How The Hills degrades the elderly, and other Stuff You Should Know

I have so much to share with you in this chockablock edition of Stuff You Should Know. You're going to thank me because, by the time you're through with this, you'll have a real cure to your hiccups (Catherine tested, Mother approved!), know where to read some of the best writing on the Internoodle, and more!!! I hope you're on the edge of your seats. I've fallen off mine twice. Once from excitement. Once from drunkenness.

So first. How much do we all hate hiccups, you guys?!??! I personally find few things more unbecoming and obnoxious. But now there's a cure. I heard this advice from a co-worker, who heard it from Dr. Oz, and I have tested it, and I can tell you, it is at once the most effective and oddly satisfying way to rid yourself of the troublesome buggers. Ready? Listening ears on?? Once those harassing hics start, get yourself a cup of water, take a sip, but don't swallow (that is not what he said). Put the cup down, and plug your ears. Swallow, and keep your ears plugged for a few seconds after you feel the water descend into your tummy. It doesn't cure them right away, but within a minute or two, you'll feel the satisfying gurgle of gaseous bubbles rising from your intestines.

Not kidding, and it really works. I had to complete the procedure twice before the bubblies came up, but when they did! Oh! The splendor!

Second, if you don't know already, I am wicked addicted to Gawker, a media blog which brings snarkyness to an entirely new level, and I happen to think their staff of writers is one of most talented around. When I am interning, I probably refresh Gawker 10-15 times a day (the best part about fact-checking? Downtime while you wait for sources to call you back!). My favorite writer on the site is Richard, and each week, he writes prolific recaps of The Hills and Gossip Girl. I don't watch either show, but I always read his recaps of The Hills. His writing is really incredible, and he talks about the show as if, just for a second, there might be some type of meaning to it all, or that maybe we'd have a reason to feel a slight drop of sympathy for scum-of-the-earth Spencer and Heidi. Any writer who can describe a person (in this case Whitney, whoever she is) as "a golden-brown Cornish game hen made animate," is an idol in my book. I've never seen the show, but I almost think reading about it through Richard's eyes makes it so much better. Here are a couple of my recent favorites: 1) "The Hills: Murdering Old People." If I ever teach a history class, I'm passing out the last paragraph of this review on day one. And I'll be the coolest teacher. And 2) "The Hills: My Ex-Best-Friend." Seriously, I love this guy, and I wish I'd been reading this when I took my critical writing class.

Third, in case you hadn't heard, Google has magazine archives now, as part of their Book Search tool. This is pretty much the pinnacle of awesome. You can search through individual magazine archives (I like to look through to see how different publications covered particular historical events, ie the Depression, Kennedy assassination, Vietnam etc. Call me a nerd), or you can also do keyword searches, as with Google Books. They'll be building up more archives as time goes on. Go to town.

While we're talking about media, here's an enjoyable interview with Anderson Cooper, wherein he tells us what we've already known, "There is too much yelling on cable news." It's good to see a reasonable newsman speak out about the fact that, depending on what's on, you could watch 4 hours of cable news and obtain the same amount of information in 30 minutes of reading online.

That's all. Nothing more to see here.