luni, 21 aprilie 2008

Addicted To Games

Although i'm pretty sure no one will have the patience to read this whole post of mine - because it's gonna be long - i'm still gonna write it!

Tibi = my brother
Raluca = his girlfriend
Gemenii = my internet network

Having an older brother - 8 years older to be exact - had an impact on me in different areas. The one that i'm gonna talk about now is games. I like playing games from board and computer games to casino ones. Games, games, games!

1. I'll start with the computer ones.

Starcraft

If it weren't for Tibi, i wouldn't have started playing Starcraft at 8 or 9 years old in a thousand years - maybe because i would have been 1009 years old :)) . I saw him play and decided to try it too! I obviously started with the Original campaign, but haven't finished it. Why? Because my brother accidentally erased my saves after i had gone through a lot of difficulties trying to pass to the Protoss Campaign. What difficulties? Well, mostly emotional because i started crying each time i couldn't finish a mission. I remember going to my brother and asking him to help me but he always told me "No! You have to finish it yourself!" . Anyway, i also remember hating the missions in which you just had to walk and not die! Horrible. I usually lost.
Status: inactive - i would play it whenever but it doesn't work anymore

Quake

I didn't play it much, as I didn't and don't like shooters - except when you're playing with friends and not with bots - so i played it a bit by myself and one holiday, my brother moved my computer in his room to play it together on internet with other friends of him. I used to have a good time but after that holiday i completely forgot about it.
Status: inactive - if all the people played quake instead of cs, i would prefere playing quake

Diablo II

Haha. I still laugh when i remember how I started playing Diablo. My brother played it constantly for a while - well... as we all have - and i noticed. I was 12, I think, so I used to play Sims or Roller Coaster Tycoon in that period, but they weren't as entertaining as the game Tibi presented to me in the past - Starcraft - so I thought i could try this one too. Before the actual start of my playing, I used to sit by my brother while he played, and just click 1 2 3 4 for the potions when he needed them. When I think at it now, i find it really lame, but hey, I was quite small!

I also remember the first time my brother presented me the characters... "Here's the barbarian, the assasin, the druid - if you play with it, you'll be able to transform into a bear or a wolf at one point, the amazon, the paladin - my favourite char, the necromancer and the sorcerrer - but the last too are quite hard to play with at first". As in all games, I wanted to be a girl; the sorcerrer was too hard, I didn't like the amazon so I chose THE ASSASIN. I liked her introduction scene a lot, hehe. I think that's when my mother started telling me that I'm just like Tibi. I didn't finish the game either because I was very meticulous, not to lose any information, so 4 acts took a lot of time. I was so fond of this game, and so meticulous that I used to call Tibi, who was at te seaside, more than 10 times a day asking him if I had found an unique object that he didn't know about. Obviously I received only negative answers but didn't quite matter. I also remember reaching act 2 and being so scared by those spiders and maggots and swarms, brrr.

In the eighth grade, my network had a Diablo II server and we all played on it. I was finally able to meet and kill Baal, hehe. In the top, my brother was on the 1st and the 4th place with 2 characters while I was on the 10th. I was so proud :)). I played for quite a while, preferring obviously to play instead of learn. But soon I moved from an appartment where I had Internet and that network to a house where I didn't, and was able to concentrate on my exam - pff.

The third phase in which I was obsessed with Diablo II was in the 10th grade when Raluca, Tibi, some of his friends and myself bought the original Diablo II - not that me and my brother didn't have it before :P; the others didn't - and played on the Blizzard server. It was fun, but got bored when we all had to wait for Tibi to finish his trades - one or two hours each time we wanted to play.
Status: inactive - until the forth phase.

Diablo I

After phase 1 of Diablo II, my brother realised that I hadn't played Diablo I at all. He couldn't let that happen so he sort of obliged me to play it - not that I didn't want to play but I was sceptical about older games. However, the game got to me, and I almost finished it; I reached Diablo but couldn't kill him, damn it, although it wasn't half as scarry as THE BUTCHER! Tibi warned me that i'm gonna meet a really scarry guy and hard to kill. I was relaxed, what could possibly scare me that bad? When i reached him, though, I was terrified. Fresh Meat.

Couldn't find a Diablo I fight with the butcher but this is similar, because it's return to Diablo I from Diablo II.

Status: inactive

Heroes III

The same as in the case of Diablo II, I saw Tibi playing and didn't understand what was it with those hexagons so I started playing this game too. I played a bit of the campaign but didn't finish it. Dunno exactly why but I just didn't, although I like the game a lot. Maybe the problem is that it may take a lot of time.
Status: inactive - as in the case of Diablo II I have periods in which I play it a lot, and periods in which I don't

Warcraft III

Unfortunately, after I moved and after I entered highschool I sort of lost interest for playing games and especially for playing games by myself. I started in the 9th or 10th grade playing Warcraft, but only reached the undead campaign which I didn't finish. I still regret not finishing Warcraft but now I'm kind of busy with exams and stuff, plus, I like socialising a lot so woohoo for parties. But I promise I will one day finish it! I regret it mainly when I hear others talk about it, but if I had played Warcraft 3, I would have probably wanted to play WOW, which, although I believe it when people say that it's a great game, it's sort of life consuming :P and I do want to pass the BAC exam - except that Starcraft II is going to be released exactly when I'll be supposed to be studying for the exam so...
Status: inactive

Counter Strike

I couldn't understand at all why all the people were playing CS. I didn't like it at all, I used to find it really dull. I played a bit because everyone played it and I obviously wanted to see how it is but that was it. Until this year :)) when we all played and play it at informatics classes in school. I found it pretty fun, and soon I/we started playing it at home, with a Akype conference - if it weren't for the conference, the game would definitely lose its charm.
Status: active

Trackmania Nations (Forever)

As in the case of CS, I like to play it with friends.
Status: active


Other games

As I said earlier, I also played games such as Sims and Roller Coaster Tycoon and I presume there were more but I don't quite remember - that's the difference between a good game and a mediocre one.

I almost forgot about Supaplex, Mario and Mario Board Games, which are special games that I loved!


Games that I want/ed to play

Baldur's Gate
- because my brother always praised it
Warcraft 3 - to finish it
Heroes 5 - to see the differences between H3 and H5
Final Fantasy (doesn't matter which one) - I'm really curious about it


2. Passing to a different way of playing, board and card games.

I don't think that each one needs it's own paragraph as they are already pretty known: Monopoly, Remy, Canasta, Chess, Table, Macao, Trombon, Machu Pichu, Whist, Rentz, Razboi, Septica, Popa Prostu, Toci (not a very known card game, I myself heard about it only in the 10th grade), etc.

In the summer of 2007 I played a lot of Whist, Rentz and Canasta, sometimes staying up until 10 o'clock in the morning. My mom didn't know what to do with me and my brother anymore, poor her.

I didn't quite like Chess, and I didn't play Table until the 10th grade. Don't know exactly how or why that happened. I still don't like Chess, but I'm pretty fond of Table - whatever its name in English is :P.

Status: obviously active


3. Thirdly, casino games.

Actually I'm talking more about Poker as Blackjack is only luck-based. Poker is not only a game of luck, because otherwise there wouldn't be a tourney, and there wouldn't be proffesional poker players. I started playing poker last year, when we got sooo bored of playing whist and rentz that we finally decided to buy a table and chips. At first, although I was enthusiastic about the idea of playing poker, I thought we'll never see a full, or a 4 of a kind, or a royal flush. But it got more and more interesting, and for a while we constantly played it until 4 or 5 in the morning. Lovely. We also started playing it on the internet, although it is not the same thing, as poker must be played so that you can see the opponent's face and decide whether he is bluffing or not. We also started watching poker-related shows! I know, addictive people.

Some interesting moments from the High Stakes Poker show:



A crazy hand:



Status
: active


4. Games that require a table or smth: Biliards, Bowling, Hockey and Flipper - I love this game. Cool games!

Status: active


5. Games that you generally find at the seaside

The Horse Game - I don't think anyone knows what I'm talking about. You had to throw a ball into some holes and your horse was going further, the aim being winning the race :P. If you won, you had a free game, and I always used to won. My mother once got so bored that she didn't let me finish a race. I was playing for an hour and a half or so.

The Cars - the ones in which we bumped into each other.

Tir - first shooting experiences - for most of us :))


Status: inactive


All these being said... why the hell am I so bored all the time?!?




PS. I have written this post related to games because I've seen Raluca's post.

PPS. Today is my name day, cause I'm a flower, hihi.

vineri, 18 aprilie 2008

Iata ca o doamna din Giurgiu a pregatit si-o melodie...

Desi am fost declarata an utoob freak, curios este ca pana acum pe blog am pus doar un filmulet. Pentru a remedia situatia, voi recupera astazi.

"Tram in Romania si asta de ocupa tot timpul" zice Mircea Badea, si multa dreptate mai are. In continuare voi pune cateva filmulete cu diverse curiozitati din Romania. Fun alert!

Voi incepe cu un filmulet pentru a putea intelege ce este cu titlul. Cum nu l-am gasit pe utoob - curios - am folosit 220.ro.




Urmatoarele filmulete sunt arhicunoscute printre cei care stau mult pe net dar as vrea sa fiu sigura ca toata lumea le stie:











Cateva mai putin cunoscute, dar de efect maxim:










Apoi, va prezint o stire senzationala - Pula se integreaza in curul cantaretilor spartani -



Taranii romani din filmul Borat:





Si pentru a continua cu amuzamentul va prezint 2 parti din emisiunea lui Mircea Badea, Din gura presei, dupa parerea mea, foarte foarte amuzante!






... Formidabil!

marți, 15 aprilie 2008

The Office


Although it is not really known in our country, "The Office" is a quite appreciated series in US and UK. This idea of a series taking place in an office was firstly done by UK - the series is quite wry and bitter as all the English are. Afterwards US tried to implement it and have done a better job that one might have excepted.

I would've compared and commented on these two versions of the show in detail but, personally, I couldn't watch any of the UK episodes as i couldn't understand a word they were saying, nevermind the jokes. If I had watched these episodes before the US series i might've given up, thinking that it is stupid and boring. However, I got familiar with the US "The Office" before knowing the UK version therefore I could enjoy it exhaustively without having any prejudices that it could be boring.

The two versions have the same mark on imdb, although the US one has thrice as many votes than the first - UK - one.


The Office US


The series is filmed as if it was a documentary thus it has an unique approach. "The Office" shows us real life, seen from the outside. In this way, we can see that everyone has its flaws and its follies and - maybe - we can even understand outselves and the people around us better.

All the characters have different personalities and most of them have serious problems, hence creating good laughs for the viewers. Considering the place where the action unfolds - a boring place where you go only because it's your duty - the show reveals some characters' desires to make it a funnier and a better place to work at, while the others only want to do their job.

Besides the real life facts, the show has a script and the lines are so amusing that i've laughed my head off at times. Only thing is that you have to know the movies, the actors, the songs, the historical facts, the news, etc, that they are referring to, in order to understand the jokes properly. I'm sure that I have missed some of the jokes just by not seeing a movie beforehand. For example, you can't understand Michael's impressions of Yoda and Chewbacca or the William Hung joke if you have no idea who they are.

There are, as in all series, some jokes that derive from the typologies that were created thoughout the episodes. For example, one of my favourite characters, the boss, lacks the appreciation of the people around him therefore he always tries to satisfy them all. As he can't manage to do that - being obviously impossible - he only makes the matters worse and that's why the others don't appreciate him. It's a cycle impossible not to laugh at, when outlined with good lines and great acting. This happens in almost all episodes, being molded with each episode's own story. Another character-drawing that was created is the girl that constantly tells you useless things in an incredibly loud voice, being very annoying. I find it really interesting and amusing seeing how people from the office cope with that.

PS. The boss i was talking about is Steve Carell, a comedian who can be seen playing in The 40 Year Old Virgin, Bewitched, Bruce Almighty, Little Miss Sunshine, Evan Almighty and Dan In Real Life - a movie i want to see for a while now, but don't quite find the time.

Most may find it too dry and hard to digest although it is neither boring nor difficult. Nonetheless, you can not catch the humour of a whole series by watching only one episode; you have to get used to their way of putting things and to enter the atmosphere.

Enough with the talking, you'll understand it better if you see for yourself!


PS: If you liked Office Space, you can't miss this series!

duminică, 13 aprilie 2008

Ok Corral

Vania, Thornado si Midy au lansat noul proiect OK Corral cu ocazia lui Anakin EP, la groove++ recordings. Intre timp, proiectul OK Corral a intrat in familia Great Stuff Recordings / Craft Music / Kling Klong. Primul EP, Planetarium, va aparea pe 4 iunie la Craft Music. Mai multe informatii cat de curand pe pagina lor de myspace si pe viitorul website.

Formula de live-act/dj set OK Corral ii are ca membri doar pe Vania si Thornado. Cu ocazia venirii lui Gregor Tresher in Romania, cei doi au onoarea de a face un prim dj set OK Corral sub noua titulatura pentru foarte cunoscutul dj si producator german. Gregor Tresher este, de asemenea, in familia Great Stuff Recordings, cat si la Cocoon, fiind unul dintre principalii artistii produsi de Germania ultimilor ani. Piese ca noul remix pentru Saint Paul a lui Marco Bailey & Tom Hades sau A Thousand Nights, care da si numele petrecerii de pe 25 aprilie, i-au adus un renume mondial.


Va asteptam, deci, la petrecere si va promitem cat de curand si un live-act OK Corral.

In after hours va mixa Negru (FWD Agency) si 2door.


SEE YOU THERE!

sursa: fwdagency

miercuri, 9 aprilie 2008

Binaural Recording

Binaural recording is a type of recording using several microphones destined to replay the sounds as if you were in the middle of the action. The effect can be recognized using stereo speaker but it is more powerful when heard on headphones.

In order to understand it better, you should listen to Virtual Haircut .

Afterwards, you can enjoy the below recordings:

Matchbox
Falling Bells
Voice
The Beach

And the best of all, in my opinion: Theatre

PS: You have to download the first three of them to be able to listen but if you're more of a lazy one, just listen the last three ones. You'll get the picture. Or sound.

luni, 7 aprilie 2008

The Kiwi Bird


For those of you who don't know already, the Kiwi Bird is the bird that hasn't got wings.




I find the video below extremely sad, although...

... it dies happy.


Some people felt so bad for the poor kiwi bird that they made another ending, a more dear one, but which loses the whole point of the first movie. It's cute though.




This short animation makes me sad mainly because no one deserves to not be able to fullfil its dreams. We can find a similar story in Babel, a movie I've seen recently. It is not quite about fullfilling a dream; it's about a teenage japanese girl that can't hear, and the similarity I'm talking about is found in one powerful scene: she goes with some friends in a club, but can't really feel... anything. Exactly as the kiwi bird can't know how it is to fly. The girl sees people around her, having fun, dancing... she tries to dance but doesn't have rhythm, you can't dance without music, without having heard a sound before. However, she doesn't seem too upset in the movie, because she had taken an Ecstasy pill so she is quite amazed by what she can feel: the lights that surround her. But the way it was filmed and directed really makes you shiver.

marți, 1 aprilie 2008

Tot anii '80

Incearca la o petrecere de tineri din ziua de azi sa multumesti pe toata lumea. Unii vor dnb, altii vor hituri, unii vor techno, altii vor melodii lente, unii vor rock, altii vor nu stiu ce formatie dubioasa de care nu a auzit nimeni. Personal, chiar daca nu-mi plac anumite piese, inteleg ca mai sunt si alte persoane care vor sa asculte si ca nu sunt acasa, dar majoritatea nu pricep acest lucru si la fiecare petrecere exista cel putin o cearta pe tema muzicii.

Add a bit of '80s si totul dispare. Da. Am observat acest lucru. Toata lumea stie melodiile, sunt dansante, lumea uita de cum este categorisita, si incepe sa danseze. Add a bit - but just a bit - of alcohol si totul devine si mai frumos.

Pentru noi, cei nascuti in '90, merg si anii '90 din domeniul muzicii.

Madonna, Bonnie M, Rick James, Cardigans, Michael Jackson, Queen, Iggy Pop, New Order, Rolling Stones, Depeche Mode, Mc Hammer, Liquido, Eurythmics, Soft Cell, Manu Chao, Village People, Dead or Alive, Abba, s.a.m.d.

As scrie mai multe despre muzica buna de pus la petreceri cand exista multi nemultumiti dar ma cam doare capu de la acel "a bit of alcohol" de care vorbeam mai devreme.

Romania part 2

Din aceeasi categorie cu primul meu "articol", intamplari in transportul in comun, trebuie sa mentionez ca observ din ce in ce mai mult cum oamenii nu numai ca nu au pic de bun simt, dar nu au nici pic de logica.

De ce sa incerci sa urci intr-un tramvai sau autobuz cand lumea inca nu a coborat? De ce sa te bagi in fata pentru a cobori dar dupa ce cobori sa astepti in fata usii pe cineva care coboara pe la alta usa? De ce sa iti faci loc intr-un autobuz iar apoi sa te postezi in spatele cuiva care s-a chinuit sa-ti faca loc si care acum sta lipit de o bara? De ce sa te asezi pe scaun pentru mai putin de o statie? [exceptand cazurile speciale - oameni batrani, cu dizabilitati si alte asemenea] De ce cand tu nu te tii de bara si tramvaiul incepe sa mearga, cauzand astfel dezechilibrarea ta, sa incepi sa urli la sofer, punand sub semnul intrebarii capacitatile lui de a conduce un tramvai?!

De astfel de oameni dam zilnic dar inca nu pot sa inteleg lipsa aceasta de rationament. Nu trebuie sa stii integrale pentru a realiza ca intai lumea coboara, autobuzul nu pleaca nicaieri, si apoi te urci bine, frumos. M-am gandit ca poate vor oamenii locuri, deoarece in Romania se poate omori pentru un loc pe scaun [ca si pentru orice altceva] insa cand sunt atatia oameni care vor sa coboare este logic ca va fi mult mai liber dupa ce se intampla asta si nu daca te inghesui si tu in deja ultra-inghesuitul autobuz.

Nici nu-i de mirare ca toti psihologii si psihiatrii au probleme la capsor, cand dai de atatia oameni nebuni.