I have intended to do this post for quite some time. Similar to the Grizzly Bear group, I discovered this group listening to The Q on CBC radio. I have never heard of this group before, but after listening to several of their songs on YouTube, I quickly went straight to Amazon MP3 and purchased their latest album. The name of their latest album is My Head Is An Animal. The album is available on iTunes also, but it is cheaper on Amazon. They have a very familiar sound to them and the female vocalist’s voice, Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, reminds me of another personal favorite of mine Wanting. The group surprisingly is from Iceland and is a pretty new group on the music scene.
I recently purchased a Japanese book and while I was reading it, the website that I am about to talk about briefly was mentioned in it. Mixi is a Japanese social networking website that has been around for some time now. Currently I am learning Chinese, Korean and Japanese. I thought that Mixi would give me a better chance of interacting with native Japanese speakers, especially because there are not that many Japanese people in the surrounding area or that I know for that matter. So after I decided to sign up for the website I ran into a major problem! It would appear that Mixi is limited to those who can register for their website, but don’t worry, I found a work around. 
When registering for Mixi you will find that they ask for a Japanese cell phone number and a Japanese cell carrier. Well I am not in Japan, so there is no way that I could enter in that kind of information. I tried to skip over it, but the website would not allow me to continue to the next page. After searching for a solution, I found out that if you register using a .edu email address, it does not require you to enter in a Japanese phone number. Thankfully I had one that was given to me through my university, even though I do not really use it. Once you have registered for your Mixi account using a .edu email address, if you do not speak or read Japanese, I think the best thing would be to download or use Google Chrome. The reason why I prefer this browser is because I am currently learning Japanese and I cannot comprehend a lot of the words I am reading. Google Chrome will allow you to translate the page so that you can at least navigate around the website. One nice thing that I also liked about Mixi, is that they have a really nice iOS app and they also have an Android app! 
I have a big fan of Canada and Toronto is one of my all time favorite cities that I have been blessed to visit. Some of my friends are Canadian and I have heard some of them mention a place called Tim Horton’s (which is sort of like a McDonald’s). Well in Fayetteville, North Carolina there are no Tim Horton’s, so I decided to see what I could find on the internet! I found out that the closest Tim Horton’s was in Virgina and I was not about to drive that distance for a cup of coffee! So thankfully Amazon had it where you could order a package of Tim Horton’s coffee. I have never purchased edible items from Amazon before, but I figured since it was coming from Amazon directly, it would be safe. Amazon Prime had my coffee even quicker than they had previously said in an email and I received it within one day! Once I opened my package, I headed straight to my one cup coffee maker and I used my re-useable kcups I had ordered off TV. After trying this Tim Horton’s decaf, I was not impressed. Actually I did not enjoy it to say the least. It tasted something like instant coffee and I was pretty disappointed. I cannot say if Tim Horton’s regular coffee is any better, but I can say I won’t be purchasing their decaf blend ever again. Often I have joked around with my friend’s that I was going to obtain dual citizenship with Canada, so I was really wanting this coffee to taste good because it came from the Great North! 
While I was in Hong Kong and the Mainland this past summer, I did not have a TV in either my apartment in Hong Kong or my dorm in Shanghai. I have been missing China a lot lately and I cannot wait until I travel back to China this upcoming summer to continue my studies. That being said, I found out the Chinese state run media outlet, CCTV, has an iOS app! The Chinese news outlets have been in the news a lot over the past few weeks, especially for extending its reach in the continent of Africa.
As you can see this app has a nice and simple UI (user interface). On the main page it offers major news stories that are also available on CCTV’s webpage. Now the most important feature, at least that I find about this app is the Live News broadcast that is available. This past Christmas, I received an Apple TV, which I have been using a lot and my favorite feature is the AirPlay. Not all apps take advantage of this feature built into iOS (Al Jazeera for example does not). With my Apple TV and my iPhone, I can stream CCTV’s programs to my television set! 
This app offers a wide variety of programming, available in multiple languages. The channels are shown in many major languages ranging from news to documentaries! I am not a big fan of the Chinese media, but I think its an excellent way of practicing one’s Chinese for free! I also really enjoy the documentaries that are offered through CCTV, they offer a great experience for those who are fascinated with traditional Chinese culture or interested in learning more about China. So I hope this app encourages people to learn more about China and remember, take the news with a grain of salt! 
This past Christmas 2012, I purchased a used iPod Nano 5G for my sister. I am just now starting to work again and I could not afford a new iPod, but I made sure I sought out one that was in pristine condition. On Black Friday I purchased this iPod at a 25% discount and it seemed in excellent condition or so I thought…
My sister and I are really on the same page with this opinion, we do not like the new iPod Nanos. This style is much more appealing than the new iPod Shuffle touchscreen like Nanos. Anyways come Christmas morning when my sister was opening her present, her delight lasted only a moment. To our surprise, Gamestop sold this iPod at a premium price despite the fact that they literally dug out what looks like a personal engraving. Needless to say my sister was disappointed and I was even more disappointed. Instead of my sister enjoying her present Christmas morning, she had to put it back in the box. 
We were appalled that Gamestop even had the balls to sell this iPod in its present condition and even hid it by repackaging it! I purchased a used iPhone 3Gs that same night and it was just in a box, like many other iPhones and iPods, but this iPod had been repackaged. The very next day I drove back to Gamestop and demanded an exchange for the iPod. The staff was understandable at first, but when they did not have another iPod similar to this one, my sister found another one she liked. She decided to get a pink fat nano. This little fat nano was cheaper than the one I had purchased. Since I purchased it on Black Friday during their sell, I simply asked to be refunded the difference and then this 25% discount be applied to the iPod that was being exchanged. 
The staff at the Ramsey Street Gamestop located in Fayetteville North Carolina was completely unprofessional when I asked them to apply this 25% discount. They simply continued to say that this iPod was cheaper than the one I purchased and the sell was over. In fact two of the employees there began to laugh at my request, this made me even more stubborn in the matter. I asked for the store manager and after 20-30 minutes of him telling me it was impossible for them to do this, despite the fact that I ventured out Black Friday for that particular reason of getting a good deal on my Christmas gifts. I told them that if I wanted to pay full price for a product, I could have gone out at any time in the year and purchased this gift. I also told them about how upset I was that they sold me this iPod in horrid condition and that my gift I had purchased for my sister on Christmas was ruined. The manager said you know this discount will only save you $5 and I didn’t think it sounded right, but I quickly replied, its the principle of the matter (later I questioned his math and 25% of $60 USD is $15 USD!). The store manager continued to argue with me and I simply had had enough. I sat down on the floor, in front of the iPod showcase, and told him in a stern voice, “I am not leaving this spot, until you fix this matter, I do not care how you do it”. The manager after arguing for around 20-30 minutes about how they could not do this request, quickly changed his tune. While the manager was working on a resolution concerning the phone, the staff continued to laugh at my sister and I. I will admit, the “sit in” may have been a little extreme, but I was tired with the whole dilema. This Gamestop will NEVER see any of my business again. 
branhow.com 