This week I finished up the New Super Mario Bros for the Wii.  I will tell you right off the bat that I enjoyed this game from start to finish.  It stays true to it’s roots and doesn’t disappoint.

Speaking of dissappointments, I have been generally underwhelmed with the Wii since it’s inception.  I have really only played through Zelda: Twilight Princess (EXCELLENT!), but other than that there hasn’t been anything that has interested me enough to purchase.  Call me old fashion but I prefer button pushing to controller swinging.

With that being said,  the Wii is not my favorite system however when I heard they were bringing back Mario Bros to it’s original (and best) design, I couldn’t run to the store fast enough.

I urge anyone who has loved the Mario series from when it all started back with the old NES system, to purchase this game.

WHAT TO EXPECT?

New Super Mario is a cross between Super Mario 3 (NES) and Super Mario World for the SNES.  It is entirely side-scroller, so if you hated the N64 Mario and anything after that, then you will love that this has zero of those elements.

You start the game out with the same excellent story that you have heard throughout the years.  The Princess has been kidnapped and you must get her back.  You begin in World 1 and continue up until you reach Bowser’s castle in World 8.  Each World has a different theme, much like SMB3 and SMW.  You will find yourself on Ice, Clouds, Sand, Grass, etc.  You will see familiar baddies throughout the game as well as some new ones.  Yoshi even comes back for a few levels!

The main objective is still the same, reach the flagpole and finish the level.  There is a ghost castle in each world, along with a mid and final castle.  The Koopalings you fight in each of the castles will be very familiar to you.  Don’t worry though, just because it all seems familiar doesn’t mean it’s extremely easy.  There were plenty of levels and castles that took me 5-10 lives to finish.

As with the prior Mario games, there are plenty of secrets for you to enjoy.  Each level has 3 large coins for you to get (much like the Yoshi tokens in SMW), instead of simply giving you free lives the coins actually can help you get information about secrets and how to find free lives throughout the maps.  Eventually in the end you will need all the coins in every level in order to complete the game in it’s entirety (I have not yet accomplished this).

ANY DOWNSIDE?

It seemed short.  The levels seemed shorter and the maps seemed smaller.  That might just be because I ran through the game without stopping to take in the scenery.

Some of the levels are EXTREMELY easy and some are EXTREMELY hard.  Overall it’s a good balance though.

The multiplayer is almost impossible.  Instead of allowing two people to play seperately during the game (one of you die, it’s the other ones turn) they decided to put up to 4 players on the same level at the same time.  It’s insanely hard and honestly not much fun.  Stick with one player.

There are a few elements of the game where you need to shake or turn the Wii controller.  Don’t worry, it’s rare and not that difficult.  Typically you use the same A/B button scheme and arrow pad.

OVERALL THE NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. FOR THE WII IS EXCELLENT! For anyone who loves the Mario series (pre-Game Cube), you will ABSOLUTELY love this game!

Happy Gaming,

Jamie O’Dell

Up Next:  I am currently playing Mass Effect.  It’s an older game but very cool.  Mass Effect 2 comes out January 26th, 2010 and i’m super stoked about it!

]]> http://jamieodell.com/video-game-review-new-super-mario-bros-wii/feed 0 http://jamieodell.com/video-game-review-brutal-legend-xbox-360 http://jamieodell.com/video-game-review-brutal-legend-xbox-360#comments Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:24:26 +0000 admin http://jamieodell.com/?p=253

For some reason Brutal Legend became one of the most anticipated games of the year.  I was eager to play it, as I had been hearing about it since the E3 convention earlier in the year.  I thought it was creative that Jack Black was playing the main character Eddie Riggs and that the game revolved around the music of Metal.  Ozzy Osbourne, Lita Ford, Lemmy Kilmister, Rob Halford and Tim Curry also leant there likeness and voices to this game which made it even more incredible.  The demo was excellent so of course I purchased the game and it was beaten in its entirety.

The game starts off with Eddie being a roadie for an emo band that refers to themselves as a “metal band”.  He hates his job and refers to metal music being dead.   A quick series of events brings Eddie into a fantasy metal world that is completely open for you to roam about as you wish.  He has three weapons to use throughout the game; his guitar Celementine, an axe called the Seperator and his hot rod car named The Deuce.  Each has the ability to be upgraded throughout the game by visiting the Guardian of Metal (Ozzy Osbourne).  Upgrades simply make each weapon stronger or allow you to add guns to your car.

Once Eddie enters this fantasy metal world he comes across Ophelia (his main love interest throughout the game) and begins an epic story with her and a slew of other characters.  The main point of the game is to help Ophelia and the others, defeat the Emperor Doviculus, thus saving the land and it’s people.  It’s a fairly typical storyline, however with Jack Black lending his voice and likeness, the story takes on a life of its own.  It’s funny, creative and visually stunning.

I don’t want to give away the plot, but I will touch on the game play itself.  The controls for weapons and driving are extremely easy.  You are reminded throughout the game how to complete tasks (press the Y button, etc.).   Throughout the game you will be unlocking certain “Solos” to play on your guitar that each do a different task (one summons your car no matter where you are).  There are also mini-activities you can complete that will give you extra health, etc.  These don’t disappoint, but get rather repetitive.  One of them is hunting, you have to kill a certain amount of one of the creatures on the land.  Once you kill them all, you get to summon those creatures at any time and they fight for you (or you can ride them, which is friggin awesome).

There are also a few other elements of the game that do not have to be completed but are good if you do.  Much like the Grand Theft Auto or Saints Row series, there are car jumps and hidden items located all around the land.  When you find them you get rewarded.  ***HINT:  I suggest you try to find as many of the Baby Dragon Ball Gag Statues and Complete as many Side Missions as you possibly can while going through the game***

The game visually isn’t like your Assassins Creed or Call of Duty video games.  It isn’t built to look realistic, however the design of the land and creatures is visually stunning.  It is an extremely artistic game and you will not be disappointed by what you see.

Now for the bad stuff:

Throughout the game you will be forced into about 6 “stage battles”.  You will erect a stage and fight against another stage for “fans”.  It sounds a little weird because it is.  During this gameplay you have to control your armies of headbangers, rock crushers, etc.  It has sort of a Command and Conquer feel to it, as you literally have to control where your people are and what they are doing.  I did not like this aspect to the game at all.  It almost makes this game unplayable. However, once you get a grasp of how the battles go, it makes it a lot more tolerable.  There is a strategy behind controlling your armies, once you figure it out you will golden.  ***HINT:  Keep in mind that the battles shouldn’t last forever.  They should only take about 10-15 minutes to complete, so if they are taking longer than 10 minutes, you are missing something.  Pay attention to what Eddie says to do***

The battles are literally the only part of this game that sucks.  Some of the side missions are quirky but none of it is extremely hard.  Some of the creatures are difficult to kill, but don’t worry, you pretty much can live forever in this game.  The battles get easier if you finish the side missions and find the baby dragon ball gags.  You can locate all of them by putting up the achievement map here.

The game took about 10 hours to complete, it takes longer if you end up trying to find all of the extra stuff.

Overall, I recommend it to anyone who enjoys an epic adventure.  Jack Black is funny and the characters are excellent.  I really enjoyed the storyline and the ability to roam the open land.   It’s not supposed to be the greatest game in the world, but it definitely is one of the most fun.  The multiplayer isn’t really worth mentioning.  I guarantee you will love metal music after playing this game, as the entire soundtrack is metal and sucks you in.

Also FYI, the game is exactly the same on PS3 and Xbox 360.

Happy Game Playing!

If you have a game you’d like for me to try, please let me know!  Contact me!

Jamie

]]> http://jamieodell.com/video-game-review-brutal-legend-xbox-360/feed 1 http://jamieodell.com/bucket-list-build-a-model http://jamieodell.com/bucket-list-build-a-model#comments Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:59:19 +0000 admin http://jamieodell.com/?p=245 I was able to mark something off of my Bucket List today!  Although, I would like to take this hobby a bit farther, I was able to complete my very first model of a space shuttle!

When I was a kid, my brother and the little boys in my neighborhood always got to build cool model cars/trucks/boats/airplanes.  They started with plastic snap together models, moved up to glue models, then they could paint the models, etc.  I was always very jealous. It wasn’t a very girly thing to do.  I like building things, even if I had no interest in cars or trucks, I just like the idea of putting something together myself.

Well, now you can’t find model cars anywhere.  They don’t sell them at Wal Mart of Toys R Us.  You can only find them at hobby shops or online ($$$$), so i’ve been putting this one off for a while.

But then recently, I was gifted a model Space Shuttle <3.  It is a plastic snap together one, but perfect One of the best gifts I have ever received

Here it is!

This isn’t a complicated model, there were only a few pieces to snap together, however it still filled that void I was feeling from not having ever done one

The tail end of the shuttle was the hardest part, there were a few little pieces to get on there.

Tada!!!!

Now I still needed to put the stickers on the shuttle, however the stickers were not peeling off the sheet easily.  In fact, they weren’t peeling at all.  So for now, it is stickerless until I figure out how to get the stickers off.

My shuttle And first model ever

Love,

Jamie

P.S. - Here are a FEW others from my bucket list:

• Visit all the States (right now I have been to 27)
• Build a Model Car, Truck, etc. (done!)
• Go to Kennedy Space Center
• Fly Overseas (I flew to Jamaica, thats the farthest…this is a big deal because i’m extremely afraid of flying)
• Write a Book
• Have a Garden
• Finish School
• Go on a Cruise
• Learn to Ride a Unicycle
• Learn a foreign language
• Catch, Skin and Cook a Fish
• Complete a Marathon
• Quit Smoking

and many more…..

SomaCow broadcasts live on Friday nights from 7-10pm, as well as Sunday mornings from 10am – Noon.  You can listen to all of their podcasts at http://www.somacow.com

To Listen to the show LIVE, please go here

-Jamie

Who?

Okay, he didn’t exactly save the day and his skin is more like the rind of an Orange, but good ol’ Charlie Crist is our Governor here in the great state of Florida and NEVER misses an opportunity to have his picture taken (or go on vacation).  He is a shining example of when politicians get elected because Americans are too busy WORKING to pay attention to local politics. We elected him into office because he could talk, because he looked pretty, not because he had anything to actually DO for our state.  He leeched onto the success of Jeb Bush and pretty much walked into office without missing one appointment at Hollywood Tans.  Sure he spouted off his ideas of improving eduation and cutting taxes, but did the opposite for both.

In fact, he hasn’t done anything but SPEND our money on policies that are worthless and take a whole lot of vacation time.  He must be very proud of being the butt of the long running joke that he takes more time off than any other politician, ever, in the entire history of the world.  Combined.

***Note: Most politicians take around 10-15 weeks of vacation every year.  Yes, the people who are supposed to be running our state, take about 5 times more vacation than the normal American EVEN when our state is in debt, our schools are failing and our fountains aren’t working.***

I didn’t want this to be a post bashing our current Governor but it’s so easy.  I didn’t vote during his election, I had only lived in Florida for a few months prior to the election and honestly didn’t even know it was happening.  In fact, only 46.6% of Floridians did.  But guess what?  That was a statewide voter turnout HIGH for a midterm election.  HALF of the people living in Florida showed up to vote for the person who makes decisions for this state!  That cannot continue.

Charlie Crist got elected because of a slick tongue and handsome demeanor.  He raised money and became a household name.  That is all politics is, whoever raises the most money so that they can shove their names down your throats until you have no choice but to vote for them.  I assure you the only reason he wanted to be our Governor was so that he could quickly move himself up the political ladder in hopes that one day he will become President of the United States (guess who’s already rumored to be running in 2012?).  In May of this year he announced that he will not be seeking re-election as Governor and instead will be vying for Mel Martinez’s spot on the Senate.  Mel resigned this week by the way.  Charlie Crist pretty much resigned mentally about a year into his Governorship.

I digress.  This blog is meant to shine light on who our newest candidates for Governor are and why you, me, everyone should start paying attention NOW to what they are promising to do to help Florida.

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Right now, the most likely of candidates for Governor (election is on November 4th, 2010) are current state Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink (democrat) and current State Attorney General, Bill McCollum (republican).  I guarantee you that only one of those names sounds familiar and it certainly isn’t because of what an outstanding leader he is.  It’s simply because Bill McCollum has been in politics for 26 years, most recently Attorney General and formerly as a member of the House of Representatives for Florida’s 8th district.  So, to start, just because you know the name, doesn’t necessarily mean anything positive or that you should vote for them.

Because I didn’t want a repeat of the last 4 years, I decided to take to the internet to find out about each of these candidates, what they stand for and how they plan on improving the state of Florida.  The first place I looked was at their personal websites devoted to their race for Governor.

http://www.alexsink2010.com/

http://www.billmccollum.com/

Assume while reading this that I have zero idea who I will be voting for.  Assume that I am neither Republican or Democrat.  Assume that these are our only two options (which they most likely will).  I am simply trying to educate myself on which candidate will do the better job.

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Democrat, ALEX SINK

I’m going to begin with our current Chief Financial Officer in Tallahassee, Democrat Alex Sink.  I had never heard of Alex Sink prior to my research.  I was surprised to see that she does not have an extensive career in politics as it seems most would when trying to become Governor.  In fact her resume shows a 26 year career in private business.  Alex was a President of Florida’s largest bank (before her election in 2006 for CFO), supervising more than 9,000 employees and earned a reputation for “credibility, integrity and dedication to her customers”.

My first instincts is to run.  If we’ve learned anything in the past 2 years, it’s that Presidents of banking institutions are generally scumbags.  However, I am going to give Alex the benefit of the doubt and pretend she was in fact credible and dedicated.  (I searched to find anything negative about this woman during her stint as a banking president and found nothing.)

In 2006, never having ran for elective office before, she won and became our Chief Financial Officer.  My second instincts are to run even faster.  Florida is billions of dollars in debt and isn’t that something that the Chief Financial Officer of Florida would have something to do with?  We have even managed to make it into the Top Ten list of US states facing budget disasters.

I feel a little bit more comfortable knowing that Alex has taken her reign as CFO and turned herself into a “watchdog for the people of Florida”.  She has pledged to “crack down on unaccountable, poorly performing, no bid state contracts” and has actually done a pretty good job at doing that.  The website claims she has saved taxpayers millions, which is pretty good considering she has only been in office for a few years.

Sink has also created two websites, one called Get Lean Florida and the other Sunshine Spending.  The Get Lean Florida website was built as a 24 hour annonymous website and phone system that allows Floridians to make the government more accountable for YOUR tax dollars.  You can input any ideas, insight, changes that might improve government services.  It’s actually a pretty neat website, very simple to use and the reasoning behind it is to open up the lines of communication between Floridians and the Florida Government.

The Sunshine Spending website was created to allow Floridians to see exactly how their taxpayer dollars are spent and which companies are getting the money.  Updated nightly, users can see the comings and goings of taxpayer money.  I like that the site makes a point to mention that tax dollars did not pay for the website itself.  Is anybody using this website?  I don’t think so, but it’s nice to know that it exists.  Sink obviously has nothing to hide or at the very least is asking for citizens to help locate any use of taxpayer dollars that might be wonky.

Alex Sink’s website makes a very clear case that she is focused and determined to not let money be wasted.  She believes in it so much so, that she decided not to put any additional information on her website regarding education, health care, crime, environmental issues, etc.  The ONLY thing she talks about is saving money.

I understand that we have a problem here in Florida concerning our finances.  Controlling our finances is definitely one of the most, if not the most, important aspects of a governor I will be looking for.  However, I need to know more.  I need to know what she plans on doing to improve education.  I need to know how she plans on giving jobs back to teachers who have been laid off.  I need to know how she plans on giving jobs back to firefighters and police officers who lost their jobs this year because of budget cuts.  I need to know how she plans on working to bring more jobs into Florida.  I need to know how she feels about the current Health Care Reform plan.  I need to know what she plans on doing for cities riddled with crime.  I also need to know how she feels about the environment and energy saving.

It is early, I understand.  But I need to know about these issues now, not in 6 months.  As a citizen of Florida, I want to be able to take the time to weigh out my options before casting my vote.

I like the idea of Alex Sink.  I like that she has had a career in business and has been a working American.  It seems like her concern right now is for Florida and it’s citizens, not on becoming a career politician.  Her heart seems to be in the right place, but can she handle the pressures that come with being in that sort of position?  Politics are ruthless, they are scummy and they are no place for someone with thin skin.

Dearest Future Governor, Alex Sink:

Please Update your website with key issues and how you stand on them.  I need to know how you feel about all of the most important aspects concerning this state and also on National issues.  From a voter standpoint I suggest you do not get yourself involved in ANY of the name calling smear campaign kindergarten playground politics that Bill McCollum is already involved in.  If something is wrong, step up to the plate, take blame if need be, and fix it.  Show us why you are CFO and why you should be the Governor of this state.  Show us that you truly care about Floridians.  Do not ride on the coattails of President Obama and assume that because Americans have a bad taste for Republican politics right now, that you can just walk into this position because you can’t.  Prove that you can be my Governor.  Sway former Republican supporters and others to your side, not by smearing Bill McCollums name, but by proving yourself and explaining to us the ways you plan on improving this state.  Again, update your website.

A quote from Alex Sink about Bill McCollum that I couldn’t agree more with (however exactly what I tell her to refrain from previously):

“Bill McCollum spent 20 years in Congress and six years as a paid Washington lobbyist, which must explain his obsession with federal issues.  General McCollum’s refusal to concentrate on state issues … is bad for Florida”.

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Republican, BILL MCCOLLUM

Next up, Florida State Attorney General, Republican Bill McCollum.  Unlike Alex Sink, it’s extremely easy to find out the way Bill McCollum stands on a majority of issues.  He has been voting in the House of Representatives for years, has been in the news for decades, and is definitely your typical Republican politician.

Bill served in the Navy, the US congress and most recently is Florida’s 36th Attorney General.    On his website, that really has zero information about how he stands on any issues whatsoever, he states the following:

“As Attorney General, I have committed myself (to) making Florida a safer place for all of our citizens.  Under my leadership, our state has become as a national leader in the fight against child pornography and internet child predators.  I developed strategies to lower gang activity, protect consumers against identity theft and bring justice to those who defraud and exploit our citizens.  Most importantly, I’ve worked to protect those who cannot defend themselves – our children and seniors.”

He’s good.  Any career politician knows that you always bring up the welfare of children in any speech that you give.  Any career politician in FLORIDA, knows that you also always bring up senior citizens.  Also, I love that HE is lowering the gang activity in Florida.  The only people who are fighting and lowering gang activity in Florida are the local law enforcement, not the Attorney General who takes 13 weeks of vacation every year.

You can visit this website to get a clear view of how Bill McCollum stands on everything from abortion to gun laws.  There is no reason for me to point out all of his stances here, as they are already spelled out with his years of political presence in Congress.

I know I said earlier to assume I wasn’t leaning left or right, but I have a big issue with career politicians.  This is a man who has ALREADY started the name calling.  He is already being a political bully to Alex Sink and it’s disgusting to me.  He knows how to play this game and he knows how to play it well.  He doesn’t need Floridians to fall in love with him, he just needs enough Floridians to think that Alex Sink is bad for the job.

Dearest Future Govenor, Bill McCollum:

Please step back from your Republican high horse and talk to me.  Talk to me as a citizen of Florida.  Talk to me as a young American.  Tell me why you should be my Governor.  I don’t care if you pretty much led the charge to get President Clinton impeached during the sex scandal.  I don’t care if you want everyone in America to be able to buy guns at their local 7-11 without background checks or waiting periods.  What I do care about is what you are going to do to HELP Floridians.  I want to know what you will be doing differently than Charlie Crist.  I want to know what you will be doing for our children’s futures.  I want you to focus less on smearing the Alex Sink name, and focus more on making yourself not look like a right wing nut case.  I agree with your fight against child pornography and internet child predators, but what exactly are you doing in order to help defeat those things?  How are you protecting citizens from being exploited when you cannot even take responsibility for debt collectors threatening our citizens?

Stop thinking like a politician for once and talk to the citizens of Florida as if you were one of them.  That is how you will win this election.  We are not so easily duped nowadays.  Simply bullying your opponent and trying as hard as possible to dig up any dirt you can about Alex Sink, will not win you this election.  It may have worked in the past, but politics are changing.  Your long career in politics may have once been looked at as a perfect resume for Governor, however it is not looked at the same now.  Americans hate politicians.  So i’d put all that effort your putting into smearing Alex Sinks name, into making yourself look a lot less like a career politician and more like a normal human being.

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Here are a few interesting articles:

http://quinnell.us/sspb/?p=6881

Quote I loved from this article:

“…And that’s the whole point.  You can tell an awful lot about people, politicians and real vs. supposed leaders, by how they react to pressure, by how much empathy they show for those around them, by whether or not they’re willing to stretch the limits of ethical behavior in order to achieve their own personal aspirations.

Need I say more about what has happened to the Republican Party, in Florida, as in the rest of the country?”

http://www.examiner.com/x-9540-West-Palm-Beach-Liberal-Examiner~y2009m5d20-Beware-the-McCollum-makeover

Quote I loved from this article:

“For instance, the single item that jumps out of the 20-plus year congressional resume of this ultra-conservative Florida native is his 1998 “service” at the bequest of the then-ruling Republican Party, as one of an emboldened posse of prosecutors trying to impeach President William Jefferson Clinton for allegedly obstructing investigations into his sexual infidelities and into his subsequent statements about those infidelities. Tell me, how many mainstream moderate voters in this country, Republican or Democrat, Liberal or Conservative, knowing what they know now about the kinds of presidential misdeeds that actually do have critical importance and impact, how many do you think believe that Bill Clinton’s personal demons and sexual misconduct warranted the kind of prolonged partisan witch-hunt that Congressman Bill McCollum helped lead?”

Follow Alex Sink on Twitter.

Follow Bill McCollum on Twitter.

Follow Me on Twitter.

-Your Future Governor, Jamie O’Dell

So, I did what any un-seasoned puzzle-do’er does, I looked for the hardest puzzle I could find with the most puzzle pieces.  I thought the harder the better, that way the reward of accomplishment would be even sweeter.  This was the puzzle I landed on:

I liked that this puzzle was colorful and had the whole underwater thing going on.  At 1500 pieces it was the most complicated of the puzzles available to me at Target AND it was on sale for $4.00 so I threw it in my cart and hauled ass to the cash register before I could talk myself out of it.

Once home, I cut open the box and laid out all of the pieces.  I had already thought out how I would be completing this puzzle.  My first step was to turn all of the pieces over so I could see them.  The second step would be to pull out all the border pieces and put that together first.

What the hell have I gotten myself into?  There were SO MANY PIECES.  In fact the table that I thought would be PERFECT to complete this puzzle on, ended up being too small.  So all my turned over pieces ended up being smooshed into a big pile that was worthless for me to sift through.

I overcame these obstacles and completed the border as well as some additional parts.  This was a couple of days into the puzzle ordeal.  I was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed at this point, but I tried to do my best and pull together similar colors and patterns.  For a puzzle that seemed to have so many different underwater things in it, there sure were a lot of fish that looked identical.

Eventually I felt like I was making some progress.  I ended up moving half of the puzzle pieces onto a separate cardboard box so I could sift through all of them with ease.  I focused on the parts of the puzzle that did not repeat.  There was only one blue starfish, one blue and white striped fish, one group of pink slimy worm things and not a whole lot of the pink sponge things.  I also tried to group together the remaining pieces that looked like they belonged together.  I had a blue pile, a light blue pile, a turtle pile, a pink pile, etc.  This was about a week in a half into the puzzle.

I’m not sure why, but I ended up leaving all of the blue water parts and the striped fish with those long spikes on their heads, until the very end.  There were NINE of those stupid striped spike fish (say that ten times fast).  It seemed IMPOSSIBLE for me to figure out where the hell all the pieces went because they all looked exactly the same.  After a good 3 hour long session, I finally finished.  However, if you look closely, there are two pieces missing.  I looked everywhere for them, but they are gone forever.  Maybe that is why the puzzle was on sale?  Doubtful.  Either way, two pieces missing or not, I finished the puzzle and I was really proud of it.  It took about 2 weeks and I wanted to give up on it a few times, but I forged ahead and whooped it’s jigsaw ass.

It may not seem like much of an accomplishment to you, but for a person who rarely finishes anything, this was a big deal.  I look at this puzzle and think that with a little perseverance, determination and patience, anything is possible.

This is the last puzzle I will be doing for a very long time.  After finishing it, it sat on the table for 2 days until I folded it up and put it back in it’s box to never be seen again.

Love,

Jamie – The Puzzle-Do’er

For those who are quitting along with me, I know exactly what you have going through your head.  Well, at least this is what is going through my head.

• It’s impossible.  There are a few times i’ve just thought that it is impossible.  I know that it is, I know people who have quit.  I quit for a few years a while back.  But it still worries me.  What if it just isn’t in my cards?
• I will be depressed.  I don’t know why I think i’ll be depressed….but I can imagine that during a craving i’m just going to want to curl up in a ball and go to bed. I’m hoping to curb this feeling by working out.
• Smoking calms my nerves.  I don’t know if this is just a mental thing or if it actually calms your nerves, but when i’m pissed, a cig helps.  I guess I need to work on never being pissed off then.  So, I guess that means no Internet.  Shit….
• I don’t want to start eating a ton.  I’m not super afraid of this, because I am going to be taking up working out in place of smoking.  Still worries me a bit.  On the other hand, I might avoid overeating, because I know I will crave a cigarette afterward.
• Drinking will NEVER be the same.  Ever.  It just won’t.  There are few things in my life that make me feel completely relaxed and a cigarette with my beer is one of them.  Ugh, this is going to suck.
• Being Social will be tough.  I love sitting around and talking with friends.  Smoking makes this even better, I think.  It will be hard to sit around chatting with friends without wanting to smoke a cigarette.  Double suckage.

Like everything I do in my life, I have to know every single detail about it and over prepare myself.  So I have taken to the interwebs to locate some helpful but not overbearing tips about quitting and how to quit:

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Drink plenty of acidic fruit juice the first three days. Cranberry is excellent and a bottle will cost you about the same as a pack of cigarettes. It will help to both accelerate the up to 72 hours needed to remove the alkaloid nicotine from your body and help stabilize blood sugars. Take care beyond three days as juices can be rather fattening.

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Amazingly, nicotine somehow doubles the rate by which the body depletes caffeine. Yes, your blood-serum caffeine level will double if no caffeine intake reduction is made when quitting. Although not a problem for most light to moderate caffeine users, consider cutting caffeine intake by roughly half if troubled by anxieties or experiencing difficulty relaxing or sleeping.

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After you quit, plan to celebrate the milestones in your journey to becoming a non-smoker. After two weeks of being smoke-free, see a movie. After a month, go to a fancy restaurant (be sure to sit in the non-smoking section). After three months, go for a long weekend to a favorite get-away. After six months, buy yourself something frivolous. After a year, have a party for yourself. Invite your family and friends to your “birthday” party and celebrate your new chance at a long, healthy life.

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Drink lots of water. Water is good for you anyway, and most people don’t get enough. It will help flush the nicotine and other chemicals out of your body, plus it can help reduce cravings by fulfilling the “oral desires” that you may have.

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20 minutes after quitting: Your heart rate and blood pressure drops.

12 hours after quitting: The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.

2 weeks to 3 months after quitting: Your circulation improves and your lung function increases.

1 to 9 months after quitting: Coughing and shortness of breath decrease; cilia (tiny hair-like structures that move mucus out of the lungs) regain normal function in the lungs, increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs, and reduce the risk of infection.

1 year after quitting: The excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker’s.

5 years after quitting: Your stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker 5 to 15 years after quitting.

10 years after quitting: The lung cancer death rate is about half that of a continuing smoker’s. The risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, cervix, and pancreas decrease.

15 years after quitting: The risk of coronary heart disease is that of a non-smoker’s.

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Based on data collected in the late 1990s, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that adult male smokers lost an average of 13.2 years of life and female smokers lost 14.5 years of life because of smoking. And given the diseases that smoking can cause, it can steal your quality of life long before you die. Smoking-related illness can limit your activities by making it harder to breathe, get around, work, or play.

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If you have been smoking for any length of time, smoking has become linked with nearly everything you do — waking up in the morning, eating, reading, watching TV, and drinking coffee, for example. It will take time to “un-link” smoking from these activities. This is why, even if you are using a nicotine replacement, you may still have strong urges to smoke.

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One way to overcome these urges or cravings is to notice and identify rationalizations as they come up. A rationalization is a mistaken thought that seems to make sense to you at the time, but the thought is not based on reality. If you choose to believe in such a thought, it can serve as a way to justify smoking. If you have tried to quit before, you will probably recognize many of these common rationalizations:

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What if you do smoke? The difference between a slip and a relapse is within your control. A slip is a one-time mistake that is quickly corrected — a relapse is going back to smoking. You can use the slip as an excuse to go back to smoking, or you can look at what went wrong and renew your commitment to staying away from smoking for good.

Even if you do relapse, try not to get too discouraged. Very few people are able to quit for good on the first try. In fact, it takes most people many attempts before quitting for good. What’s important is figuring out what helped you when you tried to quit and what worked against you. You can then use this information to make a stronger attempt at quitting the next time.

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• For the first few days after you quit smoking, spend as much free time as you can in public places where smoking is not allowed. (Places like libraries, malls, museums, theaters, restaurants without bars, and churches are mostly smoke-free, and there may be more in your area.)

• Don’t drink alcohol, coffee, or any other drinks you link with smoking. Try something else instead — maybe different types of waters, sports drinks, or 100% fruit juices. Look for drinks that are low- or no-calorie.

• If you miss the feeling of having a cigarette in your hand, hold something else — a pencil, a paper clip, a coin, or a marble, for example.

• If you miss the feeling of having something in your mouth, try toothpicks, cinnamon sticks, sugarless gum, sugar-free lollipops, or celery. Some people chew on a straw or stir stick.

• Avoid temptation — stay away from situations you link with smoking.

• Find new habits and create a non-smoking environment around you.

• Be ready for future situations or crises that might make you want to smoke again, and think of all the important reasons you have decided to quit. To remind yourself of these reasons, you may want to put a picture of your children (or other people who are important to you) in your workplace. Or keep one handy in your purse or wallet.

• Take deep breaths to relax. Picture your lungs filling with fresh, clean air.

• Remember your goal and the fact that the urges to smoke will get better over time.

• Think positive thoughts about how awesome it is that you are quitting smoking and getting healthy — try to avoid negative ones. Remember that quitting is a learning process. Be patient with yourself.

• Brush your teeth and enjoy that fresh taste.

• Exercise in brief bursts (try alternate tensing and relaxing muscles, push-ups, deep knee bends, walk up a flight of stairs, or touch your toes).

• Call a supportive friend, family member, or a telephone stop-smoking help-line.

• Eat 4 to 6 small meals during the day instead of 1 or 2 large ones. This keeps your blood sugar levels steady, your energy balanced, and helps prevent the urge to smoke. Avoid sugary or spicy foods that may trigger a desire for cigarettes.

• Above all, reward yourself for doing your best. Give yourself rewards often if that’s what it takes to keep going. Plan to do something fun.

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When you get the “crazies”

• Keep substitutes to put in your mouth handy, such as carrots, pickles, apples, celery, raisins, or sugar-free gum.

• Take 10 deep breaths, and hold the last one while lighting a match. Exhale slowly and blow out the match. Pretend it is a cigarette and put it out in an ashtray.

• Take a shower or bath.

• Learn to relax quickly and deeply. Make yourself go limp. Think about a soothing, pleasing situation, and imagine yourself there. Get away from it all for a moment. Focus on that peaceful image and nothing else.

• Light incense or a candle instead of a cigarette.

• Tell yourself “no.” Say it out loud. Practice doing this a few times, and listen to yourself. Some other things you can say to yourself might be, “I’m too strong to give in to smoking,” “I’m a non-smoker now,” or “I don’t want to let my friends and family down.”

• Never allow yourself to think that “one cigarette won’t hurt,” because it very likely will.

• Wear a rubber band around your wrist. Whenever you have a thought about smoking, snap it against your wrist to remind yourself of all the unpleasant reasons that made you want to quit in the first place. Then remember that you will not always need a rubber band to help you stay in line with your plans to quit.

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Alright, that’s enough information.  Good luck to you and more importantly good luck to me Smoking is disgusting and nobody wants to die from lung cancer.  Plus, why the hell would we want to give money to some scumbag cigarette manufactures who are killing millions of people just so they can drive a helicopter to work everyday.  FUCK THAT. FUCK SMOKING.

Love,

Jamie

Here is a list of Celebrities who gave the most in the year 2008.  This list was compiled from Public Records, so it is possible that anonymous donations were given by these celebrities and others.  However, I don’t think celebrities do shit anonymously because they are addicted to being the center of attention, therefore, I believe this list could be fairly accurate.

Paul Newman topped the list at $21 million to Health initiatives, education, emergency campaigns, and environmental protection (before his death in September 2008) – This man was incredible.  Newman was a co-founder of Newman’s Own, a food company from which Newman donated all post-tax profits and royalties to charity. As of October 2008, these donations had exceeded US $250 million.  Paul Newman is the definition of a man and an amazing humanitarian.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt rounded out the 2nd spot giving $13.4 million towards a health clinic in Ethiopia; New Orleans redevelopment and the Armed Services YMCA.   They are a couple, so technically they each have given about $7 million of their own money if you split it evenly.  No matter how you look at it, it’s a ton of money.  I don’t want to like either of these two, but it is impossible.  Every single day they are working towards making this world a better place.  They have used their celebrity in the best possible way and will most likely continue to do so in the future.  Bitch about them adopting children in other countries, bitch about them helping other countries, the truth is they have done their damn fair share of helping America and especially New Orleans.  Kudos to the Jolie-Pitts!

Mel Gibson – $6.5 million to the Holy Family Church in Agoura Hills, CA. Mel Gibson is an ass.  The Holy Family Church in Agoura Hills is not ackowledged by the Roman Catholic Church.  They have allegedly preached anti-Semitic beliefs and is pretty much solely sponsored by Gibson.  This church is filled with holocaust deniers.  This is not charity, it is f-ing insanity.

Richard Childress (former Nascar racer) – $5 million to a pediatric trauma center in Winston-Salem, NC. I have no idea who this guy is so I did a little research.  After being a NASCAR badass, he eventually opened a vineyard in North Carolina and became a buh-billionaire.  I like this guy and it looks like he has done a lot of good.

Oscar De La Hoya – $3.5 million towards a hospital and charter school in LA. Listen, there was some speculation that the guy got busted cheating on his wife and dressing in women’s clothing.  So be it.  He donated a shit ton of money (as well he should have) and that’s rad.

Oprah Winfrey – $2.4 million towards after school programs across the country and scholarships for students in Whitesboro, NJ. I honestly cannot f-ing believe that Oprah is 6th on this list.  I CAN NOT BELIEVE IT.  I get it, celebrities are human too…blah blah eff you barf.  She is the most powerful and wealthy woman on the planet practically.  She should be on the top of the list, every single year until her show gets cancelled and/or she dies.  She has spent her life capitalizing on the success of OTHER PEOPLE, therefore I believe at the very least 50% of this womans money should go to charity.  Shame on you Oprah.  And I know damn well you aren’t donating anonymously.

Sam Waterston – $2.1 million towards Refugees International and the American Institute for Stuttering. Dude is on Law and Order.  He has donated time and money to all sorts of charities and organizations throughout his life.  Why the hell is this guy on this list and Johnny Depp is not?  Or Eddie Murphy?  All of whom were the highest earners in 2008 each making well over $50 million during the year.  WHY ARE THEY NOT ON THIS LIST?

Yao Ming – $2 million towards the fund to build earthquake resistant schools in China.  Hell yes.  Yao Ming plays for the Houston Rockets and hails from China.  He gave a SIGNIFICANT amount of money to assist in this organization to help build earthquake resistant schools.  He rocks.  Currently he has a 5 year deal with the Rockets for $12.5 million dollars.  Do the math…..$2 million to a single organization in one year is A HUGE DEAL.

Patricia Cornwell (author) – towards Harvard University and City University of New York. Who? She writes Crime books. She is a drunk, besties with Reverend Billy Graham and close with the Bush family.  She’s also given a ton of money to the Republican party and a bunch of other organizations that are worthless and have too much money already.   P.S. She’s a lesbian

Barbara Streisand – $1.7 million towards The Barbara Streisand Women’s Cardiocascular Research and Education Program in LA. Babwa! She’s a good lady, gives he fair share and does her thing.  She could be giving more and it’s a bit sketch to me whenever a celebrity gives to their own charity, but I will attempt to believe that her organization is legit.

Leonardo DiCaprio – $1.5 million towards community development and The Paris Review literary magazine.  Maybe Leonardo DiCaprio doesn’t realize that the magazine business is dying…..but I guess if he believes in it, so be it.  He has the money, he should be giving and that’s all that matters.

Will Smith and Jada Smith – $1.5 million towards The Baltimore School of Arts, Malaria No More and The Make a Wish Foundation. Way too low.  Way way way way wayyyyyy too low.  Will Smith made $80 million in 2008.  $80 FUCKING MILLION DOLLARS!!!!! Not cool Will, not cool at all.  You have WAY too much money and you should be giving PAUL NEWMAN amounts of money!!!!!  I do like that they gave towards Make a Wish.  2009 better be a banner year for the Smiths and charity givings.  I don’t even want to imagine how much of their money was given to Scientology.  *shudder*

LeRoy Neiman (artist) – $1.5 million towards The Arts Horizons LeRoy Neiman Art Center in Harlem, NY.  If you have ever browsed through Playboy, then chances are you have seen his stuff.  His annual sales of art is around $10 million annually which is very impressive.  Another “I gave money to my own charity” dude, but it’s for a school he created in Harlem. I’m down with that.

Dean Koontz – $1.4 million towards Canine Companions for Independence. I like that Koontz gave to an organization that I am assuming is near and dear to him.  Canine Companions is a wonderful organization and I am going to bet that his generous contribution helped out a lot.  He has also given his fair share of funds to the Republican Party :/

Marc Bulger (QB for the Rams) - $1.3 million towards The Backstoppers Inc.(a police officers and firefighters fund of St. Louis, MO). Another Sports guy.  But I have to ask, where the hell is Tiger Woods on this list?  Where is LeBron James? Kobe? Shaq? A-Rod? Instead we have this unknown guy giving millions to a small organization in St. Louis.  I sometimes can’t stand athletes.  They are showboating ass clowns.

Bob Barker – $1.2 million towards various animal charities, pet spaying and neutering programs across the country.  Not surprised and happy to see him on the list.  Animal charities are extremely important, he has done a lifetimes worth of work for them and continues to do so.

Nicolas Cage – $1.1 million towards Amnesty International. I’m a little confused about this one.  According to every single news outlet in the world, Nic Cage owes $6 million in back taxes to the IRS…..so i’m not sure why he was giving that much money away, unless of course his accountant was actually screwing him like he claims.  Either way, good for Nic.

Drew Barrymore – $1 million towards The U.N.’s World Food Program.  She’s trendy as hell, but a million bucks is a million bucks.  She’s a good person who managed to not become a complete and utter disaster growing up in Hollywood.

Jenny Jones – $1 million towards community improvement projects.  How the hell does Jenny Jones have a million dollars is what I am wondering?  And I cannot believe she is on this list on top of all the other people I have mentioned.  Not to mention every single other actor and actress in the world.  JENNY JONES?

Jimmy Dean – $1 million towards Wayland Baptist University for campus improvements and endowments.  mmm, sausage.  Towards a college, meh, not that big of a deal.

Penny Hardaway (NBA) – $1 million for the Athletic Hall of Fame at University of Memphis.   Another sports guy.  For the Athletic Hall of Fame?  That seems really friggin weird.

Roger and Chaz Ebert – $1 million towards The Robert Ebert Program for Film Studies Fund at the University of Illinois.  Another “my own charity is getting my charity”.  And its an acting school…..meh, if you are a great actor you don’t need no stinkin schooling.

Isabel Allende (author) – $900k towards The Global Women’s Fund, Marine Education Fund.  I don’t know who this woman is and I honestly don’t care.  $900k is awesome.

Larry David – $720k towards the NY Restoration Project, national Resource Defense Council.  Should have given more, but I will allow it for this was probably a personal contribution for something he felt strongly about.

Andre Agassi – $540k towards The Andre Agassi College Prep Academy in Las Vegas, NV.  Considering he is a former meth addict, this is a great contribution towards HIS OWN DAMN CHARITY.

Jeff Gordon – $526,000 towards Riley Hospital for Children, Northeast Medical Center, Hendrick Marrow Foundation.  Anything with children is a sell with me.   He made $11 million in 2008, so i’d say this is a nice chunk of change for a great cause.

Leonard and Susan Nimoy – $510k towards The Nimoy Foundation supporting arts and education about the arts. Yet another who is giving their money toward the charity that they created.  Not much to say.  Why isn’t Tom Cruise on this list again?  Where is Ben Roethlisberger, that mothereffer made $23 mil in 2008?

Cher – $500k towards various health and research programs, veterans rights groups and childrens rights organizations.  Down with Cher.  She gives.  She will always give.

This list made me want to puke.  I hope it’s not real.  I don’t know how legit and resourceful PARADE magazine is, but i’m assuming that they have to have some sort of merit when it comes to these types of “lists”.  Either way, I can think of about a hundred celebrities who should be on this list and aren’t.  I do not believe they are giving anonymously.  I do not believe this list is completely inaccurate.  Celebrities are scumbags.  They do not give.  They do not give even a QUARTER of the amount of funds and time that normal Americans do.  It’s sad and I hate them.

Love,

Jamie

I heard a “joke” once. A man goes to a hotel and gets a room. The hotel employee warns him that the only room left has a guy staying next door that is a bit high-strung so he should be weary not to startle him or make any loud sudden noises. The man says that is fine, as he only needs the room for a few hours to rest. Once in the hotel room, the man quietly starts to undress being careful not to make much fuss because of the guy next door. He sits down on the edge of the bed and starts to remove one of his shoes, he loses his grip and the shoe smacks down on the tile floor and makes a loud THWAP! The man cringes and hopes that this did not disturb the man next door. He is careful to remove his other shoe without even the slightest noise and places it gently on the chair next to his bed. After a few hours, there is a loud bang at the man’s door, he opens it and a man is standing there, clearly looking anxious and in a panic. He yells “FOR GODS SAKE, DROP THE OTHER SHOE!!!??”.

I butchered that story but it was along those same lines. It’s a humorous take on where the saying “waiting for the other shoe to drop” came from. Most people use the term to describe a certain specific instance, as though it means the same as karma. That every action has a reaction and that if a decision is made (whether it be good or bad) there will be some sort of outcome to it (good or bad). If you work hard for many years at your job, you could be “waiting for the other shoe to drop”, meaning you are waiting for your reward for all of the years of hard work. It can also be negative, such as if you missed a ton of work and called out all the time, you could be “waiting for the other shoe to drop”, meaning you are anxiously awaiting your pink slip.

I do not entirely believe it to mean anything positive or negative.

I take it to mean that some people are constantly living with anxiety and panic waiting for the worst possible thing to happen in their otherwise normal and calm existence.

I am eternally waiting for the other shoe to drop.

It isn’t that I am walking around with nervous nellie butterflies in my stomach all the time waiting for a piano to fall on my head or for a car to run me over. I am acutely aware that some things just happen and I have no control over them. It is during the larger decisions that I make in my life that I am waiting on the SHOE.

For example, I recently decided to exit the workforce and go to school full-time and live off of student loans. I have a good resume, I have experience, I have the ability, knowledge, intelligence and motivation to get a decent job, however due to the recent economic crunch, the best positions I could find were not challenging, rewarding or anywhere near what I wanted to do in my life. So, I made the decision to focus completely on school at an attempt to set myself up in my thirties to have a job that I at least enjoyed to some extent doing something that I felt good about. I can almost hear the shoe dropping already.

Worst Case Scenario – I finish school, rack up tens of thousands of dollars in student loans and I still can’t find a decent job because the economy hasn’t turned around. Or better yet, they stop handing out student loans and financial aid to students thus ending any sort of chance I had at acquiring a degree in the first place.

I have mentally, physically and emotionally prepared myself for these outcomes even though I have 2 years left of school and there is no immediate threat of not being able to get student loans. But by preparing for them, at least mentally and emotionally, I am setting myself up to not have a nervous breakdown when both of those things inevitably happen (which they will). So although I am constantly waiting to get smacked in the face by the shoe, I’m not exactly letting it get in my way of doing what I set out to do.

I follow this pattern with all the decisions I make in my life that should or could have some sort of outcome. I’m not saying that this is the correct way to think; I am actually saying the complete opposite. It makes for quite the depressing school day when I am constantly thinking about how after all this hard work and dedication, I will most likely be unemployed with an expensive piece of paper in my hand that simply means “Yay, you can memorize stuff and pass tests!”.

Relationships are no different.

Worst Case Scenario – I meet prince charming and fall head over heels (another good saying). I finally open up and trust that this person feels the same way I do. Then, I get cheated on or lied too or dumped or murdered in my sleep with a shoe.

By preparing myself for the end before it even begins, I am actually creating a nice comfy spike shield around my heart so that instead of it breaking it will actually slice through the skin of any un
suspecting suitor who tries to fuck with it. This of course makes relationships very difficult for me, as I am never fully committed for fear of said heart breakage.

This can go the same way for friendships.

Worst Case Scenario – I meet a new friend, begin to trust them, share stories, tell secrets, then they swiftly stab a giant shoe in my back quicker than I can remember their kids names and birthdays (doing so is a big deal to me). It’s bound to happen and even if it doesn’t, I sure as shit will be ready for it.

So what is worse? Anxiously yet preparedly waiting for the shoe to drop? Or simply assuming that the shoe will never drop because it has been quietly placed on the chair next to the bed?

I don’t think I could ever be comfortable knowing that the shoe won’t drop. Mainly because I’m hoping with all of the Worst Case Scenarios, there has to be at least one or two Best Case Scenarios that will happen. But can a BCS actually happen if I am never fully dedicated? If I continuously prepare for the worst and never think of the best, can the best actually happen? If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

Peace,

Jamie