Pandora

Post contributed by Josue Durham

When my brother was here visiting over the summer he turned me on to Pandora. OMG! It has changed my life for the better! I had all but stopped listening to music in the car because nothing I liked was ever on the radio. I was complaining about it to him, and he got me set up with Pandora. I already had an iphone, so it was easy to just get the AUX cord for the car. I love Pandora! I have probably 20 different “stations” already. I’ve been able to hear songs I hadn’t heard in ages, and it is cool because I’m also learning of a lot of new-to-me artists that I am really liking. The only down side is the commercials. Every 5 songs or so, there’s some short 30 second commercial, like for Direct TV Deals or something. It doesn’t take long, though. Most radio stations have like 5 minutes of commercials, so I guess 30 seconds is just a small inconvenience for such an awesome (and free!) music program.

Napoleon Dynamite

Contributed by Cameron Hodge

Looking at the new spring TV line up, I saw the title, “Don’t be Jealous of my Sweet Bod” from Napoleon Dynamite. Now I’ve seen the movie, so I can only imagine what they plan to do with the new animated series. The description reads that the main character is convinced “that he is destined for greatness and blessed with unlimited ‘sweet abilities.’” Wow, the irony. It’s kind of like the full life version of some of the reject contestants on American Idol. You know the ones who explain how they know they are going to be the next Idol, yet they are tone deaf, ugly, and way overweight. I think the closest link would be Kip, Napoleon’s brother. I can’t wait to see the caricature they come up with for him. Do you think his head will be oversized? It’s so sad that we like watching programs like this, but DirecTV HD makes it look so good that we’re hypnotized. Mindless nonsense is distinctly appealing in HD. Anyway, I’m not afraid to admit that I’m going to be watching.

College Days

Thanks for the article from Laura Ryan

I did not meet my husband until I went to college. We were both students at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I was in nursing school, and he was a finance major in the business school. We used to study at the same coffee shop, and that is where I met him when he accidentally spilled coffee on a textbook I had out on my table. I guess it was love at first sight, although I have always been suspicious of him spilling the coffee. I think he did it on purpose. Anyway, we got married a month after our graduation from college. We decided that we really loved Tulsa, Oklahoma, and ended up buying a house and settling down there. Married life is a lot different than when we were single and only had to worry about studying and deciding where would go out after a game. Most of the time now we watch games on direct tv Tulsa. After working all day, who has time or the energy to go out like we used to? Back in the day, I could take a nap in the middle of the day which would keep me charged up enough to stay awake into the early hours of the morning. But when you have to work for a living, there is no time to take a nap. I really do miss those good old days.

Christmas Fever

Guest written by our friend Trent Horton

I hope that this holiday season is better than the last years Christmas fiasco. I have never been the type of person to stress about the holidays but after last year I can safely say that I know what a bad holiday looks like. My mom was sick the entire Christmas season with the flu, which was caught by everyone that came to visit us. My wife was pregnant at the time and was constantly complaining about feeling discomfort and not being able to get a good night sleep. However, the one bright spot that came from the entire holiday season was the fact that with all the people we had visiting us we knew that it would that we should probably update our basic cable package to satellite TV, we were simple referred to www.Direc4U.com and our probably was instantly solved. Now maybe next year the holiday season will be a little bit better and everyone can enjoy each other a little bit more.

Looking Through My Wardrobe for Sorority Rush Outfits

Guest post written by Katey Hitchen

I'm what you could call a planner. I'm not too big on surprises and hate to be caught in a situation that I'm not completely prepared for. It just doesn't fly too well with me. Well, now that I'm planning on rushing to get into a sorority this school year, I'm doing the research to make sure that I'm successful in it. A big of that, from what I've heard, is clothing.

I've been doing quite a bit of research on what exactly I should do and wear during rush for the best results. While I was looking that up a few days ago, I saw the site CLEAR-internet.com. i read through it and sent it over to my mom because she has been wanting to switch our home internet for a while now.

I got a lot of great tips from my research alone. Although I also read that you'll get a guide about what you're expected to wear each day. I already have some sample ensembles pulled to fit different occasions and I think that I'm more than ready for this.

Learning to Enjoy My Vacations More

Guest post written by Jessie Newman

Over the years it's been a little tougher for me to enjoy my vacations as much as I used to because I love to go on historical tours. Now for someone who's hearing isn't so great, it would be a little tough to enjoy all these historical tours when you can't hear the tour guides.

I was online looking up some new ideas for my vacation this summer and while I was doing that I saw the site http://hearingaids.miracle-ear.com/hearing-locations/california/c/camarillo/. I read through it and scheduled an appointment at a center nearby.

I got some hearing aids and I think that they're really going to help me enjoy vacation more because I'll be able to hear things that tour guides say when I go and see historic things. That's definitely been a problem in the past, but that makes me even more excited to go and do some serious historical sightseeing. I have so much more history to experience and learn about and I know that I'm well equipped to do this. I just don't even know what I want to go and see next!

MTVs Programming

This guest post from Werner Rogers

Once I moved, I knew I needed to get mobile internet so I could keep up with my favorite show, Sixteen and Pregnant. I don’t know what it is, but I really love that show! I checked out some good Sacramento Clearinternet deals and just like that, I was back online. You know, I really like most of MTV’s programming as a whole, but this particular show really spoke to me. It’s really interesting seeing the plight of these young mothers and I like having a bird’s eye view into their lives. 

I’ve always liked reality TV but this show somehow seems different from all the others, mostly because it offers a subtle message. Sixteen and Pregnant has even made me think about volunteering at a local high school to talk to kids about the tough things they face in high school. I remember what it was like to be sixteen and think I knew everything, so it’s be nice to help offer girls like this some guidance and reassurance. I can’t believe I’ve been so inspired by reality TV!

The Best Animal Show Ever!

Posted by Von Battle

Animals are a great thing for anyone to own. They make you feel special and will keep you warm in even the coldest of nights. They vary greatly and some people prefer to have as many pets as they can. One way to get to know different kinds of pets is through animal shows. I watch many different types of animals shows on my DirectStarTV as I want. My favorite show is probably Dogs 101. In Dogs 101 Animal Planet showcases many different types of domestic dog breeds. They tell us about them and what makes them special.

They have a few different criteria they run over for each pet. One of the areas they cover is how hard they are to groom. Dogs like Poodles are listed as extremely hard while others, such as short haired labs are listed as easy to groom. Another criteria is whether or not they're good with families. Oftentimes small dogs, such as the Chihuahua are bad for small children because they are fragile and little kids could hurt them on accident. They also list what types of areas they do well in. Arctic dogs, such as the Husky are listed as best suited to cold environments while apartment dogs, such as the Chihuahua are listed as being apartment friendly. Dogs 101 is a great way for anyone to find out what kind of dog is best for you.

Family Television Night: Jeopardy

Contribution by German Flowers

After moving to America I have found one of the greatest shows on earth is Jeopardy. Hosted by Alex Trebeck, this show has been in the American conscious for years but being from India it was new to me. It's an amazing trivia show that always makes people use their brains to figure out the answers to questions on a variety of subjects. My family always watches Jeopardy on our satellite TV Indian channels during the weekends.

Jeopardy features questions on some of the most fascinating subjects. It is a great family show to watch, because typically every person will know the answers to a particular set of questions. It is hilarious to see some of my kids know that answers to pop culture questions, while my husband and I excel at the questions surrounding American history. For example, one time my kids knew the entire lyrics to pop culture songs by artists like P. Diddy and Rihanna, while my husband and I were naming the laws passed in America during the year 2000. We were cracking up to see how all of us ended up with the same score, even though our areas of knowledge were very obviously different!

It is so much fun to plan one night of the week to come together as a family and watch Jeopardy. There is nothing much sweeter in life than watching an educational program together that is actually entertaining and thrilling to watch and participate in!