FREE IS MY LIFE: MOVIE REVIEW: Hitchcock

This movie review for "Hitchcock" was written by guest blogger Liz Parker...

I have seen a few of Hitchcock's movies, but last weekend I revisited Psycho, and I'm glad I did. The period of Hitchcock's life in which Hitchcock?focuses is on is when he is filming Psycho, as well as his relationship with his wife in general, and there were a few nods throughout to fans of the movie; the iconic shower scene is, of course, featured, but there were other winks throughout too.

Alfred Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) has just had a success with North by Northwest, and is looking for a new project to film. The book Psycho?somehow gets to him, and he reads it and decides that he wants to make this his next movie; however, he first has to run it by Paramount and also "the censors" (the MPAA) - in one scene, the MPAA says he can film the shower scene but it must be "through a window, which must be frosted." Meanwhile, his wife, Alma (Helen Mirren), is getting more and more annoyed at him, and she takes up writing with a fellow screenwriter, Whitfield Cook (Danny Huston), which "Hitch" doesn't like at all; he thinks she's having an affair. Apparently Hitch had always had "fantasy affairs" (strictly in his head) with his leading ladies, including Vera Miles (Jessica Biel), regardless of whether they are married or not, and Alma knows about these. The production is also two to three days behind schedule, and Hitch must get the cast and crew back on track and finish up Psycho?so that it can be released to the public.

Anthony Hopkins was fantastic as Hitchcock in this movie. He definitely doesn't look like himself - I'm not sure if it's great prosthetics or if he's in a "fat suit," but it makes him look more like Hitchcock, for sure. A few times when there's a close-up of his face it looks a little unnatural, but most of the time it's easy to forget what he "really" looks like. Helen Mirren was also great as his wife, Alma, and Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh, the real-life person who plays the main female role in Psycho.

Yes, see this film. It helps if you've seen Psycho?in the past or even give yourself a quick refresher viewing, like I did, as you will be able to pick up on more nods to the audience in the movie. I now want to see The Birds, which was a film he did shortly after Psycho; normally I avoid horror/scary movies but I've heard a lot about this one. I will not be surprised if Hopkins earns a nomination for his role in this film, and Mirren should hopefully get one as well. It's always interesting to view a movie about a movie or real-life person, and Hitchcock?does not disappoint for fans of the man and of his work.

Hitchcock?is in theaters now and is rated PG-13 with a runtime of 98 minutes. 3.5 stars out of 5.

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Liz Parker is a University of Michigan graduate with a degree in Creative Writing and Literature, and she loves going to the movies.?Visit her at her movie blog?Yes/No Films

Source: http://www.freeismylife.com/2012/12/movie-review-hitchcock.html

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Two dead after bus crash at Miami airport

MIAMI (AP) ? A charter bus carrying 32 members of a church group hit a concrete overpass at Miami International Airport after the driver got lost Saturday, killing two elderly people on board and leaving three others critically injured, officials said.

The large, white bus was too tall for the 8-foot-6-inch entrance to the arrivals area, said airport spokesman Greg Chin. Buses are supposed to go through the departures area, which has a higher ceiling, he said.

Chin said passengers told him they were part of a group of Jehovah's Witnesses headed to West Palm Beach. Police said in a news release that the group had chartered the bus to take them to a church convention there.

The group was made up of congregation members of Sweetwater's Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, said Sweetwater Mayor Manny Maro?o.

"This is a tragic accident that has affected many families, as well as, our Sweewater family," Maro?o said in a press release. "I am pursuing all avenues to get in touch with the appropriate persons to officially extend our help to the congregation and those who were hurt."

A phone number listed for the center in Sweetwater went unanswered.

At the airport, two large signs warn drivers of large vehicles not to pass beneath the concrete overpass. One attached to the top of the concrete barrier reads: "High Vehicle STOP Turn Left." The other, placed to the left of the driveway and several feet in front of the barrier, says all vehicles higher than the 8-foot-6 threshold must turn left.

Three people were at hospitals in critical condition. The other 27 surviving passengers were hurt, but their injuries were less extensive, authorities said.

One person died at the scene; the second died later at a hospital. Police said it was not immediately known if charges would be filed.

Osvaldo Lopez, an officer with the Miami-Dade Aviation Department, said he first heard a loud noise Saturday morning and was certain it was some sort of car wreck.

He said he went inside the bus to help and found several passengers thrown into the center aisle. He said the passengers, many of whom were elderly, remained calm after the wreck.

"It was just very bloody," he said of the scene.

After helping the passengers, Lopez suffered some injuries of his own ? his left arm and a finger on his right hand were both bandaged.

Fire trucks and police cars swarmed the area after 8 a.m. Saturday, and the bus was blocked off by yellow police tape. A white cooler that had been filled with water bottles was on its side behind the bus, the front of which remained wedged beneath the overpass for hours before it was towed away.

The bus was privately owned and typically used for tours, though police believe all the passengers were local residents, said Miami-Dade police Lt. Rosanna Cordero-Stutz. The driver was unfamiliar with the area near the airport and did not intend to wind up at the arrivals area, Cordero-Stutz said. Investigators were interviewing the driver, she said.

The bus was going about 20 mph when it struck the overpass Saturday morning, Chin said.

The bus model is commonly used for charters and tours, with the driver seated low to the ground and passenger seats in an elevated area behind the driver's seat.

Markings on the bus show it was owned by Miami Bus Service Corp.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration records found online show the company has had no violations for unsafe driving or controlled substances and alcohol. It also had not reported any crashes in the two years before Oct. 26, 2012.

The records show it did receive three citations related to driver fatigue in April 2011.

The company owns three motorcoaches, according to the records. Miami Bus Service Corp. officials did not immediately respond to a phone message Saturday.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/2-dead-bus-crash-fla-airport-3-critical-163719309.html

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US to sell offshore wind leases

Federal plans to sell competitive leases next year for offshore wind farms off Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Virginia are a first. Each offshore wind farm could power 700,000 homes.

By Michelle R. Smith,?Associated Press / December 1, 2012

A small boat passes through the windmills of the Thanet Offshore Wind Farm off the coast of Ramsgate in Kent, England, in this 2010 file photo. The US Interior Department announced Nov. 30, 2012, that it would sell competitive leases for two offshore wind farms: one off the Massachusetts/Rhode Island coast and the other off the Virginia coastline.

Gareth Fuller/PA/AP/File

Enlarge

The federal government plans to sell leases for?wind?farms off the coasts of Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Virginia, marking the first time it has sold competitive leases for?wind?energy on the outer continental shelf, officials said Friday.

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The leases for the two areas, which total more than 430 square miles, will be sold next year, the Department of Interior and its Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said.

"Wind?energy along the Atlantic holds enormous potential, and today we are moving closer to tapping into this massive domestic energy resource to create jobs, increase our energy security and strengthen our nation's competitiveness in this new energy frontier," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a written statement.

The announcement was hailed by the conservation group Oceana, which called it a major step in developing domestic clean energy.

"We're getting a step closer to seeing real turbines out there in the water," said Nancy Sopko, the group's ocean advocate. "The more progress is made, it sends that signal out to the rest of the world that the U.S. is serious about developing?wind?energy here."

The zone off Rhode Island and Massachusetts, which sits a little about 10 miles off Rhode Island's shore, will be leased in two parcels. The Virginia area, about 27 miles off the southern part of the state, will be available as a single lease, the Department of Interior said. Officials said each area could be developed to generate enough electricity to power 700,000 homes.

The plan is part of an Obama administration strategy to focus energy development in areas with the greatest potential and to work with states, commercial fishermen and other stakeholders early in the process to address possible conflicts, said Tommy P. Beaudreau, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

There are no offshore?wind?farms?in the United States, although several are already in development off Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey and Delaware. The Rhode Island and New Jersey developments are in state waters, while the Delaware lease was not awarded in a competitive process, Sopko said.

The Cape?Wind?project, in federal waters off Cape Cod in Massachusetts, was the nation's first offshore?wind?project to be approved and predates the system that has since been put into place, Sopko said. It is scheduled to be up and running in 2015.

A project under development in Rhode Island, which includes just a handful of turbines, is scheduled to go online in 2014, which is would make it the nation's first offshore wind?farm.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/mndAyakznM0/US-to-sell-offshore-wind-leases

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Doha Climate Conference: Demonstration Held Outside UN Talks In Qatar

DOHA, Qatar (AP) ? A few hundred people marched in a peaceful demonstration Saturday for "climate justice" in Doha, where negotiators from nearly 200 countries are debating about how to slow global warming and help protect the most vulnerable countries from rising seas and other impacts of climate change.

Waving banners saying "Stop climate change" and "Arabs reduce emissions," the well-behaved crowd marched along the Qatari capital's Corniche, a waterfront walkway lined by gleaming skyscrapers.

Khalid al-Mohannadi, one of the organizers, noted that "it's not a protest, it's a march for peace."

The march was billed as the first environmental rally ever in the wealthy emirate, which is hosting the two-week U.N. talks aimed at forging a global deal to curb emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases.

Many of those taking part in the March said Arab leaders need to look beyond the political turmoil in the region and address the broader challenge of climate change.

"Governments always talk about economy and stabilizing the country, but you can't talk about that without talking about climate change, because the Arab region is one of the most impacted regions," said Sarah Rifaat, an Egyptian activist.

Dangerous warming effects could include flooding of coastal cities and island nations, disruptions to agriculture and drinking water, and the spread of diseases and the extinction of species.

The vast majority of climate scientists say human activity ? primarily emissions from the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation ? is to blame for the rise in global temperatures seen in recent decades.

Both rich and poor countries say emissions have to be reduced, but don't agree on how to divide the burden. That dispute and other disagreements have slowed talks on crafting a new global climate treaty, which was originally planned for adoption in 2009 but has now been postponed until 2015.

"We think the Western countries are not serious about cutting emissions," said Dorchas Moeketsi, a climate activist from the African country of Lesotho. "Their actions are our survival. If they act positively, then we survive; negatively, we perish."

The U.N. talks are set to shift into higher gear next week, when environment and climate ministers arrive to discuss reining in emissions before the new treaty takes effect and climate financing to help poor countries develop clean energy and adapt to the impact of climate change.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/01/doha-climate-conference-demonstration_n_2223094.html

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Thread: One seriously packed shop - Family Woodworking

This is one job. And the largest I've ever done.
A little fuzzy on the details, but from memory:
The job is all inset.
90%+ painted, the remainder is Birch, with one very small Maple butcher block in the kitchen.
84 Drawers, solid birch dovetailed drawers. Blum 562H slides.
88 Drawer Fronts, a bit less than 2/3rd's of which are five piece fronts.
7 Roll out trays, (mine are dovetailed)
2 Trash Roll Outs.
89 doors, flat panel, ogee sticking.
I think there's 42 boxes, I'm not sure on total footage.
There's at least a dozen wood tops.
PLUS! I had the monotony of making over 200 cedar brackets for under the eves, (I've got a bunch more to do next week for the detached garage). I don't know the architectural name for the part sadly.

My little shop, is cramped to begin with, the last couple of days as the last few boxes were being built, it was really tough to size doors/drawer fronts to the openings. Made for some long walks to edge sander for things that were in the far corners having to walk around everything.

Plus the shop is a flippin' mess. I hate a dirty shop. I sweep up almost every day, but haven't been able to do a thorough blowing out with the leaf blower in a few weeks, and that typically happens at least once a week. I like there to be little to no evidence other than the results of wood being cut.

From this point it is 55' to the overhead door!

Source: http://familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?29028-One-seriously-packed-shop

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Police: Hero instructor fought son in arrow attack

Casper Police Chief Chris Walsh answers questions during a news conference, Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012, detailing Friday's killings at Casper College and Hawthorne Avenue. Walsh said Saturday that 25-year-old Christopher Krumm, of Vernon, Conn., first stabbed 42-year-old Heidi Arnold about two miles southwest of Casper College on Friday morning. Krumm then went to the college and shot his father, 56-year-old computer science instructor James Krumm, in the head with the bow-and-arrow in front of a group of students before stabbing himself with a large knife. Walsh says the younger Krumm smuggled the weapon into the classroom under a blanket. (AP Photo/The Casper Star-Tribune, Alan Rogers) MANDATORY CREDIT; TRIB.COM

Casper Police Chief Chris Walsh answers questions during a news conference, Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012, detailing Friday's killings at Casper College and Hawthorne Avenue. Walsh said Saturday that 25-year-old Christopher Krumm, of Vernon, Conn., first stabbed 42-year-old Heidi Arnold about two miles southwest of Casper College on Friday morning. Krumm then went to the college and shot his father, 56-year-old computer science instructor James Krumm, in the head with the bow-and-arrow in front of a group of students before stabbing himself with a large knife. Walsh says the younger Krumm smuggled the weapon into the classroom under a blanket. (AP Photo/The Casper Star-Tribune, Alan Rogers) MANDATORY CREDIT; TRIB.COM

Police investigate the scene of a homicide in front of a house on Hawthorne Ave. in Casper on Friday, Nov. 30, 2012, in Casper, Wyo. The body of the victim was visible by neighbors for several hours. A man wielding a sharp-edged weapon killed one person in this Casper neighborhood Friday before killing a male teacher and himself in front of students in a community college classroom, causing a campus-wide lockdown as authorities tried to piece together what happened. (AP Photo/Dan Cepeda, Casper Star-Tribune) MANDATORY CREDIT; TRIB.COM

Casper Police Chief Chris Walsh answers questions Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012 in Casper, Wyo. during a press conference detailing Friday's killings at Casper College and Hawthorne Avenue. Walsh identified the victims as Jim Krumm, 56, and his girlfriend Heidi Arnold, 42, both of whom were professors at Casper College. The assailant was identified as Chris Krumm, 25, who was the son of Jim Krumm. Police say Chris Krumm stabbed Arnold to death outside her home on Hawthorne Avenue, then killed his father and himself inside a college classroom where students were present. (Alan Rogers, Star-Tribune) MANDATORY CREDIT; TRIB.COM

Casper police leave the Wold Physical Science Building while investigating a murder and suicide at Casper College, Friday Nov. 30, 2012, in Casper, Wyo. Two people were killed by a sharp object, according to Casper police. The attacker then killed himself. A man wielding a sharp-edged weapon killed one person in a Casper neighborhood Friday before killing a male teacher and himself in front of students in a community college classroom, causing a campus-wide lockdown as authorities tried to piece together what happened. (AP Photo/Dan Cepeda, Casper Star-Tribune) MANDATORY CREDIT; TRIB.COM

Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead speaks with reporters Friday evening, Nov. 30, 2012 after meeting with Casper College President Walter Nolte and Casper Police Chief Chris Walsh at the college in Casper, Wyo. A man wielding a sharp-edged weapon killed one person in a Casper neighborhood Friday before killing a male teacher and himself in front of students in a community college classroom, causing a campus-wide lockdown as authorities tried to piece together what happened. (AP Photo/Casper Star-Tribune, Alan Rogers) MANDATORY CREDIT TRIB.COM

(AP) ? A Wyoming community college instructor killed in a grisly classroom murder-suicide was hailed as a hero Saturday, with police saying he gave his students time to flee by distracting and fighting off his son after the younger man barged into his computer science class and shot him in the head with a high-powered bow and arrow.

The arrow severely wounded James Krumm, 56, but he managed to wrestle with son Christopher Krumm, 25, of Vernon, Conn., while students escaped the Casper College classroom Friday.

Christopher Krumm had just stabbed to death his father's live-in girlfriend at the couple's home two miles away.

When police arrived at the classroom after the bow-and-arrow attack, they found Christopher Krumm bleeding from self-inflicted knife wounds and taking his last breaths.

James Krumm was dead, Casper Police Chief Chris Walsh said.

"I can tell you the courage that was demonstrated by Mr. Krumm was absolutely without equal," he said, adding that the instructor's actions could offer some measure of comfort to those affected by the killings.

Walsh said police still were trying to figure out what motivated Christopher Krumm to attack his father and girlfriend, 42-year-old Heidi Arnold, a math instructor at the college. Arnold died of multiple stab wounds.

After shooting his father with the arrow, Christopher Krumm stabbed himself, then fatally stabbed his father in the chest in a struggle in the classroom, Walsh said.

Police began getting reports about the attack on Arnold soon after they responded by the dozen to the campus attack. Authorities locked down the campus for two hours while they scoured the grounds for any other attackers. They were reassured that Christopher Krumm acted alone.

He had smuggled the compound bow ? a type much more powerful and effective for hunting than a simple, wooden bow ? onto campus beneath a blanket, Walsh said.

He said Christopher Krumm also had two knives with him, and the knife used was "very large."

Arnold's body was found in the gutter of her street, and evidence suggested much of the attack occurred outside the home, Walsh said.

Heather Meier, who lives across the street, said she came home from work Friday afternoon after picking up her 7-year-old daughter from school, and the two saw Arnold's body still lying in the street.

"As soon as we got home, we just shut the curtains," she said. "You know, tried to just watch some TV, have some snacks, mind our own business."

Meier, who has lived in the neighborhood for two years, said she met Arnold and James Krumm only once a few months ago and described the couple as very private.

"They were kind of different. Really quiet. Nothing really to say to anybody," Meier said Saturday. Outside her home, crime tape cordoned off Krumm and Arnold's faded blue and yellow home and part of the street.

Chris Unruh, 18, was a student in one of Arnold's pre-calculus classes this fall. He said she was a kind instructor who was excited about recently getting two dogs.

"The whole classroom just really brightened up when she told everybody," Unruh said. "She was a really, really nice person. She cared about her students. She wanted all of them to succeed."

Christopher Krumm, who had no significant history of encounters with police, had recently driven to Casper from Connecticut and had been staying at a local hotel.

Police were uncertain what went awry in his relationship with his father.

"It's difficult to say. I don't think it was very close," Walsh said.

In Vernon, Conn., police Sgt. Timothy O'Connor said officers executed a search warrant at Christopher Krumm's last known address Friday to help investigators in Casper. He didn't know what investigators were looking for or may have found at the residence.

"Whatever was recovered will be turned over to Wyoming because it is an active investigation," O'Connor said.

Christopher Krumm's previous addresses include one in the western Massachusetts city of Springfield and others in the Colorado cities of Golden, Fort Collins and Lakewood.

Casper, population 56,000, is about 250 miles northwest of Denver and Wyoming's second-largest city after the state capital, Cheyenne. Wyomingites refer to Casper as the "Oil City" because it is a hub of the state's oil industry.

Casper College is one of seven colleges in Wyoming's community college system. The campus was mostly quiet Saturday morning. Fathers and sons shot hoops in the school gym. A small group of drama students rehearsed a play in the school theater just across the street from the attack.

The building where the attack happened remained cordoned off by police tape that whipped in a brisk wind. A security guard let students back in, one at a time, to retrieve belongings they'd left behind.

Andra Charter, a 20-year-old sophomore, emerged with a coffee mug. She recalled hearing screams outside her biology class before getting word about what had happened.

"As we were walking out, there was a girl screaming, 'There's somebody stabbing Mr. Krumm!'" Charter said.

No students were hurt in the attack.

James Krumm was head of the college's computer science department. He was born north of London and also spent part of his childhood in Germany, according to the college website.

He held degrees from Casper College, a bachelor's degree and MBA from the University of Wyoming and a master's in computer science from Colorado State University.

Arnold held a master's degree in mathematics from the University of Oregon and a bachelor's degree in math from University of California Davis.

The college planned a candlelight vigil and memorial service Tuesday.

___

Associated Press writers Rodrique Ngowi in Boston and Thomas Peipert in Denver contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-12-01-US-Wyoming-College-Killing/id-4d1979c1b3d043d6afe29401bb1f24ac

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Merkel reaffirms German support for Israel after U.N. vote

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel reassured Israel of her country's support on Saturday, two days after Berlin disappointed the Jewish state by abstaining in a U.N. vote on the Palestinians' status.

Germany, which will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and many of his ministers next week, abstained in Thursday's vote in the U.N. General Assembly which provided de facto recognition of a sovereign Palestinian state.

Netanyahu's government had hoped that Berlin would join the United States and a handful of other countries in opposing the resolution.

Germany, haunted by memories of the Nazi regime and the Holocaust, tends to be a strong ally of Israel on the diplomatic stage.

"Germany will always stand on the side of Israel on the issue (of Israeli security)," Merkel said in her weekly podcast, and spoke of Berlin's vocal backing for Israel during its latest clashes with Hamas.

"Israel has not only the right but the duty to protect its citizens," she added.

Merkel did not mention the U.N. resolution, which upgrades the Palestinian Authority's observer status to "non-member state" from entity, a move that gives it access to world bodies including the International Criminal Court.

Germany cited fears the resolution would complicate the peace process as a reason for its abstention. "On the one hand we see the Palestinians' justified desire for their own state, but on the other hand we recognize our special responsibility to Israel, and for peaceful and stable development in the region," Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said on Thursday.

In Europe, only the Czech Republic voted against the resolution while many countries including France backed it.

Merkel reiterated Berlin's support for a two-state solution in the Middle East and urged a speedy resumption of peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Netanyahu and his ministers will hold consultations with their German counterparts in Berlin on Thursday. Their talks will cover economic and trade ties and cooperation in science and education as well as regional security issues.

(Reporting by Gareth Jones; Editing by Pravin Char)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/merkel-reaffirms-german-support-israel-u-n-vote-124629360.html

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Video: Inner city kids discover lacrosse, and life-changing lessons

Police: Kansas City Chiefs linebacker kills girlfriend, self

Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher fatally shot his girlfriend Saturday, police say, then drove to Arrowhead Stadium and committed suicide in front of his coach and general manager.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40153870/vp/50033245#50033245

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Gift Plan vs. Gifts HD 2 vs. mGifts: Gift planning apps for iPhone shootout!

Gift Plan vs. Gifts HD 2 vs. mGifts: Gift planning apps for iPhone shootout!

T'is the season to give gifts.. to scramble and fret and hope not to forget sizes and colors and tastes and flavors and entire people on your nice (or naughty) list. Sure gift giving is a year-round chore blessing, but especially in December, especially in our hyper-commercialized culture, keeping track of who you need to give to and what seems especially important. Luckily the App Store has a bunch of gift planning apps to help you out. Gift Plan, Gifts HD, and mGifts can keep you organized and cut down on stress through the holidays, and any time really, but which is the best for you?

Gift Plan vs. Gifts HD 2 vs. mGifts: User interface & design

Upon first launching Gift Plan you'll be asked if you want to import contacts from Facebook and/or your iPhone contacts. It'll aggregate a list for you and then you can choose which to import and which to skip. Some events will already be standard and set up for you such as Christmas, Valentine's Day, and birthdays.

Gift Plan has 5 main sections inside the app that consist of calendar, ideas, occasions, shopping, and more. The calendar section will let you tab through months and will highlight any upcoming events you need to buy gifts for. Tapping on a day that contains an event will allow you to view all the people you need to buy for. Tapping on their name will take them to their contact page where you can see any upcoming events they're involved in and what gifts you still have left to purchase for them.

The ideas tab in Gift Plan allows you to add ideas as you think of them. If you decide later that you'd like to add something from your ideas list to your shopping list you can tap on the shopping basket. If you've already purchased it you can tap on the gift box to save it as purchased already.

The occasions tab is probably where most users will spend their time as it gives you easy access to anything inside Gift Plan. All of your events will be listed in one place with a number counting down to it next to it. Tapping on it expands the list to show you members of that event that you are buying for. Tapping into any one of them brings you to their contact card. The shopping tab functions much like the ideas tab but only pulls in items that you'd decided to purchase. The last tab, which is the more tab contains app settings for notifications and the ability to enable or disable a passcode in case you have any prying eyes in your household.

Gifts HD 2 utilizes a side menu that can be swiped away or pulled out. While in any section, swiping to the right will pull out the main menu. From there you can go in any of the events that you have created. The one thing I instantly noticed is that the events section is at the very bottom of the main navigation. This is rather odd to me as this is where you will spend most of your time while using Gift HD 2.

While inside an event you can view a quick view of all your contacts with a quick summary of your budget, how much you have spent on any one person, how many items you've purchased, and how many you still have left to buy. Along the bottom menu you can access some general event settings, view the calendar which shows how many days you have remaining along with your budget for that list, and pull up a calculator within Gifts HD 2. Above events in the main menu you can search for gifts, track contacts, jump into settings, view reports based on store and finances, submit feedback, and unlock premium features.

To add a contact to an event you can tap the plus sign in the upper right hand corner of any event and you'll be asked to fill out some basic details about that contact. Gifts HD 2 also allows you to import contacts from your iPhone contacts at any time too so you don't have to fill out everything manually if you don't want to.

mGifts doesn't have as pretty of an interface as Gift Plan and Gifts HD 2 but what it lacks in aesthetic appeal it makes up for in ease of use. While it took me a little to get used to how Gift Plan and Gifts HD 2 actually worked, I was able to easily pick up mGifts and start adding things right away with little to no learning curve.

Your main menu will consist of all the events you've got programmed within mGifts. From here you can delete events, edit them, and add or remove users. Tapping into any event will allow you to view the people within those events and add gifts for them. Along the bottom you'll be able to toggle between a few different views - people, gifts, stores, and groups. I particularly like the stores view in mGifts since it allows you another way to shop while you're out and about. If you see you're near a specific store and you've got some things to pick up, it makes it easy to know what you have left at that specific place.

Once you've gotten items listed for a person inside of mGifts you can tap on their name to view the status of your gifts. You can classify them as need, purchased, wrapped, shipped, ideas, and archived. The archive feature is nice as it lets you know what you've purchased for people in the past so you don't end up getting something similar later on down the road. From here you can also share your gifts with anyone as well as edit the contact or add notes.

While Gift Plan and Gifts HD 2 have more attractive interfaces than mGifts, it doesn't mean it doesn't still have a very useable interface. Gifts HD 2's interface is extremely laggy at times and I experienced quite a few crashes once my lists started getting large. Gift Plan and mGifts continued to chug along just fine.

If I had to choose between the two, Gift Plan has the most attractive interface without sacrificing usability.

Gift Plan vs. Gifts HD 2 vs. mGifts: Adding & organizing people to buy for

Gift Plan integrates with both your native iPhone contacts and Facebook. The best part is you don't have to import every single contact. Gift Plan will first scan for contacts and then add only the ones you choose. You can jump into settings at any time in order to add more contacts or delete people from your current list.

Gift Plan also allows you to add people to events via the manage contacts setting at any time. Once you've added them to an event, they'll always show up there, even through recurring years, unless you remove them. One step further, Gift Plan shows custom contact cards with pictures that allow you to enter all kinds of info about that person including what they like, what sizes they wear, what you've already bought.

Gifts HD 2 will allow you to quick add any contact you like on the go but also has an individual setting for managing contacts as well. From the main menu you can choose tracked contacts and view all the contact you are currently tracking within the app.

Gifts HD 2 supports importing contacts from your iPhone but that's it at the current time. Once you select import you'll have to go through your contact list in order to choose them one by one. There is no search or letter bar on the side to skip through either. If you've got a lot of contacts, this can make initial setup rather daunting.

mGifts unfortunately doesn't import any contact from your Address Book or any other service which means you'll have to manually add contacts. You can do this under any event or from settings. To add a contact the only information that is required is their name. You can add their birthday if you'd like along with any notes and a photo if you'd like but it isn't required.

When it comes to managing contacts and best organizing them, Gift Plan integrates with the most services and allows you to make changes more efficiently than both Gifts HD 2 and mGifts. Its killer feature is being able to add ideas, sizes, and more to individual contact cards which makes it a feature no other gift app has yet to offer.

Gift Plan vs. Gifts HD 2 vs. mGifts: Managing events & budgets

Gift Plan makes it super easy to manage events via the occasions tab. Here is where you'll live when inside the app. You can quickly scroll through all your events and expand and collapse them in just a tap. Inside of each you'll see a list of each person you're buying for. To add or edit events inside Gift Plan, you can hop into settings. You can drag the events in the order you'd like them to show up as well as choose a color and change date settings. You can also choose to make the event recurring on a yearly basis or you can turn the recurring feature off.

While Gift Plan doesn't have a specific budget feature, it still makes it easy to track what you're spending on any given event via the shopping tab. Each event will be itemized and a grand total of everything you plan on buying is given next to the event's title. If you want to know how much you're spending on a specific person, you can view their contact contact card and see what you're buying for that person individually under the shopping section.

Gifts HD 2 allows you to create events directly from the main menu. It's actually the first thing you have to do before you can go any further. The one thing I do really like about Gifts HD 2 is the ability to create lists based on groups. For instance, I have two Christmas lists, one for family and one for friends. From here you can create users and a specific budget for each. If you'd like to set a budget for the entire event you can do so by tapping on the calendar icon within an event and putting in a budget amount.

One thing that Gifts HD 2 really focuses on is budget and finances. From the main menu you can click on reports and see a breakdown of what you've already spent, what you have remaining to spend, and more. Gifts HD 2 will also allow you to break down budgets and charts between events. If you've got a separate event for both family and friends for a holiday, you can easily set separate budgets on an individual and event level.

mGifts allows you to add events from the main event screen. After adding them you can edit some attributes about the specific event including the date, people that are included, and any notes or photos you'd like to attach. Unfortunately there isn't currently a way to set an overall budget for an event. It'll be based off of what you input per user.

From the main event screen you can see what your budget is for that event based off the budget you set for each person. Tapping into the event will show the different groups and the people in them. From here you can add items, check them off as you buy them, and change the status on them. Any changes you make will instantly be reflected in the overall events page summary.

If your biggest concern is staying under budget this holiday season, Gifts HD 2 is the best option. If event handling and being able to store information such as ideas and clothing sizes is more important, Gift Plan is where it's at.

Gift Plan vs. Gifts HD 2 vs. mGifts: Cross-platform support and syncing

Gift Plan does not currently offer an iPad counterpart. It also doesn't have any kind of cloud syncing that allows you to sign in and out from one device. This was a big let down for me because Gift Plan is absolutely gorgeous and I can only image how beautiful it would look on iPad. It's something I'm hoping they will work on in the future.

Gifts HD 2 allows you to use either your Facebook, Twitter, or email credentials to create an account. From here your events, people, and gifts will be synced. They also offer an iPad counterpart which I think is actually a better implementation than the iPhone version. The only thing I've noticed is that sync can be rather laggy. A few times I even had to log out and log back in since it didn't load my events. Syncing definitely needs some refinements in the future but it does work.

mGifts supports iCloud syncing which means once in enabled in settings your gifts will be available from any supported device. mGifts also has an iPad counterpart which looks and feels exactly the same as the iPhone version. Once downloaded, just pop into settings and turn on iCloud sync and your items will populate on your iPad as well.

When it comes to sync, Gifts HD 2 and mGifts both have workable solutions but mGifts syncing functions much better than Gifts HD 2's.

Gift Plan vs. Gifts HD 2 vs. mGifts: Pricing

Gift Plan is currently priced at $2.99 and that'll only get you the iPhone version since that's the only one Glasshouse offers. For most users, it's a small price to pay for what the app offers. It's the only one that offers data input such as sizes.

Gifts HD 2 is completely free and is a universal download for both iPhone and iPad. There is a little catch though that isn't really explained very well by MacSpots. You can only store so many lists and gifts unless you decide to go premium via an in-app purchase for $2.99. I got the message to purchase the premium version after adding about 5 or 6 gifts. If you are aiming towards Gifts HD 2, I'd plan on spending the $2.99 to have the ability to add unlimited amounts of events, people, and gifts.

mGifts is priced at $2.99 and is also a universal download for both iPhone and iPad. There aren't any additional in-app purchases to worry about and that'll get you all the features mGifts has to offer.

Considering Gift Plan, Gifts HD 2, and mGifts are all moderately priced, I wouldn't take price to be a determining factor. Decide what app you'd like to use based on the feature set and what is more important to you when shopping for friends and family.

Tie between all three.

Gift Plan vs. Gifts HD 2 vs. mGifts: The bottom line

Gifts HD 2 has both an iPhone and iPad interface, and a much better interface than mGifts, but it's slower and less stable, and in the end that makes mGifts the better (if not as pretty) choice for those who want to sync their gift lists to all their iOS devices.

Gift Plan is the best looking, and offers the most detailed, most customizable information. If you don't need an iPad version or syncing, and plan to track all your shopping straight from your iPad, go with Gift Plan.

Gift Plan - $2.99 - Download Now

Gifts HD 2 - Free - Download Now

mGifts - $0.99 - Download Now

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