text
stringlengths 114
22.4k
| label
int64 0
2
| label_text
stringclasses 3
values | sentences
sequencelengths 10
828
|
---|---|---|---|
As stated above, the folks at McCormick have yet to perfect the non-garlic breath smell. We're cloning sheep and exploring Mars but I still can't apply copious amounts of garlic powder without getting weird looks from my domestic partner.
Down to business, this is standard garlic powder. If you are not familiar with the taste or product, you probably should not be shopping for spices in bulk. 6 bottles of a random spice may seem like an odd purchase, but not for us GP enthusiasts. The only problem is between this my 6 extra large hot curry powder, my 6 spicy mrs dash (sneaky excellent combo), etc. there isn't too much room on the old spice rack. I might need a spice closet. Love this crap though. Supermarkets charge $5.50-$7, especially in New York City for McCormick spices so I'd probably buy 200 bottles of GP at the per unit price of $2.56 if necessary. Look at those savings! If you aren't down with per unit spice savings, get the f out of my review. | 2 | positive | [
"As stated above, the folks at McCormick have yet to perfect the non-garlic breath smell.",
"We're cloning sheep and exploring Mars but I still can't apply copious amounts of garlic powder without getting weird looks from my domestic partner.",
"Down to business, this is standard garlic powder.",
"If you are not familiar with the taste or product, you probably should not be shopping for spices in bulk.",
"6 bottles of a random spice may seem like an odd purchase, but not for us GP enthusiasts.",
"The only problem is between this my 6 extra large hot curry powder, my 6 spicy mrs dash (sneaky excellent combo), etc.",
"there isn't too much room on the old spice rack.",
"I might need a spice closet.",
"Love this crap though.",
"Supermarkets charge $5.",
"50-$7, especially in New York City for McCormick spices so I'd probably buy 200 bottles of GP at the per unit price of $2.",
"56 if necessary.",
"Look at those savings!",
"If you aren't down with per unit spice savings, get the f out of my review."
] |
this is just what I was looking for! i have a small sportswear and there is no room for anything and this totally helps! i can put in phone, cigarettes, gum, lighter. whatever i happen to need a spot for in the car. this handily holds phone and cigarettes and gum and lighter with no problem. Im ordering some for gifts! i would definitely recommend this to friends!
Before I write a review i usually let the item sit out on the table until Im ready to take it for a test drive Then I run it through a rigorous set of tests ;)
Does it look good? feel?
How does it compare with...?
Can I do anything else with it?
Does it do what it says it does?
Would I change anything?
Anything else Id like to see as an additional feature
And then.
I sit down and write my review. It usually takes me 2+ hours to write--get it on the screen, organized, edited, cut read, re-read, re-editedyou get it...before its ready to be posted. So, if you are reading this review some thought has been put into it. I hope this helps you to make an educated decision on your next purchase, and if you have any questions leave it in my comments and Ill get back to youReally :) | 2 | positive | [
"this is just what I was looking for!",
"i have a small sportswear and there is no room for anything and this totally helps!",
"i can put in phone, cigarettes, gum, lighter.",
"whatever i happen to need a spot for in the car.",
"this handily holds phone and cigarettes and gum and lighter with no problem.",
"Im ordering some for gifts!",
"i would definitely recommend this to friends!",
"Before I write a review i usually let the item sit out on the table until Im ready to take it for a test drive Then I run it through a rigorous set of tests ;)\nDoes it look good?",
"feel?",
"How does it compare with...",
"?",
"Can I do anything else with it?",
"Does it do what it says it does?",
"Would I change anything?",
"Anything else Id like to see as an additional feature\n And then.",
"I sit down and write my review.",
"It usually takes me 2+ hours to write--get it on the screen, organized, edited, cut read, re-read, re-editedyou get it...",
"before its ready to be posted.",
"So, if you are reading this review some thought has been put into it.",
"I hope this helps you to make an educated decision on your next purchase, and if you have any questions leave it in my comments and Ill get back to youReally :)"
] |
I use these Sharpie markers to color in the alopecia areata spots on my brunette head. Just move the long hair out of the way, and smear this on the fleshy spots. Works well for spots up to 3/4 inch; I have found that spots larger than that size tend to color in poorly and appear like somebody used magic marker on my head.
I have tried eyebrow pencils and Marks-A-Lot brand, but both of those run in rainstorms. I have streaks of black like ruined mascara down my neck when I have hit a downpour with those products. The Sharpie, conversely, stays in place and doesn't ruin my neck or my clothes.
When you first put this on, smudge it around with a paper towel; it has a working time of approximately thirty seconds, after which it cannot be blended on your skin. If I have a particularly nasty outbreak of "pecia", as we call it, I will have my wife apply to the back of my squash because there are so many spots that I cannot see them well by holding a mirror to the back of my head.
I will note that there is a faint odor of magic marker from this product for about the first hour or so after one applies it to their head skin. If there are plans for a dinner party, unless you want the hosts to think that you were wearing an advertising sandwich board all day, you might want to apply the Sharpie long before you leave the house.
When I sweat, the marker does get slightly mobile. What do I mean? If I lay back on a pillow, it will stain the pillow. This is particularly important, once again, at the dinner party. You will want to avoid high backed, upholstered chairs, or else you'll have a lot of 'splainin' to do, Ricky!
Finally, I have never had a lack of hair re-growth from the toxicity of this product on my head. Seems as though the nascent hairs, typically white in color, do not mind the daily bath of Sharpie. I have not experienced yet any ill effects such as loss of memory or dulled ability for computations, but I will update this review should that occur (if I remember to update it). | 2 | positive | [
"I use these Sharpie markers to color in the alopecia areata spots on my brunette head.",
"Just move the long hair out of the way, and smear this on the fleshy spots.",
"Works well for spots up to 3/4 inch; I have found that spots larger than that size tend to color in poorly and appear like somebody used magic marker on my head.",
"I have tried eyebrow pencils and Marks-A-Lot brand, but both of those run in rainstorms.",
"I have streaks of black like ruined mascara down my neck when I have hit a downpour with those products.",
"The Sharpie, conversely, stays in place and doesn't ruin my neck or my clothes.",
"When you first put this on, smudge it around with a paper towel; it has a working time of approximately thirty seconds, after which it cannot be blended on your skin.",
"If I have a particularly nasty outbreak of \"pecia\", as we call it, I will have my wife apply to the back of my squash because there are so many spots that I cannot see them well by holding a mirror to the back of my head.",
"I will note that there is a faint odor of magic marker from this product for about the first hour or so after one applies it to their head skin.",
"If there are plans for a dinner party, unless you want the hosts to think that you were wearing an advertising sandwich board all day, you might want to apply the Sharpie long before you leave the house.",
"When I sweat, the marker does get slightly mobile.",
"What do I mean?",
"If I lay back on a pillow, it will stain the pillow.",
"This is particularly important, once again, at the dinner party.",
"You will want to avoid high backed, upholstered chairs, or else you'll have a lot of 'splainin' to do, Ricky!",
"Finally, I have never had a lack of hair re-growth from the toxicity of this product on my head.",
"Seems as though the nascent hairs, typically white in color, do not mind the daily bath of Sharpie.",
"I have not experienced yet any ill effects such as loss of memory or dulled ability for computations, but I will update this review should that occur (if I remember to update it)."
] |
Unbeatable deal - period!
I received the Behringer Ultravoice XM8500 microphone for Christmas. I am the lead singer and my band played a Rockin' New Year's Eve Party last night and I swapped in my new XM8500 for the Shure SM58 I normally sing through just to try it out during the sound check... I was completely blown away by the XM8500 and decided to use it for the show. You will not find a better alternative to more expensive microphones than the XM8500. I have been a musician for 35+ years and was a Shure "snob" until now. The XM8500 is handsdown the best mic I've ever used. I will be purchasing more of these incredible mics! If you are reading the reviews and considering buying one - there's no need to hesitate. Take it from the lead singer of an actively performing band, the XM8500 is completely legit! I couldn't believe how well this microphone sounded through our PA system - yes, even better than the Shure SM58. Nice crisp, clean sound, no feedback issues, no drop off issues, solid mids, excellent lows... For the price, you just cannot go wrong. This microphone is very well made, solid "tank like" heft and feel to it. I'm not sure what else I can say except; get one! | 2 | positive | [
"Unbeatable deal - period!",
"I received the Behringer Ultravoice XM8500 microphone for Christmas.",
"I am the lead singer and my band played a Rockin' New Year's Eve Party last night and I swapped in my new XM8500 for the Shure SM58 I normally sing through just to try it out during the sound check...",
"I was completely blown away by the XM8500 and decided to use it for the show.",
"You will not find a better alternative to more expensive microphones than the XM8500.",
"I have been a musician for 35+ years and was a Shure \"snob\" until now.",
"The XM8500 is handsdown the best mic I've ever used.",
"I will be purchasing more of these incredible mics!",
"If you are reading the reviews and considering buying one - there's no need to hesitate.",
"Take it from the lead singer of an actively performing band, the XM8500 is completely legit!",
"I couldn't believe how well this microphone sounded through our PA system - yes, even better than the Shure SM58.",
"Nice crisp, clean sound, no feedback issues, no drop off issues, solid mids, excellent lows...",
"For the price, you just cannot go wrong.",
"This microphone is very well made, solid \"tank like\" heft and feel to it.",
"I'm not sure what else I can say except; get one!"
] |
This would be one of the books that I would save if my house were on fire. I love it that much.
I don't know how to express how beautiful of a story this is without sounding like a raging lunatic. Don't be afraid that it's almost 900 pages of length. Think of it as 3 separate stories combined in one book.
This is the love story of love stories. It will outdo Romeo and Juliet, Jaime Fraser and Claire, Hans Solo and Princess Leia... yes I just went there. The story is heart wrenching from the beginning and continues to pull on your heart strings until the very last word.
Tatiana is such an innocent, carefree girl. One day while out getting supplies, she decides to buy an ice cream and sits down to enjoy it while she waits for the bus to show up. That's when she sees the soldier across the street staring at her. From that moment on, Tatiana's life will never be the same.
However their story is not an easy one. Tatiana's older sister met Alexander first and therefor, Tatiana gives him up to save her sister from heartache. Not to mention the war that is taking place right outside their door. Tatiana fights every day to stay alive and Alexander does everything he can to keep her safe. He brings the family food with his rations, he walks Tatiana home from work as well as to and from the grocery store. He even makes sure to bring her something special like chocolate or extra food for just her to eat. He does everything that he can do in his power to keep Tatiana alive. And that, is just half of the story. But I can't say anymore otherwise it will give away some major spoilers.
If there was a way that I could give this book a higher rating I would. I honestly do not know why this book wasn't picked up a while ago to be turned into a movie. As it is, I did some digging and found out that there is a movie in the works and will be going into pre-production at the end of 2013. And maybe with a little luck and some pixie dust it will be finished at the end of 2014. | 2 | positive | [
"This would be one of the books that I would save if my house were on fire.",
"I love it that much.",
"I don't know how to express how beautiful of a story this is without sounding like a raging lunatic.",
"Don't be afraid that it's almost 900 pages of length.",
"Think of it as 3 separate stories combined in one book.",
"This is the love story of love stories.",
"It will outdo Romeo and Juliet, Jaime Fraser and Claire, Hans Solo and Princess Leia...",
"yes I just went there.",
"The story is heart wrenching from the beginning and continues to pull on your heart strings until the very last word.",
"Tatiana is such an innocent, carefree girl.",
"One day while out getting supplies, she decides to buy an ice cream and sits down to enjoy it while she waits for the bus to show up.",
"That's when she sees the soldier across the street staring at her.",
"From that moment on, Tatiana's life will never be the same.",
"However their story is not an easy one.",
"Tatiana's older sister met Alexander first and therefor, Tatiana gives him up to save her sister from heartache.",
"Not to mention the war that is taking place right outside their door.",
"Tatiana fights every day to stay alive and Alexander does everything he can to keep her safe.",
"He brings the family food with his rations, he walks Tatiana home from work as well as to and from the grocery store.",
"He even makes sure to bring her something special like chocolate or extra food for just her to eat.",
"He does everything that he can do in his power to keep Tatiana alive.",
"And that, is just half of the story.",
"But I can't say anymore otherwise it will give away some major spoilers.",
"If there was a way that I could give this book a higher rating I would.",
"I honestly do not know why this book wasn't picked up a while ago to be turned into a movie.",
"As it is, I did some digging and found out that there is a movie in the works and will be going into pre-production at the end of 2013.",
"And maybe with a little luck and some pixie dust it will be finished at the end of 2014."
] |
My Sweet Audrina is just as demented as I remember it being. Now in a VC Andrews book, that's not a bad thing. There are varying degrees of Andrews dementedness, and this book is pretty low on the scale, all things considered, especially since there's none of the incest Andrews is so famous for. It's kind of the literary version of a soap opera. Poor Audrina is so screwed up in the head. She doesn't know what day it is, how old she is, or why her parents will never love her as much as they did her older sister, also an Audrina. The first Audrina, who died nine years before the second Audrina was born, is better than the second at everything, and Audrina #1's shadow covers the whole house in darkness.
In terms of a cast of characters living in the Whitefern house, we have: Audrina #2; her dad Damian who forces her to rock in a chair and try to "catch" her dead sister's gifts; her aunt Ellsbeth (Ellie) who an unwed mother and basically the maid in residence; her mom Lucietta (Lucky) who gave up her career as a musician to be with Damian and holds tea parties with Ellsbeth and a dead relative, whom they take turns speaking for; and finally Vera, her spiteful evil cousin who breaks bones constantly, lies, teases, and causes trouble everywhere she goes.
Audrina suffers from "swiss cheese memory" and struggles to discover why she cannot remember her past, while dealing with members of her family, and later, people in the outside world. There is no one she can trust, and nothing seems to make sense. What I like best about My Sweet Audrina is that it is a standalone book. All of Andrews' other books are in a five book series format, and this is the only solo book. It's trashy, it's juicy, it's a mighty fun read! | 2 | positive | [
"My Sweet Audrina is just as demented as I remember it being.",
"Now in a VC Andrews book, that's not a bad thing.",
"There are varying degrees of Andrews dementedness, and this book is pretty low on the scale, all things considered, especially since there's none of the incest Andrews is so famous for.",
"It's kind of the literary version of a soap opera.",
"Poor Audrina is so screwed up in the head.",
"She doesn't know what day it is, how old she is, or why her parents will never love her as much as they did her older sister, also an Audrina.",
"The first Audrina, who died nine years before the second Audrina was born, is better than the second at everything, and Audrina #1's shadow covers the whole house in darkness.",
"In terms of a cast of characters living in the Whitefern house, we have: Audrina #2; her dad Damian who forces her to rock in a chair and try to \"catch\" her dead sister's gifts; her aunt Ellsbeth (Ellie) who an unwed mother and basically the maid in residence; her mom Lucietta (Lucky) who gave up her career as a musician to be with Damian and holds tea parties with Ellsbeth and a dead relative, whom they take turns speaking for; and finally Vera, her spiteful evil cousin who breaks bones constantly, lies, teases, and causes trouble everywhere she goes.",
"Audrina suffers from \"swiss cheese memory\" and struggles to discover why she cannot remember her past, while dealing with members of her family, and later, people in the outside world.",
"There is no one she can trust, and nothing seems to make sense.",
"What I like best about My Sweet Audrina is that it is a standalone book.",
"All of Andrews' other books are in a five book series format, and this is the only solo book.",
"It's trashy, it's juicy, it's a mighty fun read!"
] |
This was one of the reasons why I finally caved in and purchased a Wii. The Super Smash Bros. games won me over from that first day, when, visiting my grandparents in Texas many many years ago, I rented a copy of the original N64 Smash from Blockbuster and spent a whole weekend with that beautiful grey cartridge. It was, quite simply, a smashing good time.
Then there was Melee, and now Brawl. Brawl is hard for me to rank against the others. Of course it is the best looking graphically...or is it? Melee's graphics still hold up today, they are crystal clear. Brawl really isn't a giant leap from Melee's graphics. But graphics don't matter in the end right? It's all about gameplay.
Brawl is a lot of fun, as should be expected from a Smash Bros. game. There are a ton of characters to unlock, and a lot of awesome debuts onto the Smash scene, such as Solid Snake, Diddy Kong, Pokemon Trainer, and Meta Knight, to name a few. It always fun to learn to master a new character on Super Smash Bros., learning the right strategies, strengths, and weaknesses. Brawl provides a lot of opportunity to get to learn a lot of different characters.
There is also a ton of new items, and the Final Smash mechanic. These are all neat additions, but they can wear out the welcome, and stray from the simplicity that made the first Smash Bros. so great. The Final Smash mechanic in particular can be a bit unbalanced, with some characters' Final Smashes being absolutely devastating, while others' are next to useless. The new items can also tend to inundate the battlefield unless you tweak the options, turning a test of skill into a race for items (which is cool if that's what you want, otherwise you may want to reduce the amount of items available in the menu options).
Brawl also features a single-player story-ish mode, the Subspace Emissary. It's really a sort of quasi-platforming game with the Super Smash Bros. mechanics that doesn't really work...but it provides some sort of entertainment if you don't have any friends around and are tired of brawling with CPUs. It is also one of the methods used to unlock characters.
There is online play, but it can be problematic at times. I have been in many matches that get plagued with terrible lag that ruins the experience. Perhaps just as often, however, it works fine, and it's a blast brawling with friends online.
Brawl is another fun entry in the Super Smash Bros. series, and worthy of the name. Aside from a few minor flaws, it is a great return to taking our favorite Nintendo characters and having them beat the snot out of each other. | 2 | positive | [
"This was one of the reasons why I finally caved in and purchased a Wii.",
"The Super Smash Bros.",
"games won me over from that first day, when, visiting my grandparents in Texas many many years ago, I rented a copy of the original N64 Smash from Blockbuster and spent a whole weekend with that beautiful grey cartridge.",
"It was, quite simply, a smashing good time.",
"Then there was Melee, and now Brawl.",
"Brawl is hard for me to rank against the others.",
"Of course it is the best looking graphically...",
"or is it?",
"Melee's graphics still hold up today, they are crystal clear.",
"Brawl really isn't a giant leap from Melee's graphics.",
"But graphics don't matter in the end right?",
"It's all about gameplay.",
"Brawl is a lot of fun, as should be expected from a Smash Bros.",
"game.",
"There are a ton of characters to unlock, and a lot of awesome debuts onto the Smash scene, such as Solid Snake, Diddy Kong, Pokemon Trainer, and Meta Knight, to name a few.",
"It always fun to learn to master a new character on Super Smash Bros.",
", learning the right strategies, strengths, and weaknesses.",
"Brawl provides a lot of opportunity to get to learn a lot of different characters.",
"There is also a ton of new items, and the Final Smash mechanic.",
"These are all neat additions, but they can wear out the welcome, and stray from the simplicity that made the first Smash Bros.",
"so great.",
"The Final Smash mechanic in particular can be a bit unbalanced, with some characters' Final Smashes being absolutely devastating, while others' are next to useless.",
"The new items can also tend to inundate the battlefield unless you tweak the options, turning a test of skill into a race for items (which is cool if that's what you want, otherwise you may want to reduce the amount of items available in the menu options).",
"Brawl also features a single-player story-ish mode, the Subspace Emissary.",
"It's really a sort of quasi-platforming game with the Super Smash Bros.",
"mechanics that doesn't really work...",
"but it provides some sort of entertainment if you don't have any friends around and are tired of brawling with CPUs.",
"It is also one of the methods used to unlock characters.",
"There is online play, but it can be problematic at times.",
"I have been in many matches that get plagued with terrible lag that ruins the experience.",
"Perhaps just as often, however, it works fine, and it's a blast brawling with friends online.",
"Brawl is another fun entry in the Super Smash Bros.",
"series, and worthy of the name.",
"Aside from a few minor flaws, it is a great return to taking our favorite Nintendo characters and having them beat the snot out of each other."
] |
This book is good overview of the various processes that make up the geology of our planet. The author has chosen several locations on the earth which demonstrate the various processes at work. He then reviews the history of Geology in order to show how we came to understand these processes in action. He is quick to note in several places of the book that the understanding is as things are now and could be supseded by new findings/theories that come in the future.
One of my favorite parts of the book is his description of the various layers found in the Grand Canyon in the United States. Considering that the description is while riding on the back of a mule, it makes the description that much more vivid. He mentions each of the rest stops that he makes during the journey and uses his time there to explore the area a little before descending some more. This gives a very down-to-earth feel to the description and it is not lost in techinical speak.
The reason that I only give the book four stars and describe it as not for a novice is that I think there are parts that can get buried in all the technical names that have used and thrown in without a real reference to what they mean. If you have some background in Geology and are familiar with the terms used, this book does a great job of the description while if you are not familiar (as I was), you seem to lose what the author is trying to impart since the term is not one that is familiar. I still recommend this book for anyone interested in Earth Science and Geology. | 2 | positive | [
"This book is good overview of the various processes that make up the geology of our planet.",
"The author has chosen several locations on the earth which demonstrate the various processes at work.",
"He then reviews the history of Geology in order to show how we came to understand these processes in action.",
"He is quick to note in several places of the book that the understanding is as things are now and could be supseded by new findings/theories that come in the future.",
"One of my favorite parts of the book is his description of the various layers found in the Grand Canyon in the United States.",
"Considering that the description is while riding on the back of a mule, it makes the description that much more vivid.",
"He mentions each of the rest stops that he makes during the journey and uses his time there to explore the area a little before descending some more.",
"This gives a very down-to-earth feel to the description and it is not lost in techinical speak.",
"The reason that I only give the book four stars and describe it as not for a novice is that I think there are parts that can get buried in all the technical names that have used and thrown in without a real reference to what they mean.",
"If you have some background in Geology and are familiar with the terms used, this book does a great job of the description while if you are not familiar (as I was), you seem to lose what the author is trying to impart since the term is not one that is familiar.",
"I still recommend this book for anyone interested in Earth Science and Geology."
] |
I love this light. The remote control is amazing, no having to jump out of bed to get the light or change the light setting. The remote control is not back lit which sucks at night in a dark bedroom, but easy to get used to where the buttons are over time. I cannot attest to longevity as I have only had it for a week. Box came very well packaged and it is quality. The light gives off a natural light unlike the Nicrew model I returned. For $30 more this is much better. There are several settings that look alike so useless, No actual ON/OFF switch so good luck if you lose the remote or it stops working. I have it on a switch as well in case I dont want to find the remote. 2 different black light settings and a couple in the middle which are very nice. Over all it is not cheap but lighting in a tank and ease of use is critical to me so I am happy and i recommend this product | 2 | positive | [
"I love this light.",
"The remote control is amazing, no having to jump out of bed to get the light or change the light setting.",
"The remote control is not back lit which sucks at night in a dark bedroom, but easy to get used to where the buttons are over time.",
"I cannot attest to longevity as I have only had it for a week.",
"Box came very well packaged and it is quality.",
"The light gives off a natural light unlike the Nicrew model I returned.",
"For $30 more this is much better.",
"There are several settings that look alike so useless, No actual ON/OFF switch so good luck if you lose the remote or it stops working.",
"I have it on a switch as well in case I dont want to find the remote.",
"2 different black light settings and a couple in the middle which are very nice.",
"Over all it is not cheap but lighting in a tank and ease of use is critical to me so I am happy and i recommend this product"
] |
It doesn't matter if you're into the smooth Californian sounds of Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles, proggers like Yes and Genesis or the harder edged stuff of the 70's, this is an album that nobody should be without.
First off, I would like to say that I hate Kiss. Can't stand them. I find the majority of their music borderline retarded. I have to hear them at work all the time, my boss loves them. Every Kiss album he's played for me I've found to be either unlistenably cheesy (most of the 80s ones, Carnival Of Souls, Psychocircus) or laugh-out-loud stupid (Rock And Roll Over, Dynasty, The Elder), despite having a couple standout tracks on some of them.
After hearing this I scratched my head, wondering why Bob Ezrin wasn't made a permanant band member! Every track on here is classic and it's just jam packed with classic Kiss tunes. You get Gene's concert staple "God Of Thunder," Peter Criss's gigantic hit ballad "Beth" and the most memorable tunes ever penned by Paul Stanley in the form of "Shout It Out Loud" "Detroit Rock City" and "King Of The Nightime World." And hell, it's got "Do You Love Me" too! If you've never bothered putting on a Kiss album before chances are high that you already know and love at least half of these songs.
This all goes without mentioning their most hilarious, over the top piece of music ever in the form of the pompous ode to groupies "Great Expectations" sung by Gene in a raspy, hilariously off-key voice. On top of that the song also includes a full orchestra and backing by a boys choir. It's so corny yet giddily glorious at the same time. It's my favorite Kiss song.
If you own no other Kiss records (and I actually reccomend NOT owning any other ones besides live ones or compilations) it's 100% essential to have this in your collection. It's the funnest record ever. | 2 | positive | [
"It doesn't matter if you're into the smooth Californian sounds of Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles, proggers like Yes and Genesis or the harder edged stuff of the 70's, this is an album that nobody should be without.",
"First off, I would like to say that I hate Kiss.",
"Can't stand them.",
"I find the majority of their music borderline retarded.",
"I have to hear them at work all the time, my boss loves them.",
"Every Kiss album he's played for me I've found to be either unlistenably cheesy (most of the 80s ones, Carnival Of Souls, Psychocircus) or laugh-out-loud stupid (Rock And Roll Over, Dynasty, The Elder), despite having a couple standout tracks on some of them.",
"After hearing this I scratched my head, wondering why Bob Ezrin wasn't made a permanant band member!",
"Every track on here is classic and it's just jam packed with classic Kiss tunes.",
"You get Gene's concert staple \"God Of Thunder,\" Peter Criss's gigantic hit ballad \"Beth\" and the most memorable tunes ever penned by Paul Stanley in the form of \"Shout It Out Loud\" \"Detroit Rock City\" and \"King Of The Nightime World.",
"\" And hell, it's got \"Do You Love Me\" too!",
"If you've never bothered putting on a Kiss album before chances are high that you already know and love at least half of these songs.",
"This all goes without mentioning their most hilarious, over the top piece of music ever in the form of the pompous ode to groupies \"Great Expectations\" sung by Gene in a raspy, hilariously off-key voice.",
"On top of that the song also includes a full orchestra and backing by a boys choir.",
"It's so corny yet giddily glorious at the same time.",
"It's my favorite Kiss song.",
"If you own no other Kiss records (and I actually reccomend NOT owning any other ones besides live ones or compilations) it's 100% essential to have this in your collection.",
"It's the funnest record ever."
] |
What a great book! I read it as a child, read it to my daughter, and then we re-read it together every few years until she grew up and moved away! Orphaned, cranky Mary Lennox is sent to live in a dreary English estate and is basically left on her own except for interaction with a few servants. Boredom leads to jump rope outside which causes Mary to eat better, feel better and look better. Boredom also leads her to investigate the old mansion and the mystery of a locked garden. Such great characters throughout this wonderful story of friendship, kindness, and renewal of body and spirit. Highly, highly recommended as a read aloud with 2nd-4th graders due to dialect and higher level vocabulary throughout. Readers 5th and up should be able to read it on their own, but it's so much better when read with someone. (Investigate which version you buy as some do not have any illustrations at all; others have a few full page illustrations and some little sketches at the start of each chapter.) | 2 | positive | [
"What a great book!",
"I read it as a child, read it to my daughter, and then we re-read it together every few years until she grew up and moved away!",
"Orphaned, cranky Mary Lennox is sent to live in a dreary English estate and is basically left on her own except for interaction with a few servants.",
"Boredom leads to jump rope outside which causes Mary to eat better, feel better and look better.",
"Boredom also leads her to investigate the old mansion and the mystery of a locked garden.",
"Such great characters throughout this wonderful story of friendship, kindness, and renewal of body and spirit.",
"Highly, highly recommended as a read aloud with 2nd-4th graders due to dialect and higher level vocabulary throughout.",
"Readers 5th and up should be able to read it on their own, but it's so much better when read with someone.",
"(Investigate which version you buy as some do not have any illustrations at all; others have a few full page illustrations and some little sketches at the start of each chapter.",
")"
] |
I bought the 000 size guitar version of this case for my Custom X Series Martin 000 Auditorium. The case fits like a glove. It couldn't possibly fit any better. No additional padding or foam required anywhere.
As to the construction, it appears well constructed. The stitching is good and the latches catch positively. The guitar doesn't move round inside the case.......open or closed. It fits that snug brand new.
The tolex appears to be high quality and the arch top affords some extra protection.
All in all, worth the money. Not sure you'll find a better case at this price. Very happy with it. | 2 | positive | [
"I bought the 000 size guitar version of this case for my Custom X Series Martin 000 Auditorium.",
"The case fits like a glove.",
"It couldn't possibly fit any better.",
"No additional padding or foam required anywhere.",
"As to the construction, it appears well constructed.",
"The stitching is good and the latches catch positively.",
"The guitar doesn't move round inside the case....",
"...",
"open or closed.",
"It fits that snug brand new.",
"The tolex appears to be high quality and the arch top affords some extra protection.",
"All in all, worth the money.",
"Not sure you'll find a better case at this price.",
"Very happy with it."
] |
I love these sneakers. They are so adorable. I had tried them on prior to buying on Amazon so I knew they ran long and big. I had to size down from an 8.5 to an 8.0 which is unusual for me. My daughter too had the same problem so I think it's inherent of the sneaker. Well made, blue denim is a lighter blue which I love for the summer. I have a horrible bunion on my right foot that gives me problems. These sneakers are so comfortable, I can wear them all day long without any pain whatsoever. | 2 | positive | [
"I love these sneakers.",
"They are so adorable.",
"I had tried them on prior to buying on Amazon so I knew they ran long and big.",
"I had to size down from an 8.",
"5 to an 8.",
"0 which is unusual for me.",
"My daughter too had the same problem so I think it's inherent of the sneaker.",
"Well made, blue denim is a lighter blue which I love for the summer.",
"I have a horrible bunion on my right foot that gives me problems.",
"These sneakers are so comfortable, I can wear them all day long without any pain whatsoever."
] |
A little pricey, but when the Green Tide is surging forward the Praetorian Guard need some cover that won't clash with their nice red uniforms and pith helmets, and who wants to do even more painting after detailing a couple of hundred infantrymen?
Nicely made from tough resin, painted to a good standard and packed in a re-useable bubble pack for storage and transport to the field of honor.
There are two sets available, or were when I bought mine. This one, which has several curved sections and a second that has only straight bits. I have a number of each kind because eventually I will paint all those darned miniatures and have an army that needs somewhere to duck behind. I have been promising that since somewhere around 2002 ...
This set will make up a small oval redoubt that will hold maybe ten 28mm miniatures, or two half-oval refuges behind which to make a doomed last stand.
Use them for tabletop gaming or dioramas. They can be combined with other sets from the same manufacturer, or with home-made sandbag scenery. I have a sandbag bunker from another manufacturer (I think it may be Armorcast) which I sometimes use with them.
Unreservedly recommended.
Steady now lads. At one hundred metres ... VOLLEY FIRE!!!! | 2 | positive | [
"A little pricey, but when the Green Tide is surging forward the Praetorian Guard need some cover that won't clash with their nice red uniforms and pith helmets, and who wants to do even more painting after detailing a couple of hundred infantrymen?",
"Nicely made from tough resin, painted to a good standard and packed in a re-useable bubble pack for storage and transport to the field of honor.",
"There are two sets available, or were when I bought mine.",
"This one, which has several curved sections and a second that has only straight bits.",
"I have a number of each kind because eventually I will paint all those darned miniatures and have an army that needs somewhere to duck behind.",
"I have been promising that since somewhere around 2002...",
"This set will make up a small oval redoubt that will hold maybe ten 28mm miniatures, or two half-oval refuges behind which to make a doomed last stand.",
"Use them for tabletop gaming or dioramas.",
"They can be combined with other sets from the same manufacturer, or with home-made sandbag scenery.",
"I have a sandbag bunker from another manufacturer (I think it may be Armorcast) which I sometimes use with them.",
"Unreservedly recommended.",
"Steady now lads.",
"At one hundred metres...",
"VOLLEY FIRE!!!!"
] |
Disney's Purchase Of Fox Confirms Content Is King
Disney's purchase of 21st Century Fox 's studio assets brings clarity to an industry facing a change in consumer habits. Disney is paying a steep price-- Fox shareholders will receive 0.2745 DIS shares for each FOXA share and control about 25% of the combined company--with the acquired businesses carrying an equity value of $52 billion and an enterprise value of $66 billion.
As a studio Fox is in a clear slump and it is difficult to see the Fox content moving the needle on filmed entertainment at the new Disney. Disney is about to release The Last Jedi a surefire hit that I believe will outshine its predecessor The Force Awakens as the top-selling movie in terms of all-time global box office receipts. In contrast Fox has been unable to produce hits recently with none of its films featuring in the 2017 global box office top 10 (Logan is currently #11.) It is clear that Disney CEO Bob Iger is looking for quantity over quality.
That's the key factor: As Disney looks to launch its own over-the-top network in 2019 having a critical mass of popular franchises is key. After the deal closes Disney will control movie franchises such as Avatar X-Men Deadpool and the Fantastic Four. Just as importantly Disney gains control of Fox 's TV studios which created The Simpsons and Modern Family.
So that's the calculus here. The deal is clearly dilutive to DIS shareholders in the short-term. Disney's press release included management's forecast that the purchase of Fox assets will be "accretive to earnings before the impact of purchase accounting for the second fiscal year after the close of the transaction."
When there are that many weasel words in a guidance paragraph an analyst knows that management is not confident on the financials of the acquired company. Also Disney's projection of "at least $2 billion" in cost savings from the Fox deal tellingly does not include a time-frame. I think that's a stretch. If anything I believe Disney will likely end up spending incremental dollars not saving them to try and grow the Sky and Star India businesses that were languishing in the Fox corporate family.
Obviously though for Disney this deal is about assets not earnings per share. Currently there are five major studios globally with Lionsgate and Paramount occupying what I would classify as strong second-tier positions. After this deal obviously there will only be four first-time filed entertainment providers and Warner Brothers Universal and Sony/Columbia will have to deal with an Evil Empire that will eventually control its own version of a Death Star a direct-to-consumer network.
So Netflix's dominance is challenged and I believe that Netflix is the big loser in the Disney-Fox deal . At 17.2x analyst consensus for 2018 EPS Disney shares are not particularly expensive. Finally clinching the Fox deal (actual closure is expected by June 30th 2018) will allow Disney management to shift shareholder focus from the sinking ship that is ESPN to the high-quality stable of filmed entertainment properties that are controlled by the combined entity. Content is still king. | 2 | positive | [
"Disney's Purchase Of Fox Confirms Content Is King\nDisney's purchase of 21st Century Fox 's studio assets brings clarity to an industry facing a change in consumer habits.",
"Disney is paying a steep price-- Fox shareholders will receive 0.",
"2745 DIS shares for each FOXA share and control about 25% of the combined company--with the acquired businesses carrying an equity value of $52 billion and an enterprise value of $66 billion.",
"As a studio Fox is in a clear slump and it is difficult to see the Fox content moving the needle on filmed entertainment at the new Disney.",
"Disney is about to release The Last Jedi a surefire hit that I believe will outshine its predecessor The Force Awakens as the top-selling movie in terms of all-time global box office receipts.",
"In contrast Fox has been unable to produce hits recently with none of its films featuring in the 2017 global box office top 10 (Logan is currently #11.",
") It is clear that Disney CEO Bob Iger is looking for quantity over quality.",
"That's the key factor: As Disney looks to launch its own over-the-top network in 2019 having a critical mass of popular franchises is key.",
"After the deal closes Disney will control movie franchises such as Avatar X-Men Deadpool and the Fantastic Four.",
"Just as importantly Disney gains control of Fox 's TV studios which created The Simpsons and Modern Family.",
"So that's the calculus here.",
"The deal is clearly dilutive to DIS shareholders in the short-term.",
"Disney's press release included management's forecast that the purchase of Fox assets will be \"accretive to earnings before the impact of purchase accounting for the second fiscal year after the close of the transaction.",
"\"\nWhen there are that many weasel words in a guidance paragraph an analyst knows that management is not confident on the financials of the acquired company.",
"Also Disney's projection of \"at least $2 billion\" in cost savings from the Fox deal tellingly does not include a time-frame.",
"I think that's a stretch.",
"If anything I believe Disney will likely end up spending incremental dollars not saving them to try and grow the Sky and Star India businesses that were languishing in the Fox corporate family.",
"Obviously though for Disney this deal is about assets not earnings per share.",
"Currently there are five major studios globally with Lionsgate and Paramount occupying what I would classify as strong second-tier positions.",
"After this deal obviously there will only be four first-time filed entertainment providers and Warner Brothers Universal and Sony/Columbia will have to deal with an Evil Empire that will eventually control its own version of a Death Star a direct-to-consumer network.",
"So Netflix's dominance is challenged and I believe that Netflix is the big loser in the Disney-Fox deal.",
"At 17.",
"2x analyst consensus for 2018 EPS Disney shares are not particularly expensive.",
"Finally clinching the Fox deal (actual closure is expected by June 30th 2018) will allow Disney management to shift shareholder focus from the sinking ship that is ESPN to the high-quality stable of filmed entertainment properties that are controlled by the combined entity.",
"Content is still king."
] |
The basic gameplay is, naturally, a lot like Sims2. So if you love or hate that game, you're likely to feel the same way about the expanasion pack.
As for the things it does differently...
This gives your teenager sims a chance to go off and spend 4 years away from their families as university students. Depending on how well they do at it, they may have advantages in the existing careers and access to several new careers.
It can be tough if you try to play with a student who's just been generated at the college level. To gain good grades you have to do things like attend class or do assignments (or use influence to make another sim do assignments and write term papers for you), but there's a cap on how high your grades can go in a given semester depending on whether you've met particular skill requirements. A sim that you've raised from a very young age will probably have plenty of skill to meet most of these (depending, of course, on how well their major matches up with what you've had them practice), but someone with no skills to start with will have a much harder time.
The most interesting new items available are the portable mp3 player, cell phone, and portable video game. The cell phone sometimes caused me some irritation by ringing and waking up a sim who was trying to take a nap during the day, but generally it's nice to not have to make them walk to a phone to make calls. The portable video game can be used to play vs other sims who also own it, which is a nice added feature.
They've done an awful lot of nice things with community lots, such as make it possible for multiple sims to play music together, and to get tips for playing music. It also includes the option to hustle people at pool, make money for tutoring, and get money for being a personal trainer. All of these new very social options really add a lot of flexibility. The unfortunate thing is that the load times for going to a community load (first a load time for the map of the campus, and then a load time after you pick what lot you want to go to) tend to kill most of my interest in making that kind of trip. Since each semester is only 3 sim days long and time spent at community lots does move the semester countdown (understandably so, since it'd be way too easy to get a lot of extra time to do your work otherwise) it's difficult to spend long periods of time at a community lot without having to move to a different one or go back to the dorm to practice / do / learn something else. With the load times as long as they are, it's just an awful lot less irritating to stay in the dorm and buy everything you need.
If your computer has a hard time dealing with all of the sims who show up at your parties already, you'll probably want to stick to a smaller dorm to reduce the number of sims being tracked by the system. They made a good effort to limit the strain on your computer by making the dorm rooms of the sims who aren't under your control look empty unless you actually enter them. Still, if you don't have a high end computer and you want to throw big parties, moving into the 12 person dorm probably isn't the best plan.
Greek Houses are also a fun feature, particularly when you can convince someone to pledge and can order them around for a period of time before they become an official member. It's a little bizarre how often they just wander off to some mysterious place on campus and come back with pizza, but it's certainly convenient that there's rarely a need to cook.
Also, even if you don't plan to play the university areas, you can still take advantage of the greatly expanded collection of items available, including both old items with new looks and entirely new things such as the pool table. It's also very nice that they have a built in option to move one family in with another from the neighborhood screen, rather than having to get them to be close friends and convince one to accept an invitation to move into the house.
On the whole, if you didn't have fun playing with your copy of Sims 2, the University expansion probably won't make it much better for you. If you enjoyed the main game and would like to have some more variety of gameplay however, University is certainly worth buying. | 2 | positive | [
"The basic gameplay is, naturally, a lot like Sims2.",
"So if you love or hate that game, you're likely to feel the same way about the expanasion pack.",
"As for the things it does differently...",
"This gives your teenager sims a chance to go off and spend 4 years away from their families as university students.",
"Depending on how well they do at it, they may have advantages in the existing careers and access to several new careers.",
"It can be tough if you try to play with a student who's just been generated at the college level.",
"To gain good grades you have to do things like attend class or do assignments (or use influence to make another sim do assignments and write term papers for you), but there's a cap on how high your grades can go in a given semester depending on whether you've met particular skill requirements.",
"A sim that you've raised from a very young age will probably have plenty of skill to meet most of these (depending, of course, on how well their major matches up with what you've had them practice), but someone with no skills to start with will have a much harder time.",
"The most interesting new items available are the portable mp3 player, cell phone, and portable video game.",
"The cell phone sometimes caused me some irritation by ringing and waking up a sim who was trying to take a nap during the day, but generally it's nice to not have to make them walk to a phone to make calls.",
"The portable video game can be used to play vs other sims who also own it, which is a nice added feature.",
"They've done an awful lot of nice things with community lots, such as make it possible for multiple sims to play music together, and to get tips for playing music.",
"It also includes the option to hustle people at pool, make money for tutoring, and get money for being a personal trainer.",
"All of these new very social options really add a lot of flexibility.",
"The unfortunate thing is that the load times for going to a community load (first a load time for the map of the campus, and then a load time after you pick what lot you want to go to) tend to kill most of my interest in making that kind of trip.",
"Since each semester is only 3 sim days long and time spent at community lots does move the semester countdown (understandably so, since it'd be way too easy to get a lot of extra time to do your work otherwise) it's difficult to spend long periods of time at a community lot without having to move to a different one or go back to the dorm to practice / do / learn something else.",
"With the load times as long as they are, it's just an awful lot less irritating to stay in the dorm and buy everything you need.",
"If your computer has a hard time dealing with all of the sims who show up at your parties already, you'll probably want to stick to a smaller dorm to reduce the number of sims being tracked by the system.",
"They made a good effort to limit the strain on your computer by making the dorm rooms of the sims who aren't under your control look empty unless you actually enter them.",
"Still, if you don't have a high end computer and you want to throw big parties, moving into the 12 person dorm probably isn't the best plan.",
"Greek Houses are also a fun feature, particularly when you can convince someone to pledge and can order them around for a period of time before they become an official member.",
"It's a little bizarre how often they just wander off to some mysterious place on campus and come back with pizza, but it's certainly convenient that there's rarely a need to cook.",
"Also, even if you don't plan to play the university areas, you can still take advantage of the greatly expanded collection of items available, including both old items with new looks and entirely new things such as the pool table.",
"It's also very nice that they have a built in option to move one family in with another from the neighborhood screen, rather than having to get them to be close friends and convince one to accept an invitation to move into the house.",
"On the whole, if you didn't have fun playing with your copy of Sims 2, the University expansion probably won't make it much better for you.",
"If you enjoyed the main game and would like to have some more variety of gameplay however, University is certainly worth buying."
] |
O.K. Let me say this, I am an RTS Game Junkie. I have played most, but this latest Warcraft title is special. I wasn't on the band wagon from the start either. I mostly enjoy an RTS game for there defensive strategies. I enjoy surviving first and then building a massive army for deployment.. ie Command and Conquer titles. This game forces you to stay small as far as army building, and makes you stay on the offensive. At first this turned me away from purchasing the title but I figured hey, Command and Conquer Generals will be awhile before release so why not give it a go? I am glad I did. The storyline itself keeps you wanting more. The graphics, sounds, and feel of the game is amazing. Believe me, if you have any doubts put them to rest, buy this game and feel The Reign of Chaos!!!! | 2 | positive | [
"O.",
"K. Let me say this, I am an RTS Game Junkie.",
"I have played most, but this latest Warcraft title is special.",
"I wasn't on the band wagon from the start either.",
"I mostly enjoy an RTS game for there defensive strategies.",
"I enjoy surviving first and then building a massive army for deployment..",
"ie Command and Conquer titles.",
"This game forces you to stay small as far as army building, and makes you stay on the offensive.",
"At first this turned me away from purchasing the title but I figured hey, Command and Conquer Generals will be awhile before release so why not give it a go?",
"I am glad I did.",
"The storyline itself keeps you wanting more.",
"The graphics, sounds, and feel of the game is amazing.",
"Believe me, if you have any doubts put them to rest, buy this game and feel The Reign of Chaos!!!!"
] |
I used to take piano when I was 4 until I was a teenager. I'm only getting back into learning now, and I decided I didn't want to spend too much money until I'm dedicated to piano again. This is perfect for a beginner. It's not going to teach you entirely how to play piano, but the lighted keys are fun for playing along with something complicated you wouldn't normally try. It doesn't work as great as I hoped, especially on "Waiting" mode. If you play in time with the song, the key does not register and you have to press it twice. I haven't found an option to mute the instructional playing and allow you to play alone with the background music. But you can always play without song mode and set your own background tempo. This keyboard does not teach you how to read sheet music, or anything about the notes, so don't expect that when buying the EZ-200. You need to purchase a book or take lessons if you can afford it. I love that the keyboard has a metronome, and you can change the tempo easily. Overall this is a nice keyboard to practice with while learning. | 2 | positive | [
"I used to take piano when I was 4 until I was a teenager.",
"I'm only getting back into learning now, and I decided I didn't want to spend too much money until I'm dedicated to piano again.",
"This is perfect for a beginner.",
"It's not going to teach you entirely how to play piano, but the lighted keys are fun for playing along with something complicated you wouldn't normally try.",
"It doesn't work as great as I hoped, especially on \"Waiting\" mode.",
"If you play in time with the song, the key does not register and you have to press it twice.",
"I haven't found an option to mute the instructional playing and allow you to play alone with the background music.",
"But you can always play without song mode and set your own background tempo.",
"This keyboard does not teach you how to read sheet music, or anything about the notes, so don't expect that when buying the EZ-200.",
"You need to purchase a book or take lessons if you can afford it.",
"I love that the keyboard has a metronome, and you can change the tempo easily.",
"Overall this is a nice keyboard to practice with while learning."
] |
Very pleased with this. Great sharpener! Cant believe the price. This is one of my smarter purchases, this sharpens better than a hundred dollar sharpener. Sharpened my knifes so quick and easy. This is one of those items wish i would have bought years ago. I already purchased the replacement blades for it. Don't let the cheap price scare you from buying this. I love how great this is. You won't regret the purchase. I love my knifes being so razor sharp again and so quick and easy to do. | 2 | positive | [
"Very pleased with this.",
"Great sharpener!",
"Cant believe the price.",
"This is one of my smarter purchases, this sharpens better than a hundred dollar sharpener.",
"Sharpened my knifes so quick and easy.",
"This is one of those items wish i would have bought years ago.",
"I already purchased the replacement blades for it.",
"Don't let the cheap price scare you from buying this.",
"I love how great this is.",
"You won't regret the purchase.",
"I love my knifes being so razor sharp again and so quick and easy to do."
] |
I had not read OTHELLO until now (nor had I seen it). While literary and popular culture had given me some notion of the personnae Othello and Iago, it was gratifying to encounter them in the original. But overall, I cannot say I particularly enjoyed OTHELLO. That's not just because it is a rather dark tragedy. Instead, it is because the play is so stark -- so black-and-white, if you will pardon the term.
Othello is a Moor; hence, he is dark-skinned. He and the fair, and beautiful, Desdemona fall in love and marry, over her father's objections and against social conventions. No sooner are they married than Othello, a mighty warrior, is sent abroad to fight the Turks. Desdemona chooses to go with him. As will become relevant, it seems that their marriage never is consummated via intercourse. Iago is Othello's ensign. At bottom Iago is thoroughly malicious and monstrous. Among other deceits, he convinces Othello that Desdemona has been sleeping with Cassio, whom Othello recently appointed to be his lieutenant (in lieu of Iago). The principal device by which Iago "proves" to Othello that Desdemona is in thrall with Cassio is a special handkerchief -- white with red strawberries -- that Othello had given her, that she accidentally dropped, and that Iago plants in Cassio's room. As great a warrior as Othello is, he is a poor judge of people. Mistakenly then, and tragically, he believes in the loyalty and honesty of Iago and the infidelity and dishonesty of Desdemona. (Is some sort of sexism operative?) Driven and poisoned by jealously, Othello seeks revenge. At the end of the play, four of the principal characters have died on stage and two others have been seriously wounded.
It is a bloodbath. OTHELLO might also be called a play of bloodlust. "Sblood" is Iago's very first word, occurring in the play's fourth line. Convinced that Desdemona has cuckolded him, Othello curses her as a "strumpet" and vows that "Thy bed, lust-stained, shall with lust's blood be spotted." The perversely curious thing, however, is that if he is wrong and Desdemona is still virginal, then the act of defoliation would also stain the marital bed. And then there is Desdemona's missing handkerchief (also called a napkin) -- white, decorated with red strawberries -- a rather unambiguous allusion to menstruation. After the last stabbing at the very end of the play, Desdemona's uncle cries, "O bloody period!" It's all a little much for me.
Iago is a compelling character, supreme in his malignity. He calls to mind Milton's Satan (Milton probably took some inspiration from Shakespeare's Iago). Also fascinating is Iago's wife Emilia, who is staunch in her devotion to Desdemona and belief in Desdemona's integrity. Othello and Desdemona, on the other hand, strike me more as caricatures than fully developed and nuanced Shakespearian characters. Couple that with the stark nature of the play (no shades of gray here) and I personally end up ranking OTHELLO somewhere in the middle of Shakespeare's plays. | 2 | positive | [
"I had not read OTHELLO until now (nor had I seen it).",
"While literary and popular culture had given me some notion of the personnae Othello and Iago, it was gratifying to encounter them in the original.",
"But overall, I cannot say I particularly enjoyed OTHELLO.",
"That's not just because it is a rather dark tragedy.",
"Instead, it is because the play is so stark -- so black-and-white, if you will pardon the term.",
"Othello is a Moor; hence, he is dark-skinned.",
"He and the fair, and beautiful, Desdemona fall in love and marry, over her father's objections and against social conventions.",
"No sooner are they married than Othello, a mighty warrior, is sent abroad to fight the Turks.",
"Desdemona chooses to go with him.",
"As will become relevant, it seems that their marriage never is consummated via intercourse.",
"Iago is Othello's ensign.",
"At bottom Iago is thoroughly malicious and monstrous.",
"Among other deceits, he convinces Othello that Desdemona has been sleeping with Cassio, whom Othello recently appointed to be his lieutenant (in lieu of Iago).",
"The principal device by which Iago \"proves\" to Othello that Desdemona is in thrall with Cassio is a special handkerchief -- white with red strawberries -- that Othello had given her, that she accidentally dropped, and that Iago plants in Cassio's room.",
"As great a warrior as Othello is, he is a poor judge of people.",
"Mistakenly then, and tragically, he believes in the loyalty and honesty of Iago and the infidelity and dishonesty of Desdemona.",
"(Is some sort of sexism operative?",
") Driven and poisoned by jealously, Othello seeks revenge.",
"At the end of the play, four of the principal characters have died on stage and two others have been seriously wounded.",
"It is a bloodbath.",
"OTHELLO might also be called a play of bloodlust.",
"\"Sblood\" is Iago's very first word, occurring in the play's fourth line.",
"Convinced that Desdemona has cuckolded him, Othello curses her as a \"strumpet\" and vows that \"Thy bed, lust-stained, shall with lust's blood be spotted.",
"\" The perversely curious thing, however, is that if he is wrong and Desdemona is still virginal, then the act of defoliation would also stain the marital bed.",
"And then there is Desdemona's missing handkerchief (also called a napkin) -- white, decorated with red strawberries -- a rather unambiguous allusion to menstruation.",
"After the last stabbing at the very end of the play, Desdemona's uncle cries, \"O bloody period!",
"\" It's all a little much for me.",
"Iago is a compelling character, supreme in his malignity.",
"He calls to mind Milton's Satan (Milton probably took some inspiration from Shakespeare's Iago).",
"Also fascinating is Iago's wife Emilia, who is staunch in her devotion to Desdemona and belief in Desdemona's integrity.",
"Othello and Desdemona, on the other hand, strike me more as caricatures than fully developed and nuanced Shakespearian characters.",
"Couple that with the stark nature of the play (no shades of gray here) and I personally end up ranking OTHELLO somewhere in the middle of Shakespeare's plays."
] |
After purchasing a similar product in three small bottles from Evian, I was excited to get a test this huge bottle. While initially I was a little shocked at how big the bottle is, I find that I really like the size. I just leave it out on my dresser and every time I pass by, I give my face a spritz to keep it moisturized and glowing. It really does help my skin stay happy.
I've also enjoyed using it before my toner in the morning, and before applying lip stains, which sometimes sink into the cracks in my lips unevenly. The light dusting of water seems to spread out the tint to where it applies really nicely on my lips.
The main difference between this and Evian's three pack of travel bottles is that this one seems to impart a much finer mist of water which soaks in easily and is less obvious if I immediately go outside or to hang out with other people. More dewy, and less like you just spritzed yourself in the face with water.
While you may feel a little silly spending a chunk of change on spray bottle of water, the fine mist that comes out of this definitely makes it worthwhile. I don't know about any claims of minerals or anything like that, but the product definitely performed as claimed with regards to adding a fine amount of moisture to your face either to water down heavier products or just to top up your skin with a drink throughout the day.
I've been using the Korean 10 step skincare routine as outlined by Charlotte Cho in her book of skincare, and after oil and foam cleansing, have been favoring this, then Klair's toner, Klair's vitamin C toner, Cosrx snail essence, eye cream, then face cream and sunscreen on top. This definitely added results when used 2-3 times a day or more. My skin is glowing in comparison to what it was like 6 months ago. | 2 | positive | [
"After purchasing a similar product in three small bottles from Evian, I was excited to get a test this huge bottle.",
"While initially I was a little shocked at how big the bottle is, I find that I really like the size.",
"I just leave it out on my dresser and every time I pass by, I give my face a spritz to keep it moisturized and glowing.",
"It really does help my skin stay happy.",
"I've also enjoyed using it before my toner in the morning, and before applying lip stains, which sometimes sink into the cracks in my lips unevenly.",
"The light dusting of water seems to spread out the tint to where it applies really nicely on my lips.",
"The main difference between this and Evian's three pack of travel bottles is that this one seems to impart a much finer mist of water which soaks in easily and is less obvious if I immediately go outside or to hang out with other people.",
"More dewy, and less like you just spritzed yourself in the face with water.",
"While you may feel a little silly spending a chunk of change on spray bottle of water, the fine mist that comes out of this definitely makes it worthwhile.",
"I don't know about any claims of minerals or anything like that, but the product definitely performed as claimed with regards to adding a fine amount of moisture to your face either to water down heavier products or just to top up your skin with a drink throughout the day.",
"I've been using the Korean 10 step skincare routine as outlined by Charlotte Cho in her book of skincare, and after oil and foam cleansing, have been favoring this, then Klair's toner, Klair's vitamin C toner, Cosrx snail essence, eye cream, then face cream and sunscreen on top.",
"This definitely added results when used 2-3 times a day or more.",
"My skin is glowing in comparison to what it was like 6 months ago."
] |
This unit is identified by its small size (4.5" wide, 7" long, 1" high) and light weight. It has a rounded dark blue case and is powered by the USB port. The Model Number is ZIP250USBPCMBP. It only operates horizontally. This model is treated as a USB Mass Storage Device so you must use Windows Me or later. You should select the icon to "Unplug or Eject Hardware" to remove this device. The IOMEGA software should be installed on Windows 2000. If the unit does not have an eject button on the drive you must select the EJECT command from the Properties menu. It is good to do this all the time because of the disk caching system. The 250 MB drives can read and write to 100 MB ZIP disks, but slower than with a 250 MB disk. The fastest transfer is with an internal IDE ZIP device.
The "User's Manual" warns against using the Operating System to copy a disk. Use the Iomega "Copy Machine" program. Right click on the ZIP drive to select the Iomega "Format" function. Use "Short Format" to delete all data on an Iomega disk. The "Long Format" repairs a drive with errors, converts from another format, or removes all passwords. "Write Protection" protects against writing over data, a password can protect against both reading and writing files. You can also flag the ZIP drive as "non-removable" so it appears like a hard drive. The manual has the details.
Computers have a limited number of IDE devices and drive bays so a separate storage device is practical. Replaceable 250 MB ZIP disks provided vast storage in the past but are no longer the latest in storage technology. The 250 MB ZIP disk is less widely used than the 100 MB disk. ZIP disks reuse deleted space unlike a CD whose space is consumed when you replace files. Falling prices for CD discs solve that problem. A ZIP disk has no compatibility problems between different Windows systems and computers. A CD written on one system may not be updated by a different system.
You may find support for Win98 on the Internet for USB Mass Storage Devices. | 2 | positive | [
"This unit is identified by its small size (4.",
"5\" wide, 7\" long, 1\" high) and light weight.",
"It has a rounded dark blue case and is powered by the USB port.",
"The Model Number is ZIP250USBPCMBP.",
"It only operates horizontally.",
"This model is treated as a USB Mass Storage Device so you must use Windows Me or later.",
"You should select the icon to \"Unplug or Eject Hardware\" to remove this device.",
"The IOMEGA software should be installed on Windows 2000.",
"If the unit does not have an eject button on the drive you must select the EJECT command from the Properties menu.",
"It is good to do this all the time because of the disk caching system.",
"The 250 MB drives can read and write to 100 MB ZIP disks, but slower than with a 250 MB disk.",
"The fastest transfer is with an internal IDE ZIP device.",
"The \"User's Manual\" warns against using the Operating System to copy a disk.",
"Use the Iomega \"Copy Machine\" program.",
"Right click on the ZIP drive to select the Iomega \"Format\" function.",
"Use \"Short Format\" to delete all data on an Iomega disk.",
"The \"Long Format\" repairs a drive with errors, converts from another format, or removes all passwords.",
"\"Write Protection\" protects against writing over data, a password can protect against both reading and writing files.",
"You can also flag the ZIP drive as \"non-removable\" so it appears like a hard drive.",
"The manual has the details.",
"Computers have a limited number of IDE devices and drive bays so a separate storage device is practical.",
"Replaceable 250 MB ZIP disks provided vast storage in the past but are no longer the latest in storage technology.",
"The 250 MB ZIP disk is less widely used than the 100 MB disk.",
"ZIP disks reuse deleted space unlike a CD whose space is consumed when you replace files.",
"Falling prices for CD discs solve that problem.",
"A ZIP disk has no compatibility problems between different Windows systems and computers.",
"A CD written on one system may not be updated by a different system.",
"You may find support for Win98 on the Internet for USB Mass Storage Devices."
] |
I have to admit that I had more and more trepidation as we got closer to trying this on me. And then even more as I could see the flashes through my hands over closed eyes. But there was no burning or noticeable reaction of any kind.
For me, I am targeting some rather thick back hair that my partner would also like to see gone, or at least controlled. This gives one small problem because I cannot reach the area by myself. So it has been a team effort. She aka been wearing the protective goggles and patiently applying the device.
As for results, it is mixed, for one I needed to shave the hair off per instructions so it is hard to truly tell how much thinner it is, but there does seem to be less after three weeks. So we have quite a ways to go. At this point I am happy that no damage appears to be done.
The device seems very solid, but the instructions are not always that clear. Will update as results come in. | 2 | positive | [
"I have to admit that I had more and more trepidation as we got closer to trying this on me.",
"And then even more as I could see the flashes through my hands over closed eyes.",
"But there was no burning or noticeable reaction of any kind.",
"For me, I am targeting some rather thick back hair that my partner would also like to see gone, or at least controlled.",
"This gives one small problem because I cannot reach the area by myself.",
"So it has been a team effort.",
"She aka been wearing the protective goggles and patiently applying the device.",
"As for results, it is mixed, for one I needed to shave the hair off per instructions so it is hard to truly tell how much thinner it is, but there does seem to be less after three weeks.",
"So we have quite a ways to go.",
"At this point I am happy that no damage appears to be done.",
"The device seems very solid, but the instructions are not always that clear.",
"Will update as results come in."
] |
Mark Rampolla introduced Zico in 2004 after discovering coconut water as a Peace Corp volunteer in Central America; it has been catching on ever since. Why because it is great tasting; but most importantly it is great for you. It contains more potassium than one banana and only contains 60 calories.
Potassium is key and it has 15 times more than sports drinks; as those of us who have problems with muscle cramping are relieved to know. I think it is probably the best natural drink that I have found to promote hydration.
I love the natural, the passion fruit and the mango flavors. All of them taste natural because they are..they are not sweet and the fruit flavors are really only the essence of the flavor itself and are quite subtle tasting.
I can't think of a better or more healthy drink...in fact because of its potassium content, I consider it a better drink than plain water. It also contains a healthy complement of phosphorous, magnesium and calcium with even a gram of protein.
Enjoy this drink experience after exercising and you will never feel faint and/or dehydrated again.
Bentley/2009 | 2 | positive | [
"Mark Rampolla introduced Zico in 2004 after discovering coconut water as a Peace Corp volunteer in Central America; it has been catching on ever since.",
"Why because it is great tasting; but most importantly it is great for you.",
"It contains more potassium than one banana and only contains 60 calories.",
"Potassium is key and it has 15 times more than sports drinks; as those of us who have problems with muscle cramping are relieved to know.",
"I think it is probably the best natural drink that I have found to promote hydration.",
"I love the natural, the passion fruit and the mango flavors.",
"All of them taste natural because they are..",
"they are not sweet and the fruit flavors are really only the essence of the flavor itself and are quite subtle tasting.",
"I can't think of a better or more healthy drink...",
"in fact because of its potassium content, I consider it a better drink than plain water.",
"It also contains a healthy complement of phosphorous, magnesium and calcium with even a gram of protein.",
"Enjoy this drink experience after exercising and you will never feel faint and/or dehydrated again.",
"Bentley/2009"
] |
After much researching and reading wonder stories from different forums on the net I decided to take the plunge and buy this expensive 2 part leather treatment. It works, but it takes a lot of work and patience. I applied to my 4 yr old black Infiniti interior. My seats were very dry and ashy from spending time in a repair shop, and had a few white chalky stains (mixture of primer, body filler, and water from wet sanding) dripped on the seats that wouldnt come out even after a quick interior detail & leather treatment at the local carwash. Someone wiped down the interior and tried to remove the stain with some solution in a windex bottle that made my seats super hard (it totally dried out my seats). Anyway I applied generous amounts of the rejuvenator oil daily over the span of about a work week. It took like a day or two before the leather started to absorb the oil, and I just kept applying. After soaking in the heat/sun for a few days I then followed up with the prestine cleaner. My first thoughts were that the seats looked more like graphite (lead) from a pencil instead of black. They had a matte appearance almost like some of the color had been washed away with the dirt. I then looked at new G sedans on the net and in person and realized this is how the seats look when the car is new. Every stain or discolored area was removed, and the seats were pretty much butter soft and the car now smells like leather even from outside the vehicle. Every time I take off my shirt or jacket after driving, I smell like quality leather. Considering how much this stuff costs and how much work was involved, I think I'd rather use a good leather conditioner spray in between full treatments.
I was totally skeptical, but it worked wonders on my Infiniti G seats. I also tried this product on a 90's Acura and the results were unimpressive. Yeah it made the leather a little softer, and a little lighter in color, but the seats still had dirt in them, and they didn't get butter soft. They did get softer, but not buttery soft. Also the Acura didn't hold the leather smell as well as the Infiniti did. At this point I chose to save what I have left of the rejuvenating oil, and use a spray conditioner on that car. The rest is going in the Infiniti next spring. With no other treatment or maintenance, this stuff has my seats soft 5 months later. The leather smell has faded a good bit, but I feel like that will be restored with some Griots Garage leather spray and the leather scented tree air fresheners.
I notice Leatherique works better on leather thats not painted or coated. It works especially well on perforated leather. If you choose to do this in not so great weather, I would apply warm or hot rejuvenating oil, wrap the seats with plastic or a trash bag, and use the seat heaters to ensure complete penetration. If there was a way to somehow dip the seats in a big bowl of warm rejuvenating oil and leave it in there for like 15 minutes, that would be ideal. I can easily recommend this product to those who don't mind a little elbow grease and sweat, just don't expect miracles. Also its very expensive. Just under a hundred dollars for the kit. Im sure I could get similar results for a lot less money, but the leatherique won't leave your interior looking like its been wiped with Armorall, and you won't slide around in your seat, and you won't leave the car with oily areas on your clothes. Your call. | 2 | positive | [
"After much researching and reading wonder stories from different forums on the net I decided to take the plunge and buy this expensive 2 part leather treatment.",
"It works, but it takes a lot of work and patience.",
"I applied to my 4 yr old black Infiniti interior.",
"My seats were very dry and ashy from spending time in a repair shop, and had a few white chalky stains (mixture of primer, body filler, and water from wet sanding) dripped on the seats that wouldnt come out even after a quick interior detail & leather treatment at the local carwash.",
"Someone wiped down the interior and tried to remove the stain with some solution in a windex bottle that made my seats super hard (it totally dried out my seats).",
"Anyway I applied generous amounts of the rejuvenator oil daily over the span of about a work week.",
"It took like a day or two before the leather started to absorb the oil, and I just kept applying.",
"After soaking in the heat/sun for a few days I then followed up with the prestine cleaner.",
"My first thoughts were that the seats looked more like graphite (lead) from a pencil instead of black.",
"They had a matte appearance almost like some of the color had been washed away with the dirt.",
"I then looked at new G sedans on the net and in person and realized this is how the seats look when the car is new.",
"Every stain or discolored area was removed, and the seats were pretty much butter soft and the car now smells like leather even from outside the vehicle.",
"Every time I take off my shirt or jacket after driving, I smell like quality leather.",
"Considering how much this stuff costs and how much work was involved, I think I'd rather use a good leather conditioner spray in between full treatments.",
"I was totally skeptical, but it worked wonders on my Infiniti G seats.",
"I also tried this product on a 90's Acura and the results were unimpressive.",
"Yeah it made the leather a little softer, and a little lighter in color, but the seats still had dirt in them, and they didn't get butter soft.",
"They did get softer, but not buttery soft.",
"Also the Acura didn't hold the leather smell as well as the Infiniti did.",
"At this point I chose to save what I have left of the rejuvenating oil, and use a spray conditioner on that car.",
"The rest is going in the Infiniti next spring.",
"With no other treatment or maintenance, this stuff has my seats soft 5 months later.",
"The leather smell has faded a good bit, but I feel like that will be restored with some Griots Garage leather spray and the leather scented tree air fresheners.",
"I notice Leatherique works better on leather thats not painted or coated.",
"It works especially well on perforated leather.",
"If you choose to do this in not so great weather, I would apply warm or hot rejuvenating oil, wrap the seats with plastic or a trash bag, and use the seat heaters to ensure complete penetration.",
"If there was a way to somehow dip the seats in a big bowl of warm rejuvenating oil and leave it in there for like 15 minutes, that would be ideal.",
"I can easily recommend this product to those who don't mind a little elbow grease and sweat, just don't expect miracles.",
"Also its very expensive.",
"Just under a hundred dollars for the kit.",
"Im sure I could get similar results for a lot less money, but the leatherique won't leave your interior looking like its been wiped with Armorall, and you won't slide around in your seat, and you won't leave the car with oily areas on your clothes.",
"Your call."
] |
Power Windows(1985). Rush's 11th studio album.
Coming off of a dreary crisis that dominated Grace Under Pressure(1984), Rush managed to completely recover, and unleash an 80s masterpiece album. To those who actually listen to the music, Power Windows is yet another display of Rush at their all-time best. However, to stringent biased synth-hater types, this is considered to be Rush at an all-time low. From what I've observed, most Rush fans tend to know what the band is all about, but they are TERRIBLE judges at how masterful a Rush album really is. It seems that to them, it doesn't matter how well the keyboards are played and utilized or how meaningful a song is, but it only matters that they are using them period. The fact is, the synths somehow BLIND fans to the point of self-stupidity. Yes, the keyboards are multi-layered throughout the entire album, but underneath it all are wonderful songs, still just as creative as Rush has always ever been.
As the title implies, PW is about the types of power that exist in the world, each song representing power in a different form. I know that many people can interpret what each song means far better than I can, but I will provide a brief explanation of the tracks, so please bear with me. Here's the breakdown track-by-track:
1) The Big Money- This concert favorite kicks off with a blast of guitar and synths and steadily evolves into a fine rock number. This song talks about the power of money and how it can be used for good, and then turn completely around to be used for bad. 10/10
2) Grand Designs- A soaring track which revolves around the power of talk and how the public uses it to display "style over substance". But when something "real" pops up, very few people discover it because of distracting talk. This track is a hidden gem in itself. 9/10
3) Manhattan Project- If not for the shorter length, this track could pass for an epic. This song is about the power of weapons (talking specifically about the atom bomb) and how they can affect everyone in the world. It alternates between slower synth backdrop beat verses, and a faster guitar-driven chorus. SEE? PW IS NOT ALL SYNTHS. 10/10
4) Marathon- Another amazing epic and perhaps PW's strongest track. It's about the power of persistence and how a lot can be achieved in a lifetime if you don't burn out too quickly. Like the last song, Marathon could easily pass as a long epic, if not for its brevity. Excellent use of fast drum-pacing and background choirs. 10/10
5) Territories- A driving, yet melodic mid-paced song about the power of inhabiting land and the different viewpoints of a country conquering another one. Contains mostly synths, but Alex's guitar shines every once in a while. Not bad at all. 9/10
6) Middletown Dreams- Definitely the most progressive track on here. Though the weakest song on the whole album, it still manages to be a masterpiece compared to other music that came out at the time. It's about the power of dreams and their ability to take a person away from normal everyday life. Fairly uneventful, but areas of it do stand out, such as the section after the second chorus. 8/10
7) Emotion Detector- This song picks the pace of the album back up, starting off with a synthy intro and choruses, followed by a phenomenal guitar solo later on. This song talks about the power of emotions and that the only way for other people to see who you really are is by taking a chance and opening yourself up to them. 9/10
8) Mystic Rhythms- PW's final track is by far the least complicated and the synthiest, yet it also manages to be both truly captivating and otherworldly all-in-one. It talks about the power of the unknown, and how there is a huge world out there which we know nothing about. Simply POWERFUL. 10/10
Despite the claims by many "fans" that Rush sold out with PW to pop music, they couldn't be more wrong as the talented trio show the masses how to correctly use keyboards heavily without compromising their integrity and style. Even still, it would have been nice to include Alex more in all the incredible synthesized desert-wide productional soundscapes the songs create, but thankfully Alex will make his true return in a few albums down the road. Rush was simply in a state of awe and wonder over the countless possibilities one could do with the keys. PW gets 5 stars for both production and musicianship. It may not be for beginners or even some hardcore fans, but those who are unbiased towards synths and come in with an open mind will not be disappointed.
"So much style without substance. So much stuff without style. It's hard to recognize the real thing that comes along once in a while..." This IS the real thing, people. | 2 | positive | [
"Power Windows(1985).",
"Rush's 11th studio album.",
"Coming off of a dreary crisis that dominated Grace Under Pressure(1984), Rush managed to completely recover, and unleash an 80s masterpiece album.",
"To those who actually listen to the music, Power Windows is yet another display of Rush at their all-time best.",
"However, to stringent biased synth-hater types, this is considered to be Rush at an all-time low.",
"From what I've observed, most Rush fans tend to know what the band is all about, but they are TERRIBLE judges at how masterful a Rush album really is.",
"It seems that to them, it doesn't matter how well the keyboards are played and utilized or how meaningful a song is, but it only matters that they are using them period.",
"The fact is, the synths somehow BLIND fans to the point of self-stupidity.",
"Yes, the keyboards are multi-layered throughout the entire album, but underneath it all are wonderful songs, still just as creative as Rush has always ever been.",
"As the title implies, PW is about the types of power that exist in the world, each song representing power in a different form.",
"I know that many people can interpret what each song means far better than I can, but I will provide a brief explanation of the tracks, so please bear with me.",
"Here's the breakdown track-by-track:\n1) The Big Money- This concert favorite kicks off with a blast of guitar and synths and steadily evolves into a fine rock number.",
"This song talks about the power of money and how it can be used for good, and then turn completely around to be used for bad.",
"10/10\n2) Grand Designs- A soaring track which revolves around the power of talk and how the public uses it to display \"style over substance\".",
"But when something \"real\" pops up, very few people discover it because of distracting talk.",
"This track is a hidden gem in itself.",
"9/10\n3) Manhattan Project- If not for the shorter length, this track could pass for an epic.",
"This song is about the power of weapons (talking specifically about the atom bomb) and how they can affect everyone in the world.",
"It alternates between slower synth backdrop beat verses, and a faster guitar-driven chorus.",
"SEE?",
"PW IS NOT ALL SYNTHS.",
"10/10\n4) Marathon- Another amazing epic and perhaps PW's strongest track.",
"It's about the power of persistence and how a lot can be achieved in a lifetime if you don't burn out too quickly.",
"Like the last song, Marathon could easily pass as a long epic, if not for its brevity.",
"Excellent use of fast drum-pacing and background choirs.",
"10/10\n5) Territories- A driving, yet melodic mid-paced song about the power of inhabiting land and the different viewpoints of a country conquering another one.",
"Contains mostly synths, but Alex's guitar shines every once in a while.",
"Not bad at all.",
"9/10\n6) Middletown Dreams- Definitely the most progressive track on here.",
"Though the weakest song on the whole album, it still manages to be a masterpiece compared to other music that came out at the time.",
"It's about the power of dreams and their ability to take a person away from normal everyday life.",
"Fairly uneventful, but areas of it do stand out, such as the section after the second chorus.",
"8/10\n7) Emotion Detector- This song picks the pace of the album back up, starting off with a synthy intro and choruses, followed by a phenomenal guitar solo later on.",
"This song talks about the power of emotions and that the only way for other people to see who you really are is by taking a chance and opening yourself up to them.",
"9/10\n8) Mystic Rhythms- PW's final track is by far the least complicated and the synthiest, yet it also manages to be both truly captivating and otherworldly all-in-one.",
"It talks about the power of the unknown, and how there is a huge world out there which we know nothing about.",
"Simply POWERFUL.",
"10/10\nDespite the claims by many \"fans\" that Rush sold out with PW to pop music, they couldn't be more wrong as the talented trio show the masses how to correctly use keyboards heavily without compromising their integrity and style.",
"Even still, it would have been nice to include Alex more in all the incredible synthesized desert-wide productional soundscapes the songs create, but thankfully Alex will make his true return in a few albums down the road.",
"Rush was simply in a state of awe and wonder over the countless possibilities one could do with the keys.",
"PW gets 5 stars for both production and musicianship.",
"It may not be for beginners or even some hardcore fans, but those who are unbiased towards synths and come in with an open mind will not be disappointed.",
"\"So much style without substance.",
"So much stuff without style.",
"It's hard to recognize the real thing that comes along once in a while...",
"\" This IS the real thing, people."
] |
I just love "Time."What a great idea,making a record from the next Century. My Favorite is "Ticket to the Moon." With the line,"Remember the good old 1980's,when things were so uncomplicated." I wore his record out when it came out,and was so glad when it was released on CD."Yours Truly,2095" about having sex with you own robot,is so funny. With the girl robots voice saying,"Is That what you want?" I can't understand why this record wasen't a huge hit. The only single from this tape to chart in Billboard was "Hold on Tight." I remember this song playing all the time when we went to the skating center. If anyone reading this hasen't heard "Time," buy it,and you will not be dissapointed. A fantastic Journey into the next Century. | 2 | positive | [
"I just love \"Time.",
"\"What a great idea,making a record from the next Century.",
"My Favorite is \"Ticket to the Moon.",
"\" With the line,\"Remember the good old 1980's,when things were so uncomplicated.",
"\" I wore his record out when it came out,and was so glad when it was released on CD.",
"\"Yours Truly,2095\" about having sex with you own robot,is so funny.",
"With the girl robots voice saying,\"Is That what you want?",
"\" I can't understand why this record wasen't a huge hit.",
"The only single from this tape to chart in Billboard was \"Hold on Tight.",
"\" I remember this song playing all the time when we went to the skating center.",
"If anyone reading this hasen't heard \"Time,\" buy it,and you will not be dissapointed.",
"A fantastic Journey into the next Century."
] |
Only recommended for diehard JC fans . I enjoyed this book but could see why, for the general reader, it may not be appealing . Unless you've read another book of hers called Lovers & Gamblers, you probably aren't going to appreciate the intricacies of the characters . Many (Al, April, Karmen) that are introduced here are developed more fully in that later work . This book has a lot of comedy in it . If you approach it in a lighthearted way, you may enjoy it . There are a lot of characters and intersecting storylines which can be confusing in the first half . This book captures the spirit and zeitgeist of the 1970s in a palpable way . Jackie excelled at writing strong heroines, Cleo here is the main character, a celebrity journalist making her way as a divorced woman . Bawdy, original, breathtaking, hilarious, weird and slightly wonderful . I enjoyed this book very much, but it's more like a lead-up to Lovers & Gamblers, not so much a stand-alone novel. | 2 | positive | [
"Only recommended for diehard JC fans.",
"I enjoyed this book but could see why, for the general reader, it may not be appealing.",
"Unless you've read another book of hers called Lovers & Gamblers, you probably aren't going to appreciate the intricacies of the characters.",
"Many (Al, April, Karmen) that are introduced here are developed more fully in that later work.",
"This book has a lot of comedy in it.",
"If you approach it in a lighthearted way, you may enjoy it.",
"There are a lot of characters and intersecting storylines which can be confusing in the first half.",
"This book captures the spirit and zeitgeist of the 1970s in a palpable way.",
"Jackie excelled at writing strong heroines, Cleo here is the main character, a celebrity journalist making her way as a divorced woman.",
"Bawdy, original, breathtaking, hilarious, weird and slightly wonderful.",
"I enjoyed this book very much, but it's more like a lead-up to Lovers & Gamblers, not so much a stand-alone novel."
] |
...but for Iz, each day was a part of a journey to the next.
"I believe all these places are temporary. This is just one shell. Because we Hawaiians live in both worlds. It's in our veins. When our time come, don't cry for me. Don't cry for me. Plant a tree in the middle ... where they play soccer. Kind of small, then I'll grow big."
That philosophy of gentle calmness at what we call life, is reflected in this beloved rendition of two classic songs.
Instead of following the artists most associated with each tune, Iz makes them uniquely his.
One of the most calming and gentle renditions of these classic songs. | 2 | positive | [
"...",
"but for Iz, each day was a part of a journey to the next.",
"\"I believe all these places are temporary.",
"This is just one shell.",
"Because we Hawaiians live in both worlds.",
"It's in our veins.",
"When our time come, don't cry for me.",
"Don't cry for me.",
"Plant a tree in the middle...",
"where they play soccer.",
"Kind of small, then I'll grow big.",
"\"\n\nThat philosophy of gentle calmness at what we call life, is reflected in this beloved rendition of two classic songs.",
"Instead of following the artists most associated with each tune, Iz makes them uniquely his.",
"One of the most calming and gentle renditions of these classic songs."
] |
This stapler is very sturdy so far and I tested it on a wide variety of stack sizes. I totally missed that I could not buy just one size of staple and bought the 85-130 size. Let me tell you, this stapler puts that staple all the way through and loops it back up and down again in a spiral/circle if you don't have enough paper. It's a stapling machine.
I solved the problem as I should have in the beginning by buying each size of staple required to staple the different amounts of paper that I needed. Since I had a Swingline Optima that did up to 25 sheets, I bought the Bostich heavy duty staples in 25-55, 55-85, and 85-130. If you don't have a stapler that does up to 25, you'll need that size of staples also.
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Bostitch-Heavy-Duty-Premium-Staples-25-55-Sheets-0-375-Inch-Leg-5-000-Per-Box-SB353-8-5M/dp/B00006IFMS/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Bostitch Heavy Duty Premium Staples, 25-55 Sheets, 0.375 Inch Leg, 5,000 Per Box (SB353/8-5M)</a>
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Bostitch-Heavy-Duty-Premium-Staples-55-85-Sheets-0-5-Inch-Leg-5-000-Per-Box-SB351-2-5M/dp/B0000ZL2LG/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Bostitch Heavy Duty Premium Staples, 55-85 Sheets, 0.5-Inch Leg, 5,000 Per Box (SB351/2-5M)</a>
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Bostitch-Heavy-Duty-Premium-Staples-85-130-Sheets-0-625-Inch-Leg-5-000-Per-Box-SB355-8-5M/dp/B00006IFMN/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Bostitch Heavy Duty Premium Staples, 85-130 Sheets, 0.625 Inch Leg, 5,000 Per Box (SB355/8-5M)</a>
I think the easiest way to use this if you're like me and constantly changing the size of the paper stack is to empty the stapler each time when you're through. Then you start each stapling run by loading up the correct staple size. | 2 | positive | [
"This stapler is very sturdy so far and I tested it on a wide variety of stack sizes.",
"I totally missed that I could not buy just one size of staple and bought the 85-130 size.",
"Let me tell you, this stapler puts that staple all the way through and loops it back up and down again in a spiral/circle if you don't have enough paper.",
"It's a stapling machine.",
"I solved the problem as I should have in the beginning by buying each size of staple required to staple the different amounts of paper that I needed.",
"Since I had a Swingline Optima that did up to 25 sheets, I bought the Bostich heavy duty staples in 25-55, 55-85, and 85-130.",
"If you don't have a stapler that does up to 25, you'll need that size of staples also.",
"<a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/Bostitch-Heavy-Duty-Premium-Staples-25-55-Sheets-0-375-Inch-Leg-5-000-Per-Box-SB353-8-5M/dp/B00006IFMS/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">Bostitch Heavy Duty Premium Staples, 25-55 Sheets, 0.",
"375 Inch Leg, 5,000 Per Box (SB353/8-5M)</a>\n<a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/Bostitch-Heavy-Duty-Premium-Staples-55-85-Sheets-0-5-Inch-Leg-5-000-Per-Box-SB351-2-5M/dp/B0000ZL2LG/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">Bostitch Heavy Duty Premium Staples, 55-85 Sheets, 0.",
"5-Inch Leg, 5,000 Per Box (SB351/2-5M)</a>\n<a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/Bostitch-Heavy-Duty-Premium-Staples-85-130-Sheets-0-625-Inch-Leg-5-000-Per-Box-SB355-8-5M/dp/B00006IFMN/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">Bostitch Heavy Duty Premium Staples, 85-130 Sheets, 0.",
"625 Inch Leg, 5,000 Per Box (SB355/8-5M)</a>\n\nI think the easiest way to use this if you're like me and constantly changing the size of the paper stack is to empty the stapler each time when you're through.",
"Then you start each stapling run by loading up the correct staple size."
] |
A movie should be entertaining. Last Action Hero is all that and some. Due the plausibility is about a 2 on a 1000 scale, but nothing about this film was meant to be anything other than a laugh. And laugh I did, from Acme brand anything to Robert Patrick walking by in his T1000 garb out of the police headquarters.
Last Action Hero really shouldn't have been the flop it was. Even 20 years later this movie, in spite of being dated, is a laugh.
Have fun. Watch some goofy acting. Anthony Quinn is a hoot as Vivaldi. And let's not forget "Benedict" and "Oddjob". | 2 | positive | [
"A movie should be entertaining.",
"Last Action Hero is all that and some.",
"Due the plausibility is about a 2 on a 1000 scale, but nothing about this film was meant to be anything other than a laugh.",
"And laugh I did, from Acme brand anything to Robert Patrick walking by in his T1000 garb out of the police headquarters.",
"Last Action Hero really shouldn't have been the flop it was.",
"Even 20 years later this movie, in spite of being dated, is a laugh.",
"Have fun.",
"Watch some goofy acting.",
"Anthony Quinn is a hoot as Vivaldi.",
"And let's not forget \"Benedict\" and \"Oddjob\"."
] |
I love to cook but every time a recipe says to use the food processor I turn the page and forget about that recipe. I hated hauling out my heavy food processor box, assembling all the pieces and then having a huge mess to clean up with odds and ends of parts laying around my kitchen until everything was cleaned and ready to pack away again. Therefore the food processor was a "special occasion" machine and I stayed clear of recipes that required one; it just wasn't worth the hassle to me. I hesitated to buy this chopper at first because I had a cuisinart mini processor years ago that failed almost immediately. However, I liked what I read in the reviews about this chopper and decided at twenty bucks it was worth a try. WOW. This thing ROCKS. It diced up a shallot in three pulses to such a fine dice I was floored. It tackles chopping effortlessly and will be used many times a week in my kitchen now. It cleans up super fast (most of it in the dishwasher) and the assembly is a snap. I kept telling my husband all day how thrilled I was over this machine and wondered why I hadn't found it sooner. What a change in my life this will make. I can't remember when I was more pleased with a product or could see more of a change in my daily/weekly life as a result of it. I look forward to making so many new recipes without dread when I read the words "food processor" in the instructions. Happy, happy, happy. :)
UPDATE: I'm now a Ninja Pro snob which beats up this little guy and steals its lunch money -- there is just no comparison. However, on a budget, this is still a very fine chopper and saw me through many meals. | 2 | positive | [
"I love to cook but every time a recipe says to use the food processor I turn the page and forget about that recipe.",
"I hated hauling out my heavy food processor box, assembling all the pieces and then having a huge mess to clean up with odds and ends of parts laying around my kitchen until everything was cleaned and ready to pack away again.",
"Therefore the food processor was a \"special occasion\" machine and I stayed clear of recipes that required one; it just wasn't worth the hassle to me.",
"I hesitated to buy this chopper at first because I had a cuisinart mini processor years ago that failed almost immediately.",
"However, I liked what I read in the reviews about this chopper and decided at twenty bucks it was worth a try.",
"WOW.",
"This thing ROCKS.",
"It diced up a shallot in three pulses to such a fine dice I was floored.",
"It tackles chopping effortlessly and will be used many times a week in my kitchen now.",
"It cleans up super fast (most of it in the dishwasher) and the assembly is a snap.",
"I kept telling my husband all day how thrilled I was over this machine and wondered why I hadn't found it sooner.",
"What a change in my life this will make.",
"I can't remember when I was more pleased with a product or could see more of a change in my daily/weekly life as a result of it.",
"I look forward to making so many new recipes without dread when I read the words \"food processor\" in the instructions.",
"Happy, happy, happy.",
":)\n\nUPDATE: I'm now a Ninja Pro snob which beats up this little guy and steals its lunch money -- there is just no comparison.",
"However, on a budget, this is still a very fine chopper and saw me through many meals."
] |
I had been debating whether to get a GPS (like a TomTom) and didn't want to spend that much on a navigator. So I was glad to try this product out. Of course, you have to deal with your own laptop issues in a vehicle when you want to use this - so it's a little more burdensome than a TomTom. But I found it quite useful.
The software installation was nice and simple for me - I have XP. But at home, my GPS was not picking up many satellites. It did eventually find some, but it took a while. And every time I start up the software, it seems to take a few minutes to find the satellites from inside my home. That part was not good because I wanted to make sure I knew how to use the product before going out on the road! But eventually, it would track enough satellites to give me good directions, etc. The audio was loud enough on my laptop, but I think it could stand to be louder. You never know when you're going to drive through a very noisy intersection, etc. And then there are plenty of tools in this software. Calculate the cost of a trip (you can input gas price, etc.), find good restaurant deals on a certain route, etc. I haven't used all the tools much, but I'm sure these are great for the frequent travelers.
Overall, I think for the price, this is a pretty good product. | 2 | positive | [
"I had been debating whether to get a GPS (like a TomTom) and didn't want to spend that much on a navigator.",
"So I was glad to try this product out.",
"Of course, you have to deal with your own laptop issues in a vehicle when you want to use this - so it's a little more burdensome than a TomTom.",
"But I found it quite useful.",
"The software installation was nice and simple for me - I have XP.",
"But at home, my GPS was not picking up many satellites.",
"It did eventually find some, but it took a while.",
"And every time I start up the software, it seems to take a few minutes to find the satellites from inside my home.",
"That part was not good because I wanted to make sure I knew how to use the product before going out on the road!",
"But eventually, it would track enough satellites to give me good directions, etc.",
"The audio was loud enough on my laptop, but I think it could stand to be louder.",
"You never know when you're going to drive through a very noisy intersection, etc.",
"And then there are plenty of tools in this software.",
"Calculate the cost of a trip (you can input gas price, etc.",
"), find good restaurant deals on a certain route, etc.",
"I haven't used all the tools much, but I'm sure these are great for the frequent travelers.",
"Overall, I think for the price, this is a pretty good product."
] |
Esta casi completo el album " Philly " de los Temprees " 3 ". Solo falta el tema " Come And Get Your Love ". Los fanticos " Philly " tenemos que o comprar la reedicion Japonesa ( con sus ya consabidas malas grabaciones y sus elevadsimos precios ) o comprar este CD junto con el " The Best Of The Temprees " ( en su corte 11 esta "Come And Get..." ) para poder completar el " 3 ".
Seores Gamble-Huff Porqu no reeditan el abum "Temprees 3 " grabado en SIGMA SOUND STUDIOS ?..ya saben...con algun corte extra para hacernos felices a los " phillyadictos ".Que suerte tienen los fanticos de Motown, les publican todos los dias cosas nunca editadas de sus artistas preferidos y reediciones especiales!!! Pasara alguna vez algo parecido con " El Sonido Filadelfia " ? Habr que soar despierto. | 2 | positive | [
"Esta casi completo el album \" Philly \" de los Temprees \" 3 \".",
"Solo falta el tema \" Come And Get Your Love \".",
"Los fanticos \" Philly \" tenemos que o comprar la reedicion Japonesa ( con sus ya consabidas malas grabaciones y sus elevadsimos precios ) o comprar este CD junto con el \" The Best Of The Temprees \" ( en su corte 11 esta \"Come And Get...",
"\" ) para poder completar el \" 3 \".",
"Seores Gamble-Huff Porqu no reeditan el abum \"Temprees 3 \" grabado en SIGMA SOUND STUDIOS?..",
"ya saben...",
"con algun corte extra para hacernos felices a los \" phillyadictos \".",
"Que suerte tienen los fanticos de Motown, les publican todos los dias cosas nunca editadas de sus artistas preferidos y reediciones especiales!!!",
"Pasara alguna vez algo parecido con \" El Sonido Filadelfia \"?",
"Habr que soar despierto."
] |
An indescribable sort of passion fills the air, a minute suggestion that becomes a gentle roar. More than anything, Wish You Were Here is a progression, a slow and laboured rise from a dim electronic hum to an epic, symphonic blast of impassioned rock music. It, like most Floyd albums, is not a collection of songs but a single work, and to look at it as anything else would be to completely miss out on what Pink Floyd was trying to do in the first place.
Think of the saxophone at the end of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond pt. 1." It sounds beautiful, alive, tuneful, lilting, free, a bird perched on a mile-high gust of wind. And suddenly, behind it, there is the deep, ominous, downright horrific hum that signals the beginning of "Welcome to the Machine," and suddenly, the sax sounds weak and pitiful against it, and slowly fades away into the distance, and all you're left with is that hum, and "Welcome to the Machine" begins, in all its cynical, deep seated, and world-weary glory. "Welcome to the Machine" Is a song about growing up, how the world can destroy your youthful ideals, take your big dreams and shatter them. Or, it could be interpreted as a song about former bandleader Syd Barret's descent into madness. That's the great thing about Floyd's lyrics, deep seated double meanings, the fractured view it creates.
"Have A Cigar" is a grimly funny song about a smooth-talking record producer, with that immortal line: "And by the way, which one's Pink?"
The title track is a sweet ballad of regret, a story of one man's lonliness after the loss of a dear friend. It also happens to be my favorite track on the album, so rich and textured, with a beautiful acoustic guitar and Roger Waters' best lyrics ("We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year.")
These three tracks are bookended by the album's two epics, "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" parts 1 and 2. These are, by any strech of imagination, some of the best work that Pink Floyd has ever done. Part 1 starts of slow and tuneful, with someexcillent guitar work on David Gilmour's part. It's first eight minutes are a haunting instrumental, with echoey guitars, crashing symbols, and a slow, rythmic bass line. The after the instrumental portion, Waters begins to sing, a sad, mournful tribute to Syd Barett (The entire concept of Wish You Were Here is that it is a tribute to Barett).
Part 2 is faster, with a more rock edge, but closely resembles its prediscesor. It has a darker edge to it, but still retains a kind of beauty.
All in all, WYW is a beautiful, symphonic listening experience, on par with Dark Side of the Moon and Wall. | 2 | positive | [
"An indescribable sort of passion fills the air, a minute suggestion that becomes a gentle roar.",
"More than anything, Wish You Were Here is a progression, a slow and laboured rise from a dim electronic hum to an epic, symphonic blast of impassioned rock music.",
"It, like most Floyd albums, is not a collection of songs but a single work, and to look at it as anything else would be to completely miss out on what Pink Floyd was trying to do in the first place.",
"Think of the saxophone at the end of \"Shine On You Crazy Diamond pt.",
"1.",
"\" It sounds beautiful, alive, tuneful, lilting, free, a bird perched on a mile-high gust of wind.",
"And suddenly, behind it, there is the deep, ominous, downright horrific hum that signals the beginning of \"Welcome to the Machine,\" and suddenly, the sax sounds weak and pitiful against it, and slowly fades away into the distance, and all you're left with is that hum, and \"Welcome to the Machine\" begins, in all its cynical, deep seated, and world-weary glory.",
"\"Welcome to the Machine\" Is a song about growing up, how the world can destroy your youthful ideals, take your big dreams and shatter them.",
"Or, it could be interpreted as a song about former bandleader Syd Barret's descent into madness.",
"That's the great thing about Floyd's lyrics, deep seated double meanings, the fractured view it creates.",
"\"Have A Cigar\" is a grimly funny song about a smooth-talking record producer, with that immortal line: \"And by the way, which one's Pink?",
"\"\nThe title track is a sweet ballad of regret, a story of one man's lonliness after the loss of a dear friend.",
"It also happens to be my favorite track on the album, so rich and textured, with a beautiful acoustic guitar and Roger Waters' best lyrics (\"We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year.",
"\")\nThese three tracks are bookended by the album's two epics, \"Shine On You Crazy Diamond\" parts 1 and 2.",
"These are, by any strech of imagination, some of the best work that Pink Floyd has ever done.",
"Part 1 starts of slow and tuneful, with someexcillent guitar work on David Gilmour's part.",
"It's first eight minutes are a haunting instrumental, with echoey guitars, crashing symbols, and a slow, rythmic bass line.",
"The after the instrumental portion, Waters begins to sing, a sad, mournful tribute to Syd Barett (The entire concept of Wish You Were Here is that it is a tribute to Barett).",
"Part 2 is faster, with a more rock edge, but closely resembles its prediscesor.",
"It has a darker edge to it, but still retains a kind of beauty.",
"All in all, WYW is a beautiful, symphonic listening experience, on par with Dark Side of the Moon and Wall."
] |
I used Deer Off last season and it did a great job keeping the deer away from my chestnut trees. The deer don't even hang around in the chestnut tree part of the yard anymore. In my experience, the Deer Off does not deter my squirrels, and, without hesitation, they scamper up the tree trunks to get the chestnuts. Rabbits are not an issue for me, so I cannot comment on how the spray is a deterrent for rabbits. Dogs are not affected at all.
We have a regular deer herd that hangs out on our property (about 5-6 deer). They have been hard on my chestnut trees and, while, I want to be kind to nature, I really don't want them eating my trees or rubbing on the tree trunks. I used Deer Off last year & it was a winning product. I will continue using the product this year & expect the same results.
Deer Off is advertised as safe for use with kids & pets. My dogs have been in & around the sprayed trees & have exhibited no adverse reaction at all. They can tell there is some sort of a scent, so they sniff the trees.
This product is great. My previous bottle had a battery operated sprayer, which was nice. I used this bottle as a refill for that sprayer. | 2 | positive | [
"I used Deer Off last season and it did a great job keeping the deer away from my chestnut trees.",
"The deer don't even hang around in the chestnut tree part of the yard anymore.",
"In my experience, the Deer Off does not deter my squirrels, and, without hesitation, they scamper up the tree trunks to get the chestnuts.",
"Rabbits are not an issue for me, so I cannot comment on how the spray is a deterrent for rabbits.",
"Dogs are not affected at all.",
"We have a regular deer herd that hangs out on our property (about 5-6 deer).",
"They have been hard on my chestnut trees and, while, I want to be kind to nature, I really don't want them eating my trees or rubbing on the tree trunks.",
"I used Deer Off last year & it was a winning product.",
"I will continue using the product this year & expect the same results.",
"Deer Off is advertised as safe for use with kids & pets.",
"My dogs have been in & around the sprayed trees & have exhibited no adverse reaction at all.",
"They can tell there is some sort of a scent, so they sniff the trees.",
"This product is great.",
"My previous bottle had a battery operated sprayer, which was nice.",
"I used this bottle as a refill for that sprayer."
] |
I loved this story. Indeed, once I started it, I didn't want to put it down. It was a charming, romantic retelling of the Beauty and The Beast story set in Regency England. Louisa, an heiress, was an ugly duckling who wanted someone to care for her, not her fortune. Her parents had passed and she was living with her grandfather who wanted her to be married. Douglas, a vampire with a conscience, was a loner in the extreme. He was living in a cave with no interaction with others besides what he physically needed to survive. He had his own inner demons to fight as he was guilt-ridden from an incident early in his life. The day Louisa stumbled upon Douglas' cave was a life-changing event for both of them. Karen skillfully used their interplay of words to develop their relationship. There were a few other characters and scenes interspersed in the story but most of the story took place in the cave. I enjoyed this book very much. I was very happy with the ending and actually came away from the book feeling as if I'd learned a valuable lesson from it. Bottomline: This is a feel good book that I'd highly recommend to anyone who loves romance and/or adult fairy tales. | 2 | positive | [
"I loved this story.",
"Indeed, once I started it, I didn't want to put it down.",
"It was a charming, romantic retelling of the Beauty and The Beast story set in Regency England.",
"Louisa, an heiress, was an ugly duckling who wanted someone to care for her, not her fortune.",
"Her parents had passed and she was living with her grandfather who wanted her to be married.",
"Douglas, a vampire with a conscience, was a loner in the extreme.",
"He was living in a cave with no interaction with others besides what he physically needed to survive.",
"He had his own inner demons to fight as he was guilt-ridden from an incident early in his life.",
"The day Louisa stumbled upon Douglas' cave was a life-changing event for both of them.",
"Karen skillfully used their interplay of words to develop their relationship.",
"There were a few other characters and scenes interspersed in the story but most of the story took place in the cave.",
"I enjoyed this book very much.",
"I was very happy with the ending and actually came away from the book feeling as if I'd learned a valuable lesson from it.",
"Bottomline: This is a feel good book that I'd highly recommend to anyone who loves romance and/or adult fairy tales."
] |
I'm enjoying listening to this great soundtrack that I loved as a child after a long hiatus. I had it on 8-track 25 years ago. So it's fitting that I should get the 25th Anniversary Edition on CD. The 24 songs from the movie are just as everyone remembers them, so I'll talk about the Bonus Disc, which contains 10 alternative versions of the songs plus 2 previously unreleased instrumentals from the film.
Track 1 on the Bonus Disc is an instrumental version of the film's theme, "Grease", written and produced by Barry Gibb. Frankie Valli's voice has been replaced by a saxophone. The chorus is vocal, but the voices are not those in the original song. You could use this as a sing-along version, as it would be easy to sing over the sax. Tracks 2-5 are officially sing-along versions. "Summer Nights" includes the chorus vocals from the film and sounds good. "You're the One That I Want" has new chorus vocals of questionable merit. "Sandy" is a new arrangement. It's not as good as the film version, but you can sing along. Track 6 is the single version of "Greased Lightning" that you may have heard on the radio back in the day. It's differs from the original in that the bad words have been replaced for radio airplay. Tracks 7-8 are previously unreleased instrumentals from the film. "Greased Up and Ready to Go" is lively. Tracks 9-10 are mixes that I occasionally hear on the radio. The "Grease Megamix" and the "Grease Dream Mix" are fun, if awkward. Tracks 11-12 are Martian Remixes of "Summer Nights" and "You're the One That I Want". They retain the original vocals, but set them to a Latin rhythm. They make pretty good dance tracks.
This 2-disc set isn't in a jewel case. The case is paperboard with 4 panels that fold out. This is inside of a clear vinyl slip case on which the tracks are written. This isn't convenient packaging. On the bright side, the case won't crack in the mail. Tucked inside one of the panels is a booklet that contains lyrics and credits.
The "Grease: 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition" is a terrifically fun soundtrack to one of the all-time great movie musicals. And for all those preteen girls who go wild over the movie with each new generation, the bonus material is perfect for parties and horsing around. | 2 | positive | [
"I'm enjoying listening to this great soundtrack that I loved as a child after a long hiatus.",
"I had it on 8-track 25 years ago.",
"So it's fitting that I should get the 25th Anniversary Edition on CD.",
"The 24 songs from the movie are just as everyone remembers them, so I'll talk about the Bonus Disc, which contains 10 alternative versions of the songs plus 2 previously unreleased instrumentals from the film.",
"Track 1 on the Bonus Disc is an instrumental version of the film's theme, \"Grease\", written and produced by Barry Gibb.",
"Frankie Valli's voice has been replaced by a saxophone.",
"The chorus is vocal, but the voices are not those in the original song.",
"You could use this as a sing-along version, as it would be easy to sing over the sax.",
"Tracks 2-5 are officially sing-along versions.",
"\"Summer Nights\" includes the chorus vocals from the film and sounds good.",
"\"You're the One That I Want\" has new chorus vocals of questionable merit.",
"\"Sandy\" is a new arrangement.",
"It's not as good as the film version, but you can sing along.",
"Track 6 is the single version of \"Greased Lightning\" that you may have heard on the radio back in the day.",
"It's differs from the original in that the bad words have been replaced for radio airplay.",
"Tracks 7-8 are previously unreleased instrumentals from the film.",
"\"Greased Up and Ready to Go\" is lively.",
"Tracks 9-10 are mixes that I occasionally hear on the radio.",
"The \"Grease Megamix\" and the \"Grease Dream Mix\" are fun, if awkward.",
"Tracks 11-12 are Martian Remixes of \"Summer Nights\" and \"You're the One That I Want\".",
"They retain the original vocals, but set them to a Latin rhythm.",
"They make pretty good dance tracks.",
"This 2-disc set isn't in a jewel case.",
"The case is paperboard with 4 panels that fold out.",
"This is inside of a clear vinyl slip case on which the tracks are written.",
"This isn't convenient packaging.",
"On the bright side, the case won't crack in the mail.",
"Tucked inside one of the panels is a booklet that contains lyrics and credits.",
"The \"Grease: 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition\" is a terrifically fun soundtrack to one of the all-time great movie musicals.",
"And for all those preteen girls who go wild over the movie with each new generation, the bonus material is perfect for parties and horsing around."
] |
Thriller has quite a reputation. It's the single greatest selling album in the history of recorded music, haven won a record-breaking 8 Grammy's upon its release and continues to be highly regarded to this day, consistently ranking highly on basically all "best albums of all-time" lists.
So you could say that it's a pretty good album.
And that (obviously) would be putting it mildly. This was Michael Jackson's breakthrough album, released a few years after his solo debut Off The Wall (which is also a great album in it's own right), Thriller catapulted Michael Jackson into the stratosphere of popular culture, music, and stardom. It's an incredibly catchy dance-pop album, loaded with classic hits which are surrounded by equally infectious supporting tracks, amounting to an enthralling and exhilarating listening experience.
Everyone knows the classics like "Thriller", "Beat It", and "Billie Jean" (the latter being perhaps the greatest dance song of all-time), but what really makes Thriller such a great album are the consistently good supporting tracks on the album. Take the invigorating opening track for example "Wanna Be Startin Something". Perhaps the 2nd best song on the entire album, it's a tour-de-force dance-pop song which still sounds fresh, exhilarating, and exciting to this day. The "mama-say-mama-sah-ma-ma-coo-sah" part is the climax of the song, and really highlights the celebratory vibe of the track.
The next track "Baby Me Mine" is an incredibly smooth, soulful, grooving track with a great R&B flavor. Phenomenal beat. "The Girl is Mine" follows, featuring trade-off vocals between Jackson and none other than the great Paul McCartney. It's a corny track, but it has a sweet, endearing quality that makes it work.
The middle of the album is jam-packed with the 3 classics "Thriller", "Beat It", and "Billie Jean". The fact that these 3 tracks are all placed sequentially in the middle of the album really adds to the power of the record as a whole. It kind of feels like you're listening to a "greatest-hits" album as these tracks roll by, as you would be hard pressed to find 3 powerhouse tracks like those stacked side-by-side on any other dance-pop album, which really showcases the fact that Michael Jackson was operating at his artistic peak at the time. Most artists would be lucky to come up with just 1 song as good as any of those for an album, let alone 3 back to back. Quite impressive.
After the tri-fecta of singles, the listener is treated to the incredibly sweet and sensitive "Human Nature" which is a good reflection of the singer himself. It's got a really beautiful melody that is complimented well by Jackson's soft, soulful singing. The dance-funk them comes back in full force with "P.Y.T" which sports one of the best pure dance-beats on the entire album.
Thriller then closes out with the somewhat underwhelming "The Lady in my Life" ending the album on a soft, melancholy note. Aside from that borderline lackluster song, and the corny yet endearing "The Girl is Mine" every other song on Thriller is fantastic. This was definitely Michael Jackson's best album, and really the last truly great album of his career. It's also the last album where Jackson sounded like he was having fun, the last album where the prevailing vibe was joy, and not claustrophobic angst.
Jackson still had plenty of memorable hits left in him after this album, but he would never be able to put together an album that was as consistently fresh and brilliant as Thriller. | 2 | positive | [
"Thriller has quite a reputation.",
"It's the single greatest selling album in the history of recorded music, haven won a record-breaking 8 Grammy's upon its release and continues to be highly regarded to this day, consistently ranking highly on basically all \"best albums of all-time\" lists.",
"So you could say that it's a pretty good album.",
"And that (obviously) would be putting it mildly.",
"This was Michael Jackson's breakthrough album, released a few years after his solo debut Off The Wall (which is also a great album in it's own right), Thriller catapulted Michael Jackson into the stratosphere of popular culture, music, and stardom.",
"It's an incredibly catchy dance-pop album, loaded with classic hits which are surrounded by equally infectious supporting tracks, amounting to an enthralling and exhilarating listening experience.",
"Everyone knows the classics like \"Thriller\", \"Beat It\", and \"Billie Jean\" (the latter being perhaps the greatest dance song of all-time), but what really makes Thriller such a great album are the consistently good supporting tracks on the album.",
"Take the invigorating opening track for example \"Wanna Be Startin Something\".",
"Perhaps the 2nd best song on the entire album, it's a tour-de-force dance-pop song which still sounds fresh, exhilarating, and exciting to this day.",
"The \"mama-say-mama-sah-ma-ma-coo-sah\" part is the climax of the song, and really highlights the celebratory vibe of the track.",
"The next track \"Baby Me Mine\" is an incredibly smooth, soulful, grooving track with a great R&B flavor.",
"Phenomenal beat.",
"\"The Girl is Mine\" follows, featuring trade-off vocals between Jackson and none other than the great Paul McCartney.",
"It's a corny track, but it has a sweet, endearing quality that makes it work.",
"The middle of the album is jam-packed with the 3 classics \"Thriller\", \"Beat It\", and \"Billie Jean\".",
"The fact that these 3 tracks are all placed sequentially in the middle of the album really adds to the power of the record as a whole.",
"It kind of feels like you're listening to a \"greatest-hits\" album as these tracks roll by, as you would be hard pressed to find 3 powerhouse tracks like those stacked side-by-side on any other dance-pop album, which really showcases the fact that Michael Jackson was operating at his artistic peak at the time.",
"Most artists would be lucky to come up with just 1 song as good as any of those for an album, let alone 3 back to back.",
"Quite impressive.",
"After the tri-fecta of singles, the listener is treated to the incredibly sweet and sensitive \"Human Nature\" which is a good reflection of the singer himself.",
"It's got a really beautiful melody that is complimented well by Jackson's soft, soulful singing.",
"The dance-funk them comes back in full force with \"P.",
"Y.T\" which sports one of the best pure dance-beats on the entire album.",
"Thriller then closes out with the somewhat underwhelming \"The Lady in my Life\" ending the album on a soft, melancholy note.",
"Aside from that borderline lackluster song, and the corny yet endearing \"The Girl is Mine\" every other song on Thriller is fantastic.",
"This was definitely Michael Jackson's best album, and really the last truly great album of his career.",
"It's also the last album where Jackson sounded like he was having fun, the last album where the prevailing vibe was joy, and not claustrophobic angst.",
"Jackson still had plenty of memorable hits left in him after this album, but he would never be able to put together an album that was as consistently fresh and brilliant as Thriller."
] |
This is very close to what you'd get back in Ohio or Kentucky ,"Cincinnati style chili".... served over spaghetti with lots of shredded cheddar on top, or on a hot dog (called a "Coney dog"). Delicious !
I made up some of this mix for a west coast crowd at a football party recently,suggesting that guests try it "3-way" style, over spaghetti, with shredded cheddar. I got some strange looks until the first bite ,then rave reviews after that. There was a ton of other food available, but that big crock pot full of chili was gone in about 15 minutes. One of the guests was from Cleveland, and she was pretty darn happy to scarf up a big serving of this old favorite.
If you aren't familiar with this type of chili , or are more of a traditional texas-style chili person, you could be in for a big surprise when you first try this ! It's completely different than traditional chili , and bears little resemblance. It's not particularly spicy, and has a sweet, aromatic flavor that is notably absent of chili powder and the other spices that define traditional chilis. It's not even designed to be eaten by itself, although a few people do.
I love that we have Amazon available , it's makes trying out delicious, quirky regional favorites like this both cheap and easy. | 2 | positive | [
"This is very close to what you'd get back in Ohio or Kentucky ,\"Cincinnati style chili\"....",
"served over spaghetti with lots of shredded cheddar on top, or on a hot dog (called a \"Coney dog\").",
"Delicious!",
"I made up some of this mix for a west coast crowd at a football party recently,suggesting that guests try it \"3-way\" style, over spaghetti, with shredded cheddar.",
"I got some strange looks until the first bite ,then rave reviews after that.",
"There was a ton of other food available, but that big crock pot full of chili was gone in about 15 minutes.",
"One of the guests was from Cleveland, and she was pretty darn happy to scarf up a big serving of this old favorite.",
"If you aren't familiar with this type of chili , or are more of a traditional texas-style chili person, you could be in for a big surprise when you first try this!",
"It's completely different than traditional chili , and bears little resemblance.",
"It's not particularly spicy, and has a sweet, aromatic flavor that is notably absent of chili powder and the other spices that define traditional chilis.",
"It's not even designed to be eaten by itself, although a few people do.",
"I love that we have Amazon available , it's makes trying out delicious, quirky regional favorites like this both cheap and easy."
] |
JMJ
12 year old:
"C.S. Lewis did a very good job writing these stories and used very exciting words. I think this story should be enjoyed by many people for many years to come."
9 year old:
"I like the work of the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis and think that its exciting adventures should be shared throughout the world from generation to generation. It was about how Lucy, Susan, Peter and Edmund fell in love with Aslan and became kinds and queens of Narnia."
10 year old:
"I like it because it had a lot of adventure in it. It was easy to read but sometimes hard to understand. There were some words I didn't know the meaning of. I recommend it for anybody." | 2 | positive | [
"JMJ\n\n12 year old:\n\"C.",
"S. Lewis did a very good job writing these stories and used very exciting words.",
"I think this story should be enjoyed by many people for many years to come.",
"\"\n\n9 year old:\n\"I like the work of the Chronicles of Narnia by C.",
"S. Lewis and think that its exciting adventures should be shared throughout the world from generation to generation.",
"It was about how Lucy, Susan, Peter and Edmund fell in love with Aslan and became kinds and queens of Narnia.",
"\"\n\n10 year old:\n\"I like it because it had a lot of adventure in it.",
"It was easy to read but sometimes hard to understand.",
"There were some words I didn't know the meaning of.",
"I recommend it for anybody.",
"\""
] |
I've never had a cat before. So I wasn't prepared when Felicia tripled in size at 3 months and started leaping squirrel-like from dresser to desk to the lamp next to the bed. Next, she'd be bouncing off the walls. I knew I just had to get her something for entertainment.
Since I can't bear the thought of making the wrong purchase decision, I researched everything. This toy got some top ratings on Amazon, so it got my order. What a terrific little contraption it's turning out to be.
From another room, I can hear the sound of the little ping-pong size ball rolling around the disc as Felicia swats it with her paw. It comes with a little pouch of catnip flakes, but I haven't used them; the cat is having such a blast without it. Why is this fun? Why does Felicia sit there batting it around and trying to catch it for 5 or 10 minutes at a time? What craving does this satisfy?
Who cares. A month ago I would not have been able to type on the computer, as I'm doing now; Felicia would have been all over the keyboard, swatting at the screen, hurling herself compulsively around the room knocking over lamps and pencil cups. But today, the cat is a busy little bee. I can hear her in the kitchen attacking the pingpong ball. Because you cannot plunk your cat in front of the TV like you can a 2 year old, this totally works for me. | 2 | positive | [
"I've never had a cat before.",
"So I wasn't prepared when Felicia tripled in size at 3 months and started leaping squirrel-like from dresser to desk to the lamp next to the bed.",
"Next, she'd be bouncing off the walls.",
"I knew I just had to get her something for entertainment.",
"Since I can't bear the thought of making the wrong purchase decision, I researched everything.",
"This toy got some top ratings on Amazon, so it got my order.",
"What a terrific little contraption it's turning out to be.",
"From another room, I can hear the sound of the little ping-pong size ball rolling around the disc as Felicia swats it with her paw.",
"It comes with a little pouch of catnip flakes, but I haven't used them; the cat is having such a blast without it.",
"Why is this fun?",
"Why does Felicia sit there batting it around and trying to catch it for 5 or 10 minutes at a time?",
"What craving does this satisfy?",
"Who cares.",
"A month ago I would not have been able to type on the computer, as I'm doing now; Felicia would have been all over the keyboard, swatting at the screen, hurling herself compulsively around the room knocking over lamps and pencil cups.",
"But today, the cat is a busy little bee.",
"I can hear her in the kitchen attacking the pingpong ball.",
"Because you cannot plunk your cat in front of the TV like you can a 2 year old, this totally works for me."
] |
I thought this game was truly satisfying. The gameplay was fun, although the magic spells could have been a tad more complicated. The graphics were great for this kind of game, and the music was a bit cutsey at first, but overall fits in with the games theme. The story is very refreshing and you end up caring about the characters. Besides the magic, the only other thing I had a small problem with was the gummi ships. That whole section could have looked so much better, but it being like a little mimi-game, it's fine for now. Hopefully in two, they'll make it more detailed. :)
I DONT like the fact that they are making two versions of each game... I think it takes away from the charm of the originals! I don't even want to look! at the other version just because I'm happy with what I've experienced in the original and I don't want that to be tainted with an added story plot. I guess even squarenix sells out every once in a while... :P
*stares at the spears sisters*
Anyhoo, I think anyone playing this game would enjoy it very much. If your looking for blood and gore, chill out and play something else. If you just want to have some fun with a cool game, then go ahead and buy this. It won't let you down. | 2 | positive | [
"I thought this game was truly satisfying.",
"The gameplay was fun, although the magic spells could have been a tad more complicated.",
"The graphics were great for this kind of game, and the music was a bit cutsey at first, but overall fits in with the games theme.",
"The story is very refreshing and you end up caring about the characters.",
"Besides the magic, the only other thing I had a small problem with was the gummi ships.",
"That whole section could have looked so much better, but it being like a little mimi-game, it's fine for now.",
"Hopefully in two, they'll make it more detailed.",
":)\n\nI DONT like the fact that they are making two versions of each game...",
"I think it takes away from the charm of the originals!",
"I don't even want to look!",
"at the other version just because I'm happy with what I've experienced in the original and I don't want that to be tainted with an added story plot.",
"I guess even squarenix sells out every once in a while...",
":P\n\n*stares at the spears sisters*\n\nAnyhoo, I think anyone playing this game would enjoy it very much.",
"If your looking for blood and gore, chill out and play something else.",
"If you just want to have some fun with a cool game, then go ahead and buy this.",
"It won't let you down."
] |
I ordered the white Sparkles Hardcase for my wife's iPhone 4 (AT&T) and it snaps on very easily and protects the sides, and back of the phone pretty well. Initially some of the sparkles would come off in your hand, but that is to be expected. After a couple of days of use, I haven't noticed any on her, or on my hands when I handle the phone.
I have the Sony iPod Alarm Clock/Dock deal, and it charges in that without having to remove the case.
The only problem I notice on a lot of iPhone cases is that there is usually not enough room left around the earphone jack for a standard RCA Y adapter (3.5mm to RCA). Usually the neck on the 3.5mm (earphone side) is too large. You will need to get one where the 3.5mm neck is the size of the earphone plug, or purchase a standard RCA to 3.5mm adapter and a 3.5mm pigtail to plug it into.
If you are looking to add a little "bling" to your phone, these cases will surely do it, and you really can't beat the price. | 2 | positive | [
"I ordered the white Sparkles Hardcase for my wife's iPhone 4 (AT&T) and it snaps on very easily and protects the sides, and back of the phone pretty well.",
"Initially some of the sparkles would come off in your hand, but that is to be expected.",
"After a couple of days of use, I haven't noticed any on her, or on my hands when I handle the phone.",
"I have the Sony iPod Alarm Clock/Dock deal, and it charges in that without having to remove the case.",
"The only problem I notice on a lot of iPhone cases is that there is usually not enough room left around the earphone jack for a standard RCA Y adapter (3.",
"5mm to RCA).",
"Usually the neck on the 3.",
"5mm (earphone side) is too large.",
"You will need to get one where the 3.",
"5mm neck is the size of the earphone plug, or purchase a standard RCA to 3.",
"5mm adapter and a 3.",
"5mm pigtail to plug it into.",
"If you are looking to add a little \"bling\" to your phone, these cases will surely do it, and you really can't beat the price."
] |
I am an avid hunter, fisherman, camper and outdoorsman in general. To me, one of the hardest knives to find is a good fixed blade knife to take catfishing. After going fishing several times with my Sog Seal Pup, I now know that my search is over. This knife is razor sharp right out of the packaging, has a solid grey coating and excellent serrations. I am not normally a serrations guy, but I found them to be very useful when cutting scaly and boney baitfish. This knife cut through the bream, perch and herring like it was warm butter. It also took a chunk out of my finger with the serrations, so be careful. This is the perfect size fixed blade knife to take fishing as it is not too big or heavy, but robust enough to do some medium to heavy duty chores. I wouldn't choose this knife as a fillet knife by any means, but in a pinch, it is sharp enough to serve as one.
I like the nylon sheath with pouch on the front exterior as this gives me an extra compartment to put my swiss champ knife or multitool which is just perfect for fishing. However, the one drawback is that after cutting a bunch of baitfish for catfish bait and placing the knife back into the nylon sheath, the sheath itself will stink if you don't clean it. It is very difficult to get scales and blood out of this nylon sheat, so from that standpoint, a kydex or plastic sheath would be better, but you can't beat that extra compartment for the multitool which is essential for fishing tasks.
I liked this knife so much that I bought another one of these babies as they are cheaper than the Seal Pup Elite and just as good in my opinion. You simply cannot go wrong with this knife for camping chores, fishing or as a hunting knife. This knife would also serve as a fine survival knife although limited in its ability to chop wood. I think that it would be sufficient for any bushcraft tasks, but I use it as my fishing knife. I used to use my stainless steel mora which was good too, but I like this one better because it's more robust, durable and versatile. The Sog Seal Pup is a VERY SOLID knife that can perform a wide range of tasks, and it is a very reliable all-around blade. Highly recommended from the Skill-Master as "THE BEST" fishing companion for the money. | 2 | positive | [
"I am an avid hunter, fisherman, camper and outdoorsman in general.",
"To me, one of the hardest knives to find is a good fixed blade knife to take catfishing.",
"After going fishing several times with my Sog Seal Pup, I now know that my search is over.",
"This knife is razor sharp right out of the packaging, has a solid grey coating and excellent serrations.",
"I am not normally a serrations guy, but I found them to be very useful when cutting scaly and boney baitfish.",
"This knife cut through the bream, perch and herring like it was warm butter.",
"It also took a chunk out of my finger with the serrations, so be careful.",
"This is the perfect size fixed blade knife to take fishing as it is not too big or heavy, but robust enough to do some medium to heavy duty chores.",
"I wouldn't choose this knife as a fillet knife by any means, but in a pinch, it is sharp enough to serve as one.",
"I like the nylon sheath with pouch on the front exterior as this gives me an extra compartment to put my swiss champ knife or multitool which is just perfect for fishing.",
"However, the one drawback is that after cutting a bunch of baitfish for catfish bait and placing the knife back into the nylon sheath, the sheath itself will stink if you don't clean it.",
"It is very difficult to get scales and blood out of this nylon sheat, so from that standpoint, a kydex or plastic sheath would be better, but you can't beat that extra compartment for the multitool which is essential for fishing tasks.",
"I liked this knife so much that I bought another one of these babies as they are cheaper than the Seal Pup Elite and just as good in my opinion.",
"You simply cannot go wrong with this knife for camping chores, fishing or as a hunting knife.",
"This knife would also serve as a fine survival knife although limited in its ability to chop wood.",
"I think that it would be sufficient for any bushcraft tasks, but I use it as my fishing knife.",
"I used to use my stainless steel mora which was good too, but I like this one better because it's more robust, durable and versatile.",
"The Sog Seal Pup is a VERY SOLID knife that can perform a wide range of tasks, and it is a very reliable all-around blade.",
"Highly recommended from the Skill-Master as \"THE BEST\" fishing companion for the money."
] |
In a previous review, I had stated that there was a problem with the bass, and that my old SOUNDSTICKS were, infact, better. I gave the product 3 stars under the heading, "NOT FOR MUSIC!!!" The bass seemed very thumpy and well, noteless, like there weren't notes in the bass lines, just thumps.
Boy was I wrong -
It appears that the sub or speakers require some time to WARM UP/ BURN IN. Becuase 30 minutes after I had written that review, I came back into my room to hear BEAUTIFUL, FULL, and RICH music coming from these speakers. I couldn't beleive my ears. I was about ready to pack them back in the box and take them back. Now, however, it seems as if i can almost hear the speakers getting better with every note that is pumped out of them. They fill my room with sound beautifully and i wouldn't trade them for anything. Even at low volumes they sound great.
**I have tried the LOGITECH Z-2300s and returned them. MUSICALLY, They DO NOT COMPARE to these, except for mere power and spaciousness. I consider myself somewhat of an audiphile, and trust me, for MUSIC, these are the ones.
Just make sure you purchase some sort of protection plan or extended warranty as these seem to have a reputation for crapping out a little early (see 1 star ratings). | 2 | positive | [
"In a previous review, I had stated that there was a problem with the bass, and that my old SOUNDSTICKS were, infact, better.",
"I gave the product 3 stars under the heading, \"NOT FOR MUSIC!!!",
"\" The bass seemed very thumpy and well, noteless, like there weren't notes in the bass lines, just thumps.",
"Boy was I wrong -\n\nIt appears that the sub or speakers require some time to WARM UP/ BURN IN.",
"Becuase 30 minutes after I had written that review, I came back into my room to hear BEAUTIFUL, FULL, and RICH music coming from these speakers.",
"I couldn't beleive my ears.",
"I was about ready to pack them back in the box and take them back.",
"Now, however, it seems as if i can almost hear the speakers getting better with every note that is pumped out of them.",
"They fill my room with sound beautifully and i wouldn't trade them for anything.",
"Even at low volumes they sound great.",
"**I have tried the LOGITECH Z-2300s and returned them.",
"MUSICALLY, They DO NOT COMPARE to these, except for mere power and spaciousness.",
"I consider myself somewhat of an audiphile, and trust me, for MUSIC, these are the ones.",
"Just make sure you purchase some sort of protection plan or extended warranty as these seem to have a reputation for crapping out a little early (see 1 star ratings)."
] |
To many fans Rush's 1984 album GRACE UNDER PRESSURE may have come at a bad time. Their 1981 breakthrough MOVING PICTURES is widely regarded as their finest album, and the following album SIGNALS annoyed many because of its poor production after such an excellent release. Some came to see GRACE UNDER PRESSURE as a continuing slide downhill simply because it didn't give them more of MOVING PICTURES. I believe that anyone who appreciates stylistic evolution, however, could see this as one of their finest albums.
The first half of this album is incredibly cohensive. It opens with the stunning "Distant Early Warning". A reference to quick notification that a nuclear missile has been launched, the album communicates drummer and lyricist Neal Peart's pessism at the state of the world in the early 1980's, with increasing pollution and continuing standoff between the US and communism. From this first song it's obvious that the musicianship of the trio has gotten better and better, Peart's timing is incredible and Alex Lifeson was considered guitarist of the year for his screaming solos. One notices more use of synthesizers by bassist Geddy Lee, but they congrue with the rest of the band well and are overused like on the following two Rush albums. The second track, "Afterimage", is an elegy to a friend of the band who had passed away. It ends with a tight instrumental jam of the sort rarely heard after the band moved to a more radio-friendly song length. "Red Sector A" continues the superbness of the album. A reflection on Man's darker moments, among other the Holocaust, the song stands out because of Peart's exclusive use of the digital kit. In fact, on several following songs he uses this to some extent and it lends considerable freshness to the band's songwriting. The fourth track is "The Enemy Within", which is the album's most energetic and driven song.
The second half of the album doesn't stand out as much as the astounding first half. While "Kid Gloves" is often considered Alex Lifeson's finest moment, it isn't a very memorable song. "Red Lenses" is also instantly forgettable. The final track, "Between the Wheels" is pleasant, but it contains too much of the excess of production that was to plague 1985's POWER WINDOWS.
While MOVING PICTURES or this year's VAPOR TRAILS would probably be the best choice for someone who has never heard Rush before, I'd certainly recommend GRACE UNDER PRESSURE as one of the first albums a new Rush fan should pick up. The excellent balance of instruments, clean and clear production, and songwriting relevant to the period but also timeless make this a great album. | 2 | positive | [
"To many fans Rush's 1984 album GRACE UNDER PRESSURE may have come at a bad time.",
"Their 1981 breakthrough MOVING PICTURES is widely regarded as their finest album, and the following album SIGNALS annoyed many because of its poor production after such an excellent release.",
"Some came to see GRACE UNDER PRESSURE as a continuing slide downhill simply because it didn't give them more of MOVING PICTURES.",
"I believe that anyone who appreciates stylistic evolution, however, could see this as one of their finest albums.",
"The first half of this album is incredibly cohensive.",
"It opens with the stunning \"Distant Early Warning\".",
"A reference to quick notification that a nuclear missile has been launched, the album communicates drummer and lyricist Neal Peart's pessism at the state of the world in the early 1980's, with increasing pollution and continuing standoff between the US and communism.",
"From this first song it's obvious that the musicianship of the trio has gotten better and better, Peart's timing is incredible and Alex Lifeson was considered guitarist of the year for his screaming solos.",
"One notices more use of synthesizers by bassist Geddy Lee, but they congrue with the rest of the band well and are overused like on the following two Rush albums.",
"The second track, \"Afterimage\", is an elegy to a friend of the band who had passed away.",
"It ends with a tight instrumental jam of the sort rarely heard after the band moved to a more radio-friendly song length.",
"\"Red Sector A\" continues the superbness of the album.",
"A reflection on Man's darker moments, among other the Holocaust, the song stands out because of Peart's exclusive use of the digital kit.",
"In fact, on several following songs he uses this to some extent and it lends considerable freshness to the band's songwriting.",
"The fourth track is \"The Enemy Within\", which is the album's most energetic and driven song.",
"The second half of the album doesn't stand out as much as the astounding first half.",
"While \"Kid Gloves\" is often considered Alex Lifeson's finest moment, it isn't a very memorable song.",
"\"Red Lenses\" is also instantly forgettable.",
"The final track, \"Between the Wheels\" is pleasant, but it contains too much of the excess of production that was to plague 1985's POWER WINDOWS.",
"While MOVING PICTURES or this year's VAPOR TRAILS would probably be the best choice for someone who has never heard Rush before, I'd certainly recommend GRACE UNDER PRESSURE as one of the first albums a new Rush fan should pick up.",
"The excellent balance of instruments, clean and clear production, and songwriting relevant to the period but also timeless make this a great album."
] |
Uhh... this thing is HUGE. I'm happy with it, but as another reviewer commented, it has quite a large "footprint" (6"x8"). It also has a regular grinder -- as opposed to the blades I thought it might have, coming from X-Acto. The sizing holes are extremely versatile: it will sharpen everything I have except for carpenter pencils, which require their own thing.
Two displeasing things I've noticed: it grinds down pencils very quickly, so you don't need to hold the pencil in this one as long as you might with another electric sharpener. It also doesn't produce as fine a taper on standard pencils as some other sharpeners I've seen. The taper this makes is closer to a hand-held sharpener -- which I consider a drawback since I enjoy big sharpeners simply *because* their size allows them to produce a long, slim taper. (It does, however, produce a long taper with oversize pencils -- a decided bonus!) | 2 | positive | [
"Uhh...",
"this thing is HUGE.",
"I'm happy with it, but as another reviewer commented, it has quite a large \"footprint\" (6\"x8\").",
"It also has a regular grinder -- as opposed to the blades I thought it might have, coming from X-Acto.",
"The sizing holes are extremely versatile: it will sharpen everything I have except for carpenter pencils, which require their own thing.",
"Two displeasing things I've noticed: it grinds down pencils very quickly, so you don't need to hold the pencil in this one as long as you might with another electric sharpener.",
"It also doesn't produce as fine a taper on standard pencils as some other sharpeners I've seen.",
"The taper this makes is closer to a hand-held sharpener -- which I consider a drawback since I enjoy big sharpeners simply *because* their size allows them to produce a long, slim taper.",
"(It does, however, produce a long taper with oversize pencils -- a decided bonus!",
")"
] |
I got this game recently after having played it in a store display. It's really exciting to me as a gamer because it reduces games to the barest essentials. No instructions save for a single word, your wits and quick reactions. It's all about speed and problem-solving... and it's over in the blink of an eye.
But that doesn't mean you have to be a hardcore button-masher with reflexes that measure in the nanosecond range. My girlfriend, not a big videogame fan beyond Tetris, has become addicted to this game.
It's got simple games that ask you to perform a single task, and the simplicity is the draw. But for those who can figure it out, the games get faster (to a point where it's either physically impossible to complete them in a given time or you've got to have unbelievable reaction and control) and more challenging. And with over 200 games, there's plenty of variety.
Some have said the game is too short. Yes, it doesn't take long to unlock everything, but that's part of the fun. And even when everything's unlocked, you've got the unbelievably challenging "Thrilling" mode which throws level 2 & level 3 versions of the games (every game has three levels of difficulty) at you, and failing even once means game over. This has kept me coming back for more.
Plus you get Dr. Wario, a clone of Dr. Mario and every bit as fun as the original, and several unlockable mini-games. My only complaint is that the game you unlock for getting the high score in all other games is a bit too easy -- but hey, there's still Thrilling.
The game has a totally warped sense of humor, and you'll be scratching your head wondering where most stuff came from (bouncing melons off of people; picking noses; shaking dogs' hands; covering a big gut with a t-shirt, etc), but it's great fun.
And the best part? You can pick it up and quit with ease, assuming you're not addicted. If you just want a quick fix to relax your mind, it's perfect. But just be careful... one game will turn into two... which turns into three, and so on.
I love it. Worth every penny. | 2 | positive | [
"I got this game recently after having played it in a store display.",
"It's really exciting to me as a gamer because it reduces games to the barest essentials.",
"No instructions save for a single word, your wits and quick reactions.",
"It's all about speed and problem-solving...",
"and it's over in the blink of an eye.",
"But that doesn't mean you have to be a hardcore button-masher with reflexes that measure in the nanosecond range.",
"My girlfriend, not a big videogame fan beyond Tetris, has become addicted to this game.",
"It's got simple games that ask you to perform a single task, and the simplicity is the draw.",
"But for those who can figure it out, the games get faster (to a point where it's either physically impossible to complete them in a given time or you've got to have unbelievable reaction and control) and more challenging.",
"And with over 200 games, there's plenty of variety.",
"Some have said the game is too short.",
"Yes, it doesn't take long to unlock everything, but that's part of the fun.",
"And even when everything's unlocked, you've got the unbelievably challenging \"Thrilling\" mode which throws level 2 & level 3 versions of the games (every game has three levels of difficulty) at you, and failing even once means game over.",
"This has kept me coming back for more.",
"Plus you get Dr.",
"Wario, a clone of Dr.",
"Mario and every bit as fun as the original, and several unlockable mini-games.",
"My only complaint is that the game you unlock for getting the high score in all other games is a bit too easy -- but hey, there's still Thrilling.",
"The game has a totally warped sense of humor, and you'll be scratching your head wondering where most stuff came from (bouncing melons off of people; picking noses; shaking dogs' hands; covering a big gut with a t-shirt, etc), but it's great fun.",
"And the best part?",
"You can pick it up and quit with ease, assuming you're not addicted.",
"If you just want a quick fix to relax your mind, it's perfect.",
"But just be careful...",
"one game will turn into two...",
"which turns into three, and so on.",
"I love it.",
"Worth every penny."
] |
Of course I fell in LOVE with "House At Pooh Corner" and "Mr. Bojangles" on the radio..so it was only fitting that I buy the LP. While I love pop, and rock. This crossover LP is pure GENIUS! My folks even loved this LP when I bought it! Shocked them as well as me!
Shortly after, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band came to our town on tour to promote the LP. It was my FIRST concert that I attended without a parent in tow and the first one with a date. My high school sweetheart from my freshman year. It was the first time I'd ever seen pot smoked in public, and still one of the best shows I've ever seen!! I now have almost their entire catalogue, have seen them in concert 4 or 5 times and will go every chance I get!
This LP is incredible and still my most favorite of their entire catalogue. I was so GLAD when they released it on CD. Engineered and produced almost as perfectly as the original vinyl. I doubt that ANYONE will EVER be able to match LIBERTY RECORDS original release. Liberty Records were ALWAYS well produced and engineered works of true art at the time.
This line up of songs "Some of Shelly's Blues, Mr. Bojangles, House At Pooh Corner, Propinquity (A Michael Nesmith of the Monkees composition), among others could have all easily been singles and done very well. In fact, I'm surprised some of them weren't. I love the 'visits' with Uncle Charlie and the other touches that make this more of an intimate experience with listener and the band. Still one of my favorite LP's of this genre of this period!
Genius at work! | 2 | positive | [
"Of course I fell in LOVE with \"House At Pooh Corner\" and \"Mr.",
"Bojangles\" on the radio..",
"so it was only fitting that I buy the LP.",
"While I love pop, and rock.",
"This crossover LP is pure GENIUS!",
"My folks even loved this LP when I bought it!",
"Shocked them as well as me!",
"Shortly after, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band came to our town on tour to promote the LP.",
"It was my FIRST concert that I attended without a parent in tow and the first one with a date.",
"My high school sweetheart from my freshman year.",
"It was the first time I'd ever seen pot smoked in public, and still one of the best shows I've ever seen!!",
"I now have almost their entire catalogue, have seen them in concert 4 or 5 times and will go every chance I get!",
"This LP is incredible and still my most favorite of their entire catalogue.",
"I was so GLAD when they released it on CD.",
"Engineered and produced almost as perfectly as the original vinyl.",
"I doubt that ANYONE will EVER be able to match LIBERTY RECORDS original release.",
"Liberty Records were ALWAYS well produced and engineered works of true art at the time.",
"This line up of songs \"Some of Shelly's Blues, Mr.",
"Bojangles, House At Pooh Corner, Propinquity (A Michael Nesmith of the Monkees composition), among others could have all easily been singles and done very well.",
"In fact, I'm surprised some of them weren't.",
"I love the 'visits' with Uncle Charlie and the other touches that make this more of an intimate experience with listener and the band.",
"Still one of my favorite LP's of this genre of this period!",
"Genius at work!"
] |
Toto's 1984 album "Isolation" shows the band breaking new ground with some amazing results. While the album wasn't anywhere near as successful as the award winning "Toto IV", "Isolation" still has some great music on it and is still a favorite amongst Toto fans.
"Isolation" marks the first of many personnel changes in the band. While bassist Mike Porcaro had joined Toto following the release of "IV", "Isolation" is his first recorded effort with the band (not counting the "Dune" soundtrack). Another major change is the fact that the band had recruited a new lead singer to replace Bobby Kimball, the dynamic Dennis "Fergie" Frederiksen. While not as soulful as Kimball, Fergie Frederiksen displayed a heavier rock voice that undoubtedley led to the band adopting a more harder approach on this album.
Fergie's soaring vocal talents are displayed in full on the title track, the driving "Angel Don't Cry", "Endless" and the party-rock of "Change of Heart". On "Lion", we get to hear Fergie show off a more R&B style to his voice while "Mr. Friendly" is pure New Wave.
In the midst of these new approaches, there are some trademark Toto moments as heard in the synth-heavy hit "Stranger In Town" and the fun pop of "Holyanna" (both sung by keyboardist David Paich) while "How Does It Feel" ranks among guitarist Steve Lukather's greatest ballads.
As mentioned above, "Isolation" was nowhere near as successful as the band's previous effort but is still an excellent album overall. There is some great songwriting, great music and great musicianship.
"Isolation" wound up also being Fergie Frederiksen's only album with Toto. When Toto released their follow-up "Farenheit" two years later, he would be replaced by Joseph Williams (son of composer John Williams). Despite this being his only effort with the band, Fergie definitely shined at his best on this album along with the rest of the band.
In the end, this is an album that definitely should've been a bigger hit than it was and in this reviewer's opinion, it's a classic. | 2 | positive | [
"Toto's 1984 album \"Isolation\" shows the band breaking new ground with some amazing results.",
"While the album wasn't anywhere near as successful as the award winning \"Toto IV\", \"Isolation\" still has some great music on it and is still a favorite amongst Toto fans.",
"\"Isolation\" marks the first of many personnel changes in the band.",
"While bassist Mike Porcaro had joined Toto following the release of \"IV\", \"Isolation\" is his first recorded effort with the band (not counting the \"Dune\" soundtrack).",
"Another major change is the fact that the band had recruited a new lead singer to replace Bobby Kimball, the dynamic Dennis \"Fergie\" Frederiksen.",
"While not as soulful as Kimball, Fergie Frederiksen displayed a heavier rock voice that undoubtedley led to the band adopting a more harder approach on this album.",
"Fergie's soaring vocal talents are displayed in full on the title track, the driving \"Angel Don't Cry\", \"Endless\" and the party-rock of \"Change of Heart\".",
"On \"Lion\", we get to hear Fergie show off a more R&B style to his voice while \"Mr.",
"Friendly\" is pure New Wave.",
"In the midst of these new approaches, there are some trademark Toto moments as heard in the synth-heavy hit \"Stranger In Town\" and the fun pop of \"Holyanna\" (both sung by keyboardist David Paich) while \"How Does It Feel\" ranks among guitarist Steve Lukather's greatest ballads.",
"As mentioned above, \"Isolation\" was nowhere near as successful as the band's previous effort but is still an excellent album overall.",
"There is some great songwriting, great music and great musicianship.",
"\"Isolation\" wound up also being Fergie Frederiksen's only album with Toto.",
"When Toto released their follow-up \"Farenheit\" two years later, he would be replaced by Joseph Williams (son of composer John Williams).",
"Despite this being his only effort with the band, Fergie definitely shined at his best on this album along with the rest of the band.",
"In the end, this is an album that definitely should've been a bigger hit than it was and in this reviewer's opinion, it's a classic."
] |
By the time Streisand Superman was released on June 14, 1977, Streisand was arguably the most powerful woman in show business. Six months prior, she had released A Star Is Born, which was her greatest box office film success to date. The accompanying soundtrack was Number 1 for six weeks, (the longest running Number 1 album of her career) which included her co-penned opus "Evergreen," which also earned her an Academy Award for Best Song after spending three weeks at the pole position on the Billboard Hot 100.
By 1977, Streisand was still delivering an album a year, but the fact that she delivered Superman just six months following A Star Is Born was extremely unusual, especially since the soundtrack was still riding high on the charts. The pop success of Streisand was now in full gear, and the songs on Superman were further proof that Barbra, a singer who barely scratched the pop singles chart a decade earlier, was now encroaching into new territory, and radio was finally embracing her. The press dubbed the six-month releases of A Star Is Born and Superman as "Streisand's one-two punch!"
There weren't many female singers (if any) that could release an album that carried a title such as "Superman" - and yet it seemed appropriate. Streisand was known for her chutzpah, and her pose on the album cover wearing a skimpy pair of white short-shorts with a tight white t-shirt emblazoned with the Superman logo seemed absolutely fitting. The title and the photo suggested that the queen of entertainment also had balls. And as successful as her career had been prior to '77, she seemed to have reached an even higher peak. It was fascinating to her fans and infuriating to her detractors.
Now that I've exhausted the packaging and multiple interior Steve Schapiro photos of the empowered Streisand, let's get to the music.
Streisand had finally delivered an entire pop album that was consistent and one that absolutely suited her. The songs ranged from pop ballads such as the hit single, "My Heart Belongs To Me" which reached Number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, to gorgeous sonatas including "Love Comes From the Most Unexpected Places," which was co-written by the prolific Kim Carnes, to rock and roll.
From the opening title track, Streisand's vocals soared so effortlessly above the clouds, that when she sang the lyric "I'm Superman" with such conviction, you believed she WAS Superman!
The entire album is so much fun; it's like cotton candy at a summer carnival. The only exception would be "Don't Believe What You Read." Even though the track was co-written by Streisand and the lyrics were terrific, elucidating the details of her life in the tabloids, the steely rock guitar chords absolutely lacked a hook while repeating a monotonous rhythm. On the other hand, one other song that was co-written by the songbird was the gorgeous ballad "Answer Me," which was originally written for A Star Is Born. Although, it didn't make the final cut to the film and soundtrack, it luckily ended up on this album.
Upbeat rhythms such as "I Found You Love" and "Cabin Fever" captured Streisand's playful side, and since she succeeded so well in this genre on "A Star Is Born" (despite what many critics said) it was a given that she continued to show off her versatility as a first rate vocalist that could capture just about every style of music.
Speaking of versatility, she even sang a brilliant cover of the Roger ("King of the Road") Miller country-tinged ditty, "Baby Me Baby." Two very bright highlights were the albums final two tracks, Billy Joel's luminous "New York State of Mind" and Rupert Holmes' divine ode to independence "Lullaby For Myself." Billy Joel was said to be "over the moon" with Streisand's dazzling rendition of "New York State of Mind" that he later commented, "My mother now knew I had made it because Barbra Streisand had recorded one of my songs." Barbra Streisand had made it alright. She had conquered just about every medium of entertainment; it was just a matter of time that she dominated the world of pop music. If I had to choose one word to describe Streisand Superman, it would be "confident." This is truly one of the best pop albums of Streisand's discography. | 2 | positive | [
"By the time Streisand Superman was released on June 14, 1977, Streisand was arguably the most powerful woman in show business.",
"Six months prior, she had released A Star Is Born, which was her greatest box office film success to date.",
"The accompanying soundtrack was Number 1 for six weeks, (the longest running Number 1 album of her career) which included her co-penned opus \"Evergreen,\" which also earned her an Academy Award for Best Song after spending three weeks at the pole position on the Billboard Hot 100.",
"By 1977, Streisand was still delivering an album a year, but the fact that she delivered Superman just six months following A Star Is Born was extremely unusual, especially since the soundtrack was still riding high on the charts.",
"The pop success of Streisand was now in full gear, and the songs on Superman were further proof that Barbra, a singer who barely scratched the pop singles chart a decade earlier, was now encroaching into new territory, and radio was finally embracing her.",
"The press dubbed the six-month releases of A Star Is Born and Superman as \"Streisand's one-two punch!",
"\"\n\nThere weren't many female singers (if any) that could release an album that carried a title such as \"Superman\" - and yet it seemed appropriate.",
"Streisand was known for her chutzpah, and her pose on the album cover wearing a skimpy pair of white short-shorts with a tight white t-shirt emblazoned with the Superman logo seemed absolutely fitting.",
"The title and the photo suggested that the queen of entertainment also had balls.",
"And as successful as her career had been prior to '77, she seemed to have reached an even higher peak.",
"It was fascinating to her fans and infuriating to her detractors.",
"Now that I've exhausted the packaging and multiple interior Steve Schapiro photos of the empowered Streisand, let's get to the music.",
"Streisand had finally delivered an entire pop album that was consistent and one that absolutely suited her.",
"The songs ranged from pop ballads such as the hit single, \"My Heart Belongs To Me\" which reached Number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, to gorgeous sonatas including \"Love Comes From the Most Unexpected Places,\" which was co-written by the prolific Kim Carnes, to rock and roll.",
"From the opening title track, Streisand's vocals soared so effortlessly above the clouds, that when she sang the lyric \"I'm Superman\" with such conviction, you believed she WAS Superman!",
"The entire album is so much fun; it's like cotton candy at a summer carnival.",
"The only exception would be \"Don't Believe What You Read.",
"\" Even though the track was co-written by Streisand and the lyrics were terrific, elucidating the details of her life in the tabloids, the steely rock guitar chords absolutely lacked a hook while repeating a monotonous rhythm.",
"On the other hand, one other song that was co-written by the songbird was the gorgeous ballad \"Answer Me,\" which was originally written for A Star Is Born.",
"Although, it didn't make the final cut to the film and soundtrack, it luckily ended up on this album.",
"Upbeat rhythms such as \"I Found You Love\" and \"Cabin Fever\" captured Streisand's playful side, and since she succeeded so well in this genre on \"A Star Is Born\" (despite what many critics said) it was a given that she continued to show off her versatility as a first rate vocalist that could capture just about every style of music.",
"Speaking of versatility, she even sang a brilliant cover of the Roger (\"King of the Road\") Miller country-tinged ditty, \"Baby Me Baby.",
"\" Two very bright highlights were the albums final two tracks, Billy Joel's luminous \"New York State of Mind\" and Rupert Holmes' divine ode to independence \"Lullaby For Myself.",
"\" Billy Joel was said to be \"over the moon\" with Streisand's dazzling rendition of \"New York State of Mind\" that he later commented, \"My mother now knew I had made it because Barbra Streisand had recorded one of my songs.",
"\" Barbra Streisand had made it alright.",
"She had conquered just about every medium of entertainment; it was just a matter of time that she dominated the world of pop music.",
"If I had to choose one word to describe Streisand Superman, it would be \"confident.",
"\" This is truly one of the best pop albums of Streisand's discography."
] |
I am using this climbing stick for a Golden Pothos. It has only been a few days but the roots have already started to attach. I am using a rubber band for the moment to keep the plant in firm contact with the pole. The roots have started to attach but it is too soon to expect them to support the plant on their own. This is a very effective way to add some vertical support for your pothos. I do not like my pothos to spill down to the floor. To me, it looks better when the plant is climbing vertically. This pole will make it easy to do that without having to nail a trellis to your living room wall! All you need do is insert the metal supports down into the soil and it is strong enough to hold itself up. That said, because the steel supports will need to dig deep into the soil, you need a deep plant pot. Do not attempt to use this on a shallow plant pot. Use a tall, deep pot that holds a large amount of soil in order to hold the metal supports firmly. Use common sense. Moisten the material but do not keep it soggy. You will need some way to hold your pothos to the pole until the roots can firmly attach themselves. Zip ties are too hard, in my opinion. They can damage the plant. I use rubber bands. The rubber will eventually deteriorate and break off. You can also use cotton threads, which will eventually rot away. Rubber bands are the easiest. My pole was slightly bent when it arrived. I do not know if it came out of the factory that way or from the shipping. It's not a big deal because the pothos will eventually cover the pole. The product came in a plastic package. The sharp ends of the metal supports were wrapped in cardboard. Please, be careful when handling the metal supports. The two metal rods do not look sharp but they can easily do damage to your eyes. You do not want to fall on your potted plant because the metal supports are sharp on both ends. Be careful with your pets. Do not stab yourself with the metal supports. I would have preferred thick plastic supports to thin metal rods for better safety. This product is excellent, but beware the two metal support rods. It would have easily gotten a five star rating if the rods had been made of plastic or some type of material that cannot poke you or your animals. I highly recommend this product. It is one of the best products of its kind on Amazon. | 2 | positive | [
"I am using this climbing stick for a Golden Pothos.",
"It has only been a few days but the roots have already started to attach.",
"I am using a rubber band for the moment to keep the plant in firm contact with the pole.",
"The roots have started to attach but it is too soon to expect them to support the plant on their own.",
"This is a very effective way to add some vertical support for your pothos.",
"I do not like my pothos to spill down to the floor.",
"To me, it looks better when the plant is climbing vertically.",
"This pole will make it easy to do that without having to nail a trellis to your living room wall!",
"All you need do is insert the metal supports down into the soil and it is strong enough to hold itself up.",
"That said, because the steel supports will need to dig deep into the soil, you need a deep plant pot.",
"Do not attempt to use this on a shallow plant pot.",
"Use a tall, deep pot that holds a large amount of soil in order to hold the metal supports firmly.",
"Use common sense.",
"Moisten the material but do not keep it soggy.",
"You will need some way to hold your pothos to the pole until the roots can firmly attach themselves.",
"Zip ties are too hard, in my opinion.",
"They can damage the plant.",
"I use rubber bands.",
"The rubber will eventually deteriorate and break off.",
"You can also use cotton threads, which will eventually rot away.",
"Rubber bands are the easiest.",
"My pole was slightly bent when it arrived.",
"I do not know if it came out of the factory that way or from the shipping.",
"It's not a big deal because the pothos will eventually cover the pole.",
"The product came in a plastic package.",
"The sharp ends of the metal supports were wrapped in cardboard.",
"Please, be careful when handling the metal supports.",
"The two metal rods do not look sharp but they can easily do damage to your eyes.",
"You do not want to fall on your potted plant because the metal supports are sharp on both ends.",
"Be careful with your pets.",
"Do not stab yourself with the metal supports.",
"I would have preferred thick plastic supports to thin metal rods for better safety.",
"This product is excellent, but beware the two metal support rods.",
"It would have easily gotten a five star rating if the rods had been made of plastic or some type of material that cannot poke you or your animals.",
"I highly recommend this product.",
"It is one of the best products of its kind on Amazon."
] |
Great product for my weak-kneed mutt. We're on our second bottle, and will continue using this oil. Here's what I like about it:
1. Pump works great- a partial or full pump gets the amount I need, and it's easy to aim at pills in with the kibble.
2. It sits in the cupboard with no smell and no problems with rancidity.
3. Doggy breath is bearable- this fish oil smells like fresh fish instead of something that died on the shore- huge plus.
4. Economy sized; we use a lot and have a large volume working pump makes it easy. | 2 | positive | [
"Great product for my weak-kneed mutt.",
"We're on our second bottle, and will continue using this oil.",
"Here's what I like about it:\n\n1.",
"Pump works great- a partial or full pump gets the amount I need, and it's easy to aim at pills in with the kibble.",
"2.",
"It sits in the cupboard with no smell and no problems with rancidity.",
"3.",
"Doggy breath is bearable- this fish oil smells like fresh fish instead of something that died on the shore- huge plus.",
"4.",
"Economy sized; we use a lot and have a large volume working pump makes it easy."
] |
I got this grill on the advice of a friend when we were in grad school. She'd been trying to save money, and bought a similar type grill from a different manufacturer. It didn't vent right at all, and she was right, this one does. Brand matters.
I've lugged it with me through something like 5 moves, and it's still fine. The grill has eventually accumulated rust, but it's nothing you can't scrape off at the beginning of the season, and besides they're always telling us we need more iron in our diets, right?
If I hadn't left it outside for a couple of winters the rust might not have happened. It doesn't look like it's going to wear out in my lifetime, so I guess I'll never have a chance to find out on a new one!
I like using the charcoal made of real wood chunks more than the compressed bricquettes (they don't last as long, but they taste WAY better).
Couple it with the Weber chimney starter, and you have a way of getting rid of junk mail, too! (Just don't burn paper with colored inks, *blech*.)
I fed 12 people on links and venison last Friday night with just one of these babies, started with the chimney (that part took only 30 min, honest to Gawd). Afterwards there were still enough coals left to roast marshmallows on fondue forks. (We didn't have real sticks available, OK? You use what you've got.)
I have a Diversitech grill pad under it to keep the heat and crud off my deck, and it works great.
Enjoy! | 2 | positive | [
"I got this grill on the advice of a friend when we were in grad school.",
"She'd been trying to save money, and bought a similar type grill from a different manufacturer.",
"It didn't vent right at all, and she was right, this one does.",
"Brand matters.",
"I've lugged it with me through something like 5 moves, and it's still fine.",
"The grill has eventually accumulated rust, but it's nothing you can't scrape off at the beginning of the season, and besides they're always telling us we need more iron in our diets, right?",
"If I hadn't left it outside for a couple of winters the rust might not have happened.",
"It doesn't look like it's going to wear out in my lifetime, so I guess I'll never have a chance to find out on a new one!",
"I like using the charcoal made of real wood chunks more than the compressed bricquettes (they don't last as long, but they taste WAY better).",
"Couple it with the Weber chimney starter, and you have a way of getting rid of junk mail, too!",
"(Just don't burn paper with colored inks, *blech*.",
")\n\nI fed 12 people on links and venison last Friday night with just one of these babies, started with the chimney (that part took only 30 min, honest to Gawd).",
"Afterwards there were still enough coals left to roast marshmallows on fondue forks.",
"(We didn't have real sticks available, OK?",
"You use what you've got.",
")\n\nI have a Diversitech grill pad under it to keep the heat and crud off my deck, and it works great.",
"Enjoy!"
] |
Sepultura's first dip into the tribal element of their music is a masterpiece and a half. As soon as the opening track `Refuse/Resist' kicked in I was in love with this album, its a real romper-stomper of a track and also an early version of `Roots Bloody Roots' from the `Roots' album. Its clear this album was a transition point for Sepultura, they still thrash with the best of them but the introduction of tribal drums adds that bit extra flavour. Sepultura were later to plunge more tribal with `Roots' but I felt they dropped the thrash element which is what makes `Chaos AD' so special. The tracks themselves are awesome, no turkeys here. `Territory' continues to rage as hard as the awesome opener and theres plenty of variation to follow. The acoustic `Kaiowas' is certainly a step away from the norm for Sepultura and its pretty good too. Its plain to see this is where Sepultura took a major step away from being `just another thrash metal band' and introduced a bit more experimentation into their style. And Max's vocals are as beautifully aggressive as ever.
If you like the tribal element to this check our the album `Roots', but if its the thrash which appeals more then check out the album before this, `Arise'.
Fast, loud, heavy, thrashy and tribal - this is Sepultura at their peak with all the best elements. | 2 | positive | [
"Sepultura's first dip into the tribal element of their music is a masterpiece and a half.",
"As soon as the opening track `Refuse/Resist' kicked in I was in love with this album, its a real romper-stomper of a track and also an early version of `Roots Bloody Roots' from the `Roots' album.",
"Its clear this album was a transition point for Sepultura, they still thrash with the best of them but the introduction of tribal drums adds that bit extra flavour.",
"Sepultura were later to plunge more tribal with `Roots' but I felt they dropped the thrash element which is what makes `Chaos AD' so special.",
"The tracks themselves are awesome, no turkeys here.",
"`Territory' continues to rage as hard as the awesome opener and theres plenty of variation to follow.",
"The acoustic `Kaiowas' is certainly a step away from the norm for Sepultura and its pretty good too.",
"Its plain to see this is where Sepultura took a major step away from being `just another thrash metal band' and introduced a bit more experimentation into their style.",
"And Max's vocals are as beautifully aggressive as ever.",
"If you like the tribal element to this check our the album `Roots', but if its the thrash which appeals more then check out the album before this, `Arise'.",
"Fast, loud, heavy, thrashy and tribal - this is Sepultura at their peak with all the best elements."
] |
Overall, this was a good introduction to globalization. Although Friedman was somewhat repetitive and wordy, he made some good, insightful points. His uses analogies and anecdotes to liven up what could be an otherwise dull subject, though some are more helpful than others. He does have a pro-globalization bias, and does not provide specific solutions to the disadvantages of globalization that he touches on. Nevertheless, I thought the main points Friedman did make are worth reading, although I thought the book could have been trimmed a bit.
The book centers on a few themes. In summary, the world is growing increasingly interconnected, and this has accelerated after the fall of the Berlin wall. With markets opening, trade barriers falling, and the spread of deregulation and free-market capitalism, we have created an increasingly interconnected global economic web. Companies, countries, and consumers can trade globally, find the best price, and move money anywhere in the world with a phone call or a click of a mouse. Telecommunications, TV, and the internet spread information instantly. The symbol Friedman uses of all this prosperity is the Lexus. The "olive tree," in contrast, represents the human cultural needs must not be trampled in the process of globalization, that is, the anchors of cultural and community identity that can easily be forgotten while "modernizing."
Although this global economic system promises rapid increases in the standard of living, it also forces both countries and companies to compete for capital. Democracies may vote every few years, but the global capital markets vote with every transaction, every hour of every day. To attract foreign investors, governments must avoid war, maintain low inflation, balance their budgets, provide political stability, enforce strict banking & commercial laws, conform to international accounting standards, and have courts and officials free from corruption. Governments who deviate from these principles will see investors stampede away, interest rates rise, stock markets and currencies fall, and their dreams of prosperity fade.
Besides capital flights, there are additional disadvantages. Capitalism results in unequal distributions of wealth, and creates much job churn and is thus socially disruptive. Some find it unfair, intense, dehumanizing, or just too hard. To make globalization sustainable, Friedman emphasizes that countries must a provide social-safety net for people who can't keep up with the faster, more competitive economy, or who are temporarily displaced during the resulting economic churn. Additionally, one must take care to balance the Lexus vs. Olive tree, so that cultural diversity isn't wiped out in the process. | 2 | positive | [
"Overall, this was a good introduction to globalization.",
"Although Friedman was somewhat repetitive and wordy, he made some good, insightful points.",
"His uses analogies and anecdotes to liven up what could be an otherwise dull subject, though some are more helpful than others.",
"He does have a pro-globalization bias, and does not provide specific solutions to the disadvantages of globalization that he touches on.",
"Nevertheless, I thought the main points Friedman did make are worth reading, although I thought the book could have been trimmed a bit.",
"The book centers on a few themes.",
"In summary, the world is growing increasingly interconnected, and this has accelerated after the fall of the Berlin wall.",
"With markets opening, trade barriers falling, and the spread of deregulation and free-market capitalism, we have created an increasingly interconnected global economic web.",
"Companies, countries, and consumers can trade globally, find the best price, and move money anywhere in the world with a phone call or a click of a mouse.",
"Telecommunications, TV, and the internet spread information instantly.",
"The symbol Friedman uses of all this prosperity is the Lexus.",
"The \"olive tree,\" in contrast, represents the human cultural needs must not be trampled in the process of globalization, that is, the anchors of cultural and community identity that can easily be forgotten while \"modernizing.",
"\"\n\nAlthough this global economic system promises rapid increases in the standard of living, it also forces both countries and companies to compete for capital.",
"Democracies may vote every few years, but the global capital markets vote with every transaction, every hour of every day.",
"To attract foreign investors, governments must avoid war, maintain low inflation, balance their budgets, provide political stability, enforce strict banking & commercial laws, conform to international accounting standards, and have courts and officials free from corruption.",
"Governments who deviate from these principles will see investors stampede away, interest rates rise, stock markets and currencies fall, and their dreams of prosperity fade.",
"Besides capital flights, there are additional disadvantages.",
"Capitalism results in unequal distributions of wealth, and creates much job churn and is thus socially disruptive.",
"Some find it unfair, intense, dehumanizing, or just too hard.",
"To make globalization sustainable, Friedman emphasizes that countries must a provide social-safety net for people who can't keep up with the faster, more competitive economy, or who are temporarily displaced during the resulting economic churn.",
"Additionally, one must take care to balance the Lexus vs.",
"Olive tree, so that cultural diversity isn't wiped out in the process."
] |
I had forgotten what a gem "Cinderella" was until I watched it on the new Blu-ray disc that was just released. The restoration makes it look as if you can see the original art of the characters and the background...it's that clean! The backgrounds themselves are works of art, especially in the scene where Cinderella goes to the backyard garden and meets her fairy godmother. The talent of Mary Blair is evident in the styling, and I have never seen it with such clarity as on the new blu-ray release. The sound is crisp and clear, free of extraneous noise, and the voice of Ilene Woods (Cinderella) has never sounded so lovely. If you are unfamiliar with the story, here's the short version: the death of Cinderella's devoted father leaves her at the mercy of her wicked stepmother, Lady Tremaine. Forced to clean the mansion and dote on Tremaine's bratty daughters, Drizella & Anastasia, Cinderella keeps her spirits up with her positive attitude and the friendships she has developed with the mice that adore her. When the local Prince must find a wife at an upcoming Royal Ball, Cinderella sees an opportunity for happiness. However, the selfish Tremaine Trio has other ideas for her. You'll just have to watch this Disney animated classic to see how it all turns out.
Cinderella was a unique Disney heroine. Unlike Snow White, Cinderella seems more true-to-life. Thanks to the warmth of Ilene Woods' voice, Cinderella has a maturity and depth that Snow White was missing. Sure, Cinderella has a positive attitude, but you also sense her weariness with the situation of servitude that she is forced to endure with the Tremaines. When her stepsisters seemingly ruin all chances of her making it to the Royal Ball, her breakdown is so convincingly voiced and animated that it would be hard not to shed a tear or two and feel genuine sympathy for this model heroine. Just as effective are the vocals of Eleanor Audley, whose chilling restraint for Lady Tremaine makes her one of the best Disney villains.
Extras:
Tangled Ever After animated short: a short little piece of fluff, which shows the wedding of Rapunzel, but focuses on the mishap of how the ring is temporarily lost and must be retrieved for the ceremony. Cute.
Behind The Magic: A New Disney Princess Fantasyland: "Once Upon A Time"'s Ginnifer Goodwin (Snow White) leads a tour of the "new" Fantasyland construction at Walt Disney World. Still in progress, Goodwin walks around the construction site while viewers get to see computer renderings of what will eventually be there.
Diane Disney Miller intro: Very short, this basically amounts to a plug for the Disney Museum in San Francisco.
Bibbidi-Bobbidi-You! Personalized Digital Storybook (A Disney Second Screen experience)
The Magic Of The Glass Slipper: A Cinderella Story: Another fun piece of fluff, it is a short that shows how Christian Louboutin designed a shoe that was his interpretation of the glass slipper. This short is more of a fantasy, and seems to have its visual styling based on Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris" (even using the same typeface, Windsor, for its titles).
The Real Fairy Godmother ? The incredible true story of Mary Alice O'Connor: I loved this featurette! Disney layout artist Ken O'Connor used his wife as the inspiration for the look of Cinderella's Fairy Godmother. This short tells how Mary Alice was such a giving person, volunteering for so many worthwhile charities and being such an uplifting and caring soul to boot. You really get the sense of warmth that this woman left behind.
Alternate Opening Sequence: Storyboard sketches show an alternate opening. The one used in the final film is much better!
DisneyView
Plus classic DVD bonus features, which are pretty extensive! They include deleted musical numbers, a "Making of" (38:27 minutes long) feature (did you know talk host show legend Mike Douglas was the voice of Prince Charming?), and a fantastic short about the talented Mary Blair. This is one of the best (albeit short at 14:58) tributes to Mary Blair, who was greatly admired by Walt Disney. He had a hard time finding a place for her to display her talents until it came time for the "it's a small world" exhibit came to be for the New York World's Fair in 1965. There is also a 1922 Laugh-O-Gram Disney silent film version of "Cinderella" (which really shows how Walt's filmmaking abilities matured over the years!) as well as a Mickey Mouse Club Show excerpt with Helene Stanley, who was the model for the live-action reference footage shot for "Cinderella." 3 vintage radio programs with Ilene Woods are included as well as a featurette titled: "From Walt's Table: A Tribute to the Nine Old Men." Present day Disney animators talk about the 9 Old Men and what each one meant to them while they are at the Tam O'Shanter restaurant, a famous hangout for Disney animators. Hosted by the late Joel Siegel. You can also see a Storyboard-to-Film Comparison (6:59) of the opening sequence, plus the usual collection of theatrical trailers.
Not very well known today is that "Cinderella" was a crucial film to the future success of The Disney Studio. At that time, "Snow White" had been the only truly profitable feature that Disney has released; a lot was riding on the success of "Cinderella." Fortunately, "Cinderella" was a blockbuster hit and allowed the Disney Studio to continue creating animated classics.
Technical Specs:
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Original Full-Frame)
Blu-ray only: 7.1 DTS-HD MA (English), 1.0 Mono DTS-HD MA (English)
Subtitled: English SDH, French, Spanish
Dubbed: Spanish, French
Closed Captions: Yes
Running Time: 75 minutes
For Region A use (Americas, East and Southeast Asia, U.S. territories, Bermuda) only
BOTTOM LINE: This is another must-have for Disney and animation buffs! | 2 | positive | [
"I had forgotten what a gem \"Cinderella\" was until I watched it on the new Blu-ray disc that was just released.",
"The restoration makes it look as if you can see the original art of the characters and the background...",
"it's that clean!",
"The backgrounds themselves are works of art, especially in the scene where Cinderella goes to the backyard garden and meets her fairy godmother.",
"The talent of Mary Blair is evident in the styling, and I have never seen it with such clarity as on the new blu-ray release.",
"The sound is crisp and clear, free of extraneous noise, and the voice of Ilene Woods (Cinderella) has never sounded so lovely.",
"If you are unfamiliar with the story, here's the short version: the death of Cinderella's devoted father leaves her at the mercy of her wicked stepmother, Lady Tremaine.",
"Forced to clean the mansion and dote on Tremaine's bratty daughters, Drizella & Anastasia, Cinderella keeps her spirits up with her positive attitude and the friendships she has developed with the mice that adore her.",
"When the local Prince must find a wife at an upcoming Royal Ball, Cinderella sees an opportunity for happiness.",
"However, the selfish Tremaine Trio has other ideas for her.",
"You'll just have to watch this Disney animated classic to see how it all turns out.",
"Cinderella was a unique Disney heroine.",
"Unlike Snow White, Cinderella seems more true-to-life.",
"Thanks to the warmth of Ilene Woods' voice, Cinderella has a maturity and depth that Snow White was missing.",
"Sure, Cinderella has a positive attitude, but you also sense her weariness with the situation of servitude that she is forced to endure with the Tremaines.",
"When her stepsisters seemingly ruin all chances of her making it to the Royal Ball, her breakdown is so convincingly voiced and animated that it would be hard not to shed a tear or two and feel genuine sympathy for this model heroine.",
"Just as effective are the vocals of Eleanor Audley, whose chilling restraint for Lady Tremaine makes her one of the best Disney villains.",
"Extras:\n\nTangled Ever After animated short: a short little piece of fluff, which shows the wedding of Rapunzel, but focuses on the mishap of how the ring is temporarily lost and must be retrieved for the ceremony.",
"Cute.",
"Behind The Magic: A New Disney Princess Fantasyland: \"Once Upon A Time\"'s Ginnifer Goodwin (Snow White) leads a tour of the \"new\" Fantasyland construction at Walt Disney World.",
"Still in progress, Goodwin walks around the construction site while viewers get to see computer renderings of what will eventually be there.",
"Diane Disney Miller intro: Very short, this basically amounts to a plug for the Disney Museum in San Francisco.",
"Bibbidi-Bobbidi-You!",
"Personalized Digital Storybook (A Disney Second Screen experience)\n\nThe Magic Of The Glass Slipper: A Cinderella Story: Another fun piece of fluff, it is a short that shows how Christian Louboutin designed a shoe that was his interpretation of the glass slipper.",
"This short is more of a fantasy, and seems to have its visual styling based on Woody Allen's \"Midnight in Paris\" (even using the same typeface, Windsor, for its titles).",
"The Real Fairy Godmother?",
"The incredible true story of Mary Alice O'Connor: I loved this featurette!",
"Disney layout artist Ken O'Connor used his wife as the inspiration for the look of Cinderella's Fairy Godmother.",
"This short tells how Mary Alice was such a giving person, volunteering for so many worthwhile charities and being such an uplifting and caring soul to boot.",
"You really get the sense of warmth that this woman left behind.",
"Alternate Opening Sequence: Storyboard sketches show an alternate opening.",
"The one used in the final film is much better!",
"DisneyView\n\nPlus classic DVD bonus features, which are pretty extensive!",
"They include deleted musical numbers, a \"Making of\" (38:27 minutes long) feature (did you know talk host show legend Mike Douglas was the voice of Prince Charming?",
"), and a fantastic short about the talented Mary Blair.",
"This is one of the best (albeit short at 14:58) tributes to Mary Blair, who was greatly admired by Walt Disney.",
"He had a hard time finding a place for her to display her talents until it came time for the \"it's a small world\" exhibit came to be for the New York World's Fair in 1965.",
"There is also a 1922 Laugh-O-Gram Disney silent film version of \"Cinderella\" (which really shows how Walt's filmmaking abilities matured over the years!",
") as well as a Mickey Mouse Club Show excerpt with Helene Stanley, who was the model for the live-action reference footage shot for \"Cinderella.",
"\" 3 vintage radio programs with Ilene Woods are included as well as a featurette titled: \"From Walt's Table: A Tribute to the Nine Old Men.",
"\" Present day Disney animators talk about the 9 Old Men and what each one meant to them while they are at the Tam O'Shanter restaurant, a famous hangout for Disney animators.",
"Hosted by the late Joel Siegel.",
"You can also see a Storyboard-to-Film Comparison (6:59) of the opening sequence, plus the usual collection of theatrical trailers.",
"Not very well known today is that \"Cinderella\" was a crucial film to the future success of The Disney Studio.",
"At that time, \"Snow White\" had been the only truly profitable feature that Disney has released; a lot was riding on the success of \"Cinderella.",
"\" Fortunately, \"Cinderella\" was a blockbuster hit and allowed the Disney Studio to continue creating animated classics.",
"Technical Specs:\nAspect Ratio: 1.",
"33:1 (Original Full-Frame)\nBlu-ray only: 7.",
"1 DTS-HD MA (English), 1.",
"0 Mono DTS-HD MA (English)\nSubtitled: English SDH, French, Spanish\nDubbed: Spanish, French\nClosed Captions: Yes\nRunning Time: 75 minutes\nFor Region A use (Americas, East and Southeast Asia, U.",
"S. territories, Bermuda) only\n\nBOTTOM LINE: This is another must-have for Disney and animation buffs!"
] |
Just to let everyone know if they are wondering the quality of this release on Blu Ray. I could not find any reviews that could give a good review on this set online since this set just came out. I have the Standard dvd version of the trilogy and I just recently got the Blu Ray version and did a comperison of them both. Your not going to get a crystal clear picture with the age of these movies unless the studio decides to spend the time and money doing a big picture cleaning restore like George Lucas or James Cameron would do with with their movies in the studio. It does sound better and the colors on blu ray do look better compared to the standard dvd. I was amazed how when Ed-209 in the first robo-cop made my sub-woofer on my surround system thump loud and robo-cops foot slaming on the ground as he get out the police car to fight crime. This set does contain the unrated edition of the first Robo-Cop. If you are buying this for sharp picture quality you will be disapointed. All 3 films do contain certain amounts of grain in the picture. The picture will balance from looking good to high amounts of grain in the video. It seems what the studio did was just take the video from the standard dvd set and put the video and sound onto blu ray uncompressed. I like the first 2 movies the most the third one was ok. Maybe the 3rd one could have been better if Peter Weller was Robo-Cop instead of the other actor that replaced him. I have seen all 3 of these in the theaters back then when they were released. I just wish the studios would have done a better job at restoring these movies better on blu ray. There are fans out there that do like Robo-Cop and would love to see better restored versions of these films. I would rather watch the blu ray version of all 3 movies on a nice surround sound system than the standard dvd. The 4 stars are for having all 3 movies in one set and the upgraded sound on all 3 movies in the set compared to the standard dvd. If you don't have this set at all and a Robo-Cop fan pick this up on blu ray. | 2 | positive | [
"Just to let everyone know if they are wondering the quality of this release on Blu Ray.",
"I could not find any reviews that could give a good review on this set online since this set just came out.",
"I have the Standard dvd version of the trilogy and I just recently got the Blu Ray version and did a comperison of them both.",
"Your not going to get a crystal clear picture with the age of these movies unless the studio decides to spend the time and money doing a big picture cleaning restore like George Lucas or James Cameron would do with with their movies in the studio.",
"It does sound better and the colors on blu ray do look better compared to the standard dvd.",
"I was amazed how when Ed-209 in the first robo-cop made my sub-woofer on my surround system thump loud and robo-cops foot slaming on the ground as he get out the police car to fight crime.",
"This set does contain the unrated edition of the first Robo-Cop.",
"If you are buying this for sharp picture quality you will be disapointed.",
"All 3 films do contain certain amounts of grain in the picture.",
"The picture will balance from looking good to high amounts of grain in the video.",
"It seems what the studio did was just take the video from the standard dvd set and put the video and sound onto blu ray uncompressed.",
"I like the first 2 movies the most the third one was ok.",
"Maybe the 3rd one could have been better if Peter Weller was Robo-Cop instead of the other actor that replaced him.",
"I have seen all 3 of these in the theaters back then when they were released.",
"I just wish the studios would have done a better job at restoring these movies better on blu ray.",
"There are fans out there that do like Robo-Cop and would love to see better restored versions of these films.",
"I would rather watch the blu ray version of all 3 movies on a nice surround sound system than the standard dvd.",
"The 4 stars are for having all 3 movies in one set and the upgraded sound on all 3 movies in the set compared to the standard dvd.",
"If you don't have this set at all and a Robo-Cop fan pick this up on blu ray."
] |
I'm falling in love with this game. To me, it beats other similar RTS games such as EE and Warcraft 3, in terms of how fun it is to play (we play games to have fun right?). Honestly, the first time I played I didn't really like it, but that was because I wasn't paying attention to what the heck I was doing. That game ended in an armaggedon (meaning I used so many nukes that I destroyed all existing life on the face of the earth, hehe). My second game was much more fun though. One thing I should point out is that the AI is the best to date. For example, in one game, the Mongols suddenly attacked me with a massive force on my left flank, trying to take over my city on the western border. I got pretty scared that they'd succesfully take over the city, which happened to be my 'resource capital', so I instinctively sent everything I had to defend the attack, including my right flank. A few minutes later when I sent my troops to defend the left flank, to my disbelief, the enemy sends in another MASSIVE wave to attack my RIGHT city. I found out that they left an army just outside of my tower's line of sight, waiting for me to leave it undefended. In other words, I got whooped. Nevertheless, that was one fun game. Now, imagine playing Rise of Nations with other people online? Gamespy Arcade hosts the multiplayer system, which is absolutely free. From my personal online experiences, this game got my heart pumping; its THAT fun. Best of all, it has a easy learning curve. It took me just about 2-3 games to master the basics. This is a MUST get for all RTS gamers. | 2 | positive | [
"I'm falling in love with this game.",
"To me, it beats other similar RTS games such as EE and Warcraft 3, in terms of how fun it is to play (we play games to have fun right?",
").",
"Honestly, the first time I played I didn't really like it, but that was because I wasn't paying attention to what the heck I was doing.",
"That game ended in an armaggedon (meaning I used so many nukes that I destroyed all existing life on the face of the earth, hehe).",
"My second game was much more fun though.",
"One thing I should point out is that the AI is the best to date.",
"For example, in one game, the Mongols suddenly attacked me with a massive force on my left flank, trying to take over my city on the western border.",
"I got pretty scared that they'd succesfully take over the city, which happened to be my 'resource capital', so I instinctively sent everything I had to defend the attack, including my right flank.",
"A few minutes later when I sent my troops to defend the left flank, to my disbelief, the enemy sends in another MASSIVE wave to attack my RIGHT city.",
"I found out that they left an army just outside of my tower's line of sight, waiting for me to leave it undefended.",
"In other words, I got whooped.",
"Nevertheless, that was one fun game.",
"Now, imagine playing Rise of Nations with other people online?",
"Gamespy Arcade hosts the multiplayer system, which is absolutely free.",
"From my personal online experiences, this game got my heart pumping; its THAT fun.",
"Best of all, it has a easy learning curve.",
"It took me just about 2-3 games to master the basics.",
"This is a MUST get for all RTS gamers."
] |
I'll start by saying that I love the Hot Shots franchise. I've purchased every title on PS and PS2. It's the reason I bought this before Tiger Woods for the PSP. That said, this version has drawbacks. It's great to play Hot Shots on the go and gameplay is a lot of fun. Nice graphics, sound, etc. The downsides are multiple but in the end don't ruin the game.
1. You can't play multiple players without multiple PSP's. While I appreciate that Sony wants to sell units, this is a basic feature of video golf that should have been included.
2. Lack of training mini-games. If you've played HS before you'll pick up the subtleties quickly but c'mon, the one mini-game is a putting challenge? Weak.
3. The road to unlocking all courses, players is loooong. Sure, most of the tournaments are nine hole which makes the game move quickly but you have to win so many that I literally played 130 games before I got all the courses and players. God forbid you accidentally overwrite your data and have to start over.
4. Some variants of the courses (long tees, mirror courses) are so difficult that you can get frustrated. The CPU players ability (at the upper ranks) to chip in from deep bunkers a hundred yards out can be annoying as well. There are several times where "miracle shots" on the CPU's part will make you want to throw the game across the room.
O.K. I'm done. Yes, I mentioned a lot of issues but all in all it's a fun game. I can't compare it to Tiger Woods 'cuz I haven't played that one. It's worth your time if you love golf games and doubly so if you're a Hot Shots afficianado. | 2 | positive | [
"I'll start by saying that I love the Hot Shots franchise.",
"I've purchased every title on PS and PS2.",
"It's the reason I bought this before Tiger Woods for the PSP.",
"That said, this version has drawbacks.",
"It's great to play Hot Shots on the go and gameplay is a lot of fun.",
"Nice graphics, sound, etc.",
"The downsides are multiple but in the end don't ruin the game.",
"1.",
"You can't play multiple players without multiple PSP's.",
"While I appreciate that Sony wants to sell units, this is a basic feature of video golf that should have been included.",
"2.",
"Lack of training mini-games.",
"If you've played HS before you'll pick up the subtleties quickly but c'mon, the one mini-game is a putting challenge?",
"Weak.",
"3.",
"The road to unlocking all courses, players is loooong.",
"Sure, most of the tournaments are nine hole which makes the game move quickly but you have to win so many that I literally played 130 games before I got all the courses and players.",
"God forbid you accidentally overwrite your data and have to start over.",
"4.",
"Some variants of the courses (long tees, mirror courses) are so difficult that you can get frustrated.",
"The CPU players ability (at the upper ranks) to chip in from deep bunkers a hundred yards out can be annoying as well.",
"There are several times where \"miracle shots\" on the CPU's part will make you want to throw the game across the room.",
"O.",
"K. I'm done.",
"Yes, I mentioned a lot of issues but all in all it's a fun game.",
"I can't compare it to Tiger Woods 'cuz I haven't played that one.",
"It's worth your time if you love golf games and doubly so if you're a Hot Shots afficianado."
] |
I'm not a big fan of steampunk. I enjoy well written stories in this genre and I have read some very good ones, but I value excellent characterization and an exciting plot over attention to detail and environment. Since it is historical accuracy and technological and fashion detail which are the keystones to the genre, the things I value are sometimes overlooked. That doesn't mean I'm not willing to take a chance on a writer I know I like. That's why I agreed to review Railroad!
Enter Dodger, our leading man, looking for a job. When opportunity presents itself, or rather forces itself upon him, he embarks on the adventure of playing professional gunman for train security.
Rairoad! does have the attention to detail characteristic of steampunk. There is a vivid description of the train, Sleipnir, in the intro chapter, and similar description continues throughout the tale, but the characterization is appealing also. Dodger (aka Mr. Carpenter) is a well-developed protagonist. He is bold, quirky and interesting. Mr. Torque, the clockwork man, is an effective contrast with his stiff and regulated ways, Ched, the chief engineer is oddly frightening, and the professor is on the extreme end of eccentric, making Dodger seem more like the typical everyman despite his quirks.
The western theme interwoven into the plot gives the story spirit, and keeps it fun amongst the fiddly technological references (which the average steampunk fan loves, but I don't enjoy as much.) It plays out in the storyline and the dialogue, and gives the tale some buoyancy. Dodger brings with him his own set of problems, which leads to gunfights, chases and other action-filled excitement. Once the spooky aspect is thrown in, along with a ghost and a romantic interest, I was definitely taken with this.
All in all, I think this is a very clever introduction to the series and its outlandish main character. I also find it amusing that the railroad reference applies to the train itself. It's steampunk stories like this one, that doesn't take itself too seriously, which keep me interested in revisiting the genre. Five stars from me. | 2 | positive | [
"I'm not a big fan of steampunk.",
"I enjoy well written stories in this genre and I have read some very good ones, but I value excellent characterization and an exciting plot over attention to detail and environment.",
"Since it is historical accuracy and technological and fashion detail which are the keystones to the genre, the things I value are sometimes overlooked.",
"That doesn't mean I'm not willing to take a chance on a writer I know I like.",
"That's why I agreed to review Railroad!",
"Enter Dodger, our leading man, looking for a job.",
"When opportunity presents itself, or rather forces itself upon him, he embarks on the adventure of playing professional gunman for train security.",
"Rairoad!",
"does have the attention to detail characteristic of steampunk.",
"There is a vivid description of the train, Sleipnir, in the intro chapter, and similar description continues throughout the tale, but the characterization is appealing also.",
"Dodger (aka Mr.",
"Carpenter) is a well-developed protagonist.",
"He is bold, quirky and interesting.",
"Mr.",
"Torque, the clockwork man, is an effective contrast with his stiff and regulated ways, Ched, the chief engineer is oddly frightening, and the professor is on the extreme end of eccentric, making Dodger seem more like the typical everyman despite his quirks.",
"The western theme interwoven into the plot gives the story spirit, and keeps it fun amongst the fiddly technological references (which the average steampunk fan loves, but I don't enjoy as much.",
") It plays out in the storyline and the dialogue, and gives the tale some buoyancy.",
"Dodger brings with him his own set of problems, which leads to gunfights, chases and other action-filled excitement.",
"Once the spooky aspect is thrown in, along with a ghost and a romantic interest, I was definitely taken with this.",
"All in all, I think this is a very clever introduction to the series and its outlandish main character.",
"I also find it amusing that the railroad reference applies to the train itself.",
"It's steampunk stories like this one, that doesn't take itself too seriously, which keep me interested in revisiting the genre.",
"Five stars from me."
] |
By the time this film appeared (1992), Eastwood had already established himself as one of the most gifted directors. His talents behind the camera were first evident, and impressive, in Play Misty for Me (1971). Unforgiven received an Academy Award for best film, as did Eastwood for directing it. So many memorable characters which include Bill Munny (Eastwood), Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman), Sheriff "Little Bill" Daggett (Gene Hackman), and English Bob (Richard Harris). What I find most interesting is Eastwood's willingness and ability to portray an old widow, far past his prime, who reluctantly agrees to accept an assignment to earn some much-needed money for himself and his family. Munny (obviously, no pun intended) enlists the aid of his friend Logan. They are joined by the self-described "Schofield Kid" (Jaimz Woolvett) and proceed to a town under the absolute control of Daggett who, unlike Brian Dennehy's character Cobb in Silverado, can be personally quite appealing but is nonetheless every bit as formidable. (I shall never forget Daggett's dying words, "But I'm building a house!") In my opinion, the plot really is not especially important. The film's greatest strengths are found within the meticulous development of various characters, a process under Eastwood's sure direction which is gradual and both subtle and substantial. Perhaps the character of journalist W.W. Beauchamp (Saul Rubinek) is necessary to expedite the exposition but he seems to add little else. However, all others among the supporting cast are essential.
Unforgiven can be categorized as a "western" but, in my opinion, it transcends that genre as it examines how the reality of an old man's vengeance is far more significant than the myth associated with his earlier adventures. Near the end of the film, "Little Bill" must deal with a Munny who is, not with someone who once was. The fact that Munny prevails reveals much about him...and perhaps about Eastwood and others who in later life, like Tennyson's Ulysses, "strive to seek, to find...and not to yield." | 2 | positive | [
"By the time this film appeared (1992), Eastwood had already established himself as one of the most gifted directors.",
"His talents behind the camera were first evident, and impressive, in Play Misty for Me (1971).",
"Unforgiven received an Academy Award for best film, as did Eastwood for directing it.",
"So many memorable characters which include Bill Munny (Eastwood), Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman), Sheriff \"Little Bill\" Daggett (Gene Hackman), and English Bob (Richard Harris).",
"What I find most interesting is Eastwood's willingness and ability to portray an old widow, far past his prime, who reluctantly agrees to accept an assignment to earn some much-needed money for himself and his family.",
"Munny (obviously, no pun intended) enlists the aid of his friend Logan.",
"They are joined by the self-described \"Schofield Kid\" (Jaimz Woolvett) and proceed to a town under the absolute control of Daggett who, unlike Brian Dennehy's character Cobb in Silverado, can be personally quite appealing but is nonetheless every bit as formidable.",
"(I shall never forget Daggett's dying words, \"But I'm building a house!",
"\") In my opinion, the plot really is not especially important.",
"The film's greatest strengths are found within the meticulous development of various characters, a process under Eastwood's sure direction which is gradual and both subtle and substantial.",
"Perhaps the character of journalist W.",
"W. Beauchamp (Saul Rubinek) is necessary to expedite the exposition but he seems to add little else.",
"However, all others among the supporting cast are essential.",
"Unforgiven can be categorized as a \"western\" but, in my opinion, it transcends that genre as it examines how the reality of an old man's vengeance is far more significant than the myth associated with his earlier adventures.",
"Near the end of the film, \"Little Bill\" must deal with a Munny who is, not with someone who once was.",
"The fact that Munny prevails reveals much about him...",
"and perhaps about Eastwood and others who in later life, like Tennyson's Ulysses, \"strive to seek, to find...",
"and not to yield.",
"\""
] |
SF2 was probably the best arcade game of all time. Its graphics and game design were simple yet its impact revolutionized the video gaming industry. Back in the early 1990's side scrolling games were king, Mario, Sonic, Simon Belmont, along with sports games and quest RPG's. Your normal arcade would have a variety of games such as Pole Position, After Burner, Pac Man and various quest games like Golden Axe, X-Men, TMNT, The Simpsons, Double Dragon. Until SF2 came out. Overnight SF2 took the arcade fighting game genre to the forefront of the industry.
Even today almost 25 years after its original release the first title of SF2 was incredible. 8 different characters to choose from. Each with its own background and story, each with a different ending. 4 unique bosses with the final boss being very challenging. Having so many characters was radically new at the time when most games had 1 or 2 at most maybe 3 characters. The game was flat out fun to play. The special moves were easy to execute and fun to learn, unlike the first SF arcade game which seemed to lag. SF2 has tons of replay value. It could be beaten in under 20 to 30 minutes once you were good at the game and was a blast to play against friends and other people.
When SF2 came to the SNES it was the best arcade to console transition at the time. It kept just about every element the first arcade game had to offer and even let you adjust the controls and difficulty. I always played this game on 8 stars to get the best ending. I spent countless hours playing this game on the SNES. Most beginning players would choose Ryu, Ken or Guile and then move on to Chung Li or Zangief and finally Dhalsim for a harder route through the game. With E Honda and Blanka as the middle of the road characters. I remember so many battles with Vega, Ryu and M. Bison, when I had a perfect game going only to lose a match to one of those characters. The SNES definitely got the damage percentage right from the arcade game. If you were Blanka and did your spin attack at ryu while he does a dragon punch it was game over.
I am a little bias because SF2 will always be my favorite game. I could play it anytime anywhere no many how many times I have beaten the game or play against friends and always enjoy it. SF2 spawned lots of clones and uncountable sequels but the fun factor of the original game will always be there. The graphics will continue to age and be obsolete but the fun factor will always be there. If I see this version of the arcade game somewhere I always stop to play it.
Gameplay: 10/10
Play Control: 10/10
Story/Originality: 8/10
Challenge: 7/10
Fun Factor/Replay Value 10/10 | 2 | positive | [
"SF2 was probably the best arcade game of all time.",
"Its graphics and game design were simple yet its impact revolutionized the video gaming industry.",
"Back in the early 1990's side scrolling games were king, Mario, Sonic, Simon Belmont, along with sports games and quest RPG's.",
"Your normal arcade would have a variety of games such as Pole Position, After Burner, Pac Man and various quest games like Golden Axe, X-Men, TMNT, The Simpsons, Double Dragon.",
"Until SF2 came out.",
"Overnight SF2 took the arcade fighting game genre to the forefront of the industry.",
"Even today almost 25 years after its original release the first title of SF2 was incredible.",
"8 different characters to choose from.",
"Each with its own background and story, each with a different ending.",
"4 unique bosses with the final boss being very challenging.",
"Having so many characters was radically new at the time when most games had 1 or 2 at most maybe 3 characters.",
"The game was flat out fun to play.",
"The special moves were easy to execute and fun to learn, unlike the first SF arcade game which seemed to lag.",
"SF2 has tons of replay value.",
"It could be beaten in under 20 to 30 minutes once you were good at the game and was a blast to play against friends and other people.",
"When SF2 came to the SNES it was the best arcade to console transition at the time.",
"It kept just about every element the first arcade game had to offer and even let you adjust the controls and difficulty.",
"I always played this game on 8 stars to get the best ending.",
"I spent countless hours playing this game on the SNES.",
"Most beginning players would choose Ryu, Ken or Guile and then move on to Chung Li or Zangief and finally Dhalsim for a harder route through the game.",
"With E Honda and Blanka as the middle of the road characters.",
"I remember so many battles with Vega, Ryu and M.",
"Bison, when I had a perfect game going only to lose a match to one of those characters.",
"The SNES definitely got the damage percentage right from the arcade game.",
"If you were Blanka and did your spin attack at ryu while he does a dragon punch it was game over.",
"I am a little bias because SF2 will always be my favorite game.",
"I could play it anytime anywhere no many how many times I have beaten the game or play against friends and always enjoy it.",
"SF2 spawned lots of clones and uncountable sequels but the fun factor of the original game will always be there.",
"The graphics will continue to age and be obsolete but the fun factor will always be there.",
"If I see this version of the arcade game somewhere I always stop to play it.",
"Gameplay: 10/10\nPlay Control: 10/10\nStory/Originality: 8/10\nChallenge: 7/10\nFun Factor/Replay Value 10/10"
] |
I attached an SMC EZ-connect access point to a Road Runner cable modem, and with the accompanying SMC card in my Vaio Z505-HS (running Win98), it seems to work just fine. (For my comments about the access point, go to that product)
I had to actually run the utility that came with the SMC card before the Vaio could talk to Road Runner. Setting up the network settings from native Win98 was not sufficient. (See next paragraph.)
My 3Com AirConnect wireless PC card from work does not seem to be able to talk to the SMC access point. The SMC card works fine on the wireless network at work, so it's not a reciprocal problem. I suspect this may be due to the fact the 3Com driver does not support all the functions that the SMC access point uses, such as channel number. My officemate has a wireless SMC router at home with a Lucent Gold Card and reports it works. (My SMC card works with her router as well.)
Overall, the product works fine once you install the utility that comes with it. | 2 | positive | [
"I attached an SMC EZ-connect access point to a Road Runner cable modem, and with the accompanying SMC card in my Vaio Z505-HS (running Win98), it seems to work just fine.",
"(For my comments about the access point, go to that product)\nI had to actually run the utility that came with the SMC card before the Vaio could talk to Road Runner.",
"Setting up the network settings from native Win98 was not sufficient.",
"(See next paragraph.",
")\nMy 3Com AirConnect wireless PC card from work does not seem to be able to talk to the SMC access point.",
"The SMC card works fine on the wireless network at work, so it's not a reciprocal problem.",
"I suspect this may be due to the fact the 3Com driver does not support all the functions that the SMC access point uses, such as channel number.",
"My officemate has a wireless SMC router at home with a Lucent Gold Card and reports it works.",
"(My SMC card works with her router as well.",
")\nOverall, the product works fine once you install the utility that comes with it."
] |
The latest version of Kaspersky Internet Security offers highly rated protection, including an effective banner ad blocker, which most security suites no longer offer. To me this is a significant feature which has led me for several years to choose Kaspersky software over it's competitors. The reason I couldn't give it 5 stars this time is that it has become less flexible, taking some decisions out of the hands of the user. While for some users this may be preferred (fewer decisions to make), I would rather have more input into how certain situations are handled. Another weak point is the anti-spam utility, which seems to miss certain types of spam and it flags some non-spam e-mails until it has built up a whitelist of OK senders. Having recently reviewed Norton's 360, it does a better job of spam control out of the box. Once trained, Kaspersky does a good job, but this takes time and work on the users part. So if the banner blocker is important for you as it is for me, Kaspersky is a very capable security solution, and I can live with the weakness in anti-spam. Norton's software has better spam blocking capability, but is missing the banner ad blocker. For dealing with most malware, most technical review sites rate them pretty close in capability. | 2 | positive | [
"The latest version of Kaspersky Internet Security offers highly rated protection, including an effective banner ad blocker, which most security suites no longer offer.",
"To me this is a significant feature which has led me for several years to choose Kaspersky software over it's competitors.",
"The reason I couldn't give it 5 stars this time is that it has become less flexible, taking some decisions out of the hands of the user.",
"While for some users this may be preferred (fewer decisions to make), I would rather have more input into how certain situations are handled.",
"Another weak point is the anti-spam utility, which seems to miss certain types of spam and it flags some non-spam e-mails until it has built up a whitelist of OK senders.",
"Having recently reviewed Norton's 360, it does a better job of spam control out of the box.",
"Once trained, Kaspersky does a good job, but this takes time and work on the users part.",
"So if the banner blocker is important for you as it is for me, Kaspersky is a very capable security solution, and I can live with the weakness in anti-spam.",
"Norton's software has better spam blocking capability, but is missing the banner ad blocker.",
"For dealing with most malware, most technical review sites rate them pretty close in capability."
] |
The 2005 Japanese remaster for this late 1970's title is very good. It does sound "juiced up", but not to the point of being a compressed mess. I purchased this title and Toto I from a Japanese retailer called "FA Store" from outside Sapporo, Japan. It was the real deal and was not a cheap bootleg. The sound quality is comparable (if not identical) to the 2003 Toto Essential release.
The recording of the bottom-end frequencies in the 1970's was a hard, muffled and constrained sound, so it would be difficult to re-emphasize those frequencies to sound "fat" in an earlier remaster w/o it bleeding into the higher frequencies. I suppose that the limited production resources for the first release were the root of the problem here...however, the overall quality of this Toto IV remaster is an improvement over the remaster of the first release and sounds "fatter" and more current. Both remasters are definitely worth purchasing!
I waited one month for this title to come to the U.S. (by a slow boat, I suppose)but I have to say it was well worth it. Expedited shipping would have cost more than the CD's themselves, so I had to be patient.
The lyrics were included as well.
Toto I was also well worth the investment. I spent $42 USD for both titles and shipping, so I didn't have to break the bank for
these rare remasters that aren't available in the U.S. | 2 | positive | [
"The 2005 Japanese remaster for this late 1970's title is very good.",
"It does sound \"juiced up\", but not to the point of being a compressed mess.",
"I purchased this title and Toto I from a Japanese retailer called \"FA Store\" from outside Sapporo, Japan.",
"It was the real deal and was not a cheap bootleg.",
"The sound quality is comparable (if not identical) to the 2003 Toto Essential release.",
"The recording of the bottom-end frequencies in the 1970's was a hard, muffled and constrained sound, so it would be difficult to re-emphasize those frequencies to sound \"fat\" in an earlier remaster w/o it bleeding into the higher frequencies.",
"I suppose that the limited production resources for the first release were the root of the problem here...",
"however, the overall quality of this Toto IV remaster is an improvement over the remaster of the first release and sounds \"fatter\" and more current.",
"Both remasters are definitely worth purchasing!",
"I waited one month for this title to come to the U.",
"S. (by a slow boat, I suppose)but I have to say it was well worth it.",
"Expedited shipping would have cost more than the CD's themselves, so I had to be patient.",
"The lyrics were included as well.",
"Toto I was also well worth the investment.",
"I spent $42 USD for both titles and shipping, so I didn't have to break the bank for\nthese rare remasters that aren't available in the U.",
"S."
] |
Boy I like this nailer. I have owned it for almost 2 years and have no complaints. I've never had a misfire. It drives 2 inch nails with ease. Best of all it's light. I used it for window and door molding and cabinet work. This gun is easy to load, and easy to change the depth of the shot.
Some nice features are:
1. As the nails run low, an indicator appears to show that you have 6 nails left. Then it moves to show a countdown to show when you are empty. It's nice not to have to open the magazine to see how many nails you have. And of course the indicator that appears is yellow.
2. You can direct the exhaust airflow anywhere you want.
3. If the nail jams, which has only happend when I hit something below, the head easily opens so you can extract the bent nail.
I also have the 15 ga. nailer and would highly recommend both of these. I've also recommended this nailer to 2 friends and they have also had excellent results. Way to go DeWALT!!
Update: add another year of use, still working strong. No problems at all. | 2 | positive | [
"Boy I like this nailer.",
"I have owned it for almost 2 years and have no complaints.",
"I've never had a misfire.",
"It drives 2 inch nails with ease.",
"Best of all it's light.",
"I used it for window and door molding and cabinet work.",
"This gun is easy to load, and easy to change the depth of the shot.",
"Some nice features are:\n\n1.",
"As the nails run low, an indicator appears to show that you have 6 nails left.",
"Then it moves to show a countdown to show when you are empty.",
"It's nice not to have to open the magazine to see how many nails you have.",
"And of course the indicator that appears is yellow.",
"2.",
"You can direct the exhaust airflow anywhere you want.",
"3.",
"If the nail jams, which has only happend when I hit something below, the head easily opens so you can extract the bent nail.",
"I also have the 15 ga.",
"nailer and would highly recommend both of these.",
"I've also recommended this nailer to 2 friends and they have also had excellent results.",
"Way to go DeWALT!!",
"Update: add another year of use, still working strong.",
"No problems at all."
] |
My dog loves to play ball, but my shoulder would start to give out after 10 hard throws and I can only throw so far; until I came across this ball launcher. I can easily throw a ball a good 100plus feet with no real effort and it doesn't kill my shoulder within 10minutes. I barely feel any stress in my arm at all by using this launcher. It's very strong plastic and will last for years to come if you take care of it. It holds all the 2.5inch Chuckit! Balls and normal Tennis balls. I love this launcher, it's so much more fun playing with my ball addicted dog. The best thing about this is that I can easily pick up the ball with this launcher without having to touch slobbery balls anymore! If you have any questions about this product, feel free to ask. I will get back to you. | 2 | positive | [
"My dog loves to play ball, but my shoulder would start to give out after 10 hard throws and I can only throw so far; until I came across this ball launcher.",
"I can easily throw a ball a good 100plus feet with no real effort and it doesn't kill my shoulder within 10minutes.",
"I barely feel any stress in my arm at all by using this launcher.",
"It's very strong plastic and will last for years to come if you take care of it.",
"It holds all the 2.",
"5inch Chuckit!",
"Balls and normal Tennis balls.",
"I love this launcher, it's so much more fun playing with my ball addicted dog.",
"The best thing about this is that I can easily pick up the ball with this launcher without having to touch slobbery balls anymore!",
"If you have any questions about this product, feel free to ask.",
"I will get back to you."
] |
While Gabriel is protecting the infant heir of an English Prince from "the night visitors", the baby is kidnapped right out from under his nose. Gabriel trails the kidnappers to a small town in France called Rennes-le-chateau, which is the site of an ancient mystery involving a buried treasure rumored to be the holy grail. Strangely enough, his old friend Mosely is also in Rennes-le-chateau on a "treasure-hunting tour". And of course, in classic mystery fashion, every member of the tour group has his or her own secrets, casting them all in a cloud of suspicion. Things really heat up when Gabriel's assistant/partner Grace arrives, and, similar to GK2, the player alternates between playing each of the main characters in a race to solve the mystery of Rennes-le-chateau and find the missing child.
Although the 3D graphics occasionally falter, especially on computers that might not be souped up with top-of-the-line 3D accelerator video cards, the storytelling - always the highlight of this series - is sound. In a unique move, the other characters in the game go about their business -change locations, have conversations- even when you're not there, prompting you to be a true detective, choosing your suspects and following them to investigate their actions. The voice acting is some of the best I've seen in a video game, especially Charity James as Grace. Fans will rejoice at hearing Tim Curry, who returns once again to give voice to Gabriel Knight. Curry, while -good- as Gabriel Knight, seems to switch accents on us in spots from New Orleans to a general Southern US accent. It also seems rather out of character from a N.O. native such as Gabe, who was able to pronounce several odd French words well in the first game, to falter now on such simple words as "merci".
A tale of buried treasure, secret societies, ancient bloodlines, and puzzling relationships, Gabriel Knight 3 is a wonderfully complicated storyline, though not recommended if you're squeamish about digging into religious topics. Calling this game a "vampire story" oversimplifies it and does it no justice. If you're expecting hollywood vampires of the Bram Stoker or Anne Rice variety, look elsewhere. Jensen puts a new spin on the tried and true vampire legends, and does it with style, pizzazz, and all around daring storytelling.
After all, it's all about the blood. | 2 | positive | [
"While Gabriel is protecting the infant heir of an English Prince from \"the night visitors\", the baby is kidnapped right out from under his nose.",
"Gabriel trails the kidnappers to a small town in France called Rennes-le-chateau, which is the site of an ancient mystery involving a buried treasure rumored to be the holy grail.",
"Strangely enough, his old friend Mosely is also in Rennes-le-chateau on a \"treasure-hunting tour\".",
"And of course, in classic mystery fashion, every member of the tour group has his or her own secrets, casting them all in a cloud of suspicion.",
"Things really heat up when Gabriel's assistant/partner Grace arrives, and, similar to GK2, the player alternates between playing each of the main characters in a race to solve the mystery of Rennes-le-chateau and find the missing child.",
"Although the 3D graphics occasionally falter, especially on computers that might not be souped up with top-of-the-line 3D accelerator video cards, the storytelling - always the highlight of this series - is sound.",
"In a unique move, the other characters in the game go about their business -change locations, have conversations- even when you're not there, prompting you to be a true detective, choosing your suspects and following them to investigate their actions.",
"The voice acting is some of the best I've seen in a video game, especially Charity James as Grace.",
"Fans will rejoice at hearing Tim Curry, who returns once again to give voice to Gabriel Knight.",
"Curry, while -good- as Gabriel Knight, seems to switch accents on us in spots from New Orleans to a general Southern US accent.",
"It also seems rather out of character from a N.",
"O. native such as Gabe, who was able to pronounce several odd French words well in the first game, to falter now on such simple words as \"merci\".",
"A tale of buried treasure, secret societies, ancient bloodlines, and puzzling relationships, Gabriel Knight 3 is a wonderfully complicated storyline, though not recommended if you're squeamish about digging into religious topics.",
"Calling this game a \"vampire story\" oversimplifies it and does it no justice.",
"If you're expecting hollywood vampires of the Bram Stoker or Anne Rice variety, look elsewhere.",
"Jensen puts a new spin on the tried and true vampire legends, and does it with style, pizzazz, and all around daring storytelling.",
"After all, it's all about the blood."
] |
My wife is the cellist. She is also a cello teacher. She has been playing in our church's praise group and we've tried different mics, but she is overpowered by the drums and bass. We were using a Fishman C100, but even with a LR Baggs preamp and severe EQ there was a harshness to it. We then tried a JTS instrument pickup for strings and even though it was millimeters from the bridge it was still overpowered. Sounded great by itself though. I thought the next stop was a Silent Cello, but tried the Realist with my fingers crossed. I should have gotten the Realist first. Very smooth high end, lots of bass. She is using the Baggs preamp for a DI. The sound is very much like an acoustic cello with a touch of reverb for body. If you're playing in a loud setting this is the way to go. | 2 | positive | [
"My wife is the cellist.",
"She is also a cello teacher.",
"She has been playing in our church's praise group and we've tried different mics, but she is overpowered by the drums and bass.",
"We were using a Fishman C100, but even with a LR Baggs preamp and severe EQ there was a harshness to it.",
"We then tried a JTS instrument pickup for strings and even though it was millimeters from the bridge it was still overpowered.",
"Sounded great by itself though.",
"I thought the next stop was a Silent Cello, but tried the Realist with my fingers crossed.",
"I should have gotten the Realist first.",
"Very smooth high end, lots of bass.",
"She is using the Baggs preamp for a DI.",
"The sound is very much like an acoustic cello with a touch of reverb for body.",
"If you're playing in a loud setting this is the way to go."
] |
This guy and Taupin were easily two of the best. All the way up to Westies he was making pretty fabulous albums before things got spotty and life took over. Elton would really never be the same into the 80s and onward, though he certainly made a comeback multiple times. Obviously, the 90s were dominated by some very popular material. With that being said Tumbleweed is a great record like most of them from this period. It's probably my favorite along with Madman.... the 60s and 70s were a great time for him as a budding artist coming to fruition. Taupin only anchored him with well-rounded and usually excellent lyrics.
You'll find a little bit of everything here with a country tinge and outstanding lyrics. Country Comfort is a startling gem. A lot of good songs are on here. Take your pick. I don't think he ever made a record quite like this one. Or maybe just not a record as qualified with the same type of sound. As Dr. Brule would say, "Check it out."
The SACDs from years back are excellent and sound mostly top notch. CD layer and high-res layer on those particular versions. | 2 | positive | [
"This guy and Taupin were easily two of the best.",
"All the way up to Westies he was making pretty fabulous albums before things got spotty and life took over.",
"Elton would really never be the same into the 80s and onward, though he certainly made a comeback multiple times.",
"Obviously, the 90s were dominated by some very popular material.",
"With that being said Tumbleweed is a great record like most of them from this period.",
"It's probably my favorite along with Madman....",
"the 60s and 70s were a great time for him as a budding artist coming to fruition.",
"Taupin only anchored him with well-rounded and usually excellent lyrics.",
"You'll find a little bit of everything here with a country tinge and outstanding lyrics.",
"Country Comfort is a startling gem.",
"A lot of good songs are on here.",
"Take your pick.",
"I don't think he ever made a record quite like this one.",
"Or maybe just not a record as qualified with the same type of sound.",
"As Dr.",
"Brule would say, \"Check it out.",
"\"\n\nThe SACDs from years back are excellent and sound mostly top notch.",
"CD layer and high-res layer on those particular versions."
] |
A friend bought this book for me, and told me that it was one of her all time favorites. What a great gift because this book rocks. The stories found in this collection are striking and angry. Originally published in 1959, Mr. Sillitoe gives his protaganists a gritty disregard for rules and regulations. The title story is the best known of the lot, but the rest of the book introduces you to the poverty of the English working class, slugging it out for every penny, every crown. Many of the characters rob and steal their way to their next meal. Others will not sell themselves out to the law or the man. This for example is found in the story, Noah's Arc, where the two youth sneak their way onto a carnaval ride, only to get caught, and then manage to escape. A recurring theme is one where the characters are book owners or book readers. Sillitoe makes the point of the deepness of reading. He also makes the point that reading can be a solitary, non-social event. Arguments occur, newspapers are burned, bookcases are judged---bueno! As a person that likes realistic fiction, bordering on the ugly, struggling working class, I can say that this is a wonderful and currently underated selection. | 2 | positive | [
"A friend bought this book for me, and told me that it was one of her all time favorites.",
"What a great gift because this book rocks.",
"The stories found in this collection are striking and angry.",
"Originally published in 1959, Mr.",
"Sillitoe gives his protaganists a gritty disregard for rules and regulations.",
"The title story is the best known of the lot, but the rest of the book introduces you to the poverty of the English working class, slugging it out for every penny, every crown.",
"Many of the characters rob and steal their way to their next meal.",
"Others will not sell themselves out to the law or the man.",
"This for example is found in the story, Noah's Arc, where the two youth sneak their way onto a carnaval ride, only to get caught, and then manage to escape.",
"A recurring theme is one where the characters are book owners or book readers.",
"Sillitoe makes the point of the deepness of reading.",
"He also makes the point that reading can be a solitary, non-social event.",
"Arguments occur, newspapers are burned, bookcases are judged---bueno!",
"As a person that likes realistic fiction, bordering on the ugly, struggling working class, I can say that this is a wonderful and currently underated selection."
] |
Amazing. Is the only word I can say. This game is.... amazing.
Why? I'm very glad you asked.
Story mode. Remember Sonic Adventure's cutscenes... er... weren't exactly very good? SA2's _are_ good. Very good. Tails' voice actor is still a bit wooden, but the others have definitely been taking lessons, especially Amy's actor. The plot in SA2, for the first time since Sonic & Knuckles, goes beyond the traditional "Sonic good. Robotnik bad. Sonic attack Robotnik"-type. Indeed, you can play as the Hero or the Dark side. Bost must be finished before you can unlock the game's true ending. Both stories rock. Basically, it runs that Robotnik, or Eggman (as he has always been called in Japan, and has only recently been called elsewhere) has uncovered the "ultimate life form", a thing called Shadow. While Eggman and Shadow hatch world domination plots, a bat called Rouge, world-famed treasure hunter, takes a shine to the Master Emerald which Knuckles has spent a lifetime guarding. When Rouge, Eggman and Shadow make a deal, Sonic, Tails and Knuckles must get on the case... sounds fairly straightforward so far. However, there are actual plot twists worth having in this game! My jaw dropped just watching cutscenes on several occasions... I won't spoil it, but, just be prepared... Of course, cutscenes are all well and good, but not without gameplay to go with it. SA2 has the walk to go with the talk here. Sonic and Shadow zip around at high-speed, as ever. City Escape in particular could almost be directly lifted from Crazy Taxi, but it soon gets much more serious than that. Try trivialising Final Rush. Tails and Eggman go for a stroll in their death-dealing mechs. My highlight is Eternal Engine where you actually have to use your discretion in what you shoot. Knux and Rouge make you actually use your brain for once as you follow a trail of clues to the Emeralds. Rouge's Mad Space level literally span me out in particular. The only problem, really, in the gameplay is that camera angles can sometimes be a problem. It's not very common unless you start exploring off the beaten track, but it can get annoying sometimes.
Sound is perfect all the way through, and while the music isn't always what I'd listen to on the radio, it all fits.... | 2 | positive | [
"Amazing.",
"Is the only word I can say.",
"This game is....",
"amazing.",
"Why?",
"I'm very glad you asked.",
"Story mode.",
"Remember Sonic Adventure's cutscenes...",
"er...",
"weren't exactly very good?",
"SA2's _are_ good.",
"Very good.",
"Tails' voice actor is still a bit wooden, but the others have definitely been taking lessons, especially Amy's actor.",
"The plot in SA2, for the first time since Sonic & Knuckles, goes beyond the traditional \"Sonic good.",
"Robotnik bad.",
"Sonic attack Robotnik\"-type.",
"Indeed, you can play as the Hero or the Dark side.",
"Bost must be finished before you can unlock the game's true ending.",
"Both stories rock.",
"Basically, it runs that Robotnik, or Eggman (as he has always been called in Japan, and has only recently been called elsewhere) has uncovered the \"ultimate life form\", a thing called Shadow.",
"While Eggman and Shadow hatch world domination plots, a bat called Rouge, world-famed treasure hunter, takes a shine to the Master Emerald which Knuckles has spent a lifetime guarding.",
"When Rouge, Eggman and Shadow make a deal, Sonic, Tails and Knuckles must get on the case...",
"sounds fairly straightforward so far.",
"However, there are actual plot twists worth having in this game!",
"My jaw dropped just watching cutscenes on several occasions...",
"I won't spoil it, but, just be prepared...",
"Of course, cutscenes are all well and good, but not without gameplay to go with it.",
"SA2 has the walk to go with the talk here.",
"Sonic and Shadow zip around at high-speed, as ever.",
"City Escape in particular could almost be directly lifted from Crazy Taxi, but it soon gets much more serious than that.",
"Try trivialising Final Rush.",
"Tails and Eggman go for a stroll in their death-dealing mechs.",
"My highlight is Eternal Engine where you actually have to use your discretion in what you shoot.",
"Knux and Rouge make you actually use your brain for once as you follow a trail of clues to the Emeralds.",
"Rouge's Mad Space level literally span me out in particular.",
"The only problem, really, in the gameplay is that camera angles can sometimes be a problem.",
"It's not very common unless you start exploring off the beaten track, but it can get annoying sometimes.",
"Sound is perfect all the way through, and while the music isn't always what I'd listen to on the radio, it all fits...."
] |
These Fiskars 9210 Long-Handled Swivel Grass Shears will literally save wear and tear on your back and knees both when you have any small yard trimming to do. These are not made for grass trimming around the perimeter of a large yard, as your hand would wear out from squeezing the handle. We use the electric string trimmer to trim the grass against the fence around our entire yard. As for all the other trimming in the yard- around the house, the garage, around bushes, trees, sidewalks, the patio, gardens, corners and utility poles, these Fiskars Grass Shears are just perfect!
These shears are meant to trim grass and lighter plants, not anything thick, but since grass is always growing around everything in our yard, they get a constant workout. The 3 foot height is just perfect- no bending or stooping ever. There is an orange turning device on the blades, allowing you to turn these blades to any angle you need. The blades actually turn a full 360 degrees. The 5 inch blades are fully hardened for long lasting sharpness and also lock for storage or when you are turning them. We noticed they do come with a slight oil on the blades themselves.
I contacted Fiskars and asked about any maintenance for the blades, and they told me they should stay sharp for years, but you could add a sharper edge to them in time with a hand sharpener- similar to a lawn mower blade sharpener. Cleaning and lightly oiling them when they become dirty will keep them cutting perfect. Fiskars actually has a lifetime guarantee against any defects in workmanship. For under $35.00, these are a must have for saving my back and knees with the constant maintenance of yard trimming. These are not just for older people, as I've always had bad knees- and I wish I had known about these years ago!
The thought of trimming all the constant grass around the yard made me not want to do it. I'd have to get out my small shears, my knee pad or a stool to sit on- depending on the height of the grass or weeds. Afterwards, I'd need my heating pad and linament for my aching back and knees, not to mention Aleve or some other pain killer. Spending so much time in pain made me dread trimming. Now, I just grab the Fiskars Long Handled Shears- stand, trim and that's it. These shears are worth much more than 5 STARS, and I know I will never be without them again, as saving my back and knees are worth everything! | 2 | positive | [
"These Fiskars 9210 Long-Handled Swivel Grass Shears will literally save wear and tear on your back and knees both when you have any small yard trimming to do.",
"These are not made for grass trimming around the perimeter of a large yard, as your hand would wear out from squeezing the handle.",
"We use the electric string trimmer to trim the grass against the fence around our entire yard.",
"As for all the other trimming in the yard- around the house, the garage, around bushes, trees, sidewalks, the patio, gardens, corners and utility poles, these Fiskars Grass Shears are just perfect!",
"These shears are meant to trim grass and lighter plants, not anything thick, but since grass is always growing around everything in our yard, they get a constant workout.",
"The 3 foot height is just perfect- no bending or stooping ever.",
"There is an orange turning device on the blades, allowing you to turn these blades to any angle you need.",
"The blades actually turn a full 360 degrees.",
"The 5 inch blades are fully hardened for long lasting sharpness and also lock for storage or when you are turning them.",
"We noticed they do come with a slight oil on the blades themselves.",
"I contacted Fiskars and asked about any maintenance for the blades, and they told me they should stay sharp for years, but you could add a sharper edge to them in time with a hand sharpener- similar to a lawn mower blade sharpener.",
"Cleaning and lightly oiling them when they become dirty will keep them cutting perfect.",
"Fiskars actually has a lifetime guarantee against any defects in workmanship.",
"For under $35.",
"00, these are a must have for saving my back and knees with the constant maintenance of yard trimming.",
"These are not just for older people, as I've always had bad knees- and I wish I had known about these years ago!",
"The thought of trimming all the constant grass around the yard made me not want to do it.",
"I'd have to get out my small shears, my knee pad or a stool to sit on- depending on the height of the grass or weeds.",
"Afterwards, I'd need my heating pad and linament for my aching back and knees, not to mention Aleve or some other pain killer.",
"Spending so much time in pain made me dread trimming.",
"Now, I just grab the Fiskars Long Handled Shears- stand, trim and that's it.",
"These shears are worth much more than 5 STARS, and I know I will never be without them again, as saving my back and knees are worth everything!"
] |
I thought this movie was superb! A motorist (Dennis Weaver) is on a long journey when he incurs the wrath of a murderous truck (I say 'truck' and not 'truckdriver', because the truck itself is the character - a monster on the rampage). The rest of the movie is spent in Weaver trying to get away from the truck. Every aspect of the movie underscores the motorist's puniness and lack of power; his car gives him trouble; it is not as fast as the truck, and the driver tries (in vain) to indentify who the truck driver is.
In fact, we never see the truck driver. We only see an occasional arm or hand. This emphasises the fact that the truck is like a prehistoric monster with demonic strength.
Dennis Weaver is superb. He virtually has to carry the entire plot himself. He expresses the motorist's rising sense of panic, and his feelings of increasing desparation as he tries to get out of his life-and-death predicament. | 2 | positive | [
"I thought this movie was superb!",
"A motorist (Dennis Weaver) is on a long journey when he incurs the wrath of a murderous truck (I say 'truck' and not 'truckdriver', because the truck itself is the character - a monster on the rampage).",
"The rest of the movie is spent in Weaver trying to get away from the truck.",
"Every aspect of the movie underscores the motorist's puniness and lack of power; his car gives him trouble; it is not as fast as the truck, and the driver tries (in vain) to indentify who the truck driver is.",
"In fact, we never see the truck driver.",
"We only see an occasional arm or hand.",
"This emphasises the fact that the truck is like a prehistoric monster with demonic strength.",
"Dennis Weaver is superb.",
"He virtually has to carry the entire plot himself.",
"He expresses the motorist's rising sense of panic, and his feelings of increasing desparation as he tries to get out of his life-and-death predicament."
] |
I got this case for my husband for Christmas, he is REALLY picky about cases, he has abandoned every case he has ever tried. I researched and found this case and I thought it would fit his needs, and so far it has. His complaint is that every case is always too 'sticky'. He keeps his phone in his pocket, and he gets annoyed if he can't get the phone out easily. Most silicone cases are really tacky to the touch and he has to wrestle his phone out of his pocket. This case has two parts, a silicone layer, which is tacky but still smoother than most, and an outside acrylic casing that covers most of the phone, but not all of it. In the picture, you can see how it looks like it is a lighter color on the back, almost like the case is two-toned. That isn't true, the lighter color is the acrylic case that snaps over the silicone case. This keeps the unit smoother on the back so it is easier to get out of his pocket, but it keeps the sides of the phone 'stickier' for grip while talking on the phone. The case fits like a glove, has perfect cut outs for the charger, earphone jack, speaker, camera, and ringer switch but the volume and off button are covered by silicone. He is able to use the MP3 jack he hooked up in my car, too, where my case, (made by incase,) he had to Dremel out the hole for the jack to make it bigger because the MP3 jack wouldn't fit (my case is made of a harder plastic.) With this case, the silicone is flexible and it allows for the hole to give in order to accommodate the bigger jack in my car.
You can use the phone with the acrylic back or you can use it without it, as the case is two separate parts. The acrylic case does, however, fit seamlessly within with the silicone case (the silicone has a cut out shape to accommodate the acrylic backing) so if you use it without the acrylic part the silicone will still show the outline for the acrylic, if that makes sense. It also came with screen protectors and a cleaning cloth, and both have worked well so far, too.
This case is a great deal, a lot less costly than many other cases you will find. I bought the equivalent case for an iPod Touch for my son in the orange color, and he seems to like his case, too. | 2 | positive | [
"I got this case for my husband for Christmas, he is REALLY picky about cases, he has abandoned every case he has ever tried.",
"I researched and found this case and I thought it would fit his needs, and so far it has.",
"His complaint is that every case is always too 'sticky'.",
"He keeps his phone in his pocket, and he gets annoyed if he can't get the phone out easily.",
"Most silicone cases are really tacky to the touch and he has to wrestle his phone out of his pocket.",
"This case has two parts, a silicone layer, which is tacky but still smoother than most, and an outside acrylic casing that covers most of the phone, but not all of it.",
"In the picture, you can see how it looks like it is a lighter color on the back, almost like the case is two-toned.",
"That isn't true, the lighter color is the acrylic case that snaps over the silicone case.",
"This keeps the unit smoother on the back so it is easier to get out of his pocket, but it keeps the sides of the phone 'stickier' for grip while talking on the phone.",
"The case fits like a glove, has perfect cut outs for the charger, earphone jack, speaker, camera, and ringer switch but the volume and off button are covered by silicone.",
"He is able to use the MP3 jack he hooked up in my car, too, where my case, (made by incase,) he had to Dremel out the hole for the jack to make it bigger because the MP3 jack wouldn't fit (my case is made of a harder plastic.",
") With this case, the silicone is flexible and it allows for the hole to give in order to accommodate the bigger jack in my car.",
"You can use the phone with the acrylic back or you can use it without it, as the case is two separate parts.",
"The acrylic case does, however, fit seamlessly within with the silicone case (the silicone has a cut out shape to accommodate the acrylic backing) so if you use it without the acrylic part the silicone will still show the outline for the acrylic, if that makes sense.",
"It also came with screen protectors and a cleaning cloth, and both have worked well so far, too.",
"This case is a great deal, a lot less costly than many other cases you will find.",
"I bought the equivalent case for an iPod Touch for my son in the orange color, and he seems to like his case, too."
] |
There have been many movies and television shows that have tried to replicate the premise of 1988's Who Framed Roger Rabbit, yet even the most recent attempts have, for the most part, failed (although Greg the Bunny came pretty close). In the world of WFRR, cartoons, or just toons for short, are real. They live among us, and act in their own movies and cartoons. They just happen to be animated. For the most part, the whole point of being a toon is to make people laugh, and many of them excel at it.
Dateline: Hollywood, 1947. Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) is a down-and-out private investigator who has become a drunk grouch ever since the death of his brother and partner, Teddy. The pair specialized in toon cases (they cleared Goofy of espionnage charges), and frequented Toontown, an animated city that was home to the toons. That is until a deranged toon killed Teddy and left Eddie for dead. Now, Eddie can barely find work, and spends most of his time drinking. Roger Rabbit (Charles Fleisher) is an up-and-coming toon, the new star of Maroon Cartoons shorts. Although lately, he has been having trouble with his lines. Studio boss R.K. Maroon (Alan Tilvern) believes that it is the fault of Roger's wife Jessica (Kathleen Turner/Amy Irving), a stunning redhead whom Maroon believes is cheating on her husband. Maroon hires Eddie to trail Jessica and take pictures incriminating her. It turns out that Jessica is doing something outside of her marriage (though not what you'd think) with Maroon's buddy Marvin Acme (Stubby Kaye), the CEO of the company that makes all of those gadgets that Wile E. Coyote tries to use against the Road Runner. When Roger finds out, he is heartbroken, and the next day, Acme is found murdered. Immediately, Roger is blamed, and the man with jurisdiction over Toontown, Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd) is set to execute Roger without even a trial. His new invention, dip (comprised of turpentine, acetone, and benzene), is the only proven way to actually kill a toon, and he has no qualms about using it on Roger.
Roger claims that he is innocent, and begs Eddie to help him out. He originally declines, but he is eventually drawn into the case. And what seems like a simple frame job continues to unfold as more and more clues point in new directions.
For what may be seen as a kids' movie (which it definitely isn't), there is a complex story, interesting character development, and good dialogue. Also, the special effects are superb, espcecially considering that this movie was made in 1988. The toons are integrated nearly seamlessly into the real world and vice versa. Also, this is probably the ONLY time anyone will ever see Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny interacting with each other. There were probably loads of conditions that had to be met by both Disney and Warner Bros. to make that happen, and due to studio politics, will probably never happen again.
Overall, this is a great movie that is a testament to the talents of director Robert Zemeckis (who also directed Back to the Future and Castaway) as well as the effects team. We will probably never get another movie like this. | 2 | positive | [
"There have been many movies and television shows that have tried to replicate the premise of 1988's Who Framed Roger Rabbit, yet even the most recent attempts have, for the most part, failed (although Greg the Bunny came pretty close).",
"In the world of WFRR, cartoons, or just toons for short, are real.",
"They live among us, and act in their own movies and cartoons.",
"They just happen to be animated.",
"For the most part, the whole point of being a toon is to make people laugh, and many of them excel at it.",
"Dateline: Hollywood, 1947.",
"Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) is a down-and-out private investigator who has become a drunk grouch ever since the death of his brother and partner, Teddy.",
"The pair specialized in toon cases (they cleared Goofy of espionnage charges), and frequented Toontown, an animated city that was home to the toons.",
"That is until a deranged toon killed Teddy and left Eddie for dead.",
"Now, Eddie can barely find work, and spends most of his time drinking.",
"Roger Rabbit (Charles Fleisher) is an up-and-coming toon, the new star of Maroon Cartoons shorts.",
"Although lately, he has been having trouble with his lines.",
"Studio boss R.",
"K. Maroon (Alan Tilvern) believes that it is the fault of Roger's wife Jessica (Kathleen Turner/Amy Irving), a stunning redhead whom Maroon believes is cheating on her husband.",
"Maroon hires Eddie to trail Jessica and take pictures incriminating her.",
"It turns out that Jessica is doing something outside of her marriage (though not what you'd think) with Maroon's buddy Marvin Acme (Stubby Kaye), the CEO of the company that makes all of those gadgets that Wile E.",
"Coyote tries to use against the Road Runner.",
"When Roger finds out, he is heartbroken, and the next day, Acme is found murdered.",
"Immediately, Roger is blamed, and the man with jurisdiction over Toontown, Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd) is set to execute Roger without even a trial.",
"His new invention, dip (comprised of turpentine, acetone, and benzene), is the only proven way to actually kill a toon, and he has no qualms about using it on Roger.",
"Roger claims that he is innocent, and begs Eddie to help him out.",
"He originally declines, but he is eventually drawn into the case.",
"And what seems like a simple frame job continues to unfold as more and more clues point in new directions.",
"For what may be seen as a kids' movie (which it definitely isn't), there is a complex story, interesting character development, and good dialogue.",
"Also, the special effects are superb, espcecially considering that this movie was made in 1988.",
"The toons are integrated nearly seamlessly into the real world and vice versa.",
"Also, this is probably the ONLY time anyone will ever see Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny interacting with each other.",
"There were probably loads of conditions that had to be met by both Disney and Warner Bros.",
"to make that happen, and due to studio politics, will probably never happen again.",
"Overall, this is a great movie that is a testament to the talents of director Robert Zemeckis (who also directed Back to the Future and Castaway) as well as the effects team.",
"We will probably never get another movie like this."
] |
Ask my little brother, and he'll tell you that I will not play Star Wars games. The last one I truly played was Rogue Leader--we have some others, but the glitchiness and escort missions annoy me to death.
This game, however, has none of that. Well, maybe some slight glitchiness, but it's barely noticable.
Battlefront is a straight action game, and I think that's what I love most about it. For once, there's no mission to protect this craft/person/structure: It's a seek-and-destroy, all-out battle between two factions, and it's awesome. The only thing close to a mission is the need to capture command posts, but it doesn't hinder gameplay at all. I play with my brother every weekend (the only time I'm near the game), and never get bored, which is more than I can say for every other SW game I have ever played.
By the way, fighting side-by-side with Darth Vader is the coolest thing ever.
Even if you're not a fan of Star Wars (like, say, me), you owe it to yourself to try this game out. It might surprise you. | 2 | positive | [
"Ask my little brother, and he'll tell you that I will not play Star Wars games.",
"The last one I truly played was Rogue Leader--we have some others, but the glitchiness and escort missions annoy me to death.",
"This game, however, has none of that.",
"Well, maybe some slight glitchiness, but it's barely noticable.",
"Battlefront is a straight action game, and I think that's what I love most about it.",
"For once, there's no mission to protect this craft/person/structure: It's a seek-and-destroy, all-out battle between two factions, and it's awesome.",
"The only thing close to a mission is the need to capture command posts, but it doesn't hinder gameplay at all.",
"I play with my brother every weekend (the only time I'm near the game), and never get bored, which is more than I can say for every other SW game I have ever played.",
"By the way, fighting side-by-side with Darth Vader is the coolest thing ever.",
"Even if you're not a fan of Star Wars (like, say, me), you owe it to yourself to try this game out.",
"It might surprise you."
] |
I bought these as a Christmas present for someone after owning the Sennheiser HD580 and HD600 for years, both of legendary sound quality. I A/B-d these with several other headphones in this price range, including the Bose Triport and, given enough power, these sounded the best, although of course they are not as good as the HD580 and HD600, which have a more balanced sonic spectrum. The balance seems to be in the favor of the bass end, but not the really low bass: instead, somewhere in the 50-60 Hz range. It isn't annoying, however, and after a while your ears just get used to it, and they really are a pleasure to listen to, having the same open and airy sound of the HD580 and the HD600. For the money, I think they are an excellent value, provided you already own a headphone amplifier.
This latter point brings up the main issue I have with these headphones. Frankly, I am puzzled by the claims of some reviewers that these headphones can be fully appreciated without a headphone amplifier. I thought my HD-600s were inefficient! But these HD570's are by far the most inefficient headphones I have ever sampled and require far more power than any portable CD player is capable of delivering that I've ever used. Even my two console CD players (no slouches either: a Harman Kardon 720 and a Philips CDC 751) have to be turned up all the way for full concert volume, and when that happens the bass just falls apart and swamps the high end in mud, as obviously the tiny amplifiers in these CD players are being over-modulated. This could explain the reports in various reviews below that these headphones have a muddy sound. However, plugging these into my Musical Fidelity X-Cans headphone amplifier, a revelation takes place: the base firms up, the mid-range becomes silky smooth and the treble bursts to life. Suddenly the HD570's become very musical and a pleasure to listen to for long periods of time.
It seems a little weird to manufacture headphones in a mid-price range that require an expensive headphone amplifier to produce excellent sound. Anyone going to the lengths of purchasing a headphone amplifier is going to be looking at premium headphone performance, and because the frequency response rises in the bass area, these don't quite reach those airy heights. However, to break them in, I listened to them for eight solid hours through my headphone amp. The fact that this was not fatiguing in the least speaks to their very smooth, distortion-free sound, as well as the sheer physical comfort of the phones themselves enveloping my tender ears all these hours.
In summary, I would not give the HD570's as a Christmas present to anyone who intends to listen to music directly plugged into a CD player. So what am I recommending these for? Well, these are a present for my 94 year old mother-in-law who likes to blast one of our TVs to high heaven when she visits us two or three times a year for a couple months duration each visit. This constant racket emanating from the TV is extremely annoying to the rest of the household. So my presents to her are these headphones and a nice, new, Panasonic flat-screen 27" TV (which stays on the premises) with a headphone jack on the front. Now she can blast herself into oblivion for all I care.
I tested these headphones both on the TV I bought for her and on a 20" Toshiba with a front headphone jack. Surprisingly, both TVs had enough "umph" to drive these highly inefficient headphones to far beyond tolerable listening levels (just like my Musical Fidelity headphone amp is capable of doing). So that's what I'd recommend these headphones for, which is a rather limited market, I would think.
What also makes these phones ideal for the hard-of-hearing television viewer is that they are extremely lightweight and so comfortable that after a while you don't even notice that you're wearing them: ideal for the 94 year old, half-deaf mother-in-law glued to the tube. They also have a 10 foot cord, which makes them ideal for watching a 27" TV.
Speaking of the cord, I would be wary of the robustness of this cord. At one time, Sennheiser was notorious for having a fragile cord that easily became shorted out when repeatedly tugged upon at the connection. This problem has been solved for the HD580 and the HD600, but I'm not so sure it has been solved for the HD570. The sample in the store was partially shorted out and to hear stereo you had to push laterally on the connector near the phones. Obviously, this connector did not withstand the rough and tumble of a store demo, so to be on the safe side treat the connection gently. | 2 | positive | [
"I bought these as a Christmas present for someone after owning the Sennheiser HD580 and HD600 for years, both of legendary sound quality.",
"I A/B-d these with several other headphones in this price range, including the Bose Triport and, given enough power, these sounded the best, although of course they are not as good as the HD580 and HD600, which have a more balanced sonic spectrum.",
"The balance seems to be in the favor of the bass end, but not the really low bass: instead, somewhere in the 50-60 Hz range.",
"It isn't annoying, however, and after a while your ears just get used to it, and they really are a pleasure to listen to, having the same open and airy sound of the HD580 and the HD600.",
"For the money, I think they are an excellent value, provided you already own a headphone amplifier.",
"This latter point brings up the main issue I have with these headphones.",
"Frankly, I am puzzled by the claims of some reviewers that these headphones can be fully appreciated without a headphone amplifier.",
"I thought my HD-600s were inefficient!",
"But these HD570's are by far the most inefficient headphones I have ever sampled and require far more power than any portable CD player is capable of delivering that I've ever used.",
"Even my two console CD players (no slouches either: a Harman Kardon 720 and a Philips CDC 751) have to be turned up all the way for full concert volume, and when that happens the bass just falls apart and swamps the high end in mud, as obviously the tiny amplifiers in these CD players are being over-modulated.",
"This could explain the reports in various reviews below that these headphones have a muddy sound.",
"However, plugging these into my Musical Fidelity X-Cans headphone amplifier, a revelation takes place: the base firms up, the mid-range becomes silky smooth and the treble bursts to life.",
"Suddenly the HD570's become very musical and a pleasure to listen to for long periods of time.",
"It seems a little weird to manufacture headphones in a mid-price range that require an expensive headphone amplifier to produce excellent sound.",
"Anyone going to the lengths of purchasing a headphone amplifier is going to be looking at premium headphone performance, and because the frequency response rises in the bass area, these don't quite reach those airy heights.",
"However, to break them in, I listened to them for eight solid hours through my headphone amp.",
"The fact that this was not fatiguing in the least speaks to their very smooth, distortion-free sound, as well as the sheer physical comfort of the phones themselves enveloping my tender ears all these hours.",
"In summary, I would not give the HD570's as a Christmas present to anyone who intends to listen to music directly plugged into a CD player.",
"So what am I recommending these for?",
"Well, these are a present for my 94 year old mother-in-law who likes to blast one of our TVs to high heaven when she visits us two or three times a year for a couple months duration each visit.",
"This constant racket emanating from the TV is extremely annoying to the rest of the household.",
"So my presents to her are these headphones and a nice, new, Panasonic flat-screen 27\" TV (which stays on the premises) with a headphone jack on the front.",
"Now she can blast herself into oblivion for all I care.",
"I tested these headphones both on the TV I bought for her and on a 20\" Toshiba with a front headphone jack.",
"Surprisingly, both TVs had enough \"umph\" to drive these highly inefficient headphones to far beyond tolerable listening levels (just like my Musical Fidelity headphone amp is capable of doing).",
"So that's what I'd recommend these headphones for, which is a rather limited market, I would think.",
"What also makes these phones ideal for the hard-of-hearing television viewer is that they are extremely lightweight and so comfortable that after a while you don't even notice that you're wearing them: ideal for the 94 year old, half-deaf mother-in-law glued to the tube.",
"They also have a 10 foot cord, which makes them ideal for watching a 27\" TV.",
"Speaking of the cord, I would be wary of the robustness of this cord.",
"At one time, Sennheiser was notorious for having a fragile cord that easily became shorted out when repeatedly tugged upon at the connection.",
"This problem has been solved for the HD580 and the HD600, but I'm not so sure it has been solved for the HD570.",
"The sample in the store was partially shorted out and to hear stereo you had to push laterally on the connector near the phones.",
"Obviously, this connector did not withstand the rough and tumble of a store demo, so to be on the safe side treat the connection gently."
] |
This is Lipton: that afternoon tea with extra bitters that makes the classic iced tea or sweet tea or afternoon kick that is the old North American taste. British ex-pats mostly don't like this. Their Tetley/PGTips is much softer, and cools to a tea-leaf flavor without needing sugar. Handy, but not if you you want brisk, baby. If you can get over (or tame with milk+sugar) the Lipton bite, this is quite crisp and invigorating. As it cools, it reveals a lot more rich leaf/wood flavor than regular Lipton. No apologies or platitudes in this cup. This is Lipton-plus in more ways than one. If like strong brisk tea, this is your ticket, with some classic flavor as well. The extra flavor might win some who have just tasted the bite. | 2 | positive | [
"This is Lipton: that afternoon tea with extra bitters that makes the classic iced tea or sweet tea or afternoon kick that is the old North American taste.",
"British ex-pats mostly don't like this.",
"Their Tetley/PGTips is much softer, and cools to a tea-leaf flavor without needing sugar.",
"Handy, but not if you you want brisk, baby.",
"If you can get over (or tame with milk+sugar) the Lipton bite, this is quite crisp and invigorating.",
"As it cools, it reveals a lot more rich leaf/wood flavor than regular Lipton.",
"No apologies or platitudes in this cup.",
"This is Lipton-plus in more ways than one.",
"If like strong brisk tea, this is your ticket, with some classic flavor as well.",
"The extra flavor might win some who have just tasted the bite."
] |
Fabulous roaster, and a must-have for any kitchen. There is nothing like LeCreuset's enameled cast iron for perfect roasting, brasing, casseroles. I roasted my Greek chicken recipe with potatoes and lemon in this, and it came out to perfection. Meat and vegetables nicely roasted/browned, sauce was rich, and chicken was very tender. Far better results than pyrex bakers or even a Calphalon roaster I have. And it makes such a nice presentation for serving and cleans up beyond compare.
If you do much oven roasting, or cooking from-stovetop-to-oven, LC's enameled cast iron is by far the best option available. I used have to brown meat in a separate pan, and transfer to pyrex bakers for the oven -- not any more! The durability and even-heating of the LC cast iron is outstanding. I am thrilled with this piece! | 2 | positive | [
"Fabulous roaster, and a must-have for any kitchen.",
"There is nothing like LeCreuset's enameled cast iron for perfect roasting, brasing, casseroles.",
"I roasted my Greek chicken recipe with potatoes and lemon in this, and it came out to perfection.",
"Meat and vegetables nicely roasted/browned, sauce was rich, and chicken was very tender.",
"Far better results than pyrex bakers or even a Calphalon roaster I have.",
"And it makes such a nice presentation for serving and cleans up beyond compare.",
"If you do much oven roasting, or cooking from-stovetop-to-oven, LC's enameled cast iron is by far the best option available.",
"I used have to brown meat in a separate pan, and transfer to pyrex bakers for the oven -- not any more!",
"The durability and even-heating of the LC cast iron is outstanding.",
"I am thrilled with this piece!"
] |
My rating for is 4.5
As the second installment of the Best Man Series we get to know Duncan up close.
Duncan Gilmore and Dr. Tamara Wolcott meet for the first time in a elevator that they get stuck in. Duncan & Tamara get off to a rocky start in the elevator but while there they begin to get to know each other a little better. Tamara tell Duncan about her life why she became a doctor and the failing of her marriage to her ex. Tamara has put up this wall and after her marriage ended she decided that from now on she will not depend on a man and that she will be a independent person. Tamara thought she had everything under control until Duncan her stirred up all kind of feeling and desire in Tamara.
Duncan lost his bride to be in 911 and he has been carrying around this guilt because Kalinda was not what she appear to be. Duncan realize that although he love Kalinda he was not in love with her but being the man that he is he thought he was helping her. Duncan is not into game playing and like Tamara for Duncan she stir emotions in him he had never felt before.
For Duncan and Tamara it was fortune that they found each other because Duncan found the love of his life and for Tamara she saw what a man love can do for you. Duncan was everything her ex was not he was kind, good looking and a wonderful lover. Duncan put Tamara first her happiness was his happiness. I am so loving re-visiting with the Whitfield family and seeing how their business is striving and seeing them with the men they love.
I am waiting for the next installment...Ivan story, and to see Jordan with his love. I have start reading the online read from Harlequin which begin yesterday. This online is about Jordan & his family.
Smooches
Louise | 2 | positive | [
"My rating for is 4.",
"5\nAs the second installment of the Best Man Series we get to know Duncan up close.",
"Duncan Gilmore and Dr.",
"Tamara Wolcott meet for the first time in a elevator that they get stuck in.",
"Duncan & Tamara get off to a rocky start in the elevator but while there they begin to get to know each other a little better.",
"Tamara tell Duncan about her life why she became a doctor and the failing of her marriage to her ex.",
"Tamara has put up this wall and after her marriage ended she decided that from now on she will not depend on a man and that she will be a independent person.",
"Tamara thought she had everything under control until Duncan her stirred up all kind of feeling and desire in Tamara.",
"Duncan lost his bride to be in 911 and he has been carrying around this guilt because Kalinda was not what she appear to be.",
"Duncan realize that although he love Kalinda he was not in love with her but being the man that he is he thought he was helping her.",
"Duncan is not into game playing and like Tamara for Duncan she stir emotions in him he had never felt before.",
"For Duncan and Tamara it was fortune that they found each other because Duncan found the love of his life and for Tamara she saw what a man love can do for you.",
"Duncan was everything her ex was not he was kind, good looking and a wonderful lover.",
"Duncan put Tamara first her happiness was his happiness.",
"I am so loving re-visiting with the Whitfield family and seeing how their business is striving and seeing them with the men they love.",
"I am waiting for the next installment...",
"Ivan story, and to see Jordan with his love.",
"I have start reading the online read from Harlequin which begin yesterday.",
"This online is about Jordan & his family.",
"Smooches\n\nLouise"
] |
I use my several sets of measuring cups and spoons all the time. I have a sturdier set that I like better, but then they are quality and were $20. These are a great value for the money. They are NOT flimsy! You could bend them if you wanted to, but they're fairly sturdy. I don't put mine in the dishwasher, so I don't know if they would rust or how they would fair (fare?) in there. They rinse out nicelly. Easy peasy to clean. I love the circle that keeps them together and the fact that you can hang them. It's kinda nice to have the size on the handle so you can easily tell the 1/4 cup from the 1/3 cup when something's in them, without having to turn the cup around and risk spilling the contents to double check the size on the side. Oh and I like that the handles are long so I don't get my hands in the flour or sugar when I scoop with them. I'd buy them again in a heartbeat. | 2 | positive | [
"I use my several sets of measuring cups and spoons all the time.",
"I have a sturdier set that I like better, but then they are quality and were $20.",
"These are a great value for the money.",
"They are NOT flimsy!",
"You could bend them if you wanted to, but they're fairly sturdy.",
"I don't put mine in the dishwasher, so I don't know if they would rust or how they would fair (fare?",
") in there.",
"They rinse out nicelly.",
"Easy peasy to clean.",
"I love the circle that keeps them together and the fact that you can hang them.",
"It's kinda nice to have the size on the handle so you can easily tell the 1/4 cup from the 1/3 cup when something's in them, without having to turn the cup around and risk spilling the contents to double check the size on the side.",
"Oh and I like that the handles are long so I don't get my hands in the flour or sugar when I scoop with them.",
"I'd buy them again in a heartbeat."
] |
With Mahler performances, it's all a matter of degree. Tempo, angst, symphonic color, orchestral texture, detail, instrumentation - what sound picture does the conductor bring? In this very well recorded performance with huge dynamic range (albeit the dry "DG" sound) Boulez provides an interpretation with sensational color. Tempos are mainstream, but color and detail abound. There is a prevailing interpretive color Boulez brings to the entire recording. The first movement march theme is not overdriven, but has weight and a raspy quality and nervousness; but nonetheless is more color than a relentless march. The second movement is more "even keel" than that of say Sinopoli, Bernstein or Karajan' s typical ignoring tempos - but again is more of French modernism and lavish symphonic color via the VPO. The 3rd movement in particular shows Boulez' find comprehension of Mahler with steady tempos. I found 4th movement superb. As the rationale and conductor to conductor performances differ so much in any one conductors' cycle -- mention should be made of the fact that I DISLIKED Boulez's interpretation of Mahler's 4th (among the poorest I've ever encountered) and I found Boulez Mahler 7th to be GHASTLY. This 6th though, fits in to my Mahler collection based on it's French neo-classical modernism, Mahlerian color, the VPO ensemble and a new "symphonic color" alongside my Sinopoli 6th. | 2 | positive | [
"With Mahler performances, it's all a matter of degree.",
"Tempo, angst, symphonic color, orchestral texture, detail, instrumentation - what sound picture does the conductor bring?",
"In this very well recorded performance with huge dynamic range (albeit the dry \"DG\" sound) Boulez provides an interpretation with sensational color.",
"Tempos are mainstream, but color and detail abound.",
"There is a prevailing interpretive color Boulez brings to the entire recording.",
"The first movement march theme is not overdriven, but has weight and a raspy quality and nervousness; but nonetheless is more color than a relentless march.",
"The second movement is more \"even keel\" than that of say Sinopoli, Bernstein or Karajan' s typical ignoring tempos - but again is more of French modernism and lavish symphonic color via the VPO.",
"The 3rd movement in particular shows Boulez' find comprehension of Mahler with steady tempos.",
"I found 4th movement superb.",
"As the rationale and conductor to conductor performances differ so much in any one conductors' cycle -- mention should be made of the fact that I DISLIKED Boulez's interpretation of Mahler's 4th (among the poorest I've ever encountered) and I found Boulez Mahler 7th to be GHASTLY.",
"This 6th though, fits in to my Mahler collection based on it's French neo-classical modernism, Mahlerian color, the VPO ensemble and a new \"symphonic color\" alongside my Sinopoli 6th."
] |
The unit arrived without the "planks" assembled. I've assembled many products over the past 60 years or so and the assembly instructions for this unit are the poorest I've ever encounered. The first plank assembles relatively straightforward IF you realize that not all the attachments are identical. In order to align the mounting holes the middle plank has to be reversed in relation to the logo on it. When assembled thusly you can't raise the narrowest plank......and you can't attach the narrowest plank in any manner at all.
I tried every whichway to assemble the unit so that it would work the way it should and finally gave up. I'll use it as a stationary worktable since it is quite heavy and can be stabilized. There were no instructions about how to operate the table if and when it got assembled. By contrast I still own two prior versions of the B&D Workmate that both assembled perfectly and work as they are supposed to. I did purchase the item online and through Amazon.
Edit: After reviewing the reviews and realizing that I was among only a few that had trouble with the instructions I read the instructions again. Solution: The instructions do not elaborate on the fact that you don't bolt the "black" connectors from underneath the bench frame but raher directly to the planks (jaws) themselves. The jaws don't touch the frame itself. Problem now solved. I still maintain that the instructions are not clear. In addition, I removed the plastic belt so that the sides of the movable jaw can be adjusted independently. That's the way the original product operated and I think it's superior. I'm now happy with the product itself. | 2 | positive | [
"The unit arrived without the \"planks\" assembled.",
"I've assembled many products over the past 60 years or so and the assembly instructions for this unit are the poorest I've ever encounered.",
"The first plank assembles relatively straightforward IF you realize that not all the attachments are identical.",
"In order to align the mounting holes the middle plank has to be reversed in relation to the logo on it.",
"When assembled thusly you can't raise the narrowest plank....",
"..",
"and you can't attach the narrowest plank in any manner at all.",
"I tried every whichway to assemble the unit so that it would work the way it should and finally gave up.",
"I'll use it as a stationary worktable since it is quite heavy and can be stabilized.",
"There were no instructions about how to operate the table if and when it got assembled.",
"By contrast I still own two prior versions of the B&D Workmate that both assembled perfectly and work as they are supposed to.",
"I did purchase the item online and through Amazon.",
"Edit: After reviewing the reviews and realizing that I was among only a few that had trouble with the instructions I read the instructions again.",
"Solution: The instructions do not elaborate on the fact that you don't bolt the \"black\" connectors from underneath the bench frame but raher directly to the planks (jaws) themselves.",
"The jaws don't touch the frame itself.",
"Problem now solved.",
"I still maintain that the instructions are not clear.",
"In addition, I removed the plastic belt so that the sides of the movable jaw can be adjusted independently.",
"That's the way the original product operated and I think it's superior.",
"I'm now happy with the product itself."
] |
We have a Schlage key lock system. The door stopped closing because something broke inside the closing plate. We went to Home Depot to replace it and they don't carry the replacement. He gave us an 800#, because it is under warranty, they would send us a new lock set or part. This was 3 weeks ago. We ordered the part from Amazon because we got tired of waiting and the door having to be manually closed got old. We replaced the plate mechanism after a two day shipping and we still have not received the product from Schlage. I have actually contacted them and told them the same thing. Their customer service stinks, thankfully Amazon's doesn't. We can now shut the door with out having to turn the door knob. | 2 | positive | [
"We have a Schlage key lock system.",
"The door stopped closing because something broke inside the closing plate.",
"We went to Home Depot to replace it and they don't carry the replacement.",
"He gave us an 800#, because it is under warranty, they would send us a new lock set or part.",
"This was 3 weeks ago.",
"We ordered the part from Amazon because we got tired of waiting and the door having to be manually closed got old.",
"We replaced the plate mechanism after a two day shipping and we still have not received the product from Schlage.",
"I have actually contacted them and told them the same thing.",
"Their customer service stinks, thankfully Amazon's doesn't.",
"We can now shut the door with out having to turn the door knob."
] |
The release of a new Jon B. album is definitely a time to celebrate and become elated. Nearly 4 years since his "Helpless Romantic" was released, "Comfortable Swagg" comes cooly strutting' in. It has been Jon's experience since his excellent "Pleasures U Like" that without proper promotion, everyone suffers. That album had been led by the Top 3 success of "Don't Talk" which should have insured a long term promotion commitment. That didn't happen. One key Epic/Sony executive, Polly Anthony, held the reigns to its destiny. Frustrated, Jon decided to jump ship and head to Dreamworks. As luck would have it, that Epic/Sony executive would also turn up at the boutique label. This caused a shift in strategy. Therefore, he took, what was then called "Everyday Struggles" to Sanctuary Urban. That album, now transformed into "Stronger Everyday" was loaded with a number of hit singles. Sanctuary Urban would have its own share of problems effectively leading to a poor promotion job. For his next release, "Helpless Romantic", he decided to go the full indie route with the enabling mechanism designed for solid promotion. The strength of that album was reflected in Universal Fontana's ability to garner AirPlay. Now he was at the mercy of indie promotion. But at least, he had a degree of control over its destiny.
."Comfortable Swagg" comes on his Vibezelect label, a word/concept first exposed on, "Pleasures U Like".
This time around, Jon has gone more uptempo than he has ever been. It sorta has a Euro-soul/dance feel to it. You might be hard press to identify it as Jon B. if you hear an isolated track. That is a bit refreshing. Whilst "Helpless Romantic" was indeed more romantic leaning with ballads and mid tempo grooves. On "Comfortable Swag", he has taken to the dance floor. It signals that Jon may be in a most different place than he has ever been.
"Comfortable Swagg" also spawned two excellent singles and videos for the title track and "Only One". "Only One" may be one of his finest music videos. It is very simple but effective. There has been more on line promotion for this album than all of the promotion for the life of "Helpless Romantic". Jon has also been touring more on this album than he had for the entire life of his previous release. So though this album is not quite as strong as his best to date of "Cool Relax" and "Stronger Everyday", "Comfortable Swagg" has enough solid material that it should ultimately "Triumph"! | 2 | positive | [
"The release of a new Jon B.",
"album is definitely a time to celebrate and become elated.",
"Nearly 4 years since his \"Helpless Romantic\" was released, \"Comfortable Swagg\" comes cooly strutting' in.",
"It has been Jon's experience since his excellent \"Pleasures U Like\" that without proper promotion, everyone suffers.",
"That album had been led by the Top 3 success of \"Don't Talk\" which should have insured a long term promotion commitment.",
"That didn't happen.",
"One key Epic/Sony executive, Polly Anthony, held the reigns to its destiny.",
"Frustrated, Jon decided to jump ship and head to Dreamworks.",
"As luck would have it, that Epic/Sony executive would also turn up at the boutique label.",
"This caused a shift in strategy.",
"Therefore, he took, what was then called \"Everyday Struggles\" to Sanctuary Urban.",
"That album, now transformed into \"Stronger Everyday\" was loaded with a number of hit singles.",
"Sanctuary Urban would have its own share of problems effectively leading to a poor promotion job.",
"For his next release, \"Helpless Romantic\", he decided to go the full indie route with the enabling mechanism designed for solid promotion.",
"The strength of that album was reflected in Universal Fontana's ability to garner AirPlay.",
"Now he was at the mercy of indie promotion.",
"But at least, he had a degree of control over its destiny.",
".",
"\"Comfortable Swagg\" comes on his Vibezelect label, a word/concept first exposed on, \"Pleasures U Like\".",
"This time around, Jon has gone more uptempo than he has ever been.",
"It sorta has a Euro-soul/dance feel to it.",
"You might be hard press to identify it as Jon B.",
"if you hear an isolated track.",
"That is a bit refreshing.",
"Whilst \"Helpless Romantic\" was indeed more romantic leaning with ballads and mid tempo grooves.",
"On \"Comfortable Swag\", he has taken to the dance floor.",
"It signals that Jon may be in a most different place than he has ever been.",
"\"Comfortable Swagg\" also spawned two excellent singles and videos for the title track and \"Only One\".",
"\"Only One\" may be one of his finest music videos.",
"It is very simple but effective.",
"There has been more on line promotion for this album than all of the promotion for the life of \"Helpless Romantic\".",
"Jon has also been touring more on this album than he had for the entire life of his previous release.",
"So though this album is not quite as strong as his best to date of \"Cool Relax\" and \"Stronger Everyday\", \"Comfortable Swagg\" has enough solid material that it should ultimately \"Triumph\"!"
] |
Vampire Council assassin (or bounty hunter, as she likes to be called) Secret McQueen's days of hiding out in Canada from her latest assignment are brought to an end when a trio of unlikely allies conspire to drag her back to New York. The Council's patience with her has run out and Sig, the head and the one member who is usually her obvious supporter, is on her doorstep taking a very personal interest in her completion of this particular order to kill her mentor, Holden Chancery. Her own gut instinct, what she knows about Holden and something about the way Sig's acting convinces Secret that not only can't she follow her orders but she has to find out what he's accused of and prove him innocent.
When Secret left New York, she wasn't just leaving behind the Council job, she was running away from the complications of her bonds with werewolves Desmond and Lucas. Now that she's back, she has to face the fact that she left them holding a mess - not only did they just learn she had a vampire half, she inadvertently caused a power void in Lucas' pack and as Desmond's lover, she hurt him deeply with what he saw as a desertion of a mate. Her reunion with Lucas is prickly - he's not the same man he was when she left - but she and Desmond manage to patch things up horizontally pretty well until Secret starts getting flashes in her head of Holden while having happy times with him.
Holden is very interested in getting in touch with Secret, and he's doing it through their warden/ward bond. He knows she's been assigned to kill him and not only wants to stop her but expects her to investigate, especially when he hears about Sig's interest. With Holden, Lucas, Desmond and Sig all dogging her heels and wanting something from her, she's a busy woman. She has to run down clues, evade the Council, deal with Holden popping in and out of her head and apartment, handle not one but two werewolves who expect her to make a commitment to them and handle her own new ward, the bubbly, impulsive and slightly ditzy Brigit. Oh, and there are some really nasty vampires and their servants who want her dead - badly.
I liked Something Secret This Way Comes but I had some doubts about where some plot threads were going and the purpose of some characters. I may not know where things are ultimately going, but a few books in, I think I have a better idea of who these characters are and I am seriously enjoying this series. Secret is fast becoming one of my favorite UF heroines.
For the first time it seems, Secret is in the position of having to run an investigation on one of her assassination orders rather than just going at it with her trusty gun or katana. Without her usual resources of Keaty or Holden, she's stuck depending on people she doesn't know and ferreting out information until she has something to take to Sig and Holden. Of course there are elements who don't want her to save Holden, who would be happy for him to just take the fall for whatever it is the Council thinks he's done. There's a really impressive layering of motives, hints of history between characters and definite reactions to Secret that will carry over even beyond into the next book when it's discovered who's behind the treachery.
The way this story layers in people and plot pieces from past stories and the other books really strengthened this one for me. I love the voice the author's given Secret, the world of the Vampire Council and the glimpses of Lucas' pack that we're beginning to get. The villains are very scary but Secret needs to watch herself around the nice guys too - it makes me wonder what on earth is next for this woman and how soon I'll get to read about it. The whole series is a win for me. While this doesn't end on a cliffhanger, it ends on a big bang - I really feel sorry for the things Dean is putting Secret through. | 2 | positive | [
"Vampire Council assassin (or bounty hunter, as she likes to be called) Secret McQueen's days of hiding out in Canada from her latest assignment are brought to an end when a trio of unlikely allies conspire to drag her back to New York.",
"The Council's patience with her has run out and Sig, the head and the one member who is usually her obvious supporter, is on her doorstep taking a very personal interest in her completion of this particular order to kill her mentor, Holden Chancery.",
"Her own gut instinct, what she knows about Holden and something about the way Sig's acting convinces Secret that not only can't she follow her orders but she has to find out what he's accused of and prove him innocent.",
"When Secret left New York, she wasn't just leaving behind the Council job, she was running away from the complications of her bonds with werewolves Desmond and Lucas.",
"Now that she's back, she has to face the fact that she left them holding a mess - not only did they just learn she had a vampire half, she inadvertently caused a power void in Lucas' pack and as Desmond's lover, she hurt him deeply with what he saw as a desertion of a mate.",
"Her reunion with Lucas is prickly - he's not the same man he was when she left - but she and Desmond manage to patch things up horizontally pretty well until Secret starts getting flashes in her head of Holden while having happy times with him.",
"Holden is very interested in getting in touch with Secret, and he's doing it through their warden/ward bond.",
"He knows she's been assigned to kill him and not only wants to stop her but expects her to investigate, especially when he hears about Sig's interest.",
"With Holden, Lucas, Desmond and Sig all dogging her heels and wanting something from her, she's a busy woman.",
"She has to run down clues, evade the Council, deal with Holden popping in and out of her head and apartment, handle not one but two werewolves who expect her to make a commitment to them and handle her own new ward, the bubbly, impulsive and slightly ditzy Brigit.",
"Oh, and there are some really nasty vampires and their servants who want her dead - badly.",
"I liked Something Secret This Way Comes but I had some doubts about where some plot threads were going and the purpose of some characters.",
"I may not know where things are ultimately going, but a few books in, I think I have a better idea of who these characters are and I am seriously enjoying this series.",
"Secret is fast becoming one of my favorite UF heroines.",
"For the first time it seems, Secret is in the position of having to run an investigation on one of her assassination orders rather than just going at it with her trusty gun or katana.",
"Without her usual resources of Keaty or Holden, she's stuck depending on people she doesn't know and ferreting out information until she has something to take to Sig and Holden.",
"Of course there are elements who don't want her to save Holden, who would be happy for him to just take the fall for whatever it is the Council thinks he's done.",
"There's a really impressive layering of motives, hints of history between characters and definite reactions to Secret that will carry over even beyond into the next book when it's discovered who's behind the treachery.",
"The way this story layers in people and plot pieces from past stories and the other books really strengthened this one for me.",
"I love the voice the author's given Secret, the world of the Vampire Council and the glimpses of Lucas' pack that we're beginning to get.",
"The villains are very scary but Secret needs to watch herself around the nice guys too - it makes me wonder what on earth is next for this woman and how soon I'll get to read about it.",
"The whole series is a win for me.",
"While this doesn't end on a cliffhanger, it ends on a big bang - I really feel sorry for the things Dean is putting Secret through."
] |
I was a fan of the defunct DVD-audio discs of the early 2000's, some great fun listening to albums in 5.1. BUT mp3's caught on instead and the rest is history. When I began to hear about blu-ray pure audio I got excited thinking that it might revive multi-channel music listening--but this album is not in 5.1 (sort of, more on that later...) All that being said, this edition of Kleiber's 5th is fantastic. No need to go into the performance itself--Myriads of other reviewers have already talked about how great this interpretation is, so I'm going to focus on the Blu ray audio aspect.
First, as others have said, this is not in 5.1 surround sound. It is in a PCM (DTS-HD, TrueHD) 2.1. Here comes the strange part--my receiver actually DOES play it in surround, as in sound comes out of the surround channels. I'm not putting it in PLII mode or anything like that--it plays in all 5 channels on the source direct PCM mix. I guess other people have not had this happen but for me on my setup it does. The other surround codecs, while redundant, have proved useful in headphone listening. For some reason, PCM turns into mono over my headphones, but when I use the DTS or TrueHD it fills back into full stereo.
Second: Sound quality. Of course this is subjective, but I may as well talk about it. At first I was a bit underwhelmed with the sound. As someone who went from cassette tapes to CD in the early 1990's I was expecting (or at least hoping for) that kind of a jump in fidelity--but it's not there. The sound is subtly more detailed, and the soundstage is very deep and wide, but if you're wanting a huge revalatory jump in fidelity you may be disappointed. What is readily noticeable is now each instrument and section is a little more distinct, with "space in between" the instruments (sorry to get all audiophile-ey, Don't know another way to describe it).
Finally I'd like to mention where this Blu-ray Audio floored me--and why I'm giving it a 5 star rating in what may seem like an otherwise mediocre review: DYNAMICS! Holy cow. The dynamic range of this recording is what truly lets you know it's not just a CD. When first listening to this I jumped to the third movement of the 5th, which is one of my favorite moments of the symphony. I cranked it up loud so I could hear the opening bass section motif (clean distinct sound), then suddenly Kleiber powers in the rest of the orchestra full blast--and I had to turn it back down! I think this may be the first time a recording has been able to duplicate just how soft and how LOUD orchestral music can be. The sheer amount of dynamic contrast really makes this BD a different kind of musical listening experience--all without any distortion. The quiet moments can be almost hard to hear, leading (sometimes very abruptly with Kleiber) to speaker shredding volume levels. Awesome--but mind you don't blow your speakers.
All in all a very interesting new audio format, and of course it's the Kleiber Beethoven 5 & 7, so you can't go wrong. Hopefully Blu-ray audio will stick around long enough to get a chance to unlock some of the potential it has. | 2 | positive | [
"I was a fan of the defunct DVD-audio discs of the early 2000's, some great fun listening to albums in 5.",
"1. BUT mp3's caught on instead and the rest is history.",
"When I began to hear about blu-ray pure audio I got excited thinking that it might revive multi-channel music listening--but this album is not in 5.",
"1 (sort of, more on that later...",
") All that being said, this edition of Kleiber's 5th is fantastic.",
"No need to go into the performance itself--Myriads of other reviewers have already talked about how great this interpretation is, so I'm going to focus on the Blu ray audio aspect.",
"First, as others have said, this is not in 5.",
"1 surround sound.",
"It is in a PCM (DTS-HD, TrueHD) 2.",
"1. Here comes the strange part--my receiver actually DOES play it in surround, as in sound comes out of the surround channels.",
"I'm not putting it in PLII mode or anything like that--it plays in all 5 channels on the source direct PCM mix.",
"I guess other people have not had this happen but for me on my setup it does.",
"The other surround codecs, while redundant, have proved useful in headphone listening.",
"For some reason, PCM turns into mono over my headphones, but when I use the DTS or TrueHD it fills back into full stereo.",
"Second: Sound quality.",
"Of course this is subjective, but I may as well talk about it.",
"At first I was a bit underwhelmed with the sound.",
"As someone who went from cassette tapes to CD in the early 1990's I was expecting (or at least hoping for) that kind of a jump in fidelity--but it's not there.",
"The sound is subtly more detailed, and the soundstage is very deep and wide, but if you're wanting a huge revalatory jump in fidelity you may be disappointed.",
"What is readily noticeable is now each instrument and section is a little more distinct, with \"space in between\" the instruments (sorry to get all audiophile-ey, Don't know another way to describe it).",
"Finally I'd like to mention where this Blu-ray Audio floored me--and why I'm giving it a 5 star rating in what may seem like an otherwise mediocre review: DYNAMICS!",
"Holy cow.",
"The dynamic range of this recording is what truly lets you know it's not just a CD.",
"When first listening to this I jumped to the third movement of the 5th, which is one of my favorite moments of the symphony.",
"I cranked it up loud so I could hear the opening bass section motif (clean distinct sound), then suddenly Kleiber powers in the rest of the orchestra full blast--and I had to turn it back down!",
"I think this may be the first time a recording has been able to duplicate just how soft and how LOUD orchestral music can be.",
"The sheer amount of dynamic contrast really makes this BD a different kind of musical listening experience--all without any distortion.",
"The quiet moments can be almost hard to hear, leading (sometimes very abruptly with Kleiber) to speaker shredding volume levels.",
"Awesome--but mind you don't blow your speakers.",
"All in all a very interesting new audio format, and of course it's the Kleiber Beethoven 5 & 7, so you can't go wrong.",
"Hopefully Blu-ray audio will stick around long enough to get a chance to unlock some of the potential it has."
] |
I'm very familiar with the OtterBox line, and I like to keep my phone protected. However, when you're looking for a case for an iPhone 3G you bought for $7, it is a bit hard to justify spending $30 on a case for it. So, for about $3, I figured this would do the trick.
Pros:
-Silicon feels good
-Frame seems sturdy
-Everything sits like it should, and the phone feels good in the case.
Cons:
-Screen protector is not built in. When some reviewers commented they had to "Put the case together themselves" I got excited and thought that it might be like the Trident cases, where you install the camera protectors yourself, directly onto the case. No dice, it's a separate generic screen protector.
-The silicon doesn't sit as firmly on the case as an actual OtterBox.
Overall, I am pleased with my purchase, and would consider buying another down the line. Did I get otterbox quality? No. Did I pay the OtterBox price? No. Overall, a good value. | 2 | positive | [
"I'm very familiar with the OtterBox line, and I like to keep my phone protected.",
"However, when you're looking for a case for an iPhone 3G you bought for $7, it is a bit hard to justify spending $30 on a case for it.",
"So, for about $3, I figured this would do the trick.",
"Pros:\n-Silicon feels good\n-Frame seems sturdy\n-Everything sits like it should, and the phone feels good in the case.",
"Cons:\n-Screen protector is not built in.",
"When some reviewers commented they had to \"Put the case together themselves\" I got excited and thought that it might be like the Trident cases, where you install the camera protectors yourself, directly onto the case.",
"No dice, it's a separate generic screen protector.",
"-The silicon doesn't sit as firmly on the case as an actual OtterBox.",
"Overall, I am pleased with my purchase, and would consider buying another down the line.",
"Did I get otterbox quality?",
"No.",
"Did I pay the OtterBox price?",
"No.",
"Overall, a good value."
] |
I can't honestly say a whole lot about this mic. I'm a commercial videographer, and though I'm not audio-retarded, I'm also not a professional by any means. This is the first large condenser mic I've had the chance to really play with (Outside of a radio station.) It looks, feels, and sounds amazing. That's all that matters really since I'm only actively using it in my voice over studio. It doesn't honestly matter what quality your audio is in film so long as it is consistent. That being said, this mic produces very high quality sound with very minimal work. Oh, and the front of the mic is where the CAD logo is FYI.
I did have this problem though (due to my own ignorance and nothing more) realizing that this mic is XLR MALE. I looked everywhere trying to find out what kind of cables I needed, not realizing that XLR mics are generally universal in that regard. It was really confusing for me and I would have greatly appreciated someone just mentioning that in a comment.
I also purchased a cheap XLR to USB cable. It works well, but I'm not sure if I'm losing bit rate or quality or whatever. I should probably do some reading. Ehhhh...
I bought a Nady Phantom Power Supply for $20 that works great. No interference and it feels sturdy.
Okay, so I know I rated it five stars, and I know how the title reads. The only flaw I have found is with the included shock mount. It's very difficult to do without another pair of hands. Along with this, the metal body of the shock mound scratches the body of the mic horribly. I've had to superglue the felt padding back onto the shock mount, but this won't help the scratching. Although to be fair I pack up and move my mic way more than it's designed for. Also, my retarded friend dropped it and dented the top. I could have killed him. I still might.
All in all its a great mic, and I'm a terrible reviewer. The End. | 2 | positive | [
"I can't honestly say a whole lot about this mic.",
"I'm a commercial videographer, and though I'm not audio-retarded, I'm also not a professional by any means.",
"This is the first large condenser mic I've had the chance to really play with (Outside of a radio station.",
") It looks, feels, and sounds amazing.",
"That's all that matters really since I'm only actively using it in my voice over studio.",
"It doesn't honestly matter what quality your audio is in film so long as it is consistent.",
"That being said, this mic produces very high quality sound with very minimal work.",
"Oh, and the front of the mic is where the CAD logo is FYI.",
"I did have this problem though (due to my own ignorance and nothing more) realizing that this mic is XLR MALE.",
"I looked everywhere trying to find out what kind of cables I needed, not realizing that XLR mics are generally universal in that regard.",
"It was really confusing for me and I would have greatly appreciated someone just mentioning that in a comment.",
"I also purchased a cheap XLR to USB cable.",
"It works well, but I'm not sure if I'm losing bit rate or quality or whatever.",
"I should probably do some reading.",
"Ehhhh...",
"I bought a Nady Phantom Power Supply for $20 that works great.",
"No interference and it feels sturdy.",
"Okay, so I know I rated it five stars, and I know how the title reads.",
"The only flaw I have found is with the included shock mount.",
"It's very difficult to do without another pair of hands.",
"Along with this, the metal body of the shock mound scratches the body of the mic horribly.",
"I've had to superglue the felt padding back onto the shock mount, but this won't help the scratching.",
"Although to be fair I pack up and move my mic way more than it's designed for.",
"Also, my retarded friend dropped it and dented the top.",
"I could have killed him.",
"I still might.",
"All in all its a great mic, and I'm a terrible reviewer.",
"The End."
] |
I decided to replaced the original tranny on my 2001 Australian Toyota Avalon that quit working with a 2nd hand low mileage tranny from the wreckers. Upon picking up from the mechanic the transmission was still slipping and was very frustrated.
I did a transmission drain and refill just to flush out the old oil inside thinking that maybe the tranny was sitting in the wreckers for a long time that the old oil was still in the system. I supplied the mechanic with ten liters of tranny fluid and return the remaining 5 litres and use that to flush the tranny. The slipping was still evident and tried to used the commpetitor transmission slip additive without any result.
I search the web for answers and found this Dr Tranny shudder fix modifier. I have doubts at first but i bite the bullet hoping that this will help. I ordered one, upon pouring the whole content on the transmission filler tube and let it idle for a few minutes and drive the vehicle i can notice immediately the result. The trannny is shifting quick not unlike before it shifts slow but still slipping. I decided to use the car for a few days in a way the additive will circulate and soak the components inside. Everyday for two weeks that i drive the vehicle i noticed improvements until the slippage was gone. In fact i use the vehicle for a family trip going to Canberra, ACT (stop over at Sydney NSW) that covered around 3500 kms return trip and the transmission didn't play up, though the car was fully loaded for the trip.
The little amount that i spent to purchase this additive saves me another thousand bucks for another tranny job. No doubt i will use this again when i change my tranny fluid for the next 20 thousand kms or two years. | 2 | positive | [
"I decided to replaced the original tranny on my 2001 Australian Toyota Avalon that quit working with a 2nd hand low mileage tranny from the wreckers.",
"Upon picking up from the mechanic the transmission was still slipping and was very frustrated.",
"I did a transmission drain and refill just to flush out the old oil inside thinking that maybe the tranny was sitting in the wreckers for a long time that the old oil was still in the system.",
"I supplied the mechanic with ten liters of tranny fluid and return the remaining 5 litres and use that to flush the tranny.",
"The slipping was still evident and tried to used the commpetitor transmission slip additive without any result.",
"I search the web for answers and found this Dr Tranny shudder fix modifier.",
"I have doubts at first but i bite the bullet hoping that this will help.",
"I ordered one, upon pouring the whole content on the transmission filler tube and let it idle for a few minutes and drive the vehicle i can notice immediately the result.",
"The trannny is shifting quick not unlike before it shifts slow but still slipping.",
"I decided to use the car for a few days in a way the additive will circulate and soak the components inside.",
"Everyday for two weeks that i drive the vehicle i noticed improvements until the slippage was gone.",
"In fact i use the vehicle for a family trip going to Canberra, ACT (stop over at Sydney NSW) that covered around 3500 kms return trip and the transmission didn't play up, though the car was fully loaded for the trip.",
"The little amount that i spent to purchase this additive saves me another thousand bucks for another tranny job.",
"No doubt i will use this again when i change my tranny fluid for the next 20 thousand kms or two years."
] |
I really enjoyed this book. The author told the story of Nicole,an African American married woman that suffered from panic attacks and anxiety. Nicole suffered tragedy early in life which lead to her fear of life in general.
Nicole is married to a wonderful man Truman. They have been married for over 11 years. Their relationship has always been strong, but she is fearful of losing their love as it once was. Nicole wants a baby, but Truman isn't ready. Soon more tragedy is realized. Nicole's constant battle with grief and anxiety is causing her to lose the rest of her sanity.
The author did a great job of making Nicole's fears seem real. I was engaged from beginning to end. | 2 | positive | [
"I really enjoyed this book.",
"The author told the story of Nicole,an African American married woman that suffered from panic attacks and anxiety.",
"Nicole suffered tragedy early in life which lead to her fear of life in general.",
"Nicole is married to a wonderful man Truman.",
"They have been married for over 11 years.",
"Their relationship has always been strong, but she is fearful of losing their love as it once was.",
"Nicole wants a baby, but Truman isn't ready.",
"Soon more tragedy is realized.",
"Nicole's constant battle with grief and anxiety is causing her to lose the rest of her sanity.",
"The author did a great job of making Nicole's fears seem real.",
"I was engaged from beginning to end."
] |
The West Bend Stir Crazy popcorn popper is the best electric popcorn popper on the market, in my opinion, and I've owned others. I bought one at Target about three years ago. Somehow the cord got separated from the popcorn popper (a word to the wise. . . place the cord inside the popcorn popper to store! I make caramel popcorn at Christmastime, and when I got my popcorn popper out to make the caramel popcorn last week, the cord had gotten separated from the popcorn popper. Time was of the essence. Amazon to the rescue. I ordered a replacement popcorn popper. I'll find that cord one day and then I'll have two popcorn poppers:-) The West Bend Stir Crazy Popcorn Popper makes great popcorn. I prefer it over the air popper I used to use before switching to the Stir Crazy. | 2 | positive | [
"The West Bend Stir Crazy popcorn popper is the best electric popcorn popper on the market, in my opinion, and I've owned others.",
"I bought one at Target about three years ago.",
"Somehow the cord got separated from the popcorn popper (a word to the wise.",
".",
".",
"place the cord inside the popcorn popper to store!",
"I make caramel popcorn at Christmastime, and when I got my popcorn popper out to make the caramel popcorn last week, the cord had gotten separated from the popcorn popper.",
"Time was of the essence.",
"Amazon to the rescue.",
"I ordered a replacement popcorn popper.",
"I'll find that cord one day and then I'll have two popcorn poppers:-) The West Bend Stir Crazy Popcorn Popper makes great popcorn.",
"I prefer it over the air popper I used to use before switching to the Stir Crazy."
] |
This is my new favorite series! played these games in the wrong order and I would recommend playing this one before 2 1/2 because there were some extra features and improvements made into 2 1/2.
This game is adorable in the typical Atlus style, which, if you're unfamiliar with it, is cute anime-like characters with some strange personalities. They have a range of expressions, from exclamation points to hopping up and down in anger. The format is 3D and the title character, Mackenzie walks wherever you point to with the stylus. There are several areas on a map, office, apartments, and shopping center to begin with where you will find the rest of the cast. Mackenzie "touches" things (tap with the stylus) to examine them, add them to her list, or interact with them.
There are four episodes, each with a new case to solve complete with side tasks.
One of the best aspects of the game is Mackenzie's running sarcastic commentary thought-bubble on the screen above. I wouldn't recommend this for kids because some of the jokes are directed at adults and some of the puzzles require the persistance to do the constant back and forth work of re-interviewing people and checking the same spots. Upon completion, you are rewarded with the bonus episode that consists of small mini-tasks to solve such as hide-and-seek, finding ingredients, and solving problems. The game is complete when you have filled in your 50 item touch list, 4 cases, and 4 pages of mini-tasks. I hope they will release more in this series, look to Japan for that.
Replay? Yes becuae it's so charmingly cute.
Ages? Depends on maturity, most kids won't have the patience, won't appreciate the graphics, and won't understand many of the words and jokes -definitly not for kids in the single digit age group.
Is it for you? If you only like certain genres of games -no. There's no fighting, no racing, no learning for small kids... | 2 | positive | [
"This is my new favorite series!",
"played these games in the wrong order and I would recommend playing this one before 2 1/2 because there were some extra features and improvements made into 2 1/2.",
"This game is adorable in the typical Atlus style, which, if you're unfamiliar with it, is cute anime-like characters with some strange personalities.",
"They have a range of expressions, from exclamation points to hopping up and down in anger.",
"The format is 3D and the title character, Mackenzie walks wherever you point to with the stylus.",
"There are several areas on a map, office, apartments, and shopping center to begin with where you will find the rest of the cast.",
"Mackenzie \"touches\" things (tap with the stylus) to examine them, add them to her list, or interact with them.",
"There are four episodes, each with a new case to solve complete with side tasks.",
"One of the best aspects of the game is Mackenzie's running sarcastic commentary thought-bubble on the screen above.",
"I wouldn't recommend this for kids because some of the jokes are directed at adults and some of the puzzles require the persistance to do the constant back and forth work of re-interviewing people and checking the same spots.",
"Upon completion, you are rewarded with the bonus episode that consists of small mini-tasks to solve such as hide-and-seek, finding ingredients, and solving problems.",
"The game is complete when you have filled in your 50 item touch list, 4 cases, and 4 pages of mini-tasks.",
"I hope they will release more in this series, look to Japan for that.",
"Replay?",
"Yes becuae it's so charmingly cute.",
"Ages?",
"Depends on maturity, most kids won't have the patience, won't appreciate the graphics, and won't understand many of the words and jokes -definitly not for kids in the single digit age group.",
"Is it for you?",
"If you only like certain genres of games -no.",
"There's no fighting, no racing, no learning for small kids..."
] |
Ngaio Marsh was one of the most superb practicioners of the Golden Age Mystery. Agatha Christie was of course the most famous, but Marsh could often equal her and even at times excel over Dame Agatha. Death and The Dancing Footman is not only a wonderful who-done-it? but an example of upper class snobbism and cynicism at it's best. A gatherine is organized simply because there are almost an infinite number of antagonisms among the eight guests. The host professes that he is trying to heal wounds, but we can tell he wants them to explode, and they do more than even he thought possible. Needless to say murder breaks. The novel sticks to the rules of fair play and it is emminently solvable if you're really paying attention. There is also a spoken word version of this novel. Beautifully and dramatically performed by John Saxon, but beware, you need to get the unabridged version which is very difficult to obtain--but a must if you want to get all the clues. Read it or listen to it but make sure it's the whole thing, it's definitely a treat if you do. | 2 | positive | [
"Ngaio Marsh was one of the most superb practicioners of the Golden Age Mystery.",
"Agatha Christie was of course the most famous, but Marsh could often equal her and even at times excel over Dame Agatha.",
"Death and The Dancing Footman is not only a wonderful who-done-it?",
"but an example of upper class snobbism and cynicism at it's best.",
"A gatherine is organized simply because there are almost an infinite number of antagonisms among the eight guests.",
"The host professes that he is trying to heal wounds, but we can tell he wants them to explode, and they do more than even he thought possible.",
"Needless to say murder breaks.",
"The novel sticks to the rules of fair play and it is emminently solvable if you're really paying attention.",
"There is also a spoken word version of this novel.",
"Beautifully and dramatically performed by John Saxon, but beware, you need to get the unabridged version which is very difficult to obtain--but a must if you want to get all the clues.",
"Read it or listen to it but make sure it's the whole thing, it's definitely a treat if you do."
] |
Country Heaven is book 1 in the Dare River series by Ava Miles. I simply loved this book. It is adventurous, has a mystery, loads of romance, and lots of family interaction and forgiveness.
Rye Crenshaw has cut ties with his family, except for his little sister, Amelia Ann. Now his sister, Tammy, has come to him on his tour to ask him to come home as his Father, who had a heart attack, wants to talk to him. Although he really sees no use, he heads home but takes his chef, Tory home with him. He doesnt need her as a chef as much as a friend to help him get through with this visit. He also doesnt want any publicity over this visit.
When they arrive at Hollinswood, they find Ryes Mother has not relented one bit in her hostility towards Rye. After all, he refused his place in the family law firm, and chose to embarrass them with his lifestyle. Thankfully, he had changed his name from Hollins to Crenshaw, his grandfathers name. However, his Father is asking for reconciliation. He shows Rye that he has all of Ryes CDs and tells Rye that he is very proud of him but ashamed of his own behavior towards Rye. Ryes Mother lets them out after his talk with his Father. He is to stay in the guesthouse. Since this was where his grandfather stayed, Rye is not insulted as his Mother had intended.
Rye is soon reconciled with his sisters, Tammy to a lesser extent than Ameila Ann. However, Tammy is more like their Mother than Ameila Ann is. Tammy is married to a stuffy lawyer and has two perfect children and a perfectly spotless house. She has conformed to the perfect wife and mother that her own Mother did. However, she does what is expected and greets Rye and Tory nicely. Tory and Rye quickly see that Annabelle and Rory are not happy but are definitely perfect children. Tammy and the kids soon come around, Annabelle more than the rest. Rory is especially standoffish to everyone. Amelia Ann asks Rye for help talking to her Father about going to Vanderbilt and becoming a lawyer. She does not want to follow in Tammys steps and be a society wife.
Hamilton Hollins asks his son to run an errand for him. While Rye is doing that, he sets out to visit Tory. They get along great and are talking when Rye comes home, his errand having been completed. Tammy soon angrily follows. She is angry at Rye for going to her husbands office and punching him. When she turns to her Father for backup, she finds it was he who sent Rye to confront Sterling about his cheating on Tammy and sending a message that he is to stop now. What they don't know is they have made Tammys situation much harder since Sterling also hits Tammy. They adjourn to the main house for dinner and afterwards, Sterling appears having been invited by their Mother. Hamilton tells Sterling he is not welcome here; but that they need to talk. Tammy, Hamilton, Rye, and Sterling adjourn to the study. Here, after being arrogant and saying some things about Tammy, Sterling says he will divorce Tammy for a million dollars. Rye offers the money, Hamilton draws up the divorce papers as well as papers for complete custody of the children and Sterling who really didn't expect his price to be met, eagerly signs the papers. Tammy is stunned but happy.
When Rye returns to his tour, he and Tory continue their affair and plans are made for Tammy and her kids to move into Ryes home at Dare River. Then the tabloids publish the terms of Tammys divorce and Ryes hand in it. Tammy is horrified and Rye is angry and wants to know who talked. Several hands point to Tory and Rye accuses her. She claims her innocence and leaves for home as planned. She is determined to finish her doctorial study. This was the second time he accuses her of letting information about him slip and it will be the last time. She won't be there to get any information.
Who let the information out? What will that do to Tammys divorce? Will Amelia Ann be allowed to go to Vanderbilt or will Mothers plan for her win? What does Torys leaving do to Rye and his career? Will Rory come out of his shell?
There is so much more going on in the lives of Rye, Tory, Tammy, Ameila Ann, and Ryes parents. I loved how complicated the plot of this seemingly innocent romance became. Ava Miles has a talent for complicating their lives yet still seeing the end. Her use of language is spectacular. Another good thing is that Country Heaven is on Kindle Unlimited and its sequel in only $0.99. I can hardly wait to start the next book. It is on my Kindle and ready to go. | 2 | positive | [
"Country Heaven is book 1 in the Dare River series by Ava Miles.",
"I simply loved this book.",
"It is adventurous, has a mystery, loads of romance, and lots of family interaction and forgiveness.",
"Rye Crenshaw has cut ties with his family, except for his little sister, Amelia Ann.",
"Now his sister, Tammy, has come to him on his tour to ask him to come home as his Father, who had a heart attack, wants to talk to him.",
"Although he really sees no use, he heads home but takes his chef, Tory home with him.",
"He doesnt need her as a chef as much as a friend to help him get through with this visit.",
"He also doesnt want any publicity over this visit.",
"When they arrive at Hollinswood, they find Ryes Mother has not relented one bit in her hostility towards Rye.",
"After all, he refused his place in the family law firm, and chose to embarrass them with his lifestyle.",
"Thankfully, he had changed his name from Hollins to Crenshaw, his grandfathers name.",
"However, his Father is asking for reconciliation.",
"He shows Rye that he has all of Ryes CDs and tells Rye that he is very proud of him but ashamed of his own behavior towards Rye.",
"Ryes Mother lets them out after his talk with his Father.",
"He is to stay in the guesthouse.",
"Since this was where his grandfather stayed, Rye is not insulted as his Mother had intended.",
"Rye is soon reconciled with his sisters, Tammy to a lesser extent than Ameila Ann.",
"However, Tammy is more like their Mother than Ameila Ann is.",
"Tammy is married to a stuffy lawyer and has two perfect children and a perfectly spotless house.",
"She has conformed to the perfect wife and mother that her own Mother did.",
"However, she does what is expected and greets Rye and Tory nicely.",
"Tory and Rye quickly see that Annabelle and Rory are not happy but are definitely perfect children.",
"Tammy and the kids soon come around, Annabelle more than the rest.",
"Rory is especially standoffish to everyone.",
"Amelia Ann asks Rye for help talking to her Father about going to Vanderbilt and becoming a lawyer.",
"She does not want to follow in Tammys steps and be a society wife.",
"Hamilton Hollins asks his son to run an errand for him.",
"While Rye is doing that, he sets out to visit Tory.",
"They get along great and are talking when Rye comes home, his errand having been completed.",
"Tammy soon angrily follows.",
"She is angry at Rye for going to her husbands office and punching him.",
"When she turns to her Father for backup, she finds it was he who sent Rye to confront Sterling about his cheating on Tammy and sending a message that he is to stop now.",
"What they don't know is they have made Tammys situation much harder since Sterling also hits Tammy.",
"They adjourn to the main house for dinner and afterwards, Sterling appears having been invited by their Mother.",
"Hamilton tells Sterling he is not welcome here; but that they need to talk.",
"Tammy, Hamilton, Rye, and Sterling adjourn to the study.",
"Here, after being arrogant and saying some things about Tammy, Sterling says he will divorce Tammy for a million dollars.",
"Rye offers the money, Hamilton draws up the divorce papers as well as papers for complete custody of the children and Sterling who really didn't expect his price to be met, eagerly signs the papers.",
"Tammy is stunned but happy.",
"When Rye returns to his tour, he and Tory continue their affair and plans are made for Tammy and her kids to move into Ryes home at Dare River.",
"Then the tabloids publish the terms of Tammys divorce and Ryes hand in it.",
"Tammy is horrified and Rye is angry and wants to know who talked.",
"Several hands point to Tory and Rye accuses her.",
"She claims her innocence and leaves for home as planned.",
"She is determined to finish her doctorial study.",
"This was the second time he accuses her of letting information about him slip and it will be the last time.",
"She won't be there to get any information.",
"Who let the information out?",
"What will that do to Tammys divorce?",
"Will Amelia Ann be allowed to go to Vanderbilt or will Mothers plan for her win?",
"What does Torys leaving do to Rye and his career?",
"Will Rory come out of his shell?",
"There is so much more going on in the lives of Rye, Tory, Tammy, Ameila Ann, and Ryes parents.",
"I loved how complicated the plot of this seemingly innocent romance became.",
"Ava Miles has a talent for complicating their lives yet still seeing the end.",
"Her use of language is spectacular.",
"Another good thing is that Country Heaven is on Kindle Unlimited and its sequel in only $0.",
"99.",
"I can hardly wait to start the next book.",
"It is on my Kindle and ready to go."
] |
what a great Book..I read over 1000 romance books over time..mostly Historical and Paranormal romance..So sometimes it is hard for me to find a good book to read....I read good ones and not so good ones.....this will be a keeper..well done..give it a try ..u will love it.. | 2 | positive | [
"what a great Book..",
"I read over 1000 romance books over time..",
"mostly Historical and Paranormal romance..",
"So sometimes it is hard for me to find a good book to read....",
"I read good ones and not so good ones....",
".",
"this will be a keeper..",
"well done..",
"give it a try..",
"u will love it.."
] |
I knew that this movie was based on a computer game that my husband and his friends played, so I was a little hesitant about seeing it. I had heard it got bad reviews when it was in the theaters and thought maybe they were right. However I was interested in a movie where a woman kicks a lot of booty and saves the day.
Was I surprised!!!! This movie is so great! Its fun to watch and suspensful enough to keep you on the edge of your seat in many scenes. The gore factor is pretty high, but thats fine with me.
The score to this movie is also AMAZING!! Im a huge Marilyn Manson fan and the soundtrack to the movie is just incredible! He really outdid himself, even my friends who do not like Marilyn Manson music liked the score to this movie.
Ive seen this movie twice in a one month period and hope for a sequel! See it, its a fun movie and you won't be dissapointed. | 2 | positive | [
"I knew that this movie was based on a computer game that my husband and his friends played, so I was a little hesitant about seeing it.",
"I had heard it got bad reviews when it was in the theaters and thought maybe they were right.",
"However I was interested in a movie where a woman kicks a lot of booty and saves the day.",
"Was I surprised!!!!",
"This movie is so great!",
"Its fun to watch and suspensful enough to keep you on the edge of your seat in many scenes.",
"The gore factor is pretty high, but thats fine with me.",
"The score to this movie is also AMAZING!!",
"Im a huge Marilyn Manson fan and the soundtrack to the movie is just incredible!",
"He really outdid himself, even my friends who do not like Marilyn Manson music liked the score to this movie.",
"Ive seen this movie twice in a one month period and hope for a sequel!",
"See it, its a fun movie and you won't be dissapointed."
] |
Subsets and Splits