Have you heard of Angry Birds?  I never did until I got an iPod Touch
last week and downloaded the Lite version.  I was instantly hooked and didn’t even wait to finish all the levels before I purchased the paid version, for 99¢.  This 99¢ has bought me hours of mindless enjoyment.  More hours than I should have been spending on a game, believe me.  But once you start playing, it’s hard to stop.

The premise of the game is very simple.  You control a crew of pretty mad birds. They are pissed at the evil green pigs who have stolen their eggs.  Your weapon? A slingshot. When I first started playing, I thought, “This is dumb….the entire game you are just slinging birds at pigs?” Well, it turns out, yes that’s all you do, but it really is so much more than that.  There are 5 different birds (although some have said 6, I haven’t gotten that far), that all have different “abilities”, and there are obstacles between the birds and the pigs that get harder and harder throughout the game.  It turns out there really is strategy involved in slinging birds at pigs.  It’s kind of hard to explain, but you can watch this video, which shows some gameplay:

I haven’t been addicted to a game like this since Super Mario Bros. 3 on Nintendo.  I’ve tried to limit my gameplay time to a half hour a day.  It is so easy to lose time while playing it!  I had a minute to write this post because I ran out of batteries playing the game and needed a recharge…oh, wait…it’s charged.  Gotta go sling some birds!

I just got home from Larger Than Life in 3D featuring Dave Matthews Band.  Since it was announced, I have been anxiously awaiting the opening of the movie, which will only be out until December 17th.  It is playing in 500 theaters across the country, so I thought for sure it would be crowded.  Since it was opening night, I purchased my ticket in advance and met some friends at the theater.  I cracked up when I walked in, 5 minutes before the movie started and there were about 10 people in a HUGE theater.

Gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello performed first at All Points West Music & Arts Festival in New Jersey.  I had never heard of them, but they were quite entertaining.  Next up were Ben Harper and Relentless7 with a performance at the Mile High Music Festival in Denver.   I was a huge Ben Harper fan when Welcome to the Cruel World first came out.  I haven’t listened to the new band’s music, and hoped to hear “Burn One Down” or “Forever”, but what they played was still great.

Dave Matthews Band, filmed at the 2009 Austin City Limits Music Festival in Texas were next.  I was a little disappointed in that there was no backstage footage as there was with Ben Harper.  Granted, it was only 30 seconds, but I would have enjoyed watching Dave put headphones in his ears more than Ben.  DMB played the following setlist:

You Might Die Trying
Funny The Way It Is
Seven
So Damn Lucky
Shake Me Like a Monkey
Why I Am
Burning Down the House
So Much To Say
Ants Marching

While the movie was great, I wish the people in the theater were a little more into it.   I think part of the fun at a DMB show is the energy of the crowd, and the audience at the AMC Stony Brook theater was lacking enthusiasm.  That didn’t stop my friends and I from clapping and singing along with every song. Nothing will ever beat seeing DMB live, but if you are a die-hard Dave Matthews fan, like myself,  it is a must-see.  And don’t forget…you only have till next Thursday to see it.  According to InConcert3D, it will never be released on DVD or on TV.

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I came across the Twitter account @DoLifeNow recently.  Do Life is a grass roots organization, introducing the positive and hope-filled DO LIFE symbol for ALL to live life to the fullest or lift the spirit of those fighting ANY disease.  Here is the background of the movement from their website:

Due to a personal tragedy of losing Mom to pancreatic cancer I set out to create a symbol for all awareness causes. As a result I designed and trademarked the powerful and hopeful “Life” symbol since the “living of life” should be the real and true meaning of ALL awareness campaigns and causes. The power of the Life™ symbol is that it redirects the attention from a negative (cancer, leukemia, AIDS) to one of hope in reminding us to “DoLife Now!”.

All major cancer-related organizations are vying to bring attention to “their” cause but none celebrate the fact that we are in Life™ and sick-or-not we need to cherish every day to the fullest. We all know that pink stands for breast cancer and gold is for pediatric cancer, but we should celebrate the fact that todays 5 year blood cancer survival rate for children is 94% vs. 4% in 1962!

We only put our Life™ symbol on the best quality products available. We offer caps and KeepKool Bandannas, products that are usually associated with ‘awareness events’. The caps are excellent quality and show off the Life™ symbol in 3-D embroidery on the front panel plus on some models the “Life” and “DoLIfe” logos are embroidered on the bill, back panel and/or closure strap. The caps are made overseas with American raw cotton. The Keep-Cool bandanas are also made with the same high quality fabrics plus I personally ship the gel crystals from a chemical factory in Ohio (no more ‘sticky’ feeling as with most hydrating bandanas). Other high quality awareness-relevant products will be added to the line soon.

Every awareness campaign, whether it be for breast cancer, pediatric cancer or AIDS, can greatly benefit from the positive impact that the Life™ symbol has on all who are exposed to it. Show your support for any one of the many causes with the new Life™

After everything I have gone through, one thing I can certainly celebrate is life.  I am still here, still kicking.  Although in pain sometimes, it certainly could be worse.  I think Do Life is a great message to promote, especially since pretty much EVERYONE can relate to it. They have a great range of merchandise available on their site! Make sure to check them out.

When I was first asked to review the Panasonic 360° Quick Steam/Dry Iron, I hesitated.  Although I do own an iron and ironing board, I have not actually used them in at least 2 years. Conveniently, the weather just got chilly and I started using my duvet again.  After 4 months in the closet after being washed, the duvet cover was pretty wrinkled.  So, I waited for my iron to arrive.  And alas, a few days later, there it was.  My landlord (knowing I don’t iron) gave me a funny look when she handed me the package.

As soon as I saw the box, I was intrigued.  It said it irons 25% faster.  This was one of my gripes about ironing, so perhaps I would like this. This morning, I took out the board and the duvet and opened the box.  This was unlike any iron I had ever seen.  Normally, irons are triangular. This kind of looked like a football, with a much larger surface area.   I figured it would take me at least a half hour to iron a Queen size duvet cover.  It only took 10 minutes.  I can’t imagine how quick shirts will be.  Since I was short on time, all I ironed was the duvet cover today, but I will certainly be using this iron more often than my last one. *Side note: I did burn my thumb when I first started ironing, but I do not blame the iron for this, it was more user error due to my lack of ironing experience.

From the Panasonic website, this iron sells for $49.99. Here are some other features on the iron:

• The Panasonic 360° Quick enables up to 25% faster ironing.
• The edge of the oversized soleplate can always be seen from above, making it easier to iron collars, cuffs, and around buttons.
• Unlike conventional irons, the 360° Quick has steam holes around the entire soleplate, allowing more steam over a wider area, to get out wrinkles faster. Use the jet of steam button for extra power when ironing, or use it vertically as a steamer.
• Precise temperature control for all fabrics
• Anti-drip to protect delicate fabrics
• Anti-calcium to prevent buildup that can clog steam holes
• Three-way auto-shutoff for safety (Panasonic invented this feature and now it is standard) if no motion is detected for one minute if iron is on its side or on the hot soleplate and for ten minutes if on its legs.

I actually look forward to my next ironing adventure! Highly recommended.

I’ve seen the new Cirque du Soleil Banana Shpeel show advertised around the web and must admit, I am intrigued. Just the name made me laugh.  Although I’ve never seen a Cirque du Soleil show live, I have seen them on television.  Even on TV they are absolutely amazing, so I can only imagine what it would be like to see it in person.  According to the website, this show is unlike anything you’ve ever seen:

“Banana Shpeel is a roller-coaster mix of styles that blends comedy with tap, hip hop, eccentric dance and slapstick, all linked by a hilarious narrative that ignites a succession of wacky adventures. This is not circus, or a musical or a variety show, or even vaudeville. It is Banana Shpeel!

Propelled by crazy humor and intense choreography, Banana Shpeel plunges us into the world of Shmelky, a cruel and irritable producer who dangles fame and fortune in front of Emmett, an innocent and romantic actor who has come to audition for him. Emmett soon finds himself trapped in a flamboyant, anarchic world where Shmelky sows terror and reigns supreme. Emmett falls in love with the beautiful Katie and meets a bunch of absurd characters, including the strange Banana Man. But who is this mysterious Banana Man and how can Emmett escape the clutches of Shmelky and his henchmen?”

With a name like Shmelky, that character MUST be interesting! And I wonder what’s up with Banana Man? No matter what happens, I bet it will be quite entertaining.  Even the video below about the making of the show’s poster is exhilariating!

Banana Shpeel is opening in Chicago on November 19,2009 (in time for a great Holiday gift for those in Chicago) and in New York February 4, 2010.  It’s not often that I see a “show” (other than a DMB concert), but this is one I would love to see (hint hint to whoever wants to take me!)  Make sure to visit Banana Shpeel to learn more about the Cirque du Soleil Banana Shpeel show!

I recently came across a new social networking site called Knoyce. The word Knoyce is based on the word nice, but it implies that something is “better than just nice”. And that it is.  Knoyce is a combination of all the great things on all sorts of social media sites.

On Knoyce you can:

• Create a customized background.  Choose from over 120 different themes and then customize all the colors
• Create a blog
• Update your status
• Upload music to put on your profile
• Search people by location, school, job
• Join groups to meet others with similar interests (I made one for Twitter and Facebook)
• Play with the hundreds of applications and thrid-party widgets that are available for free
• Access your profiles on Facebook, Myspace, Friendster, FriendFeed, StumbleUpon, Digg and more right from the Knoyce page.  (The only site they have not added yet is Twitter, but that’s what TweetDeck is for)
• Group chat and private chat

A lot of these features are available on different social media sites, but none of them are available on one site except for Knoyce.  You can check out my profile at http://www.knoyce.com/profile/BeckyKopprasch.

The only problem with Knoyce is its lack of members. At the time of this blog post, Knoyce only has 1,169 members. Get in at the beginning…it’s really a great social networking site!  Make a profile today: http://www.knoyce.com

You’ve all seen the commercials.  They will send you an envelope for you to send back your gold jewelry and you will get a check back for them!  Sounds too good to be true. And according to reports, it is! First of all, why would anyone send expensive jewelry via UPS with insurance of only $500?  As much as I enjoy shopping and connecting with companies online, this is one thing I would rather go to a jeweler in person for.

Since I thought this company was a scam, I recently went to a jeweler with my old gold jewelry and was told that it isn’t gold, since it wasn’t marked. Apparently, she isn’t too swift a jeweler.  I knew for a fact that every piece was gold, and told her so.  She shook her head and said, “I don’t know who told you that, but they were mistaken”.  I put the ziplock bag of jewelry in my purse and left.  I called my Mom, who purchased some of the jewelry for me.  She said, “of course it’s gold!” I have been pretty busy lately and have not had the chance to go to someone else, but perhaps when I’m in need of some quick cash, I will try again.  However, I will certainly not be mailing it off to a company in hopes of getting a few bucks back.

Have any of you used this service? What are your thoughts?

I know this is Wordless Wednesday and all, but I needed to get this off my chest.  I have had MetLife Dental for over a year now.  I pay approximately $20/month through COBRA for coverage.  Since I signed up last June, I have only used a dental service three times.

The first time I went to the dentist through MetLife was August 16, 2008. I remember the date because this was the day AFTER i was prescribed Coumadin for my stroke and a few weeks before I found out I was pregnant.  I told the hematologist that I had a dentist appointment the next day and he said not to start taking it until after my appointment, as I might bleed more.  The next day, I went for a check-up and to speak to them about my impacted bottom wisdom teeth.  They do a cleaning and give me a referral to an oral surgeon to remove the wisdom teeth.  Since they didn’t hurt at the time, I put the card in my wallet.

Fast forward almost one year later.  A lot of crap has happened in my life and the oral surgeon had been put on hold. It is July 28, 2009 and my mouth is KILLING me.  It’s my wisdom tooth, back to haunt me.  I know that I must speak to a dentist first before I do anything, so I make an appointment with my childhood dentist’s office conveniently located down the street from my apartment now.  They take an X-Ray of my mouth and literally 5 minutes later I am back in my car with a referral and a copy of the X-Ray.  I figured they would at least do a cleaning or something, but I am just in too much pain to care.  I am able to get an appointment first thing in the morning the next day for the oral surgeon.  When I go, the surgeon decides to only remove one tooth.  I pay a $50 deductible and an additional $50 for services. I am told that the rest will be covered by the insurance company.

Yesterday, I receive a bill from the Oral Surgeon’s office.  I owe $105 to them because MetLife only payed a partial amount.  So, today, I called MetLife to find out why it says “denied” on some of the line items of the bill.  I get a younger male, chipper, way too happy customer service rep.  The conversation went something like this:

METLIFE CSR: “Well, let’s see here…the consultation fee was denied because you only get one consultation every 6 months and you just had one, oh wow…the day prior.”

ME: “I went the day prior to my dentist who then referred me to an oral surgeon.”

METLIFE CSR: “It doesn’t matter, ma’am, it is still a consultation and you only get one every six months.”

ME: “But you require me to get a referral before seeing a specialist. Do you expect a surgeon to complete surgery without looking at my mouth?”

METLIFE CSR: “It doesn’t matter, ma’am, this is all your insurance covers.”

ME: “I am really baffled by this.  Had I waited 6 months, the referral would have exprired! It was an emergency! Do you have a supervisor?”

METLIFE CSR: “Well you can speak to my supervisor, but that isn’t going to change what is covered by your insurance, ma’am.”

ME: “Just get the supervisor, please.”

METLIFE CSR: “Hold please.”

(3 minutes on hold…getting more pissed off every minute.)

METLIFE CSR: “Ma’am? All of my supervisors are busy, can I have them give you a call back within 24-48 hours?”

ME: *sigh* “That’s fine.”

I won’t be holding my breath.  They also denied the panoramic X-Ray charge because they only cover one every 5 years and the dentist I went to in 2008 had done one. I still need to get my other bottom wisdom tooth removed…I wonder what they’ll charge me for that one?  Thanks for nothing, MetLife.

I had decided last week that I wanted to do something different with my hair. I hadn’t colored it in about 2 years and I needed a cut. Being the frugal one I have become lately, I went to Lemon Tree instead of going to a salon that would charge more than I could afford. Instead of looking up locations, I figured there had to be one on my way home one night and as soon as I started looking, there it was.  I walked in and looked for a pricing sign and saw none.  The receptionist who was also the manager asked what they could do for me.

ME: “I need a color and a cut, but before you start anything can you tell me the price? I want to make sure I have enough.”

MANAGER: “Sure, that will be $45″.

ME: “OK, that’s good, let’s do it.”

She proceeded to show me all the colors and when I picked one (Light Golden Brown, for all those that like all the details), she told me to have a seat.  5 minutes later, she comes out with the bowl of hair color.  Then, this:

MANAGER: “Just a clarification, the $45 is just for the color, it will be an additional $30 for the cut.”

ME: (Nearly falling out of my chair) “I don’t have $75! Forget the color, I will just get the cut.”

MANAGER: (in a raised voice), “No, you WILL do the color, I already mixed it!”

ME:  “No I won’t, unless you don’t want to get paid for it! I can’t afford that much!”

MANAGER: “Well how much CAN you afford? I can’t just throw this out!”

ME: “I can afford $40 but was stretching it to afford $45, which is what you quoted me!”

By this time, everyone in the place has stopped what they were doing and was turned around watching the altercation.  I am about 2 seconds from leaving and have already stood up and grabbed my bag.  In an effort not to waste the already mixed color she tells me she will do the color for $35 which is the price for a touchup and the cut for $18.  She made sure to tell me that this is less than a senior citizen price and I should feel very lucky that I got it.  LUCKY? That I got overcharged and my hair doesn’t even look that good? Well, she certainly didn’t get a tip.  That’s how lucky she was. They tried to get me to try the eyebrow threading too, but I wasn’t letting them near my eyebrows after that debacle!  Maybe had she honored the price she quoted me, in front of at least 5 people, I would be going back there again.  Instead, I write this blog for many to read…that’ll teach Lemon Tree.  Bastards.

I found this new blog, no wait, QLOG (99% Queries and Quintessentials & 1% Quibblings) by Amy Africa at http://www.amyafrica.com. QLOG is pronounced CLOG, and besides my love of the shoe years ago (they were comfy!), I wish I had thought of this idea myself, but I’m not surprised that someone like Amy beat me to it.  Her depth of knowledge, backed by intensive field testing and web user studies, has earned her the reputation of a voice to be heard on Internet topics ranging from site improvement, traffic building and SEO to analytics and email marketing for over 10 years.

Now, enough about Amy.  Let’s talk QLOG. The site design is great!  It’s fresh, catches your eye and never leaves you bored.  I found so many interesting articles in just a few minutes on the site.  Amy’s sense of humor makes you want to read more.  You never know what she is going to say, a girl after my own heart.  For example, check out her post Puttin’ Spanx on a Sidewinder! I love that she teaches you a lesson in online marketing while also keeping you entertained from beginning to end.  I also love the question and answer posts like Carrie Stiller Says: “Are You Smoking Crack”. There is an “Ask Amy” tab so you can send her a quick question and she will answer it, with intelligence AND humor.

The QLOG is very new, so there aren’t a ton of posts yet.  Amy says to stay tuned for posts about everything from analytics, conversion, creative, and email marketing,to navigation, SEO/SEM, shopping carts, and other topics of interest. There will also be guest posters on various topics so users can hear from other experts in the field.  Make sure to check out Amy’s QLOG at amyafrica.com. Keep the QLOG posts coming, Amy!