The Hero – Use your picture or that of someone you know, or use your webcam to become the star of this original and funny movie. Staged like an actual news story, the picture you picked will be presented in various instances throughout the movie. This is a great deal of fun, and it was especially hilarious this time around for me, because I used the photo of my personal hero from this favorite cartoon show. See the screen shot below to guess just who it is… If you haven’t figured it out by now, the whole point of this customized film is to stress the importance of a certain social issue. It’s certainly an original way of making a point.
Jim Carrey – I’ve never seen an actor’s official site so filled with beauty and innovation. Instead of the usual homepage with some photos and side menu, the Jim Carrey site is everything but standard, and still contains all the info you’d like to find about one of America’s (and Canada’s) best comedians and actors of all times. Just for kicks, search for Jim’s twitter feed and enjoy the ride until you do. This truly is a digital precedent for all other actors out there, big and small.
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YouTube Symphony – Why is YouTube featured on our Weekly Faves again? Simply because they have a new exciting initiative I thought I’d share with you: YouTube is offering an original and groundbreaking opportunity for professional and amateur musicians of all ages, locations and instruments. People are welcome to audition for the YouTube Symphony Orchestra by submitting 2 video performances displaying their talent. The best and bravest will join the YouTube Symphony Orchestra summit, and will play a new piece written for the occasion by the renowned Chinese composer Tan Dun at Carnegie Hall, under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas . Statistically speaking, there isn’t an overwhelming number of musicians among the readers of this blog. So why should you be interested in this post? There is a number of reasons why: First, YouTube is a wonderful discovery and education tool. Although I wouldn’t necessarily describe myself as an avid classical music fan, I must admit that I find A Symphony for YouTube as particularly enjoyable and inspiring. Second, there’s a chance you might know or heard of a talented musician in your neighborhood or among the circle of your acquaintances. In this case, you could act as the grassroots music lobbyist of your community and let the said talented individuals in on the opportunity they’ve been waiting for. If you’re aware of such musicians, send them the link and urge them to practice and apply. Who knows? Maybe you will be the one who discovers the next Leonard Bernstein. Hurry! The deadline for all video submissions is January 28, 2009.
RadioBeta – It is quite remarkable that with the exponential rate in which advanced technology is developed these days, radio is still alive and kicking. After all, how many times in the passed couple of years have you spotted someone walking down the street with a walkman or a portable cd player? My personal assumption about radio is that many people (including myself) haven’t given up on the joy of listening just yet. Whatever you may think about radio in these visual and digital times, one thing is certain: the convergence of Internet with radio is giving the Hertz frequencies a global spin; the evolution we are witnessing stems from the way in which we ‘consume’ radio, and the internet is definitely changing our perspective. Thanks to RadioBeta, you have numerous radio stations around the globe at your disposal and these are just a click away. RadioBeta allows users to listen to and create their personal playlists comfortably and efficiently. The best part about RadioBeta is that all listed radio stations are public and free, as RadioBeta’s database of radio stations excludes those that charge you for listening. This is exactly how we want the internet to be: free and reliable. Another similar service that was previously featured on our Weekly Faves (although offering a different interface) is by RadioTime. Check both sites out and choose the one with the interface that you’re more comfortable with.
DailyFill – Yahoo has OMG, AOL has TMZ. It shouldn’ t come as a surprise then that MySpace is challenging both. After all, celebrity gossip has become (whether you like it or not) a multi-billion dollar industry and it’s only fair that MySpace wants a piece of that sweet pie.The DailyFill is MySpace’s latest venture, a new celebrity gossip website. This concept (celebrity pictures and low-brow cynical headlines) isn’t new but we still feel that if Britney Spears is Yahoo’s top search for 2008, you would appreciate learning about a new celebrity site. I personally enjoyed it much more than the veteran ones. As a result, before this earns a permanent spot on our Entertainment page, AllMyFaves will follow it closely and see if it continues to provide high quality content. To conclude – Enjoy what’s said (and shown) about Karolina Kurkova and Hugh Jackman!
SecretBuilders – SecretBuilders is a virtual world for children 5 to 14 years old, powered by a web 2.0 community of children, parents, educators, writers, artists and game developers. With SecretBuilders, children can explore virtual lands, undertake quests, play games, maintain a home, nurture a pet and interact with their friends. If you are wondering what the above actually means, I suggest you register and start exploring kids’ virtual worlds because I truly believe it might help you understand your kids a little bit better. If you have kids of your own you’re probably already familiar with Webkinz and Club Penguin. SecretBuilders is quite similar to these, although the former two require payment for a membership. SecretBuilders is free of charge and is just as enjoyable…
Spotted by Locals – Spotted By Locals is a series of city blogs for travelers who like to experience cities ‘the local way’. Paper guidebooks just can’t keep up with cities: the moment they are printed, they’re already outdated. And although there are many reviews of interesting spots in cities available on the internet, they are often elusive and don’t always have the seal of credibility. The Spotted By Locals’ authors or “Spotters” are selected following a frontal meeting with the site’s creators. The latter claim that this recruiting method ensures that Spotters are not only city savvies but also writers who create content out of passion for their city. I admire this concept and I appreciate the personal aspect of it. I thoroughly read some of the Spotters’ recommendations and it truly seems like they know all that their respective city has to offer. The site currently offers city blogs of only major European cities. I can only hope they will find the time to extend their variety to more cities around the globe.
Once Upon a Win – If you are under the age of 28, you probably won’t understand this site. It combines nostalgia with humor, making fun out of the once-cool trends of the past; from the Big Wheel to Pin Art and on to The A-Team Van – if it is ‘nostalgic’ it’s there. The site is brought to us from the same people who created the well-known icanhascheezburger and fail blog. Needless to say, just like these previous initiatives, Once Upon a Win is also based on user-generated content. So head to your garage or to wherever you store items of your past, find something you loved as a kid and submit it. I am sure you will find that you are not the only one who cherished it. Doesn’t it make you feel good? Living in the 80s as a kid rules!
Polyvore – Polyvore is a free application for mixing and matching images from anywhere on the web. With Polyvore you can create fashionable sets composed of individual images using an easy to use, drag and drop editor. Once you create a set you can then publish and share it with your friends and the Polyvore community. It is like making collages, but with things you adore or wish you had owned. Yours truly didn’t create his own set, but I found some interesting ones, like ‘I thought you might be worried‘ or ‘Cause if you’re a diva,’ created by others. BTW: the sets go on and on. If fashion is in your blood then this is the place for you.
Central City – Central City is a mystery game and its plot intro is this:”It’s late, and central city is locked in uneasy slumber. Tonight, while every politician, policeman, and union boss was at the big prize fight at the hotel ares, somebody pulled a heist at the Bulgari store. Now one man is dead, and no one knows why. In his hideout deep beneath Wildwood Cemetery, the two-fisted crime fighter known as The Spirit is sure something else was going down. Something bigger. Something he’ll try to stop. You’re a detective. You want the real story. You must solve the mystery!” the rest is in your hands. Good Luck!
DRAWMINOS – I always loved playing with real dominoes, both for being a strategy game enthusiast and for simply enjoying watching them fall neatly one by one after setting them up on their edge. Drawminos offers the latter kind of game, while it eliminates the frustration caused by falling Dominoes during the setup. This definitely captures the falling dominoes excitement and marvel. Build ’em up and knock ’em down. And if you are into world records, check out this over four million dominoes creation. Enjoy!
99 Bricks – This game just looks like Tetris, but is actually different. Here you’ll need to build the highest stable tower rather than making complete lines! With 99 Bricks at your disposal, how high will your tower be? Writers tip: Don’t hesitate to discard some of the bricks. For more new games, check out our Weekly Games.
Gaming and social networks are both hugely time consuming when it comes to the web. doof.com takes both of these concepts and puts them together. doof is a new social playground in which everyone can play casual flash based games while socializing with friends and sharing their thoughts and experiences.
Everyone at doof has their own profile, avatar, guestbook, blog, photo-album, instant messenger, statistics and a friends list. Stand out from the crowd by customizing your doof world and expressing yourself for the whole community to see.
doof gives you the familiar desktop experience with a beautiful Flash based UI. The design is very intuitive and there are a lot of designing options to choose from. As you can see above i chose the relaxing view of the ocean. You can upload any picture you want or just select one from the default gallery. Themes are also available to select. You can also share your creation with the world using the ‘Publish doofSpace’ feature.
Games – Time to get addicted
Everyone loves games, and doof surely has plenty of that (44 as of this moment). The games are categorized by the typical game genres. Classics such as Asteroids and Space Invaders, puzzles, action, sports, shooting, racing and much more. Some of them are really quite addictive (Try not to kill yourself while base jumping on “Elite Base Jumper”).
While browsing the games you will come across a few familiar faces. You can find makeovers of populars like Bejeweled, Same, Zuma and Pong. My personal favorites are: Golden Arrow, Gem Swap, Hammer Throw and Cascade.
The thing that makes doof such a great experience for me is the game window. You get much more then just playing the game. On this window you can view a few basic stats about yourself, see a progress curve of your gaming, how you position compare on the global ranking and medals that you have won. This fact really makes you want to soak in the skills and grab all the medals.
As well as just playing a quick game you can join a tournament. Tournaments cost you doof credits. You receive 10 credits when you sign up, these credits can be earned by winning or by buying more credits with PayPal or Credit Card transaction. On tournament modes you bet your hard earned credits based on the skills you have against another opponent in the same game. The winner is the opponent with most of the points.
doof credits have high addicting potential. As of now, you can only buy gifts for your friends (beer, blow-up dolls, diamond rings) but as doof develops expect to see many more features to use with the credits you earn.
Socializing
Except for the basic ‘wall writing’ we are all familiar from with from our favorite social network, doof enables you as well to IM with your friends, send them mail, share doofSpaces, send gifts and even integrate your Facebook photo albums.
A nice touch which i found to be quite lovely is the news tracker. Choose your news provider and see the headlines scroll at the bottom of the screen.
doof surely looks to be a great promise in the world of social gaming. If you are a flash game enthusiast head on over and sign up. Keep in mind that doof is still in it’s early stages and even at this stage they’re definitely worthy of your time. Enjoy. (If you win a few credits, send over a beer 😉 ).
This is a story about a lovely young woman I met a couple of days ago in Los Angeles.
Her name is GloZell and she is undoubtedly Jay Leno’s number one fan. Every day she gets up early in order to be in line at the NBC Burbank Studios. As of this date, she has been to 153 Jay Leno shows.
Waiting in line could be quite excruciating but GloZell truly makes the time pass by quickly, with interesting stories about Jay, celebs, tourists and lots more. Though not everyone could make it to NBC Studios, GloZell have made it easy for everyone to read her words of wisdom on her blog.
The blog is one of the most entertaining blogs I have ever read. On her blog she documents the inside and outside of the show, plus some interesting stories from her life. Here is a taste from today’s post.
It’s always great when “Ellen” is shooting next door, because I get to play count the lesbian couples as they walk pass me. They are so nice and friendly, and they stop and talk. I think I have watched the show “The L Word” a little too much. I like Skittles but I don’t want to taste the rainbow.
If you’re looking for a personal blog to read, this one should be taken into consideration. Have a look, and leave a comment, she loves it when people leave comments.
GloZell Loves Jay Leno