Hoops and YoYo Bring The Cuteness

These two little cartoon characters are cute as can be, and marketable as well. I first discovered them when my girlfriend sent me an e-card from Hallmark. Apparently, they are featured on many different e-cards that you can send out. They have e-cards for birthdays, get well, christmas, special occasions, and just because. I wanted to find out more about them, and where they originated from. What I found, was that they have different products available to purchase, as well as their own blog. They have Hoops and YoYo stuffed animals, bags, and more. If you want to see more of Hoops and YoYo, go to www.hoopsandyoyo.com, or send out an e-card featuring this dynamic duo at www.hallmark.com.

‘License To Wed’ Is ‘Moore’ Than You’d Expect

Mandy Moore is good in whatever movie she’s in, plain and simple. I happen to like her, and enjoy her work. ‘License To Wed’ has recently opened up in theatres, and was number 4 at the box office last weekend. It’s holding up pretty well considering its current competition, which includes Bruce Willis’s ’Live Free Or Die Hard,’ and Daniel Radcliffe’s new installment of the Harry Potter franchise. ‘License’ deals with a lot of laughs, and different ordeals when it comes to marrying someone, and planning a wedding with a limited time-frame. Moore, who plays Sadie, is proposed to by her live in boyfriend Ben, played by John Krasinski, at her parent’s 3oth wedding anniversary. And so the story unfolds. The happy couple calls upon Father Frank, played by the always delightful and upbeat Robin Williams. Father Frank then enrolls them in his marriage course which puts their relationship to the test. Things begin to take a turn when Father Frank puts Sadie and Ben in different scenarios and role playing situations which end up compromising the stability of their relationship. Sadie begins to question Ben’s love for her, and needs time to think things through before they go through with the marriage. 

Some may compare this film to other romantic comedies, but it’s very different in its own right. It’s not as typical and cliche, or as predictable as other films. William’s character does throw you off a bit with certain actions and underlying motivations in the film towards the couple. At one point it seemed as if Father Frank was actually after Sadie in a romantic way, and had an alterior motive for trying to ‘help out.’ Certain things he would say and do made me question and wonder what was ultimitely going to happen. So yes, ‘License’ has some surprises too. So no, this isn’t your typical chick flick, although it does have its sappy moments. I consider it a perfect combination of satire and romance all tied into one.

3 weeks and a wedding.

Demanding Diva

Recently, Madonna, who was fearured on Live Earth’s concert bill, had some pretty outlandish demands on interviewers. While the star was in her adopted ‘home’ of London, she was performing for Al Gore’s global warming awareness concert series. But what one may not know is the dwindling diva made some pretty harsh demands on those who were to come anywhere near her. She also made it clear that she wasn’t to be asked any questions regarding her current adoption of baby David, as well as her marriage to Guy Richie. She also informed the press that while speaking to her, they needed to make direct eye contact. If not, the interview would be over. Sounds pretty over the top. But when reps for Madonna were questioned, they had no idea of these demands. Issues, issues, issues. All that money obviously doesn’t mean that it’s all THERE. Hopefully Madonna really isn’t THAT shallow.

Don’t look away from me.

The ‘Face’ Behind New Web Success

Since Facebook, a social networking site, switched over from solely allowing college students and alum to be a part of the network, it has taken off significantly. Founder Mark Zuckerburg, 22, has a huge success on his hands. I’m sure he never thought 3 years ago, as he created the site in his dorm room at Harvard, that it would have the impact that it has. Advertisers are now flocking to get their names featured on the site. What was once a MySpace fad has turned into a Facebook craze. Facebook offers many different features that don’t even come close its rival MySpace. On Facebook, for instance, you’re able to add many different applications. One of them being Fluff Friends. You can acquire these little virtual ‘pets’ by allowing the application on your page. All you have to do is choose a Fluff Friend, and voila! It appears on your page for others to pet and feed. You can earn ‘munny’ by petting other people’s Fluff Friends. It has become so popular, that groups have started up on the site, where you can add people to become your Facebook friend just so that you can earn points to buy food and habitats for the creatures. They also have My Heritage applications, Fortune Cookie, Horoscope features, My Garden, My Aquarium, a graffiti wall where friends can draw a picture for you to find on your page, and much more. You can also write on friend’s ‘walls.’ This feature allows you to leave notes or comments. MySpace allows users to do the same, write notes and leave comments to friends on the page. They also offer a music feature, which allows music to be played on your page, which Facebook doesn’t. Facebook does allow for more privacy, though. You can select areas of your page that you don’t even want friends to see. And those who aren’t friends with you can’t view your profile at all. MySpace has also become very commercialized, and plagued with advertisements. Since being bought by Rupert Murdoch for 580 million dollars, founder Tom Anderson, 29, is a very wealthy man. Zuckerburg will also be in the running for a big payday. Google, as well as other internet conglomerates, have shown interest in the site. Yahoo has offered him an easy 900 million. He won’t budge as of yet. As Facebook fame continues to grow, he wouldn’t want to opt out now. At this point, he’d like to oversee the site, and not have it run by others who really don’t understand the concept of it all.  He wants the site to remain as independent as possible, so that he can keep building on it.  And judging from its success, that’s a smart move.

Zuckerburg puts on a happy ‘Face.’

‘Sprint’ On Outta Here

Sprint PCS/Nextel has announced that it will be canceling subscriptions of customers (even LONGTIME customers) who have called customer service too much. I kid you not, they are sending out notices, giving subscribers a July 30th deadline. But as a consolation, they’re waiving the 150 dollar termination fee that would have been required had the customers backed out of a contract WILLINGLY. Oh, how nice of them. This whole fiasco is due to the cost of customer service, because each time someone calls, Sprint gets charged. And due to the fact that higher ups in the company feel that complaints towards the service, as well as people constantly calling in, were an indication that something wasn’t right. They feel that if they’re not satisfying customers, that they should just plain and simply go elsewhere for service. This is a move that will potentially hurt a company who is hurting for business. Sprint has changed they’re slogan more than Liz Taylor has changed husbands. The new slogan is : ‘Sprint…Power Up.’ This is an attempt to draw in a younger, more diverse crowd, who are internet saavy and who would want to subscribe to a company that’s becoming more web based in their phones and marketing ploys. One way they’re doing it, is to offer phones that have MP3 capabilities, as well as full web browsing (which is offered in the Mogul and Q, for instance). The UpStage music phone, by Samsung, is a step in the right direction. The phone is nearly as thin as a stick of gum, and has 2 sides. One is to play MP3s and music on, the other side is a keypad that’s used to dial out. Nice concept, and very appealing. But if Sprint wants to survive, they need to come out with better phones, and more of a variety. I happend to stop into a random store in New York not too long ago, and was dissapointed to see that they only had 8 phones along the wall being showcased. I didn’t have much to choose from, and indeed, I walked out unsatisfied. It seems they offer no incentives or great deals and discounts to existing customers. It seems that once they reel you in with the initial cheap phone, they’ve got you.  And you also have to resign with them for a 2 year contract in order to get the rebate on a new phone. Yes, I feel the love, um, I mean hate. Almost feels like knowingly walking into a bad marriage. Wait, is that wrong of me? OK, didn’t think so.

I ‘UpStage’ all the other phones.

 

We don’t like you either.

Young, ‘Rich’, And Pregnant

It’s official…Nicole Richie is pregnant! This was confirmed as I read the cover story in US Weekly last week. Richie, who still suffers from significant weight loss issues, is about 12 weeks pregnant or so. She has been seen in the past few weeks trying to shield herself from the media by covering her face with different objects (she used to be a media whore), by wearing larger clothing, and by covering her ‘bump’ with a pillow at an airport earlier in the month. Speculation first started when a mysterious ‘bump’ appeared in papparazzi photos of the starlet. Some thought it was due to malnutrition, others thought she might be pregnant. Now that it’s confirmed, Joel Madden (boyfriend, Good Charlotte frontman and former Hilary Duff flame) might be ready to tie the knot. He was seen ring shopping with friends in Los Angeles recently. Richie’s friends say she’s in no rush to get married, but Richie has said she’s always wanted a family and kids.

Sucking it up. The proud parents.

Moose Is ‘Maine’ Attraction

I just got back from vacationing in Maine, and I vowed not to leave until I saw an actual LIVE moose. You know, the ones that breathe, not the ones that are on numerous restaurant signs, tourist atrractions, or roadway signs. My girlfriend was determined to find me a moose, no matter what. So the day before we departed to go back home, we went to Maine Wildlife Park, in Gray, and guess what? I saw my moose! Now, it may have been laying in the grass and eating when we approached, but nonetheless, it was up close, and quite a site to see. These animals aren’t very good looking, but they’re big, and their antlers are fuzzy. Something I found to be quite interesting. After waiting what seemed to be a half hour, we got tired of hanging over the fence waiting for Mr. Moose to do something. So we finished walking around the park, and ended up back in the moose territory. To my surprise, as we turned around the bend, the moose was up and walking around, munching on some grass. I couldn’t even contain my childlike excitement. They’re amazing to watch, and observe in their natural habitat. Some locals informed me and my girlfriend that they’re pretty friendly, but to watch out during mating season. If confronted in the wild during mating season, which begins sometime in September, they will charge at you. Moose have also been known to cause many a highway accident, killing multiple people at times. I also learned that male moose are called bulls, and females, cows. Only the males have the huge antlers on their heads. 

I was pleased to be able to view my Maine moose, and all the other animals at Maine Wildlife Park. I suggest that anyone who visits Maine, stop by the park, and check out the different types of birds (Eagles, Owls, Hawks, Vulchers), mammals (Bobcat, Foxes, Porcupines, Cougers, Lynx, Bears), and other animals that are available for viewing. Coming soon is a state of the art American Bald Eagle exhibit. Visit www.mainewildlifepark.com for more information about the facility.

 Maine men. The moose, and bear.

Beware of the big, bad ‘bull.’

To My Faithful Readers

My appologies for not blogging as frequently as I’d like to. I have been working three nights in a row, and I blog whenever I can during my free time (which hasn’t been a lot lately). I have also been getting ready to go away for five days, and I still need to finish packing (eeeeeek!). Other than that, things are good. I’ll be going away with my girlfriend, so I’m looking very forward to spending time away with her in Maine. I’ll be blogging later on tonight hopefully (when I get a chance), and tomorrow afternoon at some point.

Keep on reading,                            

butifuldsastr

That’s all (FOR NOW) folks!

Paris Hilton To Be Released From Prison

She’s baaaaaack! Paris Hilton is to be released from prison Tuesday morning. To keep paparazzi under wraps, the exact location from the prison at the time of departure is unknown. How they will sneak her out should prove to be interesting. The heiress was given a forty five day jail sentence back in May for a DUI. To recap the events that took place, Hilton entered prison on the scheduled date, but was released shortly after due to an unknown ‘medical condition.’ When the judge found out she had been released, she was ordered back to prison immediately, and was to appear in court to be told that she had to serve the full sentence. She has now been locked up for twenty three days, and is ready to emerge out into the ‘real world’ once again. What’s next for Hilton? A scheduled post-prison interview with Larry King. And what will she do once she gets back to her 2.1 million dollar mansion? Throw a party, I’d assume. Lets just hope she doesn’t decide to drive anywhere afterwards.

A more somber Paris.

I’m back…And you didn’t even miss me!

Nice To ‘Meetro’

Meetro is the world’s first location-aware IM client and real-time social network. Which means Meetro allows you to meet real people in your neighborhood. Meetro has a tracking device, so that you can see who’s online and where. This online networking tool is  compatible with Yahoo!, MSN, AIM, and GMail. Once you sign up, you’re able to send invites to friends and family, and spread the word. This is kind of like Meebo, where it allows you to use multiple chat programs  at the same time. The only difference is that Meetro focuses on location, and can help you to locate people that are right in your neighborhood or in the close proximity. I think this is a good concept, but I wouldn’t use it. I have no need to locate anyone, and those who know me know where to find me. I’ve been to the website, and when asked to sign up, it asks you to input passwords to your other chat services. It also was able to find my MySpace when I typed in my AOL email address in one of the fields.  The only downfall to this type of network is that your privacy can be compromised, and those who you don’t want to locate you, very well could be doing just that. To check out Meetro, visit www.meetro.com.

 

 Log in and locate.

Coffee Coffee, Buzz Buzz

I love coffee because…I just do. It’s something to look forward to when I go into work in the evening, not to mention that it helps to keep me awake. Sometimes, you just need that jolt, that BUZZ. My absolute favorite is the white chocolate mocha latte, offered at none other than…Starbucks! For those out there trying to cut calories, like I am, you can settle for the lite Frappacinos (it’s hardly settling). All you have to do is pass on the whipped cream, whole milk, and the chocolate or caramel ‘drizzle’ they like to put on top. They’re absolutely delicious and thirst quenching on a hot summer day. My current choice is the caramel lite Frap, and the mocha Frap isn’t bad either. And hey, I’m not only partial to Starbucks, I have my Dunkin’ Donuts moments as well. When I go to Dunkin’ Donuts, I like to have the hot mocha lattes, or the regular iced coffee with cream and sugar. Sometimes I’ll even go for a Coolatta. Whichever you prefer, it doesn’t matter. Some argue Dunkin’ offers a better coffee bean than Starbucks, and their coffee is cheaper too. All I know, is when the craving comes up, I’ll go out of my way for a good cup of coffee.

The name’s Lite, Caramel Lite

I’m the original.

Kelly Clarkson Cancels Summer Tour

It’s true, Kelly Clarkson has cancelled her entire summer tour due to…poor ticket sales. She didn’t cop out and use the ‘under the weather’ excuse, or the ‘family problem’ excuse either. She’s owning up to the fact that it was a mistake to sell tickets for her tour when her album wasn’t released yet, and when people were becoming less and less interested in her new single, as well as the album itself, ’My December,’ due out this coming Tuesday. Her life currently seems to be in shambles, with the firing of her manager, and with being on the outs with music impresario Clive Davis. As some may know, Davis wanted Clarkson to remove three of the songs on her third album for another three that would be more ‘radio friendly’ and ‘marketable.’ Clarkson opted for artistic freedom, and unfortunately, look where it got her. Heavy criticism on the upcoming release, and a cancelled summer tour are the events that followed. There isn’t even a follow up single to the current single ‘Never Again.’ I, for one, am pissed off because I had close floor seats to her August 18th show at the Nassau Coliseum. I have seen her three times in concert already, and I must say she puts on a GREAT show. I wish her the best, and hope she gets back out on stage soon…Where she belongs.

Photo caption: Clarkson has a lot to scream about these days

‘Ghost Hunters’ TAPS Into Primetime Success

SciFi channel’s hit show ‘Ghost Hunters’ has gained popularity, and has found a large fan base on this once overlooked station. What was once reserved for extra-terrestrial movies and strange documentaries, ‘Ghost Hunters’ has changed the way viewers think of SciFi. Jason Howe and Grant Wilson started TAPS, based out of Rhode Island, as a side project to investigate paranormal activity. By day they both work as plumbers for Roto-Rooter. By night, they hunt ghosts. For anyone who’s interested in paranormal activity, and ghosts, this is the show to watch.  Although sometimes dissapointing when they don’t find any results, it’s still fun to watch as they go into different residences, abandoned buildings and landmarks, to investigate. They use all types of equipement, which includes infrared technology, ESP, and video monitors. The purpose of their investigations is to listen to the claims of hauntings from the owners of the residences and workers in establishments, and put their own spin on things. They like to see how scientific matters might cause the disturbances before they declare a place ‘haunted.’ It’s really eerie when they actually catch what appears to be an apparition on film , or a voice on the ESP device. You can catch new episodes of ‘Ghost Hunters’ on the SciFi channel every Wednesday. Check you local listings for time and channel info. You can find out more about the show, and about the TAPS crew at www.scifi.com.

‘Ghost’ Busters.

‘Simpsons’ Still Going Strong

‘The Simpsons’ is one of America’s longest lasting cartoon sitcoms, if not being the most successful of its time. The show has influenced a ‘new wave’ of cartoon antics and has given creators like Seth MacFarlane, creator of ‘Family Guy,’ the nerve to push the envelope. ‘Family Guy’ and ‘South Park’ are said to have derived from ‘The Simpsons,’ and one can’t really argue against that. ‘The Simpsons’ paved the way for modern day ‘cartoonism.’ Shows like ‘American Dad,’ ‘Family Guy,’ ‘South Park,’ and even the line up of shows on Adult Swim have all taken something from their predessessor. Matt Groening created what was to become a global empire. He created characters that are more recognizable to people than members of congress. Bart has made sayings like ‘cowabunga,’ ‘eat my shorts,’ and ‘I didn’t do it,’ as common to hear as it is to see a Starbucks on every block now. Rolling Stone magazine even associated ‘The Simpsons’ as a part of permanent pop culture by putting Bart on the cover of a November 2002 issue in his own rendition of the cover of Nirvana’s album ‘Nevermind.’ Sure, Peter Griffin has his own catch phrases, as does Cartman, Kyle, and Stan. But there was something about the original appeal of ‘The Simpsons.’ They dominated, and for a long time. The show’s first episode aired on December 17, 1989, and ever since, the show has passed the test of time. You can still catch repeat episodes on FOX (check your local listings for details). New episodes air on Sunday nights. Visit www.fox.com for channel, show and time information.

‘Smells’ like success.

Legalize Love

June is national Gay PRIDE month, and all over the country events are going on to celebrate diversity. Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people have come a long way in recent years, but there’s still quite a long way to go. It’s now more common to see couples of the same sex walking on the street, but there’s still those onlookers who shake their heads in disgust. My advice to them: ‘you don’t have to look, so keep walking!’ Everyone has the right to love, and in their own way. Whether it be the same, or opposite sex. This country preaches about being the land of the free, but in reality, the government dictates what we can and can’t do, and limits us. Not allowing same sex couples to wed is a perfect example. What the government is teaching is inequality. Just like all other minorities, the LGBT community has to fight for their freedoms and rights. Civil union allowances have sprung up in certain states such as New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. But when can same sex couples actually WED, and share the same rights as heterosexual couples in marriage? Lots of these couples would love to share the whole experience with their partner. That feeling of walking down the aisle, receiving a ring, and having the whole ceremony afterwards with friends and family. Because that’s what’s most important. These people want to share their love. They want to show the world how happy their partner makes them. It won’t ruin the reputation or the image of the United States. Allowing the same rights to same sex couples in marriage would only promote the words taught in the National Anthem, and put them into practice. So when you see couples of the same sex out in public, don’t cringe or stare. Smile to yourself, and thank God that love still exists somewhere.

Find out more about gay pride in your area: www.glaad.org, and for those in the New York area, the PRIDE parade will be held on June 24 and will be broadcasted live online. More information is available at www.nycpride.org. Be safe this weekend, and have fun!!!

Love is never wrong.