Monday Kickstart: Back to School

Back when I was in college, the most mature insult I—and the others in whatever circle of friends or like-minded fellow 20-somethings happened to be gathered—could throw at a collection of individuals is to say it was "like a high school." Our small liberal arts college's proclivity for gossip? So high school. The way people bickered over petty bullshit in my family? What were they, freshmen in high school?

And the internet? With its rumors, unsolicited opinions, and unsubstantiated accusations? The internet acts just like a big high school.



You have to watch that about 10 times to pick up on all of the websites and references they throw into it. Well done, Cracked. Though, unless I overlooked it, I notice that they didn't put themselves into it, which feels a little catty. A little immature. A little...high school.

This week we turn to Ms. Ruby Palm for inspiration, for two reasons: (1.) she's a proud L.A. gal; (2.) she's got more curves than Highway 1:

Let's go.

Wireless Routing

Ever feel a little too plugged in? In today's tweeting, friend-suggesting, blog-linking, 24-hour-news-breaking culture, it's easy to get overwhelmed by the constant flow of information coming at you from every angle. One NYC man, Mark Malkoff, has set out to unplug from the Matrix and let his mind detox.

So I’ve recently come to terms that I’m an online addict. It’s a struggle to get anything accomplished because of my addiction which includes: Email, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and especially online news sites. I go multiple times an hour to Huffington Post, Drudge, Deadline Hollywood, CNN, Fox News, The Daily Beast, NY Post, and NY Daily News. Twitter is just as bad.

My solution is to go on a 5 day online cleanse. In the past I’ve tried to stop using the internet in my daily life and lasted only a few hours. But for this to really work I need a place with zero distractions and temptations. And I have found that very place. It’s located…in my BATHROOM. This is where I will remain 24/7 for the next five days from Monday August 23rd until Saturday August 28th. No internet. No iphone. No TV. No laptop. No Twitter. No Facebook. No email. No news sites.

Quite ingenious, if you ask me. I'm curious to see how he'll feel when the net cleanse ends on Saturday. So far, it seems he's still firmly within the grips of withdrawal; earlier today his wife tweeted this from Mark's Twitter account:

"Without YouTube, Mark asked me to bring our cat into the bathroom in the hopes he'll do something funny. #netdetox2010"

Fare thee well, Mark.

Props to my girl Steph for the assist.