General Musings Archives - Page 10 of 96

Have You Played Flappy Bird?

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Let me tell you a story. There once was a man, Dong Nguyen. He came up with a game. It was called “Flappy Bird.” It was a simple game, easily addictive, and the man was making, rumor has it, $50,000 a day. Said man didn’t like the fame, or infamy as some people might say, for creating a game supposedly responsible for marriage fights, lost time at work, bad grades, and being a cheesy game. Lots of people downloaded it, and yes, even I downloaded it, but even more surprising, while I was helping my mom-in-law with her iPhone, there it was, “Flappy Bird” on her phone – yup, it was viral, and yes, she was annoyed with its difficulty.

What is a man to do who doesn’t like the “fame.” He pulls the game from the app store, or course, and gets even more publicity.

And now what is a man to do who doesn’t like the “fame.” Well, the stories are going around, thanks to Mr. Nguyen’s own tweets, that he will be putting the game back in the app store, “but not soon.”

Alright, oddness of things as it is, and as a person who has a few apps in the app store who wishes to God they would make just $50 per day, and as a person who was kind of shocked to see the game on his mom-in-laws phone, I wonder: Have you played “Flappy Bird?”

That’s it for this one! I’m Andy!! L8R!!!

Mostly Entertainment: Things From the Past Week

It’s a Trailer for Sophia Grace & Rosie’s Royal Adventure
You either know ’em and love ’em because you are a fan of Ellen DeGeneres, or you will wonder where did these girls come from, but Sophia Grace and Rosie, two little girls who became famous for goofy dancing and being Ellen’s Red Carpet correspondents have a movie coming out. Yup, their fifteen minutes of fame have been parlayed into Sophia Grace & Rosie’s Royal Adventure, out on DVD and Blu-ray on May 20th. It does look cute, for the little girls at least, as Sophia Grace and Rosie become involved in helping a Princess become Queen material. Will they be “one and done” child stars, or did Ellen maybe find the next Mary Kate and Ashley?

DVD Releases from IFC Films
Coming April 8th for your movie player are two releases from IFC Films, Bastards and Everyday. Hopefully we’ll have a review of Everyday posted soon.

Malaysian Flight 370 – When Will We Forget?
The first weekend it was all over the news, the second weekend there are still a few stories, especially as a new report of debris being found pops up, but for the most part we are starting to forget about Malaysian Flight 370, and unless something major happens in the next few days, unless we are directly involved either through loved ones missing or helping to continue to search, it will just be a blip in our memories, a “Did they ever find that plane?” memory that might pop up in our heads at lunch with colleagues one day, . There are a ton of conspiracy theories, from Aliens to black holes, a story going around as the “Startling Simple Theory” was recently debunked, but blips in our memories are what most news stories become.

There’s a Taxpayer Uproar, I Guess
The headline reads “Obama ladies touch down in China amid taxpayer uproar,” and as much as I try to stay up on current events, and did hear about the First Lady’s trip to China, I have yet to hear the uproar. With the Malaysian plane, March Madness, Russia taking over the world, and most people just caring about living their own lives, calling it an “Uproar” might be a little far-fetched. In any case, Michelle Obama and her girls are in China. Hopefully they have a good time, I guess.

Microsoft Office for iPad is Coming March 27th, Maybe
Always one to get their products to market with the latest technology, the story is that Microsoft is going to have a media event on March 27th where they are going to be launching Microsoft Office for the iPad, a mere four years after the first iPad was released, and a mere 3 years and 364 days after most people figured out a way to use their iPad without it. Good luck, Microsoft! Way to stay with the times!

Do You Have the New Facebook Wall Yet?

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Much in Facebook fashion, once people finally get used to the latest “design” rollout, quit complaining about it, and just accept it, Facebook changes the look of things again, sparking a few people saying how much they like it, but mostly creating a tidal wave of complaints wondering why Facebook has to change things. I’m coming to realize one, that people don’t like change, but mostly I’m coming to realize that the folks at Facebook are geniuses, knowing that the best way to get people who might have lost touch with their engagement with the social media site to come back is to have their friends complain about it.

Yup, Jim at the office hasn’t been on Facebook for a while, is walking past a group of colleagues and hears Joe complain, “Facebook changed things again. I hate it.” while Steve says, “It’s not so bad.” Jim, wondering what the hubbub is about, decides to head back to his cubicle, have his password reset because he doesn’t remember what he used and hasn’t logged in for a while, and then bam, there he is, “Liking” his friend’s post about a dinner at an Applebee’s, getting sucked back into Candy Crush, and looking up an old friend from high school. Meanwhile, at the McDonald’s where the retirees hangout, Mable is telling Earl that Facebook changed things again, Earl says “Why do you go on that thing, anyhow?,” and then Dorothy, who hasn’t been on Facebook for a while, asks Mable what is going on because she didn’t hear while she was changing her hearing aid batteries. Mable again starts talking about how she doesn’t like that Facebook keeps changing things, Dorothy tells Mable she hasn’t been on it since the last time they changed things, that she hated it, and not having enough neighbors in Farmville to get to the next level bugged her, and Earl sparks in “Why do you go on that thing, anyhow?”

Guess what happens next? Yup, you guessed it, Dorothy immediately, when she gets home, logs back into Facebook, using her super-secret password of her dog’s name, and posts on Earl’s wall, who has a fake Facebook identity of Billy, that it was great seeing him at the McDonalds, and that he should come by later for some “pie.”

Yes, I’m thinking the folks at Facebook really are geniuses as they roll out new “versions” of the timeline, ponder if Mable will ever find out about Dorothy and Earl, and I wonder: Do you have the new Facebook wall, yet?

That’s it for this one! I’m Andy!! L8R!!!

Have You Watched a Concert on TV?

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I was going to wonder about primary elections, but while I’m sitting here on the couch typing things, I have the replay of Pitbull from the South by Southwest conference, or I guess, to be hip, I should just go with SXSW, playing on my Apple TV. As much as it occurs to me that I haven’t been to a concert in a while, do miss them, and maybe should investigate getting back in the swing of them, what occurs to me more is how much fun Pitbull is having. Maybe weird for me, a dude closing in a 50, but I do know most of the songs he’s singing, and watching his concert is kind of weird because things have come a long way in the concert world. No longer is anyone “ashamed” or tentative about using “virtual” duets during their concerts, in fact, Pitbull might just be the poster child, as it also occurred to me that just about every one of his songs is some kind of duet with another pop star, from Christina Aguilera to Kesha (notice I dropped the $, as she wishes), from Shakira to Ne-Yo. During the show he had the “Pitbull Dancers,” and a super-solid backing band, but also during the show, on the giant screen behind him, were the “video” portions of the duets he sings, with the other singers there in spirit, while Pitbull would sing along with them.

It was a great show, makes me really want to go see Pitbull live, even if half of the people who sing with him won’t be with him, at least physically, because, well, if half of the fun Pitbull seems to be having wears off on me, that concert would just be a happy-fest, but as I sit here watching my TV, and Pitbull, I wonder: Have you watched a concert on TV?

That’s it for this one! I’m Andy!! L8R!!!

Does Your Pet Have a Facebook Page?

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Our dog, Milo, recently had a birthday, and some of his friends on Facebook wished him a “Happy Birthday.” Yes, that’s right, he has a Facebook page. He thanked those who wished him the best for another year, with his traditional “Woof!” at the end, and as he is now older than I am, clocking in at a 49 years, he wonders if he should maybe shut down the page. Okay, he’s not wondering that, right now he’s probably just wondering when I’m going to give him his breakfast while I’m typing this, but his introduction into Facebook wasn’t out of my being a “trying to treat our dog like a human” thing, he ended up with a page simply because I was in full Farmville mode and needed more “neighbors.” His having a page helped many a time, through the proliferation of “…ville” games, and even into the Candy Crush era, but it was kind of funny, as his posts would show up on my wall as “Liking” the latest game, that my friends would undoubtedly become “friends” with Milo.

He doesn’t give as many updates as he used to, mostly because you can’t have two Facebook apps on your phone and it’s too much of a pain to log out and back in on the app, so when we are out and “he” wants to let his friends know where he is checking in at, it’s up to me to quit being lazy and do the extra steps.

Maybe once I get hooked into the next game he’ll be a little more active, but for now his page sits kind of quietly, like many a Facebook page, where people wish their friends, who probably don’t even pay attention to Facebook any longer, Happy Birthday, and never even notice their “friend” didn’t thank anyone. I do wonder, though: Does your pet have a Facebook page?

That’s it for this one! I”m Andy!! L8R!!!

Do You Own, or Know Someone Who Owns, a Giant Clock?

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Maybe it’s just one of those things that once you get stuck in your head, you can’t help but notice, kind of like how after you buy a new car you see your make of car everywhere, but lately I’m seeing a proliferation of giant clocks. I’m not talking about outside, like on the corner of a bank, I’m talking in people’s homes, kind of like art, but mostly just like a giant clock. I think I first noticed one on a home show, then on a TV show, then I saw one in Sam’s Club, and now it’s like I’m seeing them everywhere. I know, back in the day people would get some bad artwork for a wall, and maybe there isn’t any bad artwork left, although, I suppose, when you are decorating a house, and the couple has a disagreement on what should be on a wall, a giant clock is an easy compromise. It harkens back to a simpler day when people had clocks in their homes, whether grandfather clocks, that clock in the kitchen, a nice mantle clock, or even that clock blinking “12:00″ on the VCR. Functional, I suppose, in this day and age when it appears less people wear a watch and use their phone to see what time it is, or maybe it’s just because they are cheap. Okay, scratch that, they aren’t that cheap as I just looked and the least expensive one I could find, on a quick search for 30” wall clock, was $70.

We don’t have a giant clock on our wall, although we do have some spots that could probably fit one, but I wonder: Do you own, or know someone who owns, a giant clock?

That’s it for this one! I’m Andy!! L8R!!!

Are You a Toilet Roll Replacer?

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So the other day I had to use the toilet, and sadly it was a #2 in a place that wasn’t home. It wasn’t horrible, I mean the bathroom there is clean, but for whatever reason pooping at locations other than home is always a little squirmy for me as I worry more about any noises and smells than germs for the most part because, well, many a study has been done that you aren’t picking up most horrible illnesses from the toilet, and you are more likely to catch something by shaking someone’s hand. For this trip the toilet roll was empty, but there, on the back of the toilet, was a roll of toilet paper, though not brand new, as you could tell someone had used it from its lack of still being “glued” together.

Me being me, I immediately grabbed the roll while sitting there, while pondering life, and replaced the empty toilet paper roll on the toilet paper holder. I then thought to myself two things. One was “Who is the lazy-ass who used the toilet paper and didn’t put the fresh roll on the holder?”, and two,”I guess I’m a toilet roll replacer.” The latter occurred to me as it also occurred to me there have been many a time when I’ve had to put the fresh roll, sitting right there on the toilet, on the holder, and I wonder: Are you a toilet roll replacer?

That’s it for this one! I’m Andy!! L8R!!!

Have You Been to an Opening Day?

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Now that pitchers and catchers have duly reported, as well as the rest of the players, it’s that time of year when, unless your basketball team is great, or you are a hockey nut, your sport’s thoughts are probably drifting to baseball, because, as James Earl Jones says in “Field of Dreams,” – “The one constant through all the years… has been baseball.”

Yes, even if you are a casual fan there is hope, hope that this year your team might be a little bit better, that maybe, just maybe, this could be the year that they catch fire and actually become good, or that, God forbid, they might actually make it to the playoffs (Oh, wait, most everyone makes it to the playoffs nowadays – scratch that – The World Series).

Me, I have three teams that have my loyalty, the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, and Chicago Cubs. The Indians are always near and dear to my heart because they are really my home-town team, the team I loved while growing up in Lorain, OH, even though they always sucked, and my first big-league game. The White Sox and Cubs are a result of my transplantation to Chicago for college, and my general sticking around here. Back in college we would go to the old Comisky Park quite a bit as it was right across a few streets from Illinois Institute of Technology, my college alma matter, and a trip to a Cubs game became a staple of Rush Week in our fraternity.

As the years progressed my core group of friends would generally score bleacher tickets to opening day for the Cubs, a little easier back in the day before the online ordering system became a cluster-f of “Waiting Room” delays, though lately, I’ve missed a few, although, for me, the bleacher experience has come and gone, preferring now the comfort of my own seat, with a little less of a “drunk” crowd around me.

In any case, opening day is coming soon, and though I’ll be missing it this year I will have hope for all of my teams, at least until probably the end of opening day, and I wonder: Have you been to an opening day?

That’s it for this one! I’m Andy!! L8R!!!

Do You Have Any Desire to See an Opera?

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Sitting in front of the TV there was an add for Shen Yun at the Chicago Opera House, which I guess is also where the Lyric Opera happens in Chicago, and it occurred to me that one of the weird things on my bucket list is to go to an Opera. I don’t really know why. I guess part of it is that scene in “Pretty Woman” where Richard Gere explains to Julia Roberts that some people enjoy the opera, but for others, it becomes a part of their soul, or something like that. Also, back when I used to work in downtown Chicago, I would walk past the Chicago Opera House and sometimes the backstage doors would be open I would be fascinated by the stage props that I could see. Part of it also probably has to do with my enjoying a good musical, and although different, what the hell.

In a not-so-weird juxtaposition I suppose, another thing on my list is to see the Chicago Symphony Orchestra perform Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana.” My guess is you probably have heard the song “O Fortuna” in a movie yet have no idea what it is (Go ahead, Google it), and back in the day, in the search for the song, I came across a CD of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Levine, and realized I like the entire thing.

There are a lot of operas to choose from so in the end my challenge, in thinking about seeing one, is finding one that would be a good introduction to see if I’m one of those that would enjoy it, or if it would become part of my soul. I’m sure I’ll find my way, someday, to the opera, but I wonder: Do you have any desire to see an opera?

That’s it for this one! I’m Andy!! L8R!!!

Do You Have a Digital Picture Frame?

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Fine, here’s my answer. Yes. I have a digital picture frame. It was a gift from my wife, one to help me get a boatload of concert pictures off of a cluttered wall, and two, because it was an awesome gift for someone like me who took boatloads of pictures that, like many folks, have them just in boxes or stored digitally for no one, not even me, to see. It’s a nice one, larger than most, from Kodak, and used to have a feature to connect to some Kodak website that you could store your pictures on, a site, of course, no longer supported. But the frame still lets you connect wirelessly to a computer, or use a media card to store pictures on, and will display them.

Like many a digital picture frame, though, I should probably update the pictures on it as right now it’s still all of our wedding pictures and a few other ones I like. Not that it’s not an important date, short of my birth it ranks up there as number two. Aw, hell, it’s number one as I don’t remember being born. In any case, I’ve taken more pictures since then, have been archiving older pictures, and should probably do a media card update, just to get some new stuff for me to see.

I do know a few people who do the scrapbook thing, but in this day and age of taking pictures everywhere with your phone, I wonder: Do you have a digital picture frame?

That’s it for this one! I’m Andy!! L8R!!!

P.S. Yes, in that picture, it’s me, as a young lad, in front of a TV, with the Johnny Cash show on.