Because it's Friday, which we estimate to be the weekday with the highest percentage of people on Facebook instead of working or studying, we think it's only appropriate to share these "How To Suck At Facebook" cartoons from The Oatmeal cartoonist Matthew Inman.
He does a great job at capturing the most annoying and common ways people misuse Facebook that cause you to "Hide" them from your News Feed or even worse, delete altogether. Enjoy, and tell us in the comments how else people can suck at Facebook.
Warning: some of the language is rated PG-13, or even R. Click to enlarge.
Leonardo DiCaprio, Chace Crawford and Justin Long are using their celebrity influence to encourage people to start using social networking as a way to lobby for an environmental bill in Washington.
This Is Our Moment is a new online campaign that asks people to, among other things, flood the inboxes of Senators who have the power to pass the Clean Energy, Jobs and American Power Act. The campaign is powered by The Natural Resource Defense Council Action Fund, of which Leo is a trustee.
The campaign's website, which features a star-studded PSA, reads:
"Everyone knows we have a dependence on oil we buy from countries that don't share our values. This threatens our security and our integrity. And it needs to stop. We know it does. Still, we've seen our dependence on foreign oil grow and pollute the air we breathe and endanger our planet. But we can change that. Now.
There's a bill in the Senate that will break foreign oil’s stranglehold on our country, reduce carbon pollution, and create jobs right here in America—good jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced.
It’s one of the most important pieces of legislation of our time. It's a clean energy bill. And it’s been a long time coming."
Microsoft founder and one of the world's wealthiest men Bill Gates has announced that he will be donating $10 billion over the next decade to fund vaccines for people in poor nations. Yes, you read that right - BILLION. Gates and his wife Melinda announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland that they will be making the contribution through their foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
"We must make this the decade of vaccines," Bill Gates said in a statement. "Vaccines already save and improve millions of lives in developing countries. Innovation will make it possible to save more children than ever before."
The amount is nearly double what his foundation has contributed to vaccines in the past - around $4.5 billion. According to the foundation, this money could save up to 7.6 million children under the age of 5 by the time 2019 rolls around. It also estimates an additional 1.1 million kids would be saved if a malaria vaccine is introduced in the next four years. A tuberculosis vaccine would be another tool in preventing millions of deaths.
"Vaccines are a miracle," said Melinda Gates. "With just a few doses, they can prevent deadly diseases for a lifetime."
All we can say is - wow. And, thank you, Bill and Melinda! Ten billion dollars can go a very, very long way when properly distributed, and this extremely generous contribution will save millions of childrens' lives.
Rescuers in Haiti who are still searching for survivors were quite surprised today when they found a 16 year old French girl who had somehow managed to stay alive, despite being buried in rubble for 15 days since the earthquake. Darlene Etienne was trapped in a collapsed home near St. Gerard University where she was a student.
The fact that Darlene managed to stay alive for 15 days without sustenance is beyond belief to doctors, who said they cannot explain how she survived. The rescue team said she may have had access to a little drinking water, and that Darlene mumbled something about having a little Coca-Cola with her in the rubble.
Etienne is stable, drinking water and eating yogurt and mashed vegetables, said Dr. Evelyne Lambert, who has been treating the girl on the French Navy hospital ship Sirocco, anchored off the shore of Port-au-Prince.
Dr. Lambert says that Darlene has a 90% chance of survival.
"We cannot really explain this because that's just (against) biological facts," Lambert told a news conference. "We are very surprised by the fact that she's alive. ... She's saying that she has been under the ground since the very beginning on the 12th of January so it may have really happened — but we cannot explain that."
Her age may have had a great deal to do with her survival (young people are more resilient), in addition to her hydration levels at the time of the earthquake.
Darlene had just begun studies at St. Gerard when the disaster struck, trapping dozens of students and staff in school buildings, hostels and nearby homes. Her cousin Jocelyn A. St. Jules says, "we thought she was dead."
Nearly half a month after the earthquake, neighbors heard a faint voice calling out for help from a private home that had been destroyed. Authorities were called and brought in the French civil response team, who began searching. They heard her voice and spotted a little bit of dust-covered black hair in the rubble. After clearing away a bit of the rubble, they saw a woman, alive - but just barely.
Darlene was the first rescue since Saturday, when a man was pulled from a hotel grocery store having survived on soda, beer and vending machine food. The man was trapped not by the original Jan 12 earthquake, but by a smaller aftershock that leveled the hotel he was working in.
What an incredible story, and what a remarkably brave young woman she is.
J.D. Salinger, author of iconic novel Catcher in the Rye, died from natural causes today at the age of 91 in his home in Cornish, NH. For the past 50 years, Manhattan-born Salinger has chosen to live away from the fame and in near-isolation in New England.
In addition to gaining notoriety for his often-banned-from-schools novel about troubled teenager Holden Caulfield, Salinger also earned a reputation for turning down offer after offer from Hollywood executives who wanted to turn his classic novel into a movie. Salinger also authored other novels such as Franny and Zooey, Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction and the collection Nine Stories.
We are very sad to see such an extraordinary talent go. Salinger left quite a large imprint on the world and will not soon be forgotten. May he rest in peace.
Is Catcher in the Rye one of your favorite books? Would you like to see a film version of the story, or is it best kept in the literary world?
With just a little more than week left until Groundhogs Day, PETA has turned its sights on saving Phil, the Pennsylvania groundhog that serves as an indicator of the length of the remaining winter season. Every February 2, thousands of spectators and reporters gather around Phil's hole in Punxsutawney, PA to find out if he will see his shadow or not. PETA feels this is a cruel way to treat an animal that is shy by nature, and has suggested Phil be retired and replaced with a robotic animal.
Gemma Vaughan, Animals in Entertainment specialist for PETA, explains in a letter to the Groundhogs Day festival organizers:
“These normally shy animals—who are constantly on alert when they are out of their burrows—become stressed when they are exposed to large, screaming crowds; flashing lights from perhaps hundreds of cameras; and human handling.” Adding, “We think that an animatronic groundhog would similarly mesmerize a crowd full of curious spectators in Punxsutawney.”
As expected, the president of the Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club disagrees, saying that Phil is "being treated better than the average child in Pennsylvania."
What do you think? We can understand why animals should be protected from trauma at all costs, but we can't see why the town would harm an animal that brings them so much publicity each year. Perhaps Phil's life the 364 other days of the year is quite nice. Do you think Phil should be replaced with a robotic groundhog and taken to a sanctuary, or should they leave it alone?
Why should you listen to the newest track from 3OH!3? Not only is it catchy, and streaming for free on their MySpace, but "Follow Me Down" is also the first single off Almost Alice, the upcoming album companion to the Alice in Wonderland soundtrack.
The female voice you hear is upcoming British artist Neon Hitch. Give it a listen below and tell us what you think!
Almost Alice will not be released until early March, but you can expect to hear more singles from Avril Lavigne and All Time Low in the next month.
What do you think of "Follow Me Down" - love it or hate it?
After months of claiming the top spot at the box office week after week, James Cameron's animated film Avatar has officially become the highest grossing movie of all time. With over $1.8 billion in ticket sales in just 39 days, the film has outshined the previous leader, Titanic, also a Jame Cameron film.
The next step for Avatar is to top Titanic's domestic revenue record - $600.8 million, and Avatar is well on its way with $555 million in domestic revenue already. There is also a lot of buzz about possible Oscar nominations for the film, which could put Avatar in a place that no film has gone before - $2 billion in worldwide profit.
Do you think they'll make it? Anyone reading this who HASN'T seen Avatar yet? Will you buy the DVD or do you think this is a theatre-only film because of the 3D animation?
