UK Television vs. US Remakes

I am a big fan of UK television so perhaps that makes me bias, but a number of US shows have been copied from the UK. The ones that are most popular, and the ones that you are most familiar with would be most notably, the new-ish MTV show Skins, NBC's the Office, and Showtime's Shameless. A few more that should be mentioned include Men Behaving Badly, both versions of it are really old (19 & 15, respectively.), Life on Mars, Top Gear, and Whose Line Is It Anyway. Check them out if you like.

Let's dig right in.

1. Starting in with Skins (US vs. UK): Since this series as been deemed the most controversial in a very long time, I have to wonder why there was no big uproar in the UK about it. Anyway, as far as the US series goes, it's an replica as the UK one except it is four seasons behind and doesn't have the same characters (the names are the most the same but there is no charisma.) There is nothing to make you care about them. There is one less person, because the producers decided to erase an entire character (the only black character, by the way). For example, Tony, who is a charming douchebag, is not charming at all. Just a douchebag and within ten minutes, you wonder why he has friends. Watching the pilots of both shows, I found that the US version was difficult to watch.
So who won?
Skins (UK). The UK version has more situational comedy than the US version, however I think the US version tried too hard to put that comedy out there. Another thing that is making the US version unpopular is the fact that it is on MTV; I realize that they were trying to reach a young audience, however that kind of content has to be on a network like HBO, Starz, or Showtime. Honestly I think that a US version should not have been pursued at all, because they didn't improve on anything; they hacked it to pieces.


2. The Office (US v. UK): A lot of people who watch the Office, starring Steve Carell, don't know that it was originally a British comedy, starring Ricky Gervais, who is starting to find his feet in the US, with shows on HBO like Talking Funny and The Ricky Gervais Show. Unlike other television shows stolen from the UK, The Office (U.S) has been the most successful, with over a hundred episodes, and unlike other shows, went on longer than its UK counterpart. I watched the pilot from both series and the dialogue (script) is practically the same, so either it's the actors that has made this series so successful or cultural differences in audiences.
So who won?
I'm going to say the US version and the reason why I say that, not just because of the fact that the The Office (U.K.) only had two seasons, but because the US version captured the essence of a lot of the characters. For example, the UK version didn't really gauge the reactions of the staff to David Brent, the Regional Manager, and there was no explanation for various people that showed up, like the man who picks up Dawn. I think that in the end that made a big difference.


3. Shameless (US v. UK): The new US version premiered on Showtime in January of 2009. According to Wikipedia, the Pilot was viewed by almost one million people, making it the most successful launch since 2003 with the cult hit, Dead Like Me. Watching the first two episodes of both series, I found some inconsistencies, but not the good kind. The UK version was released in 2004 and has just been picked up for a ninth season. It has been categorized as a comedy drama and is BAFTA-award winning television show.  
So who won?
The UK version is a little more believable when it comes to the possessions the kids have; for example, in the US version, Ian has an iPod color mini and the house is equipped with a large flat screen television. The US version has Emmy Rossum playing Fiona, the eldest sister, however, when comparing her performance to Fiona from the UK version, Anne-Marie Duff, she doesn't compare.

However, the reception of the US version of Shameless is great. From what I've heard, it's simply because of the accents. There are good aspects of both version, so I"m going to leave it to you. 

Visit http://www.sho.com/site/shameless/video.do for and youtube for the Shameless (UK). Tell me what you think in the comments below. 

Mass Effect 2: Story-less Storytelling

Mass Effect 2 received the highest praise and accolades with it’s release, being BioWare’s best game thus far. It was complimented on the improvements of the combat system, new elements of gameplay, and the continuation of its beloved storytelling.

I personally found the game to be less appealing than the others. I originally was shown the game by a friend who then proceeded to ignore me and continue his second playthrough for the next few hours before I had my phone “fake call” me, giving me a reasonable excuse to head home.

A few months later, I borrowed the PC version from a friend and proceeded to give the game a fair shake. I never owned and thus didn’t finish Mass Effect 1, which may cause people to state that I can’t give Mass Effect 2 a fair review, but you don’t need to see the first movie in a series to know if the second or third movies are made well. But since I didn’t want to shoot in the dark, I did read through the story of Mass Effect 1.

Mind you, Mass Effect was not my first BioWare game. I first played Jade Empire, a game that I loved very much, and was the standard I held to the other BioWare titles.

Jumping right in, the gameplay in ME2 was great. Much better than the first, with a lot less reliance on pause-and-play, the deal breaker in ME1. I could never justify putting a pause-and-play mechanic in a third-person-shooter RPG, much less one that required it so often I felt like I was playing a turn-based-RPG. The PC version made this easier with the 8 button shortcuts it provided. I cannot say how well this translates into the console version, but I am hoping it’s as smooth.

After whisking through the opening scenes and “tutorial mission”, I began part 1 of my quest, to gather a party. I didn’t like that too much; most games have you simply stumble onto people that would then join your party. I preferred that, but since the current goal was to stop an alien race, a team was definitely required. Making it feel like the main goal still felt a little off to me.

This was then the time I fully encountered the decision engine, Renegade-Paragon. For the most part, I picked whatever I felt my character would say at the time. I found out later on that this wasn’t the best idea. It felt very noobish to do so, but my friend always bragged about the decision system as the best part, shaping the Shepard and story as you wanted. My female Shepard was a hardened war veteran that wouldn’t take insubordination, but wasn’t a butch jerk. That’s where things got out-of-hand. My decisions went 60% Renegade and 40% Paragon, which caused me to unable to do a few things.

That was a problem. I feel there’s an issue with a role-playing game that penalizes you for actually role-playing. Some may argue that’s not what it does, but it is. By deciding not to put roughly 90% or more of your choices to Renegade/Paragon, you lose out on key moments of the game. Another loyalty mission required a lot of Renegade/Paragon points, or else your squad member gets exiled from their home race’s fleet. One mission in particular caused you to lose loyalty with a squad member because you didn’t have the points necessary to make the two fighting members to compromise. You end up siding with one over the other. You needed an excessive amount of points to win back the one you didn’t side with, and I’ll just say that I never got the amount of points necessary.

Apparently the idea is to either be a a**hole and force them to accept your decision, or create a good-natured convincing argument. Unfortunately, there’s no option to say “hey, she was right, you weren’t, but you’re more awesome than her and will be with me on missions more”. Because last time I checked, that argument totally works. Granted, Jade Empire did have a similar decision system, but they made it very clear that you had to choose one or the other, because they were philosophies, ways of life, that determined your decisions and your second elemental style would be. I could reason with that.

As I was reaching the end of the game, I was frustrated. The story was just too incomplete. So many questions were left unanswered, and I found very little story elements to piece together. In my frustration I called two of my friends to ask them about the story. The friend that gave me the game basically shrugged his shoulders at the missing plots and stated that the game was still cool nonetheless. The other (the one that made me watch him play for hours) argued that the characters were the story. As much as I would like to agree, it didn’t seem right that until the point I was at, only two missions involved encountering the antagonists, and the characters didn’t know anything about them. I didn’t care about the character’s stories. The galaxy was in danger. I don’t care if your son is trying to assassinate someone, I want to know why humans are being abducted!

But alas, it was not meant to be. As I finished the story I grew more frustrated that nothing was resolved, that I had only one less question than I did before I proceeded with the last mission. Also, because one of my members wasn’t loyal, one of my other members died, so I ended up losing my favorite support. But I found out he isn’t playable in Mass Effect 3 so I’m fine with it after all.

sidequests are a stable in RPGs (so what do we call Final Fantasy XIII?). There was no explanation to why the antagonists were doing what they were doing, and definitely no reason as to why it still worked after we clearly stopped its creation. Trying to find a balance made people not loyal to me, and caused others to die.

As a whole, Mass Effect 2 is a good game. Some might say a great game. However, when you strip away the side quests, the game is short with little story. When you strip away the missions to gather squad members, the game is probably 3 hours long, with only 3 or 4 missions that directly dealt with the central plot and its antagonists. Considering there are a plethora of games that have 6 hours or more of story-related gameplay, I feel that this game needed much more added to the central plot, more investigating of the antagonists, and some closure that doesn’t seem to require me to research on a Mass Effect wiki. I’m going to play Mass Effect 3 and hope that the story won’t be so limited. I can only hope that BioWare realizes that great storytelling doesn’t equal a great story.

Unforeseen Circumstances

The worst part about loving someone is their unique and absolute way of hurting you. It doesn't have to be much, it can be a word or a gesture or even a look that can make you want to crumble up and die.

I take up a different approach; I get angry. I huff and puff and say things under my breath that I would never say out loud, even though I believe them and know that if I said them, it would end us. I try to stop myself but my back teeth start to grind and my throat closes up.

I know you are probably wondering what my point is and I'm getting to it. No one is ever really ready for something like that, love, high school, marriage. All of which are depicted by the media and movies and things like that, not showing the mundane hardships.

They don't tell you about the problems that occur, not because of the person you are with, but their friends, who don't respect you or don't make you feel like you can be comfortable around them. They don't tell you about the inability to say no to every and any request, and they don't tell you about the fact that hanging out with them too much makes your friends or your family think that you don't care about them anymore.

I'm in my first real relationship and I'm getting to the point where I can see all of that. I see the problems and the flaws and it's not perfect, and I know that. Maybe the best part of learning is the pain, the pain of discovering that everything that you dreamed of and everything that you think was fine doesn't feel fine anymore. And you have to work at it because that's what it takes.

Comment below and tell me what problems you didn't foresee in your relationships.

My Eight Favorite Movies

1. Hard Candy

I took an analytical film class, which basically consisted of watching films and saying whether or not we liked them. My instructor disliked Ellen Page, basing his opinion on one movie that he had seen her in: Juno. He said that it was too hipster. However, he had never even heard about this movie. This movie, starring Ellen Page and Patrick Wilson, is about a girl who meets an older man online. He finds her very appealing and they arrange to meet in person. They go back to his place, and what happens next is one of the craziest games I have ever seen. She is an phenomenal actress and someone that young girls can actually look up to. Anyone who says otherwise needs to tell me why.

2. Fight Club

I know that this film is on pretty much everyone’s top ten list, however I like it for different reasons. I am a huge fan of Chuck Palahniuk; he is one of my favorite author, simply because his voice is very distinctive. I like to think that I loved him before he got really popular. Anyway, I am pretty much always disappointed with movie adaptations of books, however, this is the exception. It was spot on. Reading the book and watching the film felt the same, which should be the goal of every filmmaker who chooses to adapt a book.

3. Citizen Kane

Normally I am that person that you don’t want to watch films with because I either find something wrong with the film and share it with the person I am with or just generally talk too much. Even so, I remember the first time I saw Citizen Kane; it was a Sunday morning, except it was in the wee hours of the morning, like one or two o’clock. I was waiting for my father to come home from work and I turned the channel to TCM. The film began and my father came home, and I didn’t say a word. He sat there and watched it with me and thought that there was something wrong with me, because I wasn’t talking. This is one of my favorite movies because I am in awe of it.

4. 12 Angry Men

In 1957, Henry Fonda starred in a movie called 12 Angry Men, which revolves around 12 men who are serving on a jury. All of the jurors, except for one, want to go back to their lives, go back to their baseball games, and their couches, and are willing to give a guilty verdict because it’s quicker than looking deeper into the case. The case is about a young Italian boy who is accused of murdering his father. This movie delves into the problems of prejudice and apathy, trying to show that caring saves lives and should never be neglected.

5. Funny Girl

Barbara Streisand is one of those people. Those people that you see and you never want to look away, this is my favorite Streisand pictures because of the music and because of the way that she looks. The soundtrack contains some of my favorite songs of all time: Funny Girl (the title track), People, and My Man. The way she looks is something all together; she is simply radiant. The clothes, the hair, maybe it's just the times, but everything that she puts on make her skin glow. Also because I think it was one of her harder roles. There was some comedy but mostly drama, and Streisand can do both very well.


6. American Beauty

I have been accused of having something for Thora Birch, even sitting through that horrible train wreck (pardon the pun) Train (2008). I found her to be a very good actress when she was a child and teenager, however when I say that this movie is one of my favorites, it isn't because of her. It's because of Kevin Spacey. I didn't understand the rampant obsession that some people I know had about his acting, but this movie gave me a glimpse. He was sad and pithy and something of an ass but he was likable.


7. Dead Poets Society

I have never been a fan of Robin Williams, but I put that aside for this film. This film opened my eyes to the past, introduced me to Robert Sean Leonard, who currently is on House and going to be starring in the Broadway revival of Born Yesterday. He remains one of my favorite actors. This movie was very good at dealing with the problems of youth of this time period. It went the extra mile using poetry, something that even now men don't care to learn or memorize. This movie is a favorite of mine because it is universal and timeless; no matter what generation there will still be controlling parents and children that feel restricted and unable to pursue their dreams. 

8. Heartbreaker

A great French film and one of my favorites because it takes a premise that has been tapped out, so much that all the movies with the same general plot line usually end up in the five dollar bin at your local Walmart. It's not completely original but it makes up for that because the characters are so interesting. I'm not referring to the main characters who obviously fall in love. I'm referring to the supporting cast. They carry the film, foiling the "Heartbreaker", and making shine, not only because they do all of the work, the research but because in the end, you care about them because they are something completely different from what you know to be supporting cast.
So those are my eight favorite films, comment below with some of your favorites and I'll watch them.

Marc WIth A C : New Album Out Now!!

So, Marc with a C has come out with another great album, Motherf**kers be Bulls**tin'. I have been a big fan for going on two years and there is nothing better than to hear something new coming from him. The album is going to be on my wishlist, not because it is too expensive, $12, I'm just too broke to buy it. Featured on this album is "You're My Princess", which was written in a Ambien drug haze (Marc doesn't remember composing it). This album is filled with catchy tunes, a little profanity, but after a while, you don't notice it anyway (the profanity, I mean).


Nevertheless, it's a great album, simply because it's different. It tells the story of a man named Brian who is frustrated with his life. Quoted from the site at which it is found:


"Meet Brian, a chauvinistic twentysomething fry cook/frustrated musician living in a small Wisconsin town. When he loses his effervescent yet obsessive law-student girlfriend, Jenny Oliver, to his wanton arrogance, he dives headlong into numerous obsessions, despite her insistent pleas and her advice on how to become slightly more prepossessing. These fascinations include constant flossing, attacking people through anonymous message boards and long-winded missives to his lost love. At Brian's lowest moment, he is visited by a vision of The Great Squiddy, which leads him to the solution he's been searching for. That solution? How to fix his rather messy and unnecessarily dramatic local music scene so that it can begin a cult to worship The Great One and sing the praises of Squiddy... together."


I love the album not just because I am a huge fan of Marc with a C, but because it's something completely different from other stuff that I've heard and I applaud him for being that outgoing, and well, for being himself. Check it out, and go online and listen to his radio show on the real congregation and catch up on all the Marc with a C glory and awesomeness that you missed while you were out of the loop. 


Visit www.marcwithac.com for more information. 

 credits

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/MarcFi
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/marcwithacmusic

To 

Movie Recommendation of the Week : Howl

Howl is a biopic about the poet Allen Ginsberg; Howl is also the title of his most popular and controversial book. Starring James Franco, Jon Hamm, Jeff Daniels and a number of other familiar faces, this film reaches for the top bar and takes it. This film involves the censorship trial of Howl, all the while the poem which has caused this loud debate is read by James Franco throughout the film. For all you Broadway lovers, Aaron Tveit makes an appearance as Ginsberg's life partner Peter Orlovsky. 
There is a considerable amount of animation, which is meant to lend a hand to Ginsberg by displaying what he saw in his head while writing Howl. I loved the way the film was set up. Ginsberg would talk to his interviewer, then the trial would go over a part of the poem, which then Ginsberg would read in another clip, while the animation went. 
It was interesting how he explained his life in terms of the men that he fell in love with, each man was a different part of his life, an era. The film felt a lot like a documentary, because the same people who brought us "The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)", directed this movie as well. However, it wasn't a documentary, but the scenes were completely true to Ginsberg's reality. At the end of the film, there are pictures of him in the various places where during the film, Franco laid and sat, like him laying on the front steps of a building smoking or in front of his typewriter. 
Also at the end of the film, the various men that are mentioned as being part of Ginsberg's life, are talked about in detail as to what they have published and when they died. What is very interesting to me is that there is no mention of their last names during the movie. At the end of the film, one finds out that the Jack that Ginsberg was referring to was Jack Kerouac. 


Overall, I would say that it is a great film, something that I would watch again, and something that I recommend.


Thank you for reading, 
Now go watch. :)


P.S. Don't watch the film if you are uncomfortable with homosexuality. 

Glee from Last Night : New York

Here's what you missed on last night's Glee.

The episode opened with Rachel buying Broadway tickets for Cats which were very old. They arrived in New York and checked into the hotel and were commanded to stay in there until they write their two original songs for nationals. 

Brittany wrote a song about a cup, which was so ridiculous that Quinn said that they had to get out of the hotel room in order to get inspiration to write their songs. They go out a sing a really bad song about  New York. 

Back in the hotel room, Finn is all distressed over Rachel, and insists that they get a duet together. Puck addresses the big Jewish elephant in the room and asks Finn why he doesn't just ask her out. Back in the girls' room, Rachel is the only one working, while the others have a pillow fight. Rachel gets a text from Finn, to meet him at Central Park and to dress up. 

Will stands on the stage and sings , "Still Got Tonight". A producer comes and hears him sing and tells him that he's got "it", what it takes. Rachel and Finn go to a restaurant and meet Patti LuPone, who tells them to never give up and that Finn is cute. They take a walk through the streets and the rest of the guys serenade them with "Bella Notte." Finn tried to kiss Rachel but she says that she can't, then runs away. 

Kurt and Rachel have Breakfast at Tiffany's. They break into the stage where Wicked is playing, and the security guard gives them 15 minutes to sing on the stage. They sing "For Good", the final song of Wicked. 

Quinn's plan was to go find Will and tell him that Rachel and Kurt keep skipping out. Will apologizes for the pillows and meets the director for Vocal Adrenaline, who knows about his leave for the Broadway stage. He comes back to the room with pizza and the kids already know. Will says that he's not going because he and New Directions have some unfinished business. 

They arrive at nationals and an all-girl group does Usher's, "Yeah!". Sunshine is in the bathroom, throwing up because she is nervous and says that singing isn't fun for her anymore because she is a part of Vocal Adrenaline.  Rachel apologized for being so mean to her and tries to help her over her nerves. 

They sing "As Long As You're There" New Directions is next, starting with Finn's song, "Pretending". They kissed, and that was no scripted. No one clapped. "Light up the world" saved them. Or so they thought, the top ten list was posted and they weren't on it. 

So the scene cuts to Ohio, and Kurt and Blaine are having coffee, while Kurt recounts what happened after Nationals. Santana lost it, and the ride home was silent. Blaine is curious as to why Kurt is not upset  about not winning or even placing. Kurt says the experience was worth it and then Blaine drops the L-word. Kurt says I love you back. 

They see Mercedes and Sam, and apparently they met each other in the parking lot, but the truth is they are dating. Santana made a voodoo doll of Rachel, and asks Brittany if it will work. She says that she doesn't want anyone to hurt any one else because Glee Club is a family and she loves her family. Rachel finds Finn in the library hiding out, because he thinks everyone hates him. They go to the last meeting of the year, where they celebrate placing 12th. 

Leave me comments, because I need to discuss this. :)

My Update

I was going to post about my favorite movies. In fact, I am half done with the post already. I think that I was going to do that because I figured that today would go as planned and I would just go with the tide. The tide being going through the motions of another interview. Let me explain before it gets too complicated.

I came home from college with a plan. I was going to try and find a job and work as much as possible so that I could get a car and pay for my books and part of my tuition by myself. So today was my interview and without going into detail, it was one of those places that takes everyone.

So I go in there relatively confident, which is my first mistake because I did that for my RA job and didn't get that either. Instead of explaining everything, let me just say that I didn't get the job because of my availability (don't have a car) and guess what I needed the job for, to get a freaking car.

It's very discouraging when everything that you need falls through all the time. I guess what I mean to say is that I work so hard to do what I'm supposed to do, and it all just falls apart. Perhaps it's not because I'm not qualified, although my interviewer pointed out that I had no work experience, which I thought would be obvious and not a problem.

Anyway, I am not looking for sympathy; I just wanted you all, whoever reads this, to know what was going on in my life.

I hope your week is better than mine and back to regularly scheduled posts that don't make anyone feel sad.  

Desktop Wallpapers based on the past week

LA. Noire dropped last week Tuesday, and has been received very well, rated between an 8 and 9.5, by most video game sites. If you are looking for something to express your love for the game without displaying the art from the video game which in my opinion is a bit obtrusive if you are anything like me and believe that you need a bit of simplicity, then this wallpaper is for you. It captures the essence of the video games without the need of Aaron Staton's face on your desktop. (Not that he's not pretty.) 

The new episode of Doctor Who premiered on Saturday, called the Rebel Flesh, written by Matthew Graham. I am watching it as I write this. For those of you who are inspired by Doctor Who or just like the Tardis, you will enjoy this one. I've been told that it is a bit bright, but I have it on my desktop for now and it looks great. But for copyright reasons, it's just a police box. 

Lady Gaga's third album, Born this Way, dropped today and in the past week, there has been Gaga-steria. With her recent appearance on SNL, Golden Rule, and her videos' weeklong appearance on Fuse, Gaga is all over the place, so why not on your desktop as well. This wallpaper is created by iagro wallpapers.  It isn’t an actual photo of Lady Gaga herself, but it is a drawing that does a great job of her resemblance. 

So those are the desktop wallpaper recommendations I have for this week. Visit simpledesktops.com, or fanart.com for more wallpaper fun. 

10 Things I Am Honestly Curious About

I will do this list in descending order; as I will all of my lists. If you think you can answer any of these things/ questions.

10. Why no one has invented a tool to put toothpaste back in the tube.

People also use that stupid analogy to explain that once you say or do something, you can't take it back. You can't shove it back in the tube, but what if someone invented that machine which could do exactly that? How long would it take for all those people to catch on that they need to stop saying that because indeed it could be done.

9. How is it that Anthony Hopkins doesn't seem to be aging?
I watched movies from 20 years ago (Hannibal), 10 years ago (Heart of Atlantis), and now, Thor. Nothing really has changed about him, and I commend him for that and everything, but I really want to know his secret (if he has one), or if he is just as magical as I imagined him to be.

8. What goes on in my dog's head
I have a puppy, okay, I share a puppy with my boyfriend, Kevin; her name is Hanna and she's a half lab - half german shepard. She mildly insane, but that can be said about any dog. However, my dog whines a lot, and I try to guess as best as I can what she wants. I mean I wonder what she thinks about me. If she has very negative opinions and chooses to stay because she has nowhere else to go.

7. Is my proclivity to type going to badly effect my handwriting?
I don't write things out much; in fact I threw quite a fit at the beginning of the semester when I found out that I couldn't use my laptop in one of my classes to take notes. I am a much fast typer than writer and it shows in the fact that I have started to write in cursive by default. For the moment, my handwriting doesn't suck.

6. Is this blog going to one day prevent me from procuring a job?

When looking a job, even twenty years ago, you didn't have to worry about anything but a background check but now, it's different. Most of my peer have Facebooks or Tumblrs or blogs and they put some crazy stuff on there, like them doing keg stands (underage) or promoting pot smoking. I try to be extremely  careful with what I put on the net, but there are things that are me. Like this blog, what if someone deems it inappropriate and I don't get a job.

5. What's Victoria's Secret?
I always had this theory that Victoria's secret was that her name was really Victor and she was a man. Seems reasonanble. I get that partially from Victor/ Victoria starring Julie Andrews. It could also be something gross like Solent Green.

4. How can we hear silence?
The definition of silence is the sound of nothing, so is it that you can't hear anything or that you can hear the sound of "nothing"?

3. Why do women have problems with men?
We are clearly the superior species, so why is it that we have men problems?

2. Who came up with the name "plastic surgery"?
Plastic surgery is a way to change yourself surgically, and last time I checked a nose job did not concern replacing your nose for a plastic one, so what's up with the name?

1. Why can't Hollywood come up with something new?
I came from watching Thor with the previews for two other movies in my mind. The first called Captain America: The First Avenger, starring Chris Evans as Captain America, which I think was a bad choice but whatever. And Conan the Barbarian featuring Jason Momoa, from the critically acclaimed HBO fantasy drama Game of Thrones.

Hopefully you can help me out with some of my questions/ curiosities.

Comment below.

Thanks.

Top 5 Android/Mac Sync Apps

I am a proud Android user and a Mac user, and as such, it is sometimes hard to find applications that work in sync with both Mac and Android, so here are, in my opinion, the top five Android/Mac sync applications. 
1. Evernote
Known by its elephant logo, its Remember Everything slogan, and its ability to synchronize with pretty much any smartphone, Evernote is unlike anything you've used before. It's not your ordinary note-taking application.  I used to take notes for exams and then instead of taking my laptop around with me, I just take my phone with me to access the notes to study on the go. If you find something interesting on the net and want to bookmark it, Evernote has a web-plugin for most browsers, and you can instantly take your bookmarks on the go with you. 
2. Dropbox 

Dropbox is a more native form of Evernote in that actual files are able to be synced, not just notes made in the program. If you have an application that can open compatible files, then you are all set. Instead of notebooks, there are folders, which can be shared between Dropbox accounts for free. You get 2.0 gigabytes for free, but you can upgrade for a low monthly fee. With Dropbox, I was able to carry around and edit word documents, like essays for my English class, if I had ideas for them. 
3. Wunderlist

Wunderlist is a task-list manager, which is a bit confusing at first, but when you get used to it, it works very well.  The way it works is that you have different inboxes, like folders, where you can organize your tasks for different things. When I used it during school, I had a different inbox for each of my classes and a task for each assignment. The only problem is that there is no alarm for this, but if you have it open on your laptop, the number of tasks that are due that day and overdue is displayed in a red asterisk. 

4. DoubleTwist 

A music organizer for Android. Think iTunes but for Android. You are required to download the player, and the player is free. If you want to buy the Pro version, called AirSync of it in the Android market, you can sync your music wirelessly via your home wifi, which is one better than iTunes. You don't have to buy the program if you are looking to just use it like an iPod, i.e, USB tether connection. The one down side is the space; you can only use the memory from your SD card, but unlike the iPhone, you can purchase a larger capacity micro SD card for a relatively inexpensive price. Both the Android app and the Mac application look simply stunning. 

5. Mozilla Firefox

I know you are probably wondering what Mozilla Firefox is doing on this list. However, recently, Firefox has released a mobile version, which can be downloaded for free on the Android market. The new update of Firefox has a feature called Sync, which allows you to synchronize or even pick up what you were doing on the computer at home to your phone on the go. Not only can you keep surfing the net, but you can do so without having to remember what website you were looking at. 

Honorable Mention: Springpad 

I would have put this one on the list however, there is no application for mac, apart from the web application found in Google Chrome. Springpad is a lot like Evernote, but allows for a lot more versatility. Each notebook has a board which functions like a cork board, however this is not viewable on the Android Application, so it is kind of moot. It is a wonderful thing for keeping track of products that you like or things that you want to do or go or remember. 

So those are my top five picks, and an honorable mention, please comment below if you would like to add something or even if you would like to berate me on how wrong I am. I hope that this is helpful and that I have saved someone from buying an iPhone from the sheer annoyance of non-synchronization. 

8 Things that Make Me Smile Without Fail

8. The Lonely Island


First introduced to the world in by Adam Sandberg on Saturday Night Live, this music group is fun and completely inappropriate, which I love. Anything that they do makes me smile.

7. A good revenge scheme

Contrary to my previous post, I'm not very much about taking actual revenge but a good revenge plot makes me smile. Think mean girls and you will understand.

6. SNL's Weekend Update


Sometimes it's the only thing I watch out an entire episode. Seth Meyers is the perfect antidote for a crappy day. I hear his spin on the news and I am guaranteed a laugh or a smile to brighten up my day.

5. The Mythbusters Blowing Things Up

I am an avid watcher of the Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel. My favorite episodes are when they blow things up at the bomb range. It's fun to watch things blow up. 

4. The sound of a German accent


It reminds me of an amazing German friend that I have the honor of hanging out with any Tuesday I am able. His very presence puts a smile on my face because whatever is wrong, if I am with him all of that fades away. I leave my troubles at his doorstep and have fun.


3. When my dog sneezes


It's gross because she sneezes on me but after I get over the initial shock of being covered in dog snot, I can't help but giggle at the fact that she actually makes herself sneeze. When I play with her, her hair takes flight, gets in her nose and then she sneezes. The face she makes, eyes wide and teeth bared, looks so bizarre that after that I can't help but laugh.


2. Crappy Romantic Comedies


I know the plot and we all do and even though we know that, we watch them anyway. They are stupid and once in a while there is a line that doesn't suck and hasn't been said before, but they are usually quite bad. I enjoy them anyway and they help me to laugh and rejoice in the ridiculous things that life holds or that Hollywood thinks is real.


1. Gaga

Revolutionary, Awesome, and even if I'm down, her songs make me happy. Her style is phenomenal, bizarre, and ridiculous, but her message of equality and peace and love makes me smile more than anything.

Movie Recommendation of the Week : My First Mister

"J" is looking at "R" with her
eyes on the wrong side of the binoculars.

Beginning this week, I am beginning official weekly movie recommendations; last week it was Thor, this week it is My First Mister, released in 2001, directed by Christine Lahti. Starring Leelee Sobieski, Albert Brooks, and Desmond Harrington in one of his first movie roles. 

At first I was expecting a quirky teen film; I am a big fan of Sobieski, but it started out weirdly. Even though it had a voice over beginning, which usually turns me off, I had to give it a chance, and I’m glad I did. This is one of the best movies, I have seen in a while. 

I was invested in the characters; I hope not to give too much away because I want you, whoever reads this to check it out, but I cared about her. J, played beautifully crazy by Sobieski, made me feel for her. I understood that there was an emptiness in her life. 

I loved Randall, his anal-retentiveness made for a likable character. I thought that Albert Brook did a phenomenal job of playing “R”, which is what J calls him. 

The movie gets away with witty comments and mild cussing, simply because the banter that goes on between R and J is so interesting and so humorous. 

Caution: This movie gets a little sad at the end, but it’s a good sad, so check it out. 

It gets a 4.5 out of 5. 

Glee from Last Night

Jesse St. James is back and taking over the Glee club. First thing he does is go after Finn, insulting his mediocre dance move and singing skills.

Sue is on a rampage to get rid of the Glee club, and she asks Terri to find her a computer hacker so that she can screw up the travel arrangements for the Glee club.   

Becky wants to join the Glee Club, after Sue took her off of the Cheerios squad. Becky reminded her of her sister, who died last week. 

Will Shuester is leaving for April Rhodes’ show, and Emma is helping him pack. Will isn’t going to tell the Glee Club members that he is leaving for New York. 

Sue is heartbroken over her sister dying so the Glee Club members are going help her plan a service. Even though Jesse tried to stop them. 

Santana auditions with Back to Black, and Jesse says that “she didn’t go deep enough into the emotional intent of the song.”

Kurt auditioned with Some People from Gypsy, Mercedes did Tenderness, and Rachel did My Man, which is the last song from Funny Girl, her favorite movie. 

The funeral was beautiful; it made me cry. The glee Club put together a Willy Wonka theme, and sang Jean’s favorite song. 

Finn broke up with Quinn because of what Sue said about a tether; a tether that she described as having when you love someone. 

Sue took Becky back and asked her for a hug. She also apologize to Will and told him about her “peak” when she rerouted the Glee Club’s tickets to New York to Libya. 

Terri complained the head of the airlines that she got monkey pox; when that didn’t work, she told the vice president the Glee Club’s sob story. He is a fan of the Arts and gave them 13 first class tickets so that they could go to nationals. 

Will said that he thought about it and he didn’t want to pit the members against each other and that they were doing original songs as a group. Even though, Jesse said that they were going to lose. 

Tune in Next Time for the recap of next week’s episode. 

Leave a comment for discussion. 

IMO: Celebration

IMO stands for In My Opinion, and this begins the IMO series of posts. 

I was walking through my local CVS, waiting for my passport photos to finish printing, when I saw the Time Magazine cover of the month. It was a picture of Osama Bin Laden with a big red cross over his face. I don’t want to particularly upset anyone but I don’t think it’s right to rejoice, and that cover, in my opinion, was distasteful. Then I looked up that picture on Google to perhaps display it here, and then I found similar pictures of Saddam Hussein from 2003 and Adolf Hitler from 1945. 

I stumbled across a blog in my search called Eastcoast Mark and in the post featuring the cover of the Time Magazine, was called “Double Tap To The Head. Boom, Boom.” What I’m trying to say is that it just shocked me. I had never seen something like that, outside of a video game forum.  I thought about Bin Laden’s 23 children. and I tried to think if I were still a child, what this would mean to me. I couldn’t think of anything. I couldn’t fathom being able to explain that we as a people were rejoicing in a person’s death. And I know, Bin Laden was a man who hated America and numerous times attacked us, but since he died, what has changed?

Gas prices are still on the rise, and just because he died, it doesn’t mean that his son or anyone else who he was close to isn’t going to do what he did again or worse. What have we gained vengeance, revenge? What Christian person could find that in their hearts when their God says that vengeance is his alone (Romans 12:19)? (I speak to Christians simply because the majority of Americans categorize themselves as Christian.) Are we going to look back on this and be ashamed at how we acted? 

I’m not going to say that I’m not okay with the fact that he isn’t able to terrorize America anymore; that’s not the point of this post. I don’t really know what I want. I think that for the first time, I’m not quite sure what to tell you. 

In my most humble opinion, I believe that the shameless rejoicing of someone’s death is wrong. To quote the doctor: “Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

My Discovery

I pride myself on having a numerous amount of books that I can barely fit on three large seven foot bookcases; in fact I show people and it frightens them. (That perhaps I have no life, which may be true.) In any case, I was cataloging them on this new piece of software I bought called Delicious Library 2. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s not like Yahoo’s Delicious, which bookmarks pages for later use. It’s a cataloging system for all of your possessions, so I figured why not my books, my prized possessions. 

So I was doing that and I came across a book that I didn’t remember buying or getting. It was called Fancies and Goodnights by John Collier. The cover was a little scary. As you can see, it looks a little freakish, with its goat looking face and in it were stories, what I assume are bedtime stories, but they don’t sound like children’s stories. 

The first story is about a man who has a love of tiger skins and beautiful women, and he could do without the first by choice and the second he did without by fault. So he seeks to pick up a hobby, because he is miserable and he needs something to do, he stumbles upon a glass bottle shop. One of those hobby shops that has those ships in a bottle; he looks around for a minute and a little man comes out of the back. He tells the man that he has all sorts of things inside the bottles in particular, a man who can grant any wish and the most beautiful woman in the world, which of course piques the man’s interest. So he asks for the bottle which contains the man who can grant any wish. Needless to say, the man goes a bit crazy with wishing for everything he could ever want, including, you guessed it, tiger skins and beautiful women. However, he soon grew bored of it all, and ask the genie to take away everything out of his palace and bring him the bottle containing the most beautiful woman in the world. 

I will leave you to guess what happens next, but seriously check it out. It gets twisted very quickly, and I think the stories are great and I’m glad to have found something so interesting in my collection of books.  

Thor : The Review

WARNING: The following post may contain spoilers that I am entirely too dumb to avoid.

So we have seen the trailers for this Summer's hottest movies and biggest blockbusters. One in particular stood out for me, though I'm not particularly a comic book nerd, just a book nerd, Thor. I watched the Nerd Alert on CollegeHumor about it, and Jeff Rubin asked the question as to whether or not Thor was the best Comic Book movie adaptation ever.  I am in no position at all to answer that, (BTW, the answer he gives is yes), but I am looking at this movie with fresh eyes and no bias as to whether the book is better, which is what ends up happening with all of the adaptations that have been ever released, ever. So I am going to review it as an action film, that's it. Before I do so though, I would like to mention one thing: Doesn't it seem like Natalie Portman is in everything this year?

Besides that let's get on with it, I went to watch Thor in 3-D; I didn't have much of a choice, but I feel it helped a little although not really all that much. The story as most of you may be aware starts out with a man called Thor on Thor's Day (Thursday), or his coronation. During his coronation, in fact, right before Odin, played wonderfully by Anthony Hopkins, pronounces him king, there is a breach of security. I won't give too much away, because a lot of what I liked was the story and the complexity of it. The graphic were phenomenal, however there were times at which it got out of focus.

As for the acting, I was not expecting much; I mean, I figured that because the main character was played by an unknown, or a not well known actor that they had picked him not for his skill but for his body shape and his look. Chris Hemsworth left me pleasantly surprised; he had the perfect range, which was needed for this role. Anthony Hopkins needs no critique because it is not possible; it is the equivalent of you typing into Google "Anthony Hopkins bad actor" and your computer shutting itself down on you.

As for Natalie Portman, I honestly think that she had too much on her plate this year because this performance was not as good as it could have been. I would have liked to see maybe someone else in the role. I enjoyed Jaimie Alexander in her role as Sif, the maiden warrior, I knew what to expect of her. I am familiar with her work as Jessi in the ABC family series Kyle XY, and I feel I got a little of that.

There aren't many things I would change; in fact the female lead, and that's it. I feel like they did a great job, now if someone wants to talk about how it compared to the comic; that's their deal. As a stand alone movie, I don't feel jipped, and I don't feel like I've wasted hours of my life that can't be returned to me.
My rating for this film is a solid 4 out of 5. Good job, Hollywood.  

Six Best Reasons to Share a Room with Your Best Friend

I have just completed my first year of college and I don’t know if I could have made it the whole way without my friends, especially my best friend Catherine. So in her honor, I have come up with a list of the six best reasons to share a room with your best friend.

6. They know your pet peeves.

There is no actual sound coming out. 

Your best friend may have known you forever, or in my case, less than a year, but they understand you and they know the little things that piss you off, like pen clicking or repetitive tapping or not refilling the pitcher. All those little things add unneeded stress and as a student, or anyone really, you don’t want to put up with that; it can potentially make for an over stressed, over worked, crazy person. You, I mean.  

5. They care about your sanity. 

Everything seems to be in order.

Most likely, if you are friends, then you must be a bit similar, but if you aren’t, they can stop you from doing something that will literally drive you insane. For instance, I have a thing about perfection. Some may even call it a disorder, I don’t, but whatever, in particular, I have a thing about my grades. So I tend to over study and freak out and have panic attacks. The thing about sharing a room is that they tend to see that going on; if you live with your best friend, they will try to rectify that. (Unless they want to try out that whole Dead Roommate - Straight A’s rumor, in which case, run away.) They will distract you with funny Youtube Videos and try to calm you down.

4. They will take care of you.

“Erghhhh....”

You are a long way away from your mother’s famous chicken soup that made you feel better with a snap of your fingers. She is worried about you, but not enough to drive all the way down or up to wherever you are to take care of you. You’re grown; figure it out. Then comes the best friend; they are breathing your air as you cough and sneeze and groan, they are going to get sick anyway so they might as well take care of you. What that means is getting you icky soup from the cafe or making ramen in the microwave, because they know that you would do the same from them.

3. They will stand most of the stupid stuff you watch.

“Shuhhh, Glee’s on.”

As a generation, we watch some pretty crappy shows and love every minute of them. I, myself, am a proud Gleek. (In fear of getting shanked, Glee is not crappy.) In many cases, there is one TV and if they are a good friend, they will concede to your one hour a week request of reality horror or singing and dancing or bad pickup lines. During that time, they may watch in the delight of the drama as Karofsky kisses Kurt and we all find out that Karofsky is in the closet. They may not love it, but it is much easier to negotiate with a best friend than with a total stranger.

2. You’ll Never Miss Class on Accident

I'm not even in this picture. On purpose. 

I make this distinction because there is a difference between a class that is both takeable and make-able and one that is just takeable. The difference being one that takes attendance and the other that doesn’t. I have had five roommates in three semesters, which doesn’t add up, I know, but that is how that works. Anyway most of those roommates, I haven’t told my schedule or written it out to let them know. A best friend needs to know these things, so you can schedule your hangout times around your classes. The best thing about your roommate/ best friend knowing your class schedule is that they aren’t afraid to wake you up when you fall asleep on your book, praying for osmosis to have worked. A good best friend yanks you out of bed, while you are still asleep puts a toothbrush and paste in your hands and pushes you into the bathroom.

1. They Love You

Kind of.

Your best friend loves you and would never let you go insane or annoy you on purpose or let you starve while you are too weak to get out of bed and that is what makes them a good friend, a best friend. If you remember your parents were good roommates because they love you.

So those are six of the best reasons why your best friend would be a good roommate, which deviates from the original point but it still works. I hope you can share a room with your best friend; it’s a great experience and I would do it again in a heart beat.

Picture sources : laesmeraldabogota.com, macyapper.blogspot.com, latcrossword.blogspot.com, picturesof.net, boards.bengals.com, igotitall.net