Jon Comes Home Today! Top Five Music Videos For Him to Watch

Two years ago when I started this blog, my second post ever was about my little brother going on a mission for the LDS church. He left only two weeks after I got back from my mission in Arkansas, so we didn't get a lot of time to connect. In fact, the homecoming talk that I gave in my ward was on the same day he gave his farewell talk. I never thought it was a terrible injustice that we didn't spend much time together, but I am excited for him to come back.

So in honor of that, I'm putting together a list of things he needs to catch up on. Here are the top five music videos that I think he needs to see. Keep in mind this guy has been in Japan for two years without access to YouTube and stuff, so I chose music videos not based on the quality of music, but how much of an affect they had on pop culture. Besides, Jon would probably hate my taste in music anyways.

5. Friday - Rebecca Black



I think this is important because Jon needs to know why some people still say "it's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday" when you say how happy you are it's Friday. Also, it's just so terrible it's funny.


4. First of the Year - Skrillex 


Yes, I know this isn't the official video, but let me explain my reasoning here. First of all, Jon doesn't know what dupstep is. Yes, he's been gone for that long. He needs to know what dupstep is so that he can decide to hate it (or maybe he'll like it, but I think he's going to hate it).

However, I think he'll find the actual music video a little disturbing with its pedophile and creepy demon child. So, I'm posting this one because it has Mike Song doing some sick dancing in it (Jon was a fan of him when he was on America's Best Dance Crew with Kaba Modern).


3. Party Rock Anthem - LMFAO




The most overplayed song of the last two years deserves to be on here somewhere, right?


2. Somebody That I Used to Know - Walk Off The Earth (Gotye Cover)



Honestly, this cover is more entertaining to watch than the actual song, so I put it here. This song shows the shift that has happened in American music over the last two years - indie rock somehow became mainstream. Nowadays, the number one single seems to be just as likely to come from artists like Foster the People, Fun., or Gotye as it is from Hip Hop artists like Pitbull.


1. Gangnam Style - PSY



Honestly, this is possible the best music video released over the last two years.

Every Now and Then, YouTube, You're Okay

"Soulja Boy off in this oh
Watch me crank it, watch me rollWatch me crank dat, Soulja BoyThen Superman dat oh"

That's art, man.

Check Out This Video I Made at My Internship

So I don't think I've mentioned this on the blog yet, but I've been working as an intern during the summer at a company called Packsize. Basically, it's a box company. I know that sounds super boring, but it's really a lot more than that. It's a little hard to explain, so I'll try to illustrate it below.

But first, I want to show you this video project I managed at my internship. It's designed to help educate the public on how smaller packages can help save the environment. Please give it a watch, comment on here and on YouTube, and LIKE the video!



Alright, if you'd like to know more, here's a more in-depth explanation of how Packsize works:

Imagine you're the warehouse manager for a large internet-based company that ships a variety of products. A company like Amazon or Zappos. How many different sized boxes do you carry?

Keep in mind that there is a trade off here. Because empty space in a box has to be filled with packing peanuts or those plastic airbags (which cost money and pollute the environment), and because shipping fees are based in part on the size of the package, you have an incentive to have many different box sizes so that you can fit your products in the smallest possible box.

On the other hand, the more box sizes you carry, the more boxes you'll have to order, the more time your employees spend looking for the right box, and the more space in your warehouse is take up by cardboard.

Long story short, no matter how many box sizes you get, you're probably going to end up with a lot empty space. In fact, it's estimated that 40% of everything shipped is empty space.

So, the Packsize way of doing stuff is much simpler. We provide cardboard and a machine that can print a box of any size instantaneously. This clears up a bunch of inventory space that would be taken up by boxes, reduces the amount of cardboard needed, and the space taken up by each package. In the end, everyone wins. Businesses save money, the environment receives less pollution, and you the consumer don't have to throw away a massive box with tons of air pillows.

Thanks guys! I'll post more of my projects as they become available.

The No-Cry YouTube Challenge

A while ago, I was browsing Reddit when I stumbled upon the "19 Video No Cry Challenge." Holy crap, they weren't kidding about the challenge part. I definitely shed a tear or two. Don't worry - they were manly tears. Anyway, I wanted to share the playlist with you to see how well you could do. This is a significantly shorter version of the playlist, with only six videos, and a couple of bonus, extra credit vids. If you can make it all the way through this without breaking down, I'm seriously impressed, and a bit scared that you may be heartless.

In the comments section, let me know how you did, how far you got, and which video really did you in. I want to hear from you! Yes, that means you - person who's been lurking forever and remaining anonymous. The total playlist time is 34 minutes. It's 41 if you add the extra credit videos at the end (and I recommend you do, since they're pretty good).

Warning: I'm not joking around, this could make you ugly cry.


Good luck.





*warning: one N-word.





*warning: A handful of F-bombs dropped and other language.

a
Good luck making it through all ten minutes here. I had to quit within three.

Bonus Extra Credit Videos. These are a lot easier to watch than the other videos, and have a happier tone.







And now that you're a sobbing mess, here's a video to make you happy again:

Also, since I haven't posted any photos in this post, 

here's a picture of me with a kitten.

Once again, let me know how you did.

YouTube Sharing Time

Here are some of my  favorite YouTube videos of the last couple of months.

If my blog was animated, it would probably look something like this:



This video made me realize that I am a crappy older brother:


While we're watching videos of cute kids, this little girl is unhappy with the marketing tactics toy companies use.


Finally, this is the sequel to one of my favorite YouTube videos ever. If every shell were like this, I would go to the beach and get tons of little shell friends.

In Case of Fire.

My apartment complex has three elevators.  All of them are accompanied by signs that look like this:

The ones we have, however, have black text with a white background, which is much easier to read.

I like the design of these signs much better than other ones I've seen.  For example, this sign seems to be encouraging running straight into flames in the event of a fire, which I believe is quite counter-productive:

All of the "In Case of Fire Signs" are accompanied by braille text at the bottom; giving the same instructions again to all the seeing impaired.

Well, I noticed that some jerk has been systematically scratching the little braille bumps off of the ''In Case of Fire" sign.  What if some poor blind person who knows how to read braille actually takes the time to read that sign in the event of a fire?  Since there are dots missing, the braille could say something else entirely.

But hey, at least it's not as bad as what they did to the girls' elevator:

Thanks for the Memories

On Thursday, March 25, the BYU basketball team was defeated in overtime by Florida in the third round of March Madness.  My school has only made it to the Sweet 16 one other time in  history, so I'm pretty proud of them.  Of course it was very disappointing when they lost, but I don't want to go into a commentary of the game here.  I just want to put up some of my favorite memories of the season.

 This season will forever be defined by Jimmer Fredette--the man, the legend, the star of the media hype.  I wrote about the start of super Jimmer Mania here.  Lets take a moment to look at some more Jimmer memes:

The Testaments of one team and many 3-pointers

Jimmer's fanbase extends beyond generations.

And lets not forget the coaches:

The fans made some super memorable signs:

Yahoo! Sports even did a story on the Ten Best Jimmer Signs:
1. "John Stockton is really here to see Jimmer."
2. "Physics says NO. Jimmer says YES."
3. "Jimmer Crossing, Brace Yourself."
4. "Romney/Jimmer, 2012. Jimmer/Romney, 2012."
5. "Cougs bring style ... And today's fashion is Jimmer."
6. "Jimmerica: Land of the three, Home of the shaved."
7. "It's Peanut Butter Jimmer Time."
8. "Gonzaga, a bunch of Jimmerish."
9. "Who needs 7 footers when you can have 27 footers?"
10. "Happy St. Jimmer Day."



But those are only signs found at the first two tournament games.  For a while, I couldn't go anywhere without seeing some Jimmer Mania:

Valentine's Day at the Testing Center

The Bowling Alley

Wal-Mart

And then there were the fan videos:

 

 

Plus THREE Sports Illustrated covers:

To Jimmer and the rest of the the BYU team: Thanks for the memories.

Thanks

Thanksgiving is nearly upon us.  I'm really excited about it.  I love spending time with the extended family and overeating.  Well....I can and do overeat all the time--Thanksgiving is just the day when it's socially acceptable and I can do it with style.

Last year, my little brother blogged about some of the things he's grateful for.  It was a wonderful list, and I figured I ought to follow his example and jot down some of the things I'm grateful for.

Thank you to:
-The BYU 65th ward
-The Arkansas Little Rock Mission and my wonderful mission president and companions.
-All the opportunities I ever have to testify and share what I believe.
-Anyone that invites me to get out of the apartment and do something with them.  It's greatly appreciated.
-The people in our military who serve our country.
-All the cars that give me the right of way while I'm on my bike.
-All the cars that don't run over me while I'm on my bike.
-That person who paid for my breakfast over two years ago when I forgot my wallet.  I never got the opportunity to repay him or even get his name.
-YouTube.  You make me smile.
-Chalupas
-People who laugh.
-Thanksgiving pies.  Yes!
-Leftover Thanksgiving turkey
- Anyone that comments on my blog, posts on my Facebook, or sends out a text every now and then.
-The free single of the week on iTunes.  That's $52 a year worth of songs that Apple doesn't have to give us.
-Warm sunny days (you'll be missed for the next six months)
-A day that isn't warm or sunny that reminds us how nice other days are (as long as it doesn't overstay its welcome).
-BYU
-Art
-The Carl Bloch exhibit at the BYU Museum of Art.  Amazingly inspiring.
-Any teacher or professor that has made me want to go to their class everyday.
-A person that knows what their standards are and won't budge when given the opportunity to lower them.
-Talented people that share their talents.
-Sign shakers on street corners that dance.
-My little brothers who are such good examples to me.
-My parents who still care about how I'm doing.
-Friends that stop and say hi when we pass each other in the hallway or on campus.
-People that give compliments.

On that note, I wanted to share a video that a couple of my friends posted on Facebook.  It's a short film that 15 minutes long, but totally worth every second.  You won't regret taking the time to see it.

Now go out there and make someone elses day!

Writer's Block

I'm still dealing with some hardcore writer's block.  Or maybe it's a creativity block.  I really want to start a new painting, but I can't come up with any ideas right now (by the way, any thoughts would be appreciated).  So this post will probably be a bit disjointed.

I'm trying a new thing right now.  It's called "cooking my own food."  When I worked at Taco Bell, I got 50% off everything in the food court.  It made sense to eat there, like, everyday.  When I was on a mission, members of the various congregation usually fed us around 5-7 times a week.  Now, I'm starting to see the financial costs of eating out all the time, so I'm resolving to cook for myself more often.  The nice thing: thanks to the frozen food section, I can eat all the junk that I normally have at fast food places at home.  Hello cheddar peppers and chicken strips.  Also, I got a bunch of Hot Pockets for snacks.  I'm very aware that this means I'm white trash.




Yes, I eat absolute garbage.  But that's the nice thing about having the metabolism of a greased cheetah strapped to a rocket and set on fire while being chased by ninjas.

Thank you, MS Paint.

I also saw Toy Story 3 this last week.  I can't believe how the Pixar guys keep topping themselves.  Surely, they must hit movie nirvana sometime, and then eventually start making lower quality films, but that isn't anywhere in sight right now.  Anyway, it was truly beautiful and the ending was more emotional than any animated film I've ever seen.  If you haven't seen it yet, stop reading and go see it.  Now. 

There are rumors that Toy Story 3 could actually win Oscars outside of the 'Best Animated Picture' category.  That reminds me of this awesome trailer I saw the other day called [the movie's title].  Here, take a look.

What's funny is that the YouTube comment's section for this video reads just like the trailer.  And I quote:

"Incendiary comment demeaning women and ignoring the general theme, while focusing on a body part or function. Rampant misspelling and grammatical errors intertwined with offensive language, ensuring that readers are left with a sense that the general populous and especially modern youth are self-absorbed unscrupulous ignoramuses."

"@someotherattentionseekingpost­er, unproductive name calling based purely on difference in opinion; possibly some reference involving the Third Reich"

"@Jerkposter INCREDIBLY THOUGHTLESS ARGUMENT DESCRIBING THE WAYS YOU ARE WRONG AND THEREFORE HOMOSEXUAL, ALL IN CAPITALS AND MISSPELLED."

Gotta love the Internet.

Top 5 Halloween Videos

This post combines two of my favorite things in the world:  Halloween and YouTube.  Halloween was THE holiday I looked forward to as a kid.  I would often start thinking about what my Halloween Costume would be right around November 1st or 2nd.  Maybe it's a bad thing to be into the whole monsters and demons stuff, but I just get a kick out of the costumes, the makeup and the decorations.

And YouTube is my pastime.  I think it's pretty much my go to source of entertainment when I'm bored, and sharing stupid YouTube videos with my roommates and friends is one of my favorite activities.

And so, without further ado, I give you my top five favorite Halloween YouTube videos:

5.  Human Transformer:  Halloween just wouldn't be Halloween without costumes.  People pay big bucks to get the best costumes and win contests at parties (if you're still looking for ideas, see CostumesDiscounters.com--be warned, their 'Humorous' costumes are kind of dirty-- or BuyCostumes.com).   There are a few different videos like this out on the Internet, but this one wins for clever engineering, good transformation, and the little jig the guy does towards the end.

4. Never Scare a Black Guy:  This one really needs no introduction.  It's short and sweet.



3.  Sorority Girls From Hell:  A very animated girl tries to explain to her date the 50's b-movie she saw the other night; Sorority Girls From Hell!  The theme songs got stuck in my head for a week after I saw this.



2.  Halloween Pumpkin Massacre:  Common horror film ingredients: sharp objects, screaming victims, and lots of gore.  Now combine that with talking pumpkins.   Natural connection, right?



1. Scare Tactics:  Gary the Babysitter:  Scare Tactics is a hidden camera show on cable that gets its laughs by scaring the pants off of its victims.  Oftentimes they go overboard with some extreme pranks, but they've also had some real gems.  Some of my favorite vids on YouTube include 'Bigfoot,' 'Alien Abduction,' and 'Rat Monster;'  but this one takes the number one spot mainly because of Gary's reaction.   There's just something endlessly entertaining about feminine guys screaming.

Have a wonderful Halloween!!