Play This: Borderlands 2

Borderlands 2 Cover Art

For the past few days I have been in constant need of something new to do. I have been reading, writing blogs, working on artwork, playing video games, watching movies, watching television shows, and going on long walks. Still, boredom seems to take my mind and I was not sure that I could be cured of it. And then Tuesday finally arrived and everything got worse for a few hours before everything got better. Why? Because I decided to order Borderlands 2 from Amazon, which meant I also had to wait for the mail to arrive before I could start playing it. Dragging myself around the house for what seemed like forever, I was beyond bored. I even checked my door every few minutes to see if if the video game had come. I know, it sounds bad to be waiting for something to do when I have a lot of other things I should be doing. But that is not how procrastination works. Finally, the video game came and I started playing Borderlands 2 immediately. After a good, solid amount of time with the game, I think I finally know how I feel about it. Here is my review, with the side-note that I have only played this for less than half a day.

Maybe Watch This: Tower Heist

Promotional Poster for Tower Heist

I think we all know what I am about to say here, I was bored and I started browsing through the On Demand offered by Comcast Cable when I ran across a bunch of awesome movies I wanted to watch. So I picked one out and that is that.

Except that is not exactly all of that. I chose Tower Heist not because of the movie, I meant the plot line was pretty obvious. Instead, I decided to watch this movie because of Ben Stiller, who I have loved since I saw Zoolander, and Eddie Murphy, who sometimes manages to be in amazing films such as Bowfinger. That is right, this is a movie I watched because I wanted to see the actors, as rare as that occurrence is. Anyway, here is my review.

Skip This: The Haunting

Movie Poster for The Haunting

A little while ago I was bored and looking for something interesting to watch on demand when I came across a movie who's title was simple the haunting. Sounds plausible enough and simple enough to be good, I thought, so I picked it out and read the small description. Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Owen Wilson are all in this picture, so I figured how bad could it be with not one, but three large name actors. And the description also left me more interesting, people brought to a house for a psychological study on insomnia later learn that the house is haunted. Again, simplistic enough that it sounded like a decent plot for some good horror thrills. So I loaded it up and watched the whole movie in one run, and here are my thoughts on a movie I suspect no one has heard of before.

Maybe Watch This: In Time

Movie Poster for In Time

I seem to be moving forward on the clock as to when I am awake and when I want to go to sleep, which is why I watched this movie at noon instead of my usual time of midnight. As such, I ended my day (or at least what is the end of my day) watching a movie that I had never heard of before but looked interesting based on what was written about it on the on demand menu.

For this movie, I saw the name Justin Timberlake and that alone caught my interest and made me want to see what this was about. I think he is an interesting character, so I thought why not watch a movie with him in it if it sounds interesting enough. Then I read the description that came after his name, a science fiction movie about the near future where we do not have a currency anymore because our new currency is how long we live. Basically it takes the concept that you sell your time for money and just skips that transaction to make it simply you sell your time. Interesting to say the least. So I decided to give it a go and this is what I thought after watching the film.

Play This: Super Hexagon

Let me ask you some questions. Are you into games with good music? Do you like it when they are fast-paced and great at wasting small amounts of time between each play? Are you into challenges? And last, do you mind having your eyes burn out of your sockets as you try to keep up with an object swirling around at the speed of sound? If you answered yes to any of those questions, then I have the game for you.

[http://itunes.apple.com/app/super-hexagon/id549027629?mt=8]

It is called Super Hexagon and after one round of playing you will know why. And as far as music games go, I give it the recommendation because it is both addictive and fast-paced. Somehow this was able to turn thirty seconds of play into half an hour of enjoyment. So click the link and give it at try!

Watch This: Think Like a Man

Advertisement Image for Think Like a Man

I know that a lot of men out there try and dodge "chick flicks" whenever they hear about them, but to me it is less about the fact that this is a "chick flick" film and more about that this is a comedy. So when I first heard about it and saw a few clips of it, I knew that I was going to end up watching this movie to see what was going on. So I found a copy of the movie I could rent for a few hours and while the puppy was taking a nap I started watching it. I do not want to say that I was completely impressed, but actually I liked this movie for the feel-good moments that I knew were coming and that I knew would have to happen. Anyway, here is my review for Think Like a Man.

Listen to This: I'll Bite You

Okay, I lied. Instead of going off to write a whole review on a movie I watched like two days ago I decided to write a review about a song that I have fallen in love with. But before I get to that, let me start off by first telling everyone a little bit about Lydia and my relationship with this band. About a year ago a friend over the internet, as in one I had never met in real life, told me that I should try listening to this band because they do a lot of amazing pieces. They are a small-time indie band, a lot of people have never heard of them before, but I am so happy I got pointed towards them. From their first album and second album there are songs that I still listen to all the time because they are so beautifully done; take for instance Smile, You've Won or Hospital which are both classics.

But this review is not about them. Instead, it is about a band that I thought was breaking-up and done making music. See, after writing one more album (their third if I remember correctly) and doing one final tour, they were going to all disband and go their separate ways. However, Paint it Golden is actually the bands fourth album and actually a wonderful return. After a small hiatus, the band came back and produced this piece, which I instantly fell in love with for its softer tunes that still focused highly on well-writen lyrics.

I'll Bite You by Lydia

I think the reason I can easily separate this song from the other ones on the album is that the song starts with a different sound than the one present in the chorus. The first time I listened to it, that tossed me through a loop, but still I kept coming back because there was something about it. The soft, rhythmic start that is suddenly disturbed by the perfectly offset chorus just really brought me back and touched my heart I guess.

But that was the first few times I listened to it, the main attractant that got me to hear the song. Now I have dived much deeper into the surface of this masterpiece, learned the lyrics that grabbed me and really brought me to enjoy what it has to offer. Like I said before, one of the best parts about Lydia is their key focus to the well-written lyrics in any one of their given songs. If I had to say the one that has been keeping me, the golden lyrics to this song, it would definitely be, "I wanna hear it from your pearly teeth." There is just something about the detail in that one line that gets me thinking and has kept me listening to this one over and over again. Anyway, give it a listen!

The Spotted Canvas uses the Lydia promotional media but is not endorsed or certified by themselves. All of the Lydia logos and trademarks displayed on this website are the property of themselves.

Skip This: The Pirates! Band of Misfits

Movie Poster for the Pirates!

Another night and another long story about how I have nothing to do is what my review readers have probably come to expect of these introductions, but alas it was not this way last night. Instead, I rather had a lot of stuff that I could be doing and I chose to watch this movie. You see, I could have been playing my video games and ranking up, I could have been reading one of my new books, and I could have been watching a couple of television shows that I have fallen a little bit behind on. Instead I chose to watch this movie, for I knew that it was made by the same stop-motion folks that put together the entire Wallace and Gromit series as well the Chicken Run movie. Now while I found Chicken Run a little bit disappointing, I would still recommend that movie for young folks because of the nicely woven tale and beautiful stop motion. But I do admire and adore the creators for their Wallace and Gromit stop-motion pieces, as those were expertly done and very friendly for all ages. And with such an inspiring and big cast, how could they go wrong I thought. At any rate, here is my review for their most recent movie the Pirates! Band of Misfits.

Maybe Watch This: Wild Cherry

Movie Poster for Wild Cherry

Tonight began much like any other night, I was bored and browsing through a long list of movies that did not seem very interesting when I came upon one that caught my eye. So I opened it and read the description about what this strangely titled movie I had never heard. Then, when all of the details satisfied my tastes in some manner or another, I decided to start watching it. 

What I learned from the description was this movie is about three female high schoolers that are apparently on some sort of list to have sex and they discover the list. So then these girls decide to seek revenge against the main character's boyfriend, because he should not be doing something so sinister as helping the main character get laid. Oh yeah, and Rob Schneider is in this movie as the dad. But what that description forgot to tell me was that the movie I was about to watch was one of those very awkward ones, a film that puts even the viewers into their own little place as they wonder what they are watching and why they cannot turn away. If that alone does not give any idea to what Wild Cherry is about, here is my full review!

Skip This: Due Date

Movie Poster for Due Date

So it was another night, another movie I was not sure I wanted to watch, and another couple of hours of my life I wish I could get back. I'll have to admit that when I first watched the theatrical trailer for this movie, I was pretty sure I would not like it, because I could already tell that Zach Galigianakis was going to play the exact same character role he did in the Hangover while Robert Downey Jr played the same character role he is known for. Add on top of that some jokes that just are not really that funny nor interesting, and I figured that was the movie. Still, I had nothing to do that night and I needed to pass the time, so I turned on Due Date with no care towards what might actually be seen and now I wish I could get my time back. If you are curious and want to know why I do not recommend this movie, then please continue reading my full review of Due Date.

Watch This: ParaNorman

Movie Poster for ParaNorman

Earlier, I received a call from my friend Jodi and she told me that she was in town nearby. So I of course left my Dad with the puppy, because my Mom was out doing her own thing, and told him that I was going to meet up with my friend! In honesty, it is not every day that a friend comes up from southern Colorado and wants to talk. I take every chance I get. Anyway, we meet up at a sandwich show and spend the next half-hour or so catching up and having a great time with her baby niece (9 months old for those that are curious). Then her sister-in-law comes and picks up her niece and we go about our day continuing to converse and have a great time.

After about an hour of hanging out in a coffee-shop / bookstore, I asked Jodi if she wanted to come home and see the puppy. She could not refuse such an offer (which I knew) and so we went back to my parent's home where we talked some more and played with the puppy. Then we came inside and decided to go and see a movie. Except nothing was really out that caught our eyes, so we decided to do a go to the theater and choose idea. What we ended up watching was ParaNorman, which was a surprising movie to say the least!

Maybe Watch This: The Kids are All Right

Movie Poster for The Kids are All Right

I am not going to lie and say that I love every drama out there, I do not and I do not think that is possible. Instead, I try and find the dramatic movies that make me feel like I have learned something by the end that I would not have known otherwise. And to say I have learned something by the end of the movie is not the same as saying that I felt like I knew exactly what I had learned, but there was some sort of educational evolution that happened in my head, a connecting of understandings that made me feel happy. In the past this has happened with such great films as Almost Famous (which I recently just re-watched) or Forest Gump (which was so good I went and read the book). I call these the good-feeling movies, as that is what they leave you with even if the ending is sad.

So taking a stab into the dark, I decided to watch a movie that was both recommended by a friend as good, a fact I learned after starting the film, and from the advice of an online review website. I think I have a lot more words to say about this movie then just that, as I do think this movie covers a lot of complicated topics and neither my friend nor the review I read really mentioned any of them. Here's my review of The Kids are All Right.

Listen to This: A Dream Within A Dream

Album Artwork for Drink The Sea by the Glitch Mob

The following post if both a review as much as it is a story I want to tell, but only because something amazingly different happened to me today. So let me start at the beginning of my story and then show how perfectly it relates to a song. This morning my parents woke me up at what would be abnormally early for someone like me and told me I needed to watch the puppy while they go to the vet with one of our cats. If you are curious, the orange tabby needed some blood work to be done because we think he has a failing kidney. Anyway, I was extremely tired and almost unable to get out of bed, but I managed to get up and go downstairs.

After grabbing a cup of joe and taking the puppy outside, I sat and waited for my parents to return. When they finally did get back, and my coffee cup was completely empty, I did not feel like I had to sleep anymore. So I went upstairs and started writing another blog about learning French. I did not finish writing that blog (though I am working on it still). Instead, I ended up falling asleep about an hour later, completely passing out in the darkness of my room.

My dream felt real, like I had not gone to sleep and was just lying in bed not doing anything. So I got up and walked downstairs and talked to my Dad, to which I have no idea what our conversation was about and because it was a dream my mind just accepted that the thoughts were exchanged. Then I went back to my room and just lied in bed because I was so tired.

I fell into a second dream, a dream within a dream exactly as the movie Inception would say and exactly the title of the song. I was outside in the bright sun, the rays coming down and heating up my skin, and the new puppy was there. Then my Mom came into view, we were playing with the dog and having a good time. I felt that I was still not dreaming, but that the feeling of being tired had just passed away; yet at the same time I also felt like I was just barely asleep. It was surreal, it was weird, and it was different.

Suddenly my Dad was being real loud in the real world, his voice booming to my ears. It passed down through my dreams, through my thoughts, and reached me at the second level. I woke up from one dream and was in the darkness of my room. It was as if the vision of me being home was completely masked by the dream, I actually felt like I was there. I walked out of my room, which happened with surprising ease after just waking from a well-needed slumber, and walked down the stairs. No one was home, no one was there to have made that voice, but I was sure that I had heard my Father. Then he shouted again about something, maybe just overly excited about a politician, and the curtain that had been covering my eyes as to where I really was came free, waking me again.

I thought I would bring up this because it was crazy, a sort of insane state to suddenly have to wake-up twice from the same dream and the same slumber. And I am fully unsure how I was even able to reach the second level of the dream state. But the minute I woke up, I could also hear A Dream Within a Dream by The Glitch Mob playing in my head.

I think the first time I listened to this song I might have skipped over it, thinking little of the beginning beat as it sent shivers down my spine. However, I ended up returning about a week later when I fell in love with the entire album this song came on. If you have not heard all the songs on Drink the Sea, go out and buy a copy right now. To put it in perspective, this is the music I play when I want to have conscious and consistent thoughts, a background sound I used to study because it provoked me to keep learning. I cannot say exactly why, but I highly recommend this entire album. And if you are curious, my favorite song is still Fortune Days.

But this review is not about Fortune Days, it is about A Dream Within A Dream. When I finally did get back to listening to this, I realized how very close to home the name of the song actually hits. This is a very fast-paced song, the melody repeating at parts and bringing about a sense of the impending aurora at the end of the night. And the beginning, the part that had originally pushed me away from the song, is actually a very much needed and strong piece that shows the passing from a state of clear consciousness into the realm of the other world. It is the key, the reason that we pass from the first dream to the second one as our eyes close and we fall asleep. You can see the solar system in this first scene, the way the darkness in the sky passes above, the calming sensation, and then the breath as the dream begin.

Immediately after this introduction, the tune starts up as if you are somewhere you have never been, doing something you might never have imagined yourself doing. All the while it seems unreal, impossible in the feats that you accomplish, but they are still feats. And with the passing of time, it only seems to dive deeper into the dream-like state as you continue to be this magnificent heroine on some astounding, technological quest. And then you fall into the next level of dreams, spending the rest of the song trying to find your way out.

I think it is this imagination that really brought me to loving this song, the sense that I could see something that was not there even while only the music was playing. That is why I love this song. Add in a perfect back beat and some astounding repetition to drive home the thoughts and you get a golden song. And like I said, this is not even my favorite song on the album.

The Spotted Canvas uses the Glitch Mob music promotional media but is not endorsed or certified by The Gltich Mob. All of the The Glitch Mob logos and trademarks displayed on this website are the property of The Glitch Mob.

Maybe Play This: Black Ops

In case you are in the dark when it comes to Video Games, the sequel to 2010's major first person shooter hit is coming out this November. For those that care, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 will premier in stores November 13th. But while there is still some time between the next game releasing and now, I thought I would finish up the single player campaign and finally give a review on the original Call of Duty: Black Ops. As of last night, I finally finished the campaign on the hardest difficulty.

Skip This: Happy Feet 2

Movie Poster for Happy Feet Two

So I was bored tonight, trying to find something fun to do, and I was browsing through the movies I had at my finger tips. I saw that I could watch the sequel to Happy Feet, Happy Feet Two, and was undecided if I wanted to watch it or not. So I kept browsing, hoping that maybe something a little bit more luscious or intuitive would pop-up before I got to the list, never-the-less nothing did.

Now I will not lie when I say that I saw the first Happy Feet and loved the movie. The dancing and the music was exceptionally wonderful for a children's animation; as well as the ideas behind the movie where beautiful ones to teach kids. But I had my doubts about the second movie, feeling they would not be able to pull off the same unique, compelling story that was seen on the first go around. To say that I was not far from right would be only have the story. At any rate, here's my review of Happy Feet Two, and why I think you can skip this one.

Watch This: Weeds

One of the Promotional Pictures for Weeds

For the past few years I have been sitting on the line of being entertained and being dragged along when it came to the television show Weeds. I got into the show back when it was first starting, loved the first three seasons right away, and I actually was out recommending it to friends. Then the series hit an all-time low for me where I was not satisfied with the series for the next three seasons. And it was not until season seven that I started to feel that this show was starting to rise-up and get better again. Now, in its final season I am once again telling people that if they have not watched this all the way through that they should. Here's my review of everything currently available for Weeds.

Listen to This: Bonfire

On a drive back from some stores that my Mom and I had gone to that day, I started playing some dubstep music for her. Right away, I could tell she loved the backbeat and was liking the song, but then again I was playing what I consider to be great dubstep for her. But in the middle of the song, I said something that got me thinking a bit. I said, "I can't understand how so many terrible sounds on their own can come together to make something as beautiful as this!"

Bonfire by Knife Party

The fact of the matter is that is how life works, where we as people can take the worst things that we are given and turn them into something beautiful. And I think that people that live by that philosophy, that live on the idea that they take whatever they are given and make the best of it, are the types of people that are always happy. But that is just my off-subject discussion that leads me into what I was really getting at, because I have a whole other article written for just that subject.

Play on Smartphone: Plague Inc

When I first started searching for games on my iPhone, I would only buy the ones that had a free trail version available. The why is simple, because I wanted to know if I liked the gameplay before I spent my money on an app that was going to cost me a whole dollar. I know, I'm a really thrift-er. Then I ran into this game, which was my first super-addictive game that I played on my iPhone. There was no trial, there was no guarantee that I would like it, but still I took the chance because of the rave reviews.

[http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/plague-inc./id525818839?mt=8]

And the reason I am saying that, the reason for giving doubt about buying this application, is that I want everyone to know that I took a chance and I thought it was worth it. So here is my review of Plague Inc.

Use This: Day One Journal

[Day One Journal]

So I was recently using the iPhone application My Wonderful Days as my journal application, and up until now it has been a stellar choice. My Wonderful Days was only a dollar in the iTunes store when I bought it, it offered some really nice features such as being able to set a reminder to write a journal, and most importantly it let me select my mood for the day. So at the time, I took the cheap way out on getting a journal and I still do not regret it.

Alas, a few days ago I started thinking maybe it was time for an upgrade. It turned out I really enjoyed writing a journal (when the journal reminds me I need to write in it) and that I really did like putting down my personal thoughts in a safe place that only I could get into. I started looking at some of the competition, and more specifically at the leading journal in the store. Now, for back-up the application I was looking at was called Day One Journal. It has been not only the leading journal application on iTunes, but it is the recommended application by Apple. In other words, I was really interested but still not willing to buy because I did not feel it was a great enough increase in quality for the extra money. All of that changed though within a week.

Day One - Journal

Day One - Journal

I logged into the Apple App Store and for a moment it flashed to the current featured applications. To my surprise there was Day One Journal sitting right there on the screen, but this was not the iPhone application. Instead, I was looking at the Macintosh computer application build of the same exact journal program. I was instantly interested, because if there is one thing I know about applications on apple products it is that they all tend to sync with one another wirelessly which was the one feature I was looking for. I was right, the iPhone application would sync with the computer application, so I was instantly hooked.

The reason I wanted an application that was both a journal on my phone as well as a journal on my computer was for typing in entries. Sometimes I have something to say while I'm on the move and so I want to use my phone to add it to my journal. Or maybe I have a photograph that I just took that I would like to remember when and where. Well, for all of those needs I would want something on my phone. But the phone part actually does more than that. I can also record the current temperature as well as the location the journal was taken at, which is really cool since sometimes I go places and while waiting for a friend I like to write in my journal.

On the flip side, I am also someone who likes to sit down at the end of the day and quickly type long entries into my journal. Before, this would mean getting out my phone and using the touchscreen keyboard to type in these long, excessive entries that describe the little things that happen during my day. To put it nicely, it was annoying and I am surprised I made as many entries as I had. But now with an application that can wirelessly send all of the data from my phone to my computer, I was in the perfect position to get the best of both worlds.

Now, the reason I am recommending this application goes beyond that nice and honestly very-needed feature. It also has a bunch of little features built in that I think are really cool, along with some other ones that are on the way. For instance, the Day One Journal also has most of the features that I had in my other application, such as the ability to star entries that I thought were very important and very meaningful to me or to set that daily reminder that I need to write in my journal for the day. Both of these are extremely important to someone like me, because I know that when I go back through my entries the number one thing I do is search for the meaningful ones and I cannot always remember to write in my journal. So since Day One has these features, it becomes more useful to someone like me.

Anyway, if you are looking for a journal application for your iPhone and maybe even one for your computer I recommend this one. Skip the hassle of getting a cheaper journal application that you will later have to hand-import into your better one and just start off with the best right away!

The Spotted Canvas uses the Day One^® application programming interface but is not endorsed or certified by Bloom Built, LLC. All of the Day One^® logos and trademarks displayed on this website are the property of Bloom Built, LLC.

Maybe Watch This: Total Recall (2012)

Total Recall (2012) Movie Poster

I will openly admit that this movie was not actually on my list of films I wanted to see, but that is because I consider the first film a classic story that should not be messed with. And being completely honest with myself, I know that if a director wants to remake a film, then they usually also want to change something in the plot. I do not think I have ever seen a film that was remade and simply just updated, new actors and maybe better actors, new technology to make the background, and perfection of an already outstanding script. Nope, they never want to do that because why did you make a whole new film then.

Still, my friends decided it was time to see a movie and they persuaded me to go and watch this film last night. I will say that I am happy I did go and see it with them (I love seeing movies with my friends), but with that in mind I will also say that the original movie is still better. And do not worry, I'll explain why I think the original is better in this as well, because that was the crux of my decision. Anyway, here is my review of the movie Total Recall (2012).

Total Recall [2012]

So for those that do not know, which seems to be a lot of folks in the younger generation, this is actually a remake of a movie by the same name, Total Recall (1990). That's right, a movie made just twenty-two years ago they have decided to remake with better graphics and a script that they think will hit home with the new generation. Except, to anyone that has seen the old movie this one is not even in the same playing field, let alone should carry the same name.