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I am one of Janet Jackson's biggest fans. I know that this album receives high regards from mostly all die hard Janet fans. It took me a long time to really enjoy this album, and I do love it. But, it's not her best. I know firsthand what Janet was going through during this period and how hard it was for her. But she even said herself, one of her pet peeves is an ass kisser. So, I MUST tell the truth. Anything else would be uncivilized!
If I could describe "The Velvet Rope" in one word, I would use depressing. This album is really deep, especially if one listens to Janet's voice and her lyrics. What makes it even more heartfelt is that these lyrics are completely true. One can easily hear that Janet had low self esteem at one point in her life because it's a topic that's touched a few times throughout this album. Other subjects include homosexuality, loss of love, and relationships over the internet. "Got Til It's Gone" was this album's first release. I remember hearing this song for the first time on the radio and listening to feedback from other people who had heard it. Many disliked it so much, they called the song a "joke". Many said it sounded like Tiny Tim is singing the chorus. This song is average, not one of the best on the CD. "Anything" and "Rope Burn" are some of Janet's most sexual songs. "Rope Burn" is definitely a favorite to many Janet fans. The song has a sexy beat and Janet sings the lyrics so passionately, any fool knows what her intent was when creating this song, (for her listener to be having sex while listening to it). Janet covered an old Rod Steward song called "Tonight's the Night". She did a nice job at covering it, but there was only one controversial thing she did on this song: She sang to a girl just like Rod did. After the release of this album, many fans thought Janet was gay, but, as she explained, she used to sing the song as a little girl and she never changed the lyrics, so she figured, why change them now? "Everytime" is a beautiful song about falling in love, but never staying in love. Janet does a beautiful job on this ballad and it almost hurts to listen to it because of the pain in her voice. This song is an album highlight. "What About" is about domestic violence. If one did not know Janet had a temper on her, after one listen of this song, you'll immediately know! Everything about this song is angry. The production, the lyrics, and the tone of Jan's voice in the chorus. Janet sings the versus like a scared woman, but when she gets to the chorus, she is totally furious and obviously enraged by the violence. "Go Deep" is one of the lighter subject matters on the album. This is a party song about having deep conversations with your friends late at night. Janet even includes some of her dancers (which also happen to be some of her closest friends) singing at the end of the song. "Together Again" is another upbeat song on "The Velvet Rope". This song is very nice. Janet wrote this song to friends of hers who have died of AIDS. She wrote it because she knows she will see them again in heaven, but until then, she knows they're shining down on her.
This album, production wise and lyrically, is going to seem weird, especially to someone who does not know a lot about Janet. However, this album helped a lot of people in different aspects of their lives. There are countless stories I have heard and read about this album and how much of an inspiration it has been. A lot of Janet fans (ME INCLUDED) even got the signature tattoo for this album. Janet also has this tattoo. It is called Sankofa, and it means, you cannot move into your future without looking at your past.
"I've gone through some deep changes in my life...it hasn't been easy, oh no, not for me."-Janet Jackson ..."Special"
Mikeisha's Top 5
1. Everytime
2. Rope Burn
3. Together Again
4. Tonight's the Night
5. I Get Lonely | 1 | neutral | [
"I am one of Janet Jackson's biggest fans.",
"I know that this album receives high regards from mostly all die hard Janet fans.",
"It took me a long time to really enjoy this album, and I do love it.",
"But, it's not her best.",
"I know firsthand what Janet was going through during this period and how hard it was for her.",
"But she even said herself, one of her pet peeves is an ass kisser.",
"So, I MUST tell the truth.",
"Anything else would be uncivilized!",
"If I could describe \"The Velvet Rope\" in one word, I would use depressing.",
"This album is really deep, especially if one listens to Janet's voice and her lyrics.",
"What makes it even more heartfelt is that these lyrics are completely true.",
"One can easily hear that Janet had low self esteem at one point in her life because it's a topic that's touched a few times throughout this album.",
"Other subjects include homosexuality, loss of love, and relationships over the internet.",
"\"Got Til It's Gone\" was this album's first release.",
"I remember hearing this song for the first time on the radio and listening to feedback from other people who had heard it.",
"Many disliked it so much, they called the song a \"joke\".",
"Many said it sounded like Tiny Tim is singing the chorus.",
"This song is average, not one of the best on the CD.",
"\"Anything\" and \"Rope Burn\" are some of Janet's most sexual songs.",
"\"Rope Burn\" is definitely a favorite to many Janet fans.",
"The song has a sexy beat and Janet sings the lyrics so passionately, any fool knows what her intent was when creating this song, (for her listener to be having sex while listening to it).",
"Janet covered an old Rod Steward song called \"Tonight's the Night\".",
"She did a nice job at covering it, but there was only one controversial thing she did on this song: She sang to a girl just like Rod did.",
"After the release of this album, many fans thought Janet was gay, but, as she explained, she used to sing the song as a little girl and she never changed the lyrics, so she figured, why change them now?",
"\"Everytime\" is a beautiful song about falling in love, but never staying in love.",
"Janet does a beautiful job on this ballad and it almost hurts to listen to it because of the pain in her voice.",
"This song is an album highlight.",
"\"What About\" is about domestic violence.",
"If one did not know Janet had a temper on her, after one listen of this song, you'll immediately know!",
"Everything about this song is angry.",
"The production, the lyrics, and the tone of Jan's voice in the chorus.",
"Janet sings the versus like a scared woman, but when she gets to the chorus, she is totally furious and obviously enraged by the violence.",
"\"Go Deep\" is one of the lighter subject matters on the album.",
"This is a party song about having deep conversations with your friends late at night.",
"Janet even includes some of her dancers (which also happen to be some of her closest friends) singing at the end of the song.",
"\"Together Again\" is another upbeat song on \"The Velvet Rope\".",
"This song is very nice.",
"Janet wrote this song to friends of hers who have died of AIDS.",
"She wrote it because she knows she will see them again in heaven, but until then, she knows they're shining down on her.",
"This album, production wise and lyrically, is going to seem weird, especially to someone who does not know a lot about Janet.",
"However, this album helped a lot of people in different aspects of their lives.",
"There are countless stories I have heard and read about this album and how much of an inspiration it has been.",
"A lot of Janet fans (ME INCLUDED) even got the signature tattoo for this album.",
"Janet also has this tattoo.",
"It is called Sankofa, and it means, you cannot move into your future without looking at your past.",
"\"I've gone through some deep changes in my life...",
"it hasn't been easy, oh no, not for me.",
"\"-Janet Jackson...",
"\"Special\"\n\nMikeisha's Top 5\n\n1.",
"Everytime\n\n2.",
"Rope Burn\n\n3.",
"Together Again\n\n4.",
"Tonight's the Night\n\n5.",
"I Get Lonely"
]
|
First, anyone who gave this game less than three stars...I understand. I picked this up used for $4.99 in 2012 on impulse (I was buying some other "real" games) but I played the original PS2 version and the fond memories and price made me make the purchase.
This review is from a 2012 perspective, so if I'm hard on something, say...cough...the graphics please note, yes I know this is a launch title, but I am holding it against today's games, I don't want someone to read all the rave reviews on the graphics and feel snookered because they don't realize the reviews are years old. I'll make it short and sweet:
Graphics - by today's standards - 7/10 textures are often flat and character designs are uninspired. It often looks a little murky or muted, like a PS2.5 - not quite next gen, but - Ninja Gaiden on the PS2 looked much better. the problem is, especially for anyone who played the first Genji, is that the graphics are really the show case for these titles.
Game play - I read some reviews who compared the game to Ninja Gaiden. No. No, that is so false. This is a hack and slash title, nothing more. If you know that going in, and enjoy those games (I do, they can be a guilty pleasure) then yes you can have a great deal of fun. This is a run to area, fight a group of baddies, run to next area, rinse, repeat.
Camera - 0/10 - It's broken. Not only can you not adjust it (which isn't a deal breaker, God of War made it work) it's just broken, there will be many, many, many times were there will be 5 or 6 enemies off screen but well within attack range. The controls are a bit sluggish making for many frustratingly cheap encounters. What makes everything worse is that the the right analog stick (the one we've been conditioned for the past 10 or so years to think of as the camera) is dodge - you will constantly find yourself going to that right stick to adjust the camera because it's so out of wack, and you'll end up dodging in the direction you're trying to move the camera.
Story - MEH...with a game like this who cares.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you paid full price, heck, if you paid more than 10 dollars for this game, you son, got rrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiped off. But now adays you can find this game for cheap, So if you're curious pick it up, but seriously, go to gamestop, see if you can find a $4.99 copy, I did, and I'm happy with the game at that price. | 1 | neutral | [
"First, anyone who gave this game less than three stars...",
"I understand.",
"I picked this up used for $4.",
"99 in 2012 on impulse (I was buying some other \"real\" games) but I played the original PS2 version and the fond memories and price made me make the purchase.",
"This review is from a 2012 perspective, so if I'm hard on something, say...",
"cough...",
"the graphics please note, yes I know this is a launch title, but I am holding it against today's games, I don't want someone to read all the rave reviews on the graphics and feel snookered because they don't realize the reviews are years old.",
"I'll make it short and sweet:\n\nGraphics - by today's standards - 7/10 textures are often flat and character designs are uninspired.",
"It often looks a little murky or muted, like a PS2.",
"5 - not quite next gen, but - Ninja Gaiden on the PS2 looked much better.",
"the problem is, especially for anyone who played the first Genji, is that the graphics are really the show case for these titles.",
"Game play - I read some reviews who compared the game to Ninja Gaiden.",
"No.",
"No, that is so false.",
"This is a hack and slash title, nothing more.",
"If you know that going in, and enjoy those games (I do, they can be a guilty pleasure) then yes you can have a great deal of fun.",
"This is a run to area, fight a group of baddies, run to next area, rinse, repeat.",
"Camera - 0/10 - It's broken.",
"Not only can you not adjust it (which isn't a deal breaker, God of War made it work) it's just broken, there will be many, many, many times were there will be 5 or 6 enemies off screen but well within attack range.",
"The controls are a bit sluggish making for many frustratingly cheap encounters.",
"What makes everything worse is that the the right analog stick (the one we've been conditioned for the past 10 or so years to think of as the camera) is dodge - you will constantly find yourself going to that right stick to adjust the camera because it's so out of wack, and you'll end up dodging in the direction you're trying to move the camera.",
"Story - MEH...",
"with a game like this who cares.",
"-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nIf you paid full price, heck, if you paid more than 10 dollars for this game, you son, got rrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiped off.",
"But now adays you can find this game for cheap, So if you're curious pick it up, but seriously, go to gamestop, see if you can find a $4.",
"99 copy, I did, and I'm happy with the game at that price."
]
|
I first bought one of these Ranger craft sheets at a local hobby store using a 40% discount coupon. I liked it okay, so ended up ordering a second one from Amazon that I could use to cut into quarters so that I'd have a number of small squares to use for multiple tiny gluing projects. The sheets are great at keeping most things from sticking to your work surface. Melted art, resins, paints, clays, and many glues wipe or peel right off. The only thing I don't care for is how lightweight it is. Unless weighted down with a project or taped to a table top, a breeze through a window or from a ceiling fan will often send it fluttering to the floor. This flimsiness also means that it creases easily if it's not stored carefully...and once it creases, it doesn't work as well.
I recently remembered that I had a Silpat silicone cookie sheet liner. I rarely used it for cookies, preferring parchment paper instead. I've found the silicone liner to work better for my projects now. As with the Ranger craft sheet, it inhibits other substances from sticking and cleans up well...in fact, it cleans more easily because you don't have to be as careful with it. The heavier weight also helps it to grip your work surface without shifting or blowing away.
Several other reviewers commented that they received fake craft sheets that arrived in a generic tube. It must have been a difference in sellers at the time they purchased theirs. Mine arrived in the same Ranger Inkssentials clear rectangular box as the first one I bought in the store had. | 1 | neutral | [
"I first bought one of these Ranger craft sheets at a local hobby store using a 40% discount coupon.",
"I liked it okay, so ended up ordering a second one from Amazon that I could use to cut into quarters so that I'd have a number of small squares to use for multiple tiny gluing projects.",
"The sheets are great at keeping most things from sticking to your work surface.",
"Melted art, resins, paints, clays, and many glues wipe or peel right off.",
"The only thing I don't care for is how lightweight it is.",
"Unless weighted down with a project or taped to a table top, a breeze through a window or from a ceiling fan will often send it fluttering to the floor.",
"This flimsiness also means that it creases easily if it's not stored carefully...",
"and once it creases, it doesn't work as well.",
"I recently remembered that I had a Silpat silicone cookie sheet liner.",
"I rarely used it for cookies, preferring parchment paper instead.",
"I've found the silicone liner to work better for my projects now.",
"As with the Ranger craft sheet, it inhibits other substances from sticking and cleans up well...",
"in fact, it cleans more easily because you don't have to be as careful with it.",
"The heavier weight also helps it to grip your work surface without shifting or blowing away.",
"Several other reviewers commented that they received fake craft sheets that arrived in a generic tube.",
"It must have been a difference in sellers at the time they purchased theirs.",
"Mine arrived in the same Ranger Inkssentials clear rectangular box as the first one I bought in the store had."
]
|
CLASSICS TIME! You heard right - I'm reviewing a reeeeeal oldie. But this IS my first time reading this book and I DID read it for a class called Studies in Children's and YA Literature, so honestly it seemed like a good thing to do. Also, I had to read this in like two days I deserve this. ANYWAYS! Let's get this show on the road! I apparently have a really inflammatory opinion about the end of this book, according to my classmates, so this should be FUN.
This is usually where I put a summary of the book, but the blurb (which I stole from Amazon this time, not Goodreads) is pretty self explanatory. What's most important to me is that it talks about how there are two parts to this book. The blurb calls them I and II. I call them Part I: Where Every Chapter is a Morality Story and Part II: The Bit Where Life Gets REAL. With just Part I, this book gets maybe 2, 2 1/2 stars for morality inducing boredom. With Part II? I might never re-read it, but PLOT TWIST OF THE CENTURY, ALCOTT, BRAVO.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Part I, as I continue to say is ... cute. Each sister has one negative quality that their mother, Marmee, has to teach them how to control. It's all "Be less material, Meg" and "Be less temperamental, Jo" and "Be less spoiled, Amy" and "Be less shy, Beth." I didn't get annoyed to the point of wanting to hurl my Kindle across the room (which I've done before with morality books), but it got repetitive and boring and I really just wanted something to happen. All together, the themes were quite good and I certainly applaud Alcott for several, radical for the times decisions that she made about the girls' lives, both here and in Part II.
But then came the romance between Meg and John. I cried. I cried hard. 1800S INSTA-LOVE! I cried. THAT'S A THING THAT'S A THING. I knew much of the later book would revolve around Jo, Amy and Beth's marriages, so seeing this horribleness made me worried, fast. I couldn't stand Meg and John's "romance," let alone three more. (This was my first time reading it, people who've read this before and think I had trouble with math/facts. SHH about Beth.)
But THEN came Part II, and all the reality it brought with it. Suddenly, the girls weren't just learning cute little life lessons. They were learning life facts, and learning them hard. They were learning them with whiplash. All the radical ideas that Alcott had hinted at in the beginning came out in force. (I'm an English major, we analyzed this, SHH.) But the biggest part for me was THE BIGGEST SHIPPING PLOT TWIST IN ALL OF TIME. Like, I'm not a big proponent of "all writers should read the classics," but I wanted to buy millions of copies of this book and chuck them at the heads of every writer who has ever written a cliched love triangle ever. I am completely and utterly behind what happened, and it made the book really shine and stand out for me. Right at that moment, the book went from being a cute how to for kids to a real book about life and love and sadness and reality. Reality that is still reality, never mind the historical setting.
At the end of the day, I certainly liked this book. This is one classic that I actually recommend for people to read if they have the urge. There really is a girl for everyone to relate to in this book, no matter their age, and I find that extremely important. I almost wish I had read this as a kid, just to see what I would understand now that I didn't understand then. Little Women is that kind of a book. | 1 | neutral | [
"CLASSICS TIME!",
"You heard right - I'm reviewing a reeeeeal oldie.",
"But this IS my first time reading this book and I DID read it for a class called Studies in Children's and YA Literature, so honestly it seemed like a good thing to do.",
"Also, I had to read this in like two days I deserve this.",
"ANYWAYS!",
"Let's get this show on the road!",
"I apparently have a really inflammatory opinion about the end of this book, according to my classmates, so this should be FUN.",
"This is usually where I put a summary of the book, but the blurb (which I stole from Amazon this time, not Goodreads) is pretty self explanatory.",
"What's most important to me is that it talks about how there are two parts to this book.",
"The blurb calls them I and II.",
"I call them Part I: Where Every Chapter is a Morality Story and Part II: The Bit Where Life Gets REAL.",
"With just Part I, this book gets maybe 2, 2 1/2 stars for morality inducing boredom.",
"With Part II?",
"I might never re-read it, but PLOT TWIST OF THE CENTURY, ALCOTT, BRAVO.",
"But I'm getting ahead of myself.",
"Part I, as I continue to say is...",
"cute.",
"Each sister has one negative quality that their mother, Marmee, has to teach them how to control.",
"It's all \"Be less material, Meg\" and \"Be less temperamental, Jo\" and \"Be less spoiled, Amy\" and \"Be less shy, Beth.",
"\" I didn't get annoyed to the point of wanting to hurl my Kindle across the room (which I've done before with morality books), but it got repetitive and boring and I really just wanted something to happen.",
"All together, the themes were quite good and I certainly applaud Alcott for several, radical for the times decisions that she made about the girls' lives, both here and in Part II.",
"But then came the romance between Meg and John.",
"I cried.",
"I cried hard.",
"1800S INSTA-LOVE!",
"I cried.",
"THAT'S A THING THAT'S A THING.",
"I knew much of the later book would revolve around Jo, Amy and Beth's marriages, so seeing this horribleness made me worried, fast.",
"I couldn't stand Meg and John's \"romance,\" let alone three more.",
"(This was my first time reading it, people who've read this before and think I had trouble with math/facts.",
"SHH about Beth.",
")\n\nBut THEN came Part II, and all the reality it brought with it.",
"Suddenly, the girls weren't just learning cute little life lessons.",
"They were learning life facts, and learning them hard.",
"They were learning them with whiplash.",
"All the radical ideas that Alcott had hinted at in the beginning came out in force.",
"(I'm an English major, we analyzed this, SHH.",
") But the biggest part for me was THE BIGGEST SHIPPING PLOT TWIST IN ALL OF TIME.",
"Like, I'm not a big proponent of \"all writers should read the classics,\" but I wanted to buy millions of copies of this book and chuck them at the heads of every writer who has ever written a cliched love triangle ever.",
"I am completely and utterly behind what happened, and it made the book really shine and stand out for me.",
"Right at that moment, the book went from being a cute how to for kids to a real book about life and love and sadness and reality.",
"Reality that is still reality, never mind the historical setting.",
"At the end of the day, I certainly liked this book.",
"This is one classic that I actually recommend for people to read if they have the urge.",
"There really is a girl for everyone to relate to in this book, no matter their age, and I find that extremely important.",
"I almost wish I had read this as a kid, just to see what I would understand now that I didn't understand then.",
"Little Women is that kind of a book."
]
|
I purchased the aged white kit. I bought this for my arctic white strat. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the colors matched the body exactly, even though I was just going for a vintage look and I thought it would be more yellow.
The reason I'm giving this a 3 star review is because of the very cheap back plate. The back plate is actually the only part of the kit I didn't need, since I bought one that matched my pick guard. However it's a big part of the kit and I want to make sure others know about it. It's a very flimsy, cheap plastic. The stock one on my MIM strat is much better quality. I also purchased an aged white pearl one (official Fender as well) and it's very sturdy and good quality. I paid $20 for it which is more than this kit, so if you're looking for a better quality plate you'll have to do the same as well. But even so, the stock plate on my MIM strat is better quality than this. Also make sure to look at the pictures, you'll see that it's more of a mint green than an aged white like the other parts. | 1 | neutral | [
"I purchased the aged white kit.",
"I bought this for my arctic white strat.",
"I was pleasantly surprised to see that the colors matched the body exactly, even though I was just going for a vintage look and I thought it would be more yellow.",
"The reason I'm giving this a 3 star review is because of the very cheap back plate.",
"The back plate is actually the only part of the kit I didn't need, since I bought one that matched my pick guard.",
"However it's a big part of the kit and I want to make sure others know about it.",
"It's a very flimsy, cheap plastic.",
"The stock one on my MIM strat is much better quality.",
"I also purchased an aged white pearl one (official Fender as well) and it's very sturdy and good quality.",
"I paid $20 for it which is more than this kit, so if you're looking for a better quality plate you'll have to do the same as well.",
"But even so, the stock plate on my MIM strat is better quality than this.",
"Also make sure to look at the pictures, you'll see that it's more of a mint green than an aged white like the other parts."
]
|
I love this iron because it is heavy and it gets really, really hot. It takes out every wrinkle. The handle is comfortable to hold. After using it for a couple of years, the plate started pitting and I believe it is because I have hard water. The little holes have clogged up. It then started to "snag" delicate fabrics and I ruined some brand new curtains I was ironing. I tried running some vinegar through it, but I think the damage has been done...it's too late. If I had used distilled water from the beginning, that probably wouldn't have happened. If you have hard water, use distilled and you should be all set. My only complaint is the plate is aluminum instead of non-stick surface. If they put Teflon on this baby, it would be great. | 1 | neutral | [
"I love this iron because it is heavy and it gets really, really hot.",
"It takes out every wrinkle.",
"The handle is comfortable to hold.",
"After using it for a couple of years, the plate started pitting and I believe it is because I have hard water.",
"The little holes have clogged up.",
"It then started to \"snag\" delicate fabrics and I ruined some brand new curtains I was ironing.",
"I tried running some vinegar through it, but I think the damage has been done...",
"it's too late.",
"If I had used distilled water from the beginning, that probably wouldn't have happened.",
"If you have hard water, use distilled and you should be all set.",
"My only complaint is the plate is aluminum instead of non-stick surface.",
"If they put Teflon on this baby, it would be great."
]
|
I was very happy to get this product because I had a big printed PDF document that needed to be put in a binder. Didn't want to punch 5 pages at a time 60 times in a manual punching machine.
While I was able finish the task at hand, I was disappointed with the product. Firstly, the product quit working after 3 punching sessions. Upon reading the instructions closely, I found out that (1)the product is not of commercial duty (even though title says so) and (2)if you punch full capacity (28 sheets), you should give it a rest after every 3 sets! Yeah, I was surprised to see that too.
Then, I gave it plenty of rest, but the machine wouldn't work. I just moved the machine to a different outlet and then it started working again. At this time I saw some sparks inside the housing on the left side of the machine. It quit again after 3 or 4 sessions! I was disappointed and felt sad.
Gave it some more rest and jiggled the power cable at the grommet where it enters the machine. It started working again. This time, I punched fewer sheets (10 - 15) at a time and I was able finish the job at hand without further failures and cooling time.
It is possible that I got a defective product with a loose connection. But, the instruction manual didn't give me a lot of confidence.
Oh, and the machine weighs unduly heavy for the job it does. Overall, I am unhappy with this product and it did not represent the quality standards I am used to expect from Swingline. | 1 | neutral | [
"I was very happy to get this product because I had a big printed PDF document that needed to be put in a binder.",
"Didn't want to punch 5 pages at a time 60 times in a manual punching machine.",
"While I was able finish the task at hand, I was disappointed with the product.",
"Firstly, the product quit working after 3 punching sessions.",
"Upon reading the instructions closely, I found out that (1)the product is not of commercial duty (even though title says so) and (2)if you punch full capacity (28 sheets), you should give it a rest after every 3 sets!",
"Yeah, I was surprised to see that too.",
"Then, I gave it plenty of rest, but the machine wouldn't work.",
"I just moved the machine to a different outlet and then it started working again.",
"At this time I saw some sparks inside the housing on the left side of the machine.",
"It quit again after 3 or 4 sessions!",
"I was disappointed and felt sad.",
"Gave it some more rest and jiggled the power cable at the grommet where it enters the machine.",
"It started working again.",
"This time, I punched fewer sheets (10 - 15) at a time and I was able finish the job at hand without further failures and cooling time.",
"It is possible that I got a defective product with a loose connection.",
"But, the instruction manual didn't give me a lot of confidence.",
"Oh, and the machine weighs unduly heavy for the job it does.",
"Overall, I am unhappy with this product and it did not represent the quality standards I am used to expect from Swingline."
]
|
I ordered these cards for my granddaughter. She attends a very diverse school. She was eager to to through these cards and does so often. There are 20 different "On the Farm" photographic cards. There are 17 language variations, and that is all great and dandy. What I have a problem with is the fact there is no resource that sounds these cards out for the child. It's great to learn a new word in Korean, but if you don't know Korean and don't know how to say a word, it won't make a difference. I did go to the company website and they have different products. What I was looking for was something that could tel her how these words were pronounced. Instead, I found apps that said FREE, but when you got the Apple website (by the way we are Android users) there are in-app purchases that run from $15 to $199.
I think we'll pass. | 1 | neutral | [
"I ordered these cards for my granddaughter.",
"She attends a very diverse school.",
"She was eager to to through these cards and does so often.",
"There are 20 different \"On the Farm\" photographic cards.",
"There are 17 language variations, and that is all great and dandy.",
"What I have a problem with is the fact there is no resource that sounds these cards out for the child.",
"It's great to learn a new word in Korean, but if you don't know Korean and don't know how to say a word, it won't make a difference.",
"I did go to the company website and they have different products.",
"What I was looking for was something that could tel her how these words were pronounced.",
"Instead, I found apps that said FREE, but when you got the Apple website (by the way we are Android users) there are in-app purchases that run from $15 to $199.",
"I think we'll pass."
]
|
This is a really quick read, a novella that seems to belong in an erotic paranormal anthology rather than as a standalone book. There is nonstop action, fights, chase scenes, and of course explicit sex.
I would have loved to see more of the backstory told here. There's a lot of intriguing descriptions of the heroine's former life as the slave of a vampire assassin. The science fiction world also seems very interesting. Sadly, none of this is expanded on.
If you like erotic sci-fi, this is recommended. It's a rollicking read! If, however, you want a well-plotted story, the majority of the plot is just alluded to and not written.
I received a review copy of this book from NetGalley. | 1 | neutral | [
"This is a really quick read, a novella that seems to belong in an erotic paranormal anthology rather than as a standalone book.",
"There is nonstop action, fights, chase scenes, and of course explicit sex.",
"I would have loved to see more of the backstory told here.",
"There's a lot of intriguing descriptions of the heroine's former life as the slave of a vampire assassin.",
"The science fiction world also seems very interesting.",
"Sadly, none of this is expanded on.",
"If you like erotic sci-fi, this is recommended.",
"It's a rollicking read!",
"If, however, you want a well-plotted story, the majority of the plot is just alluded to and not written.",
"I received a review copy of this book from NetGalley."
]
|
This item had very high reviews, but I didn't realize that they were almost all for the 25-foot version and none of them were for the 50-foot longtape. The two are totally different. The 50 foot one doesn't retract itself (there is a crank), and is flimsier and much thinner. I can live with this though.
The most absolutely brain-dead part about this product is that the first marking is the 2-inch mark, which comes 1 inch after the beginning of the tape. So if you line up the head of the tape with something, then the 2-inch mark is actually 1 inch away, the 1-foot mark is actually 11 inches away, etc. Totally stupid. Graphically, instead of:
|-1-2-3-...
it's instead:
|-2-3-4-...
where each - is 1 inch of space. | 1 | neutral | [
"This item had very high reviews, but I didn't realize that they were almost all for the 25-foot version and none of them were for the 50-foot longtape.",
"The two are totally different.",
"The 50 foot one doesn't retract itself (there is a crank), and is flimsier and much thinner.",
"I can live with this though.",
"The most absolutely brain-dead part about this product is that the first marking is the 2-inch mark, which comes 1 inch after the beginning of the tape.",
"So if you line up the head of the tape with something, then the 2-inch mark is actually 1 inch away, the 1-foot mark is actually 11 inches away, etc.",
"Totally stupid.",
"Graphically, instead of:\n\n|-1-2-3-...",
"it's instead:\n\n|-2-3-4-...",
"where each - is 1 inch of space."
]
|
I wanted to love this device. When I first turned it on my thought was "you can probably dry a Boeing 747 in 15 minutes!" However, it proved less useful. I own a VW Jetta and BMW M Coupe. I wanted a device like this to get water out of crevices on my cars and my wife bought this for me as a Christmas gift. My BMW was in storage so I tried it on my Jetta. The conditions were 50 degrees and the car was washed outside and then pulled into my garage for drying. I used the Master Blaster to dry the car - and it took way longer that expected. So long that some of the water dried before I could get to it leaving water spots. I was actively moving the blower around and trying to be as quick as possible - and it still came short. If it were warmer outside, or you had to dryer your car in the sun - forget it! I think buying high quality towels, and using the smaller more portable version of this (The Sidekick) makes the most sense.
A few notes: This thing is super loud. I read another review where someone said it's quiet. I'm not sure if that person is deaf, but my 36 year old ears were ringing for quite a while after using this. It requires a 20 amp outlet. I connected this to a 20 amp outlet and it still blew a fuse. I won't hold either of these issues against it because with 8HP you should expect it to be loud, and the fuse being blown could have been a fluke. | 1 | neutral | [
"I wanted to love this device.",
"When I first turned it on my thought was \"you can probably dry a Boeing 747 in 15 minutes!",
"\" However, it proved less useful.",
"I own a VW Jetta and BMW M Coupe.",
"I wanted a device like this to get water out of crevices on my cars and my wife bought this for me as a Christmas gift.",
"My BMW was in storage so I tried it on my Jetta.",
"The conditions were 50 degrees and the car was washed outside and then pulled into my garage for drying.",
"I used the Master Blaster to dry the car - and it took way longer that expected.",
"So long that some of the water dried before I could get to it leaving water spots.",
"I was actively moving the blower around and trying to be as quick as possible - and it still came short.",
"If it were warmer outside, or you had to dryer your car in the sun - forget it!",
"I think buying high quality towels, and using the smaller more portable version of this (The Sidekick) makes the most sense.",
"A few notes: This thing is super loud.",
"I read another review where someone said it's quiet.",
"I'm not sure if that person is deaf, but my 36 year old ears were ringing for quite a while after using this.",
"It requires a 20 amp outlet.",
"I connected this to a 20 amp outlet and it still blew a fuse.",
"I won't hold either of these issues against it because with 8HP you should expect it to be loud, and the fuse being blown could have been a fluke."
]
|
Install and alignment is a snap with the included guide stickers. The package comes with 2 protectors which were installed on each of my moto x4 phones. Neither install had bubbles and the fit was good (NOTE: BECAUSE OF THE SLIGHT CURVE OF GLASS ON THE X4, YOU SHOULD EXPECT THIS SCREEN PROTECTOR TO NOT COVER THE FULL WIDTH OF THE SCREEN). My problem arose with the 2nd installation. The alignment was perfect, but for some reason the glass would not adhere around the edges (the first install went PERFECT). The left side and bottom were worse than the right side(although it is a problem on both left and right sides). As a result I'm getting pieces of fuzz etc that are slipping up under the protector. I can push the glass down on to my screen and watch it look like it will adhere, then it will pop right back up. Either the Omoton glass was manufactured slightly off, or my 2nd moto x4 has more curvature than the 1st one...in either case, I'm worried that something is going to catch the side that has poor adhesion and lift the protector off. I'll be leaving the protector on for now because it will still provide better protection than nothing. | 1 | neutral | [
"Install and alignment is a snap with the included guide stickers.",
"The package comes with 2 protectors which were installed on each of my moto x4 phones.",
"Neither install had bubbles and the fit was good (NOTE: BECAUSE OF THE SLIGHT CURVE OF GLASS ON THE X4, YOU SHOULD EXPECT THIS SCREEN PROTECTOR TO NOT COVER THE FULL WIDTH OF THE SCREEN).",
"My problem arose with the 2nd installation.",
"The alignment was perfect, but for some reason the glass would not adhere around the edges (the first install went PERFECT).",
"The left side and bottom were worse than the right side(although it is a problem on both left and right sides).",
"As a result I'm getting pieces of fuzz etc that are slipping up under the protector.",
"I can push the glass down on to my screen and watch it look like it will adhere, then it will pop right back up.",
"Either the Omoton glass was manufactured slightly off, or my 2nd moto x4 has more curvature than the 1st one...",
"in either case, I'm worried that something is going to catch the side that has poor adhesion and lift the protector off.",
"I'll be leaving the protector on for now because it will still provide better protection than nothing."
]
|
Like many of the other titles in Ken Blanchards The One-Minute Manager series, Raving Fans (co-written with Sheldon Bowles) is written as a business fable to illustrate some basic, common-sense methods.
The lesson in Raving Fans is how a manager can lead his division or company to deliver consistently exemplary customer service.
The fable involves Area Manager, who is charged by the company President to improve the companys customer service reputation, a task which the two previous managers tried and failed (and, it is implied, were subsequently fired). As Area Manager contemplates his challenge, he is helped by a golf-obsessed Fairy Godmother named Charlie, who takes him on a journey to meet other business people who Charlie previously assisted. Along the way, Area Manager learns the three secrets of converting customers to not just satisfied, but Raving Fans.
As with many of The One-Minute Manager books, Blanchards and Bowles secrets are not so secret, but are often overlooked. Blanchard has a knack of identifying and articulating lessons that on reflection should be obvious, but if they were, everyone would be successful and there would be no need for his books. On that level, Raving Fans succeeds.
The book ultimately fails, however, because the (fictionalized) companies Blanchard and Bowles use as examples of exemplary customer service that are simply not financially feasible. For example, a grocery store offers personal shoppers and a computer system that allows for no checkout lines; a gas station has a team of attendants to service a car while charging the same as the self-serve station up the block. The assumption is that the stores provide such incredible customer service that customers buy enough, often enough, to allow for a reasonable profit. That, however, is not addressed in Blanchards and Bowles fable.
I can believe the truth of the Three Secrets. I wish, for the sake of the book, that Blanchard and Bowles had chosen more believable examples. As it is, Raving Fans would have been better delivered as a blog post. | 1 | neutral | [
"Like many of the other titles in Ken Blanchards The One-Minute Manager series, Raving Fans (co-written with Sheldon Bowles) is written as a business fable to illustrate some basic, common-sense methods.",
"The lesson in Raving Fans is how a manager can lead his division or company to deliver consistently exemplary customer service.",
"The fable involves Area Manager, who is charged by the company President to improve the companys customer service reputation, a task which the two previous managers tried and failed (and, it is implied, were subsequently fired).",
"As Area Manager contemplates his challenge, he is helped by a golf-obsessed Fairy Godmother named Charlie, who takes him on a journey to meet other business people who Charlie previously assisted.",
"Along the way, Area Manager learns the three secrets of converting customers to not just satisfied, but Raving Fans.",
"As with many of The One-Minute Manager books, Blanchards and Bowles secrets are not so secret, but are often overlooked.",
"Blanchard has a knack of identifying and articulating lessons that on reflection should be obvious, but if they were, everyone would be successful and there would be no need for his books.",
"On that level, Raving Fans succeeds.",
"The book ultimately fails, however, because the (fictionalized) companies Blanchard and Bowles use as examples of exemplary customer service that are simply not financially feasible.",
"For example, a grocery store offers personal shoppers and a computer system that allows for no checkout lines; a gas station has a team of attendants to service a car while charging the same as the self-serve station up the block.",
"The assumption is that the stores provide such incredible customer service that customers buy enough, often enough, to allow for a reasonable profit.",
"That, however, is not addressed in Blanchards and Bowles fable.",
"I can believe the truth of the Three Secrets.",
"I wish, for the sake of the book, that Blanchard and Bowles had chosen more believable examples.",
"As it is, Raving Fans would have been better delivered as a blog post."
]
|
This cute little kit is certainly convenient, but as others have said, you're better off just getting the pieces separately and packing them in your own bag. The rubber mallet is the reason I bought this kit, but I should have just used a regular old household hammer. After all, the claw end makes the stake-puller redundant. The stakes themselves should only be used in an absolute emergency - they are really poor quality. The plastic heads break easily and the metal hardly grips the dirt. The broom thing is cute, but it sheds bristles easily. I'm going to just buy a handheld brush from Home Depot and use my own dustpan in the future. If you want to buy the set for convenience and not have to think about remembering to pack a hammer, etc., this kit is worth it, I guess. But if you already own a hammer and dustpan, just buy a packet of nicer quality tent stakes and a nice handbrush and you'll probably end up saving money in the long run! | 1 | neutral | [
"This cute little kit is certainly convenient, but as others have said, you're better off just getting the pieces separately and packing them in your own bag.",
"The rubber mallet is the reason I bought this kit, but I should have just used a regular old household hammer.",
"After all, the claw end makes the stake-puller redundant.",
"The stakes themselves should only be used in an absolute emergency - they are really poor quality.",
"The plastic heads break easily and the metal hardly grips the dirt.",
"The broom thing is cute, but it sheds bristles easily.",
"I'm going to just buy a handheld brush from Home Depot and use my own dustpan in the future.",
"If you want to buy the set for convenience and not have to think about remembering to pack a hammer, etc.",
", this kit is worth it, I guess.",
"But if you already own a hammer and dustpan, just buy a packet of nicer quality tent stakes and a nice handbrush and you'll probably end up saving money in the long run!"
]
|
Installation was fairly easy - I put it on my desktop and a laptop at the same time. The weird thing was that if you start the install by disc, you have to keep the disc in even if you select to download the most recent software from the website. Once it started doing the download, I tried removing the disc figuring it shouldn't need it any longer. It then got hung up waiting for me to put the disc back in. Once I did, the install resumed and finished successfully.
Meanwhile, I initiated the install on the laptop by going to the URL provided on the registration key's card. This was actually a more straightforward process as you log in to your account, enter the registration key, then it basically does the install.
The weird thing, though is that once finished, my desktop only shows that I've installed it on 1 pc. Oh well, they're both protected.
I don't really like the user interface, as it just seems like you can't actually customize what components are turned on/off very easily, nor are there many customization options.
Our PC was also very slow after installation. I turned off the site advisor add-ons that are supposed to protect against bogus websites and this has seemed to help to some degree, but other non-browser programs also seem to be slow to load on occasion as well.
The packages include so many protection programs, it's just hard to know what all it's doing, and with the user interface that doesn't really give you many details or options, it's hard to figure out what parts you really need and which are just superfluous.
One day, maybe these programs will actually track and tell you the lag they create by having to pre-scan files, websites and disc activity. While this might protect you, it also slows you down.
All in all, it seems a bit slower than my old Norton package, and I'll probably look to switch back when this subscription is up. | 1 | neutral | [
"Installation was fairly easy - I put it on my desktop and a laptop at the same time.",
"The weird thing was that if you start the install by disc, you have to keep the disc in even if you select to download the most recent software from the website.",
"Once it started doing the download, I tried removing the disc figuring it shouldn't need it any longer.",
"It then got hung up waiting for me to put the disc back in.",
"Once I did, the install resumed and finished successfully.",
"Meanwhile, I initiated the install on the laptop by going to the URL provided on the registration key's card.",
"This was actually a more straightforward process as you log in to your account, enter the registration key, then it basically does the install.",
"The weird thing, though is that once finished, my desktop only shows that I've installed it on 1 pc.",
"Oh well, they're both protected.",
"I don't really like the user interface, as it just seems like you can't actually customize what components are turned on/off very easily, nor are there many customization options.",
"Our PC was also very slow after installation.",
"I turned off the site advisor add-ons that are supposed to protect against bogus websites and this has seemed to help to some degree, but other non-browser programs also seem to be slow to load on occasion as well.",
"The packages include so many protection programs, it's just hard to know what all it's doing, and with the user interface that doesn't really give you many details or options, it's hard to figure out what parts you really need and which are just superfluous.",
"One day, maybe these programs will actually track and tell you the lag they create by having to pre-scan files, websites and disc activity.",
"While this might protect you, it also slows you down.",
"All in all, it seems a bit slower than my old Norton package, and I'll probably look to switch back when this subscription is up."
]
|
I was expecting or at least hoping for much better for one particular purpose. Recently I had a slightly loose oil filter that dripped some oil on my driveway before I realized it, giving me two moderately large spots. I've previously used another brand product (actually primarily designed as a carburator cleaner), but was out of it. So I decided to give this a real test: several-week old oil stains on a concrete driveway. That would have been a home run for the other product. Unfortunately, this left the stains only somewhat lighter than before my attempt. I used the sprayer tube (once I figured out the "trick" to using it - see below), getting as much of the surface as I could directly with the very directed stream. I then used a stiff brush (used before with the other product, so I knew it should work). Then I went back and sprayed all of the spots again, using the targeted spray through the spray tube. Scrub again with the brush, then rinse off with the hose - and only slight to moderate improvement.
Additionally, I found no instructions for exactly how far to tilt up the spray tube if you want a directed spray. DO NOT pull the tube up all the way - it'll only make a mess at the head of the can. You have to have the tube slightly down below the maximum "up" position for it to direct the spray. What a mess, trying to figure out if I could even USE the tube. I could, but only after many tries at various positions. I don't know if the upper stop for the tube was not in the right place for the can I used, or whether it's a general design flaw. All I know is, I almost gave up on ever being able to use the tube spray extension - a potentially very valuable addition to the product (if it works right).
With this being an Amazon Vine product, it was "free" (except for the tax consequences), so I wasn't out very much. Some Vine products we've continued to get. Others, we'd NEVER use again under any circumstances. I suspect this is not likely to be a future purchase for us. It just was not that impressive. It does seem to work reasonably well on relatively non-porous surfaces, but still nothing to stand up and cheer about. It's certainly better than nothing, however. And sadly, this just reinforces my mediocre opinion of WD-40 products. There are most definitely better alternatives out there in the market place. | 1 | neutral | [
"I was expecting or at least hoping for much better for one particular purpose.",
"Recently I had a slightly loose oil filter that dripped some oil on my driveway before I realized it, giving me two moderately large spots.",
"I've previously used another brand product (actually primarily designed as a carburator cleaner), but was out of it.",
"So I decided to give this a real test: several-week old oil stains on a concrete driveway.",
"That would have been a home run for the other product.",
"Unfortunately, this left the stains only somewhat lighter than before my attempt.",
"I used the sprayer tube (once I figured out the \"trick\" to using it - see below), getting as much of the surface as I could directly with the very directed stream.",
"I then used a stiff brush (used before with the other product, so I knew it should work).",
"Then I went back and sprayed all of the spots again, using the targeted spray through the spray tube.",
"Scrub again with the brush, then rinse off with the hose - and only slight to moderate improvement.",
"Additionally, I found no instructions for exactly how far to tilt up the spray tube if you want a directed spray.",
"DO NOT pull the tube up all the way - it'll only make a mess at the head of the can.",
"You have to have the tube slightly down below the maximum \"up\" position for it to direct the spray.",
"What a mess, trying to figure out if I could even USE the tube.",
"I could, but only after many tries at various positions.",
"I don't know if the upper stop for the tube was not in the right place for the can I used, or whether it's a general design flaw.",
"All I know is, I almost gave up on ever being able to use the tube spray extension - a potentially very valuable addition to the product (if it works right).",
"With this being an Amazon Vine product, it was \"free\" (except for the tax consequences), so I wasn't out very much.",
"Some Vine products we've continued to get.",
"Others, we'd NEVER use again under any circumstances.",
"I suspect this is not likely to be a future purchase for us.",
"It just was not that impressive.",
"It does seem to work reasonably well on relatively non-porous surfaces, but still nothing to stand up and cheer about.",
"It's certainly better than nothing, however.",
"And sadly, this just reinforces my mediocre opinion of WD-40 products.",
"There are most definitely better alternatives out there in the market place."
]
|
I bought this watch after reading review here on Amazon. Let's face it, the watch is cheap and thats it's strongest selling point. I had bought it because I am a nursing student and wanted something thats cheap, posts military time, and that could take a hundred hand washings a day and not be worried about. It is all of those things. It also is very small. It actually is much smaller than it appears on amazon. I literally thought I was sent a womens version or something by mistake. It says 38mm but the watch face is literally not much bigger than the size of a quarter. They must measure from the outermost point of the bezel to the outermost point of the case. My mistake. For those looking for a small faced, cheap in cost, and throw away watch after a while this is for you. just beware of it's size. my two cents... | 1 | neutral | [
"I bought this watch after reading review here on Amazon.",
"Let's face it, the watch is cheap and thats it's strongest selling point.",
"I had bought it because I am a nursing student and wanted something thats cheap, posts military time, and that could take a hundred hand washings a day and not be worried about.",
"It is all of those things.",
"It also is very small.",
"It actually is much smaller than it appears on amazon.",
"I literally thought I was sent a womens version or something by mistake.",
"It says 38mm but the watch face is literally not much bigger than the size of a quarter.",
"They must measure from the outermost point of the bezel to the outermost point of the case.",
"My mistake.",
"For those looking for a small faced, cheap in cost, and throw away watch after a while this is for you.",
"just beware of it's size.",
"my two cents..."
]
|
The success of Don't Fear the Reaper in 1976 would send the Oyster Boys down a dark path in search of further popular acclaim. That search would lead them to the depths ironically known as Mirrors, an album that would make the band look in the mirror and realize that they were not being true to themselves or their fans.
Cultosaurus Erectus took the band in a decidedly different direction and, like their own Disco Demolition Night, obliterated the notion that it would follow in the same vein as Mirrors. Perhaps in an overreaction to the disdain heaped upon Mirrors, Cultosaurus may be the darkest (Tyranny and Mutation is hard to top) and possibly the heaviest album (again, Tyranny and Mutation is pretty hard stuff) in their catalog, only letting the listener up for a brief gasp of air during the Marshall Plan.
Black Blade kicks off the album with a bang. The second of several collaborations with Sci-fi writer Michael Moorcock (see The Great Sun Jester and Veteran of the Psychic Wars), Black Blade offers a glimpse into the cursed life of anti-hero Elric The Eternal Champion. Its a great song marred only by an eternally long bridge (I was able to seamlessly edit out about half of it) and cheesy synth at the end.
Monsters is a funky rocker about space adventurers with an ironic ending. The song includes some funky jazz sax, ala the Mos Eisley cantina.
Divine Wind, while plodding in tempo, is a decent song about the Ayatollah Khomeini and his western intolerance. The ending is worth the wait.
Deadline is one of the lighter songs musically but has a dark lyrical tone, inspired by the murder of an acquaintance.
The Marshall Plan is a tongue in cheek rocker laced with irony. The title is a play on words, borrowing the name of the US plan to rebuild Europe after WWII, but actually refers to the "big amps" that guitar hero Johnny will use to win back his Suzy dear. This song predated Foreigner's Juke Box Hero and Bryan Adams' Summer of '69 and in hindsight, could have been a hit if not deliberately made so cheesy.
Hungry Boys is a fast paced rocker about cocaine addiction.
Fallen Angel is a lighter rocker and another collaboration between Joe Bouchard and Helen Wheels about...who else but Lucifer.
Lips In The Hills is a heavy enigmatic rocker that is occasionally trotted out on the road. What is it about? I haven't a clue.
Unknown Tongue is one of many dark collaborations with one-time band member and friend David Roter. The song is a dark tale that just when you think you know where it is going knocks you out of your shoes with its twisted ending.
All in all, Cultosaurus is a fairly solid album that bears listening to in its entirety, and a welcome return to BOC's roots. | 1 | neutral | [
"The success of Don't Fear the Reaper in 1976 would send the Oyster Boys down a dark path in search of further popular acclaim.",
"That search would lead them to the depths ironically known as Mirrors, an album that would make the band look in the mirror and realize that they were not being true to themselves or their fans.",
"Cultosaurus Erectus took the band in a decidedly different direction and, like their own Disco Demolition Night, obliterated the notion that it would follow in the same vein as Mirrors.",
"Perhaps in an overreaction to the disdain heaped upon Mirrors, Cultosaurus may be the darkest (Tyranny and Mutation is hard to top) and possibly the heaviest album (again, Tyranny and Mutation is pretty hard stuff) in their catalog, only letting the listener up for a brief gasp of air during the Marshall Plan.",
"Black Blade kicks off the album with a bang.",
"The second of several collaborations with Sci-fi writer Michael Moorcock (see The Great Sun Jester and Veteran of the Psychic Wars), Black Blade offers a glimpse into the cursed life of anti-hero Elric The Eternal Champion.",
"Its a great song marred only by an eternally long bridge (I was able to seamlessly edit out about half of it) and cheesy synth at the end.",
"Monsters is a funky rocker about space adventurers with an ironic ending.",
"The song includes some funky jazz sax, ala the Mos Eisley cantina.",
"Divine Wind, while plodding in tempo, is a decent song about the Ayatollah Khomeini and his western intolerance.",
"The ending is worth the wait.",
"Deadline is one of the lighter songs musically but has a dark lyrical tone, inspired by the murder of an acquaintance.",
"The Marshall Plan is a tongue in cheek rocker laced with irony.",
"The title is a play on words, borrowing the name of the US plan to rebuild Europe after WWII, but actually refers to the \"big amps\" that guitar hero Johnny will use to win back his Suzy dear.",
"This song predated Foreigner's Juke Box Hero and Bryan Adams' Summer of '69 and in hindsight, could have been a hit if not deliberately made so cheesy.",
"Hungry Boys is a fast paced rocker about cocaine addiction.",
"Fallen Angel is a lighter rocker and another collaboration between Joe Bouchard and Helen Wheels about...",
"who else but Lucifer.",
"Lips In The Hills is a heavy enigmatic rocker that is occasionally trotted out on the road.",
"What is it about?",
"I haven't a clue.",
"Unknown Tongue is one of many dark collaborations with one-time band member and friend David Roter.",
"The song is a dark tale that just when you think you know where it is going knocks you out of your shoes with its twisted ending.",
"All in all, Cultosaurus is a fairly solid album that bears listening to in its entirety, and a welcome return to BOC's roots."
]
|
Judas Priest's 1980 offering 'British Steel' is easily Priest most overrated album. This is still a solid release though. I've stopped reviewing on Amazon for a while since there was insanity going on and I was running out of money. Now after I made some cash Priest's latest release 'Angel of Retribution' inspired me to complete my Priest collection and this was the first album on my list and I tried to but I just don't like it.
This is Priest's 2nd most popular album next to 'Screaming for Vengeance' (which is a step up from this but still overrated and below average for Priest). It's not so much that there are too many lame songs here it's just that (to me) the only 3 songs that worth listening are 'Rapid Fire', 'United' and 'Grinder', all the other are okay but they are not hooking or making me wanna listen to them over and over. The 2 hits off the album 'Breaking the Law' & 'Living After Midnight' infact do rock the house when you're in mood for them but relativly they are bland and in fact are not really metal, more like pop/rock anthems. 'Metal Gods' is goofy despite a good solo.
I think if Glenn and KK worked harder this could have been much better. Now they are excellent guitarists but their work here simply doesn't compare to the work they did on their earlier efforts or on 'Painkiller'. There's too much repetition in riffs and none of the solos here made me think "wow that's amazing!". Sorry for Rob Halford and Ian Hill who really made here great job and that I can't deny. But another downside is drummer Dave Holland which isn't half-bad but compared to their prevousw drummer Les Binks or to the next Scott Travis he can't really keep up. However the production on this album is one of the best I've ever heard on a metal album, this was the first album produced by Tom Allon and he really deliverd here, unlike on the band's next efforts were the production there is pretty weak.
All in all, this isn't terrible, but it could have been much better. While this is not as dull as Rocka Rolla, Point of Entry, Turbo, Ram it Down or Demolition this is no Sad Wings and it's not as good as other releases in 1980 like Maiden's debut or Sabbath's 'Heaven & Hell' (although I'll rank it above Back In Black). I'll rank this somewhere in the middle in Priest's catalogue. | 1 | neutral | [
"Judas Priest's 1980 offering 'British Steel' is easily Priest most overrated album.",
"This is still a solid release though.",
"I've stopped reviewing on Amazon for a while since there was insanity going on and I was running out of money.",
"Now after I made some cash Priest's latest release 'Angel of Retribution' inspired me to complete my Priest collection and this was the first album on my list and I tried to but I just don't like it.",
"This is Priest's 2nd most popular album next to 'Screaming for Vengeance' (which is a step up from this but still overrated and below average for Priest).",
"It's not so much that there are too many lame songs here it's just that (to me) the only 3 songs that worth listening are 'Rapid Fire', 'United' and 'Grinder', all the other are okay but they are not hooking or making me wanna listen to them over and over.",
"The 2 hits off the album 'Breaking the Law' & 'Living After Midnight' infact do rock the house when you're in mood for them but relativly they are bland and in fact are not really metal, more like pop/rock anthems.",
"'Metal Gods' is goofy despite a good solo.",
"I think if Glenn and KK worked harder this could have been much better.",
"Now they are excellent guitarists but their work here simply doesn't compare to the work they did on their earlier efforts or on 'Painkiller'.",
"There's too much repetition in riffs and none of the solos here made me think \"wow that's amazing!",
"\".",
"Sorry for Rob Halford and Ian Hill who really made here great job and that I can't deny.",
"But another downside is drummer Dave Holland which isn't half-bad but compared to their prevousw drummer Les Binks or to the next Scott Travis he can't really keep up.",
"However the production on this album is one of the best I've ever heard on a metal album, this was the first album produced by Tom Allon and he really deliverd here, unlike on the band's next efforts were the production there is pretty weak.",
"All in all, this isn't terrible, but it could have been much better.",
"While this is not as dull as Rocka Rolla, Point of Entry, Turbo, Ram it Down or Demolition this is no Sad Wings and it's not as good as other releases in 1980 like Maiden's debut or Sabbath's 'Heaven & Hell' (although I'll rank it above Back In Black).",
"I'll rank this somewhere in the middle in Priest's catalogue."
]
|
Mixed review. First off the phone sounds really good, very respectable sound at both ends. It also sends and receives well in fringe areas. I am having a problem when receiving calls, text, or messages. It wants to go into lock down mode. I then need to hold unlock for 5 seconds before I can answer or read messages. I have set lockdown to never come on but that does not help. Somewhat aggravating although I am learning to live with it.
I called TrakFone and they suggested various things to try but to no avail. I also suggested they exchange the phone but they would not do it. | 1 | neutral | [
"Mixed review.",
"First off the phone sounds really good, very respectable sound at both ends.",
"It also sends and receives well in fringe areas.",
"I am having a problem when receiving calls, text, or messages.",
"It wants to go into lock down mode.",
"I then need to hold unlock for 5 seconds before I can answer or read messages.",
"I have set lockdown to never come on but that does not help.",
"Somewhat aggravating although I am learning to live with it.",
"I called TrakFone and they suggested various things to try but to no avail.",
"I also suggested they exchange the phone but they would not do it."
]
|
Intrigued by this product once I read about it in the NY Times, I ordered a Raspberry Pi along with the guide written by the co-founder of the Foundation. In retrospect, I should have also bought the SD card that comes pre-loaded with an Operating System (OS) because I spent numerous hours trying to create my own SD card, first using a Windows PC. When that failed, I tried on a MAC. No success either.
I understand and accept that this product is for tinkerers so I do not regret all the time spent. However, I did not expect to have to be an experienced "geek" with basic understanding of the DOS commands to create the SD card. I guess this is exactly the goal of the Raspberry Pi: get people to learn the inside workings of a basic computer.
So I reluctantly returned the product. Yes, I could have purchased the preloaded SD card but my sense of pride got in the way. I swallowed that pride and concluded that, if I could not get started with booting properly, I was not destined to do much with the Pi afterwards. | 1 | neutral | [
"Intrigued by this product once I read about it in the NY Times, I ordered a Raspberry Pi along with the guide written by the co-founder of the Foundation.",
"In retrospect, I should have also bought the SD card that comes pre-loaded with an Operating System (OS) because I spent numerous hours trying to create my own SD card, first using a Windows PC.",
"When that failed, I tried on a MAC.",
"No success either.",
"I understand and accept that this product is for tinkerers so I do not regret all the time spent.",
"However, I did not expect to have to be an experienced \"geek\" with basic understanding of the DOS commands to create the SD card.",
"I guess this is exactly the goal of the Raspberry Pi: get people to learn the inside workings of a basic computer.",
"So I reluctantly returned the product.",
"Yes, I could have purchased the preloaded SD card but my sense of pride got in the way.",
"I swallowed that pride and concluded that, if I could not get started with booting properly, I was not destined to do much with the Pi afterwards."
]
|
If you're a Verizon customer and not getting reliable cellular signals in your home, this is your best bet to fix the problem. And, much of the time, it works: you can make and receive calls very well.
But mostly, I'm very unhappy with this product.
First, Verizon customers shouldn't have to pay an extra $200 or so for adequate cellular coverage in their homes. We already pay them a lot for our smartphone voice & data service (typically $160/month in many 2-adult households). If Verizon can't provide a strong enough signal to its customers, they should give these extenders to their customers for no extra charge.
Second, this unit was designed at least four years ago and has not been updated. It contains obsolete technology. For one, it's not compatible with the "HD Voice" feature of newer smartphones. So, you'll need to remember to turn this feature off when you're at home, and turn it back on when you're out and about (or just leave it off). This obsolete network extender provides only a 3G data signal to your home, whereas the much faster LTE standard has been widely available for at least three years. Now, in practice this isn't a huge problem because people who install this will almost certainly already have wifi in their homes. But still, why is Verizon making us pay $200 or more for a 4-year-old device with 3G? Answer: because they can.
Third and most important: the unit fails once in a while, and requires rebooting. Rebooting takes time, usually 45 minutes or so. During that time, your best bet to make or receive a call is to drive to the nearest area that has reliable cellular coverage. Or just live without cellular service.
I would unhappily but readily put up with the first two problems if the network extender worked reliably all the time. Or if rebooting it didn't take 45 minutes, during which time I have no ability to make or receive calls at home.
Instead, it works reliably only about 90% of the time. That's definitely an improvement compared to not having the network extender at all. But it's a slap in our faces that Verizon makes us pay so much extra for this crappy, outdated device when we're already paying them handsomely every month for our wireless phone service.
Honestly, if you really need this device, maybe consider switching to a different cellular service provider.
One additional and important point: I bought mine new, directly from Verizon. I'm normally a big fan of buying used or reconditioned products - they're cheaper, often as good as new, and it's better for the environment. But people who who buy this used or reconditioned from Amazon or eBay are reporting major problems getting them to work with their own phone numbers and networks. It's just not worth the risk. For this product, buy new (or switch to a different wireless service provider). | 1 | neutral | [
"If you're a Verizon customer and not getting reliable cellular signals in your home, this is your best bet to fix the problem.",
"And, much of the time, it works: you can make and receive calls very well.",
"But mostly, I'm very unhappy with this product.",
"First, Verizon customers shouldn't have to pay an extra $200 or so for adequate cellular coverage in their homes.",
"We already pay them a lot for our smartphone voice & data service (typically $160/month in many 2-adult households).",
"If Verizon can't provide a strong enough signal to its customers, they should give these extenders to their customers for no extra charge.",
"Second, this unit was designed at least four years ago and has not been updated.",
"It contains obsolete technology.",
"For one, it's not compatible with the \"HD Voice\" feature of newer smartphones.",
"So, you'll need to remember to turn this feature off when you're at home, and turn it back on when you're out and about (or just leave it off).",
"This obsolete network extender provides only a 3G data signal to your home, whereas the much faster LTE standard has been widely available for at least three years.",
"Now, in practice this isn't a huge problem because people who install this will almost certainly already have wifi in their homes.",
"But still, why is Verizon making us pay $200 or more for a 4-year-old device with 3G?",
"Answer: because they can.",
"Third and most important: the unit fails once in a while, and requires rebooting.",
"Rebooting takes time, usually 45 minutes or so.",
"During that time, your best bet to make or receive a call is to drive to the nearest area that has reliable cellular coverage.",
"Or just live without cellular service.",
"I would unhappily but readily put up with the first two problems if the network extender worked reliably all the time.",
"Or if rebooting it didn't take 45 minutes, during which time I have no ability to make or receive calls at home.",
"Instead, it works reliably only about 90% of the time.",
"That's definitely an improvement compared to not having the network extender at all.",
"But it's a slap in our faces that Verizon makes us pay so much extra for this crappy, outdated device when we're already paying them handsomely every month for our wireless phone service.",
"Honestly, if you really need this device, maybe consider switching to a different cellular service provider.",
"One additional and important point: I bought mine new, directly from Verizon.",
"I'm normally a big fan of buying used or reconditioned products - they're cheaper, often as good as new, and it's better for the environment.",
"But people who who buy this used or reconditioned from Amazon or eBay are reporting major problems getting them to work with their own phone numbers and networks.",
"It's just not worth the risk.",
"For this product, buy new (or switch to a different wireless service provider)."
]
|
Well, Turbo Tax and Intuit have been in the news quite a bit of late. And now they are giving people money back.
Well, I used the Deluxe version last year and had to pay to upgrade along the way because of some features it did not have. Now they have cut even more from the Deluxe so I bought the Premier. Amazon has great prices on this (though I got a free copy to review).
The Premier edition works well for my particular needs and as usual walks you through the process. It can get a bit confusing and difficult to go back to a particular spot, but that would be true with any software tax program. The ability to e-file is nice for Federal and state and this version includes one state download. But you have to pay to file your state electronically.
One issue that I have encountered over the years is that when you file a second state return, which I need to do for income in a different state, I needed to include a copy of my other state tax return. That did not get included in my e-file. If I am paying extra (a lot extra) to e-file another state, why would they not include ALL the forms that are required? I have pointed that out to Intuit. I don't plan to do that again.
The program imports a lot of info which saves time.
All in all I am pleased. I haven't finalized things yet, just did what I could, but so far it is pretty typical. I knocked off stars because of the up-selling. I was all set to buy the Deluxe and discovered that it no longer did what it did last year. And then I recalled how I had during the course of using it last year had to upgrade anyway for some financial importing features that actually saved me time to do and ended up being worth the extra money.
Don't expect a lot of customer support from them and don't pay attention to their guarantees. Had an issue one year when they miscalculated and I had to pay interest. To get the guarantee refund, etc., they wanted me to go through so many hoops that would have taken so much time it wasn't worth it. I essentially had to recreate the file. They would not accept their own electronic file I had on my computer. Go figure. Made no sense.
But, overall I have been pleased with them. Like I said, I knocked off stars for their come from behind change in product and up-selling. | 1 | neutral | [
"Well, Turbo Tax and Intuit have been in the news quite a bit of late.",
"And now they are giving people money back.",
"Well, I used the Deluxe version last year and had to pay to upgrade along the way because of some features it did not have.",
"Now they have cut even more from the Deluxe so I bought the Premier.",
"Amazon has great prices on this (though I got a free copy to review).",
"The Premier edition works well for my particular needs and as usual walks you through the process.",
"It can get a bit confusing and difficult to go back to a particular spot, but that would be true with any software tax program.",
"The ability to e-file is nice for Federal and state and this version includes one state download.",
"But you have to pay to file your state electronically.",
"One issue that I have encountered over the years is that when you file a second state return, which I need to do for income in a different state, I needed to include a copy of my other state tax return.",
"That did not get included in my e-file.",
"If I am paying extra (a lot extra) to e-file another state, why would they not include ALL the forms that are required?",
"I have pointed that out to Intuit.",
"I don't plan to do that again.",
"The program imports a lot of info which saves time.",
"All in all I am pleased.",
"I haven't finalized things yet, just did what I could, but so far it is pretty typical.",
"I knocked off stars because of the up-selling.",
"I was all set to buy the Deluxe and discovered that it no longer did what it did last year.",
"And then I recalled how I had during the course of using it last year had to upgrade anyway for some financial importing features that actually saved me time to do and ended up being worth the extra money.",
"Don't expect a lot of customer support from them and don't pay attention to their guarantees.",
"Had an issue one year when they miscalculated and I had to pay interest.",
"To get the guarantee refund, etc.",
", they wanted me to go through so many hoops that would have taken so much time it wasn't worth it.",
"I essentially had to recreate the file.",
"They would not accept their own electronic file I had on my computer.",
"Go figure.",
"Made no sense.",
"But, overall I have been pleased with them.",
"Like I said, I knocked off stars for their come from behind change in product and up-selling."
]
|
I chose three stars because I felt like this wasn't Mimi Jean's best work. No comedy, the sec scene was scarce, and no real romance. Miriam was not a well developed character. Maybe she will get more depth in the next book? Lulu for a 2,000 year old vamp sounded like a whiney kid. Not attractive or likable at all. As for Michael he sounded wishy washy. He pl likes her, then he doesn't love anyone. Blah, blah, blah. Vampire assistant did get 3 stars because it was a good story line. I liked the mystery and how well it was paced. I also have a love/hate relationship with cliffhangers. Ahhh! | 1 | neutral | [
"I chose three stars because I felt like this wasn't Mimi Jean's best work.",
"No comedy, the sec scene was scarce, and no real romance.",
"Miriam was not a well developed character.",
"Maybe she will get more depth in the next book?",
"Lulu for a 2,000 year old vamp sounded like a whiney kid.",
"Not attractive or likable at all.",
"As for Michael he sounded wishy washy.",
"He pl likes her, then he doesn't love anyone.",
"Blah, blah, blah.",
"Vampire assistant did get 3 stars because it was a good story line.",
"I liked the mystery and how well it was paced.",
"I also have a love/hate relationship with cliffhangers.",
"Ahhh!"
]
|
When you think of the arcade, what's one game that can possibly come to mind? Frogger, right? Remember its addicting traffic-dodging gameplay? Its memorable tunes? It's retro graphics? How about its charm in general? Well, this Super Nintendo version has only half of what I asked to remember.
It has the same addicting traffic-dodging gameplay that put Konami/Sega (Though Konami won in a legal battle) on the map and, while it doesn't have the same graphics as the original, it provides its own colorful graphics. You would think that it would probably be better than the original, but no.
What sucks about this version is that it doesn't have the catchy music from the original. In fact, it doesn't have ANY music. Just wonky sound effects. Also, since the game has been revamped with updated graphics, the wonky sound effects, and no music, it just loses the charm that struck me as I played the arcade game. | 1 | neutral | [
"When you think of the arcade, what's one game that can possibly come to mind?",
"Frogger, right?",
"Remember its addicting traffic-dodging gameplay?",
"Its memorable tunes?",
"It's retro graphics?",
"How about its charm in general?",
"Well, this Super Nintendo version has only half of what I asked to remember.",
"It has the same addicting traffic-dodging gameplay that put Konami/Sega (Though Konami won in a legal battle) on the map and, while it doesn't have the same graphics as the original, it provides its own colorful graphics.",
"You would think that it would probably be better than the original, but no.",
"What sucks about this version is that it doesn't have the catchy music from the original.",
"In fact, it doesn't have ANY music.",
"Just wonky sound effects.",
"Also, since the game has been revamped with updated graphics, the wonky sound effects, and no music, it just loses the charm that struck me as I played the arcade game."
]
|
First off, let me say that the first time I used this rice cooker, I was immediately impressed with the texture of the rice and the ease of use. It couldn't be easier -- add rice and water, insert the metal bowl, close the lid and hit the "cook" button.
After several months of use, I've realized several flaws in the design. First, there is no "off" button. To me, this seems to be a bit of a fire hazard, as it is far too easy to forget to unplug the machine after the rice has cooked (it reverts to "warm", which WILL burn eventually). Secondly, there is no timer or bell to alert you to the fact that the rice is done. I've never quite managed to "catch" it reverting from cook to warm, so after 8 months, I still don't know exactly how long it takes to cook rice in this cooker.
I've also noticed that the metal "bowl" included for cooking loses its anti-stick qualities over time. After several months, rice began sticking to the bottom of the bowl during cooking, resulting in a lightly burned bottom layer of rice. I've also noticed that during the first few months of use, lots of moisture was captured in the drainage caps, resulting in very sticky rice. Now, no moisture is ever captured, and the rice almost seems wet (and often undercooked).
Finally, unless you're positive you want to cook at least two cups of rice every time you use the rice cooker, this is NOT the cooker for you. I honestly thought I'd want to prepare two cups at a time each time I used it, and now I understand that a cooker with a one cup minimum would have been a better purchase.
In all honesty, I don't feel the quality of this cooker was significantly higher than those a fraction of the cost. While I'm certain I'd love the "smart logic" high-end Zojirushi cookers, I would have been better off buying a cheaper model than this one -- the cost was astronomical compared to the quality, and now I feel I'm a bit turned off from Zojirushi. They just have not delivered the quality I would expect from their reputation. | 1 | neutral | [
"First off, let me say that the first time I used this rice cooker, I was immediately impressed with the texture of the rice and the ease of use.",
"It couldn't be easier -- add rice and water, insert the metal bowl, close the lid and hit the \"cook\" button.",
"After several months of use, I've realized several flaws in the design.",
"First, there is no \"off\" button.",
"To me, this seems to be a bit of a fire hazard, as it is far too easy to forget to unplug the machine after the rice has cooked (it reverts to \"warm\", which WILL burn eventually).",
"Secondly, there is no timer or bell to alert you to the fact that the rice is done.",
"I've never quite managed to \"catch\" it reverting from cook to warm, so after 8 months, I still don't know exactly how long it takes to cook rice in this cooker.",
"I've also noticed that the metal \"bowl\" included for cooking loses its anti-stick qualities over time.",
"After several months, rice began sticking to the bottom of the bowl during cooking, resulting in a lightly burned bottom layer of rice.",
"I've also noticed that during the first few months of use, lots of moisture was captured in the drainage caps, resulting in very sticky rice.",
"Now, no moisture is ever captured, and the rice almost seems wet (and often undercooked).",
"Finally, unless you're positive you want to cook at least two cups of rice every time you use the rice cooker, this is NOT the cooker for you.",
"I honestly thought I'd want to prepare two cups at a time each time I used it, and now I understand that a cooker with a one cup minimum would have been a better purchase.",
"In all honesty, I don't feel the quality of this cooker was significantly higher than those a fraction of the cost.",
"While I'm certain I'd love the \"smart logic\" high-end Zojirushi cookers, I would have been better off buying a cheaper model than this one -- the cost was astronomical compared to the quality, and now I feel I'm a bit turned off from Zojirushi.",
"They just have not delivered the quality I would expect from their reputation."
]
|
I loved that Megan's got a mate...it was a needed end to a series. The angst of her journey was well written if a little more intense than I liked. I would've let Lex beat the snot out of him! Because Shane was not any kind of alpha hero but a selfish self-centered snotty momma's boy. Lauren did not ease me into liking him...he was spoiled and shallow from the beginning as a written character and she never corrected that impression thru his words and deeds ...so the end came and I didn't believe in the change of heart. Megan ...and the series as a body of work... is the only reason this one gets even 3 stars. Warning: the hero is a good looking wuss! | 1 | neutral | [
"I loved that Megan's got a mate...",
"it was a needed end to a series.",
"The angst of her journey was well written if a little more intense than I liked.",
"I would've let Lex beat the snot out of him!",
"Because Shane was not any kind of alpha hero but a selfish self-centered snotty momma's boy.",
"Lauren did not ease me into liking him...",
"he was spoiled and shallow from the beginning as a written character and she never corrected that impression thru his words and deeds...",
"so the end came and I didn't believe in the change of heart.",
"Megan...",
"and the series as a body of work...",
"is the only reason this one gets even 3 stars.",
"Warning: the hero is a good looking wuss!"
]
|
I purchased the WAP11 along with a card for my laptop and a Linksys ethernet bridge. Installing the access point was simple. You basically just connect the access point on your wired network and then use the included setup CD to configure the access point. Within a couple of minutes of pulling it out of the box, it was up and running. I was thrilled.
Unfortunately, things went downhill from there. I started to have problems with my wireless network going down. The access point would appear to be up and running (I could connect to its internal webserver), but neither of my clients could connect. This was usually solved by restarting the access point, or the clients (or both). Doing this on a regular basis wasn't acceptable so I tried a firmware update (which, btw, was very easy to install). After the firmware update, the situation got worse. The wireless network was completely non-functional.
To solve the problem I started to dig in to the configuration of the access point. I had tweaked a couple of settings to make it more secure (btw, its default settings are very insecure), so I tried changing some of these options. After some trial and error I managed to get everything running again (by reenabling SSID broadcast, in case you were wondering). Since then the network has been rock solid.
In the end I am happy with the product. It is easy to setup and configure, and has been working fine since the initial headache. | 1 | neutral | [
"I purchased the WAP11 along with a card for my laptop and a Linksys ethernet bridge.",
"Installing the access point was simple.",
"You basically just connect the access point on your wired network and then use the included setup CD to configure the access point.",
"Within a couple of minutes of pulling it out of the box, it was up and running.",
"I was thrilled.",
"Unfortunately, things went downhill from there.",
"I started to have problems with my wireless network going down.",
"The access point would appear to be up and running (I could connect to its internal webserver), but neither of my clients could connect.",
"This was usually solved by restarting the access point, or the clients (or both).",
"Doing this on a regular basis wasn't acceptable so I tried a firmware update (which, btw, was very easy to install).",
"After the firmware update, the situation got worse.",
"The wireless network was completely non-functional.",
"To solve the problem I started to dig in to the configuration of the access point.",
"I had tweaked a couple of settings to make it more secure (btw, its default settings are very insecure), so I tried changing some of these options.",
"After some trial and error I managed to get everything running again (by reenabling SSID broadcast, in case you were wondering).",
"Since then the network has been rock solid.",
"In the end I am happy with the product.",
"It is easy to setup and configure, and has been working fine since the initial headache."
]
|
I have played all of the games of this series, and the previous two were much harder to beat than this one.
This one seems to focus more on attack than stealth. Fisher can make a LOT of noise before people notice...and even when they do, a headshot makes quick work of them.
The AI is stupid. I can whistle or make some sort of sound, and all of the baddies on the map will come to my location, where I can gun them all down. Area clear. yawn.
It's not a total loss, and the story is fun and interesting. For the price it is now, I would buy it (and I did). But I feel sorry for the people who paid full price. | 1 | neutral | [
"I have played all of the games of this series, and the previous two were much harder to beat than this one.",
"This one seems to focus more on attack than stealth.",
"Fisher can make a LOT of noise before people notice...",
"and even when they do, a headshot makes quick work of them.",
"The AI is stupid.",
"I can whistle or make some sort of sound, and all of the baddies on the map will come to my location, where I can gun them all down.",
"Area clear.",
"yawn.",
"It's not a total loss, and the story is fun and interesting.",
"For the price it is now, I would buy it (and I did).",
"But I feel sorry for the people who paid full price."
]
|
I had some trouble with this product. It first came without a ball so I asked for a replacement and sent back the original product. The second one came with the ball so I opened the catnip, saturated the scratching the area and tried to get my cat to use it. He LOVES the ball on the track. Even the dog sometimes will try to get the ball out and push it around the track. For that alone this is worthwhile with both pets. They play with it frequently from the beginning and still on a near daily basis.
However the scratcher remains unused even months later. Adding more catnip does nothing to help attract my cat, though he does like catnip as he'll preferentially chose toys with catnip in them over others. Perhaps it's because he prefers a standing scratching post versus a horizontal one, I'm not sure. But he refuses to scratch it whatsoever. The scratching area is practically pristine.
So as a toy it's nice, if pricey. As a scratcher, it failed for my cat. He would sleep on it or sit on it, but never scratch it. | 1 | neutral | [
"I had some trouble with this product.",
"It first came without a ball so I asked for a replacement and sent back the original product.",
"The second one came with the ball so I opened the catnip, saturated the scratching the area and tried to get my cat to use it.",
"He LOVES the ball on the track.",
"Even the dog sometimes will try to get the ball out and push it around the track.",
"For that alone this is worthwhile with both pets.",
"They play with it frequently from the beginning and still on a near daily basis.",
"However the scratcher remains unused even months later.",
"Adding more catnip does nothing to help attract my cat, though he does like catnip as he'll preferentially chose toys with catnip in them over others.",
"Perhaps it's because he prefers a standing scratching post versus a horizontal one, I'm not sure.",
"But he refuses to scratch it whatsoever.",
"The scratching area is practically pristine.",
"So as a toy it's nice, if pricey.",
"As a scratcher, it failed for my cat.",
"He would sleep on it or sit on it, but never scratch it."
]
|
After Trump clears the way GOP states move to charge poor more for Medicaid
The Trump administration is giving states the green light to increase premiums on enrollees in Medicaid the nation's health insurance program for the poor. (David Goldman/AP)
Indiana is at the leading edge of Republican efforts to shift Medicaid in a more conservative direction — with the Trump administration giving the green light to states to shift some of the burden for the program onto the poor.
Indiana began asking the destitute to pay a monthly premium for some Medicaid services in 2015 as part of a deal with the Obama administration to expand the program. But more recent moves by Kentucky Maine and Wisconsin seeking to ramp up patients' payments do not include a goal of expanding the 53-year-old program.
Last month the Trump administration approved Kentucky’s petition to raise premiums and impose work requirements for Medicaid. Earlier this month the administration approved Indiana's plan to raise premiums for poor people who smoke tobacco.
The new Medicaid premiums come at a time when the Trump administration is seeking to overhaul the social safety net. Conservatives say the changes which give poor people additional responsibilities for obtaining government benefits will encourage them to join the workforce.
Critics say the requirements will push more people into poverty. The Trump administration also plans on unveiling legislation to create work requirements for public housing programs and recently called for transforming the nation's food assistance program.
“A big part of the rationale behind what they're doing is the idea that these people are not intended to be beneficiaries of Medicaid despite the law saying that they are ” said Judith Solomon a health policy expert at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. “This is part of an overall agenda as evidenced by the budget and elsewhere in the Trump administration that would take away health care and food and rental assistance including for working families. All these pieces go together.”
[ Trump wants to overhaul America’s safety net with giant cuts to housing food stamps and health care]
In an email Trump officials said that allowing states to increase premiums for Medicaid enrollees would lead to more “responsible decision-making.”
But now some states are pursuing costlier premiums than what the Obama administration permitted or introducing penalties for failing to pay those premiums according to MaryBeth Musumeci associate director at the Kaiser Family Foundation. And unlike prior administrations Trump is poised to permit states to enact premiums without also guaranteeing they expand coverage in exchange.
But after Republicans in Congress failed last year to repeal the Affordable Care Act the Trump administration dropped the requirement for expanding coverage when considering states' proposals for overhauling Medicaid.
“We will not just accept the hollow victory of numbers covered ” said Seema Verma Trump's administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services at the time.
In North Dakota meanwhile lawmakers told The Washington Post they will consider adding new premiums in light of the Trump administration 's recent approval of Kentucky's plan.
Conservative supporters of the policies say they encourage the poor to take responsibility for their health. “There needs to be some skin in the game ” said state Sen. Judy E. Lee (R) chair of the North Dakota state senate's health services committee. “There’s a difference to how people respond when they might have to pay $2 to $3 and the flexibility we’re seeing from the Trump administration is very important.”
“This is a big part of the Trump administration’s war on Medicaid ” said Ari Ne'eman who served on the National Council on Disability under President Obama. “We are talking about populations of people many of whom are facing significant challenges associated with poverty and adding an additional administrative burden is needlessly cruel and offers no meaningful policy rationale.”
[‘We would literally not survive’: How Trump ’s plans for the social safety net would affect America’s poorest] | 1 | neutral | [
"After Trump clears the way GOP states move to charge poor more for Medicaid\nThe Trump administration is giving states the green light to increase premiums on enrollees in Medicaid the nation's health insurance program for the poor.",
"(David Goldman/AP)\nIndiana is at the leading edge of Republican efforts to shift Medicaid in a more conservative direction — with the Trump administration giving the green light to states to shift some of the burden for the program onto the poor.",
"Indiana began asking the destitute to pay a monthly premium for some Medicaid services in 2015 as part of a deal with the Obama administration to expand the program.",
"But more recent moves by Kentucky Maine and Wisconsin seeking to ramp up patients' payments do not include a goal of expanding the 53-year-old program.",
"Last month the Trump administration approved Kentucky’s petition to raise premiums and impose work requirements for Medicaid.",
"Earlier this month the administration approved Indiana's plan to raise premiums for poor people who smoke tobacco.",
"The new Medicaid premiums come at a time when the Trump administration is seeking to overhaul the social safety net.",
"Conservatives say the changes which give poor people additional responsibilities for obtaining government benefits will encourage them to join the workforce.",
"Critics say the requirements will push more people into poverty.",
"The Trump administration also plans on unveiling legislation to create work requirements for public housing programs and recently called for transforming the nation's food assistance program.",
"“A big part of the rationale behind what they're doing is the idea that these people are not intended to be beneficiaries of Medicaid despite the law saying that they are ” said Judith Solomon a health policy expert at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.",
"“This is part of an overall agenda as evidenced by the budget and elsewhere in the Trump administration that would take away health care and food and rental assistance including for working families.",
"All these pieces go together.",
"”\n[ Trump wants to overhaul America’s safety net with giant cuts to housing food stamps and health care]\nIn an email Trump officials said that allowing states to increase premiums for Medicaid enrollees would lead to more “responsible decision-making.",
"”\nBut now some states are pursuing costlier premiums than what the Obama administration permitted or introducing penalties for failing to pay those premiums according to MaryBeth Musumeci associate director at the Kaiser Family Foundation.",
"And unlike prior administrations Trump is poised to permit states to enact premiums without also guaranteeing they expand coverage in exchange.",
"But after Republicans in Congress failed last year to repeal the Affordable Care Act the Trump administration dropped the requirement for expanding coverage when considering states' proposals for overhauling Medicaid.",
"“We will not just accept the hollow victory of numbers covered ” said Seema Verma Trump's administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services at the time.",
"In North Dakota meanwhile lawmakers told The Washington Post they will consider adding new premiums in light of the Trump administration 's recent approval of Kentucky's plan.",
"Conservative supporters of the policies say they encourage the poor to take responsibility for their health.",
"“There needs to be some skin in the game ” said state Sen.",
"Judy E.",
"Lee (R) chair of the North Dakota state senate's health services committee.",
"“There’s a difference to how people respond when they might have to pay $2 to $3 and the flexibility we’re seeing from the Trump administration is very important.",
"”\n“This is a big part of the Trump administration’s war on Medicaid ” said Ari Ne'eman who served on the National Council on Disability under President Obama.",
"“We are talking about populations of people many of whom are facing significant challenges associated with poverty and adding an additional administrative burden is needlessly cruel and offers no meaningful policy rationale.",
"”\n[‘We would literally not survive’: How Trump ’s plans for the social safety net would affect America’s poorest]"
]
|
I bought this version of the game, and I am quite happy that I did. However, I also didn't mind spending a few extra bucks, and I like Star Wars. When I really look at what I got, it wasn't a whole lot to be honest.
There is the actual game (which is great and I rated a 5... but that's for the regular version, not the collectors edition). Then, you get a silly little figurine, which resembles a 2 inch silver toy solder from space. Not very exciting. You can hardly tell what it is. The back of the manual has the signatures of the most important developers printed on (not my cup of tea, really, but if it gets you excited...). There are a few minor things, like a Star Wars pin I believe.
The only thing that is any good here is the "Art of Star Wars Galaxies" book. This is pretty cool (and apparently can't be purchased elsewhere). But whether or not it is worth 30 bucks more than the regular version is up to you to decide... | 1 | neutral | [
"I bought this version of the game, and I am quite happy that I did.",
"However, I also didn't mind spending a few extra bucks, and I like Star Wars.",
"When I really look at what I got, it wasn't a whole lot to be honest.",
"There is the actual game (which is great and I rated a 5...",
"but that's for the regular version, not the collectors edition).",
"Then, you get a silly little figurine, which resembles a 2 inch silver toy solder from space.",
"Not very exciting.",
"You can hardly tell what it is.",
"The back of the manual has the signatures of the most important developers printed on (not my cup of tea, really, but if it gets you excited...",
").",
"There are a few minor things, like a Star Wars pin I believe.",
"The only thing that is any good here is the \"Art of Star Wars Galaxies\" book.",
"This is pretty cool (and apparently can't be purchased elsewhere).",
"But whether or not it is worth 30 bucks more than the regular version is up to you to decide..."
]
|
Man jailed for a shooting incident outside a Jason Aldean concert
Tupelo police said Steven Michael Hulbert 22 of Walls allegedly fired multiple shots at a man in the west parking lot of the BancorpSouth Arena about 11:13 p.m. Friday. The man who was shot in the chest was released Saturday from North Mississippi Medical Center. His name was not released.
Multiple media outlets report Hulbert is being held in the Lee County jail on $100 000 bond. It was unknown if he's represented by an attorney. Hulbert 's initial court appearance is Monday.
Tupelo Police were already on scene as part of security for Aldean's concert and responded to the shots fired call. Hulbert was arrested after police stopped his vehicle before it left the parking lot.
Witnesses said the shooting stemmed from an argument among a small group of men. Hulbert then pulled a pistol and fired four to six shots. Police said bullets hit the victim and struck multiple vehicles in the parking lot. | 1 | neutral | [
"Man jailed for a shooting incident outside a Jason Aldean concert\nTupelo police said Steven Michael Hulbert 22 of Walls allegedly fired multiple shots at a man in the west parking lot of the BancorpSouth Arena about 11:13 p.",
"m. Friday.",
"The man who was shot in the chest was released Saturday from North Mississippi Medical Center.",
"His name was not released.",
"Multiple media outlets report Hulbert is being held in the Lee County jail on $100 000 bond.",
"It was unknown if he's represented by an attorney.",
"Hulbert 's initial court appearance is Monday.",
"Tupelo Police were already on scene as part of security for Aldean's concert and responded to the shots fired call.",
"Hulbert was arrested after police stopped his vehicle before it left the parking lot.",
"Witnesses said the shooting stemmed from an argument among a small group of men.",
"Hulbert then pulled a pistol and fired four to six shots.",
"Police said bullets hit the victim and struck multiple vehicles in the parking lot."
]
|
It takes some time to master the controls as there are many. of particular frustration is the left directional button is used to turn on/off the night vision goggles, I found myself trying to evade enemy fire, only to turn on my night vision goggles and a take one for the team. Ouch!
However, once you get past these kind of quirks, Splinter Cell does offer some fairly intense stealth situations that make the game entertaining and satisfying when you make it through a particularly frustrating section.
I only have two knocks on the game, number 1.) the game is EXTREMELY linear, i.e. you can only take one path to complete a level with very little variation. And 2) The final payoff, when you finally win the game is a HUGE letdown. Granted, you're playing the role of an undercover stealth agent who shouldn't be basking in the glory of his/her victories, but we're talking videogames here, I want big hollywood productions when I win the game. This victory felt like a retirement party. I found myself saying | 1 | neutral | [
"It takes some time to master the controls as there are many.",
"of particular frustration is the left directional button is used to turn on/off the night vision goggles, I found myself trying to evade enemy fire, only to turn on my night vision goggles and a take one for the team.",
"Ouch!",
"However, once you get past these kind of quirks, Splinter Cell does offer some fairly intense stealth situations that make the game entertaining and satisfying when you make it through a particularly frustrating section.",
"I only have two knocks on the game, number 1.",
") the game is EXTREMELY linear, i.",
"e. you can only take one path to complete a level with very little variation.",
"And 2) The final payoff, when you finally win the game is a HUGE letdown.",
"Granted, you're playing the role of an undercover stealth agent who shouldn't be basking in the glory of his/her victories, but we're talking videogames here, I want big hollywood productions when I win the game.",
"This victory felt like a retirement party.",
"I found myself saying"
]
|
While the Cabana is everything it's described to be, Setup is more tedious than it needs to be. We returned it and bought the
Lightspeed Outdoors Quick Cabana in it's place. We were originally attracted to the Coleman because it had the greatest head room. But we didn't factor in the 8" lip for zipping up the front panel which effectively lowers the head height to be about the same as the Lightspeed. And the Lightspeed is wider and sets up in a snap... literally... you simply push to pieces toward each other and... bam... it's up. Much better when on a windy beach. | 1 | neutral | [
"While the Cabana is everything it's described to be, Setup is more tedious than it needs to be.",
"We returned it and bought the\nLightspeed Outdoors Quick Cabana in it's place.",
"We were originally attracted to the Coleman because it had the greatest head room.",
"But we didn't factor in the 8\" lip for zipping up the front panel which effectively lowers the head height to be about the same as the Lightspeed.",
"And the Lightspeed is wider and sets up in a snap...",
"literally...",
"you simply push to pieces toward each other and...",
"bam...",
"it's up.",
"Much better when on a windy beach."
]
|
Bible Scholars Disagree With Jesus Mary Roy Moore Defense
(WASHINGTON) — An Alabama state official is citing the Bible to defend the Republican U.S. Senate candidate accused of sexual advances on girls. State auditor Jim Ziegler says “ Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter ” suggesting that Roy Moore acted in a divine tradition if he in fact made sexual advances toward a 14-year-old girl.
Theologians and pastors among others expressed revulsion that Mary and Joseph would be used to counter allegations of sexual misbehavior with a minor. They also said Ziegler got the facts wrong and ignored the cultural context of the time in which Jesus lived.
Moore a 70-year-old former state Supreme Court justice flatly denied allegations of decades-old sexual advances on girls published Thursday in a Washington Post story. The accounts by multiple women prompted Republican lawmakers to say he should end his candidacy for the Dec. 12 special election if the allegations are true. “I have never engaged in sexual misconduct ” Moore said Friday.
But Ziegler was dismissive about the fuss. “There’s just nothing immoral or illegal here ” he told the Washington Examiner. “Maybe just a little bit unusual.”
Rev. Jim Martin editor at large of the Jesuit magazine America tweeted Friday that “comparing the allegations against Roy Moore in any way to Joseph and Mary is disgusting.” Martin said: “We have no idea about the exact ages of either the Virgin Mary or St. Joseph at the time of their betrothal or marriage.”
She said the earliest text to mention Mary’s age is “The Infancy Gospel of James ” which she describes as “a clearly legendary text that is trying to expand on the gospel accounts.” That non-authoritative text placed Mary ’s age at 12 when she conceived and it cited supposed evidence of her enduring virginity to demonstrate she conceived Jesus without sexual intercourse.
Leigh Corfman told the Post she was 14 when Moore first approached her and took her to his home twice the second time touching her over her bra and panties and having her touch him over his underwear. The Post quoted three other women who said he pursued them when they were 16 to 18 and he was in his early 30s. He denies the women’s reports and says he won’t quit the race. | 1 | neutral | [
"Bible Scholars Disagree With Jesus Mary Roy Moore Defense\n(WASHINGTON) — An Alabama state official is citing the Bible to defend the Republican U.",
"S. Senate candidate accused of sexual advances on girls.",
"State auditor Jim Ziegler says “ Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter ” suggesting that Roy Moore acted in a divine tradition if he in fact made sexual advances toward a 14-year-old girl.",
"Theologians and pastors among others expressed revulsion that Mary and Joseph would be used to counter allegations of sexual misbehavior with a minor.",
"They also said Ziegler got the facts wrong and ignored the cultural context of the time in which Jesus lived.",
"Moore a 70-year-old former state Supreme Court justice flatly denied allegations of decades-old sexual advances on girls published Thursday in a Washington Post story.",
"The accounts by multiple women prompted Republican lawmakers to say he should end his candidacy for the Dec.",
"12 special election if the allegations are true.",
"“I have never engaged in sexual misconduct ” Moore said Friday.",
"But Ziegler was dismissive about the fuss.",
"“There’s just nothing immoral or illegal here ” he told the Washington Examiner.",
"“Maybe just a little bit unusual.",
"”\nRev.",
"Jim Martin editor at large of the Jesuit magazine America tweeted Friday that “comparing the allegations against Roy Moore in any way to Joseph and Mary is disgusting.",
"” Martin said: “We have no idea about the exact ages of either the Virgin Mary or St.",
"Joseph at the time of their betrothal or marriage.",
"”\nShe said the earliest text to mention Mary’s age is “The Infancy Gospel of James ” which she describes as “a clearly legendary text that is trying to expand on the gospel accounts.",
"” That non-authoritative text placed Mary ’s age at 12 when she conceived and it cited supposed evidence of her enduring virginity to demonstrate she conceived Jesus without sexual intercourse.",
"Leigh Corfman told the Post she was 14 when Moore first approached her and took her to his home twice the second time touching her over her bra and panties and having her touch him over his underwear.",
"The Post quoted three other women who said he pursued them when they were 16 to 18 and he was in his early 30s.",
"He denies the women’s reports and says he won’t quit the race."
]
|
Good quality, a totally geek look, bulky and flimsy.
Sound and mic pick up everything.
It makes you look like a telephone operator or a nerd playing on WoW (perhaps like me).
The DSP box is huge for what it's supposed to do.
The compact folding is flimsy, when you set the headset down and it starts to fold back up.
I have speakers and use a headset. So I have 2 sound options, problems can occur.
USB function, I particularly do not appreciate enough. The USB sound controls my external speakers and NOT just the headset. Analog may not be as clean, but it is definitely more controlable. And they used to make one that wraps around the back of the head.
Find a cheap analog Plantronics. I had one before for 19.99 and it lasted me about 2 years, but I tend to be rough with my things. | 1 | neutral | [
"Good quality, a totally geek look, bulky and flimsy.",
"Sound and mic pick up everything.",
"It makes you look like a telephone operator or a nerd playing on WoW (perhaps like me).",
"The DSP box is huge for what it's supposed to do.",
"The compact folding is flimsy, when you set the headset down and it starts to fold back up.",
"I have speakers and use a headset.",
"So I have 2 sound options, problems can occur.",
"USB function, I particularly do not appreciate enough.",
"The USB sound controls my external speakers and NOT just the headset.",
"Analog may not be as clean, but it is definitely more controlable.",
"And they used to make one that wraps around the back of the head.",
"Find a cheap analog Plantronics.",
"I had one before for 19.",
"99 and it lasted me about 2 years, but I tend to be rough with my things."
]
|
First let me start with the good. The amp is built like a champ. Very solid construction and looks really, really nice! The knobs all have a nice smooth taper and the jacks all seem to be of good quality. The battery life in this amp is really great and if you are plugging into the amp and using headphones it does have a good sound. I have throw this in with my pedalboard for trips so I can use all my pedals into and amp, and it works with headphones. The sound of the amp by itself is, well sad really. Not sure what all the other reviews were going on about but this amp sounds like a set of crappy pc speakers un am amp, which is what this is. The tone knob only takes the tone from muddy to tinny. The gain is very toyish sounding but you can get a nice overdrive out of it. The volume is way loud if using gain, but clean sounds are hard to get if using hum-buckers. Overall it looks awesome on the shelf, sounds good with pedals or without into headphones, its light weight, and its a pretty cool little amp if you ask me. Just be honest with yourself and know that you are buying a 1w guitar amp with 2 cheap computer speakers inside and that it will sound like cheap 1w computer speakers and you'll be all right. | 1 | neutral | [
"First let me start with the good.",
"The amp is built like a champ.",
"Very solid construction and looks really, really nice!",
"The knobs all have a nice smooth taper and the jacks all seem to be of good quality.",
"The battery life in this amp is really great and if you are plugging into the amp and using headphones it does have a good sound.",
"I have throw this in with my pedalboard for trips so I can use all my pedals into and amp, and it works with headphones.",
"The sound of the amp by itself is, well sad really.",
"Not sure what all the other reviews were going on about but this amp sounds like a set of crappy pc speakers un am amp, which is what this is.",
"The tone knob only takes the tone from muddy to tinny.",
"The gain is very toyish sounding but you can get a nice overdrive out of it.",
"The volume is way loud if using gain, but clean sounds are hard to get if using hum-buckers.",
"Overall it looks awesome on the shelf, sounds good with pedals or without into headphones, its light weight, and its a pretty cool little amp if you ask me.",
"Just be honest with yourself and know that you are buying a 1w guitar amp with 2 cheap computer speakers inside and that it will sound like cheap 1w computer speakers and you'll be all right."
]
|
As an active tea drinker since I was a young teenager, I do feel experienced to comment on tea. This tea is average at best...and normally like any item with orange spice flavors. Unfortunately this Lipton Orange spice tea is not a strong tea. It is very weak. With any tea, I usually make a 12oz cup and use 2 bags. With this Orange Spice flavor I need 3 bags and by that time it just doesn't taste right and seems wasteful. If you want a light tea with a hint of orange, this may be for you. If you are like me and want medium to strong FLAVOR I would NOT recommend it. Opinions may vary as we all have different tastes so you may like it. This is only my opinion and you know what they say about those. :) | 1 | neutral | [
"As an active tea drinker since I was a young teenager, I do feel experienced to comment on tea.",
"This tea is average at best...",
"and normally like any item with orange spice flavors.",
"Unfortunately this Lipton Orange spice tea is not a strong tea.",
"It is very weak.",
"With any tea, I usually make a 12oz cup and use 2 bags.",
"With this Orange Spice flavor I need 3 bags and by that time it just doesn't taste right and seems wasteful.",
"If you want a light tea with a hint of orange, this may be for you.",
"If you are like me and want medium to strong FLAVOR I would NOT recommend it.",
"Opinions may vary as we all have different tastes so you may like it.",
"This is only my opinion and you know what they say about those.",
":)"
]
|
I don't know if it's cleaning my engine out or not, but there was a few miles where the RPMs were at 2,000 for a while...
...then it calmed back down. I wonder if that was it getting all cleaned out, mabey???
My RPMs started around 1500, and by the time I got back home (30 miles or so), it was idling around 400.
I guess that means I have to go it and adjust the Air/Fuel ratio now that everything's been Cleansed.
I've seen all kinds of YouTube videos, showing how well it works,
so I can only assume based on MY experience, that it's not a load of Crap.
--- UPDATE ----
I was able to get a look inside my engine. I still don't know if the Pistons were cleaned or not, but I know my intake was FILTHY.
Of course, the Fuel doesnt pass through my Intake, it is Direct-port injected.
I wonder if this would work if I poured it into my intake, with the Air...
Yes, I said 'POUR'. It's a bottle of Liquid.
It is Not a Spray Can or any kind of Aerosol. | 1 | neutral | [
"I don't know if it's cleaning my engine out or not, but there was a few miles where the RPMs were at 2,000 for a while...",
"...",
"then it calmed back down.",
"I wonder if that was it getting all cleaned out, mabey???",
"My RPMs started around 1500, and by the time I got back home (30 miles or so), it was idling around 400.",
"I guess that means I have to go it and adjust the Air/Fuel ratio now that everything's been Cleansed.",
"I've seen all kinds of YouTube videos, showing how well it works,\nso I can only assume based on MY experience, that it's not a load of Crap.",
"--- UPDATE ----\n\nI was able to get a look inside my engine.",
"I still don't know if the Pistons were cleaned or not, but I know my intake was FILTHY.",
"Of course, the Fuel doesnt pass through my Intake, it is Direct-port injected.",
"I wonder if this would work if I poured it into my intake, with the Air...",
"Yes, I said 'POUR'.",
"It's a bottle of Liquid.",
"It is Not a Spray Can or any kind of Aerosol."
]
|
U.S. expands leniency for companies that disclose foreign bribery
The U . S . Justice Department will extend greater leniency to companies that voluntarily alert authorities when they learn employees have paid bribes to foreign officials Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said on Wednesday . FILE PHOTO : The exterior of the U . S . Department of Justice headquarters building in Washington DC U . S . on July 14 2009 . REUTERS / Jonathan Ernst / File Photo The new guidelines will allow most companies to avoid prosecution altogether if they fully disclose foreign bribery cooperate in the investigation and take steps to avoid future misconduct Rosenstein said at a Maryland legal conference . This will prompt greater corporate cooperation with authorities he said . “ We want corporate officers and board members to better understand the costs and benefits of cooperation .” The changes come at a time when U . S . Attorney General Jeff Sessions has asked prosecutors to take a tougher line against criminals particularly in drug cases . The guidelines expand a pilot program launched in 2016 by the Obama administration to encourage more companies to come forward when they discover foreign bribery in exchange for lighter penalties . The U . S . Foreign Corrupt Practices Act makes it a crime for companies to bribe overseas officials to win business . While the previous program allowed for no prosecution the new rules offer the “ presumption ” that charges will be dropped if companies come forward and fully cooperate . Rosenstein said that because corporate crimes are ultimately committed by people not firms companies should not be prosecuted by the same standard . “ It makes sense to treat corporations differently than individuals ” he said . In cases when the misconduct is so severe that the Justice Department cannot drop charges the guidelines will still allow companies that come forward to get a 50 percent reduction of the lowest level of penalty . But the requirements that companies must meet for prosecutors to drop charges will be “ rigorous ” and give authorities more ammunition to pursue individual executives involved in the crimes senior Justice Department officials told reporters on a conference call on Tuesday . “ I don ’ t think it ’ s accurate at all to portray or understand this policy as giving a pass to corporate crime ” a U . S . Justice Department official said . | 1 | neutral | [
"U.",
"S. expands leniency for companies that disclose foreign bribery\nThe U.",
"S.",
"Justice Department will extend greater leniency to companies that voluntarily alert authorities when they learn employees have paid bribes to foreign officials Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said on Wednesday.",
"FILE PHOTO : The exterior of the U.",
"S.",
"Department of Justice headquarters building in Washington DC U.",
"S.",
"on July 14 2009.",
"REUTERS / Jonathan Ernst / File Photo The new guidelines will allow most companies to avoid prosecution altogether if they fully disclose foreign bribery cooperate in the investigation and take steps to avoid future misconduct Rosenstein said at a Maryland legal conference.",
"This will prompt greater corporate cooperation with authorities he said.",
"“ We want corporate officers and board members to better understand the costs and benefits of cooperation.",
"” The changes come at a time when U.",
"S.",
"Attorney General Jeff Sessions has asked prosecutors to take a tougher line against criminals particularly in drug cases.",
"The guidelines expand a pilot program launched in 2016 by the Obama administration to encourage more companies to come forward when they discover foreign bribery in exchange for lighter penalties.",
"The U.",
"S.",
"Foreign Corrupt Practices Act makes it a crime for companies to bribe overseas officials to win business.",
"While the previous program allowed for no prosecution the new rules offer the “ presumption ” that charges will be dropped if companies come forward and fully cooperate.",
"Rosenstein said that because corporate crimes are ultimately committed by people not firms companies should not be prosecuted by the same standard.",
"“ It makes sense to treat corporations differently than individuals ” he said.",
"In cases when the misconduct is so severe that the Justice Department cannot drop charges the guidelines will still allow companies that come forward to get a 50 percent reduction of the lowest level of penalty.",
"But the requirements that companies must meet for prosecutors to drop charges will be “ rigorous ” and give authorities more ammunition to pursue individual executives involved in the crimes senior Justice Department officials told reporters on a conference call on Tuesday.",
"“ I don ’ t think it ’ s accurate at all to portray or understand this policy as giving a pass to corporate crime ” a U.",
"S.",
"Justice Department official said."
]
|
"Do not go gentle into that good night/Rage, rage, against the dying of the light." And so Yes does in this concert. They could have taken the route the Moody Blues did, doing oldies sets for PBS backed by 101 strings. But on this concert, with only one additional musician, a guitarist, they boldly feature their new material.
For the most part, they look and sound good. My VHS copy has a slight buzz in the soundtrack; judging from the other reviews the DVD release sounds much better. Jon Anderson looks great, hale and woolly. He avoids a few high notes, but only a few; and if his voice has weakened the engineers have compensated well. Chris Squire is disconcertingly Frankenstein-ish, galumphing about in his Doc Martins and ankle length laboratory coat. He plays economical basslines, only occasionally ripping off the massed barrage of notes that used to be his _modus operandi_. Steve Howe is every inch the consumptive, furrowed-brow artiste, as intense and fleet-fingered as ever. Second guitarist Billy Sherwood gets center stage for the instrumental "Cinema". Keyboardist Ivan Khoroshev, wraith-like in his white tunic, seems to be under "no hot-dogging" orders. And Alan White is just having a good old time back there.
The songs are mostly extended compositions, with just three or four radio hits included. "Time and a Word" is just a snippet of the original. "Yours Is No Disgrace" and "Your Move/I've Seen All Good People" sound good. The only reasonable quibble I have is against the decision to strip the show-closer "Roundabout" of all its slow parts--sure, it cranks; but now the song has no mystery. If they wanted to finish with a bang, I would have liked to have heard a full-on performance of "Going For The One."
This is the best-looking, best-sounding video concert of Yes ever. Sure, they were at the height of their powers on 1973's _Yessongs_, but someone forgot to bring camera lights to that gig. This is as "close to the edge" as we're likely to come nowadays. | 1 | neutral | [
"\"Do not go gentle into that good night/Rage, rage, against the dying of the light.",
"\" And so Yes does in this concert.",
"They could have taken the route the Moody Blues did, doing oldies sets for PBS backed by 101 strings.",
"But on this concert, with only one additional musician, a guitarist, they boldly feature their new material.",
"For the most part, they look and sound good.",
"My VHS copy has a slight buzz in the soundtrack; judging from the other reviews the DVD release sounds much better.",
"Jon Anderson looks great, hale and woolly.",
"He avoids a few high notes, but only a few; and if his voice has weakened the engineers have compensated well.",
"Chris Squire is disconcertingly Frankenstein-ish, galumphing about in his Doc Martins and ankle length laboratory coat.",
"He plays economical basslines, only occasionally ripping off the massed barrage of notes that used to be his _modus operandi_.",
"Steve Howe is every inch the consumptive, furrowed-brow artiste, as intense and fleet-fingered as ever.",
"Second guitarist Billy Sherwood gets center stage for the instrumental \"Cinema\".",
"Keyboardist Ivan Khoroshev, wraith-like in his white tunic, seems to be under \"no hot-dogging\" orders.",
"And Alan White is just having a good old time back there.",
"The songs are mostly extended compositions, with just three or four radio hits included.",
"\"Time and a Word\" is just a snippet of the original.",
"\"Yours Is No Disgrace\" and \"Your Move/I've Seen All Good People\" sound good.",
"The only reasonable quibble I have is against the decision to strip the show-closer \"Roundabout\" of all its slow parts--sure, it cranks; but now the song has no mystery.",
"If they wanted to finish with a bang, I would have liked to have heard a full-on performance of \"Going For The One.",
"\"\nThis is the best-looking, best-sounding video concert of Yes ever.",
"Sure, they were at the height of their powers on 1973's _Yessongs_, but someone forgot to bring camera lights to that gig.",
"This is as \"close to the edge\" as we're likely to come nowadays."
]
|
Richie Sambora, guitarist of stadium rockers we all know (and either loathe or love) put this disc out in those bygone days of 1991 and - surprised us.
We didn't get a bunch of 2nd rate BJ tunes. We didn't get endless widdly diddly excess nor crap attempts at showing a blues/roots tinge.
What we got was an album that really opened up some possibilities for Richie. There were typical soft rock tunes like hit 'Ballad of Youth', youthful love gone wrong tracks like 'Rosie' but there was also more on display.
The more on display is a guy with some body to his music, with an ear for a decent tune, a guy who with this album has perhaps shown the world that he isn't just a guitar player but a musician.
Taken as a whole I can't give this album more than three stars as it's a bit overwrought in places and a little too understated too often/too long in other parts. But it does give anyone into melodic hard rock or BJ or afficianados of 80's rock a real glimpse at a guy who definitely has a voice of his own. Any fan of this genre should try to at least hear this disc. More metal fans may find the whole thing somewhat wanting in ooommpphhh. | 1 | neutral | [
"Richie Sambora, guitarist of stadium rockers we all know (and either loathe or love) put this disc out in those bygone days of 1991 and - surprised us.",
"We didn't get a bunch of 2nd rate BJ tunes.",
"We didn't get endless widdly diddly excess nor crap attempts at showing a blues/roots tinge.",
"What we got was an album that really opened up some possibilities for Richie.",
"There were typical soft rock tunes like hit 'Ballad of Youth', youthful love gone wrong tracks like 'Rosie' but there was also more on display.",
"The more on display is a guy with some body to his music, with an ear for a decent tune, a guy who with this album has perhaps shown the world that he isn't just a guitar player but a musician.",
"Taken as a whole I can't give this album more than three stars as it's a bit overwrought in places and a little too understated too often/too long in other parts.",
"But it does give anyone into melodic hard rock or BJ or afficianados of 80's rock a real glimpse at a guy who definitely has a voice of his own.",
"Any fan of this genre should try to at least hear this disc.",
"More metal fans may find the whole thing somewhat wanting in ooommpphhh."
]
|
I received this product less than a week ago in a bubble wrap envelope. There was some leakage around the cap and the plunger had broken off of the lid so that it couldn't be fixed. Most of the contents were still in the bottle so I tried it on my face. It's a slimy feeling product and I haven't seen any improvement or change in my complexion yet. If anything, it's a little drier than before, which I don't need. It states on the box that results should be seen in 8 days. I'm going to continue to use it for awhile and will update if I have anything to add.
I don't know if the product froze and broke the cap or if it was broken due to poor packaging. Too be safe, I would not recommend ordering this if you live in a freezing climate in the winter. I don't know if freezing would or could effect the product's effectiveness either, but it was left on my doorstep for a few hours, as most deliveries are. | 1 | neutral | [
"I received this product less than a week ago in a bubble wrap envelope.",
"There was some leakage around the cap and the plunger had broken off of the lid so that it couldn't be fixed.",
"Most of the contents were still in the bottle so I tried it on my face.",
"It's a slimy feeling product and I haven't seen any improvement or change in my complexion yet.",
"If anything, it's a little drier than before, which I don't need.",
"It states on the box that results should be seen in 8 days.",
"I'm going to continue to use it for awhile and will update if I have anything to add.",
"I don't know if the product froze and broke the cap or if it was broken due to poor packaging.",
"Too be safe, I would not recommend ordering this if you live in a freezing climate in the winter.",
"I don't know if freezing would or could effect the product's effectiveness either, but it was left on my doorstep for a few hours, as most deliveries are."
]
|
This is an excellent game gameplay wise. The graphics are spectacular and the music is the usual Crash Bandicoot style stuff. The controls are easy to pick up. They even added a few new types of levels (i.e. rolling crash bandicoot. Imagine super monkey ball with crash inside the ball :)). It is kind of short, but what is there is extremely fun (although sometimes irritating). The reason I gave this game a 3 star rating is because of two things. The first is the load times. It takes (on average) 45 seconds-1 min to load each level. This wouldn't be bad, but that brings me to the second problem. There is no loading bar, so you can't see how much longer it's gonna be. Plus, while you are waiting for it to load, this annoying alarm type noise plays. Now, put all that together and imagine sitting there for a minute not knowing how much longer they are gonna torture you with that annoying noise. This prevented me from beating the game because I refused to wait for the loading screen. I have heard that the gamecube version is much better with the load times, although I wouldn't know because I didn't want to buy the same game for two systems. Definately buy this game if you are a Crash Bandicoot fan, but I reccommend the GCN version instead of the PS2 version. | 1 | neutral | [
"This is an excellent game gameplay wise.",
"The graphics are spectacular and the music is the usual Crash Bandicoot style stuff.",
"The controls are easy to pick up.",
"They even added a few new types of levels (i.",
"e. rolling crash bandicoot.",
"Imagine super monkey ball with crash inside the ball :)).",
"It is kind of short, but what is there is extremely fun (although sometimes irritating).",
"The reason I gave this game a 3 star rating is because of two things.",
"The first is the load times.",
"It takes (on average) 45 seconds-1 min to load each level.",
"This wouldn't be bad, but that brings me to the second problem.",
"There is no loading bar, so you can't see how much longer it's gonna be.",
"Plus, while you are waiting for it to load, this annoying alarm type noise plays.",
"Now, put all that together and imagine sitting there for a minute not knowing how much longer they are gonna torture you with that annoying noise.",
"This prevented me from beating the game because I refused to wait for the loading screen.",
"I have heard that the gamecube version is much better with the load times, although I wouldn't know because I didn't want to buy the same game for two systems.",
"Definately buy this game if you are a Crash Bandicoot fan, but I reccommend the GCN version instead of the PS2 version."
]
|
This product is a great idea for drummers who need a way to practice without disturbing others, but in my experience, it needs further refinement.
The chief problem is the bass drum pad: it's adjustable only up-and-down, not backwards and forwards. If you have a chain-driven pedal with a non-adjustable throw like me, you will likely find that the beater doesn't make contact with the pad. Even if you do have a pedal with an adjustable throw -- who wants to adjust your pedal every time you practice? You don't need to fiddle with your pedal every time you set up a real drum set, because you can adjust the height of the bass drum's feet easily to suit the throw of your pedal.
I solved the problem here by buying a DW Hardcore Beater, which has an unusally pronounced 1-1/2" offset, but this set me back an additional $30 I would rather have kept in my pocket.
I also found that the platform to which you attach your bass pedal isn't thick enough to enable a secure mount. I found my bass pedal sliding around, causing constant readjustments. I solved this problem by gluing a rubber pad to the platform using contact cement -- but this solution set me back another $10.
Finally I encountered a manufacturing defect in the "cymbal" pad, which didn't screw down on its arm tight enough to prevent the washer underneath the pad from revolving and making an irritating "ching" with each stroke. I solved THIS problem by removing the washer altogether; I'm not sure what purpose the washers serve any way.
I also found DW less than helpful with this last problem. I contacted their customer service and asked if these washers were really necessary and if so, would they send me another one or two to fill the gap under the cymbal pad. To my surprise, they answered that there should only be one washer under each pad -- this answer makes no sense, as you always add washers (or use thicker ones)in situations like this. Their advice was to bring the whole unit back to the retailer and have it swapped out. What a pain!
I thought DW was comprised of drummers making drum equipment for drummers, and I am disappointed both in the minor but annoying shortcomings of this device as well as their dismissive customer service.
UPDATE: it is unfortunate that you can't adjust the pad arms vertically; in particular, the vertical proximity of the "hihat" and "snare" pads makes it hard to play the hihat cross-stick as you normally would on a drumset. I hope DW will address these various shortcomings in a future Go Anywhere Pad Set! | 1 | neutral | [
"This product is a great idea for drummers who need a way to practice without disturbing others, but in my experience, it needs further refinement.",
"The chief problem is the bass drum pad: it's adjustable only up-and-down, not backwards and forwards.",
"If you have a chain-driven pedal with a non-adjustable throw like me, you will likely find that the beater doesn't make contact with the pad.",
"Even if you do have a pedal with an adjustable throw -- who wants to adjust your pedal every time you practice?",
"You don't need to fiddle with your pedal every time you set up a real drum set, because you can adjust the height of the bass drum's feet easily to suit the throw of your pedal.",
"I solved the problem here by buying a DW Hardcore Beater, which has an unusally pronounced 1-1/2\" offset, but this set me back an additional $30 I would rather have kept in my pocket.",
"I also found that the platform to which you attach your bass pedal isn't thick enough to enable a secure mount.",
"I found my bass pedal sliding around, causing constant readjustments.",
"I solved this problem by gluing a rubber pad to the platform using contact cement -- but this solution set me back another $10.",
"Finally I encountered a manufacturing defect in the \"cymbal\" pad, which didn't screw down on its arm tight enough to prevent the washer underneath the pad from revolving and making an irritating \"ching\" with each stroke.",
"I solved THIS problem by removing the washer altogether; I'm not sure what purpose the washers serve any way.",
"I also found DW less than helpful with this last problem.",
"I contacted their customer service and asked if these washers were really necessary and if so, would they send me another one or two to fill the gap under the cymbal pad.",
"To my surprise, they answered that there should only be one washer under each pad -- this answer makes no sense, as you always add washers (or use thicker ones)in situations like this.",
"Their advice was to bring the whole unit back to the retailer and have it swapped out.",
"What a pain!",
"I thought DW was comprised of drummers making drum equipment for drummers, and I am disappointed both in the minor but annoying shortcomings of this device as well as their dismissive customer service.",
"UPDATE: it is unfortunate that you can't adjust the pad arms vertically; in particular, the vertical proximity of the \"hihat\" and \"snare\" pads makes it hard to play the hihat cross-stick as you normally would on a drumset.",
"I hope DW will address these various shortcomings in a future Go Anywhere Pad Set!"
]
|
What is the obsession game developers have with stealth these days. Like some of the other reviewers here, I agree that the gladiator/soldier fighting is great. The control system is very intuitive and easy to pick up. If it wasn't for the stupid stealth parts (Octavianus) this game would get a "five." I can only hope there is a sequel with fighting only and none of these REALLY LAME stealth missions. Because the stealth parts are SO BAD; this game is not worth buying for $50. Rent it first! I might go back and buy this one six to eight months from now when it's down to $20, but not now. GAME DEVELOPERS PLEASE STOP WITH THE STUPID STEALTH ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!! | 1 | neutral | [
"What is the obsession game developers have with stealth these days.",
"Like some of the other reviewers here, I agree that the gladiator/soldier fighting is great.",
"The control system is very intuitive and easy to pick up.",
"If it wasn't for the stupid stealth parts (Octavianus) this game would get a \"five.",
"\" I can only hope there is a sequel with fighting only and none of these REALLY LAME stealth missions.",
"Because the stealth parts are SO BAD; this game is not worth buying for $50.",
"Rent it first!",
"I might go back and buy this one six to eight months from now when it's down to $20, but not now.",
"GAME DEVELOPERS PLEASE STOP WITH THE STUPID STEALTH ALREADY!!!!",
"!!!!",
"!!!"
]
|
As I was reading the Unrequited Dom the lyrics to "If I Can't Have You" by Yvonne Elliman and Gordon Lightfoot's "If You Could Read My Mind" kept playing in my head. Cash has had his eye on Sugar ever since his stepmother married Sugar's father. There is a 10 yr age difference and over time Cash realizes Sugar has the perfect temperament to be his ultimate submissive to his Dom, but all he has to do is wait and plan her initiation into the D/s lifestyle. The training starts after Sugar's father dies. Cash takes on the responsibility of disciplining Sugar. His method of choice is bare bottom spanking for bad behavior, which he dishes out until her 21st birthday. On her birthday he decides to take their relationship to the next level and go for the total package. Cash has secretly lusted after Sugar for years and feels he has her primed and ready to fall into his bed and keep her there forever. Sugar falls hard but can't come to grips with her sexual need to be dominated and disciplined by Cash.
TUD has all the ingredients for a 5 star read but I gave it 3.5 stars because I got tired of the retelling of incidents and situations. Faulkner will have Sugar reminisce about previous conversations she had with Cash and then have Cash repeat the same conversation. I did not mind suspending my belief that anyone would endure bare bottom spanking into adulthood, but what I did take exception to was how long it took them to get it on and the amount of times they did. When I'm in the mood for smut I want a little less talking and much more action. The characters were likeable and I loved how Sugar was a bit clueless about how Cash truly felt about her which almost made him loose his mind when he thought she would leave him for the second time. I also loved how he zeroed his sights on Sugar and no other woman would do. He truly wanted the best for her and in his own way made sure no matter what she was protected. In spite of my negatives I enjoyed this book. | 1 | neutral | [
"As I was reading the Unrequited Dom the lyrics to \"If I Can't Have You\" by Yvonne Elliman and Gordon Lightfoot's \"If You Could Read My Mind\" kept playing in my head.",
"Cash has had his eye on Sugar ever since his stepmother married Sugar's father.",
"There is a 10 yr age difference and over time Cash realizes Sugar has the perfect temperament to be his ultimate submissive to his Dom, but all he has to do is wait and plan her initiation into the D/s lifestyle.",
"The training starts after Sugar's father dies.",
"Cash takes on the responsibility of disciplining Sugar.",
"His method of choice is bare bottom spanking for bad behavior, which he dishes out until her 21st birthday.",
"On her birthday he decides to take their relationship to the next level and go for the total package.",
"Cash has secretly lusted after Sugar for years and feels he has her primed and ready to fall into his bed and keep her there forever.",
"Sugar falls hard but can't come to grips with her sexual need to be dominated and disciplined by Cash.",
"TUD has all the ingredients for a 5 star read but I gave it 3.",
"5 stars because I got tired of the retelling of incidents and situations.",
"Faulkner will have Sugar reminisce about previous conversations she had with Cash and then have Cash repeat the same conversation.",
"I did not mind suspending my belief that anyone would endure bare bottom spanking into adulthood, but what I did take exception to was how long it took them to get it on and the amount of times they did.",
"When I'm in the mood for smut I want a little less talking and much more action.",
"The characters were likeable and I loved how Sugar was a bit clueless about how Cash truly felt about her which almost made him loose his mind when he thought she would leave him for the second time.",
"I also loved how he zeroed his sights on Sugar and no other woman would do.",
"He truly wanted the best for her and in his own way made sure no matter what she was protected.",
"In spite of my negatives I enjoyed this book."
]
|
The Complete National Geographic is a massive collection of every issue from 1888 - 2008. That means 120 years of one of the world's most amazing magazines, all digitized and capable of being loaded onto your computer.
The nice part about this collection is that every issue of the magazine is reproduced as exactly as possible (barring some "printing" errors here and there): every page, complete with ads, and all photos vividly reproduced, representing over 50GB of material.
The bad part is that every issue of this magazine is reproduced exactly: they are issues that you flip through, page by page, with a Table of Contents. The interface takes some getting used to, and the search engine leaves a bit to be desired. The program can also be a little slow to respond, particularly when it first loads. Drilling down to specifics is not as easy as idly thumbing through issues, and thumbing through issues can also be a bit tedious.
It's important to keep in mind that the National Geographic Society are not Wikipedia: information presented here was the well researched and chronicled *at the time of printing*--older issues will not be brought up to date with the world's latest discoveries. This collection exists simply as a way to see the massive collection of the National Geographic Society that spans over a century of traveling the world and absorbing its information. If the interface were a little better, this would be a superior collection. As it stands, it is still quite nice. | 1 | neutral | [
"The Complete National Geographic is a massive collection of every issue from 1888 - 2008.",
"That means 120 years of one of the world's most amazing magazines, all digitized and capable of being loaded onto your computer.",
"The nice part about this collection is that every issue of the magazine is reproduced as exactly as possible (barring some \"printing\" errors here and there): every page, complete with ads, and all photos vividly reproduced, representing over 50GB of material.",
"The bad part is that every issue of this magazine is reproduced exactly: they are issues that you flip through, page by page, with a Table of Contents.",
"The interface takes some getting used to, and the search engine leaves a bit to be desired.",
"The program can also be a little slow to respond, particularly when it first loads.",
"Drilling down to specifics is not as easy as idly thumbing through issues, and thumbing through issues can also be a bit tedious.",
"It's important to keep in mind that the National Geographic Society are not Wikipedia: information presented here was the well researched and chronicled *at the time of printing*--older issues will not be brought up to date with the world's latest discoveries.",
"This collection exists simply as a way to see the massive collection of the National Geographic Society that spans over a century of traveling the world and absorbing its information.",
"If the interface were a little better, this would be a superior collection.",
"As it stands, it is still quite nice."
]
|
I feel callous giving this book only 3 stars, but I attribute this to it not being what I expected. What I was hoping for was something akin to Anne Applebaum's "Gulag": a one-volume history of what happened, how it happened, why it happened, and how it was dealt with when it was over. This book is certainly not that.
Instead, Gilbert has taken an enormous amount of first-hand experiences and arranged them chronologically to tell an almost day-by-day account of the unfathomable brutality experienced by European Jewry. To weave this all together in such a way is masterful, but it only tells a part of the story. I assume that was his goal, but it leaves me wanting more.
Every paragraph has some episode that is unforgettable. It easy to lose sight of the fact that the 6 million murders took place, as Judith Miller says, "one by one by one." This book makes sure you'll never think of the Holocaust that way again. What Gilbert neglects to cover in much detail is the Nazi part of the story. Of course they are front and center as the perpetrators, but little is covered about what ordinary Germans knew. Or how the German culture was ripe ground for this evil to blossom. Or what the millions of valuables stolen were used for. Or how the manpower and resources expended in this psychopathic venture affected the overall war effort. Or what role, outside of Eichmann, those at the top of the Nazi command played. Again, Gilbert obviously wasn't trying to tell that part of the story, but I still can't say I have a true understanding of the Holocaust beside the unbelievable cruelty so many suffered.
And, this makes me angry at myself, at 828 pages, after a while, you become numb to it all. I stopped being shocked by what I read. I think this is unfortunate, but natural. A topic like this is so ghastly that, the further we get from WWII, the less people will know about it. In our comfortable American lives, people don't want to remember these awful events of the past.
Two quotes sum it all up for the book: one tells the utter desperation of an entire culture, the other the unyielding faith that so many held until the very end:
"There is no strength left to cry, steady and continued weeping leads finally to silence. At first there is screaming; then wailing; and at last a bottomless sigh that does not leave even an echo." - Chaim Kaplan, p. 105
"I have seen them, the dregs of human misery, and I know that through mankind flows a stream of eternity greater and more powerful than individual deaths." - Lena Berg, p. 622 | 1 | neutral | [
"I feel callous giving this book only 3 stars, but I attribute this to it not being what I expected.",
"What I was hoping for was something akin to Anne Applebaum's \"Gulag\": a one-volume history of what happened, how it happened, why it happened, and how it was dealt with when it was over.",
"This book is certainly not that.",
"Instead, Gilbert has taken an enormous amount of first-hand experiences and arranged them chronologically to tell an almost day-by-day account of the unfathomable brutality experienced by European Jewry.",
"To weave this all together in such a way is masterful, but it only tells a part of the story.",
"I assume that was his goal, but it leaves me wanting more.",
"Every paragraph has some episode that is unforgettable.",
"It easy to lose sight of the fact that the 6 million murders took place, as Judith Miller says, \"one by one by one.",
"\" This book makes sure you'll never think of the Holocaust that way again.",
"What Gilbert neglects to cover in much detail is the Nazi part of the story.",
"Of course they are front and center as the perpetrators, but little is covered about what ordinary Germans knew.",
"Or how the German culture was ripe ground for this evil to blossom.",
"Or what the millions of valuables stolen were used for.",
"Or how the manpower and resources expended in this psychopathic venture affected the overall war effort.",
"Or what role, outside of Eichmann, those at the top of the Nazi command played.",
"Again, Gilbert obviously wasn't trying to tell that part of the story, but I still can't say I have a true understanding of the Holocaust beside the unbelievable cruelty so many suffered.",
"And, this makes me angry at myself, at 828 pages, after a while, you become numb to it all.",
"I stopped being shocked by what I read.",
"I think this is unfortunate, but natural.",
"A topic like this is so ghastly that, the further we get from WWII, the less people will know about it.",
"In our comfortable American lives, people don't want to remember these awful events of the past.",
"Two quotes sum it all up for the book: one tells the utter desperation of an entire culture, the other the unyielding faith that so many held until the very end:\n\n\"There is no strength left to cry, steady and continued weeping leads finally to silence.",
"At first there is screaming; then wailing; and at last a bottomless sigh that does not leave even an echo.",
"\" - Chaim Kaplan, p.",
"105\n\n\"I have seen them, the dregs of human misery, and I know that through mankind flows a stream of eternity greater and more powerful than individual deaths.",
"\" - Lena Berg, p.",
"622"
]
|
I have owned three different bacon cookers. This is the last one that I owned. After a year of use it developed a crack, so I need to order a new one. I will be replacing it with the same model, but I'm hoping this one lasts longer.
Here are the advantages of this unit compared to others that I have tried:
1) It cooks up to six pieces of bacon at a time.
2) It cooks the bacon flat.
3) The fat drains down into a collection area that can be easily emptied.
Here are the disadvantages of this unit.
1) The capacity could be larger. My microwave would fit a longer unit. This unit is a square. My microwave is much wider than it is deep. I could put the pan in sideways if it were longer. I would like to be able to cook 8 or 10 pieces at once. I had a bacon maker that cooked more bacon but it required the bacon be draped over a pole. I prefer my bacon to be flat.
2) It would be nice if it came with a cover. I put a paper towel over it while it is cooking. There are some with covers but they seem to be for 4 pieces at a time and don't have the drainage for the drippings.
3) It gets hot when you use it. It would be nice to have handles on the end that stayed cooler and made it easier to handle out of the microwave.
4) Its made of plastic and it will break eventually. Mine lasted about 1 year, somewhat less than other bacon makers that I have owned. It developed a crack in one of the upper corners. I'd be willing to pay more for one made out of Pyrex glass.
5) It's too big to spin in the microwave. My microwave has a button to turn off the turntable, so this isn't a big deal for me. The bacon cooks fine anyway. | 1 | neutral | [
"I have owned three different bacon cookers.",
"This is the last one that I owned.",
"After a year of use it developed a crack, so I need to order a new one.",
"I will be replacing it with the same model, but I'm hoping this one lasts longer.",
"Here are the advantages of this unit compared to others that I have tried:\n\n1) It cooks up to six pieces of bacon at a time.",
"2) It cooks the bacon flat.",
"3) The fat drains down into a collection area that can be easily emptied.",
"Here are the disadvantages of this unit.",
"1) The capacity could be larger.",
"My microwave would fit a longer unit.",
"This unit is a square.",
"My microwave is much wider than it is deep.",
"I could put the pan in sideways if it were longer.",
"I would like to be able to cook 8 or 10 pieces at once.",
"I had a bacon maker that cooked more bacon but it required the bacon be draped over a pole.",
"I prefer my bacon to be flat.",
"2) It would be nice if it came with a cover.",
"I put a paper towel over it while it is cooking.",
"There are some with covers but they seem to be for 4 pieces at a time and don't have the drainage for the drippings.",
"3) It gets hot when you use it.",
"It would be nice to have handles on the end that stayed cooler and made it easier to handle out of the microwave.",
"4) Its made of plastic and it will break eventually.",
"Mine lasted about 1 year, somewhat less than other bacon makers that I have owned.",
"It developed a crack in one of the upper corners.",
"I'd be willing to pay more for one made out of Pyrex glass.",
"5) It's too big to spin in the microwave.",
"My microwave has a button to turn off the turntable, so this isn't a big deal for me.",
"The bacon cooks fine anyway."
]
|
<div id="video-block-R31N49AA8QQ01Y" class="a-section a-spacing-small a-spacing-top-mini video-block"></div><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/B1WPSk538RS.mp4" class="video-url"><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81IUdZvMUJS.png" class="video-slate-img-url"> It's ok with adjustments, and if you get not damaged one. It's kind of hit and miss.
Our cello had bent bow, damaged peg, in perfection on the top plate, and narrow bridge( Belgium style). Description shows French style( wide type). We decided to keep it with 20% discount! just enough to cover new bow, peg and new bridge.
We will do follow up later. | 1 | neutral | [
"<div id=\"video-block-R31N49AA8QQ01Y\" class=\"a-section a-spacing-small a-spacing-top-mini video-block\"></div><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"\" value=\"https://images-na.",
"ssl-images-amazon.",
"com/images/I/B1WPSk538RS.",
"mp4\" class=\"video-url\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"\" value=\"https://images-na.",
"ssl-images-amazon.",
"com/images/I/81IUdZvMUJS.",
"png\" class=\"video-slate-img-url\"> It's ok with adjustments, and if you get not damaged one.",
"It's kind of hit and miss.",
"Our cello had bent bow, damaged peg, in perfection on the top plate, and narrow bridge( Belgium style).",
"Description shows French style( wide type).",
"We decided to keep it with 20% discount!",
"just enough to cover new bow, peg and new bridge.",
"We will do follow up later."
]
|
I really love this screwdriver since I'm a crazy doctor who's fan, but sadly the screwdriver came with imperfections before I even opened the package, such as scratches and dents, and even paint splatter on certain parts of the screwdriver where it shouldnt be. Notably on the silver rings near the grayband of the screwdriver. On a personal level I give this 4 stars, because I love this toy so much, its such great fun, but in terms of quality, I give this 3 stars. I just want to be honest on what you maybe getting. If you're really serious about owning prop version of this, I suggest looking for the universal remote of the tenth doctor screwdriver. But if you're looking for something to play with and have fun messing around, this isn't too bad. I still recommend this, just becareful in how you handle this toy since it is plastic. And also the last two sounds of the sonic screwdriver, doesnt sound like its from the show. Hope this review helps. Allonsy ( ; | 1 | neutral | [
"I really love this screwdriver since I'm a crazy doctor who's fan, but sadly the screwdriver came with imperfections before I even opened the package, such as scratches and dents, and even paint splatter on certain parts of the screwdriver where it shouldnt be.",
"Notably on the silver rings near the grayband of the screwdriver.",
"On a personal level I give this 4 stars, because I love this toy so much, its such great fun, but in terms of quality, I give this 3 stars.",
"I just want to be honest on what you maybe getting.",
"If you're really serious about owning prop version of this, I suggest looking for the universal remote of the tenth doctor screwdriver.",
"But if you're looking for something to play with and have fun messing around, this isn't too bad.",
"I still recommend this, just becareful in how you handle this toy since it is plastic.",
"And also the last two sounds of the sonic screwdriver, doesnt sound like its from the show.",
"Hope this review helps.",
"Allonsy ( ;"
]
|
This Analysis Shows How Viral Fake Election News Stories Outperformed Real News On Facebook
A Facebook spokesman told BuzzFeed News that the top stories don't reflect overall engagement on the platform. "There is a long tail of stories on Facebook " the spokesman said. "It may seem like the top stories get a lot of traction but they represent a tiny fraction of the total." He also said that native video live content and image posts from major news outlets saw significant engagement on Facebook. Of the 20 top-performing false election stories identified in the analysis all but three were overtly pro-Donald Trump or anti-Hillary Clinton. Two of the biggest false hits were a story claiming Clinton sold weapons to ISIS and a hoax claiming the pope endorsed Trump which the site removed after publication of this article. The only viral false stories during the final three months that were arguably against Trump 's interests were a false quote from Mike Pence about Michelle Obama a false report that Ireland was accepting American "refugees" fleeing Trump and a hoax claiming RuPaul said he was groped by Trump .
This week BuzzFeed News reported that a group of Facebook employees have formed a task force to tackle the issue with one saying that "fake news ran wild on our platform during the entire campaign season." The Wall Street Journal also reported that Google would begin barring fake news websites from its AdSense advertising program. Facebook soon followed suit. These developments follow a study by BuzzFeed News that revealed hyperpartisan Facebook pages and their websites were publishing false or misleading content at an alarming rate â and generating significant Facebook engagement in the process. The same was true for the more than 100 US politics websites BuzzFeed News found being run out of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. This new analysis of election content found two false election stories from a Macedonian sites that made the top-10 list in terms of Facebook engagement int he final three months. Conservative State published a story that falsely quoted Hillary Clinton as saying âI would like to see people like Donald Trump run for office; they âre honest and canât be bought.â The story generated over 481 000 engagements on Facebook. A second false story from a Macedonia site falsely claimed that Clinton was about to be indicted. It received 149 000 engagements on Facebook. All the false news stories identified in BuzzFeed News' analysis came from either fake news websites that only publish hoaxes or from hyperpartisan websites that present themselves as publishing real news. The research turned up only one viral false election story from a hyperpartisan left-wing site. The story from Winning Democrats claimed Ireland was accepting anti-Trump "refugees" from the US. It received over 810 000 Facebook engagements and was debunked by an Irish publication. (There was also one post from an LGBTQ site that used a false quote from Trump in its headline.) The other false viral election stories from hyperpartisan sites came from right-wing publishers according to the analysis.
One example is the remarkably successful utterly untrustworthy site Ending the Fed. It was responsible for four of the top 10 false election stories identified in the analysis: Pope Francis endorsing Donald Trump Hilary Clinton selling weapons to ISIS Hillary Clinton being disqualified from holding federal office and the FBI director receiving millions from the Clinton Foundation. These four stories racked up a total of roughly 2 953 000 Facebook engagements in the three months leading up to Election Day.
That site was only registered in April of this year. Its publisher disputes the idea that its content is aimed at misleading readers. "The BS Journal is a satire news publication and makes absolutely no secret of that or any attempt to purposely mislead our readers " he told BuzzFeed News. Large news sites also generated strong Facebook engagement for links to their election stories. But to truly find the biggest election hits from these 19 major sites it's necessary to go back to early 2016. The three biggest election hits for these outlets came back in February led by a contributor post on the Huffington Post's blog about Donald Trump that received 2 200 000 engagements on Facebook. The top-performing election news story on Facebook for the 19 outlets analyzed was also published that month by CBS News. It generated an impressive 1.7 million shares engagements and comments on Facebook. Overall a significant number of the top-performing posts on Facebook from major outlets were opinion pieces rather than news stories. The biggest mainstream hit in the three months prior to the election came from the Washington Post and had 876 000 engagements. Yet somehow Ending the Fed â a site launched just months earlier with no history on Facebook and likely a very small group of people running it â managed to get more engagement for a false story during that same period. âPeople know there are concerned employees who are seeing something here which they consider a big problem â a Facebook manager told BuzzFeed News this week. âAnd it doesnât feel like the people making decisions are taking the concerns seriously.â
BuzzFeed News used the content analysis tool BuzzSumo which enables users to search for content by keyword URL time range and social share counts. BuzzFeed News searched in BuzzSumo using keywords such as "Hillary Clinton" and "Donald Trump " as well as combinations such as " Trump and election" or "Clinton and emails" to see the top stories about these topics according to Facebook engagement. We also searched for known viral lies such as "Soros and voting machine." In addition created lists of the URLs of known fake news websites of hyperpartisan sites on the right and on the left and of the more than 100 pro-Trump sites run from Macedonia that were previously identified in BuzzFeed News reporting. We then looked for the top performing content on Facebook across all of these sites to find false stories about the election. We conducted our searches in three-month segments beginning 9 months from election day. This broke down as February to April May to July and August to election day. Even with the above approaches it's entirely possible that we missed other big hits from fake news websites and hyperpartisan blogs. To examine the performance of election content from mainstream sites we created a list that included the websites of the New York Times Washington Post NBC News USA Today Politico CNN Wall Street Journal CBS News ABC News New York Daily News New York Post BuzzFeed Los Angeles Times NPR The Guardian Vox Business Insider Huffington Post and Fox News. We then searched for their top-performing election content in the same three-month segments as above. It's important to note that Facebook engagement does not necessarily translate into traffic. This analysis was focused on how the best-performing fake news about the election compared with real news from major outlets on Facebook. It's entirely possible â and likely â that the mainstream sites received more traffic to their top-performing Facebook content than the fake news sites did. As as the Facebook spokesman noted large news sites overall see more engagement on Facebook than fake news sites. | 1 | neutral | [
"This Analysis Shows How Viral Fake Election News Stories Outperformed Real News On Facebook\nA Facebook spokesman told BuzzFeed News that the top stories don't reflect overall engagement on the platform.",
"\"There is a long tail of stories on Facebook \" the spokesman said.",
"\"It may seem like the top stories get a lot of traction but they represent a tiny fraction of the total.",
"\" He also said that native video live content and image posts from major news outlets saw significant engagement on Facebook.",
"Of the 20 top-performing false election stories identified in the analysis all but three were overtly pro-Donald Trump or anti-Hillary Clinton.",
"Two of the biggest false hits were a story claiming Clinton sold weapons to ISIS and a hoax claiming the pope endorsed Trump which the site removed after publication of this article.",
"The only viral false stories during the final three months that were arguably against Trump 's interests were a false quote from Mike Pence about Michelle Obama a false report that Ireland was accepting American \"refugees\" fleeing Trump and a hoax claiming RuPaul said he was groped by Trump.",
"This week BuzzFeed News reported that a group of Facebook employees have formed a task force to tackle the issue with one saying that \"fake news ran wild on our platform during the entire campaign season.",
"\" The Wall Street Journal also reported that Google would begin barring fake news websites from its AdSense advertising program.",
"Facebook soon followed suit.",
"These developments follow a study by BuzzFeed News that revealed hyperpartisan Facebook pages and their websites were publishing false or misleading content at an alarming rate â and generating significant Facebook engagement in the process.",
"The same was true for the more than 100 US politics websites BuzzFeed News found being run out of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.",
"This new analysis of election content found two false election stories from a Macedonian sites that made the top-10 list in terms of Facebook engagement int he final three months.",
"Conservative State published a story that falsely quoted Hillary Clinton as saying âI would like to see people like Donald Trump run for office; they âre honest and canât be bought.",
"â The story generated over 481 000 engagements on Facebook.",
"A second false story from a Macedonia site falsely claimed that Clinton was about to be indicted.",
"It received 149 000 engagements on Facebook.",
"All the false news stories identified in BuzzFeed News' analysis came from either fake news websites that only publish hoaxes or from hyperpartisan websites that present themselves as publishing real news.",
"The research turned up only one viral false election story from a hyperpartisan left-wing site.",
"The story from Winning Democrats claimed Ireland was accepting anti-Trump \"refugees\" from the US.",
"It received over 810 000 Facebook engagements and was debunked by an Irish publication.",
"(There was also one post from an LGBTQ site that used a false quote from Trump in its headline.",
") The other false viral election stories from hyperpartisan sites came from right-wing publishers according to the analysis.",
"One example is the remarkably successful utterly untrustworthy site Ending the Fed.",
"It was responsible for four of the top 10 false election stories identified in the analysis: Pope Francis endorsing Donald Trump Hilary Clinton selling weapons to ISIS Hillary Clinton being disqualified from holding federal office and the FBI director receiving millions from the Clinton Foundation.",
"These four stories racked up a total of roughly 2 953 000 Facebook engagements in the three months leading up to Election Day.",
"That site was only registered in April of this year.",
"Its publisher disputes the idea that its content is aimed at misleading readers.",
"\"The BS Journal is a satire news publication and makes absolutely no secret of that or any attempt to purposely mislead our readers \" he told BuzzFeed News.",
"Large news sites also generated strong Facebook engagement for links to their election stories.",
"But to truly find the biggest election hits from these 19 major sites it's necessary to go back to early 2016.",
"The three biggest election hits for these outlets came back in February led by a contributor post on the Huffington Post's blog about Donald Trump that received 2 200 000 engagements on Facebook.",
"The top-performing election news story on Facebook for the 19 outlets analyzed was also published that month by CBS News.",
"It generated an impressive 1.",
"7 million shares engagements and comments on Facebook.",
"Overall a significant number of the top-performing posts on Facebook from major outlets were opinion pieces rather than news stories.",
"The biggest mainstream hit in the three months prior to the election came from the Washington Post and had 876 000 engagements.",
"Yet somehow Ending the Fed â a site launched just months earlier with no history on Facebook and likely a very small group of people running it â managed to get more engagement for a false story during that same period.",
"âPeople know there are concerned employees who are seeing something here which they consider a big problem â a Facebook manager told BuzzFeed News this week.",
"âAnd it doesnât feel like the people making decisions are taking the concerns seriously.",
"â\nBuzzFeed News used the content analysis tool BuzzSumo which enables users to search for content by keyword URL time range and social share counts.",
"BuzzFeed News searched in BuzzSumo using keywords such as \"Hillary Clinton\" and \"Donald Trump \" as well as combinations such as \" Trump and election\" or \"Clinton and emails\" to see the top stories about these topics according to Facebook engagement.",
"We also searched for known viral lies such as \"Soros and voting machine.",
"\" In addition created lists of the URLs of known fake news websites of hyperpartisan sites on the right and on the left and of the more than 100 pro-Trump sites run from Macedonia that were previously identified in BuzzFeed News reporting.",
"We then looked for the top performing content on Facebook across all of these sites to find false stories about the election.",
"We conducted our searches in three-month segments beginning 9 months from election day.",
"This broke down as February to April May to July and August to election day.",
"Even with the above approaches it's entirely possible that we missed other big hits from fake news websites and hyperpartisan blogs.",
"To examine the performance of election content from mainstream sites we created a list that included the websites of the New York Times Washington Post NBC News USA Today Politico CNN Wall Street Journal CBS News ABC News New York Daily News New York Post BuzzFeed Los Angeles Times NPR The Guardian Vox Business Insider Huffington Post and Fox News.",
"We then searched for their top-performing election content in the same three-month segments as above.",
"It's important to note that Facebook engagement does not necessarily translate into traffic.",
"This analysis was focused on how the best-performing fake news about the election compared with real news from major outlets on Facebook.",
"It's entirely possible â and likely â that the mainstream sites received more traffic to their top-performing Facebook content than the fake news sites did.",
"As as the Facebook spokesman noted large news sites overall see more engagement on Facebook than fake news sites."
]
|
Since Sid Meiers has not released any Civil War games lately, I had high hopes of a very enjoyable real time Civil War real time strategy game when I purchased AC:DN.
To be honest, the game is a mixed bag and here are my comments:
Good:
1. Different wars covered - War of 1812, Mexican-American War, Civil War.
2. Graphics seem to be pretty good.
3. Ample number of scenarios and campaigns to play.
4. Great if you like controlling thousands of figures.
5. Good variety of uniforms shown.
Bad:
1. Manual is awful! Other games I have (Sid Meiers Gettysburg and Antietam, Take Command) have excellent manuals that are easy to read and comprehend. The manual for AC:DN is light and not very helpful.
2. No tutorials. Would have been nice to have some to demonstrate before you play.
3. Game comprehension - the game is a bit more difficult to comprehend and some strategies I learned by accident!
All in all, this is a game that had great potential but didn't quite deliver. CDV should go back to the drawing board and come up with a much better manual, tutorials, and easier-to-understand and execute commands.
A mixed bag. | 1 | neutral | [
"Since Sid Meiers has not released any Civil War games lately, I had high hopes of a very enjoyable real time Civil War real time strategy game when I purchased AC:DN.",
"To be honest, the game is a mixed bag and here are my comments:\n\nGood:\n\n1.",
"Different wars covered - War of 1812, Mexican-American War, Civil War.",
"2.",
"Graphics seem to be pretty good.",
"3.",
"Ample number of scenarios and campaigns to play.",
"4.",
"Great if you like controlling thousands of figures.",
"5.",
"Good variety of uniforms shown.",
"Bad:\n\n1.",
"Manual is awful!",
"Other games I have (Sid Meiers Gettysburg and Antietam, Take Command) have excellent manuals that are easy to read and comprehend.",
"The manual for AC:DN is light and not very helpful.",
"2.",
"No tutorials.",
"Would have been nice to have some to demonstrate before you play.",
"3.",
"Game comprehension - the game is a bit more difficult to comprehend and some strategies I learned by accident!",
"All in all, this is a game that had great potential but didn't quite deliver.",
"CDV should go back to the drawing board and come up with a much better manual, tutorials, and easier-to-understand and execute commands.",
"A mixed bag."
]
|
First gripe has to be the minuscule font used for the directions. Once I did find the one line, it merely states "Use fingertips to apply foam to the whole face. Gently massage, then rinse. Avoid eye area". It would be beneficial if they were a bit more descriptive to ensure the product is being used properly or optimally. Should the skin be dry; moist; warm water; cold water; massage for; leave on skin for; etc. (you get the point, especially given the cost. Would hate to waste any product). Overall, the 5.07 fl oz bottle produces a good amount of light foam and iwashes off with minimum effort. Scent is light and refreshing but as others have noted, leaves the skin feeling very dry. | 1 | neutral | [
"First gripe has to be the minuscule font used for the directions.",
"Once I did find the one line, it merely states \"Use fingertips to apply foam to the whole face.",
"Gently massage, then rinse.",
"Avoid eye area\".",
"It would be beneficial if they were a bit more descriptive to ensure the product is being used properly or optimally.",
"Should the skin be dry; moist; warm water; cold water; massage for; leave on skin for; etc.",
"(you get the point, especially given the cost.",
"Would hate to waste any product).",
"Overall, the 5.",
"07 fl oz bottle produces a good amount of light foam and iwashes off with minimum effort.",
"Scent is light and refreshing but as others have noted, leaves the skin feeling very dry."
]
|
As other reviewers described it, this BBQ grill cover is made out of excellent material--sturdy. In addition, I like other features, such as the ability to tie its four corners to the grill (so it won't fly away with wind), the handles that help you position it, and its pockets.
Great buy and it was worth the $10 more I paid over the previous one, which lasted three years, but I already know this one will last even longer.
UPDATE: It's been 2.5 yrs since I bought this item. From a distance it still looks good. Also, I still like the design. However, it already has a tear at the top. I am not sure the expected time it should last, but I think it should be more than 2.5 years . . . | 1 | neutral | [
"As other reviewers described it, this BBQ grill cover is made out of excellent material--sturdy.",
"In addition, I like other features, such as the ability to tie its four corners to the grill (so it won't fly away with wind), the handles that help you position it, and its pockets.",
"Great buy and it was worth the $10 more I paid over the previous one, which lasted three years, but I already know this one will last even longer.",
"UPDATE: It's been 2.",
"5 yrs since I bought this item.",
"From a distance it still looks good.",
"Also, I still like the design.",
"However, it already has a tear at the top.",
"I am not sure the expected time it should last, but I think it should be more than 2.",
"5 years.",
".",
"."
]
|
I purchased my sawboss a couple of years ago. It's handy to have around. lots of power for its size. It cuts 2x lumber at 45 degrees. I like the dust chute, especially when it's hooked up to a shopvac. So why don't I give it 5 stars? It doesn't run smoothly. Too much slop in the gears I guess. In fact ,the main bearing went out and sheared off all the teeth on the arbor. Porter Cable fixed it alright, but it still runs rough. I bought a Skil 5 1/2" trim saw for 20.00 at a pawn shop that cuts circles around the saw boss. You wouldn't believe it since the saw boss has a 9 amp motor and the little skil is around 6.5 but it's true. New blades, old blades Pine , oak ,plywood it doesn't make any difference the Skil blows it away .It feels like the skil is gliding through the cut whereas the PC is beating through with a square blade by comparison. It not only cuts faster, it cuts smoother due to less blade runout. I thought maybe it was just my saw that was bad so I tried some others out. Same thing . Fellow sawboss owners, I'm sorry ,this is all true. If you're looking for a small saw , I recommend the 5 1/2" skil. If toolcrib doesn't have it, try the Bosch , it's the same saw. | 1 | neutral | [
"I purchased my sawboss a couple of years ago.",
"It's handy to have around.",
"lots of power for its size.",
"It cuts 2x lumber at 45 degrees.",
"I like the dust chute, especially when it's hooked up to a shopvac.",
"So why don't I give it 5 stars?",
"It doesn't run smoothly.",
"Too much slop in the gears I guess.",
"In fact ,the main bearing went out and sheared off all the teeth on the arbor.",
"Porter Cable fixed it alright, but it still runs rough.",
"I bought a Skil 5 1/2\" trim saw for 20.",
"00 at a pawn shop that cuts circles around the saw boss.",
"You wouldn't believe it since the saw boss has a 9 amp motor and the little skil is around 6.",
"5 but it's true.",
"New blades, old blades Pine , oak ,plywood it doesn't make any difference the Skil blows it away.",
"It feels like the skil is gliding through the cut whereas the PC is beating through with a square blade by comparison.",
"It not only cuts faster, it cuts smoother due to less blade runout.",
"I thought maybe it was just my saw that was bad so I tried some others out.",
"Same thing.",
"Fellow sawboss owners, I'm sorry ,this is all true.",
"If you're looking for a small saw , I recommend the 5 1/2\" skil.",
"If toolcrib doesn't have it, try the Bosch , it's the same saw."
]
|
I had my eye on the LG VU for about a year now it seemed to be the closest thing to the iPhone without all of the ridiculous limitations, such as only being able to do file management by syncing with iTunes all the time, no BlueTooth capability (other than talking on the phone) and the ridiculous contract through AT&T wireless. I had the iPhone for two days before returning it because after realizing it cost way too much money to be so limited. As much as I disliked the iPhone, I did like some of its features like the touch screen and the internet capability.
I had been using a cheap phone while I searched for one that would be worth dropping a few hundred dollars on. The only one that came close was the LG VU, but even then I was hesitant because it did not have WAN capability like the i-phone did and I knew the internet function of the VU came nowhere near to that of the iPhone. But after my old phone stopped working completely, I had no choice but to get a new phone so I picked up the LG VU. (no contract of course).
The touch screen is fairly responsive, however there are many occasions if you have fairly large hands/fingers you will find yourself pressing the wrong button or letter on the fairly small on screen keyboard and will take some getting used to. A huge problem with the LG's touch screen, is that is it not nearly as responsive as the iPhone when it comes to scrolling such as an internet page. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't at all. In the cases when it does work it very inconsistent, sometimes it only scrolls a few millimeters and other time it scrolls entirely too fast and far causing you to have to start over. This is extremely frustrating however, a small consolation is that you can use the volume keys to automatically move the next or previous page, but it does nothing if you want to scroll horizontally. I don't know if the problems with the touch screen are a result of me having a screen protector on it, but I had a similar screen protector on the iPhone and still did not have any issues with its touch screen.
Speaking of the internet the LG Vu is nowhere near the internet of the iPhone. Its slow, frequently unresponsive and some pages that came up on the iPhone with no problem don't come up at all on the LG Vu. This is because the LG Vu does not use the "real" internet that the IPhone does. The Vu uses the fairly limited Media.net version that most cell phones use meaning that it only works fairly well with the most basic of sites. Anything complicated, even message boards are slow and many times unusable. The iPhone's internet capabilities run circles around this phone.
The best feature of the LG VU is the feature I never had any plans to use at first. This feature is the TV feature. Basically it's just that; a feature that allows you to watch TV on your phone. It works surprisingly well, but there are only a handful of channels to choose from, some examples are NBC, CBS, ESPN, CNN, FoxNews, MTV and Nickelodeon. The news channels are "Live" but others play reruns of the previous day's shows. There are cases where the picture/sound will freeze and become garbled, but for the most part is pretty good. The TV feature can only be used if you pay for the service (about $30/month), but once you pay, its unlimited use. Add another $5 to have unlimited Media.net usage. There is also a cellular video feature allowing you to watch full length TV shows and sports but I haven't used it.
Other than the touch screen, and TV feature the LG VU has the same features every other phone has; various Bluetooth services that are not limited to just voice such as the iPhone, music player, ability to use MP3's as ring tones, and 2MP camera phone used for taking stills and short videos. The camera does not snap very good pictures as most of the time they come out blurry even though the image on the screen prior to taking the picture is quite clear. The pictures are blurry even though I hold it perfectly still. It seems the only time I get clearer pictures is when I'm moving slightly so I have no idea what is up with that.
The LG VU is not a bad phone but it could have been so much better. It suffers greatly from not having WAN capability and the UI occasionally becomes unresponsive and freezes. The internet interface though only using Media.net still could have been designed a lot better. Had I not absolutely needed a phone, then I would have not gotten the LG VU, but since I didn't have one at all I had to make a decision. | 1 | neutral | [
"I had my eye on the LG VU for about a year now it seemed to be the closest thing to the iPhone without all of the ridiculous limitations, such as only being able to do file management by syncing with iTunes all the time, no BlueTooth capability (other than talking on the phone) and the ridiculous contract through AT&T wireless.",
"I had the iPhone for two days before returning it because after realizing it cost way too much money to be so limited.",
"As much as I disliked the iPhone, I did like some of its features like the touch screen and the internet capability.",
"I had been using a cheap phone while I searched for one that would be worth dropping a few hundred dollars on.",
"The only one that came close was the LG VU, but even then I was hesitant because it did not have WAN capability like the i-phone did and I knew the internet function of the VU came nowhere near to that of the iPhone.",
"But after my old phone stopped working completely, I had no choice but to get a new phone so I picked up the LG VU.",
"(no contract of course).",
"The touch screen is fairly responsive, however there are many occasions if you have fairly large hands/fingers you will find yourself pressing the wrong button or letter on the fairly small on screen keyboard and will take some getting used to.",
"A huge problem with the LG's touch screen, is that is it not nearly as responsive as the iPhone when it comes to scrolling such as an internet page.",
"Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't at all.",
"In the cases when it does work it very inconsistent, sometimes it only scrolls a few millimeters and other time it scrolls entirely too fast and far causing you to have to start over.",
"This is extremely frustrating however, a small consolation is that you can use the volume keys to automatically move the next or previous page, but it does nothing if you want to scroll horizontally.",
"I don't know if the problems with the touch screen are a result of me having a screen protector on it, but I had a similar screen protector on the iPhone and still did not have any issues with its touch screen.",
"Speaking of the internet the LG Vu is nowhere near the internet of the iPhone.",
"Its slow, frequently unresponsive and some pages that came up on the iPhone with no problem don't come up at all on the LG Vu.",
"This is because the LG Vu does not use the \"real\" internet that the IPhone does.",
"The Vu uses the fairly limited Media.",
"net version that most cell phones use meaning that it only works fairly well with the most basic of sites.",
"Anything complicated, even message boards are slow and many times unusable.",
"The iPhone's internet capabilities run circles around this phone.",
"The best feature of the LG VU is the feature I never had any plans to use at first.",
"This feature is the TV feature.",
"Basically it's just that; a feature that allows you to watch TV on your phone.",
"It works surprisingly well, but there are only a handful of channels to choose from, some examples are NBC, CBS, ESPN, CNN, FoxNews, MTV and Nickelodeon.",
"The news channels are \"Live\" but others play reruns of the previous day's shows.",
"There are cases where the picture/sound will freeze and become garbled, but for the most part is pretty good.",
"The TV feature can only be used if you pay for the service (about $30/month), but once you pay, its unlimited use.",
"Add another $5 to have unlimited Media.",
"net usage.",
"There is also a cellular video feature allowing you to watch full length TV shows and sports but I haven't used it.",
"Other than the touch screen, and TV feature the LG VU has the same features every other phone has; various Bluetooth services that are not limited to just voice such as the iPhone, music player, ability to use MP3's as ring tones, and 2MP camera phone used for taking stills and short videos.",
"The camera does not snap very good pictures as most of the time they come out blurry even though the image on the screen prior to taking the picture is quite clear.",
"The pictures are blurry even though I hold it perfectly still.",
"It seems the only time I get clearer pictures is when I'm moving slightly so I have no idea what is up with that.",
"The LG VU is not a bad phone but it could have been so much better.",
"It suffers greatly from not having WAN capability and the UI occasionally becomes unresponsive and freezes.",
"The internet interface though only using Media.",
"net still could have been designed a lot better.",
"Had I not absolutely needed a phone, then I would have not gotten the LG VU, but since I didn't have one at all I had to make a decision."
]
|
NHL 07: you have no speed bursts (players move based on ratings), too-realistic passing, no Season mode, and a default controller setting that not only completely ignores the face buttons (the colored X, Y, A and B buttons), but forces you to pass using the right trigger. THE RIGHT TRIGGER TO PASS. So why did I buy EA Sports' product over the smoother, pass and teamwork-friendly NHL 2K7, with its numerous game modes, ground-breaking camera angle and excellent online playability?
It is as the rumors say: The Skill Stick.
Every gaming review has advised that it may take up to over a dozen games just to get used to the NHL 07 Skill Stick, which, undisputedly, is the future of video game hockey. Say to yourself, "Learn it now, and hope NHL 08 will have the rest of its game presentation catch up to its technology." But the reviews are spot on--you will need at least a dozen games to get comfortable.
There are several tweaks and things you can do to ease yourself in: set your controller settings to "Classic" and change "Camera Relative" to "Always Up" to be able to have a hybrid controller where you can use the classic EA Sports hockey setup, as well as the Skill Stick; play hours of the Shootout mode; and start off playing at the Pro level for about three games, before moving on to more difficult play.
Let me put it this way: you intercept a pass in the neutral zone, and skate untouched toward the opposing goalie. God help you if your only option is to press a deke button, aim, and shoot, and hope the computer odds let your goal in.
Now imagine being able to skate up, deke left, pull right for a wrister, then, just as the goalie commits to the right side, pull your stick back left and flip it top shelf, backhanded over his glove.
Imagine no more. If you can think it, the Skill Stick can do it: high, low, five-hole, top shelf, flip, wrister, slap, snap...everything. It just seems ridiculous that you would want to skate in such critical moments such as breakaways, penalty shots and shootouts without at least an 85 percent chance of scoring. Sure it's offensively biased, but in real-life hockey, the one-on-one situation will always favor the skilled scorer against the skilled goalie--the scorer just has too many moves, and the goalie can only react.
It'll be a sacrifice, so buying the game used is probably recommended; it's not a complete package, but you'll be glad you've mastered the Skill Stick by the time a hopefully superior NHL 08 comes out, with you steps ahead of the rest of the competition.
If you like team play, with great passing, and bum rush the net strategies, get the 2K7 offering. It's user-friendly, and you can be reasonably competitive online in a matter of two or three games. But if the thrill of getting to an open spot on the ice and having every shot aimed at ANY location at your disposal, 07's Skill Stick is by far the way to go. It's like comparing Doom II to 360's Ghost Recon, in terms of controls.
It may not be this year, but the Skill Stick era is about to dominate the video game hockey landscape. | 1 | neutral | [
"NHL 07: you have no speed bursts (players move based on ratings), too-realistic passing, no Season mode, and a default controller setting that not only completely ignores the face buttons (the colored X, Y, A and B buttons), but forces you to pass using the right trigger.",
"THE RIGHT TRIGGER TO PASS.",
"So why did I buy EA Sports' product over the smoother, pass and teamwork-friendly NHL 2K7, with its numerous game modes, ground-breaking camera angle and excellent online playability?",
"It is as the rumors say: The Skill Stick.",
"Every gaming review has advised that it may take up to over a dozen games just to get used to the NHL 07 Skill Stick, which, undisputedly, is the future of video game hockey.",
"Say to yourself, \"Learn it now, and hope NHL 08 will have the rest of its game presentation catch up to its technology.",
"\" But the reviews are spot on--you will need at least a dozen games to get comfortable.",
"There are several tweaks and things you can do to ease yourself in: set your controller settings to \"Classic\" and change \"Camera Relative\" to \"Always Up\" to be able to have a hybrid controller where you can use the classic EA Sports hockey setup, as well as the Skill Stick; play hours of the Shootout mode; and start off playing at the Pro level for about three games, before moving on to more difficult play.",
"Let me put it this way: you intercept a pass in the neutral zone, and skate untouched toward the opposing goalie.",
"God help you if your only option is to press a deke button, aim, and shoot, and hope the computer odds let your goal in.",
"Now imagine being able to skate up, deke left, pull right for a wrister, then, just as the goalie commits to the right side, pull your stick back left and flip it top shelf, backhanded over his glove.",
"Imagine no more.",
"If you can think it, the Skill Stick can do it: high, low, five-hole, top shelf, flip, wrister, slap, snap...",
"everything.",
"It just seems ridiculous that you would want to skate in such critical moments such as breakaways, penalty shots and shootouts without at least an 85 percent chance of scoring.",
"Sure it's offensively biased, but in real-life hockey, the one-on-one situation will always favor the skilled scorer against the skilled goalie--the scorer just has too many moves, and the goalie can only react.",
"It'll be a sacrifice, so buying the game used is probably recommended; it's not a complete package, but you'll be glad you've mastered the Skill Stick by the time a hopefully superior NHL 08 comes out, with you steps ahead of the rest of the competition.",
"If you like team play, with great passing, and bum rush the net strategies, get the 2K7 offering.",
"It's user-friendly, and you can be reasonably competitive online in a matter of two or three games.",
"But if the thrill of getting to an open spot on the ice and having every shot aimed at ANY location at your disposal, 07's Skill Stick is by far the way to go.",
"It's like comparing Doom II to 360's Ghost Recon, in terms of controls.",
"It may not be this year, but the Skill Stick era is about to dominate the video game hockey landscape."
]
|
This is Part I in The Vampire Hunter's Daughter. This was another quick read and I liked the story. 14 year old Chloe is awakened in the middle of the night by her mother who hides Chloe in the closet. Chloe's mom is then threatened by some intruders demanding that she hand over Chloe, who has to witness her mother being killed. As they try to leave with Chloe another group of people show up and they all start fighting. When Chloe wakes up she finds herself in her grandfathers house and he tells her the whole story. It turns out Chloe comes from a line of vampire hunters and her father is a vampire. Her mother fell in love with the vampire Trevor and has been hiding Chloe from him all these years. Chloe vows she will kill her Trevor to avenge her mothers death.
I did like this story but I wish it were longer. I will have to look for more so I can continue on the story of Chloe. This story did hold my attention and I devoured it in one sitting.
At the time I downloaded this ebook it was being offered free in the kindle store, which in no way affected my review of this short story. | 1 | neutral | [
"This is Part I in The Vampire Hunter's Daughter.",
"This was another quick read and I liked the story.",
"14 year old Chloe is awakened in the middle of the night by her mother who hides Chloe in the closet.",
"Chloe's mom is then threatened by some intruders demanding that she hand over Chloe, who has to witness her mother being killed.",
"As they try to leave with Chloe another group of people show up and they all start fighting.",
"When Chloe wakes up she finds herself in her grandfathers house and he tells her the whole story.",
"It turns out Chloe comes from a line of vampire hunters and her father is a vampire.",
"Her mother fell in love with the vampire Trevor and has been hiding Chloe from him all these years.",
"Chloe vows she will kill her Trevor to avenge her mothers death.",
"I did like this story but I wish it were longer.",
"I will have to look for more so I can continue on the story of Chloe.",
"This story did hold my attention and I devoured it in one sitting.",
"At the time I downloaded this ebook it was being offered free in the kindle store, which in no way affected my review of this short story."
]
|
Love the paper and brushes ....the pencils not so much. I bought this to try out the pencils. I love working with watercolor pans and tubes. The paper and brushes are decent and work great for general art supplies. I would say they are good for beginners. The pencils were not my cup of tea. I have tried using them multiple ways and am not happy with them due to using pans the most. I do like the range of colors although, I had to re organize the trays. They didnt come in a layout that was sensible. I found that I like to use the pencils to outline my pieces that I dont want any regular pencil marks to show. The packaging of the pencils is also pretty lame. The trays inside are really flimsy and you have to be careful removing them or pencils will go a popping out. This is very annoying. I am probably gonna just bundle them in colors. | 1 | neutral | [
"Love the paper and brushes....",
"the pencils not so much.",
"I bought this to try out the pencils.",
"I love working with watercolor pans and tubes.",
"The paper and brushes are decent and work great for general art supplies.",
"I would say they are good for beginners.",
"The pencils were not my cup of tea.",
"I have tried using them multiple ways and am not happy with them due to using pans the most.",
"I do like the range of colors although, I had to re organize the trays.",
"They didnt come in a layout that was sensible.",
"I found that I like to use the pencils to outline my pieces that I dont want any regular pencil marks to show.",
"The packaging of the pencils is also pretty lame.",
"The trays inside are really flimsy and you have to be careful removing them or pencils will go a popping out.",
"This is very annoying.",
"I am probably gonna just bundle them in colors."
]
|
I have read all of Tony Hillerman's books, and have learned a great deal about the Navajo people and their culture. I think I enjoy the descriptions of setting and folkways more than the plots of his books. This one was short on description of sky and mountains and weather. Hillerman seems to have decided that since he has written so much of Navajo ceremonies and the nature of the people, that he doesn't have to tell us any more. I felt a great lack of what I enjoy most. I also felt that the book lurched along from an unprepossessing start in Washington D. C. through a series of events that never quite explained everything. I expected more to be said of the ripoff of royalties for gas and oil, because it seemed to be introduced as an important problem early on. This won't stop me from reading the next thing Hillerman writes, but I hope the next one is more organic in structure and contains the old poetic quality when he writes of the people and the land. | 1 | neutral | [
"I have read all of Tony Hillerman's books, and have learned a great deal about the Navajo people and their culture.",
"I think I enjoy the descriptions of setting and folkways more than the plots of his books.",
"This one was short on description of sky and mountains and weather.",
"Hillerman seems to have decided that since he has written so much of Navajo ceremonies and the nature of the people, that he doesn't have to tell us any more.",
"I felt a great lack of what I enjoy most.",
"I also felt that the book lurched along from an unprepossessing start in Washington D.",
"C.",
"through a series of events that never quite explained everything.",
"I expected more to be said of the ripoff of royalties for gas and oil, because it seemed to be introduced as an important problem early on.",
"This won't stop me from reading the next thing Hillerman writes, but I hope the next one is more organic in structure and contains the old poetic quality when he writes of the people and the land."
]
|
I've been a Final Fantasy fan for a long time, so this is truly an unbiased review. It breaks my heart to give this game three stars, but I have to say that if it weren't for the character designs, the cut scenes, and the music, this game would probably not even make three stars. While I do agree that this Final Fantasy made a great breakthrough with the effects, everyone should know that there is a problem with the game.
I would highly recommend all who intend to play this game to get a strategy guide. Unlike the past final fantasies (such as VII, VIII, IX), which could be played through with no problems and extreme difficulties (of course, unless you want to get secrets and side quests done, then a strategy guide was probably needed), FF X will be a hard one to get through without a strategy guide. Why do I say this? Well, there are parts in this game when you have to go through a kind of test, called "trials", in temples. To avoid spoilers, I will not specify why, it is just a necessary part for the plot. There are many trials during the gameplay, for which you would have to walk around in maze-like areas, moving "spheres" around to reveal new paths, so that your character can move on. Sometimes making the wrong moves will get you stuck, not being able to get the story going. So now some extreme FF X lovers are probably saying, "only stupid people can't figure this out", "that's the challenge, duh!" or things like that. Of course, I do realize that it is possible to move along and get things right in these trials by yourself, without any guides. However, it will be very very time-consuming! Believe me, some trials get complicated, how are you supposed to know exactly where to go, which sphere to move where? And then when you walk around for a while doing the wrong thing, you have to undo what you did and then try to remember what you did, so that you don't do it again! I just don't see a point in wasting all that time walking in the trials. And then oh yeah, did I mention: there are NO enemies in the trials. Basically you will be wasting your time wandering around, figuring out what exactly to do, and while doing that walking around, you will not be able to build any experience points during this time wasted. Thus it will not help you develop the sphere grid, which is a new system in which characters use experience points to learn new moves/magic/up attributes. Yes, I know what they were thinking, adding random battles in trials will break concentration in trials. I guess that makes sense too, but with or without battles, the trials will be very annoying to figure out without a guide.
So if you do get a strategy guide, then you will be able to get through every aspect of the game! So everything is solved, and this game is awesome again, YAY!!! Well... Not quite! I have a high expectation from my game-play, and by this I mean when I spend time playing video games, I want to enjoy the playing experience as much as possible. I don't think reading the strategy word-for-word during the trials, trying to figure out exactly what to do, referring to the book, then the screen, is an enjoyable time spent. It really takes you out of the game... In the past when I used to read any strategy guides, it would usually be after I have beaten a game, then it would be interesting to know what I have missed, such as items, or special characters/events. Then that'd be interesting to know. And usually these secrets will not need step-to-step instructions that these trials require. I think these should be easily memorable so when you play the game, you won't have to read the guide while you play again. FF VII was so much better in this aspect, there were optional characters you can get, limit breaks, but none of them requires you to memorize things such as "turn left at second corner, remove the sphere and put it on the pedestal, walk back up again, now turn left at third intersection, blah blah blah..." (Which is NOT possible anyway!!!)
When I first played this game, I liked it ok, mainly because it is Final Fantasy after all. I actually gave this game a five star review a few years ago. However, now, having just continued to play from where I left off last time, I looked back and realized that if I had not purchased the strategy guide, I probably would have stopped playing way before the plot intensifies. I never did finish the game... The plot, despite the hype, did not really attract me so much that I felt the urge to find out what happens.
All in all, my main suggestion is to get a strategy guide, so you don't spend hours in those trials. Other than that, the plot, sphere grid, etc., everyone has different tastes for these, so my opinion will not be valuable to others, and thus it will truly not be fair for me to judge the game on these issues. | 1 | neutral | [
"I've been a Final Fantasy fan for a long time, so this is truly an unbiased review.",
"It breaks my heart to give this game three stars, but I have to say that if it weren't for the character designs, the cut scenes, and the music, this game would probably not even make three stars.",
"While I do agree that this Final Fantasy made a great breakthrough with the effects, everyone should know that there is a problem with the game.",
"I would highly recommend all who intend to play this game to get a strategy guide.",
"Unlike the past final fantasies (such as VII, VIII, IX), which could be played through with no problems and extreme difficulties (of course, unless you want to get secrets and side quests done, then a strategy guide was probably needed), FF X will be a hard one to get through without a strategy guide.",
"Why do I say this?",
"Well, there are parts in this game when you have to go through a kind of test, called \"trials\", in temples.",
"To avoid spoilers, I will not specify why, it is just a necessary part for the plot.",
"There are many trials during the gameplay, for which you would have to walk around in maze-like areas, moving \"spheres\" around to reveal new paths, so that your character can move on.",
"Sometimes making the wrong moves will get you stuck, not being able to get the story going.",
"So now some extreme FF X lovers are probably saying, \"only stupid people can't figure this out\", \"that's the challenge, duh!",
"\" or things like that.",
"Of course, I do realize that it is possible to move along and get things right in these trials by yourself, without any guides.",
"However, it will be very very time-consuming!",
"Believe me, some trials get complicated, how are you supposed to know exactly where to go, which sphere to move where?",
"And then when you walk around for a while doing the wrong thing, you have to undo what you did and then try to remember what you did, so that you don't do it again!",
"I just don't see a point in wasting all that time walking in the trials.",
"And then oh yeah, did I mention: there are NO enemies in the trials.",
"Basically you will be wasting your time wandering around, figuring out what exactly to do, and while doing that walking around, you will not be able to build any experience points during this time wasted.",
"Thus it will not help you develop the sphere grid, which is a new system in which characters use experience points to learn new moves/magic/up attributes.",
"Yes, I know what they were thinking, adding random battles in trials will break concentration in trials.",
"I guess that makes sense too, but with or without battles, the trials will be very annoying to figure out without a guide.",
"So if you do get a strategy guide, then you will be able to get through every aspect of the game!",
"So everything is solved, and this game is awesome again, YAY!!!",
"Well...",
"Not quite!",
"I have a high expectation from my game-play, and by this I mean when I spend time playing video games, I want to enjoy the playing experience as much as possible.",
"I don't think reading the strategy word-for-word during the trials, trying to figure out exactly what to do, referring to the book, then the screen, is an enjoyable time spent.",
"It really takes you out of the game...",
"In the past when I used to read any strategy guides, it would usually be after I have beaten a game, then it would be interesting to know what I have missed, such as items, or special characters/events.",
"Then that'd be interesting to know.",
"And usually these secrets will not need step-to-step instructions that these trials require.",
"I think these should be easily memorable so when you play the game, you won't have to read the guide while you play again.",
"FF VII was so much better in this aspect, there were optional characters you can get, limit breaks, but none of them requires you to memorize things such as \"turn left at second corner, remove the sphere and put it on the pedestal, walk back up again, now turn left at third intersection, blah blah blah...",
"\" (Which is NOT possible anyway!!!",
")\n\nWhen I first played this game, I liked it ok, mainly because it is Final Fantasy after all.",
"I actually gave this game a five star review a few years ago.",
"However, now, having just continued to play from where I left off last time, I looked back and realized that if I had not purchased the strategy guide, I probably would have stopped playing way before the plot intensifies.",
"I never did finish the game...",
"The plot, despite the hype, did not really attract me so much that I felt the urge to find out what happens.",
"All in all, my main suggestion is to get a strategy guide, so you don't spend hours in those trials.",
"Other than that, the plot, sphere grid, etc.",
", everyone has different tastes for these, so my opinion will not be valuable to others, and thus it will truly not be fair for me to judge the game on these issues."
]
|
I have seen some silly comments about this album, like it is one of Berlin's best. Well, Berlin only released two albums and one EP.
This was an experimental CD, with Berlin trying a few different styles. There are some very good songs on the CD, but there are also some clunkers. The only hit is Take My Breath Away, which is a good song that has been overplayed. And if you ever take the Top Gun ride at Paramount's Great America, you have to listen to it over and over again while you wait an hour in line.
Berlin was started in 1980 by John Crawford, who found Teri Nunn through audtions. Berlin was one of the leaders of blending new wave and punk music with disco. They put out the incredible Pleaure Victim EP on a independent label. It was only 27 minutes long. They were discovered by Geffen records, who rereleased Pleasure Victim in 1982. It wasn't until 1984 when Berlin released a full length album called Love Life. It was a complete departure from Pleasure Victim, consisting of nondescript slow love songs set to a pop synth beat.
By the time Count Three and Pray was produced, the whole disco influence in music was fading and new wave wasn't far behind. Berlin tried to evolve out of that scene. They were successful to some part, but not totally. This album flopped, because it didn't please the Pleasure Victim fans or light pop fans who preferred Love Life.
After this, Berlin broke up. In the nineties, Teri Nunn got a back up band and has toured from time to time as Berlin. She released a live album last year. The title of this CD comes from a 1950's western starring Van Heflin. | 1 | neutral | [
"I have seen some silly comments about this album, like it is one of Berlin's best.",
"Well, Berlin only released two albums and one EP.",
"This was an experimental CD, with Berlin trying a few different styles.",
"There are some very good songs on the CD, but there are also some clunkers.",
"The only hit is Take My Breath Away, which is a good song that has been overplayed.",
"And if you ever take the Top Gun ride at Paramount's Great America, you have to listen to it over and over again while you wait an hour in line.",
"Berlin was started in 1980 by John Crawford, who found Teri Nunn through audtions.",
"Berlin was one of the leaders of blending new wave and punk music with disco.",
"They put out the incredible Pleaure Victim EP on a independent label.",
"It was only 27 minutes long.",
"They were discovered by Geffen records, who rereleased Pleasure Victim in 1982.",
"It wasn't until 1984 when Berlin released a full length album called Love Life.",
"It was a complete departure from Pleasure Victim, consisting of nondescript slow love songs set to a pop synth beat.",
"By the time Count Three and Pray was produced, the whole disco influence in music was fading and new wave wasn't far behind.",
"Berlin tried to evolve out of that scene.",
"They were successful to some part, but not totally.",
"This album flopped, because it didn't please the Pleasure Victim fans or light pop fans who preferred Love Life.",
"After this, Berlin broke up.",
"In the nineties, Teri Nunn got a back up band and has toured from time to time as Berlin.",
"She released a live album last year.",
"The title of this CD comes from a 1950's western starring Van Heflin."
]
|
Saturday, November 27th 1993. I had become bored of <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Last-Battle-Fist-of-the-North-Star/dp/B00002SVNW/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Last Battle: Fist of the North Star</a> and <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Shadow-of-the-Beast/dp/B000035XKE/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Shadow of the Beast</a>. They were poorly-chosen Xmas presents a few months earlier and I wanted to swap them for something more worthy. I only owned said games for 12 weeks though it felt like eternity back then, but something more worthy was about to come.
I traded the games at a trading barrow in Falkirk shopping mall. The games I got in return were <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Golden-Axe/dp/B00002SVOJ/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Golden Axe</a> and Streets of Rage. Upon returning home and jammed in SoR and my mind was blown, first by the funky soundtrack and second by action. Here was a beat-em-up worthy of the arcade that was finally available on home consoles. As a kid, I loved this game. I played it a zillion times during Spring 1993 with my friend Andrew. I used to play Axel or Blaze and he would be Adam and no matter how often we played it we never seemed to get bored. Then <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Streets-of-Rage-2/dp/B00002SVO9/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Streets of Rage 2</a> came out, and we quickly forgot that this one even existed.
You play as ex-cops Axel Stone, Adam Hunter or Blaze Fielding, who have quit the force in order to take on the bad guys in their own way. There are 8 levels to work through in a run-down and corrupt city led by the evil Mr X. Beating up all the bad guys and the end-of-level boss is much fun, and the screen progression gives the game panel-to-panel comic book vibe.
Level 4 (The Bridge) was my fave because you could chuck baddies down the holes into oblivion. You even have the chance to become Mr. X's right hand man at the end of the game (at a price). This leads to the 'bad ending' in which you become the the boss of the syndicate. Exactly how this is possible is a mystery since you destroy the syndicate on your way to Mr. X, but never mind.
Streets of Rage also has truly fantastic music. The composer Yuzo Koshiro did absolute miracles with the limited technology of the time. The main theme, Level One, Level 4 and Final Boss are standout tunes. Hell, they are ALL standout tunes and classics in their own right.
I am a proud owner of SoR, but when you also own Sor2 it does sort of render this one obsolete. The graphics are a little choppy too, but it is still one of the finer side-scrolling beat-em-ups ever made.
Pros:
Average graphics but nice backgrounds represented in a comic-book like
panel progression that fits the tone of the game.
Great tunes.
Easy to get into and hard to put down.
Cons:
Vastly inferior to the infinitely more complex Streets of Rage 2.
Poor enemy AI. Baddies often walk away from you instead of engaging in
combat. This is especially infuriating with the Level 5 boss.
Lack of combo moves.
Lack of decent weapons.
Bad guy models are repeated far too often. | 1 | neutral | [
"Saturday, November 27th 1993.",
"I had become bored of <a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/Last-Battle-Fist-of-the-North-Star/dp/B00002SVNW/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">Last Battle: Fist of the North Star</a> and <a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/Shadow-of-the-Beast/dp/B000035XKE/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">Shadow of the Beast</a>.",
"They were poorly-chosen Xmas presents a few months earlier and I wanted to swap them for something more worthy.",
"I only owned said games for 12 weeks though it felt like eternity back then, but something more worthy was about to come.",
"I traded the games at a trading barrow in Falkirk shopping mall.",
"The games I got in return were <a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/Golden-Axe/dp/B00002SVOJ/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">Golden Axe</a> and Streets of Rage.",
"Upon returning home and jammed in SoR and my mind was blown, first by the funky soundtrack and second by action.",
"Here was a beat-em-up worthy of the arcade that was finally available on home consoles.",
"As a kid, I loved this game.",
"I played it a zillion times during Spring 1993 with my friend Andrew.",
"I used to play Axel or Blaze and he would be Adam and no matter how often we played it we never seemed to get bored.",
"Then <a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/Streets-of-Rage-2/dp/B00002SVO9/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">Streets of Rage 2</a> came out, and we quickly forgot that this one even existed.",
"You play as ex-cops Axel Stone, Adam Hunter or Blaze Fielding, who have quit the force in order to take on the bad guys in their own way.",
"There are 8 levels to work through in a run-down and corrupt city led by the evil Mr X.",
"Beating up all the bad guys and the end-of-level boss is much fun, and the screen progression gives the game panel-to-panel comic book vibe.",
"Level 4 (The Bridge) was my fave because you could chuck baddies down the holes into oblivion.",
"You even have the chance to become Mr.",
"X's right hand man at the end of the game (at a price).",
"This leads to the 'bad ending' in which you become the the boss of the syndicate.",
"Exactly how this is possible is a mystery since you destroy the syndicate on your way to Mr.",
"X, but never mind.",
"Streets of Rage also has truly fantastic music.",
"The composer Yuzo Koshiro did absolute miracles with the limited technology of the time.",
"The main theme, Level One, Level 4 and Final Boss are standout tunes.",
"Hell, they are ALL standout tunes and classics in their own right.",
"I am a proud owner of SoR, but when you also own Sor2 it does sort of render this one obsolete.",
"The graphics are a little choppy too, but it is still one of the finer side-scrolling beat-em-ups ever made.",
"Pros:\n\nAverage graphics but nice backgrounds represented in a comic-book like\npanel progression that fits the tone of the game.",
"Great tunes.",
"Easy to get into and hard to put down.",
"Cons:\n\nVastly inferior to the infinitely more complex Streets of Rage 2.",
"Poor enemy AI.",
"Baddies often walk away from you instead of engaging in\ncombat.",
"This is especially infuriating with the Level 5 boss.",
"Lack of combo moves.",
"Lack of decent weapons.",
"Bad guy models are repeated far too often."
]
|
Elton apparently got the name for this album after being subjected to a night of ribbing by famed jokesmith and Vaudevillian Groucho Marx. At his breaking point, Elton is supposed to have remarked, "Don't shoot me..." etc. etc.
If the album's title has comic roots, the nature of the songs preserve that comic, tongue-in-cheek feeling. Songs like "Texan Love Song" about some rednecks looking to kick some hippies out of town, or "Teacher I Need You" about a boy's crush on his teacher, smack of flippancy and comedy. Certainly Taupin's lyrics are a far cry from the more serious, self-involved lyrics on previous efforts, like "Madman" or "Tumbleweed".
Elton's songs here are purely pop-oriented. Thus, while this translated into massive sales back in the day (1972), the album is invested with a dated feel that does not stand up well with the passage of time. To his credit, the piano work on "Teacher" and the horns on "Elderberry Wine" make the songs catchy and infectuous. But one can tire of them easily. "High Flying Bird" is a bit too sappy, and "I Wanna Be Your Teenage Idol" is far too silly, despite Elton's impressive piano jamming.
Altogether "Daniel" and "Blues For Baby and Me" are two sentimental songs which hold up well. Buckmaster's orchestral arrangements on "Have Mercy on the Criminal" are equally compelling (perhaps the only truly serious lyrics on the album). The well-known "Crocodile Rock" suffers in that it is both campy and over-played, but as much as I hate to admit, many fans love it and continue to request it. To date, Elton has played it at every concert I've been to, but on a lighter note, this has always made for a short beer line at the concession stands.
The remastered version has some forgettable B-Sides like the country twang of "Jack Rabbit" and the rather pointless "Screw You".
This is Elton at his most poppish. Because this album was the result of Elton following a recipe or formula for commercial success, it lacks creativity and cannot be considered one of his essential recordings. | 1 | neutral | [
"Elton apparently got the name for this album after being subjected to a night of ribbing by famed jokesmith and Vaudevillian Groucho Marx.",
"At his breaking point, Elton is supposed to have remarked, \"Don't shoot me...",
"\" etc.",
"etc.",
"If the album's title has comic roots, the nature of the songs preserve that comic, tongue-in-cheek feeling.",
"Songs like \"Texan Love Song\" about some rednecks looking to kick some hippies out of town, or \"Teacher I Need You\" about a boy's crush on his teacher, smack of flippancy and comedy.",
"Certainly Taupin's lyrics are a far cry from the more serious, self-involved lyrics on previous efforts, like \"Madman\" or \"Tumbleweed\".",
"Elton's songs here are purely pop-oriented.",
"Thus, while this translated into massive sales back in the day (1972), the album is invested with a dated feel that does not stand up well with the passage of time.",
"To his credit, the piano work on \"Teacher\" and the horns on \"Elderberry Wine\" make the songs catchy and infectuous.",
"But one can tire of them easily.",
"\"High Flying Bird\" is a bit too sappy, and \"I Wanna Be Your Teenage Idol\" is far too silly, despite Elton's impressive piano jamming.",
"Altogether \"Daniel\" and \"Blues For Baby and Me\" are two sentimental songs which hold up well.",
"Buckmaster's orchestral arrangements on \"Have Mercy on the Criminal\" are equally compelling (perhaps the only truly serious lyrics on the album).",
"The well-known \"Crocodile Rock\" suffers in that it is both campy and over-played, but as much as I hate to admit, many fans love it and continue to request it.",
"To date, Elton has played it at every concert I've been to, but on a lighter note, this has always made for a short beer line at the concession stands.",
"The remastered version has some forgettable B-Sides like the country twang of \"Jack Rabbit\" and the rather pointless \"Screw You\".",
"This is Elton at his most poppish.",
"Because this album was the result of Elton following a recipe or formula for commercial success, it lacks creativity and cannot be considered one of his essential recordings."
]
|
I went in to Syphon Filter with high hopes and was somewhat dissapointed. While the levels are large and fairly well designed, the quite average graphics caused problems when you get close to surfaces. The games controls also suffer from problems, mostly in terms of the targeting function, which is useful for quick aiming in tight spaces, or when an enemy is moving fast, yet will often aim for enemies you can't hit, when you are being shot at by ones you can, or even aim behind you, throwing the camera into wild spinning and throwing your character out of control. Fortunately auto-aiming removes the necessity of using targeting in most circumstances. In some places, infinately respawning enemies will cause a great deal of frustration (just to be fair, I did set off an alarm, but still...). Some puzzles are good without being [dumb] and contrived, but some were just plain stupid, especially one early in the game where some explosives you just happen to need are hidden in a box in a dark corner of the level. Some triggered events (especially spawning) are odd, for example, on one level, if you haven't completed a certain objective, you will die without much explaination.[...]
While these flaws greatly detracted from my playing experience, The story is fairly good, certain levels are very fun, and the game hardly ever throws anything so hard that it's agrivating at you. One battle with a helicopter is a little bit overwhelming, although the hardest part comes at the end of the battle when you have to remember to take off your targeting to hit some enemies.
Overall, Syphon Filter is a great game executed poorly, but I have high hopes for the sequal. I hope I'm not let down again. | 1 | neutral | [
"I went in to Syphon Filter with high hopes and was somewhat dissapointed.",
"While the levels are large and fairly well designed, the quite average graphics caused problems when you get close to surfaces.",
"The games controls also suffer from problems, mostly in terms of the targeting function, which is useful for quick aiming in tight spaces, or when an enemy is moving fast, yet will often aim for enemies you can't hit, when you are being shot at by ones you can, or even aim behind you, throwing the camera into wild spinning and throwing your character out of control.",
"Fortunately auto-aiming removes the necessity of using targeting in most circumstances.",
"In some places, infinately respawning enemies will cause a great deal of frustration (just to be fair, I did set off an alarm, but still...",
").",
"Some puzzles are good without being [dumb] and contrived, but some were just plain stupid, especially one early in the game where some explosives you just happen to need are hidden in a box in a dark corner of the level.",
"Some triggered events (especially spawning) are odd, for example, on one level, if you haven't completed a certain objective, you will die without much explaination.",
"[...",
"]\n\nWhile these flaws greatly detracted from my playing experience, The story is fairly good, certain levels are very fun, and the game hardly ever throws anything so hard that it's agrivating at you.",
"One battle with a helicopter is a little bit overwhelming, although the hardest part comes at the end of the battle when you have to remember to take off your targeting to hit some enemies.",
"Overall, Syphon Filter is a great game executed poorly, but I have high hopes for the sequal.",
"I hope I'm not let down again."
]
|
This is the kind of shlock SF/action thing that, regardless of reviews or how bad the ads look, I nearly always have a gut desire to see - and which all too often disappoints. Having gone into this one 8 years after its release, having studiously avoided it and its sequels and knowing almost nothing about the plot or the game it was based on, I have to say that I was somewhat pleasantly surprised, at least at first. No, it's not a great film or even a particularly good one, but in the hands of a director who is even remotely competent or interesting, this could have been a solid entry into the action/horror/sc-fi arena.
Unfortunately, the director we have here is Paul W.S. Anderson, who has managed not only to have a fairly productive and lucrative career but also to marry the fabulous Milla Jovovich, his leading lady in this film and the sequels. The only other PWSA film I've seen is ALIEN VS PREDATOR, and this is certainly a notch above that film, but it still shows plenty of examples of poor editing and narrative construction, dull and ugly action scenes - excepting a couple where Milla gets to kick butt on her own - and fairly obvious and trite horror movie clichs in abundance.
What's good about the film is mostly Milla, who I wouldn't say gives a terrific performance exactly, but who does exude a presence, show some nice physical grace and power, and communicate reasonably well the character of a woman just starting to come out of memory loss - and to realize just how much the mega-corporation that she and nearly everybody else works for has betrayed them all. She is Alice, apparently a former security professional for the Umbrella Corporation, and she has seemingly lost her memory as a result of some kind of nerve gas. She awakens in a fancy mansion that turns out to be a secret portal to the underground Hive, a supercomputer that runs nearby Raccoon City and is a breeding ground for all kinds of unorthodox experiments. Alice has to accompany - and eventually lead - a team of commandos into the Hive to see what's gone wrong with it, and along the way they encounter those most boring (to me) of currently popular horror icons, zombies. Somehow an anti-aging virus developed in the Hive has this unpleasant zombifying side-effect, and the Hive has killed off all of the scientiests within. Except, of course, that you can't really kill a zombie.
Like I said, there are some good action scenes with Milla, and there's also a nice sense of claustrophobia at times - it seems like the Hive might go on forever - but on the whole this wasn't any better than "OK" for me, and it sure wasn't helped by the dreadful bang-your-head-against-the-wall music by Marco Beltrami and Marilyn Manson. I guess it's what the kids like. But to be fair, this probably does feel a lot like the videogame - lots of action and blood, paper-thin story and virtually zero in the way of characterizations. Well, being a hardcore fantasy and SF viewer, I've certainly seen plenty of worse stuff. | 1 | neutral | [
"This is the kind of shlock SF/action thing that, regardless of reviews or how bad the ads look, I nearly always have a gut desire to see - and which all too often disappoints.",
"Having gone into this one 8 years after its release, having studiously avoided it and its sequels and knowing almost nothing about the plot or the game it was based on, I have to say that I was somewhat pleasantly surprised, at least at first.",
"No, it's not a great film or even a particularly good one, but in the hands of a director who is even remotely competent or interesting, this could have been a solid entry into the action/horror/sc-fi arena.",
"Unfortunately, the director we have here is Paul W.",
"S. Anderson, who has managed not only to have a fairly productive and lucrative career but also to marry the fabulous Milla Jovovich, his leading lady in this film and the sequels.",
"The only other PWSA film I've seen is ALIEN VS PREDATOR, and this is certainly a notch above that film, but it still shows plenty of examples of poor editing and narrative construction, dull and ugly action scenes - excepting a couple where Milla gets to kick butt on her own - and fairly obvious and trite horror movie clichs in abundance.",
"What's good about the film is mostly Milla, who I wouldn't say gives a terrific performance exactly, but who does exude a presence, show some nice physical grace and power, and communicate reasonably well the character of a woman just starting to come out of memory loss - and to realize just how much the mega-corporation that she and nearly everybody else works for has betrayed them all.",
"She is Alice, apparently a former security professional for the Umbrella Corporation, and she has seemingly lost her memory as a result of some kind of nerve gas.",
"She awakens in a fancy mansion that turns out to be a secret portal to the underground Hive, a supercomputer that runs nearby Raccoon City and is a breeding ground for all kinds of unorthodox experiments.",
"Alice has to accompany - and eventually lead - a team of commandos into the Hive to see what's gone wrong with it, and along the way they encounter those most boring (to me) of currently popular horror icons, zombies.",
"Somehow an anti-aging virus developed in the Hive has this unpleasant zombifying side-effect, and the Hive has killed off all of the scientiests within.",
"Except, of course, that you can't really kill a zombie.",
"Like I said, there are some good action scenes with Milla, and there's also a nice sense of claustrophobia at times - it seems like the Hive might go on forever - but on the whole this wasn't any better than \"OK\" for me, and it sure wasn't helped by the dreadful bang-your-head-against-the-wall music by Marco Beltrami and Marilyn Manson.",
"I guess it's what the kids like.",
"But to be fair, this probably does feel a lot like the videogame - lots of action and blood, paper-thin story and virtually zero in the way of characterizations.",
"Well, being a hardcore fantasy and SF viewer, I've certainly seen plenty of worse stuff."
]
|
This saw seems to do what it is supposed to do. It makes quick work of trimming door jambs. I'm installing hardwood flooring to replace carpet, and I want the hardwood UNDER the door jambs for appearance sake... and this saw does a fast and neat job trimming the jambs to the proper height. I echo most of the comments made by others. The saw is indeed very noisy, more so than typical circular saws. I think this is partly because of its gearbox and bearings, which seem extremely noisy and rough. You can hear them grind when the saw coasts to a stop after being switched off. Others have commented on the poor quality of the OEM blade that comes with this saw. I have worked with a great many saw blades over the years, but I have never seen one that loses carbide tips like this one does! I have cut jambs of maybe 5 doors and the blade is missing probably 5 or 6 of its carbide tips. It still cuts, though I'm sure not as smoothly as it once did. The blade seems to be a unique one, so I expect I will need to buy a replacement Roberts blade... probably with the same poor quality as the original.
So Roberts - what's the deal with the crappy blade? | 1 | neutral | [
"This saw seems to do what it is supposed to do.",
"It makes quick work of trimming door jambs.",
"I'm installing hardwood flooring to replace carpet, and I want the hardwood UNDER the door jambs for appearance sake...",
"and this saw does a fast and neat job trimming the jambs to the proper height.",
"I echo most of the comments made by others.",
"The saw is indeed very noisy, more so than typical circular saws.",
"I think this is partly because of its gearbox and bearings, which seem extremely noisy and rough.",
"You can hear them grind when the saw coasts to a stop after being switched off.",
"Others have commented on the poor quality of the OEM blade that comes with this saw.",
"I have worked with a great many saw blades over the years, but I have never seen one that loses carbide tips like this one does!",
"I have cut jambs of maybe 5 doors and the blade is missing probably 5 or 6 of its carbide tips.",
"It still cuts, though I'm sure not as smoothly as it once did.",
"The blade seems to be a unique one, so I expect I will need to buy a replacement Roberts blade...",
"probably with the same poor quality as the original.",
"So Roberts - what's the deal with the crappy blade?"
]
|
Angela has been hiding from Knox for decades. She knows how much the Alpha werewolf hates vampires and cannot face the idea of her former lover killing her. Only the kidnapping of her friend gives her the courage to risk her heart and her life by seeing him again.
Knox has hated vampires since they destroyed his family centuries before. He believes they are all evil and should be killed on sight. That is until his lover is turned against her will.
He has searched for her for decades without success and suddenly she is on his land and in his power. Can he convince her that his feelings about vampires have changed, but his feelings for her never have?
This story was a quick read at slightly over sixty pages. Although the forbidden relationship between a vampire and a werewolf is not unique, the author develops the story well in regards to how the pack does or does not accept Angela.
Most of the tension in this book has less to do with Knox convincing Angela that he still loves her as it does with Angela not understanding his reactions as a werewolf. That is not much different than human women not understanding human men . . . now is it?
My only reservation with this story is that it is a story. I would love an expanded version that explores the dynamics of Angela's vampire tribe and Knox's werewolf pack. I would also like to see more of how the female werewolves accept her as their Alpha female. | 1 | neutral | [
"Angela has been hiding from Knox for decades.",
"She knows how much the Alpha werewolf hates vampires and cannot face the idea of her former lover killing her.",
"Only the kidnapping of her friend gives her the courage to risk her heart and her life by seeing him again.",
"Knox has hated vampires since they destroyed his family centuries before.",
"He believes they are all evil and should be killed on sight.",
"That is until his lover is turned against her will.",
"He has searched for her for decades without success and suddenly she is on his land and in his power.",
"Can he convince her that his feelings about vampires have changed, but his feelings for her never have?",
"This story was a quick read at slightly over sixty pages.",
"Although the forbidden relationship between a vampire and a werewolf is not unique, the author develops the story well in regards to how the pack does or does not accept Angela.",
"Most of the tension in this book has less to do with Knox convincing Angela that he still loves her as it does with Angela not understanding his reactions as a werewolf.",
"That is not much different than human women not understanding human men.",
".",
".",
"now is it?",
"My only reservation with this story is that it is a story.",
"I would love an expanded version that explores the dynamics of Angela's vampire tribe and Knox's werewolf pack.",
"I would also like to see more of how the female werewolves accept her as their Alpha female."
]
|
if you want to feel like you are really flying a WWII era plane, then this is the game for you. I have to say though that it can get quite boring at times as it gets very repetitive very quickly. When you do finally engage enemy aircraft, at least in the early stages, you may not even get to do anything but watch your bot squad kill all the enemy planes. Playing through the campaign mode, I have now been part of about 5-6 engagements with enemy aircraft, but most of the time I was unable to even take a shot at any of them. You fly with a squad of planes. When you take off from the airfield, you have perhaps 6 planes in your squad, and guess what you are the last one to take off. So while the lead plane spots the enemy formation and engages, you are like 2 miles away trying to catch up. By the time you catch up to the zone of engagement (where dogfighting planes tend to fly all over the place in circles, dives, etc...) well guess what, the fight is over. Yes your friendly bot squad mates have shot down all the enemy planes before you could even get into gun range. On a few rare instances I was lucky enough to get close enough to use my guns, but this is a sim, not a game, therefore, like in a real plane which is subject to G forces, wind, engine problems, gravity, etc.., trying to get the enemy plane to stay in your gunsight is like trying to shoot a mosquito off of a fence 200 yards away with a BB gun, while jumping on a trampoline...ok it helps that your BB gun is fully auto-matic, but I still have yet to actually hit anything. I have been able to get off perhaps one burst of bullets off at a target that was bouncing all over the place in my gunsight, and then one of my helpful squadmates will swoop in and instantly kill my target before I even get to take a second shot. After the fight is over, your squad proceeds to fly around (on patroL) in circles for 10-15 minutes, (seems like 10 hours) with no activity. At this point in the game, I usually have to hit the auto-pilot button, and take a nap. Yes 90% of this game is so boring I literally am falling asleep while playing it.
This is my initial impression after playing for a couple days, i'm hoping there will be other parts of the campaign that will be more entertaining. I have to give this game 1 stars for fun factor, of course flight sim fanatics will probably think it is 5 stars for fun, i am not a flight sim fanatic. I have to give the game 3 stars overall because it does seem to be a top notch flight sim....and you get the whole series for one low price so that is pretty cool. This is a game I would play out of sheer boredom, much like you would play solitaire, not because it is that fun, but just because you are that bored. But this is not a game I would play if I had anything remotely more entertaining to do, and there would be a long list of things that would fill that list. | 1 | neutral | [
"if you want to feel like you are really flying a WWII era plane, then this is the game for you.",
"I have to say though that it can get quite boring at times as it gets very repetitive very quickly.",
"When you do finally engage enemy aircraft, at least in the early stages, you may not even get to do anything but watch your bot squad kill all the enemy planes.",
"Playing through the campaign mode, I have now been part of about 5-6 engagements with enemy aircraft, but most of the time I was unable to even take a shot at any of them.",
"You fly with a squad of planes.",
"When you take off from the airfield, you have perhaps 6 planes in your squad, and guess what you are the last one to take off.",
"So while the lead plane spots the enemy formation and engages, you are like 2 miles away trying to catch up.",
"By the time you catch up to the zone of engagement (where dogfighting planes tend to fly all over the place in circles, dives, etc...",
") well guess what, the fight is over.",
"Yes your friendly bot squad mates have shot down all the enemy planes before you could even get into gun range.",
"On a few rare instances I was lucky enough to get close enough to use my guns, but this is a sim, not a game, therefore, like in a real plane which is subject to G forces, wind, engine problems, gravity, etc..",
", trying to get the enemy plane to stay in your gunsight is like trying to shoot a mosquito off of a fence 200 yards away with a BB gun, while jumping on a trampoline...",
"ok it helps that your BB gun is fully auto-matic, but I still have yet to actually hit anything.",
"I have been able to get off perhaps one burst of bullets off at a target that was bouncing all over the place in my gunsight, and then one of my helpful squadmates will swoop in and instantly kill my target before I even get to take a second shot.",
"After the fight is over, your squad proceeds to fly around (on patroL) in circles for 10-15 minutes, (seems like 10 hours) with no activity.",
"At this point in the game, I usually have to hit the auto-pilot button, and take a nap.",
"Yes 90% of this game is so boring I literally am falling asleep while playing it.",
"This is my initial impression after playing for a couple days, i'm hoping there will be other parts of the campaign that will be more entertaining.",
"I have to give this game 1 stars for fun factor, of course flight sim fanatics will probably think it is 5 stars for fun, i am not a flight sim fanatic.",
"I have to give the game 3 stars overall because it does seem to be a top notch flight sim....",
"and you get the whole series for one low price so that is pretty cool.",
"This is a game I would play out of sheer boredom, much like you would play solitaire, not because it is that fun, but just because you are that bored.",
"But this is not a game I would play if I had anything remotely more entertaining to do, and there would be a long list of things that would fill that list."
]
|
Tenchu 1 and 2 are among my favorite games of all time. The strategy involved in sneaking around is great. I really enjoyed the first two but tenchu 3 just doesn't stand out like the other two did. Now let me be honest, this isn't a bad game. It just didn't do what a sequel should do. A sequel should bring large additions to the game but at the same time it should address issues that needed to be fixed from the past versions. This game does have some additions. It has a new story line and a multiplayer mode but they took away the level designer. They also have done nothing about the camera angles. I actually think that the camera angles were better in the first 2. The enviornments are very close quarters but the camera is horrid. When trying to sneak around a corner you'll have to manually move the camera and then it tends to jump from a view behind your guy to a view that is too far beside your guy. So you only get the view that you want for a split second. It can be very frustrating. Also some of the levels are very linear. I would recommend renting this game before you buy. The hard core stealth fans may enjoy this game if they can get past the horrid camera angles. | 1 | neutral | [
"Tenchu 1 and 2 are among my favorite games of all time.",
"The strategy involved in sneaking around is great.",
"I really enjoyed the first two but tenchu 3 just doesn't stand out like the other two did.",
"Now let me be honest, this isn't a bad game.",
"It just didn't do what a sequel should do.",
"A sequel should bring large additions to the game but at the same time it should address issues that needed to be fixed from the past versions.",
"This game does have some additions.",
"It has a new story line and a multiplayer mode but they took away the level designer.",
"They also have done nothing about the camera angles.",
"I actually think that the camera angles were better in the first 2.",
"The enviornments are very close quarters but the camera is horrid.",
"When trying to sneak around a corner you'll have to manually move the camera and then it tends to jump from a view behind your guy to a view that is too far beside your guy.",
"So you only get the view that you want for a split second.",
"It can be very frustrating.",
"Also some of the levels are very linear.",
"I would recommend renting this game before you buy.",
"The hard core stealth fans may enjoy this game if they can get past the horrid camera angles."
]
|
I love LeapFrog toys. In theory, this toy seems great. But, a baby that's 6 months old obviously isn't going to learn her ABC's. Even a 1-year old isn't going to learn her ABC's, especially from a toy. So, I'm torn about how to review this toy ... I really like the idea. And, as a toy, my daughter loved spinning it around to hear the music. She still rolls it on the base at 19 months. So that aspect is great.
I CAN'T take it off the base because, as another reviewer suggested, it gets thrown around. And the ball by itself is HEAVY, and has the potential to damage hardwood floors (it did mine!) or worse, another person! I would never leave the ball off the base unattended with kids - it's a disaster waiting to happen. So, all it's really good for in my house is rolling it on the base. And that sure is fun for a baby or toddler ... but I wouldn't call it educational. I do agree that obviously this toy is meant for parent-child interaction, but I'm still not sure it's the best way to teach ABC's.
So ... I have to agree with another reviewer ... Is this a cute, fun toy meant for babies and toddlers, or an educational toy meant for preschoolers? I LOVE the idea, but I think it needs to be thought out a bit more. | 1 | neutral | [
"I love LeapFrog toys.",
"In theory, this toy seems great.",
"But, a baby that's 6 months old obviously isn't going to learn her ABC's.",
"Even a 1-year old isn't going to learn her ABC's, especially from a toy.",
"So, I'm torn about how to review this toy...",
"I really like the idea.",
"And, as a toy, my daughter loved spinning it around to hear the music.",
"She still rolls it on the base at 19 months.",
"So that aspect is great.",
"I CAN'T take it off the base because, as another reviewer suggested, it gets thrown around.",
"And the ball by itself is HEAVY, and has the potential to damage hardwood floors (it did mine!",
") or worse, another person!",
"I would never leave the ball off the base unattended with kids - it's a disaster waiting to happen.",
"So, all it's really good for in my house is rolling it on the base.",
"And that sure is fun for a baby or toddler...",
"but I wouldn't call it educational.",
"I do agree that obviously this toy is meant for parent-child interaction, but I'm still not sure it's the best way to teach ABC's.",
"So...",
"I have to agree with another reviewer...",
"Is this a cute, fun toy meant for babies and toddlers, or an educational toy meant for preschoolers?",
"I LOVE the idea, but I think it needs to be thought out a bit more."
]
|
I measured it at 500 feet in the dark. It is clearly visable. But headlights will wash it out as some point as a car approaches it. And if there are lights beyond your vehicle it may get lost. However, it is inexpensive and certainly better than leaving your emergency blinkers on if you are going to be away for long enough for them to drain your battery. I wouldn't buy just one per vehicle. I'd buy several. The magnetic feature is very handy. But the key is getting your vehicle off the road as far as possible so emergency lighting is not as important. If you can't I'd use emegegency flashers and get back to your vehicle ASAP. And forget about using this during the day. You can't see it from far enough away to avoid an accident. | 1 | neutral | [
"I measured it at 500 feet in the dark.",
"It is clearly visable.",
"But headlights will wash it out as some point as a car approaches it.",
"And if there are lights beyond your vehicle it may get lost.",
"However, it is inexpensive and certainly better than leaving your emergency blinkers on if you are going to be away for long enough for them to drain your battery.",
"I wouldn't buy just one per vehicle.",
"I'd buy several.",
"The magnetic feature is very handy.",
"But the key is getting your vehicle off the road as far as possible so emergency lighting is not as important.",
"If you can't I'd use emegegency flashers and get back to your vehicle ASAP.",
"And forget about using this during the day.",
"You can't see it from far enough away to avoid an accident."
]
|
I do like this aquarium, but it has some serious flaws that should be addressed.
PROS:
1) Perfect size for a desk. The upright design has a small footprint and makes it easy to keep in small spaces.
2) It has an aesthetically pleasing design. The hood hides most of the machinery, and the black intake tube can easily be disguised with a black background.
3) The filter system is nearly silent, which is a big plus. A loud filter can destroy any pleasure you take in an aquarium.
CONS:
1) VERY easily scratched/scuffed. Bought an acrylic-safe scrubber to clean algae off, used it VERY gently. Still managed to leave large scratches all over the interior.
2) The motor failed after several months. You can order a replacement, but it's almost $20 and very basic. You HAVE to use pieces from your old motor system to make it work. | 1 | neutral | [
"I do like this aquarium, but it has some serious flaws that should be addressed.",
"PROS:\n\n1) Perfect size for a desk.",
"The upright design has a small footprint and makes it easy to keep in small spaces.",
"2) It has an aesthetically pleasing design.",
"The hood hides most of the machinery, and the black intake tube can easily be disguised with a black background.",
"3) The filter system is nearly silent, which is a big plus.",
"A loud filter can destroy any pleasure you take in an aquarium.",
"CONS:\n\n1) VERY easily scratched/scuffed.",
"Bought an acrylic-safe scrubber to clean algae off, used it VERY gently.",
"Still managed to leave large scratches all over the interior.",
"2) The motor failed after several months.",
"You can order a replacement, but it's almost $20 and very basic.",
"You HAVE to use pieces from your old motor system to make it work."
]
|
The guitar/synth duo from Bath, England named Tears for Fears
have been "around" or in existence since about 1981, and are
still performing. Therefore I am surprised that a better
re-issue of Songs From The Big Chair could not have been
concocted by the masterful duo of Orzabel & Smith. Along
with the masterful producer and musicians.
At 1 hour 12 minutes long this CD begins to drag, with it's
mixture of "extended" tracks and different versions of the same
song. It is quite a journey! But..compelling listening. For
myself "Head over Heels" is fantastic on the 12" extended mix.
The problem is...finding a copy. The bass guitar track sounds
like a garage jam with flair. Full of energy. Most of the CD,
"Seeds of Love" was a full length JAM. And to be honest Tears
for Fears could have been a British version of Pearl Jam.
Unfortunately they bogged themselves down in the studio, or
even live, with an array of artsy intricate music notation.
Tears for Fears need to release a 2 hour CD with Eddie Vedder
on vocals, and Howard Jones on the keyboards/synthesizers. Now
I would definetly purchase that one. As for this CD, it only
contains memories. The music is sub-standard for a band so
meticulous and well respected all over the world. Somehow,
the magic works but not on this re-issue. Sadly I have to
concede and purchase 'The Seeds Of Love' to spice up my
musical collection, "after all'. | 1 | neutral | [
"The guitar/synth duo from Bath, England named Tears for Fears\nhave been \"around\" or in existence since about 1981, and are\nstill performing.",
"Therefore I am surprised that a better\nre-issue of Songs From The Big Chair could not have been\nconcocted by the masterful duo of Orzabel & Smith.",
"Along\nwith the masterful producer and musicians.",
"At 1 hour 12 minutes long this CD begins to drag, with it's\nmixture of \"extended\" tracks and different versions of the same\nsong.",
"It is quite a journey!",
"But..",
"compelling listening.",
"For\nmyself \"Head over Heels\" is fantastic on the 12\" extended mix.",
"The problem is...",
"finding a copy.",
"The bass guitar track sounds\nlike a garage jam with flair.",
"Full of energy.",
"Most of the CD,\n\"Seeds of Love\" was a full length JAM.",
"And to be honest Tears\nfor Fears could have been a British version of Pearl Jam.",
"Unfortunately they bogged themselves down in the studio, or\neven live, with an array of artsy intricate music notation.",
"Tears for Fears need to release a 2 hour CD with Eddie Vedder\non vocals, and Howard Jones on the keyboards/synthesizers.",
"Now\nI would definetly purchase that one.",
"As for this CD, it only\ncontains memories.",
"The music is sub-standard for a band so\nmeticulous and well respected all over the world.",
"Somehow,\nthe magic works but not on this re-issue.",
"Sadly I have to\nconcede and purchase 'The Seeds Of Love' to spice up my\nmusical collection, \"after all'."
]
|
My gf and I did a taste test of this, Kool-Aid Twists Blastin' Berry Cherry Unsweetened Soft Drink Mix (<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Kool-Aid-Twists-Blastin-Berry-Cherry-Unsweetened-Soft-Drink-Mix-0-17-Ounce-Packets-Pack-of-96/dp/B001IZED2M/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Kool-Aid Twists Blastin' Berry Cherry Unsweetened Soft Drink Mix, 0.17-Ounce Packets (Pack of 96)</a>), and Kool-Aid Black Cherry Unsweetened Soft Drink Mix (<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Kool-Aid-Black-Cherry-Unsweetened-Soft-Drink-Mix-0-13-Ounce-Packets-Pack-of-96/dp/B001IZLVE0/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Kool-Aid Black Cherry Unsweetened Soft Drink Mix, 0.13-Ounce Packets (Pack of 96)</a>).
The Black Cherry has the richest dark color followed by Berry Cherry. We found it hard to pick a favorite flavor between those two as they are both good. I preferred the Black Cherry while my gf preferred the Blastin' Berry Cherry. We will probably alternate the two. The regular Cherry has the lightest color and does not taste as good as the other two.
We use the Splenda packets so there are hardly any calories (Splenda has 3.5 calories per packet but it can be labeled as 0 calories since it is under 5). Splenda tastes just like sugar with no bad aftertaste. We have changed to using slightly less than 8 cups of water to make the taste richer. We have also increased the Splenda to 12 packets to make it sweeter. | 1 | neutral | [
"My gf and I did a taste test of this, Kool-Aid Twists Blastin' Berry Cherry Unsweetened Soft Drink Mix (<a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/Kool-Aid-Twists-Blastin-Berry-Cherry-Unsweetened-Soft-Drink-Mix-0-17-Ounce-Packets-Pack-of-96/dp/B001IZED2M/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">Kool-Aid Twists Blastin' Berry Cherry Unsweetened Soft Drink Mix, 0.",
"17-Ounce Packets (Pack of 96)</a>), and Kool-Aid Black Cherry Unsweetened Soft Drink Mix (<a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/Kool-Aid-Black-Cherry-Unsweetened-Soft-Drink-Mix-0-13-Ounce-Packets-Pack-of-96/dp/B001IZLVE0/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">Kool-Aid Black Cherry Unsweetened Soft Drink Mix, 0.",
"13-Ounce Packets (Pack of 96)</a>).",
"The Black Cherry has the richest dark color followed by Berry Cherry.",
"We found it hard to pick a favorite flavor between those two as they are both good.",
"I preferred the Black Cherry while my gf preferred the Blastin' Berry Cherry.",
"We will probably alternate the two.",
"The regular Cherry has the lightest color and does not taste as good as the other two.",
"We use the Splenda packets so there are hardly any calories (Splenda has 3.",
"5 calories per packet but it can be labeled as 0 calories since it is under 5).",
"Splenda tastes just like sugar with no bad aftertaste.",
"We have changed to using slightly less than 8 cups of water to make the taste richer.",
"We have also increased the Splenda to 12 packets to make it sweeter."
]
|
There's a hilarious scene in Michael Chabon's <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Wonder-Boys-A-Novel/dp/0812979214/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Wonder Boys: A Novel</a>, in which pothead author Grady Tripp is confronted by his student Hannah Green about his monstrously overdue and overlong manuscript, which she is the first person to have read. Tentatively, she explains that while the first few hundred pages were amazing, he seems to have lost control of the narrative, especially when he gets into lengthy side narratives about the histories of ancient ruins and the genealogies of minor characters' horses.
"'Grady,' she said, sounding more than a little horror-struck. 'You have whole chapters that go for thirty and forty pages _with no characters at all_!'"
Now, I don't know if George R.R. Martin shares Grady Tripps fondness for the good herb, but he definitely shares the core symptom of not being able to make his story smaller, even when that would make it better. And like Tripp, he has an overwhelming fondness for lengthy asides and genealogies of sometimes terrifying detail - though none yet for horses, thank the Seven.
Certainly he remains a productive and very gifted writer. I actually enjoyed A Dance with Dragons more than most reviewers so far. Hence the four stars, which I know I'm going to get reprimanded for despite writing a pretty critical review. But I did enjoy the book! It's mostly quite well-written, and despite the frequent complaint that "nothing happens," is actually packed with events. There are plenty of exciting scenes, some clever plot twists, and a few revelations about ancient mysteries and the motivations of certain key players. The chapters set in the North are particularly good, and I also liked the Tyrion chapters a lot (though I know many other readers did not).
The problem is that by the end of the book, the reader feels that the series is no closer to a finale than it was at the beginning. This world Martin's created just seems to get bigger and bigger and bigger, and is now firmly in danger of getting too vast for its own good. And Martin over-indulges in too many of his own equivalents of the genealogies of horses - histories of minor houses, squabbles over tracts of land, and other details that just don't command enough of the reader's emotions.
Moreover, many of the newer additions to the population of Essos and Westeros are less interesting than the old ones. I speak of course of the teeming host of Meereenese characters, who all seem have names like Grover zo Snuffleupagus, but whose personalities do not shine through nearly as brightly as their ridiculously colored beards. Martin has an impressive ability to make even his side characters come across as fully-formed people, but with this last book it's pretty clear that he's hit his limit.
The first three books of the A Song of Ice and Fire series are about as good as popular fiction gets - whatever the genre. And unlike some, I still hold out hope that Martin can turn the tide and give this series the climax and ending it deserves. But to do that, he's going to have to start making his story smaller rather than bigger, and that's going to require some difficult decisions. But, to quote Hannah Green in the movie of Wonder Boys, that's what writers do. They make decisions.
UPDATE: After pondering the book some more, and reading some other reviews by people I respect, I've decided to downgrade this one to three stars. I did enjoy the book in its own right, and continue to think that the frequent complain that "nothing happens" is rather ridiculous. But the key problem remains that Martin is not making the difficult decisions needed to bring this series to the lively climax it deserves. And more people are watching now than ever before. He needs to fire his editor and kill or compress about half of his POV characters in order to right the ship, and to do those things he's going to need some friendly but unmerciful feedback. | 1 | neutral | [
"There's a hilarious scene in Michael Chabon's <a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/Wonder-Boys-A-Novel/dp/0812979214/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">Wonder Boys: A Novel</a>, in which pothead author Grady Tripp is confronted by his student Hannah Green about his monstrously overdue and overlong manuscript, which she is the first person to have read.",
"Tentatively, she explains that while the first few hundred pages were amazing, he seems to have lost control of the narrative, especially when he gets into lengthy side narratives about the histories of ancient ruins and the genealogies of minor characters' horses.",
"\"'Grady,' she said, sounding more than a little horror-struck.",
"'You have whole chapters that go for thirty and forty pages _with no characters at all_!",
"'\"\n\nNow, I don't know if George R.",
"R. Martin shares Grady Tripps fondness for the good herb, but he definitely shares the core symptom of not being able to make his story smaller, even when that would make it better.",
"And like Tripp, he has an overwhelming fondness for lengthy asides and genealogies of sometimes terrifying detail - though none yet for horses, thank the Seven.",
"Certainly he remains a productive and very gifted writer.",
"I actually enjoyed A Dance with Dragons more than most reviewers so far.",
"Hence the four stars, which I know I'm going to get reprimanded for despite writing a pretty critical review.",
"But I did enjoy the book!",
"It's mostly quite well-written, and despite the frequent complaint that \"nothing happens,\" is actually packed with events.",
"There are plenty of exciting scenes, some clever plot twists, and a few revelations about ancient mysteries and the motivations of certain key players.",
"The chapters set in the North are particularly good, and I also liked the Tyrion chapters a lot (though I know many other readers did not).",
"The problem is that by the end of the book, the reader feels that the series is no closer to a finale than it was at the beginning.",
"This world Martin's created just seems to get bigger and bigger and bigger, and is now firmly in danger of getting too vast for its own good.",
"And Martin over-indulges in too many of his own equivalents of the genealogies of horses - histories of minor houses, squabbles over tracts of land, and other details that just don't command enough of the reader's emotions.",
"Moreover, many of the newer additions to the population of Essos and Westeros are less interesting than the old ones.",
"I speak of course of the teeming host of Meereenese characters, who all seem have names like Grover zo Snuffleupagus, but whose personalities do not shine through nearly as brightly as their ridiculously colored beards.",
"Martin has an impressive ability to make even his side characters come across as fully-formed people, but with this last book it's pretty clear that he's hit his limit.",
"The first three books of the A Song of Ice and Fire series are about as good as popular fiction gets - whatever the genre.",
"And unlike some, I still hold out hope that Martin can turn the tide and give this series the climax and ending it deserves.",
"But to do that, he's going to have to start making his story smaller rather than bigger, and that's going to require some difficult decisions.",
"But, to quote Hannah Green in the movie of Wonder Boys, that's what writers do.",
"They make decisions.",
"UPDATE: After pondering the book some more, and reading some other reviews by people I respect, I've decided to downgrade this one to three stars.",
"I did enjoy the book in its own right, and continue to think that the frequent complain that \"nothing happens\" is rather ridiculous.",
"But the key problem remains that Martin is not making the difficult decisions needed to bring this series to the lively climax it deserves.",
"And more people are watching now than ever before.",
"He needs to fire his editor and kill or compress about half of his POV characters in order to right the ship, and to do those things he's going to need some friendly but unmerciful feedback."
]
|
Technology may have passed this camera by as you can buy a smaller 3+ megapixel camera for less money, but I've used this camera for 2 years with nary a problem. You may be able to get a good deal on a used model. I use it as camera that is shared by many departments where I work, so it gets heavy use.
The quality of photos taken in bright light on the "fine" setting is stunning and prints well as 8 x 10s (you can even get away with larger sizes, if you don't mind a little pixelation). The camera's auotmatic mode is adequate for most shots, but you can adjust the shutter speed and other customizable features. The pivoting lens body is also handy to get into tight spaces. The LCD screen is bright, but can be hard to read outdoors.
Battery life is 40+ photos with rechargables. I don't recommend using Alkalines with this camera, but they work in a pinch.
The biggest drawback with this camera is the flash. The proximity of the lens to the flash means you'll be correcting lots of "red eye" on your PC or Mac. The flash is also very weak in low to medium light situations, and you can't add an external flash to the camera.
This camera sometimes fails to start when turning it on, or shuts off after a few seconds on, but turning it off and on again seems to help. I attribute these glitches to age and abuse due to heavy use rather than poor manufacturing. | 1 | neutral | [
"Technology may have passed this camera by as you can buy a smaller 3+ megapixel camera for less money, but I've used this camera for 2 years with nary a problem.",
"You may be able to get a good deal on a used model.",
"I use it as camera that is shared by many departments where I work, so it gets heavy use.",
"The quality of photos taken in bright light on the \"fine\" setting is stunning and prints well as 8 x 10s (you can even get away with larger sizes, if you don't mind a little pixelation).",
"The camera's auotmatic mode is adequate for most shots, but you can adjust the shutter speed and other customizable features.",
"The pivoting lens body is also handy to get into tight spaces.",
"The LCD screen is bright, but can be hard to read outdoors.",
"Battery life is 40+ photos with rechargables.",
"I don't recommend using Alkalines with this camera, but they work in a pinch.",
"The biggest drawback with this camera is the flash.",
"The proximity of the lens to the flash means you'll be correcting lots of \"red eye\" on your PC or Mac.",
"The flash is also very weak in low to medium light situations, and you can't add an external flash to the camera.",
"This camera sometimes fails to start when turning it on, or shuts off after a few seconds on, but turning it off and on again seems to help.",
"I attribute these glitches to age and abuse due to heavy use rather than poor manufacturing."
]
|
The Condition was Okay, but cover was damaged on this used / 1 penny book. The interior was fine, unmarked and undamaged.
I think it was damaged by the shrink wrap when it was included with another 1 penny book, Murder in Three Acts, the exterior of which came through fine.
The wrapping was really tight. I had trouble getting it open. Both the front and back of this particular book had some sort of stickiness on it almost as a glue that the shrink wrap stuck to (which may have been water damage or something with sugar in a drink) ... it also had clear tape on the top and bottom cover edge near the spine on both front and back covers... probably done by a library.
It was advertised as "Used, Acceptable". The interior was Great.
Each 1 penny book had a $3.99 shipping fee. Both books came together from the same store, But i got charged twice for the shipping of a single package... i guess that is Amazon policy and the automated accounting system can't prevent a double shipping charge when a single store may be shipping out two penny items at the same time in one package containing both books. | 1 | neutral | [
"The Condition was Okay, but cover was damaged on this used / 1 penny book.",
"The interior was fine, unmarked and undamaged.",
"I think it was damaged by the shrink wrap when it was included with another 1 penny book, Murder in Three Acts, the exterior of which came through fine.",
"The wrapping was really tight.",
"I had trouble getting it open.",
"Both the front and back of this particular book had some sort of stickiness on it almost as a glue that the shrink wrap stuck to (which may have been water damage or something with sugar in a drink)...",
"it also had clear tape on the top and bottom cover edge near the spine on both front and back covers...",
"probably done by a library.",
"It was advertised as \"Used, Acceptable\".",
"The interior was Great.",
"Each 1 penny book had a $3.",
"99 shipping fee.",
"Both books came together from the same store, But i got charged twice for the shipping of a single package...",
"i guess that is Amazon policy and the automated accounting system can't prevent a double shipping charge when a single store may be shipping out two penny items at the same time in one package containing both books."
]
|
The Motorola T215 works very well and as advertised. The very long standby and talk times are a real bonus. For me the sun-visor mount is an improvement over the ear mounted units, because I wear glasses, which make the ear mount uncomfortable. Still, these kinds of products could be better. You have to manually turn it on and off, which is easy, but also easy to forget. If you don't remember to turn it on every time you get in the car, it's useless. If you don't remember to turn it off at the end of the day, you quickly use up the prodigious standby time, the battery is dead, and again, it's useless.
The optimum configuration would be a direct connection to DC (car battery) power, so it continually charges, or runs directly from the car battery. It also needs to start when you get in the car and stop when you leave, or phrased a little differently, when the car turns on and turns off. Other than those quibbles, it is a very good device and works well. | 1 | neutral | [
"The Motorola T215 works very well and as advertised.",
"The very long standby and talk times are a real bonus.",
"For me the sun-visor mount is an improvement over the ear mounted units, because I wear glasses, which make the ear mount uncomfortable.",
"Still, these kinds of products could be better.",
"You have to manually turn it on and off, which is easy, but also easy to forget.",
"If you don't remember to turn it on every time you get in the car, it's useless.",
"If you don't remember to turn it off at the end of the day, you quickly use up the prodigious standby time, the battery is dead, and again, it's useless.",
"The optimum configuration would be a direct connection to DC (car battery) power, so it continually charges, or runs directly from the car battery.",
"It also needs to start when you get in the car and stop when you leave, or phrased a little differently, when the car turns on and turns off.",
"Other than those quibbles, it is a very good device and works well."
]
|
This album would signify the end of radio and the masses interest in Rush for some time. Its a decent album, definitely awash with synths, but something musically is lacking here that was so great on _Grace Under Pressure_. Side 1 contains "The Big Money", standard hard-rocking Rush fare with excellent riffing by Alex. "Grand Designs" has always been one of Peart's more intriguing and mysterious lyrical excercises. This type of mystical lyricism would find its place on _Hold Your Fire_ but makes the track distinctive on this album. It also contains the smart "Manhattan Project" and the quasi-epic, but somewhat cheezy "Marathon" which you can almost see being played at the end of some bland ABC afternoon special where the hero wins the big race at the end. Its "glorious", perhaps in the same way that the song "Crush 'Em" by Megadeth is "powerful." The keyboard textures on this song represent some of the worst keyboard excesses Rush would ever commit to album. Side 2 is very low-key, starting with the excellent and well-textured "Territories" - some excellent bass playing by Geddy on this one - but lapsing into reverie and familiarity with "Emotion Detector" and the uninspiring "Middletown Dreams." "Mystic Rhythms" is a good outro, more eerie and ethereal a track than Rush has ever put out. The production by Peter Collins is top-notch and vast, and shows that a good producer can put a positive spin on an otherwise mediocre album (see also _Counterparts_). | 1 | neutral | [
"This album would signify the end of radio and the masses interest in Rush for some time.",
"Its a decent album, definitely awash with synths, but something musically is lacking here that was so great on _Grace Under Pressure_.",
"Side 1 contains \"The Big Money\", standard hard-rocking Rush fare with excellent riffing by Alex.",
"\"Grand Designs\" has always been one of Peart's more intriguing and mysterious lyrical excercises.",
"This type of mystical lyricism would find its place on _Hold Your Fire_ but makes the track distinctive on this album.",
"It also contains the smart \"Manhattan Project\" and the quasi-epic, but somewhat cheezy \"Marathon\" which you can almost see being played at the end of some bland ABC afternoon special where the hero wins the big race at the end.",
"Its \"glorious\", perhaps in the same way that the song \"Crush 'Em\" by Megadeth is \"powerful.",
"\" The keyboard textures on this song represent some of the worst keyboard excesses Rush would ever commit to album.",
"Side 2 is very low-key, starting with the excellent and well-textured \"Territories\" - some excellent bass playing by Geddy on this one - but lapsing into reverie and familiarity with \"Emotion Detector\" and the uninspiring \"Middletown Dreams.",
"\" \"Mystic Rhythms\" is a good outro, more eerie and ethereal a track than Rush has ever put out.",
"The production by Peter Collins is top-notch and vast, and shows that a good producer can put a positive spin on an otherwise mediocre album (see also _Counterparts_)."
]
|
First of all let me say, this flick has one heck of a great soundtrack. I'm not slighting that in any way. A couple things though...
For one thing, I have a few issues with the scene where James Marsden is introduced to the cliques at Cradle Bay, by Nick Stahl. Nick is terrific, don't get me wrong, but I just thought that the scene played up James Marsden's whole "outsider" thing a little too much. Sure, there are dramatic reasons why that should be done, but does the director seriously expect us to swallow that James Marsden comes from somewhere where cliques like that don't exist?!!? They're everywhere! Face it. They'll never go away.
My other problem was just that, well, it seems too bad to make such a big deal out of "high school" as an experience, in some ways. It's dramatic enough when you're in the middle of it -- sometimes I wonder if movies like this do more harm than good. When you're that age, you're probably better off trying to look beyond it, to your twenties, when whatever problems you might have, at least you have some choices about what you do everyday. Just a thought.
Beyond that, it's a fun movie. It makes real statements -- not incredibly original ones, but real statements. I can respect that. Still, whoever reads this, please think about what I said above. Just my two cents worth. | 1 | neutral | [
"First of all let me say, this flick has one heck of a great soundtrack.",
"I'm not slighting that in any way.",
"A couple things though...",
"For one thing, I have a few issues with the scene where James Marsden is introduced to the cliques at Cradle Bay, by Nick Stahl.",
"Nick is terrific, don't get me wrong, but I just thought that the scene played up James Marsden's whole \"outsider\" thing a little too much.",
"Sure, there are dramatic reasons why that should be done, but does the director seriously expect us to swallow that James Marsden comes from somewhere where cliques like that don't exist?!!",
"?",
"They're everywhere!",
"Face it.",
"They'll never go away.",
"My other problem was just that, well, it seems too bad to make such a big deal out of \"high school\" as an experience, in some ways.",
"It's dramatic enough when you're in the middle of it -- sometimes I wonder if movies like this do more harm than good.",
"When you're that age, you're probably better off trying to look beyond it, to your twenties, when whatever problems you might have, at least you have some choices about what you do everyday.",
"Just a thought.",
"Beyond that, it's a fun movie.",
"It makes real statements -- not incredibly original ones, but real statements.",
"I can respect that.",
"Still, whoever reads this, please think about what I said above.",
"Just my two cents worth."
]
|
I bought these for writing on foods other than icing and fondant. They are next to useless on cheese. Okay-ish on hard-boiled eggs and peeled oranges. Terrible on bread. I hear good things about the <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/B-C-EASY-WRITER-FOOD-DECOR/dp/B000VW6FTM/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">B.C.EASY WRITER FOOD DECOR.</a> and <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Americolor-Food-Marker-Writers-10-Color-Pack/dp/B0020ZURDI/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Americolor Food Marker Writers- 10 Color Pack</a> from people who draw on other foods like I do who have used one or both of those, plus these ones. I will be buying those next. | 1 | neutral | [
"I bought these for writing on foods other than icing and fondant.",
"They are next to useless on cheese.",
"Okay-ish on hard-boiled eggs and peeled oranges.",
"Terrible on bread.",
"I hear good things about the <a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/B-C-EASY-WRITER-FOOD-DECOR/dp/B000VW6FTM/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">B.",
"C.EASY WRITER FOOD DECOR.",
"</a> and <a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/Americolor-Food-Marker-Writers-10-Color-Pack/dp/B0020ZURDI/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">Americolor Food Marker Writers- 10 Color Pack</a> from people who draw on other foods like I do who have used one or both of those, plus these ones.",
"I will be buying those next."
]
|
Didn't work out for me!!! The printer is beautiful.. well built and stuff... but unfortunately it didn't work out for me. Right off the bet when trying to install software it yelled at me that it doesn't support my OS system Took about 3 hours to set it up.. when finally jumping through 35 hoops got this going and printed out first picture It was a disaster!!! My 60 dollar printer did better job than this one... So tried the second time... Same results.. well after 4 hours of fighting with it and printing unsuccessfully some pictures I threw in a towel... and would not spent the money on these results..... I believe this is awesome printer for whoever would work properly... | 1 | neutral | [
"Didn't work out for me!!!",
"The printer is beautiful..",
"well built and stuff...",
"but unfortunately it didn't work out for me.",
"Right off the bet when trying to install software it yelled at me that it doesn't support my OS system Took about 3 hours to set it up..",
"when finally jumping through 35 hoops got this going and printed out first picture It was a disaster!!!",
"My 60 dollar printer did better job than this one...",
"So tried the second time...",
"Same results..",
"well after 4 hours of fighting with it and printing unsuccessfully some pictures I threw in a towel...",
"and would not spent the money on these results....",
".",
"I believe this is awesome printer for whoever would work properly..."
]
|
Installation: Installation is easy, pop in the disk, click through all the "ok" dialogs, go away for about 30-60 minutes, and the game has installed some indescribable content onto your PS3's hard drive. The box states the data copied is only about 5.5mb but the length of time GT5 takes to copy whatever data is being copied makes the data seem more like 250-350mb. I hadn't checked.
Starting the Game: After installation, the game restarts and on launch day, GT5 downloads another patch that takes about 20 minutes to install. The patch requires a manual restart obscurely indicated with the message "press the PS button to exit game." Which will stay there until the PS button is pressed.
Playing the Game: After scanning through the now Sony standard slider bar of icons the player will find the GT series standard Dealership icon to spend the initial 36000 C GT5 starts off. To avoid having to buy 2-3 cars to race in the 15 or so Stage 3 racing series, start with the cappuccino as that will allow for racing in the Sunday cups, the light weights, and the cappuccino exclusive set of races.
All the controls are just like the GT HD demo released so getting up and racing was easy. Unfortunately, getting up and racing is too easy. Just like the GT HD demo, there are not any available customization options for your vehicle until Stage 3 is completed. None, notta. You can't even change tires in the event garage. The game is GT5 and most buyers have probably played GT3 or 4 or any racing game so there is no need to baby users by locking the advanced garage features in Stage 3. No real reason anyways.
The reviewers list 71 cars, the garage list about 30 cars at 2 cars per dealer cars with only 80-90% that can be bought, and the cars that can't be bought give no indication on how to win the cars. The other 40 or so cars must be hidden until after stage 3. Forza allows users to browse all available cars and clearly states how to unlock the car.
Add the ease of winning, large payouts (GT3 was 3000 C for the Sunday Cup, GT5 gives 5000C or 2500C for finishing), and lack of feel from the race cars (body roll anyone?), and you have a game that lacks any real depth out of the box.
Pros:
- Pretty
- Easy to get into
- Races can be done in 5 minutes or less
- Unique damage model (reduces engine power as penalties for collisions)
- It is a Gran Turismo game
- Best racing game for PS3
- Simple menu
Cons
- Babies players way too much (no garage in Stage 3, credits seem to easy to get).
- Unique damage model (penalties for collisions that the player didn't cause).
- AI has no problem running into the player just like the player's position isn't calculated into the AI's drive line.
- AI drives on the line.
- No car feedback/driving feels so arcadish/cars feel like shopping carts | 1 | neutral | [
"Installation: Installation is easy, pop in the disk, click through all the \"ok\" dialogs, go away for about 30-60 minutes, and the game has installed some indescribable content onto your PS3's hard drive.",
"The box states the data copied is only about 5.",
"5mb but the length of time GT5 takes to copy whatever data is being copied makes the data seem more like 250-350mb.",
"I hadn't checked.",
"Starting the Game: After installation, the game restarts and on launch day, GT5 downloads another patch that takes about 20 minutes to install.",
"The patch requires a manual restart obscurely indicated with the message \"press the PS button to exit game.",
"\" Which will stay there until the PS button is pressed.",
"Playing the Game: After scanning through the now Sony standard slider bar of icons the player will find the GT series standard Dealership icon to spend the initial 36000 C GT5 starts off.",
"To avoid having to buy 2-3 cars to race in the 15 or so Stage 3 racing series, start with the cappuccino as that will allow for racing in the Sunday cups, the light weights, and the cappuccino exclusive set of races.",
"All the controls are just like the GT HD demo released so getting up and racing was easy.",
"Unfortunately, getting up and racing is too easy.",
"Just like the GT HD demo, there are not any available customization options for your vehicle until Stage 3 is completed.",
"None, notta.",
"You can't even change tires in the event garage.",
"The game is GT5 and most buyers have probably played GT3 or 4 or any racing game so there is no need to baby users by locking the advanced garage features in Stage 3.",
"No real reason anyways.",
"The reviewers list 71 cars, the garage list about 30 cars at 2 cars per dealer cars with only 80-90% that can be bought, and the cars that can't be bought give no indication on how to win the cars.",
"The other 40 or so cars must be hidden until after stage 3.",
"Forza allows users to browse all available cars and clearly states how to unlock the car.",
"Add the ease of winning, large payouts (GT3 was 3000 C for the Sunday Cup, GT5 gives 5000C or 2500C for finishing), and lack of feel from the race cars (body roll anyone?",
"), and you have a game that lacks any real depth out of the box.",
"Pros:\n- Pretty\n- Easy to get into\n- Races can be done in 5 minutes or less\n- Unique damage model (reduces engine power as penalties for collisions)\n- It is a Gran Turismo game\n- Best racing game for PS3\n- Simple menu\n\nCons\n- Babies players way too much (no garage in Stage 3, credits seem to easy to get).",
"- Unique damage model (penalties for collisions that the player didn't cause).",
"- AI has no problem running into the player just like the player's position isn't calculated into the AI's drive line.",
"- AI drives on the line.",
"- No car feedback/driving feels so arcadish/cars feel like shopping carts"
]
|
I read about 60% of this book by the Kindle meter; so, don't take the rating at all seriously. Something may have happened in the last 40 % of the book which made the whole thing come together to form an outstanding book. At any rate, I finally reached the point where delving into the social and psychological disabilities of the heroine made the book sufficiently unpalatable so that it was more appealing for me to terminate rather than continue the experience. You might well react differently.
The plot line is simple. Murder is committed in the heroines place of work. She finds the body. She determines to find the murderer despite his repeated efforts to frighten her off. The man she loves and lives with strongly advise her to stop her investigations. The police ask her to stop her investigations. As of the point where I stopped reading, she has reiterated her argument that only she can find the murderer despite another effort by the murderer to stop her. To this point we have mostly been exposed to this 30 something woman's struggles to master her own fears about opening herself up to love the man in her life and, even more difficult, to live with him. She finds it very difficult to trust him, to enter a relationship in which she must allow him to infringe upon her space, curb some of her own preferences for living, and accept his protective attitude toward her. She describes herself as touchy, suspicious, easily slighted, fearful of close relationships, terrified of and needful for intimate emotional and physical relationships, and more.
As I say,I grew tired of her problems as described by her, and her insistence on putting herself in danger of death without any apparent objective reason save her own belief that only she, and not the police, can find the murderer. From another angle, I also found that the author failed adequately to weave the interesting setting in which the heroine and victim worked, a theatrical enterprise,into her narrative. Unless the author was misleading us, I also found the popularity of the heroine with her fellow employees inexplicable since dealing with her was made to seem akin to playing with an irritable porcupine.
As I have said, I did not finish the book so that the review must be taken with many grains of salt. | 1 | neutral | [
"I read about 60% of this book by the Kindle meter; so, don't take the rating at all seriously.",
"Something may have happened in the last 40 % of the book which made the whole thing come together to form an outstanding book.",
"At any rate, I finally reached the point where delving into the social and psychological disabilities of the heroine made the book sufficiently unpalatable so that it was more appealing for me to terminate rather than continue the experience.",
"You might well react differently.",
"The plot line is simple.",
"Murder is committed in the heroines place of work.",
"She finds the body.",
"She determines to find the murderer despite his repeated efforts to frighten her off.",
"The man she loves and lives with strongly advise her to stop her investigations.",
"The police ask her to stop her investigations.",
"As of the point where I stopped reading, she has reiterated her argument that only she can find the murderer despite another effort by the murderer to stop her.",
"To this point we have mostly been exposed to this 30 something woman's struggles to master her own fears about opening herself up to love the man in her life and, even more difficult, to live with him.",
"She finds it very difficult to trust him, to enter a relationship in which she must allow him to infringe upon her space, curb some of her own preferences for living, and accept his protective attitude toward her.",
"She describes herself as touchy, suspicious, easily slighted, fearful of close relationships, terrified of and needful for intimate emotional and physical relationships, and more.",
"As I say,I grew tired of her problems as described by her, and her insistence on putting herself in danger of death without any apparent objective reason save her own belief that only she, and not the police, can find the murderer.",
"From another angle, I also found that the author failed adequately to weave the interesting setting in which the heroine and victim worked, a theatrical enterprise,into her narrative.",
"Unless the author was misleading us, I also found the popularity of the heroine with her fellow employees inexplicable since dealing with her was made to seem akin to playing with an irritable porcupine.",
"As I have said, I did not finish the book so that the review must be taken with many grains of salt."
]
|
I don't relish being the bearer of an inconvenient truth which undermines the premise of "The Bear", which details the tentative, grudging, but growing relationship between an orphaned cub and a full-grown male grizzly. In the true wild, adult male bears do not take kindly to young bears and cubs. Quite the contrary, they will take every opportunity to kill and eat young bears and cubs. Why do they do this (to human eyes) detestable deed? They do it for two evolutionary reasons 1) to eliminate future competition for food and mates, and 2) if the mother is present, to induce her to go into estrus again and be receptive to mating. So sadly, the underpinnings of "The Bear" are really a sentimental fantasy, instead of the gritty, naturalistic, unforgiving reality it purports to be.
That said, "The Bear" is nevertheless meticulously, lovingly, and finely made, and still, despite the sentimental fantasy framework, teaches the viewer much about nature's conmingled majesty and menace, man's illusory, tenuous "dominance" over nature, learning to respect nature, and learning to leave nature alone and largely take its course. And, darn it all, the male bear/baby bear partnership, however unlikely, is certainly interesting, engrossing, fetching, and slyly humorous (especially the sequence where the baby bear (Youk) rears up on his hind legs and thinks he's scaring a cougar off, when actually his "guardian angel" (played by the late ursine thespian Bart) is responsible. Props must be conceded to the animal handlers and trainers who were able to coax these engaging performances from the two bears, who were probably acting against deeply-ingrained instincts. Even if "The Bear" is not strictly true-to-natural-life, it's still quite an influential "beast fable" that people, say 7 years and up, can learn from and appreciate.
(P.S.: On the National Geographic channel, they did show a program about odd, "unnatural" animal couplings such as a lion tenderly caring for a baby oryx, a giant tortoise palling around with a baby hippo, and a dog forging a bond with a lonely adult elephant. Hmm, maybe the bears' relationship in "The Bear" is not so far-fetched after all.)
3.5 stars out of 5. | 1 | neutral | [
"I don't relish being the bearer of an inconvenient truth which undermines the premise of \"The Bear\", which details the tentative, grudging, but growing relationship between an orphaned cub and a full-grown male grizzly.",
"In the true wild, adult male bears do not take kindly to young bears and cubs.",
"Quite the contrary, they will take every opportunity to kill and eat young bears and cubs.",
"Why do they do this (to human eyes) detestable deed?",
"They do it for two evolutionary reasons 1) to eliminate future competition for food and mates, and 2) if the mother is present, to induce her to go into estrus again and be receptive to mating.",
"So sadly, the underpinnings of \"The Bear\" are really a sentimental fantasy, instead of the gritty, naturalistic, unforgiving reality it purports to be.",
"That said, \"The Bear\" is nevertheless meticulously, lovingly, and finely made, and still, despite the sentimental fantasy framework, teaches the viewer much about nature's conmingled majesty and menace, man's illusory, tenuous \"dominance\" over nature, learning to respect nature, and learning to leave nature alone and largely take its course.",
"And, darn it all, the male bear/baby bear partnership, however unlikely, is certainly interesting, engrossing, fetching, and slyly humorous (especially the sequence where the baby bear (Youk) rears up on his hind legs and thinks he's scaring a cougar off, when actually his \"guardian angel\" (played by the late ursine thespian Bart) is responsible.",
"Props must be conceded to the animal handlers and trainers who were able to coax these engaging performances from the two bears, who were probably acting against deeply-ingrained instincts.",
"Even if \"The Bear\" is not strictly true-to-natural-life, it's still quite an influential \"beast fable\" that people, say 7 years and up, can learn from and appreciate.",
"(P.",
"S.: On the National Geographic channel, they did show a program about odd, \"unnatural\" animal couplings such as a lion tenderly caring for a baby oryx, a giant tortoise palling around with a baby hippo, and a dog forging a bond with a lonely adult elephant.",
"Hmm, maybe the bears' relationship in \"The Bear\" is not so far-fetched after all.",
")\n\n3.",
"5 stars out of 5."
]
|
OK, understand me on this one. The music is spectacular, and the extra tracks are very cool. BUT check out the linear notes and read about how "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" and "You Don't Love Me" were "...pieced together from multiple takes" by the producers/mixers or whoever. If you like this type of music and bands who earn their keep by playing killer live shows, the whole notion of creating a "perfect live track" by combining takes from separate shows (!!) runs counter to the notion of the very music you are listening to. Personally I feel cheated. Listen to the Dead's Dick's Picks series, and hear all the imperfections ... it's a thing of beauty, and everyone from Jerry to Miles would agree. It is great to hear more music from these classic shows, especially the Whipping Post > Mountain Jam restored to it's original segue form (an hour of continuous unbelievable music), but don't rule out picking up the briefer original release (and recently remasterd) "At the Fillmore" if the edited tracks rub you the wrong way. | 1 | neutral | [
"OK, understand me on this one.",
"The music is spectacular, and the extra tracks are very cool.",
"BUT check out the linear notes and read about how \"In Memory of Elizabeth Reed\" and \"You Don't Love Me\" were \"...",
"pieced together from multiple takes\" by the producers/mixers or whoever.",
"If you like this type of music and bands who earn their keep by playing killer live shows, the whole notion of creating a \"perfect live track\" by combining takes from separate shows (!!",
") runs counter to the notion of the very music you are listening to.",
"Personally I feel cheated.",
"Listen to the Dead's Dick's Picks series, and hear all the imperfections...",
"it's a thing of beauty, and everyone from Jerry to Miles would agree.",
"It is great to hear more music from these classic shows, especially the Whipping Post > Mountain Jam restored to it's original segue form (an hour of continuous unbelievable music), but don't rule out picking up the briefer original release (and recently remasterd) \"At the Fillmore\" if the edited tracks rub you the wrong way."
]
|
Starfox is an mediocre space shooter. It is not bad or anything, but it has become rather dated. The graphics were a revolution for the Super NES, as Starfox was one of the first 3D games and the first to use the Super FX chip, which boosted the processor of the Super NES and somehow upgraded the graphics to what looks like (although I am not certain) 32-bit. But in the middle of 2012 with the brand new HD Wii-u launching and jawdropping Playstation games coming out, the graphics are pretty poor. Not that I expected a game from 1993 to look good, I am just pointing that out. The actual gameplay is to pilot the Arwing around and shoot everything in your path. It is, by far, epic, but that is about all there is to the game. The plot is shallow and the game is rather short. So overall, even with epic music and shooting, Starfox did not live up to what I thought it would be. It is a rather interesting piece to my Super NES collection because of the FX chip and 3D visuals, but the actual game is kind of weak. | 1 | neutral | [
"Starfox is an mediocre space shooter.",
"It is not bad or anything, but it has become rather dated.",
"The graphics were a revolution for the Super NES, as Starfox was one of the first 3D games and the first to use the Super FX chip, which boosted the processor of the Super NES and somehow upgraded the graphics to what looks like (although I am not certain) 32-bit.",
"But in the middle of 2012 with the brand new HD Wii-u launching and jawdropping Playstation games coming out, the graphics are pretty poor.",
"Not that I expected a game from 1993 to look good, I am just pointing that out.",
"The actual gameplay is to pilot the Arwing around and shoot everything in your path.",
"It is, by far, epic, but that is about all there is to the game.",
"The plot is shallow and the game is rather short.",
"So overall, even with epic music and shooting, Starfox did not live up to what I thought it would be.",
"It is a rather interesting piece to my Super NES collection because of the FX chip and 3D visuals, but the actual game is kind of weak."
]
|
I finally sat down and watched Burton's "Planet of the Apes" for a second time to see if there any details I missed. I happen to like most sci-fi films, even if there are minor errors in logic. As long as the movie is entertaining and the characters are believable. When I saw this movie the first time it fit all this criteria and it was definitely worth watching.
First of all, the central story line, despite what the critics claim, makes sense for the most part. The planet itself is inhabited by the survivors of the large spaceship that crashed. The humans came from the crew, the apes from the animals that were on board. The apes are more powerful because they had hidden their powers and intellect from the humans. Given that it was a desolate planet the humans adapted poorly while the apes flourished. The only possible gap here is that in the beginning we only see chimps. But it's never made clear that only chimps are on board the spacecraft.
That this story line diverts from the original shouldn't mean Burton's vision is wrong. It's his movie and he can recreate the story. However, there are two major gaps in his story.
First of all, Charlton Heston's cameo as an ape who has an ancient gun made by humans doesn't make sense. That specific planet and all its inhabitants derive from the spaceship which had 21st century technology. The gun is from the 20th century. So how did he get it?
The second major flaw, as noted by countless others, is the ending. I listened to Burton's comments in this section of the DVD and he was like a stammering teenager on dope trying to explain why he went with that specific ending. He kept saying over and over that this is where the story was supposed to end. That might be the case, but he didn't leave anything in his story to bring the audience to that result. How did Gen. Thade get to earth and go back in time? Burton doesn't bother to explain in his commentary. His answer is worthless at best. He failed as the director to tell the story. The only way Thade could have gone back in time on earth was if he had a workable spacecraft. And he didn't.
In both cases, Heston's gun and the ending, Burton was just lazy, pure and simple. He wanted to add these neat little things to his movie and he didn't care how much it detracted from the final product.
I happened to like "Planet" more the first time I saw it. But when I saw it a second time, and then heard Burton's comments, the film lost most of its entertainment value. Burton is good at creating new worlds out of whole cloth. And I'll give him this much for "Planet," the characters were more believable than in his earlier films. (Ahem, which isn't saying much.) After hearing his commentary, however, I believe Burton was just blatantly stubborn, arrogant, and dismissive of his audience. | 1 | neutral | [
"I finally sat down and watched Burton's \"Planet of the Apes\" for a second time to see if there any details I missed.",
"I happen to like most sci-fi films, even if there are minor errors in logic.",
"As long as the movie is entertaining and the characters are believable.",
"When I saw this movie the first time it fit all this criteria and it was definitely worth watching.",
"First of all, the central story line, despite what the critics claim, makes sense for the most part.",
"The planet itself is inhabited by the survivors of the large spaceship that crashed.",
"The humans came from the crew, the apes from the animals that were on board.",
"The apes are more powerful because they had hidden their powers and intellect from the humans.",
"Given that it was a desolate planet the humans adapted poorly while the apes flourished.",
"The only possible gap here is that in the beginning we only see chimps.",
"But it's never made clear that only chimps are on board the spacecraft.",
"That this story line diverts from the original shouldn't mean Burton's vision is wrong.",
"It's his movie and he can recreate the story.",
"However, there are two major gaps in his story.",
"First of all, Charlton Heston's cameo as an ape who has an ancient gun made by humans doesn't make sense.",
"That specific planet and all its inhabitants derive from the spaceship which had 21st century technology.",
"The gun is from the 20th century.",
"So how did he get it?",
"The second major flaw, as noted by countless others, is the ending.",
"I listened to Burton's comments in this section of the DVD and he was like a stammering teenager on dope trying to explain why he went with that specific ending.",
"He kept saying over and over that this is where the story was supposed to end.",
"That might be the case, but he didn't leave anything in his story to bring the audience to that result.",
"How did Gen.",
"Thade get to earth and go back in time?",
"Burton doesn't bother to explain in his commentary.",
"His answer is worthless at best.",
"He failed as the director to tell the story.",
"The only way Thade could have gone back in time on earth was if he had a workable spacecraft.",
"And he didn't.",
"In both cases, Heston's gun and the ending, Burton was just lazy, pure and simple.",
"He wanted to add these neat little things to his movie and he didn't care how much it detracted from the final product.",
"I happened to like \"Planet\" more the first time I saw it.",
"But when I saw it a second time, and then heard Burton's comments, the film lost most of its entertainment value.",
"Burton is good at creating new worlds out of whole cloth.",
"And I'll give him this much for \"Planet,\" the characters were more believable than in his earlier films.",
"(Ahem, which isn't saying much.",
") After hearing his commentary, however, I believe Burton was just blatantly stubborn, arrogant, and dismissive of his audience."
]
|
Elton John has certainly cemented his place in the history of music. He is a legendary performer who has rode a wave of success unlike any artist. Elton John first came on the music scene in 1969. Once his 1970 hit "Your Song" of his self-titled "Elton John" (his second) album was released, it would begin one of the most consistent music careers in the history of music. In fact, from 1969 until 1991 - there wasn't a calendar year that passed without the release of some sort of Elton John album. Even after that, Elton would only miss 2 calendar years without a release between 1991 and 2004 (those years being 1998 and 2003). On the plus side, not only has this given Elton John a level of consistency that has been unsurpassed, but it also has allowed him to build up an incredibly large music library. There is a minus side: With such frequent album releases, Elton's albums are often diluted. While there have been dozens of legendary tracks by Elton John, there aren't too many "complete" Elton albums that I would dub of legendary status. In other words, his albums usually contain 1 to 2 great tracks with the remainder of the tracks being lukewarm at best. It is this scenario that makes a Greatest Hits album very attractive to the Elton John fan - namely because it allows one to have a collection of those legendary tracks in one place. One such collection is the first Greatest Hits collection that Elton released entitled "Greatest Hits Volume II".
Elton has certainly no shortage of Greatest Hits albums as he has released several of them. There is this collection - "Greatest Hits Volume II", but there is also "Greatest Hits (Volume 1)", "Greatest Hits Volume III" (this one is a tough find), "Greatest Hits 1976-1986", and "Greatest Hits 1970-2002". Other compilations include: "To Be Continued" Boxed Set and "Love Songs" collections. It is worth noting that all of the songs that are contained on this collection are also found on the "To Be Continued" with the exception of "Grow Some Funk of Your Own". As for the "Greatest Hits 1970-2002" set only 7 of the 10 songs on "Greatest Hits Volume II" are included - the exceptions being "Pinball Wizard", "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds", and "Grow Some Funk of Your Own"
There are 10 tracks on "Greatest Hits Volume II". This collection was released only 3 years following the release of "Greatest Hits Volume I". Elton had released three studio albums during that time and as a result there are only 4 tracks from new studio albums. These albums are: "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" ("Someone Saved My Life Tonight"); "Rock of the Westies" ("Island Girl", "Grow Some Funk of Your Own"); "Blue Moves" ("Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word"). During this period, Elton contributed a song to the "Tommy" soundtrack (a cover of The Who's "Pinball Wizard"). There are three songs on this album that were only released as singles that weren't included on any studio album until the release of this collection. These three songs are actually some of Elton's most legendary work: "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds", "Philadelphia Freedom", and "Don't Go Breaking My Heart".
When Elton John's "Greatest Hits" (Volume 1) was released - this covered a period of time from 1969 through 1974. During this time, there were definitely some songs that were left out of this collection that could be considered Greatest Hits. The nice thing about "Greatest Hits Volume II" is that there are two tracks included that come from this period. These songs are "Levon" (from the "Madman Across the Water" album) and "The Bitch is Back" (from the "Caribou" album). There are still some other tracks that were omitted from this early period that weren't captured until much later on compilations by Elton John - namely "Burn Down the Mission" (from "Tumbleweed Collection) and "Tiny Dancer (from "Madman Across the Water"). This isn't meant to be a knock on "Greatest Hits Volume II". I am pleased that Elton included a couple of earlier songs. Keep in mind that in 1977, this was the days of Vinyl albums - and there was limited space to get songs on a single entity. In 1977, to get an album with 10 songs was pretty good.
One thing that is interesting about this collection is that there are two "covers" of songs by Elton John. These covers are The Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and The Who's "Pinball Wizard". For these covers, Elton brings his own spin and style to these singles and I feel his versions hold their own. I would say "Pinball Wizard" is the stronger of the two songs. Years later, when the album of Elton John Covers "Two Rooms" was released, The Who would "return the favor" by doing a cover of Elton's classic song "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting".
I'm also disappointed the collection is not in chronological order of the release of the songs. The reason I prefer this is because it allows me to see how the artist progresses over time. The songs seemed to be "mixed" in an order for some reason, but I haven't been able to decipher what the logic was behind this particular ordering.
The liner notes do contain some information, but not a lot. For each of the tracks, each of the musician credits are included along with a couple of production credits. They also tell the dates the songs were recorded, but they don't tell the album that the song was contained on. As with most Greatest Hits collections, there are no lyrics included with this collection. Overall, the tracks that are included on "Volume II" form a nice selection of Elton John tracks. I also think the material on "Volume II" is stronger than "Volume I". Overall, I'd recommend this collection. | 1 | neutral | [
"Elton John has certainly cemented his place in the history of music.",
"He is a legendary performer who has rode a wave of success unlike any artist.",
"Elton John first came on the music scene in 1969.",
"Once his 1970 hit \"Your Song\" of his self-titled \"Elton John\" (his second) album was released, it would begin one of the most consistent music careers in the history of music.",
"In fact, from 1969 until 1991 - there wasn't a calendar year that passed without the release of some sort of Elton John album.",
"Even after that, Elton would only miss 2 calendar years without a release between 1991 and 2004 (those years being 1998 and 2003).",
"On the plus side, not only has this given Elton John a level of consistency that has been unsurpassed, but it also has allowed him to build up an incredibly large music library.",
"There is a minus side: With such frequent album releases, Elton's albums are often diluted.",
"While there have been dozens of legendary tracks by Elton John, there aren't too many \"complete\" Elton albums that I would dub of legendary status.",
"In other words, his albums usually contain 1 to 2 great tracks with the remainder of the tracks being lukewarm at best.",
"It is this scenario that makes a Greatest Hits album very attractive to the Elton John fan - namely because it allows one to have a collection of those legendary tracks in one place.",
"One such collection is the first Greatest Hits collection that Elton released entitled \"Greatest Hits Volume II\".",
"Elton has certainly no shortage of Greatest Hits albums as he has released several of them.",
"There is this collection - \"Greatest Hits Volume II\", but there is also \"Greatest Hits (Volume 1)\", \"Greatest Hits Volume III\" (this one is a tough find), \"Greatest Hits 1976-1986\", and \"Greatest Hits 1970-2002\".",
"Other compilations include: \"To Be Continued\" Boxed Set and \"Love Songs\" collections.",
"It is worth noting that all of the songs that are contained on this collection are also found on the \"To Be Continued\" with the exception of \"Grow Some Funk of Your Own\".",
"As for the \"Greatest Hits 1970-2002\" set only 7 of the 10 songs on \"Greatest Hits Volume II\" are included - the exceptions being \"Pinball Wizard\", \"Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds\", and \"Grow Some Funk of Your Own\"\n\nThere are 10 tracks on \"Greatest Hits Volume II\".",
"This collection was released only 3 years following the release of \"Greatest Hits Volume I\".",
"Elton had released three studio albums during that time and as a result there are only 4 tracks from new studio albums.",
"These albums are: \"Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy\" (\"Someone Saved My Life Tonight\"); \"Rock of the Westies\" (\"Island Girl\", \"Grow Some Funk of Your Own\"); \"Blue Moves\" (\"Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word\").",
"During this period, Elton contributed a song to the \"Tommy\" soundtrack (a cover of The Who's \"Pinball Wizard\").",
"There are three songs on this album that were only released as singles that weren't included on any studio album until the release of this collection.",
"These three songs are actually some of Elton's most legendary work: \"Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds\", \"Philadelphia Freedom\", and \"Don't Go Breaking My Heart\".",
"When Elton John's \"Greatest Hits\" (Volume 1) was released - this covered a period of time from 1969 through 1974.",
"During this time, there were definitely some songs that were left out of this collection that could be considered Greatest Hits.",
"The nice thing about \"Greatest Hits Volume II\" is that there are two tracks included that come from this period.",
"These songs are \"Levon\" (from the \"Madman Across the Water\" album) and \"The Bitch is Back\" (from the \"Caribou\" album).",
"There are still some other tracks that were omitted from this early period that weren't captured until much later on compilations by Elton John - namely \"Burn Down the Mission\" (from \"Tumbleweed Collection) and \"Tiny Dancer (from \"Madman Across the Water\").",
"This isn't meant to be a knock on \"Greatest Hits Volume II\".",
"I am pleased that Elton included a couple of earlier songs.",
"Keep in mind that in 1977, this was the days of Vinyl albums - and there was limited space to get songs on a single entity.",
"In 1977, to get an album with 10 songs was pretty good.",
"One thing that is interesting about this collection is that there are two \"covers\" of songs by Elton John.",
"These covers are The Beatles' \"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds\" and The Who's \"Pinball Wizard\".",
"For these covers, Elton brings his own spin and style to these singles and I feel his versions hold their own.",
"I would say \"Pinball Wizard\" is the stronger of the two songs.",
"Years later, when the album of Elton John Covers \"Two Rooms\" was released, The Who would \"return the favor\" by doing a cover of Elton's classic song \"Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting\".",
"I'm also disappointed the collection is not in chronological order of the release of the songs.",
"The reason I prefer this is because it allows me to see how the artist progresses over time.",
"The songs seemed to be \"mixed\" in an order for some reason, but I haven't been able to decipher what the logic was behind this particular ordering.",
"The liner notes do contain some information, but not a lot.",
"For each of the tracks, each of the musician credits are included along with a couple of production credits.",
"They also tell the dates the songs were recorded, but they don't tell the album that the song was contained on.",
"As with most Greatest Hits collections, there are no lyrics included with this collection.",
"Overall, the tracks that are included on \"Volume II\" form a nice selection of Elton John tracks.",
"I also think the material on \"Volume II\" is stronger than \"Volume I\".",
"Overall, I'd recommend this collection."
]
|
I am in a constant search for the Holy Grail of a nonsurgical/nonprescriptive way to deal with the wrinkles under my eyes. And I wear contact lenses so I don't want something so strong that it bothers my eyes.
This cream definitely succeeds on the second point. I haven't had any sensitivity at all from this cream so that is a plus. But it has had little effect on the wrinkles under my eyes. I've been using it only on one eye so I can compare it to the other eye (and I haven't been using anything on that eye so it is full wrinkle). If I really look hard, I might see a little difference, but I doubt that anyone looking at me could tell. This might be better for younger women whose wrinkles are not as deep as mine.
So far the best product I've used has been <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Hydroxatone-Hydrolyze-Intensive-Under-Eye-Treatment-Net-Wt-0-5-Oz/dp/B009XRFA88/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Hydroxatone Hydrolyze Intensive Under Eye Treatment, Net Wt. 0.5 Oz.</a> | 1 | neutral | [
"I am in a constant search for the Holy Grail of a nonsurgical/nonprescriptive way to deal with the wrinkles under my eyes.",
"And I wear contact lenses so I don't want something so strong that it bothers my eyes.",
"This cream definitely succeeds on the second point.",
"I haven't had any sensitivity at all from this cream so that is a plus.",
"But it has had little effect on the wrinkles under my eyes.",
"I've been using it only on one eye so I can compare it to the other eye (and I haven't been using anything on that eye so it is full wrinkle).",
"If I really look hard, I might see a little difference, but I doubt that anyone looking at me could tell.",
"This might be better for younger women whose wrinkles are not as deep as mine.",
"So far the best product I've used has been <a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/Hydroxatone-Hydrolyze-Intensive-Under-Eye-Treatment-Net-Wt-0-5-Oz/dp/B009XRFA88/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">Hydroxatone Hydrolyze Intensive Under Eye Treatment, Net Wt.",
"0.",
"5 Oz.",
"</a>"
]
|
I got a copy of this book from the publisher for review. This is the first book in a series; I haven't been able to find info on future books in this series. It was okay, a pretty typical YA paranormal book...nothing special but decently written.
Claire is finally starting to fit in at her high school, she's been there two years which is the longest her and her mom have stayed in one place...ever. Now she's started having strange psychic visions and she is sure as heck not going to tell her mother about them. Alec is sick of hunting down angelic rejects and is trying to take a break from his job by hanging out as a teenager at the very school Claire is going to. Alec and Claire immediately have a connection to each other, little do they know that their love is forbidden because of what Claire and Alec are.
This is a pretty typical paranormal YA book about a girl who finds out she is part angel. It even comes complete with love triangle and star-crossed love.
Both Alec and Claire are very stereotypical paranormal YA characters. Both characters were okay, but weren't all that engaging to me. I am hard-pressed to describe Claire after reading the book, she just blends in with a million other mediocre YA heroines out there. I also didn't really enjoy how much of the book took place in a high school type setting and dealt with teen angst type issues.
The plot is okay, but fairly predictable. The writing style is decent but nothing special. Pretty much this whole book is mediocre. There is some mythos behind the angels' origins, but the world isn't set up all that well and it is never really expanded on.
Overall an okay story but nothing special. I would personally recommend Cynthia Hand's Unearthly series over this one; Unearthly is a truly spectacular YA paranormal book focusing on angels and is much better written than this one. I probably won't be reading any more of this series, just because it didn't really stand out for me. | 1 | neutral | [
"I got a copy of this book from the publisher for review.",
"This is the first book in a series; I haven't been able to find info on future books in this series.",
"It was okay, a pretty typical YA paranormal book...",
"nothing special but decently written.",
"Claire is finally starting to fit in at her high school, she's been there two years which is the longest her and her mom have stayed in one place...",
"ever.",
"Now she's started having strange psychic visions and she is sure as heck not going to tell her mother about them.",
"Alec is sick of hunting down angelic rejects and is trying to take a break from his job by hanging out as a teenager at the very school Claire is going to.",
"Alec and Claire immediately have a connection to each other, little do they know that their love is forbidden because of what Claire and Alec are.",
"This is a pretty typical paranormal YA book about a girl who finds out she is part angel.",
"It even comes complete with love triangle and star-crossed love.",
"Both Alec and Claire are very stereotypical paranormal YA characters.",
"Both characters were okay, but weren't all that engaging to me.",
"I am hard-pressed to describe Claire after reading the book, she just blends in with a million other mediocre YA heroines out there.",
"I also didn't really enjoy how much of the book took place in a high school type setting and dealt with teen angst type issues.",
"The plot is okay, but fairly predictable.",
"The writing style is decent but nothing special.",
"Pretty much this whole book is mediocre.",
"There is some mythos behind the angels' origins, but the world isn't set up all that well and it is never really expanded on.",
"Overall an okay story but nothing special.",
"I would personally recommend Cynthia Hand's Unearthly series over this one; Unearthly is a truly spectacular YA paranormal book focusing on angels and is much better written than this one.",
"I probably won't be reading any more of this series, just because it didn't really stand out for me."
]
|
Little girls today don't believe in fairytales the way they did even a decade ago: they see much more commonly now that the women in their own lives closer resemble the women from Lipstick Jungle--struggling to balance work, family, friends, and romance--rather than the princesses staring out their castle windows, dreaming of the prince who will come save them from a life of gold-collar imprisonment. Nothing seems like it could ever be as picture-perfect as those brightly colored cels we remember so well from our childhood, but Director Kevin Lima tries his hardest with Enchanted, creating one part traditional fairytale (for the kids) and one part slightly sardonic chick flick (for the moms and big sisters). For both, though, Enchanted incorporates modern-day feminist theory to challenge traditional roles for princesses and real world women alike.
Living in the fictional storybook fairyland of Andalasia, Enchanted opens with Gisele (Amy Adams) throwing open her cottage window and singing alongside the birds and other woodland critters about finding her "true love's kiss"... all without an ounce of cynicsm or snark in her tone. Moments later, she is rescued Prince Charming (Edward, James Marsden) and is all set to marry him until his mother, Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) concocts a plan to send Gisele plummeting down a dark well to "a place where there is no happily ever after," read: New York City. While that is an example of one of the jokes the adult audience chuckled at but probably soared over the younger counterpart's heads, Lima's Disney-fied version of New York was not nearly gritty enough to hold up to such a label. The color palette is as bright, pristine, and chipper as Gisele herself, even in human form, where Adams' long, wavy hair and big bright eyes all scream cartoonish innocence-- in the daintiest way possible, of course. Lima creates a fantasy even in a supposed reality, especially upon meeting Robert (Patrick Dempsey), a New York lawyer so surprisingly unjaded, he allows this strange and seemingly troubled young woman into his home, even with his young daughter (Rachel Covey) sleeping in the next room. It is hard not to get lost in the magical fantasy Enchanted offers as an escape from the jaded tedium of our real world.
Enchanted is cute film that elicits quite a few chuckles, but it does bite off a little more of the apple than it can chew (to use one of the many allegorical references to past fairytales the film employs) when it tries to marry (pun intended) the characters from the two worlds. Suddenly Lima seems to rely on the pure hope that his core demographic will be too young to question his fuzzy logic of how some characters mature and evolve (such as Gisele learning what real dating is and questioning what she wants for her life) and others do exactly the opposite, ultimately throwing away everything they have ever worked for (like the underused Idina Menzel's Nancy), and muddling the attempt at the female empowerment message.
Years ago, true love would have been enough to defeat the Queen's nefarious plans, but today's audiences tend to look for additional twists as they near the end of a film. Lima delivered on such expectations with a rushed remembrance of what makes the Disney villains so classic: they need to scare the children to the point of closing their eyes in their movie theatre seats. Enchanted had been so focused on Gisele's journey and the romantic-comedy aspect of the story, that Narissa only popped up occasionally, in makeshift mirror reflections, and in order to suddenly blow her persona up to larger-than-life status, he did so quite literally with a CGI creature that unfortunately was much lamer than what today's youth is used to seeing. It was an admirable attempt, but if anyone closed their eyes at that sight, it was out of embarrassment.
Some may remember the very early trailer for Enchanted that played before Disney's summer blockbuster Pirate's of the Caribbean: At World's End: it featured a brief but more sinister glimpse of Menzel's Nancy, as if alluding to a subplot and subsequent underlying message that if Robert actually went through with the marriage, she, too, would turn into an Evil Stepmother. When Enchanted was released theatrically in November 2007, though, Menzel's role seemed considerably scaled down, as she appeared as barely a supporting player--wasting her classic theatre talent in a musical that doesn't even allow her to sing. The hope was that the DVD would offer deleted scenes that showcased Menzel's powerhouse vocals... but it looks like in order to get any of (if they even do exist), we'll have to wait for the obligatory Two-Disc Collector's Edition that Disney releases from their fictional vaults to mark their films' anniversaries.
In fact, the studio must be waiting for an anniversary edition to give us the goods because this release meagerly offers six deleted scenes, introduced by Lima, including an extended opening done in storyboard form because the idea was scrapped long before they started animating. "Fantasy Comes to Life" is your standard "Making Of" for the musical numbers (namely "Happy Working Song," That's How You Know," and "A Blast At The Ball") and what went into putting them together. The most interesting there is of course "Happy Working Song," which delves into which parts of the number was done with live animals (and how) and which were purely CGI. There is also a quick blooper reel, the "Ever Ever After" music video, and an interactive game featuring Andalasia (and subsequently New York)'s unofficial mascot Pip. The game is a little sophomoric even for Enchanted's young fans, considering the movie asks for a savvier, slightly more mature audience. If you buy the Blu-Ray version, though, there is an extra bonus featurette that looks at the film's subtle (and some not-so) references to past Disney films, including cameos by the actresses behind Ariel, Belle, and Pocohontas.
Enchanted is one of those movies that will be enjoyed by both kids and adults-- perhaps on different levels and for different reasons-- but the movie really seems to be made for the generation that grew up with such classic Disney fairytales as The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast--a generation that is now decades more mature and therefore able to poke fun at the very idealistic, very nave beliefs of their childhood... all while still managing to hold onto a little bit of those optimistic hopes. | 1 | neutral | [
"Little girls today don't believe in fairytales the way they did even a decade ago: they see much more commonly now that the women in their own lives closer resemble the women from Lipstick Jungle--struggling to balance work, family, friends, and romance--rather than the princesses staring out their castle windows, dreaming of the prince who will come save them from a life of gold-collar imprisonment.",
"Nothing seems like it could ever be as picture-perfect as those brightly colored cels we remember so well from our childhood, but Director Kevin Lima tries his hardest with Enchanted, creating one part traditional fairytale (for the kids) and one part slightly sardonic chick flick (for the moms and big sisters).",
"For both, though, Enchanted incorporates modern-day feminist theory to challenge traditional roles for princesses and real world women alike.",
"Living in the fictional storybook fairyland of Andalasia, Enchanted opens with Gisele (Amy Adams) throwing open her cottage window and singing alongside the birds and other woodland critters about finding her \"true love's kiss\"...",
"all without an ounce of cynicsm or snark in her tone.",
"Moments later, she is rescued Prince Charming (Edward, James Marsden) and is all set to marry him until his mother, Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) concocts a plan to send Gisele plummeting down a dark well to \"a place where there is no happily ever after,\" read: New York City.",
"While that is an example of one of the jokes the adult audience chuckled at but probably soared over the younger counterpart's heads, Lima's Disney-fied version of New York was not nearly gritty enough to hold up to such a label.",
"The color palette is as bright, pristine, and chipper as Gisele herself, even in human form, where Adams' long, wavy hair and big bright eyes all scream cartoonish innocence-- in the daintiest way possible, of course.",
"Lima creates a fantasy even in a supposed reality, especially upon meeting Robert (Patrick Dempsey), a New York lawyer so surprisingly unjaded, he allows this strange and seemingly troubled young woman into his home, even with his young daughter (Rachel Covey) sleeping in the next room.",
"It is hard not to get lost in the magical fantasy Enchanted offers as an escape from the jaded tedium of our real world.",
"Enchanted is cute film that elicits quite a few chuckles, but it does bite off a little more of the apple than it can chew (to use one of the many allegorical references to past fairytales the film employs) when it tries to marry (pun intended) the characters from the two worlds.",
"Suddenly Lima seems to rely on the pure hope that his core demographic will be too young to question his fuzzy logic of how some characters mature and evolve (such as Gisele learning what real dating is and questioning what she wants for her life) and others do exactly the opposite, ultimately throwing away everything they have ever worked for (like the underused Idina Menzel's Nancy), and muddling the attempt at the female empowerment message.",
"Years ago, true love would have been enough to defeat the Queen's nefarious plans, but today's audiences tend to look for additional twists as they near the end of a film.",
"Lima delivered on such expectations with a rushed remembrance of what makes the Disney villains so classic: they need to scare the children to the point of closing their eyes in their movie theatre seats.",
"Enchanted had been so focused on Gisele's journey and the romantic-comedy aspect of the story, that Narissa only popped up occasionally, in makeshift mirror reflections, and in order to suddenly blow her persona up to larger-than-life status, he did so quite literally with a CGI creature that unfortunately was much lamer than what today's youth is used to seeing.",
"It was an admirable attempt, but if anyone closed their eyes at that sight, it was out of embarrassment.",
"Some may remember the very early trailer for Enchanted that played before Disney's summer blockbuster Pirate's of the Caribbean: At World's End: it featured a brief but more sinister glimpse of Menzel's Nancy, as if alluding to a subplot and subsequent underlying message that if Robert actually went through with the marriage, she, too, would turn into an Evil Stepmother.",
"When Enchanted was released theatrically in November 2007, though, Menzel's role seemed considerably scaled down, as she appeared as barely a supporting player--wasting her classic theatre talent in a musical that doesn't even allow her to sing.",
"The hope was that the DVD would offer deleted scenes that showcased Menzel's powerhouse vocals...",
"but it looks like in order to get any of (if they even do exist), we'll have to wait for the obligatory Two-Disc Collector's Edition that Disney releases from their fictional vaults to mark their films' anniversaries.",
"In fact, the studio must be waiting for an anniversary edition to give us the goods because this release meagerly offers six deleted scenes, introduced by Lima, including an extended opening done in storyboard form because the idea was scrapped long before they started animating.",
"\"Fantasy Comes to Life\" is your standard \"Making Of\" for the musical numbers (namely \"Happy Working Song,\" That's How You Know,\" and \"A Blast At The Ball\") and what went into putting them together.",
"The most interesting there is of course \"Happy Working Song,\" which delves into which parts of the number was done with live animals (and how) and which were purely CGI.",
"There is also a quick blooper reel, the \"Ever Ever After\" music video, and an interactive game featuring Andalasia (and subsequently New York)'s unofficial mascot Pip.",
"The game is a little sophomoric even for Enchanted's young fans, considering the movie asks for a savvier, slightly more mature audience.",
"If you buy the Blu-Ray version, though, there is an extra bonus featurette that looks at the film's subtle (and some not-so) references to past Disney films, including cameos by the actresses behind Ariel, Belle, and Pocohontas.",
"Enchanted is one of those movies that will be enjoyed by both kids and adults-- perhaps on different levels and for different reasons-- but the movie really seems to be made for the generation that grew up with such classic Disney fairytales as The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast--a generation that is now decades more mature and therefore able to poke fun at the very idealistic, very nave beliefs of their childhood...",
"all while still managing to hold onto a little bit of those optimistic hopes."
]
|
When director Bert Gordon saw the unexpected profits from his AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN and the earlier INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN, he decided that there was room enough in Hollywood for yet another film on a man out of size. In THE ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE, Gordon reshot the much more artistic ISM minus any mystical or sociological subtext. Here, he cast veteran B actor John Hoyt as Mr. Franz, a demented doll maker who also invented a machine that could shrink human beings down to a mere six inches in height. Gordon did not concern himself with the fact that while it was theoretically possible to shrink matter, the mass would remain constant even while the actual size was reduced. Thus a six inch human being must weigh as much as before, much like a snowball compressed into a tightly packed core. Hoyt plays Franz in a manner that suggests he is your typical Insane Scientist, one who cannot fathom why his shrunken victims might not appreciate his solicitude for their well-being. As usual, Hoyt's smooth diction elevates his performance above his fellow cast. John Agar as Bob the salesman is his usual bland self, one who annoys the audience and the object of his affections, the lovely Sally, equally blandly played by June Kenney. Agar comes across as a jerk, but soon he and Miss Kenney are in a drive in theater where he pops the question with her accepting. There are four other shrunken people. What is astounding about them is that they are played as total airheads. When these four first meet Agar and Kenney, they cannot understand why their new fellow miniatures are not ecstatic about their new station in life. The plot is simple. All the puppet people try to escape. There are some scenes of huge mice, cats, and dogs attacking them, which brings to mind some similar scenes from TISM, though in the latter case, were more startling and acceptable. There is not much to recommend in PUPPET PEOPLE, except that Hoyt manages to come across as one who commits evil but is unaware of doing so. His Mr. Franz is involved in the world of the microcosmic. For him, the macro world is fraught with danger and pain. When he mentions that his wife left him for another, the audience could actually connect with him on a visceral level. Even at the end, with his miniature emprire crumbling, he still convinces us that he is more sinned against than sinning. THE ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE emerges as a mildly cautionary tale of the dangers in reducing the pain in one's heart by reducing the external world down to a more manageable size. | 1 | neutral | [
"When director Bert Gordon saw the unexpected profits from his AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN and the earlier INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN, he decided that there was room enough in Hollywood for yet another film on a man out of size.",
"In THE ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE, Gordon reshot the much more artistic ISM minus any mystical or sociological subtext.",
"Here, he cast veteran B actor John Hoyt as Mr.",
"Franz, a demented doll maker who also invented a machine that could shrink human beings down to a mere six inches in height.",
"Gordon did not concern himself with the fact that while it was theoretically possible to shrink matter, the mass would remain constant even while the actual size was reduced.",
"Thus a six inch human being must weigh as much as before, much like a snowball compressed into a tightly packed core.",
"Hoyt plays Franz in a manner that suggests he is your typical Insane Scientist, one who cannot fathom why his shrunken victims might not appreciate his solicitude for their well-being.",
"As usual, Hoyt's smooth diction elevates his performance above his fellow cast.",
"John Agar as Bob the salesman is his usual bland self, one who annoys the audience and the object of his affections, the lovely Sally, equally blandly played by June Kenney.",
"Agar comes across as a jerk, but soon he and Miss Kenney are in a drive in theater where he pops the question with her accepting.",
"There are four other shrunken people.",
"What is astounding about them is that they are played as total airheads.",
"When these four first meet Agar and Kenney, they cannot understand why their new fellow miniatures are not ecstatic about their new station in life.",
"The plot is simple.",
"All the puppet people try to escape.",
"There are some scenes of huge mice, cats, and dogs attacking them, which brings to mind some similar scenes from TISM, though in the latter case, were more startling and acceptable.",
"There is not much to recommend in PUPPET PEOPLE, except that Hoyt manages to come across as one who commits evil but is unaware of doing so.",
"His Mr.",
"Franz is involved in the world of the microcosmic.",
"For him, the macro world is fraught with danger and pain.",
"When he mentions that his wife left him for another, the audience could actually connect with him on a visceral level.",
"Even at the end, with his miniature emprire crumbling, he still convinces us that he is more sinned against than sinning.",
"THE ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE emerges as a mildly cautionary tale of the dangers in reducing the pain in one's heart by reducing the external world down to a more manageable size."
]
|
I'm not really big on the Bond games. Most of then are no more than ordinary first person shooters with licensed characters. I guess since the original Goldeneye game on the Nintendo 64 was so popular they felt like they shouldn't stray to far from the winning formula.
In this game we have a generic interpretation of Bond involved in a dull plot involving clones and kidnapped world leaders. We go through several different locations but only some of them are cool and none are used to their full potential. There are a couple of driving levels too, but the street design is just uninspired.
The best thing about FPS games is the ability to just go berserk and shoot-up the place, hoping to catch the baddies in the crossfire. But you don't really get a lot of ammo and reloading is painfully slow sometimes. And the destruction you can inflict upon the environment is very limited.
I can really only recommend AUF to Bond fans. The rest of you have soooo many other choices for superior FPS games, you don't want to waste your time with this one. | 1 | neutral | [
"I'm not really big on the Bond games.",
"Most of then are no more than ordinary first person shooters with licensed characters.",
"I guess since the original Goldeneye game on the Nintendo 64 was so popular they felt like they shouldn't stray to far from the winning formula.",
"In this game we have a generic interpretation of Bond involved in a dull plot involving clones and kidnapped world leaders.",
"We go through several different locations but only some of them are cool and none are used to their full potential.",
"There are a couple of driving levels too, but the street design is just uninspired.",
"The best thing about FPS games is the ability to just go berserk and shoot-up the place, hoping to catch the baddies in the crossfire.",
"But you don't really get a lot of ammo and reloading is painfully slow sometimes.",
"And the destruction you can inflict upon the environment is very limited.",
"I can really only recommend AUF to Bond fans.",
"The rest of you have soooo many other choices for superior FPS games, you don't want to waste your time with this one."
]
|
MPEG-4 AVC BD-50 / Region A, B, C
Disc size: 49,688,551,851 bytes
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (seamless)
Running time: 2:14:41
Movie size: 36,620,150,784 bytes
Average video bit rate: 22.79 Mbps
DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 24-bit
Dolby TrueHD 5.1 24-bit
Special Edition (seamless branching)
Running time: 2:12:29
Movie size: 36,062,017,536 bytes
Average video bit rate: 22.79 Mbps
DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 24-bit
Dolby TrueHD 5.1 24-bitmaster)
Director's Cut (seamless branching)
Running time: 2:17:13
Movie size: 37,348,374,528 bytes
Average video bit rate: 22.85 Mbps
DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 24-bit
Dolby TrueHD 5.1 24-bit | 1 | neutral | [
"MPEG-4 AVC BD-50 / Region A, B, C\nDisc size: 49,688,551,851 bytes\n\nClose Encounters of the Third Kind (seamless)\nRunning time: 2:14:41\nMovie size: 36,620,150,784 bytes\nAverage video bit rate: 22.",
"79 Mbps\nDTS-HD Master Audio 5.",
"1 24-bit\nDolby TrueHD 5.",
"1 24-bit\n\nSpecial Edition (seamless branching)\nRunning time: 2:12:29\nMovie size: 36,062,017,536 bytes\nAverage video bit rate: 22.",
"79 Mbps\nDTS-HD Master Audio 5.",
"1 24-bit\nDolby TrueHD 5.",
"1 24-bitmaster)\n\nDirector's Cut (seamless branching)\nRunning time: 2:17:13\nMovie size: 37,348,374,528 bytes\nAverage video bit rate: 22.",
"85 Mbps\nDTS-HD Master Audio 5.",
"1 24-bit\nDolby TrueHD 5.",
"1 24-bit"
]
|
I paid $3 at a yard sale and having had it for a year now, I'd say my LO (now 4) has asked to play it 3 or 4 times. We play board games at least twice a week, so it's not that he doesn't like games.
It is educational. It expands with ability. But those aspects are very limited. If they had more cards to change on the "doors" then it could be a lot more fun. It's the same game every time. Match 3 with 3 boxes, match q with queen etc. And after the first time playing it, there is no more magic about the surprise in the treasure chest. Maybe a girl would like it better, but my 3 yr old boy said in a disappointed tone , "oh, a purple gem."
My LO does like finding the balls under the doors (this is the only random aspect of the game) and putting them in the "stream".
I think it's a great concept but Cranium just stopped short. A lot more could be done with this game. I have seen ideas of printing more door cards, that would definitely help! I wish that is just came with more.
For this age range (3-6) I would recommend Busy Town the Richard Scary game. It is great for pre-reading skills and counting. If you just want an island theme with a surprise then go with Mouse Trap, it has way more suspense. | 1 | neutral | [
"I paid $3 at a yard sale and having had it for a year now, I'd say my LO (now 4) has asked to play it 3 or 4 times.",
"We play board games at least twice a week, so it's not that he doesn't like games.",
"It is educational.",
"It expands with ability.",
"But those aspects are very limited.",
"If they had more cards to change on the \"doors\" then it could be a lot more fun.",
"It's the same game every time.",
"Match 3 with 3 boxes, match q with queen etc.",
"And after the first time playing it, there is no more magic about the surprise in the treasure chest.",
"Maybe a girl would like it better, but my 3 yr old boy said in a disappointed tone , \"oh, a purple gem.",
"\"\nMy LO does like finding the balls under the doors (this is the only random aspect of the game) and putting them in the \"stream\".",
"I think it's a great concept but Cranium just stopped short.",
"A lot more could be done with this game.",
"I have seen ideas of printing more door cards, that would definitely help!",
"I wish that is just came with more.",
"For this age range (3-6) I would recommend Busy Town the Richard Scary game.",
"It is great for pre-reading skills and counting.",
"If you just want an island theme with a surprise then go with Mouse Trap, it has way more suspense."
]
|
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