Archive for November 2008

• 25 Wall Textures Pack for Photoshop licensed under Creative Commons. Smooth! (pun intended) [Link: Graphic Identity]
• Web Designer Wall
• List of Free Press Release Sites

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• How to Make Candles in the Crockpot: Go figure. Just threw out a few candles that were no longer burning, but still had wax. [Link: Mom2Amara)
• If G-d had a Facebook page…
• Top 10 Best Gadgets of 2008
• Touching Strangers: Richard Renaldi spent the year asking total strangers to touch. Then he took their photos.
• UPS Regifter: Showcase of popular regifted items.
• Coding Horror
• Fix Ya: Tech support manuals and troubleshooting. Not just for gadgets.
• OhGizmo!

Short list. Didn’t use PC much this week due to thumb surgery. Not patient enough for one-handed typing and too goopy to avoid sounding like a drunken writer.

Emma’s soul is free. But her ghost has delivered a dire warning: evil still lurks in Ravenhearst Manor. Big Fish Games Studios takes you deep inside the cursed estate in Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst, the thrilling sequel.

Experience Ravenhearst’s spectral halls as never before with new immersive adventure-style gameplay and an epic original soundtrack. Feel the floorboards creak as you move from room to room solving puzzles and seeking out clues in over 150 detailed scenes.

Save 50% on the game using coupon code RAVEN50. This promotion is valid from 11/27-12/27 ONLY. Go try Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst first to see if you like it.

Photo credit tsevis

Here is the article in its entirety as I’m running around trying to get stuff done before hand surgery and Thanksgiving. Grammar geeks rejoice. Shouldn’t we be happy he actually speaks English?

Obama’s Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy: Stunning Break with Last Eight Years by Andy Borowitz

In the first two weeks since the election, President-elect Barack Obama has broken with a tradition established over the past eight years through his controversial use of complete sentences, political observers say.

Millions of Americans who watched Mr. Obama’s appearance on CBS’ “Sixty Minutes” on Sunday witnessed the president-elect’s unorthodox verbal tic, which had Mr. Obama employing grammatically correct sentences virtually every time he opened his mouth.

But Mr. Obama’s decision to use complete sentences in his public pronouncements carries with it certain risks, since after the last eight years many Americans may find his odd speaking style jarring.

According to presidential historian Davis Logsdon of the University of Minnesota, some Americans might find it “alienating” to have a President who speaks English as if it were his first language.

“Every time Obama opens his mouth, his subjects and verbs are in agreement,” says Mr. Logsdon. “If he keeps it up, he is running the risk of sounding like an elitist.”

The historian said that if Mr. Obama insists on using complete sentences in his speeches, the public may find itself saying, “Okay, subject, predicate, subject predicate – we get it, stop showing off.”

The President-elect’s stubborn insistence on using complete sentences has already attracted a rebuke from one of his harshest critics, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska.

“Talking with complete sentences there and also too talking in a way that ordinary Americans like Joe the Plumber and Tito the Builder can’t really do there, I think needing to do that isn’t tapping into what Americans are needing also,” she said.

Alice Greenfingers introduces a concept many of us forget about when playing casual games: Taking your time to enjoy the game. Alice can’t die or lose anything. That same concept carries over to Alice Greenfingers 2 without seeing much improvements on the complaints regarding the original.

The game opens with a slow and inefficient tutorial. I don’t notice Uncle Berry, sitting in a rocking chair, is talking to Alice. The location of the uncle and the dialog appearing just doesn’t catch your eye when you’re busy with Alice. That’s probably a good thing as the uncle’s character doesn’t grow on me.

Having played the original, I go for the shovel and the game tells me not to do that. I accidentally pick up dandelions and discover that’s what I am supposed to do. Then Uncle Berry comes to life and gives me instructions to clean the dandelions.

When I finish, I see an apple fall from the tree and pick it up. Once again, the uncle gives me instructions after the fact. I get way ahead of him as I shovel four plant plots. Sounds like I need to boss the guy instead of the other way around.

In fact, I’d like to turn him off and send him inside the house where he won’t bug me instead of wait around for him to leave. Regardless how I feel about Uncle Berry (my real uncles are great folks, thank you), the tutorial needs help.

Usually, you can click the screen or dialog to get more dialog. In this case, an “X” appears in the dialog. My first instinct is that it will close the box and skip the tutorial. It turns out the “X” works like clicking the dialog box to get more dialog. Little things like this add stress to the game as players have to work harder than necessary in areas where they don’t want to do the work.

Alice Greenfingers 2 has no stress-inducing factors unlike the original. A round doesn’t end until you meet the goal whereas before, it ended when the day ended and you keep going until you meet the goal. You also don’t set the prices or worry about watering in the beginning.

The best new feature is the upgrades that appear between levels. These upgrades include more plants, more land, more market space, more popularity with customers and more supplies. Of course, we get new plants like sunflower seeds. Also available for the buying are bees, sheep, and other non-plant related items.

The dandelions and apples are new features to the game as they don’t involve digging and planting. The apples also add $2 in the bank for every picked one. No need to sell them in the market. Occasionally, you’ll do special assignments for Unc.

This game may be too stress-free – not counting the usability problems — is there even such a thing? This game may not qualify as a game, but rather as an electronic dollhouse where you can do whatever you want.

Who wants to garden aimlessly? Garden lovers have goals for their gardens. They don’t plant everything they find and then leave it. They also have to deal with upkeep. Perhaps, having two modes would work well here with a Free Farm mode and Goal mode.

The graphics in Alice Greenfingers didn’t stand out and this one shows no improvement. I know I’m not the only reviewer to complain about the graphics in the original. I do like the graphics on the game’s title page and between levels. Had the game itself had similar graphics, it coulda been sumthin’.

I believe players won’t want to own both games. You might consider playing the demo of both games to see which you prefer. People looking to simply have fun without an ounce of stress or speed will prefer Alice Greenfingers 2‘s slow and untimed pace.

Download Alice Greenfingers 2 from Big Fish Games.

The following games will be discounted next week on Game du Jour, the ‘one-deal-a-day’ website dedicated to indie and casual games:

Mon. November 24th: 60% off on Bipo: Mystery of the Red Panda

Tue. November 25th: 50% off on 3D Xango Tango

Wed. November 26th: 60% off on Project Aftermath

Thu. November 27th: 60% off on Mulver

Fri. November 28th: 50% off on Martians vs. Robots

Sat. November 29th: 50% off on Astro Miner

Sun. November 30th: 50% off on Somersault

• Twitter PR: Fabulous and easy to get presentation without sounding dumbed-down. I’d love to take Corrine Weisgerber’s social media PR class.
• Social media will not kill PR, but it does expose industry weaknesses.
• What’s Your Least Favorite Part of Freelance Writing? Mine: Phone interviews.
• Your First Steps to Becoming a Writer: Mine was submitting an article in a newsletter contest. Today — I suggest blogging and contributing articles to article sites, blogs, and non-profit organizations.
• PR Pap of the Day: Funny, but serious.
• Do You Know Your Style Guides? Some, yes. Some, no. Most familiar with AP and Harvard styles.
• Dumb Things Small Businesses Do That You Can’t Afford: One is the worst number.
• 10 Tips on Querying Magazines and Websites.

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• 911 is serious business, but these callers abuse the service. 911callers posts recordings of legitimate calls and wacky calls as a lesson in what to do and not to when calling 911.
• delivr: Create free ecards from thousands of photos.
• Old-school Nintendo game done in paper.
• Smub.it instead of use URL shortening services.
• Argh! Guess Your Number figures out my number [Thanks, Steve].
• One Sentence: True stories in one sentence. Funny stuff. Steve’s fault, too.
• Guitar Hero by bike. Hot damn! [Link: Jason]
• Top 5 Black Friday Shopping Tips.

Having just read two great articles about book reviewing, it felt appropriate to make this the next, “Hey!” blog entry.

Joanna Young and Joyful Jubilant Learning ask what do you look for in a book review and Lillie Ammann reviews The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing.

Bad Quotes

These quotes tell the story of what not to do in a book review:

Now that this book is here, I can’t imagine not having it. My copy will be worn out before long.

We could easily insert this in almost every book review

A simple (and great) way to show that the choice of being a leader just depend on us.

This is the ENTIRE book review!

I read the book prior to its release. It’s a really interesting and informative read.

We don’t care when you read the book. (Puts on Freud hat) So, tell me why you feel that way?

This book is really badly written.

Tell me why you feel that way? The rest of the review doesn’t back up this statement.

A Book Reviewer’s Template

I agree with Joanna that I like Tim Milburn’s template:

When I read a book review, I want the following:

Ultimately, I read book reviews because I want to make an informed decision about investing in a book or bypassing it. A good review will pique my interest in a book or throw up red flags.

Me, the Book Reviewer

I admit that as a book reviewer, sometimes I feel pressured to produce a “good” review especially when connected with the author or to do a review of a book I don’t want to review. I’ve turned down email requests for book reviews directly from the author or publicists, but some manage to compel me to do it anyway.

When I write reviews, I think of readers first. My words could help them to decide to buy or not to buy. I don’t want to waste their money any more than I don’t want other reviewers wasting mine.

Obviously, I’m not a perfect reviewer as my Amazon reviewer ratings have plenty of “not helpful” votes.

Readers’ tastes and mine won’t be the same. Therefore, I need to give an overview of the book and its style (without rehashing the publisher’s summary), so readers can judge if it meets their tastes. I identify strengths and weaknesses.

An Example

A great example is 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (1,000 Before You Die). Read the reviews and you’ll see comments such as “not enough (genre)” or “how can the author forget (song)?” The better reviews discuss a missing genre and why it needs to be included. One reviewer made an excellent point of how some songs won’t have the impact alone as it’s the reviewer’s experience with another one of a composer’s songs that made a difference to one of the songs listed in the book.

Some reviewers list the table of contents, which is silly because most online book stores provide that. Now, if they provide a summary of the major chapters — that’s a different story. It’ll get boring fast to list every chapter title followed by a brief comment.

Long reviews don’t mean better reviews. I’ve seen one- or two-paragraph reviews blow away eight-paragraph reviews.

Feel free to share your thoughts about good and bad reviews — even if it’s my own.

While playing mahjongg with friends, they started talking about a book that I ordered as soon as I arrived home. On Saturday night, I read half of Stuff Happens (and then you fix it!) that came in my mailbox earlier in the day. Fate may have intervened when all this happened.

The next day, I went to Fort Worth for my dad’s unveiling. He passed away on December 25, 2007. His tombstone displayed his birth date of February 5, 1931 and his death date. Other than the stone saying, “Beloved husband, father and grandfather,” strangers passing by won’t know anything about him.

Stuff Happens discusses the dash that appears between people’s birth date and death date. Everyone comes to Earth and everyone dies. It’s that time between the two dates that make up who we are.

I decided to speak and referenced the book’s mentioning the birth and death dates. Then I told a Cliff’s Notes version of my dad’s life (paraphrased and added notes I forgot):

He was born in Brooklyn and loved the Dodgers, which rubbed off on me even though the Dodgers were long gone from Brooklyn when I arrived. He loved sports and excelled at it that he earned a football scholarship.

He ended up going into the U.S. Air Force instead of college and served during the Korean War. He was stationed at Fort Worth’s Carswell Air Force Base at the end of his four-year service where he met and married my mother in 1955, the year the Dodgers won the world series.

He had three children and four grandchildren, which of course, he bragged about all the time. Dad ran a successful life insurance and financing business for years and still managed it part-time just before his stroke. He also volunteered right up to then especially at Dallas-Fort Worth airport as an ambassador.

Everyone here [at the unveiling] stands as a testament for the kind of person he was. You cared about him and share many memories of him.

My son mentioned that Grandpa could imitate Donald Duck to make many children laugh. My niece talked about him taking us to baseball games. Both said he was a kind and nice guy. Dad had an office full of Donald Duck mementos thanks to his children giving them to him as presents for birthdays, Father’s Days, and others.

If Dad can hear me, then I would tell him to be very proud of his “dash.” He lived a full life in both enjoying his life for himself and doing for others to make the world a better place.

So, do you want to act as a victim of everything that goes wrong with your life (the economy sucks, lost retirement funds, lost job, can’t get a raise) or do you want to fix it and move forward in making your dash more meaningful?

7 Wonders II, the sequel, was the first I’ve played of the 7 Wonders series. While reviewing that one, I checked out 7 Wonders of the World, the original, to see how the sequel measures up. The sequel continues to reign even with the latest 7 Wonders: Treasures of Seven.

Beautiful graphics continue to be the hallmark of the match three series with the latest induction. Players travel to nine countries in 7 Wonders: Treasures of Seven to unlock three rings on an ancient compass. As soon as they unlock all the rings, players take one more journey in search of the Treasures of 7.

Players still work to create matches of three or more. The twist in this one comes in the ability to rotate the entire grid in either direction. First, you must clear the runes to reveal a path. As soon as you clear all the tiles, a “7″ key stone and a key hole show up on the path — one at the start and the other at the end.

The “7″ can’t leave the path as you work to move it toward its destination of the key hole. You can rotate the grid and make matches to guide the “7.” In later levels, a special block appears that can transport the “7.” Sometimes this is a good thing and sometimes not. The good comes in that the transporter brings the “7″ closer to the key hole. The bad is that it can interfere with its progress, but that makes the game more challenging.

It feels like the game as a whole doesn’t challenge enough. The path does get more difficult by locking the key hole with a specific color. You must make a match over the lock with the same color to unlock it before the “7″ can do its job.

Don’t expect many bonuses as the rotating grid provides plenty of help. Shuffle shuffles tiles and you can’t use the feature again until the timer fills back up by making matches. It takes little time. Matches of four provides an ice ball and matches of five gives you a fire ball. Ice balls can destroy tiles across while fire balls can go both directions.

A window containing a match shows up from time to time. When making a match that looks like the one in the window, you get to freeze the timer for a little bit. Dice bonuses also return in this one and become available after receiving a handful of fire and ice ball bonuses. Move the dice to destroy random tiles, which usually work in your favor.

7 Wonders: Treasures of Seven has 50 levels, but it doesn’t take as long as you think it would to complete all of them. While the rotating grid certainly stands out from the previous two, the game doesn’t measure up to 7 Wonders II.

With the low pressure game style, 7 Wonders: Treasures of Seven should make a great game for families and kids.

Download 7 Wonders: Treasures of Seven from Big Fish Games.

The following games will be discounted next week on Game du Jour, the ‘one-deal-a-day’ website dedicated to indie and casual games:

Mon. November 17th: 50% off on All-Time MahJongg

Tue. November 18th: 50% off on Loco Mogul

Wed. November 19th: 50% off on Droid Assault

Thu. November 20th: 50% off on Iceblast

Fri. November 21st: 60% off on The Lost City of Malathedra

Sat. November 22nd: 50% off on Sequence: Sand Castle

Sun. November 23rd: 60% off on Tommy and the Magical Words