An Adventurous Review of Blogger for Android

I can't help it. I love Android. No, I'm beyond in love with Android. It is the best mobile operating system ever, no matter what those Apple fan boys in the back of the Starbucks would have you believe. I'm still on my very first smart phone -- a MyTouch 3G Slide from T-Mobile. It does everything I need it to do and then some. 

I decided to revamp my blog in June. The summer allowed me the opportunity I needed to take a break from school and work on my own creative projects. I am very pleased with how far my blogs have come. However, as any creative writer can tell you; it's impossible to force creativity. 

Sometimes, you're out at the bar with your roommate's friends and a spark of inspiration hits you as a glittery bartender slams a foamy Newcastle down on the bar in front of you and asks for $5.50. She's tall, brunette, and has a down-to-earth quality that's evident in the way she looks at you with her grass green eyes and her loosely tied back hair. She's stunning, you're feeling creatively buzzed and you just have to blog about this fabulous little bar! But --

Uh oh. Your laptop is locked away in your ghostly, quiet apartment somewhere across town. You either have to write it down on a napkin with a blotchy pen borrowed from the greasy fat guy next to you eating mediocre chicken wings or...

Blogger for Android gets a 4 out of 5.

You could simply download Blogger for Android. It's incredibly fast, simple to use, and free. It doesn't look like much on first launch but the sleek simplicity of the design makes it perfect for those who are constantly mobile. You can manage multiple blogger blogs from your Android device with just a few taps. Additionally, the app's style options give you the ability to bold, italicize, and link to make your posts look professional and flawless even if your surroundings aren't. Ready for your photo op?  Post pics from your gallery or a pic you just took of your drunken roommate falling off the bar stool for the 5th time that night. It even includes a labels feature so that your post can still get noticed long after sexy bartender girl has forgotten all about that embarrassingly raucous evening.

As wonderful as this app is, there are still some minor caveats. You can't edit your blog's settings from the Blogger for Android app. Viewing your blog statistics like page views, ad revenue, and where in the world the traffic to your blog comes from is also not an option. If you want to see new posts from the blogs your follow on your dashboard, you're also out of luck.  

Blogger for Android receives a 4 out of 5 stars for it's simplicity and user-friendliness but loses one star for it's lack of features. I'd definitely recommend it for any bloggers who find themselves constantly on the go.

A Contrary Fairy Tale (Poem)

Wearing death like a soldier’s cloak

Stomping around in the dreams of the ignorant

Your eyes are sweet, green sponges

Capturing forts, and wayward sojourners

Bright gray ores trap the dreams of your foes

The pitter patter of children’s feet grows faint

The earth tastes like old bread when the seasons cease changing

The pernicious result of your bronze scepter rule

The path to your Tree is paved with stolen ambitions

Fairies glide between woven branches

Unaware of the rocks all humans must chisel

Massacre at the Dark Knight Rises Midnight Showing: The Censorship Debate Redux

So, by now everyone who isn't living under a rock has probably heard about the massacre that happened in Colorado during the midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises that left 12 people dead and 58 people seriously injured. The dastardly deed was allegedly committed by this idiot:

James Holmes' mug shot shows that he's not a real Batman fan. 

So many people were anticipating The Dark Knight Rises including my boyfriend, Daniel Verga, an aspiring film director and gifted story-teller who patiently waited for years to watch the final installment of Christopher Nolan's gripping Batman trilogy; trolling IMDB damn near every day for the past six months in order to catch each new trailer for Dark Knight Rises. Thursday night, in fact, he asked me to go see it with him this upcoming Wednesday. Of course, I gladly accepted. Yesterday morning, I awoke to the news that someone had killed a bunch of people in a movie theater in Colorado wearing a gas mask in order to look like the villain, Bane in the Dark Knight Rises.


Personally, neither of us are really worried about getting shot when we go to the theater on Wednesday. Much like any other major disaster, this ugly, awful tragedy is an isolated incident. I'm not going to stop living my life just because there are crazies out there and I'm certainly not going to cancel the plans I've had to see the Dark Knight Rises with my boyfriend for several months in all of it's $25-a-ticket-IMAX-3D glory. 'Nuff said.


But I know that this event is going to re-open the age-old censorship debate that we all thought was dead since the neocon-inspired culture wars of the 1990s. The social conservatives and the rest of the pro-censorship crowd will argue that violent movies and video games are to blame for the shooting. Anti-gun neoliberals will argue that this is more evidence that harsher gun laws are needed in the U.S. Yet, few will address the fact that the real culprit in this situation was the shooter's mental illness and lack of a viable social support system to encourage him to get help which points to the gaping, structural problems in our society and our government. 


Censorship, like prohibition, is a curious beast. It will pretend to comply on the surface, while it eagerly searches elsewhere for it's desires and interests. In an age of free and open internet throughout most of the known world, anyone can watch anything they want from any country they want at any time they desire to watch it; whether it be a French horror film, a Korean drama, or a Hungarian romance. If the U.S. does decide to bring back the 1950s style censorship for films, then we will truly be going down the path of no return. There will be nothing left to inspire the last of the great minds to invent and present anything new or interesting. Don't we have enough apathetic remakes and shitty reality shows? Now is not the time to cut back on creativity simply because some mentally ill guy from Colorado decided to go on a shooting spree. 


The failure of our nation to treat the mentally ill goes back to the Reagan era, when the neocons of the 1980s decided that it was a nice idea to throw mentally ill people onto the streets instead of investing any money in mental health and drug rehabilitation programs. It's not difficult to see the results of this policy in this postmodern Age of Austerity. This answer, however, is not the glamorous one. It is not the easy one. It is one that requires us to break out of our comfort zones and take responsibility for the way that we treat others.

Censorship is not the answer. Kindness is.

What the (Alive @5) Shoe?!

This? What the hell is ZEES?! I must know all about these fun, awesome clogs!

Days Spent at the Daily Grind

Ah, the daily grind. I've spent many contemplative mornings and many quiet afternoons at this very spot. Its the one coffee shop where they don't mind that I mix Jack Daniels into my coffee or spend three hours on just one cup. Their bubbly, receptive staff always knows what I come in to order - the free 16 oz coffee with a sandwich deal that's offered daily. Freshly printed copies of Metroland lie waiting in a stack on a wooden end table right before the entrance door. The final joy is walking up the stairs to the second floor where you can see everyone walking or driving past on lark street, smelling the sweet aroma of glass jars filled with exotic tea leaves from all over the world. There is a marvelous, vine-covered, almost ancient history to this place that provokes the imagination. When you visit here, time stops and no matter how many people are in the coffee shop with you, your solitude is never disturbed.

Open Mikes in Albany, NY + (My First Experience With One)

Image is from
http://www.layoutsparks.com/pictures/microphone-0 

An open mike is somewhere that musicians/writers/etc. can go to freely express and share their art with an audience. Open mikes are a wonderful gathering place for poets, authors, hip hop artists, singers, comedians, or anyone who has something to share. Albany itself is home to over 17 open mikes that aren't just for poetry. Best of all, open mikes aren't the only way that we support the arts community. Albany is a beautiful little city with the artistic passion of any old metropolis yet it's fraught with all the amiable charms of a small town. In a city that's only about 135K in population, constant festivals, events, and friendly people mean that there's never an excuse to be bored.  The Upstate Artist Guild (UAG) hosts an event on the first Friday of each month on Lark Street. On that same night, there's a Secret Garden Party near Madison Avenue which isn't affiliated with the UAG but still offers a nouveau totemic style gathering for all to enjoy. Each event is free with guest-brought food and wine, great company, and sometimes live music.

The first open mike I attended was at the Social Justice Center in Albany. This humble and life-changing event was originally for a creative writing class I was taking to fulfill my art gen ed and to learn more comprehensive creative writing skills. My professor, Mr. Belflower from SUNY, was giving extra credit to anyone willing to take time out of their Friday to show up and listen to poetry. I went with this guy named Greg, who sat next to me in class Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Greg was a really boring, super conservative person who's only tales revolved around military training exercises and preparing for the end of the world. I like to give everyone a chance, however, and so I took the only person in class who I knew would buy me a beer at Fuzebox after the event.

Rudely, he kept talking to me throughout the entire show and I had to ask him more than once to pay attention. He simply narrowed his eyes and scoffed. "Artists..." he mumbled gruffly under his breath. I could tell he was a Clifton Park kid; boring, not interested in arts and culture, and super absorbed with themselves and the military industrial complex. If it wasn't for the free beer, I'd have certainly moved my seat to the other side of the room as a show of noble protest to his incredibly terrible attitude. The instructor politely waited until Monday morning to scold us for talking. So, thanks to this douche, I ended up with a B+ in a class I should have aced all because I couldn't stand showing up for class most of the time due to having to sit near Greg. Stupid attendance policies!

So, I have decided that it is time for me to truly give open mikes a chance before dismissing them altogether because of one unfortunate event. The next time I go, I'll bring someone interested...and interesting! It will likely be my crazy adventurer boyfriend, Dannibal, who I love for his dedication to the arts.

Golden Fishes (Poem)

Golden Fishes by Dubossarsky Vinogradov. Image courtesy of http://www.dubossarskyvinogradov.com/paintings2/index2006/golden_fishes/

(No, the poem is not about the painting. I actually found this lovely painting AFTER I wrote this poem. Yah, rly. I kno, rite? /endchatspeak)


A demon in your brain
A kitten in the rain
Sunny river days
Lonely morning haze
Smokey, shiny chimneys
Deep and dirty /
Truly noteworthy
Unapologetic
Super Empathetic
Insultingly Energetic
Jolting in the knees
Locks beneath your feet
There's danger in this heat
Reminiscent
Omniscient
Omnivorous
Inefficient
Yet delicious
like golden fishes

Green Angel (Poem)

Photo is from thecelebtattoos.blogger.com

Need some herbal remedy
to melt the chains of my anxiety
Just three hits of a bowl, a dutch,
or a spliff
I'll take silver haze, kush, British Columbia,
or piff
Who says being bored at home has to suck?
After all
there's nothing quite like a lengthy, high fuck

What's With All the Interest in Pinterest?

Apparently, there's a newish social media site that's becoming super popular called Pinterest. It's an online pin board where you can post anything you want and even organize different pin ups by topic such as Books Worth Reading.

Wanna check out my Pinterest? Have a Pinterest experience you want to share? Feel free to post it in the comments!

Blue Balls for the 4th of July

Happy 4th you crazy lovely people! Have some blue balls to celebrate!

Blue Balls (I invented this!)

2 shots Svedka
1 Shot Malibu
Stewart's Blue raspberry lemonade
Shake or Stir

Enjoy!