Video Game Review: Super Mario 64, for Nintendo DS

Super Mario 64 by far has to be one of the best Mario games ever made to date. I don’t care what next generation technology is available today; this game still surpasses them all.

Like most Mario games it starts of cheery. The Princess Peach has invited Mario to her castle to have some cake. He arrives only to discovery she has been kidnapped ‘again’ by the lizard king, Bowser.

The game starts outside of the Princess' castle, which is an entire game all its own. It's filled with a beautiful landscape. A lawn, trees, bushes, a moat. Everything one would expect to be outside of a beautiful Princess castle.

There are so many hidden treasures outside of the castle for you to find. You can climb trees and find coins in them. You can take a dip in the river that surrounds the castle and find more coins. Here you will find hidden doors that need keys that you will discover elsewhere in the castle. Everything is in 3D, which was at the time the first time I had ever seen any game done in this manner. It was like being alive when the Wizard of Oz first aired in color. I was in awe.
I was also surprised at how far and how high Mario could jump, once I gained some speed.

The music that is played while your outside gives you that true feeling. Bird’s chirp, and whistle while a low pleasant tune plays in the background. The outside of the castle should be treated as a tutorial. Use it to practice jumping, and getting a feel for the controls before you enter the castle.

Once you enter the beautiful 3D rendered castle you will at first be amazed at the beauty and detail that has been added. You will talk to the Toad and he will give you a quick conversation on what happened to Peach. You will then move on to your mission.

Throughout the castle are doors, all of which have stars on them, and a number. This number represents how many stars you need to unlock the door. Only a few doors open in the very beginning. In each door is a painting. At first you will have no idea what the heck to do with the painting. If you move up close to it, it ripples like water. You can jump into the paintings, and this will warp you into the world that the painting will represent.

At first you enter bomb man land. Your mission is to collect as many stars as you can from the lands by completing the mission that is asked of you. Your main mission however is to collect all 100 stars.

In each land/painting there will be a boss to defeat at the end. They range from extremely easy to difficult. You will run into giant bombs, foot races with turtles, slide races with penguins and walruses. Each battle boss has a weakness. It won’t take long for you to be able to figure out what it is, and usually there are clues that make it easy to spot the weakness. For instance, if you grab Bowser by the tail and spin the controller’s analog, you can easily throw him off of the board. Some bosses only require you to stomp on them. You will find that missions throughout the game are actually harder than the bosses.

Other Lands You Will Encounter:

There is a snow filled land that played jingle like music, so you feel like you’re in a world of Christmas. There are snowmen that throw snowballs at you, penguins that squeak, and ice, which is slippery.

There is also a tropical island paradise world with a pirate like theme. Here you feel as if you’re really on an island. You have to dig up treasure, take caution in the water, for the giant shark, which will actually have your heart pumping once you encounter him.

On your adventure you will also come across a sewer plant like world. There is oil leaking everywhere and you have to figure out how to stop it. You will also encounter a huge robotic shark. You must figure out how to free him from the pollution.

You will find a land that is so high in the sky that if you fall it will take quite some time to get back up to the top again.

Each land you come across will be just as, if not more impressive than the last. Like any Mario game, the deeper you get into the harder the missions become. Yet they are still all very enjoyable.

You will find secret staircases that lead to places out of this world, holes in roofs that will take you to a mission, tornado's that swoop you up and kill you, switches that causes rivers and ponds to drain, lava that dances towards you, 10 foot cactus's with spikes that slowly make their way towards you, intimidating you the whole time, bridges that fold up on you, and warp zones for shortcuts to other areas within the land.

You will also come across a few secret rooms within the castle allowing you to gain more stars. You will find secret races, and slide games, and one particular cloud land that Mario fly’s through trying to collect coins and find the star before time runs out.

You will meet up with strange characters throughout the lands. Owls that lift you into the sky, rabbits that you have to run after and catch to obtain keys, pieces of cement blocks that have come to life with rage, eels, and killer fish. You will also recognize a few classic characters from the original games. The toadstools are still present, but in 3D making them look spectacular. The bombs now have feet and run towards you crazily, the man-eating plant is also present, and not limited to only popping out of the green tubes. They’re everywhere.

Mario will also have the ability to fly once you find the secret stomp switch. Once you hit the secret switch, all of the red blocks will give Mario the ability to soar throughout the skies. It will add wings to his hat.
There are also 2 other secret switches you must find hidden throughout the castle, a blue one, and a yellow one.

DIFFICULTY:
I’m going to have to say that at time this game could get very difficult. There is still a wall kick mission that I have yet to complete without kicking myself over the ledge of a mountain and dying, or landing on the ledge correctly could be just as difficult. The camera controls are easy to use, it only requires the push of the yellow arrow buttons, however at times it can get all quirky and actually cause you do die.

In the beginning it may be difficult to grasp the controls, however after a few jumps and spins, you pretty much get the knack of it.

It would be difficult for me to put a grading on the games difficulty. Some lands and missions are easy as pie, and other lands are close to impossible to complete. There is really no middle. Either the task is so easy its pathetic, or the task is so hard your ripping your hair out and screaming.
However with my own personal experience on the game I would have to give it a 4 out of 10, seeing how there are a lot more easy missions throughout the game than brain bleeder missions.

SOUND: Mario actually makes noises, and talks. He however is limited to ‘its-uh mee Marriiiooo’ or ‘whooay’ ‘hyahh’ ‘woo’ and other cooing noises he makes throughout the game. He will huff and puff and wheeze if he is almost about to die. He will make loud screaming screeching noises when he jumps high.
Each land has a theme, and with each theme the music matches it. I liked this a lot. If you’re in a Boss castle, the music is scary and intimidating. If you’re racing the music is fast and upbeat. If you’re at the beach, you hear seagulls and appropriate background music to give the player a full effect feel for the land they are in. I’d easily give the music a 7 out of 10. You don’t have to have today’s greatest hits playing for the game to have enjoyable music and sounds in it.

GRAPHICS:

I said this before, and I will say it again, I adore Nintendo’s cartoon like games. Back in the 90’s this game would grab a 10 easily, out of a 1-10 scoring on graphics. Honestly today I can still say it still deserves a 10.
It paved the way to all 3D games that followed shortly after, yet none could equal Super Mario 64’s originality and charm.


Super Mario 64 is filled with beautiful and fantasy/mystery like surprises. There are hours upon hours, upon more hours of game play that this game will deliver. I would recommend this game to everyone and anyone.

PC Game Review: Sims 2 Seasons Expansion Pack

Maxis has finally decided to release a concept that has been begged for from Sims fans since the birth of the Sims 1. Weather! Took you long enough fellas! Gez.

The Sims 2 Seasons is the newest Sims 2 expansion pack. It’s not like those crummy rip-off add on packs.

In the Sims 2 Seasons your Sims will have a bunch of new things to do. However like most of the expansion packs, the so-called ‘new’ gets old really fast, seeing how they don’t give you that much.

So my Sims now have 4 seasons. Summer, winter, fall and spring, all in that order too. However your Sims only get approximately 4 days to enjoy the new weather changes.

That sort of sucks, and if you want to change the weather you have to buy this big huge satellite and place it on your lawn to change the weather. The thing is gigantic, and ridiculous looking.

Before I rip this expansion pack to shreds let me explain the seasons, and the new activities your Sims can now enjoy.

1. SUMMER-

This is the game play you are used to. The Sims 2 always seemed to be set in summer mode. You could swim in the pool when you wanted, wear what you wanted, without risking getting the flu because it is cold outside. Summer in the Sims 2 Seasons is the same. However now if you dress your Sims in long sleeved shirts or sweaters they can risk overheating. My Sims however only seem to overheat in the summer time when they work out on an exercise machine. Other than that my Sims can walk around with sweaters on without any problems. If your Sim happens to over heat you can simply give him or her a shower, or you can blend yourself up a once cup of cold lemonade.

How do you make Lemonade?

This is also a new feature. Gardening. You Sims now have the ability to make greenhouses, and grow fruit trees. The fruit trees grow the fruit, and the new juicer juices your fruits into beverages.

Keeping up with your garden takes up a lot of time; so seriously don’t bother making a garden with more than 4 tiles. Your garden will always be unhealthy. No matter how much time my Sims spend tending to the garden, it never seems happy. However it will still grow fruits and vegetables.

What angers me is Maxis lack of instructions on how to go about getting more vegetable varieties. As of now I only can grow tomatoes in my garden. I figured if I joined the garden club, I would be given some new seeds for different veggies. No such luck. Maxis does not explain this to you, and they don’t even let you know if you can grow more than just tomatoes. Your fruit trees are limited to oranges, lemons, and apples.

Like I said if you happen to plan on having a family, or running a business, forget about gardening.

In the summer time your Sims can also now enjoy a few new summer dresses, a slide for the pool, a new rounded pool tile so you can get a round edged pool, and a new pool game to play while they are in the pool. Marco polo. It’s cute to watch them play it once, but always having to direct them to play it is annoying. I wish they could just do it on their own. It’s bad enough having to direct them in the pool, now you have to direct them how to swim, and play. Pretty annoying. You will also be given some summer patio furniture, and a new BBQ grill. No lawn mower yet! Dang it!

What else have we got?

There are fireflies that you will see flying around at night. Your Sims, if directed can catch them in a jar and put them in the house. They also give off a cool glowing light when they are placed inside of the house. However they die pretty fast. So it’s useless in thinking you can keep them as a new form of light.

THERE IS MORE:
Your Sims also now have the option to go fishing. You can only fish in ponds that you have placed on the lot. The ponds also have to be deep enough to support fish. You simply click on the pond and you are asked, what type of bait. I find this odd seeing how the only option they give you is a worm. If anyone knows how to buy different types of bait, please comment me. I think it is stupid to ask which bait you want to fish with, when only one type is available; but whatever.
So far I have only been successful in catching bass fish and boots. I don’t think there is anything else in the ponds. Bass and boots.

Oh yeah and now your Sims have the option to play catch, and throw water balloons at each other. Another little action that gets old quick, not only that, but the Sims will do this on their own all too much.

2. WINTER-

It snows. Surprise! It’s pretty easy to figure out when the snow will start. Your Sims will automatically get a new action with a snowflake on it. They get this action before it starts snowing, so it is odd. All of a sudden the snow falls. It also looks like it is falling inside of your house, which I find annoying. However snow will not fill your home, it will just look like its coming down in your living room. It’s also obvious because your computer will slow down when the snow starts. Once it starts though it will run normally again.

As soon as there is enough snow on the ground your Sims can go outside and play in it. They can have snowball fights, make snow angels, or build snowmen. Not only that but they can also freeze. Plus if one of your children happens to freeze they will get taken away. So watch your Sim kids temperature thermometers and make sure they are in the green and not the blue.

If you happen to have your thermometer fall into the blue, you can go inside and brew yourself a cup of hot chocolate.

-A strange event happened to me after building a snowman and not completing it. I had a rather large and fat penguin come up to the snowman and pee next to it, the thing then walked through my house and left. I guess this is the ‘surprise’ guest for this expansion pack.

I know the Sims Pets had Hilary Duff however she never visited me. Blah! Most of the time to get the guest celebrity to visit you, you had to pull off an extreme event. The penguin came out of nowhere.

-Your Sims will also get the flu a lot during this winter season. I wish Maxis would add in some medicine for my Sims. They lay in bed the entire season because they are too sick to go outside and enjoy the snow.

3. FALL-

My Sims didn’t even know it was fall. See if you don’t place any trees in your lot, you won’t even notice that this season is occurring. Without trees they can’t die. Your fruit trees will grow dormant, so they don’t produce leaves. You need to place the older trees on the lot for any of them to land on your lawn.

Once you have trees, and leaves you can now start raking the leaves up, and playing in them. You can also use the dead leaves to add to your compost bin, which you use as fertilizer for your garden.

There are also a few fall themes objects, but nothing special. Maxis still fails to give fans a friggin light up pumpkin for cryin’ out loud. Maxis could have really gone the extra mile with the fall season. Yet sort of left it alone. Just like spring.

4. SPRING-

Like fall, Maxis failed to add really anything here. It rains a little more and maybe you will get one lightning storm if you are lucky during the 4-day season. You are not given a raincoat though to go outside, which stinks, and an umbrella would have really been awesome. Nope, instead they sit out in the rain looking like a bunch of idiots.

Your Sims will not really interact or do the new actions available unless you direct them to do so.

I WANT A NEW JOB

The Sims 2 Seasons also comes with 6 new career paths, which I find to be neat. With all 6 new jobs your Sims can also unlock the career rewards. This is where we have an issue; some of the career rewards are identical to what old rewards only they look a little different. I was very disappointed in the new reward objects that were added. None of them are any good, and one career only gives you a stupid statue. It does nothing special at all, just sits there and takes up mass amounts of space.

WHAT DO THE NEW CLOTHES LOOK LIKE?

Baggy and stupid, just like all of Maxis’ clothing add-ons. All of the winter clothing is too big looking on the Sims. They have a few options, about 9. Before you know it everyone in town is sporting the same winter outfit, which is annoying. The website www.thesims2.com will tell you they now can sport hats and gloves and scarves. Hooey! If you want to have your Sims wear a hat you have to choose it while you create your Sim. So all year round he will sport a winter hat. Pretty lame. You really have to download clothing online to get a wide assortment. My favorite site has always been www.modthesims2.com

OBJECTS, GOT ANYTHING NEW?

Yes, however there are not many. You actually get more new objects with the add-ons. There are a few new lamps that are just hideous looking. They are too big, and look terrible on any nightstand. There are a few new statues, all of which are too big to place anywhere reasonable looking. There are no new items for children though, which is disappointing. I’m so sick of the same teddy bear, and toy box. How about a new swing set? That would be sweet, or a sand box? Maybe the next expansion pack will focus on the kids. Who knows?

YOU STINK!

What else stinks- when your Sims do an activity leaves, flowers, sun, or snow will now sprinkle around their heads and dance in a circular motion as they gain personality points. Maxis fails to let people know what this means in the game. The new graphic is there, but no one knows why? I am assuming that if you have your Sims spend time cooking in the summer, perhaps he is learning to do cooking more in the summer time than any other time. That is just a guess though? I’m stumped.

I was expecting a lot more for $30. Again Maxis fails to deliver. The idea was wonderful, and the initial idea actually came from Sims fans. However as soon as Maxis got hold of the idea it turned into a gigantic mess. The game focuses more on the summer time and wintertime. Fall and spring got totally left in the dirt.

Boo!!! Maxis Boo!!!!


SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

Taken from the box:

· Windows 98, Me, 2000, XP, Vista
· 1.3 GHz or faster processor
· 256 MB of RAM (512 MB RAM is recommended for Windows Vista or if you are running with a multiple expansion packs installed)
· 8X or faster CD/DVD-ROM drive
· Minimum of 1.5 GB of free hard drive space
· DirectX 9.0c compatible Video Card with 32MB or more memory required (64MB for Windows Vista)

I’d recommend saving your money on this one. It’s a waste. Not only that buy the guide. There is way too many things that go unanswered with this expansion pack. You won't even know how to use, or do most of the things available without it. What a rip-off! Can't even give buyers a small instruction manual?! Shame on you Maxis!

Video Game Review, Sonic and the Secret Rings for Nintendo Wii

I’m going to be completely honest. Sonic and The Secret Rings is HARD! I’m one of these people who have little patience. If I can’t beat a board after 5 or 6 times of trying I throw the remote to the floor and have myself a gigantic pity party. I whine, I cuss, I give the TV the finger, and I get depressed. A game, defeats me!? I won’t have it! It is unheard of!

Someone defeated me, and honestly I don’t even know who. That is really how poor the storyline is.

Once you start the game you have to sit and listen to about 10 minutes of the most boring dialogue you have ever had to suffer through. (Like I said, I have no patience, and hate long cut scenes. A minute is more than enough for me, however I sat through it just so I could write this review)

Sonic is told by some genie, (she’s a girl) that the final pages to some book called Arabian Nights have gone blank (Yeah sounds pretty stupid right?) it is some dude named Erazor who is responsible for the blank pages. It is up to Sonic to collect these magical rings in order to beat Erazor and restore the blank pages to the book. Yay!!!

Blah blah, the genie gets a cold, she sneezes, and before you know it your thrown right into game play without even knowing whom your enemy is. Where is Dr. Robotnic?

WHERE WE GOIN’?

You will be taken to many different lands; however the first place you begin is just a tutorial, the desert oasis. Everything here is just a bunch of idiotic tasks you must perform in order to get to the next chapter inside of the storybook (or world). You will have to run through boards without breaking a jug (elebits anyone?), you will have to kill 10 enemies and not miss a single one in the level. You will be asked to collect 50 rings. All of the tasks are fast paced, and most of them are simple. However some tasks are close to impossible to complete.

The game is similar to how the original was. Sonic won’t die if an enemy hits him so long as he is carrying some rings. If he has zero rings, he will die, and you will have to start the level over again.

LAND HO’!

You will be taken to a desert oasis- this is the lands where your tutorial will take place. You will also be traveling to dinosaur land where you find yourself running away from some huge stampede in the beginning, robot land where you will do combat with a bunch of different types of robots, pirate lands, floating lands and more. Each land consists of about 20 missions. Some of these missions will be fast and easy to beat in only about a minute or two, while others can take around 5 minutes, or more depending on whether or not you die. There are a total of 7 fantasy lands, and one tutorial in all. So really there are 8, if you want to count the long boring tutorial.

SONICS’ GOT SKILLS

Depending on how well you completed a mission Sonic will also level up his ring. He will gain experience points depending on how well you did. You can only choose one ring out of 4 to level up. You can also customize your rings the way you want. For instance if you are on a mission that requires you to beat the world in a certain amount of time, you can customize the ring for speed.
You can either add speed, assault or defense when you customize your rings.

CUT! LIGHTS CAMERA, ACTION!!!!

Each chapter in the storybook you complete will take you to a cut scene. Sometimes a cut scene will even occur before you thought you finished the chapter, which can be annoying. Each cut scene is filled with more pathetic dialogue, and most of the dialogue in the scenes is 50% unnecessary. Why do we have to watch the genie sneeze? Why do we have to listen to Sonic say God Bless you?

OKAY

So what’s up with these controls?

Yeah it took me a hot minute to figure that one out too. See I was pointing the remote at the TV thinking that was how to control him. Nope. You turn the wii remote to the side and hold it like you would an old Nintendo remote controller. Now tilt it left or right. That’s how you get Sonic to move.

I find it stupid, and difficult even after a playing for a good hour or so. I don’t understand why the nun chuck was not used to move him, and the wii remote to jump and perform battle moves!

All of your battle moves will be done on the wii remote only, by flicking your arms forward. This is how Sonic kills things. However first you must jump, and then wait for the enemy to light up red. Then you can strike. Killing enemies takes a bit of practice and perfect timing. It is annoying, and most of the time your best bet is to just run passed enemies if you can.

You also can stop Sonic by pressing the 2 button. You make him jump by pressing the 1button.

However in order for him to jump high he must be completely stopped. Then you hold down the 1 button to get a higher longer jump. Weird, and in my opinion its lame to have to bring him to a full stop just to get him to jump high. Most of the time though he is running so fast it is impossible to get him to a full stop to perform a jump, so he just throws himself off of the ledge. This stinks because in most missions you will throw yourself off of ledges because you don’t know where they are, and they come up so fast. You will most likely die during these jumps until you’re aware of where they are, and when they’re coming up.

Sonic can also grind on rails. What I mean by that is he can jump up on rails and gain super amount of speed while he is zipping by. The rails however I would try to avoid. He slides so fast that once you see an enemy blocking your path, it is too late to perform any actions to kill it or get out of its way.

You can also tilt the remote back towards your body to get him to move backwards. Sonic will however go extremely slow when moving backwards, and it really messes with your vision when you try to back up.

What stinks about the controls in Sonic and the secret rings is how sonic is always moving forward. So if you happen to find yourself up against a wall, and an enemy behind you, it can get glitchy when trying to back up and smash the wall without getting killed by the enemy behind you.

SOUND-

Like I said before, the dialogue stinks, the tones of the voice actors are all over the place, and not only that but the songs in the game are all stupid little drumbeats trying to sound cool, but they are just annoying, and can give you a headache.

Not only do the songs and voices stink, but so does the fact that while in game play there is not a whole lot of different sounds. You will hear the chimes of rings being collected, sounds when Sonic hits an enemy, and a few others. There is not really a large assortment that you would expect. Each song and sound is the same as the last. Nothing really changes.

TONE DEAF?
Not only that but when a character is afraid, they sound happy. When they are mad, they sound calm. The tones of the characters are so off it can at times actually be funny, but not for long.
Eventually the whole dialogue just becomes a waste of your time, and really your patience.

I WOULD OF LIKED TO TAKE MY TIME AND SMELL THE ROSES-

There will be none of that in Sonic, and this is where I have the biggest bone to pick with the game. The graphics are beautiful, I will not deny that, the 3D scenes are beautiful; only, I can enjoy them for about a second.
Every world is colorful and charming. It is a mix of fantasy and reality and it does look stunning.

However Sonic runs so fast at times that I could see how one can easily pass out and start having an epileptic seizure. I found myself dizzy and getting headaches from this lightning fast game play.
It would have been nice if the fast packed action wasn’t such a blur. It would have been more enjoyable if I could have indulged in my environments instead of zipping through them with such ridiculously high speed.
The speed at times gets so out of control that you will not even be able to avoid enemies or spikes that pop up from floors or walls.

YOU SMELL SONIC, TAKE A BATH AND CLEAN YOURSELF UP

What stinks about Sonic and the secret rings is that the game play doesn’t continue in order. You must go into the chapter in the storybook, then click on the chapter you want to play inside of the chapter. Confusing yes? It’s not really hard to figure out when you are playing the game, however I find it annoying to have to continue to go back to the pages in order to play the next part of the game. Why could it not just continue in succession?
Not only does that stink, but the replay value stinks as well. I couldn’t fid myself wandering back to this game after completing it. It’s pretty and all, but it just lacks that ‘lets play more’ (again) aspect.

CAN MY FRIENDS PLAY?

They sure can, in party mode there are 30 different mini-games that come with Sonic and the secret rings. They are sort of fast paced Warioware type games, or Mario Party type mini challenges. All of them are fun, however after you’ve played each one they don’t really have that much replay value.

This is not what I was expecting from a $60 game purchase. The original charm from Sonic has been erased and fans have been striped of what made them fans in the first place. I really hope if they add a part 2 for the wii that it is nothing like this game.

YOU’LL WANT TO TRY IT, BUT DO NOT BUY IT

I would not advise anyone to go out and spend $60 on this game. However it is slightly fun, and probably worth a rent. Nothing more.

Plymouth Bagged Rubber Bands Assorted Colors and Sizes

RUBBER BANDS!

Yes we can do reviews on paperclips, pens, notebook pads, and pencils, but there is just not enough reviews on RUBBER BANDS! What’s the deal with that?!

This review should put me in the spotlight, who else can say they are cool enough to write about rubber bands? (Oh yeah that guy before me)

Okay so rubber bands… where to start? I found my Plymouth assorted sizes bag at Staples. This means my bag o' fun comes in sizes small enough to fit around a highlighter, or large enough to fit around a giant kankle. That's about it. Some are wider than others, and some are so thin they snap the moment you stretch them out.
I got them for $3, Yeah they are hiking up in price. True!

WHAT'S THE POINT?

What I like to do with my colorful rubber bands varies from day to day.
Like when I’m in a good mood, I will put them on and use them as pretty fashion accessories for my wrist, and the boys go gaga, and the girls just get jealous with envy.

“Where Oh Where can I get One Of Those Bee-Yooty-Ful bracelet’s!?” They all ask. Tee-hee!

I know, not everyone can be as cool as me. I don’t tell them my fashion secret. These rubber band beauties are mine. All mine!

When I am in a playful mood I will wrap the rubber band around my pointer finger and thumb, -this is a tricky rubber band-flicking gun trick that only us rubber band pros know of. Once you lower your thumb the rubber band goes flying with major force and speed. If you aim correctly you will always hit your target. 90% of the time anyways.

If I’m in a bad mood, or if someone has just recently boiled my blood, I will use the rubber bands as weapons. This is similar to the rubber band gun, only it hurts a lot worse. Again position the rubber band on your pointer finger and your thumb. Walk up to the enemy, place the stretched out rubber band on their skin, and pull back and release. This will leave a nice red mark, and the sting is quite painful.

Another fun playful thing I like to do with my bag of rubber bands:
While I’m sitting at the office on a dead day I make myself a rubber band guitar.
That’s right! It's easy! Follow these simple directions:

You get yourself a ruler, and pick out the longest rubber bands from the assorted bag and you wrap a few around the ruler. You now have yourself a practical yet fun toy! Everyone will be so jealous at the office.

They are Oh so convenient too. You can also use rubber bands as hair ties! Yes they rip your fur out when you try to remove them, and yes it hurts, and yes it’s probably really really bad for your hair, but it still works. Not only that it’s like the “IT” girl thing to do. Haha.

What else, hmm hold on let me think for a minute Gez… try to contain your excitement! I know you’re just dying to own these rubber bands now!

Oh yeah! The RUBBER BAND BALL. This is another oh so fun thing you can do with your rubber bands. You first must get a ping-pong ball, or tennis ball. Keep wrapping rubber bands around them, over and over again. Eventually you will be left with one neat super bouncy ball. These are most fun, and everyone will try to steal it from you. It’s that cool!

THEY ARE FOR EVERYONE!

OFFICE GEEKS LIKE ME:

Nerdy people may want to use rubber bands to roll up documents or whatever. I find this unnecessary but some people may want to use the rubber bands for that. God only know why?

TEENS LIKE THEM TOO:

I’ve also seen some wacky teens wrap rubber bands around their fingers to cut off circulation. I don’t know what it is with teens and thinking it is cool to do this- but they do, so maybe you want to keep these rubber bands away from teens… they do weird things with them.

WARNINGS

Rubber bands should not be chewed no matter how cool a texture they are. You can swallow them and have them wrap around your insides and cause internal issues.
Don’t eat rubber bands, don’t chew on them, don’t suck on them… as a matter of fact don’t even put them near your face! Yeah you!

Also keep them away from children please. There is no warning on the bag, but lets play safe okay!? Kids can choke on them!

THERE'S MORE, OH YEAH!

You can also use these rubber bands for finger exercise. It’s like a workout for fat fingers. Like if your fingers are swollen for the day for some reason, you can do the rubber band workout. It’s most effective! My fingers are so tone and slender now.

Rubber bands come in a wide assortment of thickness and in length, not to mention colors.
Don’t go crazy now, but they come in…
Pink, blue, green, white, tan, yellow, red, orange, black, neon colors, pale colors, pastels, you name it, the rubber band can satisfy any color need you may be looking for.

The downfall about the rubber band though is that they can snap on you. If you stretch them too much they break. Now if someone could just invent the indestructible rubber band, then… well… wow I’d be impressed!

SPECIAL INGREDIENTS:

I should also add that rubber bands are made of, um, rubber- so if you are allergic to rubber, you may want to avoid these little guys.
Rumor has it that there is sulfur in the mix too, so sometimes your bands may smell like farts or rotting eggs. I have yet to smell this stink, these rubber bands smell like rubber. Nothing more.

PRACTICAL JOKES TO PLAY ON YOUR FRIENDS
1. You can leave a rubber band in the freezer and give them to someone who may need one. The rubber band will becomes so brittle that when someone goes to use it, it will snap. You get to sit back and laugh at your evil deed.

2. You can also leave a few of them out in the sun and give them to people. They will dry up into a sickly cracked look. These rubber bands are useless. The moment someone goes to use them they will flake apart. hehehe.

3. The poor mans braces. This is always fun. Wrap the rubber band around your back teeth, and position them on like braces. You can pick any color, and they're a real hoot. However I did say keep them out of your mouth, so do this at your own risk if you must.

I love rubber bands; I recommend everyone try them out. If you haven’t yet, go and buy a big huge bag, the possibilities are endless!

Now wasn't that fun!? Who said rubber bands had to be boring!?

Video Game Review: Cooking Mama: Cook Off, For Nintendo Wii

So last night I cooked up some minestrone soup all from scratch in less than 5 minutes, not only that I was able to prepare exotic foreign meals in seconds. However Mama herself rated my meals. She didn’t quite agree with everything I had to cook. As a matter of fact, most of the time she wanted me to try harder. Sniff sniff.
But Mama listen, it’s not my fault really, the controls on your game… um, well they blow!

Cooking Mama Cook Off was first released for the Nintendo DS, and after reading an excellent review on the DS version, I just knew I had to try the newly released Nintendo wii version of the game. Cooking Mama Cook Off has brought to me 55 food recipes from 10 different nations, using 300 different ingredients, which I now can prepare on my television set with the ease of just flipping my wrist around.

I can now cook foods from Japan, America, France, Mexico, India, England, Spain, China, Italy, and Germany. Sweet!

The entire game itself is basically a series of a bunch of mini games that are placed in order to complete a certain food dish. However each task is time limited. So if you don’t chop the vegetables fast enough or complete the task on time, Mama will tell you to try harder. But instead of giving you a re-try you are thrown quickly into the next ingredient.

For me Cooking Mama Cook Off was sort of a bore. Each different recipe pretty much asked me to do the exact same thing as the last recipe. Nothing is really that different, and tasks become tedious and repetitive. Let me explain some of the tasks that you will be seeing a lot of.

GET TO THE CHOPPA!
Some recipes ask that you chop up some vegetables, waving the wii remote up and down as if it were a knife. You will have about 10 seconds to chop the vegetables.

*This task is far too easy, and I honestly wish they would of at least tried to make it a little bit harder, or maybe longer.

PEEL IT!
In order to peel vegetables you simply wave the wii remote up, and then down and the skins will come off. Hmph!

*The controls for this task make it quite difficult for me to perform this task. For some reason when you hold the remote upright like the game asks me to do, the sensor does not read the remote, and gets stuck a lot. You will most likely fail this mini game many times. I know I did.

GRATE THAT POTATOE!
Some recipes call for grated potatoes, ginger, cheese, or carrots. Waving the remote left and right can do this easily, and the vegetable will grate. However sometimes the grater will get clogged and you have to hold the wii remote upright and pound it down. For some reason, (like peeling) the wii sensor does not sense the remote anymore, and will simply get stuck or do nothing at all.

*Although the controls will glitch up, you will still be given enough time to complete the grating process. You have about 20 seconds to complete the grating task.

BUTTER ME UP!
There will be some recipes that call for buttering up a pan. There will be a large pan on the screen and a pat of butter. You have about 40 seconds to cover the entire pan with butter. This task is pretty simple. All you do is move the wii remote around and fill in the blank spots. It sort of reminds me of coloring. You will finish this task before time runs out.

STIR IT UP!
Stirring can be done by simply moving your wii remote in a circular motion; It’s pretty easy to do, although sometimes things can get a little glitchy and just stop for no reason at all.

IT’S GETTIN’ HOT IN HEA!
Heating foods are simple. Your dish will be placed in either an over, microwave or grill. You have to watch the bottom screen and make sure you turn off the device the moment the timing clock gets into the red. If you do not turn off the device fast enough you will burn your meal. You have about 6 seconds to get it right. You also do not want to remove your dish too early. This particular mini game does not call for any wrist motions. Simply click the ‘turn off’ button. It’s pretty simple.

FRY IT UP!

Fried foods can get tricky. You will be prompted to flip the fried foods whenever the screen asks you to. You can do this by flicking the wii remote in an upward motion and the food in the pan will flip around.
This particular mini game is easy except for the fact that everything is timed to precision. If you flip too early, or too hard the food will be ruined.

BARBEQUE, BARBE-QUE- A STINKY STINKY PEW PEW PEW!

The BBQ in Cooking Mama Cook Off is a little strange. You heat it up by using a Japanese fan. You move the fan back and forth to get the coals to start burning. Once the colas are burning be sure to keep an eye on the screen and not so much on the flame. You will be asked to flip the food that is on the grill. If you do not do this in time, your food will burn, and you will fail. Mama is not going to be happy!

LET’S COOK!

If you were to make minestrone soup, the first mini game you would be playing would be chopping the vegetables for the soup. Next you will be mincing them for about 10 seconds-Mama will then grade your chopping skills, next you will be grating some potatoes- Mama will then grade that, after this you are to stir the ingredients in a big pot. Stirring them can be difficult, the tasks are thrown at you fast, and everything is timed. You have to add ingredients when the game prompts you to, then you have to lower and higher the heat on the stove when you are told to do so, next you are to stir the pot. If you miss one prompt during any of the mini games Mama will decrease your grading.
After you have finished preparing the soup, Mama will give you an official rating based on how well you have done in each step. She can be generous and give you a gold badge (better than Mama), silver badge, bronze badge, or the big boot. Try harder.
After you complete a recipe a new recipe will sometimes be added into your recipe book. Yay!
Now what would of really taken this game to the next level would be to add the real recipe into my cookbook so I could prepare these foods in real life. Not having that is a little disappointing, seeing how the game itself is close to $60, adding in a few real life recipes wouldn’t of hurt. Fun and educational! No such luck.

MULTIPLAYER

Yes, Cooking Mama Cook Off will allow you and all your dorky friends to battle each other in this game. Well at least one anyway. The screen is split in 2, and you and a friend will be able to prepare a food dish. Whichever person prepares it the fastest and with the best accuracy will win the game.

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDS MODE
In this mode, you are basically challenging the computer. This is great for us dorks who don’t have many friends. Sigh* however you compete up against 10 different international foreign friends whom specialize in making certain foods from their country.
I totally hated this because for one the wii controls in Cooking Mama Cook Off are not so reliable, and the international friend is a specialist. The computer will never miss a beat, and you will. You will lose every time, so I am disappointed that this mode was even added, and why the computer ‘never ever’ messes up. Grrrr!

HOW’S THEM GRAPHICS?

They are pretty much like the majority of the Nintendo Wii games out right now; cartoony looking, and drawn in a childlike Japanese anime way. The colors are bright and sort of pretty, however there does not seem to be a large assortment of different colors so everything sort of looks the same. I’m going to give the graphics a 5 out of 10. Although they lacked colors, they weren’t terrible.

WHAT’S ON THE MENU?

Some dishes you will find in Cooking Mama Cook Off include, sushi, hot dogs, hamburgers, fried shrimp, octopus, pasta, fish, eggs, soups, custards, steaks, and more.

Alrighty then, let me tell you what truly annoys me about Cooking Mama Cook Off.

1. The fact that every time I get a gold badge for a dish, Mama has to annoy me with her high-pitched broken English squealing voice. ‘Gweat Joba, Bedda Den Mama!’
2. The fact that the controls are sometimes so glitchy that they stop responding.
3. The fact that I can’t beat any of the computer generated characters.
4. That each recipe basically asks for the same prompt as the last
5. That the game promised 300 different ingredients, but failed to mention that almost all of them are in the exact same white bottles just with a different name on them.
6. That the game does not include the real recipe so I could cook some of this sludge up at home. Octopus with ink sauce! Um… ech.
7. After completing a dish, I couldn't see myself wanting to go back and do it again. Basically once the 55 dishes are done, so is the game.

SO WHAT’S GOOD?

Well Cooking Mama Cook Off will provide you with a few hours of good fun. It is also pretty neat to play in multi-player mode and go up against friends and family members. Although the controls stink at times, it’s still a good game. Good game, not great, not excellent, just okay. Not only that but a lot of the mini-games will provide some arm exercise. Get them guns a little toned up!

PASS IT ON

I wouldn’t recommend buying this one quite yet, however it’s one of those games that I have a feeling will decrease in price quickly. The game play repeats itself, and gets pretty boring, pretty fast. Until the price of this game goes down, as of now it is only worth a rent.

Review: Sea Monkey Executive Set

If anyone here has taken the time to get to know the person behind my user name, you would know that my recent hobby includes ecospheres. Making my own, and maintaining the organism life forms for as long as I possibly can without killing my little creature colony.

This is pretty much why I bought the Sea-Monkeys Executive Set off of www.ebay.com (they had the best deals ranging from $10-$14).

That way I could bring my love for science straight to my office desk for a fraction of the cost for an eco-sphere. Not to mention, I feel cool being the only one having one at work. I know my co-workers are jealous, even though they refer to me as ‘hey kid’ sometimes. (I wonder why?) Whatever they so know they want one of these little aquariums on their desks!

So what is different about the executive set, vs. a regular old $5 basic tank of sea monkeys?

Um, well nothing really, it’s still the exact same concept it was in the 60’s, only more adult friendly and ‘nice looking’.

I’m a nerd, a dork even. I have no shame in admitting it. I grew up with sea monkeys, (however I was very disappointed when I was a child to realize my monkeys in fact were not as the cover promised, and I had spent hours looking for the king sea-monkey with the crown) they provided me hours of entertainment, and also they taught me the responsibility of taking care of a pet. No matter how small it is.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?

The tank itself is black on the bottom, and the top, which includes a ventilation lid, in the middle of course, is your looking glass with 4 built in magnifiers. On the bottom of the tank lies a hunk of gold, and at the top there is a nice gold statue of a sea monkey. The Aquarium is equipped with a ventilated lid and a mound of gold on the bottom. It’s actually really nice looking, and has that professional vibe going. You certainly wouldn’t want to have some sunken ship or play land sea monkey tank on your office desk. This one at least tries to make you look serious.

The executive tank also comes with a ‘million bubble’ air pump for aerating the water. You simply stick the little hose into the water and press down on it. It will release a whole bunch of micro small bubbles into the tank. I haven’t been able to count them, so I’m not sure if there are a million to be exact. (That was a lame attempt at sarcasm)

You will also be getting a tiny tank tool with a red LED light. You use this to clean out any grime that may build up on the tanks walls. It is also referred to as ‘the squeegee’. I honestly have no idea why they had to add a red LED light. The sea monkey site says it’s for pizzazz. However it’s pretty useless. Not to mention it looks like a fairy princess wand, you may want to just chuck this one in the garbage pail, or give it to your daughter or any other little girl who may have a good time using it during fairy princess imagination games.

Included in the sea monkey’s executive set will also be an aqua leash. This is to remove sea monkeys and place them in another tank. This tool is helpful for when you want to clean out the tank without hurting the sea monkeys. You can also use it to transfer them into new tanks you may happen to purchase in the future.
There is also a feeding spoon, which is the perfect sized scoop to feed your sea monkeys weekly. There is also a small plastic magnifying glass included.

You will also be getting the 3 step packages in order to bring your sea monkeys to life.

Step 1

Is the water purifier. You add water to the tank, and then you simply pour in the package of water purifier, and stir it around the water until it is all dissolved. You now must allow the water sit for 24 hours before adding step 2.

Step 2

Are the live eggs. This packet is your sea monkeys in their crystal form. Once the powdery substance hits the water, you can instantly see the babies swim around if you look hard enough. They will be just as small as a pinhead, so you really will have to look hard if you want to see them. During this stage however there is no much to observe.

Step 3

Is your sea monkey food. You will only have to feed them a small scoop once a week. The scoop (or spoon) comes with the sea monkey executive set, with the perfect size scoop to feed your monkeys weekly. Do not over feed or you could kill them.

MANUAL

There is a small instruction packet for care that comes with this kit, it is in English, French and Spanish. Everything in the manual is pretty basic and sort of what I have already spoken of.

However on the site www.sea-monkeys.com the sea monkey executive kit states that this kit will teach business people patience, and that it will lower blood pressure, encourage a kinder gentler self, and it will help one feel big and powerful.

I don’t really know about all of that. That little description actually made me laugh. I guess if you were to stare at the little guys all day long and not do your office work, I could see how it could lower your blood pressure. I am not any kinder than I was before, and I still don’t feel all big and powerful (especially when the box says for ages 6 and up). So adding that description is wasteful.

For me the sea monkey’s executive set is just a cool little nick knack to add to my already overpopulated (with awesome things) desk.

CAUTIONS:

As with any cheap plastic tank there is always the issue with leaking. I must say that this tank has not leaked yet for me. However if this tank gets tipped over your sea monkeys are gone. The lid is not very sturdy or reliable when it comes to tipping over or spills. Even if you happen to be lucky and the lid remains on, water will spill out through the top ventilation lids. You are going to want to be extremely careful on where you place your tank; otherwise some idiot (or yourself) could knock it over.

The manual also says to keep your tank away from electrical equipment. You wouldn’t want to shock yourself now!

NERD POWER

Okay let me nerd out for a moment and explain exactly what sea monkeys are. Sea monkeys are a different species of brine shrimp, having the scientific name of artemia salina. They are actually a hybrid of brine shrimp, only can live much longer, and grow much larger. You can expect them to live for 2 years depending on how well you take care of them. They can and will produce baby sea monkeys, and you can expect to see baby sea monkeys in about a month after your first babies have grown to adult hood.

With proper lighting and oxygen sea monkey tanks are very similar to an ecosphere, it is a self-maintained ecosystem with little or no human interaction. So long as you don’t allow too much algae to grow, and you remember to provide oxygen daily, the sea monkeys can live for up to 2 years or more, depending on whether or not the life cycle is continuing with new babies it could go on for longer. If too much algae is forming on your tanks walls you could either use the squeegee or you could place the sea monkey tank into a darker room until the algae growth has subsided.

Okay, now that I have explained that I will put in my 2 cents and say that sea monkeys make a great pet for anyone. You could give this kit to a child for the learning process of it all, and not to mention the responsibility of owning a pet. This would also make a great desktop accessory for those of us who work in ‘an office’ (it was actually made for us, I feel so special) or for the young science enthusiasts.

All of the ingredients are non- toxic, and harmless. So even if you’re child felt like freeing the creatures (or drinking them), do let them know by doing so would only kill the sea monkeys (and if they were to drink them the taste would make them hurl), they cannot live outside of their formula. So basically this means that releasing sea monkeys into the wild will not mess around with the natural eco-system.

Another A+ nerd product. Love it!

-For some strange reason this particular product has significantly gone up in price since I last reviewed it a few years ago!!!!

The Wonder Years; The Complete Show- Review

There were approximately 115 episodes of the Wonder Years before it was cancelled. It began in 1988 and ran till 1993 on ABC. The Wonder Years by far one of the most wholesome and entertaining TV shows I have ever watched.

Kevin Arnold (aged 12- played by Fred Savage) is the main character, he lives with his mother Karen (Alley Mills), father Jack (played by Dan Lauria), sister Karen (played by Olivia d'Abo), and brother Wayne (played by Jason Hervey) during the 70’s.

The show is basically an entire narration on Kevin’s life, from childhood, growing into an adult.

Kevin as a child has an extremely over active mind. Throughout the show you will find yourself laughing hysterically at just how crazy some of his thoughts can get. There will be times when Kevin zones out, and you are taken straight into that thought. It’s always strange, abnormal, and yet it’s funny.

Kevin is madly in love with his neighbor Winnie Cooper from the very start (played by Danica McKellar), he also has a nerdy best friend who goes by the name of Paul Pfeiffer (played by Josh Saviano) A lot of content involved in The Wonder Years has to do with Kevin and Winnie.

Now, let me explain some relationship statuses:

KEVIN AND PAUL

Kevin and Paul are not actually the ‘cool’ kids, or nowhere near being considered as part of the ‘in’ crowd. As a matter of fact their both pretty much average kids, some may even consider them to be losers. However they have been friends since they were 3 years old, so no matter how harsh others are towards them, they still have each other. Throughout the show you will watch how their friendship is affected as they grow up. How peers around them affect their long lasting friendship, and how they conquer these distractions, even when you think the friendship is about to fail.

KEVIN AND WINNIE

Kevin and Winnie throughout the show go through the ups and downs of the relationship roller coaster. From being friends, to dating, from break ups, to make ups.
The entire time you will be rooting for the couple to be together, and stay together. However there are so many episodes where you seriously will be cussing out the teen aged girl wondering why she does some of the things she does. For me, she is sort of a whiny distraction throughout Kevin’s life. Probably why she was given such a great name. Winnie.

KEVIN AND WAYNE

Wayne is Kevin’s older brother. He is basically a younger siblings worst nightmare. Every moment in the show when Wayne is present he is doing nothing but finding more and more ways to make Kevin’s life miserable. Throughout the show you will lean more towards hating Wayne, but at the same time loving him as well. Just like Kevin. You know he can’t stand him, but at times you know he has a whole lot of love for him.

KEVIN AND HIS FATHER JACK

Kevin has a lot of respect for his father, but throughout the show you will learn that he actually feels sorry for him most of the time. Jack is like the king of the castle and when the boys act up, he comes down with an iron fist, so most of the time Kevin and Wayne fear him in many episodes, yet in other episodes, they adore him.
Jack is a retired Vet, so in quite a few episodes you will hear him refer to the war, and how bad war is… etc.

KEVIN AND HIS MOM NORMA

Kevin adores his mother; she is an extremely sweet well-spoken woman. For her, Kevin is still her baby, no matter how old he grows, so in the show you will see a few episodes where Kevin tries to break free of her babying him.
Norma in the beginning is a stay at home mother, who doesn’t really have much input except for at dinnertime, and when there is a family crisis. During this time though it was not uncommon for a woman to be a stay at home mom. However as time goes on throughout the show Norma begins to rebel. You’ll have to watch to see exactly what I am talking about.

KEVIN AND HIS SISTER KAREN

Karen is a much older free spirited person compared to Kevin, she is practically bursting into adulthood in the beginning of the show. She is ready to graduate high school while Kevin is just entering Junior high. There communication does not happen to often, but you can definitely tell they have love for one another.
Karen is also extremely rebellious towards her father’s strict rules, she has this whole hippie vibe going on with her, where all she wants is freedom, yet her father is not willing to give it to her. She was a really neat character to add to this show, to give it that ‘nostalgic’ feel.

These are all pretty much your main characters. Throughout the show you will be introduced to other characters, however none of them stick around and remain in your heart quite like the main characters.
You will see new girlfriends come into Kevin’s life, you will meet up with teachers whom Kevin falls in love with, bullies who Kevin and Paul have to defeat, other boys/men who come into Winnies life that steal her away from Kevin, and the battles that he must go through to win back her love.

The entire show is like taking small peeks into a young boys diary that he has kept had for his entire life, and I’m glad I stuck around to the very last page.


THE EPISODES:



01. Pilot- this is where you will be introduced to Kevin, and his family. You will learn about Kevin’s infatuation with Winnie in this episode. Summer vacation has just ended, and Kevin, Paul and Winnie are about to start junior high school the very next day. You also learn about a tragedy within Winnies family.
This is the episode that sucks you in.

02. Swingers- Kevin and Paul are learning about sex education in school and end up buying a book about it, to understand sex better. However Wayne caught them reading the book, and exposes them both. This episode even though is a touchy situation, is actually pretty funny.

03. My Fathers Office
04. Angel
05. The Phone Call

06. Dance With Me- Kevin asks a girl out to the school dance. She tells him yes through a note they had been passing during class. However right after the bell rings, and she steps outside another boy asks her right in front of Kevin, and she says yes.
Although he is torn, during lunch he realizes just how much he loves Winnie, and he is not so upset over the situation anymore. He actually ends up having a dance with Winnie at the school dance.

07. The Heart of Darkness- Winnie leaves Kevin behind when she starts hanging out with the ‘cool’ kids. She also starts to date a popular older boy named Kirk.

08. Our Miss White – Kevin gets a crush on his teacher Mrs. White. This particular episode uses Kevin’s imagination to the extremes, it’s pretty hilarious

09. Christmas – Kevin goes nuts trying to find Winnie a present after she tells him she bought him something. He buys her something extremely extravagant, only to get something not so… great in return.

10. Steady As She Goes- Kevin is sick and tired of being alone. Paul has a girlfriend, Winnie is seeing someone, and he is alone. He decides to ask Becky Slater out, not because he likes her, but because he wants to have a girlfriend.

11. Just Between You & Me ... & Kirk- Becky gets mad at Kevin when she finds out he doesn’t really like her, and that he in fact has it for Winnie. Kirk wonders if Winnie likes him or Kevin.

12. Pottery Will Get You Nowhere

13. Coda

14. Hiroshima, Mon Frere
15. Loosiers
16. Walk Out

17. Nemesis- In this episode Kevin talks a lot of junk about his friends (including Paul and Winnie) to Becky before they break up. Becky goes back and spreads the word causing a bunch of chaos between Kevin, Paul, and Winnie. Paul ends up being mad, as well as Winnie. Kevin gets the nickname ‘meanie’.

18. Fate


19. Birthday Boy- Kevin’s birthday is on the exact same day Paul is having his Bar Mitzvah. In this episode there friendship is tested when Kevin feels jealous about how much of a big deal everyone is making Paul’s party out to be, vs. his non-existent one.

20. Brightwing
21. Square Dance

22. Whose Woods Are These? – Kevin and Winnie try to stop Harpers woods from being destroyed by builders. These are the woods they had played in as children, and shared many fond memories together. This is also the place they shared their first kiss, so they do not want to see the woods go.

23. How I'm spending My Summer Vacation- this episode covers Kevin’s last day in school. He also learns that the teacher he had a crush on throughout the year is getting married. There is also some family drama involving the Winnies parents splitting up. Winnie also gets mad at Kevin for not caring.

24. Summer Song- Kevin meets an older girl during his families summer vacation.

25. Math Class
26. Wayne on Wheels

27. Mom Wars- this episode is about Kevin and his mother. Kevin wants to play tackle football, however his mother is so overprotective that she tells him he is not allowed to play. Kevin however wants his mom to let him grow up and goes against her wishes. The lesson- Mom is usually right.

28. On the Spot

29. Odd Man Out- Kevin and Paul’s friendship is tested once again. The two start to bother each other so much that they actually become friends with other boys. However, it may not be such a good thing.

30. The Family Car

31. The Pimple- An old family friend is coming out to visit the Arnold family. Kevin thinks about his old friend Gina, with the fondest of memories, and then gets nervous when he wakes up to a giant pimple on his face. However when Gina shows up she’s got one too. This episode is pretty funny.

32. Math Class Squared

33. Rock 'n Roll- When Kevin joins a band he comes to realize that he isn’t going to get famous once he learns that he, and his band stink. Another really funny episode.

34. Don't You Know Anything About Women?
35. The Powers That Be

36. She, My Friend and I- Paul’s girlfriend Carla breaks up with him in this episode. Kevin sets him up with Winnie, to make him feel better. However when Paul begins to have feelings for Winnie, Kevin gets extremely jealous. However Paul tells Kevin that Winnie said she likes Kevin. Kevin makes a fool of himself by knocking on Winnies door to let her know what Paul had said. ‘Paul says you’re crazy about me’ is the famous line in this episode. Winnie is embarrassed and slams the door on him.

37. St. Valentines Day Massacre- Kevin makes Winnie a Valentines Day card, however he places the card into Becky’s locker by accident. When Becky reads the card she thinks that Kevin has feelings for her again. However Kevin has to break the news to her that the card was in fact for Winnie. Becky doesn’t take this news too lightly.

38. The Tree House- Kevin worries that when his mother assigns both him and his father to build a tree house together that his father is going to give him the ‘birds and the bees’ talk.

39. The Glee Club
40. Night Out
41. Faith
42. The Unnatural
43. Good-Bye

44. Cocoa and Sympathy- Paul finds himself crushing on Kevin’s mother. Kevin who is becoming more aware that is mom seems to be spending too much time with Paul gets jealous.

45. Daddy's Little Girl

46. Moving- Kevin learns that the Coopers are moving, and gets very depressed when he realizes even though the Coopers are only moving across town, Winnie will no longer be his neighbor. He buys Winnie a ring to assure him and her that their relationship will continue even with the distance.

47. Growing Up

48. Ninth Grade Man- Kevin starts school without Winnie who is now in a new school. Winnie makes Kevin promise her that he will think about her the entire time. However he meets a new student Madeline who grabs his attention, and his thoughts of Winnie are almost non- existent. He feels guilty for this, and keeps trying to reassure himself that it is Winnie he loves.

49. The Journey

50. The Cost of Living- Kevin takes on his first job as a caddy.

51. It's a Mad, Mad, Madeline World

52. Little Debbie- Kevin gets talked into taking Paul’s little sister Debbie to a cotillion. Debbie has had a crush on Kevin for years, and when he isn’t the best of dates, he ruins her entire night. Although that sounds bad, it actually ended very sweetly.

53. The Tie That Binds
54. The Sixth Man

55. A very Cutlip Christmas- Kevin catches his gym teacher playing Santa at a local mall. He promises he won’t tell the coaches secret…

56. The Candidate
57. Heartbreak- Kevin and Winnies schools are planning to join together for a class field trip to the museum. Kevin has all these plans for the two of them for the day. However when Winnie seems to be spending more time with her ‘new’ friends, and not paying him much attention, he gets mad at her. Madeline, who is constantly trying to get him interested in her, also distracts him. When the two go there separate ways in the museum Winnie catches Kevin with Madeline. Winnie breaks up with Kevin.

58. Denial- Kevin is in denial of his and Winnies break up, so he has Paul plan a party and has him invite Winnie. Kevin is hoping that once they are together at Paul’s party things will mend between him and Winnie. When Kevin learns that Winnie will be showing up with a new boyfriend, he takes Madeline to make Winnie jealous. However his scheme backfires on him when Winnie tells him that she only wants to be friends and that he’s a jerk.

59. Who's Aunt Rose
60. Courage
61. Buster
62. Road Trip

63. When World's Collide-

64. Separate Rooms- When Karen moves out Wayne and Kevin fight over who has to move out of their shared bedroom, into the now spare bedroom. Things get ugly in this episode.


65. The Yearbook

66. The Accident- Kevin learns that Winnie and her new boyfriend have broken up, he sees her for the first time since the break up. He realizes that she is doing crazy and self-destructive things. Like hanging out all night. They have a face off, and later that night Kevin learns she is in a car accident.
67. The House That Jack Built

68. Graduation- Kevin’s graduation from junior high school is about to occur. However he learns that the following year Paul is now going to be leaving and going to a private school. He feels betrayed, and nervous that he will be starting high school without Paul and Winnie.

70. The Lake- Kevin meets a wild girl while he is on a family vacation. He falls madly in love with her, but then once the vacation is over, he knows he will never see her again. It was the first time since his break up with Winnie that he found himself having feelings for another girl.

71. Day One

72. The Hardware Store- Kevin gets annoyed with his hardware store job. He demands a raise, and tries to reason with the owner about store prices, and organization. Even though he gets the raise, he ends up quitting his job.

73. Frank and Denise

75. Triangle- Wayne brings home a very attractive new girlfriend, however when she goes to kiss Kevin, all hell breaks loose.

76. Soccer
77. Dinner Out
78. Christmas Party
79. Pfeiffer's Choice

80. Road Test- Kevin lies about getting his license.

81. Grandpa's Car
82. Kodachrome
83. Private Butthead

84. Of Mastodons and Men- Kevin is invited over to dinner at his new girlfriends house. However when he sees the relationship between Julies mother and father, he notices a similar pattern, and does not want to end up like Julies father. He ends up breaking up with her at the dinner table.

85. Double Double Date- Winnie and Kevin end up getting back together in this episode. When the two hook one another up with dates and decide to double date, the dates go extremely wrong, they actually end up dating again.

86. Hero
87. Lunch Stories

88. Carnal Knowledge- ohhh this is a good one. Kevin and his friends plan to sneak into an r-rated movie. However Paul bails on them because friends of the family are coming out to visit. Later on the boys learn that Paul loses his virginity to the girl who came to visit. However it’s not as great as he thought it would be, and he was actually scared about the whole situation so he discusses it with Kevin, whom actually seems jealous about it. He makes Kevin promise not to tell anyone. However Kevin plays the role of cruddy friend in this episode.

89. The Lost Weekend

90. Stormy Weather- Drama is brought into the Arnold home when Karen returns home after having a fight with her boyfriend. This episode sort of drags on, and isn’t that entertaining.
A guy standing outside, in the rain, waiting for a girl to come out and talk to him… blah bla, this episode was an attempt at a wonderful short love story, only it failed to deliver.

91. The Wedding

92. Back to the Lake- Kevin decided to skip work and go back to the lake where his family had spent last summer. He tries to find the wild girl he kissed last summer. He ends up finding her, only to realize that time has allowed the wild girl to grow and become mature. Everything is different now, and Kevin realizes it. It is time for him to grow up, and face responsibilities.

93. Broken Hearts and Burgers
94. Homecoming
95. Fishing
96. Scenes From a Wedding
97. Sex and Economics
98. Politics As Usual

99. White Lies- Winnie and Kevin end up hanging at his house while his parents are away. Nothing happened and the two only ended up falling asleep. However the next day he tells a bunch of his friends an entirely different story. Winnie ends up breaking up with him, and getting extremely upset that sex is the only thing on his mind.

100. Wayne and Bonnie- Wayne brings home a new girlfriend. She however already has been married and divorced and has a child. Norma is livid when she learns of this. Kevin also apologizes to Winnie in this episode, and the two make up again.

101. Kevin Delivers
102. The Test
103. Let Nothing You Dismay
105. Alice in Autoland
106. Ladies and Gentlemen... The Roll
107. Unpacking
109. Nose

110. Eclipse- Winnie has another one of her hissy fits when her and Kevin play truth or dare, when she asks him a truth question he must answer truthfully. She asks him if he could change one thing about her, what would he change. He knew this was a dangerous question, so he says nothing, that she is perfect, then he makes the mistake by saying ‘too perfect sometimes’. Winnie whines about it and goes out of her way to try and prove him wrong by doing stupid immature things. This episode was just okay for me. More Winnie whining.

111. Poker
112. The Little Women
113. Reunion

114. Summer- it is summer time, Winnie has left town to go work as a lifeguard at a motel. Kevin decides to make a surprise visit, when he gets there though, he is not greeted with the love and attention he had been expecting from Winnie. He also learns that she just may have the hots for another lifeguard she is working with.

115. Independence Day- The great gusto, the blow out. This is the final episode; you learn exactly what happens between Kevin and Winnie.
Although some may say this episode was great, I was a little disappointed. I WILL NOT ruin it for you though. For me though, I just didn’t like the ending. But who am I to judge someone else’s life?

OVERALL

All in all The Wonder Years is an excellent show. Two thumbs up, 5 stars, the whole enchilada.
I would recommend that everyone take some time out from their daily lives and sit down and get through this show. You will not be disappointed. What sets this show apart from any other show is that it could so easily be compared to your own real life right now, even though it’s set in the 70’s.

It’s about family, love, heartbreak, and just growing up. It’s real.

The Sims 2: Celebration Stuff Pack

Holiday, Celebrate!

Okay Maxis, you claim that The Sims 2: Celebration Stuff will grant me access into throwing the most elegant swanky par-tay! Whether that party is a wedding party, birthday party, or outdoor party I will have all the tools and décor to be the most popular Sim party house on the block.

Hmm, I’m doubtful Maxis, I really am! You really lost my trust this winter with the holiday pack. Hmph!

So what’s in this new pack? Why do I keep buying them? I have burned by this company before on stuff packs, yet keep on keeping on, and buying them all.
Is it because I enjoy being ripped off? Maybe. Or maybe it’s just that I’m expecting something, that even though I know won’t be there, might be. So as a Sims fan, I can’t miss out. Yeah, that’s why.

Anyways I installed the game quite simply. Stick the disc in my computer wait for the installation screen, type in the key code that can be found inside of the box on the back of the manual. Wait about 4 or 5 minutes and tada, I’m ready to roll.

I was excited to perhaps see some new things. I figured that Maxis may have listened to fans this time around, and realized that they have really been jacking us with their crummy stuff packs.

Now keep in mind, ‘stuff’ packs offer nothing new to the Sims 2 game play. It’s just stuff, hence the name.

What did I find in The Sims 2: Celebration Stuff?

Clothes-

Um, where?

Oh yeah right there. Yay for me! I got 2 new dresses. They’re more like gowns though. Ugly ones, they actually look more like a clothing mesh missing the pattern? What gives!?

What about the fellas?
Yep they get some new clothes too, New suits with a little carnation flower on it.

But but but… they look the same! The mesh used to create these new suits are the same meshes used to create all of the other suits from ‘Glamour Life Stuff’ only these suits have a flower!? Hmph!

Furniture-

Oh-wee, would you look at that, some new party furniture! A lawn table, lawn chairs, some new plants, some ridiculous looking balloon arches, hmmm what else?

Oh, a round table with some matching chairs. That’s kind of nice. Okay, I like that at least.

What else!?

Man it’s hard to find! There’s so little to work with here. Oh there it is a new bar. Awe an umbrella! Gez, I have been waiting for one of these, oh wait, I already downloaded that on a fan site. Sigh.
This umbrella is ugly though. It looks cheap, and my Sims prefer the most luxurious things.

What else have I found?

More balloons, same as the balloons that came with the original game, only re-colored and some new helium balloons. Yay, they still pop and make a mess. Eh hemm, “MAID”.

I also got a rug that looks like shredded newspaper too. It is meant to be a wedding walkway runner. Looks like shredded doggie newspaper to me though. Oh well.

Hmm what’s that bulky thing with a pig drawn on the outside? A new grill for outside of course with same function as any other grill, just more bulky and box shaped.

Wall Decorations:

A pointless addition to the stuffs pack. Or any pack for that matter.
Like I have said so many times before, it is virtually impossible to play the Sims with the walls up. Therefore wall decorations are useless seeing how they disappear when you have the walls down. They only count towards ‘environment points’

Wall decorations that come with this new stuff packs include wedding theme garland, birthday theme garland, and some lantern lights.

Lights-

You can now add some tea lights to tables and counter tops. They’re so ridiculously small however don’t expect there to be a romantic glow added to the room you have placed them. They give off barely any light, and they’re practically invisible. You have to do a really close zoom in to see them in all their glory.

There are also some new hanging party lights. They can be compared to those round tracing paper party balls people hang from ceilings. They’re round like globes, and I must say are a nice addition.

Paintings-

You can find a few new paintings hanging around in the paintings category. Nothing really sticks out in my mind as being fabulous; as a matter of fact this is always the last category I check for new items.

Cakes-

There are a few new cakes in the party category. One cake in particular is designed for a wedding. It’s a tiered cake, only without the tiers. The thing looks plastic. All of the new cakes look plastic for that matter.
Now that I think of it, almost all of the new items look like shiny plastic.

Carpeting-

None of the carpets that come with the celebration pack are pleasing to the eye. They’re all very tacky, but do stick with the ‘celebration’ theme. All of them look like confetti was thrown on them. I personally don’t like them, seeing how I don’t intend on making my entire home a full-blown party theme house.

I was hoping to see some new bushes and trees with this pack. I’m so sick of using the same rose bushes on my lawns. Grrr!

WHAT’S GOOD?

Anyways, I could go on and on about what will disappoint you in The Sims 2: Celebration Stuff. I figured it will be easier to mention what you ‘will like’ in the new pack.

You will enjoy some new decoration for the home. There are some floral arrangements that are really nice, and will blend well with everything else you may already have in your home; all of them have many color choices as well.

There are also a few new lights, which you may enjoy; the lack of different lighting was a bummer in the game so I was glad to see some new additions in the lighting category.

There is also a table and new matching chair which I mentioned earlier that is very nice looking. It will look nice either inside or on an outside deck or patio.

This pack also comes with some new ground covers. You can make your lawn look as if it has little flowers growing in the grass. Some of flower colors you can expect to see are pink, white, orange and more.

I know, not much to work with. But if you’re a Sims fan, you too will find yourself purchasing this addition, and feeling ripped off when you see how little it has to offer.

It wouldn’t be so bad if Maxis perhaps would be a little more realistic with their pricing. $20 is far too much money for what is being given to the purchaser; now $10 would be more reasonable, and less Sims fans would find themselves feeling angry and ripped off for buying it.

Now I’m going to share some awesome information here for all you Sim 2 fans out there. Sick of Sim 2 pay sites charging you $20 a month for access to their downloads? Visit http://paysites.mustbedestroyed.org/ Whether or not you believe in file sharing (I prefer to keep my personal feelings about this site to myself) or not is up to you, I’m just passing along the info. Enjoy.

*Rated Teen* Like all Sim 2 games and their expansions. The Sims will do the dirty dirty (no visuals of course), so you may want to avoid giving this and any Sim game to children.


System Requirements, taken from the box:
-OS: Windows Vista, XP, Me, 2000, or 98
-Installed: The Sims 2 for Windows
-CPU: 1.0 GHz or faster
-RAM: 256 MB or more
-Disc Drive: 8x or faster CD/DVD drive
-Hard Drive: At least 350 MB of free space
-Sound: DirectX 9.0 compatible
-Video: DirectX 9.0 compatible Video card must have 32 MB or more memory and one of these T&L capable chipsets:
ATI Radeon 8500 or greater; NVIDIA GeForce2 GTS or greater.

Book Review: Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Imagine a world where everyone goes through surgery to become beautiful when they are 16. A world where flaws are easily erased, and everyone is beautiful and happy, and there is no such thing as war.

That is exactly what is about to happen to Tally Youngblood and her new best friend Shay. They are Uglies. (Uglies are normal people like you and I, with flaws.)
Tally wants nothing more than to join the Pretties on the other side of the city and reunite with her old best friend that has already gone through the transformation.
You see Uglies cannot mingle with Pretties until they go through their operation for some strange reason. The city is divided into two, one side for the Uglies and another side for the Pretties.

The pretty operation is done supposedly to keep people from discriminating against each other. That way everyone will be beautiful and no one can make fun of another person for physical flaws they may have. The government somehow managed to lead people into believing that being ugly was the reason for war and hate. If everyone were beautiful it would no longer occur; thus, the mandatory operation.

Shay however does not want to go through the operation, and one night Shay tells Tally about a hidden city called Smoke. It is a place where you can run away to so you don’t have to go through the operation and you can live freely without government telling you what to do.

Tally thinks she is insane, and when Shay starts talking about a young man by the name of David, Tally thinks Shay is making things up because when she tried to introduce the two he never showed up.

However the a few days before the operation Shay goes missing.

Tally is upset that Shay has left for the hidden city called Smoke, and cannot understand why Shay would not want to turn into a Prettie.
Shay though has left Tally a note with directions on how to get to Smoke if she ever wants to come for a visit.

Once the news hits the city officials they immediately turn to Tally for answers. They tell her that they have been looking for Smoke for years, and that they would not turn Tally into a Prettie unless she helped them find Smoke. They give her a heart pendant to wear around her neck, and once she makes it to Smoke to just press the pendant and the Special Circumstances will be there within a few hours.

Tally who waited her entire life for the operation to become a Prettie is devastated. She agrees though to betray her friend, and blow Smokes cover, and in return they will make her pretty.

That is if she can find Smoke herself. Shays directions were clues more than they were directions.

That very night Tally leaves to try and find Smoke. She goes through quite an adventure while riding on a hover board provided by the city’s Special Circumstances. (Yes there are freakin’ hover boards in this book!)

It took her quite some time, but eventually Tally lands herself in Smoke. She meets up with Shay and meets David and is introduced into this new world. Immediately some of the people in the city think she is a spy. And heck, they are right. She tells them a bunch of lies to try and win over the crowd and to have them all accept her into their society.

David, who plays a dominant role as Smokes leader (even though he isn’t) takes a liking to her and shares a whole bunch of secrets with her about Pretties, and Uglies.

Eventually he even is able to convince her that she is in fact not ugly, and that it is the city’s standards on what makes people ‘think’ they are ugly by calling them Uglies up until they are 16, and have the operation.

Tally begins to enjoy this new lifestyle, and even starts to resent the Pretties and the city in which she once loved; she even begins a small romance with David. Once she gets closer to David she learns more and more horrible things about the Pretties and the truth behind their ‘pretty’ operation.

Does Tally remain faithful to her new home in Smoke, or is she playing her cards correctly in order to sell the entire city out to Special Circumstances?

Is David blinding her with affection because he knows she is a spy?

What is the secret about the Pretties?

Why is Special Circumstances out to destroy Smoke?

I guess you will have to pick this one up on your own for the answer to those questions.

MY OPINION:

I enjoyed this read, even though it is quite a large book consisting of 448 pages, the read goes by quickly.

Instantly I was drawn into Tally’s ‘Uglies’ world, and was interested in knowing more about the Pretties and what made them act the way they did. (There is a second book in this trilogy, called ‘Pretties.’ I will definitely be picking up the continuation.

I liked how even though everything was so sci-fi I was able to follow the story without being confused, or without thinking this was to Star Trek-ish. I liked the use of hover cars and hover boards as means of transportation, and I liked how our civilization as it is now was mentioned historically.

It also was a good read because even though the book has nothing to do with our government as of now, it sort of gives you as a reader a little insight about what happens to people when they constantly follow what the government says, and what happens if you always agree and never have a mind of your own when bad things are going on in the world. How we just sit back and follow the leader. It is sort of scary and may even be viewed as a wake up call.

SO WHATS WRONG WITH THIS BOOK?

Well for one, I couldn’t understand why Special Circumstances wasn’t following Tally the entire time as she went on her journey to Smoke. If it were so darn important for them to find the city and destroy it, why would they not have a crew of Specials following her?

And without spoiling the ending….

Oh! What ending!?

I am disappointed to say that in order to know what happens in the end you have to buy the second book. Pretties. So I was a little bummed to learn that in order to finish the story and find out what happens I have to shell out another $8.

Its one of those dot, dot, dot, books…

And unfortunately you have to buy the second book in the trilogy. Man! I feel like I got sucked in then spit back out.

WHO WOULD LIKE IT?

It is a book sci-fi fanatics will enjoy as well as young adults and adults of any age, sci-fi fan or not. There is nothing explicit or sexual in this book either; so younger children may read this as well.

I found my copy at Walmart for $8.98. You can also get copies online at www.ebay.com for much cheaper. You may even be able to pick up the entire trilogy. I believe there are 3 books in this set.

OVERALL:

Even though I was upset about having to purchase the next book in the series, I enjoyed Uglies very much.

Horror books are the only ones that ever get the Melissa seal of approval and the two thumbs up, but I must say Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies deserves some recognition even though it’s not really a horror.

Two thumbs up, and the big “YES” I would recommend it.