Geek + Music + Food = Blog

My Old Navy Sample Share, Courtesy of Crowdtap!

2013-05-22T23:19:00.000-04:00

So I was recently selected to participate in a sample share at Old Navy, courtesy of Crowdtap and, of course, Old Navy. I was given two coupons, one for me and the other for a friend, each good for a free top and bottom from ON's Active collection. So my sister and I made the trip there today... and found some cool stuff too. But I'm posting this to give you more info than that, so here it is, haha!

The Store

Everything was very clean and well organized. Things were easy to find, and departments were clearly marked.. (That may not seem like a big thing, but I've been in stores where that was not the case, and you had to guess where you were by the products in your vicinity. Not really fun or efficient.)

Employees

Everyone at the store was pleasant and willing to help. They all seemed like they got along with each other well too, which is always nice to see.

Selection

The store we went to (in Freeport, ME) had a moderately small selection size- and product-wise. I'm a plus-size woman, and my sister is pretty much the opposite. And it seemed like most of the clothing was sized small - XL... in other words, right in between our sizes. We managed to find a couple of things in our sizes, but it would have been nice to have more to choose from.

Overall Opinion

Although the clothes are a little more expensive than the clothes I usually buy, I like their clothing. My sister and I had fun checking out the store, so that was cool. Taking everything into account, I would shop with Old Navy again... especially if I could find more in my size.

Here of some photos of my sister and I taken during our Sample Share experience!

Me, trying on my Cali Slub and Yoga Pants

My sister trying on Running Shorts and Cami.

My sister snapping a photo of us in one of the store's mirrors, haha.

Thanks Crowdtap and Old Navy for this opportunity!

Questions and comments are always welcome, read, and replied to...

So go ahead and leave me something!

And as always...

Thanks for reading! (^_^)

Keurig® Vue® House Party: MISSION COMPLETE!

2012-09-24T21:21:00.001-04:00

So the party was a big success! Everyone enjoyed themselves, and I couldn't be happier! I love my new Keurig® Vue®, and it was definitely a hit with my guests. What they seemed to love the most about it was its versatility.

For example, some of my guests were not big coffee or
sweet tea fans, so when I showed them that you could use the Vue® to get hot water to use for tea bags or hot cocoa packets, they were impressed! I also put travel mugs out so guests could see how well they fit under the Vue® spout. Everyone liked the cold brew options as well. I can't wait to try some iced coffee for myself... | didn't get a chance during the party because l was too busy being a good hostess, haha.

Keurig® sent me a free Vue® for hosting the party (thanks Keurig!), and House Party supplied me with a variety of Vue® coffee/tea packs to offer at the party, as well as some neat party supplies and a Keurig® Vue® apron! And since I was out of printer ink and couldn't print out the neat decorations from House Party's website, I recycled my Keurig® Vue® box and made my own!

We had a LOT of different snacks to munch on as well. We had some yummy Dancing Deer cookies that came in my party pack, as well as some Chips Ahoy and Newman's Own cookies. I made a bunch of loaded potato skins, pizza bites, and some ramen salad. My friend Heather made gluten-free cupcakes and gluten free/vegan muffins (both were DELICIOUS), and my mom made spinach artichoke dip (NOM!). We ate all of this great stuff during our viewing of The Hunger Games!

And the end of the party, everyone got to bring a goodie bag home with them, containing some "after coffee" mints, a pamphlet about Vue®, and a 50% off voucher for a new Vue® from Keurig® all supplied by House Party, as well as some chocolate-dipped spoons and green tea I supplied myself. Everyone like their goodie bags and went home happy and well fed. I would say this was all-in-all a very successful party!

Here are some photos from before and during the party!

The arrival of my Keurig® Vue®!

Such an exciting morning, haha!

Brand new out of the box. Even got a nifty sampler pack!

Making my first coffee in my Vue®...

... looks good!

The arrival of the party pack from House Party!

Look at all of the goodies!

Pretty sweet haul for my Vue® Party!

Party Day!

The coffee/tea bar.

Some of the goodie bags!

Eat ALL the noms! haha. ;-)

The aftermath of the first group of coffee/snack consumers, lol.

Everyone snacking and watching The Hunger Games.

Thanks Keurig® and House Party!

Thanks to everyone who made this an AWESOME house party! Can't wait to get the opportunity to host another one someday!

Questions and comments are always welcome, read, and replied to...

So go ahead and leave me something!

And as always...

Thanks for reading! (^_^)

My Keurig® Vue® Party Is Happening Tomorrow!

2012-09-22T23:35:00.002-04:00

That's right, the big day is tomorrow!

So remember, if you follow me on Twitter (@shantellevye), I will be popping on to tweet randomly during the party on September 23rd with party updates and photos, so be sure to check it out!

The official House Party hashtag is #VueParty , but you can also use my personal party tag, #ShantellesVueParty!

Questions and comments are always welcome, read, and replied to...

So go ahead and leave me something!

And as always...

Thanks for reading! (^_^)

Who's On This Geek's Playlist? - September 2012

2012-09-09T13:03:00.000-04:00

Look at my dad's striped shirt... very 80s. lol! :-)

You may find this a bit amusing actually...

Last week I posted a two hour video on YouTube of the very first live show ever played by the band my father used to be a part of, Illusion (he was the bassist). Since the day I posted it, I've been going to my YouTube Video Manager randomly and listening to songs from the video. And now I'm trying to find a way to convert the songs to MP3 to give my dad for his birthday next month, which means I've been listening to the music even more, haha.

It helps that they played music from bands I enjoy, like Rush, Huey Lewis and the News, Bon Jovi, Styx, and a bunch of others... and that they played the songs well!

So without further ado, here is the video!:

Hope you enjoyed the music!

- By the way, if you happen to have seen one of Illusion's show live at one time, I would love to hear about it, so please leave me a comment! I know my father would appreciate the comments as well, so don't be afraid to leave something. Thanks! (^_^)

Questions and comments are always welcome, read, and replied to...

So go ahead and leave me something!

And as always...

Thanks for reading! (^_^)

This Geek Will Be Hosting a Keurig® Vue® Party This Month!

2012-09-02T14:28:00.000-04:00

You heard me right! Thanks to the wonderful folks at Keurig® and House Party, I am one of 2000 lucky people given the opportunity of hosting a party in my home promoting the new Keurig® Vue® single cup brewing system! Which is perfect for me, because this geek NEEDS her caffeine regularly, haha! So a heads up to my readers: be on the lookout for a special blog post all about the party, along with photos of the events. It should be up sometime after September 23, so be ready for it!

Also, if you follow me on Twitter (@shantellevye), I will most likely be popping on there randomly during the party on September 23rd posting party updates and photos, so be sure to check it out! (The party hashtag is #VueParty.)

It should be a very exciting month, so stay tuned!

Questions and comments are always welcome, read, and replied to...

So go ahead and leave me something!

And as always...

Thanks for reading! (^_^)

Warehouse 13 Season 4 Premiere Almost Live-Blog (SPOILERS)

2012-07-23T23:42:00.000-04:00

Happy Warehouse 13 Season 4 Premiere Day!!!

So I am writing this as the episode airs... or trying to. Maybe more during commercial breaks... or may just end up getting distracted. We'll see, haha.

And holy crap it's starting! Let the feels begin!!

The reactions to the loss of the Warehouse are just heartbreaking. They've already lost so much. Random note though, SOOOO glad Trailer wasn't in the Warehouse when it was destroyed. That dog is just too adorable, haha!

The fact that the Warehouse's destruction pretty much caused world chaos is both expected and unexpected... I mean, we knew that the artifacts could have significant catastrophic effects on their surroundings, so you would expect there to be some crazy stuff happening in the event that so many were destroyed at once. But for some reason the world being in chaos took me by surprise. Extremely scary and sad!

We are only in the first 14 minutes have already presented so many surprises.

Not so surprising, Pete is getting himself into trouble and Artie is being... not strong, haha.

...

Ok, got distracted by the episode (as I thought would happen), so here are my afterthoughts:

After all is said and done, Artie ends up carrying the burden of being the only one to know what could have happened had the Magellen artifact not been found and activated... and knowing that he is the creater of a possible evil in Claudia.

It's wonderful that the Warehouse, Mrs. Fredrick, and H. G. are all back. But it's just horrible that Artie is going to be haunted by the memories of what almost came to pass... and what the future may now hold for poor Claudia, who seems to have finally been pushed off the edge. And who could blame here, after the loss of Jinks. She's already dealt with a lot of loss in her life... grief can do some bad things to people.

I look forward to where this season's events will lead us, and sincerely hope that where we are being led to includes a return to sanity and happiness for Claudia and Artie.

Questions and comments are always welcome, read, and replied to...

So go ahead and leave me something! (Please?)

And as always...

Thanks for reading! (^_^)

Who's On This Geek's Playlist? - June 2012

2012-06-23T17:36:00.002-04:00

Photo taken during my first trip to Boston
with friends this past month. (Proof of my
life outside of the internet.)

Ok, so I have been SUPER lazy about making any entries for this blog. Seems I actually have a life offline (Who knew? haha), so other than filling my Tumblr blog's queue once or twice a week, I haven't contributed much online lately.

During my time away from my computer, I managed to finish the book I have been reading for the past 4 or so months (R. A. Salvatore's The Ghost King), went to Boston for the first time ever (where I defeated my fear of escalators!), and started playing bass guitar again (just a bit... but yay!).

I also started going though and listening to my collection of CDs, which is part of the reason I am FINALLY back to writing for this blog.

So who's on my playlist right now?

Answer: Ben Folds!

Ok, anyone that knows me is probably saying, "Shantelle, he is ALWAYS on your playlists!"

And yes, that is very true. I don't think I have had a playlist that hasn't included at least one Ben Folds song (with or without the Five).

However, the sole reason I am mentioning him now is that I made the random decision last week to listen to his CD Rockin the Suburbs (2001), and I've been listening to random songs from it every day since.

Here are a couple songs from the album. Enjoy!

Hope you enjoyed the music!

Questions and comments are always welcome, read, and replied to...

So go ahead and leave me something! (Please?)

And as always...

Thanks for reading! (^_^)

Just a Random Thought

2012-06-05T16:00:00.001-04:00

I haven't posted in a while... mostly because I was having an intense case of blog-writers block. So here is my random thought for the day:

The way I see it, I have two brains.

One brain is a complete idiot, and is responsible for things like:

Making me almost pull food out of the oven with no oven mitts.
Forcing me to walk into a room 5-6 times before I remember why I was in there in the first place.
Erasing a person’s name from my memory 5 seconds after they introduce themselves.

The other brain is highly intelligent. Its contents vary from person to person, but it’s there.

Sadly, the idiot brain is a control freak and is ALWAYS fighting for command of my thoughts and actions.

My goal in life?

Stamp out the idiot brain.

Thanks for reading my random thought of the day, haha! (^_^)"Cross-section Human B...$16.98 Wayfair

The Last Fringe Friday of the Season; Are You Ready?

2012-05-10T00:22:00.000-04:00

That's right Fringe fans. The Season 4 Finale episode, Brave New World, Pt. 2, will be airing this Friday (May 11th) on FOX, 9/8c.

Part 1 was so amazing/squee-worthy/heartbreaking that you can't even imagine how excited I am for Part 2. And while I'm sad that this is the final episode of the season, I am psyched that we will indeed be getting a Season 5 (mostly thanks to the efforts of Fringe's VERY loyal fans).

I'm curious to see which characters will be definitely be staying with us... or even leaving us in the season finale. I'm also VERY excited to see where the whole return of William Bell is going to lead us... I love that he is back, but it's scary that he is having anything to do with David Robert Jones. And OMFG I can't wait to see what more Olivia does with her abilities, if anything! It was crazy seeing her use her telekinesis in the way that she did. But no matter how this season ends, it will be nice being able to look forward to the next season. And we all know when it comes to Fringe, anything can happen in Season 5, haha!

Questions and comments are always welcome, read, and replied to.

So leave me something! (Please?)

And as always...

Thanks for reading! (^_^)

Who's On This Geek's Playlist? - May 2012

2012-05-01T08:00:00.000-04:00

So I'm surprised I've never mentioned this, but I am a HUGE fan of the Beatles. This has been the case since I was little, but amplified tenfold when I was about 13. So no matter what format I was using to listen to music, whether it was albums, tapes, CDs, or MP3, there has always been a multitude of The Beatles songs on my playlists. This includes their projects after the band broke up.

Recently, I finally acquired a nice collection of Beatles albums, so I have been making lots of use of my turntable. So which of my new-found treasures are getting the most listening to?

The White Album
This is one of my favorites; there are just too many good songs in this album set! Back in the U.S.S.R, Martha My Dear, Blackbird, Glass Onion, Sexy Sadie... just awesome. On the weird side, there is Wild Honey Pie, and the one song that I still haven't gotten too into, Revolution 9. Otherwise, just a terrific album.
Rubber Soul
This was actually the second Beatles album I ever purchase in CD format. Now that I have the album, it's songs have made a comeback onto my playlists again. Some of my favorites on this one include: I've Just Seen A Face, I'm Looking Through You, Run For Your Life, and Think For Yourself. (Doesn't mean I like the rest of the songs any less though, haha!)
Abbey Road
In my opinion, this one is usually a given for ant Beatles fan. I mean, first there is Side 1, with Come Together, Something, Maxwell's Silver Hammer (a surprisingly dark one for Paul), Oh! Darling, I want You... even Octopus's Garden is pretty good, and was actually one of the first Beatles songs I became familiar with as a kid. And the Side 2... Here Comes The Sun... and of course the whole Abbey Road Medley! I've listened to this album so many times and I really don't think I'll ever grow tired of it.
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Yet another awesome collection of songs. Some of my favorites: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band/With A Little Help From My Friends, Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, Fixing A Hole, She's Leaving Home, and probably #1 for me on this album, A Day In The Life. Just hearing the contrast between Paul and John's songwriting styles and how they made it so prevalent in one single song is just intriguing to me.

I love the rest of the Beatles' albums of course, but these are the ones I've been listening to the most as of late. Now here are some music videos for you! (...well, "videos" with music in them, lol.)

A Day In The Life

Abbey Road - The Medley (full)

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

Hope you enjoyed the music!

Questions and comments are always welcome, read, and replied to.

So leave me something! (Please?)

And as always...

Thanks for reading! (^_^)

Video Game Adventures - Diablo III Beta Weekend

2012-04-24T12:15:00.003-04:00

So, Blizzard allowed us Diablo fans to have a sneak peek of Diablo 3 this past weekend, which was pretty neat. The only downside? My computer sucks. I mean, it's only 3 years old, and it's a pretty nice laptop, but it's specs just are not up to par with what is needed to have a proper Diablo 3 gaming experience... which totally blows. But besides that, I'm pretty please with the game itself.

I chose to play a barbarian on single player, and because of my laptop's issues, I only played until he reached level 3. But in that short time, I did develop some likes/dislikes about the game.

LIKES:

The amount of options there are for game view modes, especially that there is an option for windowed mode. So much easier that having to create that option manually, like we had to with D2.
The music in-game is pretty good, at least in New Tristram. I've always like the Tristram music in Diablo 1 and 2, so it's nice seeing that Blizzard kept it around.
The fact that you can choose a male or female version of each character class. It's a little detail, but still a neat one.
The character classes themselves. I actually can't wait to play as a monk!... but I will have to wait until we buy the game.
The inventory is better organized. I also like that when you mouse over an item in your inventory, like weapons or armor, it automatically opens up another little box showing what stats your equipped weapon/armor has. Very convenient!

There are a bunch of other aspects I liked too, but I'm not sure you want to be here forever reading this, lol.

DISLIKES:

Well, there is really only one. The game's start menu music could have been a little better... it's not horrible or anything, but it's just not really grabbing my attention that much. Any other issues have been caused by my own computer's inadequacies.

So in addition to all of the screencaps I threw into this post, I am also giving you a little gameplay video I recorded on my very own computer! Sorry it's a bit laggy... it's not the video, or the game, it's my slow processor. But enjoy anyway! :-)

D3 GAMEPLAY VIDEO:

So yeah, like I said, the game was VERY laggy on my computer. More so here because I was recording my desktop. But it's still pretty cool. Hopefully I have time to save up for a new PC before Blizzard releases the game!

Questions and comments are always welcome, read, and replied to.

So leave me something! (Please?)

And as always...

Thanks for reading! (^_^)

Geek NOMs: Homemade Mocha Coolatta!

2012-04-09T19:51:00.000-04:00

So like any good geek, I love (and NEED) my caffeine, which for me is usually coffee. And when I want coffee, I would rather not have to run to a coffee shop and leave my computering/gaming behind just to get my fix. My solution? Make my my own!

Sure, a pot of coffee is easy enough to make on your own. But when the weather gets warmer, I lean more towards coffee Coolattas from Dunkin Donuts... but that is inconvenient and can get expensive. So when I got my new blender for Christmas, I decided that I needed to solve this problem!
And after much trial and error, I think I finally have this recipe down. So go ahead and try it out, and see if I'm right!

Homemade Mocha Coolatta

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups of crushed ice

1/2 water

3/4 milk (I used soy milk for mine)

Sugar, however much you would usually put in your coffee

1 tablespoon instant coffee

1-2 tablespoons cocoa powder (optional… for awesome mocha!)

Directions:

Put all ingredients in a blender, and… blend, lmao.

Yes, it sounds simple... but that is because it is, haha. Not to mention convenient, because it's made from stuff I always have in my kitchen. And this recipe makes enough to fill my ginormous mug! Awesome, right? Now off to drink my coffee...

Did you try the recipe? Let me know how it came out! Found some ways to make it better? Then send those ideas my way! (Please?)

And as always...

Thanks for reading!! (^_^)

Light It Up Blue for Autism Awareness!

2012-04-02T13:25:00.003-04:00

As part of Autism Speaks "Light It Up Blue" campaign, we will be changing out our regular front porch bulb for a blue one to promote Autism Awareness. I am hoping that some of my readers, new and old, will do the same. Want to learn more? Visit the Light It Up Blue website at http://www.lightitupblue.org !

I am also hoping to help raise at least $100 by the end of the month for Autism Speaks. Visit my campaign page (http://www.lightitupblue.org/Markslist/campaign/display/profile.do?campaignId=24003) or go to the link below if you would like to help out:

Donate $10 or more to Autism Speaks.

Has Autism touched your life? I would love to see your stories in the comments!

Thanks for reading, and please don't forget to Light It Up Blue!

Mad Men Season 5 Premiere House Party!

2012-03-27T02:29:00.002-04:00

So I have to say, the party was a LOT of fun! I spent a lot of my time making food and taking photos, but for me, that is part of the fun with my parties. My Dad had fun playing with the masks, and insisted on my taking photos of him with each of the male character masks, lol.

I had seen that AMC was supposed to be playing a Season 4 marathon of Mad Men in the hours before the party... and was kind of disappointed to find that it didn't happen. Luckily, Netflix saved the day with that part of the festivities.

I think one of my favorite parts of the whole party was dressing up in 60s garb... although my hair was being a pain in the you-know-what and didn't want to curl (FAIL). But I still ended up looking presentable, lol. As for everyone else, if there had been a contest, I'm pretty sure my friend Heather would have won it. She look awesome!

As for food, I was able to make the chicken a la king and the virgin pina coladas without a hitch, and everyone seemed to enjoy everything. I wish I had gotten the chance to make the Butter Cake a la Mode... it sounded fraking delicious! I'm just going to have to create another event just to make it for everyone, haha,

Everyone loved the neat stuff in the the "House Party" Party Pack that I received from HouseParty.com, the mask being the biggest hit. A couple guests even took door hangers home with them! So glad I got the opportunity to receive such a neat party pack. (^_^)

The best part of the party? The premiere of course! The highlights for me:

Pete running into the wall and giving himself a bloody nose. It was hilarious, and I'm not a fan of Pete... so it was somewhat satisfying, lol.
Lane's dancing reenactment for Joan of the events at Don's birthday party. Both because it was highly amusing to see his character like that, and because of the slight creepiness of this moment when thinking of this actor's character on Fringe. (Watch Fringe and you will understand... or just go watch Fringe because I tell you so...)
Megan singing Zou Bisou Bisou to Don at his "surprise" birthday party. Mostly because the song had everyone at my party laughing and saying, "WTF is happening right now?", haha.

I probably missed a whole bunch more because I was having fun chatting with everyone and tweeting about the party and show on Twitter, but the episode is already online, so I definitely plan on re-watching it!

Anywho, here are some photos from the party, along with a video tour of the Ad Room we set up!

The Decor

The bar top in the living room :-)

The music!

The Ad Room bar.

The entertainment center.

The Ad Room

The party favors.

More of the Ad Room

The living room bar.

The Food

Chicken a la King, rice, and Utz chips & dip.

Deviled eggs.

Utz potato chips and pina coladas.

The Guests Having Fun, lol.

Me, as Joan

Heather :-)

Me!

My Dad as Roger

My Dad as Pete

Dan and I <3

My Dad as Don Draper!

Heather!

Everyone watching the premiere! Yay!

Draping!

Me!

Heather

Heather photo-bombing my Dad's #draping photo, lol.

My Dad

My Mom

Dan


Even the cat got in on it, haha!

A Video Tour of the Ad Room! :-)

Comments are nice, so leave one! (Please and thank you!)

And as always...

Thanks for reading!

Men Men Pre-Premiere Party Post!

2012-03-24T22:55:00.000-04:00

I'm throwing a Season 5 Premiere party for the show Mad Men (On AMC) tomorrow, and I am SUPER psyched! I was lucky enough to win a VERY cool party pack from House Party, which is going to make the party all the more fun. Not to mention that my parents were awesome enough to offer to have the party in their home, use their cable connection to watch the premiere, and decorate their house with a bunch of their neat 60's memorabilia and collectables.

Of course, there is also the premiere itself to be excited for! And since I am the only person in my group of friends and family that watches Mad Men, I am also using this as an opportunity to introduce everyone to the show. Thankfully, AMC will be having a Mad Men marathon all day before the premiere at 9pm, so I won't even have to queue it up on Netflix. Talk about convenient, haha!

That about all I have to say about the event until tomorrow. Expect to see a lot of excitement, photos, and video after tomorrow. And most likely a lot of squeeing on Twitter (Follow me! @shantellevye)

Until then. (^_^)

Leave some comments! I will be sure to reply. (^_^)

And as always...

Thanks for reading!

Happy Pi Day and Albert Einstein's 133rd Birthday!

2012-03-14T14:36:00.002-04:00

In honor of both Pi Day and Albert Einstein's 133rd Birthday, here are some fun facts!

Pi Facts:

Pi is the most recognized mathematical constant in the world. Scholars often consider Pi the most important and intriguing number in all of mathematics.

Pi occurs in hundreds of equations in many sciences including those describing the DNA double helix, a rainbow, ripples spreading from where a raindrop fell into water, superstrings, general relativity, normal distribution, distribution of primes, geometry problems, waves, navigation....
In 1706, an English mathematician introduced the Greek alphabet pi (π) to represent the said value. However, in 1737, Euler officially adopted this symbol to represent the value.

Here is a video with some more facts about Pi!

Now for some fun facts about Albert Einstein!

Einstein Failed his University Entrance Exam

In 1895, at the age of 17, Albert Einstein applied for early admission into the Swiss Federal Polytechnical School (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule or ETH). He passed the math and science sections of the entrance exam, but failed the rest (history, languages, geography, etc.)! Einstein had to go to a trade school before he retook the exam and was finally admitted to ETH a year later.

When Einstein was five years old his father gave him a pocket compass. It was this compass that sparked Einstein’s interest in science. The fact that the compass pointed in the same direction no matter how it was turned made him curious about understanding the force behind it.
Einstein was offered the Presidency of Israel in 1952 but declined it.
After Albert Einstein’s death in 1955 his brain was removed without approval from his family and an autopsy was conducted. Thomas Harvey conducted this autopsy and eventually it was discovered that Einstein’s brain had large portion of glial cells in the region that synthesizes information. Other studies also indicated that Einstein’s brain did not have a particular kind of wrinkle and this allowed the neurons to communicate better with each other.

Here is a full BBC documentary about Albert Einstein:

Questions? Comments? Leave them in the comments section! I always read and reply to them!

And as always...

Thanks for reading!

'The Last Airbender': Why Did I Watch You Again?

2012-03-03T18:22:00.002-05:00

First of all, I am NOT just being a whiny fangirl. I'm usually pretty open when it comes to adaptations of my favorite books/tv shows/etc. into different forms of media. I mean, I loved Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series, but I still gave the TV adaptation, Legend of the Seeker, a chance, and ended up loving that too... although it had very little in common with the books.

Having recently finished Season 1 of Avatar: The Last Airbender, I was excited to finally get to watch the movie. I had heard some griping about it, but I usually ignore others opinions on movies until I have watched them myself. I like to at least give movies a chance.

However...

The Last Airbender ≠ Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Not in any way, shape, or form. It's not just that it was almost NOTHING like the TV show. That was besides the point. The mispronunciation of character names, the not so interesting take on the story, those things bugged me. It was like M. Night Shyamalan didn't even TRY to make a good movie. That is probably not the case, but he kinda failed, and that makes me a little disappointed in him.

The visuals were ok at points... but to tell you the truth, the movie just wasn't memorable. Seriously, If you asked me to tell you something I remembered from the movie right now, I could basically only tell you that how Katara and Sokka found Aang in the movie was nothing like in the show, and that the mispronunciation of Aang and Sokka's names was just stupid and make me want to kick M. Night Shyamalan in the shins.

I'm sorry to be so harsh... Shyamalan has been involved in some pretty good movies (The Sixth Sense, Stuart Little... two movie I liked.). I just wish he had put a little more effort into this one... I was SOOO excited about this movie.

I usually do not like when movies are re-done... best example would be Charlie and the Chocolate Factory... what a mess that was! But I really think if someone decided to re-make The Last Airbender, I would be perfectly fine with it. That is, as long as they didn't screw things up too... then we would be stuck with TWO bad films! Ouch!

Do you think I'm wrong? Right? Just have something to say? Then feel free to leave me a comment! I always read/reply!

Thanks to my friend Amanda for suggesting this topic. (^_^)

And as always...

Thanks for reading!

RIP Davy Jones, 1945 - 2012

2012-02-29T15:21:00.000-05:00

Davy Jones has passed away. This... just... I'm just very sad right now. Here's a link to the story: Davy Jones dies at age 66 in Florida

My younger sister and I used to watch reruns of The Monkees TV show every weekend when we were kids. Such a dorky show, but still one of my favorites to this day. (Still wondering if there are episodes available on DVD somewhere... if anyone out there knows, leave an answer in the comments please. Thanks!) I loved the music most of all, and the Monkees' songs are still a staple in my playlists today.

Davy Jones, you will be missed.

These are some of my favorite videos of Davy with the Monkees.

Daydream Believer

Pleasant Valley Sunday

Valleri

David Thomas "Davy" Jones

30 December 1945 – 29 February 2012

Thoughts and general comments are always read and appreciated. Thank you for reading.

Who's On This Geek's Playlist? - February 2012

2012-02-20T12:03:00.001-05:00

Battlestar Galactica Season 4 Soundtrack

My friend Heather introduced me to Battlestar Gallactica, and if you haven't already seen it, you must do so ASAP! It has to be one of the best Sci-fi shows I have watched. One of the things that won me over, other than the awesome storylines and actors, was the music on the show. Lately, I have been finding myself listening to the Season 4 soundtrack a LOT. Here are a few of my favorites!

Kara Remembers:

Battlestar Sonatica:

All Along The Watchtower:

Hope you enjoyed the music. Let me know what you think in the comments section!

Questions and comments are always welcome, read, and replied to!

And as always...

Thanks for reading!

Hulu Plus Now Available On The Wii! Decisions Decisions...

2012-02-17T12:34:00.000-05:00

Yes, Hulu Plus became available on the Wii as of yesterday. (See here) I was super excited about this, because there are shows available through their service that are not available through Netflix, which I've been using on my Wii for the past year or so. The problem now is, which one should I keep?

The thing is, most people I know fit pretty well into two categories: avid TV show watchers who like movies but when given a choice would usually choose TV, or movie watchers who when given the same choices would choose movies over TV any day.

I do not fall into either of those categories... making the Netflix/Hulu decision kinda tough. I am a huge TV fan, but I love a good movie at least once a week.

I'm pretty sure most of you might know this, but to clarify for those who don't, Netflix has a wider selection of movies than Hulu Plus, while Hulu Plus seems to have a better selection of newer TV shows. However, in signing up for the two week free trial of Hulu Plus, I have noticed that when it comes to Syfy Channel shows they have more available than Netflix, which I like... but they don't even make full seasons available, which I find very annoying.

I also thought that if you had a subscription to Hulu Plus, you wouldn't have to see commercials during the shows. I was wrong... and to tell you the truth, that's a misstep on Hulu's part. I understand having commercials play during free selections for non-subscribers, but if I was giving them $7.99/month, I would want those ads either completely gone, or maybe have only one ad played before the show/movie you select even starts.

On the plus side for Hulu, their video quality is a lot better than Netflix, even on the Wii. So they have that going for them at least.

Still, I have a dilemma: Should I keep Netflix and cancel Hulu Plus after my 2 week trial? Or should I get rid of Netflix and stick with Hulu Plus? Both cost only $7.99/month, a pittance compared to the price of even basic cable. But until I find work, I can only afford one. GAH! I hate decisions! :-\

Well, I will be thinking about it. I'll let you all know how that turns out in two weeks time, haha. :-)

Have any input about this small but annoying issue? Or just have something to say? Leave me a comment!

And as usual...

Thanks for reading! :-)

Tech For The Not-So-Techie: DIY Virus/Malware Removal

2012-02-13T13:56:00.001-05:00

Oh noes is right!

So you have malware on your computer, and you just want it to go away. Problem is, you don't want to have to bring your computer to a repair shop... not if you don't have to, at least. Well, here's a little "how-to" to get you on your way. Hopefully after you follow these steps, you computer will be good to go!

First, the prep work. Lets get the computer into safe mode and build a toolkit for ourselves!

Boot your computer into Safe Mode with Networking. Not sure how to do this? Here are some links to directions straight from Microsoft. :
Open a browser, and download Rkill. Here is a link it the download site:
RKill (Click on Rkill.exe Download Link)
Download and install Malwarebytes Anti-malware. Here's the download site:
Download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free from Download.com
Download and save Trend Micro HouseCall. Don't worry, this is the last thing I will ask you to download, haha. Here is the download link:
Trend Micro HouseCall Free Online Virus Scan

Ok, now that you have all of the tools you need, lets get to the actual malware removal part!

Be sure you are still in safe mode at this point!

Run Rkill.exe. Some command prompt screens will probably pop up and close on their own. Don't be scared, this is ok!
Close the Notepad document that opens after Rkill is finished doing it's thing.
Open Malwarebytes
Select "Perform full scan" and click the scan button. The scan may take quite a while, so I suggest finding something to keep you occupied.
When the scan finishes, click on the "Delete All" button, and then close Malwarebytes.
Run Trend Micro HouseCall. (HouseCallLauncher.exe)
It will download some updates when you open it, don't let it worry you. Then just accept the license agreement and click next.
Click the little "Settings" links, underneath the giant "Scan Now" button.
Select "Full system scan", then click the "Ok" button.
Click the "Scan Now" button.
Again, this could take a while, so find something to read, or clean your house, or something. :-)
If anything is found, proceed to click the "Fix Now" button. If not, just close Trend Micro HouseCall.

All better! Yay!

If HouseCall asks you to restart your computer, and do so. If not, restart the computer yourself.

You may be wondering why I had you scan with HouseCall after you already scanned with Malwarebytes. Well, I have a couple of reasons.

Malwarebytes checks primarily for malware and spyware/ HouseCall checks for some of that too, but also for nasty viruses.
While that may seem a little redundant, I like to use both just to be on the safe side. There have been a couple instances where one caught something the other didn't catch. Think of it like getting a second opinion from someone who is not your primary doctor. :-)

There you go! Your computer should hopefully be fine now. And you avoided a computer bill. Congratulations!

Questions and comments are always welcome and appreciated.

Yes, I read them! And yes, I will reply to you!

And as always...

Thanks for reading! :-)

RIP Whitney Houston, 8/9/1963 – 2/11/2012

2012-02-12T12:58:00.000-05:00

As almost everybody knows already, Whitney Houston passed away yesterday. This news saddened me for a few reasons, and I just felt the need to voice some of them here.

First off, I loved her music as a kid, so I feel like a piece of that time is just gone. I remember when I was little, I would watch The Preacher's Wife around Christmastime on Disney Channel. I always sang along with the music in that movie... :-(

And when Prince of Egypt came out, Disney would play Mariah Carey and Whitney's duet "When You Believe" from that movie A LOT, and though I never got to see the movie, I LOVED that song. I still listen to it on YouTube every one in a while.

On top of that there is all over the other wonder music that I have grown up with that came from her. I don't even have to give you a list... even people who didn't enjoy her music know at least ONE song of hers. That kinda says something in itself...

What make this passing the saddest is watching someone as talented as Whitney go down the horrible path they did, and never have the chance to make a true comeback. In the back of my mind I was always hoping that she would someday be able to clean up, get her life back in order, and come back on top like the true diva she was meant to be. And maybe, if that happened, she could become a source of inspiration for others who have ended up on the same road she was on... to show them they CAN get better, and they CAN have their lives and dreams back.

But that never happened for her. So I grieve not only for her, but for the chance she never got in the end.

Rest in peace Whitney, you will be missed. :-(

Whitney Elizabeth Houston, August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012

Comments welcome and appreciated.

Birthdays Are Awesome!

2012-02-12T01:33:00.001-05:00

So today was my birthday (yay!), and the three things I wanted to do to celebrate were hang out with my family and Dan, watch some random stuff on Netflix with them, and have some pizza and cheese breadsticks from Pizza Hut. How did that go? Surprisingly better than I hoped!

First, my parents were totally down with just watching whatever I wanted on Netflix... they really just felt like staying home anyway. And second, Pizza Hut was just AWESOME. Why?

Well, Dan placed our order online... and when he recieved his confirmation email the order was a bit messed up. Just a few toppings missing... but at the time, not awesome. So Dan calls the Pizza Hut he placed the order at and asks if they could fix it, and they just did it, no questions asked. Problem averted, everybody is happy. Not to mention when we got the pizza, it was nomalicious!

But what kinda made my day? I happened to post this Tweet on my Twitter:

And then lo and behold...

I mean, seriously, talk about great customer relations! I know, I'm a dork, but that just made me smile. I mean, it's not like you see Netflix going and wishing me a Happy Birthday... I am a fan of Netflix and all, but yeah.

As for watching stuff, we watched the episode of The Twilight Zone with William Shatner in it... you know, the one where he's in a plane and sees some gremlin thing outside tearing the wing apart... a classic! Next we watched the movie Toys (stars Robin Williams, Joan Cusack, LL Cool J), which was kinda funny, and very weird. And last we watched the Star Trek movie from 2009. It was my second time seeing it, loved it just as much this time around, haha!

So that was my birthday!

Thanks to everyone out there who made this the best one yet... group hug! *aww*

Comments are appreciated... and always replied to! (^_^)

And as always...

Thanks for reading!!

Update: Not So Sad About That Broken Nintendo DS Now...

2012-02-08T19:37:00.002-05:00

So remember my last post... the one where my Nintendo DS Lite's screen fell off, and I was sad and kinda wanted to cry? Well, after that post, my boyfriend Dan finally got back home from work, and attempted to repair my poor DS. When he was finished, the screen was attatched again, but it couldn't be shut anymore... which made it far less pocketbook friendly. Unhappy with the end result, Dan, being the awesome guy that he is, decided it was time to upgrade me. So he went on eBay, and bought another birthday/Valentines gift, which I received Monday. Here it is... :

A Nintendo DSi!! Pretty sweet right? As you can see, I already have Kirby Mass Attack in it, lol. And I have to admit, it's so much more awesome than my DS Lite. I mean, it has a camera AND a web browser built in! So yeah, to say I'm excited is an understatement. Plus, who doesn't love the chance to play with a new piece of electronics? haha :-)

On another note, still waiting to hear some of your electronics fiascoes. Come on, don't be shy!

Go ahead, leave me a comment or question. I ALWAYS reply, so expect to be hearing from me, haha!

And as always...

Thanks for reading!!

A Sad Day For My Nintendo DS

2012-02-03T13:00:00.000-05:00

So, yeah... I'm a little upset right now. On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest, I'd say I'm about a 7 or 8. Why? Well, I was opening my DS Lite to play Kirby Mass Attack, when this happened:

Yup, I am none too pleased at the moment. And while I can repair computers and such, gaming consoles just are not my forte. So now I have to wait until my boyfriend get home from work to REALLY assess the damage. He's the console guy. I really hope this is fixable.

You know, I always seem to break stuff in the oddest ways. I don't always take photos though... except maybe the last time I broke something.

A few months back, I sitting on the couch using my laptop and minding my own buisness, when the box part of my AC adapter slips off the couch. Now, the seat of the couch is MAYBE a foot and a half up from the floor. And my living room floor is carpeted. So explain to me how this happened:

Seriously, I don't know about my relationship with electronics sometimes.

Do any of you have any amusing electronics related stories to share?

If you do...
Leave them in the comments! I'll be sure to read them, and even leave a reply! I'm cool like that, haha.

No story?
Comment anyway!!

And as usual...
Thanks for reading!!