I Wish I had a Home Cinema System

I love to watch movies. It’s one of my absolute favorite things to do. I don’t like going the theaters much for a few reasons. It’s too expensive, there are other people there, I can’t press pause it if I need to, and I can’t wear my jammies.  Not to mention I eat way too much popcorn and then get a stomach ache.  Noah has started to like movies a little bit, but I remember one time we went to the movies.  He cried and talked during parts of it. He wouldn’t watch it, he ate too much popcorn. He is much better now but man oh man. I prefer to stay at home in my jammies and watch movies.  I can relax and I don’t have to worry about making noises or dealing with people who kick my chair.  One thing I do miss when I watch dvds at home is the surround sound and the THX capabilities.

 I don’t have a home theater. I hope to some day to have home cinema speakers from MK Loudspeakers. I remember when I would go with my dad to look at the show homes some of them had movie theaters in their houses. They even had the theater seating.  I thought that was the coolest thing.  I don’t think that I would want to have theater seating because I am too old for that but a nice surround sound system would be great. As big as a movie buff I am I should already have one.  Some TVs especially older ones don’t have great sound so in order to hear the movie or show you have to have it turned up really loud depending on what channel you are watching. When you change the channel it scares you because it is so loud it makes you jump.  I think that if you are however watching a scary movie or a thriller, those loud noises are meant to make you jump and make your heart race.  It can really lose its scare factor when you are watching it at the movies vs. watching it at home without surround sound.  My ex husband and I had made our own home cinema speakers. We used  a big speaker that also dubbed as our coffee table and an old radio receiver hooked up to our TV.  It was nowhere near as nice as an actual system but it worked for a while.  I will have to wait until I am no longer living in an apartment because I wouldn’t get the full effect of having it.

Do you have a home theater system in your home?

My Tablet is not Working Properly

I allow Noah what we call tablet time.  He loves to play educational apps along with fishing games.  He even has his own virtual fish tanks.  Like most children, he has the Minecraft bug.  He loves Minecraft. It is a really fun and creative app. He even built me a house out of pink wool.  Tablet time is something that he earns for good behavior. It is not something he always gets; it depends on what is going on and how his day has been.  He hasn’t had much tablet time lately because my tablet doesn't always work.  This makes both of us very sad.  Noah told me that I need to take it to a device repair place the next day. I haven’t fixed it yet. I think that I know what is wrong with it. I want to check with Ipad (either 1 2 or 3) Repair by Fone Angels just to make sure it isn't something else. Normally I have great luck with electronics.  My sister however, has huge problems.  She has probably broken every phone she has ever owned. She is always cracking the screen, dropping it in the toilet, and other assorted things.  I am not sure what her issue is.  It seems like she is constantly getting her phone repaired.

 I have only broken two phones.  One I dropped on a sidewalk and it broke. Thankfully it wasn’t an expensive phone.  The other one, I was on vacation in San Diego, and we had just arrived and we went to the beach.  I was so excited to see the water I went in to the ocean with my phone in my pocket.  I was extremely tired from traveling all day.  I think when you are traveling is the worst time to have your phone break. My friend was nice enough to share hers with me so I could still call my family.  Thankfully I must have foreseen this happening, because I had upgraded my phone the night before I left for my trip and it was going to be delivered the day after I got home.  That was an ordeal too getting it activated. I ended up missing a friend’s child’s birthday party.  It’s usually a lot cheaper just to get your device repaired than to buy new. Smart Phones are so expensive and if you get a discount on it, you usually have to renew your contract or what we call in my family your prison term.

Have you ever broken your phone or tablet?

Alife, Haathi and the Magic Bioscope App Review

Noah is interested in learning about other countries and cultures. I try and expose him to learning about them at a young age.  He must have received that from me genetically.  I loved when we would learn about other countries in school. I even did folk dancing where we did dances from many different countries. It is so interesting to learn about places and see how they are similar and different. I can sometimes find it challenging to teach Noah about different countries and cultures.  It needs to be age appropriate so he can understand. Unfortunately, I can’t afford to take him to each country and show him first hand. There are also places that have really interesting cultures that may not be the safest places to visit.  So, I have to rely on apps, stories and activities. I want to start making crafts and food from different places.  I want to make sure he understands just because they are different than us, they are just like him. I really embrace and teach him the fact that it is awesome to be different.  

 

One country we both find interesting is India.   There isn’t a ton of stuff out there about India so, when we found an app called Alife, Haathi and the Magic Bioscope. This app is an interactive story book.  He loves to read so, when it is educational and not about Lego Star Wars it is a good thing.   Noah loves to go on adventures when he reads. He likes to learn about animals too.  Noah really enjoys Alfie and Haathi and the Magic Bioscope. His favorite character is Haathi. He thinks it’s cool that Alfie is friends with a baby elephant.    I love that they include a great moral about friendship.  I think that is an important thing because it really reminds kids of the importance of being a friend.  It helps the child relate to the story.

Here is some information from the developer:

“Haathi and Alfie were the best of friends…”
Take your children on a journey of discovery with Alfie, a curious little boy from India, and his best friend, the baby elephant Haathi. Watch as your kids engage with the interactive storybook app, bringing animals, objects and Alfie to life in each scene.
As Alfie and Haathi discover the animal kingdom, your child will build their reading skills, comprehension skills and motor skills. With the rich background music and illustrations, your child will also get a glimpse into Indian culture.
When Alfie and Haathi discover a dusty old box, they can’t begin to imagine the adventures it’ll take them on! Alfie loses Haathi as they set off on their first adventure. Join Alfie in his search for Haathi, and along the way learn all about bioscopes, making new friends, and discover the meaning of true friendship!
Recommended ages: 2 to 6

Features:
- An interactive storytelling experience.
- “Read to me” option allows parents to turn off the voice-over and read the storybook to their children themselves.
- Page selector allows for easy navigation to a non-consecutive page.
- Professional audio narration.
- Custom background audio for each scene created by acclaimed Bollywood music producer Ram Sampath.
- Hints to guide parents and kids by highlighting all interactions in each scene.
- Objects, words and characters come to life with animations and/or interesting and educational factoids.
- This app is universal and has been optimised for Retina displays and the iPad.

Alfie, Haathi & the Magic Bioscope is available for free on iTunes.

https://itunes.apple.com/app/alfie-haathi-magic-bioscope/id699499278?mt=8

For more information about Alfie, Haathi & the Magic Bioscope and Growl Media, please visit:

Growl Media

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