Happy New Year! What Are Your Goals for 2011?

Last year I made a vlog talking about my goals for 2010. Not sure if it's because I actually documented my resolutions, but I pretty much accomplished all of them, which is a great feeling. So, I guess I'm starting a new tradition because I've made another video for 2011. Check it out.


What are your goals for 2011? What do you hope to accomplish in th enew year? Leave a comment!

Men's Style Trends That Should Go Away In 2011

Let me put this out there immediately: I am by no means one of the most stylish guys out there. In fact, my wardrobe basically consists of a few pairs of jeans and like 47 plaid shirts. And while I may not have an innate sense of style, I do have eyeballs, which allow me to see what are -- in my opinion -- the most overdone style trends for men in the last year.

The Bow Tie


Bow ties were the must-have men's accessory of 2010. Arguably brought to the mainstream by Rachel Zoe's assistant Brad Goreski, every event I've been to in the last year has been chock-full of the tough-to-tie neck wear. Guys going for the cute and preppy look may keep a bow tie as their go-to accessory, but even Mr. Goreski himself has put the piece to rest. I hope other trendy men do the same in 2011.

The Best 'Likes or Yikes' Bloopers of 2010

Each week Jacki Garfinkel and Pat Sandora give their take on the week's biggest entertainment stories in iVillage's video series Likes or Yikes. As one can imagine, when shooting so often there are tons of clips that never make it into the final videos.

Please enjoy the best bits of Likes or Yikes from 2010 that we've never shown before.


I swear, I won't burp anymore.

See Ann Ward's Photos for 'Vogue Italia'

It wasn't that long ago that Ann Ward was named the winner of America's Next Top Model. As part of her prize she was awarded a spread in Vogue Italia and the cover of their supplement magazine Beauty in Vogue. Although the photo shoot for Beauty took place during Cycle 15, Ann's test shots for the magazine have finally surfaced.

Keep reading to see 10+ photos of Ann for Beauty in Vogue. Click to enlarge.

Quick Things 12.26.10

Some quick links that are worth checking out...

• Flying this Holiday? Check Out These Insane Airports
• Learn How to Curb that Holiday Hangover
• Chart Rigger's 10 Worst Singles of 2010
• How to (Legally) Cheat Netflix into Giving You More DVDs
• Beverage Printer Serves Up Halle Berry Latte
• The Evolution of the Ken Doll
• Handerpants: Underpants for Your Hands
• Talk Your Way to a Cheaper Cable Bill

Happy Holidays from A Blog About Things

In an attempt to fully enjoy the holidays we'll be taking some down time for the next week or so. There will be a few updates here and there, but for the most part posting will be light until January.

In the meantime, I have to say thank you so much to everyone who reads this site and comments and shares their feedback. I can't even begin to say how much I appreciate it and how it pushes me to continue to find fun and interesting content to share with you.

I hope all who reads this has a wonderful holiday and rings in 2011 with a bang!

-Pat

See Ya, 2010! Jib Jab's Year in Review

As is evident by my recent string of "best of" posts, I am a sucker for all things summarizing the year that was. This year in review comes from Jib Jab and a lovely duet from puppetized versions of President Obama and VP Joe Biden.

After a grueling year of Wikileaks and oil spills, join the Oval Officers in kicking off 2011 by kicking 2010 out the door!

50 Christmas Movie Spoilers In 3 Minutes

Christmas is just a few days away, so there is only a short amount of time left to enjoy all of those holiday movies on TV. If you're too busy to catch up on the classics just watch this roundup by The Fine Brothers who summarize every Christmas movie out there in three minutes.

Bravo-lebrities Share Their New Year's Resolutions

In preparation for Andy Cohen's Watch What Happens Live New Year's Eve Special on Bravo the ever-present host got some of the network's most notable stars (and a few special guests) to share their resolutions for 2011.

Check out what everyone from Sheree of The Real Housewives of Atlanta to Lance Bass and Anderson Cooper hope to resolve in the new year.

The Men of 'Survivor: Nicaragua' -Before and After

Tonight is the season finale of Survivor: Nicaragua and I couldn't be more excited. Not necessarily to see who wins, but to see the 20 contestants together again. After 40 days in seclusion the survivors can look pretty rough, so I'm always intrigued to see what they look like at the reunion special and finale.

So, in preparation for tonight take a look at some of the men of Survivor: Nicaragua when they entered the show and what they looked like at the end. Click to enlarge.


Judson "Fabio" Birza

Quick Things 12.18.10

Some quick links that are worth checking out...

• Jimmy Kimmel's Year In Unnecessary Censorship
• The Official "We're Not In Kansas Anymore" Montage
• 16 Reject Holiday Films
• How to Turn Your Phone Into a Wi-Fi Hotspot
• Cats Playing Patty-Cake
• 10 Ways to Stay Fit and Healthy at Your Desk
• The Celeb Hairstyles We Talked About In 2010

'Today' Shares Its Favorite Moments of 2010

As 2010 winds down everyone is showcasing their best and favorite moments of the year. As a loyal Today show viewer I loved watching their 15-minute recap of the news, views and bloopers from a year's worth of antics at studio 1A. Check it out!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Cheesy or not, it's fun to wake up to their shenanigans every weekday.

The Official "We're Not In Kansas Anymore" Montage

Last week I posted this amazing montage of ANTM girls reminding us that we haven't seen the last of them. This week FourFour debuted another fantastic roundup of countless television shows and films overusing the famous line "we're not in Kansas anymore" from The Wizard of Oz. Check it out.


You can see more fantastic supercuts over at FourFour.

Vlog Challenge #8: Holidays

Before Carolyn moves back to North Carolina (I know!) we decided to film a couple more Vlog Challenges for your enjoyment.

Check out Carolyn and I with special guest players Morgann and Billy doing our best to eliminate our competitors.


There are a lot of holidays, y'all. You can view all of our Vlog Challenges here.

Santa Claus Is 2010's Trendiest Man

Photo by Getty Images/iVillage
This past weekend was Santacon 2010 in New York City, and never has Mr. Claus been more in style. From his facial and man makeup to faux fur and rugged footwear Santa hit all of 2010's trends for men.

Check out the full story I wrote for iVillage: The Most Stylish Man of 2010? Santa Claus!

Watch the Trailer for 'Born to Be Wild'

Cute animal overload! Check out the trailer for the new documentary called Born to Be Wild, a film about orphaned baby animals and their journey back home.


Voiceover provided by the quintessential narator himself, Morgan Freeman. Who wants to go see this with me?

A Very Ru-Mix Christmas

The holidays are here, and so is a killer collection of pop Christmas classics to get your bells a' jingling!

I know it may sound weird, a Hindu guy making an Xmas mix, especially since I don't really participate in the "American" tradition of celebrating the holidays but if there's anything abut Xmas that gets me excited it's the music. Perhaps it's due to what seems like hundreds of Christmas concerts I endured in my high school show choir but there's nothing like holiday music to lift your spirits. So, here we have a mix that encompasses all your favorite artists and and quite the range as well. After all sad Xmas songs may be the best of the genre. Download A Very Ru-Mix Christmas here

If you're digging all of The Ru-Mixes so far keep checking the blog or join the Facebook group!

Quick Things 12.11.10

Some quick links that are worth checking out...

• NY Magazine's Year in Art
• 2010's most talented Web videos
• Get to know Black Swan's leading man
• Baby ducks get blown away in the wind
• Christmas food court flash mob
• Some penguins deal with a tricky dilemma
• Wax figure or celebrity? Can you tell the difference?
• An unorthodox NYC Christmas tree

No Room For a Christmas Tree? Work with What You've Got!

I've posted many things about my current apartment and the little projects we've been doing to spruce up our small space. In the past I've posted about painting the kitchen and how we made old postcards into art.

This winter we realized that our lovely but tight NYC abode wasn't going to have enough room for a Christmas tree. So what did we do? Improvise!


We turned our spiral staircase into a modern day Christmas tree! Although, I guess it's more of a Festivus Pole.

We took some white lights, garland that we got for $2.99 at RiteAid and some ornaments that I've been hoarding for a few years and voila! Instance holiday cheer.

Don't you think the gifts would look nice neatly tucked under the stairs?

'Top Model' Contestants: You WILL See Them Again.

If you're like me you're probably going through withdrawal from America's Next Top Model. Thankfully, Rich -- fellow ANTM enthusiast and genius at FourFour -- has compiled a video of each and every eliminated model who wanted to remind us that ANTM was not their last horrah. Check out!


Now, can someone make a roundup of all the girls we never saw ever again? I think it would be too long to upload.

If you like this montage you'll definitely like FourFour's composite of all of the reality contestants reminding us how they're not here to make friends.

More Kids Reacting to Viral Videos

I swear, it's phenomenons like this that will turn the universe inside out, but they're too funny to ignore!


A few weeks ago I posted a clip called Kids React to Viral Videos, and now the Fine Bros. are back with two more installments of the viral series. Check out these kiddos' honest reactions to videos like "Chocolate Rain" and "Psycho Girl Can't Sing."

"Art with No Easel" -- Jay-Z Paints a Vivid Picture with 'Decoded'

By Sherri Breitigan, Contributing Writer

"It [hip-hop] was going to be raw and aggressive, but also witty and slick. It was going to boast and compete and exaggerate. But it was also going to care enough to get the details right about our aspirations and our crumb-snatching struggles, our specific, small realities...and our living-color dreamscapes." - Jay-Z in Decoded

Jay-Z was recently on the The Daily Show promoting his book Decoded, which balances autobiography and commentary on the evolution of rap and hip-hop as an art form. Jon Stewart was joking during the interview about finally understanding rap lyrics because Jay-Z decodes a number of his songs in the the book. He fleshes out his thought process about the rhyming couplets and double entendres and explains the various nuances and terminology the average person doesn't always get, like with using "precipitation" in terms of a drought with hustling. But don’t get excited that you are going to be a rapper or street smart after reading, because even with the explanations, you can’t understand the lyrics if you don’t understand the music as an expression of art, and as a representation of a cultural and historical movement. And that's what Jay-Z writes for: to make us understand that much of hip-hop and rap moves beyond the stereotypical rhyming about pimping and drugs. Even the seemingly superficial rhymes deceive us upon closer examination, and we realize that we’ve been duped.

Mark Your Calendars! Live Chat with Pat & Carolyn

A few weeks ago we asked you for your questions and now we're going to answer them live! Check it out:


We'll be live chatting with everyone for about an hour, answering questions you submitted via YouTube and beyond!

Join us on Wednesday December 8 at 9:30pm Eastern Time at Stickam.com/ABlogAboutThings. Hope to see you there!

Quick Things 12.4.10

Some quick links that are worth checking out...

• Conan O'Brien rocks some man-jeggings
• 11 music artists to know in 2010
• Create your very own Inception moment
• 7 Curious Facts About Dr. Seuss Books
• Users give literary classics Better Book Titles
• See, sometimes Autocorrect is educational
• Men's holiday sweaters that aren't horribly tacky
• The world's craziest toilet bowls

Ann and Chelsey Dish on the 'ANTM' Cycle 15 Finale

Check out these two videos of Ann and Chelsey from America's Next Top Model talking about their favorite photo shoots and other scoop from Cycle 15.




I like them :)

Vote ABlogAboutThings.com for Best Pop Culture Blog!

We are pumped! ABlogAboutThings.com was nominated for "Best Pop Culture Blog" in the 2010 Blogger's Choice Awards!


If you're a loyal reader (or first-timer, too!) it would be greatly appreciated if you took a minute to go over to the awards site and vote for us! It's really fast!

Thanks so much to all of you who read ABlogAboutThings.com!

The Winner of 'America's Next Top Model' Cycle 15 Is...

Chelsey and Ann were the last two standing on Cycle 15 of America's Next Top Model, where the winner gets a spread in Vogue Italia, plus other high fashion prizes. In tonight's finale models worked it in a CoverGirl photo shoot and commercials, then rocked a Roberto Cavalli runway in hopes of taking home the title of Top Model.

So who came out on top? Keep reading to find out and get a recap of the Cycle 15 finale.

Say What? The Top Searched Song Lyrics of 2010

Whether it's to snag a line for a quote or just to clear up exactly what someone is saying, most of us have turned to the Web to sort out the lyrics to our favorite songs. Just because a song is popular doesn't always mean that we know the correct words to sing along (just ride in the car with my mom and you'll understand.)

But which songs seem to have the most puzzling verses? From Lady Gaga to Justin Bieber and Bruno Mars, Yahoo! has compiled their list of the ten most search song lyrics of 2010. Check out the results and watch the videos for each "say what?" song.