Hello Bloggers,
It's that time of year again where the books need to be cracked open and the studying must began. Right now I am beginning finals week for the semester which means A LOT of studying and A LOT of final exams to write.
If my calculations are correct, I have:
- Four final exams.
- One final project to hand in.
- An internship form to submit.
- Two more non-test classes to attend.
Hopefully I do amazing on my final exams; however, I just found out that a take-home exam we were supposed to have just got changed, again, to an in-class written test....today! You can all be shocked for me and every one in my class because we were not expecting that.
Let the week begin...till then bloggers, I will see you all shortly.
The holidays are upon us and the shopping season is in full gear. There are those that wait until the last minute to make their holiday purchases, but I am no procrastinator. I have to get the gifts before Christmas Day so that I can ensure that those closest to me will have their presents. I've thought long and hard about the Top 10 things people should get for the holidays. Let's start with #10:
10. Gift Cards and Certificates
People may perceive this gift as passé and boring. Sometimes it is just really hard to find the perfect gift for that special person. A traditional staple is to get them a gift card or certificate for their favourite store(s) so that they can choose what they want.
I have a bias with an important issue regarding this gift. DO NOT: get a gift card/certificate to the mall. The card screams that you have no idea about their style and what they like. If you choose to go down this route of gifts, make the effort to at least figure out what they would like.
9. Food: Chocolate, Gingerbread, and Champagne/Wine
Food, technically, shouldn't be a gift that you give as their sole holiday present. However, people have provided it as a basis for a quaint offering. Stick with the traditional basics like FERRERO ROCHER® and POT OF GOLD when giving someone chocolate. Gingerbread men are delicious and instantly bring up the image of the holidays; creating a gingerbread house for that person is going a step too far. For adults and people over the drinking age, wine and champagne are a great idea.
8. Jewelry
This type of gift is presented to only those who mean a great deal of significance to the purchaser. There are gimmick-y gifts that people buy for each other like style jewelry such as headbands, plastic rings, "gold" necklaces and de-valued charm bracelets. However, the important factor to realize is that if the person is of true value to the heart, a significant and particular gift purchased from high-end stores does matter. Even antique stores can provide great finds for rings
Food, technically, shouldn't be a gift that you give as their sole holiday present. However, people have provided it as a basis for a quaint offering. Stick with the traditional basics like FERRERO ROCHER® and POT OF GOLD when giving someone chocolate. Gingerbread men are delicious and instantly bring up the image of the holidays; creating a gingerbread house for that person is going a step too far. For adults and people over the drinking age, wine and champagne are a great idea.
8. Jewelry
This type of gift is presented to only those who mean a great deal of significance to the purchaser. There are gimmick-y gifts that people buy for each other like style jewelry such as headbands, plastic rings, "gold" necklaces and de-valued charm bracelets. However, the important factor to realize is that if the person is of true value to the heart, a significant and particular gift purchased from high-end stores does matter. Even antique stores can provide great finds for rings 
7. Clothes
We all need clothes to function. It's a natural part of life, except for you naturalists who like to live free to the breeze. My lists are going to include such stores as H&M, American Apparel, Le Chateau, Gap, and Urban Behaviour. A special note to parents: while clothes are important gifts, please do not purchase only clothes for your children like socks, pajamas and underwear. Trust me, you will see the disappointment on their faces and that frown won't go away.
6. DVDs, CDs and Video Games We all need clothes to function. It's a natural part of life, except for you naturalists who like to live free to the breeze. My lists are going to include such stores as H&M, American Apparel, Le Chateau, Gap, and Urban Behaviour. A special note to parents: while clothes are important gifts, please do not purchase only clothes for your children like socks, pajamas and underwear. Trust me, you will see the disappointment on their faces and that frown won't go away.
I consider these types of gifts like tree stuffers compared to stocking stuffers. There is always a favourite movie, video game, CD, TV DVD, and electronic disk that people will purchase. Just make sure that people do not get you more of the same item because chances are you're not going to use both copies.
5. Money
It's simple. It's quick. It has no real thought. It's perfect! Nobody will turn down money for the holidays because there are a million uses. Boxing Day is still a huge shopping attraction in Canada so having disposable income to shop is key. The reason this is higher on the list than gift cards/certificates is because that you may not choose the best location for where the card can be used. Just having money and a touching card with inspirational messages can mean a lot to someone.
It's simple. It's quick. It has no real thought. It's perfect! Nobody will turn down money for the holidays because there are a million uses. Boxing Day is still a huge shopping attraction in Canada so having disposable income to shop is key. The reason this is higher on the list than gift cards/certificates is because that you may not choose the best location for where the card can be used. Just having money and a touching card with inspirational messages can mean a lot to someone.
4. Donations
When you want to give someone the joy of receiving a gift and something for the holidays but no one to give it to, make a donation to an important charity or cause. People are selfless during the season so maybe an option would be to make a small donation to an important cause that interests them. Also, someone once mentioned that if you made a donation then you might receive an ornament as a sign of your contribution.
When you want to give someone the joy of receiving a gift and something for the holidays but no one to give it to, make a donation to an important charity or cause. People are selfless during the season so maybe an option would be to make a small donation to an important cause that interests them. Also, someone once mentioned that if you made a donation then you might receive an ornament as a sign of your contribution.
3. Furniture, Decorations and Appliances
These can be expensive gifts. Home decor pieces like art, carpets, vases, and statues are great ideas; however, taste is a determining factor if they really like the gift at all. Furniture should ONLY be a gift from family-to-family. The best option in this category will be the cooking appliances because people like to pretend that they are the next Rachel Ray or Jamie Oliver.
These can be expensive gifts. Home decor pieces like art, carpets, vases, and statues are great ideas; however, taste is a determining factor if they really like the gift at all. Furniture should ONLY be a gift from family-to-family. The best option in this category will be the cooking appliances because people like to pretend that they are the next Rachel Ray or Jamie Oliver.
2. Electronic Devices
I lean more to this department when I think of things that I want for the holiday season. These are incredibly expensive so if you are going to be purchasing products like the iPad, iPod Touch, BlackBerry, computers, laptops, and/or an iPhone 4 then be prepared to pay a lot. A new item to get would be an Android phone like my friend Zaira constantly recommends as a great phone to purchase or the Xbox Kinect as a new video gaming addition to have as the must-have item.
1. Family and Friends
We can all think about what we want to have under the tree or what we want to give someone but let's face it, no matter how we feel about them...we want to spend the holidays with family. To think about how people are separated by cities because of work or other important issues is depressing. Maybe take a trip home to spend a couple of days with family and friends, it will cheer up your season and remind you of what is truly important instead of material gifts.
Just remember the important ones this holiday season and not to blow your entire financial budget. Gifts are nice to have but being able to pay for a day-to-day life should be the top thing on your mind. Don't spend thousands of dollars on yourself if you really don't need to be purchasing gifts. Make each gift matter and remember: Happy Holidays.
Just remember the important ones this holiday season and not to blow your entire financial budget. Gifts are nice to have but being able to pay for a day-to-day life should be the top thing on your mind. Don't spend thousands of dollars on yourself if you really don't need to be purchasing gifts. Make each gift matter and remember: Happy Holidays.
Due to popular demand and an increase in online traffic at this post, I've decided to do another post in the Online by Design section. I've searched through YouTube and various functions to find something that I think might interest you all. On this entry of Online by Design review, we will be looking at the video mash-up series: Dead Fantasy.
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| (starting from left) Kasumi, Ayane, and Hitomi (DOA). Tifa, Rikku, and Yuna (FF). |
The Premise: Starting off in a dilapidated ruin, Final Fantasy X's Yuna is running through a path to be intercepted by Dead or Alive's Kasumi and Ayane. It quickly turns into a battle with DOA's Hitomi and Final Fantasy's Rikku and Tifa joining into the action. Various sequels have included new and recurring characters from the both series including their sister series, Kingdom Hearts for Final Fantasy and Ninja Gaiden for Dead or Alive. Not much is revealed about the storyline but much is apparent that all the characters are in an all out battle; rivaling each other and competing in combat to defeat their unwavering opponents. The burning question asked is which video game series will dominate in the war of combat?
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| Artwork featuring Kingdom Hearts' Kairi |
Where To Find It: The Dead Fantasy series is created by user, Monty Oum. You can find all his videos plus fun contributions with the Dead Fantasy girls on his YouTube account or you can visit his personal to find all graphic art, discussion boards, and news about the upcoming sequels: http://www.montyoum.deviantart.com/.
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| The Dead Fantasy girls performing "Gee by Girls' Generation" |
The Good: Most parodies and online videos sometimes lack the effort and time put into creating a top quality product and that is clearly not what happened here. The quality and computer design for the videos continuing to get better and more innovative with each upcoming sequel. The fighting scenes are highly choreographed, the characters are thought out with their moves and the fighting moments of introducing materia battles, magic, and ninjas are a sight to see. The fact that using iconic characters and scenes from both these series are definitely a gem for any fans of either series.
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| Tifa and Hitomi fighting in the infamous burning opera house from DOA |
The Bad: While the quality and mystery regarding the plot is a draw, I'm still confused as to what is really going on. Another big issue is the interval between sequels. It's taken a while for these videos to be created and while I do respect the time and effort that goes into creating these products, the time waiting feels like an eternity for the next one to come out.
The Results: 8/10!
Dead Fantasy is a great series to watch and see my favourite characters from the series engage in combat. All the sequels can appeal for the amazing quality and jaw-dropping cinematics, but it all resonates within me because I love these two series.
Here is the first movie from Monty Oum's page to begin watching if you haven't already.
Agree or Disagree with the score and assessment? Then leave a comment below and share your thoughts about the content and what you think it deserves. See you later on the next Online by Design.
Originality is a creative tool that we all have treasured when experiencing a new genre piece. Our favourite shows have become landmarks for must-see TV and the innovative movies that explored new depths that have instantly became cult-classics. However, recently these industries have delved back into their vaults and established a new interpretation on past projects.
To clarify:
A remake is taking a project's storyline and completely redoing the concept with few changes to make the new piece more adapt to the times.
A reboot is completely segmenting a storyline at an end point and beginning fresh with a new perspective; completely ignoring all the previous sequels as a new film legacy.
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| REBOOT |
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| REMAKE |
Don't get me wrong, I am ALWAYS very optimistic when watching a new remake and reboot. I loved the new Batman movies and the new Nightmare on Elm Street horror movie remake, including other past remakes for other movies and television shows. Personally I prefer the act of spin-offs and sequels because it continues the timeline and storyline inside of completely retconned what happened beforehand.
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| Supposedly its rebooting the movie and not the tv series? |
A recent reboot that might be coming into production is the Buffy The Vampire Slayer movie reboot. If you had been following my twitter then you will probably know how shocked I am that this is happening. I am a huge fan of the television show and grew up with that Whedonverse to know that a new movie is coming out without ANY of the characters nor Joss Whedon is really a letdown. A friend of mine, Zaira, and I have had debates about the concept of new reboot processes for these genres. She is, however, in favor of the new Spiderman reboots while I am very mixed since these are very recent projects in our decade.
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| Is it too soon for a reboot from this trilogy? |
I will continue to be optimistic because sometimes these remakes and reboots can surprise and intrigue me about the past series/movie. It all depends on the person and how much they loved the original product and if they are willing to separate one artistic interpretation to another one. However, I will agree that somethings should not be redone because the originals are amazing.
My advice is to look at it this way: for reboots, it's just a different time and a different form so one is on television and the other is just a movie. For remakes, it's just updating the same concept and it can't change the original. Get into the fun and see how it all turns out. Things can surprise you.