heatherwhaling's posterous - musings and observations from @prtini

August 3, 2009

Jobless Grad Sues College for failing to provide leads/career advice it promised

A college grad is suing her alma mater for $70,000 (her tuition) because she says they failed to do enough to help her get a job. Two thoughts:

1) If this lawsuit actually turns into anything worthwhile, I bet lots of recent grads will line up ready to sue their alma maters. Could this impact how Career Services departments are marketed at colleges around the country, or is it just a blip on the radar from one of many people struggling in this economic situation?

2) What ever happened to needing to *earn* a job? I went to college, worked hard to get good grades, participated in activities that would enhance my resume, completed multiple internships -- all things that would help me more marketable to future employers. Why do people think they should rely on someone else to get them a job? How about a little personal responsibility? This is a crappy economy -- and there are far too many people competing for a select few number of jobs. Did the woman filing the lawsuit do everything in her power to strengthen her credentials, or is she putting her future in someone else's hands?

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July 28, 2009

Woman Sued for $50,000 Over a Tweet

via mashable.com

A women with only 20 followers on Twitter tweeted about her less-than-desirable living conditions. Instead of trying to fix the situation, the apartment company sued her for $50,000. Seriously.

Most absurd quote of the story (from a Horizon rep): "We’re a sue first, ask questions later kind of an organization.”

What started as something that wouldn't have been a blip on hardly anyone's radar has now been tweeted about thousands of times. All because Horizon Realty, the property management company, took an old-school approach -- suing for defamation -- instead of just responding to her tweet and trying to remedy the situation.

When will companies learn that the same old rules don't apply anymore?

Note: If anyone from Horizon reads this, please don't sue me. Thanks.

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July 9, 2009

Evian Roller Babies international version

via youtube.com

Remember the dancing baby from Ally McBeal? Well, thanks to technology, that baby is a little hipper now -- dancing *and* roller skating in the new Evian commercial. Who wouldn't want to watch cute babies with a hint of hipster attitude?

What do you think about the new ad? Hit or miss?

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July 4, 2009

True Love: Bug Killing

I woke up earlier than my husband this morning and tried to be quiet so he could sleep in for once. Except then I found a bug. Bugs and I -- we don't get along. But, I thought I could devise a way to get the creepy crawler out of the condo without waking up my husband. In true MacGyver fashion, I got out the vacuum cleaner, extended the hose and sucked up that bug. Now, I thought that would be the end of that. Not quite.

The bug started crawling around in the clear tube -- looking like it was going to dig a hole through all the dust and dirt to rejoin society ... and get back at me. So, that was when I decided to wake Mike up. Someone needed to empty the dust- and (now) bug-filled container and get that thing out of here. I thought about letting Mike sleep, but the escape-artist bug was too much. As I write this, Mike is outside disposing of the dust ... and the bug.

Being woken up on a Saturday. To kill a bug. And not complaining. Now, that's true love!! :)

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June 30, 2009

BBQ Chain Smokey Bones Turns Staff Into Social Media Hosts - Advertising Age - Digital

via adage.com

Check out this case study on Smokey Bones -- the BBQ chain of restaurants. It's a smart look at how social media can be directed at the corporate level and implemented locally. (Click on the image above to see the full article from Ad Age.)

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June 29, 2009

Michael Jackson's Pepsi Commercial

One more in a long line of Michael Jackson-related blasts from the past:

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June 25, 2009

Insane News Cycle

Today is my birthday, but there are much more interesting/exciting/sad/shocking things developing:

Michael Jackson just died
Farrah Fawcett died earlier today
Vince Carter got traded to the Magic (I know that's not as huge, but still!)

Understandably, all this breaking news has transformed Twitter into a very large water cooler tonight. Lots of tweets. Interestingly, according to one Twitter expert's search script, approximately 15% of all posts on Twitter mention Michael Jackson at this time. That same person said tweets about Iran or the swine flu never topped 5%.

Wonder what that says about the King of Pop's iconic place in our culture ... and possibly our somewhat skewed priorities.

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Filed under // News Pop Culture

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June 11, 2009

Even Orlando trash cans have Magic fever!

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June 10, 2009

New York's John Cooper

When John Cooper coached Ohio State's football team, he had an oustanding record: 111-43-4. That's second only to Woody Hayes (who is still deemed a God in the Buckeye State). But, Coop didn't fair so well against the Team Up North ... also known as the University of Michigan. Believed by many to be the best rival in college sports, not much compares to the Ohio State/Michigan rivalry. But, Cooper had an abysmal 2-10-1 record against the Wolverines. In Ohio, that's totally unacceptable -- which is why Coop doesn't get anywhere near the love and devotion fans have for Hayes.

The best professional sports rivalry might just be between my beloved Yankees and the vaunted Red Sox Nation. (Blech!) In his second season as Yankee manager, Joe Girardi has weathered all kinds of drama -- an injury-prone pitching staff, A-Rod scandals, A-Rod injuries, a new ballpark that can't contain balls hit to right field -- yet the team is tied for first place. That's got to be some kind of miricle if you ask me! But, even so, I'm not head-over-heals for Joe. At least not yet. Here's the problem: He is 0-for-the-season against the Red Sox. That's right -- the BoSox have defeated the Bronx Bombers in six consecutive games (and as I write this, the Yankees are losing again).

Joe, please. Yankee fans everywhere are begging you. Don't be John Cooper-esque!

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Filed under // Sportastic

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May 30, 2009