Game review: Vogue Tales

Vogue Tales is a wacky fashion-themed time management game. You play fashion designer Wendy. Her grandmother sent her a mysterious gift but before she could open it, a thief stole the gift and her favorite dummy. Wendy must raise enough money to go to London to get her stuff back. Once again, this is a game where the customers choose the type and color for the piece of clothing they want. Wendy takes the design to the fabric, where it is magically sewed, then hands the clothes to the customer. There isn't anything particularly difficult about the game. Though it can be a challenge to keep the customers happy. You can buy upgrades for help you keep their hearts full.

Personally, I'd like to see a little more variety in the time management genre. While the general themes are slightly different, the gameplay is exactly the same. I'm ready for something amazing to come along and make me love the genre all over again.

Music review: Barenaked Ladies - Maybe You're Right

Artist: Barenaked Ladies Members: Steven Page (vocals), Ed Robertson (guitar/vocals), Tyler Stewart (drums), Jim Creegan (bass), Kevin Hearn (keyboards) Album: Barenaked Ladies Are Me Release date: 9/12/06

Lyrics: It was often talked about It was often raised But nothing was ever done about it

To hear the way they talked about it No one could be saved But nothing was ever done about it

Shall I take back everything I've ever said And live my whole life in silence instead?

It was oversimplified It was underthought And nothing was ever done to stop it

Everything was fortified by All the lies we bought And nothing was ever done to stop it

Shall I take back everything I've ever said And live my whole life in silence instead?

Shall I take back everything I've ever said (Shall I take back all my attacks? All of my accusations?) And live my whole life in silence instead? (All my mistrust - we never discussed anyone's reservations)

There was a time When a crime was a crime Now I think I'm losing my mind

Or taking it all too hard Taking it all too hard Taking it all too hard

Shall I take back all my attacks? All of my accusations? All my mistrust - we never discussed anyone's reservations

Shall I take back everything I've ever said (Shall I take back all my attacks? All of my accusations?) And live my whole life in silence instead? (All my mistrust - we never discussed anyone's reservations)

Shall I take back everything I've ever said (Shall I take back all my attacks? All of my accusations?) And live my whole life in silence instead? (All my mistrust - we never discussed anyone's reservations)

Maybe you're right Maybe you're right Maybe you're right But I don't think so

Maybe you're right Maybe you're right Maybe you're right But I don't think so About the song: This is such an amazing song. Steve and Ed's voices meld so well together here. It really makes me think of an old Beatles song. (I think the chorus has the same tune to one of Paul McCartney's solo songs.) The background music starts out soft and delicate but then moves into something more robust. It usually takes me awhile to really get into new BNL albums. This song was a hit for me from the first listen.

Celebrity Rehab PSAs

On Saturday, I talked about Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. During the commercial breaks, there are public service announcements for drug rehab. On one hand, these are great motivators to get families to notice someone's addiction. However, I firmly believe that you cannot force someone into rehab. It just won't stick. That's the "other hand" of these PSAs. Dr. Drew insists that addicts are silently screaming for help and it is "our" duty to get these people into rehab. From my experience, that doesn't really work. You can try to confront the addict but you can't force them to rehab. If they aren't willing to take the necessary steps to get themselves clean, there is nothing an outsider can do to make them want that or to make them follow through with the treatment. Sorry, Dr. Drew, this is one subject we'll just have to disagree on.

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching. I bet some of you guys out there need some ideas on what to get your loved ones, right? Well, here are some ideas for you: Silver Jewelry Club offers free silver jewelry. All you have to pay is a $6 shipping and handling fee. I have purchased a few items from the site and loved it so much that I recommended it to my friends. Now they are addicted to it as well!

Build-a-Bear Workshop. Yes, these stores are mostly geared towards children but grown-ups can use it too. If your significant other likes teddy bears and stuffed animals, it's a better idea to give her one that you made yourself instead of something pre-made that hundreds, if not thousands, of other women have.

Another present you can make with your own hands are origami flowers. Granted, these are usually gifts you give with a box of candy or something small to make it a very personal gift. Just remember - a handmade gift can be much better than a store bought one if you make the right thing.

Ah, the chocolate. Gotta put chocolate on the list, right? While it tends to be on the expensive side, Godiva is usually a good way to go. You can even win a chocolate fantasy weekend in New York City with an entire room made out of chocolate.

Got a geeky girl? Think Geek has an entire line of geeky girl t-shirts. Or there is always the Genki Gang anime and video game hats. Rock out with your geekiness!

These are some pretty good starting points. I know that Valentine's Day is always a difficult holiday. Single people feel left out while couples scramble to find the "right" way to celebrate together. Instead, just chill out an enjoy the company of your friends and loved ones. You don't have to be romantically linked to anyone to have a good Valentine's Day with some close friends or family.

Detoxing

Awhile ago, I was watching Penn & Teller's Bullshit on Showtime. The episode was about detoxing your body through diets or colon cleanse things and whatnot. Obviously, Penn & Teller thought it was a bunch of crap. Personally, I'm a bit more middle of the road. I have some friends that do the diet detox every once in awhile and they seem to get some sort of help from it. I don't think I would ever do it myself though. Mostly because I'm not dedicated enough to keep up with it long enough.

Game review: Golden Hearts Juice Bar

Yet another restaurant themed time management game, Golden Hearts Juice Bar tries to change things up a bit by making the "restaurant" into a trendy drink bar. Unfortunately, the changes that make the juice bar possible makes the game annoyingly difficult right from the beginning. Of course, it doesn't get any easier as the levels go on. You play Kelly, a college student who is trying to each some money to continue her studies. So she takes a job at the local juice bar making milkshakes and strawberry smoothies. While this sounds like a great job, the game makes it extremely difficult by taking it out of a bar-typed setting and using a restaurant setting instead. As such, Kelly has to crank out as many drinks as she can while waiting on tables. Add in the fact that each drink takes a couple of seconds in the blender, it's not too difficult to end up with some cranky customers. You can make them happier with the house band but they seem to take an awful lot of breaks.

Also, the game setting teases you. There are things available that you can use but the customers don't want. So if you accidentally click on them, you are screwed. This includes things like lemon wedges for the drinks and slices of cake. They don't come into play until the middle of the second restaurant level.

I'm rather disappointed in the game. I wanted it to be really good. It's a great theme but it's just not used very well. If the designers had used the bar instead of seating the customers at tables, the game would be a lot easier and a lot more fun to play. I hope that they'll make a sequel to the game with a couple of minor changes. It'll be cool to have a bar-themed time management game. I think it'll bring back memories of the old Tapper games.

Looking at laptops

My husband and I went to Best Buy today because he needed a new power supply for his computer. While we were there, I took a look at some of the laptops. I'd really like to get a laptop of my own. One of the biggest factors for me is laptop memory. I need a laptop small enough that it's not heavy and I can use it anywhere but I need enough memory to handle everything I want to do. And, of course, it has to be within my budget. Decisions, decisions!

Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew

My latest reality television obsession is VH1's Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. I have loved Dr. Drew ever since Loveline was on MTV. In my eyes, the man can do no wrong. And Celebrity Rehab is another hit for him. For the show, a group of addicted celebrities gather to kick their nasty habits. The lineup consists of Family Matters' Jaimee Foxworth, Seth 'Shifty' Binzer from the group Crazytown, martial arts fighter Ricco Rodriguez, actor Daniel Baldwin, actress Brigitte Nielson, former pro-wrestler Joanie 'Chyna' Laurer, porn actress Mary Carey and Grease star Jim Conaway. Their addictions vary from alcoholism to cocaine to pot. Dr. Drew and his staff definitely have their hands full with this crew.

At first, I thought this show was going to be an absolute train-wreck. On the contrary, the show is not only entertaining, it's also very informative about what goes on in rehab. My father is an alcoholic and he has been in and out of various rehabs over the years. While I knew that they did things like "art therapy" since he always brought home weird pottery things, I didn't know that there are group sessions where the patients talk about things that may have caused them to turn to drugs or alcohol. It's interesting to hear about what these celebrities have gone through. Especially since the general public tends to think these people live glamorous golden lives. Instead, they are living with a lot of emotional baggage due to past emotional abuses.

I think that this show is something that everyone should watch. Not just to see "celebreality" but also to see the reality of rehab.

Refinancing the mortgage

This year will be the third year since we bought our house. We've been thinking about refinancing in order to get a lower monthly payment. That would mean talking to mortgage lenders again and that really sucks. Our payment isn't terribly bad so it's nothing that we need to deal with immediately. But everyone wants lower bill payments, right? Then again, I'd really like to move into a larger house. Our current house is pretty small. Always wanting bigger and better, that's me.

Laptop stuff

A couple of years ago, my husband and I used to run an anime convention. Last year we handed everything over to other staff members as it was getting to be too much work for us. But back in the beginning, it was pretty much just the two of us with a bit of help from some friends. We even used our own equipment to run it. Looking back, it probably would have been a better idea to look at laptop rentals instead of using our own stuff. I mean, we put a lot of personal computer and video game equipment at stake. We were really lucky. None of our stuff got broken. Except for the iPod that was stolen and we wouldn't have rented that anyway.