My Thoughts on the Return of River Race

LIMITED POSTING FROM 4/1/17-4/8/17

Hey Jammers! ^.^ Welcome to the AJW!

As most of you know, Animal Jam updated several days ago. In my opinion, I quite enjoyed the update. It gave us a good amount of new features, such as the Liza's Garden den and the Fast Foodies mini game, as well as a decent number of returning features. But the thing that really got a bunch of Jammers upset was the sudden return of the River Race game den item.

Yup, that's right. You can now purchase the River Race arcade game for two diamonds in the Diamond Shop.

So, why is everyone frustrated over this? Well, when the River Race game item was taken out of stores (along with the main route of access to the game), it became pretty rare. People traded crazy amounts of rares for this item. Now that it's back, the rarity of the item has decreased tremendously.

Allow me to share with you my thoughts on this situation.

Honestly, I could care less about the rarity of the actual item. I'm not a very big trader and never have been or will be, and I get why a lot of Jammers are disappointed, but if you think about it, the return of River Race might actually be a good thing. Although the game itself never technically ''left'', now a bunch more people will be able to play River Race and enjoy it without having to go to someone else's den who owns the item to play it.

I have to admit though, I'm still a bit confused as to why they didn't just add River Race back to the game selection panel and/or the dock in Jamaa Township where it used to be.

Anyways, that's just what I think. What are your opinions on the return of River Race? :)

See ya later!

Jamaa Journal VOL. 195: Spring Festivities

Hi Jammers! Today is a surprisingly HUGE update day, so let's hop right into it!

On each day this coming weekend, two ''ridiculous'' rare items will be sold somewhere in Jamaa, making a grand total of eight items. Three of which will be completely new, and I'm assuming the rest will just be wacky variations of already-made items. Fun!

As suspected, the new den is here in the Diamond Shop for seven diamonds! It's called ''Liza's Garden''. Pick up this exotic den today!

Members now have access to 1,000 buddy slots! Hooray!

Cheetahs have returned, and... what is this? A new MINI GAME? Yay! It looks like a blast, so be sure to try it out as soon as you can!

The Spring Festival adventure is back, as well as the classic April Fools' party!

The Conservation Museum has a new exhibit for us to explore, and snow leopards are making their way home!

Finally, the spring bunny is back! For a limited time, if you redeem a membership card, you will be given a spring bunny as well as five springy items for your den. ^.^

There's a lot of other news I would like to cover, but the 850K views party is in about an hour, so I must get ready for that. Remember, it's at 4:00 PM MST! I suppose I'll discuss the other smaller bits of news later on within the next few days.

How would you guys rate this update? Personally, I really enjoyed it, so I would give it 9/10 stars!

Bye!

1,000 Buddy Slots + New Den?

Hi Jammers! Tomorrow is an update day, and although I already made a post for today, I thought I would show you all some sneak peeks of what you can expect tomorrow.

First off, members will be granted the gift of 1,000 buddy slots as the next step in the process of making membership a better experience.

This will be very helpful for famous Jammers whose fans are often fighting over a buddy request from their favorite AJ idol. XD

Also, this morning we got a mysterious picture from the Spanish version of Animal Jam's Instagram page...

It looks like a sneak peek of a new den! If it is, I'm super excited for its official release. :D

Now, AJHQ usually posts a sneak peek video on their YouTube channel later on in the day, so be on the lookout for that, too.

Thanks for reading, bye bye!

Birthstone Guide

JANUARY: GARNET

- The word ''garnet'' means dark red.

- Garnet is actually the name of a group of minerals that can come in a variety of colors, with red being the most common.

- It symbolizes friendship and trust.

- If your birthstone is a garnet, you may be smart, outgoing, courageous, generous, and ambitious.

FEBRUARY: AMETHYST

- Amethyist is the purple variation of the quartz family and is the most valuable variation as well.

- Most amethyst stones on the market today are heat-treated.

- For years, the amethyst has been thought to help prevent someone from being drunk and/or help someone overcome a substance addiction.

- Amethyst is associated with purity, positive thoughts, protection, victory, intelligence, and healing.

MARCH: AQUAMARINE

- The word ''aquamarine'' is derived from the Latin words for water and sea.

- Aquarmine gemstones typically come in a vibrant blue-green color.

- The aquamarine has been thought to assist sailors at sea and safely bring them home.

- Aquamarine is associated with happiness, luck, good health, peace, and a calm mind.

APRIL: DIAMOND

- The diamond is the hardest natural substance known to man.

- In medieval Europe, diamonds were thought to be poisonous.

- The diamond was believed to be a gift from the gods.

- Diamond is associated with protection, purification, innocence, love, stubborness, and peace.

MAY: EMERALD

- The emerald is the most highly prized gem of the Beryl family.

- Most emerald mined today is very opaque and brittle.

- The emerald is also a symbol of good luck and health.

- Emerald is associated with unity, compassion, love, understanding, and beauty.

JUNE: PEARL

- Pearls are one of the only gems that are created by a living creature.

- Pearls were very popular with European and Indian royalty.

- Pearl is associated with sensitivity, humor, innocence, tune with the natural world, and being naive.

JULY: RUBY

- The word ''ruby'' comes from the Latin word ''ruber'', which means red.

- The ancients believed that a ruby thrown into a pot of water would cause it to boil immediately.

- The ruby is also though to attract and reciprocate unconditional love.

- Ruby is associated with royalty, power, wealth, fearlessness, self-confidence, success, and good fortune.

AUGUST: PERIDOT

- The ancient Romans believed the peridot could glow in the moonlight and called it the ''evening emerald''.

- Peridot was also believed to help make dreams come true and ward off evil spirits during the night.

- Peridot is one of the only gemstones to occur in just one color (green).

- Peridot is associated with good luck, peace, success, sleep, protection, and good health.

SEPTEMBER: SAPPHIRE

- Sapphire is the main variety of the mineral called corundum.

- If a sapphire is red, it's a ruby.

- The sapphire is a symbol of loyalty and trust.

- Sapphire is associated with loyalty, trust, tranquility, peace, amiability, purity, calmness, and kindness.

OCTOBER: OPAL

- Opals can be found in many different colors, including blue, red, yellow, and white.

- The opal is a symbol of hope.

- The opal was often reserved for the use of royalty alone a long time ago.

- Opal is associated with hope and bad luck to anyone who is not born in the month of October.

NOVEMBER: TOPAZ

- A topaz is an orange and yellow variety of quartz.

- Another birthstone variety for the month of November is citrine.

- Topaz is associated with good health, pleasure, positivity, and happiness.

DECEMBER: TURQUOISE

- The turquoise holds a promiment place in the Native American culture.

- Turquoise is usually found in dry, arid regions.

- Turquoise is associated with prosperity, good fortune, wisdom, and protection from evil.

FULL COLLECTION:

850K Views/Naffy's 15th Birthday Party Invitation + Blog Updates

Hi Jammers! Today's post is going to have a bunch of important information regarding a few upcoming events, so I highly suggest you read below. :)

First things first - thank you SOOOO much for 850,000 views! You guys rock! :D

As always, there is going to be a party as well as a contest (which, by the way, will be a photo contest upon many requests), but the party is going to be pretty special. My 15th birthday is coming up soon in about a week on April 5th, and so I thought it would be a good idea to combine the 850K views party with my AJ birthday party for extra fun!

With that being said, here is the invitation...

Remember, like all AJW events, this party is subject to change due to conflicts with my own and others' schedules, so... yeah, just a heads-up. :P

The next item of business is that from either Friday, March 31st or Saturday, April 1st through Saturday, April 7th, I will be on vacation. That means there will be a large lack of posts and activity on the blog during that time. I will still be able to monitor the comment section, but I won't be on WhipChat or posting very much for that week. It's spring break, and everyone deserves a little rest every now and then, right?

Posts will resume either the Sunday or Monday after I return. ^-^

Two more things - the contest will be up as soon as possible, but the results may be a little late to come out due to the whole vacation deal, and the blog template for April will be updated within the next few days.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you'll all understand and perhaps even make it to the party! And thank you for 850,000 views. Again. ;)

Alexandra Porpora

Hello Jammers! ^.^

If you've been an avid reader of the AJW for a while, you might remember the Animal Jam spotlights I used to do a year or so ago.

Well, I thought it would be fun to do something similar to those spotlight posts since I ended the series several months ago due to school and other personal reasons. So, today we're going to be talking about Alexandra Porpora.

Alexandra currently works as the Education Manager for WildWorks. She graduated from the University of Utah with her Master's degree, as well as over seven years of professionally developing STEM and educational programs. She's also worked at a science museum and aquarium near the SLC area.

Here's a link to a video of her on the news explaining the educational aspects of Animal Jam: http://kutv.com/features/stem/stem-12-19-2016

Alexandra also loves animal and is a proud supporter of animal welfare.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed learning about Alexandra. :) Bye!

Lucky Day Fashion Show Contest Results

Hey Jammers! As you may know, yesterday was the final round of the Lucky Day fashion show, which means it's time to announce the winners!

Coming in second place is Mythical Daisypaw! Congratulations, Mythical! Your costume was astonishing, and, based on how far you got into the competition, the audience seemed to think so as well! Mythical, please comment your username or send me a JAG on AJ so I can award you your prizes. ^.^

And the winner of the Lucky Day fashion show is Honored Sillypotato! Congratulations! Honored, Mythical, please comment your username or send me a JAG on AJ so I can award you your prizes! :)

Once again, HUGE THANKS to everyone who participated and made this contest fun! You are all amazing!

Bye!

Salamander Gills: The Latest Hoax Rare

Hi Jammers! Today we are going to be talking about salamander gills. No, not the actual gills you see on axolotls - the gills that serve as an underwater clothing item in AJ.

Now, like most underwater items, for a while, people didn't even know these existed, and, if you're one of these people, here's what the salamander gills look like.

For some odd reason, out of the blue this item became incredibly valuable and sought after. A lot of rare-collecting Jammers were offering beta den items, spikes, and lots more for these salamander gills. But how come one moment these are super insignificant to the trading world, and suddenly very popular the next?

These are what I like to call ''hoax rares''. They're certain items that only become ''rare'' because of a variety of wishy-washy reasons. For example, take ibex horns. A few years back, a dude named Nemachu made a joke video of one of his storage accounts trading a glitched ring for a pair of ibex horns. Once people saw the video, everyone went CRAZY for ibex horns because, according to the video, they were extremely rare. As it turns out, Clark Stacey, the CEO of WildWorks, confirmed that the ibex horns are seasonal items and would be returning the following year for the Night of the Phantoms celebration in October, and sure enough, they did. 

In conclusion, ibex horns were never really rare in the first place, and that's why they're called a hoax rare. Hoax rares often destroy the trading economy and mess up the rarities of other items, and that's not good.

Back onto the topic of salamander gills. Recently, salamander gills were re-released into Bahari Bargains, and this caused a lot of people who traded tons of rare items for them to be upset.

So, the moral of this story? Don't get involved with hoax rares, and don't believe everything you hear.

Thanks for reading, bye!

Lucky Day Fashion Show Voting Day #12: ONE ELIMINATION

Hello everyone! Today is the FINAL round of the Lucky Day fashion show voting session! Wow, we've come a long way from where we began (comment if you got that song reference, LOL). Thank you to all who participated and made this contest fun!

Yesterday, Blossom Arcticspirit was eliminated, which means awesomecutesmiles will receive the following third place prizes...

Congratulations for making it as far as you did, Blossom! ^.^

Now, the moment you've all been waiting for...

Honored and Mythical are the two last contestants standing, which means one of them will be eliminated and receive the second place prizes, while the other will be safe and win the first place prizes and the entire competition overall.

It's your decision... vote now!

First Look at the AJ Spring Box

Hey Jammers! I'm sure you all remember the first ever AJ box that made its debut last winter. If you'd like to see my review of it, click here.

Well, a few days ago AJHQ posted a picture of the next AJ box that will be arriving in the mail for those who have already ordered it very soon on the Daily Explorer.

The box has an yellow-orange owl face on it. The previous box had an arctic wolf face on the front. Pretty cute, right? I can't wait to see what's inside of that box! Once mine arrives at my house, I will do another review/unboxing post for sure!

Thanks for reading! What do YOU think is inside the spring AJ box?

Lucky Day Fashion Show Voting Day #11: ONE ELIMINATION

Welcome back for the FINAL THREE ROUNDS of the Lucky Day fashion show! Today is round #1 of the final three rounds, and round #11 overall. The three lucky contestants remaining will all receive prizes, but what place they will get in the competition can only be decided by your votes. Good luck to Mythical, Blossom, and Honored!

Deluxe Stationary Set

Hi everyone! How are you all doing on this fine day? ^.^

Today's post is sort of a follow-up of yesterday's, so buckle up and get ready to whip!

About a week ago, give or take a few days, my good friend Talloose posted pictures of some new AJ merchandise that will soon be hitting stores, including the large art sketchbook we discussed yesterday.

Here's a better look at what you can find inside of the sketchbook...

As you can see, the set comes with some stencils, stickers, and more awesome features!

The second item of business is this deluxe stationary set.

It comes with things such as:

- ''an awesome notebook''

- stickers

- a fluffy pom pom pen

I'm sure there's plenty more, considering it's a huge box full of stationary. :P

Welp, that's it for this post. See ya later, Jammers!

Lucky Day Fashion Show Voting Day #10: ONE ELIMINATION

We are down to the final four contestants of the Lucky Day fashion show... vote out one person today to determine which three animals will receive prizes!

Where to Redeem the Masterpiece Token

Hey Jammers!

Several days ago, I made a post on an epic new promo item called the masterpiece token. As confirmed by AJHQ, this item is not unreleased, and can actually be redeemed by entering a code that comes with a certain piece of AJ merchandise.

That merchandise is a large art sketchbook, and it looks like this:

Pretty neat in my opinion! This sketchbook is perfect for anyone who loves to draw and wants to learn how to doodle anything Animal Jam related.

I'm not sure if or where you can find this in stores, but I do know that you can purchase it on Amazon for about $15.00.

That's all for today. Keep on whipping!

Lucky Day Fashion Show Voting Day #9: DOUBLE ELIMINATION

Hey Jammers! Today is round nine of the Lucky Day fashion show! We're nearly to the final three contestants... Wow, this competition is flying by, isn't it?

Vote out two people again today, just like yesterday. Good luck everyone!

Animal Jam Rhino Light Up Ring Toy

Hi Jammers! You've all heard of the Animal Jam Light Up Friends toys, right? Well, Jazwares recently announced that a new addition to this line of toys will be hitting stores soon! Say hello to the rhino! :D

This pink critter is covered with hot pink and bright green colors, as well as a lovely leaf pattern. It also comes with two interchangable accessories: a little rose to fit on its ear and a pair of glittery orange wings. Of course you can't have a Light Up Friend without the exclusive ring that reveals secret designs on the rhino when you shine the light on it!

I think this new toy is super cute. What about you? :)

Lucky Day Fashion Show Voting Day #8: DOUBLE ELIMINATION

Hi everyone! Sorry for the late post; I was at tennis. Hehe. :P

Little Magiclily has been eliminated, but we will sure miss her! Good job Little!

Today, vote out TWO PEOPLE! Good luck to the remaining eight contestants!

Animal Jam Pajamas

Hi there! Welcome to the Animal Jam Whip! :)

Today, we're going to be discussing the all-new Animal Jam pajamas that are now available at the online merchandise store AJ Outfitters.

AJHQ announced the arrival of the pajamas on their very own blog, the Daily Explorer, last weekend.

Each pajama set costs $16.99. Here's a closer look at the three available styles:

Neat!

That's all I have to say. What do you guys think of the new AJ pajamas? Would you wear them to bed?

Goodbye!

Lucky Day Fashion Show Voting Day #7: ONE ELIMINATION

Hey Jammers! Thank you all so much for your kind words and understanding about the little mishap yesterday.

Unfortunately, Wretched Fierymeadow and Miss Vonotter will be leaving the competition. Sorry guys! You did amazing!

Today, vote out one person. Good luck!

WEIRD NEW PROMO ITEM: Masterpiece Token?

Hi people! Nafaria here! Today I'm bringing some big news into the house, so sit down and listen up!

Recently, a new, mysterious item has popped up in Jamaa, and it's all the latest craze. It's called a masterpiece token, and it's owned by a Jammer named Yikezz (unless the item was traded away to someone else by the time this post is published).

As you can see, it looks very similar to the horse coin, which was a very weird but cool unreleased item that was popular in 2014 before AJHQ removed it entirely from the game. It even spins around like the horse coin did when placed in a den. However, instead of a picture of a horse on the coin, there is a graphic of what appears to be a masterpiece.

The strange thing about it is that it's a promo item, which means you can only get it by redeeming a code of some sort or trading.

What do you guys have to say about this masterpiece token? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Bye Jammers!

 

Oops... *PLEASE READ*

Hey guys! Naffy here. Today I was approving some comments that were waiting for me in the queue when I accidentally ''removed content'' from a bunch of comments that were published from the last several days. If you see that your comment was deleted by any means, just know that you did nothing wrong and this was all my fault. Whoopsies! I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause!

*ALSO: if you voted for round six of the Lucky Day fashion show, please re-send/re-comment your votes in order for them to be counted. Once again, sorry guys! Due to this issue, the results of round six won't be posted until tomorrow. Thanks for understanding!*

Secret Item in Lucky Castle Den

Hey Jammers! I'm sure you already know what this post is going to be about because of the title, but today I wanted to show you how you can get your very own metal coat hanger that is hidden in AJHQ's customized Lucky Castle den.

You can enter the den by clicking on the big blue button at the top of the Epic Dens list. Once you've done that, go to the second floor and click on the metal coat hanger. A secret shop will open up, and you can now purchase the item!

That's all for today Jammers! See ya!

Lucky Day Fashion Show Voting Day #6: DOUBLE ELIMINATION

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a fabulous Lucky Day yesterday. :)

We are sad to see Snow Leopard leave the competition, as they were voted out yesterday, but they had a great outfit! Good job for making it as far as you did, Snow Leopard. ^.^

Today is another double elimination day, so don't forget to vote out TWO PEOPLE instead of one! Good luck!