In the Spirit of the Holidays!

A Holiday Message from Ricky Gervais: Why I'm an Atheist

Happy Shortest Day of the Year!

(Which means starting tomorrow it's all downhill from here....)

OMG BTW WTF is HMU? IDK STFU, TTYL!

If you understood that title, as many of you did I'm sure, kudos. Isn't it somewhat bizzarre how present acronyms are in our lives these days? I recently read that HMU was the top status trend of 2010 on Facebook, reaching 80,000 mentions per day by the end of summer! Pretty incredible really, especially considering I had never even heard the term until I read that article. For my readers who are in the even slower lane than I am, HMU stands for Hit Me Up. As I wrote a few weeks ago, ZOMG is an acronym that's also new to me. Essentially meaning the same thing as OMG but an exaggerated version that was created by accident. It makes me wonder why certain acronyms appear in our vernacular and actually stick. I'm also curious how people first learn what these acronyms mean? Do they ask their friends? Look them up on the internet? Guess?

It's particularly amusing when someone you know thinks the term means something completely different from what it actually means. E.g. my brother thought LOL meant Lots Of Love for the first two years he was using it. Kinda cute huh? But also rather embarassing. I can't blame him, how would one know laughing out loud would become such a commonplace phrase (and one that I STILL won't get on board with). I just don't think that if you're actually laughing out loud, you would only write LOL - it seems a little timid. If I'm really howling, I'm clearly going to type out hahahahahaha, to display my enthusiasm. Or, if you're like a friend of mine, you could add an extra letter "R" in front of "LOL" to signify REALLY Laughing Out Loud, as opposed to faking it.

I took about 2 minutes to write down the acronyms I use on a semi-frequent basis (or at least am aware of what they mean) and the list is considerable:

LOL
LMAO

WTF
MILF
ROFL

OMG

ZOMG

ASAP
RSVP

FML

HU

WWJD
STFU
BTW
BRB
IDK
JK
TTYL
BFF
MO
NSFW

DTF (thank you Jersey Shore)

...and now let's add HMU to the list for good measure! What do you think the next popular acronym should be?

Is it a Bad sign when...

A subtle change on Facebook can actually really and truly startle you and shake you to the core (a bit)? Well, that just happened to me, and I'm sorry to say it's not the first time (It happened when they reduced the font size last month from a 12 to an 11 or something terrifying like that). Change is never something that's easy to take, but unexpected change is even harder. And when it comes from such a reliable steady source, it's just downright scary. I know during big website remodelings, Facebook sends out warnings weeks in advance and tutorials the instant you sign in. But for every smaller change, of which have appeared ad infinitum over the past 5 years, there's no such warning. And every time it's just as jarring as the time before. A few minutes ago I found myself browsing a friend's recent uploads, when the screen turned BLACK and the picture popped up. Immediately I thought I've caught a virus! I clicked on the wrong button! I downloaded something weird by accident! BY GOD, WHAT HAS HAPPENED? It turns out that Facebook has just decided to implement a new picture platform. And 5 mintues later (after restarting facebook, and checking with friends to assure myself  that it's not just my computer, I have screwed up nothing) I actually kinda really like it! It's more appealing to the eye for picture browsing. And just like last time, and the time before that, I take a deep breath, and embrace change. It will be okay.

Did this Santa just come from popping ecstasy at Pacha?

Bed Intruder Christmas Carol

And the Golden Globe SHOULD go to....

It's that time of the year again, AWARDS SEASON! Let's be real, The Golden Globes and Academy Awards are my Superbowl. The celebs, the gowns, the hype! And all culminating in a HUGE moment for the actors, writers, directors who regularly bring so much joy into my life. Based on The Golden Globe Nominee list which was released today, and the movies/tv shows I saw (or read reviews about), which granted, wasn't ALL of them, but a vast majority, here is my list of who I think most deserves to take home the awards:

• Best Motion Picture - Drama- The Social Netowrk
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama- Natalie Portman - Black Swan
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama- Colin Firth - The King's Speech
• Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical - The Kids Are All Right 
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical - Annette Bening - The Kids Are All Right 
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture- Comedy or Musical -Johnny Depp - Alice in Wonderland
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Helena Bonham Carter - The King's Speech
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Christian Bale - The Fighter
• Best Animated Feature Film- Toy Story 3
• Best Foreign Language FIlm - Biutiful
• Best Director - Motion Picture - Darren Aronofsky- Black Swan
• Best Screenplay - Aaron Sorkin - The Social Network
• Best Television Series - Drama - Mad Men
• Best Perfomance by an Actress in a Television Series- Drama - Julianna Marguiles - The Good Wife
• Best Perfomance by an Actor in a Television Series- Drama - Bryan Cranston - Breaking Bad
• Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical - Glee
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical  - Laura Linney - The Big C
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical - Steve Carell - The Office