Guitar Hero World Tour!

Is really fun! I was so excited to see this was coming out that I (along with many other Wii Guitar Hero junkies) pre-ordered and was able to pick it up as soon as it came in this past Sunday.

Well, I have been having a blast! I started with the drum set and played through the game just to open the songs so I could use them in Quick Play (I didn't want to cheat yet). I completed the New York set at 52%. I have since played 78% of the songs, but I don't feel like "buying" more right now.

Sunday I played the drums for about seven hours. Monday I used the drums and guitar. Last night I used the guitar and the microphone. I will use the cheat codes to open songs when I bring the guitars to my friend's house tonight, but I wanted to try playing like a regular person first.

I am having some problems with it, though:

The scoring is incorrect
I have to hit the cymbals extremely hard to get drum Star Power (I got the sensitivity fix, thankfully)
I can't get guitar Star Power by tilting the guitar up (I have to use the button)
To get vocal Star Power I practically have to smack the mic (instead of tapping it as they say)

But the songs are great! So far, my favorites are Crazy Train and Sweet Home Alabama (for both drums and guitar). I just love my customized character and my logo is beautiful. I haven't tried the "jamming" thing or playing online yet, but that's because I, um, have to work...

I've done my reading on the Activision website about troubleshooting problems and will try their fixes and hopefully won't have any more problems. Bitch Wanked Unit rocks!

The Case of the $3 Cable

I've debated blogging about the details, but boy, did I ever make the right decision to break up with MB. I can whittle the relationship down into seven words – "He wanted three dollars for a cable." I'm posting purely for posterity, because this story deserves to be in the history books.


Here's some background. We were together for 10.5 months, our parents had met each other, and we had discussed marriage and kids and houses and ten years later and all that stuff. I thought he was The One! But thankfully I realized his crazy rules would stifle me and I would never, ever be happy. And I deserve to be happy! (There's more, but this is it in a nutshell.) It didn't exactly end on a high note. 6 weeks later, we still had to do the stuff dump (you know, returning or otherwise getting rid of the other's person's items that accumulated over the course of the relationship). Right after I broke up with him, I put all his stuff (except for the two gifts he gave me) into a bag, and waited for the right time. It sat there taking up space in my apartment.

Well, who knew when we would see each other, so I figured I would bring it to a mutual friend's house this past Saturday and emailed him that I would. One of the items was a wireless router he had installed (one of his "extras") to make life more convenient for him when he visited my place. In preparation, I wanted to confirm if any of the connecting cables were his. I actually have lots of cables so I didn't need any. If I for some reason did need, my dad has lots of cables. We have cables en cantidad! I had thought at least one of them was mine, and I could have just given them both to him just in case, but why should I give him MY stuff? He should receive his stuff, no more, no less. He also has cables in quantity.

So I emailed him and asked if one or both were his. He basically responded that one was mine and one was his. So there's the answer, I thought. But there was more to the email. I read on. He wrote that if there were more than two, then anything else was his. But I could just give him three dollars for it.

I stared at the email, astonished. I picked up my jaw from the floor. I rubbed my eyes and read it again. I debated between laughing and crying. Finally, I just decided to be pissed. What the hell!?

This is what I get for trying to be courteous. But it just reinforces my good decision. My sister said it succinctly: anyone who expects three dollars from his ex-girlfriend of nearly a year for an Ethernet cable deserves to be dumped. And I agree. Harrumph!

de Blob

So I got a new Wii game -- de Blob. Basically, the once colorful Chroma City was taken over by the INKT Corporation who unfortunately has banned color. It's up to Blob to save the world and turn the Graydians back into the Raydians they once were. Kind of a silly premise, but who cares, since it's just so pretty?

This game is awesome. The graphics are beautiful. The music is fun. Blob is cool. The other members of the Color Underground also rock. I definitely recommend this game to anyone who likes color. I do not recommend this game to anyone boring.

Which group do you belong to? Are you with us, or against us? Color is freedom! Long live color!

Another date

So I went out with that guy again tonight on Date #2. Received more red roses! So sweet of him. We went to dinner and I had a much better time than I expected! What ho! A spark!? I love it what that happens.

After dinner, we came back to my place and played Wii for a while, like kids. It was fun. Some kissing was had, like kids. It was fun, too. Surprise! I'm seeing him again! And I'm looking forward to it!

I may have pegged this guy all wrong. And wouldn't that be nice? He truly is sincere and caring if not sophisticated, and I really like the Judaism level. Once, I had to ask him to explain something! That was definitely fun.

So. Reader, I will keep you posted! Maybe it's something, maybe it's nothing. But it's way better than moping around...

Hawking must resign...

According to policy at Cambridge University, officeholders must retire at the end of the academic year in which they become 67. For Mr. Hawking, that date is January 8th.

But he does intend to continue his exploration of time and space, and will continue working as Emeritus Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. Thank goodness! This guy is a genius.

Basically, he theorized the nature of time, and disproved the typical black hole theory. He showed that yes, they do leak some radiation and light. That radiation is known as "Hawking radiation."

When I tried to read A Brief History of Time, I was mesmerized, but I never finished! I'm going to try again, but this time with A Briefer History of Time. Want to buy it for me?

A date

So I went on a date last night with the "really great" someone I described from JDate. It was enjoyable and he was very nice -- gentlemanly and sweet, complimentary and talkative -- and brought me a lovely bouquet of red roses. How nice, since red is my favorite color!

I'm not quite sure if the spark is there (for me), but I'm seeing him again on Friday to find out for certain. I will let you know how things develop. Wish me luck!

Fresca, wonderful Fresca

I go on soda kicks – sometimes I can't get enough, sometimes I can't look at the stuff. My top seven sodas are:

Cherry Coke Zero
Coke Zero
Fresca
Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper
Diet Dr. Pepper
Diet Sprite
Polar Diet Pomegranate Dry

I also like Polar Diet Grape, but nine times of ten I would choose one from the list rather than the grape. Of the listed, my absolute top flavors are Fresca and Diet Dr. Pepper. I could willingly drink five cans of Fresca a day. I figure, one at lunch, one at dinner, one mid-morning, one mid-afternoon, one at night! Fresca never, ever disappoints, and it's just carbonated enough. And no caffeine! Although I do love caffeine, it doesn't always love me.

There's no reason for this post except that I just drank a Fresca and really enjoyed it. Yum! And I wanted to share. Because that's the kind of girl I am!

Moving on

Ahoy! Success! Three nibbles!

One is not suitable, one is ok, and one is really, really great. Just in time, too. I was supposed to see Kooza tonight... but it's all good. It's been one month since the breakup, and ten days since rejoining JDate... and I'm moving on. To someone who will appreciate me! (And my parents are psyched, too.)

Wish me luck. I'll keep you posted!

Well, just call me average

The link below is to an article in today's online New York Times about the current state of the economy. And the following statement appears to be written just for me.

Entertainment and media executives remain optimistic about sales of movie tickets, DVDs and games. At Nintendo of America, the popular Wii video game consoles are still selling briskly at about $300.

"My view is that when consumers get concerned about their nest egg, or their country, they need entertainment," said Bo Andersen, president and chief executive of the Entertainment Merchants Association, which represents distributors and retailers of home entertainment products.

Apparently, I'm right on board with millions of other Americans. Drat. I've always considered myself delightfully atypical, but in terms of money concerns I guess I'm totally ordinary…

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/06/business/06econ.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Otter you do? Actually, not so well

"...We did an analysis to say, 'How many killer whales would it take to kill 50,000 otters?', and it turned out it was, like, three. I think they just came in, ate the otters, and left. We happened to be there to see it." said an ecologist who studied the eating patterns of sea creatures and their predators.


The chain goes like this: sea otters eat sea urchins, which keeps the kelp forests thriving, and bald eagles eat sea otters, except when there aren't enough and they have to switch to sea birds. Why aren't there enough otters? Because the killer whales ate them. The killer whales' meal of choice is large whales, and there aren't enough of those, either, due to international whaling after WWII. This is happening in Alaska, Ms. Palin. Harrumph.

It's interesting, since it jumps realms (from sea to land), but also controversial since in order to rebalance, it's clear what has to happen: recover the large whales. Thus, no more major whaling should take place. Anyone disagree?

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/10/03/sea-otter-eagle.html

Kitty cat dance

Cat! I'm a kitty cat! And I dance, dance, dance... dance, dance, dance!
Cat! I'm a kitty cat! And I meow, meow, meow... I meow meow, meow!

Rare frog found

I love this story. Scientists in Australia recently re-discovered a teeny frog that many had considered wiped out by a devastating fungus. Apparently these 1.5 inch-long froggies are survivors!

In addition, the frog is pretty cute. Small, but charming. Maybe if I kiss one I will find my prince!

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/09/11/rare-frog-australia.html

Know me, know my butt

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/09/080930-chimp-butts.html

This reminds me when ages ago, a friend of my sister once recognized the high-school me by my tush from a block away while I was walking and she was passing by on a bus. You can't make these things up!

Guitar Hero III, Expert Level

This weekend I spent quality time with my Wii and played completely through medium level on GH3. In one day. Or should I say, three hours. Suffice it to say, Bitch Wanked Unit kicks ass.

There's no other reason for this post except that I'm laughably proud that I passed by playing each song only once, and the battles -- passed first time on Morello, 2nd time on Slash, and third time on Lou. So now I'm attempting Expert level, but it's really, really hard! I heard practice makes perfect, though, and I will rise to the occasion. Good luck to me!

Image provided free by www.logoblog.org.

Excelsior!

Behold, my new dating mantra!

I figure, if I'm going to find my bashert (soulmate to those of you who don't speak pidgin Hebrew) I'm going to have to really put myself out there. Oh, Clever Cat, you're already way out there, some of you may say... but all jokes aside, I'm ready for a family. That being said, if you or anyone you are friendly with knows an eligible Jewish bachelor aged 33 to 43, marriage-minded and who wants at least one kid, intelligent, funny, emotionally stable, respectful, thoughtful, and affectionate, who enjoys eating unapologetically delicious and sometimes unusual food, and appreciates that I make up words and often burst into song -- hand over the goods!

In the spirit of beginning anew, I've rejoined JDate and hope to meet some interesting men, and soon. I'll keep you posted.