What is Flash Mobbing?

A flash mob (or flashmob) is a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual action for a brief time, then quickly disperse. The term flash mob is generally applied only to gatherings organized via social media or viral emails. The term is generally not applied to events organized by public relations firms or as publicity stunts.

The first flash mob was created in Manhattan in May 2003, by Bill Wasik, senior editor of Harper's Magazine. The origins of the flash mobs were unknown until Wasik published an article about his creation in the March 2006 edition of Harper's. The first attempt was unsuccessful after the targeted retail store was tipped off about the plan for people to gather. Wasik avoided such problems during the second flash mob, which occurred on June 3, 2003 at Macy's department store, by sending participants to preliminary staging areas—in four prearranged Manhattan bars—where they received further instructions about the ultimate event and location just before the event began

Another example of a well known flash mob was the April 2006 silent disco in London. At various London Underground stations, people gathered with their portable music devices, and at a set time began dancing to their music. It was reported that more than 4,000 people participated at London Victoria station. This impacted the regular service of the system enough for the city's police to begin crowd control and slowly clear people. Though no one was arrested, it was reported that the City of London pledged to counter future disruption of the underground system.[citation needed] Since 2006, there have been several flash mobs in the London Underground, including subsequent silent discos comparable in size

Weird Celebrity Names - Part 10

Emma Thompson + Greg Wise / Actress + Actor / Gaia Romilly (daughter)

Isaiah Washington + Jenisa Marie Washington / Actor / Isaiah Akin (son) + Thyme (son) + Iman (daughter)

Robert Van Winkle (Vanilla Ice) + Laura Giarritta / Musician / Dusti Raine (daughter) + Keelee Breeze (daughter)

Bruce Willis + Demi Moore / Actor + Actress / Rumer Glenn (daughter) + Scout Larue (daughter) + Tallulah Belle (daughter)

Frank Zappa + Gail Zappa / Musician / Dweezil (son) + Ahmet Emuukha Rodan (son) + Moon Unit (daughter) + Diva Muffin (daughter)

What is the Pledgebank?

Have you already heard about the Pledgebank? It is an initiative in the same line of thought as Pay It Forward where users take positive action by using the 'snowball effect' principle. In England the Pledgebank has already scored some important successes like reducing the amount of plastic bags that are used in supermarkets, or convince people to vote.

The principle is very simple: somebody takes the initiative to make a promise (or pledge), where they say that they will do something, but only if a certain number of other people do the same. Some call it "positive peer-pressure", other just another way of informing others about a good idea.

I first heard about the initiative when a member of BeWelcome made a pledge to donate a small amount to BeWelcome through the Pledgebank. He will do this (and put up posters) if at least 20 people do the same. So far we have already 10 pledges, only 10 more to go. Maybe you want to help out? Just go to the BeWelcome pledge page.

The organisation behind this initiative is called MySociety and they have started other sustainable projects, like for example making the complicated British voting system clearer, or make the Web more democratic

Weird Celebrity Names - Part 9

Rob Morrow + Debbon Ayer / Actor + Actress / Tu Simone Ayer (daughter)

Jamie Oliver + Jools Oliver / Chef + Model / Poppy Honey (daughter) + Daisy Boo (daughter)

Gwyneth Paltrow + Chris Martin / Actress + Musician / Apple (daughter) + Moses (son)

Brad Pitt + Angelina Jolie / Actor + Actress / Zahara Marley (daughter) + Maddox Chivan Thornton (son) + Shiloh Nouvel (daughter) + Pax Thien (son)

David "Puck" Rainey + Betty Rainey / Reality TV Star / Bogart Che Peyote (son) + Rocco Kokopelli (son)

Weird Celebrity Names - Part 8

Shannyn Sossamon + Dallas Clayton / Actress / Audio Science (son)

Sylvester Stallone + Sasha Czack / Actor + Actress / Sage Moonblood (daughter) + Seargeoh (son)

Sylvester Stallone + Jennifer Flavin / Actor / Sophia Rose (daughter) + Sistine Rose + (daughter) Scarlet Rose (daughter)

Roger Taylor + Dominique Beyrand / Musician / Felix Luther (son) + Rory (daughter)

Roger Taylor + Deborah Leng / Musician / Rufus Tiger (son) + Tiger Lily (daughter) + Lola Daisy (daughter)

Weird Celebrity Names - Part 7

Milla Jovovich + Paul Anderson / Actress + Director / Ever Gabo (daughter)

Simon LeBon + Yasmin Parvaneh / Musician + Model / Amber Rose Tamara (daughter) +
Saffron Sahara (daughter) + Tallulah Pine (daughter)

Jennifer Lopez + Marc Anthony / Singer / Max Marco (son) + Emme Jenna (daughter)

John Cougar Mellencamp + Vicky Granucci / Musician / Teddy Jo (daughter) + Justice (daughter)

John Cougar Mellencamp + Elaine Irwin / Musician / Hud (son) + Spec Wildhorse (son)

Top 10 Searches - News Stories

Natural disasters affected virtually every corner of our planet. Hurricanes Gustav and Ike devastated the southern U.S. and the Caribbean. The fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan continued to be a focus throughout the year. But a few surprises to this list included the human interest stories that captivated the curiosity of the country, such as Caylee Anthony, a missing Florida toddler; the pregnant man who allegedly gave birth to a baby girl; and Patrick Swayze's battle against cancer.

News Stories -- Top 10 News Stories according to Yahoo!

1. Hurricanes

2. Caylee and Casey Anthony

3. Election 2008

4. Pakistan

5. Pregnant Man

6. China

7. Iraq

8. Shelley Malil

9. Patrick Swayze

10. Afghanistan