Kranky Kricket: Disappointments

Hello Good Reader. Take a deep breath in... now let's get it all out.

Don't you just hate it when you discover something new and you're really excited about it but after a while it's just hugely disappointing? I've had this happen to me three times this week.

I'd like to start with the game I discovered a few weeks ago called Dragon Story. I praised it in my first Happy Korner, but just this morning I found out some things that kind of tick me off. So over the last few days the game would crash on me whenever I tried to visit other people's dragon islands. I couldn't figure out why this was happening so I did some digging online. Come to find out, the version I have on my Kindle is not the actual latest version of the game. If I want that, I'd have to have an iOS device. Apparently people with iProducts have all sorts of features and dragons that I, as a Kindle user, will never have. And it doesn't look like the developers of the game are going to fix this anytime soon.

It's just annoying. Why offer a game if you're not going to offer the full version? I'd even be willing to pay real money to get a fuller version of the game, but that isn't even an option.

Nonetheless, I'll continue to play the game, just minus the social aspect of it, since the reason the game would crash was because I was trying to visit iOS supported islands.

The other thing that was disappointing was an anime I found earlier this week called Trinity Blood. I got so into this show. I normally avoid most things with vampires because I feel the trope is way over used, but this put a different spin on it that I like. Plus, the biggest draw for me was the main character, Able Nightroad. He's pretty much the most kick ass anime character ever. Goofy+Hot+Killer Powerful=Totally Awesome in the Kricket Book of Awesomeness (it's a thing, I'm working on it ;) ).

But the last episode of this show was just awful. It's going good and it's gearing up for, what should be, an epic battle. It even gets this battle started, but then it's like the writers realized they only had ten minutes left of the show and rushed the hell out of it. There is just soooo much more they could have done with this, it makes me sad. But, it also makes me want to read the manga and/or novel as well, so you have that.

And finally, there was a book I was looking forward to reading but 10% of the way through and I just couldn't get into it.

I tried, I really did. But it gets to these parts with these aliens and the author just took too damn long to actually describe what these aliens look like. At first I thought he was talking about a creature with multiple heads and arms and things and I could not for the life of me figure it out. Finally it comes together that a single alien entity it actually a pack of wolves, and as cool as that is, the whole book was just done for me by then. So I moved on.

And that's my gripes this week. Now that I've let them out I feel a little better.

So tell me, what things have you gotten really excited for and then walked away from wondering why you even bothered? Tell me in the comments!

Thanks for reading and have a Happy Weekend!

Kricket's Happy Korner: Family & Books

Last week was a very busy week. Lots of running around, lots of cleaning, lots of visiting with people. I think this week will be more relaxed.

So here's what I'm thankful for:

• I got to see my day last week. He was in town on business and we got to celebrate his birthday with him as well. The boys loved hanging out with Granddad and we can't wait to see him and Grandma again in July.
• Will got his new glasses and he loves them. It's nice to have frames that fit and lenses that work.
• I love good books and I love finding new ones.

Speaking of good books, here's a review!

I'm giving The Enchanted Forest Chronicles 4 Stars. I used to consider this five stars when I was younger, but now that I'm an adult and a more experienced writer I see flaws that I didn't notice before.

This is a four book set that is a quick and easy read. It's very funny as it takes a lot of the classic fairy tales and turns them around on themselves. It's a great series and pretty solid story telling. What got to me was the third book. It felt like there were just too many characters in any given scene and they all had to say something. You have a pregnant queen, a witch, a magician, a King of the Dragons (who is female), 2 cats, a  talking rabbit that got turned into a blue floating/flying donkey, a fire witch, and all the villains. That's a lot of useless talking.

But the whole thing picks up again by the fourth book.

It's a great read and I highly recommend it to anybody, but especially middle school age girls.

So there's a dose of happy to take with your drink of choice as you continue to face this day. Happy Monday!

Kranky Kricket: Love/Hate Government

Unlike last week, I don't really have a laundry list of things that bothered me this week. I mean, yeah, there are some government things I could talk about, but my opinions aren't that much different from everyone else.

A lot of what's going on in Washington is interesting and everyone is all shocked or surprised by things, whereas I don't think they should be. What is going on now, this is not the first time our government has covered up an international incident. This isn't the first time different groups have been targeted and harassed by the government. And this is not the first time that the government has spent a lot of time and resources monitoring their own people for various reasons.

What makes things different now is that we live in an era of information. It's easier to find information and it's easier to spread it. Thanks Internet. Sometimes all we find and spread are lies, but in there is a nugget of truth. And thankfully, we the people, no longer have to simply take what we are spoon fed by the major media.

But even through all of this, I still love this country and I'm still grateful for this government. It's not perfect by any means, because it is run by people. And humans are possibly the most flawed creatures on this planet. But I'd rather live here than any where else.

Now remember friends, take deep breathes and let go of all that negativity and have a great weekend!

Kricket's Happy Korner: A Slice of My Life

Hello lovely readers and welcome to the first episode of Kricket's Happy Korner! This is where I share the stuff that made me grin or laugh or whatever happy response you prefer. Let's get started shall we?

To start things off, I'm grateful for long weekends where I get to have Daniel home for an extra day and we all get to play together as a family.

Ke$ha's new CD. I've been listening to it non-stop for like a week. It's a great mix of peepy and soulful songs and it just makes me grin and want to dance or sing along when I listen to it.

So You Think You Can Dance is pretty much the best competition show on TV. Who wants to watch mediocre singers stand on a stage when you can watch amazing dancers fly across one? I mean really. Also, way better than Dancing With the Stars because these dancers actually know what the hell they're doing and they're damn good at it too.

I've become addicted to this game on my Kindle Fire called Dragon Story. It's a game were you hatch, raise and breed pretty dragons. The dragon designs are great and very diverse. I find it great fun, but I'm pretty easily amused.

And now for a book review. :)

I'm giving Mockingjay 4 Stars. I really liked it, and felt it was a good ending to the series. Not a happy ending but a real one. I've read other's reviews and understand some of the negative ones but I like that this story didn't end happy for Katniss. At least not fairy tale happy. It's more real. Some reviewers wanted her to be a super hero, but she's not really, she's just a 17 year old girl trying to survive and sometimes only kind of succeeding. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the movies.

I am a big fan of Felicia Day and she just launched a new YouTube channel called Geek & Sundry Vlogs and on it is one vlogger who talks about comics. I'm kind of new to comics and Amy Dallen does a good job of introducing the world of comics to people. Also, she's kind of cute as a button. Here is the first video. You should check out the rest of the channel as well, it's nothing but geek stuff.

And that's all for now, friends! *reads over blog* Yep, that kind of sums up my life and all the things I like to do.

So tell me, what makes you happy? Is there something new you've discovered that you'd like to share? I'd love to hear about it in the comments. *hint hint nudge nudge*

Have a happy start to your week!

Kranky Kricket: The First Scream

Welcome to the first edition of Kranky Kricket, where I whine a little and y'all get to be my sounding board. :)

Okay then, everyone ready? Deep breath in, and SCREAM!

Being sick really sucks. So does figuring out that your old favorite way to sleep is bad for your neck and is why you wake up stiff every morning. Of course this is a new development. I strained my neck somehow a week or two ago and now I wake up hardly being able to move it. It gets better after being awake for a while and moving it around, but it's back the next day.

I know I should go to the chiropractor but as it is with insurance right now, it'd cost $40 a visit. And if you've ever been to a chiropractor you know it's nearly impossible to go just once a month. They always start with at least weekly visits, if not more. I really like my chiropractor, I'm just poor at the moment since we just had to pay for new glasses for William out of pocket.

And that's a whole other issue. I was taking him to one eye doctor that prescribed bi-focals for Will. I was skeptical at first but we still tried them for a month. Will spent the whole time wearing them on the tip of his nose so he could look over them. After determining that the eye doctor was on crack I found a new one. New eye doctor is much more competent.

Alas, we have already bought one pair of glasses this year, so insurance is not going to cover a second pair for him. $387 for a pair of kids glasses. I can't even imagine how much money my parents spent on glasses for me.

In other things that made me frustrated, not having internet. I'll admit it, I'm a slave to my computer and all my devices that connect me to the internet, so when that goes away, I feel a little lost. And I don't consider my self that addicted, honest.

But then the other thing is when you call the internet provider company about it, all you get is robot answering machines and then it has the audacity to tell you what websites you can go to to find out about local outages. Well now, if I could get ON THE INTERNET I wouldn't be calling you now would I?

So there's my gripes for the week. Tell me what's been bugging you this week in the comments! It's good to get these things out so we can all enjoy the weekend a little more.

Thanks for reading and have a Happy Friday!

The New Plan

Hello Wonderful Readers! Thanks for being patient while I tinkered with my blogs, I hope you find it worth your time. :)

So, along with a slightly new look, notice the background change and a few new things on the side, there is also going to be a new line up of content that I will stick to like it's a new religion. If you really love me, and I know you do, you should be excited for a chance to hear from me 3 TIMES A WEEK! Crazy, right? Yeah, I'm crazy.

Here is the New Schedule:

MONDAY: "Kricket's Happy Korner" I'm a real believer in the power of positive thinking (think happy thoughts and you can fly Peter Pan!). Also, I'm a fan of reminding my self of all the things I have to be thankful for. Sometimes the world is full of so much crazy and negative things and you just need a pick me up. And what day do we need that most? Monday. So I'll be writing about things that make me happy and what I'm thankful for in the past week.

WEDNESDAY: "What's Up Wednesday" This will continue over on Kricket Writes. I've been doing it for about two months now and I like it. In WUW I give word count updates on my current projects and other general writing observations. I'll also be sharing an excerpt of something I wrote that week and sometimes sharing interesting/insightful writing news/advice.

FRIDAY: "Kranky Kricket" Because we can't be happy all the time and sometimes you just need to let some things go. So here I'll be purging all the things that annoyed me over the week so I can be unburdened for the weekend. You're welcome to come join me as I scream into the void just for the pleasure of hearing it echo back to us.

I'll still be doing book reviews, if I liked the book, it'll pop up on Monday, if I didn't like it, you'll see it on Friday.

And there you have it. I am very serious about sticking to this new schedule and if I slip up, you're allowed to be angry with me. So please, come along with me and leave comments, I LOVE comments! Let's remind ourselves that we're not alone in the great big thing that we call The Internet/The World.

Happy Monday!

P.S. I wrote this a few days ago and now remember that today is Memorial Day here in the USA. So thank you to all the wonderful and brave men and women who serve to protect this country and have helped to provide the freedoms that I take for granted everyday.

Special shout out to my brother who served in the Navy! :)

Work Being Done

So last night I came up with some ideas to put some life back into my blog.

I know, I'm always coming up with new schedules and swearing that I'll stick to them, but this time, I Think I've got it. :)

Thus, for the next week or so, I'll be overhauling both of my blogs. So I'll just but this sign here:

And everything should be up and running nicely next week. Have a good week!