text
stringlengths 114
22.4k
| label
int64 0
2
| label_text
stringclasses 3
values | sentences
sequencelengths 10
828
|
|---|---|---|---|
1) So, this UMD packs in a huge collection of games from the Sega Genesis, and lot of the games on here were classics on the Genesis.
2) If you were to buy all of these games individually via downloadable services like the Wii's Virtual Console, they would cost you many times what this little disc costs.
3) All of the games are faithfully and functionally translated to the PSP.
However...
4) A lot of these games aren't that interesting to people who weren't die-hard Genesis players (Alex Kidd? Flicky?)
5) Even some of the games that were famous on the system or in arcades don't really hold up two decades later (e.g., Golden Axe).
So, I enjoyed this collection. I put quite a bit of time into playing the Sonic games (though I never was and still am not very good), Shinobi, Ristar, Vectorman, and even Golden Axe. However, after a few days, I realized that my nostalgia for 16 bit gaming did not match my actual enjoyment of playing these games. Most of these games, in comparison with easier, richer modern games, require lots and lots of practice and skill far in excess of what I was willing to put into the games.
So, if you want to relive the genesis gaming experience, this collection is the best, cheapest way to do it (or maybe the PS2 version?), but before you do, make sure you remember what old-school gaming was really like! | 1 | neutral | [
"1) So, this UMD packs in a huge collection of games from the Sega Genesis, and lot of the games on here were classics on the Genesis.",
"2) If you were to buy all of these games individually via downloadable services like the Wii's Virtual Console, they would cost you many times what this little disc costs.",
"3) All of the games are faithfully and functionally translated to the PSP.",
"However...",
"4) A lot of these games aren't that interesting to people who weren't die-hard Genesis players (Alex Kidd?",
"Flicky?",
")\n\n5) Even some of the games that were famous on the system or in arcades don't really hold up two decades later (e.",
"g., Golden Axe).",
"So, I enjoyed this collection.",
"I put quite a bit of time into playing the Sonic games (though I never was and still am not very good), Shinobi, Ristar, Vectorman, and even Golden Axe.",
"However, after a few days, I realized that my nostalgia for 16 bit gaming did not match my actual enjoyment of playing these games.",
"Most of these games, in comparison with easier, richer modern games, require lots and lots of practice and skill far in excess of what I was willing to put into the games.",
"So, if you want to relive the genesis gaming experience, this collection is the best, cheapest way to do it (or maybe the PS2 version?",
"), but before you do, make sure you remember what old-school gaming was really like!"
] |
When I first got "Broken" years ago, I thought it was brilliant-- I was young, somewhat isolated, and angry, it worked well for me. In the intervening years, I've discovered its not really quite the record I thought it was. Reznor was evidentally having a pretty bad time with a lot at this time, and he composed a slab of white hot anger-- there's really nothing else at all to it but that. Now this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but when you're not there, it gets monotonous at times.
Mind you, at some point last year, I was angry and felt betrayed, and I put on "Broken", and it worked for me, but since I've gotten over that anger, it hasn't worked as well again (on a side note, as I was 26 at the time, the line "no new tale to tell, 26 years, on my way to hell" seemed to have an odd resonance...).
Still, its got its moments-- "Help Me I Am In Hell" is fantastic, a slice of calm admist the storm of the piece, and as far as blasts of pure anger go, they really get no better than "Wish". The rest of the EP proper is ok, "Gave Up" I used to really love until I saw Reznor do it live and suddenly the version on record, which struck me as quite a bit overproduced didn't work well for me, and "Happiness in Slavery" I just find downright annoying.
This one's been released in two forms, with a 3" single accompanying it, with a whole bunch of blank tracks after the EP itself (six songs), or as just eight tracks. The bonus material (however its in there) is two pieces-- a cover of Adam and the Ant's "Physical" anda Pigface's "Suck" (which Reznor did with that group). The former is sort of the next step of the "Sin" single cover of "Get Down Make Love"-- it also clearly points the way to the future, oozing with a bizarre sensuality even as it maintains a feel of anger and torment. "Suck" is closer in mood to the "Broken" tracks, though a bit more varied, with a nice funky bassline.
"Broken" is a great piece when you're in the right mood, but it lacks the subtlety and depth of Reznor's later work. | 1 | neutral | [
"When I first got \"Broken\" years ago, I thought it was brilliant-- I was young, somewhat isolated, and angry, it worked well for me.",
"In the intervening years, I've discovered its not really quite the record I thought it was.",
"Reznor was evidentally having a pretty bad time with a lot at this time, and he composed a slab of white hot anger-- there's really nothing else at all to it but that.",
"Now this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but when you're not there, it gets monotonous at times.",
"Mind you, at some point last year, I was angry and felt betrayed, and I put on \"Broken\", and it worked for me, but since I've gotten over that anger, it hasn't worked as well again (on a side note, as I was 26 at the time, the line \"no new tale to tell, 26 years, on my way to hell\" seemed to have an odd resonance...",
").",
"Still, its got its moments-- \"Help Me I Am In Hell\" is fantastic, a slice of calm admist the storm of the piece, and as far as blasts of pure anger go, they really get no better than \"Wish\".",
"The rest of the EP proper is ok, \"Gave Up\" I used to really love until I saw Reznor do it live and suddenly the version on record, which struck me as quite a bit overproduced didn't work well for me, and \"Happiness in Slavery\" I just find downright annoying.",
"This one's been released in two forms, with a 3\" single accompanying it, with a whole bunch of blank tracks after the EP itself (six songs), or as just eight tracks.",
"The bonus material (however its in there) is two pieces-- a cover of Adam and the Ant's \"Physical\" anda Pigface's \"Suck\" (which Reznor did with that group).",
"The former is sort of the next step of the \"Sin\" single cover of \"Get Down Make Love\"-- it also clearly points the way to the future, oozing with a bizarre sensuality even as it maintains a feel of anger and torment.",
"\"Suck\" is closer in mood to the \"Broken\" tracks, though a bit more varied, with a nice funky bassline.",
"\"Broken\" is a great piece when you're in the right mood, but it lacks the subtlety and depth of Reznor's later work."
] |
This unit is a great idea and it works fine for pulling used oil out of vehicles.
I've used it to drain oil and transmission fluid from several vehicles, and it can save a lot of time.
I did not have any luck changing old cutting oil from an old milling machine - The oil was sludged up and I couldn't get it out with this.
My complaint is I've not been able to get mine sealed up, and frustratingly, it often leaks all over the place, which is exactly what I wanted to avoid in buying it.
The problem is they use plastic compression fittings on the pvc tubes to seal them, and they just don't work well. Mine leaks continuously on the main fitting for the inlet/outlet on top of the tank, which causes it to have low suction and oil to leak all over the outside of the tank and down to the floor. I've tried to seal the fitting every way I know, and can't get it to stop leaking. A couple times when I messed with it, I pulled the tube out of the fitting, blowing motor oil all over the place.
I think if I they replaced them with some metal compression fittings it would work much better. I've got some stainless wrapped flexible hose left over from a project and I'm going to try and fit that to the main inlet/outlet of the Evacuator and see if I can't get a seal that won't leak.
I really like the device and if I can get it to work without leaking, I would recommend it without reservation. However until they put better fittings on it 3 stars. | 1 | neutral | [
"This unit is a great idea and it works fine for pulling used oil out of vehicles.",
"I've used it to drain oil and transmission fluid from several vehicles, and it can save a lot of time.",
"I did not have any luck changing old cutting oil from an old milling machine - The oil was sludged up and I couldn't get it out with this.",
"My complaint is I've not been able to get mine sealed up, and frustratingly, it often leaks all over the place, which is exactly what I wanted to avoid in buying it.",
"The problem is they use plastic compression fittings on the pvc tubes to seal them, and they just don't work well.",
"Mine leaks continuously on the main fitting for the inlet/outlet on top of the tank, which causes it to have low suction and oil to leak all over the outside of the tank and down to the floor.",
"I've tried to seal the fitting every way I know, and can't get it to stop leaking.",
"A couple times when I messed with it, I pulled the tube out of the fitting, blowing motor oil all over the place.",
"I think if I they replaced them with some metal compression fittings it would work much better.",
"I've got some stainless wrapped flexible hose left over from a project and I'm going to try and fit that to the main inlet/outlet of the Evacuator and see if I can't get a seal that won't leak.",
"I really like the device and if I can get it to work without leaking, I would recommend it without reservation.",
"However until they put better fittings on it 3 stars."
] |
I read this after learning of its dystopian storyline.
It is widely heralded as one of the greatest books, often included amongst titles like 1984. I love 1984 and Animal Farm so I thought "what the heck?"
I thought this threw in a more technological aspect to the dystopia. It also included some important concepts like the fact the the characters were not harshly treated by their masters, but rather their masters controlled the people by allowing and encouraging base activities like sex and drugs. The concept of intentional destruction of the nuclear family was also prominent.
So, the book isn't bad at all. Sadly, a tremendous amount of the concepts can be seen in modern day society. So I learned something from the angle of the book. I also liked certain elements of the way the author writes.
However, this book did not really speak to me like 1984 did, The inner workings and the "why?" of the government weren't really expanded on like they were in 1984. There wasn't any real suspense or anything that made me want to keep reading like 1984 did.
I am glad I read it and I give it three stars because in reality, the societal ills today are a combination of both 1984 and Brave New World. But for a good read, 1984 is far more interesting and insightful. | 1 | neutral | [
"I read this after learning of its dystopian storyline.",
"It is widely heralded as one of the greatest books, often included amongst titles like 1984.",
"I love 1984 and Animal Farm so I thought \"what the heck?",
"\"\n\nI thought this threw in a more technological aspect to the dystopia.",
"It also included some important concepts like the fact the the characters were not harshly treated by their masters, but rather their masters controlled the people by allowing and encouraging base activities like sex and drugs.",
"The concept of intentional destruction of the nuclear family was also prominent.",
"So, the book isn't bad at all.",
"Sadly, a tremendous amount of the concepts can be seen in modern day society.",
"So I learned something from the angle of the book.",
"I also liked certain elements of the way the author writes.",
"However, this book did not really speak to me like 1984 did, The inner workings and the \"why?",
"\" of the government weren't really expanded on like they were in 1984.",
"There wasn't any real suspense or anything that made me want to keep reading like 1984 did.",
"I am glad I read it and I give it three stars because in reality, the societal ills today are a combination of both 1984 and Brave New World.",
"But for a good read, 1984 is far more interesting and insightful."
] |
The first half of this album is made up of a set of variations on the Bo Diddley rock standard "Who Do You Love." Each band member has writing credits for one of the four variations here.
The first, third and fourth of these variations, respectively When, How and Which "Do You Love" are really good. The guitar solos really do expand on the original. The remaining variation, "Where Do You Love" is not up to the same standard. Of course, in the sixties, a Blues, Rock Guitar Band could indulge in prodigious quantities of illegal substances, get up on stage and get away with things like "Where DYL". If they were lucky, the audience would be in a similar state and everyone would be happy. Today, it's all a little embarrassing.
The second section of the album kicks off with Mona, another Diddley number that has been recorded by many bands. The version here is distinguished by the guitar work and the spaced out feel.
After, follow two songs, "Maiden of the Cancer Moon" and "Calvary" written by band member Gary Duncan and quite frankly they are the weakest part of the album. The latter in particular seems to wander all over the place without getting anywhere or saying anything much of musical interest.
The album rounds off with a rendition of Happy Trails, the theme song of Roy Rogers which was written by his wife Dale Evans. I suppose that it's there for a laugh.
I can only award this album three stars because, while some parts are very good, there is too much weak material cluttering up the good bits. | 1 | neutral | [
"The first half of this album is made up of a set of variations on the Bo Diddley rock standard \"Who Do You Love.",
"\" Each band member has writing credits for one of the four variations here.",
"The first, third and fourth of these variations, respectively When, How and Which \"Do You Love\" are really good.",
"The guitar solos really do expand on the original.",
"The remaining variation, \"Where Do You Love\" is not up to the same standard.",
"Of course, in the sixties, a Blues, Rock Guitar Band could indulge in prodigious quantities of illegal substances, get up on stage and get away with things like \"Where DYL\".",
"If they were lucky, the audience would be in a similar state and everyone would be happy.",
"Today, it's all a little embarrassing.",
"The second section of the album kicks off with Mona, another Diddley number that has been recorded by many bands.",
"The version here is distinguished by the guitar work and the spaced out feel.",
"After, follow two songs, \"Maiden of the Cancer Moon\" and \"Calvary\" written by band member Gary Duncan and quite frankly they are the weakest part of the album.",
"The latter in particular seems to wander all over the place without getting anywhere or saying anything much of musical interest.",
"The album rounds off with a rendition of Happy Trails, the theme song of Roy Rogers which was written by his wife Dale Evans.",
"I suppose that it's there for a laugh.",
"I can only award this album three stars because, while some parts are very good, there is too much weak material cluttering up the good bits."
] |
As an avid TW player since 04, I will probably continue to get the TW games as they arrive. It's still a great game. Do I recommend 06? Yes.
But, frankly, 05 was more fun. I hope EA is reading these reviews. 07 must be better thought out.
I will say that the putting is more realistic in 06. Where 05 putting was a matter of aiming at a spot described by the "caddie" (e.g. "2 inches left, 4 feet long"), 06 requires an aiming guesstimate based on the projected path of the ball and a distance judgment using an anolog stroke. I now often miss hard-breaking 20 footers as I probably should have all along. The days of shooting a 45 from the black tees are probably gone for now.
Now for the "improvements" that make the game less fun...
I guess my first gripe is the actual swing mechanics. The "shaping stick" just doesn't do it for me. The foot position option (an 05 improvement) was simple and effective. You could hit the ball with more loft by stepping back on the ball or "flatter" stepping up on it. And, of course, you could strike the ball with fade/draw in one motion with one stick.
06's shaping stick (used simultaneously with the "swinging" stick) now accomplishes all that. The problem I have is figuring out how to repeatedly tap L1 (power boost), swing the club straight with one stick, shape the shot with the other stick and, god forbid, repeatedly tap the X button for a "game breaker".
Give me back my 05 swing mechanics.
The other thing I can't stand is the amount of time I spend looking at "character" animations. In 05 I could X my way through that garbage. In some 06 "rival" matches I spend half the game watching those hacks shaking their heads or worse. X, X, X, X... let's go already!
Some of the new "rival" challenges involve four players (you and three animated goof balls). It's a long, long, long boring game.
Let's say I whack a nice long drive; now I sit there and watch three dopes hitting shorter drives all over the county. They're all "away", so now I get to watch all three of them whack their balls into hazards. I finally get to go so I hit a nice iron shot a foot from the pin. Now I sit there and watch the three stooges try to get on the green so they can three putt their double bogeys. Excruciating. And, again, to add insult to injury, I guess EA was so proud of their character animations that the animations often can't be bypassed by Xing. You watch the same guy do the same head-shaking over and over again.
I literally read a book during those matches. Literally. No kidding. And there are plenty of them.
To illustrate how bad EA dropped the ball in 06, get this. Let's say you hit a ball into the rough. You're bummed and you say, "Oh, cripes, I'm hosed." Well, in 06, YOUR PLAYER will say something like, "Not over there!" I mean, why the heck do I need my on screen persona griping about my shots?! That's MY job. It's stupid, but, thankfully, you can turn it off.
Another example... equipment bonuses are acquired in no time in 06. I won't explain it here, but there is no challenge getting them right off the bat. An hour into the game, you figure out how to pile them up, and you do it. Therefore, what's the point?
And there are other little things. In 05 if you whacked the longest drive of your life, it would immediately tell you. Hey, I just set a record for this course! No more.
I suppose I'll get used to it, but I wish EA would consult with me before they make any more "improvements." It's like one step forward, two steps back.
I can't wait for 07, though! | 1 | neutral | [
"As an avid TW player since 04, I will probably continue to get the TW games as they arrive.",
"It's still a great game.",
"Do I recommend 06?",
"Yes.",
"But, frankly, 05 was more fun.",
"I hope EA is reading these reviews.",
"07 must be better thought out.",
"I will say that the putting is more realistic in 06.",
"Where 05 putting was a matter of aiming at a spot described by the \"caddie\" (e.",
"g. \"2 inches left, 4 feet long\"), 06 requires an aiming guesstimate based on the projected path of the ball and a distance judgment using an anolog stroke.",
"I now often miss hard-breaking 20 footers as I probably should have all along.",
"The days of shooting a 45 from the black tees are probably gone for now.",
"Now for the \"improvements\" that make the game less fun...",
"I guess my first gripe is the actual swing mechanics.",
"The \"shaping stick\" just doesn't do it for me.",
"The foot position option (an 05 improvement) was simple and effective.",
"You could hit the ball with more loft by stepping back on the ball or \"flatter\" stepping up on it.",
"And, of course, you could strike the ball with fade/draw in one motion with one stick.",
"06's shaping stick (used simultaneously with the \"swinging\" stick) now accomplishes all that.",
"The problem I have is figuring out how to repeatedly tap L1 (power boost), swing the club straight with one stick, shape the shot with the other stick and, god forbid, repeatedly tap the X button for a \"game breaker\".",
"Give me back my 05 swing mechanics.",
"The other thing I can't stand is the amount of time I spend looking at \"character\" animations.",
"In 05 I could X my way through that garbage.",
"In some 06 \"rival\" matches I spend half the game watching those hacks shaking their heads or worse.",
"X, X, X, X...",
"let's go already!",
"Some of the new \"rival\" challenges involve four players (you and three animated goof balls).",
"It's a long, long, long boring game.",
"Let's say I whack a nice long drive; now I sit there and watch three dopes hitting shorter drives all over the county.",
"They're all \"away\", so now I get to watch all three of them whack their balls into hazards.",
"I finally get to go so I hit a nice iron shot a foot from the pin.",
"Now I sit there and watch the three stooges try to get on the green so they can three putt their double bogeys.",
"Excruciating.",
"And, again, to add insult to injury, I guess EA was so proud of their character animations that the animations often can't be bypassed by Xing.",
"You watch the same guy do the same head-shaking over and over again.",
"I literally read a book during those matches.",
"Literally.",
"No kidding.",
"And there are plenty of them.",
"To illustrate how bad EA dropped the ball in 06, get this.",
"Let's say you hit a ball into the rough.",
"You're bummed and you say, \"Oh, cripes, I'm hosed.",
"\" Well, in 06, YOUR PLAYER will say something like, \"Not over there!",
"\" I mean, why the heck do I need my on screen persona griping about my shots?!",
"That's MY job.",
"It's stupid, but, thankfully, you can turn it off.",
"Another example...",
"equipment bonuses are acquired in no time in 06.",
"I won't explain it here, but there is no challenge getting them right off the bat.",
"An hour into the game, you figure out how to pile them up, and you do it.",
"Therefore, what's the point?",
"And there are other little things.",
"In 05 if you whacked the longest drive of your life, it would immediately tell you.",
"Hey, I just set a record for this course!",
"No more.",
"I suppose I'll get used to it, but I wish EA would consult with me before they make any more \"improvements.",
"\" It's like one step forward, two steps back.",
"I can't wait for 07, though!"
] |
3.2, overall I enjoyed most of the story. There are a lot of typos and incorrect word usage, which for the money was disappointing. I like the premise and the characters were mostly ok. This is one of those stories where all the men are self centered and sleep with anyone with no regard to their partner, which is a personal peeve of mine. I let it slide since they supposed to be "demons", although not in the biblical sense but as aliens. I am torn between wanting to get the other stories or just ending it here. For the money this is not the quality I would expect. If there books were $2.99 or less they would be more worth it. The are also not available on KU which sucks. | 1 | neutral | [
"3.",
"2, overall I enjoyed most of the story.",
"There are a lot of typos and incorrect word usage, which for the money was disappointing.",
"I like the premise and the characters were mostly ok.",
"This is one of those stories where all the men are self centered and sleep with anyone with no regard to their partner, which is a personal peeve of mine.",
"I let it slide since they supposed to be \"demons\", although not in the biblical sense but as aliens.",
"I am torn between wanting to get the other stories or just ending it here.",
"For the money this is not the quality I would expect.",
"If there books were $2.",
"99 or less they would be more worth it.",
"The are also not available on KU which sucks."
] |
Unfortunately, I was one of those idiots who bought Gamecube over PS2. I bought SSB:M, Rogue Leader, THPS3, Spy Hunter, and Cel Damage. I will tell you about Star Wars Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron II in this review. This game is great! Well it is until you get to some missions where they they don't even tell you how to use your weapons and what the objectives are. Some people call this a strategy game. I call it a Piece of [garbage] game. It could really use a two player mode. Missions like Raid on Bespin are almost impossible! Unless you are really good at these types of games, save your money. | 1 | neutral | [
"Unfortunately, I was one of those idiots who bought Gamecube over PS2.",
"I bought SSB:M, Rogue Leader, THPS3, Spy Hunter, and Cel Damage.",
"I will tell you about Star Wars Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron II in this review.",
"This game is great!",
"Well it is until you get to some missions where they they don't even tell you how to use your weapons and what the objectives are.",
"Some people call this a strategy game.",
"I call it a Piece of [garbage] game.",
"It could really use a two player mode.",
"Missions like Raid on Bespin are almost impossible!",
"Unless you are really good at these types of games, save your money."
] |
The last album Rush produced while in their synth-heavy vein, 1987's HOLD YOUR FIRE is a difficult album to get into, but it rewards repeat listening.
The first two songs, "Force Ten" and "Time Stand Still" are usually considered the album's standouts. Indeed, many fans dismissed the album's remaining songs, content to listen to only these two. "Force Ten", a paen to old sailing navies, makes an interesting metaphor for a band withstanding the winds of fame. "Time Stand Still", featuring Aimie Mann (Rush's only use of an outside vocalist, she sings only a single line), deals with the disorientation that growing older presents. Peart's lyrics express the desperation of a man in his mid-30s who just wants things to move at a slower pace.
Two other songs on the album, however, are really the hidden gems, and show their quality on repeat listens. "Prime Mover" is perhaps the greatest Rush song from the synth era, more eloquently and optimistically expressing than "Time Stand Still" the sensation of life flying by. This song features an excellent balance between Geddy Lee's keyboards and bass, Alex Lifeson's guitar is right on target, and Neil Peart's drumming is truly inspired. "Lock and Key" is a plea against fear and violence, a wish to lock away the killer instinct, and respect everyone's viewpoint. Peart's line "Don't want to silence a desperate voice for the sake of security" is especially poignant in these troubling times.
HOLD YOUR FIRE does have a few totally forgettable songs, however. "Tai Shan", which Peart wrote after climbing the mountain of that name in China, is a touching meditation but doesn't sound like a Rush song at all. "Turn the Page" tries to rock hard, but comes across as annoying and somewhat predictable. "High Water" is repetitive and lackluster, and goes over much of the same ground as the song from PERMANENT WAVES "Natural Science."
HOLD YOUR FIRE features some of the most deeply personal lyrics in Rush's career. Gone is the pretentious science-fiction inspired concept-rock of the 70's, Peart here expresses the issues that apply to everyone personally. And contrary to the impressions of many, the band didn't use an overabundance of synthesizers here, there's plenty of excellent guitar and bass work, and Peart's drumming is as skillful as always. Furthermore, the production on this album is excellent, and balances each instrument well.
HOLD YOUR FIRE disappoints here and then, and a first listening might give one a bad impression. Stick with the album, however, it will show it quality after time. HOLD YOUR FIRE is an album I'd certainly recommend. | 1 | neutral | [
"The last album Rush produced while in their synth-heavy vein, 1987's HOLD YOUR FIRE is a difficult album to get into, but it rewards repeat listening.",
"The first two songs, \"Force Ten\" and \"Time Stand Still\" are usually considered the album's standouts.",
"Indeed, many fans dismissed the album's remaining songs, content to listen to only these two.",
"\"Force Ten\", a paen to old sailing navies, makes an interesting metaphor for a band withstanding the winds of fame.",
"\"Time Stand Still\", featuring Aimie Mann (Rush's only use of an outside vocalist, she sings only a single line), deals with the disorientation that growing older presents.",
"Peart's lyrics express the desperation of a man in his mid-30s who just wants things to move at a slower pace.",
"Two other songs on the album, however, are really the hidden gems, and show their quality on repeat listens.",
"\"Prime Mover\" is perhaps the greatest Rush song from the synth era, more eloquently and optimistically expressing than \"Time Stand Still\" the sensation of life flying by.",
"This song features an excellent balance between Geddy Lee's keyboards and bass, Alex Lifeson's guitar is right on target, and Neil Peart's drumming is truly inspired.",
"\"Lock and Key\" is a plea against fear and violence, a wish to lock away the killer instinct, and respect everyone's viewpoint.",
"Peart's line \"Don't want to silence a desperate voice for the sake of security\" is especially poignant in these troubling times.",
"HOLD YOUR FIRE does have a few totally forgettable songs, however.",
"\"Tai Shan\", which Peart wrote after climbing the mountain of that name in China, is a touching meditation but doesn't sound like a Rush song at all.",
"\"Turn the Page\" tries to rock hard, but comes across as annoying and somewhat predictable.",
"\"High Water\" is repetitive and lackluster, and goes over much of the same ground as the song from PERMANENT WAVES \"Natural Science.",
"\"\nHOLD YOUR FIRE features some of the most deeply personal lyrics in Rush's career.",
"Gone is the pretentious science-fiction inspired concept-rock of the 70's, Peart here expresses the issues that apply to everyone personally.",
"And contrary to the impressions of many, the band didn't use an overabundance of synthesizers here, there's plenty of excellent guitar and bass work, and Peart's drumming is as skillful as always.",
"Furthermore, the production on this album is excellent, and balances each instrument well.",
"HOLD YOUR FIRE disappoints here and then, and a first listening might give one a bad impression.",
"Stick with the album, however, it will show it quality after time.",
"HOLD YOUR FIRE is an album I'd certainly recommend."
] |
I was having one of those weekends where I was super busy and didn't want to get into a long book I wouldn't be able to sit and enjoy for a long period of time. So, I bought Virtue by Amanda Hocking to read. I had heard it was a quick little read that was very enjoyable and as I've said before, (and maybe even gotten a little preachy on the subject) I love Amanda Hocking's work.
This book follows the story of Lux and Lily. Lux must steal Lily from her castle home for his master, even though he has no idea why. He goes to a ball where she will be and lures her out of the ballroom and outside with him. After falling for Lily's innocence and loving nature, he lets her escape into the dreaded woods that surrounds their castles land. After this one defining moment, Lily and Lux must decide what is right and the difference between good and evil.
While this book may not have been Hocking's best, I still finished it in a matter of an hour and a half and really enjoyed it. I felt it was directed towards a younger audience but the story of good versus evil and two people's struggle with destiny hook you in. As in some of Hockings earlier self-published novels, there are some typos and little technical errors. Virtue may not have the most complex storyline, but if you're looking for an easy read to escape life for a little while, this book could be a little treat on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
5 out of 10 | 1 | neutral | [
"I was having one of those weekends where I was super busy and didn't want to get into a long book I wouldn't be able to sit and enjoy for a long period of time.",
"So, I bought Virtue by Amanda Hocking to read.",
"I had heard it was a quick little read that was very enjoyable and as I've said before, (and maybe even gotten a little preachy on the subject) I love Amanda Hocking's work.",
"This book follows the story of Lux and Lily.",
"Lux must steal Lily from her castle home for his master, even though he has no idea why.",
"He goes to a ball where she will be and lures her out of the ballroom and outside with him.",
"After falling for Lily's innocence and loving nature, he lets her escape into the dreaded woods that surrounds their castles land.",
"After this one defining moment, Lily and Lux must decide what is right and the difference between good and evil.",
"While this book may not have been Hocking's best, I still finished it in a matter of an hour and a half and really enjoyed it.",
"I felt it was directed towards a younger audience but the story of good versus evil and two people's struggle with destiny hook you in.",
"As in some of Hockings earlier self-published novels, there are some typos and little technical errors.",
"Virtue may not have the most complex storyline, but if you're looking for an easy read to escape life for a little while, this book could be a little treat on a lazy Sunday afternoon.",
"5 out of 10"
] |
I wanted to use this with a RAM mount. The ball on this is not a standard size. It will, however tighten up to the RAM mount. The QI charger seems to work. I rode for 30 minutes with Waze and music playing and it was still at 100% when I arrived to work. I will update if this changes on a longer ride. What keeps me from giving it a higher rating is the mount itself. I trust the RAM mount to hold the phone. This mount does not look as secure as the RAM. You end up in the situation of carrying a 1000 dollar phone in a 20 dollar cell phone holder. I think if a safety wire was applied, I would feel better. Time will tell, though. I will update the review in a bit if the mount proves adequate. | 1 | neutral | [
"I wanted to use this with a RAM mount.",
"The ball on this is not a standard size.",
"It will, however tighten up to the RAM mount.",
"The QI charger seems to work.",
"I rode for 30 minutes with Waze and music playing and it was still at 100% when I arrived to work.",
"I will update if this changes on a longer ride.",
"What keeps me from giving it a higher rating is the mount itself.",
"I trust the RAM mount to hold the phone.",
"This mount does not look as secure as the RAM.",
"You end up in the situation of carrying a 1000 dollar phone in a 20 dollar cell phone holder.",
"I think if a safety wire was applied, I would feel better.",
"Time will tell, though.",
"I will update the review in a bit if the mount proves adequate."
] |
Very comfortable, nice looking pair of headphones. Sound great at low to mid volume. At high volume they distort very easily and plugged in to an amp still distort. Was not impressed. Maybe I got a bad pair. Returned them after a week. Bought Ath m40x, for same price w 2 detachable cords and absolutely love them. I guess i'm an Ath kinda guy. Have m50s and Ath 500's. Ratings on Sennheisers were very positive. Not sure why my experience was much different. | 1 | neutral | [
"Very comfortable, nice looking pair of headphones.",
"Sound great at low to mid volume.",
"At high volume they distort very easily and plugged in to an amp still distort.",
"Was not impressed.",
"Maybe I got a bad pair.",
"Returned them after a week.",
"Bought Ath m40x, for same price w 2 detachable cords and absolutely love them.",
"I guess i'm an Ath kinda guy.",
"Have m50s and Ath 500's.",
"Ratings on Sennheisers were very positive.",
"Not sure why my experience was much different."
] |
Weinstein Company board reportedly knew about payoffs to women since 2015
Co-chairman Bob Weinstein and chief operating officer David Glasser who has been expected to move into the CEO role as the company confronts a post-Harvey future told employees in a video conference that they were completely blindsided by the waves of reports documented by the Times and the New Yorker.
Lance Maerov the board member who handled the contract negotiations said in an interview with the Times that he had been told of settlements but said that he had assumed they were used to cover up consensual affairs. Glasser declined to comment to the newspaper as did Bob Weinstein . Tarak Ben Ammar and Richard Koenigsberg the other members of the board did not respond to messages from the Times.
Ben Ammar told French television on Wednesday night that Weinstein had “violated the charter and we fired him within the hour.” The Franco-Tunisian businessman was referring to the company’s code of conduct that employees of TWC sign which covers “verbal physical sexual and racist aggression.” He told news channel LCI that he couldn’t speak about the ongoing investigation convened by the board but said the company has “proof.” He did not elaborate.
He also noted that Weinstein re-signed the code of conduct in 2015 after revelations that he had groped Italian model Ambra Battilana Guttierez. An audio recording captured when Gutierrez worked with New York City police and wore a wire in a subsequent encounter with Weinstein proved damning but did not result in any charges as prosecutors declined to move forward with a case citing insufficient evidence. | 1 | neutral | [
"Weinstein Company board reportedly knew about payoffs to women since 2015\nCo-chairman Bob Weinstein and chief operating officer David Glasser who has been expected to move into the CEO role as the company confronts a post-Harvey future told employees in a video conference that they were completely blindsided by the waves of reports documented by the Times and the New Yorker.",
"Lance Maerov the board member who handled the contract negotiations said in an interview with the Times that he had been told of settlements but said that he had assumed they were used to cover up consensual affairs.",
"Glasser declined to comment to the newspaper as did Bob Weinstein.",
"Tarak Ben Ammar and Richard Koenigsberg the other members of the board did not respond to messages from the Times.",
"Ben Ammar told French television on Wednesday night that Weinstein had “violated the charter and we fired him within the hour.",
"” The Franco-Tunisian businessman was referring to the company’s code of conduct that employees of TWC sign which covers “verbal physical sexual and racist aggression.",
"” He told news channel LCI that he couldn’t speak about the ongoing investigation convened by the board but said the company has “proof.",
"” He did not elaborate.",
"He also noted that Weinstein re-signed the code of conduct in 2015 after revelations that he had groped Italian model Ambra Battilana Guttierez.",
"An audio recording captured when Gutierrez worked with New York City police and wore a wire in a subsequent encounter with Weinstein proved damning but did not result in any charges as prosecutors declined to move forward with a case citing insufficient evidence."
] |
Update: The right angle switched end started developing crackling issues and is now intermittently cutting out. I've had it just over a month, so Amazon won't help me. Despite the lifetime warranty, Amazon has only offered to let me pay shipping and to give me a partial refund. Despite being an "authorized retailer" for Planet Waves, AMAZON DOES NOT OFFER EXCHANGE UNDER THE PLANET WAVES WARRANTY beyond the standard Amazon 30 day return policy. Amazon support referred me to the manufacturer. I've emailed Planet Waves, but the instructions for the warranty are to return it to a dealer for exchange. I don't have a dealer within 100 miles of my home, so unless the manufacturer comes through, this one is quickly becoming unusable and it looks like it might cost me to resolve it.
I frequently switch instruments and this makes it easy to do quietly. I've used cables with the G&H quiet plug (which also works well), but the switched connector on this has an advantage over the G&H- you can use it as a mute and tune with a head stock tuner without unplugging your instrument. The cable itself is a bit stiffer than I'm used to, which makes coiling for storage very easy, but it can quickly become a twisted mess on stage if you more length than you really need. The little elastic cord keeper strap works better than I could ever have imagined. I've never given the sound of a cable a thought, being a bass player who doesn't use much for effects and who plays mostly passive instruments. But using this with my Genz Benz Shuttlemax 9.2 and fEARful 15/6/1 cab, I really notice a pronounced difference in clarity and dynamics. The sound is much more alive with this over any of the other cables I have from a variety of manufacturers (Hosa, Proco, Whirlwind, etc). I've never had to warranty exchange a PW cable, but others tout the easy swap at any PW dealer as a great reason to buy them. I like knowing that. ** EDIT: AS STATED ABOVE, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO EXCHANGE IT THROUGH AMAZON BEYOND 30 DAYS ** | 1 | neutral | [
"Update: The right angle switched end started developing crackling issues and is now intermittently cutting out.",
"I've had it just over a month, so Amazon won't help me.",
"Despite the lifetime warranty, Amazon has only offered to let me pay shipping and to give me a partial refund.",
"Despite being an \"authorized retailer\" for Planet Waves, AMAZON DOES NOT OFFER EXCHANGE UNDER THE PLANET WAVES WARRANTY beyond the standard Amazon 30 day return policy.",
"Amazon support referred me to the manufacturer.",
"I've emailed Planet Waves, but the instructions for the warranty are to return it to a dealer for exchange.",
"I don't have a dealer within 100 miles of my home, so unless the manufacturer comes through, this one is quickly becoming unusable and it looks like it might cost me to resolve it.",
"I frequently switch instruments and this makes it easy to do quietly.",
"I've used cables with the G&H quiet plug (which also works well), but the switched connector on this has an advantage over the G&H- you can use it as a mute and tune with a head stock tuner without unplugging your instrument.",
"The cable itself is a bit stiffer than I'm used to, which makes coiling for storage very easy, but it can quickly become a twisted mess on stage if you more length than you really need.",
"The little elastic cord keeper strap works better than I could ever have imagined.",
"I've never given the sound of a cable a thought, being a bass player who doesn't use much for effects and who plays mostly passive instruments.",
"But using this with my Genz Benz Shuttlemax 9.",
"2 and fEARful 15/6/1 cab, I really notice a pronounced difference in clarity and dynamics.",
"The sound is much more alive with this over any of the other cables I have from a variety of manufacturers (Hosa, Proco, Whirlwind, etc).",
"I've never had to warranty exchange a PW cable, but others tout the easy swap at any PW dealer as a great reason to buy them.",
"I like knowing that.",
"** EDIT: AS STATED ABOVE, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO EXCHANGE IT THROUGH AMAZON BEYOND 30 DAYS **"
] |
I am always looking for a good eyeliner since my favorite one by The Body Shop was discontinued. I had high hopes for this one, but will keep looking.
Pros:
1. The color is great. It's not too light and not too dark.
2. I have had no irritation when using it at all.
3. It goes on nice and smooth. No gouging your eyeballs needed!
Cons:
1. It comes off way too easily. After about 30 minutes, it is all but gone and needs to be reapplied. If they could fix this issue, I'd give it five stars. As it is, it is pretty much useless. | 1 | neutral | [
"I am always looking for a good eyeliner since my favorite one by The Body Shop was discontinued.",
"I had high hopes for this one, but will keep looking.",
"Pros:\n1.",
"The color is great.",
"It's not too light and not too dark.",
"2.",
"I have had no irritation when using it at all.",
"3.",
"It goes on nice and smooth.",
"No gouging your eyeballs needed!",
"Cons:\n1.",
"It comes off way too easily.",
"After about 30 minutes, it is all but gone and needs to be reapplied.",
"If they could fix this issue, I'd give it five stars.",
"As it is, it is pretty much useless."
] |
This book just wasn't for me. It definitely had some great points. The author obviously did a lot of research, which was fabulous and I did learn quite a bit. I'm not generally a historical romance kind of girl. Sometimes you try something new and it fits, sometimes it doesn't.
The good:
- She did a lot of research for this novel.
- It was well written.
- The characters were overall compelling. I felt pity- almost hope for the villain Christian/David.
The bad:
- She built up this beginning and never followed through on that. That was a bit of a let down.
- The book was a bit long. I don't mind long stories, however when it feels like it's being stretched out it gets a little tedious.
This is not a criticism of the author's writing or choices- rather the romance genre itself. I read her blog and I get it. In her writing it fits... However, it seems like the main female in the romance genre is repeatedly a virgin. I'm not sure why that's part of the formula. I know there are women 27 and older who have hung on to their virtue. They are out there. It is not far fetched to have a beautiful woman be a virgin. Proportionately however- in this classification of fiction it is unlikely that 9/10 women 25 and up are virgins.
I would say this: IF YOU LIKE HISTORICAL ROMANCES THIS IS PROBABLY FOR YOU. If you are curious and want to try something new, read it. You won't know until you check it out. | 1 | neutral | [
"This book just wasn't for me.",
"It definitely had some great points.",
"The author obviously did a lot of research, which was fabulous and I did learn quite a bit.",
"I'm not generally a historical romance kind of girl.",
"Sometimes you try something new and it fits, sometimes it doesn't.",
"The good:\n- She did a lot of research for this novel.",
"- It was well written.",
"- The characters were overall compelling.",
"I felt pity- almost hope for the villain Christian/David.",
"The bad:\n- She built up this beginning and never followed through on that.",
"That was a bit of a let down.",
"- The book was a bit long.",
"I don't mind long stories, however when it feels like it's being stretched out it gets a little tedious.",
"This is not a criticism of the author's writing or choices- rather the romance genre itself.",
"I read her blog and I get it.",
"In her writing it fits...",
"However, it seems like the main female in the romance genre is repeatedly a virgin.",
"I'm not sure why that's part of the formula.",
"I know there are women 27 and older who have hung on to their virtue.",
"They are out there.",
"It is not far fetched to have a beautiful woman be a virgin.",
"Proportionately however- in this classification of fiction it is unlikely that 9/10 women 25 and up are virgins.",
"I would say this: IF YOU LIKE HISTORICAL ROMANCES THIS IS PROBABLY FOR YOU.",
"If you are curious and want to try something new, read it.",
"You won't know until you check it out."
] |
When I first heard this song, I was a little let down. But as I got into the lyrics, I did feel better. The lyrics are pretty good and a bit more mature then many previous efforts. It was hard for me to pinpoint, but it seems the production is a bit off. Maybe the production was a bit to heavy, and should have focused on the song itself more. I do not dislike the song, I guess it's just expectations. I do think it is a top 10 song, but is not the super dance smash like some of her others. Hopefully, the remixes will be as good as always. (Kelly Clarkson for example-remixes as great as original cut)
This is the "season" of the big releases. Lady Gaga is also releasing new material, as has Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus. Here's looking forward to some great tunes being released in the next 4 months
Bottom line, a good song worth purchasing. A blockbuster? Maybe not, but if you put it on a playlist with "I Will Survive", "We Are Never Getting Back Together", and "Stronger(What Doesn't Kill You)" you will get a feeling for the theme. The lades will like this song.
It will be interesting. I do not like reviewing "pop idols" too much. If you give a non-5 star review, the rabid fans go nuts and shoot it down. But if you look at the guidelines for reviews, you write what you think. I did purchase this, and listen too it. | 1 | neutral | [
"When I first heard this song, I was a little let down.",
"But as I got into the lyrics, I did feel better.",
"The lyrics are pretty good and a bit more mature then many previous efforts.",
"It was hard for me to pinpoint, but it seems the production is a bit off.",
"Maybe the production was a bit to heavy, and should have focused on the song itself more.",
"I do not dislike the song, I guess it's just expectations.",
"I do think it is a top 10 song, but is not the super dance smash like some of her others.",
"Hopefully, the remixes will be as good as always.",
"(Kelly Clarkson for example-remixes as great as original cut)\n\nThis is the \"season\" of the big releases.",
"Lady Gaga is also releasing new material, as has Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus.",
"Here's looking forward to some great tunes being released in the next 4 months\n\nBottom line, a good song worth purchasing.",
"A blockbuster?",
"Maybe not, but if you put it on a playlist with \"I Will Survive\", \"We Are Never Getting Back Together\", and \"Stronger(What Doesn't Kill You)\" you will get a feeling for the theme.",
"The lades will like this song.",
"It will be interesting.",
"I do not like reviewing \"pop idols\" too much.",
"If you give a non-5 star review, the rabid fans go nuts and shoot it down.",
"But if you look at the guidelines for reviews, you write what you think.",
"I did purchase this, and listen too it."
] |
I expected a little more from this movie but after 20 minutes of this movie, I realized it was just another dull british drama. Michael Collins is a good movie to see if you want to gain a little knowledge of Irish history. However, there is unfortunately little else of note that makes this movie worth sitting for two hours. Aside from the very talented Stephen Rea's work, the acting is terrible. Aidan Quinn seems to forget at times that he's supposed to have an Irish accent, and even when he remembers his accent sounds terrible. It is an important story, but difficult to translate to film, and Jordan did what he could with his resources. In the hands of a lesser writer/director, the film could have been disastrous. If you really have nothing else to do, it wouldn't hurt to watch this movie, but don't expect a masterpiece. Julia Roberts was a huge miscast in this film.. very poor choice. Someone tell this woman that she CANNOT do accents. | 1 | neutral | [
"I expected a little more from this movie but after 20 minutes of this movie, I realized it was just another dull british drama.",
"Michael Collins is a good movie to see if you want to gain a little knowledge of Irish history.",
"However, there is unfortunately little else of note that makes this movie worth sitting for two hours.",
"Aside from the very talented Stephen Rea's work, the acting is terrible.",
"Aidan Quinn seems to forget at times that he's supposed to have an Irish accent, and even when he remembers his accent sounds terrible.",
"It is an important story, but difficult to translate to film, and Jordan did what he could with his resources.",
"In the hands of a lesser writer/director, the film could have been disastrous.",
"If you really have nothing else to do, it wouldn't hurt to watch this movie, but don't expect a masterpiece.",
"Julia Roberts was a huge miscast in this film..",
"very poor choice.",
"Someone tell this woman that she CANNOT do accents."
] |
The biggest plus of this unit is that it is small and fits in tight spaces underneath cabinets. It only heats up 1/3 gallon at a time so it isn't wasting a lot of electricity trying to keep a large amount of hot water heated. It heats up water fast enough that if you just wait about a minute or so you'll have more hot water if you actually need more than what is provided.
Like others have said, it does tend to spit out hot water at a certain temperature point and you have to be careful or it will spray and burn your hands. I have never had any issues with the faucet handle or the thermostat and heating element, but the tank is a different story. I think the longevity that most users experience of only a few years is due to the fact that it is a copper tank unlike more expensive units that have a stainless steel one. Also, if you have really hard water the mineral deposits will build up quickly in the tank and it will start to pop loudly when heating and will shorten the lifespan of the unit. I have a water softener which I'm sure helps. After about 6 or 7 years, mine started leaking very slowly from a small hole that developed in the tank. Luckily, because it is copper, I just disassembled the unit and soldered the hole shut easily. In the process, I broke up all the deposits that had built up inside and got most of that out as well. It is now running like new again. If it wasn't for the fact that it was easily repairable by someone who is a little handy, I would have given the unit 2 stars instead of 3.
The bottom line is that it is a lower-end copper tank and the lifespan will never be that of a $200+ unit with a stainless tank. You have to consider that with what you are paying for the unit. This is one of the cheaper units you can find. You get what you pay for. | 1 | neutral | [
"The biggest plus of this unit is that it is small and fits in tight spaces underneath cabinets.",
"It only heats up 1/3 gallon at a time so it isn't wasting a lot of electricity trying to keep a large amount of hot water heated.",
"It heats up water fast enough that if you just wait about a minute or so you'll have more hot water if you actually need more than what is provided.",
"Like others have said, it does tend to spit out hot water at a certain temperature point and you have to be careful or it will spray and burn your hands.",
"I have never had any issues with the faucet handle or the thermostat and heating element, but the tank is a different story.",
"I think the longevity that most users experience of only a few years is due to the fact that it is a copper tank unlike more expensive units that have a stainless steel one.",
"Also, if you have really hard water the mineral deposits will build up quickly in the tank and it will start to pop loudly when heating and will shorten the lifespan of the unit.",
"I have a water softener which I'm sure helps.",
"After about 6 or 7 years, mine started leaking very slowly from a small hole that developed in the tank.",
"Luckily, because it is copper, I just disassembled the unit and soldered the hole shut easily.",
"In the process, I broke up all the deposits that had built up inside and got most of that out as well.",
"It is now running like new again.",
"If it wasn't for the fact that it was easily repairable by someone who is a little handy, I would have given the unit 2 stars instead of 3.",
"The bottom line is that it is a lower-end copper tank and the lifespan will never be that of a $200+ unit with a stainless tank.",
"You have to consider that with what you are paying for the unit.",
"This is one of the cheaper units you can find.",
"You get what you pay for."
] |
I bought this Oct 6, 2011 and it took 2 weeks to get it in the first place. I bought it to protect my new iPhone 4s and each day without a screen protector always worries me. So that 2 weeks seems like a eternity to me. It finally arrived and to my surprise it only had the front cover. The last time I bought a Moshi Brand it had the front and back cover. This did not. So to spend $25.00 for only 1 side is super over expensive for a small iPhone. Had it been a iPad that would have been a different story. They are larger and takes more material to make it. But $25.00 for one side only and for only a iPhone is way over priced. I would shop around before buying it here. I could have accepted it much better had it included both front and rear sides of the covers but it did not. Therefore my rating is 1 stars, for slow shipping, but they did offer FREE SHIPPING, but for $25.00 they should have. Also the fact that it only included one side of the iPhone I give it 1 star. All I can say is read the description carefully to make sure what is and what is NOT included in the sale. This is a great quality cover, and works excellent, It does not create bubbles and is easy to install. It is the best cover around, but they should be sold together with front and rear cover in the same sale for the same price. Since it is a great product even if just one side I decided to give it 2 extra stars for the quality and workmanship of the product. So my final rating is 3 out of 5 stars. Had it been cheaper and had both sides it would have got a 4 star rating from me, taking 1 star away for the slow shipping. | 1 | neutral | [
"I bought this Oct 6, 2011 and it took 2 weeks to get it in the first place.",
"I bought it to protect my new iPhone 4s and each day without a screen protector always worries me.",
"So that 2 weeks seems like a eternity to me.",
"It finally arrived and to my surprise it only had the front cover.",
"The last time I bought a Moshi Brand it had the front and back cover.",
"This did not.",
"So to spend $25.",
"00 for only 1 side is super over expensive for a small iPhone.",
"Had it been a iPad that would have been a different story.",
"They are larger and takes more material to make it.",
"But $25.",
"00 for one side only and for only a iPhone is way over priced.",
"I would shop around before buying it here.",
"I could have accepted it much better had it included both front and rear sides of the covers but it did not.",
"Therefore my rating is 1 stars, for slow shipping, but they did offer FREE SHIPPING, but for $25.",
"00 they should have.",
"Also the fact that it only included one side of the iPhone I give it 1 star.",
"All I can say is read the description carefully to make sure what is and what is NOT included in the sale.",
"This is a great quality cover, and works excellent, It does not create bubbles and is easy to install.",
"It is the best cover around, but they should be sold together with front and rear cover in the same sale for the same price.",
"Since it is a great product even if just one side I decided to give it 2 extra stars for the quality and workmanship of the product.",
"So my final rating is 3 out of 5 stars.",
"Had it been cheaper and had both sides it would have got a 4 star rating from me, taking 1 star away for the slow shipping."
] |
Scrabble has been one of the most educational and challenging board games ever made. Nonetheless, it just keeps trying to become a little more challenging every single time. Although I was never good at it, until the game show with Chuck Woolery came along in the 1980's. Still, it is just as challenging as ever. Still, it makes it quite an escape with a computer challenging you in the mix. Still, I always have trouble trying to keep score in the game, but here, the computer takes the gamble.
The game also comes with Boggle, another game that has been a classic in households for a long time. I haven't experienced a game that challenging, especially when it comes to the different styles of Boggle, including the classic, In Your Face Boggle, and and Breakaway Boggle. It is very interesting for somebody that doesn't know how to play a game like that. For newcomers it is fine, but advanced players might get a little bit bored with it already.
Hopefully, many more board games like this will come on CD-ROM enjoyment soon. It is just plan sad that it hasn't happened yet. Still, many people would rather get the board game in full bloom, as a board game. But I only recommend Scrabble Complete, if you don't fall asleep to it. | 1 | neutral | [
"Scrabble has been one of the most educational and challenging board games ever made.",
"Nonetheless, it just keeps trying to become a little more challenging every single time.",
"Although I was never good at it, until the game show with Chuck Woolery came along in the 1980's.",
"Still, it is just as challenging as ever.",
"Still, it makes it quite an escape with a computer challenging you in the mix.",
"Still, I always have trouble trying to keep score in the game, but here, the computer takes the gamble.",
"The game also comes with Boggle, another game that has been a classic in households for a long time.",
"I haven't experienced a game that challenging, especially when it comes to the different styles of Boggle, including the classic, In Your Face Boggle, and and Breakaway Boggle.",
"It is very interesting for somebody that doesn't know how to play a game like that.",
"For newcomers it is fine, but advanced players might get a little bit bored with it already.",
"Hopefully, many more board games like this will come on CD-ROM enjoyment soon.",
"It is just plan sad that it hasn't happened yet.",
"Still, many people would rather get the board game in full bloom, as a board game.",
"But I only recommend Scrabble Complete, if you don't fall asleep to it."
] |
Trump and Kim Impersonators Booted From Winter Olympics
Two impersonators of President Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un were booted from the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony on Friday for causing confusion among spectators.
According to Reuters "people dressed up as U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un caused a commotion when they appeared in the stands at the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony on Friday before swiftly being shown out by security staff."
"Weâre getting along great â said the Kim lookalike.
Unity and peace was the theme at this year's opening ceremony with both North and South Korea entering the arena under one flag. American Vice President Mike Pence and Kim âs sister Kim Yo Jong watched from a VIP box.
âIs my sister getting the same treatment?â the Kim lookalike said upon being escorted out.
According to Time Kim 's sister appeared to greet South Korean Moon Jae-in and his wife with smiles in the VIP spectating box.
"As South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his wife greeted VIPs in their dignitary box to watch the opening ceremony they turned to shake hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Unâs younger sister who arrived earlier in the day on an unprecedented visit to the South by a member of the Northâs ruling Kim family " reports Time. "All broke out in broad smiles." | 1 | neutral | [
"Trump and Kim Impersonators Booted From Winter Olympics\nTwo impersonators of President Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un were booted from the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony on Friday for causing confusion among spectators.",
"According to Reuters \"people dressed up as U.",
"S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un caused a commotion when they appeared in the stands at the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony on Friday before swiftly being shown out by security staff.",
"\"\n\"Weâre getting along great â said the Kim lookalike.",
"Unity and peace was the theme at this year's opening ceremony with both North and South Korea entering the arena under one flag.",
"American Vice President Mike Pence and Kim âs sister Kim Yo Jong watched from a VIP box.",
"âIs my sister getting the same treatment?",
"â the Kim lookalike said upon being escorted out.",
"According to Time Kim 's sister appeared to greet South Korean Moon Jae-in and his wife with smiles in the VIP spectating box.",
"\"As South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his wife greeted VIPs in their dignitary box to watch the opening ceremony they turned to shake hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Unâs younger sister who arrived earlier in the day on an unprecedented visit to the South by a member of the Northâs ruling Kim family \" reports Time.",
"\"All broke out in broad smiles.",
"\""
] |
I live in Nebraska and it can get pretty windy here. This cover was great last summer at keeping things clean and dry. It even made it through winter in pretty good shape. Then came the spring winds! Short version is that we ended up with a rather large tear (about 2 feet long) due to the constant whipping of the wind. I believe if the manufacturer added two more tie down straps (it comes with two diagonal corners equipped with a strap you can (and should if you live in a windy area) attach to the table structure and tighten. By putting four straps on it, there would not be the two unsecured corners that can get lifted by the wind. I suspect in most climates this product will do great and last for years and I would call it five stars in those cases. We will be able to repair ours and we will likely modify it to add two more corner tie downs and see how it fairs next spring. I don't think there is a better product out there, just think buyers in high wind areas should be aware of this possible shortcoming.
UPDATE 3-15-16, three winters and this is headed for the trash can... Fabric seems to suffer from dry rot or some other issue that causes it to rip EASY. This was not sitting in direct sun during any of its life (sun really takes a toll on fabric strength). I haven't found a better product for the job, but it is disappointing that it failed completely (beyond repair) in less than three full years. Might try something different this time around, just don't know what | 1 | neutral | [
"I live in Nebraska and it can get pretty windy here.",
"This cover was great last summer at keeping things clean and dry.",
"It even made it through winter in pretty good shape.",
"Then came the spring winds!",
"Short version is that we ended up with a rather large tear (about 2 feet long) due to the constant whipping of the wind.",
"I believe if the manufacturer added two more tie down straps (it comes with two diagonal corners equipped with a strap you can (and should if you live in a windy area) attach to the table structure and tighten.",
"By putting four straps on it, there would not be the two unsecured corners that can get lifted by the wind.",
"I suspect in most climates this product will do great and last for years and I would call it five stars in those cases.",
"We will be able to repair ours and we will likely modify it to add two more corner tie downs and see how it fairs next spring.",
"I don't think there is a better product out there, just think buyers in high wind areas should be aware of this possible shortcoming.",
"UPDATE 3-15-16, three winters and this is headed for the trash can...",
"Fabric seems to suffer from dry rot or some other issue that causes it to rip EASY.",
"This was not sitting in direct sun during any of its life (sun really takes a toll on fabric strength).",
"I haven't found a better product for the job, but it is disappointing that it failed completely (beyond repair) in less than three full years.",
"Might try something different this time around, just don't know what"
] |
Just Cause is a strange game. It's rated "M": not intended for anyone under 17. But the only people who will really enjoy this game have to have the IQ of a 5th grader.
The physics in this game are just plain silly. You can jump your character from a 100 mph truck to a vehicle passing the opposite direction no problem. You can jump out of an airplane, land on another airplane and hold on. You can grapple onto a helicopter, grab its tailfin, and jump into the cockpit.
The story and dialogue were also written for the lowest common denominator (or perhaps by the lowest common denominator). The goal of the game is to overthrow a dictator by (basically) creating chaos: including destroying power stations, police stations, and by assisinations. In these post 9-11 days, it seems like you're doing little more than terrorizing a small island nation; culminating in (a ridiculous airborne) assasination of its leader.
The game's side missions are tedious and after playing for a while, you basically see the same mission over and over again. After overthrowing a government settlement so many times - it just gets old.
It's not all bad. The vast geography is really amazing. If you parachute out of a plane, you can get a good view and watch as it seamlessly gets closer and closer until you open your chute. For the most part, the weather remains sunny; but rain is interspersed (poorly) throughout the game. The playable map is very very large. You could probably play on it for months without seeing everything there is to see.
Finally, the actual gameplay is pretty bland. If you've ever played GTA, you know how to play this game - point in the direction of the badguys and your character automatically aims. Vehicle operation is almost idential to GTA as well (though flying planes has been made much easier). The game tries to innovate by including a grappling hook that allows you to latch onto vehicles. This can be a useful tool at times; but it really doesn't add much to the overall gameplay; especially when you can call in a vehicle airdrop just about any time.
If you're a die-hard fan of the GTA series, this title will tide you over until the release of GTA 4. Otherwise, this game is a renter at best. | 1 | neutral | [
"Just Cause is a strange game.",
"It's rated \"M\": not intended for anyone under 17.",
"But the only people who will really enjoy this game have to have the IQ of a 5th grader.",
"The physics in this game are just plain silly.",
"You can jump your character from a 100 mph truck to a vehicle passing the opposite direction no problem.",
"You can jump out of an airplane, land on another airplane and hold on.",
"You can grapple onto a helicopter, grab its tailfin, and jump into the cockpit.",
"The story and dialogue were also written for the lowest common denominator (or perhaps by the lowest common denominator).",
"The goal of the game is to overthrow a dictator by (basically) creating chaos: including destroying power stations, police stations, and by assisinations.",
"In these post 9-11 days, it seems like you're doing little more than terrorizing a small island nation; culminating in (a ridiculous airborne) assasination of its leader.",
"The game's side missions are tedious and after playing for a while, you basically see the same mission over and over again.",
"After overthrowing a government settlement so many times - it just gets old.",
"It's not all bad.",
"The vast geography is really amazing.",
"If you parachute out of a plane, you can get a good view and watch as it seamlessly gets closer and closer until you open your chute.",
"For the most part, the weather remains sunny; but rain is interspersed (poorly) throughout the game.",
"The playable map is very very large.",
"You could probably play on it for months without seeing everything there is to see.",
"Finally, the actual gameplay is pretty bland.",
"If you've ever played GTA, you know how to play this game - point in the direction of the badguys and your character automatically aims.",
"Vehicle operation is almost idential to GTA as well (though flying planes has been made much easier).",
"The game tries to innovate by including a grappling hook that allows you to latch onto vehicles.",
"This can be a useful tool at times; but it really doesn't add much to the overall gameplay; especially when you can call in a vehicle airdrop just about any time.",
"If you're a die-hard fan of the GTA series, this title will tide you over until the release of GTA 4.",
"Otherwise, this game is a renter at best."
] |
Don't get me wrong, I liked the movie the Grudge. I actually was surprised because I thought this movie wouldn't be that good. Yet Gellar actually did not do too bad of a job. But this movie is not neccessarily meant for adults. I mean, the special effects for one thing were not spectacular. Like The Ring, the effects were indeed creepy but not great. The plot is all right but at the end it gets shady, and the ending itself was kind of a cliff- hanger and I'm one of those viewers whom don't like cliff- hanger endings that much. If you start a story, you should end it as well in my opinion. Overall it is meant to be a teen thriller, one that does not have great talent and special effects but of average quality like they use in teen filcks. And there were one or two other questions they wouldn't answer exactly. It wasn't exactly a mature film. But nonetheless I would recommend it for a night when you just want to relax and get creeped out, because indeed you will. So I give it three stars as a fun horror movie, not great, but not at all horrible either.
I don't want to give anything away so I will merely say that The Grudge is about Karen, an exchange student (Gellar) whom is working in Tokyo, Japan as a house nurse to a sick old woman, and soon she figures out there is something wrong with the house. Something very wrong. Go check it out and see what the problem is...it's not a leaky faucet, I can tell you that much. | 1 | neutral | [
"Don't get me wrong, I liked the movie the Grudge.",
"I actually was surprised because I thought this movie wouldn't be that good.",
"Yet Gellar actually did not do too bad of a job.",
"But this movie is not neccessarily meant for adults.",
"I mean, the special effects for one thing were not spectacular.",
"Like The Ring, the effects were indeed creepy but not great.",
"The plot is all right but at the end it gets shady, and the ending itself was kind of a cliff- hanger and I'm one of those viewers whom don't like cliff- hanger endings that much.",
"If you start a story, you should end it as well in my opinion.",
"Overall it is meant to be a teen thriller, one that does not have great talent and special effects but of average quality like they use in teen filcks.",
"And there were one or two other questions they wouldn't answer exactly.",
"It wasn't exactly a mature film.",
"But nonetheless I would recommend it for a night when you just want to relax and get creeped out, because indeed you will.",
"So I give it three stars as a fun horror movie, not great, but not at all horrible either.",
"I don't want to give anything away so I will merely say that The Grudge is about Karen, an exchange student (Gellar) whom is working in Tokyo, Japan as a house nurse to a sick old woman, and soon she figures out there is something wrong with the house.",
"Something very wrong.",
"Go check it out and see what the problem is...",
"it's not a leaky faucet, I can tell you that much."
] |
OK I picked this up ... for [price]. .... I do not think Rare made the right decision when they put all the cussing and the gratuitous violence in this game. (No matter how funny this made the game.) I don't think that it was really all that fun and most of it is too easy but the parts that are hard are too hard to know what you are supposed to do next unless you have the guide.
It was just the same old stuff you always do in scavenger hunt type games but with gross-outs galore. However I do now understand why Rare decided not to make this a kids game. They thought that this would bring teenage money back to Nintendo. however they ended up with a game that only appeals to guys that permanently have a thirteen year old brain. | 1 | neutral | [
"OK I picked this up...",
"for [price].",
"....",
"I do not think Rare made the right decision when they put all the cussing and the gratuitous violence in this game.",
"(No matter how funny this made the game.",
") I don't think that it was really all that fun and most of it is too easy but the parts that are hard are too hard to know what you are supposed to do next unless you have the guide.",
"It was just the same old stuff you always do in scavenger hunt type games but with gross-outs galore.",
"However I do now understand why Rare decided not to make this a kids game.",
"They thought that this would bring teenage money back to Nintendo.",
"however they ended up with a game that only appeals to guys that permanently have a thirteen year old brain."
] |
In 1978, the four members of Kiss decided to pull a huge marketing stunt; each of the players would release a solo album to be released simultaneously on the same date. In his book <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/And-Party-Every-Day-The-Inside-Story-Of-Casablanca-Records/dp/0879309822/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">And Party Every Day: The Inside Story Of Casablanca Records</a>, Larry Harris tells that Kiss had a distribution clause in their contract that any album Kiss recorded was obligated to shipped a million copies on the opening day, and while Neil Bogart and others tried to argue the band down, Kiss held firm. The end result was one of the biggest promotional catastrophes in record industry history. As the joke goes, it shipped gold, but came back platinum. Casablanca never recovered, but the 1978 Kiss solo albums remain in print.
Does the legend match the music? Not really, as the albums are uniformly decent but not incredible. The four personalities of the band would occasionally combine to make classic rock, and they needed each other to bounce off of. So I may catch flack for this, but despite that previous statement, I think Gene Simmons is a genius. There aren't many bands from the 70's that can still pump out top ten albums in the 21'st century, and for an immigrant from Israel who came up from nothing, he has marketed his band (and himself) to a point where the music and the image is universal. Gene is the demon bassist, the bat monster of rock. That is the personality he cultivated, yet his solo album shows that in his heart of hearts, he really wants to be... Paul McCartney?
The Demon had a soft spot. Who knew? Both "Always Near You/Nowhere To Hide" and "See You Tonight" play off soft harmonies and melodic guitars. Gene so wanted to get that Beatles effect that he hired two members of the Broadway show cast of Beatlemania to sing backups. On a pair of the songs here, he debates the personality he's created for himself. "Man Of A Thousand Faces" and "Mr Make Believe" both wipe off the make-up. And then, there is the over the top finale, as Gene goes full-on show tunes for "When You Wish Upon A Star." Hands down, it's the weirdest thing to appear on any album associated with Kiss, and that is saying something.
On the other hand, Gene was ready to make the rock and roll go all night. He pulls "See You In Your Dreams" out from Rock and Roll Over and pumps it full of big guitars. "Radioactive" delivers the kind of hook he's good for with singles like "Christine Sixteen." And the lusty rock star known for his backstage proclivities comes out on "True Confessions" (featuring Helen Reddy?!?) and "Living in Sin" (featuring a groupie cameo from then gal pal Cher). They aren't the only ones invited to the party. Seventies stalwarts like Rick Neilsen, Bob Seger, Janis Ian, Joe Perry and Kiss compadre the late Sean Delaney are all aboard. "Gene Simmons" was not the best of the Kiss '78 solos (that award goes to Ace), but it does nab the blue ribbon for the most eclectic. | 1 | neutral | [
"In 1978, the four members of Kiss decided to pull a huge marketing stunt; each of the players would release a solo album to be released simultaneously on the same date.",
"In his book <a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/And-Party-Every-Day-The-Inside-Story-Of-Casablanca-Records/dp/0879309822/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">And Party Every Day: The Inside Story Of Casablanca Records</a>, Larry Harris tells that Kiss had a distribution clause in their contract that any album Kiss recorded was obligated to shipped a million copies on the opening day, and while Neil Bogart and others tried to argue the band down, Kiss held firm.",
"The end result was one of the biggest promotional catastrophes in record industry history.",
"As the joke goes, it shipped gold, but came back platinum.",
"Casablanca never recovered, but the 1978 Kiss solo albums remain in print.",
"Does the legend match the music?",
"Not really, as the albums are uniformly decent but not incredible.",
"The four personalities of the band would occasionally combine to make classic rock, and they needed each other to bounce off of.",
"So I may catch flack for this, but despite that previous statement, I think Gene Simmons is a genius.",
"There aren't many bands from the 70's that can still pump out top ten albums in the 21'st century, and for an immigrant from Israel who came up from nothing, he has marketed his band (and himself) to a point where the music and the image is universal.",
"Gene is the demon bassist, the bat monster of rock.",
"That is the personality he cultivated, yet his solo album shows that in his heart of hearts, he really wants to be...",
"Paul McCartney?",
"The Demon had a soft spot.",
"Who knew?",
"Both \"Always Near You/Nowhere To Hide\" and \"See You Tonight\" play off soft harmonies and melodic guitars.",
"Gene so wanted to get that Beatles effect that he hired two members of the Broadway show cast of Beatlemania to sing backups.",
"On a pair of the songs here, he debates the personality he's created for himself.",
"\"Man Of A Thousand Faces\" and \"Mr Make Believe\" both wipe off the make-up.",
"And then, there is the over the top finale, as Gene goes full-on show tunes for \"When You Wish Upon A Star.",
"\" Hands down, it's the weirdest thing to appear on any album associated with Kiss, and that is saying something.",
"On the other hand, Gene was ready to make the rock and roll go all night.",
"He pulls \"See You In Your Dreams\" out from Rock and Roll Over and pumps it full of big guitars.",
"\"Radioactive\" delivers the kind of hook he's good for with singles like \"Christine Sixteen.",
"\" And the lusty rock star known for his backstage proclivities comes out on \"True Confessions\" (featuring Helen Reddy?!",
"?",
") and \"Living in Sin\" (featuring a groupie cameo from then gal pal Cher).",
"They aren't the only ones invited to the party.",
"Seventies stalwarts like Rick Neilsen, Bob Seger, Janis Ian, Joe Perry and Kiss compadre the late Sean Delaney are all aboard.",
"\"Gene Simmons\" was not the best of the Kiss '78 solos (that award goes to Ace), but it does nab the blue ribbon for the most eclectic."
] |
This review is of the PC Gold edition on a 1GHz computer running Windows 2000 with a Mad Dog GeForce4 video card and 256M RAM.
The game runs well on this rig and only had a few minor issues. No hangs or crashes, no noticable video or audio problems.
There are several design issues that spoil an otherwise decent game. The most annoying is that you only get five chances to save the game in any segment. In some of the extremely difficult segments, this was not enough. I've not seen a game that limited the number of saves since the earliest years of PC gaming and I can't see why Activision would chose to do this.
Another annoying feature was the incredibly inaccurate weapons. When you're looking round a corner and your sights are clearly on the bad guy, you should hit the bad guy when you pull the trigger, not the corner. What made this even more annoying is that the baddies seem to have ESP. They seem to see you through smoke and boxes making some sections very frustrating.
The gameplay is uneven with certain sections, such as the Swiss airport, being extremely difficult and noticably lacking in health packs. I played this on difficulty level 2 out of 5 and had to use GOD mode several times near the end. Now that I've finished it, I think it'll be a long time before I bother playing it again.
Also, I could never figure out why I couldn't pick up certain weapons like the sniper rifle unless I dropped another weapon, but at other times, I could carry both weapons together. If there was any logic to it, I couldn't find it.
OK, enough whining, let's get to the good stuff.
The graphics are excellent and the enemy IQ is above average. When you shoot heads blow up, arms and legs fly off, and bodies collapse very convincingly. The sound effects are good too, and the voice actors did a wonderful job. However, if you spot the enemy from far enough away, you can snipe them and their buddies will act as if nothing happened.
The story is well constructed, with you playing the part of a mercenary out to save the world and earn money at the same time. The bad guys and good guys actually have personalities that make me think the script was written by a professional. The scenarios are unusual and immersive with the graphics created good ambience. I enjoyed Kamchatka particularly.
Overall though, the restricted saves and other annoying features bring this game down from a 4 to a 3 star rating. | 1 | neutral | [
"This review is of the PC Gold edition on a 1GHz computer running Windows 2000 with a Mad Dog GeForce4 video card and 256M RAM.",
"The game runs well on this rig and only had a few minor issues.",
"No hangs or crashes, no noticable video or audio problems.",
"There are several design issues that spoil an otherwise decent game.",
"The most annoying is that you only get five chances to save the game in any segment.",
"In some of the extremely difficult segments, this was not enough.",
"I've not seen a game that limited the number of saves since the earliest years of PC gaming and I can't see why Activision would chose to do this.",
"Another annoying feature was the incredibly inaccurate weapons.",
"When you're looking round a corner and your sights are clearly on the bad guy, you should hit the bad guy when you pull the trigger, not the corner.",
"What made this even more annoying is that the baddies seem to have ESP.",
"They seem to see you through smoke and boxes making some sections very frustrating.",
"The gameplay is uneven with certain sections, such as the Swiss airport, being extremely difficult and noticably lacking in health packs.",
"I played this on difficulty level 2 out of 5 and had to use GOD mode several times near the end.",
"Now that I've finished it, I think it'll be a long time before I bother playing it again.",
"Also, I could never figure out why I couldn't pick up certain weapons like the sniper rifle unless I dropped another weapon, but at other times, I could carry both weapons together.",
"If there was any logic to it, I couldn't find it.",
"OK, enough whining, let's get to the good stuff.",
"The graphics are excellent and the enemy IQ is above average.",
"When you shoot heads blow up, arms and legs fly off, and bodies collapse very convincingly.",
"The sound effects are good too, and the voice actors did a wonderful job.",
"However, if you spot the enemy from far enough away, you can snipe them and their buddies will act as if nothing happened.",
"The story is well constructed, with you playing the part of a mercenary out to save the world and earn money at the same time.",
"The bad guys and good guys actually have personalities that make me think the script was written by a professional.",
"The scenarios are unusual and immersive with the graphics created good ambience.",
"I enjoyed Kamchatka particularly.",
"Overall though, the restricted saves and other annoying features bring this game down from a 4 to a 3 star rating."
] |
First, let me begin by pointing out that the HTC Thunderbolt is a hard phone to protect. It has speakers and such located in hard areas, and the flip out kickstand that, if covered, might result in rioting by Otterbox fans.
That said, I was still a bit disappointed, by the same things I am now seeing in other reviews. Primarily the rubber cover. It sort of just fits into place around the front side of the case, and unfortunately the... seam sort of part around the front constantly peels back when coming in and out of a pocket or holster. It is hard to explain or understand from a review until it is seen for yourself. The other problem I have is that things get under the front screen protector due to the slot at the top for the phone speaker. I understand why they had to allow a gap somehow... but it doesn't stop it from being bothersome. I may try a screen protector to give myself piece of mind for things getting stuck between there and scratching it, and then just remove the case and brush it off once a week or something.
Other than those problems, I've had the Otterbox Defender about a week and am relatively satisfied that it is indeed the most protective case made yet for the Thunderbolt.
I owned a Defender for the iPhone 3G, and my work phone for the last year was an iPhone 4 with Defender, and I definitely liked the iPhone 4 version best, then the iPhone 3G, then this one. But... I like my Android :D
Bulkiness, it adds some, but the Thunderbolt is a big phone anyway. Touch screen responsiveness is not lacking more for me, but it might if you have a very light touch.]
That's all, folks. | 1 | neutral | [
"First, let me begin by pointing out that the HTC Thunderbolt is a hard phone to protect.",
"It has speakers and such located in hard areas, and the flip out kickstand that, if covered, might result in rioting by Otterbox fans.",
"That said, I was still a bit disappointed, by the same things I am now seeing in other reviews.",
"Primarily the rubber cover.",
"It sort of just fits into place around the front side of the case, and unfortunately the...",
"seam sort of part around the front constantly peels back when coming in and out of a pocket or holster.",
"It is hard to explain or understand from a review until it is seen for yourself.",
"The other problem I have is that things get under the front screen protector due to the slot at the top for the phone speaker.",
"I understand why they had to allow a gap somehow...",
"but it doesn't stop it from being bothersome.",
"I may try a screen protector to give myself piece of mind for things getting stuck between there and scratching it, and then just remove the case and brush it off once a week or something.",
"Other than those problems, I've had the Otterbox Defender about a week and am relatively satisfied that it is indeed the most protective case made yet for the Thunderbolt.",
"I owned a Defender for the iPhone 3G, and my work phone for the last year was an iPhone 4 with Defender, and I definitely liked the iPhone 4 version best, then the iPhone 3G, then this one.",
"But...",
"I like my Android :D\n\nBulkiness, it adds some, but the Thunderbolt is a big phone anyway.",
"Touch screen responsiveness is not lacking more for me, but it might if you have a very light touch.",
"]\n\nThat's all, folks."
] |
After I talked about reading Blink I had a number of people recommend this book as a much better version of blink with more stats.
Ill give them one thing, it has more stats for sure.
The author, Daniel Kahneman, is one of the people that has done much of the research that Blink and Switch is based on. I read through Switch after I started this book and recognized a number of the citations in Switch as studies in Thinking Fast Thinking Slow.
Is it a better book? That would depend on what you like reading. I think that Blink and Switch are going to get more attention from non-research people (which would be the general public). Thinking Fast Thinking Slow throws lots of numbers at you which are hard to grasp at first till youve gone over it a few times.
Its certainly a much harder read than either Switch or Blink. Im also not sure that youd get much more in the way of personal development by reading Thinking Fast Thinking slow than you would reading either of the other two books.
If you like reading research stuff, then this is a great book. If you think the numbers may bore you, then skip this. | 1 | neutral | [
"After I talked about reading Blink I had a number of people recommend this book as a much better version of blink with more stats.",
"Ill give them one thing, it has more stats for sure.",
"The author, Daniel Kahneman, is one of the people that has done much of the research that Blink and Switch is based on.",
"I read through Switch after I started this book and recognized a number of the citations in Switch as studies in Thinking Fast Thinking Slow.",
"Is it a better book?",
"That would depend on what you like reading.",
"I think that Blink and Switch are going to get more attention from non-research people (which would be the general public).",
"Thinking Fast Thinking Slow throws lots of numbers at you which are hard to grasp at first till youve gone over it a few times.",
"Its certainly a much harder read than either Switch or Blink.",
"Im also not sure that youd get much more in the way of personal development by reading Thinking Fast Thinking slow than you would reading either of the other two books.",
"If you like reading research stuff, then this is a great book.",
"If you think the numbers may bore you, then skip this."
] |
Primal Rage, for what it was worth wasn't that bad of a game. But in the same respect, it wasn't as good either. The graphics were excellent. Not sloppy, very clean, it looked similar to the Arcade hit and all out, they did a good job with how the game looked. If you are a person that needs the visuals of a game to come out, this was for you.
Now for those who didn't enjoy this game on the home version, this might be why, Although stunning in graphics, it lacked the originality in the gameplay. This game followed or should I say, held on by the coat tails of the success of Mortal Kombat. Now, there's nothing wrong with trying to achieve the success that Mortal Kombat had. Heck, at the time when this game came out, Mortal Kombat was one of the platforms for Great Fighting Games.
However this game could not cut it on the home system. Why?
One, the controls. The controls were already confusing in the Arcade. What made it worse for the home system was that to unleash certain combos you either had to be quicker than Billy "the Kid" or you had to hold the controller like a geek (left hand the correct way and the right hand off, pressing the buttons with your thumb, index and middle fingers). ... And the fact that if you were holding any of the buttons trying to do a special move, you couldn't do anything but stand still and get hit.
Now what's fun about getting beat down? Nothing.
The other thing that bothered me about this game was that all of the fights were way too predictable. For instance, primate Blizzard, his standard set of offense as the Computer (on any level mind you) was, Freeze (preferrably in the air), unleash 9 - 12 hit combo and repeat. Very boring and once you statred to realize that, the game's replay value went from fair to low. Not good.
This is another classic game that you could leave off your list to collect but at the same time, it's not that bad to have around once you get good at it. | 1 | neutral | [
"Primal Rage, for what it was worth wasn't that bad of a game.",
"But in the same respect, it wasn't as good either.",
"The graphics were excellent.",
"Not sloppy, very clean, it looked similar to the Arcade hit and all out, they did a good job with how the game looked.",
"If you are a person that needs the visuals of a game to come out, this was for you.",
"Now for those who didn't enjoy this game on the home version, this might be why, Although stunning in graphics, it lacked the originality in the gameplay.",
"This game followed or should I say, held on by the coat tails of the success of Mortal Kombat.",
"Now, there's nothing wrong with trying to achieve the success that Mortal Kombat had.",
"Heck, at the time when this game came out, Mortal Kombat was one of the platforms for Great Fighting Games.",
"However this game could not cut it on the home system.",
"Why?",
"One, the controls.",
"The controls were already confusing in the Arcade.",
"What made it worse for the home system was that to unleash certain combos you either had to be quicker than Billy \"the Kid\" or you had to hold the controller like a geek (left hand the correct way and the right hand off, pressing the buttons with your thumb, index and middle fingers).",
"...",
"And the fact that if you were holding any of the buttons trying to do a special move, you couldn't do anything but stand still and get hit.",
"Now what's fun about getting beat down?",
"Nothing.",
"The other thing that bothered me about this game was that all of the fights were way too predictable.",
"For instance, primate Blizzard, his standard set of offense as the Computer (on any level mind you) was, Freeze (preferrably in the air), unleash 9 - 12 hit combo and repeat.",
"Very boring and once you statred to realize that, the game's replay value went from fair to low.",
"Not good.",
"This is another classic game that you could leave off your list to collect but at the same time, it's not that bad to have around once you get good at it."
] |
All my previous sets of speakers were Altec Lansings and I was extremely satisfied with them. When I saw that they had a 5.1 system, I was very excited.
The Good: You're getting a 5.1 system ... The subwoofer is extremely small and will not take up too much space under your desk. The satellite speakers are also very small. When watching a movie or playing video games (such as Counter-Strike), the surround sound is great. It puts you right in the middle of everything. You can even hook these up to a PS2. The center channel speaker is adjustable, allowing you to tilt it up or down depending on its placement. There is even a headphone jack on the Right Front speaker. It's quite convenient.
The Bad: These really aren't made for music IMO. There's no bass/treble control and the only way to adjust the bass is on the back of the sub, which gets pretty hot. As you turn up the bass and the volume to higher levels, the bass starts to sound distorted. The bass is enough to vibrate but isn't very heavy or deep. Imagine hitting a punching bag and hitting a wall (thud vs. bang). You get the bang. If you don't want your bass to be too deep and heavy, then disregard what I just said. The sound quality is also different with each song. FYI, I have been listening to songs ranging from Celine Dion to Britney Spears to Eminem. In addition, the rear speaker cables aren't very long. You'll get about 7-10 ft. so you better make sure you'll have something behind you within that limit to mount the speakers.
To sum it up, if you're a hardcore gamer and movie lover, go for these because you won't find anything cheaper with this kind of quality. It's great. If you're more of a music lover I believe you'd be better off w/ a different set of speakers. I give this item 3 stars because it's hard to make use of the surround speakers w/ such short wires and because of the sound quality when listening to music. The Cambridge Soundworks DTT3500 does a better job of making all three areas sound incredible while the 251 excels only at movies and games. | 1 | neutral | [
"All my previous sets of speakers were Altec Lansings and I was extremely satisfied with them.",
"When I saw that they had a 5.",
"1 system, I was very excited.",
"The Good: You're getting a 5.",
"1 system...",
"The subwoofer is extremely small and will not take up too much space under your desk.",
"The satellite speakers are also very small.",
"When watching a movie or playing video games (such as Counter-Strike), the surround sound is great.",
"It puts you right in the middle of everything.",
"You can even hook these up to a PS2.",
"The center channel speaker is adjustable, allowing you to tilt it up or down depending on its placement.",
"There is even a headphone jack on the Right Front speaker.",
"It's quite convenient.",
"The Bad: These really aren't made for music IMO.",
"There's no bass/treble control and the only way to adjust the bass is on the back of the sub, which gets pretty hot.",
"As you turn up the bass and the volume to higher levels, the bass starts to sound distorted.",
"The bass is enough to vibrate but isn't very heavy or deep.",
"Imagine hitting a punching bag and hitting a wall (thud vs.",
"bang).",
"You get the bang.",
"If you don't want your bass to be too deep and heavy, then disregard what I just said.",
"The sound quality is also different with each song.",
"FYI, I have been listening to songs ranging from Celine Dion to Britney Spears to Eminem.",
"In addition, the rear speaker cables aren't very long.",
"You'll get about 7-10 ft.",
"so you better make sure you'll have something behind you within that limit to mount the speakers.",
"To sum it up, if you're a hardcore gamer and movie lover, go for these because you won't find anything cheaper with this kind of quality.",
"It's great.",
"If you're more of a music lover I believe you'd be better off w/ a different set of speakers.",
"I give this item 3 stars because it's hard to make use of the surround speakers w/ such short wires and because of the sound quality when listening to music.",
"The Cambridge Soundworks DTT3500 does a better job of making all three areas sound incredible while the 251 excels only at movies and games."
] |
The dull looking album cover accurately expresses the somewhat uninteresting tone that the music presents on Dressed to Kill. This isn't a bad album by any means, but it does feel like, as one reviewer below mentions, the band was rushed while recording it. The band wasn't given enough time to write a collection of memorable tunes. Plus the album is too short. It's just under 30 minutes. I realize Kiss never released studio albums that were particularly long but a couple more songs would have been nice. Then again given how the quality of the music overall isn't up to par, maybe a shorter album is a good thing.
"Room Service" is a pretty good song at least, and rather unusually reminds me of Pete Townshend from the Who a little bit in the vocals. "Two Timer" is clearly one of the worst songs Kiss wrote in the 70's if you ask me. It's not even debatable! This song is just really clunky, uninspiring and unnecessary. "Ladies and Waiting" is a highlight. Love the riff, the vocals are memorable, and it's got a great deal of energy. "Gateway" opens with a terrific riff. Oddly, the vocals remind me of another Who member in John Entwistle. Two Who comparisons is nothing more than a strange coincidence. This song is a great upbeat rocker with hummable vocals.
"Rock Bottom" has some basic guitar strings in the beginning that don't really move me one way or the other. I get the feeling it's supposed to make me feel sad. I feel the same way about the brief vocal melody. It's really strange how the vocals pass by without catching my attention because it certainly feels like they should. The chorus is dull too. "C'mon and Love Me" is an improvement with a really good verse melody and lyrics about dancin' and romancin'. After starting off on a questionable note, "Anything For My Baby" improves once it gets going. The drum rolls during the chorus are sort of cool. "She" is based around a cool heavy riff and eventually a space rock guitar solo that should be a minute longer because it's *that* awesome. Alright so this album DOES get better as it rolls along.
"Love Her All I Can" is a fast-moving riff-based rocker that's especially memorable during the verse melody- the rushed chorus is pretty good too (though I didn't like the chorus at first- I had to let it grow on me after a few listens). Now I'm about to drop a bombshell on you guys- I actually think "Rock and Roll All Nite" is an overrated and annoying tune. Sorry but I'm not a fan! I realize most Kiss fans are probably screaming "Nonsense!" right now at their computer screens, but this song never did appeal to me much and seems like a typical dumb party song in a similar style as Todd Rundgren's "Bang the Drum All Day". I will say this however- I'd *easily* take this song over the Rundgren tune.
Alright so the album has a couple duds which drags the rating down to a 3, but it's probably more like a 3.5. The songs that are good happen to be REALLY good. The ones I don't like are mostly just forgettable but certainly listenable. This is the Kiss album from the 70's you should pick up last. | 1 | neutral | [
"The dull looking album cover accurately expresses the somewhat uninteresting tone that the music presents on Dressed to Kill.",
"This isn't a bad album by any means, but it does feel like, as one reviewer below mentions, the band was rushed while recording it.",
"The band wasn't given enough time to write a collection of memorable tunes.",
"Plus the album is too short.",
"It's just under 30 minutes.",
"I realize Kiss never released studio albums that were particularly long but a couple more songs would have been nice.",
"Then again given how the quality of the music overall isn't up to par, maybe a shorter album is a good thing.",
"\"Room Service\" is a pretty good song at least, and rather unusually reminds me of Pete Townshend from the Who a little bit in the vocals.",
"\"Two Timer\" is clearly one of the worst songs Kiss wrote in the 70's if you ask me.",
"It's not even debatable!",
"This song is just really clunky, uninspiring and unnecessary.",
"\"Ladies and Waiting\" is a highlight.",
"Love the riff, the vocals are memorable, and it's got a great deal of energy.",
"\"Gateway\" opens with a terrific riff.",
"Oddly, the vocals remind me of another Who member in John Entwistle.",
"Two Who comparisons is nothing more than a strange coincidence.",
"This song is a great upbeat rocker with hummable vocals.",
"\"Rock Bottom\" has some basic guitar strings in the beginning that don't really move me one way or the other.",
"I get the feeling it's supposed to make me feel sad.",
"I feel the same way about the brief vocal melody.",
"It's really strange how the vocals pass by without catching my attention because it certainly feels like they should.",
"The chorus is dull too.",
"\"C'mon and Love Me\" is an improvement with a really good verse melody and lyrics about dancin' and romancin'.",
"After starting off on a questionable note, \"Anything For My Baby\" improves once it gets going.",
"The drum rolls during the chorus are sort of cool.",
"\"She\" is based around a cool heavy riff and eventually a space rock guitar solo that should be a minute longer because it's *that* awesome.",
"Alright so this album DOES get better as it rolls along.",
"\"Love Her All I Can\" is a fast-moving riff-based rocker that's especially memorable during the verse melody- the rushed chorus is pretty good too (though I didn't like the chorus at first- I had to let it grow on me after a few listens).",
"Now I'm about to drop a bombshell on you guys- I actually think \"Rock and Roll All Nite\" is an overrated and annoying tune.",
"Sorry but I'm not a fan!",
"I realize most Kiss fans are probably screaming \"Nonsense!",
"\" right now at their computer screens, but this song never did appeal to me much and seems like a typical dumb party song in a similar style as Todd Rundgren's \"Bang the Drum All Day\".",
"I will say this however- I'd *easily* take this song over the Rundgren tune.",
"Alright so the album has a couple duds which drags the rating down to a 3, but it's probably more like a 3.",
"5. The songs that are good happen to be REALLY good.",
"The ones I don't like are mostly just forgettable but certainly listenable.",
"This is the Kiss album from the 70's you should pick up last."
] |
I was never a big fan of the popular Diablo series. I was even offended when the game referred to itself as an RPG when I thought it was nothing more than hack and slash repetitiveness. So when Dungeon Siege was released with the promises of being a beautifully rendered 3-D Diablo clone, I didn't order this baby as soon as it was released even though it did have some impressive screenshots. Well, I finally gave in after the expansion game was released because unlike other expansions, Dungeon Siege: Legends of Aranna actually comes with the original game as well. Hey, I have no problem with a braindead game that acts as temporary mind candy. I've been through my fair share of boring shoot 'em ups, and I did have some fun for a few days with Dungeon Siege. I enjoyed upgrading my party and their skill levels. There were some great looking dungeons and plains to roam but some of them started getting boring. I have no problem with a mindless dungeon romp but after the 18,000th goblin, the game starts to get old. It also gets old when I realize that all of my equipment is the same, it just goes up in damage and armor levels. The graphics, music, audio effects and stability of this game are top notch. One of the best production values of current games, but somehow during the production of this game, the designers forgot the most important element of any video game - fun! . Another unfortunate feature of this game is while it has a BEAUTIFUL engine, nothing really ever became of the toolset and custom mod community. There are people that enjoy this game but I have no idea how close I came to completing the original game because I was bored to tears halfway through. Dungeon Siege is one of those titles that is worth it when the price drops but a game that might leave you feeling ripped off if you buy it at a current release price. | 1 | neutral | [
"I was never a big fan of the popular Diablo series.",
"I was even offended when the game referred to itself as an RPG when I thought it was nothing more than hack and slash repetitiveness.",
"So when Dungeon Siege was released with the promises of being a beautifully rendered 3-D Diablo clone, I didn't order this baby as soon as it was released even though it did have some impressive screenshots.",
"Well, I finally gave in after the expansion game was released because unlike other expansions, Dungeon Siege: Legends of Aranna actually comes with the original game as well.",
"Hey, I have no problem with a braindead game that acts as temporary mind candy.",
"I've been through my fair share of boring shoot 'em ups, and I did have some fun for a few days with Dungeon Siege.",
"I enjoyed upgrading my party and their skill levels.",
"There were some great looking dungeons and plains to roam but some of them started getting boring.",
"I have no problem with a mindless dungeon romp but after the 18,000th goblin, the game starts to get old.",
"It also gets old when I realize that all of my equipment is the same, it just goes up in damage and armor levels.",
"The graphics, music, audio effects and stability of this game are top notch.",
"One of the best production values of current games, but somehow during the production of this game, the designers forgot the most important element of any video game - fun!",
".",
"Another unfortunate feature of this game is while it has a BEAUTIFUL engine, nothing really ever became of the toolset and custom mod community.",
"There are people that enjoy this game but I have no idea how close I came to completing the original game because I was bored to tears halfway through.",
"Dungeon Siege is one of those titles that is worth it when the price drops but a game that might leave you feeling ripped off if you buy it at a current release price."
] |
This is an OK Christian afterlife morality story. It is the story of 12 year old Alex who loses his battle with leukemia but this is just the start of his battle against the Deceiver (devil). Alex joins with the angels of heaven's Army to battle against the plots of the Deceiver.
The story has many provocative concepts on how the forces of evil and God surround people every day. It also reinforces the importance of faith in everyday life and decisions. Overall, I was disappointed that the conflict was too simple. This is mostly due to my preference for more epic scale conflicts while this story focused on saving a single soul.
No major editing or writing issues were noted. The Other Side is 3,125 Kindle locations long; excluding excerpts at end for two sample books. Standard length novels seem to run in the 4,500 to 7,000 plus Kindle location range. Longer books, such as books in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, can range from 15,000 to 20,000 plus Kindle locations. | 1 | neutral | [
"This is an OK Christian afterlife morality story.",
"It is the story of 12 year old Alex who loses his battle with leukemia but this is just the start of his battle against the Deceiver (devil).",
"Alex joins with the angels of heaven's Army to battle against the plots of the Deceiver.",
"The story has many provocative concepts on how the forces of evil and God surround people every day.",
"It also reinforces the importance of faith in everyday life and decisions.",
"Overall, I was disappointed that the conflict was too simple.",
"This is mostly due to my preference for more epic scale conflicts while this story focused on saving a single soul.",
"No major editing or writing issues were noted.",
"The Other Side is 3,125 Kindle locations long; excluding excerpts at end for two sample books.",
"Standard length novels seem to run in the 4,500 to 7,000 plus Kindle location range.",
"Longer books, such as books in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, can range from 15,000 to 20,000 plus Kindle locations."
] |
I don't see why this is a young adult book, first of all, because there's no way the average, or even above average 14 year old is going to figure out what's going on. Most of the book is a puzzle to figure out what is really happening between Polly, the protagonist, and Thomas Lynn, the on-again off-again friend who takes their strange make-believe games much too seriously.
Polly, like Calvin (from Calvin and Hobbes) seems more like an icon of adolescence than a real person. Even when young, she doesn't think like a child. This works with the story, because she has a very odd role, so this is a minor complaint. Most of the characters and relationships are very well drawn. Ivy, Polly's grandmother, Reg, Fiona, and Nina are all interesting, well crafted characters. The plot moves along fast enough to keep the pages turning. Up until the last fifteen pages, I would have said this was an excellent book.
The main problem with the book is the ending. I wanted things wrapped up tidier, a little more 'Agatha Christie parlour room scene.' Instead, everything is torn apart in the climax, and not quite put back together again. She switches abruptly from a clear, well-described, mostly real-world scene to something vague and metaphysical. When the final problem is presented, Polly gives a crypic, "So that's what's happening, and I know how to fix it!" and then does things that, even two days later and after a second read through, make little sense. Instead of feeling grateful that I read an interesting story with fascinating characters, I feel resentful that I never figured out quite what happened, and probably never will. | 1 | neutral | [
"I don't see why this is a young adult book, first of all, because there's no way the average, or even above average 14 year old is going to figure out what's going on.",
"Most of the book is a puzzle to figure out what is really happening between Polly, the protagonist, and Thomas Lynn, the on-again off-again friend who takes their strange make-believe games much too seriously.",
"Polly, like Calvin (from Calvin and Hobbes) seems more like an icon of adolescence than a real person.",
"Even when young, she doesn't think like a child.",
"This works with the story, because she has a very odd role, so this is a minor complaint.",
"Most of the characters and relationships are very well drawn.",
"Ivy, Polly's grandmother, Reg, Fiona, and Nina are all interesting, well crafted characters.",
"The plot moves along fast enough to keep the pages turning.",
"Up until the last fifteen pages, I would have said this was an excellent book.",
"The main problem with the book is the ending.",
"I wanted things wrapped up tidier, a little more 'Agatha Christie parlour room scene.",
"' Instead, everything is torn apart in the climax, and not quite put back together again.",
"She switches abruptly from a clear, well-described, mostly real-world scene to something vague and metaphysical.",
"When the final problem is presented, Polly gives a crypic, \"So that's what's happening, and I know how to fix it!",
"\" and then does things that, even two days later and after a second read through, make little sense.",
"Instead of feeling grateful that I read an interesting story with fascinating characters, I feel resentful that I never figured out quite what happened, and probably never will."
] |
Why this company would call this soap: philosophy for men The Microdelivery Face and Body Scrub is a mystery to me, but setting aside that question, my readers want to know if this product can possibly be worth $28.00. I don't think so.
First, a product description. I just washed my hands with this soap scrub and the smell of the soap is pleasant, light, and flowery. It feels in my hands as if tiny grains of sand have been added to the soap. On my hands this feels good and the soap does a good job getting my hands clean. I am looking at them right now as I write this review and the palms of my hands actually shine.
I tried washing my face with the soap before I shaved. Again, I could feel the grains of sand against my face and while washing my face this felt like my face was getting a good scrub, and, indeed, it was. I then shaved and noticed that I got a closer than usual shave. All well and good. Now, the downside. My face actually burns a bit and this is not a pleasant feeling. I put some lotion on my face to ease the burn and this helped slightly. I will not be using this product on my face again.
In their ad the manufacturers tells us that this soap exfoliates, that is, removes old and dead skin. I believe them. My face did not like this experience. My hands did like it.
The bottom line for me is that I will use this soap to wash my hands, but I will not use it on my face. If any of my readers think it is worth $28.00 to experiment with this soap, please leave me a comment and tell me what you think if you decide to wash your face before you shave with this product. Thanks. | 1 | neutral | [
"Why this company would call this soap: philosophy for men The Microdelivery Face and Body Scrub is a mystery to me, but setting aside that question, my readers want to know if this product can possibly be worth $28.",
"00.",
"I don't think so.",
"First, a product description.",
"I just washed my hands with this soap scrub and the smell of the soap is pleasant, light, and flowery.",
"It feels in my hands as if tiny grains of sand have been added to the soap.",
"On my hands this feels good and the soap does a good job getting my hands clean.",
"I am looking at them right now as I write this review and the palms of my hands actually shine.",
"I tried washing my face with the soap before I shaved.",
"Again, I could feel the grains of sand against my face and while washing my face this felt like my face was getting a good scrub, and, indeed, it was.",
"I then shaved and noticed that I got a closer than usual shave.",
"All well and good.",
"Now, the downside.",
"My face actually burns a bit and this is not a pleasant feeling.",
"I put some lotion on my face to ease the burn and this helped slightly.",
"I will not be using this product on my face again.",
"In their ad the manufacturers tells us that this soap exfoliates, that is, removes old and dead skin.",
"I believe them.",
"My face did not like this experience.",
"My hands did like it.",
"The bottom line for me is that I will use this soap to wash my hands, but I will not use it on my face.",
"If any of my readers think it is worth $28.",
"00 to experiment with this soap, please leave me a comment and tell me what you think if you decide to wash your face before you shave with this product.",
"Thanks."
] |
Judge hears evidence on 1982 case linked to disgraced ex
Burge was not in court but Jackie Wilson wearing a gray-and-black striped jumpsuit repeatedly picked up a black-and-white picture of the former officer as he emphatically and sometimes tearfully alleged that officers beat him kicked him in the groin put a gun in his mouth and gave him electric shocks. Believing he would be killed if he didnât confess Wilson said he told officers he was present when his brother Andrew shot and killed officers Richard OâBrien and William Fahey in February 1982.
Wilson now 57 said he would have confessed to shooting the president if the detectives had asked him. âI told them âGame over ⦠whatever you want me to say Iâm gonna say it â â he said. âI wanted it to stop.â
Wednesdayâs hearing part of Wilson âs attempt to win a new trial illustrates the broad and long-lasting consequences of the Burge scandal. The all-day hearing barely touched on Wilsonâs guilt or innocence instead turning on the question of whether his confession was coerced. Wilson âs lawyers argue that he should be granted a new trial with the confession suppressed which could make it difficult for prosecutors to retry him .
Wilsonâs bid is based in part on evidence that Burge or his subordinates tortured other men including his late brother Andrew who was found by doctors to have numerous injuries after his interrogation. Jackie Wilson âs attorney Flint Taylor described a âmountain of evidenceâ of torture by officers including Burge who was never prosecuted for torture but was convicted in 2010 of lying about the abuse of suspects.
In a deposition related to the Wilson case Taylor said Burge invoked his Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate himself. On Wednesday a former stateâs attorney involved in the case Lawrence Hyman did the same.
Michael OâRourke a private attorney working as a special prosecutor acknowledged abusive practices by officers in other cases but denied that Jackie Wilson was harmed or coerced into confessing. OâRourke pointed to photos of Wilson taken after his interrogation that showed no visible injuries.
âItâs almost like he wants to metamorphosize into Andrew Wilson â OâRourke said. âThis case is not Andrew Wilson .â
Faheyâs brother Mike who sat through the hearing alongside his sister said he does not believe Jackie Wilson was abused. He said he believes Wilson committed the crime and is just echoing other abuse allegations against Burge and his men.
Wilson âs case is central to a saga that continues some three decades after allegations of torture against Burge and his âmidnight crewâ burst into public view.
Scores of African-American men have accused Burge who is white and his colleagues of torturing or abusing them during the 1970s and 1980s on the South Side. The allegations include claims similar to those Wilson makes; officers have been accused of using electric shocks to the genitals of suspects and forcing them to play Russian roulette among other things.
Wednesdayâs hearing on the Wilson case was mandated by the Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission which found âcredible evidenceâ that Wilson was tortured after his arrest in 1982 though the commission noted discrepancies in his statements over the years.
Prosecutors said Wilson looked on as his brother Andrew grabbed Fahey's gun and shot him in the head. In his confession Jackie Wilson said that after he shouted that O'Brien was alive and moving his brother shot the officer again as he lay wounded on the ground.
Andrew Wilson also confessed and also alleged his confession was coerced through torture. He was found by doctors after his arrest to have numerous cuts bruises and burns.
On the stand Wednesday Jackie Wilson said he was viciously abused by officers including Burge after his arrival at a South Side police station. Wilson occasionally weeping said his denials of knowledge of the crime were met by escalating abuse. He said officers hit him with a phone book and put a gun in his mouth before Burge brought in an electrical device police used to shock him .
After OâRourke raised an objection to a question involving the word âtorture â Wilson pointed at him and angrily asked âWhat would you call it?â | 1 | neutral | [
"Judge hears evidence on 1982 case linked to disgraced ex\nBurge was not in court but Jackie Wilson wearing a gray-and-black striped jumpsuit repeatedly picked up a black-and-white picture of the former officer as he emphatically and sometimes tearfully alleged that officers beat him kicked him in the groin put a gun in his mouth and gave him electric shocks.",
"Believing he would be killed if he didnât confess Wilson said he told officers he was present when his brother Andrew shot and killed officers Richard OâBrien and William Fahey in February 1982.",
"Wilson now 57 said he would have confessed to shooting the president if the detectives had asked him.",
"âI told them âGame over ⦠whatever you want me to say Iâm gonna say it â â he said.",
"âI wanted it to stop.",
"â\nWednesdayâs hearing part of Wilson âs attempt to win a new trial illustrates the broad and long-lasting consequences of the Burge scandal.",
"The all-day hearing barely touched on Wilsonâs guilt or innocence instead turning on the question of whether his confession was coerced.",
"Wilson âs lawyers argue that he should be granted a new trial with the confession suppressed which could make it difficult for prosecutors to retry him.",
"Wilsonâs bid is based in part on evidence that Burge or his subordinates tortured other men including his late brother Andrew who was found by doctors to have numerous injuries after his interrogation.",
"Jackie Wilson âs attorney Flint Taylor described a âmountain of evidenceâ of torture by officers including Burge who was never prosecuted for torture but was convicted in 2010 of lying about the abuse of suspects.",
"In a deposition related to the Wilson case Taylor said Burge invoked his Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate himself.",
"On Wednesday a former stateâs attorney involved in the case Lawrence Hyman did the same.",
"Michael OâRourke a private attorney working as a special prosecutor acknowledged abusive practices by officers in other cases but denied that Jackie Wilson was harmed or coerced into confessing.",
"OâRourke pointed to photos of Wilson taken after his interrogation that showed no visible injuries.",
"âItâs almost like he wants to metamorphosize into Andrew Wilson â OâRourke said.",
"âThis case is not Andrew Wilson.",
"â\nFaheyâs brother Mike who sat through the hearing alongside his sister said he does not believe Jackie Wilson was abused.",
"He said he believes Wilson committed the crime and is just echoing other abuse allegations against Burge and his men.",
"Wilson âs case is central to a saga that continues some three decades after allegations of torture against Burge and his âmidnight crewâ burst into public view.",
"Scores of African-American men have accused Burge who is white and his colleagues of torturing or abusing them during the 1970s and 1980s on the South Side.",
"The allegations include claims similar to those Wilson makes; officers have been accused of using electric shocks to the genitals of suspects and forcing them to play Russian roulette among other things.",
"Wednesdayâs hearing on the Wilson case was mandated by the Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission which found âcredible evidenceâ that Wilson was tortured after his arrest in 1982 though the commission noted discrepancies in his statements over the years.",
"Prosecutors said Wilson looked on as his brother Andrew grabbed Fahey's gun and shot him in the head.",
"In his confession Jackie Wilson said that after he shouted that O'Brien was alive and moving his brother shot the officer again as he lay wounded on the ground.",
"Andrew Wilson also confessed and also alleged his confession was coerced through torture.",
"He was found by doctors after his arrest to have numerous cuts bruises and burns.",
"On the stand Wednesday Jackie Wilson said he was viciously abused by officers including Burge after his arrival at a South Side police station.",
"Wilson occasionally weeping said his denials of knowledge of the crime were met by escalating abuse.",
"He said officers hit him with a phone book and put a gun in his mouth before Burge brought in an electrical device police used to shock him.",
"After OâRourke raised an objection to a question involving the word âtorture â Wilson pointed at him and angrily asked âWhat would you call it?",
"â"
] |
The Cement Garden (Andrew Birkin, 1993)
There's a book, and it seems that where there's a book, there's a movie. It is the case that at least ninety-five, some would say closer to ninety-nine percent of the time, the movie is just not as good as the book. I tend to be a bit more liberal than most in that regard, but in this case, while the movie's decent, it has nothing on McEwan's stunning first novel.
Jack (Gormenghast's Andrew Robertson), Julie (Charlotte Gainsbourg, soon to star in the highly anticipated Have Mercy on Us All, based on Fred Vargas' smash hit novel), Sue (Alice Coulthard, in her only screen appearance), and Tom (Ned Birkin, also in his only screen appearance) are four kids living in England. Their father (Munich's Hanns Zischler) dies of a heart attack, and soon after, their mother (Sinead Cusack, recently of V for Vendetta) becomes mysteriously ill. She knows she's dying, and attempts to do as much as she can to make sure the children can survive on their own after her death. The children attempt to do so, in a sort of Lord of the Flies meets The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane way, until Julie gets herself a beau, Derek (veteran TV actor Jochen Horst), which throws Jack-- whose feelings for Julie have become increasingly complex-- into a crisis.
The main difference between the novel and the film is that the kids' mother dies much earlier on in the novel than she does in the film, and so the whole thematic thrust of the novel is forced into roughly half the movie's hour and forty-five minute running time. There's not much chance to do much development there; Birkin chooses to content himself with abbreviating the development of the themes that are birthed when the children start living on their own, and develop those start while everyone's still living as a family. The result isn't a bad film, by any means, but those who have read the novel are likely to find it lacking. Still, there's something about Birkin stocking a film with incestuous undercurrents with his own nieces and nephews that cannot help but invite all sorts of speculation, and there's certainly something to be said for any film that shows off the gorgeous Charlotte Gainsbourg in all her glory. An interesting artifact, but no matter why you're watching it, you're likely to get more out of the book. ** | 1 | neutral | [
"The Cement Garden (Andrew Birkin, 1993)\n\nThere's a book, and it seems that where there's a book, there's a movie.",
"It is the case that at least ninety-five, some would say closer to ninety-nine percent of the time, the movie is just not as good as the book.",
"I tend to be a bit more liberal than most in that regard, but in this case, while the movie's decent, it has nothing on McEwan's stunning first novel.",
"Jack (Gormenghast's Andrew Robertson), Julie (Charlotte Gainsbourg, soon to star in the highly anticipated Have Mercy on Us All, based on Fred Vargas' smash hit novel), Sue (Alice Coulthard, in her only screen appearance), and Tom (Ned Birkin, also in his only screen appearance) are four kids living in England.",
"Their father (Munich's Hanns Zischler) dies of a heart attack, and soon after, their mother (Sinead Cusack, recently of V for Vendetta) becomes mysteriously ill.",
"She knows she's dying, and attempts to do as much as she can to make sure the children can survive on their own after her death.",
"The children attempt to do so, in a sort of Lord of the Flies meets The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane way, until Julie gets herself a beau, Derek (veteran TV actor Jochen Horst), which throws Jack-- whose feelings for Julie have become increasingly complex-- into a crisis.",
"The main difference between the novel and the film is that the kids' mother dies much earlier on in the novel than she does in the film, and so the whole thematic thrust of the novel is forced into roughly half the movie's hour and forty-five minute running time.",
"There's not much chance to do much development there; Birkin chooses to content himself with abbreviating the development of the themes that are birthed when the children start living on their own, and develop those start while everyone's still living as a family.",
"The result isn't a bad film, by any means, but those who have read the novel are likely to find it lacking.",
"Still, there's something about Birkin stocking a film with incestuous undercurrents with his own nieces and nephews that cannot help but invite all sorts of speculation, and there's certainly something to be said for any film that shows off the gorgeous Charlotte Gainsbourg in all her glory.",
"An interesting artifact, but no matter why you're watching it, you're likely to get more out of the book.",
"**"
] |
We had this coffee maker for over three years. It had nice features, such as a loud beep, controllable warmer temperature, and an overall quality build and feel. It was ordered in early 2010 and died in mid 2013. It didn't last any longer than a Mr. Coffee, but the quality of the coffee was top-notch.
After more recently enduring a cheaper coffee maker, I was considering ordering another DCC-1200, until reading about so many dangerous electrical problems with this model. Check Amazon and Google. Lots of dangerous incidents, all following the same order of events (overheating, boiling coffee, sparks/smoke, then fire). Evidently something short circuits inside and the hotplate gains temperature uncontrollably. I'm sure every model on the market has one or two out of a million that go bad, but this model seems to have many more than average, as did several other Cuisinart coffee makers.
After doing my research, I ordered a Kalorik (A Consumer Reports best buy) yesterday for about the same price. I loved the DCC-1200 when we had it, but not willing to risk my home or safety for coffee. | 1 | neutral | [
"We had this coffee maker for over three years.",
"It had nice features, such as a loud beep, controllable warmer temperature, and an overall quality build and feel.",
"It was ordered in early 2010 and died in mid 2013.",
"It didn't last any longer than a Mr.",
"Coffee, but the quality of the coffee was top-notch.",
"After more recently enduring a cheaper coffee maker, I was considering ordering another DCC-1200, until reading about so many dangerous electrical problems with this model.",
"Check Amazon and Google.",
"Lots of dangerous incidents, all following the same order of events (overheating, boiling coffee, sparks/smoke, then fire).",
"Evidently something short circuits inside and the hotplate gains temperature uncontrollably.",
"I'm sure every model on the market has one or two out of a million that go bad, but this model seems to have many more than average, as did several other Cuisinart coffee makers.",
"After doing my research, I ordered a Kalorik (A Consumer Reports best buy) yesterday for about the same price.",
"I loved the DCC-1200 when we had it, but not willing to risk my home or safety for coffee."
] |
I picked up this SACD mostly because it's my wife's favorite Billy Joel record, so I don't have any deep spiritual attachment to the music, other than I know I've heard it 25+ times over my life by others who had deep spiritual attachments to it... I will say it is an excellent record, next to no filler, and very worthy of trying to preserve for future generations.
I noticed something on this Mo Fi SACD that I also noticed (though not as much) on my Allman Brothers Live at the Filmore SACDs as well. It seems that the more you get into the record, the actual BETTER the sound becomes on the disc; The bass gets tighter & deeper, the range is greater (frequency and dynamic), and the instruments just sound better-recorded. Track 5, "Vienna" sounds excellent-like it couldn't be from the same generation tape that Track 1 "Movin Out" is. Not to say it's bad, but the difference in one sitting was very noticable to our friends on my $10k system-not the best but pretty darn good. I'm guessing this is a by-product of the 35+ year old master tapes being wound and rewound many times over the years and stored "tails out", so oxidation and print-through towards the center (beginning) might have been contributing factors.
It's not that any part of the sound should keep you from buying it-my overall rating as far as sound goes would be 3+ stars, but it's 2.5 at the beginning and 4-ish at the end. And since Steve Hoffman wasn't the Mastering Engineer I would have liked a little more "fixing" of the continuity of sound if possible. *FYI read Steve's blog and interviews sometime if you're into the "sound" of these classic recordings of my youth as much as I; his palpable Will Farrell SNL skit-style smug disdain for the Infidels who dare question him there is AWESOME-I LOVE HIM! | 1 | neutral | [
"I picked up this SACD mostly because it's my wife's favorite Billy Joel record, so I don't have any deep spiritual attachment to the music, other than I know I've heard it 25+ times over my life by others who had deep spiritual attachments to it...",
"I will say it is an excellent record, next to no filler, and very worthy of trying to preserve for future generations.",
"I noticed something on this Mo Fi SACD that I also noticed (though not as much) on my Allman Brothers Live at the Filmore SACDs as well.",
"It seems that the more you get into the record, the actual BETTER the sound becomes on the disc; The bass gets tighter & deeper, the range is greater (frequency and dynamic), and the instruments just sound better-recorded.",
"Track 5, \"Vienna\" sounds excellent-like it couldn't be from the same generation tape that Track 1 \"Movin Out\" is.",
"Not to say it's bad, but the difference in one sitting was very noticable to our friends on my $10k system-not the best but pretty darn good.",
"I'm guessing this is a by-product of the 35+ year old master tapes being wound and rewound many times over the years and stored \"tails out\", so oxidation and print-through towards the center (beginning) might have been contributing factors.",
"It's not that any part of the sound should keep you from buying it-my overall rating as far as sound goes would be 3+ stars, but it's 2.",
"5 at the beginning and 4-ish at the end.",
"And since Steve Hoffman wasn't the Mastering Engineer I would have liked a little more \"fixing\" of the continuity of sound if possible.",
"*FYI read Steve's blog and interviews sometime if you're into the \"sound\" of these classic recordings of my youth as much as I; his palpable Will Farrell SNL skit-style smug disdain for the Infidels who dare question him there is AWESOME-I LOVE HIM!"
] |
I started Age Before Beauty last night and was really enjoying it. It is a funny book about an independent, career-oriented young woman who has just had her first baby. As the end of her maternity leave draws near she starts to dread missing this special time with her baby. Her first post-baby outing is with her sister to one of those sales parties. While there she gets the brilliant idea of selling that stuff rather than going back to her office job. When she gets home from the party, her mother-in-law, who she despises (the feeling is mutual) is there -- she has just moved out because she feels unappreciated and unloved.
The first half of the book is very real, and funny at times. For example: "Allie whirled, shock coursing up her spine, her mouth hanging open. Then her grip on Joanie tightened. This was no girlfriend, no affair. It was much worse. Staring at her from just inside her kitchen stood the only person in the world who hated her guts. And the feeling was definitely mutual. Her Mother-in-law." We find out later that the "hatred" was a misunderstanding by a harried bride, but....
We follow Allie into the world of party sales and multi-level marketing. We learn why she is determined to rely on herself and why her husband hates churches. This story had a lot of potential. It just never quite reached it. It wasn't a bad book, the second half just didn't finish what the first half started.
After a couple of stray references to Allie's sister's Christian faith and that of her boyfriend in the first half of the book; the second half becomes more definitely Christian. Allie and her husband rediscover the faiths of their childhood, and after that everything ties up neatly in a bow. It is a sweet book, but I found the ending kind of forced and unrealistic. | 1 | neutral | [
"I started Age Before Beauty last night and was really enjoying it.",
"It is a funny book about an independent, career-oriented young woman who has just had her first baby.",
"As the end of her maternity leave draws near she starts to dread missing this special time with her baby.",
"Her first post-baby outing is with her sister to one of those sales parties.",
"While there she gets the brilliant idea of selling that stuff rather than going back to her office job.",
"When she gets home from the party, her mother-in-law, who she despises (the feeling is mutual) is there -- she has just moved out because she feels unappreciated and unloved.",
"The first half of the book is very real, and funny at times.",
"For example: \"Allie whirled, shock coursing up her spine, her mouth hanging open.",
"Then her grip on Joanie tightened.",
"This was no girlfriend, no affair.",
"It was much worse.",
"Staring at her from just inside her kitchen stood the only person in the world who hated her guts.",
"And the feeling was definitely mutual.",
"Her Mother-in-law.",
"\" We find out later that the \"hatred\" was a misunderstanding by a harried bride, but....",
"We follow Allie into the world of party sales and multi-level marketing.",
"We learn why she is determined to rely on herself and why her husband hates churches.",
"This story had a lot of potential.",
"It just never quite reached it.",
"It wasn't a bad book, the second half just didn't finish what the first half started.",
"After a couple of stray references to Allie's sister's Christian faith and that of her boyfriend in the first half of the book; the second half becomes more definitely Christian.",
"Allie and her husband rediscover the faiths of their childhood, and after that everything ties up neatly in a bow.",
"It is a sweet book, but I found the ending kind of forced and unrealistic."
] |
meh.. it's alright... Does it peel? Yes. I've had mine for a few years now and even had them sharpened. So, how much can there be to a peeler to make a difference enough to say "oh yeah baby peel baby peel"? Not this peeler. In general I like OXO stuff for their grips and that's about it.
Rather than just complain. Allow me to point you to a peeler that has me reeling peels. <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Messermeister-Peeler-Trio-Set/dp/B002R7MM9G/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Messermeister Peeler Trio Set</a> The Messermeister is a much better peeler in that it requires hardly any effort with the standard peeler. It comes individually or as a trio pack. Of the trio the standard and serrated peelers are the most often used. The julienne peeler not so much but consider it a freebie at this price. nogo on this oxo. | 1 | neutral | [
"meh..",
"it's alright...",
"Does it peel?",
"Yes.",
"I've had mine for a few years now and even had them sharpened.",
"So, how much can there be to a peeler to make a difference enough to say \"oh yeah baby peel baby peel\"?",
"Not this peeler.",
"In general I like OXO stuff for their grips and that's about it.",
"Rather than just complain.",
"Allow me to point you to a peeler that has me reeling peels.",
" <a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/Messermeister-Peeler-Trio-Set/dp/B002R7MM9G/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">Messermeister Peeler Trio Set</a> The Messermeister is a much better peeler in that it requires hardly any effort with the standard peeler.",
"It comes individually or as a trio pack.",
"Of the trio the standard and serrated peelers are the most often used.",
"The julienne peeler not so much but consider it a freebie at this price.",
"nogo on this oxo."
] |
Nice product as described. Poor customer service. Package arrived with one broken jar. I contacted the company about a replacement. I realize I could return the whole box and they would have exchanged it but that is more trouble. All I wanted was replacement of the broken one. I contacted them the day my package arrived. I included a picture of the broken item. An automated reply said to give them a couple of days to reply. That was over a week ago. Still no reply. No replacement. No instructions on what to do. Love the product, not so much with the company I purchased from. | 1 | neutral | [
"Nice product as described.",
"Poor customer service.",
"Package arrived with one broken jar.",
"I contacted the company about a replacement.",
"I realize I could return the whole box and they would have exchanged it but that is more trouble.",
"All I wanted was replacement of the broken one.",
"I contacted them the day my package arrived.",
"I included a picture of the broken item.",
"An automated reply said to give them a couple of days to reply.",
"That was over a week ago.",
"Still no reply.",
"No replacement.",
"No instructions on what to do.",
"Love the product, not so much with the company I purchased from."
] |
I like the all natural thing, I really do. And Guru works like any energy drink. I just don't like the flavor. You could say it's personal. But I wouldn't recommend this drink based on the flavor. It's sort of medicine-y. It reminds me a little of cough syrup. Maybe that's cherry overtones. I have no problem finishing the case. It's not bad by any stretch. It's just that in my fridge full of little energy drink cans, I have to force myself to pick these (rather than another brand) because it's my least favorite flavor. In any case, I'll try some of Guru's other natural flavors, if they come in 8 oz cans and are reasonably priced on Amazon. I just won't be returning to this flavor. | 1 | neutral | [
"I like the all natural thing, I really do.",
"And Guru works like any energy drink.",
"I just don't like the flavor.",
"You could say it's personal.",
"But I wouldn't recommend this drink based on the flavor.",
"It's sort of medicine-y.",
"It reminds me a little of cough syrup.",
"Maybe that's cherry overtones.",
"I have no problem finishing the case.",
"It's not bad by any stretch.",
"It's just that in my fridge full of little energy drink cans, I have to force myself to pick these (rather than another brand) because it's my least favorite flavor.",
"In any case, I'll try some of Guru's other natural flavors, if they come in 8 oz cans and are reasonably priced on Amazon.",
"I just won't be returning to this flavor."
] |
When I first bought Enter the Matrix I was hooked. Hears why. Imagine being surrounded by four guards, and they are closing in. In most games you'd be screwed in a position like this, but not in Enter the Matrix. One guard comes in to grab you but with a front kick and an upper cut you easily take him out. Two other guards charge in, but you take down one with a flurry of punches, and you grab the other guard and throw him into a wall, knocking him out. The last guard runs in quickly and try's to kick you but you run up the adjacent wall land behind him a crack his Neck with one stroke. Oh yeha and you did all this with only using three buttons. Now do you see why I am hooked? But sadly there is a bad part. First off the graphics Suck. They're not as bad as an N64 game but they come close at times. Second off there is a friggin save screen about every two minutes, if you are lucky maybe five minutes. Last off the game does not have the best replay value; sure the fighting kicks ass, and it is addicting, but the story is farley boring, and you may not want to sit through it again. One other thing I'm wondering about is why are there so many guns. There are four different types of pistols yet they all do the same thing. But in a happier note, Enter the Matrix is a good game, being able to play as two Characters (Niobe, Ghost) is cool and the driving parts our ok but you may want to rent this game first. The game is very addicting for the first couple of days but after that it will become an average game in your gaming library. | 1 | neutral | [
"When I first bought Enter the Matrix I was hooked.",
"Hears why.",
"Imagine being surrounded by four guards, and they are closing in.",
"In most games you'd be screwed in a position like this, but not in Enter the Matrix.",
"One guard comes in to grab you but with a front kick and an upper cut you easily take him out.",
"Two other guards charge in, but you take down one with a flurry of punches, and you grab the other guard and throw him into a wall, knocking him out.",
"The last guard runs in quickly and try's to kick you but you run up the adjacent wall land behind him a crack his Neck with one stroke.",
"Oh yeha and you did all this with only using three buttons.",
"Now do you see why I am hooked?",
"But sadly there is a bad part.",
"First off the graphics Suck.",
"They're not as bad as an N64 game but they come close at times.",
"Second off there is a friggin save screen about every two minutes, if you are lucky maybe five minutes.",
"Last off the game does not have the best replay value; sure the fighting kicks ass, and it is addicting, but the story is farley boring, and you may not want to sit through it again.",
"One other thing I'm wondering about is why are there so many guns.",
"There are four different types of pistols yet they all do the same thing.",
"But in a happier note, Enter the Matrix is a good game, being able to play as two Characters (Niobe, Ghost) is cool and the driving parts our ok but you may want to rent this game first.",
"The game is very addicting for the first couple of days but after that it will become an average game in your gaming library."
] |
Let, me start out by saying there should be "N/A" (non-applicable) space on the rating scales. Because you really can't say this is a toy -- it's a backpack. The stuff that goes in it, is the toy that is fun & educational. I purchased the bright froggy green and sky blue color to match my sons LeapPad. It is a very lightweight but durable backpack. It has adjustable shoulder straps, a handle for carrying and Velcro fasteners to secure it shut. The material is easy to wash (by using any soapy cloth or paper towel). There's a special pouch with extra padding for the LeapPad, another in front of it to hold LeapPad books, and net pouches to hold LeapPad cartridges. I know they made this to hold 4 books and cartridges, however, this could fit double that amount! My only complaint is, that I wish they made the net pouches just a little bit longer, because as it is now I can put 2 cartridges in each pouch (to fit a total of 8 cartridges) but the top cartridges hang a little over the netting (but they still stay in securely). If you have a lot of books and cartridges, as I do -- this is great for your child to travel with. I think it's worth the purchase! | 1 | neutral | [
"Let, me start out by saying there should be \"N/A\" (non-applicable) space on the rating scales.",
"Because you really can't say this is a toy -- it's a backpack.",
"The stuff that goes in it, is the toy that is fun & educational.",
"I purchased the bright froggy green and sky blue color to match my sons LeapPad.",
"It is a very lightweight but durable backpack.",
"It has adjustable shoulder straps, a handle for carrying and Velcro fasteners to secure it shut.",
"The material is easy to wash (by using any soapy cloth or paper towel).",
"There's a special pouch with extra padding for the LeapPad, another in front of it to hold LeapPad books, and net pouches to hold LeapPad cartridges.",
"I know they made this to hold 4 books and cartridges, however, this could fit double that amount!",
"My only complaint is, that I wish they made the net pouches just a little bit longer, because as it is now I can put 2 cartridges in each pouch (to fit a total of 8 cartridges) but the top cartridges hang a little over the netting (but they still stay in securely).",
"If you have a lot of books and cartridges, as I do -- this is great for your child to travel with.",
"I think it's worth the purchase!"
] |
So...I have nothing bad to say about this that has been substantiated. Good food at a value price for the quality since it comes in such a large can. My cat ate it with gusto, though he is not picky so I'm not sure whether that is a good endorsement. However, shortly after switching to this food (from Merrick), suddenly his litter box was un-fixably smelly. I scooped my heart out, and tried commercial deodorizer, fresh litter, and lighting candles all over the room to no avail. I live in a small apartment, so the smell basically hit you in the face when you walked in the front door...it was pretty epic. It took almost 2 weeks, but I finally realized what the culprit was...and as soon as I fed him something else the smell situation vastly improve. I don't know if this is a thing that will happen to all cats who eat this stuff, but it certainly did to mine. :/ Bummer because it was a big savings over the 5.5 oz cans. | 1 | neutral | [
"So...",
"I have nothing bad to say about this that has been substantiated.",
"Good food at a value price for the quality since it comes in such a large can.",
"My cat ate it with gusto, though he is not picky so I'm not sure whether that is a good endorsement.",
"However, shortly after switching to this food (from Merrick), suddenly his litter box was un-fixably smelly.",
"I scooped my heart out, and tried commercial deodorizer, fresh litter, and lighting candles all over the room to no avail.",
"I live in a small apartment, so the smell basically hit you in the face when you walked in the front door...",
"it was pretty epic.",
"It took almost 2 weeks, but I finally realized what the culprit was...",
"and as soon as I fed him something else the smell situation vastly improve.",
"I don't know if this is a thing that will happen to all cats who eat this stuff, but it certainly did to mine.",
":/ Bummer because it was a big savings over the 5.",
"5 oz cans."
] |
I must congratulate Sony on the brilliant job in marketing this game machine. They sure managed to fool me and many others. The bottom line with Playstation 2 is that it is exactly the same as Sega Dreamcast. What Sony doesn't want you to know is that all the hardware specs are the same for both systems except for the fact that Dreamcast has a FASTER video chip that Playstation 2. If you want to buy a PS2 for its DVD capabilities, let me tell you that its DVD player is SUBPAR. I can actually compare their DVD "quality" to being similar to VHS. This is ridiculous. And don' forget that PS2 won't be on the Internet and won't have proper multiplayer capabilites until fall NEXT YEAR. With Dreamcast you can already play via multiplayer. Being an avid gamer, I bought both systems and I'm selling my PS2 because I am so dissapointed. Due to Sony's horrible DVD quality, SAME power in hardware, and DELAYED multiplayer, it leaves me and many others to questions Sony's price tag. You can get a NEW Dreamcast, 3 games, 2 controllers, a memory card and a top-of-the-line DVD player for the price of just the PS2 console, NO EXTRA GAMES OR CONTROLLERS. Let me stress the fact that the hardware is virtually the SAME. Don't let Sony fool you into buying one of their "dream machines." My advise is to buy a DVD player and Dreamcast since that is the smartest and money cost-effective way to do it. There are thousands of unhappy people selling their PS2's right now. Don't be one of them. | 1 | neutral | [
"I must congratulate Sony on the brilliant job in marketing this game machine.",
"They sure managed to fool me and many others.",
"The bottom line with Playstation 2 is that it is exactly the same as Sega Dreamcast.",
"What Sony doesn't want you to know is that all the hardware specs are the same for both systems except for the fact that Dreamcast has a FASTER video chip that Playstation 2.",
"If you want to buy a PS2 for its DVD capabilities, let me tell you that its DVD player is SUBPAR.",
"I can actually compare their DVD \"quality\" to being similar to VHS.",
"This is ridiculous.",
"And don' forget that PS2 won't be on the Internet and won't have proper multiplayer capabilites until fall NEXT YEAR.",
"With Dreamcast you can already play via multiplayer.",
"Being an avid gamer, I bought both systems and I'm selling my PS2 because I am so dissapointed.",
"Due to Sony's horrible DVD quality, SAME power in hardware, and DELAYED multiplayer, it leaves me and many others to questions Sony's price tag.",
"You can get a NEW Dreamcast, 3 games, 2 controllers, a memory card and a top-of-the-line DVD player for the price of just the PS2 console, NO EXTRA GAMES OR CONTROLLERS.",
"Let me stress the fact that the hardware is virtually the SAME.",
"Don't let Sony fool you into buying one of their \"dream machines.",
"\" My advise is to buy a DVD player and Dreamcast since that is the smartest and money cost-effective way to do it.",
"There are thousands of unhappy people selling their PS2's right now.",
"Don't be one of them."
] |
I bought a Bodum 12-cup Columbia seven or eight years ago, and use it at least a couple of times a week.
It makes good coffee, as all Bodum pots do. But, the quality of the build isn't that great. Within a year or so of regular use, the stainless lid snapped free of the plastic under-lid, and it rattles around. But the main problem is with the filters. I've bought four so far.
The plastic filter assembly is surrounded by a thin silicone rubber gasket. Very thin. The silicone absorbs oil from the coffee, which not only is unsightly, but it seems to weaken it, and it inevitably develops a tear. As soon as that happens, it's worthless: Coffee grounds stream through it into the coffee.
If the kind of stainless mesh assembly found in the glass pots were available for retrofitting, I would buy one. | 1 | neutral | [
"I bought a Bodum 12-cup Columbia seven or eight years ago, and use it at least a couple of times a week.",
"It makes good coffee, as all Bodum pots do.",
"But, the quality of the build isn't that great.",
"Within a year or so of regular use, the stainless lid snapped free of the plastic under-lid, and it rattles around.",
"But the main problem is with the filters.",
"I've bought four so far.",
"The plastic filter assembly is surrounded by a thin silicone rubber gasket.",
"Very thin.",
"The silicone absorbs oil from the coffee, which not only is unsightly, but it seems to weaken it, and it inevitably develops a tear.",
"As soon as that happens, it's worthless: Coffee grounds stream through it into the coffee.",
"If the kind of stainless mesh assembly found in the glass pots were available for retrofitting, I would buy one."
] |
*** 3 Cranky Stars ***
Peregrine, a wanderer and a man of mystery, comes to London for revenge on a man who destroyed his life. Stylizing himself as a Prince, Peregrine enlists the help of an old friend, Ross Carlisle, to introduce him in society.
Lady Sara St. James, Ross's cousin, meets Peregrine and is immediately intrigued by him. Sara is sheltered and cosseted. She's done everything correct - as a proper lady should, yet Peregrine's wildness begins to rub off on her.
The only problems: Sara's betrothed and her fiance is who Peregrine has come to destroy.
A bodice-ripping historical romance, this was an interesting read. Some of it was overly dramatic and at times, it felt like a morality lesson. There's a continuity issue in the book, but not a major one. Just enough to make me recheck to make sure.
There is also some wonderful information here about parts of the world that I didn't know about and now have been researching for more.
In saying that, there's a scene in here that was uncomfortable. Other readers have commented on it and so I don't need to. All I'll say is if I'd known it was in the book, I wouldn't have read it. | 1 | neutral | [
"*** 3 Cranky Stars ***\n\nPeregrine, a wanderer and a man of mystery, comes to London for revenge on a man who destroyed his life.",
"Stylizing himself as a Prince, Peregrine enlists the help of an old friend, Ross Carlisle, to introduce him in society.",
"Lady Sara St.",
"James, Ross's cousin, meets Peregrine and is immediately intrigued by him.",
"Sara is sheltered and cosseted.",
"She's done everything correct - as a proper lady should, yet Peregrine's wildness begins to rub off on her.",
"The only problems: Sara's betrothed and her fiance is who Peregrine has come to destroy.",
"A bodice-ripping historical romance, this was an interesting read.",
"Some of it was overly dramatic and at times, it felt like a morality lesson.",
"There's a continuity issue in the book, but not a major one.",
"Just enough to make me recheck to make sure.",
"There is also some wonderful information here about parts of the world that I didn't know about and now have been researching for more.",
"In saying that, there's a scene in here that was uncomfortable.",
"Other readers have commented on it and so I don't need to.",
"All I'll say is if I'd known it was in the book, I wouldn't have read it."
] |
The envelopes are a nice weight of paper. The clasps however fall off very easily and can not be trusted to keep your envelope closed. I used these for convention registration packets. 20% of the clasps fell off as I closed them for the first time putting the packets together. Another 20% fell off at the convention when the participants opened their packets. If you are sealing with tape, then it's not an issue. Would I order these again for next year's convention? Probably. The price is right and I'm not using them for shipping. I did not try sealing them with water so can not review that aspect. | 1 | neutral | [
"The envelopes are a nice weight of paper.",
"The clasps however fall off very easily and can not be trusted to keep your envelope closed.",
"I used these for convention registration packets.",
"20% of the clasps fell off as I closed them for the first time putting the packets together.",
"Another 20% fell off at the convention when the participants opened their packets.",
"If you are sealing with tape, then it's not an issue.",
"Would I order these again for next year's convention?",
"Probably.",
"The price is right and I'm not using them for shipping.",
"I did not try sealing them with water so can not review that aspect."
] |
I'm a bit leery of this product. I've been a Norton customer since it first started providing security services. The product detail says 25GB of Online Backup, but I receive a 5GB Online Back Up card via Amazon Vine. Where my skepticism comes in is the product is an annual product like all other Norton products. In addition to this product being comparible to services like DropBox, Box, and SkyDrive, I looked through the TOS and the product paperwork that came in the package for what happens to my back ups provided I do NOT renew this service on an annual basis. Do I lose access to what I've already backed up? If this is the case, this could be detrimental and I would suffer a loss of my personal files. I currently have a ticket into Norton to see what happens to my files provided I do not renew. I will post their response when I receive an answer, but I am not going to back up anything until I know the answer. One would thing that this would displayed clearly somewhere in the TOS. Now the actual product is 25GB is a a good amount, however, it is still comparable to the other online storage and back up services I mentioned above. With that being said, I already pay Norton in excess of $120 for Cyber Security products and multiple family back ups across devices, do I want to give them another $25 for online storage? You may want to bypass this one, but I will post the response from Norton about the "shelf-life" of my back ups as soon as I hear from them. | 1 | neutral | [
"I'm a bit leery of this product.",
"I've been a Norton customer since it first started providing security services.",
"The product detail says 25GB of Online Backup, but I receive a 5GB Online Back Up card via Amazon Vine.",
"Where my skepticism comes in is the product is an annual product like all other Norton products.",
"In addition to this product being comparible to services like DropBox, Box, and SkyDrive, I looked through the TOS and the product paperwork that came in the package for what happens to my back ups provided I do NOT renew this service on an annual basis.",
"Do I lose access to what I've already backed up?",
"If this is the case, this could be detrimental and I would suffer a loss of my personal files.",
"I currently have a ticket into Norton to see what happens to my files provided I do not renew.",
"I will post their response when I receive an answer, but I am not going to back up anything until I know the answer.",
"One would thing that this would displayed clearly somewhere in the TOS.",
"Now the actual product is 25GB is a a good amount, however, it is still comparable to the other online storage and back up services I mentioned above.",
"With that being said, I already pay Norton in excess of $120 for Cyber Security products and multiple family back ups across devices, do I want to give them another $25 for online storage?",
"You may want to bypass this one, but I will post the response from Norton about the \"shelf-life\" of my back ups as soon as I hear from them."
] |
I'm late to the party when it comes to the Burnout franchise; admittedly, until Burnout Revenge (which I picked up for it's low price point after picking up my then "hard-to-come-by" Xbox 360 and wanting something to play,) I knew nothing of the titles. But after a good ten minutes with Revenge's unparalleled sense of speed, completely unforgiving collisions at 200mph and explosions worthy of any high-budget "shoot-em-up" flick, I was hooked. When this sequel was announced, I was thrilled.
Now that I've played it, I can't say I'm disappointed, but some of the choices they made this time out make for a great game, but also make me glad that I've still got Revenge on the shelf to fall back on.
The high points: the free-roam format was simply made for this type of action based racing. Even at the insane speeds of the previous Burnout, one felt safe in that all you had to do was learn the tracks and the handful of shortcuts. When you literally have an entire city as your "track," and no invisible barriers or arcade-style directional arrow walls to guide you, every turn is a frenetic, heart-stopping accident waiting to happen! The crash mechanics are amazing. High-speed impacts send cars careening realistically in every direction leaving trails of debris in their wake. The mixture of events and lack of traditional "courses" make each and every time you rev up at the start line a unique experience which is something no other racing title could ever hope to boast.
The low points: where the hell are my explosions?? The ability to use your "boost" not only as a "nitrous" but also as fuel for explosions made Burnout Revenge a terribly sadistic and satisfying experience! Just because you wrecked didn't mean you were out of the race and everyone feared your wreckage until you were well away in the rearview mirror; every burning pile essentially became a proximity mine waiting on anyone to pass too closely. Revenge and Aftertouch takedowns were oh-so-sweet, but they're no where to be found in Paradise. Why? Another staple they all but removed are the Crash Junctions. It's been replaced with something called "Showtime" which lets you (unrealistically) hurl your car into the air at almost any given moment (no need of a ramp or anything,) and toss yourself down the street into traffic bouncing off the cars in complete defiance of gravity, inertial law and, hell, physics in general. No, Burnout is not touted for its realism, but some things are so far gone, they have no place even in fantasy, especially when they're replacing something as key and signature as the Burnout Crash Junctions. Not to say "Showtime" isn't fun, it's just far more "novelty" than "essential game element." Add to this the fact that there's no puzzle element as presented in the Crash Junctions, and it quickly loses its flair and simply feels stupid and pointless after the fourth or fifth time out.
All in all, Burnout Paradise is a great game with a couple of blatantly missed opportunities remedy by a mere $20 investment in its older brother Burnout Revenge; Paradise for the racing and Revenge for the carnage! | 1 | neutral | [
"I'm late to the party when it comes to the Burnout franchise; admittedly, until Burnout Revenge (which I picked up for it's low price point after picking up my then \"hard-to-come-by\" Xbox 360 and wanting something to play,) I knew nothing of the titles.",
"But after a good ten minutes with Revenge's unparalleled sense of speed, completely unforgiving collisions at 200mph and explosions worthy of any high-budget \"shoot-em-up\" flick, I was hooked.",
"When this sequel was announced, I was thrilled.",
"Now that I've played it, I can't say I'm disappointed, but some of the choices they made this time out make for a great game, but also make me glad that I've still got Revenge on the shelf to fall back on.",
"The high points: the free-roam format was simply made for this type of action based racing.",
"Even at the insane speeds of the previous Burnout, one felt safe in that all you had to do was learn the tracks and the handful of shortcuts.",
"When you literally have an entire city as your \"track,\" and no invisible barriers or arcade-style directional arrow walls to guide you, every turn is a frenetic, heart-stopping accident waiting to happen!",
"The crash mechanics are amazing.",
"High-speed impacts send cars careening realistically in every direction leaving trails of debris in their wake.",
"The mixture of events and lack of traditional \"courses\" make each and every time you rev up at the start line a unique experience which is something no other racing title could ever hope to boast.",
"The low points: where the hell are my explosions??",
"The ability to use your \"boost\" not only as a \"nitrous\" but also as fuel for explosions made Burnout Revenge a terribly sadistic and satisfying experience!",
"Just because you wrecked didn't mean you were out of the race and everyone feared your wreckage until you were well away in the rearview mirror; every burning pile essentially became a proximity mine waiting on anyone to pass too closely.",
"Revenge and Aftertouch takedowns were oh-so-sweet, but they're no where to be found in Paradise.",
"Why?",
"Another staple they all but removed are the Crash Junctions.",
"It's been replaced with something called \"Showtime\" which lets you (unrealistically) hurl your car into the air at almost any given moment (no need of a ramp or anything,) and toss yourself down the street into traffic bouncing off the cars in complete defiance of gravity, inertial law and, hell, physics in general.",
"No, Burnout is not touted for its realism, but some things are so far gone, they have no place even in fantasy, especially when they're replacing something as key and signature as the Burnout Crash Junctions.",
"Not to say \"Showtime\" isn't fun, it's just far more \"novelty\" than \"essential game element.",
"\" Add to this the fact that there's no puzzle element as presented in the Crash Junctions, and it quickly loses its flair and simply feels stupid and pointless after the fourth or fifth time out.",
"All in all, Burnout Paradise is a great game with a couple of blatantly missed opportunities remedy by a mere $20 investment in its older brother Burnout Revenge; Paradise for the racing and Revenge for the carnage!"
] |
First let me start by saying this is a short story, a very short story. At least it felt extremely short to me.
I enjoyed the author's writing style and I liked the whole idea behind the story. I just wish there had been more to it. It just felt that right as I was starting to really understand what was going on in Liu's world and starting to connect with the main character, that the story ended.
I would love to read more about the futuristic word he has created. I would definitely like to find out how Symspace operates. I would also like to find out more about Troy and how he assimilates into the new world he is being given the opportunity to join.
Overall it's a nice little bite of the authors writing. Again the only issue I had with it was the fact that it felt like it ended just when the story was really beginning. I would read more work done by the author just based on this example. It's currently free on Amazon so picking it up wasn't like it killed my wallet or anything. I definitely recommend picking it up and giving it a go. | 1 | neutral | [
"First let me start by saying this is a short story, a very short story.",
"At least it felt extremely short to me.",
"I enjoyed the author's writing style and I liked the whole idea behind the story.",
"I just wish there had been more to it.",
"It just felt that right as I was starting to really understand what was going on in Liu's world and starting to connect with the main character, that the story ended.",
"I would love to read more about the futuristic word he has created.",
"I would definitely like to find out how Symspace operates.",
"I would also like to find out more about Troy and how he assimilates into the new world he is being given the opportunity to join.",
"Overall it's a nice little bite of the authors writing.",
"Again the only issue I had with it was the fact that it felt like it ended just when the story was really beginning.",
"I would read more work done by the author just based on this example.",
"It's currently free on Amazon so picking it up wasn't like it killed my wallet or anything.",
"I definitely recommend picking it up and giving it a go."
] |
White and male: broader bureaucracy mirrors Trump cabinet's profile
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When Donald Trump faced criticism from advocacy groups for not including more women and minorities in his cabinet last January the incoming administration promised that the lower rungs of the bureaucracy would ultimately look more diverse.
Now recently available government data on the ethnic and gender make-up of the broader Trump administration shows that with over 1 000 mid-level political jobs filled by mid-year the appointees look much like the top leadership: mostly white and male.
Out of the Trump administrationâs 24 top cabinet-level positions 17 are filled by white men.
Asked to comment on the mid-level personnel data White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said Trump had a long history of promoting women and pointed to last weekâs nomination of Kirstjen Nielsen to lead the Department of Homeland Security.
â He will continue to elevate and empower women to top posts in his administration â Walters said. She declined to discuss Trump âs views on the ethnicity of political appointees.
One day before Trump took office on Jan. 20 his then-spokesman Sean Spicer responded to criticism of the cabinetâs lineup by saying that members were picked on their merits and appointments across the broader federal bureaucracy would satisfy demands for more diversity.
âPeople (will) look at and respect the level of diversity throughout his entire administration â he told reporters.
U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded by his cabinet including Education Secretary Betsy DeVos (L-R) Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Linda McMahon Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Ben Carson Vice President Mike Pence Energy Secretary Rick Perry Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross Defense Secretary James Mattis Attorney General Jeff Sessions Attorney General Jeff Sessions Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt and Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Tom Price as he signs an executive order entitled "Comprehensive Plan for Reorganizing the Executive Branch" in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington U.S. March 13 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington U.S. July 31 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo | 1 | neutral | [
"White and male: broader bureaucracy mirrors Trump cabinet's profile\nWASHINGTON (Reuters) - When Donald Trump faced criticism from advocacy groups for not including more women and minorities in his cabinet last January the incoming administration promised that the lower rungs of the bureaucracy would ultimately look more diverse.",
"Now recently available government data on the ethnic and gender make-up of the broader Trump administration shows that with over 1 000 mid-level political jobs filled by mid-year the appointees look much like the top leadership: mostly white and male.",
"Out of the Trump administrationâs 24 top cabinet-level positions 17 are filled by white men.",
"Asked to comment on the mid-level personnel data White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said Trump had a long history of promoting women and pointed to last weekâs nomination of Kirstjen Nielsen to lead the Department of Homeland Security.",
"â He will continue to elevate and empower women to top posts in his administration â Walters said.",
"She declined to discuss Trump âs views on the ethnicity of political appointees.",
"One day before Trump took office on Jan.",
"20 his then-spokesman Sean Spicer responded to criticism of the cabinetâs lineup by saying that members were picked on their merits and appointments across the broader federal bureaucracy would satisfy demands for more diversity.",
"âPeople (will) look at and respect the level of diversity throughout his entire administration â he told reporters.",
"U.",
"S. President Donald Trump is surrounded by his cabinet including Education Secretary Betsy DeVos (L-R) Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Linda McMahon Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke U.",
"S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Ben Carson Vice President Mike Pence Energy Secretary Rick Perry Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross Defense Secretary James Mattis Attorney General Jeff Sessions Attorney General Jeff Sessions Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt and Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Tom Price as he signs an executive order entitled \"Comprehensive Plan for Reorganizing the Executive Branch\" in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington U.",
"S. March 13 2017.",
"REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo\nFILE PHOTO: U.",
"S. President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington U.",
"S. July 31 2017.",
"REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo"
] |
Lori's only seen her dream stranger a few times from a distance and she's never actually talked to him but the one time they made eye contact there'd been a sizzling connection which has fueled her erotic fantasies. Before she can work up the nerve to approach him she receives an email from her best friend who's on a singles tour in Costa Rica informing her that Marie has met `the one' and is getting married. As startling as that revelation is, what's more astonishing to Lori is the picture attached to the email. Her mystery stranger is marrying her best friend.
Lori avoids spending times with Marie and her new husband for awhile but eventually Marie forces her into agreeing to spend the weekend with them at the family cottage. She's run out of excuses to avoid them, after all, she can't exactly say "sorry Marie, but I'm in lust with your husband," now can she?
Drake is conspicuously absent when Lori arrives so that the women would have time to spend together without his interference. The following morning though Lori wakes up to discover that Marie has gone out for groceries and won't be back for a few hours. It's the perfect opportunity for Lori to enjoy the sun and get a tan but she's more than a little surprised when her foray into the sun winds up becoming the most erotic experience of her life.
Lori's sun time is interrupted by her fantasy stranger who makes no apologies for his rampant desire for her. It's not like he can hide it in the tiny swim shorts he's wearing. Convinced that this man is married to her best friend, Lori's more than a little concerned about being alone with him - especially since she can't hide her own desire for him. He's fairly quick to reassure her that he's Craig, Drake's identical sibling.
There's no reason to hold back the passion brewing between them and Craig and Lori indulge in their desire for each other but if Lori thought that her fantasies would end with just Craig then she's in for a surprise because they're interrupted twice and with each interruption brings a whole new level of fantasy to the sexual encounter. Will Lori's fantasies be everything she hoped for or will it be something she comes to regret - and can love and happily-ever-after be part and parcel of the erotic acts she's experienced?
THREE is more of an erotic adventure than a hearts and flowers romance but it definitely brings the heat and is an enjoyable way to spend an hour or so. If you've ever seen some gorgeous stranger who's aroused fantasies and desires that you might have thought long dead then this is a story you will be able to appreciate - especially if those fantasies go beyond what's considered `socially acceptable.' The sex scenes are frequent and scorching but what I particularly enjoyed about this story is the genuine friendly affection displayed between all the characters. With THREE, Opal Carew dares to push the envelope with a story that will leave readers just a little bit envious of Lori's bravado - even if they'd never admit it.
WARNING: If you're looking for a tame love story then this one probably isn't for you, but if you're looking for something that might melt your circuit breakers then proceed at your own caution.
Chrissy Dionne (courtesy of Romance Junkies) | 1 | neutral | [
"Lori's only seen her dream stranger a few times from a distance and she's never actually talked to him but the one time they made eye contact there'd been a sizzling connection which has fueled her erotic fantasies.",
"Before she can work up the nerve to approach him she receives an email from her best friend who's on a singles tour in Costa Rica informing her that Marie has met `the one' and is getting married.",
"As startling as that revelation is, what's more astonishing to Lori is the picture attached to the email.",
"Her mystery stranger is marrying her best friend.",
"Lori avoids spending times with Marie and her new husband for awhile but eventually Marie forces her into agreeing to spend the weekend with them at the family cottage.",
"She's run out of excuses to avoid them, after all, she can't exactly say \"sorry Marie, but I'm in lust with your husband,\" now can she?",
"Drake is conspicuously absent when Lori arrives so that the women would have time to spend together without his interference.",
"The following morning though Lori wakes up to discover that Marie has gone out for groceries and won't be back for a few hours.",
"It's the perfect opportunity for Lori to enjoy the sun and get a tan but she's more than a little surprised when her foray into the sun winds up becoming the most erotic experience of her life.",
"Lori's sun time is interrupted by her fantasy stranger who makes no apologies for his rampant desire for her.",
"It's not like he can hide it in the tiny swim shorts he's wearing.",
"Convinced that this man is married to her best friend, Lori's more than a little concerned about being alone with him - especially since she can't hide her own desire for him.",
"He's fairly quick to reassure her that he's Craig, Drake's identical sibling.",
"There's no reason to hold back the passion brewing between them and Craig and Lori indulge in their desire for each other but if Lori thought that her fantasies would end with just Craig then she's in for a surprise because they're interrupted twice and with each interruption brings a whole new level of fantasy to the sexual encounter.",
"Will Lori's fantasies be everything she hoped for or will it be something she comes to regret - and can love and happily-ever-after be part and parcel of the erotic acts she's experienced?",
"THREE is more of an erotic adventure than a hearts and flowers romance but it definitely brings the heat and is an enjoyable way to spend an hour or so.",
"If you've ever seen some gorgeous stranger who's aroused fantasies and desires that you might have thought long dead then this is a story you will be able to appreciate - especially if those fantasies go beyond what's considered `socially acceptable.",
"' The sex scenes are frequent and scorching but what I particularly enjoyed about this story is the genuine friendly affection displayed between all the characters.",
"With THREE, Opal Carew dares to push the envelope with a story that will leave readers just a little bit envious of Lori's bravado - even if they'd never admit it.",
"WARNING: If you're looking for a tame love story then this one probably isn't for you, but if you're looking for something that might melt your circuit breakers then proceed at your own caution.",
"Chrissy Dionne (courtesy of Romance Junkies)"
] |
Sonic Rivals was one of the first games I got for my PSP. It's fun when you start, and it's pretty cool collecting cards, but then it gets really boring and repetitive. I always try to collect new cards, but I always get the same cards. And the roster is also sort of boring. Silver, Sonic, and Shadow are fast (obviously) and Knuckles is the slowest, that's all there is to know. The only character I like is Metal Sonic. The storyline is also very boring, just people chasing Eggman Nega and Eggman. That's not a big deal, though, because I don't buy video games to read them. I would recommend this game to (maybe) have on the go, but not to play at home or something. Just something to do when you're bored. | 1 | neutral | [
"Sonic Rivals was one of the first games I got for my PSP.",
"It's fun when you start, and it's pretty cool collecting cards, but then it gets really boring and repetitive.",
"I always try to collect new cards, but I always get the same cards.",
"And the roster is also sort of boring.",
"Silver, Sonic, and Shadow are fast (obviously) and Knuckles is the slowest, that's all there is to know.",
"The only character I like is Metal Sonic.",
"The storyline is also very boring, just people chasing Eggman Nega and Eggman.",
"That's not a big deal, though, because I don't buy video games to read them.",
"I would recommend this game to (maybe) have on the go, but not to play at home or something.",
"Just something to do when you're bored."
] |
Alright, so when I first bought this my Gameboy SP had no working L & R. After talking to the customer support they sent me a new SP. The support team was very helpful, and more than happy to help out. I received my new SP and EVERYTHING worked, it was a limited edition SP as well, and I was extremely happy with it. However, after about 2-3 days the SP died on me. A few months past, and I decided to open her up, a piece fell out, which turns out to be the back piece screw holder. I simply took that out, and WALAH! The SP now works again. I no longer have a back covering the battery. So, I now have a working SP, and happy with it but, through all the troubles I had with the Gameboy SP's I'm only going to give them a 3 star.
TL;DR
Pro's:
Customer Service is Helpful
With some work SP's worked
Cons:
Had problems with both SP's and still do.
2/2 failed SP's in some way shape or form. | 1 | neutral | [
"Alright, so when I first bought this my Gameboy SP had no working L & R.",
"After talking to the customer support they sent me a new SP.",
"The support team was very helpful, and more than happy to help out.",
"I received my new SP and EVERYTHING worked, it was a limited edition SP as well, and I was extremely happy with it.",
"However, after about 2-3 days the SP died on me.",
"A few months past, and I decided to open her up, a piece fell out, which turns out to be the back piece screw holder.",
"I simply took that out, and WALAH!",
"The SP now works again.",
"I no longer have a back covering the battery.",
"So, I now have a working SP, and happy with it but, through all the troubles I had with the Gameboy SP's I'm only going to give them a 3 star.",
"TL;DR\n\nPro's:\nCustomer Service is Helpful\nWith some work SP's worked\n\nCons:\nHad problems with both SP's and still do.",
"2/2 failed SP's in some way shape or form."
] |
Many of my comments from this review come from a direct, hands-on comparison of three sets of compact 10x25 binoculars, The Alpen PRO, the Olympus Tracker (both purchased here), and my Minolta Compact binoculars that I've been using for years. Out of the 3, the Alpens are my least favorite. Yes, the 6.5 degree wide angle viewing is more than the 5.0 on the Minolta and the 5.3 degree of the Olympus, but I found some less desirable traits with the Alpen. First, I found it more difficult to get the eye pieces exactly the right distance apart to create a single image than the other two binoculars. Also, and probably most annoying, the close focal distance seemed to be about double the listed length of 12 feet. I could VERY easily focus on items 10-15 feet away with the Olympus and Minolta binoculars, but I could not come anywhere NEAR focusing on those items with the Alpen. Maybe this won't be an issue when looking off the deck of a ship at something, but it certainly make the binoculars less flexible in their use. The ridged hand grips on the Alpen binoculars didn't fit my hands well, there was no adjustable eye relief, no lens caps, and a cheap feeling canvas case. The optics are crystal clear so no complaints there, and once I got them focused they didn't wander. I would have returned these binoculars if I paid more than $50 for them, but for something that claims to be waterproof, plus provide a slightly wider field of vision, I think I'm going to keep them as a third, slightly different, set in my binocular arsenal.
The Olympus Trackers were my favorite of the three, and the $20 more I paid for these versus the Alpen is money very well spent. The eye pieces (which have caps), rotate out to provide a much deeper eye relief, making it much easier to focus these binoculars. The optics are perfect, and adjustments easy to make. The Trackers are less bulky and the sleak silver body makes them much more refined looking than the Alpen (which looked like something you take in the woods). I was able to pick these up and adjust them to my preferences in half the time it took for the Alpen PRO's, and as icing on the cake, the streamlined, padded plastic case is far more attractive than the basic canvas case of the Alpen.
Overall, I rate the Olympus Tracker my favorite out of these three. All had excellent optics for a compact binocular, but the Olympus was easier to use, felt better, and looked better overall. Consider the Alpen if you're looking for something that's weather resistant and with a slightly larger viewing angle, but if these are not important features, the Olympus Trackers will be a much better choice at a similar price. | 1 | neutral | [
"Many of my comments from this review come from a direct, hands-on comparison of three sets of compact 10x25 binoculars, The Alpen PRO, the Olympus Tracker (both purchased here), and my Minolta Compact binoculars that I've been using for years.",
"Out of the 3, the Alpens are my least favorite.",
"Yes, the 6.",
"5 degree wide angle viewing is more than the 5.",
"0 on the Minolta and the 5.",
"3 degree of the Olympus, but I found some less desirable traits with the Alpen.",
"First, I found it more difficult to get the eye pieces exactly the right distance apart to create a single image than the other two binoculars.",
"Also, and probably most annoying, the close focal distance seemed to be about double the listed length of 12 feet.",
"I could VERY easily focus on items 10-15 feet away with the Olympus and Minolta binoculars, but I could not come anywhere NEAR focusing on those items with the Alpen.",
"Maybe this won't be an issue when looking off the deck of a ship at something, but it certainly make the binoculars less flexible in their use.",
"The ridged hand grips on the Alpen binoculars didn't fit my hands well, there was no adjustable eye relief, no lens caps, and a cheap feeling canvas case.",
"The optics are crystal clear so no complaints there, and once I got them focused they didn't wander.",
"I would have returned these binoculars if I paid more than $50 for them, but for something that claims to be waterproof, plus provide a slightly wider field of vision, I think I'm going to keep them as a third, slightly different, set in my binocular arsenal.",
"The Olympus Trackers were my favorite of the three, and the $20 more I paid for these versus the Alpen is money very well spent.",
"The eye pieces (which have caps), rotate out to provide a much deeper eye relief, making it much easier to focus these binoculars.",
"The optics are perfect, and adjustments easy to make.",
"The Trackers are less bulky and the sleak silver body makes them much more refined looking than the Alpen (which looked like something you take in the woods).",
"I was able to pick these up and adjust them to my preferences in half the time it took for the Alpen PRO's, and as icing on the cake, the streamlined, padded plastic case is far more attractive than the basic canvas case of the Alpen.",
"Overall, I rate the Olympus Tracker my favorite out of these three.",
"All had excellent optics for a compact binocular, but the Olympus was easier to use, felt better, and looked better overall.",
"Consider the Alpen if you're looking for something that's weather resistant and with a slightly larger viewing angle, but if these are not important features, the Olympus Trackers will be a much better choice at a similar price."
] |
My only problem with these is a big one for me; comfort. After maybe an hour or so, they begin to really hurt my ears. People rave on here about how comfortable they are, I don't get it. I have an average size head, so I don't think my ears or dome piece is the issue. The circular foam pads around the speakers are very thin and the round speaker pieces underneath have hard edges that press through the foam and onto your ear. After a while it begins to hurt... not like make you bleed and cry hurt, but just slight dull pain from pressure. I have had these for about a year and use them daily at work. I still haven't gotten used to them, I doubt my ears will develop defensive callouses. Other than that, these have good sound and look cool for the money.
Edit: I've had these for about a year and a half. I am so-so about them and definitely don't love them. They have not stopped hurting my ears, but I've gotten somewhat tolerable to it. FYI, back then I purchased the Grado SR-60s at the same time, and found them to also have the same super-cheap, extremely uncomfortable padding so I returned them. I kept the Koss phones since they were cheap and didn't require a headphone amp or purchasing an additional plug adaptor.
I have been looking for on-ear headphones since then, so if anyone has any recommendations on an upgrade that's COMFY and sounds amazing, I'd love to hear from you. Happy shopping. | 1 | neutral | [
"My only problem with these is a big one for me; comfort.",
"After maybe an hour or so, they begin to really hurt my ears.",
"People rave on here about how comfortable they are, I don't get it.",
"I have an average size head, so I don't think my ears or dome piece is the issue.",
"The circular foam pads around the speakers are very thin and the round speaker pieces underneath have hard edges that press through the foam and onto your ear.",
"After a while it begins to hurt...",
"not like make you bleed and cry hurt, but just slight dull pain from pressure.",
"I have had these for about a year and use them daily at work.",
"I still haven't gotten used to them, I doubt my ears will develop defensive callouses.",
"Other than that, these have good sound and look cool for the money.",
"Edit: I've had these for about a year and a half.",
"I am so-so about them and definitely don't love them.",
"They have not stopped hurting my ears, but I've gotten somewhat tolerable to it.",
"FYI, back then I purchased the Grado SR-60s at the same time, and found them to also have the same super-cheap, extremely uncomfortable padding so I returned them.",
"I kept the Koss phones since they were cheap and didn't require a headphone amp or purchasing an additional plug adaptor.",
"I have been looking for on-ear headphones since then, so if anyone has any recommendations on an upgrade that's COMFY and sounds amazing, I'd love to hear from you.",
"Happy shopping."
] |
To begin, this is exactly the case I would consider as a Bumper Case. However when I purchased it I thought it was a case that wrapped a clear gel backing around the phone. Yeah well, it isn't. I'm not exactly sure were I got that notion but it was incorrect. This is a bumper case.
Anyways long story short the case is only a little better than. No case at all. But a little protection makes me sleep a little better at night. Helps with grip. That's a about it It's cheap. And it shipped FAST and got here way before expected. | 1 | neutral | [
"To begin, this is exactly the case I would consider as a Bumper Case.",
"However when I purchased it I thought it was a case that wrapped a clear gel backing around the phone.",
"Yeah well, it isn't.",
"I'm not exactly sure were I got that notion but it was incorrect.",
"This is a bumper case.",
"Anyways long story short the case is only a little better than.",
"No case at all.",
"But a little protection makes me sleep a little better at night.",
"Helps with grip.",
"That's a about it It's cheap.",
"And it shipped FAST and got here way before expected."
] |
When you talk about Def Leppard you can't think but associate the guys with legendary producer Mutt Lange.
It is no surprise that most of the material included here (and the best, i'd dare say) it's his.
The collection relies heavily on the singles off their 2 most successful albums: ANIMAL is the one track that got me into Def Leppard's music.
Still has a great part in my Summer 1987 memories
HYSTERIA and LOVE BITES are the power-ballads that bring emotions to this disc, along with HAVE YOU EVER NEEDED SOMEONE SO BAD?.
POUR SOME SUGAR ON ME is the most explicit song..honey and skin and all that's in bwetween...
And then WHEN LOVE AND HATE COLLIDES marks the new DL direction.
Some tune are embarassing..ROCKET and MAKE LOVE LIKE A MAN just plain ..., but most of the rest is good.
The band shows that there is more than the Queen coming from England for all the world to see..LOL | 1 | neutral | [
"When you talk about Def Leppard you can't think but associate the guys with legendary producer Mutt Lange.",
"It is no surprise that most of the material included here (and the best, i'd dare say) it's his.",
"The collection relies heavily on the singles off their 2 most successful albums: ANIMAL is the one track that got me into Def Leppard's music.",
"Still has a great part in my Summer 1987 memories\nHYSTERIA and LOVE BITES are the power-ballads that bring emotions to this disc, along with HAVE YOU EVER NEEDED SOMEONE SO BAD?.",
"POUR SOME SUGAR ON ME is the most explicit song..",
"honey and skin and all that's in bwetween...",
"And then WHEN LOVE AND HATE COLLIDES marks the new DL direction.",
"Some tune are embarassing..",
"ROCKET and MAKE LOVE LIKE A MAN just plain...",
", but most of the rest is good.",
"The band shows that there is more than the Queen coming from England for all the world to see..",
"LOL"
] |
This is an intriguing but not wholly satisfying FPS. It's from Sierra, and based on a series of hit PC games. Sierra also produced Half Life, also a PC hit with a PS2 version that appeared a couple of years ago, and which Global Strike Team most closely resembles. The graphics, the movement, the design, all echo the PS2 Half Life.
Which is generally fine. The graphics are good enough, if not the sharpest, the movement is fine if a bit rigid, and the action is okay if not particularly distinguished. I was hoping a SWAT based game would offer something different from fighting aliens or futuristic armies.
However, the game, like many PC game console versions, seems a bit rushed and never fulfills its potential. For one, it's way too easy, a big turnoff. In normal mode, I blew through the first dozen missions with scant replays. The AI was the same all around, with bumbling criminals with lousy aim who behave the same repeatedly.
You play a SWAT team member tracking somebody or other across the globe. The story and plot are just not critical. All you need to do in every mission is know who to shoot and who to capture. You usually face a bunch of thugs, who you can choose to either riddle with holes and kill, or simply wound and then handcuff. You usually have to capture a couple of major suspects on each board, so it's best not to kill them (but maiming is okay.)
The weaponry is underwhelming. Off the bat, you get access to a 'machine gun', an 'assault rifle', and a 'shotgun'. Not much detail, but standard FPS weapons. As you progress in the game, you get points you can use to upgrade each weapon, giving them more powerful or specialized ammo, a scope, a silencer, etc. Occasionally you control a team member who snipes, but even these sequences were too easy and lacked any urgency. As for leading your team, you don't even need a headset; the commands are simple and again, very linear. Once you get a hang of the missions, they blow by easily.
The game is also way too linear, an element that really dumbs down a lot of shooters, including the EA Bond and Medal of Honor entries. It's also just too easy. An added bonus, however, is the multiplayer mode, which allows for some decent death match fun, though I found this a bit too much like Half Life's multiplayer, which wasn't as smooth or violent as death matches as Red Faction, for instance.
I bought this game because it was dropped in price into a 'sweet spot' where it made it worth the less than full PS2 game price. It might be a better rental, and there isn't much innovation or sharp AI. But you can while away some hours blowing away criminal scum, though I was annoyed by the warning not to use 'Excessive Force'. Haven't they realized that blowing away random bystanders and blowing apart the surroundings is half the fun? | 1 | neutral | [
"This is an intriguing but not wholly satisfying FPS.",
"It's from Sierra, and based on a series of hit PC games.",
"Sierra also produced Half Life, also a PC hit with a PS2 version that appeared a couple of years ago, and which Global Strike Team most closely resembles.",
"The graphics, the movement, the design, all echo the PS2 Half Life.",
"Which is generally fine.",
"The graphics are good enough, if not the sharpest, the movement is fine if a bit rigid, and the action is okay if not particularly distinguished.",
"I was hoping a SWAT based game would offer something different from fighting aliens or futuristic armies.",
"However, the game, like many PC game console versions, seems a bit rushed and never fulfills its potential.",
"For one, it's way too easy, a big turnoff.",
"In normal mode, I blew through the first dozen missions with scant replays.",
"The AI was the same all around, with bumbling criminals with lousy aim who behave the same repeatedly.",
"You play a SWAT team member tracking somebody or other across the globe.",
"The story and plot are just not critical.",
"All you need to do in every mission is know who to shoot and who to capture.",
"You usually face a bunch of thugs, who you can choose to either riddle with holes and kill, or simply wound and then handcuff.",
"You usually have to capture a couple of major suspects on each board, so it's best not to kill them (but maiming is okay.",
")\nThe weaponry is underwhelming.",
"Off the bat, you get access to a 'machine gun', an 'assault rifle', and a 'shotgun'.",
"Not much detail, but standard FPS weapons.",
"As you progress in the game, you get points you can use to upgrade each weapon, giving them more powerful or specialized ammo, a scope, a silencer, etc.",
"Occasionally you control a team member who snipes, but even these sequences were too easy and lacked any urgency.",
"As for leading your team, you don't even need a headset; the commands are simple and again, very linear.",
"Once you get a hang of the missions, they blow by easily.",
"The game is also way too linear, an element that really dumbs down a lot of shooters, including the EA Bond and Medal of Honor entries.",
"It's also just too easy.",
"An added bonus, however, is the multiplayer mode, which allows for some decent death match fun, though I found this a bit too much like Half Life's multiplayer, which wasn't as smooth or violent as death matches as Red Faction, for instance.",
"I bought this game because it was dropped in price into a 'sweet spot' where it made it worth the less than full PS2 game price.",
"It might be a better rental, and there isn't much innovation or sharp AI.",
"But you can while away some hours blowing away criminal scum, though I was annoyed by the warning not to use 'Excessive Force'.",
"Haven't they realized that blowing away random bystanders and blowing apart the surroundings is half the fun?"
] |
I soooo wanted to love this book.
Don't get me wrong, its an okay book; but it could have been great! The plot was interesting, so were the characters. A "haunted" house, supernatural creatures, a good/bad boy, and a Gothic-y feel. The problem was, I felt throughout the entire book the writer was trying to write an artsy, smart people book. You know the type of book I'm talking about. The kind where you think "NO body really talks or thinks like that"!
Of all the great characters, the one I did not like was the heroine. She was whiny, oblivious, and selfish. I don't want to give away any details, but I'll just say she really, really should have figured out the villain(s), especially since she was supposed to be such a smart chick.
While the book is imperfect, I actually do want to read the next one. I hope she'll take the weak points and turn them into strengths. She obviously has a great imagination, and I hope the next book lives up to the potential of this one. | 1 | neutral | [
"I soooo wanted to love this book.",
"Don't get me wrong, its an okay book; but it could have been great!",
"The plot was interesting, so were the characters.",
"A \"haunted\" house, supernatural creatures, a good/bad boy, and a Gothic-y feel.",
"The problem was, I felt throughout the entire book the writer was trying to write an artsy, smart people book.",
"You know the type of book I'm talking about.",
"The kind where you think \"NO body really talks or thinks like that\"!",
"Of all the great characters, the one I did not like was the heroine.",
"She was whiny, oblivious, and selfish.",
"I don't want to give away any details, but I'll just say she really, really should have figured out the villain(s), especially since she was supposed to be such a smart chick.",
"While the book is imperfect, I actually do want to read the next one.",
"I hope she'll take the weak points and turn them into strengths.",
"She obviously has a great imagination, and I hope the next book lives up to the potential of this one."
] |
I think this is worth reading. I am not a big fan of the novella form- characters are usually one dimensional, stories seem rushed or overly simplistic and a little bit of background can read as dry as a law review when you are anxious to get back to the story. So I went into this expecting that. In the end, I found it didn't manage to avoid falling into those pitfalls, but I found I was pleased to have been introduced to the mythology of this world.
This one was a little bit better than many novellas- the imagery is beautiful. Anyone who has spent time in a jungle would appreciate it. Very magical setting.
The characters were not developed at all- I barely managed to put together a mental image of what they might look like, but the sex was hot and their attraction was palpable. Maggie and Brandt were likable enough, though you had to work hard to overlook his blatant deception that set off the whole thing. For the sake of the novella form, a reasonable back and forth between the two that would have allowed the relationship to develop had to be sacrificed. In places the passion short circuited rational thought, but Ms. Feehan managed to maintain the integrity of both characters.
The best part of this, as I mentioned, was the mythology. Ms. Feehan has created a wonderful concept here. The environmental message was laid on a little thick, but overall it was a good concept to quickly win the heart of the reader.
Anyone who is familiar with Ms. Feehan's work will recognize this isn't her best work, but it is a fast read that opens a door to a series that has great potential for passion. | 1 | neutral | [
"I think this is worth reading.",
"I am not a big fan of the novella form- characters are usually one dimensional, stories seem rushed or overly simplistic and a little bit of background can read as dry as a law review when you are anxious to get back to the story.",
"So I went into this expecting that.",
"In the end, I found it didn't manage to avoid falling into those pitfalls, but I found I was pleased to have been introduced to the mythology of this world.",
"This one was a little bit better than many novellas- the imagery is beautiful.",
"Anyone who has spent time in a jungle would appreciate it.",
"Very magical setting.",
"The characters were not developed at all- I barely managed to put together a mental image of what they might look like, but the sex was hot and their attraction was palpable.",
"Maggie and Brandt were likable enough, though you had to work hard to overlook his blatant deception that set off the whole thing.",
"For the sake of the novella form, a reasonable back and forth between the two that would have allowed the relationship to develop had to be sacrificed.",
"In places the passion short circuited rational thought, but Ms.",
"Feehan managed to maintain the integrity of both characters.",
"The best part of this, as I mentioned, was the mythology.",
"Ms.",
"Feehan has created a wonderful concept here.",
"The environmental message was laid on a little thick, but overall it was a good concept to quickly win the heart of the reader.",
"Anyone who is familiar with Ms.",
"Feehan's work will recognize this isn't her best work, but it is a fast read that opens a door to a series that has great potential for passion."
] |
HEDLINE
In late March a senior official from the Republican Governors Association headed for Alaska on a secret mission. Sarah Palin was beset by such political and personal turmoil that some powerful supporters determined an intervention was needed to pull her governorship and her national future back from the brink.
Like so much of the advice sent Palin's way by influential supporters it appeared to be happily received and then largely discarded barely slowing what was in retrospect an inexorable march toward the resignation she announced 10 days ago.
Palin had returned to her home state from the presidential campaign as one of the hopeful prospects in her struggling party even if she had much to prove to her detractors. Standing before the Legislature in January she vowed to retake her office with "optimism and collaboration and hard work to get the job done."
Almost as soon as she returned home the once-popular governor was isolated from an increasingly critical Legislature. Lawmakers who had supported her signature effort to develop a natural gas pipeline turned into uncooperative critics.
Ethics complaints mounted and legal bills followed. At home Palin was dealing with a teenage daughter who had given birth to a son and broken up with the infant's father a baby of her own with special needs and national news media eager to cover it all.
Friends worried that she appeared anxious and underweight.
Yet to the dismay of some advisers Palin dove into the fray seeming to relish the tabloid-ready fights that consumed her as the work of the state at times went undone.Her growing list of detractors quickly signaled they were not impressed with her celebrity status.
"We had business to do " said state Rep. Nancy Dahlstrom a Republican who had worked on Palin's 2006 race for governor. "It's not all about adoration." | 1 | neutral | [
"HEDLINE\nIn late March a senior official from the Republican Governors Association headed for Alaska on a secret mission.",
"Sarah Palin was beset by such political and personal turmoil that some powerful supporters determined an intervention was needed to pull her governorship and her national future back from the brink.",
"Like so much of the advice sent Palin's way by influential supporters it appeared to be happily received and then largely discarded barely slowing what was in retrospect an inexorable march toward the resignation she announced 10 days ago.",
"Palin had returned to her home state from the presidential campaign as one of the hopeful prospects in her struggling party even if she had much to prove to her detractors.",
"Standing before the Legislature in January she vowed to retake her office with \"optimism and collaboration and hard work to get the job done.",
"\"\n Almost as soon as she returned home the once-popular governor was isolated from an increasingly critical Legislature.",
"Lawmakers who had supported her signature effort to develop a natural gas pipeline turned into uncooperative critics.",
"Ethics complaints mounted and legal bills followed.",
"At home Palin was dealing with a teenage daughter who had given birth to a son and broken up with the infant's father a baby of her own with special needs and national news media eager to cover it all.",
"Friends worried that she appeared anxious and underweight.",
"Yet to the dismay of some advisers Palin dove into the fray seeming to relish the tabloid-ready fights that consumed her as the work of the state at times went undone.",
"Her growing list of detractors quickly signaled they were not impressed with her celebrity status.",
"\"We had business to do \" said state Rep.",
"Nancy Dahlstrom a Republican who had worked on Palin's 2006 race for governor.",
"\"It's not all about adoration.",
"\""
] |
As advertised, a nicely made stainless steel pot -- well-rolled edges give you drip-free pouring, too, which I find missing in even some very expensive brands! So far I've used this to infuse honey with herbs, but nothing else yet.
The only reason I don't give it 5 stars is that the thickness of the metal is not what Farberware used to be; I have a 1.5 quart Farberware pot which I keep even though the handle came off years ago, because it's a wonderful little pot to make rice, heat soups, etc. -- have had it now for at least 30 years. At that time, there were no extra clad bottoms, so the new ones are good for that. However, I'm disappointed at the lightweight quality of the rest of the pot (weight comes from the extra cladding on the bottom). Looks like it will dent easily. Also, I'm partial to metal handles, and apparently Farberware continues to use the phenolic, which are far less durable. However, at less than $30, this is an excellent double boiler and just right size for my cooking. I only doubt it will last as long as my other double boiler did.
I saw somewhere a complaint that the upper pot can't be used as a separate pot. In my experience, I've never seen or had a double boiler top pot that was suitable for separate cooking on the stove. If someone knows of one, I'd like to know of it!
UPDATE 7/22/14: Changed to a 3-star rating. Problem encountered while drying the lower pot, a sharp metal edge of the attached handle where it joins the pot grabbed my kitchen towel and damaged it. I called Amazon, and they immediately sent an exchange -- which I found also (!) had the same problem, although in a slightly different spot. I took out a small hammer and placed a piece of cloth over the spot, lightly hammering it until the point seemed almost eliminated. I'm hoping it is. Now using it, waiting to see if the problem is really gone. What's clear, though, is the quality control on this product isn't at all what I'd expect from Farberware. | 1 | neutral | [
"As advertised, a nicely made stainless steel pot -- well-rolled edges give you drip-free pouring, too, which I find missing in even some very expensive brands!",
"So far I've used this to infuse honey with herbs, but nothing else yet.",
"The only reason I don't give it 5 stars is that the thickness of the metal is not what Farberware used to be; I have a 1.",
"5 quart Farberware pot which I keep even though the handle came off years ago, because it's a wonderful little pot to make rice, heat soups, etc.",
"-- have had it now for at least 30 years.",
"At that time, there were no extra clad bottoms, so the new ones are good for that.",
"However, I'm disappointed at the lightweight quality of the rest of the pot (weight comes from the extra cladding on the bottom).",
"Looks like it will dent easily.",
"Also, I'm partial to metal handles, and apparently Farberware continues to use the phenolic, which are far less durable.",
"However, at less than $30, this is an excellent double boiler and just right size for my cooking.",
"I only doubt it will last as long as my other double boiler did.",
"I saw somewhere a complaint that the upper pot can't be used as a separate pot.",
"In my experience, I've never seen or had a double boiler top pot that was suitable for separate cooking on the stove.",
"If someone knows of one, I'd like to know of it!",
"UPDATE 7/22/14: Changed to a 3-star rating.",
"Problem encountered while drying the lower pot, a sharp metal edge of the attached handle where it joins the pot grabbed my kitchen towel and damaged it.",
"I called Amazon, and they immediately sent an exchange -- which I found also (!",
") had the same problem, although in a slightly different spot.",
"I took out a small hammer and placed a piece of cloth over the spot, lightly hammering it until the point seemed almost eliminated.",
"I'm hoping it is.",
"Now using it, waiting to see if the problem is really gone.",
"What's clear, though, is the quality control on this product isn't at all what I'd expect from Farberware."
] |
I brought this memory on the recommendation of Reviewer: R. Geissman "rlgeissman" (Lodi, OH United States). I have an E-machine T1300 1.3 GHz Celeron system that is a step up from the E-machine T1220 and the memory only reads at half the capacity. Instead of the chip reading 256mb it only shows 128mb. I had used the PNY Configurator that indicated that I should use 256S100 but R. Geissman recommendation was too strong to pass up. Well, I must say a lesson learned. No hard feelings R. Geissman. I'm going to order the PNY 256S100 and see will it do the trick. I hope this review helps someone who has an E-machine of this model. | 1 | neutral | [
"I brought this memory on the recommendation of Reviewer: R.",
"Geissman \"rlgeissman\" (Lodi, OH United States).",
"I have an E-machine T1300 1.",
"3 GHz Celeron system that is a step up from the E-machine T1220 and the memory only reads at half the capacity.",
"Instead of the chip reading 256mb it only shows 128mb.",
"I had used the PNY Configurator that indicated that I should use 256S100 but R.",
"Geissman recommendation was too strong to pass up.",
"Well, I must say a lesson learned.",
"No hard feelings R.",
"Geissman.",
"I'm going to order the PNY 256S100 and see will it do the trick.",
"I hope this review helps someone who has an E-machine of this model."
] |
Though the journal-entry style of this book is refreshing when compared to other fiction books masquerading as reality, I find it hard to discern anything more than the generic ramblings of twenty-somethings in the hi-tech industry. They talk about completely random things, such as what programs pet animals would write if they could. Each character also voices their personal opinions on the purpose of life throughout the book. These odd bunch of friends start their "lives" (in the real world) influenced by the Microsoft-cult-culture. Their lives revolve around work (usually past midnight and even on weekends) and sleep (they all live in the same house close to "campus"). Naturally an event such as a close-friend's proposal to start up a new company and recruit them as "equity partners" (aka employees) throws them off balance and threatens the humdrum existence and pseudo-harmony they've come to expect as employees in Building Seven on the Microsoft campus. That's where the adventure begins for these people. Moving from Redmond to Silicon Valley, they set up shop in Daniel's parents' home in the Valley. From here, the book turns into a coming out party of sorts. Dan's dad is having a midlife crisis after having been laid off by IBM. Bug comes out of the closet. Dusty gets pregnant. Michael falls in love. All these happen while they're trying to come out with a product they can showcase in the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas.
This book is unnerving in some sense. It is able to accurately capture what many people in the hi-tech industry are like -- their habits, propensities, worries and fears (even their "language"). But it falls short in certain aspects. The storytelling was at times uncoherent and lacked a fluid story-telling aspect. It got too bogged down with the philosophizing. And at times, it felt like writing for the sake of writing. I particularly disliked the ending however poignant. My thoughts as I finished the final pages were "That's not fair to the reader!" I was referring to the whammy of Dan's family tragedy. I couldn't find any reason as to why that was added except to reinforce the randomness and cest la vie attitude of this book.
This book is so random. If you like to read what "geeks" have in their minds, then this book is for you. If you prefer to read a story with a real plot about what the dot-com world is like, I would highly recommend Startup by Jerry Kaplan instead. | 1 | neutral | [
"Though the journal-entry style of this book is refreshing when compared to other fiction books masquerading as reality, I find it hard to discern anything more than the generic ramblings of twenty-somethings in the hi-tech industry.",
"They talk about completely random things, such as what programs pet animals would write if they could.",
"Each character also voices their personal opinions on the purpose of life throughout the book.",
"These odd bunch of friends start their \"lives\" (in the real world) influenced by the Microsoft-cult-culture.",
"Their lives revolve around work (usually past midnight and even on weekends) and sleep (they all live in the same house close to \"campus\").",
"Naturally an event such as a close-friend's proposal to start up a new company and recruit them as \"equity partners\" (aka employees) throws them off balance and threatens the humdrum existence and pseudo-harmony they've come to expect as employees in Building Seven on the Microsoft campus.",
"That's where the adventure begins for these people.",
"Moving from Redmond to Silicon Valley, they set up shop in Daniel's parents' home in the Valley.",
"From here, the book turns into a coming out party of sorts.",
"Dan's dad is having a midlife crisis after having been laid off by IBM.",
"Bug comes out of the closet.",
"Dusty gets pregnant.",
"Michael falls in love.",
"All these happen while they're trying to come out with a product they can showcase in the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas.",
"This book is unnerving in some sense.",
"It is able to accurately capture what many people in the hi-tech industry are like -- their habits, propensities, worries and fears (even their \"language\").",
"But it falls short in certain aspects.",
"The storytelling was at times uncoherent and lacked a fluid story-telling aspect.",
"It got too bogged down with the philosophizing.",
"And at times, it felt like writing for the sake of writing.",
"I particularly disliked the ending however poignant.",
"My thoughts as I finished the final pages were \"That's not fair to the reader!",
"\" I was referring to the whammy of Dan's family tragedy.",
"I couldn't find any reason as to why that was added except to reinforce the randomness and cest la vie attitude of this book.",
"This book is so random.",
"If you like to read what \"geeks\" have in their minds, then this book is for you.",
"If you prefer to read a story with a real plot about what the dot-com world is like, I would highly recommend Startup by Jerry Kaplan instead."
] |
I love the quality of these blocks: good size, great art, safe paint and finish, beautiful ornate designs around the letters. However, I was very disappointed to get mine and find they do not have capital and lowercase in the same set. I saw the customer images (that show both sets together) included with this product description and assumed the sides were just turned to show the different perspectives of the same block. Guess I didn't look around enough to see they sell the lowercase completely separately. Which is disappointing. Why not have both upper and lowercase letters on the same block? Just to sell twice as many? Now I am not sure if I want to return them as I don't really need or have space for TWO separate sets of blocks; there are others out there that have both styles of lettering with animals and bricks/doors/windows that also seem a good size. However, these other brands will not have the pretty ornate decorations around the edges. So I'm torn. I felt I should warn others while they are still shopping around as I probably would not have purchased them in the first place if I had known more. | 1 | neutral | [
"I love the quality of these blocks: good size, great art, safe paint and finish, beautiful ornate designs around the letters.",
"However, I was very disappointed to get mine and find they do not have capital and lowercase in the same set.",
"I saw the customer images (that show both sets together) included with this product description and assumed the sides were just turned to show the different perspectives of the same block.",
"Guess I didn't look around enough to see they sell the lowercase completely separately.",
"Which is disappointing.",
"Why not have both upper and lowercase letters on the same block?",
"Just to sell twice as many?",
"Now I am not sure if I want to return them as I don't really need or have space for TWO separate sets of blocks; there are others out there that have both styles of lettering with animals and bricks/doors/windows that also seem a good size.",
"However, these other brands will not have the pretty ornate decorations around the edges.",
"So I'm torn.",
"I felt I should warn others while they are still shopping around as I probably would not have purchased them in the first place if I had known more."
] |
If you buy into the image of Marley as being this really mellow, optimistic, happy guy, this album pretty much will solidify that image in your mind. Even when the lyrics are melancholy ("She's Gone"), the grooves are so sunny you'd think they were meant as the soundtrack to some long-forgotten commercial pushed by the Jamaican tourism industry. That doesn't matter, though, because the first side of this is as good as anything else Bob has ever done, which for the most part is fantastic. Several classics - the lazy "Easy Skanking", with a slightly jazzy sax; the slightly disjointed, slightly menacing "Sun is Shining"; "Satisfy My Soul", a great reggae groove with a slight touch of R&B; and especially the catchy "Is This Love", with a great chorus and guitar hook. Oh, and the title track too, I guess. It's good. But side two slightly falters. Now, other than the gimmicky "Time Will Tell" there ain't a single bad song on this puppy, but I'd still much rather be listening to side one - it's loaded down with mediocre material, and it seems like most of it was just reprised from Exodus (a must-have essential classic that's amongst my favorite albums ever, thought I'd add that little tidbit) - "Misty Morning" has a similar horn part; and "Running Away" could easily be any track off Exodus' first side. I honestly wouldn't notice the difference. A couple other songs on that side are forgettable too, like the aforementioned "She's Gone", which practically defines "uneventful", and "Crisis", which tries to reclaim the "Lively Up Yourself" vibe. I mean, diversity was never Bob's strong point - he had a lot of other stuff going for him, so that didn't matter - but for the most part I can tell Bob Marley songs apart, even if they all fit a general formula. I can't tell these apart, though. Sorry. Anyway, side one's classic stuff, but I'm not big on side two, so I'm not really gonna recommend it unless you own the essentials - Catch a Fire, Burnin', Natty Dread, Live!, Exodus, Babylon By Bus and the compilation to end all compilations, Legend. | 1 | neutral | [
"If you buy into the image of Marley as being this really mellow, optimistic, happy guy, this album pretty much will solidify that image in your mind.",
"Even when the lyrics are melancholy (\"She's Gone\"), the grooves are so sunny you'd think they were meant as the soundtrack to some long-forgotten commercial pushed by the Jamaican tourism industry.",
"That doesn't matter, though, because the first side of this is as good as anything else Bob has ever done, which for the most part is fantastic.",
"Several classics - the lazy \"Easy Skanking\", with a slightly jazzy sax; the slightly disjointed, slightly menacing \"Sun is Shining\"; \"Satisfy My Soul\", a great reggae groove with a slight touch of R&B; and especially the catchy \"Is This Love\", with a great chorus and guitar hook.",
"Oh, and the title track too, I guess.",
"It's good.",
"But side two slightly falters.",
"Now, other than the gimmicky \"Time Will Tell\" there ain't a single bad song on this puppy, but I'd still much rather be listening to side one - it's loaded down with mediocre material, and it seems like most of it was just reprised from Exodus (a must-have essential classic that's amongst my favorite albums ever, thought I'd add that little tidbit) - \"Misty Morning\" has a similar horn part; and \"Running Away\" could easily be any track off Exodus' first side.",
"I honestly wouldn't notice the difference.",
"A couple other songs on that side are forgettable too, like the aforementioned \"She's Gone\", which practically defines \"uneventful\", and \"Crisis\", which tries to reclaim the \"Lively Up Yourself\" vibe.",
"I mean, diversity was never Bob's strong point - he had a lot of other stuff going for him, so that didn't matter - but for the most part I can tell Bob Marley songs apart, even if they all fit a general formula.",
"I can't tell these apart, though.",
"Sorry.",
"Anyway, side one's classic stuff, but I'm not big on side two, so I'm not really gonna recommend it unless you own the essentials - Catch a Fire, Burnin', Natty Dread, Live!",
", Exodus, Babylon By Bus and the compilation to end all compilations, Legend."
] |
In recent years, no other portable shortwave radio has rated quite as high on the "neato" scale as the Grundig G2000A. This Grundig's two best design features are its Porsche-designed cosmetics and its handy leather carrying "case." These things alone are cool enough to inspire almost any shortwave listener to want one and have fun using it.
The radio's performance isn't quite as great as its beauty, however. For its small size, it performs fine with an external antenna, but less well with the aerial. Its sensitivity is decent, and selectivity is passable. But don't expect a listening experience on par with rivals within its price class ($100-$150). Bottom line is, you're paying more for the looks than anything else. If performance is what you desire, keep looking.
I give it less than four stars for several reasons. First, it fails to cover the entire shortwave spectrum from 1600 khz to 30 mhz. That's a big drawback among today's digital radios. Second, the keypad is awkward to use, even though it looks fabulous. Third, the software provides a measly 10 memory positions for shortwave, which is okay if you only listen to the major broadcasters.
Nevertheless, the G2000A is an aesthetically nice radio that's fun to operate for casual listening. For a novice listener, I'd recommend something simpler. If you're a more serious, demanding listener, you probably already have something else. I enjoy using it because it reminds me of my dad's old Zenith Royal 500E, which has a great leather case. I like this Grundig, but I'm glad it isn't my only one. | 1 | neutral | [
"In recent years, no other portable shortwave radio has rated quite as high on the \"neato\" scale as the Grundig G2000A.",
"This Grundig's two best design features are its Porsche-designed cosmetics and its handy leather carrying \"case.",
"\" These things alone are cool enough to inspire almost any shortwave listener to want one and have fun using it.",
"The radio's performance isn't quite as great as its beauty, however.",
"For its small size, it performs fine with an external antenna, but less well with the aerial.",
"Its sensitivity is decent, and selectivity is passable.",
"But don't expect a listening experience on par with rivals within its price class ($100-$150).",
"Bottom line is, you're paying more for the looks than anything else.",
"If performance is what you desire, keep looking.",
"I give it less than four stars for several reasons.",
"First, it fails to cover the entire shortwave spectrum from 1600 khz to 30 mhz.",
"That's a big drawback among today's digital radios.",
"Second, the keypad is awkward to use, even though it looks fabulous.",
"Third, the software provides a measly 10 memory positions for shortwave, which is okay if you only listen to the major broadcasters.",
"Nevertheless, the G2000A is an aesthetically nice radio that's fun to operate for casual listening.",
"For a novice listener, I'd recommend something simpler.",
"If you're a more serious, demanding listener, you probably already have something else.",
"I enjoy using it because it reminds me of my dad's old Zenith Royal 500E, which has a great leather case.",
"I like this Grundig, but I'm glad it isn't my only one."
] |
I was so excited at the prospect of playing Medal of Honor: Allied Assault that I put out the money for this overpriced game. I felt like I was playing the HBO mini-series Band of Brothers or the movie Saving Private Ryan. This made the game a rerun right out of the gate for me. However, there are some aspects of this first person shooter that make it worth your time. First, it is HARD to play. This is the first game that has challenged this veteran gamer in a long time. Those Germans are nasty! Second, the missions offer variety and are innovative. You switch from working with a team to following a spy to, well...I don't want to give it all away. If you are new to this genre, you will not feel as "seen it, done that" as I was. | 1 | neutral | [
"I was so excited at the prospect of playing Medal of Honor: Allied Assault that I put out the money for this overpriced game.",
"I felt like I was playing the HBO mini-series Band of Brothers or the movie Saving Private Ryan.",
"This made the game a rerun right out of the gate for me.",
"However, there are some aspects of this first person shooter that make it worth your time.",
"First, it is HARD to play.",
"This is the first game that has challenged this veteran gamer in a long time.",
"Those Germans are nasty!",
"Second, the missions offer variety and are innovative.",
"You switch from working with a team to following a spy to, well...",
"I don't want to give it all away.",
"If you are new to this genre, you will not feel as \"seen it, done that\" as I was."
] |
1108,4,2,10.15.1.102,System.Exception: Empty Home Team Code at Spider.OddsScrapper.Domain.Odds.InsertMatchP,1.9.242.85,235152 | 1 | neutral | [
"1108,4,2,10.",
"15.",
"1.102,System.",
"Exception: Empty Home Team Code at Spider.",
"OddsScrapper.",
"Domain.",
"Odds.",
"InsertMatchP,1.",
"9.242.",
"85,235152"
] |
I have minimal expertise in this area, so keep this in mind as you read my point of view. However, I know good and bad product concepts and customer relations.
I bought and returned this as it leaked air from the head. It happens. That is not a reason to not buy this. But, no case after many have complained... It has been out for a couple of years.(read reviews) shame on you, PC. A $10 plastic case. Please , how cheap and stupid, PC. The problem is; if you are a framer you may want the light weight, but if you are a home user it may be better to go with the 350 regular. I did after returning the MAG 350. It is not that much more weight, a pound at most. A few reasons. 1)It is $40 less 2) comes with a case 3) Has the dial on the trigger to change from bump fire to sequential (which is good for the less experienced/home user...we be dangerous...some at least...) 4) I have the PC brad and finish guns and called PC almost 2 months ago to get the free trigger to allow bump/continuous nailing...backordered. I may never use the seqential, however, I would like to have this. Why not include this in the box, or, at least have it as a dial on the trigger. 5) It can take a 2" - 3 1/2 nail, the Mag takes a 2 3/8 min -3 /1/2. Better yet, buy a DeWalt D51844 Full Round Head Framing Nailer, Magnesium, 7 .5 lbs.
for around the same $ , 20 less actually (239- here, at amazon ..the best place to buy tools or anything for that matter ) if you want a lighter tool. I believe it comes with the extra trigger to change from bump to seqential, not a dial, though. But, I do not think it has a case. So, another bunch of clowns. Oh, well.
Is it as good? I would not know. I do know that PC is a less than good company to buy from. So, because PC was not and is not responsive I did not hesitate to order a Bosh Router from Amazon last week. Maybe , I hope, Bosch is more customer responsive. I just bought the Bosch 4000 table saw also, and it is nice. | 1 | neutral | [
"I have minimal expertise in this area, so keep this in mind as you read my point of view.",
"However, I know good and bad product concepts and customer relations.",
"I bought and returned this as it leaked air from the head.",
"It happens.",
"That is not a reason to not buy this.",
"But, no case after many have complained...",
"It has been out for a couple of years.",
"(read reviews) shame on you, PC.",
"A $10 plastic case.",
"Please , how cheap and stupid, PC.",
"The problem is; if you are a framer you may want the light weight, but if you are a home user it may be better to go with the 350 regular.",
"I did after returning the MAG 350.",
"It is not that much more weight, a pound at most.",
"A few reasons.",
"1)It is $40 less 2) comes with a case 3) Has the dial on the trigger to change from bump fire to sequential (which is good for the less experienced/home user...",
"we be dangerous...",
"some at least...",
") 4) I have the PC brad and finish guns and called PC almost 2 months ago to get the free trigger to allow bump/continuous nailing...",
"backordered.",
"I may never use the seqential, however, I would like to have this.",
"Why not include this in the box, or, at least have it as a dial on the trigger.",
"5) It can take a 2\" - 3 1/2 nail, the Mag takes a 2 3/8 min -3 /1/2.",
"Better yet, buy a DeWalt D51844 Full Round Head Framing Nailer, Magnesium, 7.",
"5 lbs.",
"for around the same $ , 20 less actually (239- here, at amazon..",
"the best place to buy tools or anything for that matter ) if you want a lighter tool.",
"I believe it comes with the extra trigger to change from bump to seqential, not a dial, though.",
"But, I do not think it has a case.",
"So, another bunch of clowns.",
"Oh, well.",
"Is it as good?",
"I would not know.",
"I do know that PC is a less than good company to buy from.",
"So, because PC was not and is not responsive I did not hesitate to order a Bosh Router from Amazon last week.",
"Maybe , I hope, Bosch is more customer responsive.",
"I just bought the Bosch 4000 table saw also, and it is nice."
] |
This review speaks to both Rome and Barbarian Invasion. There are some differences, but the gameplay is essentially the same.
I'm a long time fan of strategy war games going all the way back to the first Strategic Conquest game by Delta Tao. I love every flavor of Civilization, from Sid Meier's to Stardock, and games like Stronghold. So, I was looking forward to playing Rome because I thought it had elements of all of those classics. And it does. You have to build and maintain cities, raise armies and duke it out on the battlefield.
But it just didn't grab me. Not in the way those other games did. For one thing, I never could figure out what made one city a happy cash cow and another city a money pit full of pissed off plebes. It seemed to have more to do with population than with infrastructure or tax rates (certain buildings give moral bonuses; higher tax rates make people unhappy). It just seemed kind of random. The only way to conquer a city and not have a riot on your hands for ten terms seemed to be to enslave the population or exterminate them. Me, I don't even like to step on a Sim Ant when I can avoid it.
I played Rome: Total War through one time as the Romans and Barbarian Invasion through three times; once as the Saxons, once as the Romans and once as the Horde...actually I never finished the Horde game. I was just over it by that point.
So, as with most games, it's going depend on what the player enjoys and the sort of game they like to play as to whether or not Rome is for you. By this point, the game is old enough where you can find it fairly cheap on E-bay or Amazon, so it's worth checking out. I think part of my problem was reading all these rave reviews, I had big expectations that weren't quite satisfied. Hope you get more out of it. | 1 | neutral | [
"This review speaks to both Rome and Barbarian Invasion.",
"There are some differences, but the gameplay is essentially the same.",
"I'm a long time fan of strategy war games going all the way back to the first Strategic Conquest game by Delta Tao.",
"I love every flavor of Civilization, from Sid Meier's to Stardock, and games like Stronghold.",
"So, I was looking forward to playing Rome because I thought it had elements of all of those classics.",
"And it does.",
"You have to build and maintain cities, raise armies and duke it out on the battlefield.",
"But it just didn't grab me.",
"Not in the way those other games did.",
"For one thing, I never could figure out what made one city a happy cash cow and another city a money pit full of pissed off plebes.",
"It seemed to have more to do with population than with infrastructure or tax rates (certain buildings give moral bonuses; higher tax rates make people unhappy).",
"It just seemed kind of random.",
"The only way to conquer a city and not have a riot on your hands for ten terms seemed to be to enslave the population or exterminate them.",
"Me, I don't even like to step on a Sim Ant when I can avoid it.",
"I played Rome: Total War through one time as the Romans and Barbarian Invasion through three times; once as the Saxons, once as the Romans and once as the Horde...",
"actually I never finished the Horde game.",
"I was just over it by that point.",
"So, as with most games, it's going depend on what the player enjoys and the sort of game they like to play as to whether or not Rome is for you.",
"By this point, the game is old enough where you can find it fairly cheap on E-bay or Amazon, so it's worth checking out.",
"I think part of my problem was reading all these rave reviews, I had big expectations that weren't quite satisfied.",
"Hope you get more out of it."
] |
To be fair, I haven't had marzipan for almost 40 years, so I don't know what it's supposed to taste like or whether what I had back then was considered good. Some relatives made marzipan for Christmas, and as a kid, I thought it was delicious. I'm not sure why I never bothered finding any for so long. When I saw this brand available through Prime Pantry, I thought I'd try it.
These confections are soft and fresh but almost sickeningly sweet--and I have a sweet tooth. I'm not a fan of the flavor. From what I read, I guess that is a strong rosewater-and-sugar taste. I will say that if you're craving something sweet, one of these babies will knock that craving right out, and two are far too many. Perhaps this quality has some value as a diet aid; after all, one piece is less than 100 calories.
Bottom line: I don't think I will buy this again, but I might try to make my own at home. | 1 | neutral | [
"To be fair, I haven't had marzipan for almost 40 years, so I don't know what it's supposed to taste like or whether what I had back then was considered good.",
"Some relatives made marzipan for Christmas, and as a kid, I thought it was delicious.",
"I'm not sure why I never bothered finding any for so long.",
"When I saw this brand available through Prime Pantry, I thought I'd try it.",
"These confections are soft and fresh but almost sickeningly sweet--and I have a sweet tooth.",
"I'm not a fan of the flavor.",
"From what I read, I guess that is a strong rosewater-and-sugar taste.",
"I will say that if you're craving something sweet, one of these babies will knock that craving right out, and two are far too many.",
"Perhaps this quality has some value as a diet aid; after all, one piece is less than 100 calories.",
"Bottom line: I don't think I will buy this again, but I might try to make my own at home."
] |
This is one of two PUR water faucet mount filters I've tried and I've had a similar experience with both. My experiences have been similar to other users. For the first two years that I owned this it worked great. My water tasted clean and fresh and I could go about 4 months without needing to change the filter. (I'm the only one in my household so I suspect I use this less than, say a four-person household would.) But the lifespan of this product isn't great. After two years I started noticing small cracks which eventually lead to leaking. If you didn't have to buy filters on top of this product I wouldn't mind repurchasing every couple years but when you factor in the cost of filters as well it ends up being quite expensive. I've gone back to using my filter pitcher. Even though it isn't quite as convenient I've had the same one for years and years without problems. | 1 | neutral | [
"This is one of two PUR water faucet mount filters I've tried and I've had a similar experience with both.",
"My experiences have been similar to other users.",
"For the first two years that I owned this it worked great.",
"My water tasted clean and fresh and I could go about 4 months without needing to change the filter.",
"(I'm the only one in my household so I suspect I use this less than, say a four-person household would.",
") But the lifespan of this product isn't great.",
"After two years I started noticing small cracks which eventually lead to leaking.",
"If you didn't have to buy filters on top of this product I wouldn't mind repurchasing every couple years but when you factor in the cost of filters as well it ends up being quite expensive.",
"I've gone back to using my filter pitcher.",
"Even though it isn't quite as convenient I've had the same one for years and years without problems."
] |
This is U2's biggest disappointment for me. I was so hyped about getting Zooropa. Which is basically U2 trying to cling onto Achtung's success with all it's might. Somehow though it just couldn't do it.
Zooropa isn't a bad album, but it's not great. It's good though. And it has some great ideas on it. But among U2 albums it stands as one of their worst. I haven't heard October so I may have been spared their actual worst. The title cut from this album is much like "Where the Streets Have No Name" in its intro. And the song gets really cool with some great guitar work by the Edge. "Lemon" is the best song on the album that starts very well and has some great bass playing by Adam. Listen to it, this has got to be some of the best bass playing I have heard by Mr. Clayton. "Daddy's Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car" is a good song that has some great elements in it. "The First Time" is a ballad much like "One" in some sense. But it's not quite as powerful. "The Wanderer" is a nice addition to this and has Johnny Cash along to sing. He's got a great voice. The rest of the songs on this album are fair if not downright just plain bad. Among the fair are "Babyface", "Stay(Faraway, So Close)", and "Dirty Day". The bad are "Numb" and "Some Days are Better than Others" these songs just are plain annoying and worth skipping.
If you like U2 this album you will like. Otherwise don't expect much from this album. Still a solid product, but nowhere near this band's potenial. | 1 | neutral | [
"This is U2's biggest disappointment for me.",
"I was so hyped about getting Zooropa.",
"Which is basically U2 trying to cling onto Achtung's success with all it's might.",
"Somehow though it just couldn't do it.",
"Zooropa isn't a bad album, but it's not great.",
"It's good though.",
"And it has some great ideas on it.",
"But among U2 albums it stands as one of their worst.",
"I haven't heard October so I may have been spared their actual worst.",
"The title cut from this album is much like \"Where the Streets Have No Name\" in its intro.",
"And the song gets really cool with some great guitar work by the Edge.",
"\"Lemon\" is the best song on the album that starts very well and has some great bass playing by Adam.",
"Listen to it, this has got to be some of the best bass playing I have heard by Mr.",
"Clayton.",
"\"Daddy's Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car\" is a good song that has some great elements in it.",
"\"The First Time\" is a ballad much like \"One\" in some sense.",
"But it's not quite as powerful.",
"\"The Wanderer\" is a nice addition to this and has Johnny Cash along to sing.",
"He's got a great voice.",
"The rest of the songs on this album are fair if not downright just plain bad.",
"Among the fair are \"Babyface\", \"Stay(Faraway, So Close)\", and \"Dirty Day\".",
"The bad are \"Numb\" and \"Some Days are Better than Others\" these songs just are plain annoying and worth skipping.",
"If you like U2 this album you will like.",
"Otherwise don't expect much from this album.",
"Still a solid product, but nowhere near this band's potenial."
] |
and include both the new and original versions of each film in this package. Ok, so Lucas wants to digitally change some shots.. he's entitled. But why exclude the lovers of the original and untouched versions? Personally I'd be a lot more open to these changes that are being made if I had the opporunity to own both versions. Being forced to have only the newly doctored movies doesn't make me happy.
Why is Lucas so insecure about the originals? Was the fact that they made millions of dollars or are revered as the most popular movies of all time not enough? What if Hollywood went back and digitally touched up "Gone With The Wind" or "The Godfather?" It would be an obomination. So just because this is a movie involving space and technology it becomes open season? Better yet, why not have the French make a new face for the Statue of Liberty? They can do better right? (note the sarcasm here) | 1 | neutral | [
"and include both the new and original versions of each film in this package.",
"Ok, so Lucas wants to digitally change some shots..",
"he's entitled.",
"But why exclude the lovers of the original and untouched versions?",
"Personally I'd be a lot more open to these changes that are being made if I had the opporunity to own both versions.",
"Being forced to have only the newly doctored movies doesn't make me happy.",
"Why is Lucas so insecure about the originals?",
"Was the fact that they made millions of dollars or are revered as the most popular movies of all time not enough?",
"What if Hollywood went back and digitally touched up \"Gone With The Wind\" or \"The Godfather?",
"\" It would be an obomination.",
"So just because this is a movie involving space and technology it becomes open season?",
"Better yet, why not have the French make a new face for the Statue of Liberty?",
"They can do better right?",
"(note the sarcasm here)"
] |
This is a historical novel set in the Chile of the 1830s and 1840s and in the California of the Gold Rush era. The main character is Eliza Sommers, an orphaned foundling, who is adopted by Jeremy Sommers, the strictly moralistic representative in Valparaiso of the British Import and Export Company, and his sister Rose and brought up as an English lady in a foreign land. As a teenager, however, she falls in love with a young revolutionary named Joaquin Andieta, but he abandons both Eliza and his revolutionary principles and leaves Chile for America hoping to make his fortune in the Gold Rush. Distraught, Eliza stows away on a ship in order to follow him to San Francisco, where she is befriended by Tao Ch'ien, a Chinese doctor.
The book's main attraction for me was its unusual setting; nineteenth century Latin America not being a common background for a British readership. The Chilean scenes, which form the earlier part of the book, were the most interesting, giving a vivid picture of life in that country during the early Victorian period. Ms Allende was perhaps most at home writing about her own country. Although the author seemed to have researched the historical background, the Californian scenes were never quite as vivid as the Chilean ones, and some of the incidents in this part of the book seemed far-fetched. For example, in order to avoid being mistaken for a prostitute (the occupation of most of the women who made their way to Gold Rush California) Eliza disguises herself as a man, and even for a time passes herself off as Chinese, without her deception ever being discovered.
I found that the weakest sections were those dealing with Tao Ch'ien's youth in China. When dealing with the Far East, Ms Allende's research seems to have let her down, as I spotted a number of errors. There was, for example, no such country as "Malaysia" in the nineteenth century; before independence from Britain in 1957 it was always known as Malaya. Confucius did not live "fifteen centuries before Christ"; he was born in or about 551 B.C., so Allende's estimate is inaccurate by nearly a thousand years. Chinese family names precede personal names, so the doctor should have been Ch'ien Tao (or Qian Dao in the pinyin system used to transliterate other Chinese words in the book) rather than Tao Ch'ien. The Chinese scenes refused to come to life, and the characters (apart from Tao Ch'ien himself) seemed more like stereotypes based upon Western preconceptions than individuals. Old men are sages imbued with the mystic wisdom of the Orient and Chinese women are gentle, submissive and know two hundred and twenty-two ways (a surprisingly precise figure) of pleasing their husbands sexually. Whereas Allende's Chile (and to a lesser extent her San Francisco) come across as real societies, her version of China seems more like a magical kingdom from a fairy-tale for adults.
As with the settings, some of the characters in the book are more credible than the others. Both Eliza and Tao Ch'ien emerge as memorable individuals, but many of the minor figures do not. Joaquin, for example, is an insubstantial figure, a plot device for getting Eliza to San Francisco, rather than a believable character. Rose Sommers is a potentially interesting character, but Allende never really seems to have made up her mind as to how she should be portrayed. At times Rose seems like a prim Victorian spinster, at others as a beautiful and independent-minded young woman, and this inconsistency tended to undermine her credibility.
One thing that does stand out is the description of social conditions in both Chile and California. Like her uncle, the late Chilean president Salvador Allende, the author's political sympathies are on the left, and this comes out in the passages about poverty in Victorian Chile and about the darker side of Gold Rush California; the frequent exploitation of the miners, the racism directed against blacks, Hispanics and Chinese, and even slavery. Although California was officially a free state, the authorities seem to have turned a blind eye to abuses such as Chinese women being forced into prostitution against their will. We are reminded that the Gold Rush was not simply an exciting chapter in the history of America's expansion westwards to the Pacific.
Ms Allende is sometimes regarded as a member of the Latin American "magic realist" school of fiction, but I wonder whether it is really possible to categorise the literature of an entire continent in this way. Certainly, she occasionally makes use of the supernatural (Tao Ch'ien is visited by the ghost of his late wife), but book seemed closer to the traditional historical romance or adventure story than the sort of work we normally think of as "magic realism". It has both strengths and weaknesses, but is on the whole an enjoyable read. It lacks, however, the depth and significance found in the work of some of the author's Latin American contemporaries, such as Marquez and Llosa, to whom she is sometimes compared. | 1 | neutral | [
"This is a historical novel set in the Chile of the 1830s and 1840s and in the California of the Gold Rush era.",
"The main character is Eliza Sommers, an orphaned foundling, who is adopted by Jeremy Sommers, the strictly moralistic representative in Valparaiso of the British Import and Export Company, and his sister Rose and brought up as an English lady in a foreign land.",
"As a teenager, however, she falls in love with a young revolutionary named Joaquin Andieta, but he abandons both Eliza and his revolutionary principles and leaves Chile for America hoping to make his fortune in the Gold Rush.",
"Distraught, Eliza stows away on a ship in order to follow him to San Francisco, where she is befriended by Tao Ch'ien, a Chinese doctor.",
"The book's main attraction for me was its unusual setting; nineteenth century Latin America not being a common background for a British readership.",
"The Chilean scenes, which form the earlier part of the book, were the most interesting, giving a vivid picture of life in that country during the early Victorian period.",
"Ms Allende was perhaps most at home writing about her own country.",
"Although the author seemed to have researched the historical background, the Californian scenes were never quite as vivid as the Chilean ones, and some of the incidents in this part of the book seemed far-fetched.",
"For example, in order to avoid being mistaken for a prostitute (the occupation of most of the women who made their way to Gold Rush California) Eliza disguises herself as a man, and even for a time passes herself off as Chinese, without her deception ever being discovered.",
"I found that the weakest sections were those dealing with Tao Ch'ien's youth in China.",
"When dealing with the Far East, Ms Allende's research seems to have let her down, as I spotted a number of errors.",
"There was, for example, no such country as \"Malaysia\" in the nineteenth century; before independence from Britain in 1957 it was always known as Malaya.",
"Confucius did not live \"fifteen centuries before Christ\"; he was born in or about 551 B.",
"C., so Allende's estimate is inaccurate by nearly a thousand years.",
"Chinese family names precede personal names, so the doctor should have been Ch'ien Tao (or Qian Dao in the pinyin system used to transliterate other Chinese words in the book) rather than Tao Ch'ien.",
"The Chinese scenes refused to come to life, and the characters (apart from Tao Ch'ien himself) seemed more like stereotypes based upon Western preconceptions than individuals.",
"Old men are sages imbued with the mystic wisdom of the Orient and Chinese women are gentle, submissive and know two hundred and twenty-two ways (a surprisingly precise figure) of pleasing their husbands sexually.",
"Whereas Allende's Chile (and to a lesser extent her San Francisco) come across as real societies, her version of China seems more like a magical kingdom from a fairy-tale for adults.",
"As with the settings, some of the characters in the book are more credible than the others.",
"Both Eliza and Tao Ch'ien emerge as memorable individuals, but many of the minor figures do not.",
"Joaquin, for example, is an insubstantial figure, a plot device for getting Eliza to San Francisco, rather than a believable character.",
"Rose Sommers is a potentially interesting character, but Allende never really seems to have made up her mind as to how she should be portrayed.",
"At times Rose seems like a prim Victorian spinster, at others as a beautiful and independent-minded young woman, and this inconsistency tended to undermine her credibility.",
"One thing that does stand out is the description of social conditions in both Chile and California.",
"Like her uncle, the late Chilean president Salvador Allende, the author's political sympathies are on the left, and this comes out in the passages about poverty in Victorian Chile and about the darker side of Gold Rush California; the frequent exploitation of the miners, the racism directed against blacks, Hispanics and Chinese, and even slavery.",
"Although California was officially a free state, the authorities seem to have turned a blind eye to abuses such as Chinese women being forced into prostitution against their will.",
"We are reminded that the Gold Rush was not simply an exciting chapter in the history of America's expansion westwards to the Pacific.",
"Ms Allende is sometimes regarded as a member of the Latin American \"magic realist\" school of fiction, but I wonder whether it is really possible to categorise the literature of an entire continent in this way.",
"Certainly, she occasionally makes use of the supernatural (Tao Ch'ien is visited by the ghost of his late wife), but book seemed closer to the traditional historical romance or adventure story than the sort of work we normally think of as \"magic realism\".",
"It has both strengths and weaknesses, but is on the whole an enjoyable read.",
"It lacks, however, the depth and significance found in the work of some of the author's Latin American contemporaries, such as Marquez and Llosa, to whom she is sometimes compared."
] |
12/9/04 My company owns 3 of these and they really do have a strong shot. We had no problems with getting the nails to set in the toughest materials. Our problems came after 8 mos of use. One of the units began having frequent jams and then started misfiring on a consistent basis. I'm a little concerned because another one of our DA250B nailers has also become somewhat unpredictable and sometimes jams. I definitely recommend the DA250B over the Senco SFN 35 or any Bostich nailers. The Senco SFN 30 and 40 are OK units. My top pick however is the Dewalt Angled Finish Nailer D51275K. All of our crews like this nailer over any of the finish nailers we've used. (Bostich, Porter Cable DA250B, Senco SFN 35, 40, 30). I will say that for the infrequent user either The Porter Cable DA250B or Dewalt D51275K will perform nicely.
Note: We use these finish nailers primarily in oak but sometimes in wood species such as Brazilian Cherry, Mahogany, Rosewood, Maple and other exotic wood types.
Update 07/07/05: I have had each of the 3 Porter Cable DA250B in the shop for repair 1-3 times each within the 1st year. I think it's time to switch entirely to Dewalt. Porter Cable shouldn't mind now since it's owned by the same company now. Also I should add that the Dewalt finish nailer we have is still working flawlessly with the original driver and it gets more use than the Porter Cables. | 1 | neutral | [
"12/9/04 My company owns 3 of these and they really do have a strong shot.",
"We had no problems with getting the nails to set in the toughest materials.",
"Our problems came after 8 mos of use.",
"One of the units began having frequent jams and then started misfiring on a consistent basis.",
"I'm a little concerned because another one of our DA250B nailers has also become somewhat unpredictable and sometimes jams.",
"I definitely recommend the DA250B over the Senco SFN 35 or any Bostich nailers.",
"The Senco SFN 30 and 40 are OK units.",
"My top pick however is the Dewalt Angled Finish Nailer D51275K.",
"All of our crews like this nailer over any of the finish nailers we've used.",
"(Bostich, Porter Cable DA250B, Senco SFN 35, 40, 30).",
"I will say that for the infrequent user either The Porter Cable DA250B or Dewalt D51275K will perform nicely.",
"Note: We use these finish nailers primarily in oak but sometimes in wood species such as Brazilian Cherry, Mahogany, Rosewood, Maple and other exotic wood types.",
"Update 07/07/05: I have had each of the 3 Porter Cable DA250B in the shop for repair 1-3 times each within the 1st year.",
"I think it's time to switch entirely to Dewalt.",
"Porter Cable shouldn't mind now since it's owned by the same company now.",
"Also I should add that the Dewalt finish nailer we have is still working flawlessly with the original driver and it gets more use than the Porter Cables."
] |
I bought Shadows of Undrentide primarily because it had added many new prestige classes. This sounded cool, along with the new creatures you could summon. There are a few problems, though, that I could not overlook. I enjoyed making items for my characters through DM mode. But now, you immediately are robbed, making this taxing. Even if you create stuff outside of the room, it winds up dissapearing.
Another problem is it's interface. It just feels like a player created mod. It lacks the depth of play that the other games had. Drogan sends you on these boring "Find me this" missions, that just get old soon.
The amount of experience you get from killing creatures also makes it feel like it is not worth it. It levels you up to 15, and then gives you 30 EXP drow elves for you to slaughter. My Level 13 sorcerer/2 arcane archer annihilates the competition with one spell.
To summarize, this is a good game, and continues out the story (while not to the best of NWN's ability), and gets the job done as a D&D sim. | 1 | neutral | [
"I bought Shadows of Undrentide primarily because it had added many new prestige classes.",
"This sounded cool, along with the new creatures you could summon.",
"There are a few problems, though, that I could not overlook.",
"I enjoyed making items for my characters through DM mode.",
"But now, you immediately are robbed, making this taxing.",
"Even if you create stuff outside of the room, it winds up dissapearing.",
"Another problem is it's interface.",
"It just feels like a player created mod.",
"It lacks the depth of play that the other games had.",
"Drogan sends you on these boring \"Find me this\" missions, that just get old soon.",
"The amount of experience you get from killing creatures also makes it feel like it is not worth it.",
"It levels you up to 15, and then gives you 30 EXP drow elves for you to slaughter.",
"My Level 13 sorcerer/2 arcane archer annihilates the competition with one spell.",
"To summarize, this is a good game, and continues out the story (while not to the best of NWN's ability), and gets the job done as a D&D sim."
] |
If you've arrived at this page, it's probably because you are looking for a product that addresses dark spots or a moisturizer. Pigmentclar Daily Dark Spot Correcting Moisturizer purports to do both. As a sun lover back in the day, I racked up thousands of freckles. At the time, I thought they were cute; I didn't realize they were an indication of sun damage. I was hoping that this product would help address some of that damage, but the active ingredients are all standard components of chemical sunscreen: avobenzone, homosalate, octisalate, octocrylene; avobenzone in particular is getting some bad press lately. If you're a chemical sunscreen fan, then you've probably already accepted the risks to yourself and the environment. Let's move on.
This product isn't promoted primarily as a sunscreen, but I had to do some research to figure out how Pigmentclar was supposed to fight dark spots. Their website describes a "powerful complex" of "PhE-Resorcinol + Ginkgo + Ferulic Acid + LHA." We know ferulic acid is good for skin (how much is in this product, we cannot tell), ginkgo, sure, why not, works on Alzheimer's and other memory disorders and the leaves are pretty so it can't hurt. LHA is normally used in acne treatments. "PhE-Resorcinol" is new to me, but apparently it's a proprietary brightening ingredient that is 100 times as potent as vitamin C. Potent in what way? This is not explained. I already apply topical C to my skin every day, and would love to use anything that's 100x more potent.
I try not to spend much time in the sun, but because I volunteer as a soccer referee, I can't avoid it completely. I've been using the Pigmentclar the last few weeks. Though it seems to protect adequately against the sun, it makes my face unacceptably shiny. So it's hands and arms only from now on until the tube is empty.
The tube offers one big advantage, and the product consistency -- not as watery as many sunscreens -- makes it easy to dispense just the right amount. No running around with a big glob of sunscreen in your hand asking if anyone needs an extra dose of protection. Apart from that, this doesn't seem to offer anything that your drugstore chemical sunscreen won't provide, at a much higher price point than that tube of drugstore product. | 1 | neutral | [
"If you've arrived at this page, it's probably because you are looking for a product that addresses dark spots or a moisturizer.",
"Pigmentclar Daily Dark Spot Correcting Moisturizer purports to do both.",
"As a sun lover back in the day, I racked up thousands of freckles.",
"At the time, I thought they were cute; I didn't realize they were an indication of sun damage.",
"I was hoping that this product would help address some of that damage, but the active ingredients are all standard components of chemical sunscreen: avobenzone, homosalate, octisalate, octocrylene; avobenzone in particular is getting some bad press lately.",
"If you're a chemical sunscreen fan, then you've probably already accepted the risks to yourself and the environment.",
"Let's move on.",
"This product isn't promoted primarily as a sunscreen, but I had to do some research to figure out how Pigmentclar was supposed to fight dark spots.",
"Their website describes a \"powerful complex\" of \"PhE-Resorcinol + Ginkgo + Ferulic Acid + LHA.",
"\" We know ferulic acid is good for skin (how much is in this product, we cannot tell), ginkgo, sure, why not, works on Alzheimer's and other memory disorders and the leaves are pretty so it can't hurt.",
"LHA is normally used in acne treatments.",
"\"PhE-Resorcinol\" is new to me, but apparently it's a proprietary brightening ingredient that is 100 times as potent as vitamin C.",
"Potent in what way?",
"This is not explained.",
"I already apply topical C to my skin every day, and would love to use anything that's 100x more potent.",
"I try not to spend much time in the sun, but because I volunteer as a soccer referee, I can't avoid it completely.",
"I've been using the Pigmentclar the last few weeks.",
"Though it seems to protect adequately against the sun, it makes my face unacceptably shiny.",
"So it's hands and arms only from now on until the tube is empty.",
"The tube offers one big advantage, and the product consistency -- not as watery as many sunscreens -- makes it easy to dispense just the right amount.",
"No running around with a big glob of sunscreen in your hand asking if anyone needs an extra dose of protection.",
"Apart from that, this doesn't seem to offer anything that your drugstore chemical sunscreen won't provide, at a much higher price point than that tube of drugstore product."
] |
As with its predecessor, Animals, this album is very much an exercise in what could have been. Unlike Animals, which had strong music, but a weakly constructed concept, The Wall has one of the strongest concepts in Pink Floyd's catalogue--but some of the weakest music. Hearing the live rendition of The Wall (Is There Anybody Out There?) makes it even more painfully clear what's missing from the studio album. Even before I learned the band's history, I always felt a distinct chill in the atmosphere of the album...as though something had been forcibly drained from it.
That said, I should note that The Wall as a concept is very coherent. It was a first, and last, for Pink Floyd (mostly Roger Waters at that point with some input from David Gilmour) to attempt to tell such an intricately narrated story, with a character and plot. Until The Wall (and also after Mr. Waters' departure), their concept albums had been somewhat more cryptic, interpretive explorations of a central theme. The Wall leaves very little room for interpretation, relegating the listener to the part of passive spectator if one cannot identify with the experiences of the character, "Pink".
The strengths of The Wall are mainly lyrical and conceptual, although both vocalists are in fine form, and so is the guitar playing. Personally, I do not have a problem with the songs others might call filler--from my perspective they do serve to advance the narrative. Another main strength of The Wall is the use of sound effects and TV clips to help create the album's atmosphere, or even to make comments about the lyrics themselves, such as the following example where a clip from Gomer Pyle is placed to make a sarcastic remark: "...when I try to get through on the telephone to you (surprise, surprise, surprise!) there'll be nobody home." In light of the studio album's deficiencies, it's a good thing these were there.
In Pink Floyd works before The Wall and after The Final Cut, there was often a spooky, unusual, sometimes experimental musical atmosphere that helped to set the tone of the album without a word. This music could be interpreted however the listener wanted. I believe a large part of this was the work of keyboardist Richard Wright. Unfortunately, he was forced by Roger Waters to give up his position in the band. The Wall's lack of that ethereal grace is what leaves the album cold. Except for a few beautiful parts like his synth solo on "Run Like Hell", it's clear Mr. Wright had no more freedom left--and for this the music suffers.
Ultimately, I gave The Wall 3 stars. Although a 3.5 might have been more fair, I felt that the musical lack on the studio album was a significant flaw. The live album, Is There Anybody Out There?, shows how much better that could have been. | 1 | neutral | [
"As with its predecessor, Animals, this album is very much an exercise in what could have been.",
"Unlike Animals, which had strong music, but a weakly constructed concept, The Wall has one of the strongest concepts in Pink Floyd's catalogue--but some of the weakest music.",
"Hearing the live rendition of The Wall (Is There Anybody Out There?",
") makes it even more painfully clear what's missing from the studio album.",
"Even before I learned the band's history, I always felt a distinct chill in the atmosphere of the album...",
"as though something had been forcibly drained from it.",
"That said, I should note that The Wall as a concept is very coherent.",
"It was a first, and last, for Pink Floyd (mostly Roger Waters at that point with some input from David Gilmour) to attempt to tell such an intricately narrated story, with a character and plot.",
"Until The Wall (and also after Mr.",
"Waters' departure), their concept albums had been somewhat more cryptic, interpretive explorations of a central theme.",
"The Wall leaves very little room for interpretation, relegating the listener to the part of passive spectator if one cannot identify with the experiences of the character, \"Pink\".",
"The strengths of The Wall are mainly lyrical and conceptual, although both vocalists are in fine form, and so is the guitar playing.",
"Personally, I do not have a problem with the songs others might call filler--from my perspective they do serve to advance the narrative.",
"Another main strength of The Wall is the use of sound effects and TV clips to help create the album's atmosphere, or even to make comments about the lyrics themselves, such as the following example where a clip from Gomer Pyle is placed to make a sarcastic remark: \"...",
"when I try to get through on the telephone to you (surprise, surprise, surprise!",
") there'll be nobody home.",
"\" In light of the studio album's deficiencies, it's a good thing these were there.",
"In Pink Floyd works before The Wall and after The Final Cut, there was often a spooky, unusual, sometimes experimental musical atmosphere that helped to set the tone of the album without a word.",
"This music could be interpreted however the listener wanted.",
"I believe a large part of this was the work of keyboardist Richard Wright.",
"Unfortunately, he was forced by Roger Waters to give up his position in the band.",
"The Wall's lack of that ethereal grace is what leaves the album cold.",
"Except for a few beautiful parts like his synth solo on \"Run Like Hell\", it's clear Mr.",
"Wright had no more freedom left--and for this the music suffers.",
"Ultimately, I gave The Wall 3 stars.",
"Although a 3.",
"5 might have been more fair, I felt that the musical lack on the studio album was a significant flaw.",
"The live album, Is There Anybody Out There?",
", shows how much better that could have been."
] |
It has been awhile since Kelly Rowland came out with an album. But lately she has shown that she is trying to be more of a singles act. After the failure of Ms. Kelly, she had to re-trace her voice. That did work well with Love Takes Over and Rose-Colored Glasses. But for her latest single, Motivation, it isn't really anything worth thriving. I was honestly very dissapointed with the song. Kelly hasn't really drove all the way home on the song at all. What I really wound find alarming for her is she stepped down to the wasted music of "Ciara" territory. Hopefully, when her 3rd record comes out, she'll bring that back into first gear.
Song: C | 1 | neutral | [
"It has been awhile since Kelly Rowland came out with an album.",
"But lately she has shown that she is trying to be more of a singles act.",
"After the failure of Ms.",
"Kelly, she had to re-trace her voice.",
"That did work well with Love Takes Over and Rose-Colored Glasses.",
"But for her latest single, Motivation, it isn't really anything worth thriving.",
"I was honestly very dissapointed with the song.",
"Kelly hasn't really drove all the way home on the song at all.",
"What I really wound find alarming for her is she stepped down to the wasted music of \"Ciara\" territory.",
"Hopefully, when her 3rd record comes out, she'll bring that back into first gear.",
"Song: C"
] |
I posted another review of a similar case I got. This is the other one. This case is exactly the same as the other one I got from eForCity. This one was shown w/o a sim card opening (the other showed an opening). No sim card opening as show. All the openings are in the right place. Snaps together pretty good and is a little tricky to get apart w/o ruining the case. Overall not bad for $2 but I only got this for a vacation where I want to be able to slide my phone in my jeans pocket and have a little protection for the phone. I don't think this will provide much protection if you drop the phone. I would call it "scratch protection". Verizon iPhone 4S. | 1 | neutral | [
"I posted another review of a similar case I got.",
"This is the other one.",
"This case is exactly the same as the other one I got from eForCity.",
"This one was shown w/o a sim card opening (the other showed an opening).",
"No sim card opening as show.",
"All the openings are in the right place.",
"Snaps together pretty good and is a little tricky to get apart w/o ruining the case.",
"Overall not bad for $2 but I only got this for a vacation where I want to be able to slide my phone in my jeans pocket and have a little protection for the phone.",
"I don't think this will provide much protection if you drop the phone.",
"I would call it \"scratch protection\".",
"Verizon iPhone 4S."
] |
I like this album enough that I still own and (occasionally)listen to it twelve years after it was released.
That said, it's not that great.
"Elemental" is a nice song--Roland Orzabel's vocals are strong, and the song hits powerfully. It's slightly reminiscent of the band's earlier song "Shout."
"Break It Down Again" is a classic song with classic lyrics. It's got a great build and it makes the world feel nice and wild. My only complaint with it is that now, in 2005, I can't believe how cheesy and dated some of its minor synthesizer parts sound. Prior to a few years ago, I never really noticed that any of it was synthesized, yet now it's impossible not to think about its phony-feeling keyboard fills.
The entire middle of the album just wanders and trudges around. It's nice in the way that a hot desert's nice, but it's not really engaging. It's slow.
"Brian Wilson Said," the album's second-to-last song could be a lost Beach Boys track, and is very tender, and "Goodnight Song" features excellent electric guitar and captures the feel of growing up and grieving one's youth almost perfectly. It may be the album's best.
The songs that are good on this CD make it worth owning, but it's not the sort of thing you'll listen to without ever skipping through a track. | 1 | neutral | [
"I like this album enough that I still own and (occasionally)listen to it twelve years after it was released.",
"That said, it's not that great.",
"\"Elemental\" is a nice song--Roland Orzabel's vocals are strong, and the song hits powerfully.",
"It's slightly reminiscent of the band's earlier song \"Shout.",
"\"\n\n\"Break It Down Again\" is a classic song with classic lyrics.",
"It's got a great build and it makes the world feel nice and wild.",
"My only complaint with it is that now, in 2005, I can't believe how cheesy and dated some of its minor synthesizer parts sound.",
"Prior to a few years ago, I never really noticed that any of it was synthesized, yet now it's impossible not to think about its phony-feeling keyboard fills.",
"The entire middle of the album just wanders and trudges around.",
"It's nice in the way that a hot desert's nice, but it's not really engaging.",
"It's slow.",
"\"Brian Wilson Said,\" the album's second-to-last song could be a lost Beach Boys track, and is very tender, and \"Goodnight Song\" features excellent electric guitar and captures the feel of growing up and grieving one's youth almost perfectly.",
"It may be the album's best.",
"The songs that are good on this CD make it worth owning, but it's not the sort of thing you'll listen to without ever skipping through a track."
] |
Well I think my title says it. I was very excited to play this game at first, then I was confused. Why am I not fighting anyone? That was the question I asked myself after a few hours playing the game. This game can be very dumb, like asking the same question over and over again. It's new to the people your asking in the game, but not for you. Then, of course, there is the constant wandering around, trying to find people. Then when you find them, they don't tell you anything. They just tell to go find some other shop and waste some more time. Dissapointed | 1 | neutral | [
"Well I think my title says it.",
"I was very excited to play this game at first, then I was confused.",
"Why am I not fighting anyone?",
"That was the question I asked myself after a few hours playing the game.",
"This game can be very dumb, like asking the same question over and over again.",
"It's new to the people your asking in the game, but not for you.",
"Then, of course, there is the constant wandering around, trying to find people.",
"Then when you find them, they don't tell you anything.",
"They just tell to go find some other shop and waste some more time.",
"Dissapointed"
] |
It's strange to look at the covers of this and of his first album - Bob alone with his guitar on both: two bookends to his classic masterpieces of the 60s. Neither are truly great albums, but both are fascinating. In both he attempts to immerse himself in a tradition rather than to strike out into uncharted creative territory. The charm, melodic ease and musical confidence of this album is a world away from the first, though. He seems to be saying 'I'm a professional singer-songwriter not a standard bearer of Cultural Revolution'. Fair enough. He hits notes, he entertains, he wants to enchant us. And there are wonderful songs: 'Lay Lady Lay', 'I Threw it all Away', 'Tell Me That It Isn't True'. But in the end its too close to so many ordinary competent albums by ordinary competent performers. In the original version of `Girl from the North Country' adolescent Bob giggles when he gets to the word `breast'. Here mature Johnny Cash sings it with masculine confidence. I miss that giggle, that sense of unprofessional excitement at the breaking of boundaries. Instead here tries to turn the song into a `pop standard' - to advertise his own new sense of maturity. But we don't want Bob to be another Sinatra. We want him to do it his way. | 1 | neutral | [
"It's strange to look at the covers of this and of his first album - Bob alone with his guitar on both: two bookends to his classic masterpieces of the 60s.",
"Neither are truly great albums, but both are fascinating.",
"In both he attempts to immerse himself in a tradition rather than to strike out into uncharted creative territory.",
"The charm, melodic ease and musical confidence of this album is a world away from the first, though.",
"He seems to be saying 'I'm a professional singer-songwriter not a standard bearer of Cultural Revolution'.",
"Fair enough.",
"He hits notes, he entertains, he wants to enchant us.",
"And there are wonderful songs: 'Lay Lady Lay', 'I Threw it all Away', 'Tell Me That It Isn't True'.",
"But in the end its too close to so many ordinary competent albums by ordinary competent performers.",
"In the original version of `Girl from the North Country' adolescent Bob giggles when he gets to the word `breast'.",
"Here mature Johnny Cash sings it with masculine confidence.",
"I miss that giggle, that sense of unprofessional excitement at the breaking of boundaries.",
"Instead here tries to turn the song into a `pop standard' - to advertise his own new sense of maturity.",
"But we don't want Bob to be another Sinatra.",
"We want him to do it his way."
] |
These gloves seem nice. They aren't too bulky, which is an upside for carrying when not wearing and also allows relatively accurate typing on my iPhone. However, I doubt they are gonna keep my hands very warm when it's 20 degrees or cooler with some wind. Hopefully I'm wrong about that, but they just seem too thin to provide much warmth. For the purpose of using these with a touchscreen, they definitely meet all expectations there, so I'm pleased. I've had other gloves made for touchscreen use that just don't cut it, whether they're too bulky, or you have to use a certain part of your finger (because that's the only area with the special threading). All in all, good buy.
Update: I've worn them several times now. My initial impression was correct...they aren't very warm. They're ok, but don't expect them to keep your hands very warm if it's windy or below 30 degrees. Also, they're already coming apart a bit. Every time I wear them, I see random strings popping out all over the place that I eventually have to cut off. I don't think they'll last very long... | 1 | neutral | [
"These gloves seem nice.",
"They aren't too bulky, which is an upside for carrying when not wearing and also allows relatively accurate typing on my iPhone.",
"However, I doubt they are gonna keep my hands very warm when it's 20 degrees or cooler with some wind.",
"Hopefully I'm wrong about that, but they just seem too thin to provide much warmth.",
"For the purpose of using these with a touchscreen, they definitely meet all expectations there, so I'm pleased.",
"I've had other gloves made for touchscreen use that just don't cut it, whether they're too bulky, or you have to use a certain part of your finger (because that's the only area with the special threading).",
"All in all, good buy.",
"Update: I've worn them several times now.",
"My initial impression was correct...",
"they aren't very warm.",
"They're ok, but don't expect them to keep your hands very warm if it's windy or below 30 degrees.",
"Also, they're already coming apart a bit.",
"Every time I wear them, I see random strings popping out all over the place that I eventually have to cut off.",
"I don't think they'll last very long..."
] |
Hi specky. Sorry to hear about your back. What did you do? . Shame about Robin Hood. I've just completed my first week's running post FLM and managed to do 17 miles which isn't too bad going. Going to try a long run tomorrow, not sure how far to go as I think my legs will feel it. I'm dithering about how to approach my training now. Blackpool in 7 weeks, then a 10k the week after and another 10k the week after that. Glutton for punishment or what! | 1 | neutral | [
"Hi specky.",
"Sorry to hear about your back.",
"What did you do?",
".",
"Shame about Robin Hood.",
"I've just completed my first week's running post FLM and managed to do 17 miles which isn't too bad going.",
"Going to try a long run tomorrow, not sure how far to go as I think my legs will feel it.",
"I'm dithering about how to approach my training now.",
"Blackpool in 7 weeks, then a 10k the week after and another 10k the week after that.",
"Glutton for punishment or what!"
] |
Well, I was hoping to get an old-fashioned RPG game in my console. Instead , I get Diablo-like gameplay. Read my review on Diablo if you want, that's why I gave it 3 stars. Thee is a good story in this game, but in the first town, you only get to go in one place! That's it! Don't you remember the huge sidequests you can get in Baldur's Gate? This game is just follow the story and make it quick. However, the grpahics and gameplay are great. The monsters were impossibly difficult, but on multiplayer, they sure drop like flies. Enjoy. | 1 | neutral | [
"Well, I was hoping to get an old-fashioned RPG game in my console.",
"Instead , I get Diablo-like gameplay.",
"Read my review on Diablo if you want, that's why I gave it 3 stars.",
"Thee is a good story in this game, but in the first town, you only get to go in one place!",
"That's it!",
"Don't you remember the huge sidequests you can get in Baldur's Gate?",
"This game is just follow the story and make it quick.",
"However, the grpahics and gameplay are great.",
"The monsters were impossibly difficult, but on multiplayer, they sure drop like flies.",
"Enjoy."
] |
I ordered this Gilmour Full Size Zinc Pistol Grip Nozzle with Threaded Front 573TF on a whim. I had just placed an order for a spiral hose to put permanently in the boat for wash down, and it popped up just below the confirmation of placing the hose in my cart. I am a buyer who looks a many items of the kind I am considering, but I just clicked on this and placed it in my cart and sent in the order. When I put the two together and screwed them onto the fitting in the back of the boat, hit the bait well switch only a small trickle of water came out. I had screwed the nozzle on tightly to the hose fitting with a wrench, so it would not come off the hose without another wrench handy and I had left it in the garage at home. So I am still not sure if the hose or this nozzle is the problem. I will revisit this review after finding out for sure which it is, as I know it is one of the two of these devices that is the problem, since I removed the hose from the boat, turned on the switch again and water gushed out of the hose fitting on my boat, thus plenty of water pressure for the water to get through the hose and nozzle. I change whichever is the culprit's review to reflect my annoyance. I had hoped both of these items would be a trouble free solution to washing down my boat, but no, something had to foul up and cost me some grief. More later after I solve this dilemma. | 1 | neutral | [
"I ordered this Gilmour Full Size Zinc Pistol Grip Nozzle with Threaded Front 573TF on a whim.",
"I had just placed an order for a spiral hose to put permanently in the boat for wash down, and it popped up just below the confirmation of placing the hose in my cart.",
"I am a buyer who looks a many items of the kind I am considering, but I just clicked on this and placed it in my cart and sent in the order.",
"When I put the two together and screwed them onto the fitting in the back of the boat, hit the bait well switch only a small trickle of water came out.",
"I had screwed the nozzle on tightly to the hose fitting with a wrench, so it would not come off the hose without another wrench handy and I had left it in the garage at home.",
"So I am still not sure if the hose or this nozzle is the problem.",
"I will revisit this review after finding out for sure which it is, as I know it is one of the two of these devices that is the problem, since I removed the hose from the boat, turned on the switch again and water gushed out of the hose fitting on my boat, thus plenty of water pressure for the water to get through the hose and nozzle.",
"I change whichever is the culprit's review to reflect my annoyance.",
"I had hoped both of these items would be a trouble free solution to washing down my boat, but no, something had to foul up and cost me some grief.",
"More later after I solve this dilemma."
] |
Our 8 month old daughter received this as a gift, and really seems to enjoy watching it. However, I'm starting to think that she gets more enjoyment out of watching me chase after the balls, than out of the toy itself.
The force at which the balls pop out is unpredictable, to say the least. On one hand, you can rest assured that they never come out fast enough to cause even the slightest injury. On the other, sometimes the ball will hover over the opening, and other times, it'll get fired high enough that it won't land on the ramp.
If you're looking for a quiet toy, run away now. When operational, the motor sounds like a <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/DustBuster/dp/B0007XOHI6/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">DustBuster</a> and it's mixed with circus music as well as "pop" and "boing" noises. Personally, it doesn't annoy me. But I can see how it could be grating on the nerves if this becomes your child's favorite toy.
One last note... our daughter instinctively wants to use this as something to prop herself up with. This toy is much lighter than it looks like, so be especially watchful when you're playing with this. | 1 | neutral | [
"Our 8 month old daughter received this as a gift, and really seems to enjoy watching it.",
"However, I'm starting to think that she gets more enjoyment out of watching me chase after the balls, than out of the toy itself.",
"The force at which the balls pop out is unpredictable, to say the least.",
"On one hand, you can rest assured that they never come out fast enough to cause even the slightest injury.",
"On the other, sometimes the ball will hover over the opening, and other times, it'll get fired high enough that it won't land on the ramp.",
"If you're looking for a quiet toy, run away now.",
"When operational, the motor sounds like a <a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/DustBuster/dp/B0007XOHI6/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">DustBuster</a> and it's mixed with circus music as well as \"pop\" and \"boing\" noises.",
"Personally, it doesn't annoy me.",
"But I can see how it could be grating on the nerves if this becomes your child's favorite toy.",
"One last note...",
"our daughter instinctively wants to use this as something to prop herself up with.",
"This toy is much lighter than it looks like, so be especially watchful when you're playing with this."
] |
A cat on the run provides the focus for a trio of tales from Stephen King. The cat finds itself in the city where it sees a vision of a girl asking it for help. Shortly after the cat is grabbed and put in the first story.
The cat finds itself as a test animal at a stop-smoking clinic run by Alan King. The success of the clinic is not based on psychology or diet, but on extortion and torture. The cat manages to get away.
As the cat tries to cross a busy Vegas street, he becomes the subject of a bet and winds up in a penthouse suite were a deadly game is to be played out. James Woods has been having an affair with the penthouse owner's wife. To protect his life he must follow a ledge all the way around the building.
Finally, the cat manages to reach the home of a young Drew Barrymore where he becomes a pet. No sooner does he arrive than we find out the girl is being menaced by a creature that lives in her bedroom wall. Only the cat can save her from the diminutive menace.
While technically an anthology movie, this one works a little better than most. Following the cat through the stories really is an effective way of tying the separate tales together. The third tale is the weakest and that is probably from the lack of a strong acting presence like in the first two stories. But all in all the film works and is entertaining right to the very end scene. Check it out. | 1 | neutral | [
"A cat on the run provides the focus for a trio of tales from Stephen King.",
"The cat finds itself in the city where it sees a vision of a girl asking it for help.",
"Shortly after the cat is grabbed and put in the first story.",
"The cat finds itself as a test animal at a stop-smoking clinic run by Alan King.",
"The success of the clinic is not based on psychology or diet, but on extortion and torture.",
"The cat manages to get away.",
"As the cat tries to cross a busy Vegas street, he becomes the subject of a bet and winds up in a penthouse suite were a deadly game is to be played out.",
"James Woods has been having an affair with the penthouse owner's wife.",
"To protect his life he must follow a ledge all the way around the building.",
"Finally, the cat manages to reach the home of a young Drew Barrymore where he becomes a pet.",
"No sooner does he arrive than we find out the girl is being menaced by a creature that lives in her bedroom wall.",
"Only the cat can save her from the diminutive menace.",
"While technically an anthology movie, this one works a little better than most.",
"Following the cat through the stories really is an effective way of tying the separate tales together.",
"The third tale is the weakest and that is probably from the lack of a strong acting presence like in the first two stories.",
"But all in all the film works and is entertaining right to the very end scene.",
"Check it out."
] |
Uriah Heep's best effort still doesn't muster enough to bring the band up to the standards of other British heavy metal bands of the 70s, such as Black Sabbath or Deep Purple. And don't even mention Led Zeppelin in the same breath. Repetitive riffs and sophomoric lyrics drag down what could have been a classic. Instead, it's just the Kraft Singles of heavy metal cheesedom.
The band does have its moments. Easy Livin' is a hard-driving single with hook-laden riffs that sticks with you. The opener, The Wizard, lays a solid groundwork for the rest of the album, but the remaining songs just follow the same template. The deepest this group gets philosophically is "Today is only yesterday's tomorrow." Obviously written right after a huge bong hit. I can hear Tommy Chong saying, "That's deep man." The band manages to rise to the occasion with an extended piece titled Paradise/The Spell that contains some of the album's best playing.
What brings the album down is the cliche lyrics and David Byron's cheesy vocals. I swear, sometimes I think I'm listening to Spinal Tap. And it is a fact that Uriah Heep has been mentioned as a influence on Spinal Tap. Put on this CD, close your eyes, and imagine Michael McKean singing Rainbow Demon.
But I do listen to this occasionally. I heard it for the first time in years and I thought to myself, "This is better than I remembered." After a few more listens, the flaws became evident. And I admit, I'll probably listen again, because it is so reflective of 70s heavy metal, however imitative this is. | 1 | neutral | [
"Uriah Heep's best effort still doesn't muster enough to bring the band up to the standards of other British heavy metal bands of the 70s, such as Black Sabbath or Deep Purple.",
"And don't even mention Led Zeppelin in the same breath.",
"Repetitive riffs and sophomoric lyrics drag down what could have been a classic.",
"Instead, it's just the Kraft Singles of heavy metal cheesedom.",
"The band does have its moments.",
"Easy Livin' is a hard-driving single with hook-laden riffs that sticks with you.",
"The opener, The Wizard, lays a solid groundwork for the rest of the album, but the remaining songs just follow the same template.",
"The deepest this group gets philosophically is \"Today is only yesterday's tomorrow.",
"\" Obviously written right after a huge bong hit.",
"I can hear Tommy Chong saying, \"That's deep man.",
"\" The band manages to rise to the occasion with an extended piece titled Paradise/The Spell that contains some of the album's best playing.",
"What brings the album down is the cliche lyrics and David Byron's cheesy vocals.",
"I swear, sometimes I think I'm listening to Spinal Tap.",
"And it is a fact that Uriah Heep has been mentioned as a influence on Spinal Tap.",
"Put on this CD, close your eyes, and imagine Michael McKean singing Rainbow Demon.",
"But I do listen to this occasionally.",
"I heard it for the first time in years and I thought to myself, \"This is better than I remembered.",
"\" After a few more listens, the flaws became evident.",
"And I admit, I'll probably listen again, because it is so reflective of 70s heavy metal, however imitative this is."
] |
Star Trek games are for some reason notoriously awful. I'm not sure if developers are intimidated by the fame of the series, or if there simply aren't very many programmers who can handle the Wing Commander level many of us gamers expect from a good space game. While Armada is better than most, it still could be so much more.
Yes, you can be one of four groups - the Federation, the Klingons, the Romulans, or the Borg. Each has its own ships and bases, and special abilities. The graphics are Homeworld-esque - very lovely, with details on ships and other stellar objects.
I grew up loving Star Trek, and it is neat to be able to manipulate the ships. However, playing is like sliding miniatures around on a glass tabletop. Where is the space aspect of this? Scales are not always proper as they slide from Point A to Point B. You do traditional StarCraft types of operations - mine your dilithium, build your base, kick out fighting units, take out the enemy. Instead of choosing an attack stance, you choose the red/yellow/green alert.
Getting into the game is extremely difficult for new players. The manual itself is not very helpful, and the commands are not always intuitive. One of our test machines was a P2-266, which they list as supported, but the machine only ran at the lowest graphic setting available, choking constantly. Even on faster systems the crash rate is rather impressive.
I really, really wanted to enjoy this as a strategy game. My love of Trek tried to get me to overlook some of the flaws. However, no matter how gorgeous the ships themselves and the generated mid-game cinematics, the AI is simply lacking and the gameplay itself is nothing special when compared to other strategy games out there.
If you're a Trek lover, grab a copy to play with the ships. If you're a true strategy player, wait and hope that the next one that comes out resolves some of these key issues. | 1 | neutral | [
"Star Trek games are for some reason notoriously awful.",
"I'm not sure if developers are intimidated by the fame of the series, or if there simply aren't very many programmers who can handle the Wing Commander level many of us gamers expect from a good space game.",
"While Armada is better than most, it still could be so much more.",
"Yes, you can be one of four groups - the Federation, the Klingons, the Romulans, or the Borg.",
"Each has its own ships and bases, and special abilities.",
"The graphics are Homeworld-esque - very lovely, with details on ships and other stellar objects.",
"I grew up loving Star Trek, and it is neat to be able to manipulate the ships.",
"However, playing is like sliding miniatures around on a glass tabletop.",
"Where is the space aspect of this?",
"Scales are not always proper as they slide from Point A to Point B.",
"You do traditional StarCraft types of operations - mine your dilithium, build your base, kick out fighting units, take out the enemy.",
"Instead of choosing an attack stance, you choose the red/yellow/green alert.",
"Getting into the game is extremely difficult for new players.",
"The manual itself is not very helpful, and the commands are not always intuitive.",
"One of our test machines was a P2-266, which they list as supported, but the machine only ran at the lowest graphic setting available, choking constantly.",
"Even on faster systems the crash rate is rather impressive.",
"I really, really wanted to enjoy this as a strategy game.",
"My love of Trek tried to get me to overlook some of the flaws.",
"However, no matter how gorgeous the ships themselves and the generated mid-game cinematics, the AI is simply lacking and the gameplay itself is nothing special when compared to other strategy games out there.",
"If you're a Trek lover, grab a copy to play with the ships.",
"If you're a true strategy player, wait and hope that the next one that comes out resolves some of these key issues."
] |
Now maybe it's me, but I thought the graphics in the last of the series, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, were much better than the graphics for Tony Hawk Underground. There were a lot of glitches with the screen and many of the things you can do are made bad by the low-pixel graphics. The people are pretty badly-made compared to THPS4 and so are the automobiles.
The plot for this game is alright. It is pretty basic but they did a lot with it. There was one thing that annoyed me about the plot the whole time --Why are you helping everyone??? You play a punk skater!!! Why are you running or riding around looking to help people. Most of the goals didn't mae that much sense. Most of the goals were fun, though.
The game will be more or less fun if you're a skateboarder. There's two ways to look at it from that point of view. The first is, "Wow, this game is completely unrealistic! You can do 360s and sometimes 540s right on the sidewalk without a ramp." Or the second way would be, "Sweet! I could never do this stuff in real life! And look at all the cool obstacles!" I kind of had both of those in mind just so I could review it correctly.
The game isn't very challenging. It took me three days to beat and I probably played it two hours per day. I was playing it on Average or Medium the entire time, though. So if you want a real challenge, put it one Very Hard or Sick Mode. (I think that's what it's called.) A really good gamer would be done with this one in hours because there are really no dilemas other than trying to prove yourself as a skater.
The levels you play on are fantastic. The graphics are alright and the objects to grind and jump on are sweet. Some of the levels include Moscow (same Moscow used in Twisted Metal), New Jersey and the Secret level (my personal favorite), Hotter than Hell. It is a KISS stage where you can collect the letters K-I-S-S and the band will apear for you.
So altogether, the game is good. It is enjoyable enough to beat a couple of times. Everyone will have different complaints but in the end you will probably like it a little or a lot. | 1 | neutral | [
"Now maybe it's me, but I thought the graphics in the last of the series, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, were much better than the graphics for Tony Hawk Underground.",
"There were a lot of glitches with the screen and many of the things you can do are made bad by the low-pixel graphics.",
"The people are pretty badly-made compared to THPS4 and so are the automobiles.",
"The plot for this game is alright.",
"It is pretty basic but they did a lot with it.",
"There was one thing that annoyed me about the plot the whole time --Why are you helping everyone???",
"You play a punk skater!!!",
"Why are you running or riding around looking to help people.",
"Most of the goals didn't mae that much sense.",
"Most of the goals were fun, though.",
"The game will be more or less fun if you're a skateboarder.",
"There's two ways to look at it from that point of view.",
"The first is, \"Wow, this game is completely unrealistic!",
"You can do 360s and sometimes 540s right on the sidewalk without a ramp.",
"\" Or the second way would be, \"Sweet!",
"I could never do this stuff in real life!",
"And look at all the cool obstacles!",
"\" I kind of had both of those in mind just so I could review it correctly.",
"The game isn't very challenging.",
"It took me three days to beat and I probably played it two hours per day.",
"I was playing it on Average or Medium the entire time, though.",
"So if you want a real challenge, put it one Very Hard or Sick Mode.",
"(I think that's what it's called.",
") A really good gamer would be done with this one in hours because there are really no dilemas other than trying to prove yourself as a skater.",
"The levels you play on are fantastic.",
"The graphics are alright and the objects to grind and jump on are sweet.",
"Some of the levels include Moscow (same Moscow used in Twisted Metal), New Jersey and the Secret level (my personal favorite), Hotter than Hell.",
"It is a KISS stage where you can collect the letters K-I-S-S and the band will apear for you.",
"So altogether, the game is good.",
"It is enjoyable enough to beat a couple of times.",
"Everyone will have different complaints but in the end you will probably like it a little or a lot."
] |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.