The Natuba Blog

Post to Twitter again!

2010-11-21T21:05:00.002-06:00

Hello Natubatons!

As some of you have noticed, the Twitter API recently changed. While we haven't gotten around to fixing it, you can still post to Twitter! Enter: TwitterFeed

Once you sign up (it's free!) and name your feed, it will ask for your blog or RSS feed URL. For your Natuba account, it's www.natuba.com/(your username)/feed. For example, mine would be: www.natuba.com/utmark/feed

Next, you will see the services they work with. Select Twitter, and click the blue "Authenticate Twitter" button. Enter your Twitter username and password, click the "Create Service" button at the bottom of the page, then "All Done!" on the following page, and you're all set up!

There are also many advanced settings you can control, from frequency of updates to any text you want to add before and/or after your post. Enjoy!

Paul Wall baby

2010-07-23T15:46:00.008-05:00

*Warning* shameless self-promotion to follow... followed by legitimate promotion.

In my latest quest, I've decided to jump into the music business. I've played too many instruments for too many years not to start composing and eventually producing music. Scott Storch and Timbaland, here I come!

It got to the point where I actually caved and joined Twitter (@Frockdaddy)... but it's strictly being used for networking in music, I swear!

Ok, so I only have 18 followers, but hey, Houston's own Lil' Flip was my 3rd ever follower! More recently, another famous H-town rapper, Paul Wall, followed suit! And he'll follow you too in 3 easy steps:

1. Buy his new CD, "Heart Of A Champion." (How can you be from Houston and not love that title? Cue Rudy T. and the Houston Rockets!) By the way, worth every penny.

2. Take a picture of said CD (or snapshot of your itunes library) with your Twitter name included, like so:

3. Send Paul Wall a tweet with a link to your picture... on Natuba, of course.

There you have it. Happy twittering... tweeting... twatting. Whatever.

That's what she said...

2010-05-27T16:50:00.002-05:00

Do people ever take a step back and read what they're putting down on paper, laminating, and circulating anymore?? Natuba member carlie snapped this photo:

'Nuff said.

Forget internet dating...

2010-05-11T16:23:00.003-05:00

This dude's got it down. Natuba member richardyoo snapped this photo of a genuine appeal to all the lucky single ladies who might have the pleasure of meeting this guy.

I don't know how this guy is still single. He's got all the qualities girls would kill for their man to have: never been to jail, can talk on the phone, shook Obama's hand not once, but twice! 15 guitar chords?! He's a regular Jimi Hendrix.

He's got a big TV and blue ray's, but apparently no spell check... unless "tacko's" is something I'm not familiar with. And ladies... he likes cartoons and big boobs. Like he says, how can you trust all of these e-men? A creeper on paper is much more trustworthy than one online.

My only question is, when he takes breaks from drawing cartoon boobies in his mother's basement, does she leave and give him privacy with all the girls that must be knocking down his door? I guess you'll have to call him and find out.

...and I don't have to take it!

2010-04-15T16:24:00.003-05:00

Ok, there's nothing funny about sexual harassment. Ask Ben Roethlisberger (though he was accused of the more serious sexual assault).

That being said, there are serious ways to get the point across. And then there's this, posted by Natuba member nailbiter2:

I guess some people really misconstrue it as a compliment. The decaying rose really does it for me. But again, the act isn't funny... this sign is. Besides, nailbiter2 lol'd first!

iPad invasion!

2010-04-08T18:11:00.013-05:00

With the release of the iPad, Natuba members have been posting photos with their new toy. Check 'em out!

Courtesy of Natuba member kylistah:

From Natuba member rakesh:

And Natuba member richardyoo... though this one turned out to be an April fool's joke.

Thanks for sharing!

It's not all free...

2010-03-25T14:45:00.003-06:00

Don't lie, you know you have... stolen from hotel rooms before, that is. What's a hotel to do? Natuba member xmdan sheds some light on the matter with the picture of the week.

It's great how they say these items are "for sale" due to their "popularity." Popularity of being lifted, I suppose. There's nothing like the thrill of casually walking out of a hotel lobby, carrying an ironing board.

Let's be fair - most... ok, all of those items should remain in your hotel room. It could be worse, like in Vegas: they want you to have that .0002 ounce vial of whiskey and equally small can of coke. It'll just set you back the equivalent of a hairdryer.

But hey, at least the soap and shampoo are still free! For now.

St. drinker's day!

2010-03-17T17:17:00.002-06:00

Halloween is known (to adults anyway) as an excuse for women to dress like, well... it can rhyme with mutts, or banks, or doors. You choose.

St. Patrick's day is known as an excuse for some people to start - and end - their day with green beer. Usually, the way it ends isn't as pretty as the way it starts.

This day is also known for random people pinching the hell out of you for not caring enough to wear green. Natuba member shawnp0wers may be on to something here, with his "incognito green."

Just imagine: some people think they've spotted a new target... they make eye contact, gather the troops, and start closing in. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, he reveals his green shirt!

But be careful! The drunker they are, the harder they'll stumble backwards and probably almost trip over themselves when your true color is revealed. With great, green power comes great responsibility.

Here's to you, shawnp0wers... making cities pinch-free, one hidden green shirt at a time.

Natuba SxSW big bag inserts!

2010-03-12T17:30:00.004-06:00

The SxSW festival is here, and you know what that means... Natuba big bag inserts!!! 10,000 to be, well, somewhat exact. I lost count after like 8.

Pictured above would be after night/morning #1 and getting through nearly 1,600 bags myself. Each bag contained a sticker, ad, and button.

Here we have 100 stickers and ads (beneath each sticker) all lined up, or 1% of what needed to be done.

And finally, in the end, the 10,000 bags all stuffed and ready to be shipped to Austin for SxSW! Time: 3+ days (with help); hours-wise: who knows? Total weight: 151 lbs. Yowza!

Not making it to the interactive festival? No worries, we have extra stickers! You want one, don't you? Great, then please send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to:

Natuba
P.O. Box 980727
Houston, TX 77098

UPDATE: We have closed the P.O. box, but if you still wish to receive stickers, please e-mail me at Mark [at] Natubateam.com. Thanks!

Sticking it to the man!

2010-03-04T15:34:00.003-06:00

Let's be honest - there's nothing like sticking it to the man... especially when he's a pompous, yellow smiley face. Natuba member kdruckman did just that with the picture of the week:

"No Pictures Allowed!" Ha! If I had to guess, I'd say the sign is there because they're embarrassed to still have those Freddy Krueger gloves in the store. The movie came out in 1984.

Granted, there is a new A Nightmare On Elm Street movie coming out this year, but if you want scary... I mean really scary, wait 'til your son asks to dress up like a character from High School Musical. I'm just saying...

Merry Chrismahanukwanzakah!

2009-12-11T16:42:00.002-06:00

With the holiday season upon us, we would love to see everyone's holiday photos. Natuba member shawnp0wers has kicked things off:

Thanks for sharing and keep 'em coming!

It's snowing!

2009-12-04T17:14:00.002-06:00

In Houston anyway... and although it's been known to snow here once in a long while, it's mostly newsworthy because it's the earliest snowfall in recorded history in the city.

Natuba members richardyoo, carlie, and rakesh have documented this occasion with some cool pics from around town:

Thanks for sharing!

And the winner...

2009-11-25T15:36:00.002-06:00

............................................is..............................................
Natuba member shawnp0wers! The winning photo (seen below) makes good use of the graffiti feature and as stated in the caption, shows some real truth in advertising.

Congrats to shawnp0wers and a special thank you to everyone who entered the contest! We will be printing t-shirts and sending them to the runners-up!

¡Ole!

2009-11-19T17:26:00.002-06:00

The picture of the week goes to Natuba member kylistah for this great find. Finally! We can all have our fajitas and wash it down with a taco fortune cookie!

Be sure to check out the link once you click the picture below... it's great!

Wii Finalists Announced!

2009-11-13T17:12:00.003-06:00

The Natuba funniest photos sWiipstakes has come to an end. In no particular order, the finalists are:

Good luck everyone! The grand prize winner will be announced next Friday!

Update: The winner will be announced Wednesday afternoon in the next blog entry!

It's a bird; it's a plane; it's...

2009-11-05T18:02:00.003-06:00

A freak'n homemade ufo/weather balloon? Oh, and it only scared the crap out of millions of people, thinking there was a little boy inside.

But as this picture from Natuba member utmark depicts, if only this balloon could talk.

For those of you unaware, this was a publicity stunt by the little boy's father. They had him hiding in a box in the attic the entire time. Clearly a well thought-out foolproof plan.

T-minus 2 weeks: who wants a Wii?!

2009-10-29T14:53:00.002-06:00

Things are heating up in our funniest photos sWiipstakes! We've extended our deadline to November 12th, but that's still only 2 weeks away, so act fast!

I'm gonna need a bigger bowl...

2009-10-21T17:52:00.004-05:00

Natuba member nailbiter2 has come across a most unique flavor of soup, as you can read. Good thing there's a picture of a chicken for clarification purposes.

They do have a great company name for this product. I wonder if they make an opposite version... of course I mean hen flavored soup.

LaTwit supports Natuba!

2009-10-16T15:18:00.002-05:00

We are proud to announce that Natuba is now on LaTwit! LaTwit is an iPhone micro-blogging app used to read and send posts to Twitter, or any other Laconi.ca based social network.

We hope you enjoy this integration and appreciate any feedback you may have for us!

Graffiti makeover

2009-10-14T17:16:00.002-05:00

Natuba's latest feature, graffiti, has a new user interface! On top of the sleek, new design, we have added the ability to resubmit the new pictures on the spot without having to download/re-upload.

We also have stamps where you can add talk and thought bubbles, and coming soon, a simple color palette to go along with the current, more advanced mode.

This should get you started - we want to know your thoughts on his thoughts. Click the picture, then the "Graffiti" button and enjoy!

Graffiti cherry popped!

2009-10-07T17:21:00.003-05:00

Natuba member shawnp0wers has done the honors. He is the first to officially make use of our new graffiti feature!

We encourage everyone to start playing with our graffiti and let us know what you like or don't like about it. Remember, all pictures are subject to graffiti, so have fun with it!

Graffiti is here!

2009-10-05T17:41:00.002-05:00

What is it? With graffiti, you can draw, add text, and edit anyone's photo here on Natuba! All photos are subject to graffiti so have fun with it!

Right now, the "save" button downloads the image to your computer; then you can upload back to Natuba. Soon, we will allow you to edit the photo and save directly to Natuba.

Try it on the photo below (you must click it to get to its own page first, but it will soon be embeddable!) or try it on any photo! Your feedback is much appreciated!

Father knows best.

2009-10-01T17:48:00.002-05:00

When it comes to parenting, everyone seems to have their own philosophies on what to do and how to raise their children. Throw a teenage daughter starting to date into the mix, and most fathers will fit into one of three categories:

1)Ambivalent/Carefree (unhealthy and no fun)
2)Nice/Accepting (also no fun)
3)Downright scary (winner!)

Scary wins out because it's by far the most fun, and the options are endless. You can intimidate the poor guy, interrogate him, humiliate him... and then there's this:

Natuba member shawnp0wers shared this very unique bumper sticker. As noted in the title and caption, his teenage brother's girlfriend's father (still following?) put this on her car to ward off wannabe boyfriends.

The great thing here is it's a walking... ok, driving billboard meant to ward off all teenage boys at once. Thanks for sharing, shawnp0wers!

Keep your pants on!

2009-09-23T16:18:00.002-05:00

"Steve" put some thought into his letter to tenants of this apartment complex and Natuba member corywright has shared his simple request with the rest of us:

Where's the option to roam around pants-less with the blinds closed? Perhaps he had an incident involving an open window and a notoriously pants-hating male. Just a guess.

Thanks for sharing, corywright!

Heads up!

2009-09-17T18:02:00.003-05:00

When one gets pulled over by the police, the last thing on their mind is to grab a camera and document the occasion. But that's exactly what Natuba member nailbiter2 did, and we're glad she did.

Not only did this take some quick thinking, her expression is priceless. It's not like she snapped a picture of the police car in her rear view mirror. Not a chance. The window's rolled down, her head's sticking out; great stuff.

Thanks for sharing, nailbiter2; this photo belongs in the Wii contest!