The only time I ever went skiing was a terrifying affair. I was a master on the levelled bunny hills, but the deceivingly named “family hill” was my kryptonite. No one told me how to zig and zag, how to turn, or even how to stop. This is because I had no lesson other than “GO!” Much to my chagrin, I nearly fell to my death off a rocky cliff while snow caked up my jacket. Thankfully, a pair of eight-year-olds expertly glided over to help me up.

I digress. My point is, this fourth grader’s courage is enough to make me try my inexpert hand at skiing once again. It’s her very first ski jump and you can tell she’s afraid, but she manages to pull through and she’s rightfully proud at the end.

By Galen Simmons

After what seemed like an ETERNITY, The Greendale Seven returned to finish their third season fourth semester. It wasn’t the big shebang we were all expecting, in fact the episode was relatively normal. But I still enjoyed it.

Despite rumours of the show’s cancellation, last night’s episode, “Urban Matrimony and the Sandwich Arts,” centered on Shirley’s remarriage to Andre. With Jeff and Britta organizing the wedding (and getting sloshed in the process), Annie meddling in Pierce and Shirley’s idea to open a cafe in the cafeteria, and Troy and Abed just trying to be normal for once, I’m surprised Shirley’s wedding rehearsal wasn’t an even bigger disaster.

Here’s what you need to know about last night’s episode: 

1) Shirley apparently learned something at Greendale. Yes, I was shocked too. Not only does she have the skills to own and operate a sandwich shop while balancing her schoolwork and a family, but Greendale miraculously taught her something worthwhile. Too bad Subway always wins… Oh one more thing. That sing-a-long voice Shirley always does? Apparently that’s her “sexy” voice.

2) Troy and Abed’s failed attempt to be “normal” is more terrifying than anything they’ve done before…. and that’s including their architecturally-brilliant blanket fort. Their version of normal isn’t connected to reality, causing them to get on everyone’s nerves.

3) Jeff and Britta have problems… Serious problems. But I guess we all knew that.

4) Pierce doesn’t know anything about starting a business, which isn’t surprising since he goes to Greendale. He was born into the lucrative family-business Hawthorne Wipes, so he has no idea how to start and run something as simple as a sandwich shop, leaving him and his fortune at the mercy of Shirley’s newfound business bliss. Pierce only wants to prove to his long-dead father that he’s worth something. Is that too much to ask?

5) Annie is OBSESSED with weddings. She even has a creepy frilly scrapbook of wedding ideas that she randomly keeps in her bag. Unfortunately, she’s shunned as the wedding organizer in favour of Britta’s shameful and hereditary homemaking skills. Maybe she’ll have a wedding of her own to plan later in the series… though I don’t know who could put up with her brown nosing.

It’s nearly patio weather and I think we’re all trying scope out the new song for spring/summer. I don’t know if Sean Paul’s new song will be it but it certainly has that Latin twist. “She Doesn’t Mind” is perfect for a sunny day at the beach: ”Girl, I got you so high / And I know you like / So come on push it on me / If it feels alright / Put it, drop it low and break it off / No, she doesn’t mind/ Aight, she doesn’t mind, aight, she doesn’t mind.” Yikes, he really goes there!!

The official remix also features Pitbull. What do you think of it?

Tonight’s the night! Community is finally returning after it’s overdrawn hiatus. We know you’re already in the mood (how could you not be?) but in case you need a reminder of how awesome the show is, check out this fan promo, which showcases the show’s best clips with Madeon’s “Pop Culture” playing over them.

The video’s editor talks about the show’s influence on their life: “The writing on this show has effected me greatly since I found it, such that it convinced me to return to university after having dropped out. I truly love the show, so the goal of this video was to hook people into it as best I can. Hopefully the video isn’t cheesy though.”

I already revealed that I watched the entire two and a half seasons in a month, often cramming them in before bed or early in the morning…. I have an addictive personality when it comes to worthy TV shows. I don’t know how I’ll fare watching the show on a weekly schedule… it’s just not enough.

Lennon reacts to seeing bubbles for the first time in his life. The more bubbles that sprinkle down over him, the more he squeals with glee.

I think the common thread here is that I wish we all got excited over such simple things. If I went this crazy for bubbles, I would carry a tube around with me everywhere I went for a quick hit of happiness.

Kesha has given us so much in her short career. She already claims the advent of brushing teeth with a gurgle of Jack Daniels and is a firm advocate for both animal rights and beards. Now, she gives us “Cock Pop.” The 25-year-old coined the term on Twitter, while recording with Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco. We’re not sure what Cock Pop entails but those two producers were involved with her hits “Tik Tok” and “We R Who We R.” So that’s a good sign, right?

Taylor Swift and her crew received welcome gifts from one of her fans. The T-shirts feature photos of their faces on the front. You say it’s strange to be wearing a T-shirt of yourself, I say it’s ironic.

Lauren Conrad is temporarily sacrificing the bohemian beaches and overpriced shops of Los Angeles for an African safari… and torturing us with her trip photos. Although she’s met some cute friends on her journey (above) she’s survived some perils too. Under the hashtag #safariproblems, she relayed the difficulty of self-manicures by headlamp.

Nicki Minaj finally found the men of her dreams. Here they are, wearing pink bowler hats, loin cloths, choker necklaces and furry anklets, all while preserving their masculinity. But which man will win the affection of Minaj? I think there’s only one way to decide that. It’s time for a limbo competition.

Earlier this week Gorillaz, Andre 3000 and LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy released a radio edit of their new song “DoYaThing.” The track is an aggressive pop song that features the lyric “I’m the shit!” over and over. If that wasn’t enough for you, the trio released a new 13-minute long version for you to indulge in.

Make sure to hang around to the end to hear the epic downbeat “serious side” of the song.

“DoYaThing” is sponsored by Converse shoes and the company has kindly offered to make the song available for FREE today (Friday), so if you like it you better act fast.

A first world problem is typically experienced by people living in industrialized and wealthy countries. Let me break it down for you with some examples:

Hygiene

- Can’t find chapstick (The worst!!)

- You forgot to put deodorant on

- Shower takes a long time to heat up

Technology

- People unfollowed you on Twitter

- You forgot to put the silence on your phone when you went to sleep

- Your mom requested to be your friend on Facebook

Entertainment

- Toddlers & Tiaras

- Snooki

- Justin Bieber, Justin Bieber, Justin Bieber

Out of all the problems in the world to have, buying a $5 coffee that tastes bad isn’t unbearable. CollegeHumor put together this hilarious video listing the top 100 First World Problems (101 if you listen to the very end). Justin Bieber appears no less than 10 times on the list.

What is your first world problem?

There’s a promising country twang to Carrie Underwood’s new “Good Girl” single and it makes me wish summer were coming sooner.

The song is about a well-bred “good girl” who strays to the dark mildly naughty side, ie having drinks with the gals, flirting with the guys and YouTubeing NBD Worldwide. Oh! Living on the edge aren’t we Carrie?

The song is a catchy anthem for prepsters who secretly think they live life a little more dangerously than the rest, just because they wear their shirts a little too tight and their skirts a little too short. That said, Carrie kills the song (in a good way) and it will probably be stuck in my head all day.

“Good Girl” will be on Underwood’s still-untitled fourth studio album, which will be out on May 1.

Nicki Minaj’s new song “Roman Reloaded” starts appropriately enough with a gun being loaded. The song is the title track from her upcoming album Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, and features Lil’ Wayne.

The track is heavier on rap than her last song Starships but I don’t find it as catchy. It’s a return to the spitfire verses she started with and really showcases how fast she can spew out her rhymes.

I’m doubly impressed that the song seems to be pretty timely. It even mentions her recent Grammy performance in which she was the star of an exorcism.

Would you rather here more songs like Roman Reloaded or Starships on her new album?

Violin and dubstep are two words you don’t hear together very often, but don’t tell that to Lindsey Stirling. Although the dubstep element in her song “Crystallize” was a new experiment for the violinist, it certainly paid off.

Stirling is classically trained but started experimenting with other genres like rock, when she was 16. She explains the name of the song on her blog: “I named my song Crystallize because I am a believer in the power of positive thinking. If we believe in ourselves and if we WORK to be positive and love ourselves, we give ourselves power that no one else can give us.”

Stirling is a rock star on her instrument and I hope to hear more crossover and experimentation between genres. Plus, the cinematography in the video is gorgeous. It was created by the Christiensends and features the icy mountains and ice castles of Silverthorne Colorado.

What do you think of it?

My cat at home is not the friendliest furball. He stalks his prey — whether it’s a spider or toy mouse — like he’s a lion in the grassy plains of the Savanna. Even though he’s too proud to admit it, occasionally he needs a little bit of love. He’ll stealthily nudge my leg with his head but if I acknowledge him to quickly he’ll run away and hide.

The cat in this video is completely different. Not only does he want to be pet, he demands it by tapping his owner’s arm.

Listen to an elderly gentleman tell us kids all about Paul McCartney. Who is Paul McCartney you ask? Apparently, he was old, totally random and not as good as Lil B from The Pack. Well, that’s according to The History Channel and Twitter.

Funny or Die put together a hypothetical bio of The Beatles star, called “Who the Fuck is Paul McCartney?” It demonstrates how history can be distorted over time when you take fragments of a person’s career and try to link them together. Plus it shows a generation lapse, as many young people did not know who Paul McCartney was at the recent Grammys.

I know we’re all on a Chris Brown-hating rampage, but we do have to take a moment to admire the guy’s dance skills in his new video for Turn Up The Music.

The video, which was co-directed by Godfrey Tabarez and Brown himself, starts with him drinking booze out of a brown paper bag, hopping into a hoover-cab (yes a hoover cab) and asking to be taken to the best spot in town. Brown is definitely hopped up on something because everyone at the club is wearing animal masks.

Then we move on to the synchronized, Matrix-esque dance portion of the video. His moves are a mixture of Michael Jackson (of course) and even Justin Bieber’s Somebody to Love video ran through our heads at the andPOP offices.

What do you think of the video?

Get down, get down and move it all around because Nick Carter’s dropping by the andPOP studio tomorrow afternoon at 12:30 p.m. (Eastern Time).

Our favourite Backstreet Boy will sit down on the famed red couch with Jordan and since it’s live, anything can happen! Tune in tomorrow at 12:30 here on andPOP.

This wont be the first time Nick’s given a little love to andPOP. In August he chatted with Jordan about the release of his second album, I’m Taking Off. You can watch the hilarious interview here.

Don’t forget to take a longer lunch break tomorrow to catch Nick live in our studio by going on andpop.com at 12:30 and clicking the watch live link. Be there or be square!

Part 1 of Something New’s trip to SXSW in Austin, Texas. Featuring Duran Duran, Bright Eyes, Dum Dum Girls, Karkwa, Hollerado, Buck 65 and more.

On AUXTV’s “Something New,” hosts Jordan Bortolotti and Korey Schaefer prove they can record a hip-hop song and produce a music video. Do they succeed? Watch “Something New” on AUXTV at 9pm EST on Tuesday to find out.

“POP” music is a misinterpreted genre. Often times people discredit Pop-stars, believing there is a trade off between success and credibility. Korey and Jordan go beyond the superficial exterior to investigate the anatomy of pop music and the people who sing it. From The New Kid’s On The Block to New found glory this installment seeks to find substance in “Top 40.”