Prediction: Spurs win 4-3 2 Los Angeles Lakers vs 3 Dallas Mavericks The Mavericks got the first round monkey off their back, but reality will set in. The Mavericks will not have an answer for Pau Gasol , LaMar Odom and Bynum and there is a guy by the name of Kobe Bryant who will command a double team at some point. While Dallas has come a long way defensively they rely on their offense to dictate the pace of the game. Prediction: Lakers advance 4-2 WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS 1 San Antonio Spurs vs 2 Los Angeles Lakers Unlike the Eastern Conference, the West holds to form with the two best teams meeting for the chance to play in the Finals. San Antonio, like Boston, defied age and logic during the regular season being the last team to lose 10 games in a year where they were supposed to be in the middle of the pack. These teams are evenly matched, their regular season was a wash. Both teams have game changing superstars and a deep bench. It comes down to Kobe and Phil. Kobe has the nastiest killer instinct since Jordan and I can’t see him losing this series. Losing the #1 seed to the Spurs is just another challenge for the Black Mamba which is a bad omen for San Antonio. Prediction: Lakers go back to the NBA Finals after a hard fought 7 game slug fest 4-3. NBA FINALS Orlando Magic vs Los Angeles Lakers Probably not the team from Florida Commissioner David Stern had in mind to face the Lakers in the NBA Finals, but in a rematch of the 2009 Finals the experience of the Lakers produces the same result. It was Kobe Bryant’s mission statement to send coach Phil Jackson off with his fourth three-peat while simultaneously earning his sixth ring tying him with Michael Jordan. Again, the challenge is what drives Bryant and his will to win elevates the rest of the team to victory. Prediction: Lakers complete the three-peat 4-2, possibly pushing Dwight Howard closer to Tinseltown after next season. **Bonus** AWARDS SEASON : MVP: Derrick Rose (Runner-up: LeBron James) Coach of the Year: Tom Thibodeau, Chicago (Runner-up: Gregg Poppovich, Spurs) Rookie of the Year: Blake Griffin (Runner-up: John Wall) Defensive Player of the Year: Dwight Howard (Runner-up: no one worth mentioning) Sixth Man of the Year: LaMar Odom (Runner-up: Jamal Crawford) 5 Reasons The Miami Heat Will NOT Win The NBA Title This Season
Remember the missing woman whose case led one time to eight random bodies ? Now, authorities looking into the death of one of the Craigslist hookers they found have discovered all types of madness in the world of eJohns and iHoes. Members of an Internet sex forum hatched a “revenge” plot against a Long Island hooker who was later murdered and dumped in a serial killer’s burial ground, the Daily News has learned. Talk on longislanderotic.com shows members were outraged when one of their cronies claimed he had paid Amber Lynn Costello $200 for sex, only to be robbed by men who barged into her West Babylon home. “Tell her we are all coming over there with baseball bats,” threatened one member, a self-declared ex-con known as “Morrie.” That ominous threat, and more to follow, has opened a window on what probers say is a virtually unregulated sex network of johns, hookers and escort services. “The Internet has really become a highway for criminality,” said Eugene O’Donnell, a professor of law and police studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “In terms of prostitution, it’s moved a pretty public enterprise into the shadows more than ever, and made it more difficult for law enforcement to get a handle on it.” Investigators would not say if any of the online johns are suspects in the probe of a possible serial killer who dumped as many as 10 bodies along Gilgo Beach and Jones Beach. Still, law enforcement sources say the chilling online thread is the type of internet-based sex crime that attracted the FBI to the case. The four victims found in December – Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy and Megan Waterman, in addition to Costello – were craigslist hookers. All had been strangled and stuffed in burlap sacks. The bodies of a woman, a man, a child and an adult whose gender hasn’t been determined were found between March 29 and April 4. Two sets of unidentified remains were found on Monday. Shannan Gilbert, 24, a New Jersey hooker who vanished on the beach in May, is still missing. SMH. Was sh*t ever this real on Hunt’s Point? Source
As I reported earlier today, GetEQUAL ambushed Maggie Gallagher outside of this morning’s DOMA hearing to give her their “Anita Bryant Award” for bigotry. Watch Gallagher tangle with a GetEQUAL member after he denounces her hatred. Subscribe to Joe.My.God. Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Joe. My. God. Discovery Date : 15/04/2011 19:35 Number of articles : 4
Today On TDW: Geek — Above: 47 years of Doctor Who in 6 minutes . Cowboys & Aliens finally gets a full-length trailer . Concept art for Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes . Neil Gaiman developing American Gods into TV series for HBO . Want Portal 2 released early? Play some video games . Brand new Battlefield 3 gameplay trailer . The white iPhone is actually happening . Scott Adams caught praising himself… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : The Daily What Discovery Date : 16/04/2011 05:13 Number of articles : 3
Today On TDW: Geek — Above: 47 years of Doctor Who in 6 minutes . Cowboys & Aliens finally gets a full-length trailer . Concept art for Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes . Neil Gaiman developing American Gods into TV series for HBO . Want Portal 2 released early? Play some video games . Brand new Battlefield 3 gameplay trailer . The white iPhone is actually happening . Scott Adams caught praising himself… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : The Daily What Discovery Date : 16/04/2011 05:13 Number of articles : 3
