Pottermore

Alas, Pottermore is finally open to the public!  After a delay of several months, fans can now experience Harry Potter in an all new way.

Since I am an avid Harry Potter fan, I was inevitably excited for this online experience, but didn't know what to expect.  I signed up, expecting it to be like most websites - pick a user name and so on, but since Pottermore is made for all fans, including children, safety measures have been put in place.  The site gives you a list of unique user names to choose from, all Harry Potter related of course, so that the identity of the user is protected.  The same goes for the avatar you are assigned. 

While going through the Harry Potter adventure, starting from chapter one of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, you learn more about the characters and the book than you could ever imagine strait from Rowling herself.  Throughout the chapters you collect items to add to your Hogwarts Trunk, it might come in handy later. 

Upon entering Diagon Alley you're given money from Gringotts, the wizarding bank, and then you shop for items on your school list.  The last thing that you buy is your school pet, which becomes your avatar, and your wand, mine was made of Elm, 9 3/4 in. with a Phoenix Feather for a core.  After you get everything you need, you head off to Hogwarts on the Hogwarts Express!
 

The Sorting Ceremony comes next.  Rowling and her team have come up with unique questions for the user to choose that helps to decipher which house you are placed in, I sadly, was placed in Slytherin.  After the sorting ceremony you continue on with the chapters, learning more and discovering more as you continue on with the book.  You also get to learn how to cast spells and have wizarding duels, and you also get the chance to brew different kinds of potions and earn house points to win the house cup at the end of the year - thought the games sound easy, they are actually quite challenging. 

There are all kinds of things to explore on the Pottermore website and all kinds of things to collect.  It truly is a Potter fan's dream come true!  I can't wait for the rest of the books to be added to the website to learn, explore and have some more Harry Potter fun!!

Start your own magical journey at www.pottermore.com!

Draw Something

 

There's a new app that is invading people's mobile devices and tablets all around the world and it's called, Draw Something.  If you enjoy playing the game Pictionary, you'll probably enjoy playing Draw Something (by OMGPOP)!

You can find Draw Something for free on the App Store or iTunes store.  It only cost 99 cents to upgrade to get rid of those pesky advertisements.  The game links friends and strangers together as they draw pictures for one another and guess the right word from the picture drawn.

Each turn you can gain up to three coins.  At the beginning of your turn you are given the choice of three different words.  The first word is worth one coin if guessed correctly, and it is obviously the easiest.  The second word is worth two coins at a medium level, and the third word is the hardest and worth three coins.

You may be thinking - oh, I can't draw, that game wouldn't be fun!  That is crazy-talk, this game is a lot of fun whether you can draw or not, my friends and I generally use stick figures to get our words guessed.  The more you play the game, the more coins you'll collect so that you can purchase more colors (the better you'll get too).  These colors come at no additional cost, to get them you use the coins you built up with your own hard work!

Above is a picture that I drew for a friend in a game.

Each game goes in streaks.  The fun part is seeing how long you can make the streak last.  The longest streak I have at the moment is 68.  If one of the players can't guess the drawing they have to choose "pass" and the streak is ended and a new game can be started.

Overall this game is a lot of fun to play with friends and pretty easy at that.  The small screens on cell phones limit the ability to add detail and smoothness to the drawing, but the game is perfect on the iPad!  This game is perfect for a good laugh with your friends or a stranger in Hawaii!  

To buy game at the iTunes Store click here.

To buy game at the Android Market click here.

Worlds of Fun

On Saturday April 14, 2012, one of my most favorite places in the world will open its doors for the season -- Worlds of Fun!

Worlds of Fun, located off of I-435 in Kansas City, Missouri, is a great place to go if you are searching for a family oriented place with great rides to boot.  The Snoopy themed amusement park has rides for all ages, "Planet Snoopy" is an area of the park that is made specifically for the kiddos though. 

I am a sucker for the roller coasters that World of Fun hosts, and there are a lot, trust me!  Worlds ofFun has a ride for everyone, and I'd like to share a few of my favorites.

The big woody that Worlds of Fun has is called the "Prowler".  Many people shy away from wooden roller coasters due to the fact that they come off the ride feeling like they just got out of a martini shaker, but the "Prowler" is nothing short of amazing.

The first time I rode the "Prowler" I was amazed.  There are not enough warnings to give you to explain how fast this ride actually is.  The two and half minute African themed ride snakes you through a wooded area of the park at 51 miles per hour.  It is one of my favorite rides in the park, it surprises me every single time!

Another great thrill-ride you can find at Worlds of Fun is called the "Patriot".  This roller coaster can be clearly seen while driving by on I-435.  This American themed ride offers all sorts of loops, rolls, corkscrews, spirals and turns for its patrons.  The rider's feet dangle for two minutes and eighteen seconds as they plunge down a 123-foot curved drop at 65 miles per hour.  

Last, but certainly not least, we have ... the "Mamba"!  This ride can also be clearly seen off of I-435, and it nearly takes your breath away!  This ride is also African themed and considered to be one of the longest, fastest and tallest coasters in the world (per WoF website).  The first hill takes the rider up and up to over 200 feet before plummeting them down towards the ground.  This three minute ride gets up to 75 miles per hour and doesn't let up until the very end.  This ride is also one of my favorites, it probably ties with the "Prowler".

Of course there are other great thrill seeking rides in the amusement park, such as; Cyclone Sam, Boomerang, Spinning Dragons, Bamboozler, Detonator and the RipCord along with other small rides for the family.

Worlds of Fun makes for great summer fun and I can't wait to start the season!  With Oceans of Fun right next door, I can ride rides and lounge in the sun all in one day!  Season passes run for about $99.99 (or three easy payments of $33.33) but comes with great benefits as well such as discounts on food, early admittance, free parking and access to Oceans of Fun!  The earlier you buy your passes the cheaper, but it's still worth every single cent if you plan on making multiple trips up to Kansas City and are roller coaster fanatic like me! 

(Check out their website by clicking here!)

Turpentine Creek

"To provide lifetime refuge for abandoned, abused, and neglected
"Big Cats" with emphasis on Tigers, Lions, Leopards, and Cougars."

When you think of big cats like lions, tigers, bobcats, leopards, cougars, we assume that these creatures are fierce enough to protect their own life, but if you think this, you would be wrong.

The Jackson Family, Don, Hilda, Tanya and Robert, started the refuge in Eureka Springs, Arkansas in 1992, but since the family already had two lions in their life, Bum and Shelia, they were no strangers to the dangers of owning large cats.  A woman named Katherine Gordon Twiss, a breeder and black market dealer, showed up on the Jackson's front door with 38 big cats crammed in two trailers.  A friend of the Jackson family offered up his ranch for temporary refuge for the cats.  The Jackson family later purchased the property and moved all of the cats there and have been taking in abandoned animals ever since.  Tanya Jackson Smith is the owner of the refuge today.

Seven miles from Eureka Springs, Arkansas off of highway 23, you can find a vast amount of land, 459 acres to be exact, that has large fenced in habitats for all kinds of big cats, and even some bears, monkeys and coyotes too.  Turpentine Creek is a nonprofit organization that gives homes to hundreds of large cats that have been abused or neglected.  The admission to get into Turpentine Creek is $15.00 per adult, but all of the money goes to feeding and taking care of the big cats that live on the refuge.

A map of the property

Upon entering the refuge you will find smaller cages that hold many of the large felines, there are even a few Ligers (a crossbreed between lions and tigers).  After you pass through the small cages, you find the real Turpentine Creek.  Behind tall fences you will see large grassy areas where the cats can run and play, they also have their own dens that they can take refuge in for shade and comfort.

A Liger

I was lucky enough to be with my boyfriend, Lee, who is a zookeeper at the Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, Missouri.  He was able to speak directly with Turpentine Creek’s curator, Emily McCormack.  McCormack gave us an in depth look at some of the animals that the refuge has taken in.  Many of the stories about the cats are sad and horrible to hear, but the stories leave you feeling glad that laws are being passed to prevent people from taking in these wild animals and mistreating them and abandoning them whenever they get to big.  Turpentine is not a breeding facility and they neuter all of their male cats to avoid further inbreeding with the animals. 

Turpentine Creek offers lodging for for some of its patrons.  Imagine waking up, looking out your window and seeing large cats prancing around and playing with the toys that are left in their cages.  There are ten different rooms ranging from $150.00 to $200.00 a night and campsites as well.

Starting at 11:00 AM each day tours of the habitats are given by experienced interns.  These interns take visitors on a half mile walk around the refuge and tell stories about how each cat found their way to Turpentine, most of which are terrible and sad.  Did you know that some of these big cats were bought for just $175.00 at auctions?  That's less than most purebred dogs!  The tours run once every hour until it is feeding time for the animals - over 1,000 pounds of meat are prepared daily for the feline refugees!

Turpentine Creek is a great place that is doing great things for these abandoned and mistreated animals.  If you ever get a chance while in Eureka Springs, make sure to visit the refuge, it's definitely worth the $15.00 - plus the money goes to a fantastic cause!

(All pictures pulled from Turpentine Creek's website - click here to check it out!)

Famous Dave's Review

It doesn't seem like very often that Springfield opens its arms to a new food chain, but recently it has to the well known BBQ chain Famous Dave's.  Located off South Campbell south of James River Freeway, Famous Dave’s offers a variety of meats such as ribs, brisket and chicken and also an assortment of barbeque sauces to go with your meal.  Famous Dave's also offers salads, sandwiches, hamburgers, seafood and a lot more

Accompanied by my beau, Lee, we decided to try out Famous Dave's after missing the chance to go to our original dining choice, WannaGetta Pizza (meaning the place closed at eight ... sheesh!).  The first things I noticed upon entering the car-lot-turned-restaurant were the decorations. Like most chain restaurants, the decorations fit the theme, for Famous Dave's that meant a lot of western paraphernalia with a southern twist.  Pig cutouts hung around exclaiming that we should eat more meat.

We weren't seated long before a young waiter with red hair named Eric arrived at our table to get Lee and my drink order. The experience was nearly ruined when the waiter denied me a Diet Coke with the dreaded phrase, "is Diet Pepsi okay?" No, it's never okay!  I was saved, however, when I was told that Diet Dr. Pepper was an option. Lee had a beer, his was easy.

After bringing us our drinks, the waiter brought us a small sample bowl of fries and proceeded to make a production to us about the several different types of BBQ at our table. He even described one as “kid friendly” which seemed to be right up my alley.  The Rich & Sassy, which is Dave's original recipe, is sweet and tangy.  The Georgia Mustard is made with vinegar, brown sugar and mustard.  Next, there is the Texas Pit which is a tangy tomato-based sauce with black pepper.  The Sweet & Zesty sauce offers a taste that is a balance of citric sweetness and spirited spice.  Lastly, he told us about the Devil's Spit sauce which is the spiciest one at the table.

Lee and I also decided to order a side of Chili-Roasted Corn Fritters for $5.99.  These little breaded balls were chili-roasted (obviously) with corn and jalapenos inside. The fritters came with honey for dipping sauce to make for, as the menu puts it, a "perfect sweet heat combination." The waiter warned me that some people think the corn-fritters are a bit spicy, I am not a fan of anything spicy, but these were really tasty and not really that spicy at all.

Num Num Num Corn Fritters

For our main entree we thought we would go big and try a little bit of everything. The “Feast for Two” serves two to three people and is priced at $34.99. This HUGE meal comes with a half a slab of St Louis-style spareribs, half of a country-roasted chicken, a fourth of a Texas beef brisket, creamy coleslaw, Famous Fries, Wilbur beans, two corn-on-the-cobs and two corn bread muffins. The corn bread muffins were amazing! They were easily my favorite part of the meal. All of the food was yummy, but I am a sucker for good bread.

Feast for Two

Needless to say, Lee and I did not finish our "Feast for Two" and ended up taking a large portion of it home for leftovers. We didn't order anything for dessert, there wasn't any room for that. We left feeling full and satisfied and smelling strongly of smoked BBQ.  Overall we were both very happy with how our meal turned out and very pleased with our service. With reasonable prices and a fun atmosphere, Famous Dave's is a great place to take the family or a group of friends.

Find out more about Famous Dave's by checking out their website (click here!).

Appitizer Prices:  $6-$9

Average Dinner Price:  $8-$15

Platters/Combos:  $16-$60

Dessert:  $6.00

Hours: Open Daily for Lunch and Dinner

Famous Dave's Address:

Springfield Location:

4406 S. Campbell Avenue

Springfield, MO 65810
Springfield Phone Number:  (417) 877-8646

Branson Landing Location:
1201 Branson Landing Boulevard
Branson, MO 65616

Branson Landing Phone Number:  (417) 334-4858

Facebook VS Google+

Google+ and Facebook share many things in common, but both allow users to do many different things as well.  These two social medias target an audience who want to consume and share information quickly with their friends and family, but which of these two websites should you choose though?

I am figuring that, out of the two social medias, people are choosing Facebook.  Why else would Google+ need to make a commercial marketing their website?  I am almost 100% positive that I have never seen a Facebook commercial, I even checked out YouTube just in case and came out empty handed.  The commercial above shows the basic concept behind Google+ and the use of 'circles' that you put your friends and family in.  The circles allow us as the users to separate our friends from people who aren't really our friends into circles (which you can name anything you want) and share specific information with the different groups.  The commercial for Google+ beautifully shows how easy it is to switch people from circle to circle, I'm happy to know that Kyle has a car and got to eventually move from the creeper circle to the keeper circle.

Both Facebook and Google+ started out the same way by letting only certain people join the website.  Facebook only allowed people with an university e-mail address and Google+ only allowered people who had invites.  This puts the websites at a certain "demand" because not just anybody could join.  Now, both websites allow anybody to join, all you need is an Internet connection. 

The chart above shows the basic components of Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.  According to this chart, Facebook is the easiest of the three to use and to share all of your information. 

Both of these social medias offer us the same thing.  Now, Facebook offers you the ability to put your friends in groups and share specific information, Facebook also allows their users to video chat.  Now... what's so special about Google+?  The one thing that it has different is the 1+ feature that you're able to use to basically "like" a website.  Google+ will  then automatically share it for you combining your Internet surfing and social needs all at once. But what's the point of the simplicity if no one else is on Google+ to read it?

So, as far as I can see... Facebook is the winner of this challenge.  Google+ has a long road ahead of it to build the fan base that Facebook has so easily built and kept.  I also see that you should follow me on Twitter ... i'm lovelylace86!  That's what all of this social media is for anyawy... promoting yourself!

The Iron Lady

I was expecting greatness as I took my seat in an old rickety chair in the small, cold theater at the Moxie.  The Iron Lady, directed by Phyllida Lloyd and written by Abi Morgan, is a film portraying the first female Prime Minister of Great Britain, Margaret Thatcher, played by Academy Award winner, Meryl Streep.  The film seemingly follows her rise to political power and her inexorable commitment for her country, that is – if you’ve only watched the previews.

I was startled to find that the movie focused on the much older, dementia ridden (and retired), Margaret Thatcher.  We first see her buying milk in a convenience store.  She is surprised by the rise in milk prices and informs her husband, played by Jim Broadbent, over breakfast.  The two share a moment before they are interrupted by one of Margaret’s assistants.  The camera pans back to the couple at the table, but now there is only Margaret, her husband has been dead for several years.

The camera follows the ancient Thatcher as she waddles around her home having flashbacks of her political career.  Her memory starts back to when she was a young woman and the daughter of a grocer, getting accepted in to Oxford.  The movie continues on like this, going back and forth between past and present until the credits start rolling.

The movie was filmed nicely, but a few scenes might leave the watcher slightly puzzled.  At one point in the movie, Old Lady Thatcher begins to watch an old home movie on her high definition flat screen television that would be (inevitably) shot with an 8 millimeter camera.  The image that she watches on the screen is pristinely clear; nothing like what the image would actually appear to be, even after a conversion from film to DVD.  Then, in other parts of the film, old pieces of footage are added, some in which you can clearly see the real Margaret Thatcher, but don’t worry, it’s only the back of her head.

The movie might have flowed better if the story had not been so far removed by time.  The writer of the story would have been better to start with a young Thatcher and to carry on from there, possibly ending with a very old Thatcher mourning the loss of her supportive husband and her political career.  The movie might have even been better titled The Lady in Blue since that was the only color that she seemed to wear throughout the entire movie.

The acting, however, was superb.  I wouldn’t expect anything less from Meryl Streep, who brings a little piece of herself into every character she plays along with an impeccable acting style that brings credibility to any character that she is portraying.  Broadbent, who plays Thatcher’s husband, also brings a certain ‘light-heartedness’ to the film with his ghostly antics and fun-loving goofiness.

The writer of the screenplay, Abi Morgan, uses several different types of symbolism in her film.  When the young Margaret, played by Alexandra Roach, is proposed to by Dennis, played by Harry Lloyd, she is overwhelmed with happiness, but informs him that she will never be “that woman” who is silent on the arm of her husband, her life must mean something – she didn’t plan on dying washing a tea cup in the sink.  He simply answers, “That’s why I want to marry you, my dear,” – The very last scene of the movie is of Thatcher, old and slow moving, washing a tea cup in the sink listening to the birds outside, but obvious happiness on her face, she has no regrets, the symbolism very obvious.

Overall, the movie was informative and somewhat entertaining, but lacked the greatness that I had initially expected.  It evoked several emotions from me, like any well written piece of art will do, but the movie felt long and the flipping between times left me slightly confused.  Streep is what keeps this movie afloat with her impersonation of the Iron Lady and her unmatchable ability to play practically any part in any movie, but the constant flashes between scenes were tiring and sometimes hard to follow.  I would recommend this movie to anyone who is a history buff or a diehard Streep fan.


Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher



The real Margaret Thatcher

Impressive comparison, isn't it??