My Thermos

Just the other day, fed up with the Social Media whores and blatant promotionalism I'm seeing on Twitter, I mentioned that "There is a fine line between promotion and douchebaggery. Some step way over it."

Douchebaggery.

I think it's a good word - and I'm glad to see it become sort of the standard term for the folks who are bastardizing Twitter. The folks at Tweetsum even provide you with a DBI, or Douche Bag Index of your followers so you can determine if they are worth the effort to follow back.

I've always been pretty vocal about my disdain for folks gaming the system, the mass follow / unfollow schemes, the auto Direct Messages, the perception that all follows need to be reciprocal etc - in general the douchebaggery of a large portion of the Twitter population.

But while I have shared scattered thoughts on message boards and on Twitter itself, it's Adam Darowski that presents what is the definitive guide on the subject - How To Use Twitter and Not Be a Douchebag

As if I wasn't already a big fan of Adam and his insane markup skills, this fantastic article should be required reading at registration.

If you use Twitter, you should read this. If you are thinking about using Twitter, you should read this. If you think you might be a douchebag - you should definitely read this.

SB

We owe so much to the brave men and women of our armed forces who have sacrificed to preserve the principles of freedom and democracy.

"Memorial Day Order"

I. The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form or ceremony is prescribed, but Posts and com­rades will, in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit. (via)

On June 6th, I will be participating in a local American Cancer Society Relay For Life Event.

In the Relay, our team (The Panda-moniums) will camp out at a local school and take turns walking or running around the track. Relays are an overnight event, up to 24 hours in length and we'll have a team representative on the track at all times during the event.

Relay For Life is a life-changing event that brings together more than 3.5 million people to:

• Celebrate the lives of those who have battled cancer. The strength of survivors inspires others to continue to fight.
• Remember loved ones lost to the disease. At Relay, people who have walked alongside people battling cancer can grieve and find healing.
• Fight Back. We Relay because we have been touched by cancer and desperately want to put an end to the disease.

My mother is a cancer survivor so I am grateful to be able to participate in this event with her.

Thank you for your good wishes and for your support - however you wish to offer it.

Scott

I've ignored the Musical Meme Mistress for too long so here is her mission from yesterday.

Its time for a fun little game of 5 and 10

Pick 10 of your favorite artists and list 5 songs they do that you like:

This seems like a great way to introduce any new readers to my Build Your Own Best Of (BYOBO) series - in it I pick an artist and list 10-15 songs that would appear on their best of release.

These aren't greatest hits, and I sometimes get a lot of grief about what I don't include, but I make no apologies. Feel free to add your thoughts to the comments.

So here goes - Click the artist name to get to the full list:

Peter Gabriel

"A Wonderful Day In A One Way World" - Peter Gabriel (2)
"The Drop" - Up
"Family Snapshot" - Peter Gabriel (3)
"Here Comes The Flood" - Peter Gabriel (1)
"Home Sweet Home" - Peter Gabriel (2)

Elton John

"All the Girls Love Alice" - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
"Amoreena" - Tumbleweed Connection
"Burn Down The Mission" - Tumbleweed Connection
"Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" - Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
"Grey Seal" - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Lyle Lovett

"Creeps Like Me" - I Love Everybody
"Fiona" - The Road To Ensenada
"Good Intentions" - Lyle Lovett & His Large Band
"Her First Mistake" - The Road To Ensenada
"I Know You Know" - Joshua Judges Ruth

Paul McCartney

"Back Seat of My Car" - Ram
"Every Night" - McCartney
"Golden Earth Girl" - Off The Ground
"Here Today" - Tug of War
"Junk" - McCartney

Continue reading "Tuesday Tunes - Week 82" »

Heartbreak A Stranger
(Bob Mould)
Virgin
Bob Mould / Workbook

Days come, days go by
So it matters, so you say
But it's all coming back in a way
And nothing will ever change
The words exchanged for revenge inside
You know these things take time

Now and then, these words
Make me laugh so powerful
Going through several lies
They've never been so true

I know that I'm used to time
You know what it is, don't you?
Some words make us all cry
It's so talented

If anybody could read my mind
And share with me these thoughts
Of all the enemies left behind
And friends that time forgot
Pretending nothing could ever faze you
Well, some things never change
Tell me why do these words ring home
How can you heartbreak a stranger?

Days come, days go by
So it matters, so you say
But it's all coming back in a way
And everyone knows a way
And everybody runs away
From somebody who cries



Think I can also put this post in the "Holy shit this album came out 20 years ago" category.

Nice photo by Gaelen Hadlett (via)