Black Friday Madness

Black Friday is only 2 days away. It's the day where intense shoppers wake up before sunrise to fight for crazy deals. If this is your first time being one of those shoppers, here's a few tips to make the morning more manageable.

1. Make a plan. Make a list of the specific items you want to purchase. Sometimes stores will have a big ticket item discounted and claim they only have a few. You get to the store and, of course, they're out. so you end up buying a similar item that's either is more expensive or is cheaper and they need to get rid of them.

2. Have a budget of how much you want to spend on each item.

3. Drive in one car. Parking is a nightmare and outrageous. I was trying to find parking at a mall a few days ago and that was crazy, too.

4. Leave the kids at home. They'll only slow you down or get hurt in the overexcited crowd.

5. Avoid rain checks. If a store is out of stock of an item, they may offer you a rain check. However, if there are more rain checks than the store can handle you might be waiting months to get you product or not get it at all.

6. If you want to wake up later in the morning, make sure to get to the stores before 11 am. You don't all the good deals to be gone before you get there. Also, some stores are extending their Black Friday deals into Saturday. Nothing like extended store hours.

7. Stay home!!! There are still alot of good deal online as well. They may not be as great as a $3 toaster, but still pretty amazing. Plus some stores rely on Cyber Monday, the Monday after Black Friday, to sell more electronics.

8. Wait till after Christmas. The shopping season doesn't end because the holidays are over. If you're shopping for digital cameras or other electronics, wait till late January or February. That is when the fiscal year ends for foreign countries and the new models come out. The old models go on sale in the U.S.

TLR Animation Contest

I decided to re-post the animation contest with the winning prizes. I'm having an animation contest in honor of my first full year blogging! I can't believe it's been a year already. Here's the criteria:

1. The animation must be a minimum of 30 seconds but no longer than of 3 minutes.

2. It can be either 2D or 3D, and either color or black & white.

3. The theme is "winter holiday". That doesn't necessarily mean Christmas. It can be any holiday observed during the winter season (Dec - Mar).

4. And lastly should also include a cat, any Sailor Moon character and "The Luu Review" anywhere in the animation.

Be creative and think outside the box!!! The file should be saved as .mov or .wmv (a QuickTime or Windows Media Video file). If there's another file type you want to save it as, please emauk me first. Submissions can be emailed to lucy.pacius at gmail dot com. Please put "TLR Animation Contest" in the subject line.

The Winner will receive:

A $10 Amazon Gift Card
A 2GB micro SD card (also comes with the adapter to be used as a regular sized SD card).
The winning video will be placed on my blog for a month.

2nd and 3rd place will both receive an honorable mention and a $5 Amazon Gift Card.

The last date for submissions is December 26 at 11:59 pm. The winner will be picked and announced at the start of the New Year and the video will be posted on my blog. Prizes to be announced this Wednesday. Any questions? Post them here. So... START YOUR ANIMATING!!!

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Now playing: La Roux - Tigerlily
via FoxyTunes

Tunes Tuesday - Bulletproof

I saw this video the other day and the first thing I thought was "The 80s threw up all over her video." But once I got passed that, I couldn't help but to jam to the beat. Who hasn't danced to an old 80s song. I know I do whenever "Take on Me" by Aha comes on. You've probably already heard the song on an episode of "Ugly Betty" just before she dances by herself.

La Roux is an English electropop and synthpop group. The group is made up of Eleanor Jackson (singer) and Ben Langmaid (synth player, co-writer and co-producer). La Roux's music influences are Depeche Mode, Heaven 17, and other 1980s synthpop bands (surprise, surprise).

La Roux has four albums out including "La Roux" which has "Bulletproof" and a bonus track. The lyrics are telling and the beats are high spirited and fun.



It's definitely a change from all the other songs out there that kinda sound the same. Check out their site for more.
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Now playing: La Roux - Bulletproof
via FoxyTunes

TLR Animation Contest!!!

I've decided to have an animation contest in honor of my first full year blogging! I can't believe it's been a year already. Here's the criteria:

1. The animation should be a minimum of 30 seconds but no longer than of 3 minutes.

2. It can be either 2D or 3D, and either color or black and white.

3. The theme is "winter holiday". That doesn't necessarily mean Christmas. It can be any holiday observed during the winter season (Dec - Mar).

4. And lastly should also include a cat, any Sailor Moon character and "The Luu Review" anywhere in the animation.

Be creative and think outside the box!!! The file should be saved as .mov or .wmv (a QuickTime or Windows Media Video file). Submissions can be emailed to lucy.pacius at gmail dot com. The last date for submissions is December 26 at 11:59 pm. The winner will be picked and announced at the start of the New Year and the video will be posted on my blog. Prizes to be announced this Wednesday. Any questions? Post them here. So... START YOUR ANIMATING!!!

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Now playing: Aly and AJ - Walking on Sunshine
via FoxyTunes

The Luu Review - A Year Later...

It can't believe it's been a whole year since my first post ever. Wow, so much has changed. In honor of this, I thought I'd have an animation contest. Details and more info will be posted tomorrow.

On another note, there's a weird article floating around. Apparently, a cat got the H1N1 or swine flu. A couple came down with the swine flu and eventually their cat got it too. The cat was taken to the vet and everyone is fine. So, here are some tips for keeping your pets safe this flu season.

1. Don't sneeze on them! Probably common knowledge 'cause it's gross and rude. Cover your mouth and wash your hands often.

2. If your pet is lethargic, not eating and having trouble breathing take it to the vet. Those are some symptoms they may develop.

3. If you have H1N1, keep your pet out of the area just like you would a baby. Your pet will probably catch it sharing the same space as you. Keep them isolated to a room, wipe down and disinfect your home and wash your hands frequently.

If you have any other questions, you should contact your vet.
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Now playing: Lady GaGa - Bad Romance
via FoxyTunes

Halloween Scares and Candyman

Happy Belated Halloween, everyone. Hope it was filled with thrills and scares! Every year I watch a horror movie marathon in the spirit of All Hallows Eve. The channel AMC helped with their "2009 Fear Fest" all week. I got to see "The Shining" for the first time. On my list, I decided to add "Candyman". I couldn't remember what happened during the movie except for the old urban legend. If you stand in front of a mirror, say 'Candyman' 5 times and turn off the lights, he'll appear and kill you with his hook. If you haven't seen it, do please. There's also two sequels.

Well, apparently the movie talks about his beginning. He was supposedly a famous Black painter in the 1800s. Some rich, white, plantation owner commissioned him to paint the image of his virginal and pure daughter. He ended up falling in love with her and got her pregnant. Her father was completely outraged. The people of the town formed a mob and chased him into the town square. They beat him to the ground and cut off his limbs. Then they cover him with honey and release bees on him, which causes his death.

I get that his cut off arm is replaced with a hook, he's called Candyman because of the honey, but I find it hard to believe a white person from the 1800s would even let him near his daughter. For me, the only thing scary in the movie was that gang-ridden complex the woman visited. I grew up in a not-so-nice town, but it wasn't like Compton or Camden. But that building scared me more than that fearless white woman who kept investigating there like nothing would happen to her. I don't thin we should live in fear, but we need to be mindful of place that we don't belong. Just my opinion. What's yours?

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Now playing: The Black Eyed Peas - Meet Me Halfway
via FoxyTunes