Came across an interesting site some time ago, forgot about it for awhile, but now that it has crept back into my conscious, I thought I’d introduce it to you guys. Basically, it’s a game of sorts whereby you are given a word and you are to choose, from a list of four, the word that most closely parallels it in meaning. In other words (har har), it’s a vocabulary challenge.
The fun thing about it is that they’ve grouped words into several “levels” according to their difficulty (i.e. their rarity) so that you can gauge how good you are and not attempt to learn words that are too bizarre for you. Progress is made to subsequent levels when you accomplish 3 correct answers in a row, but you lose a level if you make just 1 mistake.
Coolest thing is that for each correct word you choose, a donation of 20 grains of rice is made through the United Nations. I know it doesn’t sound much, but play it and before you know it, you would have amassed quite a significant contribution. Gets a little repetitive after awhile, but it sure beats reading the dictionary during your spare time. Ahem. And it’s a nice way to do some charity (size does not matter here folks) and to promote awareness regarding poverty. An awesome idea and a worthy cause, so check it out!
Was surfing YouTube and I came across this very rare live medley of Goodbye and Butterflyz which was left out of the Unplugged album/DVD. They’re two of my favourite songs off her debut, and possibly off her entire repertoire, so I’m definitely feeling the excitement of hopefully witnessing something like this… soon. Heh.
January 26, 2008, 4:28 am
Filed under: music, videos
Goes to show how some things you just can’t learn by incessantly playing some video game.
Jake Shimabukuro: OK, so what this guy is playing is actually an ukulele, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less amazing. Wait for the bridge and watch him go berserk on the poor instrument - I’m surprised all the strings survived this one.
Andy McKee: Now this bald dude here shows you how a guitar can be used beyond convention. Very cool mix of hammering and plucking, plus, extra kudos for composing an awesome original piece.
January 24, 2008, 10:57 pm
Filed under: friends, games
A couple of days back, Yew Vern got the green light from his dad to get a new video game console as a gift from his parents for his birthday this year. So, I followed him to the HMV near Piccadilly Circus to get this (drum-roll, please)… Welcome, our latest excuse for not working on our Final Year Projects…
… the Xbox 360!
Got it at quite a decent price and the package deal came with Halo 3. Apart from that we also got 2 other games (1 of which I paid for as his birthday gift =D) - Gears of War and Mass Effect. The Xbox definitely (obviously) trumps his old PS2 in terms of graphics. but, being the lousy gamer that I am, it took me a short while to get used to the controls. Once I’ve managed to “work out the kinks”, I must say I really enjoy the difference in gameplay with the PS range that I have been so accustomed to.
The same night we took home the console, we started playing Gears of War and finished it the next day. 14 hours of awesome shoot-em-up goodness! Overkill, perhaps, but as soon as it blows over and we shake ourselves off with some other games, we will play it again at difficulty level: insane. Heh. W3 b3 g33ks. To read Yew Vern’s review of the game, visit his blog here. If it isn’t up yet, I’m sure it will be soon enough.
They say a pen is mightier than a sword
But what about our minds Do we not
Bend realities with the lies we tell ourselves
To sleep Deep in Babylon gardens
Can we get through this jungle maze
We’ve fenced ourselves in Do we
Lead ourselves to somewhere
Warm and safe With big bright lights
Our peril and our fate lie within us
Think long think hard But think what
Everybody else does because it is
What is right Sense is always common
Seldom should we break out of the box
And maybe to make it bigger Or to find
A corner that no one else occupies
Is enough Why are we never satisfied
How much of our hurt is self-inflicted
How much can be avoided If we only just
Tried a little harder to love ourselves a little
Longer Hold on to your box of chocolates
Tick. Tick. But when time’s come to claim its dues
Long and hard as you may have thought Oh fuck
Might be the last two words that linger in
Your absence An exclamation and a curse
So fight for our futures leave shadows behind
Turn and face the sun It reminds us
Of the grass that’s turning green and the
Coming Spring Man don’t we all love Spring
—————————————————–
‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears reliev’d
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believ’d
Found a couple of songs that I wanted to share with you guys. Bear with the loading times especially if you’ve got a slow connection speed (pause it and wait for it to finish buffering if you wish to play the entire song without any disruptions), I promise you, it’ll be worth it. =)
I won’t be giving my short two cents on each song as I usually do, ’cause sometimes it’s good to let music speak for itself and for you, listeners, to develop your own opinions (and it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that it’s almost 1 in the morning and that I have a 9 o’clock lecture tomorrow =P).
Josh Kelley has been around in the music scene quite a couple of years now, but I haven’t heard of him till recently when I saw his new album up on the iTunes chart. From the 30 second song snippets I’ve heard, Special Company showcases an extremely versatile talent who crosses genres seamlessly between each track. Vocally, Josh sounds like Michael McDonald, Adam Levine and Chris Martin all at once, but considering the jangling discord of comparisons made, I must say he is unique in his own way. To top it off, he’s got some really slick moves on the guitar. Here’s a sneak peek of what he has to offer in the upcoming album.
Song’s called Masterpiece and apparently, it’s about sex. Hell, if I were married to her like he is, I’d sing about sex, too! *Drools* Anyway, the record drops February 5th, so go out and get it! Will post a proper review then.
What do you do when your barely-2-month old desk lamp decides to die, and buying a new one costs £6.99? Well, if you feel like being exceptionally cheap-o, have a sense of creativity/humour that’s slightly whack, don’t mind that your study area looks like a Vegas stripper’s changing room and so happen to find Christmas lights in WHSmith originally priced at £14.99 selling for £0.99, you’d do this:
Kinda reminds you of The Fray’s How To Save A Life album cover, doesn’t it? Sadly, my ingenious plan didn’t quite work out as well as I would’ve liked - the lights were too dim and now simply sit as more of a decorative object than anything. Party like a pornstar. Oh well, at least Sasuke thinks it’s cool.
