Game review: The History Channel Lost Worlds

By now, it should be pretty obvious that I'm a sucker for a good hidden object game. Bonus points if I can play the game with my daughter! I downloaded the trial version of The History Channel Lost Worlds because it touted itself as a hidden object game. While there is a hidden object game involved, it is only one small part of each level. The game mostly revolves around jigsaw puzzles and trivia questions. It was nice learning a bit about ancient cultures but it was definitely not the game that was promised. I probably would have enjoyed it more if it didn't claim to be a hidden object game.

Music review: Barenaked Ladies - Adrift

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 Video link: Via YouTube

Lyrics: Ever since we said our good-byes The onion rings, the phone makes me cry Something isn't right Like the Deep Blue without the Great White

In the morning open your eyes The waterfalls, the fire flies You're an abacus And my heart was counting on us

Your heart's got a heavy load There's still a long way to go Keep your eyes on the road

Crescent moon sings me to sleep The birches bark, the willows weep But I lie awake; I'm adrift without a snowflake

Your heart's got a heavy load There's still a long way to go Keep your eyes on the road About the song: While Steve has the stronger voice, I think it was a perfect choice to have Ed sing lead on this. His voice is a bit softer which gives this sad ballad so much emotion. It's a wonderful song though I'm not sure I agree with their choice to lead the album with it. It sets the entire album off with a melancholy feeling instead of something a bit happier. But it still a good song on its own.

Go away pimples!

Like a lot of people, I've been looking for natural acne treatments. I don't have terrible acne but the problems I do have bother me a lot. But I don't want something that will take a ton of time or effort. That's asking for a miracle, isn't it? At least I know I'm not alone in my search. If television commercials are any sort of judgement, tons of people are looking for good cures for acne. So, if you have any good suggestions, please comment away!

Website of the Week: D-Addicts

For people interested in Asian dramas, D-Addicts is a great resource. They even have a Wiki so you can easily find information about all of your favorite shows and their actors. The site isn't just limited to Japanese dramas either. You can also find Taiwanese, Chinese, Korean and Hong Kong dramas. D-Addicts has helped me find a lot of the older dramas that newer fansub groups haven't picked up. They are definitely one of my favorite resources.

Game review: Haunted Hotel

Haunted Hotel is basically a hidden object game. However, between each hidden object level, there are a variety of mini-games you need to play before you can move onto the next level. The mini-games range from catching energy balls to a match three game to moving pieces of rope so they don't overlap and more. I had fun playing the hidden object parts of the game. In each location, there are three bonus items you can find that will give you additional time. These bonus items are not named, like the rest of the objects. You have to match the shadow with the item. As for the regular list of items, they are just difficult enough to make the game fun but not so difficult that you get aggravated.

The mini-games, however, are another story altogether. Personally, I'm not very good at the rope game. I never have been. So it annoyed me that I had to spend a lot of time trying to figure it out and there isn't any way for me to skip it. Most of the other mini-games aren't particularly difficult, they are just annoying. Especially if you downloaded the game aiming for a hidden object game.

As a whole, Haunted Hotel wasn't bad. It would just be nice if we could skip past the mini-games and move to the hidden object games. I understand why they were put there but they are completely unnecessary.

Jewelry

My daughter got her ears pierced about a month ago. So recently I've been looking at earrings for her. I keep coming across various pieces of religious jewelry though. I don't wear things like crosses myself. I'm not of any "traditional" religions so they've never appealed to me. I'm not really sure that my daughter would want to wear something like that. She hasn't shown any interest but it's not like she's exposed to many religious symbols. I'll just have to ask her opinion the next time I looking at earrings.

JDorama review: Nodame Cantabile

nodame.jpg Title: Nodame Cantabile Broadcast date: 10/16/06 - 12/25/06 Genre: Romantic Comedy Number of episodes: 11 Cast: Ueno Juri, Tamaki Hiroshi, Eita, Koide Keisuke, Takenaka Naoto Plot: Noda Megumi, despite her extremely unusual behavior, is a piano prodigy. However, she wants to become a kindergarten teacher. Chiaki Shinichi is a musical perfectionist and Nodame's (Noda's nickname) next door neighbor. Nodame falls madly in love with Chiaki but can he ever accept someone as strange as this girl? What is good: Ueno Juri and Tamaki Hiroshi both shine in their respective roles as Nodame and Chiaki What is bad: There wasn't anything particularly bad about the show. Letter rating: A Overall: From the first episode, I was hooked on this series. Besides having a good mix of comedic and romantic moments, there was some really good classical music. My favorite moment was when the S-Oke performed "Rhapsody in Blue." This is the first time that I have seen Ueno Juri (Nodame) and Tamaki Hiroshi (Chiaki) perform and, I must admit, I was impressed by their acting abilities. There are quite a few sight gags that require a lot from the actor. Both of them pulled it off very well. I'm looking forward to watching the specials as soon as I can.

Music review: Arashi - A*RA*SHI

arashi.jpg Artist: Arashi Members: Ninomiya Kazunari (Nino), Ohno Satoshi (Leader), Matsumoto Jun (MatsuJun), Aiba Masaki, Sakurai Sho Album: Arashi No.1 Ichigou Release date: 11/24/01 Video link: Performed on the One Tour (Surprise additional video! A music video directed by Hideaki Takizawa of Tackey and Tsubasa)

English translation: Pop it yeah! Honesty good! The heaviness from that boo! That's all right! Yet we will shape the world yes we are super boy! We are cool Even if something unpleasant happened, we show it off We'll do what we can, can't we? It's all right to have a dream, right?

You are my soul! Soul! You always are here with me I can't give it away. No one can get in our way. Congregate the wind and wind it all over my body storm storm for dream

Today again, they are saying in TV They are saying how miserable the world has become. I am always looking for looking for a gigantic love and ambition Everyday! Everybody! The world hasn't end yet Why don't we start from here? Let's get on! Let's get on yea!

Step by step instead of bursting, go for it naked Day by day I want stimulation rather than boredom Let's open our huge wings up

You are my soul! Soul! You always are here with me I can't give it away. No one can get in our way. Congregate the wind and wind it all over my body storm storm for dream

Catching the harsh storm with your both hands Be brave, let's fly Aim the heaven and unbeatable cloud Fly away

Step by step instead of bursting, go for it naked Day by day I want stimulation rather than boredom Let's open our huge wings up

You are my soul! Soul! You make me strong Tears are tommorrow's energy Aim the future, let's go for it. Storm storm oh yea!

You are my soul! Soul! You always are here with me I can't give it away. No one can get in our way. Congregate the wind and wind it all over my body storm storm for dream

Today again, they are saying in TV They are saying how miserable the world has become. I am always looking for looking for a gigantic love and ambition Everyday! Everybody! The world hasn't end yet Why don't we start from here? Let's get on! Let's get on yea!

You are my soul! Soul! You always are here with me I can't give it away. No one can get in our way. Congregate the wind and wind it all over my body storm storm for dream About the song: As should be fairly obvious, this was the first single released by Arashi. The word 'arashi' means storm, which is why it sounds a bit weird in the translation. I think the lyrics intended to reference the band and not a weather pattern.

This was the perfect song to use for the debut. It not only highlights Ohno's amazing voice but it also has some really good raps for Sho and the boys can show off a bit of their dancing skills too. It's easy to see why it's still one of their most popular songs.

I suck with tape.

Back when I was in college, I used to work for the K-Mart warehouse. It was my job to fill the orders that specific stores sent us. This meant that I got pretty handy with a box cutter. However, I have a difficult time with the hand tape dispensers. To this day, I still tape up the box then use a box cutter to slash the tape from the roll. We use those types of tape dispensers in the shipping department at my current job. Luckily, I don't have to use them very often. It's probably not particularly safe to cut tape with box cutters.