October 2013 – Page 2 – Concert Katie

Book Review: Rainbow Panda and the Firecracker Fiasco

Katie October 27, 2013 0 Comments

Rainbow Panda really, really wants to light firecrackers for the Chinese New Year, even though everyone is telling him that it is a bad idea. He tries to enlist the help of some hamsters, after Black Panda tells him that he shouldn’t play with matches or light the fire crackers. The hamsters tell him the same thing, but he knows if he throws the firecrackers at the dragon, the dragon will bring everyone good luck for the year. Except even the Dragon tells him not to do it, because his mom might get mad.

Rainbow Panda thinks that he is an expert and tries to light the matches anyway. He isn’t very good at it but finally gets one to light. They are having fun with the firecracker until smoke starts to rise. The other animals come to try and help to put the fire out. Rainbow Panda realizes that he shouldn’t have tried to be a hero and apologizes. Black Panda is happy that no one was hurt, but reminds Rainbow Panda of the danger he put himself in.

Rainbow Panda and friends make food for everyone for the New Year and to apologize.

This is a cute book about not playing with fire. It teaches a great lesson.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

Today most of the pandas are preparing for the New Year’s celebration. They are sweeping and cleaning, planting flowers and writing wishes on ribbons. But Rainbow Panda really wants to be a hero and has an explosive plan. Can Rainbow Panda convince others to join him? Will he become a hero or just get everyone in a lot of trouble? Rainbow Panda and the Firecracker Fiasco is the 6th book in the award-winning cross-cultural series Fujimini Adventure Series that invite readers to explore Fujimini Island with a cast of memorable characters who embark on unexpected and hilarious adventures.

Concert The Wanted

The Wanted at Foxwoods

Katie October 26, 2013 0 Comments

Friday night The Wanted brought their fall tour to Foxwoods. Getting tickets to this one was a lot of fun. And I’m being sarcastic, kind of. First, there was a presale. While Foxwoods emails me passwords for every OTHER presale they do at this venue, for some reason I never got one for The Wanted. Then rather than tweet the password out to EVERYONE, they replied to only a few girls tweets and by the time I found that – all the decent seats were gone. There were only a handful in the lower orchestra to begin with. Then the public sale was when I was in PA for Mixtape Festival so Maribeth got recruited to help me and once again – NOTHING in the orchestra. I ended up going to Foxwoods website (they sell tickets themselves AND sell them through ticketmaster – it’s crazy) and was able to find a seat in the orchestra on the side but on the aisle closest to the center. I figured if someone better came up I’d sell it and buy another one – and then dummy me had it put at Will Call instead of print at home. (It’s the scrapbooker in me)

A couple of weeks later my friends gave me a heads up that there was 5th row on ticketmaster now and while I was debating buying a second ticket, 4th row popped up so I snagged it. Then I had to take a trip to Foxwoods to pick up the Will Call ticket after selling it on StubHub. (Whew. At least I wasn’t stuck with it.) I also ended up winning 2 tix but no one wanted them sooo… I am thinking a ticket scrapbook header is in my future. Ive never wanted to cut up my own tickets before but since these are extra…

All that effort absolutely ended up being worth it because I was the closest I had ever been at the venue! We were off to the side, but the guys are really good about going to the far ends so it was perfect.

Midnight Red opened up the night after their tour with Austin Mahone got canceled. They did I think 4 original songs and a few covers which included Rihanna’s Diamond, Bruno Mars Treasure and an acapella version of Boyz II Men. AND they dance. They are no NSYNC, but a dancing boyband has been missing from my life. I think the girls were really into them too – that or they were being murdered – based on the screams.

Then it was time for The Wanted! Their band took the stage and played the intro music and one by one they appeared on the stage for All Time Low. The shows was pretty much constant high energy and I didn’t sit down once – which is probably why today I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus. (Totally worth it though) Nath was completely cracking me up the whole time when he was over by our side, kind of having miming conversations with the crowd while he wasn’t singing. He’s adorable.

For Heart Vacancy each guy gets a girl up on stage with him… well, usually. Except last night Jay had a large and tattooed man that would absolutely HILARIOUS. (He didn’t get to pick for himself) We met him after the show and he said that he was a friend of the drummers and when Jay hugged him he said “Please don’t kill me” and then he told him that he was Tucker’s friend and he was glad about that. We were also told Jay smelled wonderful. haha. It was seriously the best heart vacancy… person, probably ever.

They did a new song that Max wrote called Could This Be Love (although the setlist says Could This Me Love?), their Killers medley was back that they did in August… Warzone that they did not due in August was in the setlist again…

And the encore was We Own The Night and Glad You Came – where they allowed the first 5 rows to run up front but no one else which was kind of nice. Although I didn’t go up there, which was kind of neat because then I was kind of the only one left and got lots of eye contact!

After the show they had a stack of setlists to give out, and I ended up with one from one of the security guards pockets, I think, because it’s all folded up. We couldn’t find any spot where they might be doing pics or autographs (there’s really no spots at these casinos and it stinks because the venues are nice!) even though we did a few laps of the casino and stopped at the pay with mobile slots section before retreating to the low stakes poker tables. Oh well, I have VIP for April 🙂

Uncategorized

Product Review: Shoulder Buddies

Katie October 26, 2013 0 Comments

Shoulder Buddies are adorable, wearable characters that come with “Smart Cards” that share valuable life lessons. Kids loves to collect and wear their shoulder buddies, while learning about the great messages that come with them!

Each Shoulder Buddy figuring is approximately 4 inches high with fuzzy fluffle hair and 1.5 inches wide. Contains inaccessible magnets. The Magical Coin is a covered metallic coin that attracts to the magnet. Ages 4 and Up.

I received Tempo (Music Smarts) who is part of the Smarts Series. How appropriate for me, right?

The Shoulder Buddy Smarts comes from a magical wishing star, and inside that star is the land of Understand. Shoulder Buddies go to to “School of Smarts” so they can earn their fluffles on top of their head to fly. Once they have learned their “Smarts” they fly down from the Land of Understand and look for a Buddy to journey with and share their “Smarts”.

To wear, put included magic coin on the inside of your shirt and your Shoulder Buddy on the outside, on top of the coin.

Includes: Magic Coin, Shoulder Buddy.

Find out more at: http://www.shoulderbuddies.com/

Shoulder Buddies can be a great way to fund raise! Kids love to collect them, Parents & Teachers love their messages! Use them for Open House Fundraisers, Fall Fundraisers, Holiday Gift Shops, Valentine’s Day Pre-sales, Spring/Earth Day Fundraisers, School Carnival, Basket Raffles, Graduate Fundraisers, Special Club Fundraisers and more!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Travel

Vegas Trip: Hard Rock / Coke Store / M&Ms Store

Katie October 25, 2013 0 Comments

Near MGM there is a strip with a Hard Rock Café, Coca Cola store and M&Ms World store. Of course we had to hit up the Hard Rock to get a le mur to add to my collection (Only need 1 more to complete the band, we’ll see what city I end up getting it in!) Since we were close and the other shops looked cool we stopped in. The coke store had a ton of stuff made out of recycled bottles and labels and soda can tabs and they had a medallion machine as well so I got myself one with a polar bear on it. The M&M store had anything and everything you could think of branded with M&Ms and the Yellow M&M was even meeting and greeting outside of the store!

Book Review

Book Review: How to Cheat in Adobe Flash CS6

Katie October 25, 2013 0 Comments

Recently I have been taking some classes to try and teach myself how to learn Flash. I learned a little bit in college, but since that was 5+ years ago, a lot of the programs have advanced since then and I don’t really remember much of what we did either since I have not really been consistently using the program since. As I work to finish up my final assignment in the online course I am taking, I saw that How to Cheat in Adobe Flash CS6 was available to review so I figured I would check it out on top of what I was already working on to see if maybe I could learn some new techniques. (The *real* test will be if I create anything on my own to actually be put in place on any of my websites!)

The book assumes that you have some basic knowledge of how the program works so if you have never used it before, you might be better off reading a beginning book before checking this book out just to make sure that you know what you are doing before trying to dive in to the rest of the info in this book.

I liked that everything is step by step and breaks down how to draw things more so than just saying “here’s what you need to draw, figure it out” like some other tutorials I have checked out have done. (That leaves me going “uhh?” while this book has me going “oh! ok!”)

It starts with more basic techniques and then moves on to harder ones as the book progresses (I need major work on the stuff further in the book! but I am willing to learn!)

This book is a great reference and although I have received a free e-copy, it does have an expiration date so I am considering purchasing a copy of it just so that I can have it on hand if/when I decide to continue on with my Flash projects in the future. It’s about $18 on amazon which is not bad for something that will be quite useful!

I received a free e-copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley to read in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compenated.

About the Book

Whether you are creating an animated short, catchy and fun cartoon or mobile game, save time and money with expert cheats by renowned Flash Expert, Chris Georgenes with all new content for the Flash CS6 revision. With practical applications and step by step tutorials solve problems quickly to develop creative projects to time and to budget. Many of these walkthroughs are real-world client projects, with the source files supplied for you to open and explore. With these real-life professional projects you’ll discover how to: bring objects to life with cool motion effects, make it rain, snow or set your world ablaze, develop flash mobile applications and many more tips and tricks not found anywhere else!

With his in-depth knowledge of the little-known secrets used by the pros to produce creative, professional animations, Chris is the go-to guru for designers and animators who want to create great animation, applications or motion design with Flash. Fully updated for CS6, How to Cheat in Flash CS6, is a goldmine of artistic inspiration, timesaving practical tips, tricks and step-by-step walkthroughs that you’ll wonder how you survived without it. New! CS6 cheats and examples with practical solutions for the busy animator with a focus on Action Script, Flash for mobile applications, specifically for Android development, as well as a focus on an improved physics engine. Put the Adobe Flash CS6 cheats to the test with the fully updated companion website with downloadable Flash source files, examples and video tutorials, and a creative commons game, developed with Adobe, to demonstrate the new functionality of CS6!

Book Review

Book Review: Writing Fight Scenes

Katie October 24, 2013 1 Comments

Every year I consider writing a novel for NaNoWriMo. Some years I throw something together without a plan, some years I plan things out and I think only once have I ever actually *finished* a book – though a couple of years I have reached the goal. This year, I thought maybe I’d do some research before I write anything (if I write anything this year, I’m still not decided) and so I decided to check out Writing Fight Scenes – just in case.

Rayne Hall wrote this book because struggling with fight scenes – there was nothing out there to help writers. Now there is.

I like that each chapter is broken down with a different type of fight scene – for instance one for entertainment, a gritty scene or blending both. At the end of each chapter, there is a section on “blunders to avoid” which I really liked.

There are also chapters on what sorts of weapons your characters may be using in their fight scene. I’ve never realized there were so many weapons out there. Wow. Also guides on him your fighters are male, female or animal.

I think I am now thoroughly prepared to write a proper fight scene – should the opportunity arise.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

About the Book

This is a book for people who enjoy writing short stories or novels. and helps them master tricky aspect of their craft. “Writing Fight Scenes” is popular with hobby authors as well as professionals, and has been a bestseller in the writing craft genre for two years.

Please note: This book is not suitable for absolute beginners. You need to have taken a creative writing class, or to have some previous experience in short story writing.

Product Review

Spinach Lover’s Month

Katie October 24, 2013 0 Comments

I often tease that I don’t eat any food that is green – but this is a lie because I love Spinach. So I was really excited when I thought I’d be getting some Spinach to try out and post about here. Unfortunately, the postal service seems to be against me and anything that was sent to my previous address is either taking forever and a day to get forwarded to the new address or is just disappearing into thin air. (There’s a black hole in the north east, it seems!) Should it arrive I will be more than happy to share my thoughts on it – but for now, here is some more information about Spinach…

Spinach is great because it packs a nutritional punch. It has a ton of fiber and protein packed into your diet and used in the right recipe – kids and picky eaters will love it too!

Popeye Spinach is a legendary brand – while it’s nutritional benefits are legendary, Popeye Spinach brings something just as important to the table – convenience. All you need is a can opener to enjoy Popeye’s great taste or to use as a versatile spinach recipe ingredient.

When it comes to vegetables, the fresher the better. That’s why at Freshlike we pack our vegetables within hours of picking to preserve their farm fresh flavor. Whether you’re serving canned vegetables as a side dish or using them as a recipe ingredient trust the brand whose name says it all – Freshlike!

Allens Mobile Widget takes steps toward helping families plan meals efficiently

Siloam Springs, AR – Allens, Inc., a U.S. based vegetable leader, has launched a new, consumer-friendly mobile recipe planning tool geared toward meeting the needs of on-the-go families. New content, search options, recipes and grocery lists all make it easier for consumers to answer the question … What’s for dinner tonight? The widget can be accessed on any iPhone or Android phone by logging onto Allens.com/QRrecipes.

This mobile widget is designed to enhance the shopping experience by acting as a meal-planning companion and grocery list for consumers. By logging onto the mobile site and the widget, consumers can access more than 400 hundred of recipes by brand, and then by what type of meal to be prepared, i.e. chicken, soup, etc.

Once a meal is chosen, the recipe is displayed and can be adjusted to display the look of an interactive grocery list. Each item is placed next to a check off box for after the item has been added to the consumers shopping cart. This new feature allows users to better understand the family of brands’ overall vision of the family dining experience.

“Allens is committed to meeting the needs of all our consumers,” says David Brown, Vice President, Retail Sales and Marketing. “The concept behind this mobile guide helps drive better display of all the recipe options our family of brands has to offer people-on-the-go.”

About Allens Inc.
Allens Inc., a national leader in canned and frozen vegetables since 1926, is family-owned and operated in Siloam Springs, AR. Every Allens vegetable is proudly grown and packed in North America. Allens vegetables are sold nationally and internationally with manufacturing plants throughout the Midwest, Midsouth and Southeast.

Three great recipes to choose from:

Check out Allen’s social media sites:

Allens.com
Facebook.com/AllensVeggies
Twitter.com/AllensVeggies
YouTube.com/AllensVeggies
Pinterest.com/AllensVeggies
Instagram.com/AllensVeggies

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Book Review

Book Review: Jumpstart Your Creativity

Katie October 24, 2013 0 Comments

I don’t know about you, but I always have these periods of time where I feel like I am dragging creatively. I can’t come up with anything I want to do and end up wasting time searching for the world’s dumbest things on the internet instead of being creative in any way. That is why I decided to check out Jumpstart You Creativity, in hopes it would give me that jolt that I need to get going again! The book comes in at just under 100 pages, but it is jam packed with all sorts of ideas to get those creative juices flowing again.

No matter what it is you are trying to get creative with – whether it be a book, working out, getting your office to a state that allows you to be creative (I think this is my current problem), this book will have some things for you to think about.

The appendix is also full of some really great resources with websites, books, videos, blogs, and basically everything ELSE you may ever need to help become creative. There’s even a list of apps that might help!

The end of each chapter has an area for you to fill in, known as “Work It”, you know how I love these interactive pieces in books. And it really gives you some things to think about with what you are trying to create. Maybe now I can get started on that e-book I’ve been meaning to write for the past, oh, 3 years. Wait, what’s that? Videos of Monkeys riding Dogs? Oh… I must see this!

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

Are you creative? Do you want to be more creative in your business and personal life?

Everyone has the ability to be creative.

This fun lighthearted and easy to read book will give you 10 Jolts to reawaken and tap into your innate creativity in order to be more successful at work and in your personal life. In this book, you will learn the tools, techniques and methods for getting and staying creative in a competitive world.

Jumpstart Your Creativity gives you proven specific effective tools and great tips to use, to both generate ideas and evaluate them effectively. Are you ready to tap into your creativity? This book will show you how, and you will be amazed at the results!

Book Review

Book Review: Cake

Katie October 23, 2013 0 Comments

Cake is one of Cosmo’s recent “Red-Hot Reads”. it is about Wren, an artist working as a bike messenger. Her cousin works as the assistant for a hot artist and Wren does the deliveries for him from her cousin. She ends up falling for him and thinks he may be interested too – but he has some baggage in the form of an ex-wife.

The two end up kissing and things heat up from there – but Gregori doesn’t want to make a commitment and tries to push Wren away. He ends up running off to NYC for an art show and Wren’s cousin arranges a flight out there for her too so she can give him an ultimatum. She doesn’t want to be friends with him. Is he willing to put aside his fears and be with someone?

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Dane comes the latest release from Cosmo Red-Hot Reads from Harlequin.

Art student-slash-bike messenger Wren Davis pursues what she wants. And what she wants now is Gregori Ivanov, rock star of the Seattle art scene. With his tattoos, piercings and sensual sneer, Gregori is the ultimate bad boy. Wren’s gotten to know the man beneath the body art, too—and it only makes her crave him more.She won’t be satisfied with just one bite….

But Gregori loves women like he loves cake and champagne—intensely, but only for the moment. And after Wren experiences just how scorching sex with Gregori is, she’s determined to show him that just one taste won’t be enough…

Travel

Vegas Trip: Television City Focus Group

Katie October 23, 2013 0 Comments

We had our Focus Group the next day back at Television City. There were 10 or 11 of us, all females, taken in to a room to discuss the show we had watched. We were asked to say what we thought was working or wasn’t working, who our favorite characters were (I guess I was in the minority with my pick!) and if we would watch again and why or why not and all that kind of stuff about the show! It was just about an hours worth of chatting and discussing and we made $50! Certainly worth checking out if you are in the area. (Although I am not sure locals can be paid to watch the shows – out of towners are!)