Friday, January 27, 2012

Monster Galaxy

I am an old Gaia Online fan. I used to log into it daily and even gotten couple of my friends into the site. My life had been taken over by a MMO called FFXI (you can read about that here). I stopped just as their MMO, zOMG, gotten into full swing. FFXI was taken too much of my time. I am still am a Gaia fan at heart.

I was alerted that Gaia has a game in the iTunes App Store called Monster Galaxy. It is a free app too. So with me being a Gaia fan I quickly downloaded it. I learned that this game is like a Pokemon game. You have Mogi (pets/creatures) for battle and you capture more on the way. I am not a Pokemon video game fan, but I am willing to try Gaia's game.



You start the game with a dog Mogi. The 1st fight is a tutorial on fighting. The second fight teaches you how to capture new Mogi and you receive a wolf Mogi. The 3rd fight you learn how to switch between Mogi and heal them let switching. Next fight you are supposed to capture another Mogi. Each of the fights come from fulfilling quests.




You also need items as you fight. You need blue coffee to heal your Mogi. You need star seeds to capture Mogi. During the 1st 3 fights they give you some of these items. By fight four your coffee supply is depleted. You are also not strong enough to capture the Mogi.


There are also daily prizes you get when you get on the game. Sometimes it's items that are irrelevant items at the time. It's a crap shoot. I have a ton of star seeds. What I need is coffee.




This is where all the brick wall appears. I know why the app is free. It's part of the new Freemium model apps that are now all the rage on iOS and Android. You have in app purchasing. I understand that and I don't mind it in reasonable cases. In Gaia's case, it is very unreasonable. The cost to buy coffee is ridiculous. It's $1.99 for only 4 coffees.


You need at least 2 to 3 in a good fight. You get very little bang for your buck. This game hopes some parent stupidly gives their kid their iTunes password and rack up hundreds of dollars just on coffee, example the strawberries in Smurf Village app. I don't know if they are going to fix this price range. It lost me. I refuse to buy coffee. I'd rather pay to unlock new levels. However, if you want to wait days or long hours in between fights for your Mogi to regain health, be my guest. They made it so you have to purchase coffee. I am not a fan any longer.


You can purchase game in the iTunes App store for free.

[iOS]

They Wanna Keep Us Women Down

Lately I've been feeling a lot of hate and negativity towards women. I've been Reading it online, in newspapers and have been dealing with it at work. At first I believed it was a racial thing, but it has grown to include women of all colors. Is it because we are surpassing men? It is not our fault that men are not stepping up to the plate.

I don't believe in conspiracies. I find them ridiculous. I rather deal with facts. When you here about the most popular TV shows, the women tend to be a bit idiotic; Jersey Shore, Basketball Wives, Bachelor, etc. The more idiotic the more ratings. It's a trend I've been noticing. I am really not in arms about it. TV is about capitalism and all they trying to do is make money. It still hurts us as women.

You have the republicans trying to send women back into the house and do what the man says. They are trying to pass laws (that taking away funding from organizations like Planned Parenthood that provide services for women) that give men the right to tell us what we can do to our bodies. All the hard work we women have gone thru to get where we are, equals in knowledge not in pay (unless it's porn), to have a party erase it. This bothers me a great deal. I hate politics though. All politicians are out for themselves or the highest bidder, never for the people. That's how I see it.

What really upset me was a series of tweets from a DJ here on the East Coast named EdLover. They were just bad assumptions about women. I may have been in a mood that day when the tweets came out, but it still bothers me. Maybe because I used to like listening to him. But I found it hurtful to women. I am not the type of woman he's generalizing, but it bothers me. If he thinks it's all this fun and jokes then he is really an idiot.

Some women have responded to him on twitter. I responded too. I at least wanted to voice my opinion if he's allowed to. We all generalize every now and then. I do it every now and then but not to bring anyone down. I can generalize that most men are rapists. It isn't true, but it makes all men look bad. If I put it in a public forum, some idiot will believe me and assume all men are rapists. Below are screen shots of the tweet train of EdLover's tweets, responses and my response.















Hopefully we can start changing people's hearts with positivity and not spout out generalizations that bring on another down.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Spit Lite Edition

I was reminiscing about my youth one day. I was discussing that I was the queen of playing a card game that we called "spit". Others call it "speed". The object of the game is to get rid of your cards the fastest. The game is a solitaire game that became a two player game. It follows the the same origins. There are 2 versions of the game; Chinese or the American version. With nostalgia on my mind, I searched the app store and found 2 apps for the game; this game Spit Lite and another (to be reviewed later). There is a full version of this game, but I chose to get the lite version first.




This game is pretty simple. There are very few options to set up a game. It has different speeds to set. Being a computer game I figured it would be a bit faster than a human being.




The game is basic. Cards are dealt and you play. I started the game at the 1st speed. It was ridiculously slow. So I just jumped to the last speed, 4th. It was not fast at all. It pretty much sucked since it was slow. I beat each game I play. This makes the game cheap. Who wants to continue a game that you always beat without any challenge?





Overall, this game is not worth the free price. It didn't encourage me to purchase the full version. The full version only removed the ads. Not much else. This game is really not worth the memory it takes. It was a good attempt, but missed the mark.

You can find this game in the iTunes App Store for free.

[iOS]

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Wedding Planning - Part 4


Wedding Planning is now in full swing now that the New Year has begun. So from now on, when posting about the planning, I am going to add to a permanent list. You'll see what I mean as follows. I will also take my first wedding related trip to LV in February. Can't wait!!!

1.  Ceremony
I had an hour long planning meeting with my rep for the venue. We discussed what I will expect. What I need to contribute. Fine tuned what type of ceremony to have. I chose a Christian ceremony to make both mothers happy.
2. Photography
This is currently my source of frustration. My brother-in-law and I made a deal that he would do the photography for whole wedding for free if I pay for hotel & airfare for him & my sister. They would just have to pay for the kids' airfare. Now he's going back on it saying he doesn't want to come out of pocket and I should pay for the kids too. Get *bleep* out of here. I had to remind him that when he does his destination weddings they only pay for him and my sister, they never pay for the kids. So now I'm trying to see what's going to happen. I may just do the photographers at the venue.
3. Honeymoon
I contacted a travel agent recommended byy mom. My first choice is Bora Bora and second is Hawaii. Bora Bora is way out of my league. For 5 nights it around $9,000. Hawaii is cheaper at $4,000. We are going to tweek the proposal for it.
As for packing, I'm going make a comprehensive packing list by May of what to pack.
4. Guest list
Guest list will be hammered down by this weekend. Has to be done to complete #6.
5. Invitations
I have been scouring sites for invitations. So far I have picked 4 designs from weddingpaperdivas.com and 3 from invitationsbydawn.com. I am still searching.
6. Save The Date
We have taken engagement photos with my bro-in-law. This may be our last usage. I expect to receive them back this Thursday. We'll wait and see. If we do, then we will send them out this weekend.
7. Florists
I have lefte them 2 voicemail to set up an appointment on my visit, but I have not heard back.
8. Reception
Discussed necessary needs with venue rep. I do have an appointment for cake tasting on my visit. Yummy!!!
9. Salon
I have set an appointment to discuss styles and make up when I visit.
10. Gown/Tux
I'm waiting for my gown to come in for my first fitting. When we arrive in LV we will check out tux rental spots.
11. Registry
Still thinking about this. Have no clue as to where to register. One of my bosses at worked lectured me about this yesterday. She suggests Crate & Barrel. We'll see. I really just want money.

I'll be keeping you updated periodically. 

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Girl W/ Dragon Tattoo: US vs Sweden

****If you have not read the book or seen the movie, there are big spoilers in this review.****


I have read the Girl with The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. Upon reading the book, I watched the original Swedish movie made from the book. The movie was superb. The actress who played Lisbeth Salander was great. She portrayed the quirkiness and antisocial Lisbeth very compatible to the book. For those who haven't read the book, it's about a man, Blomkvist, in search of a murdered teenager after he has been disgraced in journalism. The case takes on a more hazardous tone as he gets help on the case by Salandar.

I picked up the book a year without any idea what the book was about. I just saw a ton of people reading it on the subway. I had to read it. I was sucked in immediately. I found the original Swedish movie on Netflix. They also have the next 2 movies for the next 2 books. I will read each book before I watch. I personally can't watch a movie and go back to the book. It just defeats the fun of reading. Anyway, I digress.

When I heard that the American Movie Studios were remaking the Swedish films I was quite disappointed. All that means was it was going to be dumbed down to fit the American "politically correct" and "sexual taboo" environment. Americans are way too sensitive to a lot of things, but this is a topic for another post. I heard rumors through blogs and press that the movie studios were rewriting the script because the subject matter was too graphic for American audience. The same audience that like movies that kill and mutilate people; Saw, Texas Chainsaw for examples. 

The actors chosen for the parts were ok. I don't think Rooney Mara was a good choice for Salalndar. Her face is to roundish for the character from the book. Her portrayal was not as good as original but she did a bang up job. She committed to the role. She just didn't feel like Salander to me. She was trying to act like Salandar. It's like someone trying to imitate another.

The character of Bjurman in the Swedish film was cruel, sadistic and conniving. He was heartless and showed no fear. He played the role just like the character in the book. In he American movie he was a mean but yet timid man. He was was cruel to Salandar and when she retaliated he nearly wet his pants. In reality, Bjurman was not completely scared of Salandar, he was scared for the tape to be released. He was angry throughout. He hates her. If he could, he would murder her. The American Bjurman didn't even portray him correctly at all. If they are going to do the next movie, how are they going to pull that off? You can't change his personality between 2 movies.

Daniel Craig did a good job at playing Blomkvist. I have no qualms about his portrayal. Skarsgad played Martin Vanger extremely well too. The rest of the cast was cast well enough. Overall, I like the cast except for the two I pointed out. The movie itself surprised me after hearing all the rumors. They didn't change the story at all like the rumors said. They were even pretty graphic. They did cut out few graphics that original had.

What I didn't like is that they included footage of events from the second book at the beginning. You don't really get any background on Salandar in the first book except for what she chosen to divulge. The love scene in which Salandar and Blomkvist, in the American version, she confesses to him that she burned her father was untrue in the facts of the first book and Swedish movie. She never admits it Blomkvist at all. Again, I don't know how they are going to fix the 2nd movie regarding this. There are a lot of gaping issues they revealed prematurely.

If I had to grade this movie, I would give it a B-. I liked the movie but the character issues and the adding more detail than necessary made hurt it's chances. As a standalone, not relating to original movie or book, it was good.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Life with JH - Holiday 2011

This was He second Holiday season JH and I have been together. Last season wasn't full of excitement, but we had fun for the few days we did spend together.

This year my dad joined us for the holidays. It was a good time. Last year JH and I discussed creating a tradition over the holidays. So I was hoping we could start a tradition. This wasn't the year. JH worked a lot this holiday. I can't really complain either because work is hard to get out there.

During the holidays we (mostly me) threw a dinner party for my dad. A dinner party for 7 turned into a party of nearly 20. I made a cake that is absolutely addicting called Tres Leche. I also cooked chicken Parmagian (however you spell it) with spagetti. Dad provided salad. My aunt contributed with curry goat and rice. My cousin contributed a Junior's cheesecake. We had a good time. I saw people I haven't seen in years. It was good times.

JH is whole accepted by my dad's family; which is nice. He hasn't met a lot of my mom's side. Primarily because I don't want to go out of my way to introduce them. Whenever I see them and Jason's around, they will be introduced. For the ones who have, likes him. It's wonderful that my family gets along with him. After all he is part of my family. His family, even the ones I haven't met, have seem to take a liking to me. I'm totally at peace. Hopefully next holiday season we can start the tradition. Plus it'll be our first holidays as a married couple. I can't wait!! :)