Happy New Year!!! #15

Happy 2009! Wait...it's the year two-thousand NINE? Hey! It's our number 9 again!

Best wishes for this new year and more to come!!

Taking turns can be fun #14

Today, my brother and I had the two of the Norskis over, and we created a full Guitar Hero band. We took turns on each: Guitar, Bass, Drums and Microphone (why did I capitalize those words? Bad habit I guess). It was awesome!

We found how difficult it is to sing songs you don't know. First you have to make sure that the game's vocals are higher than yours...which we had, luckily. We found we could mumble, hum or blab our words and it wouldn't matter. My brother had the pleasure of singing B.Y.O.B. by System of a Down...it was priceless. ;) Surprisingly, he sang it relatively well for him not knowing the song too well. During the Guitar Hero: World Tour singing part, occasionally they will have a ad lib-singing bit. His ad lib singing consisted of, "♪Yeah♫We're System of a Down♪ and we think♫we're really cool♪yo, gnarly yo♫la la la la♪uh-huh yeah♫our band thinks we're awesome♪" It was very amusing.

Us foursome had a great time jumping around and jiving to the rock while playing. I'm pretty sure we rocked our neighborhood. Ya. For sure.

The Zoodlebar is AWESOME #13

The Zoodle toolbar has no officially launched, and it's amazing.

You may download Zoodlebar.

Or, view Zoodlebar here.

It comes with a Zoodle Feed, so it tells you when a new post or comment has arrived. It has a list of COOL blogs that you can browse through at will. It also has a Blogger website navigation providing access to your Dashboard, account, profile options, mobile blogging and the Blogger Buzz. It also comes with a chatroom extension called Zchat. With personalized components like weather, e-mail notifyer and gagdet menu, this toolbar is not only super cool it's super useful.

Did I mention? It comes with a search box that allows easy searching and blog searching. A perfect asset to your web-browser for you bloggers or blog readers! We will also be accepting suggestions for toolbar enhancements.

This is also the debut of zoodles. Here is a zoodle:
So Zoodle (the blog) not only represents a word, but a species of stickfigures.
Here are two zoodles. They can come in many colors:
Zoodles are quiet, curious creatures that live to try new things. They can accomplish many great feats despite their size, and strive to do even better.
From now on you will see many zoodles here and there around the blog. They are a little shy at first, but if you say hi to them I'm sure they'll warm up to you.


They have worked awfully hard to create the Zoodlebar, and encourage any and all individuals who deem it plausible to experience this magnificent masterpiece.

My French name is Maxime Jobidon; the internet told me so #12

It's true. It has to be, it's on the internet. What's your French name?

Oh, and BTW, I decided to name my Guitar Hero guitar Pandora. It's interesting: read about it's origin.

Guitar Hero: World Tour: How this game really turned-up the heat #11

So...you may be thinking, "Oh my, another Rock Band copy"; I solely disagree with that statement, although it seems true. Here are some of the ways Guitar Hero: World Tour revolutionized 4-player band playing:

1. Better quality equipment (guitar's picks are click-defining and are easier to use, drums are softer, don't bang as much, and microphone is touch-sensitive)
2. More Compatible equipment (guitars are compatible with all Guitar Hero games and ALL of the equipment is compatible with Rock Band 2)
3. Wi-Fi integration (join bands or go band vs. band online, purchase real songs, and download free songs made both by programmers and other online players)
4. Customizable rocker, instruments, and more (not a feature in Rock Band for Wii)
5. Superior training mode (segmented parts in songs so you can choose where to start)
6. Mii Freestyle mode (choose your Mii and play whatever you want!)
7. Music creation (ability to create your own music, save it, and publish it online for other players)
8. Audio level customization (bass not loud enough or vocals too loud? Raise the bass' volume and decrease singer volume if needed)
9. 86+ song track list
10. Much much more...(game is cuter, for one thing)

There you have it. I thought I'd share a little bit of some of the particularly new features on World Tour. Mainly the new dealios on their guitars.

Decals!! Guitar Hero: World Tour comes with some pretty nifty stickers. You'll also notice I borrowed some stickers from Don's Les Paul guitar. We sticker-swapped.










See the skull-flame-banner? They made a customizable band-logo type thing where you can place and banner and name your band. This banner is intended for naming your guitar. I wonder what I should name it...?


This is from the top-down starting from the Fleur de Lise-emblazoned crest, continuing down the neck of many colors and ending at the body.











Here you'll notice something:
This time, there are two rows of colored sections; One row being the traditional buttons that you play when the gems arrive at their docks down the highway. The other row is new: and optional. It's called the slider bar. With it, when special notes come up (the purple-transparent notes), you can place your finger on the corresponding section and strum. This provides ease of transistion when moving from green to red to yellow, etc. Another cool feature on the slider is you can use it as a subsitute for the strum bar: Tap on ANY section of the slider bar while holding down a button, and you've played the respectful note. Also, like the wammy bar, you can slide your finger across the entire row while holding a note to vary it's sound. It's really cool! I enjoy using the slider bar often and trying to switch from slider bar to buttons.

And here my Guitar Hero guitar is again. I wonder what I will name it...what is the weird blue light relfecting off of it?

Guitar Hero: World Tour & A Turkey Dinner make a stellar combination #10

NO WAY!! I finally purchased Guitar Hero: World Tour! Pictures: Above, my bro, Don's guitar (left) and my guitar (right) are looking pretty...rockish with their custom decals (we designed them ourselves...to each respective guitar). Below is the awesome drum set with the microphone.


After considering buying Rock Band, I waited for sometime due to financial difficulty (ha ha). Then Rock Band 2 came out and World Tour. I wasn't sure which one to choose, but after thoughtful consideration and...some Christmas money to boot, my brother and I finally bought Guitar Hero: World Tour and Another Guitar. It ended up being a hefty bill..but it was worth it (am I starting a run-out-of-money-trend? I just seem to keep losing money)! Well I've been having a bomb with that. Even Dad joined my brother and I for singing while I played lead, Don on bass and occasionally we'd switch off with the drums.

Afterward, we had our friend over, Andrew, and he helped us prepare a magnificent Turkey dinner. OH! It was so good. I ate everything on my plate and more...a rare occasion indeed. I'm finding that a warm meal is good after rocking out. I also found out that when you sit down at a table, you notice how sore your wrists can get somtimes...

Boxing Day: celebrate with a text message #9

This post marks a momentous occasion for this humble blog. The first 9th post ever!! Why is the number nine so special, do you ask? You may need to be reminded for what reason 9 holds a special place in my heart.

You walk down the parking lot to buy a toaster at K-Mart. You look around you, and see many robots around you. You look a little harder and find out they are simply teenagers on their cell phones, texting. You roll your eyes and continue your endeavor. I'm never going to be like those pathetic individuals...

This has happened to me many times. However, I could be transformed into an R2-D2 myself: for I have just received my very own cell phone. This was a combination my loving parent's Christmas gift and some future planning on my part. It's a Pantech Matrix and I can't lie I absolutely adore it. What makes me think I'll be able to join those teenagers as droid brotheren? With the phone I purchased unlimited texting...

Really...I'll try my best not to be distracted every other second with device, and I will honestly NEVER sit at a dinner table and talk to my friends at the same time. I promise you that. Err..well I'm pretty sure, anyway.

Happy Boxing day!! We can celebrate by texting each other. hpy bxng day 2 U, 2

Christmas is a time of giving: and beating brothers with pillows #8

What a merry Christmas I had! God thoughtfully provided a white Christmas for us. Not only that, it was just the kind of holiday we needed: a casual day. After reading St. John chapter 2 (from the King James Version of the Bible), we opened our gifts.

After that we had a relaxing lunch, we were able to relax and enjoy one another's company. Although we had planned on having my grandmother meet us, icy road conditions brought that idea to a halt. After a fantabulistic dinner late that day, we popped out a movie (don't worry, it won't be like the night before).

I hadn't seen While You Were Sleeping before, and I must say it was a charming film. Being a romantic comedy, it was light-hearted, whimsically configured, and overall enjoyable. I definitely recommend this movie either as a family movie or a movie just to see. While You Were Sleeping did a good job of combining humor, love, whit, charm, and even a degree of unpredictability.

Afterward, my brother and I decided to beat each other up with special pillows we had received earlier that day. They were super squishy and were perfect for smacking people with. After thwamping each other with the gifts for a bit, we got smart and teamed up against our father. Let's just say he didn't cooperate for long.

Merry Christmas, everyone, and a Happy New Year.

Merry Christmas! #7

Wishing all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Grumpy Old Audience #6

Don't take movie suggestions from friends. Well, rather, at least LOOK INTO the recommended movie before buying it and watching it with your family on Christmas Eve. Don't get me wrong...our good friend J is definitely a great guy. Just...we must keep in mind that our definitions of good movies might be a little...different.

My mother went out and bought two movies: While You Were Sleeping and Grumpy Old Men. The prior was a movie my parents greatly enjoyed and were satisfied they had finally purchased. The latter was a suggested movie by our good friend J.

On this fine Christmas Eve, our family was feeling more bold than usual. We decided to watch Grumpy Old Men. Boy were we in for a treat...

The plot consisted of two...older men with a bizarre friend/enemy relationship (with their bickering, whining, complaining and grumpiness at it's max). It takes a young lady moving in to a vacant home in their town to change their lives and build their relationships with one another.

So we're watching it, right? After our repetitious questions of "what is this movie about?", we find (along with the grumpiness) a whole slur of profanities issued out by the characters. I really got caught up in the bitterness of all this and as I looked around me, the pillow aside of me became a bother, my dog's few noises become monotonous, and the occasional reflection of the TV was a trial and tribulation.

I had to take a step back to realize that this Geezer Napoleon Dynamite film wasn't making much sense. Questionable morals, profane language and the irrefutable thought of watching a movie with old guys on the screen every other second made us question J's suggestion.
After it ended cheesily, predictably, and unsettlingly, (AND after the crass bloopers during the credits; which we ended up fast-forwarding), we determined that this would be a movie worth skipping for next year.

During our family's...surprised reaction to this movie as a whole, I chimed in, "And you know what the best part is? Now that we've purchased it, we can watch it over and over again!"

At this point we're considering either throwing it in the trash compactor or asking if J wants it. I think it was the Curse-Free TV thingamajig that Dad set up that saved us. Blanking out what it did, I think, really did us good. I think we're now ready to watch While You Were Sleeping: something we KNOW we'll enjoy.

How to Place a Link to Your Blog on Your Facebook Profile (with image!) #5

Profile:

See this image? I can place it on my Facebook profile. So can you!

First, Log in to Facebook.
Then find the app "Profile HTML"
Click "Go to this Application"
Then you will see an empty text box. You can place any HTML here you want and put it on your Facebook profile. I recommend placing a link to your blog and than a click-image below. Mine shows up as:



Sizes that have worked for me have been: style="width: 185px; height: 236px;" (as above) and: style="width: 189px; height: 232px;".

Yet another Sheet Music Antorage #4

Well...today is Christmas Eve. I figure, what better way to celebrate the morning of the eve of the next day than to find Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer piano sheet music to play.

Recently I've been collecting various sheet music pages of songs. It's fun to play familiar tunes: you know, as apposed to those "Fairy's Picnic" songs that are completely made up just so you can learn to play piano, and you've never heard of them before in your life.

So far, I have succeeded in obtaining: It Ends Tonight by The All-American Rejects, Ever Dream and Gethsemane by Nightwish, When You Say You Love Me by Josh Groban, and now to enhance to that fine collection I've added Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer by Randy Brooks. Hey! I bet you never knew Randy Brooks wrote that song. Now you've learned your new fact for the day.

If you are interested in playing that classic Christmas song yourself, you can download it here.

The Most Snow in Tacoma Since '96? #3

SNOW SNOW SNOW in Tacoma!

It's crazy out there! I have about 6 inches or so at my house, and that's saying something! Usually, we get 3 inches tops during the wintertime. But I think that's just in our particular little culdesac of dumb luck. Remember the huge snow storm in 1996? Well that comes to mind when it blew it's hardest last Wednesday. That thought lasts even till now.

These are backyard pictures.

Culdesac:

Although, at this point it is starting to melt a little. But still, see how tall it is?


It's consistency is REALLY icy. Very...effective in making snowballs. I had a ball with THAT yesterday.

Arg...although this snow has succeeded in putting off a Christmas Banquet I was going to attend, a performance of Drama Dragons I was going to enjoy, and a game of bowling that would've been a bomb, I still am able to retain a Christmas spirit. Oh well. At least they're not canceled...

The Number Nine #2

Here are some fascinating facts about the number 9. I'm sure most of you don't think too much of it: it's not quite 10, therefore it falls short of expectations. I thought that way, anyway until I did some research on this item.

"Nine (九 pinyin jiǔ) is considered a good number in Chinese culture because it sounds the same as the word "longlasting" (久 pinyin jiǔ)."

However....

"The Japanese consider 9 to be unlucky because it sounds similar to the Japanese word for "pain" or "distress" (苦 kunrei ku)."

What a controversial number! For some reason, nine becomes interesting.

"The number 9 is revered in Hinduism and considered a complete, perfected and divine number because it represents the end of a cycle in the decimal system, which originated from the Indian subcontinent as early as 3000 BC."

Although I am not a Hindu myself, I'm going to use 9 as a linear number in this blog. I'll also put 9 posts per page...

Oh! I almost forgot to mention the most important nine fact of all: there were nine seasons in the TV series Seinfeld. When Jerry Seinfeld chose to end the show, it was at it's peak. He decided to end the show with a marvelous ending: good for him.

And it's all thanks to the number nine. ;)

Zooooooooodle! #1

Welcome to Zoodle: the blog of news and thoughtful pursuits. It will be on a variety of subjects, some on various thoughts or ideas, technology, political endeavors, maybe even an opinion on a new breakfast cereal.

My purpose is to provide a variety of interesting and current content for our readers with commentary and discussion. You need to know: Zoodle is not interested in sticking to one, sole topic. Rather it shoots for a more generic theme so that I may use freedom and openness in my posting.

My goal is to create a blog in which I may open your eyes and open new ideas to large things like the President of the United States to small things like the best hair gel out there. I also hope that through this, I may find a whole community of bloggers like me so we can share ideas and compare responses.

With that, the debut of this blog has commenced!