Confessions of a Cybernegress

Baby steps: First Trimester Blues

2013-05-10T18:02:00.001-04:00

The title might be hyperbole--but today, it feels just right. A lot has happened since my last blog post: I had an ultrasound, which showed Rob and me the little seahorse-looking bundle that is our Bean. And we heard the Bean's heartbeat, which was one of the most awe-inspiring things I've experienced. Hearing such a steady, strong rhythm from such a tiny thing has made my pregnancy tangible and real.

So has the nausea.

I've listened to the advice from the parade of sweet, well-meaning women in my life, and the long list of random and ultimately ineffective remedies for morning sickness. My OB/GYN gave me a prescription for Zofran, an anti-nausea medication formulated for chemo patients. It did the job, but its side effects ended up being worse than the nausea itself. So I've settled my stomach with a combination of even more random remedies: fresh grated ginger tea, lemonade with club soda, and potato chips. Not exactly health food, but it's much better than the alternative.

I shouldn't complain. All things considered, I have it much better than many other women in their first trimesters: I haven't barfed yet, and although the nausea is sometimes accompanied by a fast-moving and vicious dizziness, I'm usually able to sleep it off. That doesn't help, though, if I'm at work or trying to go about normal daily tasks (in today's case, doing freelance writing work and packing--we're moving in a few days). I don't know how women in their first trimesters manage to conduct their normal lives while feeling like their insides are being shaken like a snowglobe.

Moms: How did you get through your first trimester? What tricks or tips kept you active and on your feet? Tell me in the comments.

Baby steps: Adventures in Pregnancy

2013-04-28T13:29:00.000-04:00

It's been a couple of weeks since I found out I'm carrying my first child, and even though my husband and I are both still blissed out over the news, things have gotten a little more real. Married for four years and together for eight, it was important to us that our marriage was as strong as it could be before we started a family. We're ready--but I don't know that we're "ready"-ready.

That's not to say we haven't been planning for this: we've tried ovulation kits and counting days on the calendar and other random, possibly embarrassing things to get pregnant. I realized a couple of Sundays ago that I hadn't started my period yet, and asked Rob to pick up a pregnancy test from the pharmacy down the street. Seeing that blue plus sign stunned me, but when I showed it to Rob his initial reaction was identical to mine: overpowering joy, tempered almost immediately by a nagging fear. How will we afford child care? Who's going to teach Rob to change diapers? Will I be able to stay healthy and active throughout my pregnancy? Where are we going to get the money to raise a child who's healthy, well-educated, happy and prepared for a bright future?

These questions are important, but I'm more concerned with the here and now. I'm in the middle of my first trimester and, all things considered, I'm having a much easier time of it than other women--no nausea to speak of, no constant fatigue, no averse reaction to smells or tastes of food. But there are some developments I wasn't counting on: My husband is cleaning the house without being asked. He's devouring pregnancy and fetal development books and telling me what our Bean looks like at seven weeks (a Beluga whale). He's making sure I take my prenatal vitamin every day and that I get the healthy calories I need to keep myself and the Bean well-fed. I am grateful every day that I married a man as loving and honest and generous as my husband. But becoming pregnant has shown me just how strong he is, and how excited he is about becoming a dad.

We've only got seven or eight months to get our shit together--decorating a nursery, Lamaze and breastfeeding classes, arranging maternity leave--before our Bean makes his/her debut. And even though my body is changing rapidly, and I have no idea what kind of mom I'll be, I know that I've got one hell of a partner in parenthood and in marriage. This is going to be a fun ride.

Accidental Racism and Intentional Wackness

2013-04-08T19:16:00.000-04:00

I really don't know what to say about "Accidental Racist" that hasn't been said by everyone else on Twitter for the past few hours. What I will say, however, is that I kind of get what Paisley and LL are trying to do--for generations, people have used music to bridge cultural gaps. And Paisley gets a little credit: after all, he's a country singer that's dipping his toe into crossover waters. A country/rap collabo has been successful on the charts once before, so why not reintroduce the trend now?

Turns out there's more than a few reasons. Nelly was still hot when he made that song with Tim McGraw, and it became an international hit. Of course, the subject was love instead of race or culture; and instead of playing up the genre clash, Nelly and McGraw complemented each other and ended up making a halfway decent pop song.

But ask twentysomethings who LL Cool J is and they'll probably tell you he's the dude from NCIS. LL has moved on from music and it's working out quite nicely for him; but this stunt with Paisley reads as a years-late attempt to create a new flavor of pop music. LL hasn't cared about his rap career in almost a decade--there's really no reason for him to try to start now.

With the right hook and lyrics, this could have been a decent track. But the words turn an awkward "Ebony and Ivory" update into a weird anthem of antebellum Southern pride:

You should try to get to know me, I really wish you would

Now my chains are gold but I’m still misunderstood

I wasn’t there when Sherman’s March turned the south into firewood

I want you to get paid but be a slave I never could

Feel like a new fangled Django, dodgin’ invisible white hoods

So when I see that white cowboy hat, I’m thinkin’ it’s not all good

I guess we’re both guilty of judgin’ the cover not the book

I’d love to buy you a beer, conversate and clear the air

But I see that red flag and I think you wish I wasn’t here

There is...a lot going on there. Slavery, the Civil War, a Django Unchained reference, the KKK, casual prejudice, a clumsy attempt at talking "hood," and the Confederate Flag. If there were a musical about regional differences in white male privilege, this number--call it "New Song of the South"--would be the first act's big finish. And that's before we even get to LL: "If you don't judge my gold chains/then I'll forget the iron chains." Man, what?

It's easy to see that LL and Paisley set out to do something big and meaningful. It's also easy to see that no one told them just how corny and tone-deaf this song is. And despite their best intentions, "Accidental Racist" is a failure on several levels.

Drive-By: Google Glass

2013-04-03T08:22:00.003-04:00

Last week, I was invited to take part in Google's #glassexplorers program. Knowing that I'll have to drop $1500 and pay for a plane ticket to go to San Francisco, Los Angeles or New York City for the privilege of having Glass hasn't deterred me or my insane glee. Wrote about it at the day job, where I'll probably do a series of posts about the entire process of being chosen, receiving the device, and using it. I have a feeling there will be a lot of stories to tell.

I'm excited to see how I can use Glass in my everyday life, but I'm even more excited by the possibility that Glass could help me become more productive. I'm kind of a workaholic, and having a device I can wear on my head that can take notes, send images and emails, and give me a way to read content on the go is both awesome and a little terrifying. And while Glass is still brand new, Google's exploration of wearable tech may mean that even more advanced technology is just a few years away--and that's almost as exciting as Glass itself.

So, stay tuned--both here and at my work blog--for more news and awesomeness.

Drive-By: Spotify

2013-03-28T12:21:00.000-04:00

I was doing pretty well on the whole personal blogging thing for a minute. Then, work got workier, so I do most of my blogging there. Read my post from today about Spotify's debut TV commercial, and how horrible it is.

GOP vs. The Internets

2013-03-13T20:52:00.000-04:00

I admit that I'm way more plugged in to political social media discussions than most folks, and that even the vastness of Twitter becomes an echo chamber if you follow the wrong political junkies. And to their credit, the Republican party did their best to fight Obama's drum-tight digital game during the 2012 presidential race.

The sad thing is that their best wasn't nearly good enough, and Barack Obama coasted to reelection. And, despite all the reasons in the world to change their positions on pretty much everything, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus is turning to Silicon Valley to give the sagging, jowly GOP a facelift:

It's part of a broader effort to modernize the party in the wake of its 2012 election losses.In hiring the new CTO, the RNC hopes take a page out of the Obama campaign playbook and look outside of politics, with the goal of recruiting someone from Silicon Valley or the "private data world" to fill the post by May 1.

The focus is, of course, on getting someone into the CTO position so that the Republican big shots can get where they need to be in the constant chatter of online politics. But their focus is not on using the power of social media to sell new ideas. It doesn't matter if the GOP hits every social media platform known to man--they'll only succeed in alienating more people with their staunch rejection of anything that doesn't end in giving more to the rich and taking more from the poor.

So, kudos to the Republican Party for recognizing the need to take control of the Internet. But until they accept that their ideas need to be reformed, they'll end up doing nothing more than email blasting high-quality political spam.

Fit for a queen: Willam and The Stylish

2013-03-10T14:24:00.000-04:00

Working in digital marketing is really kind of fun, but it also means that it's hard sometimes to turn off my work brain. Because I work and live online, there's rarely a moment when I don't think about marketing. I could be watching The Americans, one of my new favorite shows, and I end up searching for elements of their online marketing campaign. Or I could be surfing Facebook and I end up wondering why they're showing me retargeting ads from stuff I viewed on the Internet once or twice in the past week.

And since I'm borderline obsessed with with RuPaul's Drag Race, I've gotten hooked on Willam's Beatdown, a web series produced by The Stylish. The web series arm of reality show production company Magical Elves, The Stylish features several series of fashion and LGBT-focused content.

I wasn't a big fan of Willam Belli during her turn on Drag Race, but she's hilarious on her own show. It's a countdown of the most popular and ridiculous YouTube stars and their video view numbers. Something this meta could be annoying, but Willam's brand of silly and sharp-tongued works. And since the majority of YouTube stars--including Willam herself--are easy to laugh at, it's hard to feel too bad for the videographers she slams.

The success of Beatdown also signals a new kind of TV-watching: people are no longer relying on broadcast and cable television to provide them with entertainment. And production companies are taking notice: Drag Race is much more popular than it was in its first couple of years, but it's still a show with a relatively small audience. Engaging those audience members online and providing them with more choices for web-based entertainment creates opportunities to keep audiences hooked--and online--instead of allowing them to flip TV channels to find something else to watch. When it comes to TV, the Internet can be a very small place --but more entertainment companies are beginning to see that as a feature instead of a bug.

With Magical Elves moving into digital content, it might be just a matter of time before we see more big-name production companies take risks on shows made specifically for the web. And although YouTube has become an independent performer's go-to outlet, the online revolution could turn into web-based TV for big networks, too.

So, I guess Prince is cool with the Internet now

2013-03-03T19:10:00.000-05:00

Prince's digital revolution has been a long time coming. He's been notorious for having YouTube remove recordings of his concerts, even videos as innocuous as a baby dancing to one of his tunes. Never a fan of the Internet, he once said that he can't stand digital music ("It affects a different place in your brain," he believes).

So the past couple of weeks have been kind of a big deal for Prince. In mid January, members of his new, insanely tight all-girl band 3rd Eye Girl were caught on videos denying connections with Prince, each video more clumsy and coy than the last. The band also has a website on which demos from a possible upcoming Prince album are available. And last week Prince performed his new single "Screwdriver" on Jimmy Fallon.

It's really cool that Prince is exploring how to connect with his fans online, and hardcore fans will love the chance to buy new demo tracks for anywhere from 88 cents to $1.77. But it's also sort of odd that Prince's PR team isn't even attempting to try new tactics online. Videos are cool, but there's so much more he could be doing. Hoping that interviews with his band will go viral is old hat. There are millions of dyed-purple Prince fans that will follow whatever he does. But preaching to the converted won't do much for his album sales.

I hope he and his team begin to harness the power of the Internet, instead of using it so cautiously. If there was ever a medium for musicians to have true autonomy, it's the Internet--but if his latest album and tour follow his established pattern, Prince won't bother with a passing fad like online music. And that's kind of sad.

Spins: Atoms for Peace

2013-03-02T20:49:00.000-05:00

I'm a shameless Radiohead fan. They're the one band from my generation that managed to be as weird as they dared--and they've only gotten weirder--while still being super-popular rockstars. And Thom Yorke's voice is as unique as Bruce Springsteen's, or Elton John's, or Stevie Wonder's, and he plays with it more than most singers of the moment.

Yorke's solo album The Eraser gave him the room to explore his penchant for spare, blippy soundscapes--and it managed to convey a chest-tightening anxiety that he only approaches with his day-job band. Yorke's voice filled and controlled each track, sometimes accompanied by little more than one or two synths.

What makes Amok such an interesting album is that it's the polar opposite of The Eraser--Yorke leads, but it's an album by a proper band, not a new solo work. Yorke is joined by Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, producer Nigel Godrich, drummer Joey Waronker and percussionist Mauro Refosco. Amok has Yorke's signature electronic twitchiness, but it's also a very groove-centered collection of songs--it sometimes manages to sound more open than even early guitar-heavy Radiohead. "Ingenue" marches along with Yorke's light falsetto floating in multi-part harmonies. "Unless" is driven by a syncopated beat and bass line, colored with overlays of Yorke's voice, each with a new melody. Flea and the two percussionists end up creating a rhythm section that sometimes dominates, as it does on tracks like "Before Your Very Eyes" and the tricky "Judge Jury Executioner."

Amok might also be the weirdest dance album of this year. It's experimental, but it's also beat-heavy. Yorke appears to be on a musical path that could, with the right collaborator, lead to a weird species of hip hop--a partner like Danger Mouse could make magic. With Yorke and his bandmates, anything is possible.

The Oscars, The Onion and Being Too Lazy to Even F**king Try to Be Funny

2013-02-25T14:02:00.000-05:00

Look: I love The Onion. It's a publication that's been both hilarious and spot-on when it comes to American culture, and its writers have never been afraid to push boundaries. But last night's tweet--and today's Tumblr apology--have made it necessary to address the issue of "edgy" humor and The Onion's massive fail with it.

No one is denying The Onion's right to make fun of anyone in show business. Nor, despite the raised and angry voices of apologists (mostly young white men--surprise!) all over the Twitters, is anyone suggesting that The Onion should never again attempt to be edgy with humor . Last night's tweet was most likely nothing more than an attempt to ridicule the Oscars, Hollywood's annual boot-licking and back-patting session.

That said, it should be common knowledge that calling a nine-year-old girl a c*nt is bad form. But more than that, it's also really fucking lazy. Like, how much effort does it take to come up with a joke that goes after the most innocent and noncontroversial star of Oscar season? Couldn't the tweeter have picked on someone his own size? After all, Seth MacFarlane gave The Onion--and the rest of Twitter, for that matter--hours of material. Anne Hathaway, clearly not back to her pre-Les Mis fighting weight, looked like she needed a ham sandwich and a hug. During his big Argo moment, Ben Affleck managed to look and sound even douchier than normal. When it came to last night's ceremony, The Onion was offered an embarrassment of riches. Instead, they decided that regular-ass embarrassment was the way to go.

Today's apology from The Onion's CEO is a start. It would also be worthwhile for the men who write for The Onion listen to the women (I imagine there aren't all that many) and the people of color on staff when it comes to issues of gender and race.

It's entirely possible that, like other publications, the folks who write and tweet for The Onion live in their own fragile cultural bubble. Maybe they believe calling any person, regardless of age, a c*nt is okay. But if satire is your business, it's also your job to take care with your words, and to learn about the cultures you're satirizing. Some dumbass just made The Onion look really, really bad, and the CEO took control of the situation with a public apology. Had last night's tweeter worked a little harder instead of taking aim at an easy target, we'd be recounting jokes about Iran's hatred of Argo instead of this shit.

Spins: Jamie Lidell

2013-02-18T20:19:00.002-05:00

Jamie Lidell was a well-kept secret among hardcore electronica and R&B fans alike, but his profile has deservedly risen over the last five years. Lidell's first proper soul album Multiply was a lovingly crafted tribute to classic soul, and with Jim and Compass, he used collaborations with artists like Peaches, Beck and Feist to explore other sonic landscapes like rock and pop, all with his own signature spin and his big, flexible voice.

But listeners can tell that Lidell's heart is in electronic music--and with his new self-titled album, he indulges every weird, synthy impulse. When it's good, it's mindblowing--but without an outside influence to rein him in, some of the tracks slip into 80s mediocrity.

That's not to say it's a bad album--most of it is damn good. Lidell is free from the need to balance genres--no ballads or traditional R&B love songs here. Instead, we get the sexy, danceable "You Naked," the Outkast-ish "why_ya_why," and album standout "What a Shame." And regardless of whether Lidell had Roger Troutman in mind when he wrote it, "Do Yourself a Favor" is a fantastic tribute to the late Zapp front man. The best tracks on the album manage to echo the best 80's electrofunk--Zapp, The System, Prince, the Dazz Band--while keeping Lidell's own distinctive voice.

Had he kept the track list at seven or eight, the album would be a collection of lean, hard-hitting songs. Instead, his weirdness gets away from him. "So Cold" aims for Atomic Dog-era George Clinton and misses; "Big Love" sounds like it should play during a Karate Kid fight scene and "In Your Mind" is boring despite itself. Still, they're not total duds--just not as clever or compelling as the rest of the songs.

This album will give Jamie Lidell's most devoted fans (myself included) the fix they need, and will serve as a worthy introduction to new listeners. But in the interest of staying focused, Lidell should consider bringing collaborators back into his studio for his next album. Both he and his fans would benefit.

Spins: Here My Dear by Marvin Gaye

2013-02-14T22:41:00.000-05:00

Before I met the love of my life, I dated a guy whose music collection was almost as good as mine. Sadly, that's as deep as our relationship got, although we both thought we were hopelessly in love and stayed together way too long. After hearing Marvin Gaye's Here My Dear for the first time in years and knowing he would love it, I decided to give him the deluxe remastered CD as a Valentine's Day gift. Then we broke up. Which, I realized, was why I gave him the album in the first place.

Marvin Gaye's wife (and Barry Gordy's sister) Anna managed to get the royalties from a future album as a divorce settlement, and Marvin went into the studio to make a lazy, halfassed album. It got mixed reviews when it was released, but Here My Dear was an important album nonetheless.

And it's an exceptionally good, well-crafted album, too; from start to finish, it's a strong piece of music with recurring patterns both narrative and sonic. There's "Anna's Song," a track filled with equal parts anger and heartbreak; funky disco kissoff "You Can Leave, But It's Going To Cost You;" and self-help pep talk "Time To Get It Together," with the alternate extended track version ranking as one of my favorite songs ever. By the time we get to "Falling in Love Again," a song Marvin wrote for his next wife Janis, listeners have heard an intimate recounting of personal history and an album full of both loss and hope, as well as love.

The subject of Here My Dear gave Marvin Gaye an ample supply of inspiration, and it became a classic despite itself. It's a collection of songs that give voice to the pain of divorce in beautiful and exacting detail. Depending on your state of mind, it can be a really tough album to listen to--because for better or worse, its messages are loud and clear.

Binge-Watching Hangover: House of Cards

2013-02-11T22:16:00.002-05:00

**This is full of spoilers. Come back after you've watched the season. Or, get spoiled. Whatever.**

I joined thousands of other viewers this past weekend and watched the entire first season of House of Cards on Netflix. I choose to watch most of my favorite shows in chunks: for instance, I came late to Eureka but watched the first three seasons in a sprint, so I'd be caught up for new episodes. Same with Fringe, a show that actually started to make sense once I watched a few episodes at a time.

And for a lot of TV watchers, binge-watching is becoming the norm--but House of Cards sets itself apart from network and cable dramas by making itself binge-watch-ready. Netflix, along with streaming video services like Hulu, is tailored for multi-episode marathons: viewers can dip a toe into an episode of a new show, or take the plunge and settle in for a few hours of drama or comedy. With its nearly real-time political plot and some fabulously complicated characters, House of Cards represents the new version of Must See TV--but without the time constraints of traditional television programming.

I stand by my love of House of Cards, and I can't wait for season two. But by watching all 13 episodes at once, I ignored some of the show's glaring weaknesses--and while some of the shortcomings are the result of my own piggish consumption, others are baked into the show's crust and leave a vaguely nasty aftertaste. It's enough to make me consider a rewatch at a much slower pace, just to get some perspective on each individual episode.

For a show that focuses on the dark arts of conjuring political power, love and sex are two of the strongest recurring plot points of House of Cards. Frank and Claire Underwood share a deep and abiding love, but its boundaries are porous enough to allow for infidelity and backstabbing. And although they claim their marriage is built on honesty and openness, their extramarital affairs eat away at their trust for each other for different, but equally shaky, reasons.

Frank and Claire are a hot mess all on their own, but it's the affairs themselves that are problematic. Claire's past and future lover Adam Galloway is one-dimensional, built to represent the freedom and passion Claire gave up for her life with Frank. "Chest-heaving" is the first thing that came to mind when Adam first appears on screen, standing way too close to Claire and radiating romance-novel lust. Claire's weeklong getaway with him is supposed to be wild and emotional, but it reads as boring: They party and drink and sleep together and argue, and every bit of it is tedious and destined for failure. I wanted to respect Claire's intellect and her ruthlessness, but I ended up pitying her. A woman who believes that a baby can solve all her problems--especially after decades of marriage to a man like Frank--is more desperate than cunning.

There's not a whole lot to say about Frank's affair with plucky reporter Zoe Barnes, other than it was unsettling. Of course, House of Cards is supposed to be unsettling and a little fragile--but this relationship was never, ever about pleasure or sexual release. Zoe's abrupt text-flirting with Frank literally comes out of nowhere, and their couplings have all the heat and intensity of a toll-road payment booth. At no point do either of them appear to be enjoying themselves or each other. In fact, when Zoe first suggests to Frank that they end their physical arrangement, my first reaction was relief--because having to sleep together looked like real torture.

Part of it is that I still hold a grudge against actress Kate Mara for her meddlesome character Hayden, from the first season of American Horror Story. But most of it is Kevin Spacey's fault. It's strange: as Frank Underwood, he oozes magnetism and slippery charm. That is, until he's in a scene with romantic interest. Even as he reminisces with an old college friend about their unusually close friendship, Frank appears joyless--any charisma Spacey brings to the character of Francis Underwood is drained in a love or sex scene.

I've been identifying weak plot points and lazy writing in House of Cards since I finished the show. And there are dozens more, both large and small, that might have overwhelmed the show if it were competing on a traditional network. But its strengths lie in its subject, its characters and its format. If season two can pack the punch of season one, House of Cards could change the way we watch TV.

Open Source Education: The Future of Higher Learning

2013-02-10T11:25:00.004-05:00

Last year, I signed up for a free, non-credit artificial intelligence course administered online by Stanford University's School of Engineering. I didn't finish it--the coursework sailed over my head after a few weeks of reading--but I've been following this program and others like it to see how free online courses from prestigious universities could cause a shift in higher education. Is the growing popularity of open courses changing the landscape of the college campus?

The short answer: Not yet. MIT and Harvard have joined the growing list of big-name colleges, universities and private entity initiatives to develop and share education outside of a brick-and-mortar campus. But although students are flocking to YouTube pages and message boards to learn more about a variety of subjects, there hasn't been a push to somehow legitimize online courses. If you're not paying for it, it doesn't count.

This does not, however, mean that this attitude can endure for long. With even state universities demanding higher tuition and millions of college graduates struggling under the weight of student loans, a college diploma is becoming a luxury item. And more tech industries--mine included--require skills learned in the office instead of the classroom. Social media marketing college programs exist, but they're still relatively few and far between. Education, often by necessity, is becoming synonymous with job experience.

Even if free online college courses become exceptionally popular, there could be other barriers blocking a massive change. Professors working to create free, online degree programs for no real-life college credits are pouring time and resources into giving away valuable information and influence. Do faculty members' loyalties lie with the institution paying them, or with the cyberstudents who could benefit from a free but high quality education? And could schools begin outlawing free courses to safeguard their "brands"?

As the real world becomes digitally augmented, higher education must adapt or risk irrelevance. The current American higher education system is no longer sustainable. The future of higher education is bound to change radically--the only question now is when.

Spins: Symphony by Marvin Gaye

2013-02-07T11:23:00.000-05:00

I grew up listening to a wide range of music including classic Motown, and Marvin Gaye was in heavy rotation at our house. I was six when he died, and I remember my dad playing some of his earlier albums for most of the following week. But when Dream of a Lifetime was released in 1985, Dad played the album sparingly. I'd forgotten it altogether until this week, when Spotify brought it back into my life and my playlist collection.

Dream of a Lifetime was an album released about a year after his death, and it--like his synthy and thin 1982 album Midnight Love--is spotty. The title track is especially sad, given the lyrics. But the last three tracks on the album are some of his best. "Symphony" is a reminder that Marvin started his career as a classic crooner. Violins and a languid mid-tempo beat lend his voice a big and airy sound without overpowering him.

It's also kind of amazing to me that, having not heard this album for close to 30 years, I remember every word of it. Reminds me of how powerful music is.

Cord Cut Chronicles: House of Cards and the Future of TV

2013-02-04T20:53:00.002-05:00

My husband and I don't own a TV. We're not hipsters who look down our noses at pop culture--we got robbed about a year ago and decided to upgrade from our stolen laptops and buy cooler mobile devices instead of dropping hundreds of bucks for a stupid-big flatscreen.

That choice has led to us developing widely varying preferences in TV shows. I lean more toward sci-fi dramas like Fringe and reality craziness like RuPaul's Drag Race; Rob's tastes run darker with shows like The Walking Dead and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It's made for an interesting viewing experience: there are weeknights when we cuddle in bed before falling asleep, watching two different shows on laptops or tablets and listening to them with Bluetooth earphones. It's a portrait of marital bliss in the post-PC era.

One habit we've both picked up is gorging on whole seasons of TV shows. Waiting each week for a new episode is becoming more frustrating with each new show I watch. In fact, now I wait until a show is a few episodes in to start--it's how I got through this season of American Horror Story--so I can watch a few episodes at a time. And being able to watch my favorite TV shows on mobile devices means I can keep up on a season just about anywhere I can get a Wi-Fi connection.

Cord cutting isn't a major threat to cable companies just yet, but more people are letting go of cable TV every year. And Netflix is trying to ride that wave with political drama House of Cards, the company's first original series. The entire first season of the show is available online--meaning viewers don't have to wait a week for new episodes to be posted. And if I get hooked, I can take an entire weekend to finish the season--or I can parcel out a few episodes at a time. The reviews of the show are promising, and if I get bored, I can always find something else.

Netflix also has a leg up on video streaming competitors like Hulu Plus and broadcast network media players, since there are no commercials to wade through. An entire season of a show with no ads? I'd be interested in seeing more content like this--and I'd be willing to pay a premium for it. And there are millions of viewers like me, waiting for a solution that offers us premium content at a decent price.

So, what might this mean for broadcast networks? Many seasons of hit TV shows are available commercial-free on Netflix and Amazon Prime--and although there's no immediate incentive for premium networks to offer an ala carte version of their cable channels, more online streaming services are in the relatively near future. For cord cutters who will pay a fair price for content, House of Cards could help Netflix blaze a new trail in digital entertainment.

Sunday at #boughettokitchen: Banana blueberry muffins

2013-02-03T17:42:00.001-05:00

It's Super Bowl Sunday, and I'm spending the afternoon in the kitchen instead of in front of a TV screen. Feels like a better way to spend time today.

So far, I've been using the new year to explore new and healthy ways to make great food to eat. I've discovered some new foods, both good and bad (including learning that butternut squash makes me queasy). I'm also playing around with breakfast; since I have so little time during the week to cook, I've added morning noms to my Sunday cooking list.

This recipe for banana blueberry muffins is relatively simple--it's a bit labor-intensive, but it's worth the work. The Greek yogurt and mashed bananas combine to make a cakey, not-too-sweet muffin that's perfect for grab-and-go mornings. These might be the best muffins I've ever made. Of course, I've made muffins, like, twice in my life. But still.

Some variations to consider: subbing a cup of flour for rolled oats. And maybe a dash of ginger, along with the nutmeg I added to the recipe's cinnamon. And blackberries along with the blueberries--that could up the sweet factor in a natural way.

Once the big game is over, what are you planning to make in your kitchen?

RuPaul's Drag Race, Season 5

2013-01-30T20:53:00.001-05:00

RuPaul's Drag Race has come a long way since season one, and so has the world of drag. Thanks in no small part to RuPaul, drag culture is now just one American subculture, like roller derby girls or home brewers or Halo players. Even the colorful polari of drag has made it into the that-doesn't-mean-what-you-think-it-means phase in American language. And on season five, prizes are better, the challenges are more challenging, and the drama is thicker than a glamour queen's pancake makeup.

The girls this season are a lot like last season: some real standouts, some duds, and some kooks. And because I'm not about to list all 14 queens, I'll just highlight a few standouts--for better or worse.

To keep with tradition, Puerto Rico is represented in the form of the lovely Lineysha Sparx. She's gorgeous and a little bitchy--which, with the umbrella-sized shade these queens are throwing, she'll need.

Vivienne Pinay is this season's Asian prettygirl. If she turns it out for each challenge, she'll have a decent shot at winning. But right now, she's kind of boring.

Miss Detox is fierce--none of the other girls looked quite as good as she did underwater. But I have a feeling she's going to cause trouble.

I think it's too early to pick winners, but these three seem like contenders. Who's your season five favorite?

Outside the box: Le Parcel

2013-01-29T19:21:00.002-05:00

The slow, fragile recovery of the American economy has bitten a lot of household budgets pretty hard. And it's having a similar effect on the beauty industry: Though the lipstick effect appears to be real, some of us simply can't justify a trip to MAC or even Sephora for new supplies. That's led a lot of women to find alternatives to pricier cosmetics.

But subcription-based services like Birchbox and Curlbox aim to give women a chance to try high-end products at an afforable price. It's a business model that's working out well for consumers and brands alike: Cash-strapped product junkies can get a cheap monthly fix, and a good-sized sample of an awesome product can get consumers hooked and ready to pay for their own supply.

The newest subscription-based service on the scene is LeParcel, which sends members a monthly supply of feminine care products. LeParcel sweetens the deal with a gift of chocolate or cosmetics in every order.

Tampons and chocolate. Delivered to my house, at the same time every month.

Why is this just now becoming a thing?

Maybe because a lot of people aren't really jazzed about the whole leaving-the-house-to-shop hassle. Having a way to get life's little necessities without spending time on traveling (or money on gas or other transportation) gives us more time to do other things: spend time with family, read, cook, or work.

With online grocery delivery services, food delivery businesses, Amazon's Subscribe & Save program and new sites like Soap.com, it's becoming easier to just order stuff and have it shipped to wherever you are. Those of us who are pressed for time during the work week can just log on to a website, click a few buttons and have organic lacinato kale, disinfectant wipes and birthday gifts delivered to home or the office. Sure, some of these services might come at a premium--LeParcel is about $15 a month plus shipping, much more than I spend on tampons and pads each month--but the convenience is worth it. So is not having to ask my husband to go to CVS for me to pick up my Wonder Week supplies.

Regular online shopping is a trend worth following for many businesses. Whether it's a package that comes at the right time every month or fresh produce and local meats every week, online shopping is already changing the way we shop and buy. Big brands, as usual, are ahead of the shop-and-ship curve, but local and regional businesses could get in on the action as well. A good portion of the meat and produce I get biweekly from GreenBEAN Delivery is local and organic--and that combination helps me and other green beanies support local businesses. Delivery services and their customers could be what propels the next great urban experiment: An economy that's much more localized than it is today, built on products and services that are brought to everyone's doorsteps.

In the meantime, I'll happily unpack my packages and parcels, enjoying the freedom from fighting traffic and standing in lines just for a box of tampons.

Meh: American Horror Story: Asylum

2013-01-27T17:04:00.004-05:00

We don't have a TV, but that doesn't stop me from watching the shows I love. And American Horror Story: Asylum is one of those shows that I can't not watch. The first season was impossible to resist--monsters and ghosts and murderous babies swirled around each other in a story that rarely made sense. And, frankly, it never really had to. AHS: Murder House was the perfect modern, twisted soap opera--and although it took nearly half a season to get into it, I loved it.

But the second season of AHS attempted to be something more than feverish fantasy. Set in an asylum run by the Catholic Church, season two managed to throw some real wild terror in with the over-the-top exorcisms and possessed nuns. But from the dark influence and power of the Catholic Church to interracial marriage and treatment of the mentally ill, certain plot lines seemed to try hard to reflect present-day attitudes. Sadly, that made the second season AHS a little tough to stomach: If you're going to give us alien abductions and exorcisms, maybe addressing modern cultural ills is aiming just a bit too high.

After finishing the final episode, there's still a handful of untied plot lines to wonder about. It's a weakness that Murder House managed to sidestep by giving everyone a relatively happy ending. Season two went for happy endings, too--but Lana Winters' triumph over the men who tortured and abused her seems hollow when compared to the lies she crafted to make her story soundbyte-ready.

So little of AHS: Asylum made sense that it was easier just to watch each episode without trying to remember what happened in the one preceded it. That doesn't mean Asylum was a bad season, and it doesn't mean I won't watch next season. But AHS will need to decide whether it'll be scary and fun or serious--and for viewers' sake, I hope the writers choose the former instead of the latter.

Good little blogs

2013-01-23T17:13:00.005-05:00

After guesting at Alyssa Rosenberg's blog over at Think Progress for a week, I got back into the habit of blogging on a daily basis. It wasn't hard to find things to write about--it was finding the creative energy to write a post worth reading that I had the most trouble with. I can't say that I always succeeded, but it was lot of fun to try.

And I finally accepted a truth I'd ignored for years: A blog post doesn't need to be more than 800 words for it to have an impact. I edit my company's blog, and helping folks learn to put meaning behind words instead of the other way around is one hell of a challenge. People who don't blog on a regular basis usually feel like a post has to be long and complex to be Taken Seriously--and even us professional wordslingers can suffer from performance anxiety when working on new or complicated projects. For any piece of content to be read, shared and taken seriously, it needs to be compelling. Length rarely influences quality; but readers won't sit still through a 1300-word post that's boring.

So here at my own little piece of the Internet, I will practice what I preach: Good blog posts don't have to be long, but long posts damn sure better be good.

Radio silence

2013-01-15T17:52:00.001-05:00

Not that I've been particularly active lately. But for the next week, I'll be sitting in with a few other awesome writers for Alyssa Rosenberg's blog at Think Progress. You can also catch me at my day job on Slingshot SEO's blog. See y'all next week!

Tarantino is deliberately tone-deaf, and I love him anyway.

2013-01-14T16:31:00.000-05:00

I'm one of many black folks who loved Django Unchained, and I'm willing to defend it on its merits as a film (not, however, as an example of American history, but that's another rant). And I was actually pleased to see Tarantino win a Golden Globe for his screenplay. And then, he went backstage and talked to the press:

“If somebody is out there actually saying when it comes to the word ‘n-----,’ the fact that I was using it in the movie more than it was being used in the antebellum south in Mississippi, then feel free to make that case. But no one's actually making that case. They are saying I should lie, that I should whitewash, that I should massage, and I never do that when it comes to my characters."

Okay--for what it's worth, Tarantino actually has a point: there's really no way to get around the use of the word in the film. That said, why couldn't he address the controversy without creating another controversy?

Because he's a shameless troll, that's why. And while separating the art from the artist is sometimes necessary, it makes total sense that Quentin Tarantino would ride this till the wheels fall off. At this point, it's easier to take this deliberate tone-deafness as part of the package and love him--or hate him--because of it.

The curious case of Azealia Banks

2013-01-05T11:24:00.001-05:00

It's never a good idea to justify using an offensive word to describe someone. But rapper Azealia Banks did:

"A faggot is not a homosexual male. A faggot is any male that acts like a female. BIG difference."

Banks was referring to gay gossipmonger Perez Hilton. There are plenty of people who've already offered great insight into how sex and gender can be problematic for people regardless of sexuality, as well as how ignorance works well as a PR strategy. But it's even more problematic for Banks--a rising gay icon--to offer her own definition for what amounts to a slur.

And although "faggot" is sometimes used by gay men in the same way that "nigga" is used by black people, attempting to justify her right to use the word makes her look selfish and tone-deaf rather than edgy and clever.

Banks' tweet is even more problematic when you unpack her view of gender--after all, there actually is a big difference between gender and sex. But maybe it's too much to ask, in this age of millisecond-fast social media, for celebrities to think twice before making declarations like these.

Return of the Cybernegress

2013-01-01T10:38:00.001-05:00

After way too much agonizing and more than a little panic over what to do with my blog for the new year, I've decided that I love it just the way it is. The blog's got the same name, but now it lives on its own turf, so to speak. I'll still blog about music, politics, pop culture, food and more.

Welcome to Cybernegress.com, folks. I hope you like your stay here.