Today's Photo: Benedictine Platter

Breakfast: The most important meal of the day. 

Taken at the Queens Landing in Niagara On the Lake where I attended an awards weekend a couple years ago. A beautiful hotel with great gardens and scenery. They had a fantastic Eggs Benedict breakfast. What is your favorite breakfast meal? 

Today's Photo: Ambiance

Ambiance: This photo was taken while out for a night walk on Ocean Drive in South Beach, one of my favorite US destinations. The lighting from the restaurant was a bright green and gave a nice hue upon these beverages which you could find on the tables of most patrons eating along the strip. 

TIFF Trailers 2014 Part 3

Loot Crate August 2014

The August Loot Crate has arrived and this month's box was awesome.  

The theme was Heroes and it directly tied in to two of the big blockbusters this month: Ninja Turtles and Guardians of the Galaxy.

First up is the Ooze Action Michelangelo Figure which I am probably going to leave in package as a collectible.  Along with the figure comes a pair of Ninja Turtle Bandana Sunglasses which I am fairly confident I will sport on any given day unexpectedly.  

There is the latest copy of the Heroes Magazine which I have yet to read but will do so shortly.   Also in box is a pair of Swings, a pair of wings to attach to my shoes for when I want to fly.  I do want to fly!

I received my official Loot Crate Card in this month's box along with some codes to access some free content on Doctor Who apps.  There is also Chimichangos for when I need a Super hero breakfast.

We have a Megaman (awesome) air freshner for when I want my car to smell nicer than it already does. 

And last but far from least is Groot Pop Figure which made my day.  I will have to buy Rocket Racoon to complete this.  

This month's box was great even without a t-shirt.  Happy Looting!

Nerd Block August 2014

August's Nerd Block has arrived and it has a few interesting items:

I believe this months theme has a time travel theme of some sort but not really a 100 per cent sure.  There was a pop figure and a t-shirt this month and if you are a Doctor Who fan the Doctor Who magazine.  

I do vaguely remember watching Dr. Who with my grandfather as a kid but haven't yet taken the time to catch up on all that has happened in the Dr.'s world.

Pokeman fans will know the reference to the t-shirt.  I am not a pokeman ; ) so I am deciding whether I will give this shirt away to one of the readers in a give away.  

Two things which made this box entertaining for me were the Batman Pop figure which is pretty cool.  I am now officially collecting Pops due to my box subscriptions, something I hadn't planned on doing with all my other collections but why not.  

Garbage Pail kids, which could have been a little bigger, but they are Garbage Pail Kids so I'm not complaining.  Can you tell I loved GPKs as a kid?  I did.  I had a huge collection which have unfortunately laid waste to time.  

And then there is this angry looking hamster which is fine by me because I like hamsters.

Overall a decent box this month.  Batman definitely saves the day.  

Be a decent donator

CTV posted an article last night  which you can read here.   The topic is rather interesting and when I first read it I was a little on the fence about the tone the Ottawa food bank was taking.  Actually I was kind of offended at first thinking that a charity would turn away donations but it brings up a double sided coin and it cuts right to the heart of how we treat those who are less fortunate than us. 

So the Ottawa based Food Bank;  Parkdale Food Centre is turning away donations...  What??? 

Scratching my head I read on....  They are turning away bad foods ie Kraft Dinner and hot dogs, which I'll take them if they dont want.  But seriously the message here is clear that people do deserve to eat well.  And by well they mean healthily.  The problem I have is that maybe some people wouldn't mind a dog or some mac and cheese once in a while.  If your current circumstances require you to go to a food bank then maybe a little junk treat once in a while isn't so bad.  We all do it at times so why should they be excluded?  But I do get their point that we shouldn't be  just treating people like they deserve our scraps and bottom of the barrel items.  And sadly that is what some people are doing.  The article states they received and I quote " an opened bottle of salad dressing that expired in 2008 and an opened container of Hot Rod meat snacks"  That's going on 6 years if my math is correct.

Really???  Some one donated expired salad dressing??  Thats just rude that you can't even make a little effort to make sure that the items you are giving are even edible.  I have heard of the same thing from people who work with the St Vincent de Paul clothing drive.  People actually donate shirts full of holes or pants that are ripped all over.  Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase beggers can't be choosers.  But seriously make a little effort to treat people who you could just as easily be in their situation with a little dignity.  

Back to turning away unhealthy foods.  While I do agree that the thought of sending a clear message that people deserve to eat well, which in turn will improve their health, which in the long runs benefits all of us and society at large. I do think maybe these turned away items could be used for alternative ways to raise awareness or money for the needy.  The problem with this approach of the Parkdale Food Centre is sadly there are people who will go to donate foods, be turned away, feel rejected and say "screw this I'm trying to do something good here and they don't want my help. Ok they won't get it then"  So they refuse to contribute in the future to good causes.  I think Parkdale could use items like donated hotdogs to hold fundraisers. Mac and cheese on a dog mmmmm.  Or use the mac and cheese in a salad.  There's a lot of possibilities but the idea is have a bbq for the public, solicite a donation, and use that money to either buy better foods or further fund your cause.   It puts the onus on the people who can make a choice on whether they want to eat healthily, doesn't turn away donations and make people feel rejected for doing something of a good intention and it brings in money. 

TIFF Trailers 2014 Part 2

Today's Photo: Nectarous

Nectarous: 

Whenever I stop for Ice Cream my cone preference is the Waffle Cone. I love the chocolate and the sprinkles are magical.

 What is your favorite type of cone?

 Better yet what's your favorite ice cream in your favorite cone? 

Tiff Trailers 2014 Part 1

Toronto International Film Festival has begun and there are a tonne of trailers which were released today.  I will be posting my favorite selections over the next couples of days.

Manuganu 2

There are some spoilers in this review!!

Manuganu 2 has arrived!  This is one of my favorite three runners and the fun continues in this latest edition from Alper Sarikaya.  The game has a similiar feel and functionality as the first game with a few tweaks here and there.   Overall the game seems to run smoother than the original on the three big platforms I tried the game on. I recommend sticking to either the Apples or Windows version of the game if you have the choice.  Pricing is cheap at $0.99 on all three platforms.  The Android version of this game is terrible simply due to the excessive ads in between completing each level, literally.  The ads seriously slow down the game and your device plus when your paying for a game it shouldn't be permitted to have 40 ads forced upon you or more depending on how often you die.

Manuganu starts in its traditional form giving small tutorials on how to play as each  level introduces new moves your Indian character can do to survive each level.  I can't recall if the original had a back story but there is a small story at the start of the game explaining just exactly why you are running through this world dodging swinging Moai Heads and angry birds and spiders.  In future incarnations of Manu it would be interesting to see this elaborated more on. 

The game overall has a very familiar look and feel but the levels do seem to get a little more interesting as time goes on.  At the end of each world there is a boss level. The first world ends with a giant flying piranha looking monster chasing after you as you try to weave through a bunch of obstacles.  When he catches you he eats you.  Its awesome!

A new feature of the game is the blue and yellow mushrooms that transport you between the background and the foreground very similar to Mutant Mudds.  With this new play option you do get a sense of exploring more of the Manuganu world which was very one dimensional in the first game.   The stop and go feature is still part of the game which is one of the main features that differentiate this runner from other runner games.  And the handful of bosses you encounter make this a solid sequel to the original.

The game overall is tougher than the original and has some new concepts introduced, like flying much of the second world.  I won't say much more than that as not to spoil everything in store in Manuganu 2.  You do have to learn some maneuvering tricks as well to avoid some of the creatures waiting for you as you try to scale walls.  The pace of the game is fairly fast as well and makes for a whole lot of fun trying to complete tasks, beat times and capture the three stars at the end of each level.

Overall a solid game with some nice improvements and new features.  I look forward to seeing what future releases of Manuganu holds and if it continues its current formula this series has a lot of potential.    I give it a 9.5/10

Todays Photo: Indistinct

This picture was taken on a very windy day with a low shutter speed. The lack of clarity is visible when magnified demonstrating a blurred effect in the final result. Often times our lives are the same way. A little wind comes about and offsets the focus in our viewfinder. Lack of clarity can lead us to making bad choices or not seeing when is the right time to take our finger off the pulse. Both patience and stepping back to wait for the right moment are essential to capturing a good photo or making a solid choice. I feel inspired by this picture and am sharing with you. Do the same for someone in your life.

Thursday Trailers

Today's Photo: Breaktime

Some photos just speak for themselves.  Its payday for some of us up here in the North.  After paying all the bills how do you pay yourself?  Or better yet how do you treat yourself?  

Today's Photo: Momentum

Momentum: One of the most amazing waves I have encountered in my travels. This photo was taken about 7 years ago during a trip to San Diego. California has these wind storms at times that generate some get surf waves. There were a number of surfers at the beach that day.

On a more personal note this trip was a milestone in my life where I made some major decisions which have changed the course of my life. This picture signifies to me not only those changes which have not only bettered my life but also represents a big stepping stone for me, that being one of the first times I stepped outside my comfort zone and challenged myself to some Landscape and Street Photography. In turn this trip began my 7 year (on going) journey to become a photographer.

Visit my newly launched photography site Tresta Studio

Today's Photo: Smiles Melt

It's Character Wednesdays! And you know what that means... two more days till the weekend!

Today's Photo: Uphill

With every uphill battle there are greater pastures

Today's Photo: Pretty in Pink

Blog Updates

As you may have noticed I have begun posting entries again on Bloggin Blodgett.  I have been absent for some time due to the constraints of work and school which has made it difficult to Blog.  I will be resuming the blog on a full time basis shortly.  There are some design changes and layout changes with more to come over the next year.  For those of you have followed me prior to my absence you will be familiar with some of my regular weekly posts ie The Vault, Today's Photo, Chez Blodge, Character Wednesdays these will be resuming over the coming year along with a few new regular posts.