So, I was out at the bar with some coworkers last week, and a guy started talking about “The New Facebook.”

“There’s a ‘new’ Facebook?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he replied. “Is it bad that I want to go home right now just to try it out?”

“Definitely,” I responded. “Stay here and get drunk. New Facebook will be waiting when the bar closes.”

Facebook has had quite the impact on American pop culture. I mean, really? This guy wanted to leave the bar to try it!? Whenever there’s even a minimal change in the layout and operation of the social network, it causes an uproar.

Remember when mini-feed first popped up? Immediately, groups sprouted all over the internet:
“Down with Mini-Feed!”
“Boycott F/B if They Don’t Get Rid of Mini-Feed Immediately!”
“Facebook Makes Stalking Easier with Mini-Feed!”

You get the point. Of course, now we’re all used to the program, and many of us keep updated via mini-feed every day: “Hey, I saw on Mini-Feed that you got a new job, congratulations!”

So, even though I’m hesitant to add too many applications (I don’t like that we have to check a box giving the ‘application’ full access to the info in our profiles), and even though I’m fully content keeping tabs on my friends the “old way,” I decided to check out the hullabaloo that is The New Facebook. Read More »

It’s been a solid thirty minutes since you set up shop at the library and somehow you can’t quite get past the first line of chapter one.

Your eyes have been wandering over to gaze at that cute boy in your American Lit class (Damn, he’s got nice arms), you’ve gotten up to use the bathroom about ten times (What? You had to pee) and you’ve perused through your roomie’s new photo album on Facebook (Where’s that pic of you in that tennis ho outfit?).

We’ve seen it a thousand times and you know what it’s called: procrastination. Unfortunately, friends, we’re pretty much sabotaging ourselves.

Why? Two procrastination experts – yes, they study our laziness for a living – came up with a Top 10 list (but be forewarned: one of the psychologists is Canadian).

10. For 20 percent of the population, procrastination is a lifestyle. On college campuses, we thought 87 percent sounded more accurate, but we’re no psychologists.

9. Our culture doesn’t take procrastination as a serious problem. They say there’s more of it in the U.S. because we’re nice people and don’t call others out on their laziness. We believe the doctors have never visited New York City or driven through rush hour traffic in Los Angeles.

8. Procrastinators don’t have time management problems but are more optimistic about time than others. Read More »

Thursday night rolls around and being ready in time for the nightly festivitives of beer pong and flip cup requires that you skip your weekly date with the doctors of Seattle Grace.

No big deal, now that you can catch it on abc.com tommorrow right?

Well, to the Writers Guild (those in charge of writing every show you watch on TV) it’s more than a big deal.

So much so that today the writers decided to do something about it… picket signs, matching t-shirts, megaphones and all that hullabaloo- everyone loves a strike!

How does this affect you? Here’s the breakdown:

The Writers Guild (all 12,000 of them) feels they deserve residual payments for movies and TV shows viewed on the internet. Why shouldn’t they get a portion of the profit now that you can watch their work on the internet post walk of shame?

Yet the producers claim that the new media is still too new to figure out a way to compenstate their writers.

So what exactly does this mean for all of us die-hard TV watchers? Read More »

Not even a month into my senior year of college and I’ve already skipped two classes, started my homework for all of them the night before or the morning of class, and most impressively, have yet to even open the textbook for one class. It looks like this will be my finest year of procrastination yet.

My procrastination however, is actually quite productive in its own way.

I don’t simply lounge around on the couch and troll Facebook to see what my best friend from elementary school is up to these days. I mean of course I do that too, but you’d be surprised at how effective your time-wasting can actually be, aside from effectively lowering your GPA. Check out these sites next time you’re procrastinating, which will likely be within in the next 24 hours:

Watch TV on alluc.org
This site has years of procrastination in store for you, from anime cartoons to movies to guilty-pleasure TV shows from simpler days. “Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place,” anyone?

Get Life Advice at tomatonation.com
This gal Sara “Sars” Bunting is a humor writer and totally addictive. You’ll find all sorts of essays on her site, but it’s her advice column that has me refreshing her page an alarming number of times a day. Best of all? Her advice archives are separated into categories, so no matter what your current life drama, you’ll find some sound advice or at least some comfort in knowing that you’re not alone in your all-consuming hatred for your roommate’s cat and why won’t it stop peeing on the couch?! Read More »

Procrastination is always something I’ve been really good at.

Now that You Tube has made a permanent mark in all of our lives, procrastination has been easier than ever, making useful hours fly by and turn into a waste of clips and videos.

One professor at Pitzer College is trying to change this.

Alexandra Juhasz is a media studies professor at the liberal arts college, and is teaching a course on the usefulness and the phenomenon of You Tube.

As someone who spends a lot of time on the website, I have yet to find its inherent “usefulness” but I’m hoping Ms. Juhasz and her students let us all know what they come up with.

Of course we all saw how wonderfully effective the You Tube debates were, and how insightful the user questions were.

The idea is good and the intention is nice. But really those of us who sit on You Tube all day watching our favorite clips from “Family Guy,” maintain that the site’s usefulness lies in the fact that it’s completely useless. Read More »

True to my procrastinating nature, I have yet to begin my summer diet-exercise regimen. And, like any adept procrastinator would, I’ve spent the past month coming up with excuses for why I’ll hit the gym and pick up a yogurt “starting tomorrow.”

In the spirit of making excuses, I’m going to pardon myself and the rest of the lazy gals who have, too, put off their summer 2007 workout plans. The excuse? Summer didn’t officially start until yesterday.

So while there’s no point in regretting our inactivity thus far, I do think it’s about time to step up our game and make up for lost time.

And I’ve got the perfect assistant to help you get back on track: “Tank Top Arms, Bikini Belly, Boy Shorts Bottom.” It’s not just a catchy title. This workout delivers a solid total body workout that’ll prep you for each of the three clothing items referenced.

Minna Lessig, who’s apparently an at-home exercise guru, leads the workout, which is broken down into six sections: warm up; tank top arms; bikini belly; boy shorts bottom; total-body workout; and cool down. Read More »

YOU MUST CHOOSE:

“Would you rather be caught masturbating by your grandmother…. Or vice versa?”

“Would you rather relax in a Jacuzzi of a stranger’s saliva? OR have diarrhea in a gravity free chamber?”

Sure I have better things to be doing with my time right now, like uh, write my final paper for one, but studying the art of procrastination seemed like a better idea. So now,here I am five hours later bringing you, dear readers, the most fun game of life. Period.

The “Would you rather” books by Justin Heimberg and David Gomberg give you hundreds of ridiculous dilemmas that you will never actually come across. They are exactly what every college student should have for a study break, a drinking game, or just an instant pick-me-up. Read More »

When I first used the Google Earth program a year ago, I was fascinated that this kind of technology was possible. But, after stalking my neighborhood and locating my apartment on a 3-D world map, I really had no more use for it. I merely filed it away as something cool to mess around on when bored or while procrastinating, and only if facebook was temporarily unavailable.

Now, it is being used to raise awareness of the genocide in Darfur. It was recently announced that Google and the Holocaust Memorial Museum teamed up to create this extra feature. Supposedly, the high-resolution imagery lets users zoom into the Darfur region and view more than 1,600 damaged and destroyed villages. No matter how many articles you see about this issue, nothing compares to seeing the actual conditions through pictures and video.

As college students, it’s easy to hibernate in our own safe little worlds and not pay attention to what is going on internationally. And I am definitely guilty of this as well. But, once in awhile, it’s a good idea to educate yourself on current events. And hey, at least it’ll give you something to talk about with that hottie in your political science class.

Read More »

Do you really want to write that paper on Proust?

Oh you’re sitting in the library with your scholarly glasses on, short skirt to impress the studious hotties, L.L. Bean tote filled with healthy snacks like 35 calorie clementines (I learned that from a lightweight rower. Those guys always have all the best diet tips…) but do you really want to be working? Come on, just surf for a little while…nobody will even know. It will still look like you’re being productive. You know you want to. It will feel so good.

Think outside the facebook too. That shit is passe. Plus you will look like such a creep-fest facebooking in the library. Read More »

I came across “39 Tips for Writing An Amazing Final Paper” on funny-linkdump.stumbleupon.com. And they’re right on. Except there’s no mention of incessant facebooking. Just read ‘em. You’ll see what I mean.

1. Sit in a straight, comfortable chair in a well lit place in front of your computer.

2. Log onto AIM. Check your email.

3. Read over the assignment carefully, to make certain you understand it.

4. Walk down to the vending machines and buy some chocolate to help you concentrate.

5. Check your email.

6. Call up a friend and ask if he/she wants to go to grab a coffee. Just to get settled down and ready to work.

7. When you get back to your room, sit in a straight, comfortable chair in a clean, well lit place.

8. Read over the assignment again to make absolutely certain you understand it.

9. Check your email.

10. You know, you haven’t written to that kid you met at camp since fourth grade. You’d better write that letter now and get it out of the way so you can concentrate.
Read More »