This is a great time to be a toddler, isn't it? The powers-that-be apparently believe preschool kids are one hot demographic. Cool toddler gear is being churned out at a dizzying pace and it's becoming harder and harder to keep track of all the stars visiting the hippest children's television shows. From April 27th to April 30th, pop singer Beyonce Knowles will be a special guest on Nick Jr's Wow Wow Wubbzy. She will be the voice of the lead singer of the Wubb Girlz, an all-girl band. Then, on May 1st, Beyonce will return in the role for the hour-long “Wubb Idol”! Check your local listings for exact times.
Here's a quick sneak preview of Beyonce rocking Wuzzleburg with her original tune, "Sing a Song":
Beyonce Lends "Shine" to Wubbzy
Where the Wild Things Are
If you have a little one who loves to read (or be read to), chances are you already own Maurice Sendak's classic "Where The Wild Things Are" in book form. Well, soon it will be a feature film directed by Spike Jonze and produced by Tom Hanks. The cast includes Catherine Keener, Max Records, James Gandolfini, Forest Whitaker, Lauren Ambrose, and Mark Ruffalo. Like the children's book, the movie tells the story of Max, a little boy who creates his own world, including a forest inhabited by ferocious wild creatures.
The release has been pushed back a couple of times, but the current date is October 16, 2009. The trailer makes me think it might be worth the wait.
Oprah Comes To Twitterville: There Goes the Neighborhood?
First take a look at the picture on the left. Do you know what that is? It's a screenshot Oprah Winfrey's Twitter page. As you can see, the queen of daytime talk has tens of thousands of followers without uttering one tweet. But tomorrow, Oprah plans to dole out her first ever twit on her television show with Ashton Kutcher by her side- at which time all hell will break loose. Well, it will, won't it? Haven't all of the Twitter hiccups in the last week burned the Fail Whale into our weary retinas? What will happen when all those soccer moms, retirees, and other demographics hop online to discover the deliciousness that is Twitter? Can a system that is already creaking and groaning possibly take the strain? Just maybe it can bend a little more without breaking. It'll have to. Ready or not, here comes the most powerful woman in television.
Read more here and here.
The Fail Whale Martini
The Fail Whale drink, named for the illustration that pops up on your computer screen when Twitter is over-taxed, first appeared at the Shorty Awards in New York. Everyone says this is going to be the cocktail of the season, but it's almost impossible to find a proper recipe. It turns out there are two or three recipes. Thanks to some industrious Twitter buddies (and little help from @mixologist ) Black Twitterati has been able to piece them together. Choose your own adventure.
The Fail Whale Martini
1 part Absolute
1 part Cointreau
1 part Blue Curacao
Lime Slice
Pour over ice and mix in a shaker. Serve in martini glasses.
The Fail Whale Martini II (a variation on the Blue Whale
1 part Vodka or Gin (depending on who you ask)
1 part Blue Curacao
1 part Orange Juice
1 part Pineapple Juice
1 part Sweet and Sour Mix
Pour ingredients over ice and mix in a shaker. Strain into tall glasses.
Garnish with a plastic blue whale and a cherry. Serve.
The Fail Whale Drink, according to FailWhaleDrink.com is:
1 Glass of Heineken
.5 shot of Blue Curacao
.5 shoto of Vodka
1 Sardine (if available)
Drop the shot of Vodka and Blue Curacao into the pint glass heineken, garnish with a Sardine.
There's also the Fail Whale Iced Tea:
0.5 oz Blue Curacao
0.5 oz Gin
0.5 oz Rum
0.5 oz Triple sec
0.5 oz OVAL Vodka
Directions:
Pour all the ingredients over ice. Shake and garnish with a lemon squeeze.
If you decide to try any of these out, please come back and give a review! Also check out www.whatisfailwhale.info, which is the entire collection of fail whale sightings on the internet. Thanks to the original fail whale creator @yiyinglu for letting us dip our toes in her stream over at Flickr.
Throwback Thursday: Pinball Number Count
-by Erica
"1-2-3-4-5, 6-7-8-9-10, 11-12!"
When I was a child, the Pinball Number Count was my favorite cartoon skit on Sesame Street. I just didn't understand why the show couldn't run it every single day. Now, thanks to the internet I can share it with my little one who seems just as mesmerized as I was at his age. But, I only recently discovered it was sung by the Pointer Sisters! So here it is from the flashback vault, Pinball Number Count:
Debut: 1976 on Sesame Street
Produced in San Francisco for the Children's Television Workshop
Would You Pay To Tweet?
This is the question that's being knocked around quite a bit these days. That's because last week the Wall Street Journal reported that Twitter has plans to sell "premium" features. There are no real details, except that those special options (which could be anything from analytics to a higher quality of service) would reportedly be sold mostly to businesses.
For the record, Twitter founders say there are no fees planned for individuals using the regular service. But, the question lingers: Would you be willing to pay to gain high-powered information about Twitter users and traffic? If so, how much would something like that be worth to you per month?
