"Secret" Ernie Halter Concert @ The Aarvark Blew Our Minds

    Some of us got a chance to go to a local concert in Fort Worth, Texas this past weekend and got to not only watch but meet some fantastic musicians. In a little bar found in Fort Worth called Aardvark a gathering of up and coming and already famous musicians gathered together to have some fun, meet some people and just gather for the love of the music, it was a beautiful thing to witness thus not writing about it would be a sacrilege to the event. The closing number and most known musician there was Ernie Halter, the concert started at 9pm and ended at 2am with Ernie going on stage around 12:30am, its was a time of reflection, of love, of friendship, it was a genuine point in time that could never be repeated where everything was as it should be and we are all better off for having been able to witness it.

     If you are familiar with the show "The Voice" then you know that when we say that Eric Tipton was there that it was a good show. Eric blew us away with his voice and his set was one filled to the brim with soul, to paint the picture for you, it was just him a six string base along side him and a full drum set to accompany the tunes, nothing more was needed for the soul sound was present and it carried us through an hour of music without even knowing it. One thing he did that touched us was that he at one point stated his appreciation for another musician that was in the room, Tito Ortega, and asked him if he could cover one of his songs for us, to which he did and it was a fantastic moment of mutual respect between musicians that ignited the atmosphere of the bar, further illustrating the magic that was taking place around us.

    We didn't get to hear much about his involvement but some of us overheard something about Tito Ortega actually organizing this whole show together, so not only is Tito the man for getting this all going but he is friends with all of them and is a fantastic lyricist and guitar player. We got to hear him early on in the night and boy were we glad that we did, Tito's music screams of good times and hard times, his guitar weeps as we weep and rejoices as we rejoice, while all at once his lyrics guide and inspire us to be more than we are. If you have never heard of Tito Ortega we recommend you give his music a listen and allow yourself to be immersed into his brilliance.

       We got to the chance to hear and meet the beautiful and talented Karyna Micaela, not only did she capture our full and devoted attention by her music but she was one of the nicest musicians we've ever met, we were blessed to have met her and even more so blessed to have been able to listen to her wow us all with her music. Karyna Micaela will be releasing a CD later on this year so go on her site and make sure to follow this career for the world will be introduced to her soon and then small shows like this will be almost impossible to come by, if you are not familiar with her then please do yourself a favor and browse her site or look her up on YouTube and allow Karyna to blow your mind. 

       The last musician before the great Ernie Halter was Luke Wade and he almost stole the show, I personally was blown away by this man's music, but not only that, it was his stage presence combined with a variation of instruments including percussion, violin, saxophone, and guitar that just blew us all away. Some of us got the chance to meet him after the show and he gave us his CD for free, just up and handed his stuff after we professed how impressed we were with his talent. Luke will be playing in New York soon, opening for Dave Matthews Band, we recommend you follow this guy's career, we had a surreal moment while listening to this guy, it is impossible to deny talent, when you hear someone that will make it big you just know and this guy blew our minds.

     If you are unfamiliar with Ernie Halter then please do yourself a favor and jump on this bandwagon, it is one you will not regret jumping into. There is so much we could say here about Ernie, we could talk about how he is a father of twins and a loving husband, how he is a fantastic musician and song writer, we could talk about his friendship with Tony Lucca from "The Voice", we could talk about how Justin Bieber is such a big fan of his that he covered one of his songs "Come Home To Me" and later went to one of his concerts to support him. There is not limit to the amount of things we could say about Ernie, he is everything a musician should be and more, he is the embodiment of kindness and just an overall awesome guy. We recommend you follow his career and if you ever get a chance to go to one of his concerts then do so, for it is worth more than any amount you pay. We look forward in admiration and respect to the future of his career.

    This week is going to be a tough one for many of you, dealing with exams and final papers is never fun, but also for those in business the season is approaching and you must prepare for it. This time of the year is just generally overall hectic, so now you have an escape, when you get a chance listen to any of these five artists and they will not only help you relax but give you hope for what is to come. We at So Danca are very active in supporting local musicians and artists, if you are ever interested in having us support your work don't hesitate to send me an email at mransan@sodanca.com, we would love to meet more of you out there and share your art with the world.

  Love from your humble blogger,

Kardashians, Tom Cruisemageddon, The Hobbit And More

  The month of May is finally approaching and with it comes a plethora of news, updates and revelations, at last May has come. With May fast approaching many announcements begin to be announced this week, some good, some bad, but they all are getting us ready for how awesome this summer is going to be, we have a lot to cover today so let's just jump right in and cover the first update. If you have not heard already the Kardashians have gotten signed for 3 more years on air for 40,000,000 dollars, obviously the show's future made many people happy but the amount in question also outraged many, we've expressed our opinion before on the Kardashians so we won't make a bit here, all we can say is that the Kardashians are really good at targeting their audience and thus are at the top of the charts for this particular genre, sad really but true. Anyway, on to other news.

   The Hobbit Disappoints

   The Hobbit had an early showing for the press this week where they showed the first 10 minutes of the movie, everyone expected that the movie would be great as per tradition in the LOTR movies but it turns out that most that went to the showing were highly disappointed. An article on IGN stated that the filming was equal to that some of an old BBC episode, think old cheesy camera graphics, and not the brilliance that everyone was expecting it to be. Though this definitely disappointed many fans who are eagerly awaiting this movie, we are convinced that the directors will pull through and fix these issues before December comes around. No future screening has been announced as of yet but as soon as we find more news on this we will be sure to pass it on.

    Tom Cruisemageddon

   We are not of fan of sequels and remakes, to put it simply the majority of them are not good and even though the latest Cruise sequel "Mission Impossible 4" got good ratings and was an overall fun movie, we still cringed a little when they recently announced that MI5 is on the works but is in conflict with the making of "Top Gun 2" so Cruise is having some scheduling issues between sequels. Yes, "Top Gun 2", *mindblows* rebooting an old franchise in order to make money off of the fans of the first movie may sound brilliant but it never really is, the correct reaction to news like this is to cringe a little and shake your head at how unoriginal everything is becoming. So if you missed MI4 don't worry, you'll be getting another sequel followed by a remake, hopefully they go all out and include another epically misplaced volleyball scene, nothing is out of the question when dealing with absurds. Oh, just so you have more ridiculousness Bay is serious about "Transformers 4" so prepare yourself for more explosions, bad acting and big robots.

     Awesome Movie News

    For those that care and we hope that there are many of you that do, Walter has been set to return for the sequel to "The Muppets" due to the nature of "The Muppets" sequels are always welcomed and enjoyed, let us hope that the next addition to this franchise is as awesome as this last one was. Pixar had a big week this week with their showing of the first few minutes in "Brave" and wowing everyone in attendance, so we look forward to that for sure, and for finally giving us a title to their upcoming dinosaur based movie "The Good Dinosaur" which takes place in a parallel universe where Earth was not hit by a meteor and the dinosaurs did not die, anything Pixar does is awesome so we'll definitely keep you posted when we hear more news on this project. Another big project to keep a look out for is coming from the director Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, The Wrestler) in 2014 which will depict the epic story of "Noah", normally we would be skeptical of such a project but it is Darren and the cast is awesome with Russell Crowe playing Noah and all, it's definitely a project worth being aware of.

      Sony and Skype

     Skype is awesome, it's as simple as that. Talking to people in other countries has never been so easy and free, free being the key word here but not only is it free, Skype provides us all with an awesome program which is constantly improving. This is why when Sony announced this week that their hand held video gaming device the PlayStation Vita will now be incorporating Skype within it our minds where blown, though this was an expected move it was still a welcomed one. The program will take up a lot less memory than previously thought which is awesome. So now after playing a game you can make Skype calls anywhere from anywhere with your device, this is something we think will be incorporated into all future systems, but the Vita got the jump on everyone, right on Sony, right on.

      YouTube Now 7

   This past Monday was the 7th anniversary of YouTube, a site that changed the world in more than one way, from the spread of memes to all, to bringing people together from afar, to uniting the world to social concerns and bringing us the very real voice of the people, these have been 7 interesting years. What would the Internet be like without YouTube? We dare not answer that question, the effects that it had throughout the world and throughout the Internet have been massive and welcomed. YouTube has not been perfect these 7 years but no one is, and we look forward to another great 7 years from the great pioneers over at YouTube and the great channels that would not exist had there been no YouTube, we tip our hats to you.

     Concluding Fun News

   For the "Arrested Development" fans out there this week has been awesome for though we knew that a new season was due to come out this next year, what we didn't know and were glad to hear was that all 10 episodes will be placed on Netflix as they come out next year, which is awesome. The other awesome announcement is that not only is "The Avengers" going to have a "Dark Knight Rises" trailer but it has been announced that it will also have a "The Amazing Spider-Man" trailer, what that means is that all those seeing "The Avengers" next week will get tons of awesome upcoming previews, stay tuned for our review of "The Avengers" coming next Friday.

    We hope you all had a fantastic week, one where you accomplished all that you set out to do, and pray that this weekend might be a restful one for you.

Love from your humble blogger,

Finals Week: Unmasked And Defeated

   That time of the year is upon us again, that dreaded time where life seems to get super hectic and everything that is due seems to be pressing you into a corner, the end of the school year will always do that to you. Though this post is targeted to those that are going through finals right now, we feel that some of the advice given here can be applied to all aspects of life, in fact isn't that the most important lesson we learn in school, how to survive life, so sit tight and we'll lead you through some steps one can take to make this period seem less monstrous. Some of this advice might seem like common sense but they are things that are generally not talked about or shared, but learned through sweat and tears, thus we decided to save you the burden of going through that and compiled some of it here for you.

    Breathe

   Like the song goes, just breathe. Take a deep breath and understand that this is a passing time, that you have fought all year for this end goal and that now in these next two weeks all your work will come together and this race will be won. We all know what it feels like to burn out, specially on the last few weeks of class, everyone has been through that, but remember that this is the time where burning out is not an option, you can do this, set your mind on the goal which is to finish this race right and push through it with all of your might, two weeks are but fleeting moments and will soon pass away. So take a deep breath, remember all that you have accomplished this far and fight on, finish the race right, and don't give in to fatigue. Just don't forget to breathe.

     Rest

   Two words, time management, those two words will save your life. Sit down and write down a schedule of everything you have due for the coming weeks, including work schedules, tests and final papers. Now make sure to include at least 6-8 hours of sleep within each day, if you cannot then at least include some naps throughout the day where you'll be able to get some rest. Make sure to also include at least 2-3 hours of leisure time in there, "me" time is important, very important, if you don't remember to have some "me" time throughout your day you will surely burn out, depending on the person the burn out could happen after a day, a week or even a month but it will come. Time management is an important tool in life, specially when dealing with multiple overwhelming tasks. Remember to rest, if you are not rested than the work you produce will show it, trust.

     Acknowledge

   We all have our strengths and weaknesses, there are people out there that can do things with math that we have never even dreamed of, while at the same time though they might be great at math they can't play an instrument to save their life, we all have strengths and weaknesses the first step to preparing for a successful finals week is acknowledging what your weakness is. Find your worst subject and focus more time on that than the other ones you are taking. The key thing here is to not focus all of your time to that subject, this is a temptation many have, you should always focus on everything you have due, the "whole" is important, remember that. So when scheduling how much study time you are going to invest in each subject make sure to invest 2-4 hours more on that tough one, but at the same time remember to not neglect your other courses, fight this temptation and finish well in all subjects.

     Help

    You are not alone, this is a key thing to remember. Sometimes people let the emotional stress of the situation get the best of them, and they forget that there are people around them that are going through the same struggles they are, these people are not your enemies but your allies, with their aid you can surpass your limits and do better than you would if you tried to do everything alone. Here is fact of life, even the most brilliant genius out there had teachers along the way guiding him, without their help he would not and could not become a genius, all it takes is asking for help and having the willingness to learn. The key word here is teachable, if you take on a teachable spirit and ask for aid people will aid you, and through their aid you will accomplish more than you would have alone. Don't be scared to ask for help.

     Space

    One of the biggest mistakes you see people committing all the time throughout their education is the "cram before exam" motif. Though we'll hand it to you that taking a few hours extra to review over material before the exam is a good thing though that time should be a time of review not of seeing the material for the first time, that's just bad form. The best and easiest way to do well on exams is to study in 30 min to 2 hour segments. Spacing out the time you study instead of cramming all that time together will aid you remember the material better and prevent burn out. Throughout the week take an hour or so to study really hard, then move on to something else, repeat this process for all your subjects and you'll easily get 8-10 hours of study time that week on one given subject. Instead of taking one day to memorize everything you are spacing things out, studying more efficiently and the plus side is that you'll be way better prepared for your final than if you just crammed the night before. Spacing time between studies will save you from burning out and having the pre-exam stress out, that's studying 101.

   Misconception

  A very common habit, and a huge misconception is that overdosing in caffeine will aid you in studying. This could give you an illusion of grandeur and maybe even you'll remember enough to do well on the test due to a caffeine driven all-nighter study session, but two things happen after a caffeine overdose, the first thing is that your body will suffer for it big time, specially in the future but the most important thing is that you won't remember anything you studied in the long run. If you care about what you studying and take your material seriously then you won't subject your body and mind to this kind of treatment, it might get you through some tough calls but it won't help you in the long run when that material is needed and you don't remember any of it. Better to take your time learning and retain the material than to have a caffeine overdose and only learn the material for the test, your body will thank you later.

   We hope that this post will aid some of you out there, and just maybe help you find some peace during this turbulent season. We hope you all have been having a great week and pray that it might end well. 

Love from your humble blogger,

Signing Up For Classes 101

      Sometimes the amount of people that are not coached through how to successfully navigate through the challenges found in college surprises us. One of the most overlooked, simple yet overlooked thing is the class sign up process. Some of you that are reading this already know all that we will be saying, but some of you haven't even thought about registering for classes yet, being that registration for most started last month we felt that maybe writing a little guide might aid those that are struggling through this, and no worries, everyone has at least one semester where they forget to register or have difficulty finding the classes they want to take.

   Know Your Catalog: Plain And Simple

  If we write on this topic another 10 times we will always include a section on the catalog. First things first you must realize one simple fact of life, the catalog is your friend, he is your guide, your helper and without him you will not get far. The first thing to discover is what catalog year you belong too, every year or so the catalog changes so knowing which catalog year you are is essential to how your class planning is going to go. Once you have found out which catalog you belong to the next step is easier, first look and find the core classes section, meaning find all the classes you *have* to take, these will be your guide throughout this whole process. Then take a highlighter and cross out all the classes you have already taken, if you care about organization then writing a number next to the classes to signify which semester you have taken the class or plan on taking the class, you can, for it might help later on. 

   Now a really easy way to do this that would save you a ton of time is just sitting down and plotting which classes you'll be taking each semester starting with the core classes, for most undergraduate institutions you only have to take 60 - 80 core credits, (this all changes if you are going to nursing or pharmacy being that they plan everything for you ahead of time). One class generally equals 3 credits, so when we say 60 credits we mean 20 classes, this might sound like a lot but it's not, here is where planning really makes sense and helps you understand how doable this all is. If you take 15 credit semesters, and take 9 credits during the summer you can get rid of 39 of those credits in one year, summer classes are your friend, they will save you money and time, trust us on this. Following this simple pattern you will be done with your core classes in no time at all and will be able to spend more time in your desired field or spend more time figuring out what that field is to begin with.

   This all might seem elementary to some of you and for that we applaud you, but for some people out there this stuff was never taught to them and thus we felt that it was about time someone wrote something that simplified this whole signing up process. When you take into account that there are 20+ classes you can sign up for signing up a little late doesn't really injure you much, but don't make a habit of it for it can injure you hardcore later on, specially if you're on your last semester, don't mess around with scheduling specially then. Taking core classes might seem dull, but stick it out, this is definitely the best course of action, a lot can happen in a year, maybe you decide to transfer or change your major/minor, so sticking with your core for the first year and a half is a solid and safe choice.

    Our advice for choosing your major and minor is to first realize that not all majors require minors, this is a simple mistake many have committed in the past, don't follow their example. Second, look through all the majors and select 3 you really like then take a semester and take a basic class in one of each to see if you like it, if on the first day you get there and hate it then drop it and try again. You have about a few weeks to figure out if you like a class or not before you can't drop it anymore, so use this to your advantage when figuring out what major you would like by trying out a few classes that interest you. Thirdly, use the system to your advantage, from dropping classes, to summer classes, to talking to professors and so forth, these are all available to you but one very important thing that many overlook is that your surrounding colleagues are also available to you, talking to upper classmen about their major might really help you find your own path, don't be shy when talking to people, they've been where you are they know what's up.

    There is a lot more that we could say here, we could talk on this topic for a good amount of time, but to summarize everything we already said, here is what you need to know: know your catalog, organize what classes you'll be taking per semester, summer classes will save you time and energy, upper classmen and professors are always available to help you out, and finally if you have any further questions feel free to ask us on the "comments box" bellow and we'll do our best to help you out.

   We hope this has been of some help to those having a hard time signing up for classes and doing the whole college thing. We hope you all had a great weekend and pray that this week might be a great one for you.

Love from your humble blogger,

Newest Mario @E3 And This Week's Must Know Announcements

   The first big announcement that occurred this week has to be the confirmation by Nintendo that there will be a showing of the next Super Mario game at E3, the game will be one of Wii U's first releases and as always we are all looking forward to seeing the new title to this loved series come to life. For those that are unfamiliar with this convention, basically E3 is the biggest gaming convention in the world, here is where all the big announcements for the year occur, so we get new technology, new games, and announcements for the future of the big companies. The press conferences to look forward to are always that of Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, with the unveiling of Wii U occurring this year we hope Nintendo comes out with the biggest show, but you never know what Sony and Microsoft will do, surely this will be a great E3 this year. This year's E3 will be taking place on June 6th, as soon as we hear more on it you'll hear more on it, we recommend IGN as a medium for staying up to date on everything that happens in it but you can always check back with us and we'll give you the big announcements of the day.

   Trailers You Should be Looking Forward To

   There was a rumor going around that has finally been confirmed and that is that the newest James Bond flick "Skyfall" will be placing their first trailer on MIB III's release, hence another reason to watch this already eagerly looked forward to movie. The rumor mill was doing work this week for there was another announcement that surfaced stating that the third and final preview for the "Dark Knight: Rises" will be either in "Dark Shadows" or "The Avengers", being that there is a rivalry between DC and Marvel if we were to guess we would say "Dark Shadows" will probably take the preview, but you never know.

    New Animated Series That Might Interest You

   Cartoon Network has come out with the first teaser trailer for their upcoming animated series "Beware The Batman", if you are unfamiliar with Batman animated series then trust us in saying that they are generally very good. Even the series from back in the day, if you picked it up to re-watch it you would be pleasantly surprised by how well done it is, thus a "Beware The Batman" might just be something looking into. The other big announcement this week was that Disney's "Tron" will be returning with their own animated series titled "Tron: Uprising", the series will take place in between the two movies answering some questions and providing us with a solid bridge between the two movies, maybe something looking into if you enjoyed the latest Tron movie. The series is hosting a look of good voice talent, thus we have high hopes for this addition to the series.       

      Two Epic Movies In The Works That You Should Know About

    Orson Scott Card's classic book "Ender's Game" has been commissioned for a big picture release for sometime next year, this book to movie transition has been a long awaited one by many and will surely spawn a long series of sequels and win the hearts of many. Two new pictures have been leaked by the production team of Ender's room and the machine on his neck, when the first trailer comes out we'll be sure to let you know. If you are unfamiliar with any of Orson Scott Card's work then we recommend "Ender's Game" for sure, you won't regret reading it, that's a promise. The other big confirmed rumor to be looking forward to is that Dreamworks has been in talks with EA to make a "Need For Speed" movie, this could be a really good thing or a really bad thing. A "Need For Speed" movie could be epic but the skeptic in us can't help but think that Jason Statham will be cast in it thus making it become just another Statham movie, when we hear more about this we'll let you know for sure.

    Two Games You Should be Aware Of

   "Tribes: Ascend" came out for the PC a few weeks back and there is no reason as to why you should not be playing this game. "Tribes: Ascend" is a free to play game with good graphics and very decent gameplay, the game follows the motto that many new free games are going with, the you can either gain experience and get new items by playing the game or you can buy equipment and level up that way. The success of this game has made many begin to question as to if this is the future for games, though we feel that this is not the future as a whole we do acknowledge that for multi-player shooter games this might be the future indeed, it is a solid concept and a good game, you should check it out. The other game to be looking forward to is "James Bond: Legends" there aren't a ton of specs on the game out yet but it will be a combination of 6 different bond movies including Skyfall so that sounds rather promising as soon as we know more we'll fill you in.

     Evolution of Cable Confirmed

   Sony has decided to be the first to take the epic step into organizing your cable feed with your gaming feed, inherently giving you something slick and awesome to look at in their newest product the PS3 TV Hub "NasneNasne" to America as well, but the best thing will be when Microsoft retaliates by releasing their own Hub thus speeding up the process of evolution surrounding this project. For more specs on "Nasne" follow this link for IGN's full article.

   April is an interesting month in that news never stop and the rumor mill goes crazy trying to figure out what is going to happen in the next three months, it is definitely a fun month. We hope this week has been a good one for you and pray that this weekend will be a safe and restful one.

Love from your humble blogger,

The Evolution Of The Smartphone

     When Google announced their new project, Google glass, many in the world started laughing and were skeptical about the whole thing, but turns out this project is a real possibility and one that has caught the attention of some really powerful competition. Apple's CEO met with Valve this last week to discuss this very thing, the guys at Valve are going to work on a "wearable computing" project that is due to come out in the next 3-5 years, meaning if Google and Apple are both taking this seriously then we should start to do the same. This is really exciting, it is the next step in the computing evolution for sure, it was bound to happen and thank God for it happening so soon, the benefits of it are immense.

     When was the last time you made a phone call? This is an interesting question to ask, so many times have we heard the phrase "calling takes so long, texting is way better", this is a product of our generation, and one we think is a good thing but some still believe it to be a bad thing. Let's start with the negative critiques, people fear the loss of communication between people, in many respects we feel this is silly and an exaggeration, it reminds us of the time when televisions were coming out and the previous generation kept saying that TVs would melt the young generation's brains, silly really. We think the evolution of the phone is a beautiful thing that encourages communication quite significantly, here's what's up.

      Ellen Degeneres in her new book "Seriously...I'm Kidding" has a chapter dedicated to this very concept, the concept that via text we can get a full 4 pages worth of information within one paragraph. The chapter is brilliant, she obviously over uses abbreviations, but the point is made clear, that communication is becoming faster and because it is faster more people can partake in the conversation, thus the increase and not the decrease in communication due to technology. To answer the question that started this point, phone calls have gone down significantly with the addition of text and smartphones to the big picture. The mass text invention changed the game even further, no longer do you have to call 20 friends to make a plan, now you can just text all of them at the same time and be done with it, it solves a 2 hour process in less than 2 minutes, that is a beautiful thing.

    Another huge thing here is that smartphones and Ipads are quickly replacing laptops, this might seem silly but it is not, this is the future. There is no reason to check your laptop anymore, save writing long papers, but even there there are people that have become accustomed to using their Ipads to write long papers, the laptop is a dying breed, trust us on this, its a fact. Think smartphone for a second, within  it you have your email, all your social networks, Google and your other search/reference networks, Youtube, Pinterest, and even Break all have apps, you have games and a camera even, with all those things at your disposal rarely does using a laptop seem practical, you have a computer that is more powerful than most 2-3 year old laptops on the palm of your hand, that is the future.

     This is why the invention of the computing glasses is such a big deal, this is the next evolution when it comes to technology. John Scalzi and other science fiction writers have described this evolution, John takes it a step further saying that soon we'll have a chip implant where we'll be able to use computers just by thinking, you might think that this is a far off concept but its not, its a 10-20 years concept. In the next 3-5 years we'll have all the computing power of a smartphone and laptop being a wearable thing, this will be done via voice command technology, video games are also going to incorporate such a concept with Microsoft already copyrighting projects that incorporate such a device for their newest videogame system that is due to come out some time in Q4 of next year. This is the future, and it is happening now.

     Virtual reality has been a human dream for countless generations and now we are approaching an age where that could be a possibility, this is a great thing for sure. To focus on what is happening right now though, with Apple on the race to get their wearable computing out sooner and better than that of Google's, be sure that more news on this will be coming out, not only that but be sure that the competition will be fierce and the evolution of the smartphone will occur in the next 3-5 years, possibly in the next 3 years. What this means is that smartphones will phase out laptops soon enough, just as laptops have been phasing out desktops which phased out typewriters and so forth. It is the natural evolutionary process of technology and it is a beautiful thing to be a part of it and see it happen.

    What do you guys think of all this? Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Do you think it will be practical or will it bomb? We are in high hopes for this project, surely we'll have more to discuss when both Google and Apple unveil their devices. We hope your week has been going well and pray that it finishes well.

Love from your humble blogger,

The Reinvention Of The Board Game

     It isn't news to smartphone users how much fun apps can be. From random camera apps, to information or mass media apps, smartphones have quickly begun to replace the need for laptops more and more. This in many respects was expected, many saw this coming, but the replacement and reinventing of board games, though inevitable, was not foreseen by many. The concept was simple, introduce a game that everyone could play, while being a simple game that does not require much investment when it comes to learning how to play it, the solution, board games.

     "Words With Friends" was not the first board game to make it to smartphones, but it was the first one that succeeded in a massive scale, this was the reintroduction of Scrabble to the world. Scrabble is a fun game for sure but when you are playing the board game there are pieces everywhere, you have a limited time per turn, you can't consult anyone around you for aid, you are basically restricted to a table and not able to continue on with your life until that game is over. This is the big appeal to the rethinking of the board game, the ability to play wherever you want whenever you want, no longer are you constrained to a chair and time limits, now you can play at work, at school, before bed, or whenever you feel like playing. You get to play a board game with your friends without all the negative aspects of playing said board game.

    Here is a point that should be made, sitting down and playing a board game is really fun and not a "universal negative", what is meant here is that sitting down to play Scrabble counts as a positive at times but the majority of the time it is a negative, not in all cases but in most. Let's take this thought further, what would the creators of Scrabble want us to be able to do everyday? Play Scrabble. What prevents us from doing so? Having the time, want, and company that is required in order to play. How do you solve this? By removing the need to slow down and giving the players the power to play whenever they want by removing the need to sit and play. This is why board games for smartphones was so ingenious, because people love playing games against one another and now they are able to do so whenever they want.

    Other games have sought to follow Scrabble's example but no game succeeded like "Draw Something" did. Here is another simple concept, a game enveloping attributes from our favorite classic board games like "Pictionary" and so forth. The concept is simple and fun, therefore making it a hit with everyone, it appeals to all ages and because of this it is bridging a gap that has long existed between generations. Where as before this there was no way to play a fun game with your parents back home, or friends back home while you were away at school, now you can, not only that but you can play multiple games with multiple people and reconnect with far away friends.

     There is another aspect to this movement, one that was also unexpected but welcomed by many, the resurgence of board games due to smartphone games. The concept is simple, raise the awareness of how fun your game is and people will come together to play it. Though we do live in world where time is becoming precious and everything is done quickly, there is always time for recreation, there is always time to sit down and enjoy a good conversation with friends, while playing a game together. There are immense health benefits to slowing down and including a social gathering in your week, in fact to not have any social interactions during a week can bring life from being a beautiful thing to a morbid thing.

     Board games caught their second breath due to the smartphone move, it should be interesting to see what the future might look like when it comes to them, we think that they will always be around. From card games, to video games, to make believe games, to board games, being united is a very important aspect to being human. Having social interactions keeps us going, it ignites something within us that is unexplainable and it is this spark that helps us see the beauty in life. This is why board games will never disappear, because we are sociable creatures, we need one another and board games just happen to be a great medium for a good bonding, relaxing, and rejuvenating time. Thus we think that the reintroduction of board games is a beautiful thing in that it bringing people together and reinvents an old concept while at the same time breathing life into a classic concept.

  We hope you have a great week this coming week and pray that as we approach the end of the school year that you may find time to relax and rest, maybe play a board game with some friends, that is always a good choice. Personally I'm partial to "Quelf", I recommend it. 

Love from your humble blogger,

Directors On The Move: Must Know Updates And Rumors

     The month of April has its up sides but when it comes to movies there really isn't much happening throughout the month which is a horrible thing, specially in light of exams being on the horizon and the need for an escape from regular activities being ever present due to stress. April is the last month before we start getting a series of blockbuster films starting with May 04th where we'll start this whole thing off with "The Avengers", its less than a month away, this is going to be good. Late April does offer us some better movies but for right now we get movies like "Lockout" which should feature Mark Wahlberg or Jason Statham but  does not which means that there are no redeeming factors to this brash action movie, not to worry though we do get a Statham movie later this month called "Safe" We don't want to ruin the plot of this movie but it's another Statham movie, which pretty much tells you the plot. On to this week's must know movie news.

   Stoller's New Comedy

     Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Chris Pratt and Alison Brie, need we say more? On the last week of April we will start to get some good movies, this being the first one on the list. The story revolves around Segel and Blunt's characters as they get engaged and tracks all theirs difficulties throughout the whole process of preparing a wedding. The movie is directed by Nicholas Stoller, he directed movies like "Get Him To The Greek" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", so this movie is sure to be a fun one. It was about time Stoller got Segel back on the big screen and delivered us another great comedy. Plus it's Jason Segel, the guy has not disappointed us yet, think "How I Met Your Mother" and "The Muppets", yeah, the guy is good. "The Five Year Engagement" will surely be another great success, we recommend you add this to your must watch list.

    Tarantino's Latest Project

   This week Tarantino finally gave us some more insight into his upcoming movie "Django Unchained", the movie centers around a slave who after being freed becomes a bounty hunter and is on his way to rescue his wife from a Mississippi plantation owner, knowing how Tarantino works this movie will surely be a blast. Tarantino did not pull any punches for this one gathering a long list of amazing actors to perform in this latest addition, actors like Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson, Christoph Waltz, Kurt Russell, Jamie Fox, and Kerry Washington, an amazing cast for sure. The movie should be coming out during Christmas time and is a project that we'll be sure to talk about again, you know something good and different is coming when Tarantino is involved.

    Ridley Scott's 2013Project Already In Talk

   If Ridley is not on the top of your radar list then we advise you to add him to it, here is man whose career deserves full attention. Ridley's latest movie "The Counselor" will be releasing sometime in 2013, not much about the movie is known as of yet except that it involves a lawyer and drug trafficking. The big rumor going around this week is that Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem and Michael Fassbender will all be performing side by side in this thriller. Though not confirmed there is talk of Angelina also being involved in this project, the first rumor was that Natalie Portman was to have the role but there are no conclusive news about it all as of yet, as soon as we hear more you'll hear more. If you are unfamiliar with Ridley Scott (God forbid) here is a sample list of some of his movies that should keep you busy this weekend, "Robin Hood", "Body Of Lies", "American Gangster", "Gladiator", "Blade Runner" and the upcoming gem "Prometheus" which looks fantastic.

   Burton Is Back With More Johnny

   Tim Burton just recently unveiled his upcoming vampire comedy "Dark Shadows" which will be featuring (Burton's favorite) Johnny Depp. There are some people who have begun to critique this movie already, for some reason there is a strong online following against Tim Burton, we don't think it matters much, Tim is still a brilliant guy and he has been behind amazing projects in the past, Burton and Depp have worked together for years and know how to bring out the best work from each other, therefore this movie should be on your watch list, its as simple as that. "Dark Shadows" will come out this year May 11th, we recommend that you watch the preview above, it looks like its going to be a really funny movie. If for some odd reason you are unfamiliar with Tim Burton's work then please do yourself a kindness and go watch some of his movies, we recommend "Batman", "Edward ScissorHands", "Ed Wood", "Sleepy Hollow", "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Big Fish", there are more of his movies we could add to this list but that would take up too much space, Burton's got a lot of good movies.

 "Catching Fire" Rumor Mill

  We mentioned previously this week the fact that Lionsgate lost their director for the sequel in the "Hunger Games" trilogy "Catching Fire" and how this could be a good thing or a really bad thing, turns out this might be a really really good thing after all. There are rumors going around right now that there are three directors in talks about taking the movie over, the first is Alfonso Cuaron who is known for movies like "Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban" and "Children of Men", the second is Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu who directed "21 Grams" and "Babel", and thirdly the one and only David Cronenberg whose career is vast and impressive, he's worked on movies like "The Fly", "Scanners", "Eastern Promises", "A History Of Violence" and a ton more. The bottom line is this, we have three titans fighting for this movie, which means that "Catching Fire" will be the "Empire Strikes Back" of the "Hunger Games" series, meaning that it'll probably blow our minds and be amazing. We'll be watching this story closely so as soon as we get more updates you'll get more updates.

   Well consider yourselves updated on important movie announcements and rumors that occurred this week. We hope this Friday is a great one for you and that this weekend might be restful. If you can't think of anything to do for this weekend then we recommend that you look into some of these directors, they will all blow your minds.

Love from your humble blogger,

Tom Hanks is Disney, Ashton is Jobs, Sherlock is Awesome

     If you've been reading us for a while you know that we didn't like the new Dr. Pepper 10 commercial, the "for men only" soda, we listed it on the "top ten most obnoxious ads" and there it has remained. Some of us got the chance to try out this beverage the other day and came up with a striking revelation, Dr. Pepper 10 which should have 10 manly calories actually has 20 calories. This brings up a few points and makes sense of their advertising. The first point being that the name makes no sense then, the can is advertised in the commercial as having 10 calories, Dr. Pepper 10, therefore one would assume that the beverage would only have 10 calories not 20, but no uproar has been made about this which brings up a separate point, their targeted audience. Here is the message Dr. Pepper is sending, either that guys are bad at math, guys are not observant, or that guys just don't care, we'll drink whatever is in front of us, which would mean that Dr. Pepper is saying that girls would cause an uproar about this and therefore they targeted the men instead. Bottom line is, Dr. Pepper 10 is not only sexist but also an insult to all men out there, anyway, just thought we would fill you in. On to updates:

  The Dark Knight Rises Rating Issues

    As it turns out the last Nolan Batman will most likely be rated "R" due to a recent rating of the project and the inability to attain a PG13 rating. Depending on who you are this could either be a good thing or a bad thing, for the movie goer this is most certainly a good thing, it means the movie will  push the limits within the franchise and give us something new, something we all want, but obviously the movie would not profit as much while in theaters due to the amount of people that won't be able to go watch it. We must remember when it comes to these type of movies that the fan base is spread out and though sometimes a better movie could be made if it were rated "R" (think Hunger Games) that the PG13 rating ends up helping the production of more movies due to good revenue, specially when it comes to these type of titles. It will be interesting to see how Nolan will react to this, if he will drop scenes from the movie or just accept the rating and move forward. We would understand if he choose to drop to a PG13 rating, but still, there is a hope that he won't.

  Tom Hanks To Play Walt Disney

   Though this is a rumor thus far, we do have some pretty serious evidence that Disney has signed up Tom Hanks to play the part of Walt Disney in their upcoming adaptation of the creation of "Mary Poppins" named "Mr. Banks". The movie will center around Walt Disney attempting to get the story of "Mary Poppins" from her writer and getting it made into a big picture. There is a darker element involved, it turns out the original writer did not enjoy the end result and thought the cartoons within the movie looked childish, so she vows never to work with Disney again, thus this is a story of Walt convincing her to share the story with the world and later reconciling with her after the movie is made and she is angry. The project is just getting under way, there are rumors going around that Emma Thompson and Meryl Streep are both thinking about signing on to the project. We'll let you know more as soon as we find out more.

  Ashton Controversy

  This was announced last week and an uproar was heard around the world, the fact that Ashton Kutcher will be playing Steve Jobs in the upcoming movie about Job's life. Originally we weren't going to cover this story for though Ashton is not a fantastic actor he is not the worst actor out there so we thought the uproar was a slight exaggeration. If you think about it there are a ton of worse actors to choose from, the issue that we want to bring up here is not why people don't like this whole deal about Ashton playing Jobs but why do people hate Ashton so much? It makes no sense, the guy was an icon for a while, he was in a few really good (Butterfly Effect) and funny movies (Take your pic), yes he has been in a lot of bad movies lately but he does have potential, which is more than we can say for a lot of other actors out there. Thus with the right motivation, we think this project might even come out to be ok, we say give Ashton a chance.

  Sherlock

   There is something about good television that should never be ignored, and Sherlock is one of those shows that has gone under the radar for long enough. If you own Netflix the first three episodes are on instant stream, they are each about an hour long and are awesome. This depiction of the Sherlock universe is what the movie should have been like, due to length of episodes it does kind of fell like you are watching a movie when seeing the series, a really good movie rendition of the famed book. The series is only 6 episodes long and has not been signed on for new projects as of yet, though here is a series that you should not miss. From the cast, to the dialogue, to how it was shoot, the whole series was a masterpiece, it is too bad that it did not reach the states with as much clamor as it did in England. Knowing how Hollywood works we would recommend you watch this series before Hollywood makes an "American" rendition of it, it seems like a habit as of late for there to be an "American" version of British shows, here is one we hope never gets re-made. Anyway, do check it out, it is definitely worth watching.

    Wednesday has finally come upon us, take a deep breath the weekend is close at hand, we hope this week ends in a good note for you and pray for safety to all,

Love from your humble blogger,