YOUTUBE: My Morning Run

Last year we posted a video of stuntman doing some crazy stunts around town, but this might take the cake. Two urban gymnasts climba nd tumble their way through London in a child-like dream jaunt about town. Watch until the end for a great humanizing conclusion to their little "jog."



Sergio del Limonar

YOUTUBE: Betty White's Hoodies

As a follow-up to the post from yesterday about Betty White's partnership with clothier Hoodie Buddie to raise money to benefit the Morris Animal Foundation, comes this farse of an advertisement naming White as the "designer of the year". Full of White's sartorial wit and some great one-liners, the spot amkes it clear why this woman is a national treasure, even if she's got a mouth like a sailor.


Sergio del Limonar

APPAREL: Betty White's Hoodies

Comediene extraordinaire and everyone's favorite octagenarian is, as they say on the shirt, "White Hot" right now. Ex-Golden Girl and pop-culture phenomena, Betty White is riding an incredible and unexpected career wave for all its worth. Well, join in the fun and head over to Hoodie Buddie and get a piece of the action with your very own Betty White apparel.

T-shirts and hoodies - complete with built-in technology to suit your iPod - in a multitude of designs and colors. My favorite is the white "Propaganda" hoodie and t-shirt with a black and white campaign poster-style print on the front with the word "Betty" printed boldly below. The holiday season is fast approaching, folks! This is great gift for you or your funniest friends!

Sergio del Limonar

MUSIC: "Just By Being You (Halo and Wings)"

"I'll take off my halo if you take off your wings,
You don't have to be invincible 'cause I sure ain't no saint,
You'll always be by angel no matter what you do,
'Cause you take me to heaven just by being you."

With these poignant words, the chorus on country duo Steel Magnolia's hit single, "Just By Being You (Halo and Wings)", reaches beautifully lyrical heights. The voices of the two singers, real life couple Meghan Linsey and Joshua Scott Jones, blend perfectly and with such true emotion, you can't help but believe every honky tonk note in the country ballad. Here's hoping their forthcoming studio album has as much grit and emotion as this one song does! Head over to iTunes and download it today!

Sergio del Limónar

MUSIC: Grace Potter & The Nocturnals (Part III)

MUSIC: "What I'd Give"

Words can not express how deeping saddened and disappointed I was in Sugarland's lead-off single from their upcoming fourth studio album. (So disappointed I won't even mention the title of that barely-country Jamaica-ska infused mess of a wannabe hip-hop song.)

That being said, the band offered a contest to fans to create a video for one of their favorite Sugarland songs. The winner chose the tune "What I'd Give" off their third album Love On The Inside. The song is beautiful and the videographer did an amazing job of tying together footage of the country duo to really capture the essence of the song.

I think I'll just bookmark this video and play it when, or if, Jennifer and Cristian decide to release another travesty of a single...ah, the good ole days!

Sergio del Limonar

MUSIC: Grace Potter & The Nocturnals (Part II)

This Is Somewhere Grace Potter & The Noctural's second studio album, from 2007, picks up where their previous work left off. With colorful lyrics, a deep soul-inspired groove, and equally slick guitar licks, the album delivers in all the ways you hope an album would.

The catchy and deceivingly sad "Ah Mary" kicks off the record with toe-tapping gusto while the jumpy, "Mr. Columbus" will have you dancing around your living room just for the heck of it. The entire CD, though, is filled with Potter's incredible vocal stylings and there is no doubt that she is a soul singer who feels every blue note.

Sergio del Limonar

MUSIC: Grace Potter & The Nocturnals (Part I)

Who would think that a white girl from Vermont could sing such exhaustingly passionate soul music? Well, maybe Joss Stone. Please take some time out of your busy schedule today to get to know Grace Potter & The Nocturnals. I was recently introduced to this group from upper New England when they forcedly uploaded Grace and her band to my computer; its been on repeat ever since.

Her 2005 album, Nothing But The Water is rockin' soul music at its most raw and real. Songs like "Ragged Company", and the titular "Nothing But The Water" (both Parts I and II are equally fantastic) leave your foot tapping and your heart seeping some kind of deep emotion all over everthing. Another highlight of this album is "2:22" a song about love gone wrong, but not too wrong. Listen closely and you'll be in for a surprise ending!

Sergio del Limonar

RECIPE: Zucchini Hummus

A friend of mine is a hummus addict. She has a right to be - she makes good hummus. I have not tried this particular version as of yet, but mutual friends have raved, so, on their recommendations, I present to you, Zucchini Hummus!

Ingredients:

1 can garbanzo beans

1 zucchini

3 tbsp lime juice

3 tbsp tahini

1 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves of garlic

Salt and pepper


What To Do:

1) Heat the garbanzo beans on the stove in the water from the can, so that they blend easier.

2) Then, throw them into the blender along with the diced zucchini, minced garlic, tahini, olive oil, and lime juice.

3) Blend.

4) Extra Tips: If using dried garbanzo beans, soak two cups in water overnight. Be careful though, they expand. A lot. Also, if you don’t like zucchini, try roasting a red pepper on the stove, scrapping off the burnt skin before tossing it in the blender.

Sergio del Limonar

MUSIC: Justin Townes Earle

Named after the late country singer Townes Van Zandt and the son of country rocker Steve Earle, Nashville native Justin Townes Earle seemed destined to be a star. His funky acoustic style, coupled with a preternatural songwriting ability and pleasant folk voice, make for a commendable musical effort.

The 28 year-old's third album in two years, Harlem River Blues, debuts tomorrow, but be sure to check out his "earlier" material, including 2009's "Midnight At The Movies" and 2008's "The Good Life". Like an old pair of jeans that you forget about how much you love them until you slip then on, Earle's music is vintage and contemporary all at once; each song makes you want to sing along until you realize you don't know the lyrics.

While the parts of his name already have household recognition, hopefully it won't be long before they collectively do. This is an up-and-coming artist worthy of your ear.

Sergio del Limonar

YOUTUBE: Extreme Water Slide

Three things to keep in mind before watching this video:
1) As the parenthetical title says "engineers are silly folk." True. They are also, in this case, crazy.
2) If anyone knows what type of motivation was used to convince the slider to commit this feat, please tell me.
3) Were there others who went before that we don't know about...?

Sergio del Limonar

YOUTUBE: Hand Dance "We No Speak Americano"

By now its a pretty sure thing that you've heard the obnoxious and catchy techno-pop "We No Speak Americano" by the Australian duo known as Yolanda Be Cool. The original video has become a viral hit in and of itself, but this reinterpretation is much more entertaining, in my opinion.

Using a choreographed routine performed mostly using the hands while seated side by side at a small table, Suzanne Cleary & Peter Harding move quickly and synchronized as if they were marionettes being controlled by the same puppeteer. My favorite aspect of the entire performance is the fact that their faces show an expression somewhere between bordom and disinterest. Your face will be anything but.

Sergio del Limonar

YOUTUBE: The Majestic Plastic Bag Mockumentary

Through the use of nature show style documentary, the Heal the Bay organization has created an ingenius public service announcement urging Californians to become more conscious of their polluting habits, most specifically the use of plastic shopping bags. According to the PSA, Californians alone use 19 billion plastic bags a year, with mnay of them contributing to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a continent-sized area north of the Hawaiian islands filled with refuse. Hopefully the reaction to this mockumentary will be as effective as the spot is clever.

Visit healthebay.org/bagbill to see what you can do!

Sergio del Limonar

MUSIC: "Painkillers"

A girl from Tennessee moves to Los Angeles at the age of 16, lives at one point with Lisa-Marie Presley, and sings with a reggae band. Later she stars in the hit Broadway musical "Spring Awakening" for a couple years before packing up and moving to England. Now, at the still young age of 22, Lauren Pritchard is releasing an album due in October called "Wasted In Jackson" with "Painkillers" as her debut single.

As a songwriter, Pritchard has a talent for crafting a song as a storyteller would. Her vocals are equally impressive, combining a raw tender coffee-house texture with the pipes of a rocker. A promising debut for an artist who seems to clearly have paid her dues!

Sergio del Limonar

ON HOLIDAY

What are you doing online?!? Fire up and grill and enjoy the last official day of summer!!!

MUSIC: "Club Can't Handle Me"

The fusion of two guys who have separately dominated the club scene seems only appropriate that their collaboration be this cocky. R&B singer Flo Rida and club kid David Guetta "Club Can't Handle Me" join forces for this hot track from the Step Up 3D movie, out last month. The song is high on energy and just about as high on life as you can get! Also, I've never wanted to get down in a laundromat as much as I do now after seeing the video!

Buzzy

DRINK: Tuned Pale Ale

As an ex-bartender I have a laundry list of things drunk people do that annoy me to no end. Waving dollar bills, winking in general, and bottle slamming to name a few. So I was surprised at my reaction to hearing that a new brew is being marketed (although now only on a small scale) that encourages people to make music by blowing across the top of the bottle. This used to drive me batty but with the marked notes along the side of the label, Tuned Pale Ale is sure to at least keep those annoying drunkards in tune, right?!?

Well, this ex-bartender can hope...

Buzzy

WEBSITE: I Believe In Advertising

Novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, "Advertising is a racket, like the movies and the brokerage business. You cannot be honest without admitting that its constructive contribution to humanity is exactly minus zero." And most of the time he would be right. But then there are those exceptional pieces of advertising that transcend the rest and become epiphanous works of art.

I Believe In Advertising is a great blog that hunts down and compiles such works of commercial genius from all over the planet, and displays them here, free of charge to the product's company and providing congratulatory kudos to the firm and artist(s) who designed the ad. Most of the featured advertisements are print ads from magazines and newspaper sources, however a few television commercials make the cut, as well as other unique and creative advertisers who choose to think outside the box a bit, like this "ad" for McDonald's from Zurich, Switzerland (below).


Wouldn't it be great if all advertising was this fun?!?

Sergio del Limonar