Day 56: Stating The Obvious

As the title suggests, I am using this blog post to state the painfully obvious: I'm done with YDCoH for now.

Its not only because of school work...in fact I have much less homework then ever before. It actually has a lot to do with me spending a lot of time doing things other than...well...blogging! Its simple: senior year = a lot more involved social life. I'm pretty sure many of you would agree with me XD.

I hope y'all don't suffer during my absence, and I promise to come back eventually, but until now, this is HaufeCoffee signing off....*tear*

G'night Interwebs!

--HaufeCoffee

Day 55: Peeta Bread

*Note: This blog post was initially written on time. Unfortunately, I finished it two days later. What can I say, I'm just lazy as hell XD.

Hey look, a saturday (*correction: monday*) post! These won't happen too often, but considering I've been leaving y'all in the dark for the past couple days, it was the best I could do...

This may be a first, but I have to blame my blogger procrastination this week on reading....FOR FUN. I'm really not sure about the last time I read for fun. It was probably when I read the Harry Potter series that I sort of....kind of....didn't....finish (don't kill me!). With the hectic nature of teenage life, pleasure reading (unless you're a bookworm....that's not an insult, a lot of my friends are awesome and cool bookworms) kind of loses its priority....

However, this summer, the word nerd (remember her???) recommended the book "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins. A lot of my friends had read it in the past and they all loved it, so I thought I would give it a go. Originally, I thought that the book would end up along some chick literature plot track and end up like twilight did (young adult fiction tends to go that route, doesn't it).

However, "The Hunger Games" has to be the BEST book I've read for fun in the past few years, and here's why....

First of all, it's a dystopian action story, and considering my favorite two genres are dystopian fiction and action/adventure, I was very pleased. The sense of a ruined America (the action happens a few centuries after the demise of the United States) and a totalitarian society (ironically named the "republic of Panem") hits you dead on, and the story takes off from there.

It's about this sixteen year old girl named Katniss who must take the place of her twelve year old sister Prim as a tribute in "the Hunger Games". "The Hunger Games" is an event held every year in "the capitol" that features twenty four tributes ages twelve to eighteen from twelve districts (one boy and one girl from each district) who must fight to the death. These gruesome games are held to remind the poorer districts that rebellion is futile. Scary much?

So Katniss, an illegal hunter, and Peeta, a baker's son (hence the title pun) represent District 12 in this event that will test their strength, agility, wit, and ability to SURVIVE *dundundun*.

Anyways, it was an extremely exciting book and I would recommend it to anyone who either loves young adult fiction or loves adventure or dystopian fiction. Even the romance in this book wasn't too ghastly. Unlike twilight, I didn't vomit!!!

In other news, I have been meaning to mention that the word nerd has now switched most of her operations to her new blog, Bookworm Boulevard. Rather than taking my signature "random blogging" approach, her blog specializes in detailed book reviews in the young adult fiction genre. If you're a bookworm and have an obsession with young adult fiction, or you just like the word nerd's shenanigans, then check it out!

Due to immersing myself in a dystopian society this weekend, I haven't had the chance to discover any new music this weekend. However, I did practice the guitar a bit and learned a fantastic song from american female artist Anna Nalick. Her song "Wreck of the Day" has a nice, slow melody. It's probably a song you could enjoy before taking a nap or maybe while sitting in a dark room like a loner (For your sake, I sincerely hope its the former). "Wreck of the Day" is also /extremely/ easy to play on the guitar, and I like that ^.^

AP Chem test tomorrow. *dies*

G'night Interwebs!

--HaufeCoffee

Day 54: Smells Like HaufeCoffee

Yeah, I'll agree, the title is a bit strange...just bear with me for a moment, I'll explain everything!

Some of you may know that I've decided to take up Guitar I this semester to fulfill that pesky art requirement. It's not good. It's not great either.

ITS AMAZING!!!!!

No lie, its probably the chillest class I've ever taken. Our Serbian teacher is not like any teacher I've met before. He's so laid back, and enjoys normal conversation like no one else. He also teaches us the songs we /want/ to play, not those quirky boring songs out of a beginner book.

So far I've learned to play (horribly I might add) two songs:

-Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana (aha, the explanation!)

-Stand By Me by Ben E. King

both are awesome, and I highly recommend them. They're easy to play too, so if you're a guitarist, or even a 5-day beginner like me, you can have a go at it!

Obviously this hasn't been a very exciting blog post, but there is more to come soon, I promise

oh, and I may or may not have my fingers crossed behind my back XD. It's hard to make promises at a teenager.....don't you agree?

I wonder how well I'll be able to shred by the end of the semester. Maybe I'll play for y'all someday ;)

G'nights Interwebs!

--HaufeCoffee

P.S.: Credit goes to XKCD for the picture. Have I done a blog on that yet?

Day 53: School: ITS SUPER EFFECTIVE

Yeah, you know you like that pokemon reference there ;)

The bad news is, the title is so true. School really has critically damaged my blogger HP (ok, I swear I'll stop the nerdy pokemon references here!). Its not even the schoolwork that's getting in my way anymore, its just the realization that senior year is COMPLETELY different from last year. Can you other seniors agree? There's just more socialization involved. The interwebs has just been fading from my daily routine.

But I haven't given hope yet! I'm just going to have change my blogging approach. I'm temporarily moving the Friday post to Thursday, because I realized I'll most likely be busy doing something particularly crazy, stupid, or both on that day (nothing illegal, by the way, I'm not /that/ crazystupid). Blog posts will also become slightly shorter than the past few days, and they'll probably involve more of my shenanigans than anything else (anyone else love that word?).

So, as an apology for completely blowing off Friday's post, y'all get MULTIPLE song recs! They're all from the same artist though, so if you have some sort of grudge on Alanis Morisette, you're just going to have a considerably boring and silent Monday night....

As I was saying, these songs are all from Alanis Morisette, perhaps one of my favorite female artists of the 90's. I love the 90's, and I miss them dearly, but luckily I have these songs to take me back to those days when Playground Politics ruled my (and probably your) world. Check these out:

-Head Over Feet

-Ironic

-Hand In My Pocket

-You Oughta Know

I'm really craving a sprite right now....

G'night Interwebs!

--HaufeCoffee

Day 52: Sliding Down the YouTube

It's Wednesday, and that means I'm back at boarding school....

....oh why did you have to leave summer ;(.

On the contrary though, I'm actually excited be back. True, school sucks...its a fact that hasn't changed in the past millennium or so, but seeing familiar faces and meeting up with people after so long is totally worth it.

...well, almost worth it, I'm really not looking to schoolwork (wait, what's schoolwork? XD).

Anyway, I guess this is where the real challenge starts. Will I be able to keep up with the random rantings on YDCoH? Only time will tell....

In the meantime, lets talk about YouTube. Probably the most diverse and interesting site on the internet, YouTube is a haven for comedians, vloggers, and people who just want to look completely ridiculous on camera for the whole world to see (and that is TRUE). Some of these YouTubers are a little strange, and some make you question why they even have an account in the first place, but a lucky few are well respected and admired by the internet community. Here are some of my favorites:

"nerimon": Remember on Day 51 when I was ranting about Halo and I posted those video game songs by Alex Day? Well, Alex Day is also a brilliant comedian on YouTube! "nerimon" (his secret identity on YouTube) produces two series of videos that might just make you cry from so much laughter (by the way, this has never happened to me................................................*awkward silence*.....). His first series, titled "Alex Reads Twilight" is self explanatory...he reads twilight, but puts in his own two cents along the way. If you despise twilight and are sane enough to know that Edward is not sexy but SO CREEPY, then check them out (*has some cursing*). In addition, Alex has a few videos on dissecting lyrics from today's most ridiculous songs, like "Telephone" by Lady Gaga (according to him, its the first UK number one hit based on bad phone reception...who woulda thought?).

"charlieissocoollike": Alex Day must have the power to radiate comedy, because his roomate, Charlie, has an equally entertaining YouTube channel. "charlieissocoollike" is most famous for his series "Challenge Charlie", where he does wacky things that bored people come up with. For example, Charile has dyed his hair red, colored his skin purple, has eaten fish with custard, and read twilight (perhaps the largest challenge of all), all in order to please his fans. I don't know about you, but thats commitment right there...

Charles Trippy: Am I being very unpatriotic for recommending these British comedians? How about you check out Florida native Charles Trippy? Charles Trippy actually has two channels: one that showcases his comedic skits, and another that documents his life, every day, 365 days a year. While the comedic skits on his original channel are a must see, I actually find his vlogging channel a bit more interesting. It's weird seeing someone else's life from a video camera, and it kind of gives you the feeling of being omniscient, which is something we don't normally experience.....or maybe I'm just being a weird stalker who stalks everything and everyone...

...INCLUDING YOU (thats right, I can see you through the computer screen O.O).

But seriously, check this guy out. He's a cool guy.

Surprise, surprise, today's song recommendation is also YouTube related....sort of. The song is called "Fireflies (Ikea)", and it was written and performed by Singer/Songwriter/YouTuber Dave Days. As you may have already guessed, this song is a parody of the smash single "Fireflies" by Owl City. If you have no idea what "IKEA" is, then you'll be totally lost and you might as well give up understanding the lyrics right now. However, if you do know what IKEA is and you have been there....this song just might make your day ^.^. Either way, check it out.....its funny....y'all want funny, right?

And with that, I'd like to leave with this statement:

I am officially a senior.

WAIT, WHAT, I'M A SENIOR ALREADY!?!?!

G'night Interwebs!

--HaufeCoffee

P.S.: In case you didn't get the memo a couple of days ago, anyone can now post comments on the blog. If you don't have a blogger account, click "anonymous" to post.

Day 51: I ROCK! (Guitar Hero Said So...)

It's Monday, which means you need all the YDCoH you can get!

If you just logged on to my magical domain, you may have noticed a few minor changes, which include:

-A new search bar, so you can locate that funny page you read the other day...

-A list of the latest music recommendations, which hyperlink to youtube or the website that has it (no viruses at the non-youtube sites, I promise!)

-A new weekly poll with a question about something awesome (or un-awesome...depending on your preference). The results will be discussed (or scrutinized) every Friday!

-At the bottom, there are links to the three latest posts...although its probably completely unnecessary...

-Also at the bottom, there is an "I power Blogger" logo. This is also unnecessary, but in the end it makes me feel very powerful ^.^

-Finally, the copyright statement at the bottom now starts with "Published by HaufeCoffee".....in case you forgot....

There may be more additions in the future, but for now those are the only changes. And now, I shall explain the reason why I rock...

It's simple, Guitar Hero told me so :D. Over the summer, my addiction for Guitar Hero came back full force, and I just couldn't resist taking my fake "electronic axe" for a spin (my friend Foggy Dew says "electronic axe" means electric guitar...have y'all heard that before?). After years of playing on medium (what can I say? I'm a gaming noob), I decided to try out Hard. If you have ever played Guitar Hero, you must know that Hard (and expert) utilizes the fifth fret on the guitar, the orange fret. Let me just be blatantly clear now that the orange fret IS SO HARD TO USE!!!! You have to slide you hand down the frets to use it and it completely messes up your hand-eye coordination. Does anyone else think the orange fret is ridiculously hard to use?

Regardless, I've actually been adjusting to Hard mode quite well, and I advise anyone stuck on medium to take a leap of faith and try out hard. It's scary, but its actually quite fun!

Since we're on the topic of video games, I might as well talk about the video game that everyone seems to love: Halo. Ever since middle school, my friends have been bludgeoning me over the head about the wonders of this game. I can see where they're coming from...I mean the graphics are great (at least in the latest versions), and the weapons and vehicles you can use look pretty state of the art, even in the futuristic setting. I'm sure the plot of the game is well-done too, but I wouldn't know...all I know about the games is that they fight on a weird halo looking planet...thing.

Unfortunately, there is one thing keeping me from playing this game: I SUCK at it. Like actually, I just cannot do anything right. I can't work the weapons quickly, I can't kill anyone important, I keep accidentally committing suicide running a banshee into a cliff-wall. You name it, I mess it up in Halo. This was proven to be painfully true when I joined a wonderful LAN game with my friend Foggy Dew, his brother "Immelman", and the two local Italian brothers. I really did try, but try as I might, Immelman was always there to run me over with some ridiculous looking tank/jeep/thing. Foggy Dew and the Italian Brother known as "M" were supportive, and tried to give me some tips, but in the end I died nearly 100 times at the hands of Immelman (yeah, he didn't care much for the mercy rule XD).

The point I'm trying to get at is, if you aren't a die hard gamer, single-player adventure games are so difficult to beat these days. With the advances in technology, your reaction time has to be quicker, your strategy databank has to be larger, and you can't be a noob....or you will die. I found this out the hard way....

Or you know what, maybe its just me sucking at video games (except Guitar Hero...the only game I've beaten to date, woo!). What do you think?

Since I've been so gung-ho (I've been dying to use that word in a sentence, no lie) over video games today, I might as well recommend you some video game-esque music :). The following songs were all written and performed by British singer/songwriter Alex Day. Although a lot Alex Day's life is based in music, he obviously has a lot of time on his hands to play the "classics", like Sonic, Pokemon, and Mario Kart. It's no wonder he wrote these songs:

-I Hate Mario Kart Wii *some cursing*

-Pokemon, What Happened to You?

-Sonic Doesn't Need A Story

Alex Day is also a popular comedian on YouTube under the alias "nermion". I would include a link, but I'm planning to talk YouTube in a few days, so you can get one then ;)

YOU ROCK! (HaufeCoffee Said So...)

G'night Interwebs!!!

--HaufeCoffee

Day 50: Celebration!

Hmm, what should I blog about today?

The Weather?

Nah, you guys are probably sick of Hurricane Earl by now (I know I am...)

Games?

Psh, I did that two days ago!

Your Mom?

I probably shouldn't go there...

Oh wait, that's right, TODAY IS DAY FIFTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YDCOH MILESTONE FTW!!!!

That's right, today is officially day 50, which means we are actually halfway to our original target day of day 100, a target set back in January...

...and now its August. Fail much?

Oh, what am I saying!? As long as we made it, its not an epic fail...is it? I mean, we're only 183 days behind schedule....that's not so bad ;).

Anyways, to celebrate this momentous occasion, you may see a number of new gadget features added to the blog throughout the weekend. Check back between now and Monday and you may see stuff that's remotely interesting (other than my blog of perpetual interest)!

In other news, I am starting school next week on Wednesday, which means I can put the blog to the test. I'll continue with the Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule for the next two weeks and see how it works with the new school schedule. If it works out, I might just make YDCOH daily again! If not, well, I'll make sure the blog continues. The show must go on! (and preferably without month-long breaks in between).

Today's music recommendation is a special treat, from one of America's most popular alternative group: The Killers. I've recommended at least a dozen of their songs already, but I came across this one only a few months ago and I just have to spread it to the interwebs! The song is called "All These Things That I've Done", and it is awesome, and you will be happy, and thats great because we're celebrating aren't we?!?!

Sorry for another short blog post, but Monday will most certainly make up for it with an action-packed insight into video games....HaufeCoffee style.

And one final thing

THANK Y'ALL SO MUCH FOR READING MY BLOG!!! IT MEANS MORE TO ME THAN YOU KNOW!!!!

So yeah, thanks :D

G'night Interwebs!

--HaufeCoffee