Facebook Ad FAIL

I've noticed an increasing amount of advertising and pseudo-advertising on my Facebook news feed lately. There are obvious ads, of course, but there are also other posts -- "promoted" articles, "sponsored" posts, etc., all based on your "Likes" and those of your friends. For example, there could be a post saying "John Smith likes Wal-Mart" followed by a post from Wal-Mart's Facebook page. Here's another example, which just appeared at the top of my feed:

Just because I "Like" Jody Watley's page doesn't mean I want to like the page for her old group.

Sometimes, though, these auto-generated posts are wayyyyyyyyyyyy off-base. Here's a recent example: I "Like" the FB page for singer Will Young...

Based on this, here's what Facebook generated:

Ummmm...what?

I keep saying I hate Facebook more and more. I have too many friends (real-life friends as well as  Facebook "friends") who aren't on Twitter, though, so I'm stuck. 

My iTunes Shuffle Baker's Dozen 8-22-12

I'd love to know how the iTunes shuffle works. How exactly does it choose a song? Is it strictly random or is there some sort of pattern? At times, when it plays consecutive songs by the same artist or from the same album I'm especially curious. That didn't happen this time, though...

Lucky - Greg Kihn Band
Inner City Theme - Inner City
Quit Playing Games (With My Heart) - Backstreet Boys
Easier Said Than Done - Loose Ends
Your Love Keeps Working On Me (MK Brooklyn Mix) - Jody Watley
Brilliant Disguise - Bruce Springsteen
Footsteps - Lisa Stansfield
Sing (Harry Choo Choo Romero Club Mix) - Annie Lennox
You're Not Alone - Olive
Stay (Wasting Time) - Dave Matthews Band
This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak For You) - The Isley Brothers
Lady, Lady, Lady - Joe Esposito
Lullaby of Clubland - Everything But The Girl

My iTunes Shuffle Baker's Dozen 1-9-12

I was shuffling papers in work and my iPod was shuffling songs...

Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Pat Benatar

Angel (7” Mix) - Gavin Friday

Thin Line Between Love and Hate - The Pretenders

Hidden Live Track - Mark Weigle

Your Love Keeps Working On Me (MK Brooklyn Mix) - Jody Watley

Private Dancer - Tina Turner

Morning Sunrise - Weldon Irvine*

Too Hot - Kool & The Gang

Did You See Me Coming? - Pet Shop Boys

Beautiful Child - Rufus Wainwright

I Should Care - Nat King Cole

Still Can’t - The Cranberries

Whatever We Imagine - James Ingram

*Technically this was a 1:18 clip of the song, as part of a mixtape compilation of summer-type songs by DJ Jazzy Jeff and Mick Boogie. It was available to download for free in 2010. I think I posted the link here at the time.

My Go-To Christmas Music

Before I get into my main lists, I want to share a new favorite I discovered on Todd Zolecki's Phillies blog at MLB.com. It's "Baseball Glove" by a Canadian country singer-songwriter, Gord Bamford. The lyrics talk about the many things the family wants, but all he wants is a baseball glove -- specifically, "a genuine cowhide Rawlings Pro Special, one autographed by Roy Halladay." Bamford is a Blue Jays fan and it was released last year, before Halladay was traded to the Phils, but it doesn't matter. Click the above link and you can watch the video and find a link to download the song for free.

There are so many new Christmas albums now, but in recent years I've only bought a few. These are the albums I bought in the last couple of years that I really enjoy:

Glee Cast - Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album (love the Chris Colfer/Darren Criss version of "Baby, It's Cold Outside")
Annie Lennox - A Christmas Cornucopia (I love what she did, but I kind of wish this had a couple of fun, not so serious/religious-oriented selections, like Eurythmics' "Winter Wonderland," one of my all-time faves)
Kristin Chenoweth - A Lovely Way To Spend Christmas
Barenaked Ladies - Barenaked for the Holidays (their quirky humor shines in a number of songs, especially "An Elf's Lament;" also includes a few Hanukkah songs)
Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Wishes You A Swinging Christmas

I also found a couple of CDs that had been released previously: "A Classic Cartoon Christmas" and "A Classic Cartoon Christmas, Too." They feature tracks from many classic TV shows (and some that aren't so classic). Between the two, they include "Welcome Christmas" and "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" from "Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas," songs from "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town," Jimmy Durante's "Frosty the Snowman," a couple from the Muppets, and -- most happily -- the "Heat Miser" and "Snow Miser" songs from "The Year Without a Santa Claus." (I really need to edit them into one mp3 so when my music is in shuffle mode, I won't hear one and not the other right away.)

The following are the Christmas CDs I've had the longest, and are still my favorites: