Krunal Shah

10 Weird Facts About the World’s Best Beers

noreply@blogger.com (GHG) — Sat, 22 Aug 2015 16:13:00 +0530

10. China's Snow Beer: Popular Despite its Taste

Snow Beer is the single most popular beer on Earth. If you've never heard of it, that's not surprising considering the beer is pretty much only sold in China, where it accounts for a dominating 84% of all sales despite the fact its parent company spends almost nothing on advertising.
In other words, Snow Beer has been able to secure the coveted title of "most popular beer on Earth" while only being available for sale in a single huge market with little to no advertising. The beer is so seldom shipped abroad that it's considered foreign in Hong Kong and is notoriously difficult to get a hold of, even in specialty beer shops. But you're not missing out on anything special, because according to this CNN article quizzing Chinese residents it's bitter, flat and unappealing. Normally we'd make a quip about the power of advertising, but since Snow doesn't advertise we're a little lost for words.

9. America's Bud Light: Cynically Appealing to the Buzzfeed Generation

In recent years, Bud Light has replaced its more calorie heavy, beer gut causing cousin as the favored beer of the United States, thanks in part to a massive push on behalf of the company that owns the brand, Anheuser-Busch. They're regarded as industry trendsetters for being one of the few companies to successfully tap the burgeoning millennials market by re-structuring its marketing to better appeal to young, hip, twenty-something consumers who are more concerned with tweeting, partying and taking selfies than anything those lame-ass adults care about.
While this has undoubtedly led to some innovative campaigns like the much reported on "up for whatever" campaign, which saw a thousand random young adults being invited to a town called Whatever for a weekend long party, you have to keep in mind these were all masterminded by stuffy guys in suits cynically predicting that millenials would fall for whatever marketing they shoved down their throats as long as it was on Buzzfeed or Tinder. That's not a joke, those were both platforms they used.
What's worse is that Bud Light spokesmen have claimed they can reach over 50% of all 21-27 year olds using these methods. Yes, Bud Light is so cynical about the predictability and manipulability of young adults that they think they can make 50% of us pay attention to one of their ads with a post on Buzzfeed. Which is kind of insulting, but also depressingly realistic if the post they're talking about happens to have GIFs.

8. Mexico's Corona: Limes and Wagers

The most commonly consumed beer in Mexico and Fast and Furious movies is Corona. Unusually for a successful domestic beer, Corona enjoys a good deal of success in several foreign markets, particularly the United States and the United Kingdom. Abroad it's almost universally consumed with a wedge of lime, something that confuses Mexican people to no end.
Despite it being considered customary to garnish Corona with lime, there's no agreed upon consensus for why this is the case, since the beer has never been consumed that way in its native Mexico. A popular theory is that the custom was started by a New York barman for a bet in 1981, but this has never been confirmed because of course it hasn't. Corona themselves have been tight-lipped about discussing what, if anything, the lime is supposed to do. Either they have a secret deal with a Mexican lime farmer, or they don't check their emails.

7. Singapore's Tiger: Time for a Tiger

Along with being the most popular beer in both Singapore and Malaysia, Tiger is proof that the west really needs to step up its game when it comes to naming alcoholic beverages. When drinks like this and Cobra are on the market, we honestly don't know how anyone can justify drinking anything less metal.
Since the '30s Tiger has used the slogan "Time for a Tiger" in a great deal of its advertising, because even soulless ad agency workers can see that's a slogan people will never get tired of hearing. One person who agreed with this sentiment was Anthony Burgress, who used the slogan as the title for a 1956 novel.
Burgress would later reveal that he chose Tiger's slogan as the title purely because he wanted a free clock from Tiger. When Burgress asked the company if they'd send him a clock for giving them a bunch of free advertising, they rather reasonably asked if they could see a copy of the novel first. Offended at the idea of a company wanting to see if their intellectual property was being used in a way that didn't make them look bad, Burgress went back and hastily added a line saying that Tiger Beer sucked and Carlsberg was better. The change prompted Carlsberg to send him a complimentary crate of beer.
Even though Burgress made fun of their product and generally acted like a petulant child in all correspondence with them, when Burgress visited Singapore in the '70s Tiger tried to bury the hatchet by offering him free beer for the duration of his entire visit. Burgress heroically turned the offer down, because sometimes being a colossal jackass requires a bit of sacrifice.

6. Russia's Baltika: Better than Coke

As we've talked about before, in 1860 almost half of the Russian government's income came from taxes placed on vodka. Russians love them some vodka, and given how much of it they drink you could be forgiven for thinking that beer isn't a thing over there. Well, until 2013, it kind of wasn't.

While beer is certainly sold in Russia, with the Baltika brand being the most popular overall, it wasn't legally considered alcohol until 2013 due to a quirk in Russian law that dictated that any alcoholic drink that had a strength of less than 10% was considered a foodstuff and thus could be sold as a soft drink. Along with speaking volumes about how hardcore Russians are when it comes to drinking, it also means that prior to 2013 you can technically say that the best-selling soft drink in Russia was a beer.

5. Jamaica's Red Stripe: Jamaican in Name, American in Spirit

According to the marketing guys behind Red Stripe, it's a traditional Jamaican style lager with a rich history. According to Google, Red Stripe was first brewed in Illinois for a century before it was bought out by some British guys during prohibition who then marketed it to soldiers stationed in Jamaica. After proving popular in Jamaica, Red Stripe was then marketed back to the States as an exotic foreign brew from the mysterious sun bleached sands of a tropical island. Thus proving that, with good enough marketing, you can convince people of anything.
Oddly, when Red Stripe was initially pitched to the States, it failed to catch on because they sold it in green bottles instead of the distinctive brown ones they used in Jamaica, marking the only time in history Americans complained that something being brought in from a foreign country wasn't dark enough. A more hilarious twist came in 1989, when all shipments of Red Stripe were cancelled when it was discovered that cannabis was being smuggled in with each shipment. We honestly wouldn't be surprised if someone at Red Stripe did that on purpose just to really sell Americans on the idea that Red Stripe was from Jamaica.

4. Brazil's Skol: Hobo Murdering Super Beer

Although Skol is most popular in Brazil, we'd like to talk about its ill-fated foray into the British market, mostly because we get to use the phrase "murder beer." High alcohol content beers are by no means a new thing, but Skol's Super Beer (it's actually called that) was on another level entirely. Unlike other high alcohol beers which are sold as premium prices, Super Beer sold for just a pound per can despite having roughly the same alcoholic content as an entire bottle of wine.
Unsurprisingly, the beer proved to be incredibly popular with the homeless to the point that it's still a running joke in the UK to call it "tramp juice." The government was less amused, as they noticed a concerning rise in the number homeless people drinking themselves to death after the beer and others like it became widely available. Before legislation was introduced to make access to the beer more difficult with a tariff, it was estimated that perfectly legal super-strength beers that people could buy for less than a pint of milk were killing more homeless people than crack cocaine or heroin. Perhaps even more worrying is that up until 2013, the same murder beer that was killing homeless people in the UK could have been sold like a can of Coke in Russia.

3. Japan's Asahi: The Poo Building

Since homeless people drinking themselves to death is kind of depressing, let's lighten the mood by talking about Asahi, Japan's beer of choice. More specifically, we'd like to tell you about the big building Asahi constructed that looks like it's topped with enormous golden feces.
Built in 1989 and dubbed "one of Tokyo's most recognizable modern structures," the Asahi Beer Hall is supposed to resemble a frothing beer glass. It houses a beer hall where customers can sample its many products. Unfortunately, residents of Tokyo had other ideas and instead decided that the golden monument atop the building more closely resembles feces or a sperm than a frothing beer. Which wouldn't be that bad if the building wasn't right next to Asahi's headquarters. That means it's now common for people in Tokyo to refer to the headquarters of the best selling beer in their entire country as "the poo building." But hey, it hasn't hurt sales.

2. North Korea's Taedonggang: Better than South Korea

Taedonggang, which is pronounced however the hell you feel like it, is North Korea's leading brand of beer and, according to the few outsiders who've had the honor of sampling it, isn't half bad. North Korea's crippled, outdated infrastructure has actually made it easier for Taedonggang breweries to make top notch beer, because none of the other factories in North Korea produce enough pollution to affect its otherwise pristine water supply.
As you'd expect from a country where you're not allowed to have the same name as the guy who runs it, the only reason Taedonggang beer exists is because Kim Jong-il wanted to prove a point. Apparently the late leader got into an argument with a South Korean official at a 2000 summit in Pyongyang about the quality of North Korean beer. Incensed at the idea of South Koreans enjoying better beer than his people, he bought an entire brewery from the United Kingdom and had it shipped piece by piece to North Korea, then demanded that it begin producing better beer than South Korea. Kim Jong-il was so keen to promote this new patriotic beer that he even granted special permission for an advertisement to be run on North Korean TV, something that's only ever been done a handful of times.
And it worked! Not only is Taedonggang the most popular beer in North Korea, the few experts who've tried it have admitted that it's way better than any South Korean beer. We think we'd still prefer to live in the South, though.

1. Ireland's Guinness: Nazis and Toucans

Guinness had genuine plans in place to advertise in Nazi Germany during the 1936 Olympics. You know, the ones held in Germany that Hitler himself attended. While nothing ever came of it, primarily because a London based subsidiary advised the Irish wing against pandering to Nazis, they did end up reusing one of the designs when they eventually launched in the United States a few years later.
Just to be clear, Guinness took a poster that they had originally planned to hang in bars around Nazi Germany, changed the flag in the background, and then used it announce their glorious arrival in the United States. Keep that in mind the next time St Patrick's Day rolls around and Walmart tries to convince you to buy three crates of Guinness to celebrate.

Visually Stimulating Photos From Fun To Amazing

noreply@blogger.com (GHG) — Wed, 7 May 2014 17:17:00 +0530

Most Perfectly Timed Photos via Twisted Sifter

» See more at Twisted Sifter

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Famous Landmarks Zoomed Out To Show Their Surroundings via Bored Panda

The Arc de Triomphe

Central Park, New York City

Sagrada Familia

The Acropolis

The Forbidden City

The Great Pyramids of Giza

Mount Rushmore

Taj Mahal

» See more at Bored Panda

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Spectacular Sights Of Nature via Hongkiat

Zhangye Danxia Mountains, China

Mount Roraima, Venezuela

The Wave, United States

Fly Geyser, United States

Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

Mendenhall Glacier, United States

Red Beach, China

Great Blue Hole, Belize

Sand Dunes, Brazil

Lake Natron, Tanzania

Sea of Stars, Maldives

Vatnajokull Cave, Iceland

Fingal’s Cave, Scotland

Naica Mine, Mexico

Orda Cave, Russia

» See more at Hongkiat

25 Inspiring Brand & Graphic Design Projects

noreply@blogger.com (GHG) — Wed, 7 May 2014 17:13:00 +0530

Andaluz

By Plau, Lucas Campoi, macula, Rodrigo Saiani and Kako

(click the pic to see the full project at Behance)

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Altitude Music

By & Smith

(click the pic to see the full project at &smithdesign)

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Svbscription V1 & V2

By RoAndCo Studio

(click the pic to see the full project at Behance)

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Eika

By Mission Design

(click the pic to see the full project at Behance)

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Classic Horror - Book Series

By Nikola Klímová

(click the pic to see the full project at Behance)

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Look Addict

By Noeeko

(click the pic to see the full project at noeeko)

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The Paper Skin – Leica X2 Edition Fedrigoni

By Felix Dürichen, Maik Hofmann, Stefan Hecht and Sabine Brinkmann

(click the pic to see the full project at Behance)

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University of the Arts Helsinki

By BOND Creative Agency, Jesper Bange, James Zambra and Toni Hurme

(click the pic to see the full project at Behance)

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GIST

By Anagrama

(click the pic to see the full project at Behance)

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OCCUPY Wall Street Historical Booklets

By Stephane Pianacci

(click the pic to see the full project at Behance)

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Coffee House London

By Reynolds and Reyner

(click the pic to see the full project at Reynolds and Reyner)

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Mood

By Arthur Foliard

(click the pic to see the full project at Arthur Foliard)

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Helder

By Anthony Neil Dart

(click the pic to see the full project at Behance)

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KAE - Strategic Marketing

By Socio Design

(click the pic to see the full project at Behance)

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Schinko Mailing

By Letitia Lehner, MOOI design and Julian Weidenthaler

(click the pic to see the full project at Behance)

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Left

By Arthur Foliard

(click the pic to see the full project at Arthur Foliard)

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The Golden Camera 2014

By Paperlux and Max Kuehne

(click the pic to see the full project at Behance)

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Fun Flavors 2014 Papercraft Calendar

By Nearly Normal

(click the pic to see the full project at strictlypaper)

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VERY

By Anagrama

(click the pic to see the full project at Behance)

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BAIN Silk Printed Business Cards

By Nicola Kovac, Cindy Defort and tind

(click the pic to see the full project at Behance)

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No Brainer

By Richard Pay

(click the pic to see the full project at endofplay)

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Dylan Culhane

Ben Johnston and Dylan Culhane

(click the pic to see the full project at Behance)

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Alice no País das Maravilhas

By oraviva! designers

(click the pic to see the full project at Behance)

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Neurotrend

By Vladimir Shlygin

(click the pic to see the full project at Behance)

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nyMusikk Annual Report

By Non-Format

(click the pic to see the full project at Behance)

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Funny Things To Lighten Up Your Friday

noreply@blogger.com (GHG) — Wed, 7 May 2014 17:08:00 +0530

This Guy Gives People Cartoon Faces on His Train Ride to Work ~ via Twisted Sifter

» See more at Twisted Sifter

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Honest Slogans via honestslogans.com

» See more at Honest Slogans

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Faces In Things via @FacesPics

» See more at Faces in Things

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Funny Signs thanks to Twisted Sifter

» See more at Twisted Sifter
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25 Emotive Charity and Non-Profit Websites

noreply@blogger.com (GHG) — Wed, 7 May 2014 17:05:00 +0530

Into the Arctic | Greenpeace

By Hello Monday
Take a journey into the Arctic and explore for yourself its natural wonders, the threat of the encroaching oil industry, and follow the struggle to Save the Arctic. The Arctic is under pressure from oil companies seeking to exploit its fossil resources. They see the melting of the sea ice, not as a warning, but as a business opportunity.
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The Cost of Carbon

By Modern Assembly
The Cost of Carbon is a living documentation of the price we are all paying for carbon pollution.
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Names for Change

By McKinney
UMD is selling the naming rights to all of the items that connect their clients to food, shelter and a future.
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ONE

ONE is a grassroots campaign of more than 3 million people committed to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable diseases.
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Charity: Water

By Made With Love In New York City
charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations.
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Food Angel

By Jazzup
Food Angel is a food rescue and assistance program in Hong Kong.
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Head & Shoulders Has A Dirty Secret

Wiping away tiger homes every time I wash my hair? Not for me, thanks. Head & Shoulders needs to stop bringing rainforest destruction into my shower. They can and must protect paradise.
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The Monster

By Grupo Bassat Ogilvy Spain
'The monster that wouldn’t let children go to school' is both a website and an interactive short film in which, if you want, you can play a main role.
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Revolution Rose

By La Compagnie Hyperactive
Révolution Rose is the international campaign to raise awareness of breast cancer.
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We Heart Tree

By KNOCK
Design your own virtual tree and pledge to be more conscious of your paper usage.
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The Lieber Institute for Brain Development | LIBD

Focused on understanding the neurodevelopmental origins of schizophrenia and related psychiatric disorders and translating this understanding into improved treatments that change the lives of affected individuals.
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Greenpeace vs Killstarter

By 84.Paris
Stop funding projects which make GMOs, nuclear power, deforestation and others.
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Life in My Shoes

By Traffic Digital
Life in my Shoes is Body & Soul's pioneering and powerful multi-platform campaign that challenges the fear and misunderstanding surrounding HIV in the UK.
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CUPS

By ZGM
CUPS is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping individuals and families overcome poverty.
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Gallery Of Mo

See the Gallery of Mo, and marvel at the magnificent ‘mo’s’ within. Donate to get your own portrait in support of Movember, the independent charity working to impact the face of men’s health.
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Dadaab Stories

By Ronik
The Dadaab refugee camp is the largest in the world. The people that live here have remarkable stories to tell — they just need a place to share them.
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Thirst Relief

By Hole In The Roof
We are changing the world through clean water.
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One For The Boys

By Digital Annexe
One For The Boys helps make men aware of the dangers of cancer and how to combat them.
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CounterSpill

By Bluecadet
Counterspill promotes awareness about the impact of non-renewable energy disasters through a living archive that combines best-in-class reporting, research, social media and community engagement.
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Target Nuclear Weapons

Australian Red Cross needs your help to ban the use of nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons are capable of destroying the planet in a matter of hours. Not enough has been done to ban their use.
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World Wildlife Fund | WWF

World Wildlife Fund is the leading organization in wildlife conservation and endangered species. Learn how you can help WWF make a difference.
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Good for Nothing – Collaborating for Good

Good for Nothing, smart folk collaborating and experimenting to solve stuff that matters.
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Too Young to Wed

A multimedia partnership between the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and premier photo agency VII, seeks to raise awareness of the practice and ultimately, to end it.
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Not For Sale

End Human Trafficking and Slavery
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Milk and Blood

By Trevor Snapp & Alan Boswell
In South Sudan the Milk and Blood of cattle allows families to survive a brutal climate and often inhospitable land. Peace has brought much to this new state, but it has not ended conflict. When we came here to report on the birth of this new country we found both Milk and Blood. Help support independent journalism.
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55 Amazing Painted 3D Street Art Examples

noreply@blogger.com (GHG) — Wed, 7 May 2014 17:02:00 +0530

10 Mar 2014 | 0 comment | 4 likes | in found

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17 Funky Animated GIFs To Brighten Your Day

noreply@blogger.com (GHG) — Wed, 7 May 2014 16:57:00 +0530

Google Santa Tracker

By Markus Magnusson

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Funky Planets

By H O L Y C O N E & Louis Ansa

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MNSure/Springboards

By Daniel Cordero

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Hightail - Year End Animations

By Seth Eckert

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Instapack

By Guillaume Kurkdjian

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Transition Technologies

By Pawel Wypych & Mike Polak

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Various Animations!

By Guillaume Kurkdjian

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Animated GIFs

By Skip Hursh

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Animated Map - HAST

By Guillaume Kurkdjian

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Geometric Animated GIFs

By Iain Acton

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Pixelwood: Animated GIFs of Famous Movies

By Dusan Cezek

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Slimleren

By Ben Alcasas

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Infographic Animations

By Anthony Smith

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Animated GIFs

By Motion Addicts

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Bisous Les Copain

By Guillaume Kurkdjian

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Various Animated GIFs

By Matthew DiVito

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Chuicho Monga

By Arthur Chemin

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20 Excellent Sets Of Icons With Color & Personality

noreply@blogger.com (GHG) — Wed, 7 May 2014 16:54:00 +0530

Flat Icons

By Irina Kerasoshvili

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Color Icons In Minimal Style

By Sky Designs

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Flat Media Icons

By Robert Filip

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Square Animals

By Andrey Bzh

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Adline Icons (retouched)

By szende brassai

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Flaterrifics

By Cristian Bogdan Rosu & Catalin Mihut

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TidePool

By MUTI

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Map Pins

By Yvonne Michaelides

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Food App Icons

By Julian Burford

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Sea Free Icons

Graficheria

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In The Kitchen

By http://www.behance.net/wzasina

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Coddin - Location Icons

By Lucas Di Mattia

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Geneis

By Hugo Miguel Sousa

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Bicycle Icons

By Robert Filip

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Line Icon Set For UI & More

By Situ Herrera

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WAR - Free Icon Set

by Antonio D'Amore

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Insurance Set Icons

By Filippo Marongiu

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iOS Icons Mix

By M18

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Shady I Con, SEO Flat Icons

By Stella Caraman

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Landmark Icons

By Natali Filatova

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50 Amazing Photos That Show The Beauty Of Life

noreply@blogger.com (GHG) — Wed, 7 May 2014 16:52:00 +0530

26 Feb 2014 | 1 comment | 7 likes | in found, inspiration

By Wil Mijer
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By Richard Peters
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By Ondrej Pakan
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From National Geographic
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From Photo District News
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By John Matzick
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By Kolbjørn Pedersen
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By Steve Kazlowski
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By tustelico
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By Wil Mijer
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By Adam Bender
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By Alex Noriega
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By Anna Henly
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By Art of HDR
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By Bjorn Olesen
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By Boim Wahyudi
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By Christian Vizl
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By Daniel Cadieux
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From Huffington Post
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By Christos Kaouranis
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By Jacky Parker
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By Jan Geerk
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By Einar Runar Sigurdsson
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By hateom
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By John Wiseman
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By Luis Tamarit
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By Luke Popwell
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By Maciej Grzegorzek
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By Maciej Makowski
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By Michael Shainblum
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By Mustafa Ozturk
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By Nadav Bagim
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By Nicolai BoÌ�nig
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By Petar Sabol
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By Peter Delaney
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By RobVan Thienen
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By Roeselien Raimond
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By Sergey Gorshkov
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By АлександрНовосельцев
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By Anurag Kumar
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By Mike Wells
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By Ilya Pitalev
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By Ng Chai Hock
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From National Geographic
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By Eddy Bickhuis
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By Lionel Hummel
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By Michel
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By Remy Frints
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By Robert Gifford
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By Waheed Akhtar
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~ · ~

20 Superlative UI/UX Designs, Prototypes & Concepts

noreply@blogger.com (GHG) — Wed, 7 May 2014 16:48:00 +0530

Manomoda

By Wladimir Ilyanoi

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Galf

By Fixed Digital Agency & Juan Mora

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Nike+ Training Club

By Sean Hobman

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iOS Game Prototypes & Concepts

By Mike

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ATO

By Yoon J & Eunbin.Judy Kim

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Zürich Openair Festival

By Beat von Rotz

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App Design Concept For BelVita

By Robert Kwiatkowski

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M83 Group - Custom Player App / Proposal

By Gaia Zuccaro

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Redesign Envato Marketplace

By Patrick Offczorz

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Glowee

By Maria Shanina & Nikita Shanin

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SOOSHI - The Sushi App

By Konstantin Datz & Moritz v. V.

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SJQHUB™ // Visual Data UI Dashboard

By Jonathan Quintin

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Easy Poker App - iOS & Android

By Arkadiusz Platek & Motteq Labs

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City Sense Platform

By Visualizers/PopappFactory

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BBC News App Concept

By Angelique Calmon

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Timeline Page

By Sergey Valiukh

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MOOVELY - App Design

By Marco Rettore

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Period Tracker - iPhone App

By Dianna Su

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DoYourShit App

By Michal Sambora

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Restaurant Branding and UI/UX

By Jekin Gala

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Found is our way of sharing the best articles, resources and tutorials that find their way to the eyeballs of the CSSDA crew.

~ · ~

50 Clever Advertising Designs With A Story To Tell

noreply@blogger.com (GHG) — Wed, 7 May 2014 16:45:00 +0530

By MC Saatchi Abel, South Africa
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By Cheil, Italy
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By Havas Worldwide, Switzerland
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By Philipp und Keuntje, Germany
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By Verbal Communication, Brazil
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By YR, Portugal
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By Mccann, Portugal
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By The Martin Agency, USA
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By RBH, UK
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By PONK, France
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By DDB, South Korea
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By Miami Ad School, USA
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By Hatari, Kenya
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By Philipp und Keuntje, Germany
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By Sir JJ Institute Of Applied Art, India
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By Bronx Propaganda, Brazil
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By RED, Kazakhstan
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By Brother Ad School, Dominican Republic
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By DraftFCB, USA
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By Leagas Delaney, Germany
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By ALMAPBBDO, Brazil
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By DDB, USA
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By KAF, Turkey
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By Adforce, Namibia
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By Matriz, Brazil
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By Thjnk, Germany
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By 360eight, South Africa
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By DDB, Nigeria
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By Jung von Matt Alster, Germany
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By McCann Erickson, Israel
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By Push Publicidade, Brazil
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By Atalah Viveros, Chile
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By iLatina, Mexico
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By Space Invaders, Norway
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By Egg Comunicacao, Brazil
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By Blu Comunicacao Integrada, Brazil
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By DraftFCB, Germany
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By DraftFCB, New Zealand
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By DDB, Spain
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By Verbal Communication, Brazil
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By Livingroom, UAE
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By Grip Limited, Canada
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By McCann, Portugal
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By Leo Burnett, Hong Kong
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By Lowe, Thailand
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By Vitro, USA
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By Share, Ecuador
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By Air, Belgium
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By Intertotal Comunicacao, Brazil
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By DDB, France
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Found is our way of sharing the best articles, resources and tutorials that find their way to the eyeballs of the CSSDA crew.

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13 Inspirational Digital Art & Photography Projects

noreply@blogger.com (GHG) — Wed, 7 May 2014 16:41:00 +0530

Otherscapes

By Carl Warner

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2013 iphone Photos

By Brock Davis

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Been There Done That

By Mateusz Chmura

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Powers Whiskey

By Taylor James

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Kings & Queens

By Elroy Klee & Jeroen Nieuwhuis

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We Love Food

By Marion Luttenberger

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Dark cities

By Jens Fersterra

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I Travelled the Seven Seas and I'm Still Alive

By Alessandro Puccinelli

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Ace Whites

By Taylor James

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e d g e II

By Mikko Lagerstedt

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Surfrider Foundation Europe

By J.Carreño + R.de Lestrade

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Creon ‘Deconstruction’

By Taylor James

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Life in the Bayou - A Day of Work

By Souverein Weesp & Cade Martin

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Found is our way of sharing the best articles, resources and tutorials that find their way to the eyeballs of the CSSDA crew.

~ · ~

20 Inspirational Branding And Identity Designs

noreply@blogger.com (GHG) — Wed, 7 May 2014 16:38:00 +0530

Xoclad

By Anagrama

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I LOVE SHOES

By Pavel Emelyanov, Maria Sinutina, Eskimo, Valeriy ANCO Golubzov & Anatoly Vasiliev

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Fringe - music festival

By William Stormdal

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Ignitec

By Maria Grønlund

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Acapo

By Eric Amaral Rohter, Anti, Endre Berentzen & Robert Dalen

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RRZ

By moodley brand identity

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Uovo Performing Art Festival

By Atto

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The Distillery London

By Szende Brassai

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Deerz

By Pavel Emelyanov, Maria Sinutina, Anatoly Vasiliev & Eskimo

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Imprimerie DC

By Charles Daoud

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Novelty

By Anagrama

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Limbo / Festival de freak folk

By Ro Gal

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Double B returns

By Maxim Goudin & Illarion Gordon

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CORELLA

By Fauna

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Marta

By Sergey Tarasenko, ho! Branding Agency, Sergey Shishkin & Danil Volozhanin

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Pop-up Album Cover

By Gaba Jordan & Mateusz Chmura

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Cerovski

By Bunch

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Daydreamer

By Necon

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Tilín Cacao

By Isabela Rodrigues

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Publishing House

By Maurizio Pagnozzi

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Found is our way of sharing the best articles, resources and tutorials that find their way to the eyeballs of the CSSDA crew.

50 High Impact Creative Packaging Designs

noreply@blogger.com (GHG) — Wed, 7 May 2014 16:35:00 +0530

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Top 10 Most Important IPOs

noreply@blogger.com (GHG) — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 14:26:00 +0530

10. SFX Entertainment

SFX Entertainment

The electronic dance music subculture brought its bass-heavy party to Wall Street in October with the IPO of SFX Entertainment, a promotion company that hosts EDM concerts and festivals. The company’s CEO, Robert F. X. Sillerman, already created a successful rock promotion company in the 90s that was eventually sold to Clear Channel for $4.4 billion. So far, Wall Street isn’t dancing to SFX’s beat, though. The company is trading below its IPO price of $13.

9. Chegg

Following on the heels of Twitter’s successful IPO, the debut of Chegg, an online textbook rental company, was watched closely by Wall Street and the tech world to gauge just how frothy the IPO market might be getting. At least at this point, not every tech stock is an automatic home run—Chegg tumbled 23 percent in its first day of trading, and slid further in the ensuing week. The performance showed Wall Street has not yet reached the IPO euphoria of the dot-com bubble, good news.

8. 58.com

More and more Chinese companies are choosing to list on U.S. stock exchanges. 58.com, a classifieds listing site known as the Chinese version of Craigslist, debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in October. The company managed to double its IPO price over the course of the next month. The success of Chinese stocks in U.S. may soon lure Alibaba, an e-commerce giant based in Hangzhou, which could net a market valuation of $100 billion.

7. Burlington Stores Inc.

The discount retail chain best known for its Burlington Coat Factory stores went public for a second time in October after being taken private in an acquisition by Bain Capital in 2006. The company, which operates 500 stores, got a 40 percent pop on its first day from its IPO price of $17. The stock peaked above $40 in November, and analysts project the company will generate $4.43 billion in revenue this year.

6. Gogo

Gogo has become the go-to source for Internet service on airplanes and in airports. The company, which provides Internet access on 81 percent of airplanes that have Wi-Fi in North America, raised $187 million at an IPO price of $17 per share. The company’s stock is now hovering around $30 and is likely to benefit from new FAA rules that will allow passengers to use mobile devices during takeoff and landing and even make phone calls during flights.

5. Zulily

Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg / Getty Images

Wall Street is becoming increasingly crowded with e-commerce companies, and online retailer Zulily joined the crowd in November. The shopping site, which specializes in daily flash sales on products for mothers and their children, saw its stock jump 71 percent on its Friday day from an IPO price of $22. Successful IPOs for coupon site RetailMeNot and Channel Advisor, an e-commerce consulting firm, will likely convince more e-commerce companies to go public in the future.

4. Tri Pointe Homes

The public debut of the housing company Tri Pointe Homes in January was the first IPO in the homebuilding sector since 2004, according to Bloomberg. The company raised $233 million by pricing its IPO at $17 per share. Its IPO was another sign of the ongoing recovery of the housing market and the steady increase in home prices in the last two years. Another homebuilder, Taylor Morrison Home Corp., went public in April, raising $629 million.

3. SeaWorld Entertainment

SeaWorld Entertainment, which runs 11 theme parks that attracted 24 million guests in 2012, saw its shares jump 24 percent on its first day of trading from an IPO price of $27 per share. The company, now owned by the Blackstone Group after being held by beer giant Anheuser-Busch Inbev, is facing several headwinds. Its stock price fell in August after it lowered ticket prices due to dwindling attendance. Throughout the year the company has been fending off controversy connected to the film Blackfish, a documentary about the 2010 killing of a SeaWorld trainer that played at the Sundance Film Festival and was broadcast on CNN in October.

2. Empire State Realty Trust

You can now own a piece of one of New York’s greatest landmarks. The Empire State Realty Trust, which operates the Empire State Building and 20 other New York properties, went public in October, raising $929.5 million for the company at a price an IPO price of $13 per share. It was the second-largest IPO ever for a real estate investment trust, according to Bloomberg. But the company will soon face competition filling its Midtown Manhattan offices when the One World Trade Center opens in 2014.

Andrew Gombert / EPA

1. Twitter

The most anticipated Internet IPO of the year was a success for both Twitter and Wall Street. The social network’s stock leapt 73 percent in its first day of trading, from $26 to $44.90. It was a stark contrast from Facebook’s IPO just a year and a half earlier, which was overpriced and suffered from technical glitches. Wall Street has granted Twitter a valuation of around $23 billion, in the league of Netflix and LinkedIn. Now the company, which has earned no profits, will have to prove it deserves it.

Top 10 Apps

noreply@blogger.com (GHG) — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 14:23:00 +0530

10. JumpCam

At first blush, it may not be obvious what’s different about JumpCam, an app for taking and sharing short videos. But it’s built around a feature that isn’t anywhere near as plain-vanilla as its look and feel. Rather than just letting you share clips with friends, acquaintances and perfect strangers, it lets you collaborate with them, piecing together shots into mini-movies, which can grow and evolve over time.
Compatible Devices: iOS and Android
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9. Quip

Quip

Quip is a connected word processor that looks gorgeous and emphasizes collaboration above all else in a manner that’s striking even in an era in which all word processors have collaborative features. It smacks of the ill-fated Google Wave, which featured workgroup document editing, versioning, chat and other features smooshed together in a wildly ambitious and unorthodox fashion. But while it was tough to figure out exactly what Wave was for, Quip’s overarching purpose is obvious. It’s something that every business knows it needs: a word processor.
Compatible Devices: Mac, PC, iOS and Android (preview version)

8. Coast by Opera

Opera Software

Imagine a web browser with no backward or forward buttons, no conventional address bar, no bookmarks, no tabs, no home button or any of the other things you might assume even an unusually imaginative browser couldn’t live without. That’s Opera’s Coast web browser, a thoughtful retooling of browsing that somehow feels even more iPad-like than Safari does.
Compatible Devices: iOS (iPad only)

7. Foursquare for Windows 8

Foursquare

Sure, Foursquare is available on other operating systems, but none of its incarnations has been designed like this one. It’s one of the slickest Windows 8 apps around, with big, beautiful photos and information tiled together into blocks for addictive browsing. Everything is designed to look good and work well on conventional Windows 8 laptops and desktops, including ones without touchscreens, as well as tablets.
Compatible Devices: Windows 8

6. Umano

iTunes

Believe it or not, sometimes there’s just too much stuff on the Internet to read every day. Umano picks out some of the gems and recreates them as audiobook-like pieces read by professional voice talent. It’s a nice way to get caught up at the end of each day, with articles from popular sources spread out across a wide array of content categories. The app technically came out for iOS late last year, so it missed our 2012 list; the Android version came out this year.
Compatible Devices: iOS and Android
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5. IFTTT

IFTTT

With so many web-based services to take advantage of nowadays, a little automation goes a long way. Think of IFTTT (If This, Then That) as a middleman that sits between all of them, letting them interact with each other. You can get an e-mail when it’s raining, save your iPhone photos to a cloud-based storage service, or get a text message when your stocks go up or down.
Compatible Devices: iOS

4. Mailbox

Mailbox looks to tame your Gmail inbox by letting you quickly archive e-mails with a swipe or turn them into task-like entities to deal with later. The app’s design emphasizes speed and simplicity, helping you to slice through your mountain of messages in a matter of minutes. Yes, you’re basically engaging in digital procrastination, but at least it’ll help you feel somewhat organized. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of reaching inbox zero, if only for a short while.
Compatible Devices: iOS

3. LinkedIn Intro

Intro works inside Apple‘s own Mail app. The top of each message you receive sports a small, expandable pane of information about the sender, drawn from LinkedIn: his or her photo, work experience and other background details, updates that person has posted on LinkedIn and a list of people you know in common. It’s beautifully, seamlessly done, looking like something that Apple might have built into Mail itself.
Compatible Devices: iOS
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2. iWork for iCloud

Apple

By making Pages, Numbers and Keynote — and the documents you create in them — readily available on any computer, iWork for iCloud makes it a lot more feasible to work without having to convert documents back and forth into Microsoft Office format. (That said, it does import and export in Word, Excel and PowerPoint, still an essential feature for any productivity suite.) It’s the first time that the apps have been available at all on Windows, and the first time that Mac users have had access to them without paying for the OS X versions.
Compatible Devices: Mac and Windows

1. Xbox One SmartGlass

Crytek / Microsoft

The Xbox One multitasks like no one’s business, but SmartGlass is Microsoft recognizing that even with side-by-side features like Snap, sometimes it’s preferable to divide and conquer. If you want to send a friend a message, you just type in the SmartGlass app interface. If you want to watch game clips you’ve saved to the cloud, they’re a tap away, as are achievements, messages and your Xbox One profile info. You can even tap a controller icon to summon a touchscreen version of the Xbox One controller if you just want to swipe the Xbox One’s cursor around from across the room, wielding SmartGlass as a wireless trackpad.
Compatible Devices: Windows, Windows Phone, iOS and Android

Top 10 Coolest Cars

noreply@blogger.com (GHG) — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 14:19:00 +0530

10. 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA

Richard Drew / AP

Hoping to shed its reputation as a brand for that specializes in cars for the elderly, the German automaker is bringing on a compact sedan with a combination of power, style, aerodynamics, seating for five and new technical features, such as collision prevention assist, which warns drivers of obstacles and helps them apply the necessary pressure to the brake pedal. The CLA’s turbocharged engine generates 208 horsepower as well as sport suspension and optional all-wheel-drive system. It also gets 26 mpg in the city and 38 mpg on the highway. Prices for the CLA start at $29,900.

9. 2014 Mazda3

Junko Kimura / Bloomberg / Getty Images

The Mazda3 compact, with its long hood and curvy sheet metal, comes with an exterior that sets the car apart from compact models from other manufacturers. The design that has carried over to the interior where Mazda has eliminated hard plastics in favor of softer materials, coupled with fresh instrument panel give the cabin a more expensive ambience. The 2-liter, 4-cylinder engine gets 29 mpg in city driving and 41 on the highway. The Mazda3 is also equipped with multiple air bags and stability control, which can be augmented by optional safety aids such lane departure alters brakes to stop the car at low speeds if a potential collision is detected. Prices start at $16.945.

8. 2014 Rolls Royce Wraith

The Asahi Shimbun / Getty Images

It’s not very often Rolls Royce introduces a new model so the appearance of the new Wraith is something of an event. The Wraith offers an aristocratic exterior but is designed to be driven by the owner rather than a chauffeur. The interior can be designed to suit the owners specific taste with everything from custom-fitted umbrella holder to bespoke leather seats, The Wraith is powered by V12 engine that produce 624 horsepower and no one asks about the fuel economy ratings though they are available, 13 mpg in the city and 21 mpg on the highway. Prices for the Wraith start at $285,000.

7. 2014 Jeep Cherokee

Chrysler Group LLC / PR NewsWire / AP

The 2014 Cherokee carries on Jeep’s tradition of building vehicles that can travel over any kind of terrain. But the exterior design of the new Cherokee has been softened and rounded to appeal to a wider audience. The versatile interior of the new Cherokee is also almost plush and the vehicle’s driving dynamics have also improved so it rides more like a car than a truck. The engine options include a 2.4-liter engine that delivers 184 horsepower and the nine-speed automatic transmission helps boost fuel economy by 45 percent as the Cherokee’s rating is 22 mpg in the city and 31 mpg on the highway. Prices start at $22,995.

6. 2014 Jaguar F-Type Convertible

Regis Lefebure / Jaguar Land Rover North America / AP

After a half-century hiatus, Jaguar has introduced a brand new, up-to-date, two-seat sports car. The F-Type comes with classic, low-slung proportions and unique styling as well as modern touches such as LED head and tail lights. It also features a cockpit-like driver’s seat, a convertible top, a powerful engine and a chassis designed to deliver dynamic driving performance. Two engine options are available, including a 380 horsepower V6. The F-Type will reach 60 mph in 5.1 seconds and a combined fuel economy rating of 31 mpg. Prices for the F-Type start at $69,000.

5. 2014 Infiniti Q50

Tony Ding / AP

The sport sedan has been a feature of Infiniti’s model line for a quarter of a century and the latest version is lower and wider, giving the latest version a whole new profile as well a new appearance from the front and rear as well as making it roomier on the inside. The new body design reduces aerodynamic drag which helps improve overall fuel economy. The Q50, which is equipped with a 328-horsepower, 3.7-liter V6 engine, rated at 20 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on the highway, also features a lightweight suspension and a new steering system and electronic steering gear with mechanical backup as well as an upgraded driver assistance systems such as lane departure prevention. Prices start at $36,700.

4. 2014 Fiat 500 L

Valentin Flauraud / Bloomberg / Getty Images

The subcompact Fiat 500L is the wider and longer version of the Fiat 500 minicar. It has 42 percent more interior space than the original Fiat 500 and thus can seat five. The extra space also means more room for the driver and front seat passenger. The 500L also comes with multiple air bags, electronic stability control and anti-lock brakes. Hands-free calling and Bluetooth audio as well as voice-command control of the radio and integration of portable music devices are also available. The 1.4-liter, four-cylinder engine in the 500L produces 160 horsepower and fuel economy is 25 mpg in the city driving and 33 mpg on the highway. Prices for the 500L start at $19,100.

3. 2014 Chevrolet Silverado High Country

Pickup trucks continue to evolve while retaining their basic shape and utility. The Silverado High Country, Chevrolet‘s first upscale truck, features an interior with leather upholstery and audio system traditionally associated with expensive cars rather than work trucks. The new Silverado’s suspension is tuned to make it more like driving in a big, comfortable sedan. The standard engine on the Silverado High Country is a 355-horsepower, 5.3-liter V8 with active fuel management to shut down four cylinders during highway driving to help save fuel. It is rated at 16 mpg in the city and 23 mpg on the highway. Prices start at $45,100.

2. 2014 Cadillac CTS

John Moore / Getty Images

General Motors is out to rebuild Cadillac’s image. The new CTS comes in five-inches longer than the previous version. It also weighs 200 pounds less and comes with a new suspension, providing better control when the car is in motion. The new CTS is powered by a 3.6-liter V6 with 321 horsepower that deliver 19 mpg in city driving and 29 mpg on the highway. A 420 horsepower V6 with twin turbochargers is also available. The new CTS features automatic parking assist to help maneuver into parallel spaces by using ultrasonic sensors which, along with cameras and radar, also help the driver avoid front- and rear-end collisions at low speed. Prices start at $46,025.

1. 2014 BMW 4 Series Coupe

Stan Honda / AFP / Getty Images

BMW is replacing the popular 3 series coupe with a two-door vehicle that is wider, longer and lower to the road. The standard engine is a turbocharged four-cylinder, rated at 23 mpg in the city and 35 mpg on the highway. The 4 Series Coupe also is equipped with an array of systems to increase safety. The highlights include an updated navigation system, with sharper graphics and 3D elements for the map display, the full-color BMW “Head-Up Display” with the speedometer reflected on the wind shield and driving assistant plus, which warns the driver of a potential collision with a pedestrian. Price for the BMW 4-Series start at $41,425.

Top 10 Best Tweets

noreply@blogger.com (GHG) — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 14:15:00 +0530

10. @BurlCoatFactory, we hardly knew ye

Twitter

It was almost too good to be true. But for an unspecified period of time, Burlington Coat Factory actually linked to the wrong Twitter account from its official website. And what a Twitter account it was. @BurlCoatFactory took a page out of weird Twitter’s book with a mostly nonsensical stream that was entertaining, irreverent and rarely about outerwear—that is, unless they were slapping #coats on the end of a tweet.

9. Putting your money where your mouth is

We’ve all used social media as an outlet for our outrage. But Hasan Syed took his complaining to the next level when he spent more than $1,000 to call out British Airways on Twitter. The Chicago-based business owner bought a promoted tweet after the airline lost his father’s luggage, forcing him to cancel a planned trip to Germany. And it worked: press about his gambit guaranteed Syed hundreds of thousands of eyeballs beyond the 50,000 he paid to target with his initial advertisement. The incident also ushered in a new era of complainvertising, in which customers use social media to amplify their own disgruntled voices. As for Syed? His father’s luggage was returned, along with an apology.

8. Fashionably late to the party

At this point, it’s hardly news when someone famous decides to join Twitter. But the folksy octogenarian investor made headlines with a tweet that was equal parts charming and “he said what?!” Buffett may not have tweeted many times since, but his introductory tweet will remain the stuff of legend.

7. Making it so

Patrick Stewart isn’t just the latest celebrity to perfect the art of using Twitter to get closer to his fans. By sharing photos of himself wearing an amazing Halloween costume or enjoying his first-ever New York City slice, the Star Trek star is subtly tweaking his public reputation as an actor known mostly for serious roles. But the best example, with nearly 1000 RTs and counting, is simply a photo of the actor playfully referencing his most famous part.

6. Livetweeting history

Adam Kitzenberg isn’t the first person to livetweet a major news event that made headlines the next day. But this startup founder’s tweets about the shootout between the alleged Boston bombers and the police gave the nation a real-time look at a news story that horrified—and captivated—the nation.

5. Oreo turns the lights back on

Whether you thought it was brilliant or just plain silly, you have to admit that Oreo’s “Power Out?” tweet was a stroke of advertising genius. The timely tweet was the result of a quick collaboration between ad agency 360i and Oreo executives during the game’s 34-minute partial blackout. The massive social media hit ushered in a new era of real-time social advertising, proving big brand commercials doesn’t always have to cost millions.

4. Millions stood with Wendy

Major TV networks didn’t initially cover Texas State Senator Wendy Davis’ successful filibuster of an anti-abortion bill, but the Internet was definitely paying attention. Viral hashtag #StandWithWendy and a YouTube livestream helped raise awareness as the famously pink-sneakered politician passionately made her case for 11 hours straight. More than 125,000 #StandWithWendy tweets were sent per hour during the campaign’s peak. The hashtag was more popular than #StandWithRand, which supporters used when tweeting about Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s 13-hour filibuster in March.

3. The year in surprising tweets

Many were surprised when Iranian President Hassan Rouhani took to Twitter to wish Iranian Jews a happy Rosh Hashanah. The message was bolstered after Foreign Minister Javad Zarif—who had his own Twitter moment announcing the recent P5+1 nuclear deal—replied to Christine Pelosi, daughter of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, with a similar message of acceptance. Some dismissed the event as a publicity stunt, but others declared a new era of Twitter diplomacy.

2. How to write the perfect tweet

Mia Farrow dropped the mother of all “You are not the father” bombs when she implied in a recent Vanity Fair interview that Frank Sinatra, not Woody Allen, might be the father of her biological son Ronan. The MSNBC host didn’t confirm if his blue eyes are actually from Ol’ Blue Eyes, instead, he just left us with this gem of a tweet.

1. Tweeting your way to an IPO

Twitter announced its eagerly anticipated IPO filing via—what else?—Twitter. It was the perfect way for the social network to get the news trending.

Top 10 Babies

noreply@blogger.com (GHG) — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 14:12:00 +0530

10. Luna Bardem

Europa Press / Getty Images

Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz had their daughter Luna in August. The beautiful baby is named after the Spanish word for “moon.” This is the couple’s second child.

9. Winnie Rose

Jimmy Fallon’s baby might not be able to talk yet, but we’re pretty sure she already takes the cake for funniest celebrity baby of the year. Winnie is named after Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire, which is where Fallon proposed to his wife Nancy. After trying to have a child for five years, the couple decided to go with a surrogate.

8. Carmen Gabriela Baldwin

Alec Baldwin might have a tenuous relationship with his 17-year -old first child — we all remember the answering machine recordings in which he called her a “rude, thoughtless pig” at 11 — but this year he decided to go in for round two. Carmen was born in August to Baldwin and his yoga instructor wife Hilaria Thomas.

7. Ace Knute Johnson

Jon Kopaloff / FilmMagic / Getty Images

Singer Jessica Simpson gave birth to her son Ace Knute Johnson on June 30. Her second child with her fiancé, NFL player Eric Johnson, Ace was famous months before his birth when Simpson debuted her baby bump in a puckered up selfie posted to Twitter.

6. Everly Tatum

Channing and Jenna Tatum met on the set of Step Up, a film they costarred in together. Four years into marriage, the couple welcomed the creatively named Everly to the world. Rather than play the paparazzi game with first photos, Channing revealed his daughter on his Facebook page on Father’s Day.

5. Sebastian Taylor Thomaz

Kanye’s ex-girlfriend, Amber Rose, had a baby this year, too. She and rapper Wiz Khalifa had their first child, named Sebastian Taylor Thomaz, in February. The two were married in July 2013.

4. Axl Jack Duhamel

Not ones to eschew a strange baby name trend, actor Josh Duhamel and Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie had son Axl in August. For the most part, Fergie kept quiet about the pregnancy to the press.

3. Lincoln Bell Shepard

Jeff Vespa / WireImage / Getty Images

On March 28, comedic couple Kirsten Bell and Dax Shepard had their first daughter. Shepard announced the birth in tweet form, saying, “Lincoln Bell Shepard is here. She has mom’s beauty and dad’s obsession with breasts. Hooray!!!” Later this year, following the fall of DOMA, Bell proposed to Shepard via Twitter, and he said yes.

2. North West

Another baby of the year was born to parents that really work to stay in the spotlight: Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. North West was born on June 15, twelve days after Kardashian’s divorce from basketball player Chris Humphries was finalized. The baby’s highly anticipated first photo was leaked by none other than Kris Jenner’s, Kardashian’s mom.

1. Prince George Alexander Louis

John Stillwell / AFP / Getty Images

Ever since Kate Middleton’s first sign of a baby bump, the world fell victim to royal baby fever. In fact, leading up to the heir’s birth, the Centre for Retail Research estimated that memorabilia and other goods led to a £243 million boost to the British economy. Prince George Alexander Louis was born to Prince William and Kate on July 22.

Top 10 Worst Movies

noreply@blogger.com (GHG) — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 14:09:00 +0530

10. The Hangover Part III

Warner Bros.

Alcohol poisoning can be deadly and I wouldn’t wish it on anybody. But something needs to put this franchise, which in its first installment was raw and disgusting and also totally hilarious, out of its nasty, self-loathing misery. So, drink up, boys.

9. Oz the Great and Powerful

Disney

A prequel that never should have seen the light of day features the arrival of Oz (James Franco) in the land of yellow brick roads and presents the story behind the wicked witch becoming both wicked and green. (Hint: he’s just not that into her.) Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz dress up the production a bit but the movie looks tawdry and every line has, uh, a tin quality to it. You can’t fault director Sam Raimi for having the courage — oh God, stop me — to take on one of the most classic movies of all time, but this Oz lacks heart. Wait, just one more; it was truly brainless to cast both smirking Franco and dramatically untested Mila Kunis, who seems more lost and disoriented in this production than poor old Dorothy after a spin in a tornado. Can we all go back to our annual viewing of the brilliant original, please?

8. The Counselor

Twentieth Century Fox

Look, were there movies of less cinematic value released this year? Certainly. But was there a movie that both raised and dashed expectations more impressively than Ridley Scott’s film of Cormac McCarthy’s first original — but really unoriginal —screenplay? No. Here’s who couldn’t save this movie from its portentous, foolish self: Javier Bardem, Brad Pitt, Penelope Cruz and Michael Fassbender — all playing doomed characters we won’t remember in another six months. What will linger is the unfortunately indelible image of Cameron Diaz doing splits on a car’s windshield.

7. The Big Wedding

Lionsgate

You may be thinking, how bad can a movie about a wedding be, what with the celebration of love and all? Unbearably offensive if it’s the nuptials of Alejandro (Ben Barnes) and Missy (Amanda Seyfried), which are attended and fussed over by a series of gross stereotypes. There are the senior citizens (Susan Sarandon, Diane Keaton, Robert DeNiro) utterly defined by the fact that they’re still horny (nothing wrong with that, if only the vulgar screenplay didn’t patronize them so), a pair of weird prudes (Alejandro’s South American birth mother and his still-virginal 30-something brother), exotic seductresses (Latin, of course), a purportedly barren leaner-inner (Katherine Heigl) and bigots (the bride’s parents). Gratuitous and in the end, grossly sentimental: it’s a marriage made in hell.

6. Only God Forgives

Radius-TWC

The maiming and/or killing in director Nicholas Winding Refn’s arty, sleazy film plays out like a really slow, bloody game of revenge tag. The first to go is a 16-year-old prostitute in Bangkok. Then her father kills her American rapist/killer and so on. It’s all swinging swords and bursting arteries, save the occasional glimpse of Ryan Gosling wandering through a red room or watching a beautiful woman masturbate. The visuals are aggressive — from the camera’s examination of fresh entrails to the lush beauty of the dark urban night — but the story is inert and the dialogue plays like a parody of Blue Velvet. But Kristin Scott Thomas, playing Gosling’s vicious mother, deserves a nod for almost being the film’s lone saving grace.

5. RIPD

Universal

Dead guys Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges return to earth as members of the Rest in Peace Department, hunting foul-looking rogue spirits in an action movie likely to thrill only make-up artists. There’s a little bit of Ghostbusters to the story, too much Ghost and a ton of computer-generated billowing clouds and beams of light from on high. Bridges can usually be depended upon to elevate anything and everything, but his grating Western sheriff type, a Lonesome Dove-style character gone way over the top, becomes tedious within a minute of his first appearance. This one was practically the death of me.

4. After Earth

Columbia

Two Smiths — Will and Jaden — co-star as a father-son pair locked in the classic love-hate battle that pits the domineering leader against resentful youth. That the settings are intergalactic, the time frame post-apocalyptic, and the space-suits flattering does nothing to elevate the dynamic beyond the tedium of everyday dinner table squabbles most of us have witnessed or participated in. With a story as thin as a minor episode of Star Trek — cross the dangerous tundra to pick up that thing we need so we can get home again — there is ample time to ponder such matters as why family features so many different regional accents and where Jaden Smith falls on the annoying-petulant-space-boy spectrum. (Perilously close to the Jake Lloyd end.) As for director M. Night Shyamalan: who knew that one day, The Village would seem like a career highpoint?

3. The Host

Universal

An adaptation of a Stephenie Meyers novel — the words that strikes fear into the heart of film critics everywhere. But at least this is just a one-off; no sequel looms and the dismal box-office should be the final stake in its heart. No vampires either, as the setting is the future, where Diane Kruger plays a bossy alien with eyes with a chilly glint, like the sparkle in toothpaste ads. She and her pals are taking over human bodies, including that of a teenager named Melanie (Saoirse Ronan). But Melanie, and her love for her boyfriend, is so strong that the alien can’t control the person inside. So they have long, chirpy, internal debates about it. For context: It’s like a dumber Bella talking to dumbest Bella. You will never feel worse for an actress (not even Cameron Diaz) than you will for poor Ronan, who not long ago was a very young Oscar nominee.

2. Salinger

The Weinstein Co.

The accompanying score alone could have landed this unnecessary documentary about the reclusive author of Catcher in the Rye on this list. Incessant, obtrusive and hysterical in tone, it soars to what feels like a hundred alleged dramatic peaks that are, in reality, minor bits of trivia. Then there’s the drooling adulation from minor characters who had no connection to Salinger. “What I have here is J. D. Salinger’s yearbook from the Valley Forge Military Academy,” salivates rare-book seller Harvey Jason. “It’s an extraordinary item.” Really? It looks like another old yearbook to me. The “recreations” of the writer, sitting on an empty stage, typing, smoking and ruminating are absurd. What’s new in this film that promised such startling revelations? Precious little. What emerges? A portrait of the writer as a controlling, predatory creep and a feeling that the filmmaker may missed his calling in reality television.

1. Grown Ups 2

Columbia

There is no plot. I don’t mean there isn’t much of a plot. I mean there is no plot. Just four repulsive guys (Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, David Spade and Kevin James) wandering around their hometown confronting the big themes of life: Urination, Defecation, Drooling, Bad Things Happening to Their Scrotums. Misogynistic, homophobic and sloppy, Grown Ups 2 is essentially a walk down a junior-high school hallway, except for the presence of various lovely women (Salma Hayek, Maya Rudolph, Maria Bello) who we’re expected to believe actually married these guys. There are people who will argue that 12 Years a Slave is the most depressing movie of the year. Enduring Grown Ups 2 threw me into a much deeper funk.

10 Bizarre Facts About Michael Jackson

noreply@blogger.com (GHG) — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 14:05:00 +0530

10He Wanted To Be Spider-Man

All of us have fantasized about possessing superpowers, but for most of us, these are just idle daydreams. Michael Jackson was a little more serious about his obsession. In the late ’90s, he tried to purchase Marvel Comics, which had filed for bankruptcy. His dream was to produce a Spider-Man movie starring himself. Unfortunately for Michael, this venture failed, and the role of Spider-Man went to Tobey Maguire and film finally came together.
Jackson wasn’t done. When he heard of an upcoming X-Men movie, he lobbied hard to get the role of Professor X, the mutants’ chrome-domed paraplegic leader. Few roles might have been less appropriate for him. Veteran Star Trek actor Patrick Stewart eventually got the part.

9He Really Did Have Vitiligo

Throughout his youth, Michael Jackson had a medium-brown, African-American complexion, but in the 1980s, his skin lightened considerably. Questioned, Michael claimed that he had a condition called “vitiligo.” Years later, his autopsy report confirmed the claim.
Vitiligo is a vanishingly rare skin disorder that causes melanin-producing cells to malfunction and fail. The precise cause is unknown, but it is tied to the autoimmune system. Vitiligo does not operate in a uniform fashion. It manifests in splotches that tend to continually grow and change shape. Jackson bleached his skin with a cream called Porcelana, but we don’t know whether the bleaching was an attempt to even out the patches or whether the bleaching itself sparked the vitiligo.
Michael was very close with his dermatologist, Dr. Arnold Klein. He even married his nurse, Debbie Rowe, who went on to have Michael’s children, Michael jr. and Paris. The couple divorced in 1999. Rowe recently announced her engagement to Jackson’s friend, gay porn producer Marc Schaffel.

8He Was Secretly Balding

Michael Jackson always appeared to have flawless hair. As a little boy, he had an afro, and as an adult, he grew flowing black locks. However, after 1984, he was forced to wear wigs.
While filming a Pepsi commercial simulated to look like a live concert, Michael caught on fire in a pyrotechnics accident. During the commercial’s sixth take, an explosion went off too early, setting Michael’s hair alight. For several moments, he continued dancing, not realizing what had happened.
Members of the cast and crew quickly swarmed him and extinguished the flames, but by then, the damage was done. He suffered second- and third-degree burns to his face and scalp. To compensate, he had his hairline permanently tattooed onto his forehead and wore a wig attached to hair that his autopsy called “sparse.” Footage of the incident remained under wraps for 25 years but was leaked by Us Weekly in 2009, a move strongly condemned by Pepsi.

7Plastic Surgery

Photo credit: Georges Biard

The Pepsi incident had far-reaching repercussions besides torching Michael’s hair. The grueling operations he endured afterward are said to have kicked off his addiction to painkillers and obsession with plastic surgery.
In Moonwalk, his 1988 autobiography, Michael admitted to two rhinoplasties (ostensibly to help him breathe better) and a dimple created in his chin. He gave a laundry list of causes for other differences in appearance—everything from puberty to a vegetarian diet to stage makeup and lighting—but he obviously went through an extensive number of procedures.
Doctors have suggested that Jackson suffered from body dysmorphic disorder. It is believed that he had surgery to enhance his cheekbones, alter his lips, and lift his forehead, in addition to his numerous nose jobs. It has been reported that his father Joe used to insult Michael as a child, calling him “big nose,” which may have sparked the problem.
By the late ’90s, the nose was little more than a stump. When the UK’s Daily Mirror ran a picture of Jackson in 1992, calling him “hideously disfigured,” he sued them. The paper settled out of court in 1998.

6Bubbles

Jackson purchased Bubbles the chimpanzee as a baby from a primate research facility in Texas in the early 1980s. For years, the two were inseparable, Bubbles riding on Michael’s hip like an infant to various public appearances and events. The press had a field day with this relationship, often dreaming up weird tabloid stories about the ape as they had for his owner.
Bubbles ate at the dining room table with Jackson, slept in a crib, and learned to use the toilet. Michael even taught him to moonwalk. Some of Michael’s other chimps were markedly less well behaved, including Max, who would take off his dirty diaper before climbing into bed.
However, as Bubbles aged and went through puberty, he began to grow ever more strong and aggressive. Fearing his son might be attacked, Michael was forced to give Bubbles to a sanctuary.
In 2003, a bizarre story emerged that Bubbles attempted suicide and had to be rushed to the hospital. Today, Bubbles, is in his thirties and lives at the Center for Great Apes in Florida. According to his keepers, he spends his time painting, listening to flute music, and hanging out with his friend Sam, an older chimpanzee.

5Wacko Jacko

In the mid-1980s, around the same time as he began lightening his skin, Michael Jackson became a tabloid phenomenon. He grew to despise his reputation as “Wacko Jacko,” but this curse was largely of his own making.
One of the first sensational tales about Michael emerged in 1986, when it was announced that he was spending time in an oxygenated hyperbaric chamber to defy aging. It would later turn out that he himself had actually leaked this untrue story to the press.
Another story emerged that Michael had tried to buy the remains of “Elephant Man” Joseph Merrick. This, too, was a complete fabrication by Michael and his manager, Frank Dileo.
Later, he would complain to biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli: “Why not just tell people I’m an alien from Mars? Tell them I eat live chickens and do a voodoo dance at midnight. They’ll believe anything you say, because you’re a reporter. But if I, Michael Jackson, were to say, ‘I’m an alien from Mars and I eat live chickens and do a voodoo dance at midnight,’ people would say, ‘Oh, man, that Michael Jackson is nuts. He’s cracked up. You can’t believe a single word that comes out of his mouth’.”

4Child Abuse

As a child star, Michael suffered hideous abuses at the hands of his father. He was routinely whipped and cursed at, and in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, he shed tears and claimed that he was so terrified of his father that he would often vomit upon seeing the man. This likely caused his adulthood childlike behavior and drew him to children such as Macauly Culkin, entertaining them at his Neverland Ranch.
Neverland is a sprawling 2,700-acre private amusement park with its own zoo, carnival rides, and two railroads. The ranch takes its name from Peter Pan‘s “Never Never Land,” where boys never grow up. It seemed at first that Michael was merely trying to recapture the childhood that he had never been able to enjoy. But darker allegations surfaced in 1993, when Evan Chandler accused him of molesting his 13-year-old-son Jordan. Michael’s insurance company settled out of court for a sum reported to be $15 million.
Later, Evan Chandler would emerge as something of an odd duck himself, becoming both a part-time screenwriter and a dentist. Carrie Fisher, in her book Shockaholic, claimed that Chandler would perform unnecessary dental procedures on her in the 1980s just so she could get morphine. She called him “this freak” and said he made her skin crawl.
After the settlement, Chandler claimed Michael Jackson fans were stalking him, and he underwent plastic surgery to disguise his appearance. In 2006, Evan reportedly attacked his son Jordan with a barbell and mace. In 2009, five months after Michael died, Evan Chandler committed suicide via gunshot to the head.
Jackson again faced child sexual abuse charges in December 2003. Police raided Neverland Ranch, and Michael left the property, never to come back, claiming that it no longer felt like home. A trial began on January 31, 2005, and Jordan Chandler left the country to avoid having to testify. He’d previously filed for emancipation from his parents, horrified by what they had forced him to say about Jackson. A jury found Michael not guilty of all charges on June 13, 2005.
In 2013, choreographer Wade Robson (who had testified in the 2005 trial that Michael had never touched him inappropriately) filed a suit against the Jackson estate, claiming that he had in fact been abused by Michael as a child. In May 2014, a hearing will review if the lawsuit is viable.
Certainly, Michael’s relationships with children were unorthodox, and allowing them to sleep in his bed was inappropriate, but a retrospective of all the evidence points to his innocence in ever sexually abusing a child. Dozens of kids who spent time with Jackson were questioned during the investigations, and all of them swore that he’d never done anything sexual in their presence. Asked to describe Michael’s penis, Jordan Chandler had asserted that the man was circumcised, a fact which was his autopsy revealed as false. Likely, several parties thought their relationships with Jackson were the ticket to a quick payday, a horrible fate for a man who was otherwise charitable and kind to a fault.

3Escape Plans

Your typical prison is populated with a motley crew of murderers, rapists, and drug dealers. These men have done unconscionable things, but even they retain some code of honor. Those serving time for victimizing children wear targets on their backs and are subjected to beatings and worse. Should Michael Jackson have been convicted and sent to prison, this danger, along with his fame, would have required him to be separated from the general population in virtual solitary confinement for the duration of his sentence.
However, Jackson’s family had no intention of allowing him to suffer the indignities of prison. When the 2005 trial wound down, Jermaine Jackson arranged to have a private jet on standby to take Michael to Bahrain. The tiny Middle-Eastern island nation has no extradition treaty with the US. According to Jermaine, Michael was not aware of the plan.

2His Patented Shoes

Michael Jackson was one of the best dancers of his or any generation. Though he did not invent the moonwalk, he certainly perfected it. However, even Michael wasn’t capable of defying gravity—in the music video for “Smooth Criminal,” he is seen standing at a 45-degree angle, far beyond any human’s capability.
This was accomplished by way of US Patent No. 5,255,452, granted to Michael and two partners for their “Method and Means for Creating Anti-Gravity Illusion.” This method was a pair of shoes, footwear with slot in the heels to hook onto retractable pegs in the floor. Michael patented the device not to generate income but to keep others from using the effect. Fortunately for imitators, the patent expired in 2005 after its owners missed a payment.

1Giant Robot

Before the ill-fated “This Is It” concert series, Michael Jackson had planned a massive Las Vegas comeback in 2005. This would be no bland, tired regurgitation of the classics—Michael had a grand vision which included solar-powered costumes that would change color with the stage lights. The show would be promoted by a massive, 15-meter (50 ft) tall robot version of Michael, which would roam through the Nevada desert within view of McCarran airport. When this did not prove feasible, another plan was hatched to build a Michael Jackson–themed hotel and casino, which would feature a laser-blasting android at the entrance.
Unfortunately, he was fresh off his child molestation trial, and his star had fallen considerably. Despite meeting with high-powered casino moguls like Steve Wynn, he failed to secure the necessary funding for this ambitious venture. The robot ended up a fantasy Michael took to his grave.

HTC One review

noreply@blogger.com (GHG) — Thu, 31 Oct 2013 14:51:00 +0530

TechRadar rating

5/5

For

Great design
Sleek Sense
Innovative camera

Against

No memory card slot
Zoe fills up storage
Alarm too simple

Product Type: Smartphone
Network Band: Quad Band
Wi-Fi: Yes
USB: Yes
Contract Type: SIM-free
Built-in Flash: Yes
Cellular Data Connectivity Technology: EDGE, GPRS, HSPA+
GPS Receiver: Yes
Multi-SIM Supported: No
Integrated TV Tuner: No
Product Family: One
Cellular Generation: 4G
Cellular Network Supported: GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900, WCDMA 850, WCDMA 900, WCDMA 1900, WCDMA 2100, LTE 800, LTE 1800, LTE 2600
Rear Camera Resolution: 4 Megapixel
Front Camera: Yes
Phone Style: Bar
Colour: Black
Brand Name: HTC
Screen Size: 11.9 cm (4.7")
Screen Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Weight (Approximate): 143.0 g
Touchscreen: Yes
Bluetooth: Yes
Wi-Fi Standard: IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Operating System Version: Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean
Realtone: Yes
Radio Tuner Type: FM
Call Features: Call Log, Call Waiting, Call Holding, Call Timer, Caller ID, Conference Call
Multi-touch Screen: Yes
Height: 137.4 mm
Width: 68.2 mm
Depth: 9.3 mm
Operating System: Android
Manufacturer: High Tech Computer Corp
Product Name: One Smartphone
Product Line: One
Screen Type: LCD
Manufacturer Part Number: 99HTT009-00
Manufacturer Website Address: http://www.europe.htc.com
Marketing Information: Your home screen. Your world. With HTC BlinkFeed™ on your phone, you're never out of touch with your world. All your favorite content is streamed live onto one screen. If it's happening now, you'll find it on your home screen.
Awesome camera. Awesome imaging tools. Get perfect images with one-press continuous shooting, VideoPic, and a camera that captures 300% more light.
Slim phone. Fat sound. Dual frontal stereo speakers are teamed with powerful amplifiers, so everyone can hear what you're hearing. Share music, share videos, share games-and share them loudly.
Limited Warranty: 1 Year
Touchscreen Type: Capacitive

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 review

noreply@blogger.com (GHG) — Thu, 31 Oct 2013 14:47:00 +0530

TechRadar rating

4.5/5

For

Fast and smooth
Great battery
Full HD display
4G

Against

Tricky to hold
Expensive
S Pen still limited
Tacky plastic rear

See Best Deals

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 review

Smarter, longer, faster, something else-er... this is an evolution and a half

By John McCann October 4th

22 comments

Page 1 of 14Introduction

Recommended award

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is looking to continue in the same vein as the original Galaxy Note and Galaxy Note 2, offering you a phone which could almost be mistaken for a tablet and wants you to believe it's both.
Let's get one thing straight before we dive into this review though, the Galaxy Note 3 is only going to appeal to a narrow segment of users, it's certainly not going to have the broad appeal of the Galaxy S4, nor catch the eye of the fashion-conscious iPhone 5S purchaser.

Ratings in depth

The Note 3 isn't pretending to be anything it's not. It knows it's a big, some may say huge, smartphone and Samsung understands that form factor won't be for everyone.
That said, with big size comes big price, and the Galaxy Note 3 will set you back a wallet-busting £600 (around $950, AU$1,000) SIM-free.
The hefty price tag can be softened if you choose to pick the Note 3 up on a two year contract, but you'll still be paying a relatively high amount a month for the privilege - upwards of £35 per month in the UK if you want a free phone.
In terms of competition there's not a great deal which compares to the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, but its closest competitor is currently the Sony Xperia Z Ultra which boasts a massive 6.4-inch which dwarfs even this handset.

A quick glance over the Galaxy Note 3 and it does exactly what we thought it would do: takes over the mantle as the world's most powerful smartphone, although the advantage is a lot smaller this time.
First up we have to mention the display - it's grown again since the 5.5-inch offering on the Note 2 to a palm busting 5.7 inches complete with a full HD, 1080 x 1920 Super AMOLED display.
That's the same resolution as the Galaxy S4, but as the screen is larger on the Galaxy Note 3 the pixel count isn't as great at 386ppi, so it's not quite as pin sharp as its smaller brother. It still looks pretty impressive though - and so it should for the price Samsung is asking.
We're still waiting for Samsung to embrace the full metal chassis we've enjoyed on the HTC One and the iPhone 5, but it is trying something slightly different with the Note 3.
The Galaxy Note 3 has retained the metal frame from the Galaxy S4 running around the edge of the device providing a rigid body and a more premium look, but it's on the rear where Samsung has tried something new.

Lay the Note 3 face down, take a quick glance at the handset and it appears the rear is made of leather.
It isn't, of course, it's that famous plastic Samsung is so fond off. The finish is textured to give it the appearance of leather and this actually provides some much needed grip.
Those stitches running round the outside of the back cover? Well that's just a pattern formed in the plastic. It may not be everyone's cup of tea and it looks a bit tacky upon closer inspection, but the Note 3 does feel like a solid, well built device.

On the plus side the plastic cover can be removed giving you access to the Note 3's sizable 3,200mAh battery as well as the microSD slot which is cleverly stacked on top of the microSIM port - allowing Samsung to save some space.
Somehow Samsung has managed to make the Galaxy Note 3 slightly smaller than its predecessor, measuring 151.2 x 79.2 x 8.3 mm. That's still quite a sizable device, but considering it's got a slightly larger display, beefier processor and more powerful 13MP camera it's an impressive feat.
Those of you blessed with smaller palms will still struggle to hold the Note 3 in one hand, especially when typing is involved, but thanks to its reduced weight (it's 168g, down from 183g on the Note 2) it's certainly the most manageable Note smartphone to date.

The sheer size of the Galaxy Note 3 means you'll be constantly shuffling it up and down your palm as you try and reach the volume rocker and power/lock keys located towards the top on the left and right sides of the handset and the menu keys below the screen.
While the buttons are responsive, we found we tended to employ our second hand to help us out when moving from the power/lock key down to the home, menu and back buttons.
Under the hood of our review unit sat an insanely powerful 2.3GHz quad-core processor, although a select few markets will be treated to an octa-core option which houses two quad-core chips.

You also get 3GB of RAM and the option of 32GB or 64GB of internal storage in the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, while the latest version of Google's operating system - Android 4.3 Jelly Bean - runs merrily on top of all this.
From the front you'll note there's a pleasingly slender bezel running down either side of that monster 5.7-inch display, while below you get the customary physical home key flanked by two touch keys - menu on the left and back on the right.
You can't see the touch keys when the Note 3 is idle, as their backlights are only displayed when you unlock the handset or tap the area they're located in.

They are incredibly responsive though, and you don't have to worry about getting your finger right on the logo, the area of recognition is wide enough to pick up even the most misguided stabs.
Apart from the questionable leather-effect rear the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 offers up little in terms of design. Sure it looks a little more premium than the Galaxy Note 2, and it does feel well made - but at the end of the day it's a little uninspiring.
Those will petite palms or a penchant for skinny jeans will struggle with the size of the Note 3, but if you've been taken with its predecessors then you'll be happy to hear this is the best looking Note smartphone to date.

Best Movies of 2013

noreply@blogger.com (GHG) — Thu, 31 Oct 2013 14:37:00 +0530

1Man of Steel

+15Absolutely amazingly epic and immensely entertaining. When it comes to such an iconic and loved character it's hard to please everyone. But oh boy, this is the one I've been waiting for! Where do I even start? Visually stunning and full of carnage. Krypton is depicted beautifully. Loved the tone and pacing of the film. The soundtrack is definitely one of Hans Zimmer's best, it's incredible. Superbly crafted action sequences and spectacle. A joy to watch from start to finish. It has become a favorite and will be viewed many times to come. Also, Faora in Man of Steel is undoubtedly one of the best female villains. All in all, it's a super exciting and intense movie with excellent performances and is surely amongst the top of the best superhero and action movies.

thumbs upthumbs down

+29I was actually pretty disappointed in Man of Steel...Oh Well maybe one day they'll get it right

tommy32

+17Iron Man 3 is a good movie, but the storyline was just too predictable (except for who the Mandarin really is. ) But Man of Steel on the other hand, had real characters, a good storyline and not as much unnecessary humor.

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2Iron Man 3

+35Bigger, better, funnier and yet the darkest of all three Iron Man movies. The acting is top notch, especially from Robert Downey Jr who brings his A game for this explosive finale. The action scenes are brilliantly well-crafted and the soundtrack is great. Even when the action isn't present there's a lot to enjoy in Iron Man 3.

+20Please get "Warm Bodies, "A Good Day to Die Hard", "Oz the Great and Powerful", and "The Last Stand" out from in front of this movie. They deserve no such grace.

BKAllmighty

+18Third time's the charm in this high octane fuelled, action packed rollercoaster of a ride. You come for the splosions but stay for Robert Downey Jr's witty and charismatic performance.

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3Despicable Me 2

+25The most awesome movie EVER! It deserves to be on the top of the list!

+20This deserves to be in number 1 or number 2. VERY FUNNY movie. VERY VERY nice storyline and very diverse audience target. It can be enjoyed by kids, teenagers and adults and even oldies can appreciate the movie.

rampelstiltskintribalkingston

+22Great movie for kids and adults.It has comedy, romance, and some action too!

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4Fast & Furious 6

+38Great movie & series!

+24One of the best of the year! Insanely fun and entertaining with amazing action and humor. Extremely well-filmed and directed. Luke Evans was a great and menacing villain. Loved every single minute of it and will surely watch it over and over again. "THEY GOT A TANK! "

+21AWESOME Movie! Deserves to be on this list!

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5Star Trek: Into Darkness

+23This sequel to 2009's Star Trek reboot is even better than the first. More room for character development, fantastic action set pieces, Benedict Cumberbatch. Need I say more?

thumbs upthumbs down

+14Star Trek Into Darkness has it all! Everything works perfectly. The acting is just as great as in the reboot and maybe even better. But the addition of Benedict Cumberbatch has added it to a whole new level. Incredible action scenes and awesome soundtrack. The entire film is just a visual marvel with heart and soul. A movie to watch from start to finish on multiple viewings.

+14If you don't think this is the best movie of the year then you obviously haven't seen it. The fact that Man of Steel (Relentless action, Lois Lane always knows where Superman is, etc.) and Iron Man 3 (so many plot holes you couldn't fit a tooth pick through them) are higher than this is beyond me... I've lost faith in humanity..

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6The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

+48This movie is awesome, remember that part when Jennifer Lawrence... Oh wait, you can't remember cause it HASN'T EVEN COME OUT YET!

+27IT HASN'T EVER COME OUT YET AND IT'S RANKED 10TH!
THE WOLVERINE AND THE WORLD'S END SHOULD BE HIGHER THAN THIS!

+11! The book was amazing, and I'm so excited to FINALLY watch the movie. It's going to be amazing! Can't wait.

zebra10101

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7Monsters University

+17Feeling nostalgic about this one

vriskaserket

+4Pixar has yet to disappoint me!

This prequel was superb! It really builds up the background for Monsters Inc. So many questions that I had from the first movie were answered in this.

Great visuals, voice acting, and plot; it wasn't at all cheesy or predictable. A perfect movie for the family and kids, or even the occasional reminiscing teen

CharmCaster5

+9Although it is a kids movie is way better than Man of steel in my opinion

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8Pacific Rim

+19The giant fanbase and internet craze over this movie told me that this movie was something to watch. So I watched it. And it was ' awesome. Usually, movies with this theme have a poor storyline that falls apart in the first half. However, Pacific Rim managed to keep it, along with extreme action that makes you want to jump off your seat and start imitating the Gypsy.

+13Pacific Rim Is the best for me.. Full of Clash! :D

+10The movie this year! It has one of the most amazing actions scenes! Id love to see it again n the soundtrack is just awesome! Best movie of 2012

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9World War Z

+8What is awesomest then a zombie apocalypse movie that actually shows the beginning of an apocalypse with brad Pitt! Best zombie film and movie in 2013 ever!

I think there should be a sequel to it. That is how good this movie is. The sequel should be how they fight the plague bit by bit. They should also show where the plague had come from and who spread it.

2nd favourite film of all time! The thrill of it and the atmosphere and idea is extra ordinary and the soundtrack by muse is just perfect!

LukeBlundell

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10The Wolverine

+13Number 1 without a doubt

+6One moment Mr.Jackman was singing like a girl in Les Miserables and now he is in one of the best action movies of the year!

+6This movie was awesome.It kept me off my seat the whole entire time!

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Best Video Games of 2013

noreply@blogger.com (GHG) — Thu, 31 Oct 2013 14:35:00 +0530

The Top Ten

Your List

TheTopTens List

1Grand Theft Auto 5

+380I love Grand Theft Auto very much but I'm surprised that call of duty and halo didn't make it on. Now Grand Theft Auto is very unique because nothing comes close to it (Saints Row doesn't feel the same as Grand Theft Auto).

+270Open world, new cars, featuring everything possible, good graphics, Improved overall car handling, no more boat-like when turning...

+228Oh my god, the best series of games has possibly the best game in the world added to it. Rockstar will do well to follow up Grand Theft Auto IV and San Andreas. But definitely excited about Grand Theft Auto V

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2The Last of Us

+112You're guys crazy if this game isn't number 1 or 2, I mean It has awesome graphics, awesome gameplay and I'm sure it will have an amazing campaign.
This game is gonna be a hundred times better than Grand Theft Auto V, it should be on the top of the list with BioShock Infinite

+83The only reason this isn't #1 is because it's exclusive.

If this were multiplat, it would be #1 no doubt. This is not just game of the year, it's game of the generation.

Don't get me wrong, I cannot wait for Grand Theft Auto V. That will be an incredible experience. But is it something NEW? Not really, it's just really big. The Last of Us is an entirely new concept in that no zombie (I know they're infected, not zombies but same concept) game before has focused so much on story.

Naughty Dog is the pinnacle of gaming this generation. Everything about TLoU is phenomenal. The gameplay is smooth, fun, exciting, and much more varied than in any other shooter. The graphics are among the best this gen has seen. The story is indescribable. Yes, the premise has been done before, but the way and manages to convey the story is something that MUST be experienced first hand to really appreciate it and understand why this game is so good.

Hell, even the multiplayer is damn addicting.
It's a shame this isn't at least up there with Grand Theft Auto. It sure as hell beats AC and BS:I in my book.

+11I have had the honor of completing both Grand Theft Auto V and The Last of Us within one week and I can testify as an unbiased entity that Last of Us is the best game I have ever played followed by Grand Theft Auto V. Now I know that TLOS is exclusive and that is the reason it is lagging behind Grand Theft Auto but believe me when I say it: TLOS is the best complete gaming experience you can ever hope for; this coming from a guy who had the best gaming week in his life with the top two games. Other games are in the upper echelon as well but these two are playing a different sport altogether, forget the same league.

As it stands, if it were a toss up between Grand Theft Auto V and TLOS. I would give TLOS the nudge 10 out of 10 times. In terms of Gameplay, TLOS eclipses Grand Theft Auto even though the possibilities are endless. But TLOS accentuates its strengths and sticks by them. There are minute intricacies which gamers tend to look over but TLOS compelled them to take notice. Eg. Anyone who has played will maintain in no uncertain terms that the trivial segment where Ellie and Joel see a Giraffe and the enthusiasm on her face just protrudes onto you. Grand Theft Auto on the other hand is almost as competent when it comes to creating a connection between the player and the three characters and the experience is surreal. There are so many things going on that the myriad will leave you befuddled. It's like that buffet spread at your favourite restaurant, you just don't know what you want to eat first. But Grand Theft Auto's modus operandi is what is usurped by Last of Us in terms of the sheer storyline driven mentality. The intensity of emotional involvement is unprecedented and the pontificated gameplay as opposed to Grand Theft Auto's vast options act as the clincher. As Bruce Lee once said: 'I don't fear the 1000 moves you practice one time, I am afraid of the one move you practice a thousand times'; in case you haven't realised it yet, TLOS is the latter.

As far as the storyline goes, I don't think it's even a competition really. TLOS snatches the trophy and then some. The emotions on the faces of the characters transfer on to the controller. I still haven't gotten over that ending (Whoosh! ). Grand Theft Auto V is close enough in terms of continuity but the fact that it is trodden territory gives it an early disadvantage right away. If it weren't for that though, if Rockstar (who according to me is the Naughty Dog of cross-platform gaming) absolutely came up with a nerve-wracking experience then it would have given TLOS a run for its money.

The only aspect where Grand Theft Auto outshines TLOS for me is the character switch element. You can effortlessly change between two characters at almost any given point of time (unless you f'd up somehow, like being wanted) is the coup-de-grace for the game but in all honestly that isn't good enough to clinch the zenith of the podium for me.

Once again, this is my perspective and solely my opinion. Keeping all of that aside, indubitably this has been the best couple of weeks for me as a gamer. I know comparisons will always rise and I will always try to look at both sides of the weighing scale but for now, I am too busy reveling in the glory that is TLOS and Grand Theft Auto V.

Hopefully there are sequels or prequels or whatever quels floats their boats. Naughty Dog, Rockstar give your self a Barry Horowitz-esque pat on the back and a cookie. You deserve it, oh and thank you.

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3Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag

+155Come on, at least should be in top 10! M/_

+136The one and only game which inspired me a lot!
This is the best game in the world...

It has the best storyline ever in gaming industries...

Hit Thumbs up if you guys agree with this

skandan12

+87The best game ever in the world!

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4BioShock Infinite

+84Easily the number 1 game of 2013, I think this game would receive the same respect half-life 2 get and will be remembered by gamers all around the world as the greatest game of all time because of the gameplay and deep story, immersing atmosphere that became bioshock series' trademark

+54Although it's already obvious why everyone loves this game, I feel the need to say something different. The reason why I feel like this game should be the best of 2013 is that it goes above and beyond expectations. We all know that GTAV will have more vehicles, more missions, etc. But Bioshock Infinite goes above and beyond, it doesn't just give us a good story, it was able to take on new mechanics that not only are new to the series, but to the FPS genre in general. It's a beautiful game, with even more beautiful visuals and this game finally gave us an ending its previous games couldn't, which in my opinion, is more than enough reason to see why this game is the best of 2013.

+33Every great game had a massive thing that no other game of the same genre had: Half-Life (1 and 2) had a extremely awesome way to present you a story, you know, without cutscenes and all of that, it was purely gameplay.
The Elder Scrolls saga have an massive liberty...
Grand Theft Auto is pure fun.

But BioShock Infinite... Oh, BioShock Infinite has an amazing story and an amazing way to see it. The combat is fun (not THAT fun, but it makes it work), the characters are amazing, and the story is the best in a lot of years. It has flaws, as an excessive amount of combat (at least in my case, I wanted to shoot a little less, but other people will think it's alright), but however it always manage to make a compelling gameplay always directed by an amazing story. Hurrah, Irrational Games!

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5Watch Dogs

+93Will probably be absolutely amazing. How the hell is crysis 3 up here

+71This is an epic game.. You control stuff with your cell phone how cool is that?

+62Seriously it's not even in the top 10 list! It's story, gameplay, action, adventure is all epic.. And even the graphics is amazing!

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6FIFA 14

+100Can't wait for FIFA 14

+83This is a chance for a person who doesn't play football, to have the feeling to be on the pitch. Fabulous, realistic graphics. Feel the game!

+70Dopest most realistic game out there a feel me?!

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7Minecraft

+93Minecraft offers a unique game-play experience in a 16bit sandbox RPG. The open-ended style of Minecraft has drawn millions of players and allows for much user-created content.

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+72BEST GAME IN THE UNIVERSE! I BET THAT ALIENS PLAY THE GAME! EVERYONE LOVES THE GAME! MINECRAFT IS SO SUPER COOL! I"M NOT JUST SAYING THAT! BEST GAME EVER

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+70Minecraft is the best in the world I don't know why it's not number 1😜

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8Call of Duty: Ghosts

+67How is it 38. Just because it's Call of Duty it should be lower. When a new one comes out everyone wants to get it. Long lines ok storylines but great online play.

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+41Looks like it'll be a good game, from the trailers. Finally leaving the Modern Warfare storyline.

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klGrime

+33Well, the first point is that the story of all the call of duty's games is awesome, I really like how the graphics paint a incredible gameplay and story. I think that the story should be played in a movie. It's a good choice like Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag, and Battlefield 4.

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9Tomb Raider

+90No. 8? Excuse me! This is eventually/currently the best game of 2013. How can anybody vote for Grand Theft Auto V before even releasing?... Don't you know what happened with Aliens: Colonial Marines. Tomb Raider gave me one of the best gaming gaming experience I've ever had, of course except skyrim and Batman Series but this showed me a greatest example of a power of a woman and what is the real meaning of "The Hero".

+46Come on no:5 are you serious! This is like the one of best game I have ever played. I loved Lara croft and her fight for survival. The graphics of the game is breathe taking. The story line is powerful. People you should really buy this game and check it out your self that a women can really be powerful and a hero

+40Tomb Raider explores the intense and gritty origin story of Lara Croft and her ascent from a frightened young woman to a hardened survivor. Lara must fight to unravel the dark history of a forgotten island to escape its relentless hold.

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10Battlefield 4

+71EA better not mess this up...

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+33Just awesome, nothing more too say. One of the best battlefield games. Also the best Fps games ever.

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+22Laugh out loud How is this below Call of Duty Ghosts. I'm sorry but I like both Call of Duty and Battlefield but Battlefield took 2013 in my opinion, no question.

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