Nintendo Wii, the Future of Video Gaming
I’m not much of a video gamer, the latest console I have is a PS2 which is collecting dust at the moment. Over the weekend I was at a friend’s house and I had the chance to try out the Wii, the new console by Nintendo.
Like others I was skeptical of this new system that Nintendo released. The thought of moving your body parts to control the game did not fit the traditional video gamer image. However, I was still intrigue in trying it out. I played games like Tennis and Bowling. It was awkward at first, but I soon felt comfortable, sometimes too comfortable where I actually felt that I was in a bowling lane trying to go for my third strike.
I love the interaction you have with this system. How it engages you to move your body, feel the tension, and increase your heart rate. Ugh. It reminds me of sex. Just kidding, seriously though, I enjoyed the Wii so much that I had to get one myself. Unfortunately, the city seems to be sold out of them.
Nintendo is one of the three largest manufactures of gaming consoles and according to analyst Nintendo’s Wii outsold Sony’s PS3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 in January.
With the Wii having superior interactive ability compared to its competitors and a much lower price, it is turning heads around the world; amongst those are the fat or lazy people. Some say it beats going to the gym, while others have claimed that they lost weight using Wii. Whatever the reasons are, I think Nintendo got this one right. They have given us a glimpse into the future of video games. I believe that it won’t be long before Microsoft and Sonny will follow its footsteps.
I Had A Bad Day!
Well not exactly a ‘Bad Day’ like Daniel Powter describes in his lyrics. But it was definitely a long one, and it’s still not over yet. I’ve been swamped with projects from work and school and that is why I have not posted all day.
This is how I feel right now.
American Idol Review – 10 Guys Battle It Out!
Tonight the 10 remaining guys took the stage for your affections. The night began with Ryan Secrest congratulating former Idol and newly Oscar winner, Jennifer Hudson. After last week’s poor performances from the guys and a much superior one from the ladies, the guys knew they had to step it up tonight. We soon learn that its dedication week, where the contestant will dedicate their song selection and performance to a place, person or thing.
Phil Stacey started the night with a strong performance of ‘Missing You’, dedicated to Navy Bound Southeast. Both Randy and Paula enjoyed his performance and gave him great reviews. However Simon disagrees and says. “I think you have a completely unoriginal voice.”
My Thoughts: I agree with all the judges. He is a very good singer, an average performer and have an unoriginal voice. Overall, I feel that he will stick around, especially after his short marketing clip. His chance of making it to the finals is great considering he is competing against a weak field of guys.
Jarred Cotter sang a Marvin Gaye classis ‘Let’s Get It On’, dedicated to his parents. Both Randy and Paula commented on his physical features rather than his vocal talents. After a comedy moment from the judges, Simon said what Randy and Paula couldn’t say, it his own analogy of course “It did remind me though of the Love Boat. I’m kind of imagining if they had a cabaret singer on the Love Boat, I think we would have seen something similar to that, because it was a bit corny in parts.”
My Thoughts: The performance was alright, he defiantly has stage presence. However he needs to work on his vocals and chose songs that really bring it out. Although it was a weak performance, I still think he will make it to the next round. If not than it’s a toss up between him and Brandon.
A.J. Tabaldo came out with a little more personality and talent. He sang ‘Feeling Good’ dedicated to his mother and father. Randy commented on how much better it was compared to last week. Paula loves the way he is challenging himself in different areas and surprisingly Simon says “I have to say that was actually nearly very good.”
My Thoughts: I have to give this kid props. I honestly felt that he did an amazing job. He has such a great voice and range and the ability to perform on stage. It’s great to see Asian-Americans on Idol who actually have talent, unlike former idol Jasmine Trias and Camille Velasco. A.J is actually really good and I believe he will be a factor in the Top 12.
Sanjaya Malakar knew he had to come out with guns blazing in order to stay for another week. He came out whispering to the song ‘Steeping Out’ dedicated to his grandfather. His performance was weak according to Randy. Simon said it best “It was like some ghastly lunch, where after lunch your parents have asked the children to dress up and sing.”
My Thoughts: Weak! I think his young age and lack of experience is really hurting him. We still have not heard his vocal potential. Obviously the judges put him through for a reason and the way America voted last week, he must have some talent. Right?
Chris Sligh, the marketing consultant with big hair sang ‘Trouble’ dedicating it to his wife who is in the audience. His performance was good enough to receive thumbs up from all judges. Simon says “Chris, the reason we put you through to this round is actually we thought you were a very good singer, and tonight you were a very good singer.”
My Thoughts: I agree that he is a great singer with a big voice. However he is another one of those singers that I have to close my eyes to really appreciate his voice. He will be sticking around for another week or so. I’m sure by the time the top 12 are revealed, America will be familiar with his Jack Osborne look that his chances of making it to the big stage are better.
Nicholas Pedro sang ‘You Give Me Fever’ dedicating it to his girlfriend. His performance was definitely a step up to his last. Randy and Paula thought it was good and so did Simon who added that he needed more charisma.
My Thoughts: I honestly thought it was just ok. I’m not a fan of his voice. I find it too smoky and quiet, however with that said he will probably stick around at least for another week, with the ladies votes.
Blake Lewis brought his beat-boxing back with a performance of ‘Virtual Insanity’ dedicating it to his parents. He receive great reviews from Randy and Paula on his original performance, however Simon disagrees and calls him a copy cat.
My Thoughts: Like Richardson, he is not the strongest singer, however he does have a unique quality about him and he is also a great on-stage performer. He will stick around and probably will make it to the Big stage.
Up next was Brandon Rogers, the former background singer sang ‘Time After Time’ dedicated to his grandmother, his heartfelt performance was boring for Randy and Simon says “You have got to come out here Brandon when you’re as talented as you are and do what four or five of these girls did last week and make a wow impact.”
My Thoughts: I agree that he has great talent and although he tried to put his own flare to the song, I found it to be weak, uninspiring and it did nothing to show off his great voice. After tonight’s performance he might find himself saying goodbye on Thursday.
Chris Richardson sang ‘Geek The Pink’ an upbeat song dedicated to his grandmother. His performance again was far superior to the rest of the guys. He truly has a natural talent to perform on stage. Randy and Paula loved it, Simons says “For me, best tonight by a mile.”
My Thoughts: I said it before and I’ll say it again, this guy has talent. He is not the strongest vocalist from the group however he has a sound that is hot today. Although he has been compared to Justin Timberlake, I think after tonight he has created his own identity. He is definitely the front runner for the guys.
To close the night was Sundance Head. His performance to ‘Mustang Sally’ dedicated to his son came back much stronger than last week. The judges agreed and welcome him back.
My Thoughts: I agree that it was better than last week, however similar to Chris Sligh I have to close my eyes when he performs. He does have a big voice, but nothing special about it.
Tonight’s performance form the guys was definitely a step up from last week. It’s hard to say which two guys will be leaving this week, as they have all improved. Although it’s a singing competition, it’s very similar to high school, looks and popularity ratings matter. Here are my predictions.
Safe Idols: Phil Stacey, Jarred Cotter, A.J. Tabaldo, Chris Sligh, Nick Pedro, Blake Lewis and Chris Richardson.
Troubled Idols: Sanjaya Malakar for sure and I think it’s a toss up between Brandon Rogers and Sundance Head.
Diddy and Justin - Like Father, Like Son
In a recent post by Evorgleb, hip-hop artist and entrepreneur Diddy is not happy with his 12 year old son Justin, who received lap dances from various girls at a teenage party. Although Diddy is not impressed, he needs to realize that his son is just trying to follow in his footsteps, so why not start young? You know he’s going to experience it sooner or later.
Some parents find this bad parenting, men rather find it funny and wished that they received lap dances at a young age. Some men actually wished they would get it now. Unfortunately you’ll need money to receive this kind of treatment from the ladies.
Heroes Preview - Who Is Mr. Linderman?
Last night’s episode of Heroes was off the hook. It gave us a glimpse into the history of HRG and the people he works for. This preview of episode 18 ‘Like Any Parasite’, is causing some anxiety and excitement among its fans like never before. It will be the first time we get to see Mr. Linderman, the man behind it all.
So won’t the real PayPal please stand up?
Email marketing is a highly effective medium used online to communicate with consumers. Unfortunately some of these emails we chose not to subscribe to, still manage to get pass the filters and into our inbox. Despite the efforts of configuring your email options to filter out unwanted emails, spammers spend all their days trying to find new ways to by pass those filters. Some of these unwanted emails are very tricky and can be deceptive, causing you to take action due to impersonation. They are also known as Phishing Scammers.
Recently, I received an email from our friends at PayPal, or so they say. This caught my eye because of the ‘from’ name and subject line which read ‘New Email Address Added’. Immediately paranoia of unauthorized activity with my PayPal account caused me to open the email.
As I opened the email, I realized that this address is not registered to my account with PayPal. So I asked myself the questions. How did PayPal get this email address? At this point I knew this was not from PayPal but from an imposter. Here is what the email said.
“You’ve added an additional email address to your PayPal account. If you don.t agree with this email tcgrady@emailaddress.com and if you need assistance with your account, please click here to login to your account.
To make sure you can use your PayPal account the next time you make a purchase, all you need to do is confirm or not your email address. If your email program has problems with hypertext links, you may also confirm your email address by logging in to your account.
Thank you for using PayPal!
The PayPal Team
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Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response.
For assistance, log in to your PayPal account and click the Help link located in the top right corner of any PayPal page.
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PayPal Email ID PP059”
The links within the email were also clear indication that this was not from the real PayPal. Recently, there has been an increase of fake PayPal emails circulating the web. There’s really no way to avoid these. The best way to deal with fradulent PayPal emails, is to do the following.
- Never click on any of the links included in the email
- Do not reply to the email
- Report it to spoof@paypal.com
- Only log-in to your account by visiting www.paypal.com
To find more information about these types of emails, you can visit PayPal.com. It gives you detail information on how you can protect yourself from fraudulent emails.