Touching Tribute To Whitney Houston In Dubai

This was recorded at the Dubai Fountains earlier this afternoon.  Very touching.  Thought I would share.

Politically (In)correct Nail Polish Of The Day

My wife is a nail polish fiend.  I would estimate that she currently has nearly 300 bottles tucked away in a cabinet, which was specifically purchased to hold her collection.  As you can imagine, I've seen the gamut of bizarre names to describe the color of the polish in the bottle.

You may not know this, but there are a couple of manufacturers that specialize in colors designed for men.  One of my favorite makers is Manglaze.  They're a small company out of the Chicago area.  Just a couple of people.  They hand make all of their own products, still.

A little more than a year ago, I purchased a couple of colors from them for myself.  They were both in matte finish.  So, they were in no way glossy or sparkly.  And with names like "Matte is Murder" (black) and "Fuggen Ugly" (grey), you didn't feel too girly putting them on your fingers.

Well, I'm pleased to announce that they're recently debuted their latest color:  "Santorum".  You guessed it folks.  It's brown.

God bless America.

Isn't it a lovely "mix" of tones?

And yes, the bottle does read, "For Relaxing Times, Make It SANTORUM Time."

The color name is a limited edition.  From what I have read, once they sell out of their current stock of labels, they'll be changing the name of the product.  I'm buying a number of bottles this week.  One for personal use.  The others as keepsakes.  As the presidential race goes on, the value of this product is only going to go up.

At the moment, Manglaze is redesigning their website.  You can purchase a bottle of Santorum via Amazon.  Type in the code "OCCUPYME" at checkout and get 10% off the retail price.

My New Favorite Website

Perhaps I'm really late to the game, but I'm laughing my ass off at Ghetto Hikes.  According to it's creator, the page is maintained by a 28 year old that leads urban kids on nature hikes.  "I simply write down the shit they say."

Today's gem:

"We thought Thurman ova there havin' a seizure.  Turns out he just excited bout nature." 

A couple of my favorites in recent weeks include:

"Jamarcus mad cuz I change his Facebook status to say he like men, and he can't change it cause this forest ain't got no wifi." 

and,

"We in nature dawg.  Ain't no need dictionary words like beverage." 

If you don't have a Tumblr account, you can still follow the adventures of Mr. Cody on Facebook or Twitter.  Just click one of the links at the top of his website.   

Video: Whitney's Final Performance

On Thursday night, Whitney made her final appearance on the red carpet in nearly a year.  It was in honor of Kelly Price and Friends Unplugged:  For The Love Of R&B GRAMMY Party, at Tru Hollywood nightclub.  At one point during the evening, the 48 year old diva joined Ms. Price onstage, in what would ultimately become her last live performance:

Whitney Houston died earlier today.  The cause of her death is currently under investigation.

Breaking News: Whitney Houston, Dead At 48

Multiple news sources are confirming that legendary singer Whitney Houston has passed away at the age of 48.  While her publicist has refused to confirm the whereabouts of the singer's demise, TMZ is reporting that crime lab vehicles are stationed outside the Beverly Hilton hotel, and that sources are indicating that as Ms. Houston's location.

In the course of her career, Whitney sold over 200 million albums and singles, and ranks as the fourth best selling female artist of all time.  Though she publicly battled addiction at numerous times during her life, she will be remembered as one of the foremost influential artists of the century.

She will be missed.

 

Advertisement Of The Day

As many of you know, Rick Santorum has been trying to have Google take down their unflattering search results for his name.  The above advertisement is for an online porn company by the name of HotMovies.com (link is obviously NSFW).  If you have been on the PornHub or Spankwire networks, you've seen their work.  

Pure marketing genius.

Rick Santorum Speaks To CPAC (Video)

Yesterday, Rick Santorum made his case for President before attendees at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference, held in Washington D.C.  The convention is the annual meeting place for right-wing nutjobs and their hate group supporters to shit on anything that supports women, minorities, or the LGBT community.

In addition to the booths from recognized anti-gay, anti-immigrant, anti-Islamic, and white supremacist organizations, Thursday's conference included a speech from the head of the NAACPC.  Yes.  There's and extra "C" there.  He said, "We have to eliminate the hyphens.  First and foremost, we are all Americans. We're not Indian Americans or African Americans or what have you."  Yeah.  It's because African-Americans are segregating themselves that we have such a problem in this country.  Not because of anti-minority organizations like the NAACPC.  Riiiiight.


So, as you could imagine, the folks in attendance yesterday loved Santorum.


I am going to post the video of his speech, in full.  I have to say, it took all I could muster to get through the 22 minutes of bullshit.  If you would rather skip it, here's an overview:

• Obama is a fascist dictator.
• Democrats are trying to shove birth control pills down our children's throats.
• Scientists made up the idea of climate change.
• Clean energy is a joke.
• Higher energy consumption equals better living.
• The government is not above god.
• "Obamacare" goes against freedom of religion.

AND THE CROWD GOES WILD!!!!


At about 16:25 in the clip, Santorum ironically says that he supports the "Conservative vision of "Bottom up"".  Probably not the best phrase to use when your name is floating around the internet as an alternate definition regarding anal sex.  He used the "bottom up" phrase at least four times by my count.  How embarrassing.


As least he's not pimping his handicapped kid onstage like Sarah Palin used to.  That was beyond desperate.

1,000 Posts

This post marks a significant milestone for 'The Twitch'.  It's my 1,000th post.  When I started the site in September of 2009, it was with the intention of making it an online journal of sorts to document my newly diagnosed Tourette's Syndrome and PTSD.  I never would have thought that, two and a half years later, the page would have changed in the ways that it has to become was it is today.

In my 36 years of life, I have not followed through with 1,000 of anything.  I have consistently, time after time, given up when things have gotten difficult or required more effort than I was willing to put into it.  Piano lessons.  Saxophone lessons.  There was even a time in my early twenties, when I paid a year's worth of rental fees for a cello up front, with the intention of learning to play it.  It made for an interesting conversation piece to impress the ladies.  Multiple guitars.  Dozens of books, magazines and video games I have never finished.  To see that I am writing my thousandth post is truly surprising to see.  'The Twitch' has become my baby - my job in a way.

That being said:  If you are a regular reader of the site, or a friend of mine on Facebook, you've probably noticed the lack of posts coming from the website in recent weeks.  In September, I posted 118 articles.  In October, 80.  November and December saw less than two dozen each.  It's the 7th of February, and this is my first post of 2012.  Well, let's just say that my head isn't in the right place.

It's really hard to explain.

As most of you know, I have been dealing with a number of medical issues over the last year or so.  Lately, things have been seriously affecting my brain.  It has become increasingly difficult to express a coherent thought.

Writing seems to be easier than talking.  Still, during a large part of the day, I have trouble reading and spelling even the simplest of words.  It's extremely frustrating, considering that in the past, I was writing as many as a dozen posts per day.

In the coming days, I'm hoping to get myself motivated enough to start writing again on a semi-regular basis.  I have quite a bit to explain concerning my medical situation.  I have a number of new issues that will likely require a couple of major surgeries this year.  It's going to be a very long post, and I'm not really in the mood at the moment to write at length about what's keeping me bedridden.  Let's just say that it's not good.

As I was writing that last paragraph, this song started playing on Pandora.  I've heard it hundreds of times. It's one of my favorite tunes.  This time, however, the words took on a different meaning to me.  I'll be honest:  I cried a bit.

"What Are You Doing New Years Eve?" (Video)

So, what are your plans?

Staying home?  Going out?  Have a sitter this year?  Leave a comment and let me know.

As for the Twitch family, we're going to enjoy our new place.  We're inviting over a few friends (which is something we weren't able to do with our old one bedroom apartment).  Keeping it small, quiet and simple.

Happy New Year, everyone.

Hitler, John Boehner And Pirates

"Name Prince Harry's last three Halloween costumes."

Some Johnny Carson humor (for those of you over the age of 35).

If you use the internet, you need to be aware of SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act.  It's currently being debated in the House of Representatives.  It passed the House Judiciary Committee earlier this month, and is expected to pass the House with strong support within the next couple of months.

SOPA will essentially bring online censorship to a level seen currently in China or Iran.  That isn't an exaggeration.  The day to day online experience as you know it will cease to exist.

Let me give you an example.  Here is a video of my daughter dancing our living room last night:



In the background of the video, 'Across the Universe' was playing.  It was originally recorded by The Beatles, but in this case, was being sung by Rufus Wainwright.

If SOPA passes, Sony Music, the label that owns the rights to The Beatles catalogue, could approach YouTube calling for the removal of the video.  All it would take would be an email.  YouTube would be forced to remove it.  Also, by embedding the video on this post, they could, if they desired, send an email to Go Daddy, the company hosting my website, claiming copyright infringement.  Under the articles of SOPA, Go Daddy would be forced to shut down my website.  Completely wipe it from existence.

Not because of a court order from a judge.  Not due to a notice from the F.B.I. or any local law enforcement.  But from a single email message from someone claiming they hold a copyright on material I am displaying on my website.  They do not need to show any proof of ownership.  I do not have the opportunity to remove the material in question.  'The Twitch Online' simply ceases to exist.  Years of work for nothing.  No record that it was even there to begin with.

How does this effect you?

Think about it.  The sites you visit every day - YouTube, Facebook, Google and Wikipedia, just to name a few.  All of them will either disappear or change in such a way that they will become practically unrecognizable.

And, in the end, is this new legislation really going to stop anyone from downloading a shitty CD in order to avoid paying $13.99 for it at Target.  If people have the motivation to pirate (lack of selection/price), they're going to find a way to do so.

Another casualty of SOPA will be the internet meme.  One of my personal favorites is the "Hitler finds out about _____".  If SOPA is enacted, that too will be gone.  The clip is taken from the 2004 German film 'Downfall'.  The video, while extremely funny, is surprisingly accurate and educational.



So, what can you do about this.  Get involved.  Contact your Congressman.  You can go to americancensorship.org right now to be directed to the offices of your local representative.  At the site, you can also sign a petition being sent to the state department, and send an email to Congress asking that SOPA not pass.  So far, more than 780,000 people have done so.

If this bill would have passed a decade ago, think about how different your life would have been.  If this bill passes in 2012, think about how different the internet will be for your children.  The internet was never intended to be policed to such a degree.  If the U.S. government can tell us what we can and can't say, watch or listen to online, what's next?

Was George Orwell just off by 30 years? 

Quote Of The Day

“Every barrel of oil that comes out of those sands in Canada is a barrel of oil that we don’t have to buy from a foreign source."

 - Rick Perry, speaking at a campaign stop in Clarinda, Iowa. 


And the home schooled crowd went wild...

In Memoriam: Bands We Lost In 2011 (Video)

In the spirit of the montage we have become accustomed to seeing during Oscar telecasts, stereogum has made a video of the bands that have broken up over the course of the year.

As with the awards show "In Memoriam" segments, there's the sporadic swell in applause.  There are the occasional superstar/A-List bands, scattered amongst the sea of bands that 98% of people have never heard of (unless there is a true fan out there).  The clip even features a couple of moments that catch you off guard, just like the Emmys do every goddamn year.

"Oh my god...LCD Soundsystem broke up?!?"

It's really quite clever.  Take a look.

Mashup Monday - 'Good Feeling'

For my final "Mashup Monday" post of 2011, logic would say to feature DJ Earworm's annual United State of Pop mashup.  It's where he takes the 25 biggest hits of the year and mashes them together.  Truth is:  Other than Adele's '21', pop music sounded like utter shit.

Instead, I thought I would share the latest track from Norwegian Recycling.  He debuted it last Tuesday night.  Called 'Good Feeling', it incorporates elements of the following tunes:

• Katy Perry - 'The One That Got Away
• Coldplay - Fix You
• David Guerra w/ Usher - Without You
• AVICII - Levels
• Black Eyed Peas - The Time
• Britney Spears - Hold It Against Me
• Britney Spears - Till The World Ends
• Bryan Adams - Summer of '69
• Chris Brown - Yeah 3X

It's not the best mashup in his catalogue, but still a great song.

Merry Christmas

May your holiday season be filled with magic and wonder.

'Miracle On 42nd Street' (Video)

May your Holidays be merry and gay...



Is it just me, or is he a hell of a lot better than she'll ever be?