Mark Wilson over at Gizmodo seems to be fired up about it. God bless him for pursing this fight. He’s absolutely right. If you drop $2,000 on a computer, it better damn well be running smoothly on arrival.

I had just received a 27″ i5 quad-core iMac on Christmas Eve and had no idea this jaundice malfunction even existed. Around the time I ordered from online Apple store, I figured that because of the 2 week delay, Apple was fixing kinks in the first run of quad-core iMacs. Then I ran the screen test over at MacRumors.com, and sure enough, there was that annoying yellow tinge creeping its way up on the lower 1/3rd of my screen like a zombie crawling out of a shallow grave.

Whatever happened to Macs that just worked on arrival? I’d hate to think that Apple knew about this and thought no one would notice or say anything. Well, this acrimonious user is definitely not going to stand on the sidelines, and neither should you. It’s time for everyone to speak up and tell Apple enough is enough. We’re not going to just accept all these malfunctions on computers for which we pay thousands of dollars. If you’ve received a defective iMac recently, which will likely be the majority of new Mac owners, please check out the latest article by Mark Wilson over at Gizmodo. He plans on pursing this with weekly updates to let us know when the problem is finally fixed. And as for you, Apple, time to grow a pair and let everyone know that you have a manufacturing issue and plan a repair program for all those affected.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Susan G. Komen for the Cure (A prominent breast cancer foundation backed by Ellen Degeneres)

Now, relatively speaking, I wasn’t making a large donation. I like to buy something on my credit card every month to maintain a good credit score, so I thought, why not start giving the money to charity instead? It’s fast, quick, tax-deductible, and definitely worth more than what I would get with my money otherwise. Plus, who doesn’t like helping others? Well, weirdos that’s who.

I’m rather shocked that some of the donation forms don’t work on these websites. Yes, I’m on a Mac, but that shouldn’t matter. I tried both Safari and Firefox, and I kept getting the same errors saying they couldn’t accept my card. And yes, I tried them several times and double- and triple-checked all my information.

Eventually, I did find a suitable charity that would take my money. Kudos to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for actually hiring a web developer who knows what he or she is doing. In fact, they will likely get all my donation money in the future. Here’s the link if you wish to support them as well:

http://www.tg.stjude.org/

As for the rest of you philanthropic associations… I mean really. If you don’t have a donation form that works on all browsers with any amount of donation, what is the point of having the website in the first place? These institutions run on donations. It’s the IV drip that’s keeping them alive. I’m hoping in the future, these organizations will actually spend some decent cash and hire competent web designers and developers who actually care about standards compliancy.

As for the workprint, itself, I haven’t seen it, but people have said that there are no special effects, and you can see everyone dangling from wires while performing stunts. Plus there is about 10 minutes of footage missing from the end. And I don’t know about you, but that would drive me insane and cause sleepless nights of X-Men hysteria. It doesn’t really sound like the the best film-watching experience.

While several people are praising Wolverine so far, it hasn’t gone without its fair share of opprobrium. Mostly, the arguments are that the plot was lacking and the action and special effects were way overdone. These critiques were anticipated. And I don’t think they’ll stop people from a second Wolverine viewing, considering there are several secret endings playing at different showings.

Will X-Men Origins: Wolverine end up doing better than the other X-Men films? I doubt it. It’s good to see Wolverine’s story alone, but it’s certainly not the same experience that you get with the entire X-Men cast. Although, they did try to incorporate a team of mutants into this movie as well to make up for a lack of other prominent X-Men characters. And for all those X-Men fans, how great was it to finally see Gambit? Personally, I thought we would have at least seen him in one of the three X-Men movies.

What does the future hold for Wolverine? The movie studios will likely create a few more spin-offs after seeing the success of Wolverine, but I don’t think they’ll bring in the same numbers as Wolverine. As for a sequel, I don’t think that will happen, but it would be nice to see another X-Men film. I’m an obsessed fan of the original television series, so I can’t really get enough X-Men. Although, we might also see a break from the film franchise. It might be good to step back for a second and not keep making a string of mutant madness. I know, I know, “heresy,” you say! I think in the long run, it would be best to take a break and thoughtfully explore the cornucopia of X-Men possibilities.

Here’s a breakdown of the box office numbers:

1. X-Men Origins: Wolverine – $87,000,000
2. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past – $15,325,000
3. Obsessed – $12,200,000
4. 17 Again – $6,355,000
5. Monsters Vs. Aliens – $5,800,000
6. The Soloist – $5,600,000
7. Earth (2009) – $4,184,000
8. Fighting – $4,173,000
9. Hannah Montana The Movie – $4,075,000
10. State of Play – $3,655,000

Here are some more articles on Wolvie’s triumphant return:

Box Office: $87 Million for Wolverine
20 Awesome Wolverine Artworks
Wolverine To Have Multiple Secret Endings
Wolverine Trailer
Official Site

The parents say, “eh, you’ll go there and find out that it isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.” Ah yes, I see the bucolic countryside with Julie Andrews skipping down a field singing that these beautiful hills are alive. OK, I’ll give them that. The digital photography I’ve shot here is stunning, and if you’re an artist, it’s the most peaceful place to just sketch or paint outside without city noises or constant chatter. Well, besides the family. They’re a loud bunch. But I digress. Living the peaceful life full of tumbleweeds and pine trees can dull life to a bittersweet nothingness.

I started to believe that quixotic idea over the course of a few years. But my mindset is beginning to change. If I don’t leave now, then when will I leave? The problem is that I don’t have the cash to survive on my own. I’ve gathered enough from freelance jobs, but despite that income, I still don’t have enough to maintain a life in warmer city, let alone another country.

But now, I’m hoping to change that. I’ve applied for The Best Job in the World where, if I win, I will be able to work for Tourism Queensland, promoting the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef. Now, I know I’m not a world traveler or a marine biologist like some of the folks that have already applied, but I am skilled in Web design and marketing. That has to count for something, right? Also, I’ve never been outside the country, so you can certainly get a fresh point-of-view by someone who has never seen such a glorious place.

Plus, you get to watch an entertaining video of me getting doused with snow in negative degree weather while in my swimsuit. Not to mention the big kitty tracks that were going right through where I filmed. And no, that’s not an exaggeration of a regular cat. I’m talking about mountain lions, which have been spotted all over my town. Sorry, you don’t get a dramatic mountain lion standoff. But hey, there’s still the dousing snow thing.

Would you please support my endeavor to get out of South Dakota and see the world? Please vote for me by clicking here and highlighting some stars—preferably all five of them—and clicking.

You can also watch my video in all its ukulele glory below:

I knew this entire show was headed downhill as soon as U2 came on stage and decided to debut a new single. Clearly, they’ve regressed back to horrible music melodies. Have they learned nothing?? They’re worse off now than they were before their comeback.

As for the winners, why did Coldplay get so many awards? They sit there and bang a drum to a constant beat while moaning as if they are giving birth or something. And I’m not exaggerating. That’s about every song on all their albums. Not to mention the lead singer, Chris Martin, thinks he is so humble. Yet, we all know he has the conceded ideals of Kanye West with his outbursts in public. They would definitely tie for the biggest douche in the universe award. Kanye seemed to be all over the place that night sporting what I call his frohawk. Please, can someone tie him to his seat next time?

And don’t get me started on slaughtering the classics. I think everyone managed to rape them repeatedly. They gave to everyone from Motown to Stevie Wonder a good flogging. Why, Stevie, Why? Why did you let the Jonas Brothers do that to you? And then there was the performance of Taylor Swift and Miley that seemed like a Disney concert special for the kiddies. I’m sure if I were 8 it would have been mildly inspiring. While I admire Taylor Swift for having talent, Miley’s shouting match in attempt to steal the show from Taylor was just unbearable.

Well, with all the bad that came from this year’s Grammy celebration, there were some small glimmers of light in an otherwise smog-filled swamp.

One performance that saved the Grammys was Katy Perry’s fruit orgy. She came out of a giant banana onto a set full of cherries, apples, and other various fruits. Then she rocked our world. And at the end the camera panned out to the Jonas Brothers with their jaws on the floor. Bravo, Katy Perry, bravo. And let’s not forget that Adele beat out some teeny bopper bands, which was definitely a well-deserved pummeling. Additionally, Radiohead managed to pump up the night with a wicked percussion section. Thank you to all of the above artists for not making this year’s Grammys a total waste of time.

Let’s hope next year will be a little better. And Grammy people, please quit raping classic songs. It’s so unnecessary.

Bloggers, podcasters, and video producers will create and post something about Human Rights day on December 10th. This date will mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I’m here to do my part.

Human rights are important for everyone and I encourage you to sign the petition to have your voice heard by your government. In doing so, you will be supporting a plan to print the 30 inalienable rights set forth by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on all passports. I was going to give visual representations of each right, but a twitter friend of mine beat me to it. Instead of rehashing the same info, just click here and scroll to the bottom to view the 30 basic human rights.

The reasoning for printing our 30 basic human rights in passports is incredibly important. Passports are significant in the sense that every government around the globe has them, and they are one of the quintessential tools used to give people the freedom to move about the world as they please. Do you like moving? Do you like freedom? Do you like the freedom to move? OK, this is starting to sound like a sexy tango dance class, but you get the idea. This simple gesture will make not only you aware of your rights, but it will also make our government acknowledge that they exist. What’s insane about this issue is that all it takes is a presidential order to have the Universal Declaration of Human Rights printed in passports. Yet, every president, when asked, refused to do so.

Honestly, I had no clue that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights document existed until one of my Twitter friends started a website devoted to this cause. Apparently, I’m not alone either, because only 5% of the world knows what it is.

Our nascent society seems to be turning around for the better, and I hope we continue to gain respect for one another as human beings and not fragment ourselves into categories like gender, color, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or religion. We all have equal rights, and it’s time we start acknowledging them.

In addition to signing the petition, you can also help out by following @HumanRightsDay on Twitter and also by adding a Human Rights Day “little guy” logo to your avatar. If you have a blog or webpage add a support badge so your viewers can find out more about it. And if you’re feeling really inspired, why not write a letter to your senator, congressman, or to the new administration and request that the Declaration of Human Rights be printed in passports.