No birthday celebration is complete without some rendition of the Happy Birthday song followed by the traditional wish-making, candle-blowing and rancorous applause. Birthday cakes have been an essential part of the birthday since who knows when, manifesting in various shapes, flavors and sizes according to preference. Theres no shame in picking up a decent-quality cake from your local supermarket but when you do so, choosing what frosting-formed message to squeeze upon it is as sentimental as you can get. Most of us opt for store-bought rather than homemade due to time constraints, and sometimes sheer laziness. Unfortunately, sometimes the feeling behind celebrating a birthday gets lost in a commercial rush.
Baking birthday cakes on your own definitely takes more time and effort, but it also gives more thought. It shows that youve considered what kind of cake the person would like to eat, what sort of aesthetic presentation they would prefer, and so on. Youve creating your own interpretation of what they would enjoy instead of taking your pick from factory-packaged options. A homemade birthday cake is specialit truly comes from a place of generosity and caring, and makes for a delightful surprise.
Homemade birthday cakes are easier to pull off than you might think. You might be intimidated by the prospect of deviating from the usual rectangle or round design. But take a slightly more complex shape like the pentagon. Maybe youre fashioning a castle turret for the special medieval enthusiast in your life. A simple turret can be formed from a tall rectangle with a triangle placed on top of it. Its natural to think of a cake as one entity, but a cake is actually made up of many different parts if you think about it: the frosting, the decorations, and cake layer upon cake layer. No one will see the disjoint between pieces since everything gets covered with frosting anyway, and consequently sliced and eaten (in traditionally triangular prism-like pieces, but feel free to experiment).
You can play around with the appearance and form of a cake, but in the end birthday cakes are meant for one basic purpose: to be eaten. Please dont smash birthday cakes into peoples faces! Many, including myself, poorly understand this practice. But if you must, be considerate and lay off on the frosting to create the smallest mess possible. Of course those of you planning to participate in this will make sure to do the opposite.
All in all, baking your own special cake is a thoughtful gesture, and it can be a lot of fun too. The next time a birthday for someone special comes up, you might consider concocting a special treat for the occasion.
As a side note, its okay to use candles youve purchased. Painstakingly stringing a stubborn wick into hand-carved wax may be putting a little too much thought into it.
Every system has its great games and not so great titles, and you dont want to waste your time and money on the not so great ones because gameplay eats up enough of your time as it is. Youve purchased an Xbox 360 system and maybe youre looking for some starter titles to go along with it or youre bored with the games you already have. This leads to the question, what are the best Xbox 360 games out there? Generally, quality speaks for itself and gamers can come to a general consensus of which games are worth playing and which ones should never have been developed and introduced to the market, but consult a diverse pool of sources and youll come across a variety of opinions.
For example, the first 10 choices of the best Xbox 360 games according to Gamespot are as follows: Halo 3 ODST, The Beatles: Rock Band, DiRT 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, NHL 10, Guitar Hero 5, Shadow Complex, Prototype, Red Faction: Guerilla, and Pinball Hall of Fame-The Williams Collection. Gamer Blorge presents a slightly different list: Gears of War, Halo 3 ODST, Mass Effect, Braid, Gears of War 2, Left 4 Dead, Forza Motorsport 4, Portal: Still Alive, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved, and Fable II. IGN presents the top 10 best Xbox 360 games as Mass Effect, Gears of War, Call of Duty 4, Halo 3, Grand Theft Auto IV, Bioshock, The Orange Box, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Rock Band 2, and Dead Rising.
As you can see theres some overlap between the 3 lists. Based on this small sample we can discern that Halo 3 must be a pretty good game if all 3 recommended it. The only other overlap we see here is Gears of War and Rock Band, albeit different Rock Band titles. But another question that might come to mind is thisthese are the best Xbox 360 games according to whom? Often gamers express displeasure with their favorite games not making the cut or perceived bias towards certain game genres. The fact is that the best games are really a matter of preference and while the experts who review game titles can give thoughtful critiques on aspects like gameplay, graphics and replayability, it really comes down to what you like and even experts arent immune to personal bias. When choosing what Xbox 360 games to play, gamers should consider expert opinion and then generate a best Xbox 360 games list of their own.
We all want wallpapers that will reflect well on out desktops. Some of the best wallpapers are however not unique masterpieces of art and design but rather simple pictures of nature or a digital representation of an everyday event. So how do you select the best wallpaper that will fit in with your computer screen and give it a nice-looking background? Let us see how you can go about that and ensure that your desktop looks, not only appealing, but reflect your own tastes.
Wallpapers are all about design. There are many different topics that wallpapers come in and all of these topics often have other subtopics. For example, if you are looking for Nature wallpapers, you will find that there are forest wallpapers, beach wallpapers, desert wallpapers, animal wallpaper etc. Even among these subtopics, you may encounter subtopics of wallpapers, say; animal wallpapers can include elephants, lions, insects, and fish. You can already see that it is hard enough to make a selection of wallpaper. If you are looking for the best wallpapers, the selection is even harder and you can find yourself groping from place to place only to become undecided on what to pick.
To avoid indecision, I take wallpapers as photography and I rate them based on a number of things. In photography, composition is one of the important elements you look at. Wallpaper photography employs the same rules. For example, does the background appear cluttered and busy and thus distracting from the viewers attention? For example, a blurred background with the subject isolated works great for a wallpaper. The best wallpapers not only capture the scene and the subject, but also the feelings and the moods of that particular moment. Even abstract objects can be made to have certain feelings and moods and this is only achieved with good photography techniques.
Some of the best wallpapers out there will usually follow the rule of thumbs that is used to in portrait photography. Here, the subject does not become the center of attraction and as a result, the entire picture takes on a whole new meaning. The way the lighting has been is also an important aspect to consider in wallpapers. Good wallpapers are like an artists painting that takes time for one to appreciate. The best wallpapers, on the other hand, are like holograms, capturing the entire field of view and appreciation can last a lifetime.
Let me get this out of the way: The best italian restaurant I’ve ever been to, anywhere, is in Brooklyn, New York. It’s called La Piazzetta, it’s been around since 2002, and its food is unparalleled. Owned and operated by immigrants from Naples, it specializes in southern Italian cuisine (for the uninitiated that means red sauce; northern Italians barely use tomatoes), and it’s blown away the competition in the neighborhood.
Which is amazing, because this is an old Napolitan neighborhood that I live in. There have been the best italian restaurant arguments around here for more than a hundred years, and a couple of the places around here have been around that long themselves. But they all pale in comparison to La Piazzetta, which really is the best italian restaurant.
What makes it so good? It’s a combination of factors, revolving primarily around the freshness of the ingredients and the preparation. They believe, at La Piazzetta, in using as many local ingredients as is possible, from the buffala (which is made down the street from the restaurant from the milk of cows raised on Long Island) to the pasta itself, which is handmade on the premises, almost everything is fresh and local.
This applies to the fish as well, which is bought every day from the local New York City fish markets and comes to your table practically still swimming. It’s a culinary experience that’s unbeatable.
Here’s a review of La P from Yelp.com:
I love this restaurant. Not only have I had the best gnocchi ever at this place (literally like perfect clouds of pasta) but everything else is fantastic as well. The service is efficient, friendly, and unobtrusive. The space itself is large yet cozy and the atmosphere is casual but certainly not bare-bones or institutional. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve eaten here, and the prices are incredibly reasonable. This is the sort of neighborhood restaurant that does much more than is necessary to simply keep afloat. It makes me wish I lived around this stretch of Graham Ave. just so I could drop by here for a great meal any night of the week.
High praise, and even that doesn’t do it justice (though I love the gnocchi as “perfect clouds of pasta” turn of phrase). Make sure, if you’re ever in New York, to do yourself a favor and check out La Piazzetta. It’s an experience that you shouldn’t miss.
Halloween is my favorite holiday. As the weather cools, the leaves turn and summer is over, I start looking forward to autumn, and, specifically, Halloween. Every year, I do what I can to make that particular Halloween my best Halloween ever. If you are interested in having your best Halloween ever, follow some of my tips and tricks and you might just succeed in having your best Halloween ever.
The best Halloween ever will have four qualities. The first of which would include some excellent jack-o-lanterns and other spooky decor. Certainly both my mom and my aunt knew the importance of creating a thematic atmosphere with holidays, and their favorite was probably Halloween as well. They spent a whole day picking out pumpkins to carve, and then carving them, as well as toasting the pumpkin seeds. They draped “spider-webs” everywhere as well as cackling witch decorations.
Another quality of the best Halloween ever is the treats. Candy is an essential ingredient of any good time, especially for the young children in their Halloween costumes. But there are several adults that have vicious sweet tooths as well and having plenty of candy on hand is important for my best Halloween ever.
Of course, treats are not just sugary confections. In many circles, a round of festive alcoholic beverages are just the “treats” you need for the best Halloween ever. Playing on the holiday themes, drink names such as witches’ brew, goblin juice and many others are just some of the examples of fun with names, themes, and, of course, adult drinks.
Finally, the most important quality for the best Halloween ever is the Halloween costume. Don’t even bother trying to celebrate Halloween in jeans and a sweatshirt. Whether you are trick-or-treating door-to-door or going to a party, whether you are six, sixteen, thirty-six or sixty-six years old, everyone should dress up as something for Halloween. And no, a costume is a costume, not just jeans and a sweatshirt and a cop-out. Dressing up as a vampire or witch, ghost or monster takes virtually no time at all, while costing very little money. There really is no excuse not to dress up at Halloween.
These are the key ingredients for the best Halloween ever, or, at least, my best Halloween ever. Your best Halloween ever could be something completely different, but just remember some of my tricks and tips for a great holiday!
We’re getting to that time of year where it’s important to figure out what the best halloween costumes are for the season. Is there some recent phenomenon you can exploit? A killer movie, a dead celebrity, a prominent politician? Or maybe even a social movement, concept or idea you can parody in your view of the best halloween costumes of the season?
Never fear, because the simple fact is that any and all of the above are there and ripe for the plucking. Of course there are big movies you can parody – there always are. Of course there are recent celebrity deaths. As a matter of fact, the biggest celebrity death in ten years happened over the summer. And of course there are politicians you can parody. Our current president has ears the size of windsocks, for god’s sake – you can surely make some of the best halloween costumes out of that.
The key when coming up with the best halloween costumes is to stay current to the trends and to be aware of what your audience is. The best halloween costumes won’t just appeal to you, they’ll appeal to the people you’re going to a party with. Or going to the bars with, or to the parade, or whever you happen to be going this Halloween. It’s important to know what people will expect, and then meet, fall short of, or exceed those expectations as you see fit.
My girlfriend is actually expert at this. Ten years ago she went as JonBenet Ramsay to a party a drag queen bar. It was great times for her, since the drag queens all “got” her costume from the get go (the “Little Miss Colorado” sash certainly helped) and she became the star of the party.
Of course, that’s a little bit sick and in “bad taste,” though I consider it to be more in the realm of “black humor”, but your mileage may vary. That’s what I mean about knowing the crowd, though. You couldn’t get away with something as dark as going as a recently deceased child to a more staid or traditional halloween party. Drag queens, on the other hand, are always ready for a little sick humor.
The old stand-bys are always good ones to work with as well, provided you can be a bit creative. Go as a traditional witch, but put on a Hillary Clinton or Condoleeza Rice mask to complete it. Go as a ghoul with a Dick Cheney mask. Mix it up a bit, and you’ll find yourself with a list of the best halloween costumes to pick from.
There is literally no shortage of good reasons to cut back on the amount of gas your car consumes and get your car’s best gas mileage. In these lean economic times, everyone is looking to cut costs and pinch pennies. Naturally, there is the environmental concern to be aware of, as well as national security issues, as a decrease in imported petroleum will help secure the United States. Regardless of your viewpoint or motivation, achieving your car’s best gas mileage is a task we all want to do. But how? Here are a couple of tips you can do today to improve and achieve your car’s best gas mileage.
First of all, to really achieve your best gas mileage, you will need to adjust your driving habits. This does not simply mean be more conscious of your driving trips and routes, though this is helpful. Gas mileage worsens with repeated stops and starts – the acceleration needed to regain speed, even going back up from zero to twenty-five miles per hour, is substantial and will drain your gas tank. Try, instead, not to race to red lights or stop signs.
Another simple driving habit and good practice to be in anyway that can help you improve to your car’s best gas mileage concerns highway driving. Highway driving does typically give you better gas mileage than city driving, but with a catch. The gas mileage advertised as highway driving is done at fifty-five miles per hour – without variation. This means, not only is this driving not slowing and accelerating, but it clearly is not as high as seventy or seventy five miles per hour. Those fifteen or twenty miles per hour faster increases your gas usage in a serious way, and an inefficient way. Reduce your speed to the speed limit, or just under it and avoid quick accelerations at high speeds to really find your car’s best gas mileage.
Finally, car maintenance goes a long way in reaching your car’s best gas mileage. This means that you drive your car with proper tire air pressure, too much or too little uses more gas. Try not to have unnecessary weight in your car – don’t use it as a closet or storage room and you can save money at the pump. And maintain appropriate engine oil level and regular oil changes.
Finding your car’s best mileage takes little effort and has huge rewards, not just at the pump, but for the country, and for future generations.
So many people are always trying to lose unwanted body fat. In fact, this is probably the most common New Year’s resolution every year. Both women and men of various ages are striving to shed excess body fat and get into better shape for their health, and overall appearance. Not to mention the effect getting slim can have on your confidence. It can be really beneficial to anyone’s self-esteem to get into better shape. This means you need to check into the best diet plans currently available to assist you with this. No matter what your current weight is, you can get the figure you want.
Other than merely knowing the best diet plans, getting slim is often also dependent upon how much you exercise. Then again, if you are one of those people that plain and simply cannot stand to work out, don’t worry about it too much. You can still lose excess body fat by adopting the right diet plan. You see, it is simple math when it comes to calories and fat. At this time you consume a certain amount of calories each day. If you are failing to lose weight, you are taking in more calories than you probably need. If you are consistently gaining additional weight, then you are certainly consuming too many calories each day. The best diet plans will tell you that losing weight involves reducing your daily caloric intake. Therefore you need to eat fewer calories daily, and improve the calories you eat. In other words, try to avoid calories from fat. You can determine how many calories come from fat by reviewing the nutrition charts provided on the label or box foods come in.
Simple by eating less calories in your routine diet, you will begin to shed unwanted pounds of fat. Your body requires a certain amount of calories each day to function properly. If you actually eat fewer calories than needed, your body will start to eat away stored fat as well. In even a month’s time, you will notice a difference in your body weight. You just have to be consistent. Some of the more well-known best diet plans out there today are Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and South Beach Diet. All of which are very easy to get started with at any time. A major aspect of the best diet plans that people love is the convenience. Nowadays many diets offer frozen meals that can be acquired from the grocery store with ease. Anything from Lean Cuisine, to South Beach Diet, to Healthy Choice offers already prepared meals that can be heat up and in minutes. In order to find and choose the most ideal diet plans for your body type and schedule, it is prudent to speak with a dietitian for professional assistance and advice.
I would hate to be taken as a corporate lackey. Hate to be taken as someone who’s just a mouthpiece for big business, who’s a dupe in the thrall of the big shiney corporate overlords. So please understand, as you read this, that I’m talking only of my personal experience with cell phones, and not of an overall picture of what the best cell phone service is. I’m well aware that different cell phone services have different strengths and weaknesses, and that what works for one person may not work as well for another.
I get that. I really do.
But in the end, determining what’s the best cell phone service comes down to one thing for me: Does it work?
Yeah, it seems simple. It seems intuitive. It seems so damn obvious that you shouldn’t have to think about it, but the fact is, you do. We’re so inundated with bells and whistles, gadgets, apps and add-ons that we almost always end up buying the sizzle instead of the steak. You might end up with a better cell phone or a cheaper plan, but if you want the best cell phone service, you have to buy the steak.
Which is why, for my money, Verizon is the place to go.
Again, I’m not a shill for Verizon. I don’t make a cent from them – in fact I pay for their cell phone service. And there are some issues with Verizon. One noteworthy one is that you can’t use an iPhone with Verizon because their technology isn’t compatible. I’m not an Apple guy, but I’ve got to admit that the iPhone and associated gadgets that go with it are pretty damn cool. I’d like to have one.
But not at the expense of actually being able to talk on the phone, and for me that’s what makes Verizon the best cell phone service. They simply have the best network. They have fewer dead spots, fewer zones where you’ll drop a call, than anyone else. And believe me, I live in New York City. You’d think there would be no dead spots to be found anywhere in the city – it’s the capital of the world, after all, the most wired and ready to roll city on the planet.
Even so, friends of mine who have iPhones (and therefore something other than Verizon) drop calls all the time. It’s amazing to me that it happens here. I could understand if we were in the middle of Wyoming or something, but in New York City? It’s unfathomable.
And the point of having a cell phone in the first place is to be able to talk on it. It doesn’t matter what kinds of other things come with it – if lose the call, the damn thing’s a paperweight.
Don’t pop that zit! Surely you’ve heard that statement before. You may have even heard your mom say it when you were about 13 or 14 years old. Well, the truth is she was correct. It is not a prudent choice to pop pimples and hope they heal up and go away. This can not only often make them worse, but it can cause scarring as well. So instead of pinching, poking, prodding and popping, you should seek out the best acne medication for your skin type and condition. Allow the blemish cream or acne toner to do the work for you. Not only will these help clear up your complexion, but they can additionally aid with preventing new whiteheads and blackheads from forming.
Where do you go to find the best acne medication and treatments currently available? The truth is there are several routes to take when it comes to clearing up your skin. One method is to visit a licensed dermatologist and see what he or she recommends for your skin. More than likely they will tell you what type of acne you have and then suggest a prescription medication. Although these are generally topical, they may even prescribe you an oral medication to control your hormones and oil production from the inside. These are often quite effective.
If you take some time to look online, you will notice a lot of websites claiming to offer the best acne medication. Probably the most notable one at this point is Proactiv Solution. This company has sold millions of acne treatment kits and products to individuals all over the globe. They now have an excellent reputation for being effective in treating and preventing acne breakouts. If you take a peek at their official website, you will notice that a started kit can be purchased.
Local drugstores offer all sorts of over-the-counter acne blemish solutions. As far as the best acne medication or cream goes, this generally depends on the person. For example, maybe you prefer a topical medication with the drying agent benzyl peroxide, or you may also like toning aids that contain salicylic acid. While the first ingredient aims to dry out blemishes, the second component is an exfoliant that aims to clear away dead skin cells and allow the pores to breath. While both can effectively assist with clearing up blemishes like whiteheads and blackheads, you have to decide for yourself which one is the best acne medication for you and your skin type. Some of these products can irritate certain individuals, while others are milder. The key is to try out a few different topical creams and gels, and then decide which one is working for you. There are also acne cleansers to give a shot.