saraewood.com » entertainment

Finally, a most excellent use of the “social web”

Sara — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 07:21:50 +0000

I was a little late to the Old Spice party… but, I hope the Old Spice marketing people all got huge raises.

Goes something like this:

Make Old Spice commercial
Spawning Old Spice twitter stream.
Twitter users directing tweets to @OldSpice.
Old Spice commercial man responds on YouTube (in this case, to Ashton Kutcher).
Twitters about his new YouTube response.
Ensuing more discussion on Twitter where Twitter users send more tweets to @OldSpice.
And sometimes even on Reddit.
Or Facebook.
And also on media outlets.

Utterly brilliant.

Aaaah, the internet

Sara — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:41:44 +0000

This morning a friend sent me a link to a video of a fight on a bus in Oakland because, as she put it, “I know you love trashy.” Which, in the 24 hours since it was posted, has garnered 654,889 views and 10,948 ratings.

Then came the related Craigslist ad (since deleted) that said:

Bus Fight – 22 (oakland west)
Date: 2010-02-16, 4:20PM PST

You were on the 805 in purple spandex, I wasn’t there but I saw the video. Old man beat up young black guy; you just sat there with your headphones on. If you’re single I would love to meet up and talk about how cute you are.

PostingID: 1604132287

(She was pretty cute, I went back to look.)

Then came the over vigilant SFist on the case with latest updates and background information. Mainly about how the person who shot the video (who was also, I presume, the voice egging the two men on) granted a local TV news interview. And how the old white dude who beat up the young black dude, according to some random other dude, used to “… walk by my shop, wave a loaf of sourdough in my face, and scream obscenities about the San Francisco 49?ers.” Oh, and he was also apparently tasered at an A’s game last year.

It seems there is not a whole lot an internet full of drama-addicted gossip hounds armed with video cameras, google and craigslist can’t find out. I mean, how else would you know everything about Julia Allison and her love sagas. Or how The Sartorialist and Garance Dore are dating. Or who wins The Bachelor even before the season starts.

Man, I love the internet.

UPDATE: Buy the tee shirt!

MORE!: The fun never ends. (Thanks to Josh for all the new links!)
http://memegenerator.net/Instances/646/Iyanna-Washington-IM-IN-YOUR-BUSSES-STEALIN-YOUR-BAGS.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/56guk.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTIbFJrUYF0&feature=player_embedded

http://i49.tinypic.com/okwkeh.jpg

AMBER LAMPS: Fan page

Never forget the tragic events of May 21, 2008

Sara — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 00:43:19 +0000

Berenstain Bears

Sara — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 18:29:09 +0000

With their hokey way of talking and hillbilly ways, they annoy me. And, as Huned points out, Brother and Sister get along way too well to be remotely interesting.

Like in the episode “Out for the Team”:

Brother and Sister are good baseball players and both sign up to try out for the Bear Country Cardinals. The problem is, thereâ€™s only one position left on the team. Worried about the humiliating possibility of losing to his talented kid sister, Brother backs out of the competition. Sister has some encouraging words for Brother which inspire him to stick with it. The two cubs practice for the big tryout together.

I mean, COME ON! I don’t know about you, but growing up in my family, that episode would have gone something like this:

Brother and Sister are not terrible, but not great either baseball players and both sign up to try out for the Bear Country Cardinals. The problem is, thereâ€™s only one position left on the team. Worried about the humiliating possibility of losing to his ~~talented~~ kid sister, Brother beats the shit out of his Sister after she steals and destroys his baseball glove. Sister has some ~~encouraging~~ choice words for Brother which inspire him to stick with it just so he can show her that she is inferior. They forget their differences soon after the big tryout when they are immediately absorbed in their next big adventure: Who hid the Oreos?

Though my kids seem to like them, I think that is merely a byproduct of them just wanting to watch whatever is on. Since PBS Sprout is still their channel of choice, that means the Berenstain Bears is often what is on. Ugh.

At least they are better than Caillou (don’t get me started on that one). And I have, so far, completely avoided letting my kids watch Barney. At least that I know of.

The lives of others

Sara — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 17:15:36 +0000

Long been on my to-see list, I watched “The Lives of Others” on the plane — until my battery died right at the moment (spoiler alert) they came to search the apartment. I had to wait 7 hours thinking about all the possible endings til I arrived in Dublin, bought a plug converter and found a non-smashed outlet to use during the layover.

The movie is now in my top 5, if not top 3. Set in East Berlin, 1984, the plot centers around a playwright, his actress girlfriend and his artist friends with the most complex character-study being that of the career Stasi officer assigned to keep them under surveillance.

The acting is subtle, mesmerizing. The cinematography is stunning. The set design and costumes impeccable (I actually caught myself wanting one of those East Berlin apartments and admiring some of their clothes and furniture).

The movie, without a doubt, deserved the Oscar it won for best foreign language film.