joseph gordon-levitt

Book Club: Pulse for Android

in: on queue, in: the press

Okay, so those of you who know me intimately know I’m not exactly tech-savvy. Web-savvy, yes, but technologically inclined? Certainly not. But I’m an avid Wired reader (and thanks to Thomps, subscriber!), and I love to pretend to know about all sorts of technological thing-a-ma-bobbers.

So, I’m celebrating nine months with my beloved Android phone (the original Droid), and I honestly don’t know how I got by without it. I’ve invested my life into this phone. I’m always going through a bit of an application cycle, wherein I cleanse my phone of particular apps and then install new ones (sayonara, Northwestern’s particularly shitty, useless and space-wasting application, hello Buzzfeed‘s totally twee and squeal-inducing application for cuddly animals* and Joseph Gordon-Levitt). And the other day, I hit the proverbial motherload.

I downloaded Pulse from Alphonso Labs at my market’s urging, and I’m addicted. I know the application’s been out for a while (and has been free on both Android and iPhone platforms for a few months), but this discovery was the answer to my calls for a streamlined news application. I found myself wondering this break how to find the information and news I wanted when I’d read all of my Twitter updates. My brain’s grown finicky and tired of traditional news sites. How am I to read the news if it’s not presented in an easy, scrollable format a la New York Magazine‘s fantastic Android widget?

Pulse is it. You can follow up to 20 feeds on Pulse, and the most recent articles and updates are presented on a flowing visual interface. It’s similar to Google Reader but features images instead, and there’s even the capability for Reader integration. Also, it’s so freaking simple to share articles on Twitter, Facebook and a number of other sites.

Now, The Dunce Cap isn’t one for gushing about a product. I’m not here to sell you anything (except for me, future employers!), and the best thing about Pulse is that it is free. I can’t even believe it – it’s easy to read and friendly to my news ADD, and I can even create a widget for any news site, blog or even comic (!) I follow. I’m following enough publications and blogs to really round out my knowledge. I’ve got my Frisky fix and my A.V. Club updates, as well as Salon, Gawker, NYT (to pretend I’m a real human being interested in daily news), Wired and even The Girl with the Dunce Cap! (Why do I follow myself, you ask? Because I can.) I’ve spent so many nights with my finger glued to Pulse. It feels like something approaching productivity.

*Cute Overload is also a great site I will inevitably follow on Pulse and features very cuddly animals

Image from Gizmodo

So, to follow that total product plug (I’m not getting any sort of compensation for this. I’m just obsessed.), an article I found courtesy of Pulse. I’m following Gizmodo for some of my dorkier tech news needs, and this article made me laugh. Check it out.

I’m Not Buying Any More CDs That Don’t Look Like Lunch Meat

A.V. Club: The Swoon Club

in: viewing room

Here at the Dunce Cap, sharing is highly encouraged. And the A.V. Club is one of the easiest ways to put to use the skills taught in kindergarten. This week, A.V. Club brings two excellent clips that’ll make you wet your pants.

There are a couple videos making rounds across the Interweb today, and these two definitely caught my eye. Yes, singular. One each. These two are among the first class of the Dunce Cap Swoon Club, and I think these videos prove any such title is warranted. Totally.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt feels like a natural woman-un-un

JGL's Gender-bending head-scratching

So, we got to hear Joseph Gordon-Levitt sing in (500) Days of Summer. Remember? Karaoke? Belting “Here Comes Your Man” in bliss and then a much surlier “Train in Vain” in a drunken stupor. And then there was the absolutely adorable “I Don’t Want to Go to the Moon.” And now? He’s working his pipes with a rendition of Aretha Franklin’s “A Natural Woman.”

Gordon-Levitt’s also runs hitRECord.org, an online collaborative production company, and Monday, at the site’s Summer in the City show, the cherub-faced boy from Angels in the Outfield crooned to many bawling girls.

Wait, I got lost. I wasn’t talking about Justin Bieber? No? Oh, right. Weird.

Check out the clip below. This isn’t Gordon-Levitt’s first trek into girl anthem land. He sang Madonna’s “Express Yourself” at a hitRECord.org performance in 2007. Oh, JGL. You’re precious. [The Daily What via The Frisky]

Somehow, Justin Long makes me envious of a 12-year-old girl

“Ok, foin!” I’ve always thought Justin Long was a catch. Hilarious, cheeky, charming, attractive, assuredly friends with John Hodgman. But this video had me rolling on the floor. You know me – I’m a bit of a Medildo journalist-type, incapable of ignoring mistakes in grammar or spelling. And so, this video just slaaaayed me (I’m sorry. I’m still watching Buffy.)

Anyway. Jimmy Kimmel hosted Long this week, and, instead of talking about the sure-to-be-endearingly-lovable Going the Distance, Long introduced us to…well, I don’t think any of us are sure who we were conversing with. A poor (and poorly educated) tween unwittingly texted Long, thinking she was chatting with her friend of Eduardo. Long replied, and a months-long text exchange ensued. As did hilarity!

The interview (with a short clip from the new movie, due out Sept. 3, at the end) is broken down into three parts on Kimmel’s official YouTube. Part 1 is embedded below, with links to parts 2 and 3 following. [BuzzFeed]

And part 2 and part 3.

(editor’s note: How did I not know Justin Long was in Crossroads? I must have missed this the ten thousand times I watched that movie for Anson Mount. What? I’m not embarrassed.)

A.V. Club: Hanson grows up

in: viewing room

The brothers move through the alphabet

The three effeminate brothers from Tulsa, Zac, Taylor and Isaac, shot to popularity in 1997 with their infectious single “MMMBop,” but they failed to achieve any significant long-term success. They’re set to release their newest album, “Shout It Out,” in June, and the first single from it, “Thinking ‘Bout Somethin'” is a catchy pop ditty which returns the three precious brothers to their roots.

I can’t seem to embed the music video from MySpace, so click the video still below to watch the video, which premiered Thursday. I want to hear what you think – post in the comments.

(editor’s note) The video has drawn comparisons to the Blues Brothers, though I think the most apt comparison is to Joseph Gordon-Levitt‘s dance scene in (500) Days of Summer.

And that group jump-high-five may be the lamest thing I’ve seen on record. Ever. Still, glad to see the boys are back.

Still from "Thinking 'Bout Somethin'"

And, for good measure (and nostalgia), the video for “MMMBop,” my childhood anthem.

kind observations on the girl (1-5)

on: the girl

I like to think I’m an interesting individual, and, in an effort to introduce me a bit more, I present five kind observations on the girl.

Observations 1-5:

I use too much toilet paper.

This ought to be self-explanatory, and any explanation further may be a bit too … graphic for publication on this site. But, seriously – I am a teepee sheet waster. I’m single-handedly destroying the environment. Whoops.

(editor’s note – this has nothing to do with any of my bathroom habits. it’s just a statement that I am a non-essential toilet paper consumer.)

I have a visceral reaction to art.

Particularly, it seems, television (and music, but television provides more concrete examples). “Bones” is perhaps the best example of this. I love and adore this T.V. series and each of its characters, and I appreciate the use of scientific evidence to solve crimes. More importantly, though, I am a ‘shipper. I watch, week in and week out, for the will-they-won’t-they romantic tension between primary characters Booth and Brennan. The most recent episode of the series, “The Parts in the Sum of the Whole,” aired April 8 and featured an earth shattering (and heartwrenching)  conclusion that left ‘shippers, like me, distressed.

I respond to the criminal aspect of the show in a normal manner, I expect, for the show’s audience. I, in fact, often find myself repulsed by the physicality of the program, but I respond in an intense but simplistic emotional manner. I want to give Booth and Bones their happily ever after more than I want them, even, to solve these homicide cases. Sure, it’s a lame and infantile way to approach the viewing of good primetime television, but I’m affected by “Bones” (and similar programs) viscerally.

I love commercials with dogs.

I become unnervingly giddy when a dog appears in a television commercial, or even in the 30 second ads before and during Hulu viewings. I’m sure it’s quite the sight for anyone located in the vicinity – I become like a small child, skirmish and highly excitable. Check out these neat videos of dogs being all adorable on the small screen!

Cesar Dog Food

Iams Dog Food

I still like television shows that “jumped the shark.”

I watch “Saturday Night Live” and “The Simpsons” – still.

“The Simpsons” is consistently funny to me, and there were two episodes in seasons 20 and 21 which I I highly recommend. “Waverly Hills 9-0-2-1-D’oh” and “The Greatest Story Ever D’ohed” are two remarkably hilarious episodes. “The Simpsons” may not fulfill the fantasies of the real-life culture arbiters (see: Comic Book Guy in reality),  but the series still brings me untold laughter.

And “Saturday Night Live” has hit its stride again in recent seasons with strong host-musical guest pairs. My favorites in this season include Joseph Gordon-Levitt/Dave Matthews Band; James Franco/Muse; Zach Galifianakis/Vampire Weekend; and, most recently, Tina Fey/Justin Bieber. Sure, there have been missteps (the awful Sigourney Weaver/Ting Tings and Taylor Lautner/Bon Jovi episodes truly stand out), but the series still has its funny sketches and talented cast members. There may be no Gildas or Belushis, but Samberg, Hader and Wiig are strong comedic forces.

For examples of humorous skits, watch “The Mellow Show” with host Joseph Gordon-Levitt and musical guest Dave Matthews (35.7), or check out this gem of script from boytoy musical guest Justin Bieber (35.18) in a sketch called “Teacher.”

Vodpod videos no longer available.
“Let us go, jump on my skateboard, eat some cake, oh… we’ll check out Filene’s and get chunky jewelry at Chico’s, I’ll buy you a panini and some Spanx to make you teeny…”

I’m nostalgic. For everything.

My Facebook profile photo is Stick Stickly. And I wrote a final paper last quarter on “Rocko’s Modern Life.” I also occasionally scour the Internet for quasi-dangerous Sky Dancers. So, yes. I’m nostalgic for my childhood and generations prior (“Chico and the Man” and “Charles in Charge”).

Keep checking in for more bizarre-o factoids on The Girl. Or not.