Tired of the absurdity of credit card companies, who sent credit card applications addressed to even her 6-year-old and 3-year-old children, a Chicago mother allowed her then 5-year-old son to full one out and return it to the company. To her surprise, the credit line was approved and a shiny credit card with a $600 spending limit was sent to her son.
Apparently, minors without income or any assets can be approved to spend more than they can count. Way to go, Bank of America.
http://cbs2chicago.com/local/credit.card.kids.2.750473.html
Friday, June 20, 2008
OneManga: Read all your manga online!
If you were like me a few years ago, you waited anxiously for the latest chapter of Naruto to be scanalated every Friday and download it from Narutofan or some other fansite that required a membership.
Scanalations are a term for virtual manga that has been scanned onto the computer from Japanese hard copies and translated by fans that are just looking to help distribute a good read to other fans. Manga is Japanese-style comics, read from right to left like the Japanese language and constantly features exaggerated actions and emotions like Japanese anime. Some popular and famous ones include Naruto (which is about ninjas), One Piece (pirates), and Dragon Ball Z. If I need to describe DBZ for you then you need to get out from under your rock.
Anyhow, this wonderful website -- OneManga -- features well over 200 of the most popular manga and it's all completely free, no registration required. And, my favorite part, you don't even need to spend any time downloading them; the comics are right on their servers and you can even shift through the pages using your left and right arrow keys.
If you need someplace to start, I recommend my favorites: Naruto, Shaman King, and OnePiece.
Scanalations are a term for virtual manga that has been scanned onto the computer from Japanese hard copies and translated by fans that are just looking to help distribute a good read to other fans. Manga is Japanese-style comics, read from right to left like the Japanese language and constantly features exaggerated actions and emotions like Japanese anime. Some popular and famous ones include Naruto (which is about ninjas), One Piece (pirates), and Dragon Ball Z. If I need to describe DBZ for you then you need to get out from under your rock.
Anyhow, this wonderful website -- OneManga -- features well over 200 of the most popular manga and it's all completely free, no registration required. And, my favorite part, you don't even need to spend any time downloading them; the comics are right on their servers and you can even shift through the pages using your left and right arrow keys.
If you need someplace to start, I recommend my favorites: Naruto, Shaman King, and OnePiece.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Check the Doneness of Meat
Here's a guide from Simply Recipes on how to test the done-ness of your meat (I assume steak is the key meat here) by using the firmness of your hand as a reference.
http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/007259the_finger_test_to_check_the_doneness_of_meat.php
I haven't tried it myself but it certainly doesn't seem very applicable to a wide range of meats.
http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/007259the_finger_test_to_check_the_doneness_of_meat.php
I haven't tried it myself but it certainly doesn't seem very applicable to a wide range of meats.
How Long Has This Been in the Fridge?
This is a wonderful list of how long food, broken down by category, can last in the fridge and freezer. I'm a long-time user of this list as a reference.
http://www.pastrywiz.com/storage/refridgerated.htm
http://www.pastrywiz.com/storage/refridgerated.htm
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Review: Sex and the City (the Movie)
What can I say? Sex and the City is one of my guilty pleasures and I always feel empowered and feminine watching it... at least, when I'm not frustrated with the way the women are reacting to things. On TV, DVD, and through YouTube (before the accounts got suspended =\), I've followed Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha through 6 seasons of ups and downs. I have sympathized with them, yelled at the screen when I thought they were wrong, wondered why they put themselves through the things they do, swooned over and loved/hated the guys, and, at least one time at one point for each girl, wished I could be one of them.
To me, the series did not drag on by any means but it was clear that it was running out of steam. If you go back and watch something from the first season after watching something from the last one, you'll feel a difference in the show. I respect the producers for acknowledging this and not trying to milk every last bit of profit they had; they chose to end the show with a bang. The movie really felt more like a second "last episode" than anything else.
The growth of the movie felt complete; in the 4 years that supposedly elapsed between the last episode and the beginning of the movie, the girls are different yet the same. They had fully adapted into their lives but still cling to those girlish moments when they were four single gals with their whole lives ahead of them. That's how this movie became a closer; they have to move on in different directions now. They'll never be like that again but their friendship is still strong.
WARNING: SPOILERS SECTION
(If you haven't seen it and don't want spoiler, please scroll down to "Overall Review")
I can't get over some of the plot developments in the movie. Steve was always my favorite guy; how could he do that to Miranda? But how could she let him get away from him like that??
Charlotte's daughter Lily was totally adorable and her incorporation into the movie really showed the development of Charlotte's character and the progression into true maturity for all the women. I couldn't have been happier that she finally got to be a mommy. Unlike the other girls, she didn't struggle with any giant problems in the movie but she's really happy with her life now despite it turning out not at all like she envisioned.
Carrie, on the other hand, had the worst of it. Just when we think life is going her way, some giant twist in the story occurs. Sometimes, you never know what's going to happen.
I'd have to say that my major criticism in the story is her personal assistant, Louise. Her resume says she's a Computer Science major. Let me tell you, I have a lot of CS friends... and most of them hold to stereotypes. Even among those who break them, there is no way someone who spends all his/her time on a computer has the time or energy (and likely the interest) to put effort into looks and labels the way Louise did. Plus, how did she come to New York flat broke? Don't the writers know that CS programmers make major bank? She could have had a plethora of CS-related jobs, but she wants to be a personal assistant to a professional writer? If she loved fashion so much, why did she go into CS?? It just doesn't make any sense.
Overall Review:
Overall, it was an enjoyable movie even for those that never followed the series. This movie was speculated to be the Indiana Jones equivalent for women and the numbers show -- it was a box office success. For those who did follow the series, like myself, the enticement of your favorite (or one of your favorite) shows becoming a movie was too good to pass up even if the movie itself didn't seem that enticing. The movie is part of a phenomenon and has given women something huge to hold on to the way men have their action movies. Don't get me wrong -- I love action movies myself and I don't disagree with a lot of the criticisms of the show. (That's a whole different story.) If nothing else, I recommend it as part of an education in pop culture. It's not a phenomenon for nothing; the writing is wonderful and episodes can leave you with a lot to think about regarding your own relationships and views on them.
To me, the series did not drag on by any means but it was clear that it was running out of steam. If you go back and watch something from the first season after watching something from the last one, you'll feel a difference in the show. I respect the producers for acknowledging this and not trying to milk every last bit of profit they had; they chose to end the show with a bang. The movie really felt more like a second "last episode" than anything else.
The growth of the movie felt complete; in the 4 years that supposedly elapsed between the last episode and the beginning of the movie, the girls are different yet the same. They had fully adapted into their lives but still cling to those girlish moments when they were four single gals with their whole lives ahead of them. That's how this movie became a closer; they have to move on in different directions now. They'll never be like that again but their friendship is still strong.
WARNING: SPOILERS SECTION
(If you haven't seen it and don't want spoiler, please scroll down to "Overall Review")
I can't get over some of the plot developments in the movie. Steve was always my favorite guy; how could he do that to Miranda? But how could she let him get away from him like that??
Charlotte's daughter Lily was totally adorable and her incorporation into the movie really showed the development of Charlotte's character and the progression into true maturity for all the women. I couldn't have been happier that she finally got to be a mommy. Unlike the other girls, she didn't struggle with any giant problems in the movie but she's really happy with her life now despite it turning out not at all like she envisioned.
Carrie, on the other hand, had the worst of it. Just when we think life is going her way, some giant twist in the story occurs. Sometimes, you never know what's going to happen.
I'd have to say that my major criticism in the story is her personal assistant, Louise. Her resume says she's a Computer Science major. Let me tell you, I have a lot of CS friends... and most of them hold to stereotypes. Even among those who break them, there is no way someone who spends all his/her time on a computer has the time or energy (and likely the interest) to put effort into looks and labels the way Louise did. Plus, how did she come to New York flat broke? Don't the writers know that CS programmers make major bank? She could have had a plethora of CS-related jobs, but she wants to be a personal assistant to a professional writer? If she loved fashion so much, why did she go into CS?? It just doesn't make any sense.
Overall Review:
Overall, it was an enjoyable movie even for those that never followed the series. This movie was speculated to be the Indiana Jones equivalent for women and the numbers show -- it was a box office success. For those who did follow the series, like myself, the enticement of your favorite (or one of your favorite) shows becoming a movie was too good to pass up even if the movie itself didn't seem that enticing. The movie is part of a phenomenon and has given women something huge to hold on to the way men have their action movies. Don't get me wrong -- I love action movies myself and I don't disagree with a lot of the criticisms of the show. (That's a whole different story.) If nothing else, I recommend it as part of an education in pop culture. It's not a phenomenon for nothing; the writing is wonderful and episodes can leave you with a lot to think about regarding your own relationships and views on them.
Introductory Post
I'm Shanna and, sometimes, I am random. Sometimes, I'm full of useful information (a la Tyler Durden) and sometimes I'm full of useless, but interesting, information.
I'm trying to move away from personal blogs because I want to disassociate myself from the angst-filled complaints and trivial surveys/drama and all the other things that came with the idea of blogging when it first began to emerge... In fact, my first "blog" was called TeenOpenDiary and it was essentially an electronic version of a diary. Now, nearly 8 years later, blogging is moving toward a professional form of communication and information relay.
This blog is an experiment for me in several ways. I'm on the verge of graduating college and still don't know what to do with my life. The professional blogs I've seen have always centered on one topic... and I'm trying that out with my other blog, Romantic Reflections, but it's success remains to be seen. So, writing about several different things will hopefully help me define what interests me and what I am good at. Also, I'm hoping to strengthen my writing and communicating skills. This is also an experiment to see if I have the dedication to blog regularly and where the blogs go.
I'm trying to move away from personal blogs because I want to disassociate myself from the angst-filled complaints and trivial surveys/drama and all the other things that came with the idea of blogging when it first began to emerge... In fact, my first "blog" was called TeenOpenDiary and it was essentially an electronic version of a diary. Now, nearly 8 years later, blogging is moving toward a professional form of communication and information relay.
This blog is an experiment for me in several ways. I'm on the verge of graduating college and still don't know what to do with my life. The professional blogs I've seen have always centered on one topic... and I'm trying that out with my other blog, Romantic Reflections, but it's success remains to be seen. So, writing about several different things will hopefully help me define what interests me and what I am good at. Also, I'm hoping to strengthen my writing and communicating skills. This is also an experiment to see if I have the dedication to blog regularly and where the blogs go.
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