Circle of Doom - Just different!

18June

To each its own! I’ve read a few other reviews about this game and they are not so good. They all have valid points; lacks plot, not great combat, old style controller use, etc.

Truth is, this game might very well never be considered as great but for one; it has better graphics than a lot of other games out there and two; it serves a different kind of purpose.

So here is my theory… let’s say ..you know all about the greatest games out right now, you know the stories, you know the ratings and you know the amount of time it would require from you should you decide to buy it and start playing it.

But, on this particular day, you just wish you could find a game that will give you the same amount of excitement as an arcade machine. Something quick, entertaining, non-compromising. You don’t feel like committing yourself or your time to it!

Now, the tough part of this though is that you also want a role-playing kinda game. Not your typical fighting game, not Tetris, or one of those new Wii games that you play for a few minutes to satisfy your gaming hunger. So, what kind of game would feel like ‘Zelda’ but not take as much time or brain as that one and still let you feel for a moment that you are involved into some sort of story? Answer: Circle of Doom.

Just to be fair.. I must add.. I rented this game! Perhaps, if I had bought it. my thoughts on it would be different! But hey, 50 bucks shouldn’t change your opinion.. should they?

All American Rejects - Simply Awesome!

18June

Go buy it!!!
This such a great album, I don’t even know what to begin with for this review. So first, I must just explain that my opinion on new music albums is usually related to the amount of songs in it that I actually like.
We all know that most albums come with 1-3 popular songs and , in some cases, with a lot of crappy ones after that. Sometimes though, magic occurs; and we are presented with a magnificent piece of work that will keep us next to the stereo for the entire duration of all 12 or 13 songs. This is the case with ‘Move Along’

Yes, there are a few songs there that are more popular than others.. .but all of them, without exception, have the potential! You can certainly tell that these guys put a lot of effort on this one and it shows on every one of their hits.

This is one of those cd’s you don’t want to burn or download. Please don’t! This one is soooo worth buying!!

Another thing you might notice about their songs is the different melodies they use. What a great thing! They can actually keep someone entertained and awake! Besides, don’t we all have those days when we need that old mix cd that really doesn’t define a specific mood but it just hits that spot ???
This one could probably do it for you !

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Mario Kart Comments - from a girl’s POV

29April

 

Last weekend, Mario Kart for the Wii came out and kids and adults everywhere rushed to their favorite video game store to get it. (Isn’t it crazy how these kids stand in line since 11:00 pm on the night before??? ). But oh well, since they do and since everyone who is into games just HAS TO HAVE IT… so did one of my friends who spent his weekend gaining up skills to finish on 1st place in every single race and course available. And so.. I decided to give it a try too. First comment I got from players who were addicted to the previous versions of Mario Kart is that some of the racing courses stayed pretty similar. This is mostly criticized simply as a lack of originality.. but being this a game from Nintendo… I’m still not sure how much more than this we could really expect? It is pretty obvious that Nintendo is bringing back all of these games that happened to gain a lot of popularity back in the day.. and that they are not taking huge risks by changing the feeling of the game in general. After all, the big RISK for them was the console.. and some people has not yet been completely bought into it. Anyhow.. back to the game…. I think Mario Kart delivers exactly and not more than what it promises. You don’t buy this game to feel the same rush as you would playing ‘Need for Speed’ and you certainly don’t get it.. but hey! That certainly doesn’t mean you won’t get enough speed in your little ride to feel like you are actually racing. :)

Graphics can not really be rated in games like these, since Mario and the gang can pretty much all look the same way every time :) . Some of the race courses though, do have great little tricks and changes in the scenery that will keep your eye entertained while trying to stay on the road and watching out for others not to hit you.

Cute? hmm not really.. but that is a good thing isn’t it?

All and all, I would give this game a rating of 8.00 ( out of 10) just because like I said before.. It is what you expect it to be.

Happy Gaming!

Quarterlife.com - A real website!

24April

This is a “MUST TALK ABOUT” website. Quarterlife.com one of my best finds so far for internet sites that feel real and that make a point to be unique. The Quarterlife community has a longer history than what I’m able to describe at this point, since I’m not absolutely familiar with every single detail of it. However, for the purposes of this article AND because this is my damn website.. I will just give you my own point of view…

Quarterlife.com is a website for artists and people who just love and appreciate art in general. Art is not defined by specific interests as there are many artistic ways in which we can express ourselves and share something beautiful with the rest of the world. Moreover, the community also inspires ‘do-ers’ to join and find support for their crazy and the not-so crazy ideas. They respect each other’s opinions and give advice when possible. How much more real than this could it ever get???
Let’s make clear, this is not your typical MySpace or Facebook or even an artistic community where everyone competes with each other. Here, the criticism you receive is truly constructive (for the most part) .. the rest.. it is actually just FUNNY stuff :) but hey.. that’s exactly what makes this website so cool.

So, if you are ever in need for inspiration and for having a chance to meet really cool and real people.. then take a moment and browse through this community pages.. you will be amazed with the things QL people get involved in. One of those sites.. that makes you wanna do something great with your life!

Call Of Duty 4

10April

Great Graphics! That’s what every magazine and gamer is saying about this game. But what about the game itself?

Well, my review would probably not be able to describe this video game a lot better than the professionals but from a girl’s perspective I must admit that it definitely has some pros and cons. First thing I noticed is that the off line game (story mode) is way too easy to finish. Most people I know have completed the game about three times already. This only makes me wonder.. what happened to the old good really difficult games we used to have? Ok.. I get it.. people care about getting online and shooting their friends.. fine! .. but I still think they could have made an effort!

Other thing I perhaps dislike is that the multi-player option only lets you have fun if you happened to have a LAN Party of more than four players at a time. Once again.. why can’t I play co-op with one other friend and complete really tough missions together? Bummer! yeah yeah.. I need to get online to feel the action huh?

Well.. getting online is not that much when you are newbie.. but that’s the case in every single game right? Hehe.. I guess I wouldn’t mind being able to alive for more than five seconds every now and then though.

Now.. here is a deeper thought perhaps.. some of the most respected magazines tend to praise the game for the use of excellent graphics and realistic sceneries but they also believe that the plot in itself is not that real. Heh.. I’m a bit biased about their opinions.. I can understand how some gamers might enjoy playing a game that resembles how wars happen in real life.. but don’t we have enough of that already?

Anyway.. all and all.. the game is awesome. Definitely one of the best first shooting games out there right now. I would recommend everyone to just give it a try, enjoy the graphics and have fun!

Honk for a Prayer!

10April

Apparently these sort of things still work out there…. On my way to work every morning, I see this guy near the I-4 expressway; he is usually dancing and listening to some Christian music (I assume) while praying to God. He parks in a corner where a lot of cars drive by and he places signs asking people to ‘honk’ for a prayer!

Without being too biased; I must say I was happily surprised by the amount of people who actually honked while driving by.  I would say that out of 30 cars, at least 12 did it. In my opinion, this does not mean these people are necessarily believers or very involved in their own churches. It means more than that.  It is perhaps just human nature to have to sometimes support a cause that although it might not be our own, it still seems fair and good for humanity as a whole.

Everyday, it becomes more difficult to observe these sort of things. We keep making our lives more complex and busier every time. We lose track of what happens in our world and we live as selfish individuals who do not care about each other. Thankfully, it appears that this is not the case for everyone. At the end, perhaps it does not matter whether you care about this planet and its habitants because you have nothing better to do or because you need someone to be thankful for a good deed you might have done.. the point is that you did it. Supporting a cause is not that hard.. it might be an everyday thing.. something that perhaps takes you two seconds. Maybe you just don’t feel like it  or feel like it is not your responsibility. But, look around.. and observe the things happening around you.. you’ll see that you are much needed.

Eat, Pray, Love - Just Incredible!

04April

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia

Author: Elizabeth Gilbert

Year: 2007

Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)

ISBN: 0143038419

Elizabeth Gilbert brings up this amazing book full of hope, happiness and peace through a bunch of her own personal stories during her trips to Italy, India and Indonesia. The story begins to develop as the sadness of her own divorce seems to finally reach the end of it. After the guilt, sadness, desperation have finally invaded her soul and entire life, she reaches out to God in search for an answer. This answer only leads her to a new path in her life, where she is committed to find herself. That is how she begins to understand some of the greatest mysteries of life, including the mystery of “simplicity”. She now learns to enjoy and “pleasure” herself, in the simplest way, doing things that most people around the world do on every basis but that ambitious, powerful, selfish minds like the ones that are part of the materialistic American culture seem to have so much trouble with.
Throughout the book, Elizabeth continues to bring love back and reflects on it but from a different perspective every time. As a reader, you feel part of the process she is going through, you adapt to new ideas just at the same pace as she does. Finally, you take away very important and basic teachings about yourself, your faith and your search for happiness.
Elizabeth writes this book while searching for guidance all around the world. Lastly, as she finds it, she ends up producing this great piece that acts as a guide to many of her readers.
It is almost as if there was something magical about it.

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Bluebirds / Jimmy Wooten Music

04April

Artist: The Bluebirds

Rating: 5 out of 5

Media: CD

Genre: Blues, Rock, Soul

Cover art: http://www.zilliedream.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/Birdswdeirdre.jpg

A couple of days ago, while traveling for work around Louisiana (the Shreveport area to be more specific…) I happened to walk by one of the bar areas in the hotel I was staying at and heard what I thought it was a rock band playing songs for a group of ‘adults’ drinking and dancing every song in their country style dancing. Not that there is anything wrong with that.. it just caught my attention and dragged me inside of the place where I sat until the show was over. .about a couple of hours later.

The Bluebirds are currently playing at the Horseshoe casino in Bossier City, LA. This band came alive several years ago and as I understand, they invite different singers and guitarists to sing and play with them for a season or two. As soon as you hear this band play, you realize two things.. first.. they are really good as a group and enjoy what they do. Second, some of the members of the band give their best every night, full of ambition, hungry for a success and with lots of talent too.

The band as I happened to see it .. was formed by Bruce Flett, Diedre Thomas, Jimmy Wooten and Cody Lowrey. Each one of them is amazingly talented and deserves a chance to expand their careers pass the walls of a casino hotel and the state of Louisiana.

As I later learned, Jimmy Wooten (amazing guitar player) has also been working with another band called “Forever Like Red”. They are currently performing in Shreveport and yes, perhaps their current website does not provide much information at the time. But please do check out their myspace page
at: www.myspace.com/foreverlikered

As well, herei s Jimmy’s own page.. just in case you happen to agree with my admiration for a particular talent.. www.myspace.com/jimmywootenmusic

Once again.. amazing band! Hope to see them “out there” very soon!

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Speaking of Funny Names

04April

So it is very common, in several parts of the world, to find crazy couples who have decided to name their kids after their favorite cartoon character or a brand of clothes they just love to wear all the time. Who know? just totally crazy reasons that instead of making them feel ashamed of themselves, seems to make them feel proud.

Anyhow.. here is one for the crowd. I came across it through one of those “FW:” e-mails we all get at times…

Amazingly enough, while people from other countries pick weird names that would portrait their kids as possible heroes, do-ers and masters of the universe.. Americans go the opposite way and are not afraid of choosing ridiculous names for their babies. Such as …

The Name(s) | Comments about the name

A. Moron Commissioner of Education

Cumming & Gooing Louisiana

D. Schumuk Political Activist

Firmin A. Gryp Banker, California

Luscious Pea Louisana, US

and many more .. if you follow this link :

http://www.perfect-baby-names.com/funny-baby-names.html

Open a D&B in Orlando please!!!

25March

Dave and Buster’s

Food style/ethnicity: Junk Food as we like it!

Price: 6 - 25

Location:

Food rating: 3 out of 5
Decor rating: 4 out of 5
Service rating: 4 out of 5

Last weekend, me and a friend drove to Dave and Buster’s all the way up in Jacksonville. This is one of my favorite places to hang out and we definitely do not have anything like it here in Orlando.

I could truly care less about the restaurant (which is not bad at all) but it is not the main attraction.
What is it then? ARCADE GAMES! Woohoo.. Yes, if you have never been to a great arcade place, then this is definitely something you need to try out at least once.

Some people from Orlando would tell you that Rocky’s place could probably be much like it.. but it is not. I’ve been to Rocky’s and it does not compare. D&B has a totally different style. It actually has two different types of restaurant inside the place; a formal dining area (where people go and celebrate birthdays and stuff) or the bar area, where you can just go grab some drinks, quick snacks and be on your way to the arcade machines in no time.

The concept of the arcade gaming place remains though, meaning you play and you get tickets that you can accumulate and use towards purchasing one of the little gifts they have at their reward shop right there. In theory, you could possibly accumulate enough points to even get a TV if you wanted to, but if you do the math, you would probably be paying twice as much if you went for it.

In summary, the place is great but perhaps a little bit of a long drive for the people in Orlando. Hopefully some day, the owners will come to their senses and realize that I would waste a lot more money on them if they were closer :P

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