Sunday, January 27, 2013

Let's Talk Snacks.


Let's talk about things that are a little bit addictive while simultaneously somehow a little good for you. Just a little. Let's talk about Snack Well's. These are the white fudge drizzled caramel popcorn packs.

There are five packs per box. I took this picture about a week ago. We had three boxes left... but they're all gone now. So I can't give you any detailed food facts about this. Because of that, I'll just get straight to the taste. Snack Well's doesn't compromise the old school taste of caramel popcorn. The addition of white fudge seems like the perfect, smooth contrast to the sticky texture of caramel. It's easy to keep going back for more with this snack. Or maybe, it's just me and my lack of self-control when it comes to food.

If you're looking for a little treat for yourself, I would look out for Snack Well's. Make sure to take it all in stride; even if the calories are low, be sure that it'll make up for it in sugar and other less than good facts. Little by little, these snack packs stack up, but if you take care of yourself, these will be the perfect kick back snack.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Codecademy

Let me tell you about Codecademy. (That's "Code" and "cadaemy", no "A" in between.)

I make web sites in my infrequent spare time. I know my CSS and my HTML, but I've always been stumped by the rules of Javascript and API. So I went looking for some codes and tutorials to try them out on my own. In my search, I stumbled across a place that promised to teach me everything for free. At the time, I bookmarked it, signed up, and promised myself to take some time out of my day and find out what it was about. I never looked back. Well, not quite never.


Saturday, January 12, 2013

Let's Go Local: La Mongerie Bakery.



(credit to the bakery ohp)

Let me tell you about La Mongerie Bakery. Located in Midtown, this lovely bakery is an absolute must see. The first time I visited them was on Thanksgiving Day. My friend from Australia and I wanted to pick up a pie for my grandmother to enjoy. They had a couple of full pies on hand, but there was only one we ended up purchasing a chocolate pecan pie. It was a hefty pie and cost about twenty dollars. We didn't eat any ourselves, but everyone that did was up in arms about it. They kept asking me where did I buy this pie. They had to have it.

For our generous purchase (or maybe they were just feeling generous for the season), we were able to pick one free cupcake a piece. I ended up selecting one called "Blackout", and let me tell you. Chocolate on chocolate with a hint of chocolate. It was a complete overdose, and definitely not for the weak spirited. Honestly, it wasn't a bad experience. It was shocking, I assure you, but it lived up to its name one way or another. Be careful when eating it before you experience a blackout of your own.

The interior and atmosphere are beautiful. I'm a little ashamed that I don't have any saved on my camera or on my mobile. (I thought I did!) Trust me when I say that this bakery has a perfect, immaculate French air. It's all so calming. I wish we had stayed longer to take a few interior shots. But their service was quick, and my mind—sadly—was slow.

If you are ever in Atlanta, make sure to stop by at La Mongerie Bakery. They have two different locations, but I went to the one on Ponce de Leon. Be sure to visit their web site. Tell 'em GDR sent ya.

La Mongerie Bakery & Bistro
265 Ponce De Leon Atlanta, GA 30324
Click below for a few food photos!

Thursday, January 10, 2013

January is Movie Month.

Well, not really, but that's how it feels. So far I have three movies under my belt and one I plan on seeing in the near future. Chances of me reviewing these all at once, I'm not quite sure. I might be doing this on a weekly basis or something like that. Anyway, the movies I have listed to talk about (possibly/ maybe/ looks that way) are:

  • Fast Five Extended Edition DVD ( a personal favourite )
  • The Woman in Black ( another late seer, and absolutely terrifying )
  • Summer Wars ( did someone say anime? )
  • Hansel & Gretel ( going to see it after my birthday )

And those are the top four movies that I will possibly/maybe/more than likely talk about in some given time period. I was going to review this restaurant in Atlanta, but I haven't been since late November (also there was going to be a hotel review). So, I will just power through with whatever I manage to scrape up these days, keheh. Let's just call it quality.

I'll see you soon.

Sunday, January 06, 2013

A War in District 9


To be honest, this movie was not quite what I had expected it to be when I first heard of it. I know that I'm rather late to the party when it comes to this movie. It's been on my to watch list for the longest time, and eventually it just slipped out of my mind. I had the pleasure of watching District 9 on BBC today, and it was a wonderful feature. After seeing many decent or passable movies, it was good to see something that made me uncomfortable, that was unsettling, and just amazing down to its core.

The movie is shot in a documentary style, and I thought it would stay in that format for the course of the film. It did, but not necessarily in the way that I had expected. The movie follows Wikus Van De Merwe (played by Sharlto Copley) into an alien populated slum in South Africa. He and a group from the formidable MNU are going about evicting these aliens from their dilapidated homes. The premise of why isn't made too clear until the ending half of the movie.

The movie's tension builds at a steady rate, sneaking in things for the audience to notice later on. There are no cheap shots; no one miraculously gets saved. The rise and falls come through sweat and blood, wrenching at the audience's tolerance and nerves along the way. Even though I'm watching the movie late, it's a great movie, and it lives up to the positive things I've heard about it. The positive thing is the movie isn't necessarily over hyped, and a fair amount of time has passed since its released. So if you want to check out District 9 for the first time or get a better retake, I would highly suggest this awesome (in the literal sense of the word!) movie.

Thursday, January 03, 2013

Minecraft Mobile

(courtesy of pocketgamer)

And here is my first post of the new year! How great that it turns out to be about a game. Today, I was standing in a Verizon store waiting to talk to a clerk. After perusing their wares, I walked over to the iPhone 5. Comparing it to the iPhone 4S, it's not as gargantuan as I expected. The cons aren't nearly as bad as they seem, but that's neither here nor there.

While messing around with their iPhone 5, I noticed that there was a Minecraft app installed. I had to play it. It was a lot of fun. The app is officially called Minecraft - Pocket Edition, and is also available for Android phones. Working the navigation with your left thumb, you can move straight forward or sidestep, but by swiping with the right thumb, you can rotate and turn. To harvest, press and hold down on a target. It's fun to move around and easy to get invested. Honestly, I would download it onto my phone (if I had the space). There is a catch. The price tag for this app is $6.99.

Go download Minecraft - Pocket Edition at the iTunes and Google Play Store.