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2 | Boring, mistitled. | After seeing, and enjoying the film "The Magdalen Sisters" I wanted to find more factual information about the subject. This was the only book available.I was, unfortunately, VERY disappointed. The book is poorly written; the author jumping from one subject to another rather than following any logical pattern. She looks at not only the Magdalen Asylums in Ireland (as the title implies)but 'rescue homes' for prostitutes run by a variety of organizations, and located in both Ireland and England. The main focus of the book (such as it is) is on early to mid-19th century institutions. At that time the asylums and homes were used almost exclusively by prostitutes, and attendence was purely voluntary. (The author notes that most women left after only a few months, unwilling or unable to cope with the strict rules.) The book barely touches on the more recent history of the asylums. (It was mostly in the mid-to-late 20th century that they were inhabited primarily by unwed mothers.) | 988 | [
"After seeing, and enjoying the film \"The Magdalen Sisters\" I wanted to find more factual information about the subject.",
"This was the only book available.I was, unfortunately, VERY disappointed.",
"The book is poorly written; the author jumping from one subject to another rather than following any logical pattern.",
"She looks at not only the Magdalen Asylums in Ireland (as the title implies)but 'rescue homes' for prostitutes run by a variety of organizations, and located in both Ireland and England.",
"The main focus of the book (such as it is) is on early to mid-19th century institutions.",
"At that time the asylums and homes were used almost exclusively by prostitutes, and attendence was purely voluntary.",
"(The author notes that most women left after only a few months, unwilling or unable to cope with the strict rules.) The book barely touches on the more recent history of the asylums.",
"(It was mostly in the mid-to-late 20th century that they were inhabited primarily by unwed mothers.)"
] |
2 | Cars lasted 2 days :-( | My (4 year old) son received this racetrack for Christmas and my initial opinion was, YEAH, no batteries needed. Unfortunately my joy was short-lived as the cars broke 2 days later. My son loves the racetrack and quickly figured out how to wind up the cars and place them in the correct slots on the track. The problem is after 2 days of not even what can be considered full time play, both cars stopped functioning and cannot be wound enough to even go but a few inches. I placed a call to Playschool (Hasbro), and they were very accommodating and will be sending replacement chassis for the cars within 3 weeks time (the warehouse is closed after the holiday for inventory). I was told that additional cars are available for the set to purchase, and depending on the price and whether I can locate them at a retail store, may pick up 2 in the meantime. Overall my son enjoyed the set when it was functioning however for the price of the toy I expect it to last a bit longer than 2 days. | 988 | [
"My (4 year old) son received this racetrack for Christmas and my initial opinion was, YEAH, no batteries needed.",
"Unfortunately my joy was short-lived as the cars broke 2 days later.",
"My son loves the racetrack and quickly figured out how to wind up the cars and place them in the correct slots on the track.",
"The problem is after 2 days of not even what can be considered full time play, both cars stopped functioning and cannot be wound enough to even go but a few inches.",
"I placed a call to Playschool (Hasbro), and they were very accommodating and will be sending replacement chassis for the cars within 3 weeks time (the warehouse is closed after the holiday for inventory).",
"I was told that additional cars are available for the set to purchase, and depending on the price and whether I can locate them at a retail store, may pick up 2 in the meantime.",
"Overall my son enjoyed the set when it was functioning however for the price of the toy I expect it to last a bit longer than 2 days."
] |
2 | choices | I believe this novel is expressive of the feelings many people go through, both male and female. It is the choices that we make each day that can enhance or tear apart our family bonds. This book has made me realize the value of commitment, work, and communication in "real-world" relationships. Walking away will not fix your problems, only prolong them. The love and support of family is one that no other relationship can overcome...Blood is thicker than water, and yet Delia still choose to leave. I hope that other readers are able to see the consequences of leaving children and a family that depend on you on more than a physical presence, but a emotional presence as well (even when emotions and appreciation are not expressed as you would like them to be). The effects the children will endure will last a lifetime for that short time Delia took for herself. The end of the novel seemed as though she was able to just "climb" back into her old lifestyle; it's just not that easy! | 988 | [
"I believe this novel is expressive of the feelings many people go through, both male and female.",
"It is the choices that we make each day that can enhance or tear apart our family bonds.",
"This book has made me realize the value of commitment, work, and communication in \"real-world\" relationships.",
"Walking away will not fix your problems, only prolong them.",
"The love and support of family is one that no other relationship can overcome...Blood is thicker than water, and yet Delia still choose to leave.",
"I hope that other readers are able to see the consequences of leaving children and a family that depend on you on more than a physical presence, but a emotional presence as well (even when emotions and appreciation are not expressed as you would like them to be).",
"The effects the children will endure will last a lifetime for that short time Delia took for herself.",
"The end of the novel seemed as though she was able to just \"climb\" back into her old lifestyle; it's just not that easy!"
] |
2 | An improbable governor | Jesse Ventura has had an interesting life, and he wants to tell you about it. He has been a US Navy SEAL, a professional wrestler, and surprisingly, a Governor of Minnesota.Ventura is a six feet four inches tall and has been an athlete for a long time. He seems to be physically imposing. However his autobiography makes him seem like an intellectual light weight. He became Governor as part of the Reform party. Ross Perot had caused a surge of interest in an alternative to the Democrats and Republicans.Despite having served as a Governor he offers us few political insights. We learn that there are too many laws, and that people need to be responsible for themselves. I don't think we needed Jesse for that. You would think a political outsider might be able to offer some fresh perspective. The only thing I found surprising about the book is that Ventura seems astonished by gotcha journalism. What did he expect?I was hoping for more. In the end there is nothing much to the book. | 988 | [
"Jesse Ventura has had an interesting life, and he wants to tell you about it.",
"He has been a US Navy SEAL, a professional wrestler, and surprisingly, a Governor of Minnesota.Ventura is a six feet four inches tall and has been an athlete for a long time.",
"He seems to be physically imposing.",
"However his autobiography makes him seem like an intellectual light weight.",
"He became Governor as part of the Reform party.",
"Ross Perot had caused a surge of interest in an alternative to the Democrats and Republicans.Despite having served as a Governor he offers us few political insights.",
"We learn that there are too many laws, and that people need to be responsible for themselves.",
"I don't think we needed Jesse for that.",
"You would think a political outsider might be able to offer some fresh perspective.",
"The only thing I found surprising about the book is that Ventura seems astonished by gotcha journalism.",
"What did he expect?",
"I was hoping for more.",
"In the end there is nothing much to the book."
] |
2 | A new Anita? | Narcissus in Chains was quite a departure from the other novels in the series. I would like to say at the start that I am an Anita Blake junky, and find Laurell Hamilton's alternate universe to be one of the more creative worlds an author has allowed me to visit in quite a while. That said however, I was quite disappointed when I finished this novel.Anita Blake "Surrendering" to anything.? Much less something requiring her to participate in group sex.?When I closed the book my first thought was that this was a collaboration with another author.Read by itself this book would be an interesting read if only for a glimpse of the world of Anita Blake.For Anita Blake fans, you will of course have to purchase the book. If you enjoyed A Kiss of Shadows and it's Main Character, you will probably enjoy this book as it seems to merge Meredith Gentry and Anita Blake into one person. If you enjoyed the Anita Blake who would rather die than "surrender", you will probably be disappointed. | 988 | [
"Narcissus in Chains was quite a departure from the other novels in the series.",
"I would like to say at the start that I am an Anita Blake junky, and find Laurell Hamilton's alternate universe to be one of the more creative worlds an author has allowed me to visit in quite a while.",
"That said however, I was quite disappointed when I finished this novel.Anita Blake \"Surrendering\" to anything.?",
"Much less something requiring her to participate in group sex.?",
"When I closed the book my first thought was that this was a collaboration with another author.Read by itself this book would be an interesting read if only for a glimpse of the world of Anita Blake.For Anita Blake fans, you will of course have to purchase the book.",
"If you enjoyed A Kiss of Shadows and it's Main Character, you will probably enjoy this book as it seems to merge Meredith Gentry and Anita Blake into one person.",
"If you enjoyed the Anita Blake who would rather die than \"surrender\", you will probably be disappointed."
] |
2 | What happened? | As I said in my last review, I was hoping that the downhill slope that Hamilton is heading with the series must stop with this book, but I was left disappointed. The book remained in the pattern that it took after Obsidian Butterfly and if this continues, the fans of the series will certainly look for alternative options.This novel indeed introduced a new character but also was an addition to the growing pile of Anita's lovers which is not really a good since if you ask me. I don't mind reading erotica but reading it 80% of the novel is just too much for me. As Anita was described to have embraced her growing powers but it just somewhat made her more promiscuous and made the novel soft porn. I don't want to use that term but it's what the book is giving me.Reading the book I realized that I skim through pages to avoid reading the steamy parts. The initial story of the book seemed lost and I'm wondering if Hamilton can bring justice to the series again with the future books. | 988 | [
"As I said in my last review, I was hoping that the downhill slope that Hamilton is heading with the series must stop with this book, but I was left disappointed.",
"The book remained in the pattern that it took after Obsidian Butterfly and if this continues, the fans of the series will certainly look for alternative options.This novel indeed introduced a new character but also was an addition to the growing pile of Anita's lovers which is not really a good since if you ask me.",
"I don't mind reading erotica but reading it 80% of the novel is just too much for me.",
"As Anita was described to have embraced her growing powers but it just somewhat made her more promiscuous and made the novel soft porn.",
"I don't want to use that term but it's what the book is giving me.Reading the book I realized that I skim through pages to avoid reading the steamy parts.",
"The initial story of the book seemed lost and I'm wondering if Hamilton can bring justice to the series again with the future books."
] |
2 | Thoughts of a Dumbass | This album is just poor in every sense: poor lyrics, poor and repetitive production beats, and simply poor songs. This G-Unit member simply rushed his debut, barely a couple of months of out prison, and it simply goes to show that this g-unit member is simply the weakest link in the g-unit crew. Some good songs include the R&B; track 'Project Princess' and 'We Don't Give a F***' and 'So Seductive,' but mostly all of the other songs are easily forgettable. Songs like G-S***, and other songs i've already forgotten make this album a no buy.Someone please get Tony Yayo a voice tuner or something, his attempt at hitting high notes in 'Eastside Westside' is just simply horrendous.If you enjoy week tracks, a very stale voice and songs that sound like they are still on the cutting room floor, then you'd enjoy this, but if not, then stay far away from it. The G-Unit label is supposed to be an icon of wicked beats and smart rhymes, but in this case, its just simply false advertising. | 988 | [
"This album is just poor in every sense: poor lyrics, poor and repetitive production beats, and simply poor songs.",
"This G-Unit member simply rushed his debut, barely a couple of months of out prison, and it simply goes to show that this g-unit member is simply the weakest link in the g-unit crew.",
"Some good songs include the R&B; track 'Project Princess' and 'We Don't Give a F***' and 'So Seductive,' but mostly all of the other songs are easily forgettable.",
"Songs like G-S***, and other songs i've already forgotten make this album a no buy.Someone please get Tony Yayo a voice tuner or something, his attempt at hitting high notes in 'Eastside Westside' is just simply horrendous.If you enjoy week tracks, a very stale voice and songs that sound like they are still on the cutting room floor, then you'd enjoy this, but if not, then stay far away from it.",
"The G-Unit label is supposed to be an icon of wicked beats and smart rhymes, but in this case, its just simply false advertising."
] |
2 | noninteresting | The purported thesis of this book is that non-zero-sumnass seems to be norm during our existance. The whole first half of the book is spent pointing out things like two neanderthals working together proved better than two neanderthals in competition. No kidding. I think it's obvious that every situation involving two entities doesn't have to end with a "winner" and a "loser". Finally in the second half of the book, he gets into concepts that may be new to some people, such as the idea of memes and cultural evolution. However, there are much better books out there on these topics, since they are only touched upon here for fifty pages or so. I also know why "Bill Clinton called the book astonishing and fascinating and instructed White House staff members to read it." It's because at the end of the first part, Wright discusses how society might choose to concede many personal liberties in order to feel generally safe, and that this won't necessarily bring about 1984. Whatever. | 988 | [
"The purported thesis of this book is that non-zero-sumnass seems to be norm during our existance.",
"The whole first half of the book is spent pointing out things like two neanderthals working together proved better than two neanderthals in competition.",
"No kidding.",
"I think it's obvious that every situation involving two entities doesn't have to end with a \"winner\" and a \"loser\".",
"Finally in the second half of the book, he gets into concepts that may be new to some people, such as the idea of memes and cultural evolution.",
"However, there are much better books out there on these topics, since they are only touched upon here for fifty pages or so.",
"I also know why \"Bill Clinton called the book astonishing and fascinating and instructed White House staff members to read it.\" It's because at the end of the first part, Wright discusses how society might choose to concede many personal liberties in order to feel generally safe, and that this won't necessarily bring about 1984.",
"Whatever."
] |
2 | A total waste of time | Although there were some humorous parts in this entertaining book, underneath it was sad and depressing. The lead character has everything going for her; a great job, family, friends, looks, money, etc. Yet she is pathetically unhappy because she does not have Mr. Right in her life. The book centers on her 30th birthday, and the fact that she is not married. I found myself hating the whining,complaining, sad Charlie thinking that she will never be happy in her life. Also, there was an excessive amount of drinking to the point where it seemed like many of the characters were in a state of constant drunkenness.I am sure it was meant to be humorous, but it just brought home the point that many of the characters where deeply depressed and trying to drown their sorrows with booze.The moral of the story seemed to be that women always have and always will define themselves by the man they marry. I felt that the boyfriend she finally chooses in the end lacked character development. | 988 | [
"Although there were some humorous parts in this entertaining book, underneath it was sad and depressing.",
"The lead character has everything going for her; a great job, family, friends, looks, money, etc.",
"Yet she is pathetically unhappy because she does not have Mr.",
"Right in her life.",
"The book centers on her 30th birthday, and the fact that she is not married.",
"I found myself hating the whining,complaining, sad Charlie thinking that she will never be happy in her life.",
"Also, there was an excessive amount of drinking to the point where it seemed like many of the characters were in a state of constant drunkenness.I am sure it was meant to be humorous, but it just brought home the point that many of the characters where deeply depressed and trying to drown their sorrows with booze.The moral of the story seemed to be that women always have and always will define themselves by the man they marry.",
"I felt that the boyfriend she finally chooses in the end lacked character development."
] |
2 | Mildly Entertaining | This is a science fiction film that is moderately good at times.It was made in the early 1950s so the technology, special effects, etc. are minimal. That is understandable.The story itself is more problematic. It is basically propaganda camouflaged as entertainment. The gist of the story is about an alien from another planet, Klaatu (Michael Rennie) who comes to Earth along with his robot Gort (Lock Martin) to threatent Earthlings with their extinction if they continue along their 'warlike path'. There is a scene with Klaatu that is an allegory of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is rather tasteless especially considering that the message delivered is one of death threats in complete contrast to the message of love and life given by Jesus. The basic message of the interplanetary traveler is: 'be peaceful or we'll kill you'.If not for the questionable messages given, this might be considered a pretty good movie from that period of time. As it is, I do not recommend it. | 988 | [
"This is a science fiction film that is moderately good at times.It was made in the early 1950s so the technology, special effects, etc.",
"are minimal.",
"That is understandable.The story itself is more problematic.",
"It is basically propaganda camouflaged as entertainment.",
"The gist of the story is about an alien from another planet, Klaatu (Michael Rennie) who comes to Earth along with his robot Gort (Lock Martin) to threatent Earthlings with their extinction if they continue along their 'warlike path'.",
"There is a scene with Klaatu that is an allegory of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.",
"That is rather tasteless especially considering that the message delivered is one of death threats in complete contrast to the message of love and life given by Jesus.",
"The basic message of the interplanetary traveler is: 'be peaceful or we'll kill you'.If not for the questionable messages given, this might be considered a pretty good movie from that period of time.",
"As it is, I do not recommend it."
] |
2 | El Cheapo! | [July 17, 2011-Disclaimer: I wrote a review on the 5-CD boxset put out by the "CHEAPOLATA" label. It bears a title that matches exactly with two other boxsets by two different record labels. I never dreamt that Amazon.com and Amazon UK would insert my review in all three CD boxsets automatically. If I offend or offended anybody, it's really not my fault.]Don't waste your hard-earn $$$ on this box set! Yes, the compilation includes many many great soul hits. But too many are re-recordings, and some of the voices in these tracks are unrecognizable. In other words, you don't know who the real singers are behind the mircophone. The best way to describe this boxset is: a little above-average Karaoke singers singing the soul hits of yester-years.Another interesting thing I like to point out is that the word "CHEAPOLATA" is printed on the back of the thin cardboard box that houses the 5 CDs. Is that the name of the Label? if it is, then it's extremely appropriate and self-serving! | 988 | [
"[July 17, 2011-Disclaimer: I wrote a review on the 5-CD boxset put out by the \"CHEAPOLATA\" label.",
"It bears a title that matches exactly with two other boxsets by two different record labels.",
"I never dreamt that Amazon.com and Amazon UK would insert my review in all three CD boxsets automatically.",
"If I offend or offended anybody, it's really not my fault.]Don't waste your hard-earn $$$ on this box set!",
"Yes, the compilation includes many many great soul hits.",
"But too many are re-recordings, and some of the voices in these tracks are unrecognizable.",
"In other words, you don't know who the real singers are behind the mircophone.",
"The best way to describe this boxset is: a little above-average Karaoke singers singing the soul hits of yester-years.Another interesting thing I like to point out is that the word \"CHEAPOLATA\" is printed on the back of the thin cardboard box that houses the 5 CDs.",
"Is that the name of the Label?",
"if it is, then it's extremely appropriate and self-serving!"
] |
2 | Drowning | The problem with "Oceans 12" is that it is too long. Director, Steven Soderbergh, who should have known better, needed to apply the pruning shears and cut this film by at least 15 minutes.A caper film should be an hour and a half max unless, like the classic "Rififi", it has something to say about human nature or what drives people to steal.Soderbergh knew on the git-go that O12 was not going to be "The Italian Job" much less "Rififi," so he should have allowed it to be: fun, spare, witty and less that one hour and forty minutes. But at two hours it just drags.All the Dudes (Pitt, Clooney, Damon, Cheadle, Mac, etc.) seem to be having a great time joking each other, making fun of Catherine Zeta Jones and eating and drinking the finest that Europe has to offer. The only problem with this Camaraderie is that it leaves US out. Watching much of O12 is like watching the home movies of someone we do not know: I mean to be polite, we Ohh and Ahh, but basically we don't give a damn. | 988 | [
"The problem with \"Oceans 12\" is that it is too long.",
"Director, Steven Soderbergh, who should have known better, needed to apply the pruning shears and cut this film by at least 15 minutes.A caper film should be an hour and a half max unless, like the classic \"Rififi\", it has something to say about human nature or what drives people to steal.Soderbergh knew on the git-go that O12 was not going to be \"The Italian Job\" much less \"Rififi,\" so he should have allowed it to be: fun, spare, witty and less that one hour and forty minutes.",
"But at two hours it just drags.All the Dudes (Pitt, Clooney, Damon, Cheadle, Mac, etc.) seem to be having a great time joking each other, making fun of Catherine Zeta Jones and eating and drinking the finest that Europe has to offer.",
"The only problem with this Camaraderie is that it leaves US out.",
"Watching much of O12 is like watching the home movies of someone we do not know: I mean to be polite, we Ohh and Ahh, but basically we don't give a damn."
] |
2 | Left where it fell | I can't tell you in words how much I've been disappointed by this album. After listening to "Tri repetae", I spent sleepless nights, and I still use "Tri repetae" as a reference point when I do reviews of techno records. "Chiastic slide", in many ways, just tries to duplicate the ideas and sounds of this masterpiece, and it even brings an ugly, dissonant and uninspired edge into the music. Many tracks are just built around a simple noise riff and crashy sounds, without much substance. The first two tracks are pretty good, though, and "Cichli" comes up with these psychedelic melodies so typical for Ae's earlier output. The rest is just plain boring for me. It also lacks the concept character of Ae's previous albums. And subsequent efforts like "EP7" with even more noise and less inspiration have really put me off. Not only Autechre, but also the Warp label started to fade. However, "Chiastic slide" is an o.k. purchase for new fans, but for me it was the beginning of the end. | 988 | [
"I can't tell you in words how much I've been disappointed by this album.",
"After listening to \"Tri repetae\", I spent sleepless nights, and I still use \"Tri repetae\" as a reference point when I do reviews of techno records.",
"\"Chiastic slide\", in many ways, just tries to duplicate the ideas and sounds of this masterpiece, and it even brings an ugly, dissonant and uninspired edge into the music.",
"Many tracks are just built around a simple noise riff and crashy sounds, without much substance.",
"The first two tracks are pretty good, though, and \"Cichli\" comes up with these psychedelic melodies so typical for Ae's earlier output.",
"The rest is just plain boring for me.",
"It also lacks the concept character of Ae's previous albums.",
"And subsequent efforts like \"EP7\" with even more noise and less inspiration have really put me off.",
"Not only Autechre, but also the Warp label started to fade.",
"However, \"Chiastic slide\" is an o.k. purchase for new fans, but for me it was the beginning of the end."
] |
2 | Out of ideas O'Brien? | Holy cow I feel like I'm in deja vu when reading this book. I just got done reading 'Final Breath' and found it pleasant enough to give this author another go around. I can't be the only one here that hears his record playing over and over am I?Both plots of these books are exactly the same. Both in Seattle, both involve a single mother being given clues to multiple murders that dont happen yet, both encouter break ins where the killers leave hints to the crimes in the house, both of the main characters have a healthy craving for wine and they confide in a close male friend or relative of some kind. Among many more similarities, I have decided that this will be the last book that I get from O'Brien. The only redundant detail that I appreciate in his books are the location, being from Seattle. But I find that he is incredibly lacking in creativity and imgination. This book was a complete replica of another and which ever came first doesn't matter.I think 2 stars is generous. | 988 | [
"Holy cow I feel like I'm in deja vu when reading this book.",
"I just got done reading 'Final Breath' and found it pleasant enough to give this author another go around.",
"I can't be the only one here that hears his record playing over and over am I?",
"Both plots of these books are exactly the same.",
"Both in Seattle, both involve a single mother being given clues to multiple murders that dont happen yet, both encouter break ins where the killers leave hints to the crimes in the house, both of the main characters have a healthy craving for wine and they confide in a close male friend or relative of some kind.",
"Among many more similarities, I have decided that this will be the last book that I get from O'Brien.",
"The only redundant detail that I appreciate in his books are the location, being from Seattle.",
"But I find that he is incredibly lacking in creativity and imgination.",
"This book was a complete replica of another and which ever came first doesn't matter.I think 2 stars is generous."
] |
2 | So very disappointing.... | Like so many other reviewers I am a follower of Lisa See's books. Each one of them have been enjoyable and often exceptional.Struggling thru 'On Gold Mountain', I kept waiting for some kind of impetus to keep going. Never losing faith in the author, I plodded on.Fifty percent thru the book, I tried not to abandon it and skipped thru bits and pieces of the remaining chapters. It just seemed more of the same.Lisa See prefaced the history of her family would often have to be told via bits and pieces and facts that were not always clear.Therefore, I found it difficult to accept her blow by blow narration in detail, detail, detail, and quotes from family members long gone.Had the book been much shorter, not weighed down with so much uninteresting descriptives, it would have been more a page turner.What bothered me most is that I really did not find myself engrossed in any of the characters. First introduced, I thought this one or that one would hold me fast...just didn't happen. | 988 | [
"Like so many other reviewers I am a follower of Lisa See's books.",
"Each one of them have been enjoyable and often exceptional.Struggling thru 'On Gold Mountain', I kept waiting for some kind of impetus to keep going.",
"Never losing faith in the author, I plodded on.Fifty percent thru the book, I tried not to abandon it and skipped thru bits and pieces of the remaining chapters.",
"It just seemed more of the same.Lisa See prefaced the history of her family would often have to be told via bits and pieces and facts that were not always clear.Therefore, I found it difficult to accept her blow by blow narration in detail, detail, detail, and quotes from family members long gone.Had the book been much shorter, not weighed down with so much uninteresting descriptives, it would have been more a page turner.What bothered me most is that I really did not find myself engrossed in any of the characters.",
"First introduced, I thought this one or that one would hold me fast...just didn't happen."
] |
2 | BORING! | This must be the most boring book I ever read. You may not believe that statement since, after all, the history of the development of soda is such an exciting topic. Basically, each soda started out the same. Some pharmacy worker developed it and then eventually sold it off to a major corportation. After reading that same story from Dr. Pepper to Fanta you want the book to move on....but it doesn't! Instead you read basically the same boring story for each soda that we know. Another major drawback to the book is that it is so outdated that is not even funny. It seems that 1/3 of the sodas mentioned in the book are not even manufactured any more. The only part that is a little interesting is the "cola war" years and that fizzes out quite quickly as well. If you absolutely must read about how carbonated drinks evolved then give the book a shot (I am at a loss for another one to recommend). But do so only if you have a hefty amount of caffeine in your system to keep you awake. | 988 | [
"This must be the most boring book I ever read.",
"You may not believe that statement since, after all, the history of the development of soda is such an exciting topic.",
"Basically, each soda started out the same.",
"Some pharmacy worker developed it and then eventually sold it off to a major corportation.",
"After reading that same story from Dr.",
"Pepper to Fanta you want the book to move on....but it doesn't!",
"Instead you read basically the same boring story for each soda that we know.",
"Another major drawback to the book is that it is so outdated that is not even funny.",
"It seems that 1/3 of the sodas mentioned in the book are not even manufactured any more.",
"The only part that is a little interesting is the \"cola war\" years and that fizzes out quite quickly as well.",
"If you absolutely must read about how carbonated drinks evolved then give the book a shot (I am at a loss for another one to recommend).",
"But do so only if you have a hefty amount of caffeine in your system to keep you awake."
] |
2 | Escaflowne the series | The first Escaflowne I experienced was the movie (Which was great). Then I read the comic book series (And that was awesome!!!). Then I saw the series and sank.... I was expecting the same action packed storyline with twists and cool characters as the comic books. But it seems that the anime series was the prototype for the real story. Not only does the anime series and comic book series have different views on what the characters look like, but it is missing some of the great twists and events that the comic book storyline has in it. Then I realized that the comic book was made AFTER the series instead of BEFORE.I believe that the anime series not only has some of the worst animation I have ever seen, but definitaly the worst voice acting I have ever heard (English Audio).If you really want the GOOD Escaflowne experience instead of the AVERAGE one, Watch the movie then read the comic books and totally ignore the TV series. In other words, Don't waste your time watching it. | 988 | [
"The first Escaflowne I experienced was the movie (Which was great).",
"Then I read the comic book series (And that was awesome!!!",
").",
"Then I saw the series and sank.... I was expecting the same action packed storyline with twists and cool characters as the comic books.",
"But it seems that the anime series was the prototype for the real story.",
"Not only does the anime series and comic book series have different views on what the characters look like, but it is missing some of the great twists and events that the comic book storyline has in it.",
"Then I realized that the comic book was made AFTER the series instead of BEFORE.I believe that the anime series not only has some of the worst animation I have ever seen, but definitaly the worst voice acting I have ever heard (English Audio).If you really want the GOOD Escaflowne experience instead of the AVERAGE one, Watch the movie then read the comic books and totally ignore the TV series.",
"In other words, Don't waste your time watching it."
] |
2 | Wake Up! | I've had to endure Ja's battlecry of "It's murda" for far too long. Ja Rule is a perfect example of a formula m.c. He has realized what type of records he needs to create that will boost record sales and make him money. That's why every single he has released has the same format of a pop/r-n-b sounding track and an r and b singer singing the hook. It is a shame that a lyrically talented artist has to go to waste in the pursuit of the almighty dollar. Point black-capitalism is stagnating the growth of true hip hop. There is a group named "Smylez and Southstar" that released a song that uses the same sample of Ja's song "Mezmerize". Aside from the hooks and the flow of the m.c.'s the songs beats are nearly identical. Now that's creativity. I am writing this review as someone who longs for the days of real hip hop not hip pop that gets mistakenly bunched into the same category. If you think Ja Rule represents real hip hop you need to stop falling for the okey doke and Wake Up! | 988 | [
"I've had to endure Ja's battlecry of \"It's murda\" for far too long.",
"Ja Rule is a perfect example of a formula m.c. He has realized what type of records he needs to create that will boost record sales and make him money.",
"That's why every single he has released has the same format of a pop/r-n-b sounding track and an r and b singer singing the hook.",
"It is a shame that a lyrically talented artist has to go to waste in the pursuit of the almighty dollar.",
"Point black-capitalism is stagnating the growth of true hip hop.",
"There is a group named \"Smylez and Southstar\" that released a song that uses the same sample of Ja's song \"Mezmerize\".",
"Aside from the hooks and the flow of the m.c.'s the songs beats are nearly identical.",
"Now that's creativity.",
"I am writing this review as someone who longs for the days of real hip hop not hip pop that gets mistakenly bunched into the same category.",
"If you think Ja Rule represents real hip hop you need to stop falling for the okey doke and Wake Up!"
] |
2 | Wrong genre for Flynn | One or two good scenes, but this, frankly, isn't much of a movie. Most of the reviewers seem to know this, but they give it high stars because of Flynn and De Havilland. It's all a bit tedious and predictable. Flynn never had an Australian accent (well, maybe, right at the beginning of his career). In fact his accent was about as British as they come, and he wasn't a good mimic when it came to accents. My disc came in the six disc Signature Collection, and although Captain Blood played well, this Dodge City disc had something seriously wrong with both the colour and the sound. A dull script, plot full of silly holes, corny dialogue, heavy-handed comedy can't be saved by the stars and a good barroom brawl. According to the bio-documentary of Errol Flynn, which comes with the collection, the villain in this picture, Cabot, actually managed to ruin Flynn towards the end of his life by suing him, when Flynn had tried to give him a helping hand. My advice is to dodge Dodge City. | 988 | [
"One or two good scenes, but this, frankly, isn't much of a movie.",
"Most of the reviewers seem to know this, but they give it high stars because of Flynn and De Havilland.",
"It's all a bit tedious and predictable.",
"Flynn never had an Australian accent (well, maybe, right at the beginning of his career).",
"In fact his accent was about as British as they come, and he wasn't a good mimic when it came to accents.",
"My disc came in the six disc Signature Collection, and although Captain Blood played well, this Dodge City disc had something seriously wrong with both the colour and the sound.",
"A dull script, plot full of silly holes, corny dialogue, heavy-handed comedy can't be saved by the stars and a good barroom brawl.",
"According to the bio-documentary of Errol Flynn, which comes with the collection, the villain in this picture, Cabot, actually managed to ruin Flynn towards the end of his life by suing him, when Flynn had tried to give him a helping hand.",
"My advice is to dodge Dodge City."
] |
2 | Disappointed | I bought my first mini duster about three years ago at a Smart & Final. It was absolutely WONDERFUL! I returned recently to buy more--one for myself and several more to use as gifts for family and friends. I was told that they no longer carry them and that I should try an auto supply shop. I found the "mini car duster" at Checker Auto and although it is smaller than the one that I originally purchased, which was labeled just "mini duster," I figured that it was smaller since it was for the interior of a car, but should otherwise be the same. I bought it anyway since I had not been able to find the "mini duster." I was very disappointed that it is not as good as the first one that I had bought. The strands are thinner and there are fewer of them. The dusting results are significantly inferior to the results that I got with the first one--it just moves the dust around; it doesn't pick it up like a "magnet." I really loved this thing and am bummed that it just isn't very good. | 988 | [
"I bought my first mini duster about three years ago at a Smart & Final.",
"It was absolutely WONDERFUL!",
"I returned recently to buy more--one for myself and several more to use as gifts for family and friends.",
"I was told that they no longer carry them and that I should try an auto supply shop.",
"I found the \"mini car duster\" at Checker Auto and although it is smaller than the one that I originally purchased, which was labeled just \"mini duster,\" I figured that it was smaller since it was for the interior of a car, but should otherwise be the same.",
"I bought it anyway since I had not been able to find the \"mini duster.\" I was very disappointed that it is not as good as the first one that I had bought.",
"The strands are thinner and there are fewer of them.",
"The dusting results are significantly inferior to the results that I got with the first one--it just moves the dust around; it doesn't pick it up like a \"magnet.\" I really loved this thing and am bummed that it just isn't very good."
] |
2 | A hard review to write... | This is hard because my grandmother wrote this book and it was one of the only things she did in her life that showed for her efforts.The book is sourced and well explained but after about 20 pages in you start to get a sense that she has a disdain or hatred of white men or people. I tried to see if the book goes around it after awhile but had to stop reading it.It may be factual but there is a lot of synthesis of white men and religion being the point of destruction for the Wappo in their way of life and as a people.I wanted to learn more about the Wappo and their life... not how abusive white men are in the name of the church... or the Spainiards etc.I had to throw the book away because it left such a bad vibe in me that I didn't want it in my house.I love my grandmother even though she has passed away but this book is not such a good idea in terms of transcending the spirit of a people. It only attempts to abash history to make a case for these people in time.Chris Beard | 988 | [
"This is hard because my grandmother wrote this book and it was one of the only things she did in her life that showed for her efforts.The book is sourced and well explained but after about 20 pages in you start to get a sense that she has a disdain or hatred of white men or people.",
"I tried to see if the book goes around it after awhile but had to stop reading it.It may be factual but there is a lot of synthesis of white men and religion being the point of destruction for the Wappo in their way of life and as a people.I wanted to learn more about the Wappo and their life... not how abusive white men are in the name of the church... or the Spainiards etc.I had to throw the book away because it left such a bad vibe in me that I didn't want it in my house.I love my grandmother even though she has passed away but this book is not such a good idea in terms of transcending the spirit of a people.",
"It only attempts to abash history to make a case for these people in time.Chris Beard"
] |
2 | Muffled sound | I JUST bought these phones. I am going to return them. I have major issues with their sound. The phones DO have a nice rich bass (as other reviewers state), which I generally love, but these buggers make everything ELSE sound (like all the other instruments and voices) is singing/playing into a styrofoam cup -- very muffled and flat. It just didn't have that "ring" to it or crispness. I tried them on my computer and through my receiver/stereo. Only if I cranked the treble to the max and dropped the bass to pretty low did it sound "fair". Even my wife agreed, who always shakes her head at my audio pickiness! I'm going to look for another brand or upgrade a few dollars-worth!I *will* miss the volume control on the cord, and the "mute" button, though it only drops the volume substantially, rather than completely removing the sound. I won't miss looking like a weirdo in them. They bow out just above your ears. They were comfy, I will say, though I only wore them for 20 minutes. | 988 | [
"I JUST bought these phones.",
"I am going to return them.",
"I have major issues with their sound.",
"The phones DO have a nice rich bass (as other reviewers state), which I generally love, but these buggers make everything ELSE sound (like all the other instruments and voices) is singing/playing into a styrofoam cup -- very muffled and flat.",
"It just didn't have that \"ring\" to it or crispness.",
"I tried them on my computer and through my receiver/stereo.",
"Only if I cranked the treble to the max and dropped the bass to pretty low did it sound \"fair\".",
"Even my wife agreed, who always shakes her head at my audio pickiness!",
"I'm going to look for another brand or upgrade a few dollars-worth!",
"I *will* miss the volume control on the cord, and the \"mute\" button, though it only drops the volume substantially, rather than completely removing the sound.",
"I won't miss looking like a weirdo in them.",
"They bow out just above your ears.",
"They were comfy, I will say, though I only wore them for 20 minutes."
] |
2 | Bodum should be ashamed.. | I've used Bodum French press pots for years. When I saw this, I thought it would be the perfect camping alternative to a barely functional stovetop percolator that we use.Wrong! The cup part is excellent, holding liquids hot for a long period without burning your hand. BUT, the filter mechanism is terrible. Even a child would see that the silicon ring that is supposed to keep the grounds below the filter would not work. It is far too soft and pliable to do anything at all. The result - no matter how slow you press or how careful you are, this is 'cowboy coffee' - each sip is an unpleasant mouthful of grounds.I'd return this piece of junk in a heartbeat except that I got it on super-saver shipping and the shipping would eat up the value of the return. So, I ordered a $4 Melitta travel coffee maker that hopefully will fit on top of this nice cup! Maybe between the two of them, I can get one decent product.As a longtime Bodum fan, I'd have to advise you NOT to order this item. | 988 | [
"I've used Bodum French press pots for years.",
"When I saw this, I thought it would be the perfect camping alternative to a barely functional stovetop percolator that we use.Wrong!",
"The cup part is excellent, holding liquids hot for a long period without burning your hand.",
"BUT, the filter mechanism is terrible.",
"Even a child would see that the silicon ring that is supposed to keep the grounds below the filter would not work.",
"It is far too soft and pliable to do anything at all.",
"The result - no matter how slow you press or how careful you are, this is 'cowboy coffee' - each sip is an unpleasant mouthful of grounds.I'd return this piece of junk in a heartbeat except that I got it on super-saver shipping and the shipping would eat up the value of the return.",
"So, I ordered a $4 Melitta travel coffee maker that hopefully will fit on top of this nice cup!",
"Maybe between the two of them, I can get one decent product.As a longtime Bodum fan, I'd have to advise you NOT to order this item."
] |
2 | Not for a sensitive child | Having heard that this technique is good, I tried it with my daughter at the recommended age. Although I was LESS stern than the book recommends, the process upset her enough to have created phobias that she didn't have before. When she has an accident now--or even if she spills a drink on her clothes or gets her shoes wet at the playground--she freaks out. She also took to withholding her poop for days at a time, I think (based on other clues, too) because she was worried about having an accident. She just wanted to avoid pooping altogether. The withholding started to create medical problems for her. We're back on track now pooping in diapers, but I would recommend to anyone with a sensitive child to use a very gentle potty training method. The method in this book, while excellent for many children, is not for everyone. For our child, many months after we used this technique (and then dropped it for a gentler approach), we are still reaping the negative consequences of it. | 988 | [
"Having heard that this technique is good, I tried it with my daughter at the recommended age.",
"Although I was LESS stern than the book recommends, the process upset her enough to have created phobias that she didn't have before.",
"When she has an accident now--or even if she spills a drink on her clothes or gets her shoes wet at the playground--she freaks out.",
"She also took to withholding her poop for days at a time, I think (based on other clues, too) because she was worried about having an accident.",
"She just wanted to avoid pooping altogether.",
"The withholding started to create medical problems for her.",
"We're back on track now pooping in diapers, but I would recommend to anyone with a sensitive child to use a very gentle potty training method.",
"The method in this book, while excellent for many children, is not for everyone.",
"For our child, many months after we used this technique (and then dropped it for a gentler approach), we are still reaping the negative consequences of it."
] |
2 | A little disappointed!! | I was really looking forward to this release because Jeff Pilson is such a great and talented musician. The first time I put it on I was in my car going to work because that is how I rate any new c.d. I purchase. When I heard the opening track "What cost war" I was blown away. It sounded alot like a "Dio" song, I really like that song. Then I heard "The night you walked away" and said to my self this album really rocks. The third song "Wrong place wrong time" is o.k. but nothing spectacular. The fourth one "Playing God again" is a really cool song but I feel as though the music sounds kind of muddy on that one. "Solitary world" is a catchy tune which I happen to really like and then the sixth one "In the dead of night" is pretty cool. So far so good, then that's where the bottom totally fell out on the c.d. The next four songs are just brutal. I find myself shutting it off constantly after the sixth song. I still think Pilson is great but I am just disappointed in this c.d. | 988 | [
"I was really looking forward to this release because Jeff Pilson is such a great and talented musician.",
"The first time I put it on I was in my car going to work because that is how I rate any new c.d. I purchase.",
"When I heard the opening track \"What cost war\" I was blown away.",
"It sounded alot like a \"Dio\" song, I really like that song.",
"Then I heard \"The night you walked away\" and said to my self this album really rocks.",
"The third song \"Wrong place wrong time\" is o.k. but nothing spectacular.",
"The fourth one \"Playing God again\" is a really cool song but I feel as though the music sounds kind of muddy on that one.",
"\"Solitary world\" is a catchy tune which I happen to really like and then the sixth one \"In the dead of night\" is pretty cool.",
"So far so good, then that's where the bottom totally fell out on the c.d. The next four songs are just brutal.",
"I find myself shutting it off constantly after the sixth song.",
"I still think Pilson is great but I am just disappointed in this c.d."
] |
2 | Terrible! DO NOT BUY IT!! | I bought this camera about 3 1/2 years ago. I never liked it but it was better then nothing and a computer store was going out of business in our town and this was on sale. It takes horrible inside photos. It doesn't matter how much light you have. Your photos will either turn out very flashed, yellow, or extremely blurry. I had this camera for long enough and I tried every thing possible to create nice photos and it never did me any good. Outside photos are a little better but still sometimes blurry. I hated the thing and I am so glad I bought my Lumix :). The only plus was how long it lasted considering I have a 3 and 1 year old. Lake water is what did the thing in..Pros:Basically indestructiblequite a bit of memoryCons:Terrible inside photosHeavy!Horrible video quality (grainy and orange)Little optionsTakes a long time to take a pictureOver all this camera really sucks! I have no idea why anyone would give this 5 stars. Polaroid photos are better then this piece of crap! | 988 | [
"I bought this camera about 3 1/2 years ago.",
"I never liked it but it was better then nothing and a computer store was going out of business in our town and this was on sale.",
"It takes horrible inside photos.",
"It doesn't matter how much light you have.",
"Your photos will either turn out very flashed, yellow, or extremely blurry.",
"I had this camera for long enough and I tried every thing possible to create nice photos and it never did me any good.",
"Outside photos are a little better but still sometimes blurry.",
"I hated the thing and I am so glad I bought my Lumix :).",
"The only plus was how long it lasted considering I have a 3 and 1 year old.",
"Lake water is what did the thing in..Pros:Basically indestructiblequite a bit of memoryCons:Terrible inside photosHeavy!",
"Horrible video quality (grainy and orange)Little optionsTakes a long time to take a pictureOver all this camera really sucks!",
"I have no idea why anyone would give this 5 stars.",
"Polaroid photos are better then this piece of crap!"
] |
2 | Fair to Decent | This is a devotion written for couples in the beginning phases of their faith journey. There are large sections devoted to male "misconceptions", parental issues, and other such obvious things.My wife has concerns with the book because it seems to promote the stereotype that in a Christian relationship the male is supposed to be dominate and the wife is supposed to be subordinate. I have to say, it bugs me too. It can be a little irritating night after night.Lastly, the book seems to talk down to the read as if they are just beginning their faith journey. We have actually stopped reading the book after only a few weeks. Before anyone says anything, I have made these observations by reading through many of the other days to see if we should keep going or just stop...we just stopped.My recommendation is to skip this book if you have been together for a time, if you have been together for a while, have a good relationship, or are not just beginning your faith journey together. | 988 | [
"This is a devotion written for couples in the beginning phases of their faith journey.",
"There are large sections devoted to male \"misconceptions\", parental issues, and other such obvious things.My wife has concerns with the book because it seems to promote the stereotype that in a Christian relationship the male is supposed to be dominate and the wife is supposed to be subordinate.",
"I have to say, it bugs me too.",
"It can be a little irritating night after night.Lastly, the book seems to talk down to the read as if they are just beginning their faith journey.",
"We have actually stopped reading the book after only a few weeks.",
"Before anyone says anything, I have made these observations by reading through many of the other days to see if we should keep going or just stop...we just stopped.My recommendation is to skip this book if you have been together for a time, if you have been together for a while, have a good relationship, or are not just beginning your faith journey together."
] |
2 | Lost me at the end | This novel addresses many ethical, moral, personal, family issues for more than 200 pages in what seem to be interesting (and medically accurate) ways. The ending is not accurate.Warning: If you haven't read the novel, the next sentences will wreck the "surprise" at the end.Because I am a medical writer/editor and have friends who have been (a)a living donor of a kidney to a sibling and (b) a spouse who approved donation of all possible organs (tragic drowning; spouse could not be revived), I know that the medical information is just not right....a lawyer can't make the decision...not even a legal guardian of a minor. Also, relatives would NOT say goodbye to someone still on life support AFTER the organ donation. Life support is removed before the organs are "harvested." I felt that the writer got to the end of her "schedule" of a book a year and just wrapped it up fast to meet a publisher's deadline. Picoult's novels are getting more and more formulaic. Not a fan any more. | 988 | [
"This novel addresses many ethical, moral, personal, family issues for more than 200 pages in what seem to be interesting (and medically accurate) ways.",
"The ending is not accurate.Warning: If you haven't read the novel, the next sentences will wreck the \"surprise\" at the end.Because I am a medical writer/editor and have friends who have been (a)a living donor of a kidney to a sibling and (b) a spouse who approved donation of all possible organs (tragic drowning; spouse could not be revived), I know that the medical information is just not right....a lawyer can't make the decision...not even a legal guardian of a minor.",
"Also, relatives would NOT say goodbye to someone still on life support AFTER the organ donation.",
"Life support is removed before the organs are \"harvested.\" I felt that the writer got to the end of her \"schedule\" of a book a year and just wrapped it up fast to meet a publisher's deadline.",
"Picoult's novels are getting more and more formulaic.",
"Not a fan any more."
] |
2 | Not Challenging Enough! | I bought this DVD a month ago, and I'm sad to say that I'm already putting it on the bottom of my stack of aerobics DVDs.I haven't done aerobics in years, but have come back to it when I remembered recently how much I used to like to do it. And, in finally deciding to get serious about losing about 15 pounds, I need to drastically increase my cardio. But I'm too broke to join a gym!I was hoping that this would carry me through at least a few months, but I've done it twice and I'm already not feeling challenged. I can be really clumsy and uncoordinated, but Freytag's aerobics combinations are a bit boring/uninspiring even for me.Also, on the segments where she does work with free weights, she only does 7 reps for each exercise ONCE, and then moves on. I know that this DVD is for beginners, and there are those who might find this challenging, but I was hoping that I picked some starter workouts that I could grow with and aspire to mastering. This one just didn't fit the bill. | 988 | [
"I bought this DVD a month ago, and I'm sad to say that I'm already putting it on the bottom of my stack of aerobics DVDs.I haven't done aerobics in years, but have come back to it when I remembered recently how much I used to like to do it.",
"And, in finally deciding to get serious about losing about 15 pounds, I need to drastically increase my cardio.",
"But I'm too broke to join a gym!",
"I was hoping that this would carry me through at least a few months, but I've done it twice and I'm already not feeling challenged.",
"I can be really clumsy and uncoordinated, but Freytag's aerobics combinations are a bit boring/uninspiring even for me.Also, on the segments where she does work with free weights, she only does 7 reps for each exercise ONCE, and then moves on.",
"I know that this DVD is for beginners, and there are those who might find this challenging, but I was hoping that I picked some starter workouts that I could grow with and aspire to mastering.",
"This one just didn't fit the bill."
] |
2 | Virtuosic but uncreative | Jazz fans must have been thrilled when Weather Report left the studio experiments of Mr. Gone behind. Unfortunately, Night Passage doesn't really go anywhere. There's some cool improvisation (this was the jazziest WR album since I Sing the Body Electric) but the compositions themselves are mostly generic fusion. Wayne Shorter only contributes "Port of Entry", a sort of "Elegant People"-lite but easily the best tune on here. (Shorter also plays a lot of great tenor saxophone on this album.) Jaco Pastorius offers "Three Views of a Secret" and the band does a really cheesy cover of Ellington's "Rockin' in Rhythm". Zawinul does the rest of the songwriting and with the exception of "Fast City", it's unremarkable. Those who are interested in the chops of Peter Erskine and Jaco Pastorius will like the album but others may just be bored.[This review is based on the 1990 CD version; I do not know if the 2008 reissue has better sound quality, but the two have an identical tracklist.] | 988 | [
"Jazz fans must have been thrilled when Weather Report left the studio experiments of Mr.",
"Gone behind.",
"Unfortunately, Night Passage doesn't really go anywhere.",
"There's some cool improvisation (this was the jazziest WR album since I Sing the Body Electric) but the compositions themselves are mostly generic fusion.",
"Wayne Shorter only contributes \"Port of Entry\", a sort of \"Elegant People\"-lite but easily the best tune on here.",
"(Shorter also plays a lot of great tenor saxophone on this album.) Jaco Pastorius offers \"Three Views of a Secret\" and the band does a really cheesy cover of Ellington's \"Rockin' in Rhythm\".",
"Zawinul does the rest of the songwriting and with the exception of \"Fast City\", it's unremarkable.",
"Those who are interested in the chops of Peter Erskine and Jaco Pastorius will like the album but others may just be bored.[This review is based on the 1990 CD version; I do not know if the 2008 reissue has better sound quality, but the two have an identical tracklist.]"
] |
2 | Disappointing | Oh how I want to like this album. I was intrigued by this album's comparisons to Kid606 and jazz in reviews, and curious what slicing-edge au courant electronica was up to. So imagine my disappointment to find that apparently we're still stuck in 1996, blippin' along quite onanistically to Oval and Mouse on Mars (with -- God forbid -- shades of Amon Tobin). Perhaps this album's subtle advances and generic charms would be more apparent to listeners whose aesthetic electron microscopes are set at a finer discernment than mine, I will allow that. I just find the sonic textures here no more different than a brown noise generator's output or a scratchy CD of "Soothing Environments: Lightning Storm," and the jazz samples sound curiously like the ones bundled with [a software package].As for "au courant electronica" that I _am_ liking, I'd recommend Nobokazu Takemura and 4Tek for the adventure and unexpectedly gorgeous soundscapes I was hoping for from "Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records." | 988 | [
"Oh how I want to like this album.",
"I was intrigued by this album's comparisons to Kid606 and jazz in reviews, and curious what slicing-edge au courant electronica was up to.",
"So imagine my disappointment to find that apparently we're still stuck in 1996, blippin' along quite onanistically to Oval and Mouse on Mars (with -- God forbid -- shades of Amon Tobin).",
"Perhaps this album's subtle advances and generic charms would be more apparent to listeners whose aesthetic electron microscopes are set at a finer discernment than mine, I will allow that.",
"I just find the sonic textures here no more different than a brown noise generator's output or a scratchy CD of \"Soothing Environments: Lightning Storm,\" and the jazz samples sound curiously like the ones bundled with [a software package].As for \"au courant electronica\" that I _am_ liking, I'd recommend Nobokazu Takemura and 4Tek for the adventure and unexpectedly gorgeous soundscapes I was hoping for from \"Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records.\""
] |
2 | Won't silence a .22 | When I saw this book (decades ago) in a friend's collection, I was inspired to make my own silencer.There are 2 components to sound coming from a gun:1) The muzzle blast2) The sound of the bullet traveling at super-sonic speeds as it breaks the sound barrier!!!A 22LR shell exits the muzzle at over 1300 feet per second. Do the math! That translates to 886 Miles Per Hour - well over the sonic barrier (500 to 700 MPH depending on altitude and barometric pressure).You can suppress the blast, but when you do, you still hear the crack as the bullet breaks the sound barrier.A few other cartridges that are super-sonic are: 9MM, Super 38, .357, .41Mag and .44 Mag. So how do you totally eliminate any tell-tale sound? Use a lower velocity cartridge.As a rule of thumb, don't use a revolver; you should use an automatic pistol. The ideal pistol: .380 AUTO.One other thing to consider. Silencers are illegal. If you are caught you could be shot or embark on an extended vacation at Club Fed. | 988 | [
"When I saw this book (decades ago) in a friend's collection, I was inspired to make my own silencer.There are 2 components to sound coming from a gun:1) The muzzle blast2) The sound of the bullet traveling at super-sonic speeds as it breaks the sound barrier!!!",
"A 22LR shell exits the muzzle at over 1300 feet per second.",
"Do the math!",
"That translates to 886 Miles Per Hour - well over the sonic barrier (500 to 700 MPH depending on altitude and barometric pressure).You can suppress the blast, but when you do, you still hear the crack as the bullet breaks the sound barrier.A few other cartridges that are super-sonic are: 9MM, Super 38, .357, .41Mag and .44 Mag.",
"So how do you totally eliminate any tell-tale sound?",
"Use a lower velocity cartridge.As a rule of thumb, don't use a revolver; you should use an automatic pistol.",
"The ideal pistol: .380 AUTO.One other thing to consider.",
"Silencers are illegal.",
"If you are caught you could be shot or embark on an extended vacation at Club Fed."
] |
2 | This broke my heart. | Firstly, potential readers should be advised that this is a book by a feminist, with a feminist agenda. Letters are about the blood, sweat, tears, of mother/daughter relationships, and are mostly about terrible and unresolved conflicts in those relationships. Very few letters merit the review by the Boston Herald: "This is a book rich with words to warm the soul and stir the heart of the mother/daughter that there is in every woman." I didn't find them warming--I found them depressing. Why would it be heart-warming to hear a daughter telling her mother: "You can poison your own lives if you want to--just leave me out of it. You were adults long before any of us, and Annie and Pat aren't even that yet, but we've grown up tainted by you at every turn"? (p.235)Mothers blame daughters and daughters blame mothers for each other's choices.I really see nothing deep and meaningful about this--just heart-rending that they can't seem to relate in a way that doesn't damage each other. | 988 | [
"Firstly, potential readers should be advised that this is a book by a feminist, with a feminist agenda.",
"Letters are about the blood, sweat, tears, of mother/daughter relationships, and are mostly about terrible and unresolved conflicts in those relationships.",
"Very few letters merit the review by the Boston Herald: \"This is a book rich with words to warm the soul and stir the heart of the mother/daughter that there is in every woman.\" I didn't find them warming--I found them depressing.",
"Why would it be heart-warming to hear a daughter telling her mother: \"You can poison your own lives if you want to--just leave me out of it.",
"You were adults long before any of us, and Annie and Pat aren't even that yet, but we've grown up tainted by you at every turn\"?",
"(p.235)Mothers blame daughters and daughters blame mothers for each other's choices.I really see nothing deep and meaningful about this--just heart-rending that they can't seem to relate in a way that doesn't damage each other."
] |
2 | Slay Shark Tale!!!! | Shark Tale was suppose to be a modern day sea adventure with hip music and fantasy sea world. Shark Tale fails... Orginally seeing the adds for Shark Tale I had the hope that it would be "Finding Nemo" meets Shrek but, it wasn't... this a generic rip off of the craze that came from Nemo and added with a few cheesy lines.The kids I saw this with all hated it and the only good thing in this movie was seeing the cute Vegan Shark(who is hardly seen in the movie it focuses more on Will Smith's fish). The animation is just crummy not up up to the usual Dreamworks standards you see in the Shrek movies and the voice talents although good fail to save this movie!But, what do you expect from a movie that focuses on vegetarian sharks and fish? The storyline is predictable and over-dramtised at times... The worst bit of this movie were when the pop songs came up. All in all this not a movie I would waste my money on rent or buy Nemo or Shrek instead! And slay Shark Tale from your mind! | 988 | [
"Shark Tale was suppose to be a modern day sea adventure with hip music and fantasy sea world.",
"Shark Tale fails... Orginally seeing the adds for Shark Tale I had the hope that it would be \"Finding Nemo\" meets Shrek but, it wasn't... this a generic rip off of the craze that came from Nemo and added with a few cheesy lines.The kids I saw this with all hated it and the only good thing in this movie was seeing the cute Vegan Shark(who is hardly seen in the movie it focuses more on Will Smith's fish).",
"The animation is just crummy not up up to the usual Dreamworks standards you see in the Shrek movies and the voice talents although good fail to save this movie!",
"But, what do you expect from a movie that focuses on vegetarian sharks and fish?",
"The storyline is predictable and over-dramtised at times... The worst bit of this movie were when the pop songs came up.",
"All in all this not a movie I would waste my money on rent or buy Nemo or Shrek instead!",
"And slay Shark Tale from your mind!"
] |
2 | Problematic | Theoretically (when considering the advertised functionality) this is a magnificent programme. However, in practice things can be quite different.I have used this software in three different versions (7, 9, 9.5) on three different operating systems on five different computers and have always had many problems with bugs, ranging from annoying to dramatic (making the software completely unusable). When something doesn't work, it can be quite hard to solve the problem because the error messages often don't a lot, if you get an error message at all.I must say: I would not want to miss the software, if only because it is the only speech recognition software that can process Dutch as far as I know, so I have to depend on it. But I do think the software is in need of quite some improvement in terms of maturity (absence of bugs) and analysability (being able to find the source of problems, when there are any). Over the years, until now, I have not seen any progress in this respect. | 988 | [
"Theoretically (when considering the advertised functionality) this is a magnificent programme.",
"However, in practice things can be quite different.I have used this software in three different versions (7, 9, 9.5) on three different operating systems on five different computers and have always had many problems with bugs, ranging from annoying to dramatic (making the software completely unusable).",
"When something doesn't work, it can be quite hard to solve the problem because the error messages often don't a lot, if you get an error message at all.I must say: I would not want to miss the software, if only because it is the only speech recognition software that can process Dutch as far as I know, so I have to depend on it.",
"But I do think the software is in need of quite some improvement in terms of maturity (absence of bugs) and analysability (being able to find the source of problems, when there are any).",
"Over the years, until now, I have not seen any progress in this respect."
] |
2 | Jesus Christ, Supersnore | Sonewhere in California, 1998---YOU ARE THERE!! "So, dude, like what do you think Jesus, like, actually DID for 40 days in the wilderness, man?" "I don't know, dude. Like, what would you do? For 40 days, c'mon man, like who would know?" "No, I mean it...wait a minute, wait a minute. Like, suppose there were like other dudes there, too. Y'know?" "Dude! That's awesome! Like a really awesome chick or something. And a total stone stud blonde guy!" "Yeah, and a bad guy, too...a Jabba the Hutt kind of guy." "Cool! Like we should write a book or something. Y'know?" Too late, dudes! Jim Crace beat you too it!! What a disappointment this book is! It strikes me as a classic case of it seemed like a good idea at the time. As a concept, the idea is interesting, but I couldn't care less about the characters as written. Even Jesus' struggle with his divinity just doesn't engage. I give it two stars for some beautifully written passages which are, alas, few and quite far between. Too bad. | 988 | [
"Sonewhere in California, 1998---YOU ARE THERE!!",
"\"So, dude, like what do you think Jesus, like, actually DID for 40 days in the wilderness, man?",
"\" \"I don't know, dude.",
"Like, what would you do?",
"For 40 days, c'mon man, like who would know?",
"\" \"No, I mean it...wait a minute, wait a minute.",
"Like, suppose there were like other dudes there, too.",
"Y'know?",
"\" \"Dude!",
"That's awesome!",
"Like a really awesome chick or something.",
"And a total stone stud blonde guy!",
"\" \"Yeah, and a bad guy, too...a Jabba the Hutt kind of guy.\" \"Cool!",
"Like we should write a book or something.",
"Y'know?",
"\" Too late, dudes!",
"Jim Crace beat you too it!!",
"What a disappointment this book is!",
"It strikes me as a classic case of it seemed like a good idea at the time.",
"As a concept, the idea is interesting, but I couldn't care less about the characters as written.",
"Even Jesus' struggle with his divinity just doesn't engage.",
"I give it two stars for some beautifully written passages which are, alas, few and quite far between.",
"Too bad."
] |
2 | Bizzare | This has to be the strangest game that I have ever played.It's about a doctor,who goes off the deep end and kills off everybody in a hospital.So his daughter(you) has to go into the hospital to investigate what's going on,and to find her father.The gameplay is absolutley terrible.You move slower than a snail.Moving around in this game,takes FOREVER.The graphics are cheesey-looking cinematics,that look dreadful(even for an older game) The dialouge is so bad,that it's laughable.It's very funny to hear your father calling your name..."Laura.Laura.This..is..your...father".See what I mean? Overall,this game does have a few scary moments,but it's otherwise mostly cheesey,outdated and just down right bad.Also,there is absolutley NO saving in this game.If you wanna beat it,you have to play it ALL THE WAY THROUGH.For TWO HOURS! But,I can assure you,after two minutes,you'll be bored to death of this game,from how lame it is.If you want a good survival horror game,then look elsewhere. | 988 | [
"This has to be the strangest game that I have ever played.It's about a doctor,who goes off the deep end and kills off everybody in a hospital.So his daughter(you) has to go into the hospital to investigate what's going on,and to find her father.The gameplay is absolutley terrible.You move slower than a snail.Moving around in this game,takes FOREVER.The graphics are cheesey-looking cinematics,that look dreadful(even for an older game) The dialouge is so bad,that it's laughable.It's very funny to hear your father calling your name...\"Laura.Laura.This..is..your...father\".See what I mean?",
"Overall,this game does have a few scary moments,but it's otherwise mostly cheesey,outdated and just down right bad.Also,there is absolutley NO saving in this game.If you wanna beat it,you have to play it ALL THE WAY THROUGH.For TWO HOURS!",
"But,I can assure you,after two minutes,you'll be bored to death of this game,from how lame it is.If you want a good survival horror game,then look elsewhere."
] |
2 | Not so great... | We registered for this bouncy seat because we really liked the zip-up net feature as well as the fact that the seat would fold up for travel. Unfortunately, our baby despised this seat, and it took us a while to figure out why. Our baby always seemed to be seated in an uncomfortable position whether buckled in or not. He would last about 2 minutes, then he would squirm and arch his back. I finally figured out that the backing is made of extremely hard cardboard and there is almost no padding! I couldn't blame him! Another feature that we did not like were the fact that the seat did not stay closed when folded, therfore making travel quite difficult. The toys attached to the seat were very bland in color, but I liked the fact that I could remove them and attach toys of my choice with links (a feature you don't find with other seats). We ultimately decided on returning the seat after a month and a half. We have the Ocean Wonders seat now and our little boy seems much happier. | 988 | [
"We registered for this bouncy seat because we really liked the zip-up net feature as well as the fact that the seat would fold up for travel.",
"Unfortunately, our baby despised this seat, and it took us a while to figure out why.",
"Our baby always seemed to be seated in an uncomfortable position whether buckled in or not.",
"He would last about 2 minutes, then he would squirm and arch his back.",
"I finally figured out that the backing is made of extremely hard cardboard and there is almost no padding!",
"I couldn't blame him!",
"Another feature that we did not like were the fact that the seat did not stay closed when folded, therfore making travel quite difficult.",
"The toys attached to the seat were very bland in color, but I liked the fact that I could remove them and attach toys of my choice with links (a feature you don't find with other seats).",
"We ultimately decided on returning the seat after a month and a half.",
"We have the Ocean Wonders seat now and our little boy seems much happier."
] |
2 | Overall a dull film | Within five minutes of this movie I realized I had seen the whole thing. But I continued watching due to a demand from the woman on my arm. As a screenplay writer I guess I can gain a very different perspective on this movie than she can, it can be summed up in two words. 1.) Dull. 2.) Predictable The plot is definately substandard, hence the review thats below even an average 3 stars. Silly lines that I could say with Ryder's character as she said them like when shes confronted with the fact that she had a whole bottle of liquor and an entire bottle of aspirin, "I had a headache." More like you used to have an excellent acting career, and now you're only making headaches. The movie actually seemed to end several times. After I had watched an hour and a half there was an actual conclusion to the movie, but then it seemed to start up again from about the middle of the plot, and this happened again fifteen minutes later. This film really isn't worth viewing, let alone buying. | 988 | [
"Within five minutes of this movie I realized I had seen the whole thing.",
"But I continued watching due to a demand from the woman on my arm.",
"As a screenplay writer I guess I can gain a very different perspective on this movie than she can, it can be summed up in two words.",
"1.) Dull.",
"2.) Predictable The plot is definately substandard, hence the review thats below even an average 3 stars.",
"Silly lines that I could say with Ryder's character as she said them like when shes confronted with the fact that she had a whole bottle of liquor and an entire bottle of aspirin, \"I had a headache.\" More like you used to have an excellent acting career, and now you're only making headaches.",
"The movie actually seemed to end several times.",
"After I had watched an hour and a half there was an actual conclusion to the movie, but then it seemed to start up again from about the middle of the plot, and this happened again fifteen minutes later.",
"This film really isn't worth viewing, let alone buying."
] |
2 | Good Price But... | I have not had the chance to look at this TV too in-depth yet, but messing around with it, it is superb for video, gaming, but I found one very critical flaw that is yet to be seen if it was just an unlucky coincidence or not. We tested a computer's video-out graphics card (GeForce 7600 G series [go]) and using an HDMI it downgraded the computer's HD capabilities from 1080p to 1080i...if you know anything about operating systems there is a big difference between 'i' and 'p' when it comes to a computer's OS. Blurred and a little hard to read at best, I was severly disappointed to know an off-brand Westinghouse LCD tv of the same size converted the video-out to 1080p, and looked crystal clear. For me, this was a HUGE kick in the face as I mainly bought this TV as a sort of HD media center...I plan on buying another HD GeForce HDMI card and testing it out, but I don't recommend a 7600 GO so far...I'll keep you updated with what I find out. Hope this helps any potential buyers. | 988 | [
"I have not had the chance to look at this TV too in-depth yet, but messing around with it, it is superb for video, gaming, but I found one very critical flaw that is yet to be seen if it was just an unlucky coincidence or not.",
"We tested a computer's video-out graphics card (GeForce 7600 G series [go]) and using an HDMI it downgraded the computer's HD capabilities from 1080p to 1080i...if you know anything about operating systems there is a big difference between 'i' and 'p' when it comes to a computer's OS.",
"Blurred and a little hard to read at best, I was severly disappointed to know an off-brand Westinghouse LCD tv of the same size converted the video-out to 1080p, and looked crystal clear.",
"For me, this was a HUGE kick in the face as I mainly bought this TV as a sort of HD media center...I plan on buying another HD GeForce HDMI card and testing it out, but I don't recommend a 7600 GO so far...I'll keep you updated with what I find out.",
"Hope this helps any potential buyers."
] |
2 | Nowhere Near Professional | Just picked up a $13 pack of these at Office Depot. I was hesitant to get them because I worried that the final product would be lacking, but I figured between the price of the product and the quality of my printer, I couldn't go too wrong. Well, my initial instinct was right. I used Avery's online card designer along with this paper and lost three sheets because it kept printing my design over the margins. When I finally did get it to print correctly, I was very disappointed with the card's feel. The package boasts "extra sturdy," but it just doesn't feel like a quality cardstock and the edges, although not a disaster, aren't perfectly clean. My conclusion is that for most professional purposes, this card lacks the kinds of authority you'd want. Definitely wouldn't feel comfortable handing it to a client. Two stars because I can see it working just fine as a social card (not a business card), and I appreciate the effort on Avery's part for providing simple-to-use software. | 988 | [
"Just picked up a $13 pack of these at Office Depot.",
"I was hesitant to get them because I worried that the final product would be lacking, but I figured between the price of the product and the quality of my printer, I couldn't go too wrong.",
"Well, my initial instinct was right.",
"I used Avery's online card designer along with this paper and lost three sheets because it kept printing my design over the margins.",
"When I finally did get it to print correctly, I was very disappointed with the card's feel.",
"The package boasts \"extra sturdy,\" but it just doesn't feel like a quality cardstock and the edges, although not a disaster, aren't perfectly clean.",
"My conclusion is that for most professional purposes, this card lacks the kinds of authority you'd want.",
"Definitely wouldn't feel comfortable handing it to a client.",
"Two stars because I can see it working just fine as a social card (not a business card), and I appreciate the effort on Avery's part for providing simple-to-use software."
] |
2 | Am I the only one? | Marley and Me is a story about life and love with the world's worst dog, Marley. It's no wonder why it's popular, it was written to be that way. We are talking bland city. Lots of the stories he tells I find annoying rather than interesting. It's also hard for me to relate to the woes of child rearing, especially the budget crisis involved. Don't complain to me about not being able to afford anything because kids are expensive, I didn't make you have the kids. I can see why my sister enjoyed it, it's very suburban. Apart from being bland and unrelatable, the dialogue is so stiff. He will describe the look that the dog will be giving him, and the context and everything will completely spell out the implication, but he insists on explaining what the look means. It's like he's writing for seventh graders or something. I find it almost condescending. Additionally, I don't really find it very, "cute," which I'm sure others do. I find it tedious. Why am I reading this book again? | 988 | [
"Marley and Me is a story about life and love with the world's worst dog, Marley.",
"It's no wonder why it's popular, it was written to be that way.",
"We are talking bland city.",
"Lots of the stories he tells I find annoying rather than interesting.",
"It's also hard for me to relate to the woes of child rearing, especially the budget crisis involved.",
"Don't complain to me about not being able to afford anything because kids are expensive, I didn't make you have the kids.",
"I can see why my sister enjoyed it, it's very suburban.",
"Apart from being bland and unrelatable, the dialogue is so stiff.",
"He will describe the look that the dog will be giving him, and the context and everything will completely spell out the implication, but he insists on explaining what the look means.",
"It's like he's writing for seventh graders or something.",
"I find it almost condescending.",
"Additionally, I don't really find it very, \"cute,\" which I'm sure others do.",
"I find it tedious.",
"Why am I reading this book again?"
] |
2 | Dumbest heater around | It heats a small sized room, but it can't decide what the temperature is. If you set a low or mid temperature it will reach that temp and shut off. So it goes into a stupid cycle where it turns on for 10 seconds and then turns off. When it tries to turn on it has a lot of fake outs. As soon as it tries to turn on the temp is reached and it shuts off. Instead they should've put a timer that if the heater is turned on by the temp dropping it should at least run for 5 minutes before it turns off no matter if the temp rises above the setting. It should also make sure it doesn't turn back on in less than a minute after it has been turned off by reaching the temp. This would avoid the fake outs and not be so annoying.I like the heater design and how the heater itself doesn't get hot. Also I like the fan which better circulates the air. That is why I give it 2 stars. It is a little loud. If only it would be less annoying by being smart about when to start and stop as stated above. | 988 | [
"It heats a small sized room, but it can't decide what the temperature is.",
"If you set a low or mid temperature it will reach that temp and shut off.",
"So it goes into a stupid cycle where it turns on for 10 seconds and then turns off.",
"When it tries to turn on it has a lot of fake outs.",
"As soon as it tries to turn on the temp is reached and it shuts off.",
"Instead they should've put a timer that if the heater is turned on by the temp dropping it should at least run for 5 minutes before it turns off no matter if the temp rises above the setting.",
"It should also make sure it doesn't turn back on in less than a minute after it has been turned off by reaching the temp.",
"This would avoid the fake outs and not be so annoying.I like the heater design and how the heater itself doesn't get hot.",
"Also I like the fan which better circulates the air.",
"That is why I give it 2 stars.",
"It is a little loud.",
"If only it would be less annoying by being smart about when to start and stop as stated above."
] |
2 | Butchered and Mauled | Please don't buy this thing. The CD side is fine, but the DVD side is a waste of money. The album itself is good, so just buy the CD. The 5.1 mix is crap. The vocals are really loud and stuck in the center speaker. The guitars aren't loud enough, the cymbals'll make your ears bleed and are too loud, and the rears aren't used nearly enough for music this aggressive. Worst of all, the songs are changed! "Break You"'s vocals keep speeding up and slowing down, changing pitch. Some songs have a few words removed (not cuss words), and sound effects changed. In "Now You've Got Something to Die For" everything goes silent towards the end all of a sudden, and then comes back just as suddenly, skipping a few seconds of the song. The CD side is identical to the original as is the DVD stereo, which is only 48KHz/16bit resolution (CD is 44.1/16) so it doesn't sound much better (it actually sounds worse due to a top range volume cut that Sony applies to all of its DualDisc's DVD stereo). | 988 | [
"Please don't buy this thing.",
"The CD side is fine, but the DVD side is a waste of money.",
"The album itself is good, so just buy the CD.",
"The 5.1 mix is crap.",
"The vocals are really loud and stuck in the center speaker.",
"The guitars aren't loud enough, the cymbals'll make your ears bleed and are too loud, and the rears aren't used nearly enough for music this aggressive.",
"Worst of all, the songs are changed!",
"\"Break You\"'s vocals keep speeding up and slowing down, changing pitch.",
"Some songs have a few words removed (not cuss words), and sound effects changed.",
"In \"Now You've Got Something to Die For\" everything goes silent towards the end all of a sudden, and then comes back just as suddenly, skipping a few seconds of the song.",
"The CD side is identical to the original as is the DVD stereo, which is only 48KHz/16bit resolution (CD is 44.1/16) so it doesn't sound much better (it actually sounds worse due to a top range volume cut that Sony applies to all of its DualDisc's DVD stereo)."
] |
2 | Why the hype? | Ok, first of all i love vampires. but this?Steve Niles comes up with an interesting concept here, with a town with 30 days of night, but the actual story reads like a high school short story collection entry. He seemed so wrapped up in the concept that he had no idea how to end the story. You can see how he starts off explaining in a huge info dump at the beginning of the story. This is prime example of the "Telling, not showing" which goes against most creative writing paradigms. Now, that being said, the story's weakest section is the ending. He just seemed to end it, with many loose ends and plot holes.The artwork was interesting though. I will not go so far as to say i liked it, because it was too obscured and foggy for my taste, but i can understand the artist's intent.This was just a book that was hard to keep in my hands, rather than hard to put down.And now they are making a movie? there is hope for it, but they better not stay exact to the story of this comic book. | 988 | [
"Ok, first of all i love vampires.",
"but this?",
"Steve Niles comes up with an interesting concept here, with a town with 30 days of night, but the actual story reads like a high school short story collection entry.",
"He seemed so wrapped up in the concept that he had no idea how to end the story.",
"You can see how he starts off explaining in a huge info dump at the beginning of the story.",
"This is prime example of the \"Telling, not showing\" which goes against most creative writing paradigms.",
"Now, that being said, the story's weakest section is the ending.",
"He just seemed to end it, with many loose ends and plot holes.The artwork was interesting though.",
"I will not go so far as to say i liked it, because it was too obscured and foggy for my taste, but i can understand the artist's intent.This was just a book that was hard to keep in my hands, rather than hard to put down.And now they are making a movie?",
"there is hope for it, but they better not stay exact to the story of this comic book."
] |
2 | ... couldn't put it down | ... but not for the reasons you think. I couldn't wait to see if Carrie would turn into an interesting character - and of course, she didn't.Being from a small town in the Midwest myself, it's easy to understand the supposed mentality of those around her. But the friends are so stereotypical and unmotivated that even I didn't believe them. Then she goes to New York to try and "find herself" and THOSE people are cookie-cutter, as well. Carrie so clumsily feels her way in the dark in this novel, that it left me wondering a) if the author had ever actually experienced life in either of the cities and b) what possessed her to write a story around Carrie, the most flaccid character ever, in the first place. If the point of the book was to convince the reader that Carrie was deserving only of the lack of the emotion she originally showed Mike after his accident (and her best friend who she all-but abandons and her mother, who she barely keeps in touch with): mission accomplished. | 988 | [
"... but not for the reasons you think.",
"I couldn't wait to see if Carrie would turn into an interesting character - and of course, she didn't.Being from a small town in the Midwest myself, it's easy to understand the supposed mentality of those around her.",
"But the friends are so stereotypical and unmotivated that even I didn't believe them.",
"Then she goes to New York to try and \"find herself\" and THOSE people are cookie-cutter, as well.",
"Carrie so clumsily feels her way in the dark in this novel, that it left me wondering a) if the author had ever actually experienced life in either of the cities and b) what possessed her to write a story around Carrie, the most flaccid character ever, in the first place.",
"If the point of the book was to convince the reader that Carrie was deserving only of the lack of the emotion she originally showed Mike after his accident (and her best friend who she all-but abandons and her mother, who she barely keeps in touch with): mission accomplished."
] |
2 | Not so naughty, nor nice | Highly anticipating this book after adoring "The Pleasure Seekers", I expected the rousing, emotional read George provided with her previous release. Unfortunately, this book did not live up to its predecessor. Naughty or Nice uses the most over used plot device in historical romance: the feisty ward and the jaded guardian, and does nothing to change the cliched-ness of the hackneyed plot device.Fancy and Lucian are cliched from the beginning of the book and by the end, are just plain carictures of themselves. The reasons for Fancy's disguise are inane and silly and Lucian was nearly over the border of cliched embittered rake. But the biggest wallop I had to swallow was the book's lack of historical wallpaper. TPS was obviously set in the Victorian era, but NoN was all over the place. If you've never read George's historicals, this isn't the book to start. Try The Pleasure Seekers, a compelling and sexy read. I have hopes that George's future work can be as touching as TPS. | 988 | [
"Highly anticipating this book after adoring \"The Pleasure Seekers\", I expected the rousing, emotional read George provided with her previous release.",
"Unfortunately, this book did not live up to its predecessor.",
"Naughty or Nice uses the most over used plot device in historical romance: the feisty ward and the jaded guardian, and does nothing to change the cliched-ness of the hackneyed plot device.Fancy and Lucian are cliched from the beginning of the book and by the end, are just plain carictures of themselves.",
"The reasons for Fancy's disguise are inane and silly and Lucian was nearly over the border of cliched embittered rake.",
"But the biggest wallop I had to swallow was the book's lack of historical wallpaper.",
"TPS was obviously set in the Victorian era, but NoN was all over the place.",
"If you've never read George's historicals, this isn't the book to start.",
"Try The Pleasure Seekers, a compelling and sexy read.",
"I have hopes that George's future work can be as touching as TPS."
] |
2 | SORRY, STAN | When I was a teenager, this book was the bible for any kid wanting to get into comics. In retrospect, I wonder why--I mean, it's not really informative and it doesn't give anything away--i.e., give you any details on the finer point of comic book storytelling and drawing. In short, it's as instructional as a Lee Ames book, and that's not saying much. Besides, in light of the new direction that comic books are going these days, it's a bit dated. If you really want to get into comics, here are four great books to get you started: The Encyclopedia of Cartooning Techniques (an overview of cartooning, from technical stuff to business aspects), The Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Science Art Techniques, Chris Hart's How To Draw Animation (because animation helps a lot, kids!), and let's not forget Wil Eisner's great book that started it all! Sorry, Stan. My verdict--2 stars; but add an extra star if you're a 12 year old aspiring comic book artist just for it's inspirational benefits. | 988 | [
"When I was a teenager, this book was the bible for any kid wanting to get into comics.",
"In retrospect, I wonder why--I mean, it's not really informative and it doesn't give anything away--i.e., give you any details on the finer point of comic book storytelling and drawing.",
"In short, it's as instructional as a Lee Ames book, and that's not saying much.",
"Besides, in light of the new direction that comic books are going these days, it's a bit dated.",
"If you really want to get into comics, here are four great books to get you started: The Encyclopedia of Cartooning Techniques (an overview of cartooning, from technical stuff to business aspects), The Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Science Art Techniques, Chris Hart's How To Draw Animation (because animation helps a lot, kids!",
"), and let's not forget Wil Eisner's great book that started it all!",
"Sorry, Stan.",
"My verdict--2 stars; but add an extra star if you're a 12 year old aspiring comic book artist just for it's inspirational benefits."
] |
2 | Returned the next day | I bought this at Bestbuy since I got into using skype being a night owl and with thin walls I don't want to wake anyone us with my speakers and my loud talking since my laptop mics are integrated at the top of the screen which I was told had an irritating on and off buzzing. First off There is no ear bud, to rubber padding no nothing to actually keep the thing in your ear, it's just a plastic cone with a hole in it. I need glasses at all times and I expect problems now and then with any product that loops onto your ear, this is the first item in 10 years wearing them. It's flexible yes but doesn't stay well, it has no grip, and I had to put it back on my ear every few minutes cause with no bud it was the only thing keeping it in place. Because it was never actually in my ear my computer and it's volume were all the way up for me to hear and it wasn't great.The only positive was the mic. It wasn't worth the money, returned it the next day and am looking for a better product. | 988 | [
"I bought this at Bestbuy since I got into using skype being a night owl and with thin walls I don't want to wake anyone us with my speakers and my loud talking since my laptop mics are integrated at the top of the screen which I was told had an irritating on and off buzzing.",
"First off There is no ear bud, to rubber padding no nothing to actually keep the thing in your ear, it's just a plastic cone with a hole in it.",
"I need glasses at all times and I expect problems now and then with any product that loops onto your ear, this is the first item in 10 years wearing them.",
"It's flexible yes but doesn't stay well, it has no grip, and I had to put it back on my ear every few minutes cause with no bud it was the only thing keeping it in place.",
"Because it was never actually in my ear my computer and it's volume were all the way up for me to hear and it wasn't great.The only positive was the mic.",
"It wasn't worth the money, returned it the next day and am looking for a better product."
] |
2 | another book on Turkey | The book is an interesting attempt to formulate some impressions and views about present day Turkey. Besides a few wellknown cultural and popular findings, the author's views on Turkey's foreign policy, the role of the military, Ataturk's reforms and Kemalism, on Kurdish problem, Armenian realities and on Turkish-Greek relations are rather shallow.Statements such as Turkey's "political and psychological underdevelopment" (Page:24), Turkish "National Security Council" is like the "Iranian Mollahs' Council of Guardians" (Page:17),"Turks are victims of Devlet" (PP:12,26-28 and 145) are erroneous and misleading.As regards the "politics" recommended by the author; these are not at all adequate to Turkish realities and to Turkish historical background.Kinzer is of course not the only writer who after having lived in a country for four years feels quite confident and entitled to recommend major policy changes or cultural shifts towards new horizons. This is an unfortunate mistake. | 988 | [
"The book is an interesting attempt to formulate some impressions and views about present day Turkey.",
"Besides a few wellknown cultural and popular findings, the author's views on Turkey's foreign policy, the role of the military, Ataturk's reforms and Kemalism, on Kurdish problem, Armenian realities and on Turkish-Greek relations are rather shallow.Statements such as Turkey's \"political and psychological underdevelopment\" (Page:24), Turkish \"National Security Council\" is like the \"Iranian Mollahs' Council of Guardians\" (Page:17),\"Turks are victims of Devlet\" (PP:12,26-28 and 145) are erroneous and misleading.As regards the \"politics\" recommended by the author; these are not at all adequate to Turkish realities and to Turkish historical background.Kinzer is of course not the only writer who after having lived in a country for four years feels quite confident and entitled to recommend major policy changes or cultural shifts towards new horizons.",
"This is an unfortunate mistake."
] |
2 | Hope you're patient | Either I'm stupid or the reviewers who found this thing easy to set up are just lucky. I fought with this thing for several hours and two calls to customer service. Both useless, by the way. The instructions are beyond horrible. They're inadequate clues at best. The encryption process is cruel. You have to do it in the proper order - I believe the base computer you're using for set up and then the your wireless computer. No mention of the order in the directions. Learned by trial and error. Do it backwards and you lose your connection. No instructions for the event you just want to set up your wireless computer without a base 'setup' computer. Having never done encryption I didn't realize that I supply the encryption code. Finally figured that out. Possibly the others out there are just as bad. Now that I've got it set up, it generally works fine. I also set up a d-link wireless printer adaptor. Equally frustrating and directions better but left out one very important fact. | 988 | [
"Either I'm stupid or the reviewers who found this thing easy to set up are just lucky.",
"I fought with this thing for several hours and two calls to customer service.",
"Both useless, by the way.",
"The instructions are beyond horrible.",
"They're inadequate clues at best.",
"The encryption process is cruel.",
"You have to do it in the proper order - I believe the base computer you're using for set up and then the your wireless computer.",
"No mention of the order in the directions.",
"Learned by trial and error.",
"Do it backwards and you lose your connection.",
"No instructions for the event you just want to set up your wireless computer without a base 'setup' computer.",
"Having never done encryption I didn't realize that I supply the encryption code.",
"Finally figured that out.",
"Possibly the others out there are just as bad.",
"Now that I've got it set up, it generally works fine.",
"I also set up a d-link wireless printer adaptor.",
"Equally frustrating and directions better but left out one very important fact."
] |
2 | Don't RUSH see this flick | Had vaguely heard this was popular cult-type flick about a 15 year-old coming of age. Movie starts out with some clever Schtick and some mild laughter over protagonist, Max Fleishman's chutzpah. But how many times do his antics save the day, NOT MANY. As additional characters Bill Murray, and easy on the eyes school marm, enter the scene, the plot thickens into a love triangle, then thins back into celibacy. Max's glibness and my belief that there must be some BIG moment to justify all the critical acclaim did keep this writer watching until the end. None of the others in my viewing made it that far before nodding off.Some high points include those involving Max's barber, come neursurgeon father. We do learn another whole side of Max when his downfall results in his following in his father's hair cutting footsteps.I had hoped this would be another Napoleon Dynamite type independent film, but alas I learned too late that its was just another loser like the Royal Tannenbaums. | 988 | [
"Had vaguely heard this was popular cult-type flick about a 15 year-old coming of age.",
"Movie starts out with some clever Schtick and some mild laughter over protagonist, Max Fleishman's chutzpah.",
"But how many times do his antics save the day, NOT MANY.",
"As additional characters Bill Murray, and easy on the eyes school marm, enter the scene, the plot thickens into a love triangle, then thins back into celibacy.",
"Max's glibness and my belief that there must be some BIG moment to justify all the critical acclaim did keep this writer watching until the end.",
"None of the others in my viewing made it that far before nodding off.Some high points include those involving Max's barber, come neursurgeon father.",
"We do learn another whole side of Max when his downfall results in his following in his father's hair cutting footsteps.I had hoped this would be another Napoleon Dynamite type independent film, but alas I learned too late that its was just another loser like the Royal Tannenbaums."
] |
2 | Edited to Pieces | I found this DVD collection extremely frustrating. Good characters and acting, but the worse editing I have ever seen. Huge gaps that leave the viewer in a state of total confusion. For instance, why did the mountain man Wheeler leave the love of his life, his Indian wife, for what looked like fifteen years? Why didn't he know where she was? What happened to Keri Russell? I heard that she married an Indian chief, but why didn't I see that? Did I turn my head to look at something else in the room and miss it somehow? Did the original series really end with George pecking at his typewriter? That seemed to be a weak, bleak ending leaving him there at the school with the maniacal master. Later I read on line that the set had been edited for use in the classroom. What a mess. Whoever did this took a great story and reduced it to tatters. Why would these people imagine that tatters make a good school lesson? Does anyone know where or how I can see the full version that was on TV? | 988 | [
"I found this DVD collection extremely frustrating.",
"Good characters and acting, but the worse editing I have ever seen.",
"Huge gaps that leave the viewer in a state of total confusion.",
"For instance, why did the mountain man Wheeler leave the love of his life, his Indian wife, for what looked like fifteen years?",
"Why didn't he know where she was?",
"What happened to Keri Russell?",
"I heard that she married an Indian chief, but why didn't I see that?",
"Did I turn my head to look at something else in the room and miss it somehow?",
"Did the original series really end with George pecking at his typewriter?",
"That seemed to be a weak, bleak ending leaving him there at the school with the maniacal master.",
"Later I read on line that the set had been edited for use in the classroom.",
"What a mess.",
"Whoever did this took a great story and reduced it to tatters.",
"Why would these people imagine that tatters make a good school lesson?",
"Does anyone know where or how I can see the full version that was on TV?"
] |
2 | I hate this machine. | I hate this machine. I like to drink espresso so I absolutely wanted a machine that would make both coffee and espresso. The main problem is the machine has no automatic shut off so if I leave the house and forget to manually turn off the machine, the coffee evaporates and the pot burns. I didn't think they made machines like that anymore - it should come with fire insurance. Also, the coffee results are spotty. Sometimes the coffee is great but then I've had several times when only hot water has come through. The coffee filter holder is very hard to fit into the machine. You have to line it up exactly with a hard to see notch to insert it. I have a Krups coffee grinder that has been a wonderful workhorse for me so I decided to buy this when my DeLonghi gave up the ghost (that one I loved). I would never recommend this and if you want to buy it from me, I'll give you a good deal! I am going to call Krups and see if they will take it back or exchange it. Ha, good luck to me. | 988 | [
"I hate this machine.",
"I like to drink espresso so I absolutely wanted a machine that would make both coffee and espresso.",
"The main problem is the machine has no automatic shut off so if I leave the house and forget to manually turn off the machine, the coffee evaporates and the pot burns.",
"I didn't think they made machines like that anymore - it should come with fire insurance.",
"Also, the coffee results are spotty.",
"Sometimes the coffee is great but then I've had several times when only hot water has come through.",
"The coffee filter holder is very hard to fit into the machine.",
"You have to line it up exactly with a hard to see notch to insert it.",
"I have a Krups coffee grinder that has been a wonderful workhorse for me so I decided to buy this when my DeLonghi gave up the ghost (that one I loved).",
"I would never recommend this and if you want to buy it from me, I'll give you a good deal!",
"I am going to call Krups and see if they will take it back or exchange it.",
"Ha, good luck to me."
] |
2 | The Man | The producers of The Man calculated that the collision of their innate racial qualities would produce the kind of comic sparks that Levy and Queen Latifah set off in Bringing Down the House. When ATF agent Derrick Vann (Jackson, Pulp Fiction) learns that his partner is dead and a cache of guns has been stolen, he sets up a sting to get the weapons back. But into the middle of his scheme stumbles Andy Fiddler (Levy, A Mighty Wind, American Pie), a dental supplies salesman from Wisconsin. From there unspools some formulaic buddy-movie pap: Vann gives Fiddler a dose of excitement and Fiddler teaches Vann a little compassion and trust as they improbably track down the bad guys. To a degree, the producers were right--the interplay between Levy's Groucho eyebrows and Jackson's burning scowl provides the only juice this movie has. The Man doesn't deserve actors as talented as Levy and Jackson, but there's no denying they apply themselves diligently and squeeze out a couple laughs. | 988 | [
"The producers of The Man calculated that the collision of their innate racial qualities would produce the kind of comic sparks that Levy and Queen Latifah set off in Bringing Down the House.",
"When ATF agent Derrick Vann (Jackson, Pulp Fiction) learns that his partner is dead and a cache of guns has been stolen, he sets up a sting to get the weapons back.",
"But into the middle of his scheme stumbles Andy Fiddler (Levy, A Mighty Wind, American Pie), a dental supplies salesman from Wisconsin.",
"From there unspools some formulaic buddy-movie pap: Vann gives Fiddler a dose of excitement and Fiddler teaches Vann a little compassion and trust as they improbably track down the bad guys.",
"To a degree, the producers were right--the interplay between Levy's Groucho eyebrows and Jackson's burning scowl provides the only juice this movie has.",
"The Man doesn't deserve actors as talented as Levy and Jackson, but there's no denying they apply themselves diligently and squeeze out a couple laughs."
] |
2 | A disappointment | I am in agreement with previous reviewers who didn't appreciate the constant headshots of Carmen. It's hard to follow a routine where you can't see the moves.Two other negatives: 1st: Carmen doesn't seem to be on beat with the music part of the time. Initially I thought it was a soundtrack issue, but her assistants do keep the rhythm well.The "warm-up" routines were fair (hence the 2 stars), and I could pretty well figure out the steps. Slower-paced and cued, they made learning the steps tolerable.The second problem: Once you get past that 10 minute warm-up, it's assumed you remember all the moves. The music kicks in, the routine is at full speed, and Carmen's only cue is at the beginning: "5, 6, 7, 8!" Perhaps it's my own weakness I can't remember how many pliés to do before the relevés. Craning my head to see what step we were on was just too much for me.Not recommended for non-dancers, people with neck trouble, or individuals seriously looking to learn some exotic moves. | 988 | [
"I am in agreement with previous reviewers who didn't appreciate the constant headshots of Carmen.",
"It's hard to follow a routine where you can't see the moves.Two other negatives: 1st: Carmen doesn't seem to be on beat with the music part of the time.",
"Initially I thought it was a soundtrack issue, but her assistants do keep the rhythm well.The \"warm-up\" routines were fair (hence the 2 stars), and I could pretty well figure out the steps.",
"Slower-paced and cued, they made learning the steps tolerable.The second problem: Once you get past that 10 minute warm-up, it's assumed you remember all the moves.",
"The music kicks in, the routine is at full speed, and Carmen's only cue is at the beginning: \"5, 6, 7, 8!",
"\" Perhaps it's my own weakness I can't remember how many pliés to do before the relevés.",
"Craning my head to see what step we were on was just too much for me.Not recommended for non-dancers, people with neck trouble, or individuals seriously looking to learn some exotic moves."
] |
2 | Pick something else | I have the Canon 5000 and the 5100. Both are essentially the same printers, except for its parallel port protocol. If you have Win95 or Win98, then this is a decent printer. This series of printers' use a proprietary printing language, so getting third party support or moving this printer to another platform/OS is out.It does print on multiple paper formats, and is very good at printing photo grade images, but is very lousy at letter sized envelops. Not a very robust printer, especially when the print cartridges are hard to find and expensive. For the cost of two cartridges you can get another new Canon BJC-5100 printer.These printers are also "Win printers" <BOLD>BUT</BOLD>, they do support "HP Laserjet II" protocol. Its undocumented, but all laser printers and Jet Ink printers support this. So if you need to use it on a machine that it is not compatible on, then at least you can print in black.Look at HP products, they have better support and cartridges are a lot cheaper. | 988 | [
"I have the Canon 5000 and the 5100.",
"Both are essentially the same printers, except for its parallel port protocol.",
"If you have Win95 or Win98, then this is a decent printer.",
"This series of printers' use a proprietary printing language, so getting third party support or moving this printer to another platform/OS is out.It does print on multiple paper formats, and is very good at printing photo grade images, but is very lousy at letter sized envelops.",
"Not a very robust printer, especially when the print cartridges are hard to find and expensive.",
"For the cost of two cartridges you can get another new Canon BJC-5100 printer.These printers are also \"Win printers\" <BOLD>BUT</BOLD>, they do support \"HP Laserjet II\" protocol.",
"Its undocumented, but all laser printers and Jet Ink printers support this.",
"So if you need to use it on a machine that it is not compatible on, then at least you can print in black.Look at HP products, they have better support and cartridges are a lot cheaper."
] |
2 | WIld And Sexy -- Not!!! | On paper, this book sounds fabulous. A rich, beautiful lesbian lives a scandalous life filled with excitement, traveling around the world, meeting lots of famous people, and making love to dozens of willing female partners. Imagine a Howard Stern sex epic with a sumptuous budget and a Merchant Ivoery feel!Kay Summerscale does a very professional job as a biographer. Unfortunately, the story is not that exciting. Yes, Joe Carstairs was a rich lesbian, and a rebel, but she was not in any sense a "fun" person. She was apparently some kind of borderline schizophrenic. All she could do to act "manly" was to throw screaming tantrums, smoke, spit and swear. Not an attractive personality. The whole thing with carrying the little doll around for 60 years comes across as sick, not funny or charming.Read the book for the sumptuous settings and try to imagine someone glamorous, like Gloria Holden (from the lesbian classic DRACULA'S DAUGHTER)having the same adventures, but in a fun way. | 988 | [
"On paper, this book sounds fabulous.",
"A rich, beautiful lesbian lives a scandalous life filled with excitement, traveling around the world, meeting lots of famous people, and making love to dozens of willing female partners.",
"Imagine a Howard Stern sex epic with a sumptuous budget and a Merchant Ivoery feel!",
"Kay Summerscale does a very professional job as a biographer.",
"Unfortunately, the story is not that exciting.",
"Yes, Joe Carstairs was a rich lesbian, and a rebel, but she was not in any sense a \"fun\" person.",
"She was apparently some kind of borderline schizophrenic.",
"All she could do to act \"manly\" was to throw screaming tantrums, smoke, spit and swear.",
"Not an attractive personality.",
"The whole thing with carrying the little doll around for 60 years comes across as sick, not funny or charming.Read the book for the sumptuous settings and try to imagine someone glamorous, like Gloria Holden (from the lesbian classic DRACULA'S DAUGHTER)having the same adventures, but in a fun way."
] |
2 | Clash of the So-So | This movie was basically a hacked up version of the 1980 classic with overdone CGI imagery. The CGI looked too cartoony. Many scenes seemed rushed. No style in them at all.Such as the stygian witches scene.They get their answers some weak dialogue and that's it.I liked in the original how the witch raises her first and screams "A Titan against a Titan!"It had emotion and gust.The acting in this movie was weak and drab.Movies like this rely too much on special effects.Medusa looked too cartoony and did not have the creep factor like the original.The kraken looked too generic and had no unique qualities to it. Also looked cartoony.Sam Worthington reprises his role as the tough guy who grunts lines and that's it.Like the movie, no style, no innovation, no emotion.In sum, this movie was basically an overdone CGI blah-fest.The design and effect for Hades was the only reason I gave this 2 stars instead of one.Hades was the only character where the CGI worked and looked effective. | 988 | [
"This movie was basically a hacked up version of the 1980 classic with overdone CGI imagery.",
"The CGI looked too cartoony.",
"Many scenes seemed rushed.",
"No style in them at all.Such as the stygian witches scene.They get their answers some weak dialogue and that's it.I liked in the original how the witch raises her first and screams \"A Titan against a Titan!",
"\"It had emotion and gust.The acting in this movie was weak and drab.Movies like this rely too much on special effects.Medusa looked too cartoony and did not have the creep factor like the original.The kraken looked too generic and had no unique qualities to it.",
"Also looked cartoony.Sam Worthington reprises his role as the tough guy who grunts lines and that's it.Like the movie, no style, no innovation, no emotion.In sum, this movie was basically an overdone CGI blah-fest.The design and effect for Hades was the only reason I gave this 2 stars instead of one.Hades was the only character where the CGI worked and looked effective."
] |
2 | For 2 hands | I agree with other reviewers about the flimsy construction. The wire is not anchored in the handle so you can't manipulate the button by twisting the handle.So.. you struggle & struggle trying to get the button to pull through the hole. I've used it for an hour,got very frustrated, buttoned 3 buttons. I'm going to Epoxy the wire to the handle to see if I can get some twist action. The large handle may be a plus for some folks but for me, I'd rather have the thing work better. I guess I must have all of the button devises & NONE of them will really work with a man's shirt using only the right hand.I've added this edit Jan. 2013. This button tool continues to be an gravation. Epoxying the wire didn't help much. The shape of the wire bend keeps disengaging the button when trying to "wriggle" it through the hole. I'm stubborn about trying to make a thing work, but this thing is a bad joke as far as I'm concerned.The large handle is of no value at all if it basically won't work. | 988 | [
"I agree with other reviewers about the flimsy construction.",
"The wire is not anchored in the handle so you can't manipulate the button by twisting the handle.So.. you struggle & struggle trying to get the button to pull through the hole.",
"I've used it for an hour,got very frustrated, buttoned 3 buttons.",
"I'm going to Epoxy the wire to the handle to see if I can get some twist action.",
"The large handle may be a plus for some folks but for me, I'd rather have the thing work better.",
"I guess I must have all of the button devises & NONE of them will really work with a man's shirt using only the right hand.I've added this edit Jan.",
"2013.",
"This button tool continues to be an gravation.",
"Epoxying the wire didn't help much.",
"The shape of the wire bend keeps disengaging the button when trying to \"wriggle\" it through the hole.",
"I'm stubborn about trying to make a thing work, but this thing is a bad joke as far as I'm concerned.The large handle is of no value at all if it basically won't work."
] |
2 | Interesting, but... | I love musicals, have seen my fair share of them, and appreciate a great deal of different styles -- from the challenging and rewarding Sondheim to the shmaltzy old favorites. Side Show has inspired a great deal of adulation from fans who seem to think it's the best musical in the history of western theater. It's not. The lyrics are surprisingly clumsy and at times lazy (some elements sound translated from another language!), the music has a passé bounce to it. Some of the vocal performances are very good (indeed Ripley & Skinner have a cult following) -- and I do commend all involved for trying to entertain with something different. I don't think it stands up to an earlier Off-Broadway musical that also dealt with the Hilton Sisters, 20 Fingers 20 Toes -- albeit in a darker and funnier tone, not unlike Little Shop of Horrors. This is not a "top drawer, must have" musical. It's more like, if you'll forgive the comparison, an interesting oddity to add to a larger collection. | 988 | [
"I love musicals, have seen my fair share of them, and appreciate a great deal of different styles -- from the challenging and rewarding Sondheim to the shmaltzy old favorites.",
"Side Show has inspired a great deal of adulation from fans who seem to think it's the best musical in the history of western theater.",
"It's not.",
"The lyrics are surprisingly clumsy and at times lazy (some elements sound translated from another language!",
"), the music has a passé bounce to it.",
"Some of the vocal performances are very good (indeed Ripley & Skinner have a cult following) -- and I do commend all involved for trying to entertain with something different.",
"I don't think it stands up to an earlier Off-Broadway musical that also dealt with the Hilton Sisters, 20 Fingers 20 Toes -- albeit in a darker and funnier tone, not unlike Little Shop of Horrors.",
"This is not a \"top drawer, must have\" musical.",
"It's more like, if you'll forgive the comparison, an interesting oddity to add to a larger collection."
] |
2 | A disappointment | From the first book, Wifey, to this? I truly was not pleased with this book. It seemed rushed and just not well developed. In fact, much of the book was predictable.Had the author gone a different route, I think she could have carried this storyline for at least another book if not a couple more, especially by further developing Nikki's and Rhonda's characters (and a creative writer still would). I never did get a clear understanding of what happened to them.I can understand wanting to put out a sequel while the initial story is fresh in the reader's head, in fact, I applaud Ms. Swinson for that. However, it should not be done unless the story can be fully developed enough to become a quality novel.If the author chooses to further develop the other characters of this book or wishes to write future novels, I would suggest she read and study LaJill Hunt's novels, as she does an excellent job with her sequels and development of other characters within her different storylines. | 988 | [
"From the first book, Wifey, to this?",
"I truly was not pleased with this book.",
"It seemed rushed and just not well developed.",
"In fact, much of the book was predictable.Had the author gone a different route, I think she could have carried this storyline for at least another book if not a couple more, especially by further developing Nikki's and Rhonda's characters (and a creative writer still would).",
"I never did get a clear understanding of what happened to them.I can understand wanting to put out a sequel while the initial story is fresh in the reader's head, in fact, I applaud Ms.",
"Swinson for that.",
"However, it should not be done unless the story can be fully developed enough to become a quality novel.If the author chooses to further develop the other characters of this book or wishes to write future novels, I would suggest she read and study LaJill Hunt's novels, as she does an excellent job with her sequels and development of other characters within her different storylines."
] |
2 | Not Worth The Money | I threw these on my wishlist and was lucky enough to receive them as a gift. I was looking forward to bringing them to the office and allowing them to distract me from time to time. However, I've found since I originally brought them they have sat idle on my shelf.When I do turn them on to watch them, they just do the same thing I saw them do the time before (wave to each other, plunge the toilet, fight, fart, saw wood, vacuum, push each other, etc.). I quickly lose interest and they eventually shut off on their own.I think I would enjoy this product more if there was a mode where they turned on at random times for a moment or two at a time. This would give me a little distraction throughout the day. However, now they just sit turned off most the time because I forget they are there.Unless you see yourself getting a ton of entertainment from these, I would suggest passing on Cube World. I would much prefer a set of perpetual motion balls as a piece of cubicle entertainment. | 988 | [
"I threw these on my wishlist and was lucky enough to receive them as a gift.",
"I was looking forward to bringing them to the office and allowing them to distract me from time to time.",
"However, I've found since I originally brought them they have sat idle on my shelf.When I do turn them on to watch them, they just do the same thing I saw them do the time before (wave to each other, plunge the toilet, fight, fart, saw wood, vacuum, push each other, etc.).",
"I quickly lose interest and they eventually shut off on their own.I think I would enjoy this product more if there was a mode where they turned on at random times for a moment or two at a time.",
"This would give me a little distraction throughout the day.",
"However, now they just sit turned off most the time because I forget they are there.Unless you see yourself getting a ton of entertainment from these, I would suggest passing on Cube World.",
"I would much prefer a set of perpetual motion balls as a piece of cubicle entertainment."
] |
2 | Very frustrating. | This product seemed to be a very good for us feature wise. But, basic usage of this item can be very frustrating. Here are a few reasons:1) Loading of CD's and DVD's seems to take forever.2) Hitting 'next' button had very long lag between starting to go to the next item, and it getting to the next item.3) The VHS player has tracking issues with many tapes (even new ones out of the box). Making viewing impossible.4) Hitting eject, and many other buttons, seem to have a huge lag between hitting the button-- and it doing anything. Hit 'eject' or 'play' and it might be a minute before the player acknowledges you hit a button. This is a different issue than item 2 above.5) The remote in not intuitive. And in the menu, often what the menu items are don't map to the remote buttons.6) Often rewind of a VHS tape literally goes at the same speed as playing the tape. Meaning that the speed at which it rewinds is normal play rate.I simply cannot believe this is actually a Sony product. | 988 | [
"This product seemed to be a very good for us feature wise.",
"But, basic usage of this item can be very frustrating.",
"Here are a few reasons:1) Loading of CD's and DVD's seems to take forever.2) Hitting 'next' button had very long lag between starting to go to the next item, and it getting to the next item.3) The VHS player has tracking issues with many tapes (even new ones out of the box).",
"Making viewing impossible.4) Hitting eject, and many other buttons, seem to have a huge lag between hitting the button-- and it doing anything.",
"Hit 'eject' or 'play' and it might be a minute before the player acknowledges you hit a button.",
"This is a different issue than item 2 above.5) The remote in not intuitive.",
"And in the menu, often what the menu items are don't map to the remote buttons.6) Often rewind of a VHS tape literally goes at the same speed as playing the tape.",
"Meaning that the speed at which it rewinds is normal play rate.I simply cannot believe this is actually a Sony product."
] |
2 | SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST | [...] I get 3 gaming magazines a month, so i have done my research. If your in need of a new handheld than i gues this is one to consider, it has nice control, N-64 graphics, and a touch screen,Although while considering this u should taken into account the games it has. If your in the 9th grade and up, you might be a lil disappointed with the games for launch. My dad has already bought my sisters one each, and they are 8 and 11, so they should have fun. But i plan on waiting for the psp,(just a couple of months) cuz i am 17 and want a handheld with a variety of games and not to mention insane graphics(making it hard to pick the ps2 from the psp graphics, u can check any website.)So good luck making ur choice, and if i didnt help enough then there others...Oh and one more thing ...THE DS DAYS ARE NUMBERED CUZ ONCE THE PSP DROPS IT WILL TAKE OVER THE HANDHELD DEVISION JUST LIKE THEY DID WITH THE CONSOLE DEVISION. had to get that off my chest lata screenname is ashi randi 34. | 988 | [
"[...] I get 3 gaming magazines a month, so i have done my research.",
"If your in need of a new handheld than i gues this is one to consider, it has nice control, N-64 graphics, and a touch screen,Although while considering this u should taken into account the games it has.",
"If your in the 9th grade and up, you might be a lil disappointed with the games for launch.",
"My dad has already bought my sisters one each, and they are 8 and 11, so they should have fun.",
"But i plan on waiting for the psp,(just a couple of months) cuz i am 17 and want a handheld with a variety of games and not to mention insane graphics(making it hard to pick the ps2 from the psp graphics, u can check any website.)So good luck making ur choice, and if i didnt help enough then there others...Oh and one more thing ...THE DS DAYS ARE NUMBERED CUZ ONCE THE PSP DROPS IT WILL TAKE OVER THE HANDHELD DEVISION JUST LIKE THEY DID WITH THE CONSOLE DEVISION.",
"had to get that off my chest lata screenname is ashi randi 34."
] |
2 | Save your money | I purchased this float for a gift for my brother in Florida. It arrived when we did for a visit. My 4 children and the 3 from across the road had a lot of fun with this toy for 2 days. We left for Disney World and returned the next week, only to find the Serpent had deflated. We blew him back up and by the next day he had lost most of his air. Obviously he had a hole (or more). We watched the kids play with the serpent on the 2 days they used it, and they didn't play with it too roughly. It never left the pool, so I'm not sure when it got a hole in it. I would think for $20.00 we would have had more than 2 days use with it before it had received a hole in it! Very disappointed, and that's why I gave only 2 stars and advise you to save your money. I buy new pool floats every year for my pool, because, yes, they will lose their air, and they just get gross after using them for 1 season and then storing them for another 3 seasons. But this didn't even make it through the week! | 988 | [
"I purchased this float for a gift for my brother in Florida.",
"It arrived when we did for a visit.",
"My 4 children and the 3 from across the road had a lot of fun with this toy for 2 days.",
"We left for Disney World and returned the next week, only to find the Serpent had deflated.",
"We blew him back up and by the next day he had lost most of his air.",
"Obviously he had a hole (or more).",
"We watched the kids play with the serpent on the 2 days they used it, and they didn't play with it too roughly.",
"It never left the pool, so I'm not sure when it got a hole in it.",
"I would think for $20.00 we would have had more than 2 days use with it before it had received a hole in it!",
"Very disappointed, and that's why I gave only 2 stars and advise you to save your money.",
"I buy new pool floats every year for my pool, because, yes, they will lose their air, and they just get gross after using them for 1 season and then storing them for another 3 seasons.",
"But this didn't even make it through the week!"
] |
2 | it's missing something. | Maybe I'm just too different from ZZ Packer to fully appreciate her book. But all the people in her stories are so different... and none of them really clicked (I kinda liked the little girl who ran away though).In fact, some of them seemed like unfair characterizations. The people weren't real - they're maybe what you'd guess someone like that might be like. Not well rounded enough to catch you and draw you in.Some of the stories were hard to get through, especially the first one. At least one of them didn't seem to have a point (although that's typical of short story collections).But again, I want to say.. maybe it's because I'm not enough like her. Maybe I can't fill in the blanks the way that someone who is like her can. Maybe you have to have some of these experiences in order figure these people out.If you're intrigued by the types of charcters she writes about, I'd encourage you to give it a try. I wouldn't, however, recommend it as the place to start if you are not. | 988 | [
"Maybe I'm just too different from ZZ Packer to fully appreciate her book.",
"But all the people in her stories are so different... and none of them really clicked (I kinda liked the little girl who ran away though).In fact, some of them seemed like unfair characterizations.",
"The people weren't real - they're maybe what you'd guess someone like that might be like.",
"Not well rounded enough to catch you and draw you in.Some of the stories were hard to get through, especially the first one.",
"At least one of them didn't seem to have a point (although that's typical of short story collections).But again, I want to say..",
"maybe it's because I'm not enough like her.",
"Maybe I can't fill in the blanks the way that someone who is like her can.",
"Maybe you have to have some of these experiences in order figure these people out.If you're intrigued by the types of charcters she writes about, I'd encourage you to give it a try.",
"I wouldn't, however, recommend it as the place to start if you are not."
] |
2 | Good Luck | As I beginner I was anxious to read and do everything in this book from front to back. She's obviously a skilled craftsperson and her jigs are well built and thought out. I however became discourged quickly with the complexity of them. I found that the materials she suggests for the projects are hard to find, ie, baltic birch plywood, acrylic over 1/4", HDPE plastic,veneer screws, and adhesive backed sandpaper. My local hardware stores and lumber yards did not have these materials. Wait until you see the vacuum clamping system she recommends! If you enjoy scavenger hunts this book is for you.If you start by building "her" router table the jigs work better, but I already have a nice router table and don't care to make the invasive modifications she recommends when other plans and jigs are available elsewhere that adapt well to what I have.Of couse if some of the jigs and parts are too difficult for you, you can find them prebuilt and available for a price at her own website! | 988 | [
"As I beginner I was anxious to read and do everything in this book from front to back.",
"She's obviously a skilled craftsperson and her jigs are well built and thought out.",
"I however became discourged quickly with the complexity of them.",
"I found that the materials she suggests for the projects are hard to find, ie, baltic birch plywood, acrylic over 1/4\", HDPE plastic,veneer screws, and adhesive backed sandpaper.",
"My local hardware stores and lumber yards did not have these materials.",
"Wait until you see the vacuum clamping system she recommends!",
"If you enjoy scavenger hunts this book is for you.If you start by building \"her\" router table the jigs work better, but I already have a nice router table and don't care to make the invasive modifications she recommends when other plans and jigs are available elsewhere that adapt well to what I have.Of couse if some of the jigs and parts are too difficult for you, you can find them prebuilt and available for a price at her own website!"
] |
2 | A disjointed read | Grid Systems is not designed well enough for the amount of complicated diagrams it has within its pages. The tightly spaced, monotonous gray grids are unnumbered, making it extremely difficult for me to look back into the previous pages and compare what she had thought to be the leading design versus my own. It was extremely hard not taking a pen to the page myself, not only to tag the composition, but also to fix the unacceptable amount of errors. Every other page has a misplaced dot or composition, and Elam even invents compositions when she writes herself to be picking the best of the eighteen examples on the previous pages. These inconsistencies leave me skeptical of the other visuals she presents, turning my leisure reading into a scavenger hunt. In spite of this, Grid Systems did provide me with some insight into the grid and how they can be used to direct eye movement, but even then it was a bittersweet accomplishment after the time I had spent deciphering its pages. | 988 | [
"Grid Systems is not designed well enough for the amount of complicated diagrams it has within its pages.",
"The tightly spaced, monotonous gray grids are unnumbered, making it extremely difficult for me to look back into the previous pages and compare what she had thought to be the leading design versus my own.",
"It was extremely hard not taking a pen to the page myself, not only to tag the composition, but also to fix the unacceptable amount of errors.",
"Every other page has a misplaced dot or composition, and Elam even invents compositions when she writes herself to be picking the best of the eighteen examples on the previous pages.",
"These inconsistencies leave me skeptical of the other visuals she presents, turning my leisure reading into a scavenger hunt.",
"In spite of this, Grid Systems did provide me with some insight into the grid and how they can be used to direct eye movement, but even then it was a bittersweet accomplishment after the time I had spent deciphering its pages."
] |
2 | Poor KYB Mounts | First of all the image displayed of the mount is not correct. This is front mount for maxima and look different. I did get the correct part based on the part number. Bought two of these to replace old nissan oem mounts. The mounts look solid and well made when new. Everything was perfect for about 6 months. The car drove really well, but then I noticed that both mounts had their centers shifted outward by at least 6mm. Needless to say the alignment by then was completely out and the inner tire tread had worn out much more than the outer tread. The mounts completely fell apart in about 10 months. The car was actually only driven about 8k miles in those 10 months. Bottom line... the mounts are poorly built and do not hold up in long run. The original nissan oem mounts lasted over 12 years/130k miles in dry and hot AZ weather. The nissan oem mounts are not that expensive.. go with the oem mounts. The aftermarket KYB are not worth the money/labor involved in putting new mounts. | 988 | [
"First of all the image displayed of the mount is not correct.",
"This is front mount for maxima and look different.",
"I did get the correct part based on the part number.",
"Bought two of these to replace old nissan oem mounts.",
"The mounts look solid and well made when new.",
"Everything was perfect for about 6 months.",
"The car drove really well, but then I noticed that both mounts had their centers shifted outward by at least 6mm.",
"Needless to say the alignment by then was completely out and the inner tire tread had worn out much more than the outer tread.",
"The mounts completely fell apart in about 10 months.",
"The car was actually only driven about 8k miles in those 10 months.",
"Bottom line... the mounts are poorly built and do not hold up in long run.",
"The original nissan oem mounts lasted over 12 years/130k miles in dry and hot AZ weather.",
"The nissan oem mounts are not that expensive..",
"go with the oem mounts.",
"The aftermarket KYB are not worth the money/labor involved in putting new mounts."
] |
2 | Disappointing guide | This guide is, sadly to say, disappointing considering it is a Lonely Planet publication. In planning my next trip to Rome, I thought that this might be a great book to work from, but I found it to be poorly organized and overcrowded. The authors of this book crammed way too much information into this book that it borders on unusable. There are also very few photos and what photos are provided are not very helpful.Other Lonely Planet Guides to Rome would be a better choice than this. National Geographic Traveler Rome Guide is more insightful and will orientate the reader much better than this book will.It does come with a decent map that can be torn out, but it's paper. My only concern with that is being caught out in the rain. The map doesn't seem durable, and I wonder if it would even survive the trip. So if you're in the market for a guidebook to Rome, check out Lonely Planet's other options (besides this book), Nat'l Geographic Travelers Rome Guide, or Rome for Dummies. | 988 | [
"This guide is, sadly to say, disappointing considering it is a Lonely Planet publication.",
"In planning my next trip to Rome, I thought that this might be a great book to work from, but I found it to be poorly organized and overcrowded.",
"The authors of this book crammed way too much information into this book that it borders on unusable.",
"There are also very few photos and what photos are provided are not very helpful.Other Lonely Planet Guides to Rome would be a better choice than this.",
"National Geographic Traveler Rome Guide is more insightful and will orientate the reader much better than this book will.It does come with a decent map that can be torn out, but it's paper.",
"My only concern with that is being caught out in the rain.",
"The map doesn't seem durable, and I wonder if it would even survive the trip.",
"So if you're in the market for a guidebook to Rome, check out Lonely Planet's other options (besides this book), Nat'l Geographic Travelers Rome Guide, or Rome for Dummies."
] |
2 | Kiddies film only | I had high expectations for this film, but they weren't really met. The special effects are good, but it is interspersed by a mainly NASA recruiting film for kids. It has dumbed down the moon landings to a 8 year olds level. Ok it may be great for kids and I guess that is the intended audience, but I am sick of the modern way of dumbing everything down so it is boring. There is nothing to inspire me, no romance for returning to the moon, no excitement or adventure, even though they did try on this. The series "From the Earth to the Moon" got it right, why did Tom Hanks let us down with this one which could have been the best ever? The IMAX films "The Dream is Alive" and "Hail Columbia" got it right why did this one miss the boat I wonder?Go see it at an IMAX theatre, but don't bother with the DVD if you are a real space fan. Also the extra material is of such low res graphics it could have been shot with a cell phone camera. It froze up my DVD player and I had to reboot it. | 988 | [
"I had high expectations for this film, but they weren't really met.",
"The special effects are good, but it is interspersed by a mainly NASA recruiting film for kids.",
"It has dumbed down the moon landings to a 8 year olds level.",
"Ok it may be great for kids and I guess that is the intended audience, but I am sick of the modern way of dumbing everything down so it is boring.",
"There is nothing to inspire me, no romance for returning to the moon, no excitement or adventure, even though they did try on this.",
"The series \"From the Earth to the Moon\" got it right, why did Tom Hanks let us down with this one which could have been the best ever?",
"The IMAX films \"The Dream is Alive\" and \"Hail Columbia\" got it right why did this one miss the boat I wonder?",
"Go see it at an IMAX theatre, but don't bother with the DVD if you are a real space fan.",
"Also the extra material is of such low res graphics it could have been shot with a cell phone camera.",
"It froze up my DVD player and I had to reboot it."
] |
2 | Can be dangerous | This saucer is wonderful at keeping babies entertained. It is bright and colorful and has plenty of toys on it. However, I do feel the need to warn other parents about a potential danger I witnessed today. My 6 month old son was in the saucer and My mother and I were in the same room with him watching him play. All of the sudden,we saw that his shirt had somehow got caught on the flying dragon toy and the hanger-like attachment the toy is on was getting wrapped around his neck. Immeadiately, I helped him out of the saucer and removed the toy. This is the second danger I have noticed. The first was the orange face toy. My son would always gag on it. Also, his doctor noticed scrapes along the inside of his mouth. After explaining the toy's shape to the him we concluded they were from the toy. I notified Evenflo and they did send a replacement toy. I am seriously considering returning this saucer for the fisher price piano. My son loves this toy but it is not worth his safety. | 988 | [
"This saucer is wonderful at keeping babies entertained.",
"It is bright and colorful and has plenty of toys on it.",
"However, I do feel the need to warn other parents about a potential danger I witnessed today.",
"My 6 month old son was in the saucer and My mother and I were in the same room with him watching him play.",
"All of the sudden,we saw that his shirt had somehow got caught on the flying dragon toy and the hanger-like attachment the toy is on was getting wrapped around his neck.",
"Immeadiately, I helped him out of the saucer and removed the toy.",
"This is the second danger I have noticed.",
"The first was the orange face toy.",
"My son would always gag on it.",
"Also, his doctor noticed scrapes along the inside of his mouth.",
"After explaining the toy's shape to the him we concluded they were from the toy.",
"I notified Evenflo and they did send a replacement toy.",
"I am seriously considering returning this saucer for the fisher price piano.",
"My son loves this toy but it is not worth his safety."
] |
2 | Why only 33 things? | OK, I read this book, and I fall out of the line of happy, snappy reviews. But, here are some of my problems with the book. First of all, stop with the alternative layout already! It's distracting, annoying, and detracts from the important content. I guess it's got many font heads etc to appeal to teens, but frankly I think it misses its mark. Also, I thought the book could have given more to Phyllis Wheatley than one line in a poem! There are also a number of other important female thinkers left out of this book such as Adrianne Rich, but Blondie makes it into the book. I guess if you only are going to put in 33 items, somethings gotta go! So cut Blondie. Some of the poetry choices that are toenhance the nonfiction text were disappointing, or weak. I think that the editor could have done a better job to flesh outthat part of the book, because I like the idea of using poemswith nonfiction. So, with that, I do not recommend you buy this scrap book version of women's history. | 988 | [
"OK, I read this book, and I fall out of the line of happy, snappy reviews.",
"But, here are some of my problems with the book.",
"First of all, stop with the alternative layout already!",
"It's distracting, annoying, and detracts from the important content.",
"I guess it's got many font heads etc to appeal to teens, but frankly I think it misses its mark.",
"Also, I thought the book could have given more to Phyllis Wheatley than one line in a poem!",
"There are also a number of other important female thinkers left out of this book such as Adrianne Rich, but Blondie makes it into the book.",
"I guess if you only are going to put in 33 items, somethings gotta go!",
"So cut Blondie.",
"Some of the poetry choices that are toenhance the nonfiction text were disappointing, or weak.",
"I think that the editor could have done a better job to flesh outthat part of the book, because I like the idea of using poemswith nonfiction.",
"So, with that, I do not recommend you buy this scrap book version of women's history."
] |
2 | Pillar Fireproof remix | I am a huge fan of Pillar, so when I heard that they released a remix of their Fireproof album I immediately bought it. Now I am not so sure I should have. I am afraid that I am somewhat dissapointed by this cd. I noticed very few changes to the songs, but the changes are there though, even if it might only be a few extra words here and there. The biggest difference is that they changed the order that the songs play in. And as for the dvd, it is just ok. The quality of their music during the concerts they show you is really poor. If I had heard them in a concert I would have never bought their cds. The interview type thing on it isnt too bad, but to put it frankly I feel that I wasted some hard earned money on this cd. Don't get me wrong, I love Pillar and I still think this cd is great, but if you are short of cash you might not want to buy this one unless you are a hard-core fan. Oh ya, on the bright side their new cover is pretty cool, so is the symbol on the cd and dvd. | 988 | [
"I am a huge fan of Pillar, so when I heard that they released a remix of their Fireproof album I immediately bought it.",
"Now I am not so sure I should have.",
"I am afraid that I am somewhat dissapointed by this cd.",
"I noticed very few changes to the songs, but the changes are there though, even if it might only be a few extra words here and there.",
"The biggest difference is that they changed the order that the songs play in.",
"And as for the dvd, it is just ok.",
"The quality of their music during the concerts they show you is really poor.",
"If I had heard them in a concert I would have never bought their cds.",
"The interview type thing on it isnt too bad, but to put it frankly I feel that I wasted some hard earned money on this cd.",
"Don't get me wrong, I love Pillar and I still think this cd is great, but if you are short of cash you might not want to buy this one unless you are a hard-core fan.",
"Oh ya, on the bright side their new cover is pretty cool, so is the symbol on the cd and dvd."
] |
2 | Disappointing | The Constant Gardener is a 500 page story about a man's quest to uncover the (not so mysterious) mysteries revolving around his late wife's research into an evil pharmaceutical company and her subsequent murder. It really did not live up to it's billing as a thrilling tale. It definitely did have a feel to it, though, typical of many fiction novels these days: an elegantly written bleak and depressing story.Most of the "action" that takes place occurs within the endless conversations between various characters on the same subject, which makes for a slow pace. Are there good moments of intrigue and drama? Yes . . . but, oh so few! The ending of the book was especially unsatisfying.Please also be advised that Le Carre likes to do a lot of preaching through the words of his characters against the pharmaceutical industry and ultimately, it would seem, against capitalism.For someone like me who reads fiction for entertainment and escape, this was unfortunately not a good choice. | 988 | [
"The Constant Gardener is a 500 page story about a man's quest to uncover the (not so mysterious) mysteries revolving around his late wife's research into an evil pharmaceutical company and her subsequent murder.",
"It really did not live up to it's billing as a thrilling tale.",
"It definitely did have a feel to it, though, typical of many fiction novels these days: an elegantly written bleak and depressing story.Most of the \"action\" that takes place occurs within the endless conversations between various characters on the same subject, which makes for a slow pace.",
"Are there good moments of intrigue and drama?",
"Yes.",
".",
".",
"but, oh so few!",
"The ending of the book was especially unsatisfying.Please also be advised that Le Carre likes to do a lot of preaching through the words of his characters against the pharmaceutical industry and ultimately, it would seem, against capitalism.For someone like me who reads fiction for entertainment and escape, this was unfortunately not a good choice."
] |
2 | Tarp wasn't long enough | I was so glad to have found this cot. BUT when it arrived I unpacked it and put it together - or rather tried to but couldn't the unfolding was easy, and it wasn't hard to get it ready to finish up the job but the tarp was too short to allow the head and foot bars to be secured.I had 2 people try to stretch that tarp to fit into place and it would not - it was just cut too short. The worst was that it was already a return. I could tell that someone else had tried to get the bars in place and to stretch the tarp to fit as there were cuts and scrapes in the metal exactly where t you have to fit the bars into the frame's slots.I saw this when I was first looking at it but thought at first it was because the product didn't come wrapped and the metal bars were just held together with a rubber band. But the extra tape at one end should have alerted me that someone had retaped the box. Just like I had too when I returned the item. Too bad because it looked like an awesome product. | 988 | [
"I was so glad to have found this cot.",
"BUT when it arrived I unpacked it and put it together - or rather tried to but couldn't the unfolding was easy, and it wasn't hard to get it ready to finish up the job but the tarp was too short to allow the head and foot bars to be secured.I had 2 people try to stretch that tarp to fit into place and it would not - it was just cut too short.",
"The worst was that it was already a return.",
"I could tell that someone else had tried to get the bars in place and to stretch the tarp to fit as there were cuts and scrapes in the metal exactly where t you have to fit the bars into the frame's slots.I saw this when I was first looking at it but thought at first it was because the product didn't come wrapped and the metal bars were just held together with a rubber band.",
"But the extra tape at one end should have alerted me that someone had retaped the box.",
"Just like I had too when I returned the item.",
"Too bad because it looked like an awesome product."
] |
2 | More of a propaganda CD | There are some really great songs on this 2 CD set. However, those really great songs seem to be lightly interspersed amongst a large number of forgettable songs whose main purpose seems to be to remind you of those movies you enjoy(ed) so much.It seems a little odd to me that out of 90 years of film making the most memorable scores have been largely released within the last few years. I was pleased to find themes from the Godfather, Indiana Jones and Witness. I was perplexed with the inclusion of songs from Rugrats, both Mission Impossible movies (one would have been more than enough) and Tomb Raider (memorable???).This is my own personal bias, but I do prefer movie soundtracks that evoke a feeling of excitement. With this collection I just couldn't get excited. I kept finding myself being let down by songs that didn't in some way complement the preceeding song.There are certainly some great tracks here, but overall I was disappointed. My advise would be to look elsewhere. | 988 | [
"There are some really great songs on this 2 CD set.",
"However, those really great songs seem to be lightly interspersed amongst a large number of forgettable songs whose main purpose seems to be to remind you of those movies you enjoy(ed) so much.It seems a little odd to me that out of 90 years of film making the most memorable scores have been largely released within the last few years.",
"I was pleased to find themes from the Godfather, Indiana Jones and Witness.",
"I was perplexed with the inclusion of songs from Rugrats, both Mission Impossible movies (one would have been more than enough) and Tomb Raider (memorable???",
").This is my own personal bias, but I do prefer movie soundtracks that evoke a feeling of excitement.",
"With this collection I just couldn't get excited.",
"I kept finding myself being let down by songs that didn't in some way complement the preceeding song.There are certainly some great tracks here, but overall I was disappointed.",
"My advise would be to look elsewhere."
] |
2 | OKAY - but with PROBLEMS | I got this item for a job i was doing. I had to copy and scan several hundred documents. I will say that it did that with ease and the resolution was not bad either. BUT - watch out for the printer part of this thing. It is not that great. First off, i would suggest that brother really get it together with their ports. The USB port is located *inside* the machine. It is really easy to close the lid and cut the cord if you wire it the wrong way - so maybe having it *outside* like all other printers would be a thought. Next the tray is all messed up and doesn't load right. When i try to load paper i am serious that the tray doesn't even fit in any grooves. It seems poorly designed. Then there was this big fin type of thign that i don't know *what* was for and just threw it out. The paper also gets jammed frequently. So in all, this thing is not a bad document scanner or copier. That part is pretty darn good actually. The software is not bad either. But the printer part sucks. | 988 | [
"I got this item for a job i was doing.",
"I had to copy and scan several hundred documents.",
"I will say that it did that with ease and the resolution was not bad either.",
"BUT - watch out for the printer part of this thing.",
"It is not that great.",
"First off, i would suggest that brother really get it together with their ports.",
"The USB port is located *inside* the machine.",
"It is really easy to close the lid and cut the cord if you wire it the wrong way - so maybe having it *outside* like all other printers would be a thought.",
"Next the tray is all messed up and doesn't load right.",
"When i try to load paper i am serious that the tray doesn't even fit in any grooves.",
"It seems poorly designed.",
"Then there was this big fin type of thign that i don't know *what* was for and just threw it out.",
"The paper also gets jammed frequently.",
"So in all, this thing is not a bad document scanner or copier.",
"That part is pretty darn good actually.",
"The software is not bad either.",
"But the printer part sucks."
] |
2 | Flimsy, fragile phone. | I had this phone for one day before the screen blew up..hadn't even made a call! My problems started when I installed the battery; I couldn't get the battery cover back on to save my life. After about 20 minutes I finally succeeded but it never really aligned properly with the bottom of the phone. I imagine if I'd kept the phone I would have been replacing the cover regularly.Then I couldn't get it activated. I tried on line and their web site crashed, then when I called for help the phone wouldn't take the commands their rep told me to put in. I had to take the battery out and start over twice!Finally I thought I had it, went to bed that night without using it and when I turned it on the next day the screen was corrupted with some kind of red "splat!" graphic. Nothing I did made it come back on and I could not get an answer from VM about what it could be. Finally I contacted Amazon and arranged a return which is now in progress. They promised me a full refund. We'll see ;) | 988 | [
"I had this phone for one day before the screen blew up..hadn't even made a call!",
"My problems started when I installed the battery; I couldn't get the battery cover back on to save my life.",
"After about 20 minutes I finally succeeded but it never really aligned properly with the bottom of the phone.",
"I imagine if I'd kept the phone I would have been replacing the cover regularly.Then I couldn't get it activated.",
"I tried on line and their web site crashed, then when I called for help the phone wouldn't take the commands their rep told me to put in.",
"I had to take the battery out and start over twice!",
"Finally I thought I had it, went to bed that night without using it and when I turned it on the next day the screen was corrupted with some kind of red \"splat!",
"\" graphic.",
"Nothing I did made it come back on and I could not get an answer from VM about what it could be.",
"Finally I contacted Amazon and arranged a return which is now in progress.",
"They promised me a full refund.",
"We'll see ;)"
] |
2 | NO PINYIN | I love these books. Really, I do. They have such a WIDE spectrum of topics, areas careers, trades...you name it.The outline of each book is as follows:*pictures of various objects/situations (For example, a ilustration of a lab and various things in the lab numbered, like a beaker, burner, microscope, etc.).*A list next to the ilustration with the forgien word, then the english equivilant underneath.And thats it! It is SO simple to understand, and it is broken down into (Many MANY) sections that are every-day situations that you usually would not get from a standard college-level textbook.Only one problem THIS BOOK HAS NO PINYIN FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT TOO ADVANCED!! I wrote to the editors and they said "We thank you for your suggestion, but as of this time we have no plans to make a new edition. IF AS MANY PEOPLE WHO READ THIS VOICE YOUR OPINION OF HOW IMPORTANT PINYIN IS TO A STUDENT, WE MAY GET THEM TO INCLUDE IT IN THE NEXT EDITION!! Just e-mail them from the oxford site. | 988 | [
"I love these books.",
"Really, I do.",
"They have such a WIDE spectrum of topics, areas careers, trades...you name it.The outline of each book is as follows:*pictures of various objects/situations (For example, a ilustration of a lab and various things in the lab numbered, like a beaker, burner, microscope, etc.).*A list next to the ilustration with the forgien word, then the english equivilant underneath.And thats it!",
"It is SO simple to understand, and it is broken down into (Many MANY) sections that are every-day situations that you usually would not get from a standard college-level textbook.Only one problem THIS BOOK HAS NO PINYIN FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT TOO ADVANCED!!",
"I wrote to the editors and they said \"We thank you for your suggestion, but as of this time we have no plans to make a new edition.",
"IF AS MANY PEOPLE WHO READ THIS VOICE YOUR OPINION OF HOW IMPORTANT PINYIN IS TO A STUDENT, WE MAY GET THEM TO INCLUDE IT IN THE NEXT EDITION!!",
"Just e-mail them from the oxford site."
] |
2 | Disappointed in Texas | I started this book on Sat. morning and finished it at 2 AM Sun. morning. The ending left me deflated and dejected. I am the kind of reader that likes everything all tied up with a big bow. This certainly did not do that. It was a cute story and could have been better had McInnis had let Jack & Sally try to come to some better conclusion to their relationship. I think Jack would have come around with Sally's love and caring and become a better man for it and for their child. I just don't feel the characters were left deflated too. When I closed the book at 2AM, my thought was "is this it, that's the ending? Boy that was a waste of time and money." If McInnis writes another book, I sincerely hope that she will develop the characters better and give them chances to work out their relationships in a better way. Since there was so much "religion" in this book, I think the charcters should have given each other a second chance and a little forgiveness would have gone a long way. | 988 | [
"I started this book on Sat.",
"morning and finished it at 2 AM Sun.",
"morning.",
"The ending left me deflated and dejected.",
"I am the kind of reader that likes everything all tied up with a big bow.",
"This certainly did not do that.",
"It was a cute story and could have been better had McInnis had let Jack & Sally try to come to some better conclusion to their relationship.",
"I think Jack would have come around with Sally's love and caring and become a better man for it and for their child.",
"I just don't feel the characters were left deflated too.",
"When I closed the book at 2AM, my thought was \"is this it, that's the ending?",
"Boy that was a waste of time and money.\" If McInnis writes another book, I sincerely hope that she will develop the characters better and give them chances to work out their relationships in a better way.",
"Since there was so much \"religion\" in this book, I think the charcters should have given each other a second chance and a little forgiveness would have gone a long way."
] |
2 | Best Keep As A Secret | This is a story with a modicum of drama except for a small dog (surprising given the starry nature of the human cast), close to nonexistence suspense, and muddy sound recording compounded with hard to understand dialog (English accents and all that). Gielgud's performance as the hero is mostly one dimensional (when you can understand his delivery); as the heroine, Carroll's "acting" ranges from chatty to zombie; and Lorrie's delivery is over-the-top ham (and, quite frankly, an embarrassment) as he portrays the "good-guy" killer. All this is in marked contrast to the achievements of the fourth principal performer, Robert Young. Young provides an acting tour de force as the subject matter of the film. He makes the film his own!There are some gee-wiz (for the time, 1936) special in-camera/editing effects which were then fast becoming (and would continue to be) a Hitchcock trademark.Not one of Hitchcock's masterpieces, but not one of his disasters either.WILLIAM FLANIGAN, Ph.D | 987 | [
"This is a story with a modicum of drama except for a small dog (surprising given the starry nature of the human cast), close to nonexistence suspense, and muddy sound recording compounded with hard to understand dialog (English accents and all that).",
"Gielgud's performance as the hero is mostly one dimensional (when you can understand his delivery); as the heroine, Carroll's \"acting\" ranges from chatty to zombie; and Lorrie's delivery is over-the-top ham (and, quite frankly, an embarrassment) as he portrays the \"good-guy\" killer.",
"All this is in marked contrast to the achievements of the fourth principal performer, Robert Young.",
"Young provides an acting tour de force as the subject matter of the film.",
"He makes the film his own!",
"There are some gee-wiz (for the time, 1936) special in-camera/editing effects which were then fast becoming (and would continue to be) a Hitchcock trademark.Not one of Hitchcock's masterpieces, but not one of his disasters either.WILLIAM FLANIGAN, Ph.D"
] |
2 | Down hill slide | The Clan of the Cave Bear was a remarkable beginning to Auel's series. The Valley of Horses continued with Ayla's struggle to survive, ending with finally meeting one of the Others. The Mammoth Hunters starts turning into prehistoric soap opera, introducing another man to compete for Ayla's affection, while Jondular mopes around. The slide started there. The Plains of Passage was nothing more than traveling and sex scenes. Now we have the Shelters of Stone. I guess I thought that after the Plains, Auel took 12 years to bring back some drama and plot, and improve the series. Turns out she must have had writer's block, and the publisher obviously forced her to get something, anything, worked into a manuscript. The editor did a terrible job. This book should have been 400 pages instead of 750. I had anticipated this book, but now I think it's only worth reading out of curiosity and as a bridge to the next and final story, which I will probably be too old and decrepit to read. | 987 | [
"The Clan of the Cave Bear was a remarkable beginning to Auel's series.",
"The Valley of Horses continued with Ayla's struggle to survive, ending with finally meeting one of the Others.",
"The Mammoth Hunters starts turning into prehistoric soap opera, introducing another man to compete for Ayla's affection, while Jondular mopes around.",
"The slide started there.",
"The Plains of Passage was nothing more than traveling and sex scenes.",
"Now we have the Shelters of Stone.",
"I guess I thought that after the Plains, Auel took 12 years to bring back some drama and plot, and improve the series.",
"Turns out she must have had writer's block, and the publisher obviously forced her to get something, anything, worked into a manuscript.",
"The editor did a terrible job.",
"This book should have been 400 pages instead of 750.",
"I had anticipated this book, but now I think it's only worth reading out of curiosity and as a bridge to the next and final story, which I will probably be too old and decrepit to read."
] |
2 | Stylish But Vacant | Just your run-of-the-mill spaghetti western also-ran, complete with a joltingly simple plot, one-dimensional characters and the worst dubbed dialog this side of Pulp Fiction's basic cable edit. Django himself, an opportunist without much in the way of personality, is only likable in direct comparison to the cookie-cutter roster of villainy he mercilessly cuts down at every opportunity. Even the scenery, which normally delivers a heaping portion of a western's aura and mystique, falls flat in Django. Here the wide-open promise of a broad, sweeping landscape is reduced to dreary patch of mud, a fistful of thin, trail-weary horses and four pathetic, lifeless wooden shacks. If a steady diet of ricocheting bullets, heavy drinking and utterly pointless double-crossery is what you're hungry for, by all means chow down - this is ninety solid minutes of just that with little variation. Those with an appetite for more filling material, on the other hand, should just keep on walking. | 987 | [
"Just your run-of-the-mill spaghetti western also-ran, complete with a joltingly simple plot, one-dimensional characters and the worst dubbed dialog this side of Pulp Fiction's basic cable edit.",
"Django himself, an opportunist without much in the way of personality, is only likable in direct comparison to the cookie-cutter roster of villainy he mercilessly cuts down at every opportunity.",
"Even the scenery, which normally delivers a heaping portion of a western's aura and mystique, falls flat in Django.",
"Here the wide-open promise of a broad, sweeping landscape is reduced to dreary patch of mud, a fistful of thin, trail-weary horses and four pathetic, lifeless wooden shacks.",
"If a steady diet of ricocheting bullets, heavy drinking and utterly pointless double-crossery is what you're hungry for, by all means chow down - this is ninety solid minutes of just that with little variation.",
"Those with an appetite for more filling material, on the other hand, should just keep on walking."
] |
2 | A Bore | The past 5 or 6 years have been a time of growth and experimentation for Rush after their hiatus in the late 90s. But it has also been a time of reflection, thought, and utmost simplicity in their music. I have been a Rush fan for about 5 years and I own nearly all of their studio recordings and all of their DVD releases. So I know Rush's sound pretty well now.Snakes & Arrowsis just a disapointment to me. For me, it sounds likeTest for EchoII--it has 1 to 3 tracks that are actually good and the rest are just filler material or very mellow acoustic tracks. The only song I like here is "Far Cry" and besides that SNAKES is just a sleepy, monotonous album--at least for Rush. Sadly, I do not think that Rush will ever be able to compose as well as they did before theCounterpartsalbum. Yet, I congratulate Rush for trying as hard as they could to produce the kind of top-notch music that they were playing during the 70s and 80s. I can't wait to see Rush on tour this summer, though! | 987 | [
"The past 5 or 6 years have been a time of growth and experimentation for Rush after their hiatus in the late 90s.",
"But it has also been a time of reflection, thought, and utmost simplicity in their music.",
"I have been a Rush fan for about 5 years and I own nearly all of their studio recordings and all of their DVD releases.",
"So I know Rush's sound pretty well now.Snakes & Arrowsis just a disapointment to me.",
"For me, it sounds likeTest for EchoII--it has 1 to 3 tracks that are actually good and the rest are just filler material or very mellow acoustic tracks.",
"The only song I like here is \"Far Cry\" and besides that SNAKES is just a sleepy, monotonous album--at least for Rush.",
"Sadly, I do not think that Rush will ever be able to compose as well as they did before theCounterpartsalbum.",
"Yet, I congratulate Rush for trying as hard as they could to produce the kind of top-notch music that they were playing during the 70s and 80s.",
"I can't wait to see Rush on tour this summer, though!"
] |
2 | The best I've found | Using the usual hard plastic scoops found in the local store was difficult. The back where I gripped the handle was sharp and dug into my hand while I sifted through the litter. THIS litter scoop is well padded so one does not get any sharp or deep pressure when sifting through the sometimes-heavy litter. It has 2 screens so the smaller bits that fall through the usual scoops is caught and can be disposed of. However, after only about 4 months, the front started coming apart, where I dig into the litter opening up so that litter bits get stuck, thus widening it further. If you choose this product, scoop from the side, then it will last longer.However, I've now found the best litter scooper ever, the Litter-Lifter which is easy to use, light, durable and gets all the bits from the pan, small and large, it handles them all well. This one has wedge-shaped tines that do catch all the clumps better than any other. Too bad it's not yet on Amazon, I hope to see it here in future! | 987 | [
"Using the usual hard plastic scoops found in the local store was difficult.",
"The back where I gripped the handle was sharp and dug into my hand while I sifted through the litter.",
"THIS litter scoop is well padded so one does not get any sharp or deep pressure when sifting through the sometimes-heavy litter.",
"It has 2 screens so the smaller bits that fall through the usual scoops is caught and can be disposed of.",
"However, after only about 4 months, the front started coming apart, where I dig into the litter opening up so that litter bits get stuck, thus widening it further.",
"If you choose this product, scoop from the side, then it will last longer.However, I've now found the best litter scooper ever, the Litter-Lifter which is easy to use, light, durable and gets all the bits from the pan, small and large, it handles them all well.",
"This one has wedge-shaped tines that do catch all the clumps better than any other.",
"Too bad it's not yet on Amazon, I hope to see it here in future!"
] |
2 | BLASTFOMY!!!!! | Mr.Hammerstein and Mr. Rogers must be turning over in their graves! Fred Astaire always demanded that his movies never showed just his feet. He was so dedicated to the art of dance that he wanted the audience to see the ENTIRE STEP with his entire body flowing. Well, this film gave us just the feet. "I have dreamed" is one of my favorite songs. Its a classic Rogers and Hammerstein number. When I got to that part of the movie I told my family to be quiet and turn up the AV system. "Here it comes" i said "This is the most beautiful song in the film"...HA! The joke was on me. It was cut from the DVD along with "Toads" and "should I tell you what i think of you" This is the problem when uninspired corporate jr. executives are in charge of managing priceless works of art. I wonder how many of the people who decided to cut these musical treasures from the DVD have even heard of Yul Brenner or Deborah Kerr. For the sake of the bottom line we got just the feet. Not the whole body. | 987 | [
"Mr.Hammerstein and Mr.",
"Rogers must be turning over in their graves!",
"Fred Astaire always demanded that his movies never showed just his feet.",
"He was so dedicated to the art of dance that he wanted the audience to see the ENTIRE STEP with his entire body flowing.",
"Well, this film gave us just the feet.",
"\"I have dreamed\" is one of my favorite songs.",
"Its a classic Rogers and Hammerstein number.",
"When I got to that part of the movie I told my family to be quiet and turn up the AV system.",
"\"Here it comes\" i said \"This is the most beautiful song in the film\"...HA!",
"The joke was on me.",
"It was cut from the DVD along with \"Toads\" and \"should I tell you what i think of you\" This is the problem when uninspired corporate jr.",
"executives are in charge of managing priceless works of art.",
"I wonder how many of the people who decided to cut these musical treasures from the DVD have even heard of Yul Brenner or Deborah Kerr.",
"For the sake of the bottom line we got just the feet.",
"Not the whole body."
] |
2 | Not on my favorites list | This definetly was not one of my favorite books.First of all, it doesn't get into the real plot until more than 1/2 way through the book; the other parts are just events strung together into chapters. Sure MOST of it leads up to the main point of the story, but do you realize this? I sure didn't.The author's style of writing makes this book hard to follow. I can tell that he tried to write from a 10-year-old's point of view, but obviously he tried a lil too hard, because it sounds like from the point of view fom a very immature ten year old.The description of the setting and characters in this book made it very difficult for me to write a book report for; and I just overall didn't like it, although most of the people I know (from my brother to my best friends) were exclaiming, "Oh, you're reading that? Isn't it the best?"I usually finish a book this length in 1 1/2 to 2 days. But this one took me more than a week, I think, to finish because I was like, groan, do I have to? | 987 | [
"This definetly was not one of my favorite books.First of all, it doesn't get into the real plot until more than 1/2 way through the book; the other parts are just events strung together into chapters.",
"Sure MOST of it leads up to the main point of the story, but do you realize this?",
"I sure didn't.The author's style of writing makes this book hard to follow.",
"I can tell that he tried to write from a 10-year-old's point of view, but obviously he tried a lil too hard, because it sounds like from the point of view fom a very immature ten year old.The description of the setting and characters in this book made it very difficult for me to write a book report for; and I just overall didn't like it, although most of the people I know (from my brother to my best friends) were exclaiming, \"Oh, you're reading that?",
"Isn't it the best?",
"\"I usually finish a book this length in 1 1/2 to 2 days.",
"But this one took me more than a week, I think, to finish because I was like, groan, do I have to?"
] |
2 | A disappointing finish | Spending years loving Rice's work, I was eager to read what is to be the conclusion of the vampire chronicles. The matter-of-fact off-the-cuff manner of writing disturbed me - unlike the manner of speech we are accustomed to from Lestat. The tiresome Shakesperean quotes from Mona & Quinn. Tired of Mona's portrayal of herself as Ophelia already! Enough! So much about Saints and description of the clothes Mona takes from Aunt Queen's closet! Trivial dribble. So little substance. Far too much time wasted on the lackluster story of the Taltos. The rather odd and inexplicable appearance of Oncle Julien & Stella. This feels like a half-hearted effort to appease fans looking for another Lestat story and close off the vampire series. It is evident her mind was not wholly focused on this with the understandable personal matters she faced at the time she penned this work. It is a sad farewell to the Vampires so many have grown to love. All the best to Ms. Rice in her new endeavours. | 987 | [
"Spending years loving Rice's work, I was eager to read what is to be the conclusion of the vampire chronicles.",
"The matter-of-fact off-the-cuff manner of writing disturbed me - unlike the manner of speech we are accustomed to from Lestat.",
"The tiresome Shakesperean quotes from Mona & Quinn.",
"Tired of Mona's portrayal of herself as Ophelia already!",
"Enough!",
"So much about Saints and description of the clothes Mona takes from Aunt Queen's closet!",
"Trivial dribble.",
"So little substance.",
"Far too much time wasted on the lackluster story of the Taltos.",
"The rather odd and inexplicable appearance of Oncle Julien & Stella.",
"This feels like a half-hearted effort to appease fans looking for another Lestat story and close off the vampire series.",
"It is evident her mind was not wholly focused on this with the understandable personal matters she faced at the time she penned this work.",
"It is a sad farewell to the Vampires so many have grown to love.",
"All the best to Ms.",
"Rice in her new endeavours."
] |
2 | Unrealistic Policing | Whomever researched for the writing and/or scripting of this series doesn't know anything about police administration or detective work e.g. the tte-à-tte in the police offices and elsewhere were ridiculously unbelievable if not sophomoric. The detective's failure to intelligently think through or anticipate problems including threats were just plain dumb. Even if he is intended to succeed through dumb luck it's still dumb. The acting is wooden (except Sewell has those mannerisms that in a primal communicative way can carry a scene but still a step down from his exceptional Dark City role). Anyway, the dialogue is also sophomoric. The show exists because of the actor's appearances and the usual tiresome romantic triangles. Nothing in the plot structure indicates to me any creative storytelling - it's all too predictable. On the positive side the English and background Italian set backgrounds were well conceived.It all reminds me of a cheap paperback romance-suspense novel. | 987 | [
"Whomever researched for the writing and/or scripting of this series doesn't know anything about police administration or detective work e.g. the tte-à-tte in the police offices and elsewhere were ridiculously unbelievable if not sophomoric.",
"The detective's failure to intelligently think through or anticipate problems including threats were just plain dumb.",
"Even if he is intended to succeed through dumb luck it's still dumb.",
"The acting is wooden (except Sewell has those mannerisms that in a primal communicative way can carry a scene but still a step down from his exceptional Dark City role).",
"Anyway, the dialogue is also sophomoric.",
"The show exists because of the actor's appearances and the usual tiresome romantic triangles.",
"Nothing in the plot structure indicates to me any creative storytelling - it's all too predictable.",
"On the positive side the English and background Italian set backgrounds were well conceived.It all reminds me of a cheap paperback romance-suspense novel."
] |
2 | Bathroom book | This is OK as a bathroom book -- it's full of very short blurbs on various science topics, inventors, and discoveries.It is pretty good as a jumping-off point -- if you have a vague curiosity about something, this book can help direct your next google search.This is not good enough for use in a home school curriculum; I suspect most homeschoolers would do a better job on these topics.FWIW, this author is a True! Believer! in man-made climate change, all evidence to the contrary not withstanding. There is delicious irony on pages 276 - 280 as we learn about (first) environmental destruction (The! World! Is! Dying! and! It's! Your! Fault!), and then transition on the next page into "the blight of bad science," with this warning: "stifle the spirit of enquiry, and you can bring scientific progress to a halt..." Delicious.The author has also written a book on Darwin, and saves a little venom for creation-minded people.Anyway, good book for the shelf in the bathroom. Enjoyable! | 987 | [
"This is OK as a bathroom book -- it's full of very short blurbs on various science topics, inventors, and discoveries.It is pretty good as a jumping-off point -- if you have a vague curiosity about something, this book can help direct your next google search.This is not good enough for use in a home school curriculum; I suspect most homeschoolers would do a better job on these topics.FWIW, this author is a True!",
"Believer!",
"in man-made climate change, all evidence to the contrary not withstanding.",
"There is delicious irony on pages 276 - 280 as we learn about (first) environmental destruction (The!",
"World!",
"Is!",
"Dying!",
"and!",
"It's!",
"Your!",
"Fault!",
"), and then transition on the next page into \"the blight of bad science,\" with this warning: \"stifle the spirit of enquiry, and you can bring scientific progress to a halt...\" Delicious.The author has also written a book on Darwin, and saves a little venom for creation-minded people.Anyway, good book for the shelf in the bathroom.",
"Enjoyable!"
] |
2 | Disappointed | Although I enjoyed reading "The Stormy Petrel" (5 stars), "Thornyhold" (4 stars) and "Touch...Cat", I was not too impressed with "The Ivy Tree" or "Madam, will you talk".They were still a better read than the Artus series though.Right now I'm rereading "Madam, will you talk?" after many many years again, but even on page 100 I'm wondering why this novel gets so many great reviews here on amazon.com. It's not bad, but it's not that good either.Two stars for the descriptions of Avignon, Nimes, Les Baux, Chateau d'If and all these beautiful places in Southern France, I've been to all of them more than twice, even to Marseille's Canebière and Vieux Port. However, I wish the plot wouldn't be as formulaic. Stewart always describes some young British woman who is trying to overcome her last unhappy relationship (or she is a widow in mourning) and going on a long trip to either Greece or France where she inevitably gets involved in some dangerous adventure while meeting Mr. Right. | 987 | [
"Although I enjoyed reading \"The Stormy Petrel\" (5 stars), \"Thornyhold\" (4 stars) and \"Touch...Cat\", I was not too impressed with \"The Ivy Tree\" or \"Madam, will you talk\".They were still a better read than the Artus series though.Right now I'm rereading \"Madam, will you talk?",
"\" after many many years again, but even on page 100 I'm wondering why this novel gets so many great reviews here on amazon.com.",
"It's not bad, but it's not that good either.Two stars for the descriptions of Avignon, Nimes, Les Baux, Chateau d'If and all these beautiful places in Southern France, I've been to all of them more than twice, even to Marseille's Canebière and Vieux Port.",
"However, I wish the plot wouldn't be as formulaic.",
"Stewart always describes some young British woman who is trying to overcome her last unhappy relationship (or she is a widow in mourning) and going on a long trip to either Greece or France where she inevitably gets involved in some dangerous adventure while meeting Mr.",
"Right."
] |
2 | Memoirs of a G | Just didn't do it for me.Romantic story? I don't find old desperate men swooning over a girl who's paid to be with them particularly enchanting..Evidently Geisha's become skilled at the art of manipulating people... particularly men... in order to get what they want. The best are described as skilled conversationalists.... at least in in the genre of locker room gossip stories.Its difficult to sympathize with the so called heroine in any way... from willing to sleep with the minister to get what she wants (or doesn't) ... to a lack of recognition that her sister worked as a prostitute... to her materialistic preoccupation for her clothing, kimono's and appearance. Supposed to be a happy ending, but I feel sorry for her...Admittedly, the Japanese perspective and conditions during the 2nd world war was interesting at times ... and there is some value put on knowing what a Giesha really is. Overall, I slogged through the whole book, rarely interested in reading the next page. | 987 | [
"Just didn't do it for me.Romantic story?",
"I don't find old desperate men swooning over a girl who's paid to be with them particularly enchanting..Evidently Geisha's become skilled at the art of manipulating people... particularly men... in order to get what they want.",
"The best are described as skilled conversationalists.... at least in in the genre of locker room gossip stories.Its difficult to sympathize with the so called heroine in any way... from willing to sleep with the minister to get what she wants (or doesn't) ... to a lack of recognition that her sister worked as a prostitute... to her materialistic preoccupation for her clothing, kimono's and appearance.",
"Supposed to be a happy ending, but I feel sorry for her...Admittedly, the Japanese perspective and conditions during the 2nd world war was interesting at times ... and there is some value put on knowing what a Giesha really is.",
"Overall, I slogged through the whole book, rarely interested in reading the next page."
] |
2 | Poor Story | I previously read 'The Wind Up Bird Chronicles' which I thought was great. So I knew what to expect with the 'Sheep Chase' but I was terriblly disappointed. The writing seemed amateurish throughout most of the novel. The 'Sheep Chase' has characters that seemed to just drop out of the book suddenly for no plausible reason (The Girl with the Ears). And the strange power of her ears is never fully explained or even demonstrated in the book. The first chapter of the novel doesn't really seem to have anything to do with the rest of the story. Several of the characters seem to do things that are 'out of character'. For example, the mysterious 'Boss' Assistant' who is so powerful and rich (with a host of servants) and demanding agrees to take care of the protagonist's cat. This just seemed somewhat peculiar. Also, the 'Sheep Man' is one of the most unconvincing characters I've ever run into in a book - even one of this type. Overall this is definitely not one of Murakami's best. | 987 | [
"I previously read 'The Wind Up Bird Chronicles' which I thought was great.",
"So I knew what to expect with the 'Sheep Chase' but I was terriblly disappointed.",
"The writing seemed amateurish throughout most of the novel.",
"The 'Sheep Chase' has characters that seemed to just drop out of the book suddenly for no plausible reason (The Girl with the Ears).",
"And the strange power of her ears is never fully explained or even demonstrated in the book.",
"The first chapter of the novel doesn't really seem to have anything to do with the rest of the story.",
"Several of the characters seem to do things that are 'out of character'.",
"For example, the mysterious 'Boss' Assistant' who is so powerful and rich (with a host of servants) and demanding agrees to take care of the protagonist's cat.",
"This just seemed somewhat peculiar.",
"Also, the 'Sheep Man' is one of the most unconvincing characters I've ever run into in a book - even one of this type.",
"Overall this is definitely not one of Murakami's best."
] |
2 | The American Epic | "The Grapes of Wrath" is one of those intimidating "great books" that everyone knows about and no one reads. The irony is that it is a book about ordinary people, and the language and plot are hardly difficult at all. The Joads, driven off their Oklahoma farm by the encroachment of industrialization, seek a better life in California - with thousands of others in the same position. The migrants are forced to compete for survival, but only by leveraging their power as a group can they ever truly triumph. The theme of individual vs. group is further emphasized by the form of the novel. Steinbeck uses alternating chapters about the Joads and "interchapters" about the migrants as a whole. Thus the book, besides being the great American epic about the Joads, is also a social and political novel that caused an enormous uproar upon its publication. This is a book that is part of the collective American conscious and should be read by everyone who wants to feel thoroughly educated. | 987 | [
"\"The Grapes of Wrath\" is one of those intimidating \"great books\" that everyone knows about and no one reads.",
"The irony is that it is a book about ordinary people, and the language and plot are hardly difficult at all.",
"The Joads, driven off their Oklahoma farm by the encroachment of industrialization, seek a better life in California - with thousands of others in the same position.",
"The migrants are forced to compete for survival, but only by leveraging their power as a group can they ever truly triumph.",
"The theme of individual vs.",
"group is further emphasized by the form of the novel.",
"Steinbeck uses alternating chapters about the Joads and \"interchapters\" about the migrants as a whole.",
"Thus the book, besides being the great American epic about the Joads, is also a social and political novel that caused an enormous uproar upon its publication.",
"This is a book that is part of the collective American conscious and should be read by everyone who wants to feel thoroughly educated."
] |
2 | Not for Everyone | The best thing that can be said about these sandals is their price. Add in the shipping costs, however, which more than double the price, and it is no longer such a bargain. The sandals were shipped from Canada in an envelope and arrived with the uppers somewhat squished and misshapen. Sturdy bottoms, with massage nubs are adequate, but can be uncomfortable or off-putting against the soles of the foot for some. The main complaint is with the uppers, or the strip the goes over the foot. The inner portion that touches the foot is somewhat abrasive, especially at the point where it joins with bottom part. Sensitive or wide feet need to be cautious as this sandal rubs against the instep and side of foot. I have found similar - and more comfortable- sandals at local major retailers for the same or less money - with no shipping charges and an assured fit before purchase. These sandals are not the worst out there, neither are they the best, but the price is right (sans shipping). | 987 | [
"The best thing that can be said about these sandals is their price.",
"Add in the shipping costs, however, which more than double the price, and it is no longer such a bargain.",
"The sandals were shipped from Canada in an envelope and arrived with the uppers somewhat squished and misshapen.",
"Sturdy bottoms, with massage nubs are adequate, but can be uncomfortable or off-putting against the soles of the foot for some.",
"The main complaint is with the uppers, or the strip the goes over the foot.",
"The inner portion that touches the foot is somewhat abrasive, especially at the point where it joins with bottom part.",
"Sensitive or wide feet need to be cautious as this sandal rubs against the instep and side of foot.",
"I have found similar - and more comfortable- sandals at local major retailers for the same or less money - with no shipping charges and an assured fit before purchase.",
"These sandals are not the worst out there, neither are they the best, but the price is right (sans shipping)."
] |
2 | Not impressed | This movie is about a mega-corporation with special talents in mind control and manipulation of memories, that decides to apply those talents to gain control of the White House. Their target is the photogenic son turned war hero of a prominent US Senator who fits the role of the perfect political candidate. By implanting mechanical devices in his brain, Manchurian Global is able to take control of the young man for whatever purpose they need.The premise is intriguing, and I can see where it would be very appealing to some, especially the "black helicopter" crowd. But I think more could have been done with this. Compared to the original, it falls way short. Denzell Washington was brilliant as always, although this was not his best performance, and Meryl Streep was easy to despise in light of today's current political environment.I was interested enough to watch the entire movie, but wouldn't watch it again. And if you haven't seen either one, I would recommend the original. | 987 | [
"This movie is about a mega-corporation with special talents in mind control and manipulation of memories, that decides to apply those talents to gain control of the White House.",
"Their target is the photogenic son turned war hero of a prominent US Senator who fits the role of the perfect political candidate.",
"By implanting mechanical devices in his brain, Manchurian Global is able to take control of the young man for whatever purpose they need.The premise is intriguing, and I can see where it would be very appealing to some, especially the \"black helicopter\" crowd.",
"But I think more could have been done with this.",
"Compared to the original, it falls way short.",
"Denzell Washington was brilliant as always, although this was not his best performance, and Meryl Streep was easy to despise in light of today's current political environment.I was interested enough to watch the entire movie, but wouldn't watch it again.",
"And if you haven't seen either one, I would recommend the original."
] |
2 | The Horror Just Ended... | To say this movie was a good, successful one would in fact be a lie. In my opinion this was a terrible sequel to a movie that I adore. For starters, it is unrealistic in its approach to situations presented in the Resident Evil world, and by taking away Alice's feminine vulnerability it detracts from her character a heck of a lot.The staged characters that are in the games are nothing like their counterparts. Jill, for one, does not do the character justice at all, nor does Carlos. And can I say that the other characters while at first seemed interesting, were killed off far too quickly to develop any emotional attachment to them.The pace of the movie was too fast and it was not easy to catch on to what we are supposed to be seeing. Not only that, but every five seconds it seemd like there is a fight scene that has no purpose what-so-ever as opposed to the balanced feel of it's predecessor.Overall I am very dissapointed with this title, and I would not recommend it at all! | 987 | [
"To say this movie was a good, successful one would in fact be a lie.",
"In my opinion this was a terrible sequel to a movie that I adore.",
"For starters, it is unrealistic in its approach to situations presented in the Resident Evil world, and by taking away Alice's feminine vulnerability it detracts from her character a heck of a lot.The staged characters that are in the games are nothing like their counterparts.",
"Jill, for one, does not do the character justice at all, nor does Carlos.",
"And can I say that the other characters while at first seemed interesting, were killed off far too quickly to develop any emotional attachment to them.The pace of the movie was too fast and it was not easy to catch on to what we are supposed to be seeing.",
"Not only that, but every five seconds it seemd like there is a fight scene that has no purpose what-so-ever as opposed to the balanced feel of it's predecessor.Overall I am very dissapointed with this title, and I would not recommend it at all!"
] |
2 | Great idea...lots of bugs | I bought this for my son's 3rd birthday, as it's rated for 3-5 years. It's a great idea, but there were quirks from the beginning that bothered me and made it difficult for a 3-year-old to use it. Like when you press the "on" button, there's about a two or three-second delay before it powers on and makes its first sound. So kids (including my 4-year-old daughter) think it didn't come on the first time. So they press it again, which shuts it off. My son did enjoy using it once he got the hang of turning it on. His favorite way to play was with the alphabet games minus any book. But within about a year, it started to think you had a book in at all times. My two younger children are now old enough to play with it, but it constantly prompts them to point to items that are on pages other than the one they're on, even when pressing the green "go" cirle. I purchased this brand new three years ago, but it had a different look. Hopefully the newer version has worked these bugs out. | 987 | [
"I bought this for my son's 3rd birthday, as it's rated for 3-5 years.",
"It's a great idea, but there were quirks from the beginning that bothered me and made it difficult for a 3-year-old to use it.",
"Like when you press the \"on\" button, there's about a two or three-second delay before it powers on and makes its first sound.",
"So kids (including my 4-year-old daughter) think it didn't come on the first time.",
"So they press it again, which shuts it off.",
"My son did enjoy using it once he got the hang of turning it on.",
"His favorite way to play was with the alphabet games minus any book.",
"But within about a year, it started to think you had a book in at all times.",
"My two younger children are now old enough to play with it, but it constantly prompts them to point to items that are on pages other than the one they're on, even when pressing the green \"go\" cirle.",
"I purchased this brand new three years ago, but it had a different look.",
"Hopefully the newer version has worked these bugs out."
] |
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