I've had a few weeks worth of domestic violence issues. Not in my personal life but close to home, celebrity life and in the blogosphere. It is never okay for either spouse to lay hands on each other. Not is it okay for either spouse to verbally put each other down. Warfare is not conducive to a healthy relationship. All relationships have ups and downs, arguments, and stress. Everyone is an individual. You cannot control them. Relationships are built on compromises and trust.
Approximately 3 weeks ago, my honey and I were awaken by my neighbors having a heated argument. We live in a row houses, so hearing thru the walls can be done if they are loud. They were so loud that we heard their words. The husband said he was moving out. I was pretty happy about that for reasons I do not care to share. Two days later he was still in the house. A week later, I was home alone. I had the television turned up loud when I heard blood curdling screams from the wife. That's how loud they were. So I called the police anonymously. I feel that it was the best thing to do. I wanted this man to know that it was not okay. I actually wanted him arrested. I know the wife was not going to press charges. Abused women don't until it's way too late. I just want the cops to at least have a record that they've been there before if she winds up dead.
I called my mom to tell her what happened so if I'm attacked by the spouse she knows who did it. She tells me that this has been going on for over 15 years. I was shocked. I asked her if she did anything. She said she didn't. I was shocked she didn't. She has been a nurse for over 30 years and seen what these women have experienced. She said she didn't want to be involved. How is she involved is she calls the police? Doing so could save a woman's life. I called my honey and told him what I'd done. He thanked me. I just don't understand people stance on "minding their own business" when it comes to domestic violence. I would want someone to call for me if my spouse was hitting on me. However, my honey knows that if he laid one hand on me I will tear his ass up, call the police and press charges. I don't play that.
Three years ago, Chris Brown beat the crap out of Rihanna. Her bruised face was plastered all over the news and Internet. She didn't press charges but the state did, thank God. He had probation, community service, and take anger management courses. He was also ordered to keep away from Rihanna. If she attended an award show he couldn't. It's been 3 years now, probation, restraining order and courses are done. He get a a Grammy award for his current album. Now Rihanna decides to make a song with him. Why? Money talks and personal matters walk. However, what does this message send to our young women? They will think it's okay to stay with their abusers. I agree with a blog post by Mama by The Bay. Her post speaks volumes to what I want to say. I'm just not as witty as she is.
I would like to take this post to remind all if that you see a woman or man being abused by their other half, do something. You don't have to get in middle of the conflict personally. All you have to do is call the police. Don't let violence continue to happen. Imagine that person is your child. Don't just walk away.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Tattoos And Our Youth
"Bananamuffin says FML 3/30/2012
Today, I realized that the "holla" tattoo I stupidly got on my lower lip five years ago isn't fading as I expected it to, and will probably contribute to my unemployment for years to come. FML"
I just read this on FML.com. It's a site the allows users to vent their embarrassments. It's a very entertaining read. It usually has me laughing or shaking my head in pure distrust. Are all the posts real? I don't know and it won't bother me if they were not. However, this post touched a topic that I feel strongly about; youth and tattoos.
I'm all for tattoos, I have one of my own. My concern is how the youth are abusing it. Tattoos are glamorous to our youth. They see them glorified on television and movies; with celebrities adorning showing them off. But they do not see the impacts of tattoos in their life. Tattoos are much more accepted today than they were in the past, but they are still frowned upon.
My mother didn't take too kindly to mine or my brothers, but she couldn't really do anything about it. She did lecture us when we were young about marking up our bodies. She claims that once you get a tattoo, you become a marked person. Everyone will be able to identify you. To me that wasn't a downfall, but more of a benefit. Say something happened to me and my face and dental records were unidentifiable, my tattoo would be another form of identification. I thought long and hard about getting my tattoo because I knew it is a permanent addition. I thought long and hard where I wanted to place the tattoo too. I ended up putting it on the inside of my right ankle. Why did I put it there? This is my reasoning:
1. That area will stay the same size if I gain or lose weight.
2. It is not very noticeable in a skirt.
Location of your tattoo is important. It can determine a lot about you and your future. As Bananamuffin is realizing now, she should have have thought about before she got a tattoo on her lip. Who will want to hire her? Maybe a tattoo parlor? Telemarketer? If you have tattoos on your face and hands, let's say you have a slim chance of getting a decent job in corporate America. If you have a tattoo at all you will not work for the FBI or CIA as an operative. You can't have any identifying marks.
We see celebrities like L'ilWayne and Angelina Jolie having tats. Wayne moreso than Jolie.
L'il Wayne has tats all over his face, but he makes a lot money where he doesn't have to look for a job. When he got his record deal, he didn't have them.
Angelina Jolie has a lot of tats, but they are not on her face or hands. Only ones you can see are the ones on her upper arms.
What would happen if Wayne lost all his money, businesses and fame and had to search for a job? He would probably have to work in construction or something that he does not have to work with clients. He may not even be able to work. If the same happened to Jolie, she would be more successful. Why? She looks presentable and will have a good face for representing a company.
As parents of youth, you should discuss tattoos with them so they don't make decisions like Bananamuffin. You should discuss all the negative repercussions and positive things about tattoos. You want them to make informed decisions then stupid impulsive decisions that can ruin their future. Tattoos will always be an attractive element in all generations. It's all about how we communicate to our youth what's appropriate and what's not. They'll probably just ignore us anyway and do something stupid. Regret is costly and painful.
Today, I realized that the "holla" tattoo I stupidly got on my lower lip five years ago isn't fading as I expected it to, and will probably contribute to my unemployment for years to come. FML"
I just read this on FML.com. It's a site the allows users to vent their embarrassments. It's a very entertaining read. It usually has me laughing or shaking my head in pure distrust. Are all the posts real? I don't know and it won't bother me if they were not. However, this post touched a topic that I feel strongly about; youth and tattoos.
I'm all for tattoos, I have one of my own. My concern is how the youth are abusing it. Tattoos are glamorous to our youth. They see them glorified on television and movies; with celebrities adorning showing them off. But they do not see the impacts of tattoos in their life. Tattoos are much more accepted today than they were in the past, but they are still frowned upon.
My mother didn't take too kindly to mine or my brothers, but she couldn't really do anything about it. She did lecture us when we were young about marking up our bodies. She claims that once you get a tattoo, you become a marked person. Everyone will be able to identify you. To me that wasn't a downfall, but more of a benefit. Say something happened to me and my face and dental records were unidentifiable, my tattoo would be another form of identification. I thought long and hard about getting my tattoo because I knew it is a permanent addition. I thought long and hard where I wanted to place the tattoo too. I ended up putting it on the inside of my right ankle. Why did I put it there? This is my reasoning:
1. That area will stay the same size if I gain or lose weight.
2. It is not very noticeable in a skirt.
Location of your tattoo is important. It can determine a lot about you and your future. As Bananamuffin is realizing now, she should have have thought about before she got a tattoo on her lip. Who will want to hire her? Maybe a tattoo parlor? Telemarketer? If you have tattoos on your face and hands, let's say you have a slim chance of getting a decent job in corporate America. If you have a tattoo at all you will not work for the FBI or CIA as an operative. You can't have any identifying marks.
We see celebrities like L'ilWayne and Angelina Jolie having tats. Wayne moreso than Jolie.
L'il Wayne has tats all over his face, but he makes a lot money where he doesn't have to look for a job. When he got his record deal, he didn't have them.
What would happen if Wayne lost all his money, businesses and fame and had to search for a job? He would probably have to work in construction or something that he does not have to work with clients. He may not even be able to work. If the same happened to Jolie, she would be more successful. Why? She looks presentable and will have a good face for representing a company.
As parents of youth, you should discuss tattoos with them so they don't make decisions like Bananamuffin. You should discuss all the negative repercussions and positive things about tattoos. You want them to make informed decisions then stupid impulsive decisions that can ruin their future. Tattoos will always be an attractive element in all generations. It's all about how we communicate to our youth what's appropriate and what's not. They'll probably just ignore us anyway and do something stupid. Regret is costly and painful.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Review: Fifty Shades of Grey
Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is book has been on the news and Good Morning America so much that I was curious to read it. So I downloaded a sample of the book onto my kindle. Within 5 pages I knew I had to get the full book. As I was reading, I learned some more facts. This book was fan fiction of Twilight. I don't see it. I may be oblivious, but I don't get any teen angst from the book.
This book is about a mogul C Grey who falls for a college grad A Steele and introduces her to his lifestyle. Whether or not she accepts the lifestyle is for me to know and for you to read.
I have seen many reviews on this book about the author's bad writing. I say for a first time author, her sales are sky rocketing. With all her newness in the writersphere, she can improve. I don't believe this book was published via major publishers, but self publishing. Therefore, she didn't have a team of editors to catch all her mistakes. What she did do right was to create strong characters and a good story. If you can't grasp a character then what's the point of a story. Yes there was a lot of repetition, but the story was still strong. Her story has captured millions of readers. Can the naysayers say they have reached this success for a new author? Let us give our cheers to a new author and not strip her down. Author community should be warm and inviting. Not bitchy or cold. She will get better. But will you?
This book is very good. It had me grab the next 2 books in the series. It is worth a read if you are into adult & romantic books.
View all my reviews
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
John Carter No More
John Carter opened this past weekend and pulled in $30 million. That may be a lot of mullah for us lay people, but for Hollywood, that's a bust. John Carter cost $250 million to make. They only recouped 12% of the cost. However, it did open 2nd to the Lorax. This was the Lorax's week out.
John Carter is a movie based on the book "Princess of Mars". It's about a man in colonial times who lost his family and refused to continue to fight for the union against the Indians. He finds himself transported to Mars and ends up fighting for a country being conquered by another. This is the short version of the story.
The movie was great, but you wouldn't know that. Neither would I if my fiance didn't take me to see it. Disney did not Market this movie well at all. It is solely their fault in this movie tanking. The trailers for this movie made no sense at all. I kept wondering what this movie is about. Imagery alone does not make a movie sell. I'm sure it also through the rest of the population off.
I was reading an article the other day, wish I saved it to link it, that discussed how Disney's marketing team has gotten so bad. Disney used to be great at marketing. They had population running to see the movies, buy the dvds, and any and all merchandise. Then somehow, they took a turn to only marketing to girls excluding boys. This was their focus for a while. Then they realized they lost a big demographic. So they purchased Marvel in order to try to get the boys back. They did promise to leave Marvel alone. They are doing well with them. Eveyone's dying for the Avengers' movie. However, they ended up hurting themselves.
Disney needs to revamp their marketing team or they should just hire outside the company for marketing. Marketing is making them lose money hand over fist. Something needs to be done. John Carter was a good movie and it left us with a cliff hanger. I doubt they will produce a sequel because this movie is tanking. I do hope it at least makes up the cost in the coming weeks.
My rating is B+ for the movie and F- for Disney's Marketing team.
John Carter is a movie based on the book "Princess of Mars". It's about a man in colonial times who lost his family and refused to continue to fight for the union against the Indians. He finds himself transported to Mars and ends up fighting for a country being conquered by another. This is the short version of the story.
The movie was great, but you wouldn't know that. Neither would I if my fiance didn't take me to see it. Disney did not Market this movie well at all. It is solely their fault in this movie tanking. The trailers for this movie made no sense at all. I kept wondering what this movie is about. Imagery alone does not make a movie sell. I'm sure it also through the rest of the population off.
I was reading an article the other day, wish I saved it to link it, that discussed how Disney's marketing team has gotten so bad. Disney used to be great at marketing. They had population running to see the movies, buy the dvds, and any and all merchandise. Then somehow, they took a turn to only marketing to girls excluding boys. This was their focus for a while. Then they realized they lost a big demographic. So they purchased Marvel in order to try to get the boys back. They did promise to leave Marvel alone. They are doing well with them. Eveyone's dying for the Avengers' movie. However, they ended up hurting themselves.
Disney needs to revamp their marketing team or they should just hire outside the company for marketing. Marketing is making them lose money hand over fist. Something needs to be done. John Carter was a good movie and it left us with a cliff hanger. I doubt they will produce a sequel because this movie is tanking. I do hope it at least makes up the cost in the coming weeks.
My rating is B+ for the movie and F- for Disney's Marketing team.
Friday, March 9, 2012
OMG!! 3 Months!!
I'm getting married in like 3 months!!! Oh my Goodness. Me? Reality is setting in. The biggest reality is what I'm writing this blog about: Love. I can't believe how powerful this emotion can be while it is so unassuming.
This emotion evolves throughout your life and it takes multiple different shapes. There is the love of your parents and siblings. There is love between strong friendships. Then you have the ever fiery love in relationships. They the truest love is the love that moves from friendship into a relationship. However, besides the love of family and friends, I, for years, thought I was incapable of loving another. This type love requires patience and dedication. I lack the former.
I've had relationships before as most women my age have. Two out of the few that I had I believed at the time were pretty serious. However, I never felt for them like I feel for JH. Looking back I really didn't love them with my whole heart. I loved them as I would love a friend. What kept them around was carnal need and convenience at the time. Lust sometimes is as powerful as a fiery love. You just need to know the difference. It's hard to detect when you are in middle of it.
I have been told so many times that I can be cold hearted, difficult and can be detached. I can understand about the detachment. Once my patience is run down, I lose all interest in dealing with you. So I say "Fuck It" and move on. I'm not going to become the vengeful woman. The Bitch who curses her man. My main thing is "I don't want anyone who don't want me". I keep it moving. I learned in elementary not to get too attached to people because they will leave. My mother always re-iterated "You were born alone and you will die alone". So all this advice and experience made me stand-offish and a bit distant. I always kept a little guard around my heart. Being called difficult was because men didn't get their way. I never thought I was difficult. I have self respect and will not let any man make me do anything I feel demoralizing or unhealthy. If standing my ground is being difficult, then I'll gladly be difficult. I believe the coldhearted comes from my issue with detachment. Once I detach I could care less. I guess that's being coldhearted.
When I met JH in person, I felt so much at ease. It felt natural. Maybe because we spoke all the time on the phone and thru AIM. We had an established friendship. Our love took us by surprise. We both agree that we didn't plan on this moving past a friendship. Look at us now! I can't imagine my life without him. With him I am myself. There are are no pretenses. He's a great man and I'm lucky that I found him. He doesn't think I difficult. He doesn't ask me to do things that are out my character. He LOVES me for ME and not what I can do for him. He takes care of me like I'm a princess. And I want to take care of him. I just know that he's throne for me. I feel as if he was made just for me. I can't wait to be his wife!!!
This emotion evolves throughout your life and it takes multiple different shapes. There is the love of your parents and siblings. There is love between strong friendships. Then you have the ever fiery love in relationships. They the truest love is the love that moves from friendship into a relationship. However, besides the love of family and friends, I, for years, thought I was incapable of loving another. This type love requires patience and dedication. I lack the former.
I've had relationships before as most women my age have. Two out of the few that I had I believed at the time were pretty serious. However, I never felt for them like I feel for JH. Looking back I really didn't love them with my whole heart. I loved them as I would love a friend. What kept them around was carnal need and convenience at the time. Lust sometimes is as powerful as a fiery love. You just need to know the difference. It's hard to detect when you are in middle of it.
I have been told so many times that I can be cold hearted, difficult and can be detached. I can understand about the detachment. Once my patience is run down, I lose all interest in dealing with you. So I say "Fuck It" and move on. I'm not going to become the vengeful woman. The Bitch who curses her man. My main thing is "I don't want anyone who don't want me". I keep it moving. I learned in elementary not to get too attached to people because they will leave. My mother always re-iterated "You were born alone and you will die alone". So all this advice and experience made me stand-offish and a bit distant. I always kept a little guard around my heart. Being called difficult was because men didn't get their way. I never thought I was difficult. I have self respect and will not let any man make me do anything I feel demoralizing or unhealthy. If standing my ground is being difficult, then I'll gladly be difficult. I believe the coldhearted comes from my issue with detachment. Once I detach I could care less. I guess that's being coldhearted.
When I met JH in person, I felt so much at ease. It felt natural. Maybe because we spoke all the time on the phone and thru AIM. We had an established friendship. Our love took us by surprise. We both agree that we didn't plan on this moving past a friendship. Look at us now! I can't imagine my life without him. With him I am myself. There are are no pretenses. He's a great man and I'm lucky that I found him. He doesn't think I difficult. He doesn't ask me to do things that are out my character. He LOVES me for ME and not what I can do for him. He takes care of me like I'm a princess. And I want to take care of him. I just know that he's throne for me. I feel as if he was made just for me. I can't wait to be his wife!!!
Friday, March 2, 2012
Wedding Plans - Part 5
I held off on blogging my plans for a while because I had a planning trip coming up. Well my trip has come and gone, so now I have ample amount of stuff to discuss. The trip was over President's weekend. I didn't realize that when I booked my flight in December. No wonder airfare was ridiculous to find. We had to fly Delta, not fun or comfortable. At least they have leather seats.
On with planning.......
1. Ceremony
The ceremony is nearly complete. I had our planning meeting with another tour of the 2 gardens, just in case I wanted to switch. I have the Grand garden. Heritage has an incline that I don't care to walk down and it has a bit more greenery. It does match my esthetic.
Only left for the ceremony is to find songs for me to walk down the isle in & the recessional song.
2. Photography
I am still using the venue. It's the stress free way. At least I don't have to deal with Bro-in-law.
3. Honeymoon
Since we couldn't afford Bora Bora, we have settled with Hawaii. We were also thinking about doing a cruise around Hawaii instead of staying on the main land. However, we can't do the cruise since it leaves on the Saturday. Not able to get there on time. So we are looking at staying on the islands.
4. Guest List
This is done. It still a sort of contention when it comes to my mother. She just wants to control my list. She needs to to back off and respect my wishes. Just waiting for the day she calls JH to harass him about it.
I am having sort of a back up list for those who do not come. So I am looking at other people who I want.
5. Invitations
I combed thru 3 websites for invitations and I also had found a paper place in the city where we can create our own invitations. After price comparisons, it was cheaper to use one of the websites. I tried the following sites:
www.invitationsbydawn.com
www.theamericanwedding.com
www.weddingpaperdivas.com
We narrowed the samples down to 2 invitations we liked. This is our first choice.
And this is second choice.
However the 1st choice does not come in our wedding colors. So we went with our second choice. We are waiting for them to deliver now.
I made my own Direction cards and I will be making gift registry cards.
6. Save The Date
This is done with some controversy.
7. Florist
We met with the florist and came up with great choices. Why are florists expensive though? I knew they were going to be. It's just a known fact. To be honest, I'm not really fond of flowers but they do serve their purpose. So we got our bouquets, boutonnières, corsages and flowers for ceremony & reception.
8. Reception
We got to go cake tasting and menu tasting while we were in there.
Cake tasting was the best part of the trip! We got to sample different cakes and fillings. We were in sugar heaven. Have you seen 60 year old men on a sugar high? Wish I did. We came up with great combinations for our cake. I'm drooling just thinking about it now.
Here it is...
Top cake is German Chocolate cake w/ the appropriate filling.
Middle cake is butter (yellow) cake w/ a cherry & cream cheese filling.
Bottom cake is coconut w/ a chocolate coconut (bounty) filling.
Yum! I don't want to share it. We have to find a topper for the cake though.
Menu tasting was good too. We got to sample for free. It all was good. I'm looking forward to the reception. I still have work to do on this. I have to work on the music. One thing is Luther Vandross & Celine Dion are banned from my wedding. I have to do songs for group dances and all. We have our mix of music, just the special dances. Now my dad wants a full bar and we want a cash bar. We are not agreeing on this. After all it's just a brunchy/lunchy reception. Don't really need too much liquor.
I also have to do seating plan and choose what I want to overlay and underlay for the tables.
9. Salon
Made salon appointment for the event. I have to be there for 7:45 AM!!!! I hate waking up that early. So that means we are going to be up like 5 am to get breakfast and get all what's needed taken care of. I'm not going to starve myself. I'm not a nice girl when I'm hungry, lol.
10. Gown/Tux
We got the men their tux rentals. My dress has come in. I should be making an appoint,net for fitting really soon. Also the girls' dresses came in too. So we need to make a fitting for that too.
I also assisted in helping JH's mom find a dress for herself.
11. Registry
We have one set for The Container Store. I plan on doing another one for Target.
The wedding is 3 months from now. I'm excited but I reality is syncing in. Stay tuned for further updates.
On with planning.......
1. Ceremony
The ceremony is nearly complete. I had our planning meeting with another tour of the 2 gardens, just in case I wanted to switch. I have the Grand garden. Heritage has an incline that I don't care to walk down and it has a bit more greenery. It does match my esthetic.
Only left for the ceremony is to find songs for me to walk down the isle in & the recessional song.
2. Photography
I am still using the venue. It's the stress free way. At least I don't have to deal with Bro-in-law.
3. Honeymoon
Since we couldn't afford Bora Bora, we have settled with Hawaii. We were also thinking about doing a cruise around Hawaii instead of staying on the main land. However, we can't do the cruise since it leaves on the Saturday. Not able to get there on time. So we are looking at staying on the islands.
4. Guest List
This is done. It still a sort of contention when it comes to my mother. She just wants to control my list. She needs to to back off and respect my wishes. Just waiting for the day she calls JH to harass him about it.
I am having sort of a back up list for those who do not come. So I am looking at other people who I want.
5. Invitations
I combed thru 3 websites for invitations and I also had found a paper place in the city where we can create our own invitations. After price comparisons, it was cheaper to use one of the websites. I tried the following sites:
www.invitationsbydawn.com
www.theamericanwedding.com
www.weddingpaperdivas.com
We narrowed the samples down to 2 invitations we liked. This is our first choice.
And this is second choice.
However the 1st choice does not come in our wedding colors. So we went with our second choice. We are waiting for them to deliver now.
I made my own Direction cards and I will be making gift registry cards.
6. Save The Date
This is done with some controversy.
7. Florist
We met with the florist and came up with great choices. Why are florists expensive though? I knew they were going to be. It's just a known fact. To be honest, I'm not really fond of flowers but they do serve their purpose. So we got our bouquets, boutonnières, corsages and flowers for ceremony & reception.
8. Reception
We got to go cake tasting and menu tasting while we were in there.
Cake tasting was the best part of the trip! We got to sample different cakes and fillings. We were in sugar heaven. Have you seen 60 year old men on a sugar high? Wish I did. We came up with great combinations for our cake. I'm drooling just thinking about it now.
Here it is...
Top cake is German Chocolate cake w/ the appropriate filling.
Middle cake is butter (yellow) cake w/ a cherry & cream cheese filling.
Bottom cake is coconut w/ a chocolate coconut (bounty) filling.
Yum! I don't want to share it. We have to find a topper for the cake though.
Menu tasting was good too. We got to sample for free. It all was good. I'm looking forward to the reception. I still have work to do on this. I have to work on the music. One thing is Luther Vandross & Celine Dion are banned from my wedding. I have to do songs for group dances and all. We have our mix of music, just the special dances. Now my dad wants a full bar and we want a cash bar. We are not agreeing on this. After all it's just a brunchy/lunchy reception. Don't really need too much liquor.
I also have to do seating plan and choose what I want to overlay and underlay for the tables.
9. Salon
Made salon appointment for the event. I have to be there for 7:45 AM!!!! I hate waking up that early. So that means we are going to be up like 5 am to get breakfast and get all what's needed taken care of. I'm not going to starve myself. I'm not a nice girl when I'm hungry, lol.
10. Gown/Tux
We got the men their tux rentals. My dress has come in. I should be making an appoint,net for fitting really soon. Also the girls' dresses came in too. So we need to make a fitting for that too.
I also assisted in helping JH's mom find a dress for herself.
11. Registry
We have one set for The Container Store. I plan on doing another one for Target.
The wedding is 3 months from now. I'm excited but I reality is syncing in. Stay tuned for further updates.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Review: A Stranger to Unfold
A Stranger to Unfold by Anjah Gonzalez
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I thought I was going to be biased about this book because I personally know the author. She's a great friend of mine, plus she never asked me for any help in writing this. My bias was to love the book because she's my friend and not on any merit of her own writing.
She never sent me my own copy, I actually bought it on my own to read. Maybe I should have her autograph it. I just wanted to support her. Then again, I never ask anything from anyone. So asking for her book was out of the question. I digress.
I read the book easily. Her characters were set up wonderfully. The story and plot drew you in. I personally wondered how much, if at all, of her personal experiences that she put into this book. The story is wonderful. I felt drawn into the story. I was amazed and awed that my friend filled her book with such rich imagery.
Everyone should read this. I'm sad that her book hasn't gathered a big following, but many first time authors don't. Go out and support this author by picking up her book.
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]
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.
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]
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]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)