Barbara's Meanderings

There is an article in the March issue of The Sun magazine, which has awesome articles. I thought they would have it online, but they have the February one now. You should definitely check this out. The article in the March issue is about how the internet is changing the way we think. It's called "Computing the Cost" by Arnie Cooper. It's an interview with Nicolas Carr who discusses how the internet has actually rewired our brains and we are thinking differently. You can get this magazine at any bookstore and after looking at a typical issue you might want to even subscribe to it. Or you can wait until they post this issue online, probably when they send the April one. My husband does and there's always something worthwhile to read in it.:)

A couple of posts ago I talked about how we might have a discussion about this subject. If you remember the article: "Why Facebook is for Old Fogies". On the heels of that article comes several more about the effects of Facebook and Twitter. Here is one : "Are Twitter, Facebook Health Hazards? and another "Twittering brains withering, expert warns" and one more in The Daily News, "Are Facebook, MySpace and Twitter eroding attention spans?" If you are interested and want to see more go here.

So armed with all this information I would like to know how you feel about it. Please leave your comments and I will try to answer as many as I can. A lot of people have been waiting for this post, so I hope that you will chime in with your opinion.:) Personally, I like Facebook, but it can get tedious. I love my friends and I love hearing from them, but sometimes answering all the requests and making sure you've saved the rain forest and the oceans is also time-consuming.:) I am personally addicted to Scramble.:) Also, I do love meeting all the people there and being able to network with all of you cool guys!! Looking forward to your responses.:)

Now for the blog I am highlighting today it is going to be: Cpaphil Vintage Postcards. I love to visit this unusual blog, because Marie, the author always has something different and exciting for us to see. She will link a vintage postcard to an event or an experience and it becomes very personal or she'll give us the history of it. One of her entries is about the French flag. Did you know that the original French flag had green instead of blue? That is only one of the fascinating things you can learn on her blog. The one after that was about a Napoleon question and Marie posted the answer she received from the historian David Markham so we could all learn about the history too. Marie has a large assortment of postcards and I am looking forward to viewing as many as I can when I have time. She offers some of them for sale, and she also encourages people to send her any that they have. It makes me want to dig into my souvenirs to see if I have any that I can send to her.:) Once you have visited this blog you will want to go back there every day. Just seeing those beautiful postcards and learning more about their history brightens my day!

The last thing I want to talk about is American Idol. It was the second week and there were twelve more hopefuls tonight. It's sad that when it comes to actually performing some of these people pick the songs that make them sound the worst. Don't they listen to themselves? Or are they doing them well in rehearsal and then messing up when they're in front of the audience? I admit that four judges is a bit much. Three was daunting, but imagine facing four of them? Also, they don't always agree and that creates tension. All I can say is no matter what the pundits say I loved Adam Lambert. He brings an energy and a voice that I sorely missed in most of the contestants tonight. Plus he is really good looking and that doesn't hurt.:) For the girls I am mixed, but I did like Allison Iraheta. For a sixteen year old she has some voice!! And even though he is doing the same shtick I liked Norman Gentle or Nick Mitchell (his real name). He is funny and every time I see him he makes me laugh. I've seen that quality in only a few people on the stage and most of them went on to do great things. When he was just starting out Gabriel Gottfried had that quality. I saw him at Catch a Rising Star in New York City and I thought I'd burst my stomach I laughed so hard. He did crazy things I'd never seen anyone else do. He got on TV and now is pretty much ensconced in comedy lore.

You have to applaud someone who wants to do anything for a laugh. Nick Mitchell is that kind of person. It is a bit schlocky, but it's his personality and he has great timing. He might have changed the song though. Simon was really getting disturbed about him. I don't care, but it would be fun to see what a comedian on the show might do to it. Might spice things up a bit.:) It's all up to the voting. We never vote until the last couple of shows. So we won't have any say in this. :) Here's a page where you can find out everything about American Idol.

But for sheer comedy I can't end this without talking about Gov. Jindal who has proved to be the most entertaining politician since Sarah Palin.:) There is no question that he reminded me immediately of Kenneth on "30 Rock". It was his delivery and his open eyed wonder that did it. He didn't look like a governor. Instead he seemed more like some IT guy who stopped by to see if he could fix your computer. He spouted lies and nonsense and did little for the Republicans but bring them more embarrassment. It's odd how much they can take!!

Until the next time. I hope you have a great rest of the week. One more thing I wanted to tell you. A friend of mine sent me a link to this great movie site. You can watch movies for free, like hulu.com. These are first run movies still in movie theaters like "Revolutionary Road" and "Australia". The name of the site is ParadoxCentral. You register and then you can watch all of these movies for FREE!!!!! I can't wait to take advantage of this soon. Enjoy!!!!