2 Intriguing Amazon Purchases

As humans, there are many things that remain a mystery to us. Whether it's aspects of a different culture or strange religious beliefs, it is impossible to be familiar with everything our world has to offer. In fact, many of us don't readily accept ideals and practices different from our own.

It has always been my philosophy to be open-minded to new things and (even if I abhor it) try to understand why other people like it and find some value in my having experienced it myself.

This brings me to the early Christmas gifts I bought myself from Amazon!!!

The Original Rider Waite Tarot Pack

A couple of weeks ago, I found myself bored on the Internet and began watching tutorials on Howcast. I found the "How to Develop Psychic Powers" video series particularly interesting, especially the video about tarot cards.

They suggested I buy the Rider Waite Tarot Deck, and - sure enough - it was available on Amazon on sale for about $15.

After learning a little about what the cards mean and the positions the cards are placed in, I have to say that this is the best $15 I've spent in a long time! Do I believe the cards have mystical powers? No. However, I think that the amount of thought you put into a difficult situation with the help of these card is more than valuable.

The entertainment value of finding out how accurate your reading was is priceless.

Feng Shui That Makes Sense by Cathleen McCandless

On the same odd-but-insightful note as the tarot cards, I decided to buy a book about feng shui. Feng Shui is a practice shrouded in misinterpretation. To put it simply, feng shui is "the study of the environment and how it affects people".

No, not that "environment".

Rather,...

...these environments. The environments you occupy the most in your lives: home, work, and wherever you spend your free time. The design and positioning of objects in these places can play a more major role in our lives than we think! Learning the art(?) of feng shui could really be valuable. 

Many think of the myths associated with feng shui and deem it to be a waste of time, but I've learned from this book that feng shui really isn't as mystical as it is practical, and it makes a lot of sense in regards to the way people think. 

So, those are the odd Christmas gifts I bought myself this year. The take-away from all this is to keep an open-mind regarding things that are unfamiliar to you, and try to explore the unknown instead of hiding from it.

My next exploration: Handwriting analysis!

What odd things peek your interest? What are you getting yourself for the holidays?

Spill it at all www.facebook.com/VeryGeekyGirl!!!

Don't Lie On Your Resume

A few months ago, one lucky lady landed my dream job! She got hired as a Social Media Director of The University of Michigan; a $100,000/year job to direct the social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) of a major university! With all the stuff going on in Ann Arbor on a daily basis, the material writes itself and you can't beat the salary!

How could anyone do anything to screw this up???

Well, it was over before it began. Ms. Jordan Miller - aka the luckiest girl in the world - lied about her education on her resume. After some investigation, it was pointed out that one must graduate from the Journalism degree program at Colombia College Chicago to have received a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Colombia College Chicago.

The selection process for this job was apparently intense. How intense? The runner-up had a Facebook campaign to get this job! And she obviously still didn't get it. It's such a shame Miller lied on her resume. Amid the scandal, she has resigned from the best job ever.

(My theory is that she "jumped before she was pushed".)

Situations like this, reinforce the iron-clad rule: Don't Lie On Your Resume!

They always find out. Sooner or later, you're gonna get called into the bosses office and know exactly why they're firing you. Whether you work for several months or several decades, someone will found out and you will likely be axed for it.

The Same Ole Song

Have you ever listened to a new song and thought: "It feels like I've heard this before..." But you can't quite name the song you know sounds exactly like that?

It's happened to me countless times! It almost feels like there is no such thing as new music; perhaps every "new" song is just a remake of something older.

There is no way this song is really new.

On YouTube, one of my favorite channels - Vsauce - made an interesting case for this theory. Perhaps we sometime long ago reached the maximum number of melody combinations and are going through the loop again!

Unlikely. But you must admit that it is a curious phenomenon.

Most interestingly, the video mentions a cool website called Sounds Just Like, that points out similarities in popular songs. At first, it was interesting to see so many songs that sound alike, but it quickly became sad.

Why are there sooo many songs that sound like other songs? Sure, artists are often inspired by art, but why does California Gurls sound like Tik Tok?

 Granted, they are both California Gurls...

There is a fine line between being inspired by an older song & remaking it and shamelessly stealing a melody to make a new song off of it.

However, is it such a bad thing to sample music to make new songs? After all, it takes an artist to rework a song about weed into a song about breaking up, right?

What do you think? Is a number of similarities in songs a sign of the musical apocalypse or is it simply a different expression of creativity?

Demons Do It Better

Aside from Toonami back in the day, I'd have to say InuYasha was the show that got me into anime. The story of a girl and a demi-dog-demon falling in love in search of sacred jewel shards and peace from the evil Naraku somehow spoke to me.

What made InuYasha such a great love story was InuYasha himself. Unlike many anime men (Tenchi, Goku, Tomoya, etc.), InuYasha is not generally kind. Instead, his demeanor can be rude, apathetic, and harsh. After all, he originally wants to use the sacred jewel to become a full demon...

This hard outer-shell makes it that much sweeter when his true feelings for Kagome begin to surface.

This is a pattern when it comes to my favorite anime romances. The romances I can watch over and over all involve a couple who have to discover that they are capable of love before jumping into a relationship.

Example?

Take the classic Dragonball Z rivalry: Goku vs. Vegeta! Although Goku had to learn what women were first, he knew what love was and that he was capable of it...

Vegeta, however, was more focused on physical strength and pride to even fathom an insignificant thing like falling in love. Likewise, everyone around him knew him to be a pig-headed, arrogant jerk, so no one saw love as an option for him either. But Bulma was able to open his eyes a little so that he could "see what life had to offer him."

She had him at "Hey, Homeboy!"

This character development is irresistible in romantic anime relationships because it is a sign of hope. It says: Even the biggest jerks in the universe are capable of love. I'm not sure how good of a message that is, but... it is certainly entertaining!

Lately, I've been hooked on the fairly new anime Kamisama Kiss (Kamisama Hajimemashita). Similar to InuYasha in a lot of ways, the story follows a young girl named Nanami as she goes through life as the newest land god. Along the way, she builds romantic feelings for her familiar, Tomoe - a fox yōkai who must obey her every command.

Now that's how you seal a contract!

The two get off to a rough start, but things change and it's fun to watch the development. If you like InuYasha, you will love this show! 

It sounds strange, but those slow-burning, twisted romances are the best. Sure, guys who are looking for love are great, too. (And by no means do I think rudeness is a way to a woman's heart.) However, there is value to keeping your heart off your sleeve! Only allow those one-of-a-kind girls into your heart, and hold onto them!

"The Female species...such an enigma!" - Vegeta

Oh Dear! Disney...

To some extent, Disney has taken over the world by retelling stories. Although, you can't really call  Disney movies shameless rip-offs. Disney has a way of bringing a little...optimism to its movies.

Let's just say: Some of the original stories don't have happy endings.

Over the years, even the phrase "Disney movie" has acquired it's own connotation. Understandably so. Disney was originally a company built to entertain children; love and happiness trumps death and sorrow in the kid game.

However, Disney has grown into a huge industry and has begun absorbing more than old folk tales. For example, The Walt Disney Company owns Pixar, ESPN, ABC Entertainment Group, and many other assets that reach beyond children's entertainment. Things we wouldn't want to be "disney".

The fact that it isn't obvious that Disney has claimed so many corporations is a good sign! After all, The Avengers (a Marvel Comics movie; Marvel Comics is owned by Disney) didn't feel like a Disney to you, did it?

Does this give Star Wars fans hope that Disney can buy Lucas Films and produce three more quality Star Wars films??? Sadly, no. Many fans fear Disney will turn this...

into this...

Oh the horror!

One of my best friends also informed me that the Disney Channel is planning to create a Boy Meets World spin-off called Girl Meets World - following Corey and Topanga's daughter.

No, not you, too!

I may have hope that Star Wars can be preserved - especially since George Lucas will still be somewhat involved. But have you seen the Disney Channel lately?

Vibrant colors, ridiculous situations, idiotic dialogue! No good can come to the new Matthews family on this channel.

Yes, they plan to bring back the original cast. But, I'm 99.999% certain that the show will not be nearly as good as the one we grew up with. Mr. Feeny would have seen through Hannah Montana's ruse!

What do you think? Can Disney pull it off?

Comment below & please "Like" the Very Geeky Girl Facebook Page!!!

The Good of Hurricane Sandy

The hurricane - named oddly after my best friend - Hurricane Sandy proved more devastating than I had expected. The horrifying images of blocks burning and white-water roads was simply shocking.

With that, my prayers go out to all those affected by this natural disaster.

But on a lighter note...

Among all the horrifying footage of transformers exploding transformers and such, I found this gem. Sharing has been disabled in this video, but it's a simply a car slide-turn through an intersection behind a random reporter.

I don't know why I find this so amusing, but it's like an action movie just interrupted this mundane news report! I've always wondered what it's like for extras in action movies when really random action movie things happen.

Another positive out of this disastrous negative was the episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Monday. Fact: Laugh tracks and studio audiences have been a production technique for years because we laugh more when others laugh; laughter is contagious that way. But it takes a truly funny show to get laughs without it.

The Late Night audience was sent home to safety from the hurricane. However, the show still went on, and it was good. Yes, it started awkward. (The monologue really needed laughs from more than the crew...) But once the guests came on, it was just like any other night. I laughed just as much as always.

Actually, I laughed more because the monologue was really awkward.

Hats off to Jimmy for living up to the phrase: "The show must go on." It was really inspiring.

Lastly, I put "Hurricane Sandy" into YouTube and got this video:

Somehow a multiple-block fire started in New York City due to the hurricane. 

At first, I was freaked out. While I was at home watching the latest episode of Revenge, people were losing their lives and their loved ones. Sometimes we get so involved in our own lives that we become unconscious of the world around us.

However, while I watched this video, it occurred to me: I've never seen a fire rage like this before. It's important to me to see the beauty in everything - even really, really bad things - and I must admit this was one magnificent fire.

Think about how everything that looked so different before looks the same as it burns away. Think about how it was all caused by a series of unfortunate events that no human was involved in. Amazing.

As previously stated, I try to find the beauty in everything. Hurricane Sandy has been one tragedy after another with effects reaching far into The United States from the east coast. However, there are always tiny moments like these that can make you smile...if only for a moment.

"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to Dance in the Rain."

A Very Geeky Halloween | Decorations

I was on Pinterest one day and I came across the Bloody Bath Mat - a white bath mat that turns red when wet making "bloody" footprints - and I loved it!

There seems to be a whole set. Super cool.

This would be great for a Halloween party. (Even better as a year-round prank.) More importantly, it got me thinking about Halloween decorations!!!

Whether you get creative with a pumpkin or two...

or go completely overboard...

You can't possibly hope to have the coolest house on the block without super snazzy Halloween decorations!!!

A Very Geeky Halloween | Costumes

If you think about it, in many ways, geeks are just big kids. And what holiday do kids love more than Halloween?! (Christmas, yes, but just go with it.)

Whether you're in kindergarten or college, Halloween is all about costumes. The candy, bobbing for apples, and jack-o-lanterns may pass away, but Halloween would simply be another day if it weren't for costumes.

But even as a "big kid", you can't leave the house like this:

You're a geek! The embodiment of information overload! You're not connected to the matrix; you are the matrix! You can do better than Superman or Nameless Monster mask.

Try these:

Cosplay

Cosplay - done well - is my favorite kind of Halloween costume! The term is usually linked to anime (an interesting medium for this purpose anyway), but the concept is simple: Take a character you know and love and become them. 

Well done, Vash the Stampede.

Do you and your friends have a favorite character you'd love to be for a night? 

(Hilarious) Public Figures
Fun fact: Halloween costumes are a good indication of who will win presidential elections. For example, in 2008, more Barack Obamas than John McCains roamed the streets trick-or-treating and Halloween partying, and Barack Obama was elected president the following month.

Interesting public figures are great costumes because any crappy frat party is just a little better when Barack Obama and Ke$ha are grinding on the dance floor. As awesome as it would be to see the real   thing, Halloween costumes are usually the best we can hope for when it comes those outrageous scandals.

Among the good this year:

• Psy, singer of Gangnum Style (but be prepared to do the dance all night)
• Mitt Romney
• Donald Trump
• Zombie (classic, trendy, and an allusion to The Walking Dead)
• Giant Chick-Fil-A Chicken (a potentially hilarious political statement)
• Katniss (of The Hunger Games)

Inside Jokes

If you are going to an familiar setting, such as a group of friends hanging out or an office party, you can make everyone laugh with an inside joke costume. Dress up as someone you know or something significant to everyone in attendance.

Obviously, you shouldn't do an inside joke costume if you plan to be with people from the outside. After you've explained your costume for the 10,000th time, you will understand the importance of context.

These are a few of my geek-inspired Halloween costume ideas (for the last minute costume hunters)!

What are you gonna be for Halloween???

Take Me to The Future?

Time.

A comforting constant in an ever-changing world. The human life cannot last forever (yet), and, because of that, we sometimes fear the passage of time. However, when it's an hour before your shift ends, you want nothing more but for time to speed up.

I bring up the topic of time because apparently we can time travel now! I was bored online one day and wondered: Have we reached "the future" yet? How would I know? Can we travel through time?!

So I turned to Google, and lo and behold: It's a scientific consensus that, according to Einstein's theory of relativity, time travel is possible. There is a catch, though. You can only go into the future.

It's kind of like in the Adam Sandler movie, Click, where the main character fasts forward in time through some dull points of life. Imagine getting into a machine, then returning home several years in the future...

I knew I should have voted before I leaped.

Personally, I think it would be more interesting to travel backward through time. Scientists aren't saying its impossible to travel back in time, but there are other concerns:

• If you go back in time and murder your father before you are born, then won't you cease to exist?
• (My own question) If it is someday possible for someone to travel back in time, wouldn't we have met someone from the future already?

But think of what you could do with backward time travel! You could meet your parents when they were still considered cool. You could witness historical events up close. You could just chill in your favorite decade...

Wouldn't it be nice to have all this back?

Unfortunately, we are merely fathoming the possibility of moving forward in time right now. I'm not entirely sure how useful that would be...

I guess someone with an incurable disease could fast-forward to a time where a cure has been discovered. (Goodbye, Polio.)

What would you do if you could travel into the future?

The Joys of Destroying Expensive Stuff

If I may grab my soapbox for a moment, I recently noticed something interesting...

By now, we're all familiar with Will It Blend?, a horrifyingly funny blender ad campaign that turns expensive electronics - among other things - into smoothies.

If you followed the above link, you witnessed an iPhone 4 being blended shortly after its United States debut. That means, this guy spent a couple hundred dollars on a remarkable piece of technology only to utterly destroy it! Seriously. Some people still have flip phones, and this guy just blended an iPhone 4!

Yet, are we outraged? No. In fact, we are thoroughly entertained. We cheer the MacHeads' (then) most coveted item. Why???

The question came to mind when I saw this on Gizmodo:

Someone - I can only presume a super villain - Superglued the (alleged) first iPhone 5 in the Netherlands to the ground in a busy town square! Take that capitalism?

Poor passersby attempt to take and claim the latest Apple holy grail, but with no success. It's cruel and unusual punishment to both the townspeople and the iPhone. But are we entertained? Absolutely!

(Side-note: I love the obviously drunk guy who, even in his inebriated state knows he should try to grab this phone. lol)

My theory for why we enjoy watching these expensive pieces of technology be abused starts with this guy:

Oh, I see you have a cellular device of some sort. I have one, too. Have you heard of... The iPhone 5?

We all know this guy. We all hate this guy. He's why sites like Gizmodo have to write articles like Don't Be a Jerk With Your Cool New iPhone 5. It's not this guy in particular that makes you want to blend a Samsung Galaxy Tab. It's what he represents...

It's a status thing. That Guy thinks he's better than you because he has the most up-to-date piece of equipment out there, and he wants everyone to know it. But when that item has been hit with a metal bat... it kind of falls off its pedestal.

Destroying technology sets us all on a level playing field. It reminds us that whether you take notes on an iPad, a laptop, or a spiral notebook, we are all equally human because these things that make us feel greater than (or less than) can so easily be taken away.

Or maybe we are all just really sick and enjoy throw hundreds of dollars down the drain...

What do you think???

Don't Call It A Comeback

Just when the last person finally left MySpace to fall infinitely into Internet obscurity, this happens...

MySpace has completely rebooted into something people may actually want to be a part of...again. The new design, in itself, makes me want to rejoin the pronounced-dead social networking site. Yes, it looks a LOT like Pinterest and some Tumblr blogs, but we like those! The simplicity of Pinterest when dealing with an overwhelming amount of images makes it all work!

I love how most of the new features looked new. For example, the music video background on Justin Timberlake's page isn't something you can do on Facebook or Twitter, and it's something worth using.

I also love how MySpace is still musically motivated. Even they have to admit that the only reason www.myspace.com isn't a 404 Error is because so many bands and musicians still use it to spread their music. This could be a great mechanism for artists to keep in touch with their fans and - most importantly - acquire new ones!

Think of the knowledge Pinterest has bestowed upon their frequent users. I've learned recipes, activity ideas, good quotes, decorating tips, DIY projects and crafts - all from Pinterest! Apply that to music and you might come across local artists and bands that you never knew were so awesome. One of the keys to YouTube's grand success was simply the sidebar of recommended videos.

I feel this new design is going to reawaken MySpace. The new design seems like it's going to offer an enjoyable experience - apparently unlike Facebook has lately - and possibly foster a new realm of social media with its own issues and nuances. And, surprisingly, recover from this...

The New Hulu

Yesterday, I was delighted to log onto Hulu and get a look at its new interface!

I'm a big television-watcher - I call it a hobby - and I've been a member of the website for a number of years. Over time, the site's interfaced has changed plenty. Each update making the site easier to explore.

What works regarding the most recent updates?

First, on the homepage (when you're logged in) are thumbnails of all the shows you've watched. (Or, if you share your HuluPlus account with your boyfriend like I do, all the shows the both of you have watched.) This is ideal for people like me who tend to watch numerous shows in small spans of time. While scrolling through this list, I instantly ran across a few shows I'd simply forgotten about.

I still haven't finished GCB.

I clicked on the British political sitcom, The Thick of It, that I haven't watched in a while. (By the way, it's really entertaining.) Above the episode list was the option to resume where I left off on the previous episode I apparently stopped watching. For those of us with short attention spans - or not enough time to finish everything we start - this is quite useful.

I also like the feature segments on the homepage. If I didn't want to watch anything in particular, certainly something on the homepage would grab my attention. There is a LOT there.

I'm not entirely certain whether this is new or if I just missed it before, but the "Staff Picks" section of Television and Movies is a nice addition. You know the deal: you don't know what's good and you ask a staff member, etc.

What doesn't work?

Design-wise, the homepage is a bit image-heavy. Just before this redesign, there were captions and small pieces of text to go along with the images. However, this minimalist design has taken a large amount of that text out in place of images. There are pros and cons to this:

• I've learned that the more words you have to use, the less intuitive the object is. (Ex. A door should  ideally never have the word "push" or "pull" on it because it should be obvious how you open it.) Also, images are more entertaining to the eye.

• However, the massive amount of images is overwhelming. My eye doesn't quite fall on anything in particular; instead, I'm constantly looking around. It's not relaxing. (I'm just glad nothing is moving...)

Another thing I'm not too happy with is the auto-play. At first, when auto-play was first implemented it was opt-in, meaning that if you wanted your videos/clips to auto-play you had to hit the auto-play button. Now it's opt-out - videos will automatically auto-play unless you hit "Pause Auto-Play". That's annoying. 

Granted, there is a 50-second countdown giving you enough time to hit the "Pause Auto-Play" button, but I'd still prefer it to be opt-in than opt-out. Maybe, it's just me...

Overall, I enjoy the changes Hulu has made. It's easier to find new things to watch, watch what you like, and pass some time semi- to unproductively. Hulu itself is a remarkable website that should have been around ages ago. Yes, many television networks offer online video of their programming, but their players are not as reliable and they don't offer nearly as much content as Hulu. 

(Also, I have Hulu to thank for most of the British sitcoms and Japanese anime I watch now.)

Waking Up with the Internet

I don't know how exactly healthy it is, but I often wake up and get online. However, today, in an attempt to be a better person, I searched the Web for ways to wake up well.

I came across this article: "10 Morning Habits to Build Your Day Upon". I encourages you to get your day started by thinking positively and waking up early.

I don't know about waking up early, but I could give it a shot.

Aside from ways to wake up to a wonderful day, I want to point out the glory of a site like PickTheBrain.com. Websites like this not only encourage people to better themselves, but they provide information to help. 

If you think of the Internet as a boundless, source of information regarding everything humans can wonder about - as I do - then there is no reason we all can't become the awesome person we think, wish, or believe we can be!

I hope to become a modern woman, skilled in Krav Maga and Yoga, with a large vocabulary and many creative works. As I see it now, all I need is a couple of Google searches and YouTube, and all my dreams will come true!

I am woman; hear me roar!

Perhaps, I'm putting things too simply...

The Scary Neighborhoods of the Internet

I'm a proud Detroiter! I was born and raised in Motor City, and, when people bring up my hometown, I tend to think of this:

While most outsiders tend to think of this:

Detroit, over the years, has earned itself a bad reputation. However, it's safe to say that every city has a "not-so-nice" area. If we think of the Internet as a place - as I often do - we know there are areas there that we don't feel so comfortable visiting...

I wonder how many free laptops we've all missed out on.

But what tells us that the street the GPS is leading us down may not be the safest? How do we know that www.facebooook.com is a virus site? Why do we think that flashy ad that shouts "Congratuations! You've won!" will kill our computer? We have no proof until we do these things, right?

It's all based on the appearance! Just as a neighborhood with abandoned, burned down houses signifies danger, so does a website with flashing ads with unlikely claims and/or a sketchy url. I recently read a Cracked article about some official websites that have poor designs, and it made me think about how web design can have an effect on the general feel of the website. For example...

I love anime! I especially love English-dubbed anime, and I found a website that offered some of my favorite shows in English. McAfee tells me all the links are okay, and (I double checked) Google agrees, but the design of the website looks a little iffy.

It still has pop-ups (an Internet sin at this point), there are some redundancies regarding navigation, and there is little consistency when it comes to which players you watch the shows on because it sometimes involves third-party websites. (I wish they'd let me fix it or at least offer some reassurance...)

Traits like this lead savvy web surfers to shy away from this potential dangerous area, but it very well may be simply poorly designed! (Granted, the aforementioned website may be foreign, so I'm unsure of the design heuristics on different parts of the globe.) Much like the websites in the Cracked article, harmlessly legit websites may drive away traffic due to their hideous, dubious-looking designs. 

This makes me reconsider clicking away from "ugly" websites. I tend to think: "Well, if x other people are using it daily, then it can't be so bad, right?" Perhaps that's not a safe assumption. Although, a moral worth taking from this post is how important design is to even the most useful websites.

After all, what's the use of a remarkable, world-saving website, when it has pop-ups?

500 Days of (Virtual) Summer

Bored and online, I came across the most entertaining article on Gizmodo! It describes this online "romance" service called GirlfriendHire. GirlfriendHire allows you to have fake relationships with virtual "women" - the female-ness of these "women" are obviously questionable, but who cares. You'll never meet them anyway.

Sure, she probably really looks like Zach Galifianakis, but the jerks from high school are seeing Adriana Lima.

For $5, you can have some virtual woman posing as your girlfriend on sites like Facebook to (a) not feel so lonely and unloved, (b) prove to people you are not lonely and unloved, or (c) shamelessly waste $5.


I'm not against it at all! The idea of a strictly-Facebook relationship intrigues me, and it makes me wonder about some of my Facebook friends. (You know, the ones who are "In A Relationship", but have no pictures to prove it...)


From a social media standpoint, though, I have to consider the cons of this arrangement. Apparently, the site's owner admits to spam and fraud occurring on the website. For the article, he recommended"sorting the girl list by rating to put those with good feedback at the top". Mmm...sounds like a reputation system.  


But what does that mean then? Think of a list similar to the Digg homepage where the highly voted fake girlfriends are listed from most popular to least popular. What's stopping everyone from choosing girl number one?

"We can't all have Ashley!" 

Perhaps an explicit ranking system (e.g. one-star to five-star) would be better. The mediocre ladies will get no love, but at least they can get looks, right? I just wonder if this kind of reputation system will - similar to what Facebook has done to the word "friend" - have an effect on how women are viewed in the real world...




Perhaps there should simply be a way to flag spam or scam accounts and let the legit accounts be. Nevertheless, I think GirlfriendHire has the potential to be a great service. Whether you're lonely, looking to brag, or just have money to burn, your $5 is going toward supporting an innovative way for a lady - or deceptive man - to earn money.

A Video Game About Wandering...No, wait, hear me out!

Let me start this game by saying: I'm sick of the same old stuff! The gaming industry spits out war games like television networks spit out cops shows, like YouTubers post videos about babies, etc.

Now check out this game:

PC Games - E3 2012 - Journey

Journey is absolutely cool because it focuses on something so difficultly achieved and so easily ignored in most modern games: the setting! Sure, the Uncharted franchise makes use of the scenery (as well as some others), but not like this game. 

This game is exactly what it says, a journey.

I remember exploring the water in the jet-ski game Slashdown when I was a little kid. In the Free Play mode, players could ride at their own pace. However, you could also ride outside the race boundaries without it placing you back on the path. I found out the terrifying way, though, that if you go too far away from the path a monster will eat you. (I had to pause the game and catch my breath.)

But I digress...

The environment of that game was spectacular. It took place all over the world: Florida, Ireland, Hawaii, etc. And it looked great!

Journey is a great game, too, because of how zen it is. It is a short game that encourages you to take a closer look at your surroundings, and I think, in this fast-paced world, that is a valuable lesson.

Pins, Pins, Pins!

I joined pinterest a while ago, and I currently have 437 pins on 9 boards! I love Pinterest for more than just the mindless pinning of random internet images. (Seriously, if its a time-killer.)

Pinterest brings to mind the amount of information that we come across everyday. Of course, Pinterest deals mostly with images and video, but we see a large amount of stuff these days.

We read articles, hear stories and poems, make clever tweets and posts, see awesome images, and watch fantastic videos. However, we can't possible retain all the knowledge that gets stuffed into our heads each day!

Sites like Pinterest that allow you to capture images you've seen online (with a link to get back to where you found them), do us the fantastic service of allowing us to revisited things that we found interesting before.

Cheesecake-stuffed strawberries; I don't want to forget this!

Also, in the case of the photo above, you can also find new things on Pinterest. Pinterest is almost the image equivalent to Wikipedia in that it is a collective knowledge of everyone on the site. I found those under the "Food & Drink" category and my mouth has been watering ever since. 

People post other cool things like tattoos they'd wish to get or Fitspo/Thinspo (inspiration to slim down or work out). There are also encouraging quotes and funny things on that website.

Check this out! One of the best tattoos I've seen: "Love never ends"

It all comes together in this zen, indie feel - like anything you see, you can acheive. There aren't any (at least that I've seen) trolls discouraging anyone or starting unnecessary chaos. 

It is a truly inspirational website that encourage all my friends to use!

Something New Everyday...

Recently, I've been playing with Photoshop using tutorials on YouTube. Suddenly, it dawned on me...

When advising someone about how to do something, us techies like to add on the tag line: "You can probably find a tutorial or something on YouTube." We say this because it's true; you can find instructions for just about EVERYTHING on YouTube.

But are we taking advantage of this knowledge? Not nearly enough as we should be.

Instructions on how to professionally retouch photographs in Abode Photoshop, how to tie a tie, cheap crafts, recipes, make-up tutorials, and what are we looking at? A dramatic gopher.

With the rise of reality television shows like Jersey Shore and asinine news reports, society often complains about the lack of intellectualism. "Nobody reads anymore! No one wants to learn anything new."

However, there is so much to learn for free in the on one of the most popular website on The Inter-Webs. I recently watched a TED Talk about a guy who tried something new for 30 days. He found the experience to be very rewarding. YouTube could be your start to a new hobby or career!

As for me, I previously stated that I learned most of my Photoshop skills from YouTube tutorials. (What do you think?)

I'm also interested in learning about the other elements of the Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, InDesign, Flash, etc.) and a fighting style. I've always been enthralled by Israeli Krav Maga, but there are also clips from Fuel TV's Punk Payback that are very entertaining, too.