Catholic Info
Traditional Catholic Faith => Computers, Technology, Websites => Topic started by: Matthew on July 31, 2014, 09:19:26 AM
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Kim Kardashian is famous for doing nothing. Now she's got a game that's pulling in $700,000 a day where players have to do, well, nothing.
"Kim Kardashian: Hollywood" from Glu Mobile lets you create an avatar that can work to achieve virtual A-list status. Your mission: hob-nobbing with celebrities, going to a photo shoot and wearing expensive clothes.
The game is free to download, but players spend real money on things like virtual clothes, virtual hairstyles and energy boosts for their avatars. The more your avatar does, the faster you can move up the ranks from the E List to the A List -- the objective of the game.
If sales continue at their current rate, the game will gross $200 million in its first year, according to Doug Creutz, an analyst at Cowen and Company. That would put "Kim Kardashian: Hollywood" in the big leagues with smash-hit mobile games such as Candy Crush.
Creutz estimates there are only about seven other apps in the world that are pulling in more money right now. And Kardashian's is one of the top five most downloaded apps in Apple's store.
"I don't even know what genre to call it, but people are taken with it," he said.
Shares of game maker Glu Mobile (GLUU) have soared more than 30% since the app launched in late June.
Niccolo de Masi, Glu's CEO, credited the game's "exceptional early performance" with boosting the company's second-quarter results. He said the game has broken Glu's single-day revenue record.
Glu's second-quarter revenue soared 68% to $49.9 million, though it reported a loss of nearly $4 million.
Despite the positive buzz surrounding the Kardashian game, shares of Glu Mobile tumbled 8% in premarket trading on Thursday as investors cashed in on some of their recent winnings.
It's impossible to know if "Kim Kardashian: Hollywood" will maintain its current growth, Creutz said. Adding new characters and levels to the game -- hello Kourtney and Khloe! -- could keep more people playing longer.
The mobile game market is expanding rapidly. The trick is to get more people comfortable with spending money on purchases within games that they downloaded for free. Right now, less than 3% of gamers do so.
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What a sad testament to the stupidity of all too many people...
Think of all those people with only 1 or 2 kids, so they can spend "sufficient" money on them, such as an allowance to waste money on games like this...
They would be better off with fewer luxuries and a few brothers & sisters.
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Here is a picture of the game.
I still think it's a great coincidence (NOT ironic) that her last name sounds so much like "Cardassian".
Note: I had to cut off some of her picture, for modesty. Pretty sad how much of the picture had to go!
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What a sad testament to the stupidity of all too many people...
Think of all those people with only 1 or 2 kids, so they can spend "sufficient" money on them, such as an allowance to waste money on games like this...
They would be better off with fewer luxuries and a few brothers & sisters.
Equally, if one cannot make decent money in a first world country where so many people have so much disposable income then that is also a testament to the stupidity, laziness and lack of backbone of such people.
You don't have to take huge risks or mortgage your home. Simply come up with a product or service people need and provide it well, honestly and efficiently and build it up. You might not make as much cash as Kim but you can make a decent income.
It is much much much harder to be successful in a African country where people are poor.
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Simply come up with a product or service people need and provide it well, honestly and efficiently and build it up.
I'm thinking more and more that rather than focus on thinking up something that people need, you're more likely to succeed by thinking up something that wealthy people want.
I've seen some great ideas flop lately because, while they were quite useful, they were aimed at meeting the needs of homeschooling families who have to pick and choose which things they pay for and which they can manage without. And then on the other hand you have this stupid game which meets no needs whatsoever, but is targeted at people who have time and money to waste.
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...Or better yet don't play video games at all like myself. :wink:
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Equally, if one cannot make decent money in a first world country where so many people have so much disposable income then that is also a testament to the stupidity, laziness and lack of backbone of such people.
I understand your point, and sometimes I'm inclined to side with you in the perennial "ggreg vs. poor unemployed Trad" debate.
Nevertheless, I think even on a good day you're being too harsh. There might be a few layabouts that need a good verbal beating, but that certainly doesn't comprise all or even most Trad men.
Just for starters, not all men can focus 100% of their energy on their career, especially something like a business that involves a lot of risk, commitment, and money/time investment.
What about men who have families?
Finding the next "need" that hasn't been met yet -- and executing a perfect solution -- is easier said than done! For every success there are ten failures, and while you're busy "failing" your family is literally starving to death or living on the streets.
Starting a business usually needs to be done in your spare time while you work a main job.
Regarding working a regular job -- I do like your observation that "16% unemployment means 84% employment -- someone has to have those jobs; make sure it's you!" but let's face it -- Trads aren't the most ruthless or aggressive. They are bound by morality so they can't lie, betray friends, or step on people to get ahead. They can't abort an unwanted pregnancy to avoid (some of) the earthly consequences of their actions. They are taught from an early age that family is important, money isn't everything, and to be charitable. That can hamper one a bit in a dog-eat-dog economy like the one we're in today.
And of course Trads can't use birth control, so their families will be larger on average. All things being equal, having 7 children is more expensive than having 1 or 2. So there's another disadvantage.
Let's cut modern male Trads a bit of a break here. A man only has so much fight in him. Every man isn't hero material.
And let's not forget that most Trads are either broke, or just getting by. So most things Trads will want to sell will not appeal to the average worldly atheist (Kim Kardashian fan) and so will not bring in much cash. The most beautiful veils, skirts, handmade wooden objects, books, paintings, software, etc. can be a failure because most people won't appreciate it. Even something all Trads say is "great" won't be enough to live on, because Trads are almost universally non-rich.
You have to think about other men out there who WEREN'T born to your mother and father, who grew up in a place other than your hometown, who were given gifts and crosses other than those given to "ggreg". You don't seem to be very circuмspect as you throw around your advice and condemnations, as if you weren't very good at putting yourself in others' shoes.
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Excuses are ten a penny.
The simple fact is that even during what many people claim is a "worldwide recession" the first world's population has money to burn on time wasting tat as your example clearly demonstrates. I remember similar people bitching all the way through bull markets and a before and after the dot com bubble.
A Kim Kardashian game which is making hundreds of thousands in sales per day just proves how stupid and unfocused westerners are.
Defeatism is going to get you nowhere. A realistic assessment of your skills, opportunities and the fact that most people in the western world are not bothering means that it is a lot easier to succeed than most people imagine. If you bother to even try and not quit at the first hurdle it is actually pretty easy to make a six figure income.
I train children at cross country and athletics. My new hobby. Give me any child, small, tall, plump, skinny, and provided they are not grossly overweight and they put the effort in to training I can put them in the top 10 of a race between 20 local schools fielding 100 runners. If they have even a modicuм of talent I can make them the winner, if they follow simple routines and have the desire and do the small amount of training.
It's not even very difficult to do, because they vast majority of people are not even bothering to do any training or practice at all. The simple truth is that the world is full of opportunity. Being a billionaire is difficult, like being an Olympic Champion. Making a million per year is like winning the state finals at your sport. But making 100k per year, is like running a 5km under 20 mins. Pretty much anyone who can run with straight legs CAN run a sub 20min 5km if they set their mind to it.
It is simply a question of delivering a service people need. And they need many services.
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Some kids turn up at my sessions and quit half way through. They don't do the 20 mins of core exercises or balancing drills per day that I ask them to do. They don't even do them every other day. They skip half the training sessions any never really make an effort in the ones they turn up at.
Any kid can find 20 mins per day for exercise. Just as any adult can find 30mins to 1hour to reading, researching, learning, understanding or seeking expert advice.
After 10 weeks the slower, fatter shorter kids can beat them. They still go into the race expecting or hoping to get a top 10 place or even a medal. Then when they fail the say they are not cut out for running or they don't like it.
Truth is that they never even began to try. And the even greater truth is that they cannot see that their failure is entirely down to them. Had they tried and done just the minimum required they would have succeeded.
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Gregg is right in that you can't win if you don't try...
...as for a Kim Kardashiam video game, well, if it were a 100 meter race and she's got a silly video game vs. an unknown internet guy, it would be equivalent to her have a 96 meter head start.
Let's ask ourselves the most important question....
....how much money would it take for you to be metaphysically transformed into Kim Kardasian?
Not enough in the whole world is the answer I expect from my fellow Trad Cats.
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You mean like the unknown Internet guy who invented Candy Crush?
Or the unknown college dropouts who started Apple Inc and Microsoft Inc.
I've never considered just how many celebrities were able to start Fortune 500 companies purely as a result of their A-list status.
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....how much money would it take for you to be metaphysically transformed into Kim Kardasian?
Would I be paid that money or paying it out?
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Gregg is right in that you can't win if you don't try...
...as for a Kim Kardashiam video game, well, if it were a 100 meter race and she's got a silly video game vs. an unknown internet guy, it would be equivalent to her have a 96 meter head start.
Let's ask ourselves the most important question....
....how much money would it take for you to be metaphysically transformed into Kim Kardasian?
Not enough in the whole world is the answer I expect from my fellow Trad Cats.
And if Kim Kardasian starts going to a local Trad Chapel and wearing a veil and going to a General Confession you all can smack yourselves on the head and said, "Hey, looks like some Trad Cat was metaphysically morphed into the body of Kim Kardasian."
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I will do that. As soon as I've swallowed the last of my hat.
Maybe she will be in the confessional queue between Keith Richard and Hillary Clinton? Fr. Howard Stern will be hearing confessions.
You want to eat less cheese before bedtime my friend. Those dreams of yours are getting out of hand.
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That photo of the Star Trek Next Generation alien is funny. When the show first came out, I think it was called "Keeping up with the Kardasians" or something like that, I thought it was a science fiction show based on the Star Trek show. Then, one day, I tuned in and it took me several minutes to figure out who these people were and who the "Kardasians" were. I later heard of some show about the New Jersey resort town staring some girl named Smooky, or something, that has basically the same general make up. They seem to be about "beautiful women" who wear scanty clothing, have extremely shallow minds--except when it comes to money--and the audience just watches them...live their pathetic, miserable lives. The little I've seen doesn't seem to indicate that they are happy in any sense of the term.
I'm still trying to figure out why anyone watches them.
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You mean like the unknown Internet guy who invented Candy Crush?
Or the unknown college dropouts who started Apple Inc and Microsoft Inc.
I've never considered just how many celebrities were able to start Fortune 500 companies purely as a result of their A-list status.
Celebrities who started a Fortune 500 co? There are none. :wink:
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I'm still trying to figure out why anyone watches them.
Amen, brother. I have been quite as much in the dark as you. I'm pleased to discover that I'm not the only one who watches insufficient television and fails to keep up with the "news."
From what I've been unable to keep myself from learning—largely because a mere two hands are insufficient for keeping one's eyes and ears covered 24/7—rule of the planet Earth by a Cardassian propraetor or viceroy or whatever would be vastly superior to rule by members of the Kardashian family.
Having only recently seen an image of Kim (I think that's the one), I have come to realize the truly horrific implication of the population-replacement-level immigration of the past fifty years: the United States has now been taken over by mindless millions for whom Kim's grotesque butt is a turn-on.
… I train children at cross country and athletics. My new hobby. … Pretty much anyone who can run with straight legs CAN run a sub 20 min 5 km if they set their mind to it.
Once again, I salute you for putting the corporal works of mercy into practice. I gravely doubt whether most of those who tirelessly scream "materialist!" at you ever display half so much true charity (the Lord knows I don't).
Your last-quoted sentence has recalled to my old mind an ancient tidbit, however. The best time for the mile I ever attained in my army basic training (summer 1967) was just under eight minutes—and believe me, I set my mind to covering the ground as fast as I could! Believe me, too, when I say that if my military masters had subsequently denounced me as a "useless *****" and declared me unfit to go fight in Vietnam, I might have swallowed any annoyance at the insult and accepted the consequences in a spirit of Christian sangfroid.
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Simply come up with a product or service people need and provide it well, honestly and efficiently and build it up.
I'm thinking more and more that rather than focus on thinking up something that people need, you're more likely to succeed by thinking up something that wealthy people want.
Baby-sitters, as opposed to nannies-or in conjunction with nannies, earn $19.00 and hour around here. That would be for after school pick-up, or when the parents go out at night.
People are desperate for trustworthy, loving infant care here, and willing to pay for it.
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:light-saber: :light-saber: :light-saber:We are all finding out about Kim Kardashian at once :shocked:
because only the day before yesterday I found out about who Kim and her sisters at the grocery store. :furtive:
I thought she was going to be beautiful, or at least have some girl-next-door appeal. :tinfoil:
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Simply come up with a product or service people need and provide it well, honestly and efficiently and build it up.
I'm thinking more and more that rather than focus on thinking up something that people need, you're more likely to succeed by thinking up something that wealthy people want.
Exactly. Like the whole pet rock thing. I have a daughter who wants to be a veterinarian; I told her only half in jest that she could make more money and not have to go to school for it by becoming a pet psychologist.
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I must reluctantly point out THIS is one of the reasons why Trad men are not as "successful" or wealthy as those who are not Trad and/or Catholic.
I'm not dismissing everything ggreg has said on this topic, as he does make some good points (particularly about motivation, ambition, and hard work). HOWEVER...
Trads are not (or at least they are taught not to be, and/or they strive not to be)
* cynical
* superficial
* man-children
* purveyors of crap
* lacking all sense of beauty or purpose
They are taught that God created them for a reason. They have some sense of nobility, truth, and beauty. They are raised with a better sense of beauty (as opposed to commercial crap), truth (as opposed to falsehood, unknowable truth, and confusion), etc.
They are also taught the Golden Rule from the earliest age, as well as it's corollary: don't do to others what you wouldn't want someone doing to you. So becoming a middle-man in the loan industry? Doesn't seem fair, that the end-user should have to support such a person who does basically nothing productive. Usury? That seems very unfair to the person paying the interest. So Trads instinctively avoid certain fields that seem unjust or bad.
You often see (secular) Jєωs becoming very successful. They are completely worldly; even their religion is about this world. They jump on every pop culture bandwagon; getting rich by selling Halloween costumes, SEO, porn, or working in the entertainment/movie industry. They're not lacking in natural talents, either. They have no hang-ups with morality, corrupting others, etc. They are 100% for The World, so they present an un-divided front. They also don't have big families to take care of either. They have no qualms about doing something "silly" or useless for a living -- as long as it makes a good buck.
I think there is something inside Trads that keeps them from diving into this. Either they know it's silly and they refrain, even if perhaps they COULD make a living from it. It's like they keep the big picture in mind, or a common-sense view of the world in mind, or something along those lines.
Feel free to discuss, but I think I'm on to something here.
I just know that no Trads I know -- including all the many Trads into computers, Internet, and programming -- would make a game about Kim Kardashian in the first place, even if we intellectually know that people dine on that kind of trash on a regular basis and it might do well.
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Well, she cannot spend it in hell.