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Mr. Jingles, the Google+ mascot, has some special yellow glasses for the New Year's party. It's a joyful way to wish everyone a Happy New Year.

"I'll be up late tonight looking forward to 2014. Have fun and stay safe tonight," says Mr. Jingles.


Click the icon and you should see some fireworks. Here's the animation:


And here's the disco doodle from the Google homepage:


Happy New Year!

Akiko Suzuki Free Skate Costume at 2013-2014 Japan Figure Skating Championships: Akiko surprised everyone and won the Gold Medal skating her Free Skate to Music from The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber. This costume above was a new costume as opposed to what she had worn at the 2013 NHK Trophy (below). This costume above was a sweeter and more delicate "Phantom" heroine, featuring a creme colored "skirt"/fitted midriff and multicolored flowered applique sequined top section.




Free Skate Costume at ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2013/2014 NHK Trophy: This is what she wore for her "Phantom" Free Skate at NHK--I liked this and thought it was quite elegant and modern. For some reason, she decided to change it. Which costume do you like best for her Free Skate? Now that she will be going to the Olympics in Sochi, she has a big decision to make!




Haruka Imai Short Program Costume at 2013-2014 Japan Figure Skating Championships: At last week's Japanese Nationals, Haruka Imai debuted this costume above to her Short Program Music of Song Without Words in D Major Op. 109 by Felix Mendelssohn. It was an EXACT duplicate of what she had been wearing in other 2013 Season Grand Prix but in a different color way. This one above was in pink, light dusty rose tones while...








Kanako Murakami Short Program Costume at 2013-2014 Japan Figure Skating Championships: Kanako is THE Costume Change Queen...At the Japanese Nationals, she debuted this gray, magenta, black and silver one shoulder costume for her Short Program to Catgroove by Parov Stelar, Libella Swing by Parov Stelar and Swing Bop. This modern looking costume was definitely a better costume choice than what we had seen her in before for the same Short Program:




Kanako Murakami Short Program Costume 2013 Rostelecom Cup/Cup of Russia of Figure Skating--this black and white with diamantes costume was a bore. It also look very store bought. Glad she decided to change it. And mind you, this above was a COSTUME CHANGE from this:










Kanako Murakami, Free Skate 2013-2014 Japan Figure Skating Championships: Kanako wore this above for the Japan Nationals last week for her Free Skate to Papa Can You Hear Me (from "Yentl" soundtrack) by Barbara Streisand. Now, this wasn't the first time we saw this costume. She actually debuted this costume at the 2013 Rostelecom Cup/Cup of Russia in November 2013. This costume, however was different from what she had worn before the 2013 Rostelecom Cup/Cup of Russia for her Free Skate...




Free Skate Costume Lexus Cup of China 2013--I liked this costume above and I also like her most recent Free Skate choice. If I had to chose, I'd say I like the one above more. Which one do you guys like better? Kanako is also going to the Sochi Olympics, so I will be waiting with bated breath as to what she will choose for the big event.




Miki Ando Short Program Costume at 2013-2014 Japan Figure Skating Championships: Miki Ando wore this deep lilac with an ombre yellow-green shading at the skirt sequined applique costume at the Japan Nationals to her Short Program to My Way by Frank Sinatra. This was a costume change from what she wore the last time she skated at...




Golden Spin of Zagreb 2013--Miki Ando Short Program Costume--I like both but if I had to chose I would say the lilac/ombre applique one from the Japan Nationals. While I like the navy blue sequined accents on this one above, I am not a fan of the length of the skirt and how she only has one layer of chiffon and you can see her unitard underneath.



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 Moving on, and now Russia and the 2014 Russian Figure Skating Championships...









Alena Leonova Short Program Costume at 2014 Russian Figure Skating Championships: Alena skated her Short Program to Barynia (Russian Folk music) Kalinka (Russian Folk music)--which she also skated to for her 2009-2010 Season--wearing this colorful red and white with gold trim costume above. This was a debut of this costume for Alena. And a "debut" of sorts for this Short Program. The last time we saw her skate at a Grand Prix event earlier this season, she wore her infamous...






Pirates of the Caribbean Costume--Alena Leonova of Russia at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2013/2014 NHK Trophy in Tokyo, Japan November 2013. Alena skated her Short Program to Music from Pirates of the Caribbean (which she also skated to for her 2011-2012 Season) and wore the same costume. Glad she decided to change her costume--and music. And yes, it isn't by coincidence that she is now skating to Russian Folk Music in the lead-up to the Sochi RUSSIA Winter Olympics 2014. Hello! (Unfortunately for her, she didn't make the team).



For now, I'll leave you with Russian Male Figure Skating DIVO (who skated at the Russian Figure Skating Championships) and came in SECOND. How do say "Ouch!" in Russian?

Schemer was launched two years ago as an invite-only service for sharing goals and discussing them with other people. "A scheme is 'a secret or devious plan' (American Heritage Dictionary) and a schemer is a person who is involved in making these secret plans, so Google uses a mustache logo, a mesmerizing animated homepage, the Hitchcock font and catchy messages like 'You're looking diabolical!' or 'Invite your partners in crime'," I wrote at the time.

Since then, Schemer launched mobile apps for Android and iOS, while no longer requiring invitations, but the service failed to catch on. The Android app has somewhere between 100,000 and 500,000 downloads. It was last updated in October 2012.

According to an internal version of the site, Schemer will be discontinued. "Schemer is being shut down soon. Sign in to get your data before it's gone," mentions the site. "We had launched over a year ago to help people to do more awesome stuff, and it has been quite an adventure for us as well! However, we have come to the difficult decision to shut down Schemer." It's not clear when it will be discontinued.



Here's a promotional video: "The beginning of everything worth doing."


{ Thanks, Florian K. }

Continuing with my End-of-the-Year Lists...in my last post here on my NICKVERREOS.COM blog, I discussed my Top 30+ List of Best Beauty Pageant Gowns of 2013 so...it's now time for the "Uh Oh!/Ayy Mija" Worst Beauty Pageant Gowns of 2013. These dresses ended up here because

A) They were TACKY

B) Bad 80's/90's Prom-Meets-Quinceañera;

C) Questionable Taste Level;

D) Too cheap looking;

E) Too Much Flammable Polyester, and

F) Too Much Boobies and Too Much Sex-a-Licious Slit

Once again, I have divided it into different pageants (i.e. Miss Universe, Miss World, etc.) and I apologize if I missed some of your Top Worsts. So, here we go...








Miss Bogota Jennifer Uscategui--Oh Jennifer, what were you thinking? This gown--designed by Rafael Paez--is
is a HOT MESS! This emerald green organza and sequined gown with
gathered hip detail was straight out of a beauty pageant from 1995. And
the dated hairstyle did not help. Oh, and then there were those shoes!
Definitely an "Ayyy Mija!".




Miss Tolima Sandra Paola Arias Muñoz--Miss
Tolima received the lowest gown score of the night with this pink
strapless dress. And I can see why: I have seen this dress hanging on a
plastic mannequin in the Downtown LA Fashion District. In other words: been there/done that--and cheap! And that hair and those earrings...are we in 1992? Ayyyy Mija!




Miss Choco Yesuli Londoño Mosquera--One word: GURL! I have to give Miss Choco
points for being so daring as to wear this ivory fringed and sequined
Alfredo Barraza-designed gown that looked as if it was attacked by a
trim store. On the other hand...she looked as if she was attacked by a
trim store.











Miss Universe 2013:


Miss Ethiopia Maheder Tigabe: The
reason why beautiful Maheder is here is the entire package. Her
hair is SOOO Pageant Betty 1998, the dress looks like it is from a
Prom-&-Pageant shop; it looks cheap, and it is way too
short--about 8 inches in fact. I know some of these contestants don't
have the options (or money) of the Top Girls, but good styling and the
proper gown length could, at the very least, make it acceptable. Definitely an "Uh Oh of 2013".


Miss Honduras Diana Schoutsen: No, no and no. From the
hair style (so Prom-&Pageant 90's), the big ol' earrings to the
tacky silver stacked pumps, the entire look is so dated. The dress
itself doesn't do Diana any favors; it looks cheap and typical and yes,
the slit just takes it over the edge. The taste level is not just questionable, it's BAD.




Miss Azerbaijan Aysel Manafova: Ayyy Mija! Where are you
going in this concoction? Oversized jeweled strapless bustier attached
to black panties and a see-through chiffon overskirt. While I applaud
the sheer tenacity to "Just Go For It" by wearing this ensemble, I think
the taste level is questionable and maybe three more layers of that
black chiffon would have helped. Hoochie-licious.




Miss Nicaragua Nastassja Bolivar: This is a confusing gown for
me. It has heavily sequined applique on the sides, top, sleeves and then
panels of royal blue chiffon godets in the front and the back for some
reason. I can just hear fashion designer--and former "Project Runway" judge--Michael Kors now:
"She's POOPING Chiffon!". And then, the lining: it stops just where her
bootie ends. Why? Who knows. She's like a belly dancer about to perform
a dance to Ravel's "Bolero" in a questionable Moroccan nightclub.




Miss Aruba Stefanie Guillen Evangelista: Oh no. Unless she is figure skating to Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade", this gown is unacceptable. It's trashy, cheap-looking and badly designed. And really, with all that going on with the dress already, she felt the need to OVER-accessorize with the bracelet and earrings? No.




Miss Paraguay Guadalupe Gonzalez Talavera: This gown--featuring a
nude-colored strapless bustier with black crystal applique and black
satin and tulle full skirt--is two minutes away from a Folies Bergère show that got cancelled.




Miss Nigeria Stephanie Okwu: God bless Stephanie for even
thinking that this was cute. She either asked an actual fashion
designer--or saw this on a rack and said "Yep! I'll take it!". This
Halloween-orange mermaid ruffle iridescent POLYESTER mess of a gown is
THE definition of Bad Cha-Cha. This is a dress one wears at the Rio de
Janeiro Carnival on a float...if you're a fabulous Drag Queen.
Otherwise, no.




Miss Romania Roxana Andrei: This "interesting" design combines
both Cha-Cha aspects as well as semi-Asian influences. There's the
oversized blouson bishop sleeves and high slit (Cha-Cha) and then the
red printed applique satin fabrication (a little more "Asiana").
Irregardless, the entire look is more of a "Dancing With The Stars"
Hostess...in Macau.




Miss Turks & Caicos Snwazna Adams: On a positive note,
I give her "At-a-Gurl!" points for being so bold as to actually wear an
apple green chiffon strapless gown over matching poly-satin
"cigarette"/Capri pants! And yes, kids, this is a Gown-and-Capri pant
combo. And that leads me to also put her in my "Uh Oh" list
because...SHE IS WEARING A GOWN-&-CAPRI PANTS ensemble! These girls
have lost their (style) minds.




Miss Serbia Ana Vrcelj: When Miss Serbia came out in this white
satin and chiffon gown , I thought "OK, this is not good", and then I
focused on the ruffled "rosette" appliques on the hips and thought "Oh,
this is really BAAAD!". Two questions: A) why would any designer place these tacky-looking things on a dress, and B) why place them on the hips?






Miss Great Britain Amy Willerton: This was an absolute
MESS. I know that some of you out there on the Pageant "Web-o-Sphere" thought this was cute. But...I happen to respectfully disagree. Let me try and describe this crazy gown: it's a strapless SUPER
Mermaid-shaped gown with ombre-like shadings of various lilac, purple
and white colors in what looks like a bunch of hair scrunchies. I am all
about DRAMA and I get that but, this was a DRAMA MISS. And on top of
everything, did she really need that diamante necklace and earrings?
Let me answer that: No. She looks like a Carnival Float.




Miss Lithuania Simona Burbaite: I have two words: HEFTY BAG. I
cannot believe she would wear a gown made of a fabrication that looks
very much like a garbage bag.




Miss Belgium Noemi Happart: Noemi's gown choice was so
Tacky-licious and bad. This strapless golden colored gown featured a fitted
bustier and multi-ruffled hi-lo "Can-Can" attached skirt. Under any
circumstances, this is a NO. How anyone would see this on a hanger--or a
sketch of it--and say "Oui! I want that!" makes me seriously question
her taste level. And I didn't even begin to mention those super-tacky
gold stacked pumps! Oh, and by the way, she didn't do any better (gown wise) at the Miss World 2013 Pageant (keep reading!).





Miss El Salvador Alba Delgado: There were so many contenders for
the Top "Uh Oh!" Evening Gown Prize but when Miss El Salvador came out
in this canary yellow chiffon and applique gown...and the camera gave a
close-up on her...um..."Sistahs", I was like "Done and Done!". Take a
look at what I am talking about: there are silver jeweled crystals ON HER NIPPLES! Seriously,
what was Alba thinking when she picked this gown? Why didn't anyone
tell her? It drives me so LOCO! This is definitely one of the tackiest and most "Uh Oh!/Ayyy Mija" beauty pageant gowns of 2013.




Miss World 2013:






Miss Belgium Noemi Happart: Noemi! What. Were. You.
Thinking? This looks like something a girl from a tacky "My Big Fat
Gypsy Wedding" TV show would wear. Pink. Satin, Cut-outs. Too short and too tight. Rippling seams. And that hair!




Miss Aruba Larissa Leeuwe: Larissa wore a red satin gown
with a very busy (and very 1990s shoulder/neckline detail). The red gown
plus that hairstyle screamed Prom..or at least a beauty pageant circa
1997.




Miss Chinese Taipei Cinzia Chang: Cinzia! Huney: What is this?
Dirty colored tulle full skirt and a mint green satin peplum bustier. No
and no. It looks like a Fashion Student's version of an old John
Galliano-for-Dior dress. Oh, and yes, I can see your shoes. Not cute.
Unless it is supposed to be "tea length" (it's not) or Hi-Lo (it's also
NOT!), then seeing the shoes is a big NO!




Miss Malta Donna Leyland: Oh Donna, you are so cute. However,
your gown is not. This ivory satin and chiffon hi-lo dress doesn't make
any sense. I really only want to focus on why it is so short--and so
close to her CHA-CHA--in the front. It's all a mess.




Miss Guadeloupe Sheryna can der Koelen:
Sheryna...darling...please explain this dress to me? Sheryna wore a
lilac colored kimono-inspired get-up as her "Miss World 2013" Final Show
gown. Why? The dress looked like it was made from polyester satin,
badly constructed (rippling seams!) and way too short, and then, if that
wasn't enough, they had to add cheap trim on the edges. What's that
saying: the Cheap Comes Out Expensive. Enough said.





Miss Finland Meija Kerisalmi: Meija--and her designer--have been
watching WAAAY too many episodes of "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding". This dress
is just plain tacky. Maybe this is considered "red carpet fab" in
Finland...but I highly doubt it. This concoction is a Big Bird
Prom-a-Licious Gypsy/Romani/Traveler Wedding Mess.