How Animals Eat Their Food

Peanut told me this short clip garnered over 20 million hits in five days on YouTube.

Its classic slapstick stuff and I got a good laugh out of it. Perhaps that reveals something about my intellectual depth.

Anyway…as I've mentioned before, Peanut watches YouTube way more than what I’d call conventional television.

But what is conventional television anymore?

In the most recent issue of Wired, Willa Paskin  points out that streaming video has not only enabled us to watch our favorite shows on any computer with a WiFi connection, it has also changed the very nature of how we watch TV. We are now able to "binge watch” our favorite shows.

“Whatever our televisual drug of choice—Battle­star Galactica, The Wire, Homeland— we've all put off errands and bedtime to watch just one more, a thrilling, draining, dream-­influencing immersion experience that has become the standard way to consume certain TV programs. We've all had the hit of pleasure after an installment ends on some particularly insane cliff-hanger and we remember that we can watch the next episode right now. It’s a relatively recent addition to the pantheon of slightly illicit yet mostly harmless adult pleasures, residing next to eating ice cream for dinner, drinking a beer with lunch, and having sex with someone you probably shouldn't.”

Guilty. Just last Friday we binge watched two episodes of Homeland after we got home from dinner.

Let’s Dance

When I saw this post on HoCo Rising this morning I smiled. Earlier this week Peanut forwarded me the link to the video that inspired the midshipmans spirit dance as her latest Peanuts Picks. I told her I’d put it up on To2C over the weekend.

Gangnam Style has received over 242 million views on You Tube making it a certified internet sensation.

I had never heard of it until this week, once again showing just how out of sync I can be at times.

So, without further words from this old dog, here is the video that got the mids dancing in Annapolis…

No Post Day

I spent today playing host and driver for Peanuts birthday activities. That left little time to drop in a few words in here at To2C. I barely had enough discretionary time to just read the morning paper.

So instead of my usual blather and  in honor of her birthday, I offer To2C readers another installment of Peanuts Picks. My teenage daughter digs up some pretty unusual stuff on You Tube and she is now sharing her best finds here.

This one is called “adsfmovie5.”

  Fear the turtle indeed.

It’s a Meme Dad

Back in March I decided to begin featuring the occasional video of my daughter’s choosing. Peanut is a teenager about to enter her first year of high school. She plays Minecraft and watches YouTube videos more than she watches regular television.

She has shown me things that make me laugh. What surprised me most though was the realization that I’m probably the last person on earth to see this. This particular video has been viewed by over 14 million people.

“It’s a meme dad.”

I’m still trying to get used to that word.

This Peanut’s Pick is called Trololo Sing Along.

Mega Millions Mojo

According to some, I have a better chance of dying from a flesh-eating bacteria than I have of winning the record Mega Millions jackpot.

I still bought a ticket.

In fact, I bought five of them. Early Wednesday evening, I stopped in the Exxon gas station across from the Ellicott City firehouse on Montgomery Road. I needed a cup of coffee before heading over to Courtney's fundraising event.

The clerk greeted me as soon as I walked in the door.

“Is the coffee fresh?”

“Very,” he responded. “I just made a pot a half hour ago.”

Perfect. As I poured a cup he mentioned something about the Mega Millions record jackpot. I thanked him for reminding me and then asked him to print out five individual tickets. When he handed me the tickets, I handed him one back.

“Good luck,” I said.

“Thank you,” he said.

I left before he could say anymore. I didn’t want him to hear him say something like that if he won he’d give me half. I didn’t want any agreements. I wanted the gesture to stand on its own merit.

Later, at the bar in the Shanty Grille I gave out three more tickets, again with no discussions of quid pro quo allowed.

It felt good. For four bucks I shared a happy moment with four different people, one a complete stranger. It was cheaper than the price of a single beer.

Of course I kept one for myself. I figure all that good mojo I spread has to count for something better than a flesh-eating bacteria.

This Mega Millions video was found by my daughter Peanut, who happens to excel at finding interesting videos on You Tube. Today at lunch I told we should start sharing her finds on Tales of Two Cities.

"We'll call it Peanuts Picks."

She seemed to like that.