Experiencing Spike Jonze's "I'm Here"

Why are the most beautiful of love stories usually the saddest? I'm Here: A Love Story in An Absolut World, a short film written and directed by Spike Jonze, had me pensive and a little sad. I had thought, "Wow. This is The Giving Tree of contemporary times," and then after digging up some background information, I found out that the children's book by Shel Silverstein was indeed the inspiration for I'm Here.

In the film, people and robots cohabit the world (or L.A., at least). The plot revolves around the "lives" of Sheldon and Francesca, two robots having starkly contrasting "personalities." He works at the library and conforms to human rules, while she's the life-of-the-party kind of girl: sassy, fun-loving, and vibrant. She behaves as if she's more human than robot: she drives (when robots are "not allowed" to) and parties a lot. In fact, she loses an arm at a rock club, and this is where the drama begins.

If you want to watch I'm Here, you simply need to click this link. The soundtrack should be enough reason to see this film. Oh, and don't skip the intro.

Getting my movie pass

 It's even better if you watch the movie while logged in to your Facebook account, because you can invite your friends to watch it with you. I especially loved this part, especially since I don't live in the same city as my best friends, so it made me feel as if we were really sitting next to each other in the cinema. "I'm Here" is not just a short film; it's an experience.

Almost felt like the girls were really there

Mad Hatter Craze

It's Mad Hatter Day! With Johnny Depp playing the role in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, it's no question that the Mad Hatter is more talked-about than Alice herself. But did you know that in Lewis Carroll's book, Alice's Adventure in Wonderland, the author didn't refer to him as such? Carroll named him as the Hatter or "Hatta," and it was the Cheshire Cat who alluded to him being "mad." Also, did you know that Lewis Carroll was a Math professor by the name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson? And that he made up Alice's Adventure in Wonderland for his friend's three daughters, one of which is named Alice, while they were on a picnic?

Now that you have enough trivia to survive the upcoming Wonderland mania, join the Mad Hatter's army against the Red Queen and pledge allegiance by mad-hatting yourself! Here's how:

• Log in to your Facebook account.

• Type "Alice in Wonderland" on the search field and choose the first of the results shown.

• Better yet, simply click on this link.

• Read the Terms and Conditions and hit "Accept."

• Take a picture of yourself using your webcam or simply choose from any of your Facebook photos.

• Don't worry if the photo doesn't fit well. As soon as you click "Next," you'll be able to adjust the size, position, and angle of the photo to get the best fit for the Mad Hatter's face.

•  Click "Next" one more time and --Voila! You're already ready to revolt against the Red Queen.

Unfortunately, there's no way you can upload photos from your PC (unless you upload it into Facebook first) or download the finished product for your archives or Facebook profile pic (unless you hit the most precious key on your keyboard--Print Screen). *Hint, hint* Instead the application only allows you to share the mad-hatted you by sending a message to 10 Facebook friends at a time. You may also send the Mad Hatter's hat as a free gift on Facebook. Chances are that it's a limited offer, so better hurry. Go ahead and start the hatting frenzy before the Red Queen's spies get you.

For Alice in Wonderland merchandise, simply click on these images.

Cure That Facebook Addiction

Do you find yourself tweeting or Facebooking when you should be working or studying instead? Like everything else, extreme activity on social networking sites is bad for you. It's counter-productive and unhealthy. Some employees have been fired--or received disciplinary action at least. Some friendships have been broken. Don't even let me get me started. I should know. I was a self-confessed Facebook addict  until I decided to take action. Now, I can go for days without logging in to Facebook or Twitter. There is no secret formula to fighting social network addiction. It all depends on your willpower. Let me share with you some rehab tips:

Deleting applications

Becoming app-aholic is a major symptom of addiction to social networking sites. Remove applications that require regular interaction, such as simulation games. As human beings are creatures of habit, it's easy to get caught in a trap. Pretty soon, you'll find yourself going online just to make sure that your scores won't fall even if there's nothing at stake. If deleting these apps seem to drastic for you, take it one step at a time. For instance, delete one game that you're most likely to check/play on a daily basis and leave apps that don't take up too much of your time. Later on, you'll realize that you don't really need all these apps, and removing them gets easier.

Limiting notifications

If seeing the red flag makes your heartbeat go fast, or if you find yourself clicking on "@yournamehere" every now and then, you know you've become addicted to feedback. Keep your notifications settings at a minimum, such as allowing alerts only for messages posted on your wall. If you leave your notification for photo comments "on," you'll find replying to comments hard to resist. And before long, you're logging in hours just browsing through friends' photos, caught in an endless comment exchange. Turn off alerts sent directly to your e-mail as well. This way, you won't be tempted to log in to the social networking site each time you check your mail at work.

Using alternative sites

Don't get me wrong. This isn't about replacing one bad habit with another. Try to find a site that allows you to post an update on all your social networks. Mine is Plurk, a microblogging site like Twitter, but with a more user-friendly interface. It works more like a personal journal, and you can count on it to be spam-free. Since it syncs my posts to my FB and Twitter accounts, I don't have to log in to these sites anymore. For this reason, I don't get to see feedback as often as I used to. After a while, I found that my "need" to reply to comments began to fade. 

If your addiction is really severe, you might want to consider Web 2.0 Suicide Machine. A word of caution, though: its actions, such as deleting all your contacts, will be permanent, leaving only a "cyberskeleton," or a blank profile. Why would you do this when you can simply deactivate your account, you ask? With FB, you can always re-activate your account without losing all your connections and previous inputs, so it's just like being invisible for a while. As for Suicide Machine, it's designed to kill your online social life, so this means that it will purge all your records and prohibit any future attempts to re-activate your accounts. It works the same for MySpace, LinkedIn, and Twitter. There's even going to be a cybermemorial held for you on the site.

As you can see, Suicide Machine should only be a last resort. After all, social network sites have their benefits too, such as increasing traffic to your blogs or reconnecting with long-lost friends. Stopping your addiction to online social networking doesn't have to mean becoming anti-social. It's about enjoying their service without letting them control you. Try these rehab tips and be free of your addiction. I did it; so can you. Good luck!

Taser: From stun gun to spying tool?

The days when Taser is simply known as a law enforcement device are over. The Taser (an acronym for Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle) trademark has provided both young and old a sense of security since developing the stun gun in 1969. Its popularity resulted in the use of the word "taser" as a noun referring to any electroshock weapon, in general, and stun guns, in particular. The word has also become a popular verb. On Superpoke!, a Facebook application that allows you to "do" certain actions to a friend (or more appropriately, post these "actions" on a friend's Wall), it's featured under "mean" actions as a sort of joke (Read: "X has tasered Y"). 

In the days ahead, "taser" is yet to acquire a new connotation: from protection to privacy breach. This morning, I came across the Tech News that Taser has come up with a phone application called "Mobile Protector." It's designed to enable parents to monitor their kid's mobile phone use. With this application, parents can block contacts and screen the text messages and calls that their kids receive and send. Services like these have been around since 2007, but Mobile Protector levels things up by allowing parents to listen in on the phone calls! The people behind Mobile Protector say that when this happens, it's going to be announced to both parties that the call is being shadowed. Still, I can't get over the thought of having a parent eavesdrop on me as I indulge in girl-talk. Taser further claims that it's not spyware, but what else would you call an application that gives someone so much control over somebody else's communication system?


I can understand how much important it is to provide guidance and protection, especially to kids. I'm all right with the porn-blocking features and the GPS tracking, especially during emergency situations, but for the Mobile Protector to allow a parent to disable the phone for a specific period? Wow, that's remote grounding! Using the application, someone can pull up records from your phone, such as calls made, text messages received and sent, and last known location, among other data. That's like sending the FBI after you. Tough love, indeed!


Aside from the privacy issue, my main concern is this: what if the application falls into the wrong hands? Won't this endanger kids even more? Watching shows like CSI and Criminal Minds has taught me that perpetrators use the same strategies and tools that law enforcers do. Think about it: what if your Mobile Protector falls into the hands of a potential sex offender? Would it make you sleep better at night?


Taser's Mobile Protector will be out in the market by summer, and subscription rates will range from $10-$30. Let the buyer beware!



(Photo credit:  abcnews.go.com)

Online New Year's resolutions, anyone?

HAPPY 2010! It's that time of the year again. In my Sunny Side Up! blog, I wrote about making and keeping your New Year's resolutions. As I've mentioned there, placing your New Year's resolutions where you can regularly see them is important. So I thought, for the cyber folks out there, what better way to remind yourself of your promises than posting them online? For one, you can't tear it down and apart. Sure, you can delete it later, but where's the fun in that? As for other advantages, let me digress. People who are more socially active online usually reveal themselves better to "cyberfriends" or e-friends than the ones they personally spend time with. Why? As a self-acclaimed mouse potato, I'd say that the best thing about online friends is that they can't make judgments about who you are as a person. Aside from the witty comebacks that you normally get on your Facebook or blog posts, what you can expect from people you meet online is to take you at "text value." You can expect them to ask how your plans are coming along or at least wish you good luck and cheer you on. No "remember whens" or I-told-you-so's.  Also, going public makes you more accountable. Like being pushed into the spotlight, you are left with no choice but to deliver.

Getting back on track, I looked up a site that does have "bucket list" features. Using my Google eyes, I found My50, a site designed to motivate you about the things that you want to accomplish. The tagline "things to do in my lifetime" speaks for itself. Although it's meant for hosting your lifetime to-do list, some of the posts there are popular New Year's resolution items, such as "clean up my room more often," "lose weight," and "quit smoking." From daily tasks to lifetime goals, My50 enables users to get more creative. It allows you to post pictures, previous accomplishments, and set deadlines. Once a task or goal is done, it gets automatically moved to your Achievements list, so there's no need to cross items out manually. You may also organize your lists into activities and sports, holidays and travel, health and relaxation, making or saving money, and the list goes on! It also has this nice Places to Visit and 50 Suggestions tab. It's like a task-list-and-time-capsule-in-one application. Sounds great, right? You can also choose who get's to see your list, as it can be set to "private" anytime. The best thing about it is that it's free.

That's it for now. I need to go and create my own list. Just the thought of it makes me so excited to start accomplishing them right away. Wish me luck! Either that or start your own list now.

Morph your friend into her fave celeb!

Yay! It's 5 days 'til Christmas! Any girl knows that there's no such thing as "too late for Christmas shopping" BUT if you're on a tight budget, don't fret. Here's a little suggestion: turn your friends into celebrities! You don't need to be a kingmaker to do that. You don't have to spend a single cent even. With MyHeritage.com's face recognition system, you can upload your friends' photos and morph them into their celebrity face match! Check out what I did for my sister:

MyHeritage: Celebrity Morph - Family research - Family pictures

I posted this on her Facebook as well. The best thing about the app is that it's quite simple to use. For this one, it didn't even take me longer than 3 minutes. Simply upload your friend's photo, and the facial recognition software will do the job for you. All that you'll be required to do is to put and adjust reference points. You can choose whether you'd like to create a collage (of your friend's celebrity twins) or a celebrity morph. You can then send your project slash present to your friend's e-mail, Facebook, myspace, and other online social network accounts. Or you can get the code and post it on your website. This will surely boost the surprise factor, and your friend will love you for revealing her celebrity twin. For best results, choose a photo with large, front-facing, straight faces. Photos where your friend is looking directly at the camera and not wearing sunglasses are guaranteed to have more accurate celebrity matches.

How to find your doppelganger

A couple of weeks ago, an old friend from high school who is now based in London sent me this message: "You look just like Myleene Klass. My husband agrees." My first reaction? Google Images. Needless to say, I was thrilled.

I hope that you will pardon me for such vanity, but you're likely to feel good about being described as a dead ringer for a celebrity, especially when it happens to be someone really hot. A dead ringer in these days means "exact duplicate." In the past,celebrity or no celebrity, "dead ringer" was supposedly a bad thing. The phrase has existed since 1882, and it referred to a race horse that is substituted for another of similar appearance to defraud bookies.

A doppelganger is a similar concept, although it's much more eerie than fraudulent. In German, doppelgänger means a double or a look-alike of a certain person. It also refers to the paranormal experience of seeing yourself--and I'm not talking mirrors, photographs, and videos. If you thought that THAT was scary, try digesting the concept that it meant bad luck--the death omen kind. In fact, in Norse mythology, a ghost referred to as a vardøger is an apparition of a living person that does this person's action in advance. Remember the urban legend about a friend of a friend who died, but seconds before his death, he was seen somewhere else? Among followers of paranormal and esoteric knowledge, they may refer to the concept as bilocation or "evil twin."

Enough about the scary part (although I'm fully aware that it's almost Halloween). If you haven't heard of the Doppelganger Theory, it's that belief that somewhere in the world, you have a twin. Although there's no scientific backing to that, it's part of pop culture now (Hint: Tomb Raider, Coraline, and even CSI).

And so, remembering Cosmo's Separated at Birth section, I took the time to pull together a couple of doppelgangers--from the famous to the obscure. Indonesian Ilham Anas and US President Barack Obama. American actress Tina Fey and US politician Sarah Palin. Tom Cruise and CSI's Nick Stokes (George Eads). Jake Gyllenhaal and CSI Miami's Ryan Wolfe (Jonathan Togo). Mel Gibson and Christian singer Carman. Myleene Klass and moi.

Barack Obama and Ilham Anas

Photo from http://www.ebaumsworld.com

Tina Fey and Sara Palin 

Photo above from http://tothewire.wordpress.com

Tom Cruise and George Eads

Jake Gyllenhaal and Jonathan Togo

 

 Mel Gibson and Carman

Myleene Klass and (shameless) me :P

If you want to find your own celebrity lookalike, there are plenty of applications on the web--and they're all free! If you have a Facebook account (who doesn't?!), you can use FaceDouble. With this fb app, you can find your celebrity lookalike or a doppelganger who's also another Facebook user. It also automatically imports this into a photo album, so you can use it as your profile pic. What's more, you can create one for your fb friends and surprise them with their own doppelgangers and celebrity lookalikes in a tagging spree that everyone on Facebook seems to love to do so much. Or you can go to MyHeritage.com. It's actually a geneology site, but it uses a face-recognition software which allows you to do more than just find your doppelganger. There's plenty of fun stuff you can do, like find long-lost relatives or morph yourself into Jessica Alba--and that's just for starters. Try it out and do come back to tell me which celebrity lookalike has graced my blog with his/her presence.

See Also:
Who Started Doppelganger Week on Facebook?
Morph Your Friend into Her Fave Celeb!