I attended Social Media Club Denver last night at the Whiskey Bar and picked up some pretty sweet swag from Yelp, who was one of the featured speakers. I can't remember the woman's name, but she handed out Yelp-branded lip balm at the end of the night:

Yelpstick. "Now with more reviewing power!"

I haven't tried it out yet, since I vastly prefer Burt's Bees to social media balms. Pretty cool idea. Much better than a bookmark, but not as awesome as a tote bag.

I love tote bags.

Twitter's down. But instead of the much-loved Fail Whale, they have added a new fail image to the page:

Love it? Hate it?

I kinda dig it. While the Fail Whale is a Web 2.5 classic, the sight of a talking ice cream cone is too cute to dislike.

I love it when people are giving demonstrations on laptops and say, "Sorry, I can't type today."

It's usually uttered after misspelling something. And it's usually totally hilarious. I'm not sure why.

I think someone (perhaps me!) should come up with some other icebreaker for that moment. Here are my ideas:

"Oops! Someone's got a bad case of the can't-typies!"

"You're in luck! Sausage fingers for everyone!"

"Uh-oh. Is there a doctor in the house? Because my typing is so bad that I require expert medical attention to rectify the potential nerve damage in my hands that would prompt me to type 'pompous' instead of 'papoose.'"

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I just noticed that I've never written a post about World of Warcraft, my current gaming obsession. If you don't know much about it, it can be described as a fantasy-based computer game where you play with hundreds of other people in real-time. That includes grouping up and chatting whilst killing monsters.

I've been playing WoW since summer 2007. I started because I kept reading articles about it and thought it might be a fun - the idea of taking part in the most social of gaming genres. As a social media junkie, that aspect of the game appealed to me. It also helps that I talked my brother, sister and brother-in-law to play with me.

Here's a shot of my WoW alter ego. His name is Bubblegoose:

He's a Level 70 Undead Warlock. For the unitiated, he's basically a spellcasting zombie. The big fellow beside him is his demon minion - as you progress further in the game, you get cooler minions. I have progressed as far as I can, which is why my minion looks so fierce.

The game's 2nd expansion pack (which provides new content and explorable territory) is being released later this week. I preordered it and am giddy with anticipation. Please don't judge me.

Yesterday, Micah posted about DonorsChoose.org, specifically the Colorado Bloggers Challenge, and I thought it was an awesome cause, so I'm doing my part to spread the word.

The way it works is pretty simple:

There is a specific Colorado Bloggers Challenge with a bunch of Colorado-specific giving opportunities. This is a really direct and meaningful way to effect change in the classroom. I hope other Colorado bloggers will take notice. Peep the widget below to see what it's about:

I just found out that it's National Hispanic Heritage Month. I hope I don't get kicked out of the club.

I guess it started Sept. 15 and lasts through Oct. 15. Whose idea was it for it to span two months? It's very confusing. We should renegotiate with the Calendar Council (or whichever governing body presides over these matters) and secure the whole of October instead.

It would be a delightful double whammy for me, since my birthday is also in October.

I would get an entire month to celebrate my heritage (Mexican father, Chicana mother) as well as a day wholly devoted to my life in general.

Who should I contact to make this happen? Who is the Hispanic with the most clout? I suspect it's either Alberto Gonzales or Slater from "Saved by the Bell." Hmmm.

The Rocky Mountain News recently put together a pretty compelling slideshow. It's comprised of mugshots of people arrested during the Democratic National Convention last month. The full slideshow is here, but they also put together a photo collage from the slideshow that caught my eye.

You've got the clergy, big beards, neck tattoos and a girl that reminds me of someone I went to college with. (I checked - it's not her.) Clearly, the DNC brought out the best in people - a wide variety of people.

One of the fasteners on my 5-year-old Timbuk2 messenger bag has been obliterated. In the image below, imagine that both of the outer prongs have been snapped off, preventing the mechanism from closing:

I'm pretty depressed about this. I've had this bag for a really long time and am reluctant to break in a new one. I'm going to use the power of Twitter to see if anyone has a simple solution.

UPDATE:
I love the modern world. It turns out that Timbuk2 is on Twitter (@timbuk2) and they directed me to a $2 replacement fastener available on their website. Bless them!

Season two premiere of Gossip Girl is on Monday. (7pm on the CW – don't be late!) I am very eager to see my old pals the Waldorfs, Archibalds, van der Woodsens and Humphreys.

And Chuck Bass. 

I can't get enough of godless, smarmy Chuck Bass.

The cover of the screener that was sent to entertainment media prior to the start of the season can be seen above. That is Chuck, in all his pastry-based glory. It totally creeps me out, but that was probably the point.

A pair of grammar-obsessed vigilantes were recently arrested for correcting typos on signs across America. They got busted at Grand Canyon National Park (for correcting a typo on some in-park signage) and have been given probation and a year-long ban from national parks.

Martyrs! Blessed martyrs!

I love this. I am fanatical about grammar and spelling - especially on restaurant menus. On more than one occasion, I have considered taking matters into my own hands (by taking a Sharpie into my own hands) but have refrained because I'm too pretty for prison.