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thumb is where you will push up to open The external black piece came off immediately as I was trying to figure out how to open it to remove shavings. When it popped the, the clips that hold it in broke, but the piece does fit back on. This was pre sharpening, so off to a bad start. A pencil sharpener shouldn't need instructions on how to open it.... but this one sure as heck does! There is a barely visible indent toward the top that you push in and up to open. I tested it on 4 pencils, all Prismacolor Premier. It broke the lead off of 2 pencils, wasting them and causing me to dig out big pieces of lead from the blades. The other 2 pencils sharpened marvelously. But honestly... it's a low price sharpener so its not that serious. :D	negative	[ "thumb is where you will push up to open\nThe external black piece came off immediately as I was trying to figure out how to open it to remove shavings.", "When it popped the, the clips that hold it in broke, but the piece does fit back on.", "This was pre sharpening, so off to a bad start.", "A pencil sharpener shouldn't need instructions on how to open it....", "but this one sure as heck does!", "There is a barely visible indent toward the top that you push in and up to open.", "I tested it on 4 pencils, all Prismacolor Premier.", "It broke the lead off of 2 pencils, wasting them and causing me to dig out big pieces of lead from the blades.", "The other 2 pencils sharpened marvelously.", "But honestly...", "it's a low price sharpener so its not that serious.", ":D" ]
Betsy DeVos Scraps Campus Sexual Assault Guidelines Betsy DeVos Scraps Campus Sexual Assault Guidelines Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has withdrawn the "dear colleague" letter submitted by President Barack Obama's administration that strengthened Title IX protections according to CNN. A statement released by the Department of Education explained that "the withdrawn documents ignored notice and comment requirements created a system that lacked basic elements of due process and failed to ensure fundamental fairness." DeVos elaborated on this position in a press release which explained that "this interim guidance will help schools as they work to combat sexual misconduct and will treat all students fairly. Schools must continue to confront these horrific crimes and behaviors head-on. There will be no more sweeping them under the rug. But the process also must be fair and impartial giving everyone more confidence in its outcomes." "Big picture: It sends a message that all the specific guidance that universities and colleges have received over the past decade can be disregarded in favor of a 7-page boilerplate piece of rather useless information " Dolce told Salon. "The prior requirements no longer apply and that's very dangerous. Those requirements were established to maintain the safety of students and now DeVos 's decision invites the universities to adopt a standard of higher proof that is the equivalent of a criminal investigation. They don't have the resources or the expertise to handle that."	negative	[ "Betsy DeVos Scraps Campus Sexual Assault Guidelines\nBetsy DeVos Scraps Campus Sexual Assault Guidelines\n Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has withdrawn the \"dear colleague\" letter submitted by President Barack Obama's administration that strengthened Title IX protections according to CNN.", "A statement released by the Department of Education explained that \"the withdrawn documents ignored notice and comment requirements created a system that lacked basic elements of due process and failed to ensure fundamental fairness.", "\"\n DeVos elaborated on this position in a press release which explained that \"this interim guidance will help schools as they work to combat sexual misconduct and will treat all students fairly.", "Schools must continue to confront these horrific crimes and behaviors head-on.", "There will be no more sweeping them under the rug.", "But the process also must be fair and impartial giving everyone more confidence in its outcomes.", "\"\n\"Big picture: It sends a message that all the specific guidance that universities and colleges have received over the past decade can be disregarded in favor of a 7-page boilerplate piece of rather useless information \" Dolce told Salon.", "\"The prior requirements no longer apply and that's very dangerous.", "Those requirements were established to maintain the safety of students and now DeVos 's decision invites the universities to adopt a standard of higher proof that is the equivalent of a criminal investigation.", "They don't have the resources or the expertise to handle that.", "\"" ]
had high hopes for this as a cat deterrent..but after 2 days of hearing and seeing it go on/off i was dissapointed. I would sit there watching it go ON but no animals or anything around my yard? Then i would wave a broom in front of it...and NOTHING....usually. Not sure why it had a mind of its own, i was very hopeful but dissapointed. I would have given it a 1-star, but Amazon had it for almost 1/2 the cost of Homedepot and other web sites and the return policy seemed very user friendly so i bummped it up to 2-star for that reason alone. good luck with yours if you buy one. steve / N.California	negative	[ "had high hopes for this as a cat deterrent..", "but after 2 days of hearing and seeing it go on/off i was dissapointed.", "I would sit there watching it go ON but no animals or anything around my yard?", "Then i would wave a broom in front of it...", "and NOTHING....", "usually.", "Not sure why it had a mind of its own, i was very hopeful but dissapointed.", "I would have given it a 1-star, but Amazon had it for almost 1/2 the cost of Homedepot and other web sites and the return policy seemed very user friendly so i bummped it up to 2-star for that reason alone.", "good luck with yours if you buy one.", "steve / N.", "California" ]
A year ago I bought "The Rose" and wondered if Neil Diamond's bid for big-screen success ever made it to DVD. Then I saw a used copy going, to my horror, for 54 freakin' bucks at a local music/video store. Fortunately this rerelease came out without my taking the very silly plunge I am all too capable of. I like Neil OK, but not so much that I could ever let myself give this four or five stars. On the other hand, this movie is far from the disaster critics said it was. Diamond is no, well, Laurence Olivier, but in my view does nothing so bad to deserve "winning" the Golden Raspberry award for Worst Actor of 1980. As for Olivier, I gotta wonder why he did this movie. I have to agree that his Yiddish accent is spotty at best. Sometimes he successfully evokes the old men back in my synagogue, one of whom actually smacked my friend for mispronouncing some Hebrew while praying at my Bar Mitzvah. (Good times.) Other times the accent slides into something from Ren and Stimpy. Also, his character and that of Neil's wife are so one-dimensional and humorless that "Jess Robin"'s choice between his cantor past and the lure of pop stardom is telegraphed from the outset. In my experience, Orthodox Jews can be exceptionally witty and multi-dimensional as well as rigid and disciplined. You'd never know it from this script. Much better written is Lucie Arnaz's role as a pushy, clever agent Neil meets in L.A. and falls in love with. She is definitely the life of the movie. Nice little moments: unspoken awkwardness when Arnaz proudly presents Diamond with a ham dinner he can't eat; Olivier reaching up to kiss the Mezuzah absent from Neil's L.A. doorway. Scary little moments: "partying" with Franklin Ajaye and homies with a song about...the Robert E. Lee!; the bearded, whiskey-bent and heck-bound Neil running off to wow the yahoos in a COUNTRY & WESTERN bar (big song: "You Are My Sunshine"!) Of course, the best scene is when Olivier tears his clothes and cries out the Hebrew prayer of mourning when he finds Neil living with shiksa Arnaz. Watch for Paul Nicholas, then only 2 years removed from his own Top 10 hit "Heaven On the 7th Floor", as a prissy pop star, and Ernie Hudson as Neil's antagonist in a really cringeworthy scene in the early going. But don't watch for jazz. There's not a note of it to be found here. But "The Pop Singer" wouldn't have the same ring to it now, would it?	negative	[ "A year ago I bought \"The Rose\" and wondered if Neil Diamond's bid for big-screen success ever made it to DVD.", "Then I saw a used copy going, to my horror, for 54 freakin' bucks at a local music/video store.", "Fortunately this rerelease came out without my taking the very silly plunge I am all too capable of.", "I like Neil OK, but not so much that I could ever let myself give this four or five stars.", "On the other hand, this movie is far from the disaster critics said it was.", "Diamond is no, well, Laurence Olivier, but in my view does nothing so bad to deserve \"winning\" the Golden Raspberry award for Worst Actor of 1980.", "As for Olivier, I gotta wonder why he did this movie.", "I have to agree that his Yiddish accent is spotty at best.", "Sometimes he successfully evokes the old men back in my synagogue, one of whom actually smacked my friend for mispronouncing some Hebrew while praying at my Bar Mitzvah.", "(Good times.", ") Other times the accent slides into something from Ren and Stimpy.", "Also, his character and that of Neil's wife are so one-dimensional and humorless that \"Jess Robin\"'s choice between his cantor past and the lure of pop stardom is telegraphed from the outset.", "In my experience, Orthodox Jews can be exceptionally witty and multi-dimensional as well as rigid and disciplined.", "You'd never know it from this script.", "Much better written is Lucie Arnaz's role as a pushy, clever agent Neil meets in L.", "A. and falls in love with.", "She is definitely the life of the movie.", "Nice little moments: unspoken awkwardness when Arnaz proudly presents Diamond with a ham dinner he can't eat; Olivier reaching up to kiss the Mezuzah absent from Neil's L.", "A. doorway.", "Scary little moments: \"partying\" with Franklin Ajaye and homies with a song about...", "the Robert E.", "Lee!", "; the bearded, whiskey-bent and heck-bound Neil running off to wow the yahoos in a COUNTRY & WESTERN bar (big song: \"You Are My Sunshine\"!", ")\n\nOf course, the best scene is when Olivier tears his clothes and cries out the Hebrew prayer of mourning when he finds Neil living with shiksa Arnaz.", "Watch for Paul Nicholas, then only 2 years removed from his own Top 10 hit \"Heaven On the 7th Floor\", as a prissy pop star, and Ernie Hudson as Neil's antagonist in a really cringeworthy scene in the early going.", "But don't watch for jazz.", "There's not a note of it to be found here.", "But \"The Pop Singer\" wouldn't have the same ring to it now, would it?" ]
I purchased the Kindle 1, then a BeBook (because it reads PDFs), and now a Kindle DX for the Text-To-Speech. The Nook looks so cool, until you own one. Heavy copy protection, even on PUBLIC DOMAIN books is ridiculous. And, from what I am reading on the web, the books are encoded with a person's credit card # and other personal info. So ... hackers can rejoice if I loose my Nook. Anyway, books are still cheaper on Amazon. The color touch screen is cool, until you realize that it takes up SOOOO much of the reading area and ... costs battery! Maybe next year, the nook will be ready for prime time.	negative	[ "I purchased the Kindle 1, then a BeBook (because it reads PDFs), and now a Kindle DX for the Text-To-Speech.", "The Nook looks so cool, until you own one.", "Heavy copy protection, even on PUBLIC DOMAIN books is ridiculous.", "And, from what I am reading on the web, the books are encoded with a person's credit card # and other personal info.", "So...", "hackers can rejoice if I loose my Nook.", "Anyway, books are still cheaper on Amazon.", "The color touch screen is cool, until you realize that it takes up SOOOO much of the reading area and...", "costs battery!", "Maybe next year, the nook will be ready for prime time." ]
I used a gift certificate to purchase this stir crazy popcorn popper for my birthday, and after reading all about this, i thought this was the way to go! My husband and i enjoy popcorn when we watch TV at night as a light snack and i made a vow never to eat the microwave popcorn again, too dangerous for you! anyway - back to the popper... it is LOUD, the arm is not quiet, when it rotates, it makes a lot of noise, not scraping, just the motor is loud- not a big deal... the popcorn pops up fresh and crisp (always remember to have the black cap OFF when it is popping so the steam can escape) and it only needs 1/2 tablespoon of oil, so it is a healthy snack. Get gourmet corn kernels and you will notice a huge difference in the tenderness and flavor, we experimented with a lot of different organic kinds and the red and the blue ones and the white kernels are awesome, the yellow ones are big but much tougher. Now for the ugly part of this popper, my first one arrived from Amazon broken by the handle, right out of the box, so we sent it back, excellent customer service from Amazon.com. They sent me another one, it lasted almost a month, then one night, when my husband was flipping the top over after the corn was popped, the handle broke off and the scorching hot popper was dangerously falling! With no way to grab on! And this thing gets HOT! We tried gluing the handle back on but it keeps breaking off. Bummer... i will miss my hot fresh popcorn... but this thing is made in a very low quality way. Wonder if i can return it. Disappointed! still searching for a great popper!	negative	[ "I used a gift certificate to purchase this stir crazy popcorn popper for my birthday, and after reading all about this, i thought this was the way to go!", "My husband and i enjoy popcorn when we watch TV at night as a light snack and i made a vow never to eat the microwave popcorn again, too dangerous for you!", "anyway - back to the popper...", "it is LOUD, the arm is not quiet, when it rotates, it makes a lot of noise, not scraping, just the motor is loud- not a big deal...", "the popcorn pops up fresh and crisp (always remember to have the black cap OFF when it is popping so the steam can escape) and it only needs 1/2 tablespoon of oil, so it is a healthy snack.", "Get gourmet corn kernels and you will notice a huge difference in the tenderness and flavor, we experimented with a lot of different organic kinds and the red and the blue ones and the white kernels are awesome, the yellow ones are big but much tougher.", "Now for the ugly part of this popper, my first one arrived from Amazon broken by the handle, right out of the box, so we sent it back, excellent customer service from Amazon.", "com.", "They sent me another one, it lasted almost a month, then one night, when my husband was flipping the top over after the corn was popped, the handle broke off and the scorching hot popper was dangerously falling!", "With no way to grab on!", "And this thing gets HOT!", "We tried gluing the handle back on but it keeps breaking off.", "Bummer...", "i will miss my hot fresh popcorn...", "but this thing is made in a very low quality way.", "Wonder if i can return it.", "Disappointed!", "still searching for a great popper!" ]
and this is not a positive. Let me state I am a SUPERMAN fan. He is my all time fave. This game had a kind of sweet trailer, for those that remember, that came out around the time of the movie trailer. It looked like they may finally get a SUPERMAN game right. Well, not so much. Although the flight of Supes is kind of captured, the game play kind of sucks. Starting with an odd series on Krypton, which take a little getting used to, and can be difficult. You must beat this level to get to Metropolis, which is where the real fun of light occurs. However, once in Metropolis, its the same action - fighting robots or Lex bots. It is kind of lame, just like SUPERMAN RETURNS the movie. Thats about it. What is interesting to me.....SUPERMAN RETURNS would have probably been more satisfying had he spend 90 minutes fighting robots and LEX bots in metropolis. And conversely, this game might have been more interesting had it followed the movie plot, with more ability to freely roam the city. Unfortunately the closest anyone has come yet to capturing what it must be like to be SUperman is LEGO BATMAN 2, which even throws in the John Williams score. I'd skip this one.	negative	[ "and this is not a positive.", "Let me state I am a SUPERMAN fan.", "He is my all time fave.", "This game had a kind of sweet trailer, for those that remember, that came out around the time of the movie trailer.", "It looked like they may finally get a SUPERMAN game right.", "Well, not so much.", "Although the flight of Supes is kind of captured, the game play kind of sucks.", "Starting with an odd series on Krypton, which take a little getting used to, and can be difficult.", "You must beat this level to get to Metropolis, which is where the real fun of light occurs.", "However, once in Metropolis, its the same action - fighting robots or Lex bots.", "It is kind of lame, just like SUPERMAN RETURNS the movie.", "Thats about it.", "What is interesting to me....", ".", "SUPERMAN RETURNS would have probably been more satisfying had he spend 90 minutes fighting robots and LEX bots in metropolis.", "And conversely, this game might have been more interesting had it followed the movie plot, with more ability to freely roam the city.", "Unfortunately the closest anyone has come yet to capturing what it must be like to be SUperman is LEGO BATMAN 2, which even throws in the John Williams score.", "I'd skip this one." ]
I bought this and the Homestead Super Stop-A-Squirrel feeder for my parents for Christmas as the squirrels were eating much of the feed and I wasn't sure which was a better product. I'm surprised at all the good reviews. This shouldn't be complicated...it's a bird feeder. Biggest problem - birds won't go near it. My parents have 3 other feeders including the Homestead feeder mentioned above. The birds flock to the other feeders but won't go near this one. All are located on poles within about a 7 foot radius. It's definitely squirrel proof. The squirrels won't even go near this thing. It's not a factor of the tension spring - they just won't go near it?! During this cold, snowy winter I would think that if the birds were afraid of it they'd get over it and feed from the thing. But routinely the other feeders get emptied out and this one is full. We've tried switching around the feeder positions and even taking it across their yard and hanging from a tree but it didn't help. Now - the odd "bird closure" mechanism on top broke. The latch for the locking mechanism under the roof part fell off. Only reason I'm giving it 2 stars is because of the durability and large seed capacity. We've had some significant wind around the beginning of this year. One day when gusts were reaching 50+ mph this bird feeder was knocked down from a considerable height. It survived very well even considering the rocks below it. But it really doesn't make a difference if birds won't use it.	negative	[ "I bought this and the Homestead Super Stop-A-Squirrel feeder for my parents for Christmas as the squirrels were eating much of the feed and I wasn't sure which was a better product.", "I'm surprised at all the good reviews.", "This shouldn't be complicated...", "it's a bird feeder.", "Biggest problem - birds won't go near it.", "My parents have 3 other feeders including the Homestead feeder mentioned above.", "The birds flock to the other feeders but won't go near this one.", "All are located on poles within about a 7 foot radius.", "It's definitely squirrel proof.", "The squirrels won't even go near this thing.", "It's not a factor of the tension spring - they just won't go near it?!", "During this cold, snowy winter I would think that if the birds were afraid of it they'd get over it and feed from the thing.", "But routinely the other feeders get emptied out and this one is full.", "We've tried switching around the feeder positions and even taking it across their yard and hanging from a tree but it didn't help.", "Now - the odd \"bird closure\" mechanism on top broke.", "The latch for the locking mechanism under the roof part fell off.", "Only reason I'm giving it 2 stars is because of the durability and large seed capacity.", "We've had some significant wind around the beginning of this year.", "One day when gusts were reaching 50+ mph this bird feeder was knocked down from a considerable height.", "It survived very well even considering the rocks below it.", "But it really doesn't make a difference if birds won't use it." ]
The reviews here are very misleading. Short version: do not buy this dash mount unless you have a flat dashboard. Full review: I don't expect much from a dashboard mount for my phone. All I expect it to do is keep my phone on the dash. When I tested this mount, it literally slid off the dashboard as I was backing out of my driveway! The base is flat and rigid and does not conform to a curved dash. The bottom is not the sticky/tacky rubber found on Garmin friction mounts, its a type of foam rubber that slides far too easily. Since my Cobalt's dash curves and slopes gently, this mount kept sliding off (yes I cleaned the dashboard before testing). So, like I said, if you have a flat dash, great, this will work for you, if you have a curved or sloping dash, don't buy it! That said, the other portion of this mount, the suction cup, arm, etc. works great. I like the spring-loaded arms, it worked great on my iPhone 4. The best solution I've found for a phone mount is Exogear's suction mount. Its just like the windshield suction cup mounts, but it mounts to ANY flat surface such as drywall, wood, vinyl dashboards, etc. I don't work for the company or anything, I just found their product to be exceptional.	negative	[ "The reviews here are very misleading.", "Short version: do not buy this dash mount unless you have a flat dashboard.", "Full review: I don't expect much from a dashboard mount for my phone.", "All I expect it to do is keep my phone on the dash.", "When I tested this mount, it literally slid off the dashboard as I was backing out of my driveway!", "The base is flat and rigid and does not conform to a curved dash.", "The bottom is not the sticky/tacky rubber found on Garmin friction mounts, its a type of foam rubber that slides far too easily.", "Since my Cobalt's dash curves and slopes gently, this mount kept sliding off (yes I cleaned the dashboard before testing).", "So, like I said, if you have a flat dash, great, this will work for you, if you have a curved or sloping dash, don't buy it!", "That said, the other portion of this mount, the suction cup, arm, etc.", "works great.", "I like the spring-loaded arms, it worked great on my iPhone 4.", "The best solution I've found for a phone mount is Exogear's suction mount.", "Its just like the windshield suction cup mounts, but it mounts to ANY flat surface such as drywall, wood, vinyl dashboards, etc.", "I don't work for the company or anything, I just found their product to be exceptional." ]
I had high hopes for "Flashman," hearing the series described as having the wit of Wodehouse, lots of rousing adventure and historical accuracy. But with an early scene of Flashman slapping around his girlfriend and then playing a cruel trick on a fellow officer, my enthusiasm waned. Things just got worse with more beatings of women, lots of racist ranting and some unconvincing swashbuckling. Fraser seems to find humor in thuggery and charm in crude brutality. Harry's just not an appealing character, and the "historical detail" is not worth having to put up with him. And as this was written in 1969, the lavish use of the n-word seems a particularly interesting choice. (As I am also a big fan of Chuck Palahniuk, Outkast and Adam Sandler, you can't dismiss me as some kind of PC prude.) The rousing adventure is usually of the "farmer's daughter" type and the settings doesn't come to life. Why would I read another book about a nasty frat boy when it just really isn't any fun? Try T.E. Lawrence ("Seven Pillars of Wisdom") or Robert Byron ("Road to Oxiana") if you want genuinely amusing Brit characters in exotic locales.	negative	[ "I had high hopes for \"Flashman,\" hearing the series described as having the wit of Wodehouse, lots of rousing adventure and historical accuracy.", "But with an early scene of Flashman slapping around his girlfriend and then playing a cruel trick on a fellow officer, my enthusiasm waned.", "Things just got worse with more beatings of women, lots of racist ranting and some unconvincing swashbuckling.", "Fraser seems to find humor in thuggery and charm in crude brutality.", "Harry's just not an appealing character, and the \"historical detail\" is not worth having to put up with him.", "And as this was written in 1969, the lavish use of the n-word seems a particularly interesting choice.", "(As I am also a big fan of Chuck Palahniuk, Outkast and Adam Sandler, you can't dismiss me as some kind of PC prude.", ") The rousing adventure is usually of the \"farmer's daughter\" type and the settings doesn't come to life.", "Why would I read another book about a nasty frat boy when it just really isn't any fun?", "Try T.", "E. Lawrence (\"Seven Pillars of Wisdom\") or Robert Byron (\"Road to Oxiana\") if you want genuinely amusing Brit characters in exotic locales." ]
Oof, not good. I really wanted this to work... But, I'll give the positives and the negatives! So, the rundown of the negatives (because in this case, those are more important): First, the cat poop - as I attempted to scoop the catpoop out of the box, I could either scoop a bunch of unused pellets with it (waste of pellets), or sit there awkwardly shaking the scoop trying to free the unused pellets (waste of time). Second, the cat pee - a similar problem to the above occurs, where unused and used pellets get all commingled and that's completely impossible to separate compared to the poop because if you give the scoop a shake the used pellets disintegrate and fall back into the box. Third, no odor control. I'm not a fan of the smell of the clay litter I'm back to using, but this was just foul. I could be sitting in the living room and know that my cat just pooped in the spare room (opposite side of my condo from the living room).. not pleasant. Okay, and the positives: 1. Recyclable paper bag - yay! 2. Recycled newspaper - yay! 3. Lower tracking than clay litter... half-yay because there was still some tracking, it just didn't gross me out as much as clay litter does. Best of luck - I hope this works better for you!	negative	[ "Oof, not good.", "I really wanted this to work...", "But, I'll give the positives and the negatives!", "So, the rundown of the negatives (because in this case, those are more important):\n\nFirst, the cat poop - as I attempted to scoop the catpoop out of the box, I could either scoop a bunch of unused pellets with it (waste of pellets), or sit there awkwardly shaking the scoop trying to free the unused pellets (waste of time).", "Second, the cat pee - a similar problem to the above occurs, where unused and used pellets get all commingled and that's completely impossible to separate compared to the poop because if you give the scoop a shake the used pellets disintegrate and fall back into the box.", "Third, no odor control.", "I'm not a fan of the smell of the clay litter I'm back to using, but this was just foul.", "I could be sitting in the living room and know that my cat just pooped in the spare room (opposite side of my condo from the living room)..", "not pleasant.", "Okay, and the positives:\n1.", "Recyclable paper bag - yay!", "2.", "Recycled newspaper - yay!", "3.", "Lower tracking than clay litter...", "half-yay because there was still some tracking, it just didn't gross me out as much as clay litter does.", "Best of luck - I hope this works better for you!" ]
This was bought based on the advice of others. I had a cable with the standard Neutrik/Switchcraft-type ends fail on me, and this cable was supposed to be either strain free or simply designed for long life because of the strain of usage. It worked great for about 4-6 months, and then broke. It happened so quickly (the trad types seem to take longer) that I swore it must have been the output jack on my guitar. After confirming the guitar was okay, I tried a shorter cable, which worked fine. D'Addario does offer lifetime replacement, but it puts you in a bit of a bind - you need a backup cable while you are waiting for a replacement, and you have to pay return shipping of the defective cable out-of-pocket. You also have to get R.A. Taken altogether, this makes it a deal breaker. The extra costs essentially make this cable as expensive as something that has a track record of lasting for years. In my case, I bit the bullet and did what I should have done the first go-round and got a really nice DiMarzio cable. Again, this cable SOUNDS good while it works - capacitance with the longer cables can be an issue. The good news is that IMO high price is not a guarantee of ANY cable sounding good. The replacement DiMarzio is another example of one that was at the top of the list with cable comparisons. I don't get into the mojo or intangible aspects that will typically find someone paying much more for a cable, but I want durability and published capacitance that is within a certain range. This one meets half of those criteria, but it gets expensive because of the potential to fail sooner rather than later. Well, expensive relative to a cable with an initially higher price but longer lifespan. So the replacement that Planet Waves sent me is now the backup, and is still in the original packaging. I figure I'll use it only for short periods while replacing my main cable, so it should last a long time in that situation. If I have a few $ for the shipping and D'Addario is still honoring the lifetime warranty if/when the 2nd one breaks, I may get it replaced. More likely I will just chalk it up to a learning lesson and toss it. Even $4 shipping is a decent percentage of the cost of a more durable cable - IMO it should be set aside to fund its eventual replacement. If this cable would have last 1.5 to 2 years, I'd probably give it 5 stars given the price. And if D'Addario took away the warranty thing, it would probably re-shape the customer's perception on what something at this price should cost, because it's a wear item, plain and simple. IDK how much R&D it's worth their trouble to put in something at this price point, but that's is what I would shoot for - a realistically acceptable period of trouble-free use w/no warranty as the trade-off. That would NOT make it a deal breaker.	negative	[ "This was bought based on the advice of others.", "I had a cable with the standard Neutrik/Switchcraft-type ends fail on me, and this cable was supposed to be either strain free or simply designed for long life because of the strain of usage.", "It worked great for about 4-6 months, and then broke.", "It happened so quickly (the trad types seem to take longer) that I swore it must have been the output jack on my guitar.", "After confirming the guitar was okay, I tried a shorter cable, which worked fine.", "D'Addario does offer lifetime replacement, but it puts you in a bit of a bind - you need a backup cable while you are waiting for a replacement, and you have to pay return shipping of the defective cable out-of-pocket.", "You also have to get R.", "A. Taken altogether, this makes it a deal breaker.", "The extra costs essentially make this cable as expensive as something that has a track record of lasting for years.", "In my case, I bit the bullet and did what I should have done the first go-round and got a really nice DiMarzio cable.", "Again, this cable SOUNDS good while it works - capacitance with the longer cables can be an issue.", "The good news is that IMO high price is not a guarantee of ANY cable sounding good.", "The replacement DiMarzio is another example of one that was at the top of the list with cable comparisons.", "I don't get into the mojo or intangible aspects that will typically find someone paying much more for a cable, but I want durability and published capacitance that is within a certain range.", "This one meets half of those criteria, but it gets expensive because of the potential to fail sooner rather than later.", "Well, expensive relative to a cable with an initially higher price but longer lifespan.", "So the replacement that Planet Waves sent me is now the backup, and is still in the original packaging.", "I figure I'll use it only for short periods while replacing my main cable, so it should last a long time in that situation.", "If I have a few $ for the shipping and D'Addario is still honoring the lifetime warranty if/when the 2nd one breaks, I may get it replaced.", "More likely I will just chalk it up to a learning lesson and toss it.", "Even $4 shipping is a decent percentage of the cost of a more durable cable - IMO it should be set aside to fund its eventual replacement.", "If this cable would have last 1.", "5 to 2 years, I'd probably give it 5 stars given the price.", "And if D'Addario took away the warranty thing, it would probably re-shape the customer's perception on what something at this price should cost, because it's a wear item, plain and simple.", "IDK how much R&D it's worth their trouble to put in something at this price point, but that's is what I would shoot for - a realistically acceptable period of trouble-free use w/no warranty as the trade-off.", "That would NOT make it a deal breaker." ]
Received my router - followed the instructions - plugged the cable modem to the router, router to the computer and....everything worked great for 3 weeks. Since that time I have had trouble accessing the internet through the router. The helpline took an hour to sort out the problem out and it still isn't sorted to my satisfaction. If I leave the computer turned on for more than 24 hours I need to turn off the modem and router to allow the IP addresses to reset (or something like this !). It appears to be linked to static and dynamic IP address problems, but the literature that came with it didn't explain this. I had to download the book from the internet. It's getting way too technical for my level of computer knowledge. If you are going to buy this product make sure you are knowledgeable enough about IP addresses, DHCP setting etc	negative	[ "Received my router - followed the instructions - plugged the cable modem to the router, router to the computer and....", "everything worked great for 3 weeks.", "Since that time I have had trouble accessing the internet through the router.", "The helpline took an hour to sort out the problem out and it still isn't sorted to my satisfaction.", "If I leave the computer turned on for more than 24 hours I need to turn off the modem and router to allow the IP addresses to reset (or something like this!", ").", "It appears to be linked to static and dynamic IP address problems, but the literature that came with it didn't explain this.", "I had to download the book from the internet.", "It's getting way too technical for my level of computer knowledge.", "If you are going to buy this product make sure you are knowledgeable enough about IP addresses, DHCP setting etc" ]
This is a lightweight wheelbarrow. It gets one star for lasting 7 and a half years, and another star for being lightweight. No stars for quality construction. No stars for an ability to repair when it fails. I had and used this barrow for 7 years, and I did not pay any special attention to care, so bad me. However, when something fails on something as simple as a rusted part, which is modular, I expect to be able to repair it. Replace the part, move on with the working parts. However, now the frame has rusted out on this, and I cannot find a replacement frame. It's just tubular steel, bent to fit the other parts, but no. You can find tires, but no other replacement parts such as the handle or frame or legs. Now I have, maybe a new pond? the metal parts are garbage.	negative	[ "This is a lightweight wheelbarrow.", "It gets one star for lasting 7 and a half years, and another star for being lightweight.", "No stars for quality construction.", "No stars for an ability to repair when it fails.", "I had and used this barrow for 7 years, and I did not pay any special attention to care, so bad me.", "However, when something fails on something as simple as a rusted part, which is modular, I expect to be able to repair it.", "Replace the part, move on with the working parts.", "However, now the frame has rusted out on this, and I cannot find a replacement frame.", "It's just tubular steel, bent to fit the other parts, but no.", "You can find tires, but no other replacement parts such as the handle or frame or legs.", "Now I have, maybe a new pond?", "the metal parts are garbage." ]
My first Xbox 360 failed despite (or because) I had this thing strapped to the back sucking power away from the vital components inside the box. When I got my 2nd 360 in the mail, I promptly hooked the Nyko back up and immediately got the 3 red lights of death, in other words the first time I turned a brand new 360 on with this Nyko intercooler attached, the thing died. I guess it wasn't permanent because when I took the Nyko off and restarted the thing, my Xbox worked great and has been working just fine for almost a year now. *IMPORTANT* JUST PUT YOUR XBOX IN A WELL-VENTILATED AREA (not in a corner) AND CHANCES ARE GOOD THAT IT WILL WORK FINE. You don't need/want this intercooler unless 1. you like a lot of extra noise. 2. You love dealing with non-native English speakers at Microsoft tech support and 3. you want to be without your Xbox for up to a month while Microsoft sends you a new one. Trust me, I may have been the first one I knew that this happened to, but I've heard countless more horror stories since then. Until Nyko comes up with a new design, better to stay away from this one.	negative	[ "My first Xbox 360 failed despite (or because) I had this thing strapped to the back sucking power away from the vital components inside the box.", "When I got my 2nd 360 in the mail, I promptly hooked the Nyko back up and immediately got the 3 red lights of death, in other words the first time I turned a brand new 360 on with this Nyko intercooler attached, the thing died.", "I guess it wasn't permanent because when I took the Nyko off and restarted the thing, my Xbox worked great and has been working just fine for almost a year now.", "*IMPORTANT* JUST PUT YOUR XBOX IN A WELL-VENTILATED AREA (not in a corner) AND CHANCES ARE GOOD THAT IT WILL WORK FINE.", "You don't need/want this intercooler unless 1.", "you like a lot of extra noise.", "2.", "You love dealing with non-native English speakers at Microsoft tech support and 3.", "you want to be without your Xbox for up to a month while Microsoft sends you a new one.", "Trust me, I may have been the first one I knew that this happened to, but I've heard countless more horror stories since then.", "Until Nyko comes up with a new design, better to stay away from this one." ]
This router is ok, at best. PROS: -Installation with cable or DSL modem is really easy. SEtup in windows XP is almost automatic. -Regular websurfing for WIRED computers works well. CONS: (NOTE: I am using a linksys wireless 802.11b usb enabled, which connection appears to be STRONG (4/5 bars); the router is located on the second floor, but not more than 40 feet away) - Though connection appears strong navigation is slow and lags. At time it does not even respond. - If you plan to do online games, forget it. You will lag out constantly. I also reinstalled it several times opening different ports, and nothing worked. - The lagging occurs even while WIRED to the router, so it is not the wireless feature that has this problem. - If you are a webmaster, and need to FTP to a server from your house, forget it. This device, (wired or wireless) only occasionally (1 of 10 times) lets you FTP files. Basically, for the most expensive 802.11b wireless router in the market, this is not worth the price or the trouble. I find myself bringing the DSL modem downstairs whenever I need to FTP files to the server, and sometimes during websurfing I get so annoyed at the constant 'hesitation' that I bring it down again. Defeating the purpose of having a wireless connection, (while leaving the other people without internet for the time I need to ftp files). I tried different ports, and none gave me good results. Any suggestions are welcomed.	negative	[ "This router is ok, at best.", "PROS:\n-Installation with cable or DSL modem is really easy.", "SEtup in windows XP is almost automatic.", "-Regular websurfing for WIRED computers works well.", "CONS:\n(NOTE: I am using a linksys wireless 802.", "11b usb enabled, which connection appears to be STRONG (4/5 bars); the router is located on the second floor, but not more than 40 feet away)\n- Though connection appears strong navigation is slow and lags.", "At time it does not even respond.", "- If you plan to do online games, forget it.", "You will lag out constantly.", "I also reinstalled it several times opening different ports, and nothing worked.", "- The lagging occurs even while WIRED to the router, so it is not the wireless feature that has this problem.", "- If you are a webmaster, and need to FTP to a server from your house, forget it.", "This device, (wired or wireless) only occasionally (1 of 10 times) lets you FTP files.", "Basically, for the most expensive 802.", "11b wireless router in the market, this is not worth the price or the trouble.", "I find myself bringing the DSL modem downstairs whenever I need to FTP files to the server, and sometimes during websurfing I get so annoyed at the constant 'hesitation' that I bring it down again.", "Defeating the purpose of having a wireless connection, (while leaving the other people without internet for the time I need to ftp files).", "I tried different ports, and none gave me good results.", "Any suggestions are welcomed." ]
What happened to a Song of Ice and Fire. I still remember being gripped and hooked by the first three books in the series. The books were big but never long to read. I devoured the pages. Scenes still stick out in my head. I loved the way Martin confounded my expectations at every turn. How he twisted the characters and how the POV made everyone seem right. I enjoyed the way he turned Jaime Lannister around in a Storm of Swords. Martin was a writer at the height of his powers but then the inevitable fall began. The downfall started wtih Feast and it was a torrid bore. It felt big, there was no tension, there was nothing I could take away from the book. Dance I thought would be better but it too disappointed with everyone just walking from point A to point B. I could hardly believe that this was the same Martin who penned scenes like the Red Wedding. The introduction of the Direwolves set everything up wonderfully. In that one scene you knew who the characters were, what sort of world this was. You knew that Jon Snow was a bastard, one of the Starks and yet not one of them, you knew that Eddard Stark was an honorable man. The entrance of the Lannisters was magnificently written. The twists just kept coming and all the while the writing was stellar. Tyrion just delivered. His wit and piercing insight into affairs made him everyone's favorite dwarf. You could almost always feel the pain when Littlefinger spoke of Catelyn Stark. The story always moved forward. There was no room for standing still. Martin possessed this ability of introducing characters but you felt as if you had known them all along but the magic just vanished. Feast and Dance were soap opersa in which it made absolutely no difference if you skipped pages and scenes because you became reasonably sure that nothing of note would really happen. There was some memorable stuff but they were so scattered and so few in between that it was worse than trying to find a needle in a haystack. Worse than this was the fact that no mainstream publication seemed to take a stand and say that a Dance with Dragons was boring. Everyone was effusive. It was almost as if they had been paid to do a positive review or they didn't want to risk saying anything contrarian. Martin was on song in the first three books but he just seems to have lost his muse. I hope he rediscovers it in the Winds of Winter and keeps it focussed and stops it from meandering about. From [...]	negative	[ "What happened to a Song of Ice and Fire.", "I still remember being gripped and hooked by the first three books in the series.", "The books were big but never long to read.", "I devoured the pages.", "Scenes still stick out in my head.", "I loved the way Martin confounded my expectations at every turn.", "How he twisted the characters and how the POV made everyone seem right.", "I enjoyed the way he turned Jaime Lannister around in a Storm of Swords.", "Martin was a writer at the height of his powers but then the inevitable fall began.", "The downfall started wtih Feast and it was a torrid bore.", "It felt big, there was no tension, there was nothing I could take away from the book.", "Dance I thought would be better but it too disappointed with everyone just walking from point A to point B.", "I could hardly believe that this was the same Martin who penned scenes like the Red Wedding.", "The introduction of the Direwolves set everything up wonderfully.", "In that one scene you knew who the characters were, what sort of world this was.", "You knew that Jon Snow was a bastard, one of the Starks and yet not one of them, you knew that Eddard Stark was an honorable man.", "The entrance of the Lannisters was magnificently written.", "The twists just kept coming and all the while the writing was stellar.", "Tyrion just delivered.", "His wit and piercing insight into affairs made him everyone's favorite dwarf.", "You could almost always feel the pain when Littlefinger spoke of Catelyn Stark.", "The story always moved forward.", "There was no room for standing still.", "Martin possessed this ability of introducing characters but you felt as if you had known them all along but the magic just vanished.", "Feast and Dance were soap opersa in which it made absolutely no difference if you skipped pages and scenes because you became reasonably sure that nothing of note would really happen.", "There was some memorable stuff but they were so scattered and so few in between that it was worse than trying to find a needle in a haystack.", "Worse than this was the fact that no mainstream publication seemed to take a stand and say that a Dance with Dragons was boring.", "Everyone was effusive.", "It was almost as if they had been paid to do a positive review or they didn't want to risk saying anything contrarian.", "Martin was on song in the first three books but he just seems to have lost his muse.", "I hope he rediscovers it in the Winds of Winter and keeps it focussed and stops it from meandering about.", "From [...", "]" ]
I have tried several of these blue tooth hands free car kits/speaker kits (under $50) by several different manufacturers and all of them have been disappointing. THIS ONE IS NO EXCEPTION. After reading so many rave reviews, I took the chance and bought two of them at a great price. I agree with several other posts: unit is very light and small, but feels cheap like you could easily break it. It gets cool points for solar, which appears to keep it charged all by itself with minimal usage. The mounts are a problem. The slide in case with the suction cups easily loses the spongy grommets used to cushion the case between the window glass. The clip on case used for a visor has a small clip and would not clip onto the visor of my 09 Tacoma. After prying it open and praying it wouldn't snap off the plastic, it awkwardly sits on the visor, BUT the position of the clip does not allow you to flip the visor down and let the sun charge the unit unless you take it out and flip it over and re-insert it into the holder so the panels are out. You then have to remember to re-insert face up before use, because the buttons and speaker would be up against the visor. THE BIGGEST PROBLEM is the most important. The speaker, LIKE ALL THE OTHERS sucks! The volume is way too low. I have tried it on the windshield and on the visor and my callers are a whisper at 65 MPH on the freeway, windows up, AC fan off, and no radio on. City streets are no better. This is with both units in both a pick-up truck and a small SUV. When speaking to people, the complaint is that you sound far away and "tinny", the volume is TOO LOW on both ends with the volume on the unit at full. This was tested with a blackberry and a motorola cell phone on BOTH speakers I bought. Placing the unit on the visor and flipping the visor down so that it's almost at mouth level makes it a little better, but then your vision is blocked by the visor. Completely disappointed. I am giving up on these type of systems, they just don't have the volume and speaker capability we need. I am assuming the only true option is a built-in vehicle system. Maybe my next car.... VIDEO REVIEW: [...]	negative	[ "I have tried several of these blue tooth hands free car kits/speaker kits (under $50) by several different manufacturers and all of them have been disappointing.", "THIS ONE IS NO EXCEPTION.", "After reading so many rave reviews, I took the chance and bought two of them at a great price.", "I agree with several other posts: unit is very light and small, but feels cheap like you could easily break it.", "It gets cool points for solar, which appears to keep it charged all by itself with minimal usage.", "The mounts are a problem.", "The slide in case with the suction cups easily loses the spongy grommets used to cushion the case between the window glass.", "The clip on case used for a visor has a small clip and would not clip onto the visor of my 09 Tacoma.", "After prying it open and praying it wouldn't snap off the plastic, it awkwardly sits on the visor, BUT the position of the clip does not allow you to flip the visor down and let the sun charge the unit unless you take it out and flip it over and re-insert it into the holder so the panels are out.", "You then have to remember to re-insert face up before use, because the buttons and speaker would be up against the visor.", "THE BIGGEST PROBLEM is the most important.", "The speaker, LIKE ALL THE OTHERS sucks!", "The volume is way too low.", "I have tried it on the windshield and on the visor and my callers are a whisper at 65 MPH on the freeway, windows up, AC fan off, and no radio on.", "City streets are no better.", "This is with both units in both a pick-up truck and a small SUV.", "When speaking to people, the complaint is that you sound far away and \"tinny\", the volume is TOO LOW on both ends with the volume on the unit at full.", "This was tested with a blackberry and a motorola cell phone on BOTH speakers I bought.", "Placing the unit on the visor and flipping the visor down so that it's almost at mouth level makes it a little better, but then your vision is blocked by the visor.", "Completely disappointed.", "I am giving up on these type of systems, they just don't have the volume and speaker capability we need.", "I am assuming the only true option is a built-in vehicle system.", "Maybe my next car....", "VIDEO REVIEW: [...", "]" ]
It's always a crap shoot with these screen protectors. This purchase is a loser. The "tabs" that remove the protective film from each side of the screen protector that you're supposed to remove as you install these things don't do anything. They just peel right off without removing the protective film. This means you have to peel it off with your fingers or tweezers or something. You then are forced to handle the screen protector with no protective film on it while you install it. Hello fingers on the adhesive. Hello mess. I bought this 2-pack and still have no screen protector. If I could give 0 stars, I would. Keep looking. There's nothing to see here. It's likely you should avoid all "Realook" screen protectors. I know I won't buy another...	negative	[ "It's always a crap shoot with these screen protectors.", "This purchase is a loser.", "The \"tabs\" that remove the protective film from each side of the screen protector that you're supposed to remove as you install these things don't do anything.", "They just peel right off without removing the protective film.", "This means you have to peel it off with your fingers or tweezers or something.", "You then are forced to handle the screen protector with no protective film on it while you install it.", "Hello fingers on the adhesive.", "Hello mess.", "I bought this 2-pack and still have no screen protector.", "If I could give 0 stars, I would.", "Keep looking.", "There's nothing to see here.", "It's likely you should avoid all \"Realook\" screen protectors.", "I know I won't buy another..." ]
Until I read the ingredients list, I couldn't understand why this tea was a shadow of its former self. Twinings does not use bergamot OIL -- what gives Earl Grey its heavenly fragrance and bright taste. Twinings uses "Bergamot flavouring." What a joke! Try ordinary Bigelow's Earl Grey and you'll see what you're missing. (I never tried Bigelow's before and was shocked how lame the Twinings Earl Grey tea is. Twinings evidently has gone the way of maximizing profits and minimizing costs. Or perhaps Twining merely makes a "special" export version for the U.S., assuming that tea drinkers here won't notice the difference. I doubt Twinings is "purveying" this bland crap to the Royal family. Zero stars for this tea.	negative	[ "Until I read the ingredients list, I couldn't understand why this tea was a shadow of its former self.", "Twinings does not use bergamot OIL -- what gives Earl Grey its heavenly fragrance and bright taste.", "Twinings uses \"Bergamot flavouring.", "\" What a joke!", "Try ordinary Bigelow's Earl Grey and you'll see what you're missing.", "(I never tried Bigelow's before and was shocked how lame the Twinings Earl Grey tea is.", "Twinings evidently has gone the way of maximizing profits and minimizing costs.", "Or perhaps Twining merely makes a \"special\" export version for the U.", "S., assuming that tea drinkers here won't notice the difference.", "I doubt Twinings is \"purveying\" this bland crap to the Royal family.", "Zero stars for this tea." ]
I've got nice stuff to say about this game, but first you need to know that this is a game full of glitches. Obsidian didn't do enough test playing here. After weeks of gaming, all of a sudden my game freezes up all the time. I can't go more than about three minutes without my system freezing. It freezes when I save, leaving corrupt files. It freezes when the level is too big or there's too much action hapening (which is always). Looking at various blogs, every site lists glitch after glitch after glitch. Characters showing up and not talking when a dialogue screen pops up. Glitches with lightsabers. Trouble with characters in your party getting killed when you spar them to advance the story line. Perosonally, I've tried everything to fix my lock-up glitch, but I pretty much have to flush my 42 hours and start over. Not a pleaseant prospect. I haven't seen this many glitches since I played Enter the Matrix on Xbox last year. Aside from the glitches, you'll also be a bit lost at the story line. You're playing a character with memory loss, and the interaction and discussion with other NPCs never really fill you in. It's a good 20+ hours before any of that back story starts to make any sense. On the positive side, I love the game play. The new prestige classes and lightsaber forms are sweet. The improved interface, the new powers and combat options, those are great, too. You can even play a martial artist who is on par with a jedi or a blaster king. It's a fun game if it lets you play it. If you liked the first KOTR and don't mind random, stupid glitches either slowing you down or (in my case) ruining yoru entire experience, get this game. Otherwise, go get GTA San Andreas...	negative	[ "I've got nice stuff to say about this game, but first you need to know that this is a game full of glitches.", "Obsidian didn't do enough test playing here.", "After weeks of gaming, all of a sudden my game freezes up all the time.", "I can't go more than about three minutes without my system freezing.", "It freezes when I save, leaving corrupt files.", "It freezes when the level is too big or there's too much action hapening (which is always).", "Looking at various blogs, every site lists glitch after glitch after glitch.", "Characters showing up and not talking when a dialogue screen pops up.", "Glitches with lightsabers.", "Trouble with characters in your party getting killed when you spar them to advance the story line.", "Perosonally, I've tried everything to fix my lock-up glitch, but I pretty much have to flush my 42 hours and start over.", "Not a pleaseant prospect.", "I haven't seen this many glitches since I played Enter the Matrix on Xbox last year.", "Aside from the glitches, you'll also be a bit lost at the story line.", "You're playing a character with memory loss, and the interaction and discussion with other NPCs never really fill you in.", "It's a good 20+ hours before any of that back story starts to make any sense.", "On the positive side, I love the game play.", "The new prestige classes and lightsaber forms are sweet.", "The improved interface, the new powers and combat options, those are great, too.", "You can even play a martial artist who is on par with a jedi or a blaster king.", "It's a fun game if it lets you play it.", "If you liked the first KOTR and don't mind random, stupid glitches either slowing you down or (in my case) ruining yoru entire experience, get this game.", "Otherwise, go get GTA San Andreas..." ]
I have a large library, in which I collect all manner of scifi and fantasy novels. I only throw away books (not even donating them) that are really bad. The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb is one of them. Just finished the third book and POOF, into the trash they go. (I'd normally resell them to a used bookshop, but I'd consider it cruel and unethical to do so.) What's wrong with this book? Let's count the ways: 1) The premise of the book is that the character is trained in the secret ways of magic and assassination. Which is great and all except you get to the end of the third book and about all the assassination the main character has done is feeding poisoned bread to (essentially) zombies and an abortive attempt on the Evil Prince (tm) which doesn't go very well. There's no payoff to the setup. 2) Everyone is stupid. Everyone. The king, the evil prince, the main character, everyone. I got to the point where I literally didn't care that the evil prince was doing evil things, because everyone in the world 1) Knew about them and 2) Didn't do anything about it. Until after the fact, at which point it was too late. You wish there was some sort of fictional hand that you could use in the novel to slap them all. The list of stupid things the characters do in the series is long, and tedious. 3) The characterization is horrible. Evil Prince(tm) is Evil. Heroic Prince is Heroic. And all of them are stupid. Country under attack? Heroic prince resigns the throne to poke around on a jungle expedition by himself! It's heroic. And stupid. 4) The writing is mediocre at best. I've read some of Hobb's other works, and they're not brilliant, but not as bad as this series. Really, with all the wolf-brother stuff in the book, it reads like someone's first attempt at a furry fan fic. It's honestly puzzling why so many people like this series.	negative	[ "I have a large library, in which I collect all manner of scifi and fantasy novels.", "I only throw away books (not even donating them) that are really bad.", "The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb is one of them.", "Just finished the third book and POOF, into the trash they go.", "(I'd normally resell them to a used bookshop, but I'd consider it cruel and unethical to do so.", ")\n\nWhat's wrong with this book?", "Let's count the ways:\n\n1) The premise of the book is that the character is trained in the secret ways of magic and assassination.", "Which is great and all except you get to the end of the third book and about all the assassination the main character has done is feeding poisoned bread to (essentially) zombies and an abortive attempt on the Evil Prince (tm) which doesn't go very well.", "There's no payoff to the setup.", "2) Everyone is stupid.", "Everyone.", "The king, the evil prince, the main character, everyone.", "I got to the point where I literally didn't care that the evil prince was doing evil things, because everyone in the world 1) Knew about them and 2) Didn't do anything about it.", "Until after the fact, at which point it was too late.", "You wish there was some sort of fictional hand that you could use in the novel to slap them all.", "The list of stupid things the characters do in the series is long, and tedious.", "3) The characterization is horrible.", "Evil Prince(tm) is Evil.", "Heroic Prince is Heroic.", "And all of them are stupid.", "Country under attack?", "Heroic prince resigns the throne to poke around on a jungle expedition by himself!", "It's heroic.", "And stupid.", "4) The writing is mediocre at best.", "I've read some of Hobb's other works, and they're not brilliant, but not as bad as this series.", "Really, with all the wolf-brother stuff in the book, it reads like someone's first attempt at a furry fan fic.", "It's honestly puzzling why so many people like this series." ]
I'm in my early 30's and have a receding hairline. You ever sleep with hairspray on your hair and to wake up next morning with linty hair? That's exactly how I would describe the texture when you use this on your hair. I purchased color black with the pump sprayer, pick/comb, and their hairspray. I accidently sprayed the toppik powder onto my scalp and noticed the toppik color was more like dark purple. It takes a while to perfect the use of the pump to get the right amount of Toppik sprayed only onto the hair. No matter how perfect your results come out, up real close you can notice something different and I'm sure under the direct sunlight it's probably 10X more noticeable. Toppik claims that people can't even notice 2 inches away, that's bull. This is definitely a better product than Couvre the scalp concealer. Toppik hairspray is like any other strong hold hairspray, absolutely nothing advanced or special about it. The comb is a piece of crap, made out of cheap paper/plastic not even worth a quarter! Go to a dollar store and find yourself a better comb. Toppik comes off easily so avoid moisture even your sweat, wind, and any objects & elements disrupting the do. The money and the time you have to spend to get a half decent look in my honest opinion is not worth it. I rather deal with a wearing a hat then worrying about an embarrassing toppik malfunction. Maybe if you're in your 60's and not as concerned about the natural look then more power to you, but I still think people are over paying for a product that doesn't promise what they claim. I'm currently trying a product called NuHair. I'm taking the vitamin and using their hair serum. I'm only on the second month and hoping to see some results within the next few months. There are no cheap quick fixes that lasts forever so I'm going to commit to this NuHair program for 5-6 months and hope for the best. Figure hair transplant takes up to 6 months anyways so might as well give the natural method a 6 month commitment. If the natural way fails then Rogaine is a possibility and then hair transplant. Bottom line, my girlfriend thinks I wasted my money on this product (toppik) and I'm going to have to agree with her on this. Hope you guys learn from my mistake. If you guys know of any good hair transplant doctors in the bay area CA let me know. Good luck fellas.	negative	[ "I'm in my early 30's and have a receding hairline.", "You ever sleep with hairspray on your hair and to wake up next morning with linty hair?", "That's exactly how I would describe the texture when you use this on your hair.", "I purchased color black with the pump sprayer, pick/comb, and their hairspray.", "I accidently sprayed the toppik powder onto my scalp and noticed the toppik color was more like dark purple.", "It takes a while to perfect the use of the pump to get the right amount of Toppik sprayed only onto the hair.", "No matter how perfect your results come out, up real close you can notice something different and I'm sure under the direct sunlight it's probably 10X more noticeable.", "Toppik claims that people can't even notice 2 inches away, that's bull.", "This is definitely a better product than Couvre the scalp concealer.", "Toppik hairspray is like any other strong hold hairspray, absolutely nothing advanced or special about it.", "The comb is a piece of crap, made out of cheap paper/plastic not even worth a quarter!", "Go to a dollar store and find yourself a better comb.", "Toppik comes off easily so avoid moisture even your sweat, wind, and any objects & elements disrupting the do.", "The money and the time you have to spend to get a half decent look in my honest opinion is not worth it.", "I rather deal with a wearing a hat then worrying about an embarrassing toppik malfunction.", "Maybe if you're in your 60's and not as concerned about the natural look then more power to you, but I still think people are over paying for a product that doesn't promise what they claim.", "I'm currently trying a product called NuHair.", "I'm taking the vitamin and using their hair serum.", "I'm only on the second month and hoping to see some results within the next few months.", "There are no cheap quick fixes that lasts forever so I'm going to commit to this NuHair program for 5-6 months and hope for the best.", "Figure hair transplant takes up to 6 months anyways so might as well give the natural method a 6 month commitment.", "If the natural way fails then Rogaine is a possibility and then hair transplant.", "Bottom line, my girlfriend thinks I wasted my money on this product (toppik) and I'm going to have to agree with her on this.", "Hope you guys learn from my mistake.", "If you guys know of any good hair transplant doctors in the bay area CA let me know.", "Good luck fellas." ]
This song has the same problem as "Who Says You Can't Go Home" by Bon Jovi has. It is an already terrible song that overplayed on the radio way too much. "Who Says You Can't Go Home" and this song aren't different from bad lyric placement. The reason why THIS song is bad because of the line "Two days in hell just ain't gonna do". Like I said in the Bon Jovi/Jennifer Nettles song review, songs AREN'T good when they do this. A descent song that does this becomes horrible, and this song was actually already horrible. James Otto isn't a bad artist at all, in fact, he does better with anything other than this song. "Sunset Man", which is the album that features this song, is actually not at all bad. Reviewed, the album would get a 3/5. This song isn't good at all, in fact it is very bad, but at least James Otto's other songs have passion.	negative	[ "This song has the same problem as \"Who Says You Can't Go Home\" by Bon Jovi has.", "It is an already terrible song that overplayed on the radio way too much.", "\"Who Says You Can't Go Home\" and this song aren't different from bad lyric placement.", "The reason why THIS song is bad because of the line \"Two days in hell just ain't gonna do\".", "Like I said in the Bon Jovi/Jennifer Nettles song review, songs AREN'T good when they do this.", "A descent song that does this becomes horrible, and this song was actually already horrible.", "James Otto isn't a bad artist at all, in fact, he does better with anything other than this song.", "\"Sunset Man\", which is the album that features this song, is actually not at all bad.", "Reviewed, the album would get a 3/5.", "This song isn't good at all, in fact it is very bad, but at least James Otto's other songs have passion." ]
Six years is a long time to wait for the second half of "A Feast for Crows", because that is what this book is. Martin's previous book became so huge that he literally cut out half the chapters, covering half the characters and pushed them into this book. Thus this story covers the same timeline as the previous, more or less, just from another viewpoint. More on that in half a hand of minutes, but first the reason I am still reading this series. George Martin does imagine a intricate and sometimes quite delicious set of intrigues. A cast of characters that seems to put Tolstoy to shame and a sweeping political situation mixed with injustices and wrongdoing that make the reader long to see favourite characters avenged. Martin does know how to weave a remarkable story, and that is surely the secret of his considerable success. Neverthless should we think for half a minute, there are certain things that really let this book down. There were times reading this book that I simply sighed and put it down, and each time my inclination to pick up the book was reduced. Stylistically, certain phrases are so over-used in this book that they have reached the point of immense distraction. I am tempted to find the e-text of the book and count how many times "half a..." is used. Certainly it was not unusual to find the phrase twice in a single paragraph. Do the people of Westeros not have the word "fifty", and thus need to say "half a hundred instead"? Other phrases like "words are wind" were put in entirely too many mouths, and just reminded me that it was just one author writing all these dialogues. Assuming that annoyance is just me, there are other problems. The most important is this story has become incredibly slow. This book and the last are filled with so much clever dialogue, character development, internal monologue and other page filling material that there was precious little space left for action. This is not helped by the multiple point of views used. Each chapter is told from a different character's point of view and the timeline goes back and forth as each character is given page upon page of development. All in all, this is a text book example of a story that is totally over-written. Then there is the world the story is set in: Westeros is just another faux medieval land with swords, sorcery (not much of that mind), dragons and knights and really nothing to distinguish it from the great raft of Tolkienesque literature, except the lack of elves and the number of pages. What really did it for me though was the incessant crudity and vulgarity. Some people will like that in this book I suppose. They will say this is a more earthy tale than Tolkien's. For me though,this book contains probably my most disliked passage I have ever read. I presume the author's intent was to make the character involved seem seedy and base, and to his credit, he succeeded in spades. I am no prude when it comes to books, but I don't want to read this, and this will be my last Martin book. I presume it will be another 6 years before the next in the series (if we all live that long), but when it comes I do not intend to buy it. This is not a series I can recommend anymore. The author has lost his way, and the early promise is coming to nothing. I wonder if I have correctly predicted the end - but I find I no longer really care. Two stars because despite my dropping this series, I do think the author has produced some good story here. If you can be bothered to wade through all the over-written stuff, you may find half a hundred reasons to enjoy it. Finally a note on the audio version of the book. This is extremely hard on the ear beause the narrator has a tendency to. Punctuate mid sentence. Every single sentences seems. To contain punctuation to interrupt the thought. I do admire the narrator's ability with accents, but his femal voices all just sound daft.	negative	[ "Six years is a long time to wait for the second half of \"A Feast for Crows\", because that is what this book is.", "Martin's previous book became so huge that he literally cut out half the chapters, covering half the characters and pushed them into this book.", "Thus this story covers the same timeline as the previous, more or less, just from another viewpoint.", "More on that in half a hand of minutes, but first the reason I am still reading this series.", "George Martin does imagine a intricate and sometimes quite delicious set of intrigues.", "A cast of characters that seems to put Tolstoy to shame and a sweeping political situation mixed with injustices and wrongdoing that make the reader long to see favourite characters avenged.", "Martin does know how to weave a remarkable story, and that is surely the secret of his considerable success.", "Neverthless should we think for half a minute, there are certain things that really let this book down.", "There were times reading this book that I simply sighed and put it down, and each time my inclination to pick up the book was reduced.", "Stylistically, certain phrases are so over-used in this book that they have reached the point of immense distraction.", "I am tempted to find the e-text of the book and count how many times \"half a...", "\" is used.", "Certainly it was not unusual to find the phrase twice in a single paragraph.", "Do the people of Westeros not have the word \"fifty\", and thus need to say \"half a hundred instead\"?", "Other phrases like \"words are wind\" were put in entirely too many mouths, and just reminded me that it was just one author writing all these dialogues.", "Assuming that annoyance is just me, there are other problems.", "The most important is this story has become incredibly slow.", "This book and the last are filled with so much clever dialogue, character development, internal monologue and other page filling material that there was precious little space left for action.", "This is not helped by the multiple point of views used.", "Each chapter is told from a different character's point of view and the timeline goes back and forth as each character is given page upon page of development.", "All in all, this is a text book example of a story that is totally over-written.", "Then there is the world the story is set in: Westeros is just another faux medieval land with swords, sorcery (not much of that mind), dragons and knights and really nothing to distinguish it from the great raft of Tolkienesque literature, except the lack of elves and the number of pages.", "What really did it for me though was the incessant crudity and vulgarity.", "Some people will like that in this book I suppose.", "They will say this is a more earthy tale than Tolkien's.", "For me though,this book contains probably my most disliked passage I have ever read.", "I presume the author's intent was to make the character involved seem seedy and base, and to his credit, he succeeded in spades.", "I am no prude when it comes to books, but I don't want to read this, and this will be my last Martin book.", "I presume it will be another 6 years before the next in the series (if we all live that long), but when it comes I do not intend to buy it.", "This is not a series I can recommend anymore.", "The author has lost his way, and the early promise is coming to nothing.", "I wonder if I have correctly predicted the end - but I find I no longer really care.", "Two stars because despite my dropping this series, I do think the author has produced some good story here.", "If you can be bothered to wade through all the over-written stuff, you may find half a hundred reasons to enjoy it.", "Finally a note on the audio version of the book.", "This is extremely hard on the ear beause the narrator has a tendency to.", "Punctuate mid sentence.", "Every single sentences seems.", "To contain punctuation to interrupt the thought.", "I do admire the narrator's ability with accents, but his femal voices all just sound daft." ]
The packaging was excellent. Was so excited to unpack it looks great decide to fired up. Problem right out of the gate one puck dosent work right its really loose. Fires in and out unlike all the others. Continues to go in-and-out due to it being loose. Shut it off tried a different puck and it works great and it not loose on the pad. So one out of 3 pucks doesn't wanna work right. Very unhappy with the quality of the product. Sadly will have to return. Had high hopes for the product.	negative	[ "The packaging was excellent.", "Was so excited to unpack it looks great decide to fired up.", "Problem right out of the gate one puck dosent work right its really loose.", "Fires in and out unlike all the others.", "Continues to go in-and-out due to it being loose.", "Shut it off tried a different puck and it works great and it not loose on the pad.", "So one out of 3 pucks doesn't wanna work right.", "Very unhappy with the quality of the product.", "Sadly will have to return.", "Had high hopes for the product." ]
Until recently, i have been wearing and defending Chuck's for the past 25 years. BUT! The past three pair that i bought all blew out on me in less than a month! They either ripped at the heal. Popped open on the outside around the toes for when you are doing ollies. Cracked in the insole. Or all of the above! i hate writing this because i absolutely love what Chuck's USED to be! Converse used to be the great all American all purpose shoe that could be worn in any occasion. HELL! i wore mine to my high school prom! But that is no longer the case. Instead, Converse's quality has steadily decreased over the years, while their prices have steadily increased over the years. How in the hell does that even make sense?! Now as for me and my family, we will no longer buy Chuck's until they raise their quality standards bcak to what they used to be. Because if they are just going to make crap shoes then why be loyal to the Chuck Taylor brand? Just buy some generic sneakers and paint them up yourselves. And maybe, just maybe Converse will start to listen and once again make that great all American, made in America shoe that we all once loved.	negative	[ "Until recently, i have been wearing and defending Chuck's for the past 25 years.", "BUT!", "The past three pair that i bought all blew out on me in less than a month!", "They either ripped at the heal.", "Popped open on the outside around the toes for when you are doing ollies.", "Cracked in the insole.", "Or all of the above!", "i hate writing this because i absolutely love what Chuck's USED to be!", "Converse used to be the great all American all purpose shoe that could be worn in any occasion.", "HELL!", "i wore mine to my high school prom!", "But that is no longer the case.", "Instead, Converse's quality has steadily decreased over the years, while their prices have steadily increased over the years.", "How in the hell does that even make sense?!", "Now as for me and my family, we will no longer buy Chuck's until they raise their quality standards bcak to what they used to be.", "Because if they are just going to make crap shoes then why be loyal to the Chuck Taylor brand?", "Just buy some generic sneakers and paint them up yourselves.", "And maybe, just maybe Converse will start to listen and once again make that great all American, made in America shoe that we all once loved." ]
Works great. Better instructions needed when first beginning to install bottom unit with sand, etc...... Heats our back patio nicely. Update as of December 10, 2012. Unit does not work properly. Flame constantly dies. Possible bad ignitor. Can't believe this happened at the holiday season. Now i do not have a heater that stays lit.	negative	[ "Works great.", "Better instructions needed when first beginning to install bottom unit with sand, etc....", "..", "Heats our back patio nicely.", "Update as of December 10, 2012.", "Unit does not work properly.", "Flame constantly dies.", "Possible bad ignitor.", "Can't believe this happened at the holiday season.", "Now i do not have a heater that stays lit." ]
I should have probably sent it back but thought I could turn it into something useful. It it is definately not the plane I expected, even for this price which was $30 when I bought it. This plane is beyond rough - there is a tremendous amount of work to do to get it even usable. The blade is misshapen, skewed,dull, and the body is rough. I'll flatten the blade and sharpen it and flatten the sole but for the work it will take, I should have bought a Lee Valley for this one. Sept 07 - I finally got around to working on this plane. Took a little more than an hour to flatten the back of the blade (can't get it completely flat) and hone the bevel. I also lapped the sole of the body. It works slightly better now, but it's a very crude adjustment. With more work, I could probably improve a little more, but I felt it was more work than it should have been. Patrick Leach who is arguably the authority on planes really dislikes this model too. This one works now, but definately nothing to write home about. Can't say I would ever reach for it other than scraping glue and frankly, I have a #80 cabinet scraper that does a better job at that. I'd give it away, but there is no sense frustrating someone else. June 2010 - Gave it away, with a disclaimer to the new owner.	negative	[ "I should have probably sent it back but thought I could turn it into something useful.", "It it is definately not the plane I expected, even for this price which was $30 when I bought it.", "This plane is beyond rough - there is a tremendous amount of work to do to get it even usable.", "The blade is misshapen, skewed,dull, and the body is rough.", "I'll flatten the blade and sharpen it and flatten the sole but for the work it will take, I should have bought a Lee Valley for this one.", "Sept 07 - I finally got around to working on this plane.", "Took a little more than an hour to flatten the back of the blade (can't get it completely flat) and hone the bevel.", "I also lapped the sole of the body.", "It works slightly better now, but it's a very crude adjustment.", "With more work, I could probably improve a little more, but I felt it was more work than it should have been.", "Patrick Leach who is arguably the authority on planes really dislikes this model too.", "This one works now, but definately nothing to write home about.", "Can't say I would ever reach for it other than scraping glue and frankly, I have a #80 cabinet scraper that does a better job at that.", "I'd give it away, but there is no sense frustrating someone else.", "June 2010 - Gave it away, with a disclaimer to the new owner." ]
How can a movie at the end of the "golden era" with three major stars prove to be a dud. Welcome to The Spoilers. The script is weak, containing some real howlers. Marlene is wooden; her face seems to be painted on. (Would that she had danced and tried to sing.) Wayne and Scott smirk through every scene. Even the lengthy fight scene is poorly done; it's fun to watch the double for Scott appear and reappear in the long shots. Oh yes, and the story was supposed to take place in Nome. See if you can be persuaded that anyone left the Universal set. In short, this is a long, long way from Destry Rides Again.	negative	[ "How can a movie at the end of the \"golden era\" with three major stars prove to be a dud.", "Welcome to The Spoilers.", "The script is weak, containing some real howlers.", "Marlene is wooden; her face seems to be painted on.", "(Would that she had danced and tried to sing.", ") Wayne and Scott smirk through every scene.", "Even the lengthy fight scene is poorly done; it's fun to watch the double for Scott appear and reappear in the long shots.", "Oh yes, and the story was supposed to take place in Nome.", "See if you can be persuaded that anyone left the Universal set.", "In short, this is a long, long way from Destry Rides Again." ]
I rented the game and had high expectations...but this is what I got.... The game has an excellent story line...too bad they ruined it by getting off the point, non clear directions, and well whoever made this game needs help concentrating! well the graphics are OK....not anything good, but bearable although a few times I couldn't tell land from water and died. then there is the camera (viewing) is way too weird! I mean half the time I couldn't see where I was going! but the worst part of this game was the errors!... this happened several other places also! and if you didn't save your game you lose everything! one other thing was some of the rides like the rollercoaster (if you call it that) will make you sick to your stomach...on the rollercoaster all you are doing is spinning very very fast. and they set it up so it appears on the screen that you are sitting on the seat ...still get headaches from just the thought of it. if you want to try the game be sure to rent it first!!! and make sure you get pretty far in the game (past the first mask) because that is where the trouble starts.	negative	[ "I rented the game and had high expectations...", "but this is what I got....", "The game has an excellent story line...", "too bad they ruined it by getting off the point, non clear directions, and well whoever made this game needs help concentrating!", "well the graphics are OK....", "not anything good, but bearable although a few times I couldn't tell land from water and died.", "then there is the camera (viewing) is way too weird!", "I mean half the time I couldn't see where I was going!", "but the worst part of this game was the errors!...", "this happened several other places also!", "and if you didn't save your game you lose everything!", "one other thing was some of the rides like the rollercoaster (if you call it that) will make you sick to your stomach...", "on the rollercoaster all you are doing is spinning very very fast.", "and they set it up so it appears on the screen that you are sitting on the seat...", "still get headaches from just the thought of it.", "if you want to try the game be sure to rent it first!!!", "and make sure you get pretty far in the game (past the first mask) because that is where the trouble starts." ]
I hate these labels. 1. Not sticky enough! The adhere poorly to manila envelopes, white craft shipping boxes, brown craft shipping boxes, poly bubble mailers and poly shirt mailers and USPS boxes. They look great for about a hour and when you come back, they're starting to peel up. We pack our items in the middle of the night and deliver them next day so they have a few hours to sit before we mail them. I hope the packages using these labels are getting to their destinations with their labels still in tact. 2. There's a perforated 2mm border all the way around the outside of the sheet that separates up the middle between labels. If you peel it from the wrong angle, it peels up parts of that thin border which will stick to you, the label, and anything else while you're trying to wrangle it off. 3. If you print one label and then need to put it back for a future printing session, if there is ANY of that thin border still on the page, it can get caught in your paper feed. If you have to save a sheet for single printing later - remove the border. 4. about 1 in 5 sheets is not completely perforated so when you peel a label off, it tears the label and you have to wrestle it off. I find I have to use scissors most of the time to salvage the label. Many labels have to be taped down to stick well. I will not buy these again. I will probably throw all 600 of them out because they are so useless. I might as well be taping down paper - it least that doesn't try to fight me.	negative	[ "I hate these labels.", "1.", "Not sticky enough!", "The adhere poorly to manila envelopes, white craft shipping boxes, brown craft shipping boxes, poly bubble mailers and poly shirt mailers and USPS boxes.", "They look great for about a hour and when you come back, they're starting to peel up.", "We pack our items in the middle of the night and deliver them next day so they have a few hours to sit before we mail them.", "I hope the packages using these labels are getting to their destinations with their labels still in tact.", "2.", "There's a perforated 2mm border all the way around the outside of the sheet that separates up the middle between labels.", "If you peel it from the wrong angle, it peels up parts of that thin border which will stick to you, the label, and anything else while you're trying to wrangle it off.", "3.", "If you print one label and then need to put it back for a future printing session, if there is ANY of that thin border still on the page, it can get caught in your paper feed.", "If you have to save a sheet for single printing later - remove the border.", "4.", "about 1 in 5 sheets is not completely perforated so when you peel a label off, it tears the label and you have to wrestle it off.", "I find I have to use scissors most of the time to salvage the label.", "Many labels have to be taped down to stick well.", "I will not buy these again.", "I will probably throw all 600 of them out because they are so useless.", "I might as well be taping down paper - it least that doesn't try to fight me." ]
I just hate in when the author uses GD's. I don't allow its. used in my presence and I certainly don't want to read it. There was way too many F-words. I really think offensive language in a book should come with a warning label. I would have never purchased this book. The upside was I did like the characters and storyline. The sex scenes were a bit too descriptive, but I would not want to read a romance without one or two. I am also getting tired of the single H's who have so many flings and one night stands that they are too numerous to count yet the h's have one or two lovers, haven't had sex for years or they are still virgins. To manage those statistics they have to be discriminating and have standards. A heroine like this wouldn't want to be with a man who has had his dipstick dipped into so many vehicles, it's near ready to retire for a new one. Just saying, it would be nice to read about a discriminating hero for a change. This is the first book I have read of Erika Wilde and will probably be the last for above stated reasons.	negative	[ "I just hate in when the author uses GD's.", "I don't allow its.", "used in my presence and I certainly don't want to read it.", "There was way too many F-words.", "I really think offensive language in a book should come with a warning label.", "I would have never purchased this book.", "The upside was I did like the characters and storyline.", "The sex scenes were a bit too descriptive, but I would not want to read a romance without one or two.", "I am also getting tired of the single H's who have so many flings and one night stands that they are too numerous to count yet the h's have one or two lovers, haven't had sex for years or they are still virgins.", "To manage those statistics they have to be discriminating and have standards.", "A heroine like this wouldn't want to be with a man who has had his dipstick dipped into so many vehicles, it's near ready to retire for a new one.", "Just saying, it would be nice to read about a discriminating hero for a change.", "This is the first book I have read of Erika Wilde and will probably be the last for above stated reasons." ]
Along Came a Spider is Morgan Freeman's second appearance as forensic psychologist Alex Cross. The first was in 1997's Kiss the Girls. This is not a sequel. Cross is a character in a series of books by James Patterson. Like the books they are based on, the movies are thrillers. All thrillers are not created equally, and Along Came a Spider is inferior to its predecessor. Freeman is as good as ever. The movie is full of surprises, and there are indeed some intense moments. The problem is the script. Whenever the movie tries to explain a previous scene, that scene is more full of plot holes than the one it is trying to explain. Still, the movie can prove enjoyable as long as you park your thinking cap next to the popcorn. The movie starts with a wild police pursuit in which Cross' partner is killed. Devastated, Cross goes into seclusion, uncertain whether or not he will be able to work again. Meanwhile, in a posh private school in the District of Columbia, student Megan Rose [Mika Boorem] is kidnapped by a teacher, Gary Sonji [Michael Wincott]. Megan is the daughter of a United States senator. This means that Jezzie Flannigan [Monica Potter], the Secret Service agent assigned to protect the girl, is in a lot of trouble. Cross, drawn against his will into the case, takes her under his wing, and the two set out to find Megan. The road they follow is full of dangerous twists and turns. Besides Freeman and those suspenseful scenes, there are some good elements. I liked Megan, because she is a kid with guts. She is as much heroine as victim, using her wits as often as possible. Wincott makes a convincing villain, effectively utilizing his sinister good looks. The photography is atmospheric and gives the movie a properly creepy look. It's too bad all the good parts of the movie don't make up for the confused plot. It is Sonji who calls Cross after the kidnapping and taunts him into coming out of retirement, but why he does this is never adequately explained. Sonji kidnaps Megan to get to his real target, Megan's best friend at school who is the son of the President of Russia. Why in the world is this kid in an American school? Why didn't Sonji just kidnap him in the first place? These are the kinds of questions many viewers will ask while watching the movie. A thriller generally works through suspension of disbelief. If you don't ask yourself questions until the movie is over, the movie succeeds in its mission. When the questions start during its first half hour, it hasn't done its job properly.	negative	[ "Along Came a Spider is Morgan Freeman's second appearance as forensic psychologist Alex Cross.", "The first was in 1997's Kiss the Girls.", "This is not a sequel.", "Cross is a character in a series of books by James Patterson.", "Like the books they are based on, the movies are thrillers.", "All thrillers are not created equally, and Along Came a Spider is inferior to its predecessor.", "Freeman is as good as ever.", "The movie is full of surprises, and there are indeed some intense moments.", "The problem is the script.", "Whenever the movie tries to explain a previous scene, that scene is more full of plot holes than the one it is trying to explain.", "Still, the movie can prove enjoyable as long as you park your thinking cap next to the popcorn.", "The movie starts with a wild police pursuit in which Cross' partner is killed.", "Devastated, Cross goes into seclusion, uncertain whether or not he will be able to work again.", "Meanwhile, in a posh private school in the District of Columbia, student Megan Rose [Mika Boorem] is kidnapped by a teacher, Gary Sonji [Michael Wincott].", "Megan is the daughter of a United States senator.", "This means that Jezzie Flannigan [Monica Potter], the Secret Service agent assigned to protect the girl, is in a lot of trouble.", "Cross, drawn against his will into the case, takes her under his wing, and the two set out to find Megan.", "The road they follow is full of dangerous twists and turns.", "Besides Freeman and those suspenseful scenes, there are some good elements.", "I liked Megan, because she is a kid with guts.", "She is as much heroine as victim, using her wits as often as possible.", "Wincott makes a convincing villain, effectively utilizing his sinister good looks.", "The photography is atmospheric and gives the movie a properly creepy look.", "It's too bad all the good parts of the movie don't make up for the confused plot.", "It is Sonji who calls Cross after the kidnapping and taunts him into coming out of retirement, but why he does this is never adequately explained.", "Sonji kidnaps Megan to get to his real target, Megan's best friend at school who is the son of the President of Russia.", "Why in the world is this kid in an American school?", "Why didn't Sonji just kidnap him in the first place?", "These are the kinds of questions many viewers will ask while watching the movie.", "A thriller generally works through suspension of disbelief.", "If you don't ask yourself questions until the movie is over, the movie succeeds in its mission.", "When the questions start during its first half hour, it hasn't done its job properly." ]
TG doesn't have the story anymore. He's just filling pages with tired rhetoric playing off the fact we all used to love his characters.... hell I still love his characters and wish he would go ahead and write a book about them. You know.. the witty ones that invoked reactions from me while I read the the books.. the ones that made my eyes water and my chest heave, the ones that made me literally throw back my head and laugh. The ommmminous knowledge of a mord-sith and that if there are magics like that in this world WHAT ELSE WILL MR GOODKING HAVE IN STORE FOR US! or OMG the mud people, I laughed so hard when Richard slugged one of them. Just so many great memories from the series. Apparently he has crap in store for us though. I used to be a really big fan, I've recommended and got numerous friends to start/buy this series.. Then I read the last 3 books, and was terribly underwhelmed. But hey, I finished the series, I was mostly content, and had every intention of reading any book Mr. Goodkind put out. I'd enjoyed huge swaths of the SoT series and felt prepared to give him a chance in any universe. Seems fair? I thought so. Anyway, one of the 5 star reviews hit it on the head. It's like TG has turned this into Harry Potter. Lamest War Wizard EVER. Richard never does anything even moderately interesting with his almighty powers. I don't want to read Harry Potter or anything remotely like it, I don't want things spelled out for me to the point a moderately intelligent 6 year old could puzzle it out.. AND SOME WIT? Can we have some wit? ... I'd still recommend you checkout the series, the first half of it is amazing (And Faith of the Fallen was a real gem)... but I wouldn't bother reading anything after Chainfire. All it does is make me angry. </10cents>	negative	[ "TG doesn't have the story anymore.", "He's just filling pages with tired rhetoric playing off the fact we all used to love his characters....", "hell I still love his characters and wish he would go ahead and write a book about them.", "You know..", "the witty ones that invoked reactions from me while I read the the books..", "the ones that made my eyes water and my chest heave, the ones that made me literally throw back my head and laugh.", "The ommmminous knowledge of a mord-sith and that if there are magics like that in this world WHAT ELSE WILL MR GOODKING HAVE IN STORE FOR US!", "or OMG the mud people, I laughed so hard when Richard slugged one of them.", "Just so many great memories from the series.", "Apparently he has crap in store for us though.", "I used to be a really big fan, I've recommended and got numerous friends to start/buy this series..", "Then I read the last 3 books, and was terribly underwhelmed.", "But hey, I finished the series, I was mostly content, and had every intention of reading any book Mr.", "Goodkind put out.", "I'd enjoyed huge swaths of the SoT series and felt prepared to give him a chance in any universe.", "Seems fair?", "I thought so.", "Anyway, one of the 5 star reviews hit it on the head.", "It's like TG has turned this into Harry Potter.", "Lamest War Wizard EVER.", "Richard never does anything even moderately interesting with his almighty powers.", "I don't want to read Harry Potter or anything remotely like it, I don't want things spelled out for me to the point a moderately intelligent 6 year old could puzzle it out..", "AND SOME WIT?", "Can we have some wit?", "...", "I'd still recommend you checkout the series, the first half of it is amazing (And Faith of the Fallen was a real gem)...", "but I wouldn't bother reading anything after Chainfire.", "All it does is make me angry.", "</10cents>" ]
Large hide. Poorly made. Many rough and sharp edges inside. Some areas are thick and some are so thin they let light through. This is the second I've tried. It is even worse than the first. Hate to be "that kind" of customer, but this is going back. I have a small and a medium which are fine. These large hides look like the manufacturer doesn't care. Two stars for concept, no stars for execution.	negative	[ "Large hide.", "Poorly made.", "Many rough and sharp edges inside.", "Some areas are thick and some are so thin they let light through.", "This is the second I've tried.", "It is even worse than the first.", "Hate to be \"that kind\" of customer, but this is going back.", "I have a small and a medium which are fine.", "These large hides look like the manufacturer doesn't care.", "Two stars for concept, no stars for execution." ]
...but I can't. I really thought this was one of the worst books I ever read. In fact, I didn't read it. I began to suspect what the ending was going to be when I was about a third of the way through, flipped to the final pages, and found what I expected to find. I thought the entire story was ridiculous. Ruth was SO DUMB AND PASSIVE. Her husband was SUCH A MOMMY'S BOY. The in-laws were SO CHEERILY MANIPULATIVE. Everyone was a stock character, except for the baby, perhaps, but how much character development can there be in a newborn baby? By the time Ruth was glugging down her anti-depressants with gin, I was beginning to think she deserved her fate as the heir-producing zombie of her selfish and deceitful family. yawn I loved Gregory's book "The Other Boleyn Girl" so much. This silly, melodramatic novel was a real disappointment.	negative	[ "...", "but I can't.", "I really thought this was one of the worst books I ever read.", "In fact, I didn't read it.", "I began to suspect what the ending was going to be when I was about a third of the way through, flipped to the final pages, and found what I expected to find.", "I thought the entire story was ridiculous.", "Ruth was SO DUMB AND PASSIVE.", "Her husband was SUCH A MOMMY'S BOY.", "The in-laws were SO CHEERILY MANIPULATIVE.", "Everyone was a stock character, except for the baby, perhaps, but how much character development can there be in a newborn baby?", "By the time Ruth was glugging down her anti-depressants with gin, I was beginning to think she deserved her fate as the heir-producing zombie of her selfish and deceitful family.", "yawn\n\nI loved Gregory's book \"The Other Boleyn Girl\" so much.", "This silly, melodramatic novel was a real disappointment." ]
I decided to finally do a good job of backing up my home computers and bought a QNAP TS-110 NAS and installed a Hitachi 2 TB drive. I already had an external SATA drive which I increased in size to 2 TB also. I have the system working well and can share folders and have mapped network drives between the computers and the NAS. So it is time to install Ghost 15.0. The installation works well but when I set up a backup I can't access the NAS shared folder for the back-up. I keep getting a error: "Multiple connections to a server or shared resource by the same user, using more than one user name, are not allowed.". It turns out that Ghost has to access the NAS using a user name that does not come from the PC being backed-up. I had to Un-Map all my network drives and reboot. I added a "Ghost" user name to the NAS (Nas-name) with its own password. I made a new network drive Q: with the location \\Nas-name\username; Re-connect at log-on; CONNECT USING A DIFFERENT USER NAME The user name to make the connection was "Nas-name\Ghost" and the corresponding NAS password. I then added the normal network drive connection Z: under the normal user name. OK, I have found out how to do this after many hours when they could have provided some warning and instructions in probably 2-4 sentences. The backup completes without any errors. I now check that I can recover the drive using the Symantec Recovery Disk (SRB). When the computer boots from the Ghost SRB it can't find the Windows network. I worked hours searching the forums and trying differnt things. The Norton technician also did a remote link for 1.5 hours and he still could not get it to function. So I have a backup that can't be reloaded on a clean hard drive. So I have succeded in doing nothing after 20 hours of work. The program looks like it works well for a backup to an external SATA drive (why I gave it 2 stars instead of zero)but will not work to a NAS even though the documentation states that it can.	negative	[ "I decided to finally do a good job of backing up my home computers and bought a QNAP TS-110 NAS and installed a Hitachi 2 TB drive.", "I already had an external SATA drive which I increased in size to 2 TB also.", "I have the system working well and can share folders and have mapped network drives between the computers and the NAS.", "So it is time to install Ghost 15.", "0.\n\nThe installation works well but when I set up a backup I can't access the NAS shared folder for the back-up.", "I keep getting a error: \"Multiple connections to a server or shared resource by the same user, using more than one user name, are not allowed.", "\".", "It turns out that Ghost has to access the NAS using a user name that does not come from the PC being backed-up.", "I had to Un-Map all my network drives and reboot.", "I added a \"Ghost\" user name to the NAS (Nas-name) with its own password.", "I made a new network drive Q: with the location \\\\Nas-name\\username; Re-connect at log-on; CONNECT USING A DIFFERENT USER NAME The user name to make the connection was \"Nas-name\\Ghost\" and the corresponding NAS password.", "I then added the normal network drive connection Z: under the normal user name.", "OK, I have found out how to do this after many hours when they could have provided some warning and instructions in probably 2-4 sentences.", "The backup completes without any errors.", "I now check that I can recover the drive using the Symantec Recovery Disk (SRB).", "When the computer boots from the Ghost SRB it can't find the Windows network.", "I worked hours searching the forums and trying differnt things.", "The Norton technician also did a remote link for 1.", "5 hours and he still could not get it to function.", "So I have a backup that can't be reloaded on a clean hard drive.", "So I have succeded in doing nothing after 20 hours of work.", "The program looks like it works well for a backup to an external SATA drive (why I gave it 2 stars instead of zero)but will not work to a NAS even though the documentation states that it can." ]
I'll skip the movie itself review. You can easily tell that it's a great movie by all the other reviews. What I'll focus on is the DVD itself. One point for it is that it has a menu. It goes down hill there as the DVD only has Stereo sound. This might be due to the original's lack of budget but I began to wonder when I see this classic movie is only pan and scan. Fox/Lorber has seen fit to put hard subtitles whether or not we can understand French. This is a DVD which could have been a lot better. It's a shame that we get such great movies done in substandard DVDs. Bowfinger is going to be 16:9, Widescreen, and Pan&Scan; plus DTS sound & lots of extras. Couldn't Fox/Lorber have done this movie with at least a widescreen version and removeable subtitles? Look at A Better Tomorrow to see how good a foriegn film can be put onto a DVD. It's really a shame to have the shoddy DVD for such a fine movie. And it could have been so much more.	negative	[ "I'll skip the movie itself review.", "You can easily tell that it's a great movie by all the other reviews.", "What I'll focus on is the DVD itself.", "One point for it is that it has a menu.", "It goes down hill there as the DVD only has Stereo sound.", "This might be due to the original's lack of budget but I began to wonder when I see this classic movie is only pan and scan.", "Fox/Lorber has seen fit to put hard subtitles whether or not we can understand French.", "This is a DVD which could have been a lot better.", "It's a shame that we get such great movies done in substandard DVDs.", "Bowfinger is going to be 16:9, Widescreen, and Pan&Scan; plus DTS sound & lots of extras.", "Couldn't Fox/Lorber have done this movie with at least a widescreen version and removeable subtitles?", "Look at A Better Tomorrow to see how good a foriegn film can be put onto a DVD.", "It's really a shame to have the shoddy DVD for such a fine movie.", "And it could have been so much more." ]
I bought this the other day on a whim at a garage sale. First off, a technical matter: where the hell is the closed captioning on this DVD? I have a hard time understanding what's being said unless I can also read someone's lips. On a 14" TV, that's not always possible. Thus, I appreciate closed captioning. I am sure deaf people do too. This is the first DVD I've seen in a long time that does not include it in the standard features, or if it does, I sure as hell couldn't find it. Second, the movie itself: at a certain point I lost all sympathy for George Jung. You can root for a small-time pot dealer who is in cahoots with a stewardess to smuggle marijuana cross-country. Even as his greed gets the best of him, nobody's getting killed, nobody's dying of overdoses. But it's hard to have much sympathy for a character who works for a drug lord who shot a man in cold blood at the "job interview." Jung knew firsthand the damage cocaine was doing to his friends' and wife's health. He saw with his own eyes the damage it was doing to innocent people in Columbia. He wasn't just an addict without the willpower to stop himself from doing another line. He was running the largest drug-smuggling ring in the country. Boo hoo. He lost his daughter's trust when he didn't show up to take her to California. That trip wasn't meant to make Kristina Jung happy, it was to prove to himself that he was at heart a good dad. This is one of those movies that irritates me precisely because it could have been excellent. I don't mean that it should have become an anti-drug screed (few things are more tiresome than those), but it could have been vastly improved by the director and screenwriter having more emotional distance from Jung. The problem is not that Jung believes the things he tells himself about himself, it is that Ted Demme does too. Also, I have yet to see a movie with Penelope Cruz in it in which she does not completely annoy me.	negative	[ "I bought this the other day on a whim at a garage sale.", "First off, a technical matter: where the hell is the closed captioning on this DVD?", "I have a hard time understanding what's being said unless I can also read someone's lips.", "On a 14\" TV, that's not always possible.", "Thus, I appreciate closed captioning.", "I am sure deaf people do too.", "This is the first DVD I've seen in a long time that does not include it in the standard features, or if it does, I sure as hell couldn't find it.", "Second, the movie itself: at a certain point I lost all sympathy for George Jung.", "You can root for a small-time pot dealer who is in cahoots with a stewardess to smuggle marijuana cross-country.", "Even as his greed gets the best of him, nobody's getting killed, nobody's dying of overdoses.", "But it's hard to have much sympathy for a character who works for a drug lord who shot a man in cold blood at the \"job interview.", "\"\n\nJung knew firsthand the damage cocaine was doing to his friends' and wife's health.", "He saw with his own eyes the damage it was doing to innocent people in Columbia.", "He wasn't just an addict without the willpower to stop himself from doing another line.", "He was running the largest drug-smuggling ring in the country.", "Boo hoo.", "He lost his daughter's trust when he didn't show up to take her to California.", "That trip wasn't meant to make Kristina Jung happy, it was to prove to himself that he was at heart a good dad.", "This is one of those movies that irritates me precisely because it could have been excellent.", "I don't mean that it should have become an anti-drug screed (few things are more tiresome than those), but it could have been vastly improved by the director and screenwriter having more emotional distance from Jung.", "The problem is not that Jung believes the things he tells himself about himself, it is that Ted Demme does too.", "Also, I have yet to see a movie with Penelope Cruz in it in which she does not completely annoy me." ]