A Muse's GuideFood, technology, yoga and music. . . is there anything else?

Here is the next instalment of my webcomic reviews as promised. Within this post I am talking about my top 3 webcomics that discuss movies, video-games or media in general. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

As in my previous post review on World of Warcraft webcomics, you will find that my favourite comics will be at the top of the post, with my least favourite at the end. Of course my own personal opinion on webcomics may vary from your own, as I have an odd sense of humour.

Theatre Hopper http://www.theaterhopper.com/

Whenever I am wondering what new movies will be released in theatre this week, or what movies are great or horrible, I go to the Theatre Hopper webcomic. The artist behind this is Tom Brazelton, who has a quirky sense of humour and seems to have a discerning taste in movies.

He draws a weekly webcomic that reviews the current movies in mainstream media. He has created a few characters that ridicule and comment on the various aspects of movies, from their cast, plot lines or even the hype behind them. What really hooked me to reading this comic was Brazelton’s wonderful breakdown of the Twilight Series movies, from Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse. Most recently he has been doing comics about the Scott Pilgrim Movie, which of course amuses me to no end. He highlights the large influx of bandwagon jumpers who now believe they are the “all knowing” sources on everything Scott Pilgrim… Glad to see someone else can attest to this oddity.

It is a highly amusing webcomic, especially if you don’t watch too many commercials or tv and want to still keep up to date on whatever movie is inundating the box offices at the current time.

Rating: 8.5/10 – It has great content, humor and keeps me laughing. Basic art, but that isn’t relevant to the awesomeness of Brazelton’s jabs at silly movies.

And of course, here is my favorite comic that emphasized the complete ridiculousness of the sparkly vampires.

WAH – Woody After Hours http://www.woodyafterhours.com/

This webcomic follows an aspiring late night talk show host, who seems to have the humour of Craig Ferguson and Conan O’Brian. It is an amusing webcomic with decent artwork and updates fairly consistently for a newer comic (which of course makes me actually like it even more). The main character’s name is Woody, and his talk show is Woody After Hours, or WAH for short. His supporting cast include his producer (Isabel) who faithfully attempts to help Woody’s career, Woody’s Camera man (Joseph) who seems to have quite a past and has now settled for Woody’s show, and Woody’s Wife (Renee) who elusively is always working on her laptop.  Other amusing additions to the cast have been the ONE audience member named Timmy, who was kidnapped into watching. Among the debacle of random and somewhat questionable guests on his show, Woody has also reached superstar status for his drunken dancing on Youtube. Of course you will have to read through the comic to see what I mean…

All in all it is a good comic, and worth while reading if you appreciate late night television talk shows. Though if you are searching for a particular comic within the website, it can be difficult since items are not happily tagged. I suggest start from the beginning though – it only started in 2009. There are also various Public Service announcements about life lessons and such that intermix through the storyline, which provide helpful and sarcastic advice. . .

Rating: 7.5/10 – Could be updated more often, and needs some work on the plot-line, but all in all its humorous and great art, and if you like horrible puns, this is your comic.

Another VideoGame Comic http://www.digitalpimponline.com/strips.php?title=avw

While this webcomic doesn’t update half as much as I would hope, it still is worth a read. It has some good artwork, and while the plot-lines are not always continuous, it still provides a satirical look at the video game world. The story-line follows a guy who works for a video-game testing company, and is thus nicknamed Player 2 by his other coworker aptly named Player 1. The characters in this comic don’t just play the games with regular controllers, it contains a fantasy like reality where Player 1 and Player 2 actually immerse themselves into the game. Of course as with any video game, one must have a Damsel in Distress, and within this comic there is a fire-ry red head who goes by the name of Damsel who takes on that role.

This comic is not limited to making fun of specific video game makers, they equally poke fun at old and new games alike, while keeping you engaged as the reader by making the characters relatable. You will see references to Super Mario Bros., Modern Warfare 2, Halo, and many more!

Even most recently, this webcomic took advantage of the Scott Pilgrim mania reaching across the Internet, with a quaint comic that brings to light the various inconsistencies and paradoxes that occur within the Scott Pilgrim book, comic, game, and movie franchise.

Rating: 7.0/10 – Good content and humorous, but due to the inconsistent updates and non-continuous plot-lines it is hard for a reader to keep up.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I read quite a few webcomics, and I plan on posting a few of my favorite ones each week, with a little synopsis. Another interesting fact for the day is that I love playing World of Warcraft. WoW has been one of the best ways for me to deal with days that I have a migraine and can’t concentrate, or on nights that I have insomnia. While I won’t go into detail about my Human Paladin or my Blood Elf Mage, I know there are plenty of other people that are interested in reading webcomics and story lines that cater to the fantasy MMO or RPG style gaming. While there are plenty of sources of satire about World of Warcraft (WoW), and the glitches, format and the rules of the world, I have found that there are three webcomics that I can relate to and often find quite literally ‘Rolling on the Floor Laughing’ funny.

Not to worry if you aren’t a World of Warcraft or Fantasy gamer, I will posting the cute, adorable, geeky, technology and humorous webcomic in the near future.

Cheers, and enjoy

~Deanna

My Favourite World of Warcraft Related Webcomics

Looking For Group http://www.lfgcomic.com/

Have you ever wondered what the life of a character in World of Warcraft, Dungeons and Dragons, or various other fantasy worlds is like? Well within Looking For Group, there is a satirical view of those fantasy worlds. This comic is created and drawn by the Canadians Ryan Sohmer and Lar DeSouza (from Blind Ferret Entertainment). The art is fantastic, as is the storylines and attention to detail. Comics from Blind Ferret Entertainment continually up my expectations of web comics.

Within the webcomic, you follow the main character Cale’anon, who is (what I presume) a blood elf hunter. Other characters include the always amusing antics of Richard (an undead warlock) who loves show-tunes and death, Benny (an orc priestess), Pella (a dwarf warrior), Krunch Bloodrage (tauren). The storyline seems to follow the lives of Horde characters, which can be a helpful introduction to Alliance loving WoW players, as the Horde is not necessarily evil. The characters each have their own quirks and meet their own leveling challenges…

Through the LFG Comic’s storylines, there have been various adventures and antics that have undertones of humor while still keeping the reader engaged within the fantasy world. It has commonly become a source of amusement to me, to read about Richard the warlock’s evil nature conflicting with the more gentle and cute existence of a bunny. Also Hctib Elttil, a odd little red goblin, Tim the troll, and Toyk the Gnome all add to the fun. Basically, if you have ever played a role playing game online, or have ever had a friend that has been obsessed with World of Warcraft, you will likely find this comic a hoot. And aside from the wonderful storylines, you will find a fantastically drawn comic!

Rating: 9/10 – The art is great, the story-line is well thought out & they update quite consistently.

Non-Player-Character (NPC Comic) http://www.npccomic.com/

This is a fabulous comic about the life of a female World of Warcraft gamer named Lisa, her life and her two WoW playing sentient cats who conitnue to be coaxed by a squirrel mocking them from their window. Lisa recently has had to deal with the trials and tribulations of getting a job,and how that interferes with gaming. Meanwhile, Lisa’s cute blue cats Chloe and Bink have been leveling her priest, and also have been making quite a bit of money gold farming. The plot line is full of surprises, mainly due to her cats’ obsession with creating a feline supremacy in the world of Azeroth. This is a great read for anyone ever hooked by WoW gaming, and the difficulties of keeping up gaming with Real Life (RL).

Possible Spoiler: Bink the cat (in my opinion the less adorable natured of the two) has been battling the bulge due to snacking while gaming. Most recently, Lisa has been dealing with the problems of getting kicked out her guild, her cats have been working on a soap opera documenting her arguments with her boyfriend as he knew that her guild was booting her.

This comic has both the geeky World of Warcraft humor that makes me smile, while actually relating real life examples of gaming, and tossing in a side of a fantasy world where cats can actually speak!

Rating: 8/10 – The artwork is well-done, though basic, but the amusing antics of Lisa’s cats, and the relatability to the characters make this webcomic a worthwhile read. It doesn’t update as consitently as other webcomics, though it does have a story-line that is quite memorable.

Gold Coin Comic http://www.goldcoincomics.com/

This comic is done from the stance of an in-game character, and his Healer companion within what seems to be a standard MMORPG game, like World of Warcraft. Their quests are documented, along with the oddities of gaming, and even on occasion have Final Fantasy character cross-overs. If you are a RPG gamer, you will find that this comic will have a few humourous panels that you might be able to relate to. While the art isn’t as well-defined as the previous two comics, the content and plot-lines are amusing, especially in the introduction of NPC’s (Non-player Characters) and how it must be for those poor unfortante individuals stuck perpetually in-game.

Rating: 6.5/10 – This comics is drawn quite basically, and has several humerous parts, though due to its scattered plot-lines and chapter segmentations, it is difficult for most readers to keep up. All in all though, it still is a great comic for any RPG’er, as it has relatable humour. (Also, the ads on the sidebars are really ugly and disturbing at times – I might have given this comic a better rating and chance, but there is only so much I can handle raunchy advertising on a site)

Through the wonders of the internet, the comic book has a way to be shown to the world without the limitations of the traditional paper publication process. Over the past few years I have come to favor the webcomic format over the paper comic book format, this has been especially due to the ability for me to discover new comics easily online, as well as the fact that many webcomics are updated a few times a week. This makes most of my early mornings filled with enjoyable reading on my laptop or iPad, while I sip my tea.

The webcomics I read span from cutesy adorable, to Japanese influence, quirky comics that have detailed character development and plot lines, to plain out geeky (including World of Warcraft, Academic and Robots).  You would be surprised how many fantastic stories have been written via webcomic format!

I have been commonly asked what my favorite webcomics are and why, which has led me realize I should just write a post about it, instead of explaining it in small snippets of twitter or facebook conversation. Over the next little while, I will be writing a little synopsis or review of the various webcomics that I read. Hopefully you will enjoy the comics as much as I have.

Here is the list of my current webcomic reviews – there will be more to come later.

Webcomics: About Movies, TV & Gaming

Webcomics: World of Warcraft

Cheers,

Deanna

Where does one start?! Why would you start?

I have always been a fan of graphic novels and comic books since I was a small child. As I got older, I began to have less and less time to read comics and began reading primarily text-only books. Something was lacking from these books! While they were highly descriptive, and I could immerse myself in my own imagination, I missed the medium of narrative artwork. That was when I discovered that my local library had a collection of graphic novels and comic books. While going to my local comic book and hobbies store is always fun, being able to purchase brand new comics, fresh out of their shipping box, it can be an expensive habit. So the library became a great way to read the fantastic plot-lines of Brian Michael Bendis and Stan Lee while musing over the amazing artwork of Jack Kirby and Mark Bagley. As you can see, I am a bit biased towards the Marvel franchise, but my love of Spider-man, Thor, and the Fantastic Four etc. has been fueled by my ability to access these comics easily and cheaply. Being able to sit down in the sunshine, open a comic book up and start reading is one of the most satisfying things to do, especially when you’ve been reading piles of academic textbooks and journals. The possibilities to immerse oneself in a comic book become endless, as there is a visual element that connects you to the storyline. I highly recommend it.

From my perusing the library stacks for new comics, I have discovered various styles of graphic novels and comics, from Japanese manga to deep and philosophical satire on the human condition. Comic books are not simply Betty and Veronica or Archie, catering only to children. I have found serious graphic novels that have made me contemplate and consider the complexities of politics and even the social systems we live in. Granted I will almost always veer straight back to the Marvel franchise of Superhero comics and the manga-influenced artwork of TOKYOPOP, but I have also found the work by Darkhorse Comics, Viz Media and Image Comics to be great reading as well.

Marvel Comics: The Cornerstone to Comic Books

Now getting started into the Marvel universe of comic books can be extremely daunting. I highly suggest finding your local comic book store, walking in and saying ‘I know nothing about comic books, help me find something!’, and I am pretty sure they will lead you in the right way! You can always go to the comic book store or library and just start with whatever pops out at you too. While many comic book purists will tell you that you have to read the past few decades worth of Spiderman to truly understand his back-story, I am from a different school of thought. With the publication of the Marvel Ultimate line of comics, it is the PERFECT place for any comic book newbie (n00b) to begin. It has a new vision for the plot lines and character stories that gives them a modern spin while not boring you with childish storylines. The Ultimate line of comics by Marvel seem to be aimed at a bit older of a crowd. For the newbie to the comic book world I suggest beginning with two lines of comics. The Ultimate Spiderman series Volume 1 through 5, for the intro to superhero comics and then Eagle: The Making Of An Asian-American President for a more realistic dramatic graphic novel.

I won’t be giving you any spoilers to the two series, but I will tell you that they are fascinating reads, and can allow your mind to imagine a lot more than what television shows spoon feed to the public on cable television. The Ultimate Spiderman series will give you a glimpse not only at the masked genetically altered spider-boy, but you will be introduced to other superheroes such as the Fantastic Four, Captain America, The Avengers etc., as well as government task force, S.H.I.E.L.D. that deals with mutants, while getting a chance to learn about villains such as Sandman, Doctor Octopus, Magneto and more! I especially enjoyed how they have cross-over characters from other Marvel series such as X-Men’s Kitty Pride that become a part of the main storyline. Though while I have never loved Kitty Pride a.k.a. Shadowcat in other series such as the The Uncanny X-Men, her appearance with Peter Parker in the Ultimate Spiderman series doesn’t leave me yelling at my books.

An Introduction to Japanese Style Comics: Manga

The graphic novel Eagle: will provide you with an introduction to a manga hybrid that won’t take you too far out of your comfort level if you normally read political drama novels. I found that within Eagle: The Making Of An Asian-American President, the plot line contains the quirks and hidden undertones of American politics while using the medium of manga-style to communicate to the reader in an adult oriented yet easy to read and titillating format. There are only 5 volumes, and I highly suggest reading them, as you will find that they have many themes that are reminiscent of politics in the 90’s, where some of the characters seem to be representations of Bill Clinton, Al Gore and other various government officials and their families. So if you want a graphic novel that has drama, romance, scandal and undertones of political humor, you will find that within this series.

My Final Words On This

All in all, reading comics and graphic novels is a fulfilling past-time for me that lets me escape from the structured and banal nature of standard print novels. I suggest trying either one of these series out, or even better finding your local comic book and hobby store that will be able to give you a much better scope of the comics/graphic novels that will accommodate your needs, interests and reading requirements.

Cheers

~Deanna

I have been working on a website for a research project I am involved in on Youth Participation in Music - rymeyouth.com : Research for Youth Music and Education.  It is an amazing opportunity to research and work with youth and learn more about youth involvement/engagement in musical activities.  Upon beginning to construct the website, pages and content, I was over enthused by all the different ideas I had and how to organize them, yet a very basic and seemingly minor detail got in the way of my productivity. The website design posed a problem, in amidst the thousands of templates for wordpress themes there are numerous that cater to technology, blogs, children’s content and even interests in art deco, yet not one Free theme catered to my needs.

It may be that in the giant jumble of “colour” categories and the number of “columns” I would require or even the option for “seasonal” filtering, there was no efficient way to search for a template that would combine a professional academic template with something that was a neutral colour scheme.  Since this project looks at creating opportunities for youth and adults to work in partnership to share and develop ideas and activities for positive youth engagement in music, the website could not simply cater to youth between the ages of 10-18 years old, nor focus on a sole audience of academic oriented adults – it needed somethings classy and professional, yet with a bit of underlying quirky artfulness.

A popular Wordpress theme (free) is called Pixel – yet this gave my site too dark and gloomy of a theme.  I tried looking for a theme that wasn’t so dark, yet only ended up with bland themes that were reminiscent of an office supply closet.  I know a majority of my colleagues that want “the perfect” academic looking theme just purchase a Premium Wordpress theme such as Spectrum by WooThemes.com, yet even with the vast customizations available from that theme, I still found it lacking. Not to mention that since this project is graciously funded by a SSHRC grant, we attempt to use our funds to the best of their capabilities, and I feel that a Free Wordpress theme should do the job!

For the meantime, I used a rather bland theme called Titan, as it didn’t muddy up the content of the site with its elaborate designs and it had the customizations that somewhat accommodated by needs.  The unfortunate part of free themes is that most of the decent designs are so overused on blogs across the Internet, that a non-blog focused site begins to look rather banal.

In this perpetual search for a Wordpress theme that can accommodate an academic feel while not exiling the site to a corner of rejection due to its “blog”-iness or over cluttering, I hope to finally find a theme that can hold up to my expectations.

P.S. You may wonder why I am so set on using a Wordpress theme – here is the explanation:

In the world of academic and research, there is a continual turn around of people working on research, and the perpetual fear of running out of funding, and alas, in the case that I would not have the time to work on updating the website, I would need to pass this task onto another webmaster – yet, it is highly likely they would not be as astute on the finicky details of website upkeep – therefore Wordpress has become my way of ensuring that website can easily and efficiently be updated, even by someone who isn’t familiar with running a website.

~Deanna

Since I first starting playing with my iPad, I have been enjoying the large screen and quick zippiness of the tablet.  The fancy calendar application, the extensive abilities of the Maps application and the beautifully clear and visually pleasing Video application have made my experience with the standard iPhone applications on this iPad an unbelievable experience.

Yet, I couldn’t help but have a feeling that something was missing. Just like that uneasy feeling in your stomach when you leave your credit card on the table at a restaurant after paying  -  you know you are missing something, but can’t put your finger on it. Its only once you are in the middle of trying to pay for the movie tickets do you realize you were missing it.

This week, in the midst of a busy day, I realized what the iPad was missing! Just when I needed it most.

The CLOCK application!

Of course, how did I not realize this sooner? Well, I was still using my iTouch as my bedside alarm clock, and it finally ran out of battery this week (yes my iTouch can keep a charge for over 7-10 days). In my enamored belief that my iPad could replace my iTouch’s role in my life, I came to the sad realization that it was missing the very thing that I rely on from all of my electronic devices. I use the aSleep application to give me soothing music to fall asleep to, but have always relied on the Apple Clock application to wake me up the next morning.  I am a bit of an insomniac and make a point of not looking at the clock at any time within the night, otherwise I would be checking every 5 minutes. My alarm clock application has been a lifesaver, it tells me when I can check the clock, get out of bed and all with personalized tones to accommodate my alarm clock needs and with additional alarm clock slots for @nachoman wake-up times too!

I must be mistaken, why would Apple remove a perfectly fantastic and reliable alarm clock? What is the purpose of my iPad sitting on my bedstand? An overpriced nightlight? Wait, what else was missing other than my alarm clock? – My World Clock of course. How am I suppose to organize my online video conferences without my world clock? Yes, you might say that I could just do the math in my head, but when trying to organize four or more different time zones, the World Clock can be instrumental in planning. Alas, no Clock application on the iPad means I have to likely use another less intuitive purchased application.

My hope is that in future updates to the iPad, or future generations, that Apple will include the Clock application, but it looks like for now, I am in the market for a reliable and good alarm clock application for my iPad that will run in the background. Nothing you say? Oh well, looks like I have to go charge my iTouch again, and deal with a tiny screen.

If you hadn’t realized that there was not a Clock application on the iPad just yet, I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news.  If you had already noticed the missing application and are just as annoyed as I am, I share in your pain.

~Deanna

So I have a shiny new iPad sitting in front of me. It is sleek, smooth and looks like an oversized iTouch. What is the draw?

Plenty! The ability to read articles, books and my email without having to squint at my tiny iPhone screen to name a major one.

Now what I was looking forward to with the iPad was to be able to access the iBooks application and use the fancy new iBooks bookstore, yet sadly being in Canada, my canuck Apple ID does not let me do that.  Oh well, at least I can purchase apps for my iPad using the app store just like I do with my iPhone… Nope! Since there is no iPad App store yet in Canada, I am stuck having to purchase my apps on my computer or iPhone, then transfer those purchases to my iPad.

Looking around the internet, to see if there is any news on whether the iBookstore will be available in Canada once the iPad is released up here, I am inundated with speculations, rants and here-say: no real information or news. It may be possible for me to try to get an Apple ID that would be recognized by the American AppStore, but of course the only way to get an American Apple ID is to have an American Credit Card or iTunes Gift Certificate. Why can’t I just buy an American iTunes store Gift Certificate online to set myself up with an Apple ID you ask? Well, it is a cache-22, without an American Apple ID, I cannot purchase an American Gift Certificate, without the American Credit Card or iTunes Gift Certificate I cannot set up my Apple ID. Ah the circle of frustration – All I want to do is have my iPad function like it is suppose to!

When I open my iPad, various other applications are non-functional on it as well.  It seems that Last.fm’s app doesn’t even want to open.  Whether that is due to a non-compatibility to the iPad or my being in Canada, I am not sure, all I do know is that I am disappointed that I cannot use the Last.fm service on my iPad (which for the record, I pay for).

The big problem I find with the iPad up in Canada, is the inability to access the Canadian iTunes store.  What if I wanted to purchase some songs or purchase some apps? Nope, that can’t happen since I don’t have that fancy American Apple ID for the American iTunes Store.

All in all, everything else is absolutely amazing on the iPad, though I will be waiting with bated breath to see what emerges when Canada gains access to the iPad iTunes/App Store. Fingers are crossed that the iBook application/store will be available.

~Deanna

I am excited to say that I have in my possession, a brand spanking new iPad.

Now I could describe the various reasons that I think that it is a beautiful piece of machinery, though instead I figured I would tell you all about the most important part – the Calendar application called iCal.

Traditionally on the computer, be a Macbook Pro, MacMini or iMac, I have found that iCal’s functionalities are limited by the interface.  While I can enter my calendar entries with relative ease, viewing the weekly or daily events and notes lacks a relative fluidity.  The desktop iCal application functions very much like a calendar on my wall, where I enter information only to glance at it and the view does not change based on what time of day it is – I simply am able to see where in my day I should be by the little line with red-dot that is placed horizontally on my screen to indicate the time of day. Due to this basic wall calendar function, I tend to rely on the month-view more often.

On my iPhone and iTouch on the other hand, don’t even get me started on the limitations of the iCal application.  Viewing the Month-view is a pain, since due to the small screen size, the only indication I have that a date has a pending item or scheduled event is by a tiny little grey dot placed under the date.  Upon tapping onto the date, I am only able to view 2 events at a time, being forced to scroll up and down my typically lengthy list of daily events. Yes, I could just use the list-view option, yet frankly that does not accommodate my list of events well enough – as when you have more than 6 events in a day, you have to continue scrolling down to view more. What has also limited my iCal use on the iPhone and iTouch has been the fact that you cannot control the calendars that you view, you are stuck with EVERY calendar on your iCal showing up as a long list to torment you.

I have long awaited the day that iCal would get revised, and with the iPad that day finally came. Not only is the iCal application on the iPad much more intuitive, it gives me exactly what I have always wanted – a fluid user experience.

Opening the iCal application brings me to the month-view, and it looks relatively similar to the month-view on my Macbook Pro – But wait! there is a pretty transparency to the events and all-day events, cleaner lines, and a executive office appearance to the border.  In month-view there isn’t that much different at first glance, until selecting an event – it pops up with speed and efficiency, stating all the information including my notes and locations within a little pop-up box.

Selecting “edit” on an event brings up the familiar window of editing events, almost identical to iCal on the desktop –  Thank goodness for that.  Another welcome component of this process is that unlike the iPhone/iTouch, the rest of my calendar is not blocked by entering this edit or new event.  I can still clearly see the other things going on within my calendar.

Week-view: How fabulous, similar to regular desktop iCal, yet wait – what is so different, where is the rest of my appointments and meetings from this morning? Why does it seem like I have  so much more room to enter information? A quick scroll, and I realize that this version of iCal automatically took me to the current time and applicable events.  It is currently showing from 2pm through 11pm for the entire 7-day week, no having to view what already happened this morning, since realistically I likely am going to this view to look at where I am suppose to be right now.

Day-View: In my opinion, the very best part of this application! It looks nothing like the regular Day-view – which basically was a unnecessary full page of the day’s events expanded the event box horizontally.  What is so different about this Day-view you are thinking? Well if you haven’t seen it, it not only shows the regular Day-view calendar on the right hand side, it has a simple month calendar at the top left, and the best part is the list on the left-side of the events of the day! Take a peek below, it really changes the way I work with my calendar, making it appear to be a desktop journal that can have pages flipped back and forth.

Now the best part of the entire application is not only the fact that it seems to accommodate my ever calendar need, it also allows me to select which calendars I want to view.  A simple drop down menu at the top left corner lets me select which calendar I want to see – just like in the desktop version. How fantastic is that! Not only does it look more stream-lined, Apple really delivered on their revamping of the iCal for iPad.

Gone are the days of scrolling on my iPhone, squinting my eyes to find out what time or date the next hockey game is at. Opening up my iPad and opening iCal have refined the hectic mess of trying to organize the day. How did I ever use my iPhone as my primary input device for my calendar events before?

Now all I require is for Apple to provide this version of iCal for my laptop and desktop Macs. I am itching to get back to my iPad calendar whenever I am forced to use the “traditional” iCal on my Macbook Pro.  I like the change, but it needs to be continuous across all my computers.

So there you go, my opinion and first uses of iCal for the iPad.

Cheers,

Deanna

So my flight was suppose to leave right now from Honolulu International Airport to take me back to Vancouver.  It has been a relaxing time with @nachoman, and we have watched most of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics Games from the comfort of shaded lanais.

Tsunami Alarms, Finding Emergency Groceries & Water

At 6am this morning (the DAY we were scheduled to leave – Saturday Feb 27th, 2010) the Tsunami Sirens began to blare out over all of Waikiki beach.  Any of the beachfront hotels and residences within the Civil Defense Tsunami Evacuation Zones for Oahu were evacuated quite quickly and efficiently.  While the ABC grocery stores remained completely closed all along the Waikiki Beach Blvd, there were a few 24 hour convenience stores about 6 blocks inland that were open.  The grocery stores were packed, and there were 2 case limits to purchasing SPAM.  There were no bottles of purified water available even at 7:30am. Everyone was calm and civil, even though there were half an hour long waiting lines to pay for purchases.

Road Closures

By 10:00am all the streets within Waikiki had been shut down, with police car patrols using loud speakers to direct people back into their residences or to the temporary shelter at the Elementary school (which happens to be right beside our hotel/apartment). A rare occurrence, Waikiki beach cams were showing that the beaches were completely empty. The only thing visible on the water was waves and one or two surfers trying to catch a wave. (Extremely silly and dangerous of them).  The Honolulu Fire Department helicopters had an amazing response time in announcing to all the surfers or beach-goers that they should leave the water.

If people are residing within the evacuation zone they would have to leave their residence, hotel or workplace.  Luckily we are WAY out of the way, all the way beside the safe are of shelter.  On the map you will see Jefferson Elementary School, which is right in front of us.

Weather, Waiting & Wave Watching

At 11:00 am, the highway cams were showing police blockades and not a civilian vehicle to be seen otherwise.  On occasion from looking out of my condo window, I saw a stray car trying to leave but getting redirected by the police back to their home. Since we were supposed to be checking out an hour ago, we have a delay on our check-out since there is a vertical evacuation in effect for our area (we are not in the flood plane, and are in the safe evacuation zone). Upon the tsunami alerts being lifted, we will be moving ourselves over to the Aston Waikiki Banyan Hotel across the street (Our current hotel does not have any available rooms). Every hour, the tsunami alert sound rings through the city of Honolulu, bouncing off of Diamond Head, creating an eery echo in combination with the empty streets, and the lack of hustle and bustle of vehicles.

11:15am Waiting for the announcement about what is happening in Hilo. The weather in Waikiki has changed, the sunshine has vanished and clouds and a lack of rain has emerged.

11:30 I have been watching the tsunami television cams document the ebb and flow of the water in Hilo Bay.  There has been drastic and visually breathtaking inhales and exhales of water along the beach shores, yet there has not been any severe waves as expected.  While the forecast for the initial wave was for 11:05am, only about 20 minutes off was the visual beginning of the effects of the tsunami.

12:30 Watching KITV Breaking News on Channel 4 in Honolulu, their video camera just showed two people trying to ride the surf.  While the waves this morning would have been ideal for some amazing surfing, it really isn’t worth someone’s life to catch a great wave! The weatherman/surf reporter on the KFVE news on Channel 8 is an avid surfer and refused to announce the surf conditions this morning, Good for him!

12:45 It has been a continual day of telephones and email.  Telling family and friends that we are alright, and that everything will be fine.  Oahu has put into effect something like 30 Million dollars of tsunami awareness and preparedness recently. (So, Mom, see I will be just fine!).  We have called our travel agents, insurance companies and transportation to arrange our getting back to Vancouver, though nothing can be done until the Civil Defense department lifts the Tsunami warning.  At this time, Civil Defense is still stating that there still is a Tsunami warning, yet the effects of the tsunami don’t seem to be as extreme as initially expected.

Some Cars Moving, Things are Looking Better

So, as of right now, we are just playing the waiting game, watching all of the cars on higher ground begin to move down the hills.  It almost seems like the city is once again waking up from a complete freeze.  Our flight of course has been delayed, and we will have to wait for the announcement by West Jet that we will be able to catch a flight, but in the meantime, we will be up on the pooldeck of the hotel, relaxing in the cloudy & windless stillness that seems to have enveloped Waikiki.

Aloha for now. Keep in mind if you are trying to get ahold of a loved one or friend out here, the cellphone networks are pretty much down.  We are even getting busy signals from AT&T out here.  Our hotel phone lines are intermixed with the sounds of the radio signals.

It is currently 1:02pm, the tides and waves are relatively low right now, it looks like things are going to be okay.  Of course, I will be continuing to listen to the Civil Defense Department and the National Weather Service.

I will keep you updated. We are safe and doing wonderfully.  If you have any questions, email me at dccp@me.com!

~Deanna

Waiting for the Tsunami Alert to be lifted - In a Safe Zone

As I noted a couple weeks ago, I have planned a trip to Hawaii during the two weeks of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.  Aside from getting away from the grid-locked traffic, the excessive tourists, and the basic hectic insaneness that comes along with the Olympics, I feel @nachoman and I deserve some time off. We are heading out to Waikiki/Honolulu in Hawaii, which has its own masses of tourists, shopping and traffic, but at least we will be able to retreat to the beach, surf, and enjoy the hot weather.

The biggest problem with flying into another city to enjoy a vacation is the late night flights.  By the time you get off the plane, get your luggage from the never ending carousel of black bags, finding the sign with your name on it for your transfer from the airport to the hotel, and then finally checking in at the hotel front desk, you likely are famished and tired. Since we need to be careful about allergies, its not like we can just order a pizza to the hotel room at 2am, in fear of a vegetarian pizza having pork products on it (finding a hospital in a foreign or different city can be difficult when you don’t know where to go). So what am I going to do about it this trip? I made sure our hotel has a FULL kitchen, with rice cooker, microwave, stove etc.  But if we are arriving at the hotel at 2am, where am I suppose to find groceries? Problem Solved. I will do the same thing I do back in Vancouver, have my groceries delivered (sadly they wont all be organic and local – there goes my trying to only buy food within a 500km radius).

The Aston hotel chain in Hawaii has a partnership with a local grocery delivery service - Island Grocery Service.  Not only am I ordering my groceries ahead of time, when we arrive in our hotel room, we will have our fridge and cupboards fully stocked with the groceries I have ordered.  I can’t think of a better way to start our vacation.  Not only will I have my favorite snack foods available to munch on once arriving at the hotel room, I will be able to make a full breakfast of eggs, toast, waffles and orange juice without having to trek around the next morning looking for the grocery store. Yep, I would say paradise.

Hopefully it all works out. I will keep you posted after I return.

Mahalo for reading!

Aloha!

Deanna