Wakoopa.com

Jun 1 2010 no comments Internet

Recently I’ve gone on a joining spree through sites all over the place to try and get my blog a bit more out there, and by far the most interesting little thing I’ve stumbled across is what they offer at Wakoopa.com. It may seem like the most completely nonsensical thing you’ve ever seen, but it’s actually rather interesting to see what crops up.

What it is, in a nutshell.
Wakoopa is meant to keep track of your application usage, whether web-apps or through Windows itself. It’s insane to see just how much I go through in a single hour with things running, being done, and what sites I’ve been going through that actually have any kind of merit, so to speak, such as Facebook, or Twitter, or even YouTube.

Weirdly, it’s even managed to catch some of the random things I was just looking at while browsing for new communities to join– some things I wasn’t even aware were relevant (one had to do with real estate, I don’t even know why that was suggested to me by this other site I was browsing, but it was). It tracks /everything/, and in the end, after a short period, it will start giving you application recommendations, and keep track of your usage overall.

Why It’s Really Interesting.
It’s not just the fact that it tracks things, or offers you recommendations, it’s all of that put together and the fact that it is a pseudo social community network that will help you meet like-minded people. The fact that it makes note of applications you may have forgotten about in a late night haze of finding new things to work with is just a bonus, in a way. I’m hoping, in the end, to make the kind of networking connections I need to make friends and perhaps further myself as a blogger– though I honestly hate the term blogger, I just write stuff.

Most people won’t find it as interesting as I do for these reasons, but it’s still a good way to monitor what exactly is going on with what you’ve done in the last day, to see if you actually worked on that project you swore you were going to dedicate an hour to, or whether you just hallucinated that in order to get back to your game of Animal Crossing– maybe it’ll make us all a bit more responsible?

Ease of Joining.
It took me, oh, I don’t know, ten seconds to join. It really was decidedly simple, and while there’s a plethora of information you can fill out after the initial join phase, it really was so easy to join that I’m sure that my boyfriend (who often has me setting up accounts for him) could even do it and not give me five minutes of whining about how it’s better when I do it. That right there is enough to get most people to at least try it out.

In Closing.
This kind of thing might not have a major market, but people though the same thing about people in the beginnings of Twitter, how no one was going to want to post little tidbits about the inner workings of their day, or links to interesting things. It’s been happening for ages– Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, Steam– all these things started as ideas that people weren’t fully sure would be backable, but interest in them caught on in one way or another and they’ve grown.

I’m not saying that Wakoopa is the next Twitter, but it’s interesting enough to get me invested, so… that’s saying something. If you want to try it out, and then see about adding me as a contact, feel free to check me out at wakoopa.com/aidorei.

Loveage:

Weeds.

May 30 2010 no comments Television

I recently went on a binge of watching episodes of Weeds and managed to polish off the entire series– it’s funny because I started watching it when it first came out and just lost track of myself, and it, after a point– so basically I just caught up on five seasons of Mrs. Botwin and her dealings.

I really, really enjoy the show as a whole, it entices me in ways I can’t explain because even though I don’t, personally, have any investment in the idea of marijuana or anything of the sort, I find the inner-workings of the whole thing kind of interesting– the way she tries to convince herself she’s not doing anything too bad because she has to provide for her family, when a normal job isn’t exactly all that out of the question (especially after they moved to Ren Mar and she didn’t have the McHouse to pay for anymore, I mean c’mon.)

I am, however, a bit put off by the fact that the woman seems to want to sleep with everything. When the show first started and she seemed to have this gung-ho, “I can’t get off without my husband and he’s dead so I’m going to be a miserable old shrew” attitude… I could kind of relate with it, but somehow her newfound “Sex is my power and I’m going to use it at every turn even though it makes me seem kind of cheap and trampy to /everyone/.” point of view leaves a bad taste in my mouth, if only because the woman doesn’t seem to have any moral compass of what’s right and wrong.

I realise saying that will raise a debate about the definition of right and wrong, but I do believe having sex with a drug Kingpin just because you needed to have a little more power in your inner circle of drug workings is not at all moral, nor is it being done for her children. If she wanted to have sex with the man because it was just sex, and it was detached, and it wasn’t going to completely eff up her life, fine… that I can deal with, but somehow this thought process she runs is that as long as she’s sleeping with someone on the inside she will always be in the know– she will /always/ be on top.

She has this ability to complain about the workings of her life as if they are somehow out of her control. No one has ever forced her to do any of the things that have led to her subsequent downfall, and the corruption of her children, but her. She wanted the easy way out and loss the moral high ground about five seasons back. I understand doing what you must to provide for your family, but sooner or later you’re just being a greedy little bitch about everything.

That being said, the show is still amazing– it has enough to draw you in and keep you on board (like this last season’s finale, eee), which leads me to wonder just how everything is going to pan out. You learn to miss Conrad and Agrestic, but things seem a bit less annoying by Season 5. The woman’s been married three times in the last five years, two have died, one could die next season, her middle son is a complete sociopath, her eldest has no bone in his head to tell him when to stop, and her baby is barely being mentioned anymore (it’s kind of sad that he was a gimmick that got tossed). Her friends are all devoid of any ability to manage their own lives as well– the new drug cartel (I laugh) of Celia, Doug, Sanjay, that one guy whose name I don’t remember, Dean, and Isabelle, is just… going to be ridiculously slapsticky, I think. Also, wondering where the hell Andy ran off to, leaving his pseudo-fiance with a psychopath– I’m working under the delusion that he went to get help and wasn’t just bailing. I’m kind of hoping they pick up the ball and run with it, though, because honestly… the show has so much potential and needs to be expressed.

All in all, I’d say the series is at least worth a watch, because the acting involved is rather up there the scale, and everything seems to have a kind of… leaning towards greatness.

Loveage:

Nostalgia Gaming.

May 23 2010 no comments Gaming

All right, I know I just posted yesterday about being in a gaming flux (which, funny enough, ended with me joining raptr and re-downloading Borderlands and all that), but I seem to have found something that not only sparks the nostalgia in me, but honestly is enjoyable in its own right– though a bit odd, as always.

Let me try to clarify this a bit, I suppose– when I was little, one of the first games I ever rented on my very own, by my choice (and not my brother’s), was Earthbound. Some of you may have no clue what game that is, or even what it has to do with anything I’m about to talk on, but it was the first RPG I ever let myself rent and immerse into– I’d played Final Fantasy, Super Mario Bros, and all kinds of game before that, but they were all my brother’s rentals that I coasted on– this one was /my/ first game, and I absolutely fell in love with it, even though it was a far cry from the games I was used to.

The game play and style was unlike any I’d ever seen before. I mean, come on, beating up Hippies with a bat? A girl cannot help but fall in love with Ness in that moment, right? And that started my stupid obsession with a franchise that would never see much commercial love Stateside after that moment…

That being said, I found a fan translation of Mother 3, which would be the game right after Earthbound (Mother 2), and am now playing the ROM like it’s going out of style. It already has that reminiscent feeling of my old school gaming days, when things were simpler for me, and it felt like I could be somewhat casual about the game, but still be intense about it at the same time. I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to binge play it, but I’m hoping I can at least get a while out of its play.

I haven’t gotten all that far yet, which leaves much to the imagination, and to avoid spoilers I won’t even speak on what I /have/ learned yet (I’ll leave that for a more detailed post after I’ve finished the game), instead I’ll just say that… I feel like a kid again, and it’s kind of nice.

Loveage:

Unrest.

May 22 2010 no comments Life

I haven’t been posting for a while as I fell off the face of the planet as far as site updates went, and wasn’t really immersed in anything new or ‘popular’ culture wise to actually have an opinion on. It’s kind of left me feeling restless, and I feel like maybe I should be writing more– honing my skills and all that, because it might be the only thing I’m good at. I don’t know, however, what on earth to write about half of the time, because I find myself without actual motivation.

Lately all I’ve been doing really is playing Champions Online, which while fun, isn’t at all lucrative or even productive in the strictest sense of the word, though I’ve been trying to take care of myself a bit more through that (weening off of caffeine and that sort of thing). But gaming seems to be the one constant in my life that always manages to manifest in what I do.

That being said, I need a project– something to actually work on and strive towards, and perhaps even get some recognition for so I can, in some way, make myself known to the world. I’m afraid if I died right now the most people would say about me is “She was wicked into music– helped me find a few songs I liked.”, but that’s about it. While I wish I could make money for writing little diatribes or stories tailored to people, I get the feeling no one would bite for such a thing unless it were ‘erotic’ in nature, and even then I’d feel like I’m borderline whoring myself out to people who need a cheap thrill. While I might be good at such writings I don’t think I want to be known as the girl who gets people off for the rest of my life or anything. Also, no one in their right mind is going to pay me to make them a wedding CD or anything like that, even though I’d be amazing at it, because mostly I’d do it for free– I’ve already helped a friend manage some songs for his.

All in all I feel myself nearing a point of explosion, critical mass and all that, and I don’t know how long I’m going to be able to keep my cool and manage to make all this stuff work. Regardless, here’s hoping I find something to occupy myself before I go insane, non? Also, it would rock my socks if people at PPP would enjoy my writing enough to offer me some opportunities that are worthwhile– I love writing about anything and put my heart into it, so it’d be cool to have something to do.

Loveage:

Alice in Wonderland – Box Office Hits and Fancy Dress Tea Parties.

Apr 8 2010 no comments Sponsored

This is a sponsored guest post written by Michael Jessop on behalf of Fancy Dress Outfitters. Post powered by Sponzai.

Tim Burton’s latest film has caused movie goers to flock to cinema to see his attempt at Alice in Wonderland.

The Lewis Carroll classic has had the Burton touch with his surreal style supporting the incredibly surreal storyline. Burton’s A list phonebook has brought his good friend Johnny Depp into the role of the illustrious Mad Hatter and his wonderful partner Helena Bonham Carter as the brilliant Queen of Hearts. With such a magic combination in front and behind the camera, it is no surprise that the result is nothing short of mesmerising.

Burton et al have managed to capture Carroll’s fantastic characters with a mixture of incredible acting, excellent direction and stunning special effects, not to mention the gorgeous costume design. The characters depicted in the film are dressed head to toe in mind-blowing outfits increasing the demand for an already popular fancy dress theme.

Cult classics such as Alice in Wonderland often create great Fancy Dress characters and this year’s film is no different. Such iconic characters such as the Queen of Hearts, the Mad Hatter and of course Alice herself, are bound to create a buzz in the world of fancy dress. Alice in Wonderland Fancy dress parties are springing up here there and everywhere offering an Alice in wonderland tea party experience for anyone dressed to match the occasion.

With whispers on the grapevine that Tim Burton is looking to team up with Angelina Jolie in Sleeping Beauty for his next film, we are looking forward to another Tim Burton masterpiece as well as the sleeping beauty fancy dress parties spreading worldwide.

In the meantime, don your hats and Alice costumes and fall down the rabbit hole.

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