Transformers Is So 2009…
In 2010, check out the kids toy, Magformers.Â
A fun and educational toy using magnets and geometric shapes. Who knew squares and triangles could be used to build so many things?
Passion
New in the URL Shortening World
Keeping up with the world of URL shorteners, bit.ly has just announced bit.ly Pro which does custom URLs now (like what YOURLS is doing for Pulpconnection). Then there’s the gorilla in the room known as Google which has goo.gl for its own internal URL shortening of Google-provided services.
I like me my pulp.ly.
Amazon’s MP3 Daily Deal: Alicia Keys
The Daily Deal at Amazon’s MP3 store is Alicia Keys’ newest release, The Element of Freedom. Only $3.99 on December 15, 2009 only.
When You Need Aural Pleasures
Sometimes you just need aural pleasures in your life. When you do, here’s an oldie mix of songs from back in the day.
Sadly, it’s only a subset because of the lameness of iMixes in iTunes 9. Missing aural pleasures are:
- One Week, Barenaked Ladies
- Mary’s Prayer, who sings this?
- Father of Mine, Everclear
- Hooch, Everything
- Fire Escape, Fastball
- I Think I’m Paranoid, Garbage
- Flagpole Sitta, Harvey Danger
- Can’t Get Enough of You Baby, Smash Mouth
- West End Girls, Pet Shop Boys
Eminem Is the Artist of the Decade
Marshall Mathers had the most album sales for this past decade? Really? It doesn’t matter if Slim released Encore in 2004 and five years later, came out with Relapse. I own both of them.
The decade’s most streamed track is Shakira’s Hips Don’t Lie. Don’t watch the lies in this video!
6 Blogging Lessons Learned from New Moon
The Twilight saga’s New Moon is having such a profound impact – on the perception of Young Adult books, on movie sales, on life lessons, on perturbing thoughts, on the rise of the Twimom phenomenon, and yes, even on blogging. For me, here are six blogging lessons learned from New Moon.
1. Have a dreamcatcher
What’s happening in the dreamworld of your blog? Do you know? Have a dreamcatcher ready to really see what’s going on with visits, referrers, keywords, popular content, and much more. With popular blogging dreamcatchers like Google Analytics, Sitemeter, and Lijit, you can capture and analyze the unseen dreamworld of your blog.
2. The importance of image(s)
Even the eternal, almighty Volturi know the importance of protecting their image, and you shouldn’t discount the power of images for your blog. Pictures, images, and videos are a great way to make your posts pop and are a valuable traffic source. From the top 25 traffic sources for Pulpconnection, nine of them are referrals from image search engines.
3. “You know you’re sorta beautiful?”
In the blogging business, you’ve already heard the phrase “content is king.” That’s still true, and the content of your blog is extremely important. But almost as important is the appearance of your blog. If readers are transfixed by the beauty of your blog, they’ll stay longer and take in more of your beautiful content.
If you’re not an artist or designer like me, get a theme that’s beautiful to begin with. Head on over to DIY Themes and admire Thesis. Thesis is a beautiful starting point.
4. Communicate with your pack
How do you talk with your pack, your blogging community? Sure, all blogs allow comments but for wolf-like telepathy, try another commenting system like Intense Debate, Disqus, or Echo. Improving on notifications, spam protection, and integration, these systems constantly keep you connected to your pack.
5. Ready for the chase?
Be it an onslaught of wolves or a rush of network traffic, are you ready for the chase? Will you be unprepared and suffer the fate of Laurent, or will you be cunning like Victoria and have WP Super Cache installed? With WP Super Cache, your blog will be able to keep up with the pace of fast attacks and survive to fight another day.
6. Rock hard abs are hot
Plain and simple. Young or old(er), guys or gals, werewolf or vampire, rock hard abs are hot. No blogging lesson from this other than rock’em while you got’em!
So, let’s visually review six blogging lessons learned from New Moon.
Got that?
A Favorite from 2006
Wow, three years already since the debut of Corinne Bailey Rae. A great collection of mellow pop music is Amazon’s daily special, going for only $1.99. Definitely can’t go wrong with this purchase.
And while you’re at it, get Amazon’s free Christmas song of the day, Christmas Tree
Then enter to win Lady Gaga’s shopping cart at Amazon.com. What’s in the cart? I don’t know, but it’s valued at $2000 and you can enter to win it.
New Moon in 4 Minutes
Haven’t had time to watch the latest Twilight saga, New Moon, in the theaters yet? Here’s a four minute video synopsis including the surprising ending. Of course, spoilers are evident.
This video is so going to be taken down, so watch it while it’s available.
The Blessings of Being Taylor Lautner’s Boy Toy
I can’t deny it. I am Taylor Lautner’s boy toy, and I have been blessed. Look at this past week’s search results for Pulpconnection, domination by the New Moon hunk.
- goteamjacob.com 390 times
- taylor lautner 361 times
- taylor lautner underwear 150 times
- apple happy friday 96 times
- taylor lautner steroids 50 times
- taylor lautner in underwear 49 times
- www.goteamjacob.com 32 times
- taylor lautner pictures 31 times
- bella’s lullaby sheet music 25 times
- goteamjacob 25 times
- pictures of taylor lautner 19 times
- hpdirect.com/deals/friendsandfamily/starbucks 18 times
- taylor lautner modeling 17 times
- team jacob underwear 15 times
- teamjacob.com 13 times
- taylor lautner calvin klein 12 times
- taylor lautner abs 12 times
- team jacob.com 12 times
- taylor lautner model 11 times
- taylor lautner photos 10 times
From recent analytics, I knew I <3 Twilight, Jacob and Taylor Lautner, and these latest stats enforce Team Jacob’s fandom. But would I have guessed that pimping out Jacob Black would turn into a blessing?
In December 2008, I made the switch from Google’s Blogger to WordPress, and Pulpconnection visits tanked. Links and URLs broke or changed, ruining Pulpconnection’s standings with search engines. But look what happened in October and November 2009, activity finally caught up with and exceeded averages from one year ago.
That’s the blessing of being Taylor Lautner’s boy toy! So I’d like to say thanks to Taylor, he of the washboard abs.
The 90’s Was My Kicks Era
Over on Slam Online, they’re reminiscing the top basketball kicks from the 80’s, 90’s, and now. Without a doubt, the 90’s was my kicks era. Let’s check them off:
- And1 Tai Chi
- Nike Air Max Penny
- Nike Air Flight Huarache
- Air Jordan XI
- Nike Zoom Flight (not really, but I had the cheaper versions)
- Nike Air Max Uptempo (the OG colorway is the best)
A very nice stroll down the kicks memory lane indeed.
Holiday Gift Guide: Wooden iPod Cases
How about literally a cherry fresh case for your iPod or iPhone? Vers crafts wooden cases for a variety of iPods and iPhones using materials like cherry, bamboo, and walnut.
Very unique looking, environmentally sustainable, and adds a natural element to your tech.
Just Dance 2
Available this week, Just Dance 2 featuring 17 tracks from Rihanna, Kelly Clarkson, Mariah Carey and favorites, Armin Van Buuren, Kaskade, Deadmau5, and Tiesto. Both Amazon and iTunes offer slightly different exclusive versions. Amazon includes Mariah Carey’s I Want to Know What Love Is while iTunes offers Future Love Remix by Kristina DeBarge.
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