Netflix finds: But I’m a Cheerleader

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

But I’m a Cheerleader is a 1999 satire about a high school cheerleader who is sent to a “gay to straight” camp by her parents. The problem? She was straight, or so she thought. (Of course sending someone to such a camp is a problem in the first place and the film works to poke fun at such ‘gay to straight’ and anit-gay thinking).

I discovered the film on Netflix last night and it was absolutely amazing! It sort of reminded me of Empire Records for some reason, but the characters in this film are absolutely amazing and the way they interact with and learn about each other is just heartwarming. The movie made my smile throughout and left me with a good feeling.

One of the most amazing things about this film is the song “Glass Vase, Cello Case”. This song gave me goosebumps when I first heard it and it still does as I listen to it over and over again. It’s very powerful and the moments in the film in which it plays are just as powerful and moving.

I highly recommend adding this film to your Netflix queue, it’s well worth the watch.

Why an always connected Xbox wouldn’t be that bad

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

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A lot of people think the idea of an always connected console is a bad thing. They’re worried about DRM, being able to play offline and who knows what else. But in reality aren’t most devices ‘always on’ these days? Do you ever turn your computer off? I don’t. Do you ever turn your tablet or phone off? I doubt it. And these devices are most likely always connected to the internet as well (at least in the home).

An always online Xbox is a huge step forward. An Xbox not connected to the internet / Xbox Live is a very limited and nearly useless machine. The Xbox Live experience makes gaming a much better experience.

What I want from the next Xbox is live tiles.

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If there’s one thing I LOVE about Windows 8, it’s live tiles. It’s a really cool concept for a homescreen. You can see your e-mails, Twitter and Facebook feeds at a glance. You have the weather forecast, sports scores and news headlines constantly scrolling on your start screen.

Imagine the next Xbox, always on. Just leave your TV on and you can see all this information in front of you or in the background. Imagine it having the snap screen feature, where you can open an app and snap it next to another app…..Watch TV on one side and play Call of Duty on the other side during commercials (simply ‘click’ the screen to bring it full screen).

The ESPN and MLB.tv apps already offer a glimpse of this. The ESPN app will show videos in the upper left corner which you can bring full screen or search through more highlights, news or live feeds using the rest of the screen. MLB.tv functions very similarly with the latest update.

This is exactly what Microsoft wants the next Xbox to be, an always on, always connected media device feeding you news (and advertisements of course) throughout the day. It’s not a bad thing. It’s a convenient thing.

I barely turn my Xbox off now, but the current homescreen is rather boring. A Windows 8 style live tile interface would be much more useful.

How to create a picture slideshow in iMovie

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

Tonight I found myself wanting to take a series of pictures and edit them together into a video with music in the background. Seems easy enough, right? Well I’m no iMovie expert and it took a bit to figure it out, so I figured I’d share the process with you in case you happen to be having the same problem.

First of all you’ll want to create a new project.Screen Shot 2013-04-02 at 1.36.48 AM

I assumed I’d be able to find my pictures in the event library on the left side, however they were nowhere to be found. So I clicked import and thought I’d be able to get pictures into my library that way, however this method only allows you to add video files.

The easiest way to get pictures into your project is to open iPhoto and select all of the pictures you want. Next you’ll want to drag them over to iMovie and drop them right onto the project (the top left area where the timeline is). If you try to drop them anywhere else you’ll get a message saying you can drop them directly onto the timeline.

That’s basically it. You can edit the rest as you please and finalize your project to get a completed slideshow. I’ll post my final project below as an example once it finishes processing.

I hope I was able to help.

Darksiders

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

I’ve had Darksiders in my Steam library for awhile now (as part of the THQ bundle) but never played it. So tonight I plugged in an Xbox 360 controller, booted it up and played for a few minutes. Having recently rented and played DmC: Devil May Cry, I have to say it feels very, very familiar. You get thrown into a space with a bunch of enemies, the exit blocks off with a magic forcefield, you use a combination of light and heavy attacks and combos to fight off the enemies thus opening the forcefield and allowing you to progress.

There are plenty of combos and a combo counter will flash on the side of the screen as you hack your way through enemies. This type of gameplay just isn’t for me. It’s okay, but not something I want to do for an entire game. I’m also not really into the whole platformer thing either…The climbing and jumping and fighting and climbing and jumping….

The game looks cool though… I might play it a bit here and there in the future, but I can’t see myself getting too involved.

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“Oregon Trail”

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

This weekend my girlfriend and I got bored so we got in our car and started driving around. Ended up on the Main Oregon Trail Back Country Byway outside of Mountain Home and it was a fun drive. Though it was a little rough on my Nissan Versa…I really need an off road car for around here.

 

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Mountain Dew KickStart Fruit Punch

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

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I tried one of the new Mountain Dew breakfast drinks today and it’s pretty good. It tastes a lot like a mixture of fruit punch and ginger ale or sprite and it goes down very easily. The only problem I have with it is that there’s only 92mg of caffeine in the 16oz can, compared to the 240mg in a 16oz can of Rockstar Punched (my go to energy drink).

It seems like the Mountain Dew Kickstart drink might be easier on the stomach than a full on energy drink after a night of drinking, but I can’t see this being a go to energy drink for anyone but those very sensitive to caffeine. It just doesn’t have much kick at all, despite the name.

In the end it tastes good, so maybe it’d be a fine alternative to ‘regular’ Mountain Dew during a gaming session, but I wouldn’t reach for it in the morning.

The new SiriusXM web player

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

I listen to SiriusXM often in the car, but just as often on my computer or phone while I’m working out, cleaning or reading. The other day I was surprised to find a new and improved SiriusXM internet player. You can still listen in on the live broadcasts on the hundreds of channels available, but now there’s a new feature called MySXM.

As you can see below the MySXM logo appears next to the player and you can click on it to switch between your personalized MySXM channel and the live channel.

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MySXM will let you adjust the types of songs a channel plays, giving you an experience somewhat similar to Pandora or Spotify. For example Alt Nation lets me choose whether I’d prefer more familiar songs or newer songs. Guitar based songs or more electronic based songs, and lastly newer or veteran artists. It’s an interesting addition to a great music service.

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