Fun Saturday: Peeps
At the end of the week, I write about whatever I want. Because I can.
I’ve been long teased about how much I like Peeps. I figured there was no way they were manufacturing them just for my benefit though!
Peeps are little marshmallow animals with a sugar-y coating on the outside. Yellow chicks are the normal color shape but now you can get all kinds of other shapes and colors. It’s a great time of year for them but you can get them in seasonal varieties for most major holidays now (green trees for example in December). No more waiting for Easter baskets!
My favorite thing to do with my stash is slit open the package and let them age 2-3 weeks so they get a little crisp on the outside. Here are some people who are far more clever:
From my friend John, it was Peeps Sushi from Serious Eats:
All you need is Rice Krisipie squares, Fruit by the Foot, and Peeps to create. For the instructions and more photos, click here.
From my friend Kate, results from the fourth annual Washington Post Peep Diorama contest. (I think they called it that so I’d finally have to learn to spell ‘diorama’). Here’s the winner:
I Did It For Science And Fun Friday: Chat Roulette
On Fridays I write about (almost) whatever I want. Because it’s fun.
Like everyone else on earth, I’ve been hearing lots about ‘chat roulette’. I give my friend Ogy credit for ‘breaking’ the story because right after he mentioned it, all of a sudden everyone was talking about it… to the point where Jon Stewart had to create a parody.
For those of you who also don’t spend way too much time on the internet, here’s what it is: You go to www.chatroulette.com, enter your birthday for age verification, and you get to a simple interface. You can turn your webcam and microphone on or off. Random strangers show up in the other video camera window. If you want to talk to someone else, click ‘next’. That’s it.
So you hear about all these terrible or weird things you are going to see. And I’m not telling you I didn’t see anything inappropriate but I didn’t see nearly as much bad stuff as I was expecting. A few observations.
Chatroulette is like that chatrooms of way back, except now better looking people have an advantage.
It’s oddly insulting when someone takes one look at you and clicks the ‘next’ button. That said, it’s nice when a hot girl tells you you’re ‘sexi’. By actually seeing the person, there is a bit more of feeling like you at least know a bit about who you are talking to.
Aren’t good looking are are afraid people won’t talk to you? Try to be memorable. Wear a mask, play an instrument, be a puppet listening to people’s emotional problems (all have apparently happened). Take a cue from the Chinese who are having much more zany fun with this than the average American like myself.
Other people seem to also be investigating.
I won’t say I didn’t run across a few naked people but I ended up having nice conversations with an Egypian business student and a New York book publisher, two people I would have never otherwise talked to.
What I Thought About Julie and Julia
Breaking Even blog is mostly business and money related but Fridays, I’m going to write about whatever I darn well feel like. Because aren’t Fridays supposed to be fun?
And when I think of fun lately, I keep thinking about the part of last weekend where I parked my butt on a couch. Instead of watching the Superbowl last Sunday, ie the most watched television program in recorded history, I watched ‘Jule and Julia’. It was a movie about cooking and blogging, two of my favorite things.
I actually enjoyed myself. Meryl Streep’s performance makes me wish I would have met the real Julia Child and Amy Adams makes an adorable blogger.
My first, eye-rollingly geeky first impression is that this movie makes blogging look easy. Within a few months, Julie’s blog gets over 50 comments in one day and by the end, the New York Times has featured her. I’ve been blogging going on three years. Honestly, I’m ecstatic when more than two of you reading this decide to comment.
What Would Jesus Buy?
I subscribe to the Daily Worth newsletter, where I was alerted today that the movie “What Would Jesus Buy” was streaming for free on Snagfilms. Being that it was Friday afternoon and I was getting much else done, I decided to watch it.
It was a pretty good tongue in cheek look at our consumerist culture, which ramps up to new levels during the holiday season. Seeing clips of crazy shopping footage, encouraging television anchors (buy now!), and pervasive holiday commericals all together made me realize just how bad it was. Sometimes I forget about these things since I don’t have cable!