New stuff

I remember when I used to work at Mincom, there was an internal mailing list called “Mincom-social”. Anyone could post social based messages there – items for sale, parties, end-of-month drinks, etc. One day we got this e-mail from our dear friend Slick, to the tune of: “Hi everyone, here’s some items that I bought from the supermarket recently that I really enjoyed”. The only one I can remember was a certain brand of ice-cream.

Of course, we all thought he had been pranked – that someone had sent an e-mail from his computer while he was away from his desk (note: always lock your PC when you’re not there!). But it turned out that the e-mail was indeed sent from him. Mockery and humiliation followed in rather heavy doses.

But, truth be told, it was a courageous thing to do. And what’s more, I believe the best way of finding out new things is by a recommendation. So with that in mind, here’s my recommendation for some new stuff that I’ve been enjoying lately.

Chevelle: A Chicago based trio who sound (to me at least) like a mixture of Muse and Tool. Not good for those of you who prefer to listen to 4BH, but most other people should be able to find some enjoyment here. I highly recommend their tracks Panic Prone and The Clincher.

start.com: Customizable web portals have been around for ages, but this is the first one that I’ve seen which is truly cool. And, it’s completely driven by Ajax which to the technically challenged means it’s fast, lightweight, and dynamic. Give it a whirl for yourself – and make sure you try clicking on one of the news stories to see the way that they popup. Very nice.

Beauty and the Geek: Lets not kid ourselves here; this is still reality TV. But this show is funny. Basically the premise is that 8 “beauties” (good looking girls with average educations) team up with 8 corresponding “geeks” (uber-intelligent guys with awkward social skills), and they live together for a number of weeks to see what they can learn from one another. At the end of the day, they each gain a better understanding of where the other is coming from, so the girls realise that there’s more to them than just their looks, and the guys become more confident and outgoing.

The thing that makes it hilarious to watch though is the interactions between them. Some of the quotes from the beauties are especially funny; here’s some examples from their auditions:

Q: Where does roast beef come from?
A: Arby’s? (note for readers: Arby’s is an American fast food joint)

Q: What is the sun?
A: It’s a planet. But it’s too hot to live on, that’s why we haven’t gone there yet.

Q: If you’re in California, and you’re facing towards the Atlantic Ocean, which direction are you facing?
A: Left?

Priceless.