Return to the World of the Blogging

Hey, sorry guys. I’ve been MIA for quite some time (over a week to be exact). I spent the week working on my animation projects and the weekend up in the mountains learning how to ski. It’s not as easy as it looks and now my neck and back are killing me. I get off the ski lift and immediately fall off and hit my head. But I didn’t give up. I only fell once more after that. I still can’t believe I made it down the slope. But I’m back in one, achy piece and with some new reviews, too.

Tunes Tuesday

Here are a few songs that I consider feel good tunes. “Good Time” by Brazilian Girls and “D.A.N.C.E.” by Justice. Both these songs make you wanna get up, and dance to the beat.

The Brazilian Girls’ “Good Time” is from their album “New York City” which was released this past summer. The Brazilians Girls are neither Brazilians nor girls. The group consists of Didi Gutman on keyboards and computers, Jesse Murphy on bass, and Aaron Johnston on drums -- and one woman, Sabina Sciubba, the vocalist who often enjoys wearing lacy eye masks on-stage and sings in no less than five different languages.

Update, Update!!!

My blog name has changed! I decided that since there already is a "Lucy Show" with Lucille Ball, the I should consider changing the name. So, I've gone with the title "The Luu Review". I'll will still bring you new music on Tuesdays and Tech Reviews on Thursday. Welcome, again.

Being a Sunday, I thought it'd be another great idea to start the week off right with a "Site of the Week". I'm starting off with... (SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT)...

Pacius Designs - This is my portfolio site with all my animation, photography and other art work. There's even a few video links to my work on Youtube.com. Around the holiday season I'll be creating more 3D work to add on :) .

So, I was watching SNL with Paul Rudd hosting, and I can't remember laughing so hard. I swear, a great comedian will do anything to get a laugh. Whether it be a skit about an overly affectionate family or backup dancing guys in tights and heels, if it'll get a laugh they'll do it.

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Now playing: Shin Chan - Party Party (ending)
via FoxyTunes

Tech Thursdays - Crest Spinbrush Toothbrush

The toothbrush was great when I first got it. It had two speeds and made my teeth feel like I had just came from the dentist without the unnecessary pain. One part of the head rotates while the other moves up and down. About 3 months or so later, the battery died (the AA I put in). So, I recharged them and after a week or so, the battery died again. Eventually, it stopped working altogether. I tried recharging my batteries and even adding new ones and that didn't help.

I contacted the company, thinking I had a defective product. They sent me a coupon for a replacement. I ended up getting the Spinbrush one speed. After a few weeks it too stopped working. Well, it was useful and great while it lasted. I did learn a few things:

1. When buying an electric toothbrush, pay more for the plug-in variety. That way you won't spend more time and $$$ replacing the batteries.

2. Make sure to brush close to the gums. It's easy to forget that.

3. If all else fails, go back to your manual brush. You'll have more control, it'll last at least 6 months, and you'll invest only a few bucks (unless you get one free from your dentist) :)

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Now playing: Madonna - Dress You Up In My Love
via FoxyTunes

Tuesday's Tunes! - "Untouched"

In addition to Tech Thursdays, I thought it would be great to include music in The Lucy Show. With so many artists springing up, it's hard to keep track of them. So, every Tuesday I'll be bringing you a song or artist you might not have heard of yet (and whose music I enjoy). Let's begin...


"Untouched" by The Veronicas

Symphonic, electric and gripping melodies are four words I'd use to describe this track. These twin siblings know where it's at. "Untouched" arouses the senses with their use of electric guitars, stringed instruments, and pounding bass. The Veronicas, Jess and Lisa Origliasso, first came out with their single "4ever". Then it became part of their album "The Secret Life of the Veronicas".

If you love this song, also check out "4ever"

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Now playing: The Veronicas - Untouched
via FoxyTunes

Apartment Hunting

So I've been apartment hunting and have completely given up. Wanting to live near NY just isn't worth it. Everything I see on apartments.com and rent.com looks decent enough, but when I go to apartmentratings.com I'm disappointed and surprised by the reviews. Either the place is a roach motel, has bad and neglectful management or is in the hood. I know I didn't leave one ghetto to willingly move back to another. So basically, in this market, a 1 bedroom/studio apartment in North Jersey that is in a decent neighborhood, has no bugs, and near The City, will cost you over $1000. I'm sure people in Wisconsin or Indiana are laughing at us for using a good chunk of our paychecks just to pay for a place to sleep. It sounds pretty ridiculous to me. Maybe I can just move into a cardboard box in Jersey City or someone's crawl space in their home.

Which reminds me... if you currently are living in an apartment hop on apartmentratings.com. It has helped me a whole lot and saved me time from driving to all these places to be disappointed. Sadly, some of the rating are from years ago or the places haven't been rated yet.

This experience has taught me alot. Such as:

1. NJ being one of the most expensive places in the US to live.
2. Always find a place offers heat and hot water as part of the rent.
3. Make sure everything they promise is in the lease. It's the only legally binding paper that can help you in a dispute.
4. Parking, parking , parking. There's nothing more annoying then coming home from work and having to hunt for a parking spot.
5. Also, if a real estate management company is giving you grief (i.e., they haven't supplied the utilities promised in your lease, they ignore your calls to fix problems, they claim you owe more or haven't paid your rent) don't lie down and take it. File a complain with the Better Business Bureau. That way other comsumers can see their BBB score and avoid renting from them. Either that, or they'll realize you mean business and handle your complaint to avoid a bad score.

I'm checking out a place tomorrow afternoon eventhough I already know I can't afford it. Wish me luck! :)

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Now playing: Fergie - Clumsy
via FoxyTunes

Tech Thurs - Nextar GPS

I decided that now is a great time to start my reviews. So, every Thursday will be "Tech Thursdays". Each week, you'll be able to read up on an electronic device that I have personally used and own/owned. I'll start today with the:

Nextar C3 GPS Navigational System

After getting lost while trying to find the movie theater in my new town, I drove around for about an hour seeing only farmland and tractor crossing signs. Did I mention I was low on gas and the sun was starting to set. I was lucky enough to find a local Uhaul to ask for directions and a gas station nearby. From that moment on, I declared I would never be lost again.

I brought this little bad boy from Circuit City for about $150 to $180. It was a pretty good price for a portable GPS. It came with a computer usb cord, a wall charger, a car charger, a dashboard and windshield mount. Basically it came with everything you could need, including the ability to play mp3s on an SD card.

It worked fairly well. It took awhile to get a signal when turning it on. Not sure how many satellites they have up there, but it's not enough. Hope that it's not cloudy and you need to get somewhere because you'll be waiting for a bit. Sometimes it would lead you to nowhere and you can search for places. However, it has to be a shopping center or mall. You can't just do a search for Target, unless you know it's in a particular shopping strip, which you probably don't. It doesn't hold its charge for a long time so you'll have to charge it in your car. All in all, if you need something cheap to get you to major places that aren't newly developed then this is for you. On a good note, on Nextar's site you can enter in the correct location if it leads you to the wrong place.

So, if you have this specific product, what did you like/dislike about it?

Red or Blue?

Election Day! This was the first time in years that I actually had to wait in line to vote in the morning. Things went smoothly until it was time for me to get to work. For some reason people choose today to drive like idiots. Thank goodness for traffic directors out today. Without them an SUV would've hit me and I would've hit a car that couldn't wait.

So, as I await to see our new president elect of the US, I have learned many things today:

1. 270 - the magic number.
2. NJ only has 15 electoral votes. I definitely thought it was more.
3. Theodore Roosevelt was the youngest president.

Hope you all had an easy-going voting process. Tomorrow is a new day and the start of a new term!

Where'd You Go?

So Commerce Bank is gone now. It's now TD Bank North; all green and no red. As much as I like the color green I'm gonna miss those weird red symbols. It's like can we get a heads up. With everything going on in the economy I'd like to be kept up to date that another bank didn't fail; they just decided to stick with their umbrella name. Not sure how I feel about this change, but it doesn't matter. It's for the peeps who bank their to worry about :(

Hello World!!!

Welcome to my first blog page. Here, I plan to talk about things that irk me and might irk you as well. There will be reviews on products, companies, books, underground artists, etc. Also, be on the lookout for my artwork and animation pieces. Hope you enjoy what I have to say!