PixlBit

Happy Saturday Morning Pixlpeeps! Yesterday I had this blog all typed up and ready to go but when I went to import my photos into it they were huge. The funny thing is that I’ve been using my usual 500 pixels wide standard, and the first picture fit fine, but the others stretched past the viewable area. I contacted Pixlbit through Twitter but I didn’t get a response. I don’t know if it is currently being looked at, maybe it’s a problem on my end or what but I didn’t touch it for the rest of the day. Earlier this morning I decided to try something else. In the past including yesterday I’ve used .jpg but for some reason it didn’t work, so earlier this morning I decided to give .png a try. I used to use this format and I just wanted to troubleshoot. My test image worked fine so I converted all 30+ images to this format so if anyone else came across this problem with your images going past the viewable area on the site, try changing the file format.

My original blog is going to be about my music purchases for the past week. If that’s not your thing, no hard feelings, and feel free to skip this edition of Quick Hits and we shall catch up on Monday or Tuesday for my normal video game themed blogged. Anyways let’s get started!

 

iTunes Update

I’m usually ok with updates because there are new features to try out and other things that are supposed to make life easier, but with this past update iTunes removed a feature that I found helpful especially when I was adding .wav files and converting them to AAC files. Before all I would have to do is select the files > right click > select convert to AAC. Sounds easily enough, but with this new update I lost that ability. Instead I have to select the files > click File > Create New Version > Create AAC version

 

How is this helpful to me? I get some folks want to fit as much media on their devices as possible but why lump in a feature that was easily accessible to begin with and then hide it in a file system? Also the ability to view playlists from cover art to songs has been moved from the bar below the commands to View. Again why take away something that works? Blah!

 

Alright before I continue to the music pickups let’s go over some non-music stuff that I bought

While picking up some groceries at Walmart I saw that this game has been dropped to $10. Granted it’s just a digital code inside a Vita case, I still picked it up because I want to play some baseball during the drive to random day trips I’ve been taking. I loaded up my save from the PS4 and I’m ready to play ball!

Yesterday at the mall I stopped at GameStop to see if there were any 4 for $20 games I don’t have, and while looking through their display I spot this game.

 

I figured for $2 why not. The employee was telling me about how they just got that game in that morning (I was at the store an hour after they opened), and he was telling me how he’s building up his library based on this sale. Nice guy, I wished him luck and I was on my way. Here are some additional pictures of the game, first without the slip cover and the insides

A couple of days ago Amazon had the PC version of Just Cause 3 for $15 and after a couple of hours they took it down (probably a pricing error), well this morning it was back and I jumped on it. I think the game took over an hour to download because it is a 50 GB file. I really need to start going through my current Steam library and see which games I need because I’m down to 200 GB on my 2TB drive that is home to my iTunes library and Steam library.

 

Two separate trips to Target and I picked up two Lego Disney Blind Bags. The first was at a Target in a neighboring town

 

No bag feeling and I got three figures I needed. The second trip was to the store by my house and I have to admit I felt for the bag that felt the densest. I was looking for the characters with the big pieces and I pulled

 

I am excited to finally get Ursula and Alice. I always said the minute I get Stitch from Lilo & Stitch I would be done, but after looking at my check off sheet I am close to finishing the set

 

I just noticed I didn’t mark that I own an Alice minifigure.

At GameStop while standing in line to buy my $2 Splinter Cell game, I saw this sitting in the clearance bin

 

Remember Black Canary when Arrow was good?

Alright time for music pickups!

Let’s start with last weekend where I finally bought this CD from Amazon

 

I saw some folks do a review about them on YouTube and at first I thought they were good but I really didn’t pay much attention to them until it hit me that the same group was also featured on the WWE’s shows to promote the last Pay Per View Extreme Rules. There I knew them as the group that sounds similar to Paramore. I bought the CD and the mp3s were available right away so I’ve listened to this album a couple of times. I like it. I really like Paramore and this group has a similar sound, and I dig their music.

I bought this CD while roaming around Target because I enjoyed her first album, and I thought it would be similar to it, but I was wrong

 

I just can’t get into this CD. I like her soulful voice but when it’s paired with a fast song it just doesn’t vibe with me. I should have checked out some of the songs before buying it. Yesterday while putting my new CDs away I noticed this album had a second disc with the bonus songs. Oops. I added those songs to my library soon afterwards.

Next pickup came from a weekend visit to the mom & pop music shop where I took advantage for their Buy 5 Get 3 Free $1.99 wall

 

Eagle Eye Cherry is the guy who sang Save Tonight (I might have talked about it a couple of weeks ago when talking about Saxophonist Mindi Abair’s version) I bought this CD more for that single than anything else, but I did find a couple of tracks like Worried Eyes and Conversation that caught my attention.  I’m not into Religious Music but while in college I would work the weird shifts at the front desk and at this hour I would always see this commercial for compilation of Worship Music and one of the songs Love Song for a Savior always sounded catchy. Well fast forward to last weekend and I spot the CD so I bought it for that single. Flood and Worlds Apart also were catchy and became bonus songs for me. 

 

The Elvis Presley Country Collection was a surprise to me in how much I enjoyed it. It seemed like every other track I was really into. In my opinion his voice is better suited to this type of music than Rock. Easily one of my favorite surprise pickups. I didn’t know Boyz II Men released this album and I was curious about it, especially since my last bigt BIIM album was II. I made a comment to my friend that at some points the song and the way they sing on it make them sound like K-Ci & JoJo. Not a bad album, but it wasn’t something that I could rave about either.

 

A couple of Mary J. Blige albums. I actually enjoyed Growing Pains more than Mary. Growing Pains had more albums that I added to my 2016 Playlist while Mary was an album that was solid, but just not for me.

 

I bought Fozzy because I needed an 8^th CD to be one of the freebies. iTunes has it under Metal but to me it sounds more like Hard Rock. I also bought this because WWE Superstar Chris Jericho is the lead singer. Crowded House was a blind pickup because their last album I listened to was I believe their debut with the song Don’t Dream It’s Over. For me the first three tracks of this album were strong and were added to my 2016 list but after that I really didn’t have any interest to listen to it. I finished it but it seems like the songs just blended together.

The final CD I bought from this trip to the m&p was $4 but I couldn’t say no

 

Who doesn’t love Tower of Power? I also stopped by their vinyl section and added some new stuff

 

I picked this album up on the basis that I liked the 5^th Dimension CD from awhile back. It was a good album but two tracks stood out to me, and that was Wonderful and My Very Special Darling.

 

While flipping through I spot Sadao Watanabe. I remember the name from elementary school band where each section for extra credit had to name 10 famous musicians who played your instruments, and one of my friends named this guy. I never listened to any of his work and for $3 for both his LP, and a single with Roberta Flack it was worth a try. It’s more smooth jazz, than what I call regular “fun” jazz, but I’m glad I know who he is now.

Next pickups were from my trek to three thrift stores that are next to each other. The first one is run by a church and their prices are really cheap. The CDs are all .50 cents but on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday they have this sale were the color of the sticker dictates how much the discount is. I bought the following 11 CDs for $3. I want to go back on Monday and buy all their Classical CDs. Anyways here is what I bought

 

I haven’t listened to it yet, but I do like Baroque music. Steisand CD was purchased mainly because it’s a DualDisc CD (audio CD on one side, DVD audio/ other extras on the other) and for some reason I decided that I should try and collect the 100 or so prints available on this format.

 

Let’s talk about Don Henley’s Greatest Hits CD first. Apparently this album is made up of tracks from his three CDs. I own two of them. I didn’t notice until I got home that I already have all but three singles from this CD in my library. Oh well. Ok now going back to the Island Paradise CD, I’m a fan of Compilations like this because you get to sample artists you’ve never heard before.

 

Another reason was that this CD had two tracks by Astrud Gilberto that I’ve never heard. All but I think three of the songs available on this CD made it to my 2016 list. Easily one of my favorite CDs I picked up.

 

I don’t know much about this single by Jody Watley. I bought it mainly because I remember her from the radio while in elementary/jr. high. Branford Marsalis because I have a couple of his albums and hopefully I have an idea of what this album sounds like.

 

I’m adding to my Arias collection. I might have a couple of tracks on this CD already but there are some others that are new to me. I thought I’d add a different take on my Holiday playlist with some New Orleans Jazz takes on Christmas Music.

I’m a sucker for anything 90s, and Xscape is 90s R&B for me. This album had a couple of tracks that stuck out but I don’t anything from the radio. Solid CD.

Music of the Masters is a Reader’s Digest release and its four discs of what I like to call Classical Music’s Greatest Hits, and by Greatest Hits, it’s the stuff that used in movies, TV shows, etc. I listened to the first CD which has a bunch of new stuff I didn’t have before. Chris Isaak is a cool singer that I like to listen to from time to time. Buying this CD sparked something because I started finding his other albums. Oh by the way his versions of Only the Lonely and South of the Border are solid tracks on this CD.

I went to the next thrift store where their prices are normal ($1.99) and I found three CDs there

 

Another Chris Isaak CD. Coolio for Fantastic Voyage. Oh it’s like High School all over again.

 

I’ve never heard this Green Day CD but I remember when it was new at Target

 

My next trip to the mom & pop shop happened yesterday right when they opened and they added some new stock

 

I’ve never seen this Cranberries album but the cover art is weird and it has something similar to it on the back. I didn’t know if it was a single or full album but I bought it anyways. I’ve been in a Go-Go’s mood the past week and I found a Belinda Carlisle album I don’t have.

 

I don’t know who Incognito is but its on the Verve label, and I decided to take a chance. I found this Heavy D album and it was an instant buy for me. Remember when Heavy D made an appearance on A Different World?

 

I missed out on Gloria Estefan’s Greatest Hits when Amazon was giving away a bunch of music, but now I have the CD. It has stuff from her Miami Sound Machine Days as well as her solo work. Ginuwine is from the early 90s and this is the album that has the single Pony.

 

What another Chris Isaak CD? The awesome find of the day goes to this N.W.A CD because it’s an original release from ‘89

 

Check that funky Parental Advisory stamp.

My next stop in the mall was to Barnes & Noble to see what they had in the world section (thanks Island Paradise for making look for new random albums) I didn’t find what I was looking for but I added new Rap CDs

 

The final CD purchases happened last night when I was getting dinner at the local Thai spot and stopped at Goodwill first

 

I have a physical copy of Tony Toni Tone’ Greatest Hits. I bought the digital copy from Google Play almost two years ago so now if I ever decided to continue going lossless I have a CD copy. I bought Pimsleur’s Quick & Simple Spanish CDs. Its four CDs with 8 lessons that is supposed to help me learn the basics of Spanish.

Alright Pixlpeeps thank you for putting up with me rambling about CDs.

That’s all for now, more later!

-Chris

 

For the song of the week here is the track from Island Paradise that I wanted to listen to. Have a good weekend!