Choosing Your Break Up Anthem

I've had this idea floating in my head for a while now - I even wrote a paper about it - but I thought I'd share it... along with a little personal drama.

You see, my boyfriend [of the last 5.5 years] and I broke up yesterday. However, don't worry about me, friends, I will be all right. I'm a pretty tough girl.

I seriously thought this would depress me, but it actually made me laugh!

Even though I consider myself a bit of an expert when it comes to relationships, I am still a geek. One of the first things I did when my pre-engagement disintegrated completely was look up how to handle a break up. The first credible source I found was this MSN/Cosmo article. 

"Obsess over the break up...for 15 minutes."

This part struck a cord with me! I had been so prideful thinking: "Man, f*ck this break-up sadness sh*t. I don't give a f*ck!" However, though it is remarkable to stand strong through an ordeal like this, it is necessary to release that stress lest it eat you up inside.

So, I decided to come home and think about the epic fail of a relationship for a couple hours. I typically de-stress by listening to music that relates to the situation...

But there really isn't an app or website for songs relating to a specific situation, is there? Someone should totally do that! I should be able to click on "Break Up - Empowered" and hear Katherine McPhee's So Over It and other songs that make me feel empowered about a break up!

Just a thought... App Wizards, feel free to get rich off of it. I just could use it right now.

In the meantime, here are a few songs that have helped me recently:

• So Over It - Katherine McPhee
• Survivor - Destiny's Child
• So What - P!nk
• Return of the Mack - Mark Morrison
• Exhale - Whitney Houston
• Cry - Rihanna
• Somebody That I Used To Know - Gotye
• Real Love - Mary J. Blige
• Not Gon' Cry - Mary J. Blige
• Smile - Lily Allen
• Label or Love - Fergie
• It's My Life - No Doubt (my anthem lately)

"If your phone doesn't ring, it's me."

Share a moment when a song fit a situation perfectly on Facebook!

The Epic Fail of Game Shows

Confession: I LOVE game shows!!! Below the surface, game shows can be quite thought-provoking. There are shows like Jeopardy that test your trivial knowledge, shows like Friend or Foe that act as human experiments, and shows like Deal or No Deal that are just simply entertaining. Here are some of my favorites:

• Jeopardy
• Wheel of Fortune
• Press Your Luck/Whammy
• The Newlywed Game
• Hollywood Squares
• Friend or Foe
• The Weakest Link
• Lingo

A must-have when choosing a television provider

After years of watching game shows (especially during my huge GSN phase), I'd thought I'd seen it all! But today, I came across something so bizarre I had to blog about it.

Three's A Crowd was short-lived game show of late '70s/early '80s (oddly reappearing in the early 2000s) created by Chuck Barris, father of The Newlywed Game and The Dating Game. Like its greatly more successful predecessors, Three's A Crowd was all about relationships...

The contestants were trios consisting of a man, his wife, and HIS SECRETARY being asked awful questions Newlywed Game style. Do you realize how bad an idea this is?

"Join us next week on Three's A Crowd - if we're still here!"

In a way, combined with The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game, Three's A Crowd is the ending of a terrible love story...

Girl meets Boy

Girl marries Boy

Boy cheats on Girl with Secretary.

I can't imagine how so many people thought this was a good idea that this actually lasted on television for five months, was syndicated, and revived years later. But the part that freaks me out is the people who are actually playing the game like this is normal!!! Wives, if you're husbands' secretaries can answer any of these questions, you need a divorce.

This show was so bad that due to the feminist, conservative, and religious groups protesting it and "the sometimes-evident lack of fun the contestants were having" caused Creator Chuck Barris to step away from television production all together.

And I thought The Newlywed Game was tough on marriages...

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When A Game Is Not A Game Anymore | Guilds

Recently, I began watching my latest anime addiction, Sword Art Online, and its premise has me thinking... 

SAO is set 20 years in the future where a popular new MMORPG - much like World of Warcraft - has just been released. Of course, this is the future, so video games are much more than a television and a controller. This game uses software that connects to your brain for true virtual reality.

It's all fun and games at first. However, it is soon discovered that the players cannot log-out and they must complete the entire game to return to the real world. Oh! And if you die in the game, you die in real life!

If you were the main character, Kirito, what would your next move be???

Join a guild OR Remain a solo player?

To Join a Guild...

My first instinct told me to join a guild. There's safety in numbers, right? Maybe; maybe not. What defines a guild in a game like WoW or SOA is skill.

You don't want some moron whose going to abandon the plan and just run into danger in your guild, do you? 

In this case, most of the players were beginners (with a few beta testers like Kirito in the mix as well) which offers a pretty level playing field. But beginners are dangerous in matters of life-and-death!

This thing has no time for your learning curve.

Also, although these are completely different circumstances and everyone has abilities they don't have in the real world, it's important to remember that your guild members are still human. They still experience happiness, anger, sorrow, envy, and other human emotions; they can still walk the line between good and evil...

...Or Not to Join a Guild?

There is great honor in deciding to take on your fears alone as a solo player. Fortunately, Kirito is a good enough player to survive - at least thus far - on his own. As a solo player, he doesn't have to protect a less skillful comrade or worry about being player-killed by an evil teammate. 

However, it has to be a little lonely and more difficult on your own, right? Not only must you face the terrifying bosses and fall into horrifying traps alone, but you can't rely on a buddy to heal you or share objects. It's just you, your objects, your skill, and the hope that all of that is enough.

Don't weep for Kirito, though. He manages to make some friends along the way, and I'm certain he's somewhat enjoying this experience as well.

After all, every cloud has a silver lining...

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