How Can YOU Stop Global Warming?
Posted on 10 April 2007 | 3 responses
Last week, I received an email that Sheryl Crow was playing a free concert at SMU along with the Stop Global Warming College Tour. So my roomate and I thought, why not go? I mean, it’s Sheryl Crow and it’s free!
We arrived early in order to get a prime spot, just five rows back from Sheryl and her guitar. We didn’t know that much about global warming, except of course that we shouldn’t waste so much energy and that it is a big topic on Capital Hill. So we sat and waited for what we thought would be a short informative talk followed by a “rockin” concert, but were we ever wrong.
In walks Laurie David, yes wife of Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who spoke to us about global warming, what is causing it, what will happen if we don’t change our ways and how we can do something about it.
My eyes were suddenly opened.
Whether you believe that global warming exists or not, there is one thing that everyone should believe, all political beliefs aside: We, as humans and as Americans, are extremely wasteful. Think about how many times you throw away plastic or paper packaging each day. How many times do you drink a bottle of water and instead of refilling it with more water, you simply throw it away and get a new bottle. How many times do you leave your cell phone or iPod charger plugged into the wall when it is not in use? I know I used to until last night.
We need to be more conscious of how we, as citizens of the world, are polluting it. We have gotten to be so wasteful and have taken for granted the delicate state of our environment. As Laurie David said last night, each and every one of us is an environmentalist, whether we say we are or not, because we enjoy being outside and we enjoy the beauty of nature. If we want our children and our children’s children to enjoy the same environment that we love and enjoy, then we cannot simply dump all of our trash on it. We cannot waste electricity which will result in more polluting coal plants being built.
We cannot as human beings keep living this way with a clear conscious.
So as I get down from my virtual soapbox, I hope that you all will first visit StopGlobalWarming.org and join the Virtual March. Second, be aware of your energy consumption, unplug electronic devices when they are not in use, switch to energy saving light bulbs and don’t buy that new gas-guzzling SUV. Third, tell others and even write your local government if you feel so moved. The only way that we will ever be able to stop all the waste and pollution is by getting the word out. Also check out BecomeGreen.com, a wonderful site with great tips on how to become green and help the environment.
And for those of you in college somewhere, check out the Stop Global Warming College Tour (Sheryl did put on an incredibly “rockin” show), you can read about last night on Sheryl Crow’s blog.
And if Sheryl and Laurie ever get to read this, I hope you realize the impact you made on my roomate and I with just your words and your music. Thank you.
“Walnut Hill”–The Ursuline Academy Music Video
Posted on 9 April 2007 | No responses
So I was sent the link to this YouTube video months ago, but now that I have my own blog, I just could not resist posting it. It’s teachers at my old high school, Ursuline, lip syncing to a re-written Weezer song. It is so entertaining to see some of my old teachers like Ms. Bush and Mr. Jensen among others, in the video. While you might only find this funny if you had also gone to Ursuline, maybe when you watch it, just imagine your old high school teachers doing something like this!
Peter Bjorn and John–Young Folks
Posted on 9 April 2007 | No responses
My favorite song of the moment is “Young Folks” is by the Swedish indie rock band, Peter Bjorn and John. They have a unique sound that just doesn’t get old. Their music video for Young Folks is on YouTube and has gotten almost 1.5 million views. Check it out here, it will change your life.
Check out their myspace page too.
Google AdWords Qualified Professional
Posted on 5 April 2007 | 1 response
I recently took the test and became a Google AdWords Qualified Professional. I’m pretty excited about it. You can check out the cool logo I now get to display, on my About page.
31 Different Ways to Tie Your Shoe
Posted on 4 April 2007 | No responses
When I was younger, I learned the “make a bunny ear and loop around then pull the other bunny ear through the hole” method. A perfectly good way to tie my shoe, that has now worked for 20+ years. However, today I stumbled upon a site that illustrates 31 different ways you can tie your shoe. I never knew there were so many! It most certainly deserves a look or two.
Blondes vs. Brunettes
Posted on 26 March 2007 | 4 responses
Sure blondes have more fun, but are brunettes really smarter?
One hair care company has taken a new approach to differentiating themselves from the competition. Sunsilk has created several commercials and a fancy new website pitting blondes against brunettes, fighting it out to see what color is better.
On the site, each hair color has its own “VIP lounge” that leads to a page to download wallpapers, IM icons and MySpace enhancers, hear jokes and participate in secret experiments to earn points for your team. You can also recruit a blonde or brunette to earn more points for your team. So far, the brunettes are winning (unfortunately) with over 383,000 points compared to the over 282,000 points for the blondes. I personally think the blondes are all out having more fun rather than poking around the site, but I know, I’m biased.
Here’s my favorite TV commercial:
On the serious side though, it’s a great branding concept that is appealing and humorous to all blondes and brunettes. But will it help sell products? I guess it depends on who wins this showdown in the end.
Planet Earth
Posted on 23 March 2007 | 1 response
A new series on The Discovery Channel, gives an in-depth look at animal life on planet earth through the help of high-definition cameras. I saw the two film makers interview this morning on the Today Show and it was incredible to hear their stories. It took them 4 years to film everything and another year to edit. These guys went to great lengths to capture amazing, never before seen shots of wild animals. Here is the trailer for the Planet Earth series that airs this Sunday, March 25th through April 22nd.
**Fact: The shark you see jump out of the water to eat a seal occurs in one second. They used a camera that slows down one second to last for 40 seconds in order to see this shocking event.
A Clicking Curiosity
Posted on 23 March 2007 | No responses
What goes on in a person’s mind to make them click on one internet ad over another? It’s an answer that every marketing and advertising professional is dying to know. It’s something they can’t learn just from asking someone why they clicked, because half the time the person doesn’t even know why themselves.
Today I came across an ad and suddenly felt the urge to click. The ad was for an upcoming movie called Knocked Up, staring Grey’s Anatomy actress Katherine Heigl. Anyone can clearly infer what the movie is about from its title, but the small text at the bottom of the ad which reads “Watch Restricted Trailer†really ignited my curiosity. I mean, how scandalous could a movie trailer be? So I clicked.
In order to see the trailer, I had to enter my name, birthday and zip code. And they weren’t joking around, fake names didn’t work. I actually think they ran a small background check on me. Shortly after they verified my age, I viewed this notorious trailer, both versions of it.
And so, this small line of text that made the movie seem so exclusive and selective worked on me. But why not create a PG-13 trailer available to all? Because some marketing person hundreds of miles away knew that if the trailer was restricted, more people would want to view it. It worked. They successfully created a spark of interest in my mind that left me wanting more.
So are you curious? Are you asking yourself, Taylor just how shocking is this trailer? Well, you’re just going to have to feed your own curiosity with one simple click.
How Websites Are Successful
Posted on 21 March 2007 | 2 responses
Anyone can create a website and put it on the world wide web, the key is learning how to get noticed, how to have a successful website. Working for a web design company, I have become increasingly familiar with the steps anyone must take in order to achieve success on the web.
These five things are key:
Here is an incredibly informative post detailing these Five Cornerstones of Successful Websites.
My First Time
Posted on 17 March 2007 | No responses
The blogosphere is nothing new to me, I read several blogs a day for valuable information, however I must admit, this is my first blog. I hope to learn some valuable information in this process as well as share some of my ideas and do what I love, writing. I’m not sure yet what direction I will take, be it personal, professional or a melting pot of both, but I promise to have some valuable information and new weekly posts. Stay tuned, I think its going to be a good ride.