Club Bing

I had a topic to write about....and then I forgot it. So today I will talk about one of my current obsessions: Club Bing. Club Bing is a website run by the Microsoft search engine, Bing. I haven't spent a whole lot of time using the search engine side of things. Instead I have spent my time playing games and earning "tickets." There is a pretty wide variety of games to play. There's a crossword puzzle, a word search, a couple hidden objects, and some other original games. (One of my favorites is CrossWire, where you have to match items from one column with an item in the second column.) Each time you complete a game, you win a number of tickets. Then you can use your tickets to purchase prizes or you can donate them to a local school. I purchased a Net Ball game, which is kinda like lacrosse, but I haven't had a chance to play it with my daughter since school started recently. I'm currently trying to save up my tickets to buy a new Zune.

There is a daily limit on how many tickets you can earn each day. (1,000) But that doesn't make the games any less fun. Come win stuff with me!

Website of the week: SensibleUnits.com

Well, this isn't really a website of the *week* anymore, is it? I should find a new name for it. Anyway, SensibleUnits.com is the website and it is pretty darn neat. You basically plug any measurement into it and it will tell you how large that is in "real" terms. For example, 20 yards = 2.2 London buses end to end. 500mm = 4.2 CDs side by side. I could spend all day playing with this. And now I have infected you too!

Website of the Week: Japan Zone

I know, I haven't had a Website of the Week for the entire month. Here is the latest edition. I try to keep up to date on various entertainment news coming out of Japan. One of my favorite websites is Japan Zone. The news is generally in small, easy to digest blocks and it's updated once a day. It's just enough to know what's going on without getting too complicated.

Website of the Week: D-Addicts

For people interested in Asian dramas, D-Addicts is a great resource. They even have a Wiki so you can easily find information about all of your favorite shows and their actors. The site isn't just limited to Japanese dramas either. You can also find Taiwanese, Chinese, Korean and Hong Kong dramas. D-Addicts has helped me find a lot of the older dramas that newer fansub groups haven't picked up. They are definitely one of my favorite resources.

Website of the Week: Big Fish Games

If you read this site, you know that I review a lot of downloadable casual video games. I get the majority of the game trials from Big Fish Games. All of the games are categorized by type so if, for example, you only like Match 3 games, it's easy to find a slew of that particular type. Since each trial is 60 minutes long, make sure to say goodbye to your weekends before you start downloading!

Website of the Week

This week's Website of the Week is one of my favorite webcomics. I've only been reading Questionable Content for a couple of months now (of course I read through the entire archive) and I'm absolutely hooked on it. QC follows the day-to-day life of Marten, Faye, Dora and the people around them. Everyone has quirks, which makes them a lot more personable. My weekends are always empty because the site is only updated Monday through Friday. Well, I suppose I can give the artist a few days off every week!

Website of the Week: Etsy

Etsy is a place where crafters can sell their wares. You'll find all sorts of homemade items there. From jewelry to clothes to soap to just about anything you can think of. I've purchased some items from a couple of different crafters there and the quality has always been excellent.

Website of the Week: CD Japan

I can't believe I've completely forgotten to update the website of the week for the past two weeks! Well, here is this week's website. CD Japan is where I buy all my imported Japanese music. Every time you make a purchase, you gain points to use toward your next purchase. 100 points = 100 yen. They have great prices and shipping is really fast. There are times that I can get a CD from Japan faster than a piece of mail from the continental United States! Definitely a great resource for any fan of Japanese music.

Website of the Week: Shaving Grace Barbers

This week's website is a little different because it's not really about the website. It's about the service that this company offers. Shaving Grace Barbers are pretty much what they sound like - barbers. However, they are also a sort of men's spa. Besides offering the very rare straight-razor shave, they also offer massages, hair waxing (both eyebrow and chest/back), manicures and pedicures. Everything is geared toward men, even the decor. There are dart boards, televisions with various sports playing, a pool table and they even sell cigars. I bought a shave and a haircut package for my husband for Christmas a few years ago and he loved it. There are two locations in Exton, PA - one in the Main Street shopping center by the Exton Mall and one in the Eagleview Towne Center. If you are a man, give it a try. If you are a women, this would make a perfect gift for the man in your life.

Website of the Week: TheatreAlliance.org

Most people don't know that I was a Theatre Arts major in college. While I haven't been active in the theatre community in a really long time, I do enjoy watching performances. The Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia is a wonderful site for anyone interested in the stage. Besides listing all of the current and upcoming performances in the Philadelphia area, the site also maintains a list of open theatrical jobs. Whether you enjoy performing on-stage, backstage or just watching from the audience, this really is a great resource.