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I read "Ice Princess" because I wanted to see where it was going to pick up and go from the ending of "Wanted." Again, it felt rushed and choppy, even though one gets the gist of where the story line is going. I figured the Ice Princess was going to end up being Tanya, however, there really was no story line as to how and why she was being called the Ice Princess. There wasn't much of a backstory to build that character change in her.
The parts of the story involving Sarah and her sister doesn't add anything to the entire story itself, other than we know Sarah is a bounty hunter and her sister was another whore. Leaving their relationship out of the story wouldn't have changed the end effect. I felt it, and a lot more, was just filler for the story line itself. The entire story seemed as though it was quickly written, with quick action scenarios being presented in several paragraphs without building to a climax of exciting and intense completion. It was like; "Okay, that part is done, let's move on."
This second book was no better in editing than the first one. Again, the author needs an editor, or he needs to conduct his own proof reading if he continues with his writing. I'll read another novel by this author, just to give him the opportunity to self-evaluate and learn from these reviews. However, three strikes and he'll be out of my author's list. | 1 | neutral | [
"I read \"Ice Princess\" because I wanted to see where it was going to pick up and go from the ending of \"Wanted.",
"\" Again, it felt rushed and choppy, even though one gets the gist of where the story line is going.",
"I figured the Ice Princess was going to end up being Tanya, however, there really was no story line as to how and why she was being called the Ice Princess.",
"There wasn't much of a backstory to build that character change in her.",
"The parts of the story involving Sarah and her sister doesn't add anything to the entire story itself, other than we know Sarah is a bounty hunter and her sister was another whore.",
"Leaving their relationship out of the story wouldn't have changed the end effect.",
"I felt it, and a lot more, was just filler for the story line itself.",
"The entire story seemed as though it was quickly written, with quick action scenarios being presented in several paragraphs without building to a climax of exciting and intense completion.",
"It was like; \"Okay, that part is done, let's move on.",
"\"\n\nThis second book was no better in editing than the first one.",
"Again, the author needs an editor, or he needs to conduct his own proof reading if he continues with his writing.",
"I'll read another novel by this author, just to give him the opportunity to self-evaluate and learn from these reviews.",
"However, three strikes and he'll be out of my author's list."
] |
I'm a huge Styx fan, and also a longtime fan. My expectations were very high for 1990's 'Edge of the Century.' Styx had been gone since 1983, their last record being 'Kilroy Was Here.' I had set the standards really high, maybe too high.
But I was disappointed with this. Instead of the hard rock, pop rock and progressive rock that made Styx, well, Styx, this was just pop. It did have several moments; I do like 'Love Is The Ritual,' 'Show Me The Way' and 'Carrie Ann' a little bit.
But overall, this was disappointing. It's bubblegum pop, not at all rock. Tommy Shaw had left the band (I can understand why) and was replaced by top session musician Glen Burtnik.
But this isn't a terrible record, it's just not very good under Styx's standards. It is one of their more inspirational-themed albums.
Recommended for the Styx die-hard or collector. | 1 | neutral | [
"I'm a huge Styx fan, and also a longtime fan.",
"My expectations were very high for 1990's 'Edge of the Century.",
"' Styx had been gone since 1983, their last record being 'Kilroy Was Here.",
"' I had set the standards really high, maybe too high.",
"But I was disappointed with this.",
"Instead of the hard rock, pop rock and progressive rock that made Styx, well, Styx, this was just pop.",
"It did have several moments; I do like 'Love Is The Ritual,' 'Show Me The Way' and 'Carrie Ann' a little bit.",
"But overall, this was disappointing.",
"It's bubblegum pop, not at all rock.",
"Tommy Shaw had left the band (I can understand why) and was replaced by top session musician Glen Burtnik.",
"But this isn't a terrible record, it's just not very good under Styx's standards.",
"It is one of their more inspirational-themed albums.",
"Recommended for the Styx die-hard or collector."
] |
FINNALY IM OUTTA SCHOOL AND MY NET IS STILL SCRED UP THOW BUT HERES A GOOD REVEIW! FROM YOUR FAV CHARLIE V1 THOMAS YOU SUCK! OK THIS GAME IS AWESOME PREETY MUCH ONLY MUTIPLAYER THOW WHEN IT FIRST CAME OUT FOR PS2 I RENTED IT IT WAS ALRIGHT I GEUSS BUT I WANTED MORE BUT I COULDNT THINK OF IT! SO THEN IT CAME OUT FOR XBOX AFTER I TRADDED IN MY PS2 FOR A XBOX CAUSE PS2 SUC COMPARED TO XBOX. ONLY 20 BUCKS IT WAS AND ITS WORTH IT PREETY GOOD GRAPHICS THE FIRE EFFECTS DONT LOOK TO GOOD ALRIGHT I GEUSS BUT THE REAL THING ABOUT THIS GAME SI THE FUN AND ACTION UP TO 4 PLAYERS DEATH MATCH LAST MAN STANDING AND SOME OTHER MODES. I PLAYED IT WITH MY BRO AND IT WAS A FUN ACTION TIME YOU CAN GET UP TO ABOUT 10 WEAPOND A TAZZER MACHINE GUN ROCKET LAUNCHER BAZOOKA FLAME THROWER A KNIFE AND YOU CAN PICK UP STUFF LIKE TABLLES GARBAGE CANS STUFF LIKE THAT SO FOR MULTIPLAYER GOTTA BIG + IN THIS. NOW NOW NOW FOR 1 PLAYER GOES PREETY MUCH THE SAME OF PS2 YOU PLAY IT A BIT YOUR DONE WITH IT BUT ONE MORE THING WITH THIS XBOX VERSION YOU CAN PLAY YOUR OWN MUSIC ASS WELL WHICH I LOVE ! SO LETS SEE HOW THIS GAME GOES!
GRAPHICS - WELL THEY LOOK SOMETIMES GOOD SOME BAD YA KNOW SO A 7.5 FOR GRAPHICS YOUR HAVING TO MUCH FUN IN THIS YOU WONT REALLLY CARE ABOUT THE GRAPHICS !
SOUND - GREAT SOUND PLAY YOUR OWN XBOX MIX MUSIC AND PEOPLE JUST SCREAMING THERE HEADS OFF GREAT! GETS A 8.75
CONROLS - WELL IT TAKES ABOUT 6 MINUTES TO GET TO IT AND NOT REALLY CONFUSING ABOUT A 8.5 FOR CONTROLS
CONCEPT - YOUR IN MALLS KILLING PEOPLE PLUS A NEW MULTIPLAYER MODE!
REPLAY VALUE OF GAME - MODERATE SOMETIMES YOU WILL FEEL LIKE PLAYIN SOMETIMES YOU WONT STILL THIS GAME ISNT A CEEPER FOREVER SO ITS POSSIBLE IN THE FUTURE IF YOU NEEDED SOME CASH YOU WOULD TRADE IT IN AFTER ALL ITS ONLY 20 BUCKS AND THIS GAME DOESNT KEEP YOU IN FOREVER PLUS THERE SHOULD BE MORE CHARACTERS IN THE GAME!
BASICALY THIS GAME GET A 7.75 ITS GOOD FOR AWHILE BUT NOT FOR A LIFETIME!
WELL THANX REMEMBER THOMAS SUX IM THE SWEET REVEIWER VOTE FOR ME CHARLIE VERSION 1 NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA WOR D LIFE PEACE OUT LITA! | 1 | neutral | [
"FINNALY IM OUTTA SCHOOL AND MY NET IS STILL SCRED UP THOW BUT HERES A GOOD REVEIW!",
"FROM YOUR FAV CHARLIE V1 THOMAS YOU SUCK!",
"OK THIS GAME IS AWESOME PREETY MUCH ONLY MUTIPLAYER THOW WHEN IT FIRST CAME OUT FOR PS2 I RENTED IT IT WAS ALRIGHT I GEUSS BUT I WANTED MORE BUT I COULDNT THINK OF IT!",
"SO THEN IT CAME OUT FOR XBOX AFTER I TRADDED IN MY PS2 FOR A XBOX CAUSE PS2 SUC COMPARED TO XBOX.",
"ONLY 20 BUCKS IT WAS AND ITS WORTH IT PREETY GOOD GRAPHICS THE FIRE EFFECTS DONT LOOK TO GOOD ALRIGHT I GEUSS BUT THE REAL THING ABOUT THIS GAME SI THE FUN AND ACTION UP TO 4 PLAYERS DEATH MATCH LAST MAN STANDING AND SOME OTHER MODES.",
"I PLAYED IT WITH MY BRO AND IT WAS A FUN ACTION TIME YOU CAN GET UP TO ABOUT 10 WEAPOND A TAZZER MACHINE GUN ROCKET LAUNCHER BAZOOKA FLAME THROWER A KNIFE AND YOU CAN PICK UP STUFF LIKE TABLLES GARBAGE CANS STUFF LIKE THAT SO FOR MULTIPLAYER GOTTA BIG + IN THIS.",
"NOW NOW NOW FOR 1 PLAYER GOES PREETY MUCH THE SAME OF PS2 YOU PLAY IT A BIT YOUR DONE WITH IT BUT ONE MORE THING WITH THIS XBOX VERSION YOU CAN PLAY YOUR OWN MUSIC ASS WELL WHICH I LOVE!",
"SO LETS SEE HOW THIS GAME GOES!",
"GRAPHICS - WELL THEY LOOK SOMETIMES GOOD SOME BAD YA KNOW SO A 7.",
"5 FOR GRAPHICS YOUR HAVING TO MUCH FUN IN THIS YOU WONT REALLLY CARE ABOUT THE GRAPHICS!",
"SOUND - GREAT SOUND PLAY YOUR OWN XBOX MIX MUSIC AND PEOPLE JUST SCREAMING THERE HEADS OFF GREAT!",
"GETS A 8.",
"75\nCONROLS - WELL IT TAKES ABOUT 6 MINUTES TO GET TO IT AND NOT REALLY CONFUSING ABOUT A 8.",
"5 FOR CONTROLS\nCONCEPT - YOUR IN MALLS KILLING PEOPLE PLUS A NEW MULTIPLAYER MODE!",
"REPLAY VALUE OF GAME - MODERATE SOMETIMES YOU WILL FEEL LIKE PLAYIN SOMETIMES YOU WONT STILL THIS GAME ISNT A CEEPER FOREVER SO ITS POSSIBLE IN THE FUTURE IF YOU NEEDED SOME CASH YOU WOULD TRADE IT IN AFTER ALL ITS ONLY 20 BUCKS AND THIS GAME DOESNT KEEP YOU IN FOREVER PLUS THERE SHOULD BE MORE CHARACTERS IN THE GAME!",
"BASICALY THIS GAME GET A 7.",
"75 ITS GOOD FOR AWHILE BUT NOT FOR A LIFETIME!",
"WELL THANX REMEMBER THOMAS SUX IM THE SWEET REVEIWER VOTE FOR ME CHARLIE VERSION 1 NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA WOR D LIFE PEACE OUT LITA!"
] |
I was a big RAINBOW fan in the late 70's and I was quite dis-
appointed when I heard RONNIE JAMES DIO had left. Looking back,
I really think DIO was at his best with RAINBOW and he also did
a great job on BLACK SABBATH/HEAVEN AND HELL and KERRY LIVGRIN'S
solo album SEEDS OF CHANGE. I was not very pleased, at first,
when I heard DOWN TO EARTH.Even tho' he has a very powerful voice, GRAHAM BONNET seemed to be an odd choice as a replacement
for DIO, tho his voice perfectly suited BLACKMORE's more rock-n-
roll, commercial music. I was also saddened by the lyrics, which
mainly dealt with making love and missing yer woman. The lyrics
were penned by bassist ROGER GLOVER, who had recorded the wonder-
ful concept album ELEMENTS( which I highly recommend) the year
before.
In retrospect, getting rid of DIO and moving away from the
medieval lyrics was a smart move by BLACKMORE, as alot of metal
bands in the 80'S ( and DIO himself) would make these type of
lyrics seem cartoonish. The popularity of DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS,
which I never got into but my brothers loved, also didn't help.
As for the album itself, there are some catchy, likable songs
here and I now think DOWN TO EARTH is a very good, but not great
album. My favorite songs are EYES OF THE WORLD, which is the most
progressive song here, has the most dangerous lyrics and also
sports a wonderful synthesizer intro by DON AIREY, which is simi-
lar to DAVE STONE'S intro for GATES OF BABYLON and TONY CAREY's
synth intro for TAROT WOMAN; the RUSS BALLARD cover SINCE YOU'VE
BEEN GONE,which has some very typical sad guitar playing from
BLACKIE and LOST IN HOLLYWOOD, which has a very fast drum intro
from COZY POWELL and which, as a hand drummer, I've never been
able to do! LOST is also one of the album's most progressive
tunes here. Elsewhere, BONNET sings his powerful lungs out and
RAINBOW rock-n-roll their buns off and a good time is had by all.
NOT BAD.... | 1 | neutral | [
"I was a big RAINBOW fan in the late 70's and I was quite dis-\nappointed when I heard RONNIE JAMES DIO had left.",
"Looking back,\nI really think DIO was at his best with RAINBOW and he also did\na great job on BLACK SABBATH/HEAVEN AND HELL and KERRY LIVGRIN'S\nsolo album SEEDS OF CHANGE.",
"I was not very pleased, at first,\nwhen I heard DOWN TO EARTH.",
"Even tho' he has a very powerful voice, GRAHAM BONNET seemed to be an odd choice as a replacement\nfor DIO, tho his voice perfectly suited BLACKMORE's more rock-n-\nroll, commercial music.",
"I was also saddened by the lyrics, which\nmainly dealt with making love and missing yer woman.",
"The lyrics\nwere penned by bassist ROGER GLOVER, who had recorded the wonder-\nful concept album ELEMENTS( which I highly recommend) the year\nbefore.",
"In retrospect, getting rid of DIO and moving away from the\nmedieval lyrics was a smart move by BLACKMORE, as alot of metal\nbands in the 80'S ( and DIO himself) would make these type of\nlyrics seem cartoonish.",
"The popularity of DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS,\nwhich I never got into but my brothers loved, also didn't help.",
"As for the album itself, there are some catchy, likable songs\nhere and I now think DOWN TO EARTH is a very good, but not great\nalbum.",
"My favorite songs are EYES OF THE WORLD, which is the most\nprogressive song here, has the most dangerous lyrics and also\nsports a wonderful synthesizer intro by DON AIREY, which is simi-\nlar to DAVE STONE'S intro for GATES OF BABYLON and TONY CAREY's\nsynth intro for TAROT WOMAN; the RUSS BALLARD cover SINCE YOU'VE\nBEEN GONE,which has some very typical sad guitar playing from\nBLACKIE and LOST IN HOLLYWOOD, which has a very fast drum intro\nfrom COZY POWELL and which, as a hand drummer, I've never been\nable to do!",
"LOST is also one of the album's most progressive\ntunes here.",
"Elsewhere, BONNET sings his powerful lungs out and\nRAINBOW rock-n-roll their buns off and a good time is had by all.",
"NOT BAD...."
] |
I loved the first book, and in some ways the technique is a bit more advanced, but it falls short of the quality of the first book *for my preferences*. If you wanted a lot more action, everything over the top, darker, and generally a bad case of more more more...this may be your book. I think he blew out all the constraints that made the initial world building work; there's one definition of strategy being what we choose not to do...things are defined as much by what they're not. I have to admit I haven't pinned down exactly why the characters were so engrossing and effective in the first one, but this sequel just doesn't achieve that same excellence. In many ways it undermines the good work done; I cared less about both main characters after this book, and probably wouldn't pay much for a further story. After the first I was excited, but this seems like a rushed effort where all the focus was on more action and more angst. Neither has to be a bad thing, but here it's at the expense of what was so good about the first book...IMHO. | 1 | neutral | [
"I loved the first book, and in some ways the technique is a bit more advanced, but it falls short of the quality of the first book *for my preferences*.",
"If you wanted a lot more action, everything over the top, darker, and generally a bad case of more more more...",
"this may be your book.",
"I think he blew out all the constraints that made the initial world building work; there's one definition of strategy being what we choose not to do...",
"things are defined as much by what they're not.",
"I have to admit I haven't pinned down exactly why the characters were so engrossing and effective in the first one, but this sequel just doesn't achieve that same excellence.",
"In many ways it undermines the good work done; I cared less about both main characters after this book, and probably wouldn't pay much for a further story.",
"After the first I was excited, but this seems like a rushed effort where all the focus was on more action and more angst.",
"Neither has to be a bad thing, but here it's at the expense of what was so good about the first book...",
"IMHO."
] |
Great Balls of Fire!, 1989 film
The story begins in Christmastime 1944. Two boys visit a forbidden place. Jerry Lee Lewis watches attentively. Years later he plays the piano with amazing flourishes (1956). He is sent to Memphis Tennessee and want to record for Sun Records. Jerry explains his marital history. Sam Phillips listens to his demo tapes; he can sell that! "Crazy Arms" is a hit. Money is needed to popularize a product. Jerry Lee is advised to serve God by his cousin. He revives an old song "Whole Lot of Shaking"; too risqu? We see why they put chicken wire in front of the musicians. Jerry appears on a NY television show. He is now a star! "Savage animal rhythms"? Who will guard him from his fans? [No scandals to keep the money rolling in.] Some worry about the H-bomb because of what they are told in school. Jerry comforts his cousin Myra.
Hooking up with Jerry was a good business decision. "Great Balls of Fire" is a big hit with its pumping piano style. Alan Freed's Rock and Roll shows at the Paramount in Brooklyn attract crowds. Girls go crazy over Jerry! He stops by a high school. [Note the clothes.] Jerry gets a Marriage License. Should they wait? Myra Gale Brown gets married in Mississippi [legal age?]. They plan to tour in England, Jerry Lee is bigger there than Elvis. Myra's father is armed and angry, Sam Phillips talks to him. Myra leaves her parents to live with Jerry in a pink house with a blue door. Jerry sings "Breathless". Myra shops to furnish their home. Does Jerry have any remorse? No. They will tour England together. A four-engine Lockheed Constellation flies across the Atlantic. A reporter learns about Myra's age. "She's only a baby." There is unfavorable publicity. "This is a big deal!" The audience is cool and quiet when Jerry plays.
This tour is a financial flop. They are not wanted there. Expelled from Britain! There is a cold reception back home. [This tells you something about the culture then.] Do people need to look down on the rich and famous? That explains the weekly scandal magazines.] Can Jerry's career be saved by an apology and a full page ad in `Billboard'? Should he apologize for his marriage to a girl? His audience and appeal shrink. He starts to act crazy after this. [The stress?] He is angry with his wife too. Then they have a child, Steve Allen Lewis in 1959. The story ends here. Jerry Lee continued to perform in small venues for the rest of his life. [What would've happened to Mozart if he lived longer?]
Before Rock `n' Roll in the early 1950s three record companies owned 90% of the market. Afterwards thirty companies owned 90% of the market. The stock of those big three corporations dropped a lot. They struck back. Elvis was drafted (yet remained popular). Chuck Berry was arrested after his tour bus carried a woman across a state line (his career never recovered). Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens had a fatal accident, so too Eddie Cochrane. You saw Jerry's fate. But there were new stars in the 1960s, like the Beach Boys and their Surfing Sound. Then the groups from England were quite successful. That 1959 Congressional Investigation into `payola' created headlines and changed management policy at radio stations. The decay of the movie business went on as television corporations prospered and took away advertising from the weekly magazines that began to fail. "Change is the only constant in this world" said Heraclitus. [The British press does not have the same censorship as the American press. If you read the "Manchester Guardian Weekly" you would see the difference in reporting the news.]
. | 1 | neutral | [
"Great Balls of Fire!",
", 1989 film\n\nThe story begins in Christmastime 1944.",
"Two boys visit a forbidden place.",
"Jerry Lee Lewis watches attentively.",
"Years later he plays the piano with amazing flourishes (1956).",
"He is sent to Memphis Tennessee and want to record for Sun Records.",
"Jerry explains his marital history.",
"Sam Phillips listens to his demo tapes; he can sell that!",
"\"Crazy Arms\" is a hit.",
"Money is needed to popularize a product.",
"Jerry Lee is advised to serve God by his cousin.",
"He revives an old song \"Whole Lot of Shaking\"; too risqu?",
"We see why they put chicken wire in front of the musicians.",
"Jerry appears on a NY television show.",
"He is now a star!",
"\"Savage animal rhythms\"?",
"Who will guard him from his fans?",
"[No scandals to keep the money rolling in.",
"] Some worry about the H-bomb because of what they are told in school.",
"Jerry comforts his cousin Myra.",
"Hooking up with Jerry was a good business decision.",
"\"Great Balls of Fire\" is a big hit with its pumping piano style.",
"Alan Freed's Rock and Roll shows at the Paramount in Brooklyn attract crowds.",
"Girls go crazy over Jerry!",
"He stops by a high school.",
"[Note the clothes.",
"] Jerry gets a Marriage License.",
"Should they wait?",
"Myra Gale Brown gets married in Mississippi [legal age?",
"].",
"They plan to tour in England, Jerry Lee is bigger there than Elvis.",
"Myra's father is armed and angry, Sam Phillips talks to him.",
"Myra leaves her parents to live with Jerry in a pink house with a blue door.",
"Jerry sings \"Breathless\".",
"Myra shops to furnish their home.",
"Does Jerry have any remorse?",
"No.",
"They will tour England together.",
"A four-engine Lockheed Constellation flies across the Atlantic.",
"A reporter learns about Myra's age.",
"\"She's only a baby.",
"\" There is unfavorable publicity.",
"\"This is a big deal!",
"\" The audience is cool and quiet when Jerry plays.",
"This tour is a financial flop.",
"They are not wanted there.",
"Expelled from Britain!",
"There is a cold reception back home.",
"[This tells you something about the culture then.",
"] Do people need to look down on the rich and famous?",
"That explains the weekly scandal magazines.",
"] Can Jerry's career be saved by an apology and a full page ad in `Billboard'?",
"Should he apologize for his marriage to a girl?",
"His audience and appeal shrink.",
"He starts to act crazy after this.",
"[The stress?",
"] He is angry with his wife too.",
"Then they have a child, Steve Allen Lewis in 1959.",
"The story ends here.",
"Jerry Lee continued to perform in small venues for the rest of his life.",
"[What would've happened to Mozart if he lived longer?",
"]\n\nBefore Rock `n' Roll in the early 1950s three record companies owned 90% of the market.",
"Afterwards thirty companies owned 90% of the market.",
"The stock of those big three corporations dropped a lot.",
"They struck back.",
"Elvis was drafted (yet remained popular).",
"Chuck Berry was arrested after his tour bus carried a woman across a state line (his career never recovered).",
"Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens had a fatal accident, so too Eddie Cochrane.",
"You saw Jerry's fate.",
"But there were new stars in the 1960s, like the Beach Boys and their Surfing Sound.",
"Then the groups from England were quite successful.",
"That 1959 Congressional Investigation into `payola' created headlines and changed management policy at radio stations.",
"The decay of the movie business went on as television corporations prospered and took away advertising from the weekly magazines that began to fail.",
"\"Change is the only constant in this world\" said Heraclitus.",
"[The British press does not have the same censorship as the American press.",
"If you read the \"Manchester Guardian Weekly\" you would see the difference in reporting the news.",
"]."
] |
First off, this thing came out of the box and it smelled really super horrible like industrial chemicals of somekind. I am not a nitpicker usually about such things, but this was really terrible and it would stink up the room. I finally resorted to soaking it overnight in my utility sink with high powered fragrence crystals, which took a lot of it out, but it was several days later that it finally was odor free.
The pouch has several ways of attaching itself to your body, a metal belt clip, a nylon "veritcal" belt loop, and a "horizontal" nylon belt loop. The clip is riveted to the vertical loop, and the vertical loop is sewed piggyback onto the horizontal loop.
I liked it at first, but shortly after starting to wear it the bottom sewing line on the vertical belt loop started to rip away. It apparently has very shoddy stiching or cheap thread and it just wasn't cutting it. So, not wanting to give up yet, I sewed it myself and fixed it. Then a few days later the entire top sewing line ripped away :( I haven't fixed that yet and have been using the horizontal clip since then which so far has held together, but I'd prefer to use the vertical.
So...
Pros:
Works great (With my Galaxy S2)
Lots of attachment options
Looks nice
Phone is held securely and has a lot of velcro to make sure it stays closed
Cons:
Really shoddy sewing, probably won't last long for you unless you reinforce the stiching... | 1 | neutral | [
"First off, this thing came out of the box and it smelled really super horrible like industrial chemicals of somekind.",
"I am not a nitpicker usually about such things, but this was really terrible and it would stink up the room.",
"I finally resorted to soaking it overnight in my utility sink with high powered fragrence crystals, which took a lot of it out, but it was several days later that it finally was odor free.",
"The pouch has several ways of attaching itself to your body, a metal belt clip, a nylon \"veritcal\" belt loop, and a \"horizontal\" nylon belt loop.",
"The clip is riveted to the vertical loop, and the vertical loop is sewed piggyback onto the horizontal loop.",
"I liked it at first, but shortly after starting to wear it the bottom sewing line on the vertical belt loop started to rip away.",
"It apparently has very shoddy stiching or cheap thread and it just wasn't cutting it.",
"So, not wanting to give up yet, I sewed it myself and fixed it.",
"Then a few days later the entire top sewing line ripped away :( I haven't fixed that yet and have been using the horizontal clip since then which so far has held together, but I'd prefer to use the vertical.",
"So...",
"Pros:\n Works great (With my Galaxy S2)\n Lots of attachment options\n Looks nice\n Phone is held securely and has a lot of velcro to make sure it stays closed\n\nCons:\n Really shoddy sewing, probably won't last long for you unless you reinforce the stiching..."
] |
This product works ok. You are supposed to be able to drive the spikes into the ground. There is a plastic cover that protects the pellet while you hit it. This is NOT for harder ground. The pellets cracked and busted, kind of defeating the time release purpose. The plastic tools also busted open. They give you two, but with 15 pellets, both were broken long before I was done. Ended up digging a hole and burying the pellets, which has the same effect, so no problems.
Also, you use more than one of these per tree. The size of the tree determines how many to use, so plan accordingly. | 1 | neutral | [
"This product works ok.",
"You are supposed to be able to drive the spikes into the ground.",
"There is a plastic cover that protects the pellet while you hit it.",
"This is NOT for harder ground.",
"The pellets cracked and busted, kind of defeating the time release purpose.",
"The plastic tools also busted open.",
"They give you two, but with 15 pellets, both were broken long before I was done.",
"Ended up digging a hole and burying the pellets, which has the same effect, so no problems.",
"Also, you use more than one of these per tree.",
"The size of the tree determines how many to use, so plan accordingly."
] |
Update:
The leftovers were used for slime, but then a whole bunch of us got skin irritation from it. Then, everyone started feeling stings on their skin when they washed their hands. We had to throw it out. If anyone plans to use this for slime, be extremely careful and I hope that there will be no irritation. I only recommend using this for projects that do NOT require any touching of the plastic snow whatsoever.
February 18th, 2018:
This was for my niece's school project and I'm sure she would've loved it, but that's fine too. The pieces of plastic were good and the pieces aren't as small as she thought they'd be, but as long as everyone can see her project sparkle, then she's happy. I had to convince her... Not sure if she'd recommend using these for other things though as it arrived with cuts on the side of the bags, so it spilled all over the house. Follow the trail of sparkles? Don't do it, Children. For the price and the size of them, she'd definitely recommend using for school projects as the pieces were big and sparkles a lot. It made her happy until she was told that she had to clean up the mess it left behind. Good luck. | 1 | neutral | [
"Update:\nThe leftovers were used for slime, but then a whole bunch of us got skin irritation from it.",
"Then, everyone started feeling stings on their skin when they washed their hands.",
"We had to throw it out.",
"If anyone plans to use this for slime, be extremely careful and I hope that there will be no irritation.",
"I only recommend using this for projects that do NOT require any touching of the plastic snow whatsoever.",
"February 18th, 2018:\nThis was for my niece's school project and I'm sure she would've loved it, but that's fine too.",
"The pieces of plastic were good and the pieces aren't as small as she thought they'd be, but as long as everyone can see her project sparkle, then she's happy.",
"I had to convince her...",
"Not sure if she'd recommend using these for other things though as it arrived with cuts on the side of the bags, so it spilled all over the house.",
"Follow the trail of sparkles?",
"Don't do it, Children.",
"For the price and the size of them, she'd definitely recommend using for school projects as the pieces were big and sparkles a lot.",
"It made her happy until she was told that she had to clean up the mess it left behind.",
"Good luck."
] |
Three stars only because it works as a CO2 generator (just like anything you can make - easily - for free). However, what I wanted was the ability to hang it from the back of my tank, out of the way, as the product information claims. I had to return this after three weeks. The hanging adapter is poorly designed and begins to break from the weight of the cylinder. Then, you have to put it on the floor like my old soda bottle standby. There are instructions for making your own DIY CO2 generator all over the internet.
Nutrafin provides yeast and baking powder in this kit, although they are labeled as some kind of special-fantastic-mysterious powders. All that you are doing here is putting a little yeast into sugar water. The yeast eats the sugar and the byproducts are CO2 (which you want) and alcohol (dont try drinking it!). Any sugar will work. Start by dissolving 1 cups of sugar into 1 cups of lukewarm tap water and make sure the apparatus are always cleaned first with a hot water rinse (no soaps). Then add about teaspoon of yeast, which should be activated by stirring it with a fork in about a cup of lukewarm water until its creamy and has lots of bubbles in it and let it to stand at least 10 minutes before adding it to the sugar water. Although some users recommend adding baking soda (not baking powder), it isn't really necessary to buffer the mixture. The yeast is killed by the alcohol buildup, not acidic water.
Speaking to that, the length of time that this will produce CO2 is a function of how long the yeast survives until the alcohol builds up to a certain level and how much yeast is in the mixture. You want to try to find that optimal balance. So, its better to start with the most alcohol resistant yeast you can get, which is wine/champagne yeast. You can buy packets here on Amazon (Premier Cuvee Wine Yeast) for about $8. This will stand up to about 18% alcohol levels, which means it produces longer than a typical bakers yeast that might be as low as 5% alcohol tolerance. Start with teaspoon of yeast and see how long it lasts for you. Try adjusting the yeast level both up and down until you're happy with the length of time that it lasts and the amount of CO2 it produces (bubbles per minute).
Were not done yet. You need to get the CO2 to dissolve into the tank water and not get to the surface where it would evaporate. Included in this kit is a large and ugly bubble ladder (ladders aren't very efficient). What I do, which is a much more efficient way to get the most CO2 into your water, is to run the end of the CO2 tube into my canister filters intake pipe. I have a sponge filter attached to it and I insert the tube through the sponge to hold it in place. A power head would also work. The idea is to get the impeller to chop the bubble into minute pieces, making it much easier to dissolve.
How do you know if its still making CO2? Buy a bubble counter here on Amazon (Fluval 88g-CO2 Bubble Counter - 3.1 Ounces) for about $3. With that, you count the number of bubbles per minute. Count the bubbles after about 24 hours of setting it up and monitor it every week (or more often) to see when it starts dropping off. Then you know the yeast is almost dead or gone and can decide when to make a new batch. In addition to being a bubble counter, it also acts as a gas separator, helping to prevent anything other than the CO2 from getting into your tank.
How do you know if you're getting enough CO2 into the water? Well, if there is a noticeable change in plant growth over about two weeks, you have your answer. However, you can also but a CO2 drop checker (again, on Amazon: ISTA CO2 Indicator Drop Checker) for about $13. This will tell you whether or not CO2 is at a good level or is too high or low. | 1 | neutral | [
"Three stars only because it works as a CO2 generator (just like anything you can make - easily - for free).",
"However, what I wanted was the ability to hang it from the back of my tank, out of the way, as the product information claims.",
"I had to return this after three weeks.",
"The hanging adapter is poorly designed and begins to break from the weight of the cylinder.",
"Then, you have to put it on the floor like my old soda bottle standby.",
"There are instructions for making your own DIY CO2 generator all over the internet.",
"Nutrafin provides yeast and baking powder in this kit, although they are labeled as some kind of special-fantastic-mysterious powders.",
"All that you are doing here is putting a little yeast into sugar water.",
"The yeast eats the sugar and the byproducts are CO2 (which you want) and alcohol (dont try drinking it!",
").",
"Any sugar will work.",
"Start by dissolving 1 cups of sugar into 1 cups of lukewarm tap water and make sure the apparatus are always cleaned first with a hot water rinse (no soaps).",
"Then add about teaspoon of yeast, which should be activated by stirring it with a fork in about a cup of lukewarm water until its creamy and has lots of bubbles in it and let it to stand at least 10 minutes before adding it to the sugar water.",
"Although some users recommend adding baking soda (not baking powder), it isn't really necessary to buffer the mixture.",
"The yeast is killed by the alcohol buildup, not acidic water.",
"Speaking to that, the length of time that this will produce CO2 is a function of how long the yeast survives until the alcohol builds up to a certain level and how much yeast is in the mixture.",
"You want to try to find that optimal balance.",
"So, its better to start with the most alcohol resistant yeast you can get, which is wine/champagne yeast.",
"You can buy packets here on Amazon (Premier Cuvee Wine Yeast) for about $8.",
"This will stand up to about 18% alcohol levels, which means it produces longer than a typical bakers yeast that might be as low as 5% alcohol tolerance.",
"Start with teaspoon of yeast and see how long it lasts for you.",
"Try adjusting the yeast level both up and down until you're happy with the length of time that it lasts and the amount of CO2 it produces (bubbles per minute).",
"Were not done yet.",
"You need to get the CO2 to dissolve into the tank water and not get to the surface where it would evaporate.",
"Included in this kit is a large and ugly bubble ladder (ladders aren't very efficient).",
"What I do, which is a much more efficient way to get the most CO2 into your water, is to run the end of the CO2 tube into my canister filters intake pipe.",
"I have a sponge filter attached to it and I insert the tube through the sponge to hold it in place.",
"A power head would also work.",
"The idea is to get the impeller to chop the bubble into minute pieces, making it much easier to dissolve.",
"How do you know if its still making CO2?",
"Buy a bubble counter here on Amazon (Fluval 88g-CO2 Bubble Counter - 3.",
"1 Ounces) for about $3.",
"With that, you count the number of bubbles per minute.",
"Count the bubbles after about 24 hours of setting it up and monitor it every week (or more often) to see when it starts dropping off.",
"Then you know the yeast is almost dead or gone and can decide when to make a new batch.",
"In addition to being a bubble counter, it also acts as a gas separator, helping to prevent anything other than the CO2 from getting into your tank.",
"How do you know if you're getting enough CO2 into the water?",
"Well, if there is a noticeable change in plant growth over about two weeks, you have your answer.",
"However, you can also but a CO2 drop checker (again, on Amazon: ISTA CO2 Indicator Drop Checker) for about $13.",
"This will tell you whether or not CO2 is at a good level or is too high or low."
] |
Earlier this year, I purchased this camera for a Win98 machine, and was very pleased. I had it up and running in five minutes, and for the price, the clarity and performance under less-than-optimal lighting conditions were remarkable. The bundled software was a good value, too. So then (the plot thickens) I bought it for a Win2K machine, not realizing the camera, in August of 2001, wasn't Win2K-ready. The website provided Win2K drivers which allowed the camera to work (I tested it with Netmeeting and a demo version of Webcam32), but the performance was greatly disappointing. The camera flickered like a dying monitor, and the focus was muddy. I reluctantly returned the camera (feeling at loose ends due to the negative reviews on Amazon of nearly every other webcam except the discontinued 3Com!).
The Intel website notes that the software package for Win2k will be available on Sept 17. I liked this camera so much on the Win98 machine that if the software really does become available, I might buy it again from a company with a respectable return policy (like Amazon), and hope that the flickering was truly a mechanical problem and not a permanent Win2K conflict. I may also look for an updated video-card driver, just in case an old driver compounded the performance issue.
Conclusion? If you have Windows 98, go for it. Excellent quality for the price, and a no-brainer to set up. If you have Windows 2000 and you're interested in this camera, wait til Intel delivers on producing its software bundle for the Win2k platform, then buy it from a place that has a consumer-friendly return policy. | 1 | neutral | [
"Earlier this year, I purchased this camera for a Win98 machine, and was very pleased.",
"I had it up and running in five minutes, and for the price, the clarity and performance under less-than-optimal lighting conditions were remarkable.",
"The bundled software was a good value, too.",
"So then (the plot thickens) I bought it for a Win2K machine, not realizing the camera, in August of 2001, wasn't Win2K-ready.",
"The website provided Win2K drivers which allowed the camera to work (I tested it with Netmeeting and a demo version of Webcam32), but the performance was greatly disappointing.",
"The camera flickered like a dying monitor, and the focus was muddy.",
"I reluctantly returned the camera (feeling at loose ends due to the negative reviews on Amazon of nearly every other webcam except the discontinued 3Com!",
").",
"The Intel website notes that the software package for Win2k will be available on Sept 17.",
"I liked this camera so much on the Win98 machine that if the software really does become available, I might buy it again from a company with a respectable return policy (like Amazon), and hope that the flickering was truly a mechanical problem and not a permanent Win2K conflict.",
"I may also look for an updated video-card driver, just in case an old driver compounded the performance issue.",
"Conclusion?",
"If you have Windows 98, go for it.",
"Excellent quality for the price, and a no-brainer to set up.",
"If you have Windows 2000 and you're interested in this camera, wait til Intel delivers on producing its software bundle for the Win2k platform, then buy it from a place that has a consumer-friendly return policy."
] |
Hell is a town that seems to have some big secret hiding under the surface. Ariel's best friend goes missing after sneaking out one night during a sleepover. Ariel's must move on and cope with this loss and get over the somewhat self imposed isolation. With a new school year comes some new friends and more suspicious disappearances.
I feel bad not giving this more stars as a really enjoyed it and pretty much read it straight through. However considering it specifically portrayed as a paranormal romance I have to be a little critical. Yes we get the distinct impression that all is not as it seems in the town of Hell. There is clearly something mysterious and secretive in the towns past. Henry starts to allude to a larger secret/mystery which the adults seem to be hiding. However at the end we get somewhat of a conclusion to a mystery but unless i missed it or misunderstood i missed the paranormal part. I look forward to reading the next installment to see what is really going. This ending seems less like a cliffhanger and more like a first novel in a series that could have used a few more pages. | 1 | neutral | [
"Hell is a town that seems to have some big secret hiding under the surface.",
"Ariel's best friend goes missing after sneaking out one night during a sleepover.",
"Ariel's must move on and cope with this loss and get over the somewhat self imposed isolation.",
"With a new school year comes some new friends and more suspicious disappearances.",
"I feel bad not giving this more stars as a really enjoyed it and pretty much read it straight through.",
"However considering it specifically portrayed as a paranormal romance I have to be a little critical.",
"Yes we get the distinct impression that all is not as it seems in the town of Hell.",
"There is clearly something mysterious and secretive in the towns past.",
"Henry starts to allude to a larger secret/mystery which the adults seem to be hiding.",
"However at the end we get somewhat of a conclusion to a mystery but unless i missed it or misunderstood i missed the paranormal part.",
"I look forward to reading the next installment to see what is really going.",
"This ending seems less like a cliffhanger and more like a first novel in a series that could have used a few more pages."
] |
After I read the prologue to this science fiction novel, I was sufficiently impressed by the writing skill of the author to want to continue reading, and the first chapter did not disappoint either. I was treated to skillfully handled action scenes, enough strangeness to make me want to know more, and interesting characters - in short, this promised to be an above-average science fiction yarn. And for the most part it is, but perhaps only for a younger audience.
The story involves a titanic interplanetary war that has been raging for centuries. The good guys and the bad guys have basically reached a stalemate. Since neither side can defeat the other, what we are left with is a low-grade state of war that flares up occasionally, or settles back into cold-war tension. The central heroes are the "Descendants" who are seemingly ordinary people, but who have the ability to transform themselves into giant "suited" warriors with extraordinary powers and weaponry. They are fighting an ancient evil enemy called the Sukkers.
To be honest, the "Descendants" remind me a lot of the "Power Rangers" of kid television fame. The similarities are many. Both are young people who say or think of some kind of "magic word" which causes them to transform into powerful, suited fighting warriors. One might also compare the Descendants to a half a dozen other super hero groups, such as the X-Men who, again, are seemingly ordinary people but who have extraordinary powers, and who wear "suits" when they fight bad guys. So on this score, the author does not get high points for originality.
My view is that "No Turning Back" will appeal to a younger audience than a guy like me. I'm a jaded 52-year-old crank who has been reading science fiction for more than 40 years. I've read it all, the good, the bad and the ugly - and so I'm hard to impress. For me, this novel for me was just sort of "right in there" - not a ground-breaking work destined to be a classic, but an entertaining enough read for a teenage or young adult audience.
I also expect great things in the future from this writer, who has marvelous skill with words. | 1 | neutral | [
"After I read the prologue to this science fiction novel, I was sufficiently impressed by the writing skill of the author to want to continue reading, and the first chapter did not disappoint either.",
"I was treated to skillfully handled action scenes, enough strangeness to make me want to know more, and interesting characters - in short, this promised to be an above-average science fiction yarn.",
"And for the most part it is, but perhaps only for a younger audience.",
"The story involves a titanic interplanetary war that has been raging for centuries.",
"The good guys and the bad guys have basically reached a stalemate.",
"Since neither side can defeat the other, what we are left with is a low-grade state of war that flares up occasionally, or settles back into cold-war tension.",
"The central heroes are the \"Descendants\" who are seemingly ordinary people, but who have the ability to transform themselves into giant \"suited\" warriors with extraordinary powers and weaponry.",
"They are fighting an ancient evil enemy called the Sukkers.",
"To be honest, the \"Descendants\" remind me a lot of the \"Power Rangers\" of kid television fame.",
"The similarities are many.",
"Both are young people who say or think of some kind of \"magic word\" which causes them to transform into powerful, suited fighting warriors.",
"One might also compare the Descendants to a half a dozen other super hero groups, such as the X-Men who, again, are seemingly ordinary people but who have extraordinary powers, and who wear \"suits\" when they fight bad guys.",
"So on this score, the author does not get high points for originality.",
"My view is that \"No Turning Back\" will appeal to a younger audience than a guy like me.",
"I'm a jaded 52-year-old crank who has been reading science fiction for more than 40 years.",
"I've read it all, the good, the bad and the ugly - and so I'm hard to impress.",
"For me, this novel for me was just sort of \"right in there\" - not a ground-breaking work destined to be a classic, but an entertaining enough read for a teenage or young adult audience.",
"I also expect great things in the future from this writer, who has marvelous skill with words."
] |
I purchased this speaker system about 3 years ago, and it has been a constant love/hate relationship. There are so many pro's and con's for these speakers. I'm not gonna go into all of them, just the ones I considered to be most relevant in my uses:
The pro's include:
-amazing sound quality and range. I love feeling the rumble, and with this sub, I rarely turned the tone knob above about a third for a movie and maybe halfway or so for some hard trance, metal, rock, and even some older rap. The mids were clean and clear. So clear that I could hear someone coughing in a live recording of Mannheim Steamroller. And the highs? Unreal! You can put in some old big band jazz, like Maynard Ferguson, and there is almost no distortion to the screaming trumpet. No matter if I was watching a movie via my laptop, jamming to pandora through my phone, or using an old sony walkman, the sound was always superb.
-very strong design. Considering the "made in China" sticker, I am amazed that I only just managed to destroy this system. But in a way, this was also a downfall in my opinion. More on that in a minute.
-Small footprint. I originally purchased these to install int he sleeper of my Kenworth W900L. A semi notorious for having one of the smallest and tightest living quarters in the industry. The component speakers are perfect for either hard mounting on a wall, or using the permanently mounted feet. If you use them on the desktop, the foot design makes it easy to keep a tape or paperclip dispenser on them. The sub also has a fairly small footprint, and since it is ported and side facing, there are very few limitations on where you can set it.
-On one of the satellites, there are stereo jacks for both an extra audio input device, and an output jack for headphones.
-Volume and tone controls are very simple, and very sensitive. The included amplifier definitely does what it is intended for!
And the cons:
-As stated earlier, this is built quite well. So much so that if there is even a small problem, you cannot fix it but must replace the entire get-up. A lightning bolt fried my surge protector, and managed to do damage to the power module of the amp. Because of this, all three speakers are useless now. The amp is coated with a layer of melted glues making it impossible to even remove a chip for any kind of inspection.
-the wiring is very poorly designed in many ways. First, you have to run the obvious power and speaker cables. No problem, right? this system adds in another wire, which in my opinion, is the weak link of this whole package. You must run an extra wire from the primary satellite speaker to the sub, alongside the normal speaker wire. This extra wire is the control tether for the volume and tone controls, nothing more. And when plugged in, it pushes the sub enclosure a few inches out, for fear of crimping the wires. The jack for this wire is also very temperamental. After a few days of use, I would have to sit there and wiggle the wire to get the circuits to close.
-The power switch location sucks! The toggle is located near the bottom, back side of the sub. This means that you need to be very nimble if you want to put the box out of sight. The switch is also located right by the above noted temperamental wire, so bumping it out of place when turning on the speakers can be more than a mild annoyance.
So, with these things considered, would I buy them again? Probably not this particular design. While I absolutely love the sound quality, I think that the wiring issue and the fact that you cannot do any sort of upkeep is a really big fault. I hate having 3 speakers here that all sound great, but I can't use because of one little circuit board getting fried. I hate having to go out and buy a whole new system because of this. So, for a home entertainment system, in a house I plan on dieing in, I would definitely consider installing a plethora of Klipsch components and speakers. But for anything less, i doubt I will. | 1 | neutral | [
"I purchased this speaker system about 3 years ago, and it has been a constant love/hate relationship.",
"There are so many pro's and con's for these speakers.",
"I'm not gonna go into all of them, just the ones I considered to be most relevant in my uses:\nThe pro's include:\n-amazing sound quality and range.",
"I love feeling the rumble, and with this sub, I rarely turned the tone knob above about a third for a movie and maybe halfway or so for some hard trance, metal, rock, and even some older rap.",
"The mids were clean and clear.",
"So clear that I could hear someone coughing in a live recording of Mannheim Steamroller.",
"And the highs?",
"Unreal!",
"You can put in some old big band jazz, like Maynard Ferguson, and there is almost no distortion to the screaming trumpet.",
"No matter if I was watching a movie via my laptop, jamming to pandora through my phone, or using an old sony walkman, the sound was always superb.",
"-very strong design.",
"Considering the \"made in China\" sticker, I am amazed that I only just managed to destroy this system.",
"But in a way, this was also a downfall in my opinion.",
"More on that in a minute.",
"-Small footprint.",
"I originally purchased these to install int he sleeper of my Kenworth W900L.",
"A semi notorious for having one of the smallest and tightest living quarters in the industry.",
"The component speakers are perfect for either hard mounting on a wall, or using the permanently mounted feet.",
"If you use them on the desktop, the foot design makes it easy to keep a tape or paperclip dispenser on them.",
"The sub also has a fairly small footprint, and since it is ported and side facing, there are very few limitations on where you can set it.",
"-On one of the satellites, there are stereo jacks for both an extra audio input device, and an output jack for headphones.",
"-Volume and tone controls are very simple, and very sensitive.",
"The included amplifier definitely does what it is intended for!",
"And the cons:\n-As stated earlier, this is built quite well.",
"So much so that if there is even a small problem, you cannot fix it but must replace the entire get-up.",
"A lightning bolt fried my surge protector, and managed to do damage to the power module of the amp.",
"Because of this, all three speakers are useless now.",
"The amp is coated with a layer of melted glues making it impossible to even remove a chip for any kind of inspection.",
"-the wiring is very poorly designed in many ways.",
"First, you have to run the obvious power and speaker cables.",
"No problem, right?",
"this system adds in another wire, which in my opinion, is the weak link of this whole package.",
"You must run an extra wire from the primary satellite speaker to the sub, alongside the normal speaker wire.",
"This extra wire is the control tether for the volume and tone controls, nothing more.",
"And when plugged in, it pushes the sub enclosure a few inches out, for fear of crimping the wires.",
"The jack for this wire is also very temperamental.",
"After a few days of use, I would have to sit there and wiggle the wire to get the circuits to close.",
"-The power switch location sucks!",
"The toggle is located near the bottom, back side of the sub.",
"This means that you need to be very nimble if you want to put the box out of sight.",
"The switch is also located right by the above noted temperamental wire, so bumping it out of place when turning on the speakers can be more than a mild annoyance.",
"So, with these things considered, would I buy them again?",
"Probably not this particular design.",
"While I absolutely love the sound quality, I think that the wiring issue and the fact that you cannot do any sort of upkeep is a really big fault.",
"I hate having 3 speakers here that all sound great, but I can't use because of one little circuit board getting fried.",
"I hate having to go out and buy a whole new system because of this.",
"So, for a home entertainment system, in a house I plan on dieing in, I would definitely consider installing a plethora of Klipsch components and speakers.",
"But for anything less, i doubt I will."
] |
Until now, I had never read anything by New Zealander Ngaio Marsh. Shall I ever again? Well, yes, especially when I feel in the mood for a `classic cozy'; and I mean that quite literally. This is Detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn's first mystery. He has to be the most shrewdly charismatic of all the sleuths created during the Golden Era of mystery. In its most classic sense, "A man lay dead" takes place at an English country house. A party of five guests arrives for a weekend at Frantock, Sir Hubert Handesley's residence. Quite the tycoon, Handesley distinguishes himself in party planning and antique weapon collecting. One of his guests, Charles Rankin, brings with him not only his dull journalist cousin; but also a very old (and priceless) dagger of Mongolian origin. Upon perusal by Sir Handesley and the other guests during cocktails, the weapon appears to have a bloody past: it is believed to have been savagely used by some secret Russian organizations during the time of the Bolshevik revolts. Needless to say, after seeing the specimen Sir Hubert's mouth waters, his Russian butler disappears mysteriously, his only Russian guest, a Dr. Tokareff, starts acting weirdly then ever; and... Charles Rankin is stabbed in the back with the weapon during `The Murder Game', which was supposed to be the entertainment of the weekend. Thus, the innocently planned party becomes quite eerie, its guests more tense than ever; even though they all appear to have cast-iron alibis.
This first novel is somewhat general at times, but two thirds into it, I couldn't put it down. I found ingenious the way Marsh would not give away whodunit right up to the last two or three pages in the book. Alleyn keeps everyone on their toes during a constant guessing game, and even though at times he may appear disconcerting to everyone else involved - including the reader - he is very much in control of his ideas, suave as ever. I did find, however, that the Russian element in the story was pushed a bit too much. Even though the dagger does have a bloody past, it has really nothing to do in the end with the actual solving of the crime. In bringing on a complicated background of Russian espionage, Marsh confuses the reader with so many new characters and plot twists. In the end, it all goes back to the beginning - literally - to Frantock, where Alleyn, in a most dramatic display of his powers of persuasion, taunts the murderer into self discovery. I very much enjoyed reading the descriptions of the English country settings and the way the game is planned - perhaps I shall try it for my next party? No dagger, mind you - and I look forward to more Inspector Alleyn mysteries, where, due to Marsh's love of the theater; everything has quite a dramatic development. | 1 | neutral | [
"Until now, I had never read anything by New Zealander Ngaio Marsh.",
"Shall I ever again?",
"Well, yes, especially when I feel in the mood for a `classic cozy'; and I mean that quite literally.",
"This is Detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn's first mystery.",
"He has to be the most shrewdly charismatic of all the sleuths created during the Golden Era of mystery.",
"In its most classic sense, \"A man lay dead\" takes place at an English country house.",
"A party of five guests arrives for a weekend at Frantock, Sir Hubert Handesley's residence.",
"Quite the tycoon, Handesley distinguishes himself in party planning and antique weapon collecting.",
"One of his guests, Charles Rankin, brings with him not only his dull journalist cousin; but also a very old (and priceless) dagger of Mongolian origin.",
"Upon perusal by Sir Handesley and the other guests during cocktails, the weapon appears to have a bloody past: it is believed to have been savagely used by some secret Russian organizations during the time of the Bolshevik revolts.",
"Needless to say, after seeing the specimen Sir Hubert's mouth waters, his Russian butler disappears mysteriously, his only Russian guest, a Dr.",
"Tokareff, starts acting weirdly then ever; and...",
"Charles Rankin is stabbed in the back with the weapon during `The Murder Game', which was supposed to be the entertainment of the weekend.",
"Thus, the innocently planned party becomes quite eerie, its guests more tense than ever; even though they all appear to have cast-iron alibis.",
"This first novel is somewhat general at times, but two thirds into it, I couldn't put it down.",
"I found ingenious the way Marsh would not give away whodunit right up to the last two or three pages in the book.",
"Alleyn keeps everyone on their toes during a constant guessing game, and even though at times he may appear disconcerting to everyone else involved - including the reader - he is very much in control of his ideas, suave as ever.",
"I did find, however, that the Russian element in the story was pushed a bit too much.",
"Even though the dagger does have a bloody past, it has really nothing to do in the end with the actual solving of the crime.",
"In bringing on a complicated background of Russian espionage, Marsh confuses the reader with so many new characters and plot twists.",
"In the end, it all goes back to the beginning - literally - to Frantock, where Alleyn, in a most dramatic display of his powers of persuasion, taunts the murderer into self discovery.",
"I very much enjoyed reading the descriptions of the English country settings and the way the game is planned - perhaps I shall try it for my next party?",
"No dagger, mind you - and I look forward to more Inspector Alleyn mysteries, where, due to Marsh's love of the theater; everything has quite a dramatic development."
] |
The original classic Muppet Movie has finally arrived on DVD. Unfortunately, it did not get the treatment it deserves. The only special feature of note is "Jim Frawley's camera test" (which I found pretty entertaining). The so-called "Muppetisms" are just a couple of very brief jokes from Kermit and Miss Piggy. The picture, for whatever reason, is very grainy most of the time...but at least the colors are bright and vivid. The sound is low when the characters are talking and louder during musical numbers, requiring frequent volume adjustments. The disc contains the preferred widescreen version of the film on one side, and a completely unnecessary pan-and-scan version on the other. Folks, I ask you, wouldn't you rather have a plethora of special features on that second side? How about 2 or 3 episodes of The Muppet Show? Why not some sort of a commentary on the film? Perhaps a biography of Jim Henson? The Muppets (and Jim Henson) deserve a Special Edition, and this disc is far from it. | 1 | neutral | [
"The original classic Muppet Movie has finally arrived on DVD.",
"Unfortunately, it did not get the treatment it deserves.",
"The only special feature of note is \"Jim Frawley's camera test\" (which I found pretty entertaining).",
"The so-called \"Muppetisms\" are just a couple of very brief jokes from Kermit and Miss Piggy.",
"The picture, for whatever reason, is very grainy most of the time...",
"but at least the colors are bright and vivid.",
"The sound is low when the characters are talking and louder during musical numbers, requiring frequent volume adjustments.",
"The disc contains the preferred widescreen version of the film on one side, and a completely unnecessary pan-and-scan version on the other.",
"Folks, I ask you, wouldn't you rather have a plethora of special features on that second side?",
"How about 2 or 3 episodes of The Muppet Show?",
"Why not some sort of a commentary on the film?",
"Perhaps a biography of Jim Henson?",
"The Muppets (and Jim Henson) deserve a Special Edition, and this disc is far from it."
] |
When driving this into the ground, I would recommend instead of pounding on the top of the main stake, use a stone or small cement block to pound on the perpendicular welded piece of metal that's attached about six inches from the bottom. The metal was welded on well enough there was no danger of deformation or detachment when I did so. A little paint did chip off, however. Because of this perpendicular piece of metal, you can only drive it down about 6". If your soil is a bit looser on top, it's not deep enough to keep the stake from wobbling a bit, but enough to keep it in place.
The connection threads are really short - less than half an inch for both sides. I would have liked it to be a little longer since I just feel as if there's a better, more secure connection that way. If you leave the included washer in on the incoming connection, the length to connect shortens to about 1/4 inch. I used teflon tape where I could, and have had no issues with leaking around the connections.
The faucet points more horizontal than vertical so if you add connections (I attached a 4-way manifold), it juts out, I would estimate, about 70 degrees from the stake. Besides being unsightly, the water shoots out from my manifold mostly horizontally instead of down. It makes it difficult if you're just trying to drop water down from the faucet into a bucket or watering can. With a little testing, you can learn to open the faucet just enough with a low enough flow the water will flow mostly down, hold the bucket up next to the faucet, or just figure out where to place your bucket on the ground wherever the water ends up falling. More guesswork than I would like to bother with.
This bib extender works for the basic need of placing a faucet in another location. | 1 | neutral | [
"When driving this into the ground, I would recommend instead of pounding on the top of the main stake, use a stone or small cement block to pound on the perpendicular welded piece of metal that's attached about six inches from the bottom.",
"The metal was welded on well enough there was no danger of deformation or detachment when I did so.",
"A little paint did chip off, however.",
"Because of this perpendicular piece of metal, you can only drive it down about 6\".",
"If your soil is a bit looser on top, it's not deep enough to keep the stake from wobbling a bit, but enough to keep it in place.",
"The connection threads are really short - less than half an inch for both sides.",
"I would have liked it to be a little longer since I just feel as if there's a better, more secure connection that way.",
"If you leave the included washer in on the incoming connection, the length to connect shortens to about 1/4 inch.",
"I used teflon tape where I could, and have had no issues with leaking around the connections.",
"The faucet points more horizontal than vertical so if you add connections (I attached a 4-way manifold), it juts out, I would estimate, about 70 degrees from the stake.",
"Besides being unsightly, the water shoots out from my manifold mostly horizontally instead of down.",
"It makes it difficult if you're just trying to drop water down from the faucet into a bucket or watering can.",
"With a little testing, you can learn to open the faucet just enough with a low enough flow the water will flow mostly down, hold the bucket up next to the faucet, or just figure out where to place your bucket on the ground wherever the water ends up falling.",
"More guesswork than I would like to bother with.",
"This bib extender works for the basic need of placing a faucet in another location."
] |
Starfox is an mediocre space shooter. It is not bad or anything, but it has become rather dated. The graphics were a revolution for the Super NES, as Starfox was one of the first 3D games and the first to use the Super FX chip, which boosted the processor of the Super NES and somehow upgraded the graphics to what looks like (although I am not certain) 32-bit. But in the middle of 2012 with the brand new HD Wii-u launching and jawdropping Playstation games coming out, the graphics are pretty poor. Not that I expected a game from 1993 to look good, I am just pointing that out. The actual gameplay is to pilot the Arwing around and shoot everything in your path. It is, by far, epic, but that is about all there is to the game. The plot is shallow and the game is rather short. So overall, even with epic music and shooting, Starfox did not live up to what I thought it would be. It is a rather interesting piece to my Super NES collection because of the FX chip and 3D visuals, but the actual game is kind of weak. | 1 | neutral | [
"Starfox is an mediocre space shooter.",
"It is not bad or anything, but it has become rather dated.",
"The graphics were a revolution for the Super NES, as Starfox was one of the first 3D games and the first to use the Super FX chip, which boosted the processor of the Super NES and somehow upgraded the graphics to what looks like (although I am not certain) 32-bit.",
"But in the middle of 2012 with the brand new HD Wii-u launching and jawdropping Playstation games coming out, the graphics are pretty poor.",
"Not that I expected a game from 1993 to look good, I am just pointing that out.",
"The actual gameplay is to pilot the Arwing around and shoot everything in your path.",
"It is, by far, epic, but that is about all there is to the game.",
"The plot is shallow and the game is rather short.",
"So overall, even with epic music and shooting, Starfox did not live up to what I thought it would be.",
"It is a rather interesting piece to my Super NES collection because of the FX chip and 3D visuals, but the actual game is kind of weak."
] |
Pretty much everyone who loves rock music loves Stone Temple Pilots and Guns N' Roses. So when former Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland joined forces with Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash, drummer Matt Sorum, bassist Duff McKagen and newcomer David Kushner on guitar, it all seemed to make sense. Together with producer Josh Abraham (Staind, Orgy), Velvet Revolver have finally landed. There has been much hype about this album in the press, and this is easily the most aniticipated release this year. No doubt, there are a few songs that live up to the hype, but the general feeling is that there is much left to be desired. Comparisons to GNR and STP are inevitable (as are various Guns N' Pilots jokes) so when you look at those two bands, you have to sort of wonder what went wrong here. The songs lack the bombast of Guns N' Roses and the sonically slick writing style of Stone Temple Pilots. The disc is especially lacking in the first eight or so songs, which were a chore to get through (especially during the very muddled and clumsy powerballad "Fall To Pieces"). Things do pick up towards the end, during the energetic two singles "Slither" and "Set Me Free" (which is my favorite song on here). "You Got No Right" is a semi-ballad that is executed perfectly, and along with "Dirty Little Thing," serves as a highlight. No, there's no "Sweet Child O' Mine" or "Interstate Love Song" on here, but I think in time, Velvet Revolver will find their sound (if they can stay together). Personally, I look forward to future albums to see them creatively spread their wings and step out of the shadows of their former bands. But at any rate, I'd rather listen to "Contraband" than wait another seven years or so for "Chinese Democracy." | 1 | neutral | [
"Pretty much everyone who loves rock music loves Stone Temple Pilots and Guns N' Roses.",
"So when former Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland joined forces with Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash, drummer Matt Sorum, bassist Duff McKagen and newcomer David Kushner on guitar, it all seemed to make sense.",
"Together with producer Josh Abraham (Staind, Orgy), Velvet Revolver have finally landed.",
"There has been much hype about this album in the press, and this is easily the most aniticipated release this year.",
"No doubt, there are a few songs that live up to the hype, but the general feeling is that there is much left to be desired.",
"Comparisons to GNR and STP are inevitable (as are various Guns N' Pilots jokes) so when you look at those two bands, you have to sort of wonder what went wrong here.",
"The songs lack the bombast of Guns N' Roses and the sonically slick writing style of Stone Temple Pilots.",
"The disc is especially lacking in the first eight or so songs, which were a chore to get through (especially during the very muddled and clumsy powerballad \"Fall To Pieces\").",
"Things do pick up towards the end, during the energetic two singles \"Slither\" and \"Set Me Free\" (which is my favorite song on here).",
"\"You Got No Right\" is a semi-ballad that is executed perfectly, and along with \"Dirty Little Thing,\" serves as a highlight.",
"No, there's no \"Sweet Child O' Mine\" or \"Interstate Love Song\" on here, but I think in time, Velvet Revolver will find their sound (if they can stay together).",
"Personally, I look forward to future albums to see them creatively spread their wings and step out of the shadows of their former bands.",
"But at any rate, I'd rather listen to \"Contraband\" than wait another seven years or so for \"Chinese Democracy.",
"\""
] |
Men's Journal is a decent magazine full of varied topics of interest to men. This magazine covers areas like sports, adventure travel, fashion and style, cars and trucks, career issues, etc. This publication directs all of its articles toward men, with an emphasis on what is most appealing to males throughout a typical week in their lives.
One thing about Men's Journal that is a little different from other men's magazines is that it doesn't flaunt women to sell its issues. In fact, there are practically no pictures of women at all in this publication- something that will be considered an asset to some, and a liability to others. This magazine refuses to play the female card and instead focuses its articles on topics that men like to read about.
Men's Journal is often obsessed with lists, and I think this is especially true in the last few years. Take a look at the cover of most issues and you will see a large, boldface advertisement for some sort of list. In one issue, it might be a ranking of the best cities for entry level jobs. In another issue, it might be a listing of the best places for young entrepreneurs. Whatever it might be, Men's Journal seems to have an infatuation with lists, probably because men like lists and it helps increase sales.
This magazine can be counted on to produce some fairly good reading, but I must warn that many of the articles are a little too simplistic, with little emphasis on intellectualism. Even the articles about politics and business are often riddled with obvious statements that most anyone would know. But overall, I still think Men's Journal is a good magazine. It is varied enough that most anyone will find something interesting to read and the price is very low. | 1 | neutral | [
"Men's Journal is a decent magazine full of varied topics of interest to men.",
"This magazine covers areas like sports, adventure travel, fashion and style, cars and trucks, career issues, etc.",
"This publication directs all of its articles toward men, with an emphasis on what is most appealing to males throughout a typical week in their lives.",
"One thing about Men's Journal that is a little different from other men's magazines is that it doesn't flaunt women to sell its issues.",
"In fact, there are practically no pictures of women at all in this publication- something that will be considered an asset to some, and a liability to others.",
"This magazine refuses to play the female card and instead focuses its articles on topics that men like to read about.",
"Men's Journal is often obsessed with lists, and I think this is especially true in the last few years.",
"Take a look at the cover of most issues and you will see a large, boldface advertisement for some sort of list.",
"In one issue, it might be a ranking of the best cities for entry level jobs.",
"In another issue, it might be a listing of the best places for young entrepreneurs.",
"Whatever it might be, Men's Journal seems to have an infatuation with lists, probably because men like lists and it helps increase sales.",
"This magazine can be counted on to produce some fairly good reading, but I must warn that many of the articles are a little too simplistic, with little emphasis on intellectualism.",
"Even the articles about politics and business are often riddled with obvious statements that most anyone would know.",
"But overall, I still think Men's Journal is a good magazine.",
"It is varied enough that most anyone will find something interesting to read and the price is very low."
] |
Frank Sinatra told Trump to go f
When Donald Trump got under Frank Sinatra's skin Old Blue Eyes told him to go f--- himself. Or at least he had his manager do it.
Eliot Weisman whose book “The Way it Was ” managed Ol' Blue Eyes from 1975 to 1998. In his book which come out Oct. 24 he recounts the 1990 opening of Trump’s Taj Mahal in Atlantic City where Sinatra had planned to perform.
Weisman said that Paul Anka warned him at Etess' funeral that he was about to learn the meaning of “The Art of the Deal ” which is the title of Trump ’s how-to book in wheeling and dealing.
President Trump Melania perform 'painful' first inaugural dance
According to Weisman Trump started off the new negotiations by saying that the cost for the 12 dates Sinatra was slated to perform was “a little rich.” The Donald also decided he didn’t need to book the other acts that were part of the original deal including Sammy Davis Jr. who’d just been diagnosed with cancer and Steve and Eydie.
“Who’s Steve and Eydie?” Trump asked according to Weisman. Weisman says he then tried choking The Donald by his tie but his son who was also at the meeting restrained him.
Weisman called Sinatra to tell him what had happened and Sinatra told him he had two choices: to tell Trump to go f--k himself or give Trump’s phone number to Sinatra so that he could do it himself. Weisman returned to Trump ’s office and told The Donald “Sinatra says go f--k yourself!”
The deal never happened and Sinatra ended up playing at the Sands in Las Vegas. Much to Weisman's surprise when Trump opened Mar-a-Lago his office called him out of the blue because they needed an opening day act. He offered Don Rickles along with Steve and Eydie. Trump accepted.
Trump poses in his Trump Tower office on a giant letter "T" in 1996. (TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images) | 1 | neutral | [
"Frank Sinatra told Trump to go f\nWhen Donald Trump got under Frank Sinatra's skin Old Blue Eyes told him to go f--- himself.",
"Or at least he had his manager do it.",
"Eliot Weisman whose book “The Way it Was ” managed Ol' Blue Eyes from 1975 to 1998.",
"In his book which come out Oct.",
"24 he recounts the 1990 opening of Trump’s Taj Mahal in Atlantic City where Sinatra had planned to perform.",
"Weisman said that Paul Anka warned him at Etess' funeral that he was about to learn the meaning of “The Art of the Deal ” which is the title of Trump ’s how-to book in wheeling and dealing.",
"President Trump Melania perform 'painful' first inaugural dance\nAccording to Weisman Trump started off the new negotiations by saying that the cost for the 12 dates Sinatra was slated to perform was “a little rich.",
"” The Donald also decided he didn’t need to book the other acts that were part of the original deal including Sammy Davis Jr.",
"who’d just been diagnosed with cancer and Steve and Eydie.",
"“Who’s Steve and Eydie?",
"” Trump asked according to Weisman.",
"Weisman says he then tried choking The Donald by his tie but his son who was also at the meeting restrained him.",
"Weisman called Sinatra to tell him what had happened and Sinatra told him he had two choices: to tell Trump to go f--k himself or give Trump’s phone number to Sinatra so that he could do it himself.",
"Weisman returned to Trump ’s office and told The Donald “Sinatra says go f--k yourself!",
"”\nThe deal never happened and Sinatra ended up playing at the Sands in Las Vegas.",
"Much to Weisman's surprise when Trump opened Mar-a-Lago his office called him out of the blue because they needed an opening day act.",
"He offered Don Rickles along with Steve and Eydie.",
"Trump accepted.",
"Trump poses in his Trump Tower office on a giant letter \"T\" in 1996.",
"(TIMOTHY A.",
"CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)"
] |
Yankees please save New York from gut
But if Aaron Judge Giancarlo Stanton and company don’t win a World Series as soon as possible sports fans might start confusing the greater New York area with Winnipeg.
Why only 91-71 even after acquiring the reigning National League Most Valuable Player in Stanton ? Because while you might not have loved Starlin Castro or Chase Headley — the Yankees didn’t either — the two gentlemen provided some value. And because both Stanton and Judge the reigning American League Rookie of the Year are forecasted to tail off some.
Stanton and Judge nevertheless upgrade this team from a serious contender to must-see baseball. Barring an epic collapse the Yankees will see their attendance rise in consecutive seasons for the first time in the new Yankee Stadium. If you attended the recent Baseball Writers Association of America New York chapter’s dinner in Manhattan you saw Judge and Stanton interacting publicly for the first time as teammates. It’s an electric optic one that figures to be more so when they’re in uniform.
“Help us Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. You’re our only hope.” | 1 | neutral | [
"Yankees please save New York from gut\nBut if Aaron Judge Giancarlo Stanton and company don’t win a World Series as soon as possible sports fans might start confusing the greater New York area with Winnipeg.",
"Why only 91-71 even after acquiring the reigning National League Most Valuable Player in Stanton?",
"Because while you might not have loved Starlin Castro or Chase Headley — the Yankees didn’t either — the two gentlemen provided some value.",
"And because both Stanton and Judge the reigning American League Rookie of the Year are forecasted to tail off some.",
"Stanton and Judge nevertheless upgrade this team from a serious contender to must-see baseball.",
"Barring an epic collapse the Yankees will see their attendance rise in consecutive seasons for the first time in the new Yankee Stadium.",
"If you attended the recent Baseball Writers Association of America New York chapter’s dinner in Manhattan you saw Judge and Stanton interacting publicly for the first time as teammates.",
"It’s an electric optic one that figures to be more so when they’re in uniform.",
"“Help us Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.",
"You’re our only hope.",
"”"
] |
Not sure how to rate this... First off the quality and everything seems very good. Heavy duty and warm. The problem is the size. I got a med size 44... I'm 6'0 200 lbs. the top half to my waist was perfect! Then below that it was too baggy. This was wearing a sweatshirt and jeans underneath. I had to return it (which was easy... Printed up the return receipt, taped the box and went to staples)... I want another one but I'm afraid of the sizing issue... If it fit I think these would have been perfect for really cold weather... | 1 | neutral | [
"Not sure how to rate this...",
"First off the quality and everything seems very good.",
"Heavy duty and warm.",
"The problem is the size.",
"I got a med size 44...",
"I'm 6'0 200 lbs.",
"the top half to my waist was perfect!",
"Then below that it was too baggy.",
"This was wearing a sweatshirt and jeans underneath.",
"I had to return it (which was easy...",
"Printed up the return receipt, taped the box and went to staples)...",
"I want another one but I'm afraid of the sizing issue...",
"If it fit I think these would have been perfect for really cold weather..."
] |
I grew up with this brand of soy suace and have always used it. However, I just realized how salty the "original" it is. I know what you are thinking, "it is soy sauce, of course it is salty".
However, years ago, I switched to low sodium kikkoman (the green bottle). Recently, I ran out and needed soy sauce fast, for a recipe. I ordered this bottle because of Prime and, honestly, it was way cheaper. Big mistake. I used it for a marinade and the saltiness was overpowering.
Still, I have to give it 3 stars because it is better than other brands
And, it's fine to use if you are just adding a little soy sauce to a dish or recipe. Plus, the salt content is a matter of personal preference. I highly reccommend the low sodium variety of kikkoman though. | 1 | neutral | [
"I grew up with this brand of soy suace and have always used it.",
"However, I just realized how salty the \"original\" it is.",
"I know what you are thinking, \"it is soy sauce, of course it is salty\".",
"However, years ago, I switched to low sodium kikkoman (the green bottle).",
"Recently, I ran out and needed soy sauce fast, for a recipe.",
"I ordered this bottle because of Prime and, honestly, it was way cheaper.",
"Big mistake.",
"I used it for a marinade and the saltiness was overpowering.",
"Still, I have to give it 3 stars because it is better than other brands\nAnd, it's fine to use if you are just adding a little soy sauce to a dish or recipe.",
"Plus, the salt content is a matter of personal preference.",
"I highly reccommend the low sodium variety of kikkoman though."
] |
Johnny Cash had a profound impact on the American music scene, and much of that was due to his 1990s revival via his four American Recordings albums. This is a simplistic, downhome bio of Americana's Johnny, and though it's not sparkling in form, prose, or organization, it comes straight from Johnny's heart. It's well worth reading if you want to know a little more about how the man views life and learning.
It's not the most *interesting* bio, but it's a look-see into his soul. He's simple, he's straightforward, and he's honest, though he's not too giving of all the details. Hence his lack of candor. One thing you do grab from this is how Johnny and June were soulmates, how they shared life's best and worst moments, and how Johnny knows and understands any mistakes he's made there. Thankfully, he doesn't practice victimology and blame the rest of the world for his problems. Instead, he tells us he looks to God for guidance.
He tells the reader a few stories that will be new to them, in regards to his life of celebrity. Other than that, this is not a summarization of all that he's done or where he's been, but instead, it's a small window through which he viewed life and its assorted players. Read it if you are really interested in Johnny Cash. | 1 | neutral | [
"Johnny Cash had a profound impact on the American music scene, and much of that was due to his 1990s revival via his four American Recordings albums.",
"This is a simplistic, downhome bio of Americana's Johnny, and though it's not sparkling in form, prose, or organization, it comes straight from Johnny's heart.",
"It's well worth reading if you want to know a little more about how the man views life and learning.",
"It's not the most *interesting* bio, but it's a look-see into his soul.",
"He's simple, he's straightforward, and he's honest, though he's not too giving of all the details.",
"Hence his lack of candor.",
"One thing you do grab from this is how Johnny and June were soulmates, how they shared life's best and worst moments, and how Johnny knows and understands any mistakes he's made there.",
"Thankfully, he doesn't practice victimology and blame the rest of the world for his problems.",
"Instead, he tells us he looks to God for guidance.",
"He tells the reader a few stories that will be new to them, in regards to his life of celebrity.",
"Other than that, this is not a summarization of all that he's done or where he's been, but instead, it's a small window through which he viewed life and its assorted players.",
"Read it if you are really interested in Johnny Cash."
] |
I have to say that I don't eat beef stew often, even though I love it. I ended up getting this for a quick meal and I wasn't disappointed. I love the flavor of the gravy in this beef stew, I just wish there were more of it. Also, I thought there were too many potatoes and not enough meat but if you love potatoes (I don't) I guess that wouldn't be a huge issues. I also want to add that if it isn't impossible I'd LOVE to see there be some peas in this stew also. Regardless of these small issues I think this beef stew is fantastic. I enjoyed the texture of the meat and the carrots were the right amount of soft for my liking. In addition to everything previously said I want to mention that if you've got issues with greasy foods or if you have a history of heartburn this stew probably isn't a good choice. I love the flavor, loved how quick it was to cook (about 2 minutes in the microwave), but it was very oily. All in all though it was a good little meal. I'm not sure it's worth what Amazon is trying to charge because I can buy it here for about $2 a can. Otherwise, quick and easy meal that's also pretty tasty! | 1 | neutral | [
"I have to say that I don't eat beef stew often, even though I love it.",
"I ended up getting this for a quick meal and I wasn't disappointed.",
"I love the flavor of the gravy in this beef stew, I just wish there were more of it.",
"Also, I thought there were too many potatoes and not enough meat but if you love potatoes (I don't) I guess that wouldn't be a huge issues.",
"I also want to add that if it isn't impossible I'd LOVE to see there be some peas in this stew also.",
"Regardless of these small issues I think this beef stew is fantastic.",
"I enjoyed the texture of the meat and the carrots were the right amount of soft for my liking.",
"In addition to everything previously said I want to mention that if you've got issues with greasy foods or if you have a history of heartburn this stew probably isn't a good choice.",
"I love the flavor, loved how quick it was to cook (about 2 minutes in the microwave), but it was very oily.",
"All in all though it was a good little meal.",
"I'm not sure it's worth what Amazon is trying to charge because I can buy it here for about $2 a can.",
"Otherwise, quick and easy meal that's also pretty tasty!"
] |
Are you unsure about which recording to buy? Please, let my track-by-track analysis assist you in making the right decision for you.
1. Overture: TIE. There isn't a whole lot of difference between the two overtures, at least none that I can tell. They're both fine recordings.
2. Prologue: Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats: LONDON. Unquestionably, the London recording is the better of the two. The Broadway recording is weak and not as precise as the London recording.
3. The Naming of Cats: TIE. This track is completely spoken. If, other than accents, there is any noticeable difference between the two recordings, it has eluded me.
4. The Invitation to the Jellicle Ball: LONDON. Both casts are fine during the chorus efforts. However, the London Munkstrap sounds much more keen in his solos, as opposed to the Broadway Munkstrap who just sounds indifferent.
5. The Old Gumbie Cat: LONDON. This is no contest. The London version contains lines that were deleted from the Broadway version. To me, the Broadway recording always seems incomplete.
6. The Rum Tug Tugger: LONDON. The London Tugger is much more subdued. While it is understood that this is supposed to be a fun piece, and the Broadway Tugger is certainly fun, his constant squealing and weird timing are something I still haven't gotten used to.
7. Grizabella: LONDON. I don't know how else to say this. The Broadway version is puny. The London version isn't.
8. Bustopher Jones: BROADWAY. While the British recording is fine, and probably more technically precise, I find the voice of the Broadway Bustopher to be absolutely charming.
9. Mungojerrie and Rumpletezer: LONDON. The London and Broadway recordings of this track differ immensely. I prefer the London version, which is sung by the characters Mungojerrie and Rumpletezer, themselves, as opposed to the Broadway version, which is sung solely by the character Munkstrap. Also, the London recording just has this sly aura about it that the Broadway recording, in its differing style, fails to capture.
10. Old Deuteronomy: BROADWAY. I can't explain it; the Broadway version is just more emotionally uplifting and magical.
11. The Jellicle Ball: TIE
12. Grizabella, the Glamour Cat: TIE. This piece is really too short to gage either way.
13. Memory: LONDON. What we've all been waiting for. While there's nothing wrong with the Broadway version of this track. `Memory' is never sung more dutifully and emotionally charged then when sung by Elaine Paige. At least that's what my chorus instructor thinks.
14. The Moments of Happiness: BROADWAY. Truthfully, I don't care for either of the recordings very much. However, I've always felt that Ken Page, Broadway's Deuteronomy, had the better singing voice.
15. Gus: the Theater Cat: LONDON. I feel very passionately about this one. The London version of `Gus' is very humble, and for that I shall reward it. However, the Broadway version borders on disrespectful, given the subject matter, and that I cannot forgive.
16. Growltigers Last Stand: NO COMMENT
17. Skimbleshanks: the Railway Cat: LONDON. London is better for tons of reasons: more solos, better sounding Skimbleshanks, and jazzier opening chords. The Broadway versions habit of having the company sing all the verses together grows tiring very quickly.
18. Macavity: the Mystery Cat: TIE. One version can't be better than the other; they're both too dull.
19. Mr. Mistoffoleese: LONDON. I think the chorus of this song is best sung by the company, as in London, rather than by an individual, as in the Broadway recording.
20. Journey to the Heavyside Layer: TIE. There's no noticeable difference.
21. The Ad-Dressing of Cats: BROADWAY. It's all about Ken Page as Old Deuteronomy.
Personally, I found the London recording more satisfying as a whole. I hope you will, too. | 1 | neutral | [
"Are you unsure about which recording to buy?",
"Please, let my track-by-track analysis assist you in making the right decision for you.",
"1.",
"Overture: TIE.",
"There isn't a whole lot of difference between the two overtures, at least none that I can tell.",
"They're both fine recordings.",
"2.",
"Prologue: Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats: LONDON.",
"Unquestionably, the London recording is the better of the two.",
"The Broadway recording is weak and not as precise as the London recording.",
"3.",
"The Naming of Cats: TIE.",
"This track is completely spoken.",
"If, other than accents, there is any noticeable difference between the two recordings, it has eluded me.",
"4.",
"The Invitation to the Jellicle Ball: LONDON.",
"Both casts are fine during the chorus efforts.",
"However, the London Munkstrap sounds much more keen in his solos, as opposed to the Broadway Munkstrap who just sounds indifferent.",
"5.",
"The Old Gumbie Cat: LONDON.",
"This is no contest.",
"The London version contains lines that were deleted from the Broadway version.",
"To me, the Broadway recording always seems incomplete.",
"6.",
"The Rum Tug Tugger: LONDON.",
"The London Tugger is much more subdued.",
"While it is understood that this is supposed to be a fun piece, and the Broadway Tugger is certainly fun, his constant squealing and weird timing are something I still haven't gotten used to.",
"7.",
"Grizabella: LONDON.",
"I don't know how else to say this.",
"The Broadway version is puny.",
"The London version isn't.",
"8.",
"Bustopher Jones: BROADWAY.",
"While the British recording is fine, and probably more technically precise, I find the voice of the Broadway Bustopher to be absolutely charming.",
"9.",
"Mungojerrie and Rumpletezer: LONDON.",
"The London and Broadway recordings of this track differ immensely.",
"I prefer the London version, which is sung by the characters Mungojerrie and Rumpletezer, themselves, as opposed to the Broadway version, which is sung solely by the character Munkstrap.",
"Also, the London recording just has this sly aura about it that the Broadway recording, in its differing style, fails to capture.",
"10.",
"Old Deuteronomy: BROADWAY.",
"I can't explain it; the Broadway version is just more emotionally uplifting and magical.",
"11.",
"The Jellicle Ball: TIE\n12.",
"Grizabella, the Glamour Cat: TIE.",
"This piece is really too short to gage either way.",
"13.",
"Memory: LONDON.",
"What we've all been waiting for.",
"While there's nothing wrong with the Broadway version of this track.",
"`Memory' is never sung more dutifully and emotionally charged then when sung by Elaine Paige.",
"At least that's what my chorus instructor thinks.",
"14.",
"The Moments of Happiness: BROADWAY.",
"Truthfully, I don't care for either of the recordings very much.",
"However, I've always felt that Ken Page, Broadway's Deuteronomy, had the better singing voice.",
"15.",
"Gus: the Theater Cat: LONDON.",
"I feel very passionately about this one.",
"The London version of `Gus' is very humble, and for that I shall reward it.",
"However, the Broadway version borders on disrespectful, given the subject matter, and that I cannot forgive.",
"16.",
"Growltigers Last Stand: NO COMMENT\n17.",
"Skimbleshanks: the Railway Cat: LONDON.",
"London is better for tons of reasons: more solos, better sounding Skimbleshanks, and jazzier opening chords.",
"The Broadway versions habit of having the company sing all the verses together grows tiring very quickly.",
"18.",
"Macavity: the Mystery Cat: TIE.",
"One version can't be better than the other; they're both too dull.",
"19.",
"Mr.",
"Mistoffoleese: LONDON.",
"I think the chorus of this song is best sung by the company, as in London, rather than by an individual, as in the Broadway recording.",
"20.",
"Journey to the Heavyside Layer: TIE.",
"There's no noticeable difference.",
"21.",
"The Ad-Dressing of Cats: BROADWAY.",
"It's all about Ken Page as Old Deuteronomy.",
"Personally, I found the London recording more satisfying as a whole.",
"I hope you will, too."
] |
Feels and smells like unscented hair conditioner. I wonder if some of the negative comments didn't understand that you must rinse it off.
Having said that, I like that it has fewer chemicals and plastics usually in these kinds of products. But it still has too many irritants. Alcohol is the 3rd ingredient, and just a bad idea. It dries out the skin obviously.
Don't be alarmed by Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate (SLSA) on the label, it's different than Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (which you've probably heard about, a horrible ingredient that should be avoided). By contrast, SLSA is derived from coconut and palm oils, and is generally considered gentle and safe.
The hydroxypropyl guar is what gives conditioners the filmy stickiness, but they could have omitted completely! This ingredient is why you need to rinse 2 or 3 times to get it off, unnecessary and a potential irritant.
No single product is going to work with every child, skin problems are reaching epidemic proportions these days. But it seems to help a little bit with our children, who have just minor skin issues (grass allergies, cradle cap, perpetual dry skin). At this point, though, I still have mixed feelings and uncertain whether I would reorder.
We have found nothing beats straight coconut oil on the skin. Most soaps strip us of the protective oils on our skin, so we have been using more oils. Bio-oil is great for repairing damage. We mix up our own concoction in a spray bottle, and periodically throughout the day spray it on itchy and dry skin - a base of aloe juice, with oils added (palmers coco butter oil, bio-oil, a couple drops of lavender). | 1 | neutral | [
"Feels and smells like unscented hair conditioner.",
"I wonder if some of the negative comments didn't understand that you must rinse it off.",
"Having said that, I like that it has fewer chemicals and plastics usually in these kinds of products.",
"But it still has too many irritants.",
"Alcohol is the 3rd ingredient, and just a bad idea.",
"It dries out the skin obviously.",
"Don't be alarmed by Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate (SLSA) on the label, it's different than Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (which you've probably heard about, a horrible ingredient that should be avoided).",
"By contrast, SLSA is derived from coconut and palm oils, and is generally considered gentle and safe.",
"The hydroxypropyl guar is what gives conditioners the filmy stickiness, but they could have omitted completely!",
"This ingredient is why you need to rinse 2 or 3 times to get it off, unnecessary and a potential irritant.",
"No single product is going to work with every child, skin problems are reaching epidemic proportions these days.",
"But it seems to help a little bit with our children, who have just minor skin issues (grass allergies, cradle cap, perpetual dry skin).",
"At this point, though, I still have mixed feelings and uncertain whether I would reorder.",
"We have found nothing beats straight coconut oil on the skin.",
"Most soaps strip us of the protective oils on our skin, so we have been using more oils.",
"Bio-oil is great for repairing damage.",
"We mix up our own concoction in a spray bottle, and periodically throughout the day spray it on itchy and dry skin - a base of aloe juice, with oils added (palmers coco butter oil, bio-oil, a couple drops of lavender)."
] |
I love Spider-Man games. I have twenty of them, but this would have to be my least favorite. Most of the levels are recycled from the previous movie game and the console version of this game. Even if you haven't played either of those, I don't think it would take you long to beat it. It didn't take me long and not just because I've played the aformentioned games before I got this. You can beat up thugs only after a few punches and the levels aren't very difficult. Now I will the game some points for the training levels. Levels such as Instant Action lets you see how many baddies you can beat up until you die. Although, you will have to write how many thugs you do beat up since the game doesn't keep track of that for you. The training levels were recycled from the previous movie game, but they're fun, so that's not really a bad thing. Bottom line, unless you're like me and love Spider-Man games and want to have all of them, even easy ones like this one, then I wouldn't recommend getting this game. | 1 | neutral | [
"I love Spider-Man games.",
"I have twenty of them, but this would have to be my least favorite.",
"Most of the levels are recycled from the previous movie game and the console version of this game.",
"Even if you haven't played either of those, I don't think it would take you long to beat it.",
"It didn't take me long and not just because I've played the aformentioned games before I got this.",
"You can beat up thugs only after a few punches and the levels aren't very difficult.",
"Now I will the game some points for the training levels.",
"Levels such as Instant Action lets you see how many baddies you can beat up until you die.",
"Although, you will have to write how many thugs you do beat up since the game doesn't keep track of that for you.",
"The training levels were recycled from the previous movie game, but they're fun, so that's not really a bad thing.",
"Bottom line, unless you're like me and love Spider-Man games and want to have all of them, even easy ones like this one, then I wouldn't recommend getting this game."
] |
North and South starts out like Jane Austen with a lovely young lady enjoying upper-class life in London with a proposal of marriage which she declines. Is this Pride and Prejudice with Margaret as the proud person? Then things change drastically. Margaret"s father, an Anglican priest, decides to leave the Church and move his family from lovely, agricultural Hampshire to a northern manufacturing town where he will tutor the children of the mill owners and even the owners themselves. It is cold, smoky, and foggy there and Margaret's mother is soon ill. The ladies are dismayed by being there, and are soon aware of the tensions between owners and workers. Margaret and her mother are dismayed by both the workers and the owners which, though wealthy, are still seen as of a lower class. So then the story becomes more a "muck raker" novel than a romance as we learn more of life in the mills for both adults and children. The weather makes many ill, and the cotton mills cause lung disease. One of the owners is interested in Margaret, but she snubs him. And then a lot of people begin to die and there is a lot of sobbing.
The major problem is that the book is way too long, but was written in the 19th century when people had a lot of time to read. | 1 | neutral | [
"North and South starts out like Jane Austen with a lovely young lady enjoying upper-class life in London with a proposal of marriage which she declines.",
"Is this Pride and Prejudice with Margaret as the proud person?",
"Then things change drastically.",
"Margaret\"s father, an Anglican priest, decides to leave the Church and move his family from lovely, agricultural Hampshire to a northern manufacturing town where he will tutor the children of the mill owners and even the owners themselves.",
"It is cold, smoky, and foggy there and Margaret's mother is soon ill.",
"The ladies are dismayed by being there, and are soon aware of the tensions between owners and workers.",
"Margaret and her mother are dismayed by both the workers and the owners which, though wealthy, are still seen as of a lower class.",
"So then the story becomes more a \"muck raker\" novel than a romance as we learn more of life in the mills for both adults and children.",
"The weather makes many ill, and the cotton mills cause lung disease.",
"One of the owners is interested in Margaret, but she snubs him.",
"And then a lot of people begin to die and there is a lot of sobbing.",
"The major problem is that the book is way too long, but was written in the 19th century when people had a lot of time to read."
] |
Disclaimer, I bought this for indoor growing, and adjusting my pH.
So far, I have calibrated twice. The first time, the calibration seemed off as it was telling me my home pH was 7.5 when in actuality it is 7.2. So I calibrated it again, while doing so on the 4.0 pH calibration step it started giving me random numbers and wouldn't land on one (which is required for calibration). After some time and frustration, I managed to turn it off and on and restart calibration once more. This time, calibration worked fine and I am now seeing the correct 7.2 pH for my home water.
I will update this review when I have adequate time to garner more of a substantial feeling through nutrient mixing. | 1 | neutral | [
"Disclaimer, I bought this for indoor growing, and adjusting my pH.",
"So far, I have calibrated twice.",
"The first time, the calibration seemed off as it was telling me my home pH was 7.",
"5 when in actuality it is 7.",
"2. So I calibrated it again, while doing so on the 4.",
"0 pH calibration step it started giving me random numbers and wouldn't land on one (which is required for calibration).",
"After some time and frustration, I managed to turn it off and on and restart calibration once more.",
"This time, calibration worked fine and I am now seeing the correct 7.",
"2 pH for my home water.",
"I will update this review when I have adequate time to garner more of a substantial feeling through nutrient mixing."
] |
As the third entry in the Dirty Harry film series, The Enforcer is probably a little above average in terms of the time spent in watching it. Yet, it is a bit of a misfire (no pun intended) after "Dirty Harry" and "Magnum Force". The character of Harry Callahan returns more to the roots of his original incarnation in the first film, however his presence seems almost wasted here for some unexplained reason. James Fargo, a long-time member of Eastwood's film-family crew, takes over as director in the third installment of the Dirty Harry saga.
The basic premise of the movie involves a group of self-proclaimed revolutionaries who threaten the city by the Bay, so it's up to Harry to enforce the law and bring them to justice. At the business-end of a .44 magnum, of course. The film follows the basic formula of all the other films, as noted below.
The film opens up with a brutal, chilling scene involving a couple of the militants killing two truck delivery men. Shift to Harry and his current partner, Frank DiGiorgio (John Mitchum, a.k.a. brother of actor Robert Mitchum) who has appeared in the previous 2 Dirty Harry films. The robbery/hostage scene is the typical Harry-must-establish-his-credentials-for-the-audience, as in the beginning of every Dirty Harry film. He does so quite effectively here by dispensing with words and creating his own 'mini-Entebbe raid' on the perps and the store (note Joe Spano, a.k.a. Henry Goldblume from "Hill Street Blues" as one of the bad guys).
We next find Callahan moved from Homicide to personnel thanks to Captain McKay (Bradford Dillman), which is not to his liking. Some great dialogue in the personnel board interview scene among all actors involved, and we get introduced to who will obviously become Callahan's new partner, Kate Moore, played by Tyne Daly (sister of actor Tim Daly). The text of Harry's dislike of political correctness, or 'being stylish' as he puts it, still rings very true today. In keeping with the previous films, Harry is given a minority person as a partner: Chico the Hispanic-American in Dirty Harry, Early Smith an African-American in Magnum Force, and now a woman. To being saddled with Moore, Harry utters his tag-line for this film "Marvelous". Not as good as "Do I feel lucky" or "Make my day", or even "A man's got to know his limitations", but it's what we the audience are left with. Thus continues the formula.
The People's Revolutionary Strike Force are striking hard, including steeling weapons like LAWS rockets, automatic rifles, and then fatally stabbing Harry's detective friend Frank DiGiorgio who just happened to be in the area while the warehouse robbery was going down.
The city wants to pin the robbery and threat on black militants, but Harry doesn't buy it. So, when the terrorists kidnap the Mayor, Harry uses every tactic at his disposal to hunt them down.
Throughout the picture, Harry pretty much has disdain for everyone: his superiors, his partner, his informants, the people he questions, the mayor, and even a guy trying to get a free meal at the beginning of the picture. When Big Ed Mustafa (Albert Popwell, who appeared in 4 of the 5 Dirty Harry films as different characters) says, "Man, you really are dirty, aren't you", Harry's answer "The dirtiest" is in some ways an understatement, and in other ways incorrect. He seems more like "Grouchy Harry" throughout the film.
There are some excellent lines sprinkled throughout, like "V.F.W. - very few whites", "Why, that's mighty white of you", and "Your mouthwash ain't makin' it!".
Two very glaring errors in The Enforcer are the absence of Lalo Schifrin as composer of the soundtrack and the building-to-building rooftop chase over San Francisco that not only contains rather odd jazz music for such a violent action picture, but also lasts twice as long on screen as it should have.
The final confrontation on Alcatraz Island is exciting and leads to the inevitable death of Harry's partner, again not unexpected given what has been presented to us in the previous two films.
Although exciting in parts, The Enforcer just seemed to have been rushed into production and finished in order to give movie-goers a Dirty Harry film by Christmas. We are given even less to know about Harry than the previous 2 films, and in some ways he almost seems a caricature of the more despondant, over-worked, not-sure-why-he's-even-doing-this person whom we met in Dirty Harry. Although a decent action picture, some good lines, and of course Clint Eastwood all help it, the final result in many ways, "The Enforcer" still does not rise to any level other than plain old-fashioned popcorn entertainment, and fairly ordinary popcorn at that. | 1 | neutral | [
"As the third entry in the Dirty Harry film series, The Enforcer is probably a little above average in terms of the time spent in watching it.",
"Yet, it is a bit of a misfire (no pun intended) after \"Dirty Harry\" and \"Magnum Force\".",
"The character of Harry Callahan returns more to the roots of his original incarnation in the first film, however his presence seems almost wasted here for some unexplained reason.",
"James Fargo, a long-time member of Eastwood's film-family crew, takes over as director in the third installment of the Dirty Harry saga.",
"The basic premise of the movie involves a group of self-proclaimed revolutionaries who threaten the city by the Bay, so it's up to Harry to enforce the law and bring them to justice.",
"At the business-end of a.",
"44 magnum, of course.",
"The film follows the basic formula of all the other films, as noted below.",
"The film opens up with a brutal, chilling scene involving a couple of the militants killing two truck delivery men.",
"Shift to Harry and his current partner, Frank DiGiorgio (John Mitchum, a.",
"k.a. brother of actor Robert Mitchum) who has appeared in the previous 2 Dirty Harry films.",
"The robbery/hostage scene is the typical Harry-must-establish-his-credentials-for-the-audience, as in the beginning of every Dirty Harry film.",
"He does so quite effectively here by dispensing with words and creating his own 'mini-Entebbe raid' on the perps and the store (note Joe Spano, a.",
"k.a. Henry Goldblume from \"Hill Street Blues\" as one of the bad guys).",
"We next find Callahan moved from Homicide to personnel thanks to Captain McKay (Bradford Dillman), which is not to his liking.",
"Some great dialogue in the personnel board interview scene among all actors involved, and we get introduced to who will obviously become Callahan's new partner, Kate Moore, played by Tyne Daly (sister of actor Tim Daly).",
"The text of Harry's dislike of political correctness, or 'being stylish' as he puts it, still rings very true today.",
"In keeping with the previous films, Harry is given a minority person as a partner: Chico the Hispanic-American in Dirty Harry, Early Smith an African-American in Magnum Force, and now a woman.",
"To being saddled with Moore, Harry utters his tag-line for this film \"Marvelous\".",
"Not as good as \"Do I feel lucky\" or \"Make my day\", or even \"A man's got to know his limitations\", but it's what we the audience are left with.",
"Thus continues the formula.",
"The People's Revolutionary Strike Force are striking hard, including steeling weapons like LAWS rockets, automatic rifles, and then fatally stabbing Harry's detective friend Frank DiGiorgio who just happened to be in the area while the warehouse robbery was going down.",
"The city wants to pin the robbery and threat on black militants, but Harry doesn't buy it.",
"So, when the terrorists kidnap the Mayor, Harry uses every tactic at his disposal to hunt them down.",
"Throughout the picture, Harry pretty much has disdain for everyone: his superiors, his partner, his informants, the people he questions, the mayor, and even a guy trying to get a free meal at the beginning of the picture.",
"When Big Ed Mustafa (Albert Popwell, who appeared in 4 of the 5 Dirty Harry films as different characters) says, \"Man, you really are dirty, aren't you\", Harry's answer \"The dirtiest\" is in some ways an understatement, and in other ways incorrect.",
"He seems more like \"Grouchy Harry\" throughout the film.",
"There are some excellent lines sprinkled throughout, like \"V.",
"F.W. - very few whites\", \"Why, that's mighty white of you\", and \"Your mouthwash ain't makin' it!",
"\".",
"Two very glaring errors in The Enforcer are the absence of Lalo Schifrin as composer of the soundtrack and the building-to-building rooftop chase over San Francisco that not only contains rather odd jazz music for such a violent action picture, but also lasts twice as long on screen as it should have.",
"The final confrontation on Alcatraz Island is exciting and leads to the inevitable death of Harry's partner, again not unexpected given what has been presented to us in the previous two films.",
"Although exciting in parts, The Enforcer just seemed to have been rushed into production and finished in order to give movie-goers a Dirty Harry film by Christmas.",
"We are given even less to know about Harry than the previous 2 films, and in some ways he almost seems a caricature of the more despondant, over-worked, not-sure-why-he's-even-doing-this person whom we met in Dirty Harry.",
"Although a decent action picture, some good lines, and of course Clint Eastwood all help it, the final result in many ways, \"The Enforcer\" still does not rise to any level other than plain old-fashioned popcorn entertainment, and fairly ordinary popcorn at that."
] |
Grand Theft Simpsons is a great idea. But the execution is not in regards to this game. It may look wonderful but the graphics are not without their annoying flaws and while the voice cast may be great the initial hilarity quickly gives way to tedium.
Simpsons: Hit and Run is an average game. It has many pros but also many cons that will severely cripple your enjoyment.
Pros:
-Zillions of in jokes.
-It's incredibly cute.
-The muzak can sometimes sound quite cool.
-Some of the levels look simply gorgeous.
-The levels are big enough without being too big and there's lots to explore.
-The cut-scenes are brilliant!
-It's got a better plot than the lame, tired TV show has had in years.
Cons:
-Not enough ways to make money.
-Money is all too easily taken from you.
-Many cool things are available to buy but there isn't enough money in the level to buy them.
-All missions are timed and involve collecting things.
-Traffic jams occur faaaar too easily and they are very, very hard to get out of.
-Wherever you want to go, a hundred cars will be blocking your way.
-Many kinds of cars are available, but they're all crap.
-Certain cars are required for certain missions but for no real reason.
-When the Police are after you it's almost impossible to get away.
-The police will come after you too quickly and easily.
-Whenever you desperately need a car there won't be one for miles.
-Many, MANY opportunities for amazing stunts are ignored, most of the time the game will simply fade out and then fade back in rather than show a cool crash.
-There's not really that much interaction with the environment.
-There is no proper mapping system.
-The camera often gets stuck.
-Since when was Springfield a vast metropolis?
I'll admit that I simply gave up on this game, it's just absolutely IN-FUR-I-ATING. I wanted to crush the controls with my hand and smash in my TV screen in uncontrollable, blind, ugly rage. THAT is what this game will do to you. The poor programming and unfair disadvantages will drive you crazy. If this is the kind of game you like (and why?) then go ahead. For the rest of us who rely on skill and strategy (and not just luck) in order to get through video games, we'll calmly put this game aside and move onto something else.
Graphics B-
Sound B
Gameplay C
Lasting Appeal C | 1 | neutral | [
"Grand Theft Simpsons is a great idea.",
"But the execution is not in regards to this game.",
"It may look wonderful but the graphics are not without their annoying flaws and while the voice cast may be great the initial hilarity quickly gives way to tedium.",
"Simpsons: Hit and Run is an average game.",
"It has many pros but also many cons that will severely cripple your enjoyment.",
"Pros:\n\n-Zillions of in jokes.",
"-It's incredibly cute.",
"-The muzak can sometimes sound quite cool.",
"-Some of the levels look simply gorgeous.",
"-The levels are big enough without being too big and there's lots to explore.",
"-The cut-scenes are brilliant!",
"-It's got a better plot than the lame, tired TV show has had in years.",
"Cons:\n\n-Not enough ways to make money.",
"-Money is all too easily taken from you.",
"-Many cool things are available to buy but there isn't enough money in the level to buy them.",
"-All missions are timed and involve collecting things.",
"-Traffic jams occur faaaar too easily and they are very, very hard to get out of.",
"-Wherever you want to go, a hundred cars will be blocking your way.",
"-Many kinds of cars are available, but they're all crap.",
"-Certain cars are required for certain missions but for no real reason.",
"-When the Police are after you it's almost impossible to get away.",
"-The police will come after you too quickly and easily.",
"-Whenever you desperately need a car there won't be one for miles.",
"-Many, MANY opportunities for amazing stunts are ignored, most of the time the game will simply fade out and then fade back in rather than show a cool crash.",
"-There's not really that much interaction with the environment.",
"-There is no proper mapping system.",
"-The camera often gets stuck.",
"-Since when was Springfield a vast metropolis?",
"I'll admit that I simply gave up on this game, it's just absolutely IN-FUR-I-ATING.",
"I wanted to crush the controls with my hand and smash in my TV screen in uncontrollable, blind, ugly rage.",
"THAT is what this game will do to you.",
"The poor programming and unfair disadvantages will drive you crazy.",
"If this is the kind of game you like (and why?",
") then go ahead.",
"For the rest of us who rely on skill and strategy (and not just luck) in order to get through video games, we'll calmly put this game aside and move onto something else.",
"Graphics B-\nSound B\nGameplay C\nLasting Appeal C"
] |
I'm not a huge fan of the horror genre or gothic fiction; but, as one of the most famous novels ever written, I thought I would give 'Dracula' a shot. It's reputation as a classic and the inspiration for numerous films sparked my interest; yet Stoker's work is for the most part dull, slow-moving, and (the worst sin of all for a horror novel) NOT SCARY. While it probably won't give you chills or keep you awake at night, Stoker's novel can still be appreciated as an exploration of the subconscious fears which plagued upper-class Victorian society - notably, fears about female sexuality and foreign influence. To a turn-of-the-century audience Dracula was no doubt frightening as a literal vampire, but also as a foreign invader who was bent on corrupting the "purity" of the English people through the intermingling of blood.
As a novel for pure entertainment, the opening chapters are quite interesting as we follow Jonathan Harker's experience in Transylvannia and are introduced to the sinister Count himself, yet as the story shifts to England the novel quickly runs out of steam. Encounters with the undead in this novel are strickingly few, and Stoker's uninteresting male characters - who can only be told apart by their names - spend much of their time either waiting for each other or fawning over Mina and Lucy. As the story progresses, the covertly sexualized relationships which develop between Mina, Lucy and Dracula become the novel's saving grace. Dracula's hold on them is painted as something sinister, impure, and decidedly sensual, while the gallant chaps striving to "rescue" them worship them as beings of saintliness, chastity and purity (which is what any good upper-crust Victorian woman was supposed to be). Are the male characters really afraid that these women will become vampires or that they will loose their "rightful" patriarchal control over them to a more seductive foreigner?
I know many will disagree with me, but as entertainment 'Dracula' is a highly over-rated work - worth reading only for it's historical significance rather than a classic in the suspense or horror genre. | 1 | neutral | [
"I'm not a huge fan of the horror genre or gothic fiction; but, as one of the most famous novels ever written, I thought I would give 'Dracula' a shot.",
"It's reputation as a classic and the inspiration for numerous films sparked my interest; yet Stoker's work is for the most part dull, slow-moving, and (the worst sin of all for a horror novel) NOT SCARY.",
"While it probably won't give you chills or keep you awake at night, Stoker's novel can still be appreciated as an exploration of the subconscious fears which plagued upper-class Victorian society - notably, fears about female sexuality and foreign influence.",
"To a turn-of-the-century audience Dracula was no doubt frightening as a literal vampire, but also as a foreign invader who was bent on corrupting the \"purity\" of the English people through the intermingling of blood.",
"As a novel for pure entertainment, the opening chapters are quite interesting as we follow Jonathan Harker's experience in Transylvannia and are introduced to the sinister Count himself, yet as the story shifts to England the novel quickly runs out of steam.",
"Encounters with the undead in this novel are strickingly few, and Stoker's uninteresting male characters - who can only be told apart by their names - spend much of their time either waiting for each other or fawning over Mina and Lucy.",
"As the story progresses, the covertly sexualized relationships which develop between Mina, Lucy and Dracula become the novel's saving grace.",
"Dracula's hold on them is painted as something sinister, impure, and decidedly sensual, while the gallant chaps striving to \"rescue\" them worship them as beings of saintliness, chastity and purity (which is what any good upper-crust Victorian woman was supposed to be).",
"Are the male characters really afraid that these women will become vampires or that they will loose their \"rightful\" patriarchal control over them to a more seductive foreigner?",
"I know many will disagree with me, but as entertainment 'Dracula' is a highly over-rated work - worth reading only for it's historical significance rather than a classic in the suspense or horror genre."
] |
There are two different versions of this bra. I ordered this bra (from this page) three times in the past few months. I'm pregnant, so my chest keeps getting bigger and bigger. The first bra was a 32C. I grew out of that, so I ordered a 32D. It was exactly the same as the first one but just a little bigger in the cups. I grew out of that one, so I ordered the 32DD. This bra was completely different. The cups were MUCH larger than the 32D cups, the straps were shorter, and the band was at least an inch tighter. All three bras had the same model number, and they all said they were demi. The tags looked a little different on the third one. So there must be two different manufacturers or something. I loved the first two, but the third went right back. | 1 | neutral | [
"There are two different versions of this bra.",
"I ordered this bra (from this page) three times in the past few months.",
"I'm pregnant, so my chest keeps getting bigger and bigger.",
"The first bra was a 32C.",
"I grew out of that, so I ordered a 32D.",
"It was exactly the same as the first one but just a little bigger in the cups.",
"I grew out of that one, so I ordered the 32DD.",
"This bra was completely different.",
"The cups were MUCH larger than the 32D cups, the straps were shorter, and the band was at least an inch tighter.",
"All three bras had the same model number, and they all said they were demi.",
"The tags looked a little different on the third one.",
"So there must be two different manufacturers or something.",
"I loved the first two, but the third went right back."
] |
"Manhattan Baby" opens with an excellent prologue set in atmospheric ruins of the Egyptian pyramids. Lucio Fulci seems very at home filming these photogenic sequences which set up a rather daft story about possession via an ancient amulet. Naturally the possessed individual is an irritating child (influences of "The Exorcist"), and Fulci's reliance on his two child actors, and lots of narrative inconsistencies ultimately undoes the promise of this fine opening. Fulci's usually insane editing patterns create an immediate sense of disconnectedness and a filmic space in which time and its ever shifting progress cannot be trusted.
Unfortunately the whole thing goes downhill (as it often does in Fulci's films) when he has to deal with characters and their complex interactions. When the action moves to Manhattan, the clichés begin to pile up, the actors show their limitations and the whole thing collapses into senselessness. But fans of Lucio Fulci, of which I consider myself one don't care about these things. In fact much of the pleasure from Fulci's work derives from this lack of cohesion and sense.
But other things save "Manhattan Baby" from outright disaster. It's clear that this at one time was a very ambitious project, and Fulci struggles to realise the visual ambitions that a limited budget imposed on him. But his efforts are well worth watching. The film is also very self referential, not only too more obvious big budget productions such as "The Exorcist", "The Shining" and "The Awakening", but also too Fulci's own films. The strange alienated and empty landscape of Egypt is oddly evocative of Fulci's vision of hell in "The Beyond".
Fulci's efforts to create atmosphere necessarily lead to a film that is very light on gore (save for a particularly inventive stuffed bird attack), and the director makes little use of the potential of his Manhattan locations. Although the ancient evil which possesses the young girl is never satisfactorily explained, it does provide some nice moments involving snakes and scorpions. In conclusion this is an interesting, intriguing, but ultimately failed experiment which marked the end of Fulci's most creative and successful period. | 1 | neutral | [
"\"Manhattan Baby\" opens with an excellent prologue set in atmospheric ruins of the Egyptian pyramids.",
"Lucio Fulci seems very at home filming these photogenic sequences which set up a rather daft story about possession via an ancient amulet.",
"Naturally the possessed individual is an irritating child (influences of \"The Exorcist\"), and Fulci's reliance on his two child actors, and lots of narrative inconsistencies ultimately undoes the promise of this fine opening.",
"Fulci's usually insane editing patterns create an immediate sense of disconnectedness and a filmic space in which time and its ever shifting progress cannot be trusted.",
"Unfortunately the whole thing goes downhill (as it often does in Fulci's films) when he has to deal with characters and their complex interactions.",
"When the action moves to Manhattan, the clichés begin to pile up, the actors show their limitations and the whole thing collapses into senselessness.",
"But fans of Lucio Fulci, of which I consider myself one don't care about these things.",
"In fact much of the pleasure from Fulci's work derives from this lack of cohesion and sense.",
"But other things save \"Manhattan Baby\" from outright disaster.",
"It's clear that this at one time was a very ambitious project, and Fulci struggles to realise the visual ambitions that a limited budget imposed on him.",
"But his efforts are well worth watching.",
"The film is also very self referential, not only too more obvious big budget productions such as \"The Exorcist\", \"The Shining\" and \"The Awakening\", but also too Fulci's own films.",
"The strange alienated and empty landscape of Egypt is oddly evocative of Fulci's vision of hell in \"The Beyond\".",
"Fulci's efforts to create atmosphere necessarily lead to a film that is very light on gore (save for a particularly inventive stuffed bird attack), and the director makes little use of the potential of his Manhattan locations.",
"Although the ancient evil which possesses the young girl is never satisfactorily explained, it does provide some nice moments involving snakes and scorpions.",
"In conclusion this is an interesting, intriguing, but ultimately failed experiment which marked the end of Fulci's most creative and successful period."
] |
I bought this video more out of curiosity than out of a desire to see an excellent depiction of David.
If you're interested in a very good movie on the life of David, I recommend Turner Network Television's David (the one in the Bible series). It is the best of the 4 David movies I've seen.
This movie is OK, but seems very lacking. The production quality is average and the big hollywood style of camera works seems out of place in the movie. And, like the other reviewer, I was a little surprised by the nudity. There are two scenes. One with Michal (which is not salacious) and one with Bathsheba (which is more salacious -- but it does fit the real Biblical context, though).
As far as Biblical accuracy goes, it's not bad overall. I think it does not accurately portray Jonathan at all and I think they skipped over some critical scenes. Also, some key concepts Scripture teaches are omitted from the scene (like David's response to Goliath). The rest, though, wasn't too bad.
Still, if you're looking for a good representation, definitely pick the TNT David and not this one. | 1 | neutral | [
"I bought this video more out of curiosity than out of a desire to see an excellent depiction of David.",
"If you're interested in a very good movie on the life of David, I recommend Turner Network Television's David (the one in the Bible series).",
"It is the best of the 4 David movies I've seen.",
"This movie is OK, but seems very lacking.",
"The production quality is average and the big hollywood style of camera works seems out of place in the movie.",
"And, like the other reviewer, I was a little surprised by the nudity.",
"There are two scenes.",
"One with Michal (which is not salacious) and one with Bathsheba (which is more salacious -- but it does fit the real Biblical context, though).",
"As far as Biblical accuracy goes, it's not bad overall.",
"I think it does not accurately portray Jonathan at all and I think they skipped over some critical scenes.",
"Also, some key concepts Scripture teaches are omitted from the scene (like David's response to Goliath).",
"The rest, though, wasn't too bad.",
"Still, if you're looking for a good representation, definitely pick the TNT David and not this one."
] |
I am a Yes fan caught between two factions. I entered the Yes world at age 11 in 1984, buying a cassette of "90125" after liking "Owner Of A Lonely Heart", "Leave It" and "It Can Happen"--all Trevor Rabin penned songs. This might cause anger and disgust with older Yes fans as I am sure many of them did not/do not enjoy the Rabin-era Yes (1983-1994). I sure do, but I also liked "Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe". I think it's fair to say that most 11 year old kids were not listening to Yes, even if they were more marketable in the 1980's. Since that time I have embraced progressive rock: King Crimson, ELP, Genesis, Rush, but Yes win the title of best progressive rock band of all time in my book. I now own all of their albums, and I listened to all of them in sequential order leading up to "Fly From Here".
My first listen was jarring. Benoit David's vocals are not Jon Anderson. Trevor Horn, Chris Squire and Steve Howe cleverly mimicked Jon Anderson on 1980's "Drama", but the same is not true here. Benoit David is serviceable, but he does not have the range or depth of Jon Anderson's one-of-a-kind vocals. He also is not a primary songwriter here. This means he is singing what the band has given him. That must have been difficult. It is much harder to sing something that you did not write, and you might not feel committed to. Still, with repeated listening, Benoit David's vocals end up being fine, but in no way does it change my preference for Jon Anderson whether he has asthma or other respiratory issues or not. Whether his voice isn't the same now that he is in his late 60's or not. Jon Anderson is Jon Anderson, founding member of Yes.
I'm tired of all the talk about Trevor Horn and Geoffrey Downes resurrecting old Buggles tracks for this album. I don't care. I liked The Buggles, and I like Yes. The problem I have with the suite of "Fly From Here" that opens the album is why did the band feel they needed to make six separate parts? There was a time when Yes would boldly make 20+ minute songs, heck, they'd even make a double album of four long tracks. What happened here? Personally, I think they should have ditched the overture, "Bumpy Ride" and the reprise and just stuck with the three main tracks: "We Can Fly", "Sad Night At The Airfield" and "Madman At The Screens". These three songs combined, without any stupid segues, would have made a great singular opening track--re-asserting that Yes is back with a vengeance. But no, they divide the song up into six parts that lose focus.
The second half of "Fly From Here" is a total mess. Chris Squire's "The Man You Always Wanted Me To Be" is one of the weakest Yes songs ever made and reeks of vanity project. "Life On A Film Set" is okay, but nothing special. Surprisingly, it is Steve Howe who saves the album's second half with "Hour Of Need" which sounds like a classic Yes ballad, not unlike something Jon Anderson might come up with. Then there's Howe's instrumental "Solitaire". Much has been said about this track as being one of his finest ever. Really? I dare say that I like "Sketches In The Sun" from Howe's side project "GTR" from 1986 (I actually own it on cd, and I bought it on cassette originally in May 1986 when it was released at the tender age of 13). Lastly, "Into The Storm" finishes off the album pretty nicely. I have to admit that I didn't really notice Oliver Wakeman's input on the keyboards. I'm sure he's there, but his playing blends seamlessly like a session musician's rather than standing out. I mean, Rick Wakeman's contributions stood out. I knew he was playing. Not so for Oliver, and that may be no fault of his own, but more Horn and Squire's doing.
As other reviewers have said here, this isn't Yes' best work or worst. The guys are old now, not just older. They chose to not have Jon Anderson this time out. It's been a decade between albums (that's several generations of music listeners who are just now finding out about Yes for the first time). "Fly From Here" is passable, and does seem to get better with repeated listening. So three stars for being above average Yes.
Here's how "Fly From Here" compares with Yes' previous works:
1969 Yes: Three and a Half Stars
1970 Time And A Word: Three and a Half Stars
1971 The Yes Album: Four Stars
1971 Fragile: Five Stars
1972 Close To The Edge: Five Stars
1973 Tales From Topographic Oceans: Three and a Half Stars
1974 Relayer: Four Stars
1977 Going For The One: Three and a Half Stars
1978 Tormato: Four Stars
1980 Drama: Three and a Half Stars
1983 90125: Five Stars
1987 Big Generator: Three and a Half Stars
1989 Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe: Five Stars
1991 Union: Three Stars
1994 Talk: Four Stars
1996-1997 Keystudio: Four Stars
1997 Open Your Eyes: Two and a Half Stars
1999 The Ladder: Three and a Half Stars
2001 Magnification: Four Stars
2011 Fly From Here: Three Stars | 1 | neutral | [
"I am a Yes fan caught between two factions.",
"I entered the Yes world at age 11 in 1984, buying a cassette of \"90125\" after liking \"Owner Of A Lonely Heart\", \"Leave It\" and \"It Can Happen\"--all Trevor Rabin penned songs.",
"This might cause anger and disgust with older Yes fans as I am sure many of them did not/do not enjoy the Rabin-era Yes (1983-1994).",
"I sure do, but I also liked \"Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe\".",
"I think it's fair to say that most 11 year old kids were not listening to Yes, even if they were more marketable in the 1980's.",
"Since that time I have embraced progressive rock: King Crimson, ELP, Genesis, Rush, but Yes win the title of best progressive rock band of all time in my book.",
"I now own all of their albums, and I listened to all of them in sequential order leading up to \"Fly From Here\".",
"My first listen was jarring.",
"Benoit David's vocals are not Jon Anderson.",
"Trevor Horn, Chris Squire and Steve Howe cleverly mimicked Jon Anderson on 1980's \"Drama\", but the same is not true here.",
"Benoit David is serviceable, but he does not have the range or depth of Jon Anderson's one-of-a-kind vocals.",
"He also is not a primary songwriter here.",
"This means he is singing what the band has given him.",
"That must have been difficult.",
"It is much harder to sing something that you did not write, and you might not feel committed to.",
"Still, with repeated listening, Benoit David's vocals end up being fine, but in no way does it change my preference for Jon Anderson whether he has asthma or other respiratory issues or not.",
"Whether his voice isn't the same now that he is in his late 60's or not.",
"Jon Anderson is Jon Anderson, founding member of Yes.",
"I'm tired of all the talk about Trevor Horn and Geoffrey Downes resurrecting old Buggles tracks for this album.",
"I don't care.",
"I liked The Buggles, and I like Yes.",
"The problem I have with the suite of \"Fly From Here\" that opens the album is why did the band feel they needed to make six separate parts?",
"There was a time when Yes would boldly make 20+ minute songs, heck, they'd even make a double album of four long tracks.",
"What happened here?",
"Personally, I think they should have ditched the overture, \"Bumpy Ride\" and the reprise and just stuck with the three main tracks: \"We Can Fly\", \"Sad Night At The Airfield\" and \"Madman At The Screens\".",
"These three songs combined, without any stupid segues, would have made a great singular opening track--re-asserting that Yes is back with a vengeance.",
"But no, they divide the song up into six parts that lose focus.",
"The second half of \"Fly From Here\" is a total mess.",
"Chris Squire's \"The Man You Always Wanted Me To Be\" is one of the weakest Yes songs ever made and reeks of vanity project.",
"\"Life On A Film Set\" is okay, but nothing special.",
"Surprisingly, it is Steve Howe who saves the album's second half with \"Hour Of Need\" which sounds like a classic Yes ballad, not unlike something Jon Anderson might come up with.",
"Then there's Howe's instrumental \"Solitaire\".",
"Much has been said about this track as being one of his finest ever.",
"Really?",
"I dare say that I like \"Sketches In The Sun\" from Howe's side project \"GTR\" from 1986 (I actually own it on cd, and I bought it on cassette originally in May 1986 when it was released at the tender age of 13).",
"Lastly, \"Into The Storm\" finishes off the album pretty nicely.",
"I have to admit that I didn't really notice Oliver Wakeman's input on the keyboards.",
"I'm sure he's there, but his playing blends seamlessly like a session musician's rather than standing out.",
"I mean, Rick Wakeman's contributions stood out.",
"I knew he was playing.",
"Not so for Oliver, and that may be no fault of his own, but more Horn and Squire's doing.",
"As other reviewers have said here, this isn't Yes' best work or worst.",
"The guys are old now, not just older.",
"They chose to not have Jon Anderson this time out.",
"It's been a decade between albums (that's several generations of music listeners who are just now finding out about Yes for the first time).",
"\"Fly From Here\" is passable, and does seem to get better with repeated listening.",
"So three stars for being above average Yes.",
"Here's how \"Fly From Here\" compares with Yes' previous works:\n\n1969 Yes: Three and a Half Stars\n1970 Time And A Word: Three and a Half Stars\n1971 The Yes Album: Four Stars\n1971 Fragile: Five Stars\n1972 Close To The Edge: Five Stars\n1973 Tales From Topographic Oceans: Three and a Half Stars\n1974 Relayer: Four Stars\n1977 Going For The One: Three and a Half Stars\n1978 Tormato: Four Stars\n1980 Drama: Three and a Half Stars\n1983 90125: Five Stars\n1987 Big Generator: Three and a Half Stars\n1989 Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe: Five Stars\n1991 Union: Three Stars\n1994 Talk: Four Stars\n1996-1997 Keystudio: Four Stars\n1997 Open Your Eyes: Two and a Half Stars\n1999 The Ladder: Three and a Half Stars\n2001 Magnification: Four Stars\n2011 Fly From Here: Three Stars"
] |
Great idea. With this kitchen tool you can cut back on calories and save money by not having to buy non stick oil spray. I filled the bottle halfway with oil (do not overfill or it won't work). I pushed the cap down until I could not push it down any more. I pushed the spray nozzle and out came my oil. The mist is not as fine as I had hoped. It was more like bigger drops. Some of it dripped down front of the spray nozzle. I had a misto years ago and the spray nozzle got gunked up very quickly and no among of cleaning helped so I had to throw it out. I'm hoping this one lasts longer. | 1 | neutral | [
"Great idea.",
"With this kitchen tool you can cut back on calories and save money by not having to buy non stick oil spray.",
"I filled the bottle halfway with oil (do not overfill or it won't work).",
"I pushed the cap down until I could not push it down any more.",
"I pushed the spray nozzle and out came my oil.",
"The mist is not as fine as I had hoped.",
"It was more like bigger drops.",
"Some of it dripped down front of the spray nozzle.",
"I had a misto years ago and the spray nozzle got gunked up very quickly and no among of cleaning helped so I had to throw it out.",
"I'm hoping this one lasts longer."
] |
"The Ultimate Computer" is a so-so entry, with more to recommend it than not, and "The Omega Glory" is - frankly - laughably bad, one of the worst scripts seen in the entire series.
William Marshall is Dr. Daystrom, "The Ultimate Computer"'s creator, whose title device is intended to replace an entire starship crew and fulfill all of their functions with far greater efficiency. Unfortunately, Daystrom's genius comes largely from the fact that he was a social outcast, and the computer's mind is programmed directly from his own engrams. The result: something out of Stanley Kubrick's worst nightmare, with a dangerously schizoid personality and weaponry out the wazoo. Commodore Wesley (Barry Russo), the commander of the lead starship engaged in war games with Daystrom's mad alter-ego, has to make a decision as to whether or not to terminate the homicidal hardware - and Kirk and Company, reduced to prisoners on board their own ship, have to find a way to help him, or they'll die with the killer computer. Marshall is quite compelling in the role of the computer's creator, but the episode is otherwise fairly undistinguished.
"The Omega Glory" is perhaps the most absurdly propagandistic script to have emerged in any medium during the Cold War. Morgan Woodward gives a wonderfully intense performance as Captain Ronald Tracy, a Starfleet commander gone mad as the sole survivor of a plague that devastated his crew - Tracy accidentally gained immunity by taking up residence on the planet from which the plague originated, where he must now remain or die. While there, Tracy discovers Starfleet's superior weaponry is worthwhile in establishing himself as a king among a primitive tribe called the Comms, who war with a neighboring tribe called the Yangs - who turn out to be direct Earth parallels of the "Comm"unists and the "Yang"kees, with the Yangs even saying the U.S. pledge of allegiance. Spock is seen as the devil because his pointed ears look like Satan's in the Yang "Sacred Book" (yes, they also have our Bible). Yeah, you don't have to say it - it's pretty stupid to me, too. | 1 | neutral | [
"\"The Ultimate Computer\" is a so-so entry, with more to recommend it than not, and \"The Omega Glory\" is - frankly - laughably bad, one of the worst scripts seen in the entire series.",
"William Marshall is Dr.",
"Daystrom, \"The Ultimate Computer\"'s creator, whose title device is intended to replace an entire starship crew and fulfill all of their functions with far greater efficiency.",
"Unfortunately, Daystrom's genius comes largely from the fact that he was a social outcast, and the computer's mind is programmed directly from his own engrams.",
"The result: something out of Stanley Kubrick's worst nightmare, with a dangerously schizoid personality and weaponry out the wazoo.",
"Commodore Wesley (Barry Russo), the commander of the lead starship engaged in war games with Daystrom's mad alter-ego, has to make a decision as to whether or not to terminate the homicidal hardware - and Kirk and Company, reduced to prisoners on board their own ship, have to find a way to help him, or they'll die with the killer computer.",
"Marshall is quite compelling in the role of the computer's creator, but the episode is otherwise fairly undistinguished.",
"\"The Omega Glory\" is perhaps the most absurdly propagandistic script to have emerged in any medium during the Cold War.",
"Morgan Woodward gives a wonderfully intense performance as Captain Ronald Tracy, a Starfleet commander gone mad as the sole survivor of a plague that devastated his crew - Tracy accidentally gained immunity by taking up residence on the planet from which the plague originated, where he must now remain or die.",
"While there, Tracy discovers Starfleet's superior weaponry is worthwhile in establishing himself as a king among a primitive tribe called the Comms, who war with a neighboring tribe called the Yangs - who turn out to be direct Earth parallels of the \"Comm\"unists and the \"Yang\"kees, with the Yangs even saying the U.",
"S. pledge of allegiance.",
"Spock is seen as the devil because his pointed ears look like Satan's in the Yang \"Sacred Book\" (yes, they also have our Bible).",
"Yeah, you don't have to say it - it's pretty stupid to me, too."
] |
While there are many things in this recording of Mahler 3 with Bernstein and New York I admire, there are times the orchestra doesn't sound comfortable and it shows. At times balance or ensemble problems occur. Part of this might be do to Bernstein's style of conducting. He gives a very volatile account of this great symphony. Most of it works, though some parts, mainly in the first movement don't seem to hold water.
The orchestra plays fairly well, but at times there is a lack of subtley in the brass. The trombone solo on the surface is very impressive, but dig alittle deeper and it seems the solo is more of a display piece rather than part of the symphony. The horns at time have trouble make their mark when they need to and get lost in the textures of the orchestra. The New York Phil horn sound has always been rather heavy and muddy tending to get lost.
The posthorn solo in the 3rd movement is very good however. Phil Smith does an excellant job...its one of the highlights of the recording. The other highlight is the great Christa Ludwig...she as always is on fine form and her sing is nothing less then beatiful.
As a whole however I'd say go with Haitink/BPO if you can find it...the best playing I've heard in this symphony. They amaze as always. The other choices would be Maazel or Abbado, both with the Vienna Philharmonic...also on fine form
As a whole the Bernstein/NYPO doesn't quite make the final cut. | 1 | neutral | [
"While there are many things in this recording of Mahler 3 with Bernstein and New York I admire, there are times the orchestra doesn't sound comfortable and it shows.",
"At times balance or ensemble problems occur.",
"Part of this might be do to Bernstein's style of conducting.",
"He gives a very volatile account of this great symphony.",
"Most of it works, though some parts, mainly in the first movement don't seem to hold water.",
"The orchestra plays fairly well, but at times there is a lack of subtley in the brass.",
"The trombone solo on the surface is very impressive, but dig alittle deeper and it seems the solo is more of a display piece rather than part of the symphony.",
"The horns at time have trouble make their mark when they need to and get lost in the textures of the orchestra.",
"The New York Phil horn sound has always been rather heavy and muddy tending to get lost.",
"The posthorn solo in the 3rd movement is very good however.",
"Phil Smith does an excellant job...",
"its one of the highlights of the recording.",
"The other highlight is the great Christa Ludwig...",
"she as always is on fine form and her sing is nothing less then beatiful.",
"As a whole however I'd say go with Haitink/BPO if you can find it...",
"the best playing I've heard in this symphony.",
"They amaze as always.",
"The other choices would be Maazel or Abbado, both with the Vienna Philharmonic...",
"also on fine form\nAs a whole the Bernstein/NYPO doesn't quite make the final cut."
] |
The only real problem with installing Rhem wasn't so much the CD-ROM, but the Mac OS X patch you can get from Got Game. It turns out that there are a lot of little .bins you have to open as well.
If you're looking for the kind of fantastic architecture and breath-taking scenery you might find in Myst or the Riddle of the Sphinx series, you probably won't like Rhem. It's basically an abandoned pumping station you have to escape. (Unfortunately, it's never explained just WHY you would steal a railcar to come to Rhem.) The buildings are designed purely for function. Apparently, this is more of a set-up for Rhem 2 (which, from what I've seen at the Got Game website, has much better graphics), as it raises more questions than it answers.
Some of the clues don't make sense within what little of a story it has. You'll find a lot of clues at the beginning that won't be useful until much later in the game, and you have to solve one puzzle before you can even GET to the others. I've always felt that a game should be both challenging AND logical. Some of the logic is lacking here.
If nothing else, it's a good diversion on a rainy afternoon, but it won't blow your mind. | 1 | neutral | [
"The only real problem with installing Rhem wasn't so much the CD-ROM, but the Mac OS X patch you can get from Got Game.",
"It turns out that there are a lot of little.",
"bins you have to open as well.",
"If you're looking for the kind of fantastic architecture and breath-taking scenery you might find in Myst or the Riddle of the Sphinx series, you probably won't like Rhem.",
"It's basically an abandoned pumping station you have to escape.",
"(Unfortunately, it's never explained just WHY you would steal a railcar to come to Rhem.",
") The buildings are designed purely for function.",
"Apparently, this is more of a set-up for Rhem 2 (which, from what I've seen at the Got Game website, has much better graphics), as it raises more questions than it answers.",
"Some of the clues don't make sense within what little of a story it has.",
"You'll find a lot of clues at the beginning that won't be useful until much later in the game, and you have to solve one puzzle before you can even GET to the others.",
"I've always felt that a game should be both challenging AND logical.",
"Some of the logic is lacking here.",
"If nothing else, it's a good diversion on a rainy afternoon, but it won't blow your mind."
] |
Edit: After owning this ring for 2 weeks, I had to go update my review. I still love the ring design and price point. However, as I noted in my original review, I have bad metal allergies. This is not pure stainless steel. I have other stainless steel jewelry that I can wear for days on end with no issues. I wore this ring several days in a row, removing it at night, and I began breaking out from where the metal was in contact with my finger. I'm not sure if it is the antiquing or if the steel is plated to make it a shinier silver. Whatever it is, it is definitely not pure stainless steel. Such a shame. At least I can wear this once in a while when I need a nicer looking ring. I have bad metal allergies and can only safely wear a few metals, making jewelry nearly impossible to find. Stainless steel is one of my few safe metals, so I have been searching for more right hand rings in steel. I decided to try this ring as I love roses and this fit my simplistic style well. I just got it tonight and love it. I ordered a 7, and it is a perfect fit. It has a low profile to my finger. I wear it with the vine to the top of my hand, and even still it goes almost from my middle joint to my top knuckle. It stays put well and doesn't slide around. And it has a very solid feel to it. It does not look like a $10 ring at all, but it was worth the price. | 1 | neutral | [
"Edit: After owning this ring for 2 weeks, I had to go update my review.",
"I still love the ring design and price point.",
"However, as I noted in my original review, I have bad metal allergies.",
"This is not pure stainless steel.",
"I have other stainless steel jewelry that I can wear for days on end with no issues.",
"I wore this ring several days in a row, removing it at night, and I began breaking out from where the metal was in contact with my finger.",
"I'm not sure if it is the antiquing or if the steel is plated to make it a shinier silver.",
"Whatever it is, it is definitely not pure stainless steel.",
"Such a shame.",
"At least I can wear this once in a while when I need a nicer looking ring.",
"I have bad metal allergies and can only safely wear a few metals, making jewelry nearly impossible to find.",
"Stainless steel is one of my few safe metals, so I have been searching for more right hand rings in steel.",
"I decided to try this ring as I love roses and this fit my simplistic style well.",
"I just got it tonight and love it.",
"I ordered a 7, and it is a perfect fit.",
"It has a low profile to my finger.",
"I wear it with the vine to the top of my hand, and even still it goes almost from my middle joint to my top knuckle.",
"It stays put well and doesn't slide around.",
"And it has a very solid feel to it.",
"It does not look like a $10 ring at all, but it was worth the price."
] |
I remember when I was a teenager and The Spice Girls were huge and I was in love with Geri `Sexy Spice' Halliwell. Yes, as a young teen (like pre-teen actually), I was infatuated with what the Spice Girls represented; strong, carefree women who were slinking and lovely to look at, and listen to. My friends and I listened to `Spice' on repeat for months and yes, we sang along with our favorite girls (the ones we fantasized about actually having a shot with).
The funny thing is that for many, The Spice Girls were a fad that they couldn't wait to watch fizzle out. They were a joke to music snobs who thought that the gimmick was all that tied these girls to the airwaves. Sadly, many wrote them off, but thankfully their loyal fans kept them alive (and continue to keep them relevant despite them all moving on). Yes, The Spice Girls are the biggest selling girl group in the world, and it's actually pretty easy to understand why. They were a phenomenon, much in the same vein as The Beetles were (seriously, I'm not joking), and while talent cannot be compared, one should not begrudge these five women the respect they've earned.
On top of that, `Spice' was a really good album.
With their sophomore album, The Spice Girls serves up a lot of the same things that made their debut work so well. With Motown influences (`Stop') and funky disco beats (`Spice Up Your Life') along with the slinky sensuality (`Too Much') that made them an unstoppable force, `Spiceworld' gives us more reasons to adore these five ladies. Sadly, the album is not as strong a collection as `Spice' was, and some of the more commercial toned tracks are truly dated, unlike the more ageless style of `Spice'. I still think of them every time I drink a Pepsi thanks to `Move Over'. The highlight of the album may actually be `Viva Forever', thanks to the Spanish vibe and slinky personality.
No, The Spice Girls were the best group to hit the airwaves in the 90's, but they are probably the most memorable and not only because of their outlandish personalities and media obsessed celebrity. No, if you actually take a minute to really LISTEN to their music you'll see that they were smart women who could not only sing, but they could sell what they were singing. | 1 | neutral | [
"I remember when I was a teenager and The Spice Girls were huge and I was in love with Geri `Sexy Spice' Halliwell.",
"Yes, as a young teen (like pre-teen actually), I was infatuated with what the Spice Girls represented; strong, carefree women who were slinking and lovely to look at, and listen to.",
"My friends and I listened to `Spice' on repeat for months and yes, we sang along with our favorite girls (the ones we fantasized about actually having a shot with).",
"The funny thing is that for many, The Spice Girls were a fad that they couldn't wait to watch fizzle out.",
"They were a joke to music snobs who thought that the gimmick was all that tied these girls to the airwaves.",
"Sadly, many wrote them off, but thankfully their loyal fans kept them alive (and continue to keep them relevant despite them all moving on).",
"Yes, The Spice Girls are the biggest selling girl group in the world, and it's actually pretty easy to understand why.",
"They were a phenomenon, much in the same vein as The Beetles were (seriously, I'm not joking), and while talent cannot be compared, one should not begrudge these five women the respect they've earned.",
"On top of that, `Spice' was a really good album.",
"With their sophomore album, The Spice Girls serves up a lot of the same things that made their debut work so well.",
"With Motown influences (`Stop') and funky disco beats (`Spice Up Your Life') along with the slinky sensuality (`Too Much') that made them an unstoppable force, `Spiceworld' gives us more reasons to adore these five ladies.",
"Sadly, the album is not as strong a collection as `Spice' was, and some of the more commercial toned tracks are truly dated, unlike the more ageless style of `Spice'.",
"I still think of them every time I drink a Pepsi thanks to `Move Over'.",
"The highlight of the album may actually be `Viva Forever', thanks to the Spanish vibe and slinky personality.",
"No, The Spice Girls were the best group to hit the airwaves in the 90's, but they are probably the most memorable and not only because of their outlandish personalities and media obsessed celebrity.",
"No, if you actually take a minute to really LISTEN to their music you'll see that they were smart women who could not only sing, but they could sell what they were singing."
] |
First let me disclaim: I'm not normally a food critic. I go by the tip of my tongue, per se, when determining if I like or dislike something... I cook ground beef or out of the box because I don't get too fancy in the kitchen... So consider this the review for guys and kids who hate cooking.
The taste was decent. Kind of like a spice-lacking mango goo sauce on top of the meat. I didn't mind because it did add some flavor to the taste but I can't really picture anything that would go well with my meat mango solution. That is, if it were spicy like the ingredients make the stuff sound it likely would go well with some mexican food or chips while watching a game on TV. Instead it's kind of a sit alone meal without really too many things I can think of that could compliment it.
If you're into fancy gormet dinners this may add some flavor to your side dish that may go well with some of those dinners... If you just want something to add to a dish at a party or for a quick side dish I don't suggest it. | 1 | neutral | [
"First let me disclaim: I'm not normally a food critic.",
"I go by the tip of my tongue, per se, when determining if I like or dislike something...",
"I cook ground beef or out of the box because I don't get too fancy in the kitchen...",
"So consider this the review for guys and kids who hate cooking.",
"The taste was decent.",
"Kind of like a spice-lacking mango goo sauce on top of the meat.",
"I didn't mind because it did add some flavor to the taste but I can't really picture anything that would go well with my meat mango solution.",
"That is, if it were spicy like the ingredients make the stuff sound it likely would go well with some mexican food or chips while watching a game on TV.",
"Instead it's kind of a sit alone meal without really too many things I can think of that could compliment it.",
"If you're into fancy gormet dinners this may add some flavor to your side dish that may go well with some of those dinners...",
"If you just want something to add to a dish at a party or for a quick side dish I don't suggest it."
] |
I've been buying these perches for years for my Sun Conure who is 12 now. I keep one outside his cage so he has a place to land while flying around the room. It's become his "go to" spot during the day and he really loves it.
As another reviewer advised, buying them in the store is better and I have to agree. Ordering them online can be a grab bag for the quality of what you'll get. They usually last about a year for me before starting to sink down from the bird landing on it over and over. But sometimes, i'll get a bad one that starts to sink down after only a week, as the latest one I ordered is doing.
I've attached a picture to show how it's already starting to sink low and within another week, it's going to be a few inches lower to where it is in the picture and rendered useless and in the trash.
For some reason, the quality of these perches is better when purchased in the store. I usually go to the ones that begin with a P...(not sure if I can say the names here). They ARE wonderful perches, just I recommend getting them in the store where you can inspect it before purchasing. | 1 | neutral | [
"I've been buying these perches for years for my Sun Conure who is 12 now.",
"I keep one outside his cage so he has a place to land while flying around the room.",
"It's become his \"go to\" spot during the day and he really loves it.",
"As another reviewer advised, buying them in the store is better and I have to agree.",
"Ordering them online can be a grab bag for the quality of what you'll get.",
"They usually last about a year for me before starting to sink down from the bird landing on it over and over.",
"But sometimes, i'll get a bad one that starts to sink down after only a week, as the latest one I ordered is doing.",
"I've attached a picture to show how it's already starting to sink low and within another week, it's going to be a few inches lower to where it is in the picture and rendered useless and in the trash.",
"For some reason, the quality of these perches is better when purchased in the store.",
"I usually go to the ones that begin with a P...",
"(not sure if I can say the names here).",
"They ARE wonderful perches, just I recommend getting them in the store where you can inspect it before purchasing."
] |
This Half-Life Anthology is hard to judge. There are a bunch of problems with the game, which due to my lack of experience with the series, I don't know whether to pin on Half-Life the game or this particular Anthology version.
I'm a little perplexed by all the overwhelmingly positive reviews of the original Half-Life. I see "great story," "revolutionary," "intense action," and I can't really say I agree. While the beginning and end of the game are unusually dramatic for an action game, there is essentially no storyline in between the bookends. Every level is a series of trials to enter another doorway, to talk to another NPC, who will direct you to another doorway. In essence, the plotine of the game mirrored every other action game I've played. I grew pretty tired of the repetitive nature of the quest.
Half-Life's saving grace is the action, which is nearly always white-knuckled excitement, but yet not always fun. Valve did a great job with enemy placement and creative combinations of repetitive environmental objects. The marine AI is amazing, and still puts many modern shooters to shame. Unfortunately Valve had no qualms over using cheap instant-death traps to inflate the difficulty level. Nearly every scenario includes one or two improbable enemy placements, infinite enemy respawn points, or unpredictable roof collapses, necessitating quicksaves between every encounter. I really don't appreciate that kind of level design.
The weapons look and sound intense, and are easily the best visual feature of the game. Charcter models, particularly enemies, are well detailed and move fluidly. The rest of the game is hideous. Even giving it a ten-year grade cushion, the graphics of Half-Life's environments are ugly to the point of hampering gameplay. Critical buttons and switches are often obscured by the muddy low-res detail of consoles and panels. On more than one occasion, I thought a critical door switch was an eye chart or a Dominos pizza box tossed against the wall.
While weapons aiming is very accurate, there's not much more about the game's movement engine I can compliment. Protagonist Gordon Freeman moves too quickly at the default rate, and slides too much when attempting to stop. Even by the game's end, i couldn't get comfortable moving him on tricky surfaces or sneaking up on enemies. And the thankfully infrequent platforming parts of the game are brutal. Even climbing and descending a simple ladder was a continual excercise in frustration for me. Basically, I enjoyed shooting stuff but not moving my clumsy oaf of a character.
Most disturbing to me were the number of glitches I encountered playing Half-Life. Weapon animations would cut out, or doors refuse to respond to my prompt so often that I began to suspect something wrong with the code in this Anthology version. And I experience scripted sequence failures on at least four or five occasions that halted my progress. Without cheat codes, I couldn't have finished the game.
So, I can easily see why people went nuts over the original Half-Life when first introduced. Perhaps it was the stellar multiplayer mode that made so many people overlook the weakness of the singleplayer storyline. Unfortunately, the above problems along with the intrusive and annoying Steam service lead me to belive that this Anthology is simply not the preferable version of Half-Life to be played. | 1 | neutral | [
"This Half-Life Anthology is hard to judge.",
"There are a bunch of problems with the game, which due to my lack of experience with the series, I don't know whether to pin on Half-Life the game or this particular Anthology version.",
"I'm a little perplexed by all the overwhelmingly positive reviews of the original Half-Life.",
"I see \"great story,\" \"revolutionary,\" \"intense action,\" and I can't really say I agree.",
"While the beginning and end of the game are unusually dramatic for an action game, there is essentially no storyline in between the bookends.",
"Every level is a series of trials to enter another doorway, to talk to another NPC, who will direct you to another doorway.",
"In essence, the plotine of the game mirrored every other action game I've played.",
"I grew pretty tired of the repetitive nature of the quest.",
"Half-Life's saving grace is the action, which is nearly always white-knuckled excitement, but yet not always fun.",
"Valve did a great job with enemy placement and creative combinations of repetitive environmental objects.",
"The marine AI is amazing, and still puts many modern shooters to shame.",
"Unfortunately Valve had no qualms over using cheap instant-death traps to inflate the difficulty level.",
"Nearly every scenario includes one or two improbable enemy placements, infinite enemy respawn points, or unpredictable roof collapses, necessitating quicksaves between every encounter.",
"I really don't appreciate that kind of level design.",
"The weapons look and sound intense, and are easily the best visual feature of the game.",
"Charcter models, particularly enemies, are well detailed and move fluidly.",
"The rest of the game is hideous.",
"Even giving it a ten-year grade cushion, the graphics of Half-Life's environments are ugly to the point of hampering gameplay.",
"Critical buttons and switches are often obscured by the muddy low-res detail of consoles and panels.",
"On more than one occasion, I thought a critical door switch was an eye chart or a Dominos pizza box tossed against the wall.",
"While weapons aiming is very accurate, there's not much more about the game's movement engine I can compliment.",
"Protagonist Gordon Freeman moves too quickly at the default rate, and slides too much when attempting to stop.",
"Even by the game's end, i couldn't get comfortable moving him on tricky surfaces or sneaking up on enemies.",
"And the thankfully infrequent platforming parts of the game are brutal.",
"Even climbing and descending a simple ladder was a continual excercise in frustration for me.",
"Basically, I enjoyed shooting stuff but not moving my clumsy oaf of a character.",
"Most disturbing to me were the number of glitches I encountered playing Half-Life.",
"Weapon animations would cut out, or doors refuse to respond to my prompt so often that I began to suspect something wrong with the code in this Anthology version.",
"And I experience scripted sequence failures on at least four or five occasions that halted my progress.",
"Without cheat codes, I couldn't have finished the game.",
"So, I can easily see why people went nuts over the original Half-Life when first introduced.",
"Perhaps it was the stellar multiplayer mode that made so many people overlook the weakness of the singleplayer storyline.",
"Unfortunately, the above problems along with the intrusive and annoying Steam service lead me to belive that this Anthology is simply not the preferable version of Half-Life to be played."
] |
I have mixed feelings with this Rush album. Yes, it has some good moments, but I don't think they *quite* found their songwriting style yet. Or actually, they DID find it, and used it very well on the Fly By Night album, but for this album the band members wanted to experiment with the progressive rock movement going on at the time, and on for the time being they didn't quite find a way to mix hard rock or pop rock with prog. That would soon change though with their next album.
I think my biggest problem with this album is how the pop songs aren't quite as memorable as they should be, and the prog rock songs aren't as involved and imaginative as they should be either. So basically the band must have been lacking the urge to write memorable songs or just concentrated too hard on the prog pieces, and weren't able to approach the pop songs (such as "Lakeside Park") the right way. It's still a good song though, but almost feels tired. A band that was still relatively new at this point in their career shouldn't feel tired, but that's the feeling I get when listening to it.
Despite that, "Bastille Day" is a GREAT rocker. I love that song. And there's some good moments in "The Fountain of Lamneth". I can really do without that one guitar riff repeating over and over though. It seems to appear more often than it should. Some of the more quiet singing moments are really emotional though. It's just that the whole piece doesn't flow as well as Rush would make them flow on subsequent releases.
Overall, worth getting, but not before picking up Fly By Night and A Farewell to Kings first. | 1 | neutral | [
"I have mixed feelings with this Rush album.",
"Yes, it has some good moments, but I don't think they *quite* found their songwriting style yet.",
"Or actually, they DID find it, and used it very well on the Fly By Night album, but for this album the band members wanted to experiment with the progressive rock movement going on at the time, and on for the time being they didn't quite find a way to mix hard rock or pop rock with prog.",
"That would soon change though with their next album.",
"I think my biggest problem with this album is how the pop songs aren't quite as memorable as they should be, and the prog rock songs aren't as involved and imaginative as they should be either.",
"So basically the band must have been lacking the urge to write memorable songs or just concentrated too hard on the prog pieces, and weren't able to approach the pop songs (such as \"Lakeside Park\") the right way.",
"It's still a good song though, but almost feels tired.",
"A band that was still relatively new at this point in their career shouldn't feel tired, but that's the feeling I get when listening to it.",
"Despite that, \"Bastille Day\" is a GREAT rocker.",
"I love that song.",
"And there's some good moments in \"The Fountain of Lamneth\".",
"I can really do without that one guitar riff repeating over and over though.",
"It seems to appear more often than it should.",
"Some of the more quiet singing moments are really emotional though.",
"It's just that the whole piece doesn't flow as well as Rush would make them flow on subsequent releases.",
"Overall, worth getting, but not before picking up Fly By Night and A Farewell to Kings first."
] |
The first Xenosaga, while not as epic or involving as the original Xenogears, was still an incredible RPG by any standards. What made it so great was not just the story, but an extremely entertaining combat model, strong voice acting, character designs with faces which could display a full range of emotions, and excellent cut-scene direction. This latter was especially important because of the dozen or so hours players spent watching them. Xenosaga: Episode II has simply removed all of the above-mentioned things and replaced them with mediocrity.
First off, I like the new character designs in theory. What I mean is, I disliked the huge-eyed anime style of the first game because the characters didn't look human, so it was harder to empathize. However, the new characters are almost incapable of emoting. In truth, the technology is apparantly there, since faces do show emotion in a handful of scenes (such as Jr. and Shion's tearful reminisinces or Albedo's disturbing rage). But most scenes are, of course, filled with more subtle and nuanced character interaction, which falls flat due to the placid death-masks most characters seem to wear.
Character dialogue also falters in a number of other areas, including the voice-acting itself. It should be mentioned that all of the voices are different this time around. In some cases (Chaos, Jin) the change is good; in some (KOS-MOS, MOMO) bad; and in some barely noticeable (Ziggy, Jr.). This happens in the game industry, and is nothing to complain about. The only problem comes from Shion. Her voice and voice-acting are fine, but her character is so different from the previous game as to be unrecognizable. I'm not merely speaking of her new penchant for low-rider jeans- her entire personality is different from top to bottom. The old Shion was in control, but slightly geeky and had, frankly, more maturity. She was not "cool", but she was endearing. The new one is bossy and sometimes obnoxious (in the way she treats Allen- "Be a man!"), far, far more 'empowered' and 'liberated', and too hip. In short, they are complete opposites. Whichever one the designers want to use in the story is fine, but it needs to be consistent. When Shion was designed one way for Episode I, it's too late to make a change. She should stay the same throughout the series. This is especially true when, as in Episode II, the new game takes place literally 5 minutes after the end of the first, hardly leaving time for experience to have drastically changed the character.
Next, the scenes are very poorly directed this time out, with a bit of the meaningless dialogue seen in the Star Ocean series. This is limited and wouldn't be a problem but for two things: First, we learn almost nothing in this game. The few 'revelations' were either already obvious, or covered before, in Episode I, making most of the dialogue extraneous. Second, like in so many other games, the actors' lines were clearly recorded separately and one at a time, leaving them to be spliced together by the editors. This may make it easier on game designers but it is an awful and jarring way to produce a cut-scene. Due to load times, every character has unnaturally long pauses before reacting to others, generally killing the drama and making the game appear unprofessional. Because this is so common in games I normally don't think about it, but Xenosaga: Episode I had excellent cut-scenes, obviously recorded in chunks, to avoid this problem.
Finally, the music was poor. The original had a sweeping, epic, orchestral soundtrack. Now, when a designer has the London Philharmonic Orchestra recording for his game (Xenosaga: Episode I), he normally doesn't tell them "No thanks, we've decided to go a different way" when making the sequel. This is exactly what happened with Namco, unfortunately. Instead, Episode II has an abundance of bouncy retro-techno-style music filling every scene. When I first heard the soundtrack in the city of Second Miltia (on of the first locations in the game) I immediately thought of Mega Man for the NES. That feeling didn't go away for the rest of the game. Furthermore, most of this upbeat music is grossly inappropriate for the locations the characters visit and the mood of the story. When the heroes are about to enter the final dungeon, we still hear the grating, fast-paced techno-beat of the Elsa in the background.
Now to the actual gameplay:
The battle system is entirely new and far more complicated. This is both good and bad. The good side is that, for once, an RPG actually has an element of strategy to it. The player MUST have a firm grip of the battle system to be victorious, even when they grossly out-level the enemy. The down-side is that it takes a long time for even minor battles, and most can't be avoided, despite seeing the enemies on the map-screen. This is because the enemies tend to stand on narrow pathways, blocking the entire thing. By the end of the game I was really tired of the fights and just couldn't wait to get it over with. I missed the addictive battle system from the first game, but I nonetheless think this one has some real promise. Perhaps future installments can mix the two, or use a more strategy-oriented approach only for bosses.
Otherwise, the gameplay should be familiar to veterans of the first game. There is still no world map, but the Elsa can fly to any friendly location (of which there are only two) during the second half of the game. The Encephalon also reappears and is quite a bit more useful, even necessary, this time because of the side-quests.
Speaking of side-quests, there are countless extra jobs to complete, and no intuitive way for figuring out where to get them or how to complete them in most cases. I just used an online guide to save myself some frustration. Even if you know how to do them perfectly, they still take a long time, mostly spent backtracking across the urban areas trying to find some obscure citizen or other.
In short, the only improvement in this game is the art style- and even that doesn't extend to the animation, which is much poorer than in the original. The game is short. I completed everything (including all side-quests, segment doors, and optional bosses) in less than 40 game-clocked hours. Going straight through to the final boss with a minimal amount of side-quests wouldn't take even 20. Frankly, I'd like to see a much bigger game. This one took two DVDs, and I can't figure out what used all that space.
Xenosaga: Episode II is only part of a much larger series. Since Xenogears was billed as episode 5 of 6, it's possible (despite Namco not having the rights to Xenogears) that these series are one in the same. If that's the case, at this rate, it will take all 5 additional episodes to match the size, scope and theme of the original Xenogears. Here's hoping they pick up the pace. | 1 | neutral | [
"The first Xenosaga, while not as epic or involving as the original Xenogears, was still an incredible RPG by any standards.",
"What made it so great was not just the story, but an extremely entertaining combat model, strong voice acting, character designs with faces which could display a full range of emotions, and excellent cut-scene direction.",
"This latter was especially important because of the dozen or so hours players spent watching them.",
"Xenosaga: Episode II has simply removed all of the above-mentioned things and replaced them with mediocrity.",
"First off, I like the new character designs in theory.",
"What I mean is, I disliked the huge-eyed anime style of the first game because the characters didn't look human, so it was harder to empathize.",
"However, the new characters are almost incapable of emoting.",
"In truth, the technology is apparantly there, since faces do show emotion in a handful of scenes (such as Jr.",
"and Shion's tearful reminisinces or Albedo's disturbing rage).",
"But most scenes are, of course, filled with more subtle and nuanced character interaction, which falls flat due to the placid death-masks most characters seem to wear.",
"Character dialogue also falters in a number of other areas, including the voice-acting itself.",
"It should be mentioned that all of the voices are different this time around.",
"In some cases (Chaos, Jin) the change is good; in some (KOS-MOS, MOMO) bad; and in some barely noticeable (Ziggy, Jr.",
").",
"This happens in the game industry, and is nothing to complain about.",
"The only problem comes from Shion.",
"Her voice and voice-acting are fine, but her character is so different from the previous game as to be unrecognizable.",
"I'm not merely speaking of her new penchant for low-rider jeans- her entire personality is different from top to bottom.",
"The old Shion was in control, but slightly geeky and had, frankly, more maturity.",
"She was not \"cool\", but she was endearing.",
"The new one is bossy and sometimes obnoxious (in the way she treats Allen- \"Be a man!",
"\"), far, far more 'empowered' and 'liberated', and too hip.",
"In short, they are complete opposites.",
"Whichever one the designers want to use in the story is fine, but it needs to be consistent.",
"When Shion was designed one way for Episode I, it's too late to make a change.",
"She should stay the same throughout the series.",
"This is especially true when, as in Episode II, the new game takes place literally 5 minutes after the end of the first, hardly leaving time for experience to have drastically changed the character.",
"Next, the scenes are very poorly directed this time out, with a bit of the meaningless dialogue seen in the Star Ocean series.",
"This is limited and wouldn't be a problem but for two things: First, we learn almost nothing in this game.",
"The few 'revelations' were either already obvious, or covered before, in Episode I, making most of the dialogue extraneous.",
"Second, like in so many other games, the actors' lines were clearly recorded separately and one at a time, leaving them to be spliced together by the editors.",
"This may make it easier on game designers but it is an awful and jarring way to produce a cut-scene.",
"Due to load times, every character has unnaturally long pauses before reacting to others, generally killing the drama and making the game appear unprofessional.",
"Because this is so common in games I normally don't think about it, but Xenosaga: Episode I had excellent cut-scenes, obviously recorded in chunks, to avoid this problem.",
"Finally, the music was poor.",
"The original had a sweeping, epic, orchestral soundtrack.",
"Now, when a designer has the London Philharmonic Orchestra recording for his game (Xenosaga: Episode I), he normally doesn't tell them \"No thanks, we've decided to go a different way\" when making the sequel.",
"This is exactly what happened with Namco, unfortunately.",
"Instead, Episode II has an abundance of bouncy retro-techno-style music filling every scene.",
"When I first heard the soundtrack in the city of Second Miltia (on of the first locations in the game) I immediately thought of Mega Man for the NES.",
"That feeling didn't go away for the rest of the game.",
"Furthermore, most of this upbeat music is grossly inappropriate for the locations the characters visit and the mood of the story.",
"When the heroes are about to enter the final dungeon, we still hear the grating, fast-paced techno-beat of the Elsa in the background.",
"Now to the actual gameplay:\n\nThe battle system is entirely new and far more complicated.",
"This is both good and bad.",
"The good side is that, for once, an RPG actually has an element of strategy to it.",
"The player MUST have a firm grip of the battle system to be victorious, even when they grossly out-level the enemy.",
"The down-side is that it takes a long time for even minor battles, and most can't be avoided, despite seeing the enemies on the map-screen.",
"This is because the enemies tend to stand on narrow pathways, blocking the entire thing.",
"By the end of the game I was really tired of the fights and just couldn't wait to get it over with.",
"I missed the addictive battle system from the first game, but I nonetheless think this one has some real promise.",
"Perhaps future installments can mix the two, or use a more strategy-oriented approach only for bosses.",
"Otherwise, the gameplay should be familiar to veterans of the first game.",
"There is still no world map, but the Elsa can fly to any friendly location (of which there are only two) during the second half of the game.",
"The Encephalon also reappears and is quite a bit more useful, even necessary, this time because of the side-quests.",
"Speaking of side-quests, there are countless extra jobs to complete, and no intuitive way for figuring out where to get them or how to complete them in most cases.",
"I just used an online guide to save myself some frustration.",
"Even if you know how to do them perfectly, they still take a long time, mostly spent backtracking across the urban areas trying to find some obscure citizen or other.",
"In short, the only improvement in this game is the art style- and even that doesn't extend to the animation, which is much poorer than in the original.",
"The game is short.",
"I completed everything (including all side-quests, segment doors, and optional bosses) in less than 40 game-clocked hours.",
"Going straight through to the final boss with a minimal amount of side-quests wouldn't take even 20.",
"Frankly, I'd like to see a much bigger game.",
"This one took two DVDs, and I can't figure out what used all that space.",
"Xenosaga: Episode II is only part of a much larger series.",
"Since Xenogears was billed as episode 5 of 6, it's possible (despite Namco not having the rights to Xenogears) that these series are one in the same.",
"If that's the case, at this rate, it will take all 5 additional episodes to match the size, scope and theme of the original Xenogears.",
"Here's hoping they pick up the pace."
] |
THE MERMAIDS SINGING is the first of three novels that introduces the team of Detective Sergeant Carol Jordan and profiler Tony Hill. Dr. Hill leads the National Criminal Task Force and together working with DS Jordan they are going to investigate a series of torture murders occurring in the northern town of Bradfield.
The author lets us go inside the serial killer's psyche by starting each chapter of the book with a sample of the murderer's diary. It might have been insightful for the book's readers were it not for Hill's analytical reports. McDermid provides all the excruciating details of the Doctor's writing as it is being presented to the cops investigating the case. Were it not for Val McDermid's other superb novels, one might be turned off by this book.
As a whole, the book is slightly above average. The author does a good job with her characterization of Carol Jordan and Tony Hill making us wish for more. They both have some issues that the author develops well. The mystery was good while it started but the ending seemed to be abrupt and anticlimactic. Hopefully, THE WIRE IN THE BLOOD will be better. After all, Val McDermid is still one of my favorite authors. | 1 | neutral | [
"THE MERMAIDS SINGING is the first of three novels that introduces the team of Detective Sergeant Carol Jordan and profiler Tony Hill.",
"Dr.",
"Hill leads the National Criminal Task Force and together working with DS Jordan they are going to investigate a series of torture murders occurring in the northern town of Bradfield.",
"The author lets us go inside the serial killer's psyche by starting each chapter of the book with a sample of the murderer's diary.",
"It might have been insightful for the book's readers were it not for Hill's analytical reports.",
"McDermid provides all the excruciating details of the Doctor's writing as it is being presented to the cops investigating the case.",
"Were it not for Val McDermid's other superb novels, one might be turned off by this book.",
"As a whole, the book is slightly above average.",
"The author does a good job with her characterization of Carol Jordan and Tony Hill making us wish for more.",
"They both have some issues that the author develops well.",
"The mystery was good while it started but the ending seemed to be abrupt and anticlimactic.",
"Hopefully, THE WIRE IN THE BLOOD will be better.",
"After all, Val McDermid is still one of my favorite authors."
] |
I was somewhat disappointed. I bought this last year for my 5 and 6 year old, primarily. Initially, it was great and they fought over it. But then we started having problems with the touchpad....and they continue. WAAAYY too much money to have these types of problems. Also, the thing goes through batteries like there's no tomorrow. But when it's working correctly, it's a great educational toy.....hopefully the company has improved on the newer model.
DYB | 1 | neutral | [
"I was somewhat disappointed.",
"I bought this last year for my 5 and 6 year old, primarily.",
"Initially, it was great and they fought over it.",
"But then we started having problems with the touchpad....",
"and they continue.",
"WAAAYY too much money to have these types of problems.",
"Also, the thing goes through batteries like there's no tomorrow.",
"But when it's working correctly, it's a great educational toy....",
".",
"hopefully the company has improved on the newer model.",
"DYB"
] |
KANSAS - Monolith (1979) (*** ) 8 tracks - (41:45)
Monolith was KANSAS's sixth studio album in five years. The whole band was still together, even under the pressures of stardom, touring, and keeping up the process of writing good songs. Kerry Livgren (guitar/keyboards) was still the main songwriter, and again seemed to pen the most well known songs. In this case, the opening track: On the Other Side, and People of the South Wind (my personal favorite). The album's closer, Reason to Be is a classic KANSAS song. Nice acoustic guitars, good vocal harmonies, and some nice violin sections. A trend the band had started with Point of Know Return, they continued on Monolith, no epic-length songs. A few reached the six-minute plus mark, but that was the extent of it.
Monolith has some good songs on it, but it is just not as "solid" an effort as their two previous albums had been. Many people feel Monolith marks the beginning of the end for KANSAS. The other problem with this particular release is that, just like Two for the Show, this album has only been issued by SONY/Kirshner records. There is no EPIC/Legacy "Remaster" yet (if ever). EPIC has been dragging its feet on this one for YEARS! I heard about rumours of an upcoming remaster back in 2004. The CBS/Kirshner issue is so lacking that the simple single-fold booklet doesn't even have the band members listed or any kind of liner notes. I only have the lyrics because I own a vinyl copy.
I can only recommend this to fans. Hopefully a remastered version will eventually come our way, with more good bonus tracks included like they did on the Leftoverture and Point of Know Return Remasters. Hello? Is anybody listening?
Best Tracks: On the Other Side, People of the South Wind. | 1 | neutral | [
"KANSAS - Monolith (1979) (*** ) 8 tracks - (41:45)\n\nMonolith was KANSAS's sixth studio album in five years.",
"The whole band was still together, even under the pressures of stardom, touring, and keeping up the process of writing good songs.",
"Kerry Livgren (guitar/keyboards) was still the main songwriter, and again seemed to pen the most well known songs.",
"In this case, the opening track: On the Other Side, and People of the South Wind (my personal favorite).",
"The album's closer, Reason to Be is a classic KANSAS song.",
"Nice acoustic guitars, good vocal harmonies, and some nice violin sections.",
"A trend the band had started with Point of Know Return, they continued on Monolith, no epic-length songs.",
"A few reached the six-minute plus mark, but that was the extent of it.",
"Monolith has some good songs on it, but it is just not as \"solid\" an effort as their two previous albums had been.",
"Many people feel Monolith marks the beginning of the end for KANSAS.",
"The other problem with this particular release is that, just like Two for the Show, this album has only been issued by SONY/Kirshner records.",
"There is no EPIC/Legacy \"Remaster\" yet (if ever).",
"EPIC has been dragging its feet on this one for YEARS!",
"I heard about rumours of an upcoming remaster back in 2004.",
"The CBS/Kirshner issue is so lacking that the simple single-fold booklet doesn't even have the band members listed or any kind of liner notes.",
"I only have the lyrics because I own a vinyl copy.",
"I can only recommend this to fans.",
"Hopefully a remastered version will eventually come our way, with more good bonus tracks included like they did on the Leftoverture and Point of Know Return Remasters.",
"Hello?",
"Is anybody listening?",
"Best Tracks: On the Other Side, People of the South Wind."
] |
If you are looking for a traditional sci-fi novel and have no taste for fantasy or fantastic fiction you probably want to skip this one. I read this as part of a collection of 8 science fiction novels. This is lobbed into the sci-fi genre because it's set in the far future where humanity spans hundreds of star systems, there interstellar corporations that own entire planets, there are starships, mad scientists, an AI which desires humanity, asteroid wreckers, time dilation devices based on the manipulation of the edge of a generated micro black hole, energy weapons, and many other common expectations of what technologies the future may hold. But this is NOT a science fiction story. You could have set this storyline in the 1940s with those available technologies and virtually no plot changes, other than replacing the AI with a person, and it would have worked just fine.
This is a whimsical story about a twenty something year old adrenaline junky who has fallen from grace, lost his girl friend, his primary source of income, and as he is evicted from his apartment by happenstance gets sucked into events that give him the opportunity to restore most of what he's lost. His talent is that he can pilot anything that flies in any context from hover bike to starship with a savant like transcendent skill. He's also gifted with astonishing luck when it comes to surviving his absurdly bumbling decision process.
The supporting cast of characters are entertaining if predictable. The evil characters are truly evil. Many encounters are farcical at their base, but still entertaining. Setting aside expectations for the normal underpinnings of science fiction I found this a highly enjoyable novel and read for itself worthy of four stars. However, that rating would mislead readers of sci-fi many of whom would likely consider this two stars at best. So depending on what you're looking for this is either a recommendation or a warning. | 1 | neutral | [
"If you are looking for a traditional sci-fi novel and have no taste for fantasy or fantastic fiction you probably want to skip this one.",
"I read this as part of a collection of 8 science fiction novels.",
"This is lobbed into the sci-fi genre because it's set in the far future where humanity spans hundreds of star systems, there interstellar corporations that own entire planets, there are starships, mad scientists, an AI which desires humanity, asteroid wreckers, time dilation devices based on the manipulation of the edge of a generated micro black hole, energy weapons, and many other common expectations of what technologies the future may hold.",
"But this is NOT a science fiction story.",
"You could have set this storyline in the 1940s with those available technologies and virtually no plot changes, other than replacing the AI with a person, and it would have worked just fine.",
"This is a whimsical story about a twenty something year old adrenaline junky who has fallen from grace, lost his girl friend, his primary source of income, and as he is evicted from his apartment by happenstance gets sucked into events that give him the opportunity to restore most of what he's lost.",
"His talent is that he can pilot anything that flies in any context from hover bike to starship with a savant like transcendent skill.",
"He's also gifted with astonishing luck when it comes to surviving his absurdly bumbling decision process.",
"The supporting cast of characters are entertaining if predictable.",
"The evil characters are truly evil.",
"Many encounters are farcical at their base, but still entertaining.",
"Setting aside expectations for the normal underpinnings of science fiction I found this a highly enjoyable novel and read for itself worthy of four stars.",
"However, that rating would mislead readers of sci-fi many of whom would likely consider this two stars at best.",
"So depending on what you're looking for this is either a recommendation or a warning."
] |
Many reviewers seem to consider The Final Cut a sequel to Roger Waters' masterpiece The Wall, but it has much more in common with his post-Floyd solo releases - even if it's much more focused than The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking or Radio KAOS. The only real difference between this and Roger's `official' solo albums is in the personnel, but David Gilmour and Nick Mason are little more than session players on this release - and Rick Wright was entirely cast out of the band during the Wall Tour. Then again, The Wall was also mostly about Roger; contributions from Gilmour, though crucial in the final product, were not all that made The Wall great. Why is it then that the Final Cut is so very much less fulfilling and less memorable than that classic, groundbreaking piece of music?
Doubtlessly one of the most talented lyric writers in the rock world, Roger's lyrics always tended to be very personal, and at the same time very global - by keeping them abstract and nonspecific, Roger managed to keep some distance between himself and his songs. That's what he did to brilliant ends on Meddle, Wish You Were Here and mostly on The Dark Side of the Moon. On The Wall, though, Roger got personal - real personal. Fortunate for us, because that digging into his own soul got us one of the most important masterpieces of modern music. Perhaps less fortunate for him. Maybe digging up his own demons was too exhausting for Mr. Waters; maybe it was just a bit scary. I think that's the main reason Roger refused to perform any material from The Wall for the next ten years. At any rate, on The Final Cut Roger took a careful step backwards and again distanced himself from his music. But the wall was already broken. After The Wall, little more could be said; and anything he made during those years since the beginning of the 80s was, simply put, soulless. Sure, the lyrics are still great. There is some clever wordplay in The Final Cut, some biting social commentary. But Roger proves here beyond doubt that he is no Dylan and no Lennon - he is not a political songwriter. He can't write political or social lyrics to arouse the masses; he's at his best only when he writes about himself, in one way or another. And when he tries to write political satire, it always comes out as the rather pathetic sarcastic ranting of a deeply depressed middle-aged man. Not even the mandatory reference to his father's death (on `The Post War Dream') can create the illusion of the spark that Waters once had.
Musically, of course, Roger is still in top shape for The Final Cut, and he has some first rate musicians around him. The arrangements and production are spotless as ever, and Gilmour makes a few more of his moving and melodic solos; no new musical statements are made, however. The instrumental work is not given the attention it deserves, and sound effects are greatly overused - it almost sounds like a tasteless parody on the sound of The Wall. Occasionally, though, The Final Cut does succeed in reaching true and genuine beauty. Two of the tracks stand up unmistakably, to my opinion, above the rest. One important exception is the title track itself - which, sadly, has little to nothing to do with the rest of the album - but it's the only song on the entire record in which Roger reluctantly dares to delve back into his own soul and come up with some real and genuine feelings. A rather simple arrangement and melody make for one of the most beautiful songs Roger had written, and a guitar solo that sounds like the Dave that we once knew completes it. The other standout track, my personal favorite on the album, is the closing track - `Two Suns in the Sunset', the only song on the album that manages to combine clever and beautiful lyrics with beautiful music to make for a truly complete piece. There are several other songs that are interesting, but ultimately soulless and not good for more than a couple of listens - `Not Now John' for instance is a nice rock piece with some good instrumental work and some clever, but shallow, lyrics; and `The Fletcher Memorial Home' is good and smartly written satire, but ultimately a cliché. On the other hand, `The Gunner's Dream' is a pretty song with nice harmonies and beautiful chord progression, but it doesn't really get to you, nor does it make any statement of importance.
`The Final Cut' is of course worth listening, especially for Floyd Fans; if you enjoyed any of Roger's solo expeditions, you're sure to like it. But know what to expect, and don't expect it to become a permanent favorite - it's entertaining for a few listens, no more. Songs like `Southampton Dock', `One Of The Few' and `Get Your Filthy Hands Of My Desert' are filler material, no more, no less; and while on The Wall all the little tracks that don't amount to much by themselves become crucial when the entire album is considered as a whole, The Final Cut just doesn't add up. Likewise, the effects and spoken parts, which were an important part of the puzzle in The Wall, sound pointless and pretentious here. Compare The Final Cut to The Division Bell to hear the two different halves of the Pink Floyd legend, and understand why in their case the whole really was much more than the sum of its parts. | 1 | neutral | [
"Many reviewers seem to consider The Final Cut a sequel to Roger Waters' masterpiece The Wall, but it has much more in common with his post-Floyd solo releases - even if it's much more focused than The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking or Radio KAOS.",
"The only real difference between this and Roger's `official' solo albums is in the personnel, but David Gilmour and Nick Mason are little more than session players on this release - and Rick Wright was entirely cast out of the band during the Wall Tour.",
"Then again, The Wall was also mostly about Roger; contributions from Gilmour, though crucial in the final product, were not all that made The Wall great.",
"Why is it then that the Final Cut is so very much less fulfilling and less memorable than that classic, groundbreaking piece of music?",
"Doubtlessly one of the most talented lyric writers in the rock world, Roger's lyrics always tended to be very personal, and at the same time very global - by keeping them abstract and nonspecific, Roger managed to keep some distance between himself and his songs.",
"That's what he did to brilliant ends on Meddle, Wish You Were Here and mostly on The Dark Side of the Moon.",
"On The Wall, though, Roger got personal - real personal.",
"Fortunate for us, because that digging into his own soul got us one of the most important masterpieces of modern music.",
"Perhaps less fortunate for him.",
"Maybe digging up his own demons was too exhausting for Mr.",
"Waters; maybe it was just a bit scary.",
"I think that's the main reason Roger refused to perform any material from The Wall for the next ten years.",
"At any rate, on The Final Cut Roger took a careful step backwards and again distanced himself from his music.",
"But the wall was already broken.",
"After The Wall, little more could be said; and anything he made during those years since the beginning of the 80s was, simply put, soulless.",
"Sure, the lyrics are still great.",
"There is some clever wordplay in The Final Cut, some biting social commentary.",
"But Roger proves here beyond doubt that he is no Dylan and no Lennon - he is not a political songwriter.",
"He can't write political or social lyrics to arouse the masses; he's at his best only when he writes about himself, in one way or another.",
"And when he tries to write political satire, it always comes out as the rather pathetic sarcastic ranting of a deeply depressed middle-aged man.",
"Not even the mandatory reference to his father's death (on `The Post War Dream') can create the illusion of the spark that Waters once had.",
"Musically, of course, Roger is still in top shape for The Final Cut, and he has some first rate musicians around him.",
"The arrangements and production are spotless as ever, and Gilmour makes a few more of his moving and melodic solos; no new musical statements are made, however.",
"The instrumental work is not given the attention it deserves, and sound effects are greatly overused - it almost sounds like a tasteless parody on the sound of The Wall.",
"Occasionally, though, The Final Cut does succeed in reaching true and genuine beauty.",
"Two of the tracks stand up unmistakably, to my opinion, above the rest.",
"One important exception is the title track itself - which, sadly, has little to nothing to do with the rest of the album - but it's the only song on the entire record in which Roger reluctantly dares to delve back into his own soul and come up with some real and genuine feelings.",
"A rather simple arrangement and melody make for one of the most beautiful songs Roger had written, and a guitar solo that sounds like the Dave that we once knew completes it.",
"The other standout track, my personal favorite on the album, is the closing track - `Two Suns in the Sunset', the only song on the album that manages to combine clever and beautiful lyrics with beautiful music to make for a truly complete piece.",
"There are several other songs that are interesting, but ultimately soulless and not good for more than a couple of listens - `Not Now John' for instance is a nice rock piece with some good instrumental work and some clever, but shallow, lyrics; and `The Fletcher Memorial Home' is good and smartly written satire, but ultimately a cliché.",
"On the other hand, `The Gunner's Dream' is a pretty song with nice harmonies and beautiful chord progression, but it doesn't really get to you, nor does it make any statement of importance.",
"`The Final Cut' is of course worth listening, especially for Floyd Fans; if you enjoyed any of Roger's solo expeditions, you're sure to like it.",
"But know what to expect, and don't expect it to become a permanent favorite - it's entertaining for a few listens, no more.",
"Songs like `Southampton Dock', `One Of The Few' and `Get Your Filthy Hands Of My Desert' are filler material, no more, no less; and while on The Wall all the little tracks that don't amount to much by themselves become crucial when the entire album is considered as a whole, The Final Cut just doesn't add up.",
"Likewise, the effects and spoken parts, which were an important part of the puzzle in The Wall, sound pointless and pretentious here.",
"Compare The Final Cut to The Division Bell to hear the two different halves of the Pink Floyd legend, and understand why in their case the whole really was much more than the sum of its parts."
] |
There are many great reviews for this record (Disc), but I never saw this as a good Maiden release, even all these years later. The Introduction of Synths aside, most of this is forgettable and standard Maiden. Hardly their shining moment. A bit uninspired lyrically and scattered musically. There is more melody on this, just not much real fire. A major bit of a letdown after such greats as 'Number', 'Piece of Mind' and 'Powerslave'.
Good tracks are - 'Wasted Years', 'Sea of Madness', 'Heaven Can Wait' and 'Stranger in a Strange Land'.
'Alexander the Great' is a really good piece that has many time changes, cool offbeats and excellent, melodic Guitar parts in its 8 minutes. Better than I remembered it from years ago. That is a major plus and why I am glad I went back to this disc. Actually brought my 2.5 rating to a 3. Good, Progressive Maiden.
But, other than these notes, there are no GREAT tracks at all. Its highly polished and the keyboards/synths just sound dumb and forced in the choruses. Trying to add more melody for a more radio-friendly Maiden at that time. I was never a big fan of this and still am not to this day, but won't say it totally blows. It was a major letdown after their other releases, we will leave it at that.
I see many disagree in terms of opinion, so maybe its just me. But clearly this is/was for fans of the 'slicker', commercial Maiden sound. But It would be the first of many seemingly directionless efforts by the band before Dickinson left for a while. It was the end of the 'perfection'-era Maiden for sure. | 1 | neutral | [
"There are many great reviews for this record (Disc), but I never saw this as a good Maiden release, even all these years later.",
"The Introduction of Synths aside, most of this is forgettable and standard Maiden.",
"Hardly their shining moment.",
"A bit uninspired lyrically and scattered musically.",
"There is more melody on this, just not much real fire.",
"A major bit of a letdown after such greats as 'Number', 'Piece of Mind' and 'Powerslave'.",
"Good tracks are - 'Wasted Years', 'Sea of Madness', 'Heaven Can Wait' and 'Stranger in a Strange Land'.",
"'Alexander the Great' is a really good piece that has many time changes, cool offbeats and excellent, melodic Guitar parts in its 8 minutes.",
"Better than I remembered it from years ago.",
"That is a major plus and why I am glad I went back to this disc.",
"Actually brought my 2.",
"5 rating to a 3.",
"Good, Progressive Maiden.",
"But, other than these notes, there are no GREAT tracks at all.",
"Its highly polished and the keyboards/synths just sound dumb and forced in the choruses.",
"Trying to add more melody for a more radio-friendly Maiden at that time.",
"I was never a big fan of this and still am not to this day, but won't say it totally blows.",
"It was a major letdown after their other releases, we will leave it at that.",
"I see many disagree in terms of opinion, so maybe its just me.",
"But clearly this is/was for fans of the 'slicker', commercial Maiden sound.",
"But It would be the first of many seemingly directionless efforts by the band before Dickinson left for a while.",
"It was the end of the 'perfection'-era Maiden for sure."
] |
I have not read "Executive Orders" yet and will definitely when I finish "Debt of Honor". Previous to that I enjoyed "Against All Enemies" and am definitely enjoying "Debt of Honor". Yes, I know that these 3 books are super long (700-800 pages), but I really don't mind. I managed to brush up on my military strategy as well as my knowledge of financial management in the process, so that re-learning process was definitely enjoyable.
Having said that, I just don't know if I will read much of "Executive Orders" BECAUSE THE PRINT IS SO BLASTED SMALL, maybe point size 7 or 8. I deliberately bought (special order) the hard cover version because of the book's length. The font size of "Against All Enemies" and "Debt of Honor" was most definitely more than adequate, but not for "Executive Orders". I even called Putnam, the publishers and registered a complaint, but I am guessing that was wasted energy on my part.
Unfortunately, I special ordered the book, so I cannot get my money back. Maybe I'll read the e-book version for my iPad, but that grates me because I just like the "feel" of a real book in my hands.
Anyway, thanks for listening. | 1 | neutral | [
"I have not read \"Executive Orders\" yet and will definitely when I finish \"Debt of Honor\".",
"Previous to that I enjoyed \"Against All Enemies\" and am definitely enjoying \"Debt of Honor\".",
"Yes, I know that these 3 books are super long (700-800 pages), but I really don't mind.",
"I managed to brush up on my military strategy as well as my knowledge of financial management in the process, so that re-learning process was definitely enjoyable.",
"Having said that, I just don't know if I will read much of \"Executive Orders\" BECAUSE THE PRINT IS SO BLASTED SMALL, maybe point size 7 or 8.",
"I deliberately bought (special order) the hard cover version because of the book's length.",
"The font size of \"Against All Enemies\" and \"Debt of Honor\" was most definitely more than adequate, but not for \"Executive Orders\".",
"I even called Putnam, the publishers and registered a complaint, but I am guessing that was wasted energy on my part.",
"Unfortunately, I special ordered the book, so I cannot get my money back.",
"Maybe I'll read the e-book version for my iPad, but that grates me because I just like the \"feel\" of a real book in my hands.",
"Anyway, thanks for listening."
] |
First a quick synopsis of the movie - a criminal (in a marvelous performance by Jack Nicholson) "pretends" to be insane to get out of prison and spend his sentence in a mental hospital. When he discovers that he's stuck in the hospital until he's certified sane by his doctors (rather than the length of his sentence) he plans to break out, with the help of selected fellow patients. Along the way, his acts of rebellion against authority become a type of therapy for the patients, much more effective than that delivered by the medical staff.
This movie won a number of awards, and seems brilliant and refreshing today, given the claptrap Hollywood is currently producing. While I do not think Louise Fletcher's performance is great, most would disagree, including the Academy. The other performances are all brilliant, starting with Nicholson, and moving right down the list through the supporting characters.
The movie, while brilliant, is not always entertaining. It's not perfect, and there are parts that are even mundane, which lowers its score slightly from the 5-star level. The quality of the DVD drops it to three stars. The sound and picture are both not very good - I have 1950's B-grade movies with higher quality. The extras are non-existent. Surely a movie with such a pedigree and of such importance artistically deserves better! At least the price reflects this, but let's hope they come out with a better DVD version of this film. | 1 | neutral | [
"First a quick synopsis of the movie - a criminal (in a marvelous performance by Jack Nicholson) \"pretends\" to be insane to get out of prison and spend his sentence in a mental hospital.",
"When he discovers that he's stuck in the hospital until he's certified sane by his doctors (rather than the length of his sentence) he plans to break out, with the help of selected fellow patients.",
"Along the way, his acts of rebellion against authority become a type of therapy for the patients, much more effective than that delivered by the medical staff.",
"This movie won a number of awards, and seems brilliant and refreshing today, given the claptrap Hollywood is currently producing.",
"While I do not think Louise Fletcher's performance is great, most would disagree, including the Academy.",
"The other performances are all brilliant, starting with Nicholson, and moving right down the list through the supporting characters.",
"The movie, while brilliant, is not always entertaining.",
"It's not perfect, and there are parts that are even mundane, which lowers its score slightly from the 5-star level.",
"The quality of the DVD drops it to three stars.",
"The sound and picture are both not very good - I have 1950's B-grade movies with higher quality.",
"The extras are non-existent.",
"Surely a movie with such a pedigree and of such importance artistically deserves better!",
"At least the price reflects this, but let's hope they come out with a better DVD version of this film."
] |
HITS is one of the better non makeup Kiss albums. With 15 tracks total, there was bound to be a little filler, so I can deal with the occasional clinker. HITS comes off as an album of Demos and unfinished songs, it is what it is, and at times its very good. Its not nearly as wimpy as some of the other 80's releases, and at the time when it came out, was actually a breath of fresh air for Die hard makeup era Kiss fans, as some of the songs where tougher and not just Bon Jovi type knock offs.
Regarding the songs themselves, they are allover the place, so many different styles, and basiclly non produced, the sound is very raw and unpolished on a lot of tracks, but this is part of the albums charm. "Love is Like A SlapIn The Face" does not have one drum fill or cymbal hit in the entire song, it could very well be a drum machine or better yet, Gene on the drums as he played in many of his demos anyway. A lot of Gene on guitar as well of the other demo songs included. "Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell" is a good example.
Hide Your Heart was a Crazy Nights Throwaway. Many bands tried their hand at this one (Molly Hatchet as well as Ace on trouble Walkin), very Bon Jovi-ish. Prsoner of Love is Great! Betrayed & Rise To It are cool Kiss Songs! Silver Spoon has a great hook as well. Forever gave Kiss a much needed BIG HIT! Some very good material here....
Overall, HITS has a bum rap among Kiss fans, yet its much better than at least 3 of the Non Makeup albums (Personally, I feel its better than Revenge as well), and ranks as one of the FUN Kiss records. People ofter forget that it has one of their biggest if not the biggest hit in "Forever", which is a very cool song. It was a step in the right direction, following 3 of the wimpiest, weakest albums of their career. They toured with a huge stage show, and brought back some of the classic Kiss tunes in the process. I saw Eric's last concert at MSG in 11/90 as well.
I have great memories of this album, this is when I Finally accepted Kiss without the makeup, because the music is GOOD! | 1 | neutral | [
"HITS is one of the better non makeup Kiss albums.",
"With 15 tracks total, there was bound to be a little filler, so I can deal with the occasional clinker.",
"HITS comes off as an album of Demos and unfinished songs, it is what it is, and at times its very good.",
"Its not nearly as wimpy as some of the other 80's releases, and at the time when it came out, was actually a breath of fresh air for Die hard makeup era Kiss fans, as some of the songs where tougher and not just Bon Jovi type knock offs.",
"Regarding the songs themselves, they are allover the place, so many different styles, and basiclly non produced, the sound is very raw and unpolished on a lot of tracks, but this is part of the albums charm.",
"\"Love is Like A SlapIn The Face\" does not have one drum fill or cymbal hit in the entire song, it could very well be a drum machine or better yet, Gene on the drums as he played in many of his demos anyway.",
"A lot of Gene on guitar as well of the other demo songs included.",
"\"Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell\" is a good example.",
"Hide Your Heart was a Crazy Nights Throwaway.",
"Many bands tried their hand at this one (Molly Hatchet as well as Ace on trouble Walkin), very Bon Jovi-ish.",
"Prsoner of Love is Great!",
"Betrayed & Rise To It are cool Kiss Songs!",
"Silver Spoon has a great hook as well.",
"Forever gave Kiss a much needed BIG HIT!",
"Some very good material here....",
"Overall, HITS has a bum rap among Kiss fans, yet its much better than at least 3 of the Non Makeup albums (Personally, I feel its better than Revenge as well), and ranks as one of the FUN Kiss records.",
"People ofter forget that it has one of their biggest if not the biggest hit in \"Forever\", which is a very cool song.",
"It was a step in the right direction, following 3 of the wimpiest, weakest albums of their career.",
"They toured with a huge stage show, and brought back some of the classic Kiss tunes in the process.",
"I saw Eric's last concert at MSG in 11/90 as well.",
"I have great memories of this album, this is when I Finally accepted Kiss without the makeup, because the music is GOOD!"
] |
This flexible hose needs to do two things: 1) spray water vigorously, and 2) not leak. It sprays water pretty well, but as others have mentioned, it leaks near the shut-off valve. Mine also leaked at the hose connection, with a hose that doesn't leak when attached to other stuff. Bring a towel or two with you.
We have a San-T-Flush unit in our RV which is supposed to clean out the black water tank, but the San-T-Flush system doesn't clean the plumbing. This Swivel Stik goes from toilet down to the tank so you can reach every inch of plumbing.
The spinning nozzle might hit the walls of your plumbing and make alarming vibrating noises. I don't think this is much of a problem, since you can usually adjust the hose to prevent the nozzle from hitting stuff. Be prepared for some noise, though, unless your plumbing goes straight down to the holding tank with no angles.
Better than nothing, for sure! | 1 | neutral | [
"This flexible hose needs to do two things: 1) spray water vigorously, and 2) not leak.",
"It sprays water pretty well, but as others have mentioned, it leaks near the shut-off valve.",
"Mine also leaked at the hose connection, with a hose that doesn't leak when attached to other stuff.",
"Bring a towel or two with you.",
"We have a San-T-Flush unit in our RV which is supposed to clean out the black water tank, but the San-T-Flush system doesn't clean the plumbing.",
"This Swivel Stik goes from toilet down to the tank so you can reach every inch of plumbing.",
"The spinning nozzle might hit the walls of your plumbing and make alarming vibrating noises.",
"I don't think this is much of a problem, since you can usually adjust the hose to prevent the nozzle from hitting stuff.",
"Be prepared for some noise, though, unless your plumbing goes straight down to the holding tank with no angles.",
"Better than nothing, for sure!"
] |
This book was written when Johnny Cash reached his 65th birthday. It was a miracle he was still alive as he had abused his body with drugs and had a very hard life. He gives a geneology of the Cash family. His great-grandfather, Reuben, fought for the Confederacy in the American Civil War, and lost his Georgia plantation; subsequently he moved his family to Arkansas. His grandfathers's life was a lot like my paternal grandfather. His father's was something like my dad's railroad life.
The Man in Black was asked if he was "going to a funeral" when because he started to wear black outfits when he performed, going back to 1954, was called a troubadour, an English balladeer, like Merle Haggard. His theme song was 'I Walk The Line,' and he sang many styles in many genres. In the '70s, his career had reached international proportions.
The first J.C. recording I remember liking was 'A Boy Called Sue' and I did love the song 'Shifting, Whispering Sands,' which he also recorded. In 1976, he had a #1 'One Piece At A Time' -- I am wondering if that is the one about putting together a car out of junk parts. His first single recording (not an album) was in 1955. I was told in 2002 that he had made a good recording of 'The Long Black Veil,' one of my favorite ballads. I found it on a Cash CD, taped that song several times and gave the CD to the person who alerted me as to its existence. There is a new movie coming out soon about his life in which he sings 'Ring of Fire.'
In 1982, he made an album produced by Rodney Crowell, one of my favorite non-stars. I had a tape of some of his road songs, and I loved them all; then, foolishly, I sent it to someone I thought might enjoy it. I wish I had been selfish and kept it.
He was a reader: THE ROBE, QUO VADIS, THE SILVER CHALICE, and PILLAR OF IRON influenced him to go to Israel in November, 1971, to make a movie. It was a semi-documentary and it was magical to film on Mount Arabel, overlooking Galilee and in the Church of Beatitudes.
He tells of a near-death experience after his bypass surgery in 1988, the "essence" of light as he drifted off but the doctors in Nashville worked diligently to save him. He says he was restored to his "senses." "I never forgot that light, and it changed me." Life meant more to him, became very moving just to look at mundane, everyday things.
He felt he'd come "full circle" at a festival in England, back to the "bare bones." pre-stardom, pre-Memphis (SUN records) days. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Florence, Alabama, and the Songwriters' Hall of Fame. He always appeared to be the bad guy, but actually he was very religious despite his long bout with alcoholism. We miss him and June Carter Cash. | 1 | neutral | [
"This book was written when Johnny Cash reached his 65th birthday.",
"It was a miracle he was still alive as he had abused his body with drugs and had a very hard life.",
"He gives a geneology of the Cash family.",
"His great-grandfather, Reuben, fought for the Confederacy in the American Civil War, and lost his Georgia plantation; subsequently he moved his family to Arkansas.",
"His grandfathers's life was a lot like my paternal grandfather.",
"His father's was something like my dad's railroad life.",
"The Man in Black was asked if he was \"going to a funeral\" when because he started to wear black outfits when he performed, going back to 1954, was called a troubadour, an English balladeer, like Merle Haggard.",
"His theme song was 'I Walk The Line,' and he sang many styles in many genres.",
"In the '70s, his career had reached international proportions.",
"The first J.",
"C. recording I remember liking was 'A Boy Called Sue' and I did love the song 'Shifting, Whispering Sands,' which he also recorded.",
"In 1976, he had a #1 'One Piece At A Time' -- I am wondering if that is the one about putting together a car out of junk parts.",
"His first single recording (not an album) was in 1955.",
"I was told in 2002 that he had made a good recording of 'The Long Black Veil,' one of my favorite ballads.",
"I found it on a Cash CD, taped that song several times and gave the CD to the person who alerted me as to its existence.",
"There is a new movie coming out soon about his life in which he sings 'Ring of Fire.",
"'\n\nIn 1982, he made an album produced by Rodney Crowell, one of my favorite non-stars.",
"I had a tape of some of his road songs, and I loved them all; then, foolishly, I sent it to someone I thought might enjoy it.",
"I wish I had been selfish and kept it.",
"He was a reader: THE ROBE, QUO VADIS, THE SILVER CHALICE, and PILLAR OF IRON influenced him to go to Israel in November, 1971, to make a movie.",
"It was a semi-documentary and it was magical to film on Mount Arabel, overlooking Galilee and in the Church of Beatitudes.",
"He tells of a near-death experience after his bypass surgery in 1988, the \"essence\" of light as he drifted off but the doctors in Nashville worked diligently to save him.",
"He says he was restored to his \"senses.",
"\" \"I never forgot that light, and it changed me.",
"\" Life meant more to him, became very moving just to look at mundane, everyday things.",
"He felt he'd come \"full circle\" at a festival in England, back to the \"bare bones.",
"\" pre-stardom, pre-Memphis (SUN records) days.",
"He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Florence, Alabama, and the Songwriters' Hall of Fame.",
"He always appeared to be the bad guy, but actually he was very religious despite his long bout with alcoholism.",
"We miss him and June Carter Cash."
] |
"Born Again" is Australian Christian Rock group Newsboys first CD since their new vocalist Michael Tait joined, and immediately it is evident the group sounds more like his alma mater dc Talk, or even Tait. No bad thing if you loved the sound of those acts, but I can't help feeling this doesn't sound much like Newsboys.
Still, it is a good album. Opening is the title track, a quivering rocker which is very catchy and one of my favourites. Other upbeat songs of that ilk are "One shot" (which name checks twitter and facebook), "Way beyond myself" (which has a Trancey dance feel), the catchy "When the boys light up" (sounding like something by Tait's former band mate Toby Mac), the frenetic rocker "Escape", and the bouncy Glam rock "Miracles". The band cover "Jesus Freak" which I find redundant as it is almost a note for note copy of the dc Talk original but lacking in the punch that packed when first heard back in 1995.
The rest of the album comprises mid-tempo songs or ballads; "Impossible", the anthemic restoration ballad "Build us back", "Running to you" (another of my favourites), the jangly "On your knees" ("When you lose hope, all you have to do is get on your knees again"), and "Mighty to save", a cover of a Hillsong song.
There isn't any bad cut among these, but also nothing spectacular either, my favourites notwithstanding. None of the quirky fun Pop present on albums like "Going public" or "Take me to your leader". I hope they take more musical risks next time and create a stronger identity for themselves rather than sounding like dc Talk/Tait clones. A newcomer to Newsboys may love this though. 3 and a half stars really! | 1 | neutral | [
"\"Born Again\" is Australian Christian Rock group Newsboys first CD since their new vocalist Michael Tait joined, and immediately it is evident the group sounds more like his alma mater dc Talk, or even Tait.",
"No bad thing if you loved the sound of those acts, but I can't help feeling this doesn't sound much like Newsboys.",
"Still, it is a good album.",
"Opening is the title track, a quivering rocker which is very catchy and one of my favourites.",
"Other upbeat songs of that ilk are \"One shot\" (which name checks twitter and facebook), \"Way beyond myself\" (which has a Trancey dance feel), the catchy \"When the boys light up\" (sounding like something by Tait's former band mate Toby Mac), the frenetic rocker \"Escape\", and the bouncy Glam rock \"Miracles\".",
"The band cover \"Jesus Freak\" which I find redundant as it is almost a note for note copy of the dc Talk original but lacking in the punch that packed when first heard back in 1995.",
"The rest of the album comprises mid-tempo songs or ballads; \"Impossible\", the anthemic restoration ballad \"Build us back\", \"Running to you\" (another of my favourites), the jangly \"On your knees\" (\"When you lose hope, all you have to do is get on your knees again\"), and \"Mighty to save\", a cover of a Hillsong song.",
"There isn't any bad cut among these, but also nothing spectacular either, my favourites notwithstanding.",
"None of the quirky fun Pop present on albums like \"Going public\" or \"Take me to your leader\".",
"I hope they take more musical risks next time and create a stronger identity for themselves rather than sounding like dc Talk/Tait clones.",
"A newcomer to Newsboys may love this though.",
"3 and a half stars really!"
] |
Like most people, I bought a GameCube as part of a bundle, so I didn't have much choice over my initial game selection. Unlike the PS2 bundle I bought, I wasn't won over by the games that were included, with one exception. This wasn't the exception.
The premise for Luigi's Mansion is startlingly different from the previous launch titles for Nintendo systems, especially from Super Mario 64. Instead of Mario having all the fun, Luigi is now the central character, exploring a mansion to rid it of ghosts and find his brother.
The graphics are excellent, as you might expect, although it's more about detail and subtlety than high-speed action. The game play, however, leaves something to be desired. Instead of the standard run-around-pick-things-up-and-do-things play, Luigi has a vacuum on his back reminiscent of Ghostbusters. He uses it to flush out ghosts, suck them up, and return them to the paintings from which they've escaped. He can also use it to pick up some items to throw and to suck up elements and spit them out. That's about it, though. If you're used to squirrel tails, super-high jumping, and the like, you won't find it here. I found the absence of unusual movement to be a detraction from the game play.
The puzzles, too, don't seem to be quite up to par, possibly because they're limited by the tools with which you can solve them. I'll admit that I also got stuck at one point in this game, which is something that I use as an indication of a game's quality - how frequently do I get stuck, and, if I use a hint book, could I have discovered this on my own? I never did check this out for Luigi's Mansion, partly because I wasn't inspired to keep playing.
The actual capturing of the ghosts is essentially reeling them in as fish - if you played Ocarina of Time on the N64, you'll remember that little part of the game. For me, it was an enjoyable break in the game, but hardly enough to base an entire game on. Little ghosts are easy to reel in. Bigger ghosts take more effort. Sometimes you can reel in two or more at once. Special ghosts require that you do certain things before you can reel them in. Yawn.
I'm not quite sure if this is intended for adults as much as it is for kids, but my experience with this type of game and with the kids that I know indicates that more often than not, kids expect just as much out of these games as adults do, especially if it's their money they're using to buy them. In any event, I found it to be a disappointing launch title, and I traded it in about a month after purchase. If you're a die-hard Mario/Luigi fan, or if you're collecting every GameCube game there is, maybe you'll have more fun with it than I did. It was fun for a while, but the novelty wore off quickly. | 1 | neutral | [
"Like most people, I bought a GameCube as part of a bundle, so I didn't have much choice over my initial game selection.",
"Unlike the PS2 bundle I bought, I wasn't won over by the games that were included, with one exception.",
"This wasn't the exception.",
"The premise for Luigi's Mansion is startlingly different from the previous launch titles for Nintendo systems, especially from Super Mario 64.",
"Instead of Mario having all the fun, Luigi is now the central character, exploring a mansion to rid it of ghosts and find his brother.",
"The graphics are excellent, as you might expect, although it's more about detail and subtlety than high-speed action.",
"The game play, however, leaves something to be desired.",
"Instead of the standard run-around-pick-things-up-and-do-things play, Luigi has a vacuum on his back reminiscent of Ghostbusters.",
"He uses it to flush out ghosts, suck them up, and return them to the paintings from which they've escaped.",
"He can also use it to pick up some items to throw and to suck up elements and spit them out.",
"That's about it, though.",
"If you're used to squirrel tails, super-high jumping, and the like, you won't find it here.",
"I found the absence of unusual movement to be a detraction from the game play.",
"The puzzles, too, don't seem to be quite up to par, possibly because they're limited by the tools with which you can solve them.",
"I'll admit that I also got stuck at one point in this game, which is something that I use as an indication of a game's quality - how frequently do I get stuck, and, if I use a hint book, could I have discovered this on my own?",
"I never did check this out for Luigi's Mansion, partly because I wasn't inspired to keep playing.",
"The actual capturing of the ghosts is essentially reeling them in as fish - if you played Ocarina of Time on the N64, you'll remember that little part of the game.",
"For me, it was an enjoyable break in the game, but hardly enough to base an entire game on.",
"Little ghosts are easy to reel in.",
"Bigger ghosts take more effort.",
"Sometimes you can reel in two or more at once.",
"Special ghosts require that you do certain things before you can reel them in.",
"Yawn.",
"I'm not quite sure if this is intended for adults as much as it is for kids, but my experience with this type of game and with the kids that I know indicates that more often than not, kids expect just as much out of these games as adults do, especially if it's their money they're using to buy them.",
"In any event, I found it to be a disappointing launch title, and I traded it in about a month after purchase.",
"If you're a die-hard Mario/Luigi fan, or if you're collecting every GameCube game there is, maybe you'll have more fun with it than I did.",
"It was fun for a while, but the novelty wore off quickly."
] |
Where to start, well this game looks great. It sounds great. It's fast and frantic action will either drive you away or keep you coming for more.
If you've played any other unreal tournament game you should know what you're expecting, it's different, yes, but still very much the same. There's no real campaign or single player to speak of. It's all about the multiplayer.
There's some new features to this game that make it a little more interesting than previous titles, you can customize your character by changing from some preset armor for their head, torso, arms and legs.
Multiplayer can be very difficult if you're new and playing with other people online.
I know some people who just couldn't play online because they couldn't kill anyone, they just died, and died, and died... Finally after being frustrated beyond belief they finally just quit. So if you're not very good at first person shooters (Unless you just want to play with bots) or you can deal with dying a lot (And I mean, a lot) then I don't think this would be much fun for you and not really worth your money.
For those of you that can hold your own, many classic weapons from the past titles are still here. There's still weapons like the bio rifle, the link gun, flack cannon, the sniper rifle, rocket launcher, etc. But they've all been... Well for the lack of a better word, modernized. Everything feels much more real than previous titles, the weapons just feel like something that you can actually use in real life. Everything's also much darker, grittier and bloodier.
All in all, if you've played the previous unreal tournaments you'll pretty much feel right at home except that you should expect a much more modern, raw, and violent game. It almost feels like a close cousin to games like Gears of War. But if you haven't played this before, or you're not very good at first person shooters, this probably won't make you as happy as some other games you can buy for the same price. | 1 | neutral | [
"Where to start, well this game looks great.",
"It sounds great.",
"It's fast and frantic action will either drive you away or keep you coming for more.",
"If you've played any other unreal tournament game you should know what you're expecting, it's different, yes, but still very much the same.",
"There's no real campaign or single player to speak of.",
"It's all about the multiplayer.",
"There's some new features to this game that make it a little more interesting than previous titles, you can customize your character by changing from some preset armor for their head, torso, arms and legs.",
"Multiplayer can be very difficult if you're new and playing with other people online.",
"I know some people who just couldn't play online because they couldn't kill anyone, they just died, and died, and died...",
"Finally after being frustrated beyond belief they finally just quit.",
"So if you're not very good at first person shooters (Unless you just want to play with bots) or you can deal with dying a lot (And I mean, a lot) then I don't think this would be much fun for you and not really worth your money.",
"For those of you that can hold your own, many classic weapons from the past titles are still here.",
"There's still weapons like the bio rifle, the link gun, flack cannon, the sniper rifle, rocket launcher, etc.",
"But they've all been...",
"Well for the lack of a better word, modernized.",
"Everything feels much more real than previous titles, the weapons just feel like something that you can actually use in real life.",
"Everything's also much darker, grittier and bloodier.",
"All in all, if you've played the previous unreal tournaments you'll pretty much feel right at home except that you should expect a much more modern, raw, and violent game.",
"It almost feels like a close cousin to games like Gears of War.",
"But if you haven't played this before, or you're not very good at first person shooters, this probably won't make you as happy as some other games you can buy for the same price."
] |
Years ago my cologne of choice was a Calvin Klein creation called CK One. That scent was light clean and citrusy, the type that I still prefer though my current go to choices have been Issey Miyake L'eau D'issei and Fierce by Abercrombie and Fitch. (Mentioned to establish a baseline of personal preference.) Those both qualify for the suggested correct strength of a scent also, of being barely detectable until someone has leaned into your personal space. I was anxious to see what the people at Klein had released with this new Reveal. Love the container which has clean lines and suggests something simple but elegant inside. The first spray revealed a scent that had strong overtones, at least to my nose, of Vanilla beans and a hint of Almonds; both very pleasant. It takes a few minutes for any scent to mix with your individual body chemistry and skin oils and any initial alcohol to evaporate before it settles down to it's real character. Allowing that time left still very strong scent of vanilla and perhaps talcum powder, but very, very sweet. Almost overpoweringly so. In fact it caused me to react by repeated sneezing. Something I've never experienced with any product before. You want a scent to linger so it lasts throughout your day, but this scent was so strong I found myself with a headache and actually needed to wash it off! Imagining, perhaps, something else in the environment had caused the reaction, I applied it again the next day, but the reaction was the same. The scent was so overpowering that I felt the need to apologize to anyone near me, and hoped I wasn't giving off the impression of those people we all know who seem to take a bath in their perfume or cologne. (My elderly third grade teacher comes to mind, though was forgiven after my parents explained that elderly folks sometimes have their sense of smell diminished so put on copious amounts of a scent until they can detect it!) To be clear, I like the scent and tones, but if the volume could be dialed back considerably. I even tried spraying it on my fingers to just then dab a bit on my neck, but it still has boom box volume. Sorry Calvin, you still have all my boxer and blue jean dollars, but until the scent is toned down in another incarnation, I can't use Reveal. I suggest, as with any scent, a person test it at your department store of choice or at a duty free shop between flights to see if the scent and powerful strength is to your liking. As with all things, scent and strength are relative to our individual taste and perception. But the screaming volume and cotton candy sweetness that lingers unfortunately make it unusable for me. | 1 | neutral | [
"Years ago my cologne of choice was a Calvin Klein creation called CK One.",
"That scent was light clean and citrusy, the type that I still prefer though my current go to choices have been Issey Miyake L'eau D'issei and Fierce by Abercrombie and Fitch.",
"(Mentioned to establish a baseline of personal preference.",
") Those both qualify for the suggested correct strength of a scent also, of being barely detectable until someone has leaned into your personal space.",
"I was anxious to see what the people at Klein had released with this new Reveal.",
"Love the container which has clean lines and suggests something simple but elegant inside.",
"The first spray revealed a scent that had strong overtones, at least to my nose, of Vanilla beans and a hint of Almonds; both very pleasant.",
"It takes a few minutes for any scent to mix with your individual body chemistry and skin oils and any initial alcohol to evaporate before it settles down to it's real character.",
"Allowing that time left still very strong scent of vanilla and perhaps talcum powder, but very, very sweet.",
"Almost overpoweringly so.",
"In fact it caused me to react by repeated sneezing.",
"Something I've never experienced with any product before.",
"You want a scent to linger so it lasts throughout your day, but this scent was so strong I found myself with a headache and actually needed to wash it off!",
"Imagining, perhaps, something else in the environment had caused the reaction, I applied it again the next day, but the reaction was the same.",
"The scent was so overpowering that I felt the need to apologize to anyone near me, and hoped I wasn't giving off the impression of those people we all know who seem to take a bath in their perfume or cologne.",
"(My elderly third grade teacher comes to mind, though was forgiven after my parents explained that elderly folks sometimes have their sense of smell diminished so put on copious amounts of a scent until they can detect it!",
") To be clear, I like the scent and tones, but if the volume could be dialed back considerably.",
"I even tried spraying it on my fingers to just then dab a bit on my neck, but it still has boom box volume.",
"Sorry Calvin, you still have all my boxer and blue jean dollars, but until the scent is toned down in another incarnation, I can't use Reveal.",
"I suggest, as with any scent, a person test it at your department store of choice or at a duty free shop between flights to see if the scent and powerful strength is to your liking.",
"As with all things, scent and strength are relative to our individual taste and perception.",
"But the screaming volume and cotton candy sweetness that lingers unfortunately make it unusable for me."
] |
I have purchased, over the past six months several "Remastered" and "Special Edition" Box Sets. I was expecting to notice a difference in quality of recording. I bought the Physical CD's and Converted them to AIFF format, which is loss less audio quality. I then uploaded them to an IPOD with no compression. I then played the music on my Bowers and Wilkins Zepplin Air.
[...]
Which retails for 600 dollars and is worth every penny. So I am not using cheap IPOD players using compressed .mp3 format.
There was absolutely NO difference in audio quality on the "Remastered" or "Special Edition" Box sets I stopped buying. It is my opinion that the record industry likes to boost sales on old material by coming up with these marketing packaged re-issues and throw in a few "Extra Features" and spice it up to look pretty, another advertising trick to visually appeal to a fan that always would like more from a group long gone.
The "Extra's" really aren't worth much. If they were they would have been released a long time ago, like with the original recordings on CD. They are the crumbs that they throw at you to blow money on something you really don't need. Bait, catch your interest, impulse buy. My advice, think twice. The industry is on a roll now to re release special editions to further milk the albums that Pink Floyd fans already own.
I admit, I was tempted to purchase this Box Set but realized it is not for me. But for people who do not have Pink Floyd Albums and want to dive in for the first time. By all means give it a try. But the original release would be money better spent. | 1 | neutral | [
"I have purchased, over the past six months several \"Remastered\" and \"Special Edition\" Box Sets.",
"I was expecting to notice a difference in quality of recording.",
"I bought the Physical CD's and Converted them to AIFF format, which is loss less audio quality.",
"I then uploaded them to an IPOD with no compression.",
"I then played the music on my Bowers and Wilkins Zepplin Air.",
"[...",
"]\nWhich retails for 600 dollars and is worth every penny.",
"So I am not using cheap IPOD players using compressed.",
"mp3 format.",
"There was absolutely NO difference in audio quality on the \"Remastered\" or \"Special Edition\" Box sets I stopped buying.",
"It is my opinion that the record industry likes to boost sales on old material by coming up with these marketing packaged re-issues and throw in a few \"Extra Features\" and spice it up to look pretty, another advertising trick to visually appeal to a fan that always would like more from a group long gone.",
"The \"Extra's\" really aren't worth much.",
"If they were they would have been released a long time ago, like with the original recordings on CD.",
"They are the crumbs that they throw at you to blow money on something you really don't need.",
"Bait, catch your interest, impulse buy.",
"My advice, think twice.",
"The industry is on a roll now to re release special editions to further milk the albums that Pink Floyd fans already own.",
"I admit, I was tempted to purchase this Box Set but realized it is not for me.",
"But for people who do not have Pink Floyd Albums and want to dive in for the first time.",
"By all means give it a try.",
"But the original release would be money better spent."
] |
Gun Valkyrie for the Xbox system was one of the games touted to show the processing power of Microsoft's very first video game console. Game developer Smilebit (also developed another Xbox game, Jet Set Radio Future) and publisher Sega succeeded in creating a beautiful game. Gun Valkyrie fully harnesses the Xbox's ability to create great graphics, especially smoke and particle effects. What bring's this action game down was the inclusion of one of the most unforgiving control schemes of any video game I've ever tried.
The game is set in an alternate timeline, early 1900's where humanity has found a way to harness the power from the passing Halley's Comet and thus discovering brand-new scientific applications for this new technology. Gun Valkyrie uses the steampunk theme of the sci-fi genre and does it well. The art design of the game mixes beautifully Victorian-era architecture with futuristic weaponry and gear. Planets are soon colonized and it's in the space colonies that the story takes place. Gun Valkyrie is pretty much an action shooter where the player gets a chance to choose between a female or male fighter and shoot down an inordinate amount of aliens which have a passing resemblance to the arachnids in the film Starship Troopers. Again the design of the alien planet and its inhabitants are well rendered and makes this a great looking game, but its the control scheme which for some reason makes uncomfortable use of the two analog sticks for movement by way of clicking them.
Gun Valkyrie would've been one of the great games. Not just in terms of look and design. It definitely wins high marks for graphics and production design. But its the unforgiving controls which turns a difficult game into one that's beyond frustrating that it cancels out any fun the game may provide a player. | 1 | neutral | [
"Gun Valkyrie for the Xbox system was one of the games touted to show the processing power of Microsoft's very first video game console.",
"Game developer Smilebit (also developed another Xbox game, Jet Set Radio Future) and publisher Sega succeeded in creating a beautiful game.",
"Gun Valkyrie fully harnesses the Xbox's ability to create great graphics, especially smoke and particle effects.",
"What bring's this action game down was the inclusion of one of the most unforgiving control schemes of any video game I've ever tried.",
"The game is set in an alternate timeline, early 1900's where humanity has found a way to harness the power from the passing Halley's Comet and thus discovering brand-new scientific applications for this new technology.",
"Gun Valkyrie uses the steampunk theme of the sci-fi genre and does it well.",
"The art design of the game mixes beautifully Victorian-era architecture with futuristic weaponry and gear.",
"Planets are soon colonized and it's in the space colonies that the story takes place.",
"Gun Valkyrie is pretty much an action shooter where the player gets a chance to choose between a female or male fighter and shoot down an inordinate amount of aliens which have a passing resemblance to the arachnids in the film Starship Troopers.",
"Again the design of the alien planet and its inhabitants are well rendered and makes this a great looking game, but its the control scheme which for some reason makes uncomfortable use of the two analog sticks for movement by way of clicking them.",
"Gun Valkyrie would've been one of the great games.",
"Not just in terms of look and design.",
"It definitely wins high marks for graphics and production design.",
"But its the unforgiving controls which turns a difficult game into one that's beyond frustrating that it cancels out any fun the game may provide a player."
] |
I received this cooker for Christmas 2008 ( a Wal Mart purchase).
It was my first pressure cooker, and it cooked wonderfully (though it was a bit tight for two chickens); until it failed.
After about 6 uses, it would no longer establish pressure. The red pop up on the handle (indication that pressure was up and handle locked) started popping up to about twice the height it normally emerged from the handle (when the cooker worked) and steam vented from all around the handle junction with the lid.
I tried everything the book said to do. The handle was tight. I inspected, streched and oiled the gasket. No luck. I called Mirro (Wearever) and they told me to boil the gasket for 15 min. and then oil it. I did all these things, to no avail.
So I returned it. Now I'm going to try Presto. | 1 | neutral | [
"I received this cooker for Christmas 2008 ( a Wal Mart purchase).",
"It was my first pressure cooker, and it cooked wonderfully (though it was a bit tight for two chickens); until it failed.",
"After about 6 uses, it would no longer establish pressure.",
"The red pop up on the handle (indication that pressure was up and handle locked) started popping up to about twice the height it normally emerged from the handle (when the cooker worked) and steam vented from all around the handle junction with the lid.",
"I tried everything the book said to do.",
"The handle was tight.",
"I inspected, streched and oiled the gasket.",
"No luck.",
"I called Mirro (Wearever) and they told me to boil the gasket for 15 min.",
"and then oil it.",
"I did all these things, to no avail.",
"So I returned it.",
"Now I'm going to try Presto."
] |
I bought this to replace my mirror after the mount stud broke off at the ball; I'm happy with it, but there are pros and cons...
Good: The mounting stud is thicker than the original, so hopefully will be more durable. Size and color match well, and the mirror seems good quality.
Bad: Out of the box the ball was froze solid. Not visibly rusted, just stuck. I needed a mirror and didn't want to wait a few more days for returns, so I used some PB-Blaster and carefuly worked it loose then applied some lithium grease. Took about 15 minutes, and had to be careful not to snap it (it was REALLY stuck somehow). Also had to tighen up the three screws on the bottom after a couple weeks on the truck, as they got really loose - I only noticed because the mirror kept dropping as I was driving down the interstate.
In-between: It's black plastic, not metal, but that's what you get for this price. The surround is a little flimsy; you can see it flex when you grab it to adjust, but if you're not adjusting your mirrors all the time its not noticable. | 1 | neutral | [
"I bought this to replace my mirror after the mount stud broke off at the ball; I'm happy with it, but there are pros and cons...",
"Good: The mounting stud is thicker than the original, so hopefully will be more durable.",
"Size and color match well, and the mirror seems good quality.",
"Bad: Out of the box the ball was froze solid.",
"Not visibly rusted, just stuck.",
"I needed a mirror and didn't want to wait a few more days for returns, so I used some PB-Blaster and carefuly worked it loose then applied some lithium grease.",
"Took about 15 minutes, and had to be careful not to snap it (it was REALLY stuck somehow).",
"Also had to tighen up the three screws on the bottom after a couple weeks on the truck, as they got really loose - I only noticed because the mirror kept dropping as I was driving down the interstate.",
"In-between: It's black plastic, not metal, but that's what you get for this price.",
"The surround is a little flimsy; you can see it flex when you grab it to adjust, but if you're not adjusting your mirrors all the time its not noticable."
] |
What does the American Dream mean today? For Niko Belic, fresh off the boat from Europe. It's the hope he can escape his past. For his cousin, Roman, it is the vision that together they can find fortune in Liberty City, gateway to the land of opportunity. As they slip into debt and are dragged into a criminal underworld by a series of shysters, thieves and sociopaths, they discover that the reality is very different from the dream in a city that worships money and status, and is heaven for those who have them an a living nightmare for those who don't. It's amazing that a sequel that keeps the core gameplay concepts of its prior incarnations can do so much to change itself into something new. Cabs are awesome, as is the cellphones capabilities. GTA IV is the best action game ever. The game has beautiful details, nice situations, extrodinary gameplay, sharp humor and great graphics. There are certainly a few minor negatives about the game, but the positive points are just too much. We have one piece of advice: Buy! Recommend for GTA fans there is more POSOTIVES than NEGATIVES. I f you love action, crime, cursing, guns, girls, GRAND THEFT lol this game is for you, buddy! | 1 | neutral | [
"What does the American Dream mean today?",
"For Niko Belic, fresh off the boat from Europe.",
"It's the hope he can escape his past.",
"For his cousin, Roman, it is the vision that together they can find fortune in Liberty City, gateway to the land of opportunity.",
"As they slip into debt and are dragged into a criminal underworld by a series of shysters, thieves and sociopaths, they discover that the reality is very different from the dream in a city that worships money and status, and is heaven for those who have them an a living nightmare for those who don't.",
"It's amazing that a sequel that keeps the core gameplay concepts of its prior incarnations can do so much to change itself into something new.",
"Cabs are awesome, as is the cellphones capabilities.",
"GTA IV is the best action game ever.",
"The game has beautiful details, nice situations, extrodinary gameplay, sharp humor and great graphics.",
"There are certainly a few minor negatives about the game, but the positive points are just too much.",
"We have one piece of advice: Buy!",
"Recommend for GTA fans there is more POSOTIVES than NEGATIVES.",
"I f you love action, crime, cursing, guns, girls, GRAND THEFT lol this game is for you, buddy!"
] |
I bought this when amazon had the special limited offer holiday sale for a super cheap price. First of all, Amazon has amazing shipping -- the super savers shipping got here blazingly fast -- incredible for being a free service.
Second of all, I immediately sold this item and bought a premium version for 100 dollars more than the core. Why? Simply because the premium version comes with things the core does not have like a harddrive, component cables, wireless controller, headset, and free month of xbox live gold. Basically, if you get a core, you will not be able to utilize many xbox live features. And if you decide to buy these additional items separately, you'll be paying much more than if you just bought the premium in the first place.
Don't get me wrong, the core is nice. If you're planning on playing without using live, all you additionally need is a memory card for your game saves.
The hardware itself runs a little hot during graphics intensive games and is prone to needing repairs, but Microsoft recently extended the 90-day warranty to 1 year, which is great if you don't plan on buying a warranty from the store you buy your system from. Also, this should go without saying, but make sure that you place your xbox360 on a study surface, and NEVER move the xbox while it's powered on. This thing will scratch up your disks if you move it while it's powered. My disks have barely noticible scuffs on them even though I've never moved the 360 at all. I just attribute this to normal wear and tear, though it's probably the fault of the console itself.
All-in-all the system has been a blast to play with. I bought a Wii and Xbox 360 at the same time, and the xbox is powered on far more often than the Wii, that's for sure. With games like Gears of War over xbox live, it just can't be beat. Speaking of xbox live, the downloadable content available with the premium version is excellent. You can download most game's demos before making the decision to buy the actual game. There's also HD content TV shows and movies that you can buy/rent on the Microsoft marketplace if you're interested in that sort of thing.
Anyhow, I highly recommend this product whether you plan on playing over xbox live or not. Happy gaming! | 1 | neutral | [
"I bought this when amazon had the special limited offer holiday sale for a super cheap price.",
"First of all, Amazon has amazing shipping -- the super savers shipping got here blazingly fast -- incredible for being a free service.",
"Second of all, I immediately sold this item and bought a premium version for 100 dollars more than the core.",
"Why?",
"Simply because the premium version comes with things the core does not have like a harddrive, component cables, wireless controller, headset, and free month of xbox live gold.",
"Basically, if you get a core, you will not be able to utilize many xbox live features.",
"And if you decide to buy these additional items separately, you'll be paying much more than if you just bought the premium in the first place.",
"Don't get me wrong, the core is nice.",
"If you're planning on playing without using live, all you additionally need is a memory card for your game saves.",
"The hardware itself runs a little hot during graphics intensive games and is prone to needing repairs, but Microsoft recently extended the 90-day warranty to 1 year, which is great if you don't plan on buying a warranty from the store you buy your system from.",
"Also, this should go without saying, but make sure that you place your xbox360 on a study surface, and NEVER move the xbox while it's powered on.",
"This thing will scratch up your disks if you move it while it's powered.",
"My disks have barely noticible scuffs on them even though I've never moved the 360 at all.",
"I just attribute this to normal wear and tear, though it's probably the fault of the console itself.",
"All-in-all the system has been a blast to play with.",
"I bought a Wii and Xbox 360 at the same time, and the xbox is powered on far more often than the Wii, that's for sure.",
"With games like Gears of War over xbox live, it just can't be beat.",
"Speaking of xbox live, the downloadable content available with the premium version is excellent.",
"You can download most game's demos before making the decision to buy the actual game.",
"There's also HD content TV shows and movies that you can buy/rent on the Microsoft marketplace if you're interested in that sort of thing.",
"Anyhow, I highly recommend this product whether you plan on playing over xbox live or not.",
"Happy gaming!"
] |
I loved Pat Conroy's book, The Prince of Tides. I looked forward to the film version. Nick Nolte was an inspired choice to play Tom Wingo. I have no qualms with the rest of the cast. I, too, wish that more of the story (of Luke especially) could have been told. But, I have no major problem with the screenplay and the direction served the script fine.
My problem is that Streisand as producer and director should have read the damn book a little closer when it came to the character of Lowenstein, the psychiatrist. She was described as upper-class, slim & dark, cultured, refined & immaculate. Now, Barbra may be interesting & intelligent....but classy and refined she ain't. Not with footlong violet fingernails that would rival the Dragonlady's. Maybe if I hadn't read the book, it would have worked...but I doubt it.
Casting in a movie is half the battle. And that her ego allowed her to cast herself in this role says more about Barbra's delusions than it does her talent. She told the story well, but the great love and understanding between Wingo and Lowenstein just wasn't believable for me between Nolte and Streisand.
Too bad, because she handled the rest of the movie pretty well. I only wrote this because Barbra did a lot of bitching at the time that she was overlooked at Oscar time for Best Director. I truly feel that had she cast that role to someone else and JUST directed, she would have made the list. But, she had to make the movie a Barbra Streisand movie starring Barbra and thereby sank it rom potentially great to just a good film. Ego will get you every time. 3-1/2 stars. | 1 | neutral | [
"I loved Pat Conroy's book, The Prince of Tides.",
"I looked forward to the film version.",
"Nick Nolte was an inspired choice to play Tom Wingo.",
"I have no qualms with the rest of the cast.",
"I, too, wish that more of the story (of Luke especially) could have been told.",
"But, I have no major problem with the screenplay and the direction served the script fine.",
"My problem is that Streisand as producer and director should have read the damn book a little closer when it came to the character of Lowenstein, the psychiatrist.",
"She was described as upper-class, slim & dark, cultured, refined & immaculate.",
"Now, Barbra may be interesting & intelligent....",
"but classy and refined she ain't.",
"Not with footlong violet fingernails that would rival the Dragonlady's.",
"Maybe if I hadn't read the book, it would have worked...",
"but I doubt it.",
"Casting in a movie is half the battle.",
"And that her ego allowed her to cast herself in this role says more about Barbra's delusions than it does her talent.",
"She told the story well, but the great love and understanding between Wingo and Lowenstein just wasn't believable for me between Nolte and Streisand.",
"Too bad, because she handled the rest of the movie pretty well.",
"I only wrote this because Barbra did a lot of bitching at the time that she was overlooked at Oscar time for Best Director.",
"I truly feel that had she cast that role to someone else and JUST directed, she would have made the list.",
"But, she had to make the movie a Barbra Streisand movie starring Barbra and thereby sank it rom potentially great to just a good film.",
"Ego will get you every time.",
"3-1/2 stars."
] |
Seems to do a very good job of not allowing spyware to install, a great job of protecting your computer against viruses, trojans, etc., and has very easy to use and effective firewall at the presets/configuration. However, it gives you scripting errors on many sub-sections, including spam control and some areas of firewall control. I tried to do a live chat with Symantec support. I was able to reach a tech in far less than the 15 minutes noted on their screen. However, when I described what my problem was, I was suddenly disconnected from the live chat session. Maybe the disconnect was just an error, but combined with the non-configurable sections of the software, the experience made me find another antivirus/firewall solution and then uninstall the product on one computer. (I had it running on two machines. The one it is still installed on is more modern and has 2 GB RAM...it gets the same scripting errors.)
It might be worth the current $20 being asked here (discount) to someone who never wishes to customize controls since the antivirus, etc., do work well. But, make sure you have a relatively modern machine running XP. | 1 | neutral | [
"Seems to do a very good job of not allowing spyware to install, a great job of protecting your computer against viruses, trojans, etc.",
", and has very easy to use and effective firewall at the presets/configuration.",
"However, it gives you scripting errors on many sub-sections, including spam control and some areas of firewall control.",
"I tried to do a live chat with Symantec support.",
"I was able to reach a tech in far less than the 15 minutes noted on their screen.",
"However, when I described what my problem was, I was suddenly disconnected from the live chat session.",
"Maybe the disconnect was just an error, but combined with the non-configurable sections of the software, the experience made me find another antivirus/firewall solution and then uninstall the product on one computer.",
"(I had it running on two machines.",
"The one it is still installed on is more modern and has 2 GB RAM...",
"it gets the same scripting errors.",
")\n\nIt might be worth the current $20 being asked here (discount) to someone who never wishes to customize controls since the antivirus, etc.",
", do work well.",
"But, make sure you have a relatively modern machine running XP."
] |
I must confess that I read "The Princess and the Goblin" primarily for educational purposes. I love studying classical fantastic literature, particularly Lewis and Tolkien. Furthermore, Lewis in particular is an inspiration to me. Therefore, I was very interested to learn about the man who had a tremendous influence on these genre trailblazers, to point that Lewis referred to George MacDonald as his master. And with someone like G.K. Chesterton saying that "Princess" had "made a difference to my whole existence" this book seemed like a good place to start.
Fans of Narnia will clearly see the influence MacDonald had on Lewis in the book. The writing style is very similar. Moreover, one can clearly see a shared knack for bringing out key moral and doctrinal points in manner that is both natural and witty. Though it never feels like a sermon, you still come away feeling as if you've learned something.
Some major themes of the book this include the nature of both courage and faith. It's clearly implied that scary creatures (goblins) are terrified by people who aren't afraid of them. Moreover, MacDonald mocks unwarranted pride and portrays it as the goblin's fatal weakness.
Perhaps the major difference between C.S. Lewis and his master is their theology. While he was anything but conventional, Lewis was far more orthodox than MacDonald. While Lewis was a firm Complementarian, MacDonald had definite Egalitarian leanings, going so far as to make the God-figure an old lady. Interestingly enough, both of these men existed before their given doctrinal stances on this issue had been fully systematized and evaluated by church as whole. In many respects, they were both well ahead of their time on this issue, though they found themselves trailblazing in different directions.
Likewise, there's some "I'm okay, you're okay" sentiment expressed, no doubt the fruit of his Universalist theology. While one's views of these issues may affect their perception of the book, the "preaching" is subtle enough that those who disagree with him won't be terribly turned off. The main feeling you have when you finish the book is that you just read a charming piece of literature, not a theological thesis. That said, I was a little surprised by how contemporary MacDonald sounded. It's as if an Emergent church leader had somehow gotten stuck in the late Victorian era.
The story itself follows a "true princess", Irene, and a brave miner boy, Curdie. Both the main characters have high morals, which are more lifestyles than dogmas. There is very little character development in the book. Irene becomes a little braver and Curdie a little more trusting. But that's about it. Perhaps this was done in the spirit of a care-free fairy tale about two children's adventures.
In summary, the book is very good for what it is. It's not incredibly deep, though the underlying themes that do exist are skillfully and wittily portrayed. The book feels very much like a child's fairy tale, with the author not feeling the need to burden the book with realism or unnecessary details. If you're looking for a light, enjoyable read "The Princess and the Goblin" is a good pick. | 1 | neutral | [
"I must confess that I read \"The Princess and the Goblin\" primarily for educational purposes.",
"I love studying classical fantastic literature, particularly Lewis and Tolkien.",
"Furthermore, Lewis in particular is an inspiration to me.",
"Therefore, I was very interested to learn about the man who had a tremendous influence on these genre trailblazers, to point that Lewis referred to George MacDonald as his master.",
"And with someone like G.",
"K. Chesterton saying that \"Princess\" had \"made a difference to my whole existence\" this book seemed like a good place to start.",
"Fans of Narnia will clearly see the influence MacDonald had on Lewis in the book.",
"The writing style is very similar.",
"Moreover, one can clearly see a shared knack for bringing out key moral and doctrinal points in manner that is both natural and witty.",
"Though it never feels like a sermon, you still come away feeling as if you've learned something.",
"Some major themes of the book this include the nature of both courage and faith.",
"It's clearly implied that scary creatures (goblins) are terrified by people who aren't afraid of them.",
"Moreover, MacDonald mocks unwarranted pride and portrays it as the goblin's fatal weakness.",
"Perhaps the major difference between C.",
"S. Lewis and his master is their theology.",
"While he was anything but conventional, Lewis was far more orthodox than MacDonald.",
"While Lewis was a firm Complementarian, MacDonald had definite Egalitarian leanings, going so far as to make the God-figure an old lady.",
"Interestingly enough, both of these men existed before their given doctrinal stances on this issue had been fully systematized and evaluated by church as whole.",
"In many respects, they were both well ahead of their time on this issue, though they found themselves trailblazing in different directions.",
"Likewise, there's some \"I'm okay, you're okay\" sentiment expressed, no doubt the fruit of his Universalist theology.",
"While one's views of these issues may affect their perception of the book, the \"preaching\" is subtle enough that those who disagree with him won't be terribly turned off.",
"The main feeling you have when you finish the book is that you just read a charming piece of literature, not a theological thesis.",
"That said, I was a little surprised by how contemporary MacDonald sounded.",
"It's as if an Emergent church leader had somehow gotten stuck in the late Victorian era.",
"The story itself follows a \"true princess\", Irene, and a brave miner boy, Curdie.",
"Both the main characters have high morals, which are more lifestyles than dogmas.",
"There is very little character development in the book.",
"Irene becomes a little braver and Curdie a little more trusting.",
"But that's about it.",
"Perhaps this was done in the spirit of a care-free fairy tale about two children's adventures.",
"In summary, the book is very good for what it is.",
"It's not incredibly deep, though the underlying themes that do exist are skillfully and wittily portrayed.",
"The book feels very much like a child's fairy tale, with the author not feeling the need to burden the book with realism or unnecessary details.",
"If you're looking for a light, enjoyable read \"The Princess and the Goblin\" is a good pick."
] |
I was so excited to finally find a copy of this game and eagerly awaited for it to arrive....excited until I played it. It is nowhere near as exciting as I thought it would be having read all the reviews. I mean it's ok for an average game but that's it. The only really good part is when you are at sea in your ship. At sea, the graphics are really good. Watch out for those storms though. I have been playing for about 4 hrs or so now and those storms sink my ships every single time. Must be some trick to survive them I guess. We shall see. If you find this cheap somewhere, pick it up. But I wouldn't spend too much money on it. | 1 | neutral | [
"I was so excited to finally find a copy of this game and eagerly awaited for it to arrive....",
"excited until I played it.",
"It is nowhere near as exciting as I thought it would be having read all the reviews.",
"I mean it's ok for an average game but that's it.",
"The only really good part is when you are at sea in your ship.",
"At sea, the graphics are really good.",
"Watch out for those storms though.",
"I have been playing for about 4 hrs or so now and those storms sink my ships every single time.",
"Must be some trick to survive them I guess.",
"We shall see.",
"If you find this cheap somewhere, pick it up.",
"But I wouldn't spend too much money on it."
] |
Fifth instalment of the long and entertainment Megaman Battle Network series. Is the game good or bad and frustrating? Lets see...
Graphics: Don't expect any changes here. The only changes Capcom made was a different design of the net (a maze in short words) and like 6 different places to go in the Real World, they are not special or beautiful to look at. The sprites are the same like in Megaman Battle Network 4, they are smaller and look better.
Gameplay: Here is the new thing about this game. You don't play only as Megaman, you get to play with differents Navis but only on liberation missions so is the same thing. You get to play with: Gyroman (an annoying helicopter navi), Searchman (Meh...), Magnemant (from Battle Network 2), Medi (An useless navi...), Protoman (yay...) and Napalman (A secret navi from Battle Network 2). As I stated above you only use them in the liberated missions. Meaning that their use is limited to the player. Im glad Capcom implemented that cause its always fun to upgrade Megaman and battle with him. New in this game is the so called "Liberation/Liberate Missions" where you get to battle a "Darkloid" from the evil syndicate Nebula, in these missions you will play as different navis, every one of them has their unique ability and that adds variety to the gameplay. When you start a liberate mission the game changes from a normal RPG wandering game to a (lets call it) FF Tactics. In those missions you will have to liberate or clear any poisoned panel in your way to get to the darkloid. HOWEVER, when you start fight you will have to kill a virus between 3 turns! That means if you fail killing it. You won't clear the panel and loose a turn. (CHEAP, Capcom, CHEAP).
There are also DARKHOLES that you need to clear because these holes protects the darkloid and you cannot get by and fight the darkloid if you don't destroy these holes. Each hole has a Mini-Boss, when the Darkloid?s turn arrives, he will either attack you or will have these Mini-Boss to attack you if you are near them.
As you progress you will be required to find KEYS and it makes the game cheaper, because you actually don't know where they are. (Here is where the other navis are useful). There a three types of panel.
Poisoned Panel: A normal battle will occur if you attempt to liberate it.
Item Panel: A normal battle will occur if you attempt to liberate it. But after the battle you will receive an item of any kind: Chip, order points, health, invisible.
Random Item Panel: These are yellow and it had a ? on it. No battle in this one. But a screen will flash and you will have to press the A button and see which item you get. Is all about luck and timing.
Another thing that I want to make clear in these missions is that, if you attempt to liberate a panel and your navi is standing between two panel (you liberate the front panel) a battle will follow and virus will appear from both sides! (When I heard about this I thought it was cool) but is NOT! The enemies are harder, sometimes there is cracked panel and DOMINERDS which makes it a frustration! This is the main "Juice" about this game and its cheap.
But besides these missions everything else is normal. Some cheap viruses battles (Ahem, Cloudman) and extremely easy bosses battles. The soul system is still a pain since is a 3 turn based system... and you don't want to get stuck with one soul in an entire battle (Ahem, last fight) without using chips.
Sound/Music: The music is still catchy but nothing special. The boss battle theme sucks, same with the busting virus them, I remember I went to this Chinese like town and the music blew me away, the net music sucks... same sound from the other instalments. The only BGM that caught my attention was the title music and the last battle. But nothing else.
Story: Not a big deal either. It sucks, I say capcom was on drugs while making the game... the translation from Japanese to English is NOT perfect. I remember seeing some issues with it. Lan?s dad gets kidnapped by (guess what?) Nebula! Boo-Hoo... your friends pets are stolen too... you join a team... sometimes you have to fight a member of the team before they "officially" join the team. You get to see lines such as "I did bad... ok I'm joining the TEAM!" and Lan is like "Ok!" Capcom, make something great at least or something convincing like in Battle Network 3... MEH!
Control: Same thing with previous instalment. Nothing has changed, except that you can turn megaman direction in the liberate missions with the L and R buttons. But nothing has really changed.
All in all if this is your first time in the battle network series, avoid this. Start with Battle Network 2. If you are a fan of the series, give it a good rental since this game is frustrating and I really mean it! | 1 | neutral | [
"Fifth instalment of the long and entertainment Megaman Battle Network series.",
"Is the game good or bad and frustrating?",
"Lets see...",
"Graphics: Don't expect any changes here.",
"The only changes Capcom made was a different design of the net (a maze in short words) and like 6 different places to go in the Real World, they are not special or beautiful to look at.",
"The sprites are the same like in Megaman Battle Network 4, they are smaller and look better.",
"Gameplay: Here is the new thing about this game.",
"You don't play only as Megaman, you get to play with differents Navis but only on liberation missions so is the same thing.",
"You get to play with: Gyroman (an annoying helicopter navi), Searchman (Meh...",
"), Magnemant (from Battle Network 2), Medi (An useless navi...",
"), Protoman (yay...",
") and Napalman (A secret navi from Battle Network 2).",
"As I stated above you only use them in the liberated missions.",
"Meaning that their use is limited to the player.",
"Im glad Capcom implemented that cause its always fun to upgrade Megaman and battle with him.",
"New in this game is the so called \"Liberation/Liberate Missions\" where you get to battle a \"Darkloid\" from the evil syndicate Nebula, in these missions you will play as different navis, every one of them has their unique ability and that adds variety to the gameplay.",
"When you start a liberate mission the game changes from a normal RPG wandering game to a (lets call it) FF Tactics.",
"In those missions you will have to liberate or clear any poisoned panel in your way to get to the darkloid.",
"HOWEVER, when you start fight you will have to kill a virus between 3 turns!",
"That means if you fail killing it.",
"You won't clear the panel and loose a turn.",
"(CHEAP, Capcom, CHEAP).",
"There are also DARKHOLES that you need to clear because these holes protects the darkloid and you cannot get by and fight the darkloid if you don't destroy these holes.",
"Each hole has a Mini-Boss, when the Darkloid?",
"s turn arrives, he will either attack you or will have these Mini-Boss to attack you if you are near them.",
"As you progress you will be required to find KEYS and it makes the game cheaper, because you actually don't know where they are.",
"(Here is where the other navis are useful).",
"There a three types of panel.",
"Poisoned Panel: A normal battle will occur if you attempt to liberate it.",
"Item Panel: A normal battle will occur if you attempt to liberate it.",
"But after the battle you will receive an item of any kind: Chip, order points, health, invisible.",
"Random Item Panel: These are yellow and it had a?",
"on it.",
"No battle in this one.",
"But a screen will flash and you will have to press the A button and see which item you get.",
"Is all about luck and timing.",
"Another thing that I want to make clear in these missions is that, if you attempt to liberate a panel and your navi is standing between two panel (you liberate the front panel) a battle will follow and virus will appear from both sides!",
"(When I heard about this I thought it was cool) but is NOT!",
"The enemies are harder, sometimes there is cracked panel and DOMINERDS which makes it a frustration!",
"This is the main \"Juice\" about this game and its cheap.",
"But besides these missions everything else is normal.",
"Some cheap viruses battles (Ahem, Cloudman) and extremely easy bosses battles.",
"The soul system is still a pain since is a 3 turn based system...",
"and you don't want to get stuck with one soul in an entire battle (Ahem, last fight) without using chips.",
"Sound/Music: The music is still catchy but nothing special.",
"The boss battle theme sucks, same with the busting virus them, I remember I went to this Chinese like town and the music blew me away, the net music sucks...",
"same sound from the other instalments.",
"The only BGM that caught my attention was the title music and the last battle.",
"But nothing else.",
"Story: Not a big deal either.",
"It sucks, I say capcom was on drugs while making the game...",
"the translation from Japanese to English is NOT perfect.",
"I remember seeing some issues with it.",
"Lan?",
"s dad gets kidnapped by (guess what?",
") Nebula!",
"Boo-Hoo...",
"your friends pets are stolen too...",
"you join a team...",
"sometimes you have to fight a member of the team before they \"officially\" join the team.",
"You get to see lines such as \"I did bad...",
"ok I'm joining the TEAM!",
"\" and Lan is like \"Ok!",
"\" Capcom, make something great at least or something convincing like in Battle Network 3...",
"MEH!",
"Control: Same thing with previous instalment.",
"Nothing has changed, except that you can turn megaman direction in the liberate missions with the L and R buttons.",
"But nothing has really changed.",
"All in all if this is your first time in the battle network series, avoid this.",
"Start with Battle Network 2.",
"If you are a fan of the series, give it a good rental since this game is frustrating and I really mean it!"
] |
This game started off great! Graphics are magnificent, sound effects are astounding, beginning credits gave that real Star Wars movie feel...but after a while, things just seemed to get too repetitive. Basically, every mission is to destroy, destroy, destroy all enemy ships...a short movie scene...then destroy, destroy, destroy...I don't know...it just got tiring after a few hours. Controls are sort of difficult. I mean if this was "real life" flying a ship and targeting would probably be much more difficult; therefore, this game has certain degree of realism to it. Perhaps I'm not such a big fan of these types of games...it reminds me of that old game Descent where you simply blast everything in sight. If you're a fan of Descent and Star Wars, this game may be perfect for you and I'd definitely recommend it. But if you're expecting a sort of strategic, mystery, or puzzle type thing, this is not for you. This game is simply a flight simulator where you enhance your skills as a fighter pilot by thrusting and swooping in all directions and destroying enemy ships until the screen reads: Mission Complete.
This game just didn't hype me up to see what happens as I progressed every stage. After two hours of continuous blasting, it just got tiring and frustrating. By the way, this game will get you really dizzy because you are constantly in motion trying to target that one little ship after another. Overall, this game is not a bad game. I guarantee flight sim and Star Wars fans will love it. I blame myself for buying this game. I'm simply a Star Wars fan, and not a flight sim type of person. | 1 | neutral | [
"This game started off great!",
"Graphics are magnificent, sound effects are astounding, beginning credits gave that real Star Wars movie feel...",
"but after a while, things just seemed to get too repetitive.",
"Basically, every mission is to destroy, destroy, destroy all enemy ships...",
"a short movie scene...",
"then destroy, destroy, destroy...",
"I don't know...",
"it just got tiring after a few hours.",
"Controls are sort of difficult.",
"I mean if this was \"real life\" flying a ship and targeting would probably be much more difficult; therefore, this game has certain degree of realism to it.",
"Perhaps I'm not such a big fan of these types of games...",
"it reminds me of that old game Descent where you simply blast everything in sight.",
"If you're a fan of Descent and Star Wars, this game may be perfect for you and I'd definitely recommend it.",
"But if you're expecting a sort of strategic, mystery, or puzzle type thing, this is not for you.",
"This game is simply a flight simulator where you enhance your skills as a fighter pilot by thrusting and swooping in all directions and destroying enemy ships until the screen reads: Mission Complete.",
"This game just didn't hype me up to see what happens as I progressed every stage.",
"After two hours of continuous blasting, it just got tiring and frustrating.",
"By the way, this game will get you really dizzy because you are constantly in motion trying to target that one little ship after another.",
"Overall, this game is not a bad game.",
"I guarantee flight sim and Star Wars fans will love it.",
"I blame myself for buying this game.",
"I'm simply a Star Wars fan, and not a flight sim type of person."
] |
Feminists Outraged After Women's March Chooses Sen. Sanders to Headline Convention
The Women's March is holding its first National Women's Convention in four decades. So who did they get to headline opening night? Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) - you know the male.
Not only is Sanders not a woman but he tried to ruin the chances of the first ever female presidential candidate from a major party. He didn't succeed but he did hamper her momentum.
Some famous feminists were not amused he is now getting the spotlight.
"I think that right now no one can deny that Bernie Sanders is probably one of the most powerful U.S. senators ... on progressive issues womenâs issues mobilizing millennials. He is really in line with the principles of the Women's March " Mallory said in an exclusive interview Wednesday night.
Sanders doesn't seem to mind the noise. He 's just excited for the opportunity to stand in solidarity with women.
âIâm honored to join the women at the front lines of our struggle for economic social racial and environmental justice. In January millions of women came out in an extraordinary and unprecedented display of power and resistance " Sanders said in reference to the Women's March on Washington and sister protests in cities around the world on the first day of President Trump's administration. "Now more than ever we must support the leadership of women across the country and fight together to advance our progressive agenda." | 1 | neutral | [
"Feminists Outraged After Women's March Chooses Sen.",
"Sanders to Headline Convention\nThe Women's March is holding its first National Women's Convention in four decades.",
"So who did they get to headline opening night?",
"Sen.",
"Bernie Sanders (I-VT) - you know the male.",
"Not only is Sanders not a woman but he tried to ruin the chances of the first ever female presidential candidate from a major party.",
"He didn't succeed but he did hamper her momentum.",
"Some famous feminists were not amused he is now getting the spotlight.",
"\"I think that right now no one can deny that Bernie Sanders is probably one of the most powerful U.",
"S. senators...",
"on progressive issues womenâs issues mobilizing millennials.",
"He is really in line with the principles of the Women's March \" Mallory said in an exclusive interview Wednesday night.",
"Sanders doesn't seem to mind the noise.",
"He 's just excited for the opportunity to stand in solidarity with women.",
"âIâm honored to join the women at the front lines of our struggle for economic social racial and environmental justice.",
"In January millions of women came out in an extraordinary and unprecedented display of power and resistance \" Sanders said in reference to the Women's March on Washington and sister protests in cities around the world on the first day of President Trump's administration.",
"\"Now more than ever we must support the leadership of women across the country and fight together to advance our progressive agenda.",
"\""
] |
I just paid 9.28. 14.00 is the current price? NOT! La Fin........the product is ok. Nothing special. Quaker Oats is as good with a little brown sugar. Subscription cancelled!!! | 1 | neutral | [
"I just paid 9.",
"28.",
"14.",
"00 is the current price?",
"NOT!",
"La Fin....",
"....",
"the product is ok.",
"Nothing special.",
"Quaker Oats is as good with a little brown sugar.",
"Subscription cancelled!!!"
] |
This is a decent little level that will likely do all that a homeowner needs and is handy for the contractor as a "throw away" level in case you drop it or lose it. But it has one huge defect to my way of thinking. The dials light nicely and the build is decent, but the lights turn on with a huge rubber button on the side. This button is very easy to accidentally hit, both on and off during use, and more important, during storage. I use tool bags for all my tools, grouped by the tasks that I do. I bought 2 of these for those bags and frequently find them on as I move the bags around or in and out of the back of my SUV.
If this were to always hang on your wall in the workshop then I'm sure it's fine. If you keep your tools in boxes or bags that move abut at all, it'll chew up the battery turning on when you don't need it. Yeah, it turns off automatically but that's not the point. I wish Stanley still made the FatMax version of the 16 inch. | 1 | neutral | [
"This is a decent little level that will likely do all that a homeowner needs and is handy for the contractor as a \"throw away\" level in case you drop it or lose it.",
"But it has one huge defect to my way of thinking.",
"The dials light nicely and the build is decent, but the lights turn on with a huge rubber button on the side.",
"This button is very easy to accidentally hit, both on and off during use, and more important, during storage.",
"I use tool bags for all my tools, grouped by the tasks that I do.",
"I bought 2 of these for those bags and frequently find them on as I move the bags around or in and out of the back of my SUV.",
"If this were to always hang on your wall in the workshop then I'm sure it's fine.",
"If you keep your tools in boxes or bags that move abut at all, it'll chew up the battery turning on when you don't need it.",
"Yeah, it turns off automatically but that's not the point.",
"I wish Stanley still made the FatMax version of the 16 inch."
] |
We are told at the beginning of this story, that it takes place in 1869. But the language was more modern and it threw me off, plus our H, wasn't upset that she wasn't a virgin, knew about oral sex, and was obviously a loose women, who looked innocent Why wasn't he upset?
If the story was set a hundred years in the future, then I wouldn't have a problem with her experience. But for our H not being bothered that she was experience was hard to believe.
I liked the H alot, but not the h until very near the end. I bought this as part of a bundle deal, that is about all the brothers. As long as this is free, and you leave your common sense about this time period at the door, then go ahead an read it.
The beginning of the story will make you laugh. There are so touching moments too. There is HEA, no cliffhanger's, descriptive lovemaking too. (ljb) | 1 | neutral | [
"We are told at the beginning of this story, that it takes place in 1869.",
"But the language was more modern and it threw me off, plus our H, wasn't upset that she wasn't a virgin, knew about oral sex, and was obviously a loose women, who looked innocent Why wasn't he upset?",
"If the story was set a hundred years in the future, then I wouldn't have a problem with her experience.",
"But for our H not being bothered that she was experience was hard to believe.",
"I liked the H alot, but not the h until very near the end.",
"I bought this as part of a bundle deal, that is about all the brothers.",
"As long as this is free, and you leave your common sense about this time period at the door, then go ahead an read it.",
"The beginning of the story will make you laugh.",
"There are so touching moments too.",
"There is HEA, no cliffhanger's, descriptive lovemaking too.",
"(ljb)"
] |
They could be better. This toy consists of 5 stacking cups/buckets. I give it 3 stars because- there could be more colors and therefore more cups. Why give two red cups ( largest and smallest)? An orange and/or purple cup would have been a better choice so kids learn a greater range of colors. The size is good, creating a decent height tower that kids will enjoy knocking over. The largest bucket comes with a handle, good for toting around all kids of kiddie treasures. Some of the buckets have holes in the bottom for bath time, pool time or beach fun. They are easy to wash and dry quickly. For a 5 star product, that is slightly bigger, has more colours, same features/function, I suggest looking at the stacking buckets made by Tupperware. We own those too and love them! | 1 | neutral | [
"They could be better.",
"This toy consists of 5 stacking cups/buckets.",
"I give it 3 stars because- there could be more colors and therefore more cups.",
"Why give two red cups ( largest and smallest)?",
"An orange and/or purple cup would have been a better choice so kids learn a greater range of colors.",
"The size is good, creating a decent height tower that kids will enjoy knocking over.",
"The largest bucket comes with a handle, good for toting around all kids of kiddie treasures.",
"Some of the buckets have holes in the bottom for bath time, pool time or beach fun.",
"They are easy to wash and dry quickly.",
"For a 5 star product, that is slightly bigger, has more colours, same features/function, I suggest looking at the stacking buckets made by Tupperware.",
"We own those too and love them!"
] |
The thing about this story is, it's really quite interesting. It's a story I would read and devour. But the writing g is very methodical. There isn't very much build up to the action. There is no development of the action. Things just happen. They moved. The twins are different. The twins wreck the car. They find out one of them has powers. The special twin falls in love with a boy she can't. It's all very boring. But the story is NOT BORING. Does that even make sense? | 1 | neutral | [
"The thing about this story is, it's really quite interesting.",
"It's a story I would read and devour.",
"But the writing g is very methodical.",
"There isn't very much build up to the action.",
"There is no development of the action.",
"Things just happen.",
"They moved.",
"The twins are different.",
"The twins wreck the car.",
"They find out one of them has powers.",
"The special twin falls in love with a boy she can't.",
"It's all very boring.",
"But the story is NOT BORING.",
"Does that even make sense?"
] |
Yup. I dont know how 2 explain.... Need something in e server 2 compile e jsp, think unix dont hv. Else u can try. U create a folder in ur unix then upload ur file inside. Then u go 2 t webpage 2 c if u can view it. www.comp.nus.edu.sg/~howyijue/folder name/file.jsp | 1 | neutral | [
"Yup.",
"I dont know how 2 explain....",
"Need something in e server 2 compile e jsp, think unix dont hv.",
"Else u can try.",
"U create a folder in ur unix then upload ur file inside.",
"Then u go 2 t webpage 2 c if u can view it.",
"www.",
"comp.",
"nus.",
"edu.",
"sg/~howyijue/folder name/file.",
"jsp"
] |
A novel, it strongly, ambiguously, affirms before the beginning of the text, of a visit of Mary the mother of Jesus, Theotokos, the BVM in fact, to a Canadian writer. The visit, a week in duration, causes the writer to research Mary ~ after her departure, to be sure ~ and a number of her appearances through the ages and world. She gives the stories of many of these ~ maybe a dozen or more ~ scattered through the text; she passes no judgement on the veracity of the observers, nor on the sanity of the believers, though she does allow the sincerity of both, but leaves her reader free to do so. As a good Baptist, i am compelled (by my own blinders, perhaps, but also in all sincerity) to assume either ill-faith on the part of the visionaries or some form of mental/emotional instability, and a willingness to be duped for the followers. Still, it is very easy to see why Mary has been so attractive to the devout through the millennia: She is not (quite) divine, so you're not actually dealing with God; she is Jesus' mother, so she's got an in, as does anyone in her favour; she is unique (no other virginal conceptions), so confers some uniqueness on those to whom she appears; she is powerful, so appeals to the powerless; she is the direct descendent of Aphrodite, Astarte, Venus, Minerva, the Earth Goddess, so is almost universally appealing. In a way, it's almost surprising that this novel hasn't been written previously. Maybe it was, just not as well, or by an already known writer. For this is well written, for all that i dislike the subject matter; the protagonist is quite real and understandable, for the most part, as is her version of Mary. The plot, such as it is, is easy, simple, and quick ~ much as a week of life can be. The problem that i find with the book is, What is it's point, purpose? As an entertainment, it is unsatisfying. As a documentary, it is incomplete. As a record of Marian visitations, it is uncritical. Why is it here? | 1 | neutral | [
"A novel, it strongly, ambiguously, affirms before the beginning of the text, of a visit of Mary the mother of Jesus, Theotokos, the BVM in fact, to a Canadian writer.",
"The visit, a week in duration, causes the writer to research Mary ~ after her departure, to be sure ~ and a number of her appearances through the ages and world.",
"She gives the stories of many of these ~ maybe a dozen or more ~ scattered through the text; she passes no judgement on the veracity of the observers, nor on the sanity of the believers, though she does allow the sincerity of both, but leaves her reader free to do so.",
"As a good Baptist, i am compelled (by my own blinders, perhaps, but also in all sincerity) to assume either ill-faith on the part of the visionaries or some form of mental/emotional instability, and a willingness to be duped for the followers.",
"Still, it is very easy to see why Mary has been so attractive to the devout through the millennia: She is not (quite) divine, so you're not actually dealing with God; she is Jesus' mother, so she's got an in, as does anyone in her favour; she is unique (no other virginal conceptions), so confers some uniqueness on those to whom she appears; she is powerful, so appeals to the powerless; she is the direct descendent of Aphrodite, Astarte, Venus, Minerva, the Earth Goddess, so is almost universally appealing.",
"In a way, it's almost surprising that this novel hasn't been written previously.",
"Maybe it was, just not as well, or by an already known writer.",
"For this is well written, for all that i dislike the subject matter; the protagonist is quite real and understandable, for the most part, as is her version of Mary.",
"The plot, such as it is, is easy, simple, and quick ~ much as a week of life can be.",
"The problem that i find with the book is, What is it's point, purpose?",
"As an entertainment, it is unsatisfying.",
"As a documentary, it is incomplete.",
"As a record of Marian visitations, it is uncritical.",
"Why is it here?"
] |
I installed Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager on a Windows XP machine with a 1.6GHz processor and probably the minimum RAM recommended. The rest of my Windows Office suite is Office 2000. We used Outlook Express before installing this upgrade. I've only just begun to work with the contact manager aspect of the software since I'm wary of it. In the past I've hated ACT and QuickBooks Customer Manager, so I'm feeling very hesitant to invest time and effort importing data.
Pluses: I found the installation to be straight-forward and reasonable in time length. I was very impressed that Outlook imported not only our Outlook Express address book directly (didn't have to export from Express and then import), but also flawlessly imported the mail messages and the folders that were existing in Express. This had been a major concern, and there was no problem whatsoever.
Minuses: Outlook 2007 is a resource hog. Not only does it run slowly, but other programs chug or crash. I've had quite a few Word 2000 crashes when Outlook 2007 was closing or loading. Learning curve for the new interface is pretty steep when moving from an Office 2000 Outlook Express to 2007 Outlook. This is to be expected, but should still be a consideration when deciding whether to install this on your computer. For example, the other person who shares this computer is a senior citizen and has been very frusted that she can't find things like saving attachments because the interface is different. We've also had quite a bit of trouble with the account setup process. On the day I installed Outlook, I successfully created the two email accounts (ISP plus web domain email at a different company) and successfully sent and received mail. The next day, we could receive find but not send and the software refused to store the correct password...kept asking for the password every few seconds as it tried over and over to send an outgoing email. It took me about 45 mintues to find a work around, but we'll see if it still works tomorrow. | 1 | neutral | [
"I installed Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager on a Windows XP machine with a 1.",
"6GHz processor and probably the minimum RAM recommended.",
"The rest of my Windows Office suite is Office 2000.",
"We used Outlook Express before installing this upgrade.",
"I've only just begun to work with the contact manager aspect of the software since I'm wary of it.",
"In the past I've hated ACT and QuickBooks Customer Manager, so I'm feeling very hesitant to invest time and effort importing data.",
"Pluses: I found the installation to be straight-forward and reasonable in time length.",
"I was very impressed that Outlook imported not only our Outlook Express address book directly (didn't have to export from Express and then import), but also flawlessly imported the mail messages and the folders that were existing in Express.",
"This had been a major concern, and there was no problem whatsoever.",
"Minuses: Outlook 2007 is a resource hog.",
"Not only does it run slowly, but other programs chug or crash.",
"I've had quite a few Word 2000 crashes when Outlook 2007 was closing or loading.",
"Learning curve for the new interface is pretty steep when moving from an Office 2000 Outlook Express to 2007 Outlook.",
"This is to be expected, but should still be a consideration when deciding whether to install this on your computer.",
"For example, the other person who shares this computer is a senior citizen and has been very frusted that she can't find things like saving attachments because the interface is different.",
"We've also had quite a bit of trouble with the account setup process.",
"On the day I installed Outlook, I successfully created the two email accounts (ISP plus web domain email at a different company) and successfully sent and received mail.",
"The next day, we could receive find but not send and the software refused to store the correct password...",
"kept asking for the password every few seconds as it tried over and over to send an outgoing email.",
"It took me about 45 mintues to find a work around, but we'll see if it still works tomorrow."
] |
Rewind: 1975 - Rush had high hopes for Caress of Steel, but faced savage criticism against that album, and since it tanked, the supporting tour was labelled "down the tubes", as in demotion back to the club circuit.
Rush didn't get mad, they got even. The 2112 epic (side 1 on the vinyl LP, for those who don't know from vinyl) has nothing to do with futurism, contrary to appearances...it is a criticism of 1976 pop culture(the priests) and the impassive music media (Temples of Syrinx and their great computers) that had no room for alternative ideas. In the song, the pundits are defeated by Rush, metaphorically, at the Grand Finale when "Attention all planets..." is iterated 3 times (one time per member of Rush, get it?).
There are other sub-interpretations within the song as well...In the plotline, the protagonist suicides after his guitar is destroyed and he dreams of a better world he'll never see under the rule of the priests. He dies, so he doesn't live to see the world freed from oppression. The deeper meaning is that if you (the listener)give up on your aspirations, you'll never realize them...if you hold on, you may live to see better times. The ironic Grand Finale serves as a lesson that we should all endeavour to see things through and not give up too soon.
'nuff said...so why only 3/5 stars? Because after "Passage..." the remainder of the album is weak by Rush standards. I believe Rush made better albums, and especially better concept albums that hold a concept all the way through. As a rock album vs other rock albums, I'd give it 4 or 4 1/2 out of 5. | 1 | neutral | [
"Rewind: 1975 - Rush had high hopes for Caress of Steel, but faced savage criticism against that album, and since it tanked, the supporting tour was labelled \"down the tubes\", as in demotion back to the club circuit.",
"Rush didn't get mad, they got even.",
"The 2112 epic (side 1 on the vinyl LP, for those who don't know from vinyl) has nothing to do with futurism, contrary to appearances...",
"it is a criticism of 1976 pop culture(the priests) and the impassive music media (Temples of Syrinx and their great computers) that had no room for alternative ideas.",
"In the song, the pundits are defeated by Rush, metaphorically, at the Grand Finale when \"Attention all planets...",
"\" is iterated 3 times (one time per member of Rush, get it?",
").",
"There are other sub-interpretations within the song as well...",
"In the plotline, the protagonist suicides after his guitar is destroyed and he dreams of a better world he'll never see under the rule of the priests.",
"He dies, so he doesn't live to see the world freed from oppression.",
"The deeper meaning is that if you (the listener)give up on your aspirations, you'll never realize them...",
"if you hold on, you may live to see better times.",
"The ironic Grand Finale serves as a lesson that we should all endeavour to see things through and not give up too soon.",
"'nuff said...",
"so why only 3/5 stars?",
"Because after \"Passage...",
"\" the remainder of the album is weak by Rush standards.",
"I believe Rush made better albums, and especially better concept albums that hold a concept all the way through.",
"As a rock album vs other rock albums, I'd give it 4 or 4 1/2 out of 5."
] |
I said it then and I say it now, boys just want to have fun. Okay since when are guys not allowed to enjoy macho soldier movies? And ladies keep in mind when our toys are taken away yours will follow shortly thereafter. Sure this movie may not have any great acting, but actually the directing, costumes, sets, effects, and music aren't bad. Van Damme and Lundgren play soldiers that died in Viet Nam while fighting each other over killing a prisoner. The next thing you know it is thirty years later and they wake up in a special refrigeration truck with the latest in war toys and they are part of special unit designed to go in and perform miraculous fetes of physical endurance and prowess. You know, run down dams and things so they can rescue hostages. Probably why most guys enjoy this still. This is actually probably at the top of the heap of movies made by Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren. Although I must admit I love "Timecop" and "I Come in Peace". I actually cracked up when they commented on Van Damme's accent in the movie and asked if he was French. So it goes to show they even had a sense of humor. If you like action packed without alot of redeeming societal morality and political correctness then welcome to fun time with macho men fighting, shooting lots of bullets, and blowing things up. Great quality DVD with some special extras, decent replayability. | 1 | neutral | [
"I said it then and I say it now, boys just want to have fun.",
"Okay since when are guys not allowed to enjoy macho soldier movies?",
"And ladies keep in mind when our toys are taken away yours will follow shortly thereafter.",
"Sure this movie may not have any great acting, but actually the directing, costumes, sets, effects, and music aren't bad.",
"Van Damme and Lundgren play soldiers that died in Viet Nam while fighting each other over killing a prisoner.",
"The next thing you know it is thirty years later and they wake up in a special refrigeration truck with the latest in war toys and they are part of special unit designed to go in and perform miraculous fetes of physical endurance and prowess.",
"You know, run down dams and things so they can rescue hostages.",
"Probably why most guys enjoy this still.",
"This is actually probably at the top of the heap of movies made by Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren.",
"Although I must admit I love \"Timecop\" and \"I Come in Peace\".",
"I actually cracked up when they commented on Van Damme's accent in the movie and asked if he was French.",
"So it goes to show they even had a sense of humor.",
"If you like action packed without alot of redeeming societal morality and political correctness then welcome to fun time with macho men fighting, shooting lots of bullets, and blowing things up.",
"Great quality DVD with some special extras, decent replayability."
] |
Well... I'm a big fan of Robbin Hobbs. I loved the FarSeer trilogy, I thought the Living Ships trilogy was very good, but this new installment? I regret to inform you that this is not what a FarSeer fan would expect it to be.
The biggest problem is that Fitz has grown too old and weary. I can see why he became that way, he's had so much happen to him, but it doesn't make for an interesting book. The first hundred pages are devoted to Fitz's depressed ramblings and worries as he stays inside his cot doing pretty much nothing. Nothing happens to him, he doesn't make anything happen. It's so for such a long time that I almost wanted to put the book down. The only reason I kept going was that I thought the pace would eventually pick up. Even at her worst, Hobb's writing is so good that you keep on reading to simply see how she expresses Fitz's thoughts. (The book mainly consists of Fitz's thoughts. He thinks, thinks, and thinks.)
The good thing? I could completely believe everything that was happening. I'd expect someone who's gone through such trauma as Fitz has to be so depressed and boring and introverted.
Still. I mean, I didn't buy the book to read a study on the human mind. I bought it for an interesting read. Now interesting doesn't mean arrows and swords flying around, but it does mean cutting out some of the more uninteresting parts of life and displaying the more interesting parts. It's what every writer should do when revising. If the writer fails, the editer should do her job. You know what this book felt like? It felt like that girl in math class who CAN'T LEAVE A SINGLE THING OUT WHEN SHE'S TALKING. You know, the one who tells you who did what, when, where, how, in what manner, what it could have meant, what she thinks it meant, what her friend thinks it meant, her related expereinces... Until you just want to slap her to make her shut up.
Fitz doesn't connect with anyone else. He's stayed for too long in his cot (I told you to go out and excercise, Fitz!) and it shows. Throughout the whole book he'll connect with only two characters, and not that much. There's almost no dialogue, either. Because of Fitz's situation, which is being holed up all the time trying to conceal his identity, readers can't see what's going on. This is a big problem. The former books worked because the readers could live in the Six Duchies; now, along with Fitz, we are exiled and shuttered in the dark.
Hobbs should have either changed the plot so that Fitz had more going on, or she should have told it from another view point, a view point more free to roam and experience and live. Dutiful would have been a good choice. Maybe the Fool. Or else, like the Liveship trilogy, from a third point of view... Anything that wouldn't have made this book feel so thin and stretched out.
I'm disappointed. But I'm going to check out the next book to see if it's any better. I feel I have an obligation to see how the story ends. | 1 | neutral | [
"Well...",
"I'm a big fan of Robbin Hobbs.",
"I loved the FarSeer trilogy, I thought the Living Ships trilogy was very good, but this new installment?",
"I regret to inform you that this is not what a FarSeer fan would expect it to be.",
"The biggest problem is that Fitz has grown too old and weary.",
"I can see why he became that way, he's had so much happen to him, but it doesn't make for an interesting book.",
"The first hundred pages are devoted to Fitz's depressed ramblings and worries as he stays inside his cot doing pretty much nothing.",
"Nothing happens to him, he doesn't make anything happen.",
"It's so for such a long time that I almost wanted to put the book down.",
"The only reason I kept going was that I thought the pace would eventually pick up.",
"Even at her worst, Hobb's writing is so good that you keep on reading to simply see how she expresses Fitz's thoughts.",
"(The book mainly consists of Fitz's thoughts.",
"He thinks, thinks, and thinks.",
")\nThe good thing?",
"I could completely believe everything that was happening.",
"I'd expect someone who's gone through such trauma as Fitz has to be so depressed and boring and introverted.",
"Still.",
"I mean, I didn't buy the book to read a study on the human mind.",
"I bought it for an interesting read.",
"Now interesting doesn't mean arrows and swords flying around, but it does mean cutting out some of the more uninteresting parts of life and displaying the more interesting parts.",
"It's what every writer should do when revising.",
"If the writer fails, the editer should do her job.",
"You know what this book felt like?",
"It felt like that girl in math class who CAN'T LEAVE A SINGLE THING OUT WHEN SHE'S TALKING.",
"You know, the one who tells you who did what, when, where, how, in what manner, what it could have meant, what she thinks it meant, what her friend thinks it meant, her related expereinces...",
"Until you just want to slap her to make her shut up.",
"Fitz doesn't connect with anyone else.",
"He's stayed for too long in his cot (I told you to go out and excercise, Fitz!",
") and it shows.",
"Throughout the whole book he'll connect with only two characters, and not that much.",
"There's almost no dialogue, either.",
"Because of Fitz's situation, which is being holed up all the time trying to conceal his identity, readers can't see what's going on.",
"This is a big problem.",
"The former books worked because the readers could live in the Six Duchies; now, along with Fitz, we are exiled and shuttered in the dark.",
"Hobbs should have either changed the plot so that Fitz had more going on, or she should have told it from another view point, a view point more free to roam and experience and live.",
"Dutiful would have been a good choice.",
"Maybe the Fool.",
"Or else, like the Liveship trilogy, from a third point of view...",
"Anything that wouldn't have made this book feel so thin and stretched out.",
"I'm disappointed.",
"But I'm going to check out the next book to see if it's any better.",
"I feel I have an obligation to see how the story ends."
] |
In truth, there really hasn't been a great Mana game since Secret of Mana back in 1993. Every Mana game since has been met with astonishing mixed feelings, and Children of Mana is no different. Why did I buy it knowing this? For the same reason many Mana fans continue to invest in Mana games. There's always hope that the next installment will give us the same joy that Secret of Mana did. Unfortunately, Children of Mana does not do this. It doesn't rekindle the magic Secret of Mana gave us, but that shouldn't suggest it falls short of it either.
The world is in peril when a mana imbalance threatens to send the world back into the dark ages. It is up to a hero or heroine to stop this from happening and thus you'll set out to save the Mana Tree and the world itself. Children of Mana by no means has a great storyline going for it. At least where it falls short in story it more than makes up for in gameplay.
No matter how you look at it, Children of Mana is a dungeon crawler. It is an RPG, but it falls into the dungeon crawling category. When you enter dungeons they're just swarming with monsters, and you'll be surrounded before you know it. So you'll have to make your way through a dungeon battling everything in sight until you reach the boss, take him on, and then you're done. Rinse and repeat. The process does, at times become annoying, but Children of Mana offers some variety and interesting aspects to the gameplay to make up for it.
The first tidbit of interest is how combat works. It's actually pretty fun to go through dungeons killing things. It's surprisingly addictive for the first couple of hours. You've got three hit combos you can perform on enemies. You can knock enemies into other enemies. There's quite a bit of intersting things you can do. However, what also sets it apart from a lot of dungeon crawlers is that you can't ahead of yourself too fast. First and foremost, you can't equip and use everything you find right off the bat. The game will actually restrict you from using overly powerful weapons until you have access to certain dungeons or until you meet certain expectations. This keeps the game from being too simple too fast.
You'll also have access to magic, of course. Each time you go into a dungeon you can take a spirit with you and use the magic that spirit provides for you. It's interesting to play around with as well. In dungeons you can also dual wield weapons, although not in the way you'd think. When I say duel wield I specifically mean you can equip two weapons but only use one each time. So you can't go about swinging both of them at the same time, which probably would've added more variety to the gameplay otherwise.
Along the lines of giving your character a different assortment of weapons, you can also give them gems that can improve their stats or combat abilities. It's interesting, but not really all that deep. You'll mostly find or purchase these gems.
Another interesting aspect is that the game is completely linear should you decide to not to dwell into the many sidequests the game has to offer. Children of Mana is not shy about offering you side missions to go on, and they're actually pretty well worth it. However, should you decide not to do any sidequests, the game becomes extremely linear.
The problem with the gameplay, however is that this rinse and repeat formula becomes very tiring very fast. It's annoying mostly because each dungeon plays out in the same way. Fight through a horde of enemies, retrieve the Gleam Drop, fight a boss and leave. Over time it becomes increasingly repetitive. Thankfully, Children of Mana has a great remedy for that too. It's multiplayer. Up to four players can play at a time, and the game is so much more fun that way. You and your friends can make your way through dungeons together, and sometimes it's just a blast to do. There are moments of slowdown when playing in multiplayer mode, but it's nothing to get too frustrated with, because it doesn't happen too often. The multiplayer alone adds a lot of variety and complexity to the gameplay.
As far as graphics go the game doesn't look too bad. The sprites look like they're ripped straight ouf of Sword of Mana... and the game is completely 2D. However, the Mana games have not been about taking graphics to the limit, they've been about its unique art style, which in Children of Mana is absolutely gorgeous. Its artwork is just beautiful to look at. Each environment is given extremely good detail. The only problem, as I mentioned, are that the sprites are not nearly as detailed. Musically, Children of Mana sounds fantastic. It's one of the best sounding DS games out to date. Very few of the current games hold a candle up to its fantastic soundtrack.
The bottom line is simple: Children of Mana is a very fun game to play with a very mediocre storyline. There's just enough variety and interest in the gameplay to keep one going for the adventure, even if the storyline is just not all that great to begin with. However, keep in mind that Children of Mana really is just a dungeon crawl, and it's uncrealistic to expect an RPG that's all about dungeon crawling to have a fantastic storyline that will blow you away. Also, even with its vast amount of variety in the gameplay, the whole rinse and repeat is so repetitive that some gamers may not even find the game worth going through at all.
On the whole, if you're looking for a game that's fun, you'll find it with Children of Mana. However, if you're looking for a game with a deep storyline and endearing characters, you won't find it in Children of Mana.
The Good
+Beatiful Artwork
+Fantastic Soundtrack
+There's a lot of variety to the gameplay
+Multiplayer is a blasts
+Tons of sidequests to do
The Bad
-The storyline isn't good
-Very repetitive | 1 | neutral | [
"In truth, there really hasn't been a great Mana game since Secret of Mana back in 1993.",
"Every Mana game since has been met with astonishing mixed feelings, and Children of Mana is no different.",
"Why did I buy it knowing this?",
"For the same reason many Mana fans continue to invest in Mana games.",
"There's always hope that the next installment will give us the same joy that Secret of Mana did.",
"Unfortunately, Children of Mana does not do this.",
"It doesn't rekindle the magic Secret of Mana gave us, but that shouldn't suggest it falls short of it either.",
"The world is in peril when a mana imbalance threatens to send the world back into the dark ages.",
"It is up to a hero or heroine to stop this from happening and thus you'll set out to save the Mana Tree and the world itself.",
"Children of Mana by no means has a great storyline going for it.",
"At least where it falls short in story it more than makes up for in gameplay.",
"No matter how you look at it, Children of Mana is a dungeon crawler.",
"It is an RPG, but it falls into the dungeon crawling category.",
"When you enter dungeons they're just swarming with monsters, and you'll be surrounded before you know it.",
"So you'll have to make your way through a dungeon battling everything in sight until you reach the boss, take him on, and then you're done.",
"Rinse and repeat.",
"The process does, at times become annoying, but Children of Mana offers some variety and interesting aspects to the gameplay to make up for it.",
"The first tidbit of interest is how combat works.",
"It's actually pretty fun to go through dungeons killing things.",
"It's surprisingly addictive for the first couple of hours.",
"You've got three hit combos you can perform on enemies.",
"You can knock enemies into other enemies.",
"There's quite a bit of intersting things you can do.",
"However, what also sets it apart from a lot of dungeon crawlers is that you can't ahead of yourself too fast.",
"First and foremost, you can't equip and use everything you find right off the bat.",
"The game will actually restrict you from using overly powerful weapons until you have access to certain dungeons or until you meet certain expectations.",
"This keeps the game from being too simple too fast.",
"You'll also have access to magic, of course.",
"Each time you go into a dungeon you can take a spirit with you and use the magic that spirit provides for you.",
"It's interesting to play around with as well.",
"In dungeons you can also dual wield weapons, although not in the way you'd think.",
"When I say duel wield I specifically mean you can equip two weapons but only use one each time.",
"So you can't go about swinging both of them at the same time, which probably would've added more variety to the gameplay otherwise.",
"Along the lines of giving your character a different assortment of weapons, you can also give them gems that can improve their stats or combat abilities.",
"It's interesting, but not really all that deep.",
"You'll mostly find or purchase these gems.",
"Another interesting aspect is that the game is completely linear should you decide to not to dwell into the many sidequests the game has to offer.",
"Children of Mana is not shy about offering you side missions to go on, and they're actually pretty well worth it.",
"However, should you decide not to do any sidequests, the game becomes extremely linear.",
"The problem with the gameplay, however is that this rinse and repeat formula becomes very tiring very fast.",
"It's annoying mostly because each dungeon plays out in the same way.",
"Fight through a horde of enemies, retrieve the Gleam Drop, fight a boss and leave.",
"Over time it becomes increasingly repetitive.",
"Thankfully, Children of Mana has a great remedy for that too.",
"It's multiplayer.",
"Up to four players can play at a time, and the game is so much more fun that way.",
"You and your friends can make your way through dungeons together, and sometimes it's just a blast to do.",
"There are moments of slowdown when playing in multiplayer mode, but it's nothing to get too frustrated with, because it doesn't happen too often.",
"The multiplayer alone adds a lot of variety and complexity to the gameplay.",
"As far as graphics go the game doesn't look too bad.",
"The sprites look like they're ripped straight ouf of Sword of Mana...",
"and the game is completely 2D.",
"However, the Mana games have not been about taking graphics to the limit, they've been about its unique art style, which in Children of Mana is absolutely gorgeous.",
"Its artwork is just beautiful to look at.",
"Each environment is given extremely good detail.",
"The only problem, as I mentioned, are that the sprites are not nearly as detailed.",
"Musically, Children of Mana sounds fantastic.",
"It's one of the best sounding DS games out to date.",
"Very few of the current games hold a candle up to its fantastic soundtrack.",
"The bottom line is simple: Children of Mana is a very fun game to play with a very mediocre storyline.",
"There's just enough variety and interest in the gameplay to keep one going for the adventure, even if the storyline is just not all that great to begin with.",
"However, keep in mind that Children of Mana really is just a dungeon crawl, and it's uncrealistic to expect an RPG that's all about dungeon crawling to have a fantastic storyline that will blow you away.",
"Also, even with its vast amount of variety in the gameplay, the whole rinse and repeat is so repetitive that some gamers may not even find the game worth going through at all.",
"On the whole, if you're looking for a game that's fun, you'll find it with Children of Mana.",
"However, if you're looking for a game with a deep storyline and endearing characters, you won't find it in Children of Mana.",
"The Good\n\n+Beatiful Artwork\n+Fantastic Soundtrack\n+There's a lot of variety to the gameplay\n+Multiplayer is a blasts\n+Tons of sidequests to do\n\nThe Bad\n\n-The storyline isn't good\n-Very repetitive"
] |
'A Dance with Dragons' is the fifth novel in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. I haven't included any spoilers about 'Dance' in this review, but it is impossible to discuss the book without revealing events from the first four. So if you haven't read <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/A-Game-of-Thrones-A-Song-of-Ice-and-Fire-Book-1/dp/0553386794/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1)</a> (1996) and its sequels, go ahead and get yourself caught up. I'll wait.
Okay, now that we're all on the same page (literally), you're probably a little unsatisfied by <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/A-Feast-for-Crows-A-Song-of-Ice-and-Fire-Book-4/dp/0553582038/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 4)</a> (2005). After all, as Martin writes in the afterword, "Wait a minute, wait a minute! Where's Dany and the dragons? Where's Tyrion? We hardly saw Jon Snow. That can't be all of it..." Fortunately, that is correct. The story Martin set out to tell in 'Feast' was too big to fit in just one book, so he divided it into two. 'Dance' tells the rest of the story, although like all of the other books in the series, it ends with more loose ends than knots.
In 'Dance,' the game of thrones is far from over, and it has become clear that the game is not worth winning (though losing is much worse). Only one of the original claimants in the "War of Five Kings" still lives, but new contenders keep popping up. The fight for control of Westeros has become a world war, with new fronts opening up north of the Wall and across the Narrow Sea.
Martin's great strength is his ability to flesh out all of his characters by regularly shifting point of view. Cersei Lannister, in particular, begins the saga as a calculating ice queen, but is startlingly human in 'Feast' and 'Dance.' Like the real world, Westeros contains no heroes or villains, just people whose mistakes cause unintended suffering.
This review originally appeared in Pop Mythology.
Matt Hlinak
Author of <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/DoG/dp/0615700217/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">DoG</a> | 1 | neutral | [
"'A Dance with Dragons' is the fifth novel in George R.",
"R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series.",
"I haven't included any spoilers about 'Dance' in this review, but it is impossible to discuss the book without revealing events from the first four.",
"So if you haven't read <a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/A-Game-of-Thrones-A-Song-of-Ice-and-Fire-Book-1/dp/0553386794/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1)</a> (1996) and its sequels, go ahead and get yourself caught up.",
"I'll wait.",
"Okay, now that we're all on the same page (literally), you're probably a little unsatisfied by <a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/A-Feast-for-Crows-A-Song-of-Ice-and-Fire-Book-4/dp/0553582038/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 4)</a> (2005).",
"After all, as Martin writes in the afterword, \"Wait a minute, wait a minute!",
"Where's Dany and the dragons?",
"Where's Tyrion?",
"We hardly saw Jon Snow.",
"That can't be all of it...",
"\" Fortunately, that is correct.",
"The story Martin set out to tell in 'Feast' was too big to fit in just one book, so he divided it into two.",
"'Dance' tells the rest of the story, although like all of the other books in the series, it ends with more loose ends than knots.",
"In 'Dance,' the game of thrones is far from over, and it has become clear that the game is not worth winning (though losing is much worse).",
"Only one of the original claimants in the \"War of Five Kings\" still lives, but new contenders keep popping up.",
"The fight for control of Westeros has become a world war, with new fronts opening up north of the Wall and across the Narrow Sea.",
"Martin's great strength is his ability to flesh out all of his characters by regularly shifting point of view.",
"Cersei Lannister, in particular, begins the saga as a calculating ice queen, but is startlingly human in 'Feast' and 'Dance.",
"' Like the real world, Westeros contains no heroes or villains, just people whose mistakes cause unintended suffering.",
"This review originally appeared in Pop Mythology.",
"Matt Hlinak\nAuthor of <a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/DoG/dp/0615700217/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">DoG</a>"
] |
This collection has become something of a cult favorite among Christie enthusiasts. I liked it, with some reservations. A series of stories featuring a Mr. Satterthwaite, an old bachelor of apparently independent means, who is invited to a seemingly endless series of house parties and, along the way, solves a number of mysteries with the help of the strange "catalyst" Mr. Quin.
First the things I didn't like. These are, for the most part, very slight stories in which the roles and the world are almost beside the point -- they could be happening anytime, anywhere. I don't know if that was the intent, and I do think the Universalism of these things has helped Christie's work live on. (Christie in many respects did for Twenties and Thirties Britain what Doyle did for 1880's and 1890's Britain: she created a kind of sanitized, universal Consensus World not all that different from what we now see with Star Trek and Star Wars. In Christie's world there's always a house party going on somewhere, people flit about from entertainment to entertainment, there's plenty of Bright Things and Money, and charming eccentrics are the metaphysical embodiment of Justice.) But I think her world's are quite shallow, she has talent but she is not the master of setting that Doyle is. Once you've been to one house party, you've been to them all.
Many of her secondary characters are quite flat and shallow as well, mere role-players in the harlequinade Christie is staging (she refers to such things often in the book, beyond the obvious parallels I quite believe she is informed by this as a guiding, organizing principle.) I also think her morality rather shallow, not that I disagree with it but her epiphanies are not the same as G.K. Chesterton's, say (who basically is all ABOUT the epiphanies). For the most part I don't think Christie gets much beyond things like "bad people are bad", "innocence must be protected", or "adhere to God's plan". (Again, this is apart from what I actually believe, I in fact believe a lot of that, I just think it's badly presented here.)
What's good about QUIN are the two main characters. Well, one: Quin isn't really a "character", he's a supernatural plot device. Still, Christie utilizes him well, drawing us further and further along in acquaintanceship until, at the end, we begin to realize some fearsome things about Mr. Quin.
No, the main character is Satterhthwaite, and in most respects he saves these stories. He's the most vividly realized -- unlike just about every other character here he feels like a real person. He grows as a character as the stories progress. He has believable weaknesses both small (snobbery) and big (a repressed bitterness toward life). He's really well done, and Christie (for once, gently) hints here at an implicit critique of the detective: she seems to be saying that to be a great detective you would have to be somebody like Satterthwaite, somebody who failed at life, the two would go hand in hand.
I'm not enthusiastic about it, I think QUIN shows up Christie's strengths and weaknesses quite ably. I do think the interesting stuff here is just interesting enough to push this into the recommended camp, though. | 1 | neutral | [
"This collection has become something of a cult favorite among Christie enthusiasts.",
"I liked it, with some reservations.",
"A series of stories featuring a Mr.",
"Satterthwaite, an old bachelor of apparently independent means, who is invited to a seemingly endless series of house parties and, along the way, solves a number of mysteries with the help of the strange \"catalyst\" Mr.",
"Quin.",
"First the things I didn't like.",
"These are, for the most part, very slight stories in which the roles and the world are almost beside the point -- they could be happening anytime, anywhere.",
"I don't know if that was the intent, and I do think the Universalism of these things has helped Christie's work live on.",
"(Christie in many respects did for Twenties and Thirties Britain what Doyle did for 1880's and 1890's Britain: she created a kind of sanitized, universal Consensus World not all that different from what we now see with Star Trek and Star Wars.",
"In Christie's world there's always a house party going on somewhere, people flit about from entertainment to entertainment, there's plenty of Bright Things and Money, and charming eccentrics are the metaphysical embodiment of Justice.",
") But I think her world's are quite shallow, she has talent but she is not the master of setting that Doyle is.",
"Once you've been to one house party, you've been to them all.",
"Many of her secondary characters are quite flat and shallow as well, mere role-players in the harlequinade Christie is staging (she refers to such things often in the book, beyond the obvious parallels I quite believe she is informed by this as a guiding, organizing principle.",
") I also think her morality rather shallow, not that I disagree with it but her epiphanies are not the same as G.",
"K. Chesterton's, say (who basically is all ABOUT the epiphanies).",
"For the most part I don't think Christie gets much beyond things like \"bad people are bad\", \"innocence must be protected\", or \"adhere to God's plan\".",
"(Again, this is apart from what I actually believe, I in fact believe a lot of that, I just think it's badly presented here.",
")\n\nWhat's good about QUIN are the two main characters.",
"Well, one: Quin isn't really a \"character\", he's a supernatural plot device.",
"Still, Christie utilizes him well, drawing us further and further along in acquaintanceship until, at the end, we begin to realize some fearsome things about Mr.",
"Quin.",
"No, the main character is Satterhthwaite, and in most respects he saves these stories.",
"He's the most vividly realized -- unlike just about every other character here he feels like a real person.",
"He grows as a character as the stories progress.",
"He has believable weaknesses both small (snobbery) and big (a repressed bitterness toward life).",
"He's really well done, and Christie (for once, gently) hints here at an implicit critique of the detective: she seems to be saying that to be a great detective you would have to be somebody like Satterthwaite, somebody who failed at life, the two would go hand in hand.",
"I'm not enthusiastic about it, I think QUIN shows up Christie's strengths and weaknesses quite ably.",
"I do think the interesting stuff here is just interesting enough to push this into the recommended camp, though."
] |
Update: I just packed the phone up and returned it to ATT.
This phone is just like the Samsung Galaxy Tablet which is GREAT for a TABLET, but horrible for a phone. Before you can answer the phone, you have to slide and unlock it. When you are on the phone, you often hit the speaker button because it is so touch sensitive.
What caused me to return it though is the battery. I have work phone and a home phone so I really don't talk on my cell phone that much. If, however, I made ONE phone call, the battery would drain all the way down to red. This happened not one day but 5 days in a row. A professional reviewer mentioned something may be wrong with the battery but I didn't believe it because I wasn't really using the phone. When I tried to use the phone, the short battery life made it virtually impossible.
As for hearing people, I resolved that issue. Just turn the volume up as loud as it can go and your ears will be blasted.
This is a perfect phone in thought; HORRIBLE in execution.
Update #2: Ended up with a Motorola ATRIX 2 and it puts this phone to shame. Stay away from Samsung phones!
*********************************
ORIGINAL REVIEW
I first had the Samsung slider phone. I couldn't hear a thing and sold it on Ebay. I then got a Motorola Flip, which I could hear everything but it lacked the bells and whistles so I got the Samsung Eternity. I couldn't hear anything on the Samsung Eternity but I kept it because I liked the phone. Then, I saw my co-worker had a Samsung Impression with a Qwerty Keyboard so I got that phone. I liked the bells and whistles but I couldnt' hear anything so I went back to the Motorola. Again, frustrated by the lack of bells and whistles, I order a CHINESE phone off Ebay which supposedly had tv, internet, video, and so forth. Biggest mistake of my life - the phone was crap. So, here I am again with the Samsung Double time. I love the phone. It is JUST LIKE my Samsung Galaxy; just a smaller version. I LOVE THE SAMSUNG GALAXY so a phone that has the exact same features, without having to download stuff off Itunes is the phone for me.
Can I hear? Well, I called ATT about my rebate and the lady kept saying: YOU ARE BREAKING UP! SO, no I can't hear anybody and they can't hear me, but I love this phone.
If Samsung would improve their sound quality and ADD the phone back to the Galaxy Tab, they could potentially run Apple out of the phone and Tablet business. | 1 | neutral | [
"Update: I just packed the phone up and returned it to ATT.",
"This phone is just like the Samsung Galaxy Tablet which is GREAT for a TABLET, but horrible for a phone.",
"Before you can answer the phone, you have to slide and unlock it.",
"When you are on the phone, you often hit the speaker button because it is so touch sensitive.",
"What caused me to return it though is the battery.",
"I have work phone and a home phone so I really don't talk on my cell phone that much.",
"If, however, I made ONE phone call, the battery would drain all the way down to red.",
"This happened not one day but 5 days in a row.",
"A professional reviewer mentioned something may be wrong with the battery but I didn't believe it because I wasn't really using the phone.",
"When I tried to use the phone, the short battery life made it virtually impossible.",
"As for hearing people, I resolved that issue.",
"Just turn the volume up as loud as it can go and your ears will be blasted.",
"This is a perfect phone in thought; HORRIBLE in execution.",
"Update #2: Ended up with a Motorola ATRIX 2 and it puts this phone to shame.",
"Stay away from Samsung phones!",
"*********************************\nORIGINAL REVIEW\n\nI first had the Samsung slider phone.",
"I couldn't hear a thing and sold it on Ebay.",
"I then got a Motorola Flip, which I could hear everything but it lacked the bells and whistles so I got the Samsung Eternity.",
"I couldn't hear anything on the Samsung Eternity but I kept it because I liked the phone.",
"Then, I saw my co-worker had a Samsung Impression with a Qwerty Keyboard so I got that phone.",
"I liked the bells and whistles but I couldnt' hear anything so I went back to the Motorola.",
"Again, frustrated by the lack of bells and whistles, I order a CHINESE phone off Ebay which supposedly had tv, internet, video, and so forth.",
"Biggest mistake of my life - the phone was crap.",
"So, here I am again with the Samsung Double time.",
"I love the phone.",
"It is JUST LIKE my Samsung Galaxy; just a smaller version.",
"I LOVE THE SAMSUNG GALAXY so a phone that has the exact same features, without having to download stuff off Itunes is the phone for me.",
"Can I hear?",
"Well, I called ATT about my rebate and the lady kept saying: YOU ARE BREAKING UP!",
"SO, no I can't hear anybody and they can't hear me, but I love this phone.",
"If Samsung would improve their sound quality and ADD the phone back to the Galaxy Tab, they could potentially run Apple out of the phone and Tablet business."
] |
Ok, Ok, we get it. Tony hawk is fun and good. The problem is, it's the same game it was 10 years ago. Sure this time there are some destruction elements and some new players and new places, but blah blah blah. Same old, same old. This is a near perfect port of the ps2. It looks great, it plays great, and if you like completing tasks, you keep this game forever. Or, you'll figure out that you wasting insane amounts of time to complete stupid mundane tasks in order to unlock another fascinating new level and many more stupid tasks. We should call it Tony Hawk's puzzle skateboarding, since after the initial coolness of the new world wares off, you spend all of your time solving the puzzle of completing the task.
Bottom Line: Is it fun? As fun as every other Tony game they release yearly. Will I keep it? Not for long. Nothing new here. Buy the game now if you love all Tony Hawk games. Is it for kids? Not to bad if your kids want to just skate around. | 1 | neutral | [
"Ok, Ok, we get it.",
"Tony hawk is fun and good.",
"The problem is, it's the same game it was 10 years ago.",
"Sure this time there are some destruction elements and some new players and new places, but blah blah blah.",
"Same old, same old.",
"This is a near perfect port of the ps2.",
"It looks great, it plays great, and if you like completing tasks, you keep this game forever.",
"Or, you'll figure out that you wasting insane amounts of time to complete stupid mundane tasks in order to unlock another fascinating new level and many more stupid tasks.",
"We should call it Tony Hawk's puzzle skateboarding, since after the initial coolness of the new world wares off, you spend all of your time solving the puzzle of completing the task.",
"Bottom Line: Is it fun?",
"As fun as every other Tony game they release yearly.",
"Will I keep it?",
"Not for long.",
"Nothing new here.",
"Buy the game now if you love all Tony Hawk games.",
"Is it for kids?",
"Not to bad if your kids want to just skate around."
] |
First of all, achtung baby is a great disc. More importantly, in regards to this release, the 2nd disc is not worth the money. The tracks on it are far from great and most U2 fans will have them already. It would have been good if the extra tracks from the "super deluxe edition" were on the regular deluxe version. Or if a few live tracks were on this addition.
1. Lady With The Spinning Head (UV1) - good song which became ultraviolet
2. Blow Your House Down - boring, Good reason not to include on album
3. Salom - another boring B-side
4. Even Better Than The Real Thing (Single Version) - uninteresting version
5. Satellite Of Love - great cover
6. Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses (Temple Bar Remix)
7. Paint It Black - bad cover
8. Even Better Than The Real Thing (Fish Out Of Water Remix) - uninteresting remix
9. Mysterious Ways (The Perfecto Mix)
10. Night And Day - good cover
11. The Lounge Fly Mix
12. Fortunate Son - bad cover
13. Alex Descends Into Hell For A Bottle Of Milk / Korova 1 - boring instrumental
14. Where Did It All Go Wrong? - another one that rightly was not included on album | 1 | neutral | [
"First of all, achtung baby is a great disc.",
"More importantly, in regards to this release, the 2nd disc is not worth the money.",
"The tracks on it are far from great and most U2 fans will have them already.",
"It would have been good if the extra tracks from the \"super deluxe edition\" were on the regular deluxe version.",
"Or if a few live tracks were on this addition.",
"1.",
"Lady With The Spinning Head (UV1) - good song which became ultraviolet\n 2.",
"Blow Your House Down - boring, Good reason not to include on album\n 3.",
"Salom - another boring B-side\n 4.",
"Even Better Than The Real Thing (Single Version) - uninteresting version\n 5.",
"Satellite Of Love - great cover\n 6.",
"Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses (Temple Bar Remix)\n 7.",
"Paint It Black - bad cover\n 8.",
"Even Better Than The Real Thing (Fish Out Of Water Remix) - uninteresting remix\n 9.",
"Mysterious Ways (The Perfecto Mix)\n 10.",
"Night And Day - good cover\n 11.",
"The Lounge Fly Mix\n 12.",
"Fortunate Son - bad cover\n 13.",
"Alex Descends Into Hell For A Bottle Of Milk / Korova 1 - boring instrumental\n 14.",
"Where Did It All Go Wrong?",
"- another one that rightly was not included on album"
] |
My husband has recently started collecting and building sward and is a big Kill Bill fan. When we found this supply kit it was great. When he got it he was so excited. He loves the box. He said it has everything he will need to care for his swards. But upon further examination he realized it was missing a whetstone which he will purchase later. It come with oil,small hammer, two replacement bamboo pegs, two medal nails, a single sheet of rice paper, and a dusting mallet (not exactly sure the proper name for it). The writing is beautiful although in japanese (not a bad thing). He did say as a beginner it would have been nice to have had some instructions on how to use each element properly. Also going back and reading the description (to find proper names to the items) we realized that the description on the site is for a sward and not this kit. This is a major issue seeing as the only way to try to figure out what really comes in this kit is by looking at the pictures. Big mistake on the sellers part. Although there are some issues I am glad I got this kit for my husband even if it was just for the box. We will fill it with the proper things and more rice paper because one sheet won't last long. | 1 | neutral | [
"My husband has recently started collecting and building sward and is a big Kill Bill fan.",
"When we found this supply kit it was great.",
"When he got it he was so excited.",
"He loves the box.",
"He said it has everything he will need to care for his swards.",
"But upon further examination he realized it was missing a whetstone which he will purchase later.",
"It come with oil,small hammer, two replacement bamboo pegs, two medal nails, a single sheet of rice paper, and a dusting mallet (not exactly sure the proper name for it).",
"The writing is beautiful although in japanese (not a bad thing).",
"He did say as a beginner it would have been nice to have had some instructions on how to use each element properly.",
"Also going back and reading the description (to find proper names to the items) we realized that the description on the site is for a sward and not this kit.",
"This is a major issue seeing as the only way to try to figure out what really comes in this kit is by looking at the pictures.",
"Big mistake on the sellers part.",
"Although there are some issues I am glad I got this kit for my husband even if it was just for the box.",
"We will fill it with the proper things and more rice paper because one sheet won't last long."
] |
Slayer are generally a polarizing force within the metal world. On one hand, you have the diehard Hessians who would probably slit throats at a nursing home for this band if asked, and on the other you have the metal fans who scoff at their simplistic style, clichd lyrics, and laughable "Satanic" image and plug amazing albeit relatively obscure metal bands such as Meshuggah and Cryptopsy in their one-star reviews of Reign In Blood. I myself am somewhere in the middle of these two archetypes.
Slayer's music is definitely simplistic, but it's also a heck of a lot of fun. Restraining headbanging, fist-pumping, and throwing up the horns are difficult within Show No Mercy's scant duration (about 35 minutes). The choruses are anthemic, the riffs catchy, and the drumming is solid. The solos are, of course, really goofy and all over the place, but I don't really mind them unless someone tries to claim King and Hannemann as among the best metal guitarists of all time (pretty much the equivalent of praising the guitar chops of Kurt Cobain or Johnny Ramone). Show No Mercy's songs are definitely simple pleasures, but they're also great ones.
Then there's the stuff that's harder to ignore: the horrible, clichd lyrics and trite image the band tries to craft for itself. For music so simple, injecting elements of the theatrical is really stupid. Here's a guideline: when Emperor dresses up in corpsepaint and leather and writes songs about Satan, blood, and death, it's cool because their sweeping, colossal, and aurally crushing sound is not unlike the probable soundtrack to hell; when Slayer tries it, it looks stupid because they are miserable lyric-writers and have a sound more akin to punk/hardcore than most metal. They seem more like a bunch of high school kids trying to scare their parents than musicians meant to be taken seriously. If Slayer didn't concentrate on their image so much and put more work into their lyrics, they could probably be held in the same regard in the metal world as Motorhead (another band that's simple, fast, and fun as hell, but never aligned itself with trying to be "evil"). | 1 | neutral | [
"Slayer are generally a polarizing force within the metal world.",
"On one hand, you have the diehard Hessians who would probably slit throats at a nursing home for this band if asked, and on the other you have the metal fans who scoff at their simplistic style, clichd lyrics, and laughable \"Satanic\" image and plug amazing albeit relatively obscure metal bands such as Meshuggah and Cryptopsy in their one-star reviews of Reign In Blood.",
"I myself am somewhere in the middle of these two archetypes.",
"Slayer's music is definitely simplistic, but it's also a heck of a lot of fun.",
"Restraining headbanging, fist-pumping, and throwing up the horns are difficult within Show No Mercy's scant duration (about 35 minutes).",
"The choruses are anthemic, the riffs catchy, and the drumming is solid.",
"The solos are, of course, really goofy and all over the place, but I don't really mind them unless someone tries to claim King and Hannemann as among the best metal guitarists of all time (pretty much the equivalent of praising the guitar chops of Kurt Cobain or Johnny Ramone).",
"Show No Mercy's songs are definitely simple pleasures, but they're also great ones.",
"Then there's the stuff that's harder to ignore: the horrible, clichd lyrics and trite image the band tries to craft for itself.",
"For music so simple, injecting elements of the theatrical is really stupid.",
"Here's a guideline: when Emperor dresses up in corpsepaint and leather and writes songs about Satan, blood, and death, it's cool because their sweeping, colossal, and aurally crushing sound is not unlike the probable soundtrack to hell; when Slayer tries it, it looks stupid because they are miserable lyric-writers and have a sound more akin to punk/hardcore than most metal.",
"They seem more like a bunch of high school kids trying to scare their parents than musicians meant to be taken seriously.",
"If Slayer didn't concentrate on their image so much and put more work into their lyrics, they could probably be held in the same regard in the metal world as Motorhead (another band that's simple, fast, and fun as hell, but never aligned itself with trying to be \"evil\")."
] |
VERY thin, and the material compresses very easily. Too easily, if you are of average height and weight for a full grown adult. Do not use for tent camping where you will be sleeping directly on the tent floor or on a tarp, unless you are a teen age or younger child, or are extremely light, short and thin. I am 5' 5", a medium built/frame adult woman, whose BMI is under the recommended for my height, age and weight. I felt like I was sleeping directly on the dirt, using this pad.
For backpacking and long hikes, where the prime consideration is that everything must be as light and small as possible, and you are willing to trade comfort and bliss, for some insulation and to stay dry? Then this is the pad for you. It will provide insulation and will not wick moisture, and both are big pluses. It just dies not provide enough padding for me, nor did it for my 12 year old son, nor for my husband.
Pros: Insulates, does not wick moisture, easy to clean, is inexpensive, lightweight, easy to roll up and carry with the included straps.
Cons: provides little to no padding or comfort for adults, at this thickness and density of material | 1 | neutral | [
"VERY thin, and the material compresses very easily.",
"Too easily, if you are of average height and weight for a full grown adult.",
"Do not use for tent camping where you will be sleeping directly on the tent floor or on a tarp, unless you are a teen age or younger child, or are extremely light, short and thin.",
"I am 5' 5\", a medium built/frame adult woman, whose BMI is under the recommended for my height, age and weight.",
"I felt like I was sleeping directly on the dirt, using this pad.",
"For backpacking and long hikes, where the prime consideration is that everything must be as light and small as possible, and you are willing to trade comfort and bliss, for some insulation and to stay dry?",
"Then this is the pad for you.",
"It will provide insulation and will not wick moisture, and both are big pluses.",
"It just dies not provide enough padding for me, nor did it for my 12 year old son, nor for my husband.",
"Pros: Insulates, does not wick moisture, easy to clean, is inexpensive, lightweight, easy to roll up and carry with the included straps.",
"Cons: provides little to no padding or comfort for adults, at this thickness and density of material"
] |
Ahava Dermud Intensive Foot Cream is part of the company's Dermud line, whose products contain Dead Sea Mud. This foot cream also contains, among other ingredients, shea butter and aloe vera to soften skin, coconut and jojoba oils to lock in moisture, provitamin B5 and vitamin E, and Ahava's proprietary Osmoter, which is evaporated mineral-rich Dead Sea water that is supposed to draw water and nutrients from the lower layers of skin to the outer layers. Unsurprisingly, minerals are major active ingredients in this product. The cream is thicker in consistency than a lotion but not as thick as a cream in a pot. It smells medicinal mixed with floral.
The cream absorbs relatively quickly when applied, but you need to rub it in. Ahava recommends that you "apply generously to clean feet morning and night, paying special attention to soles and heels." I did this for a week and found it difficult to tell if the cream was beneficial to my skin. The cream leaves a smooth coating on the skin, like silicone. But no silicone that I recognize is listed in the ingredients. Setting that mystery aside, the skin feel smooth but not supple. I could not feel my skin through the smooth coating. After washing to remove any retexturizer, it did seem like my feet were more supple and moisturized than before. But dead or peeling skin was not affected. This is not an exfoliating moisturizer.
The mystery of the retexturizer: I was sure that the Dermud Intensive Foot Cream contained silicone -and a lot of it- until I looked at the ingredients list. This is the most aggressively retexturizing moisturizing cream that I've ever used. One application produces a smooth, even slick, skin surface. It is so pronounced that the soles of my feet are still slippery on tile floor in the morning after applying the cream the night before. This is a little dangerous. My toes also slip and slide against each other a day after applying the cream. This could be a desirable effect for some people, though I don't appreciate it. I don't recommend wearing shoes with slick insoles while using this cream.
More evidence of a retexturizer is the impairment of perspiration. When my legs perspire, my feet are bone dry in addition to being unnaturally smooth. Normally, my feet would perspire more than my legs. It's weird to run my hand down my leg, when it is a little damp, and hit bone dry foot. Again, this could be a desirable effect for some people -those whose feet perspire excessively. But it certainly feels and acts like silicone. Air penetrates silicone, while perspiration and oils do not. Whatever it is, the slickness makes it a poor choice of ingredient for a foot cream. But I'm not a fan of silicone in skin care products in general, so others may not find these odd effects objectionable.
Maybe the foot cream just has an excessive amount of glycerin in it. That is not the only ingredient mystery. Triclosan is an antimicrobial agent that has been restricted by the European Union and will soon be banned in consumer hygiene products in Minnesota. In addition to disrupting the balance of bacteria on skin and creating resistance, the concern is the effect of triclosan on bacteria in wastewater. The tube of Dermud Intensive Foot Cream that I received does not list ingredients. But the list of ingredients on the box on Amazon's product page includes triclosan. The list of ingredients on Ahava's web site does not.
That list contains methylisothiazolinone, another antimicrobial that is cytotoxic and neurotoxic. Perhaps Ahava is replacing triclosan with methylisothiazolinone in anticipation of further restrictions on the chemical. This begs the question of why Ahava feels the need to put antimicrobial agents in its products. As a preservative? To retard odor-causing bacteria? No thanks. Methylisothiazolinone is also an irritating chemical and common allergen. Along with the fragrance ingredients alpha isomethyl ionone and benzyl salicylate, it makes this product unsuitable for sensitive skin. Although it did not bother me at first, the cream is irritating to my skin after a week's use.
To be clear, there a two ingredients listed on the old boxes that are not on Ahava's web site: triclosan and 2-Methyl-2H-Isothiazolin-3-One. There is one ingredient listed on Ahava's web site that is not on the box: Methylisothiazolinone. Which ingredient list represents the product you receive is anyone's guess. Ahava's customer service has been unresponsive to inquiries on this topic.
Ingredient list from Ahava's web site: Aqua (Mineral Spring Water), Glycerin, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Ceteareth-20 & Cetearyl Alcohol, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Sodium Lactate, Propanediol (Corn derived Glycol), Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Decyl Oleate, Glyceryl Stearate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract & Aqua (Water) & Propylene Glycol, Peg-40 Stearate, Stearyl Alcohol, Lactic Acid, Maris Aqua(Dead Sea Water), Xanthan Gum, Panthenol (Pro Vitamin B5), Zinc Oxide, Parfum (Fragrance), Silt (Dead Sea Mud), Allantoin, Tocopheryl (Vitamin E) Acetate, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate & PEG-4 Laurate & PEG-4 Dilaurate & PEG-4, Hippophae Rhamnoides (Oblipicha) Fruit Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Methylisothiazolinone, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool, Alpha Isomethyl Ionone, Benzyl Salicylate, Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde, Geraniol, Coumarin, Benzyl Benzoate, Cinnamyl Alcohol, Limonene. | 1 | neutral | [
"Ahava Dermud Intensive Foot Cream is part of the company's Dermud line, whose products contain Dead Sea Mud.",
"This foot cream also contains, among other ingredients, shea butter and aloe vera to soften skin, coconut and jojoba oils to lock in moisture, provitamin B5 and vitamin E, and Ahava's proprietary Osmoter, which is evaporated mineral-rich Dead Sea water that is supposed to draw water and nutrients from the lower layers of skin to the outer layers.",
"Unsurprisingly, minerals are major active ingredients in this product.",
"The cream is thicker in consistency than a lotion but not as thick as a cream in a pot.",
"It smells medicinal mixed with floral.",
"The cream absorbs relatively quickly when applied, but you need to rub it in.",
"Ahava recommends that you \"apply generously to clean feet morning and night, paying special attention to soles and heels.",
"\" I did this for a week and found it difficult to tell if the cream was beneficial to my skin.",
"The cream leaves a smooth coating on the skin, like silicone.",
"But no silicone that I recognize is listed in the ingredients.",
"Setting that mystery aside, the skin feel smooth but not supple.",
"I could not feel my skin through the smooth coating.",
"After washing to remove any retexturizer, it did seem like my feet were more supple and moisturized than before.",
"But dead or peeling skin was not affected.",
"This is not an exfoliating moisturizer.",
"The mystery of the retexturizer: I was sure that the Dermud Intensive Foot Cream contained silicone -and a lot of it- until I looked at the ingredients list.",
"This is the most aggressively retexturizing moisturizing cream that I've ever used.",
"One application produces a smooth, even slick, skin surface.",
"It is so pronounced that the soles of my feet are still slippery on tile floor in the morning after applying the cream the night before.",
"This is a little dangerous.",
"My toes also slip and slide against each other a day after applying the cream.",
"This could be a desirable effect for some people, though I don't appreciate it.",
"I don't recommend wearing shoes with slick insoles while using this cream.",
"More evidence of a retexturizer is the impairment of perspiration.",
"When my legs perspire, my feet are bone dry in addition to being unnaturally smooth.",
"Normally, my feet would perspire more than my legs.",
"It's weird to run my hand down my leg, when it is a little damp, and hit bone dry foot.",
"Again, this could be a desirable effect for some people -those whose feet perspire excessively.",
"But it certainly feels and acts like silicone.",
"Air penetrates silicone, while perspiration and oils do not.",
"Whatever it is, the slickness makes it a poor choice of ingredient for a foot cream.",
"But I'm not a fan of silicone in skin care products in general, so others may not find these odd effects objectionable.",
"Maybe the foot cream just has an excessive amount of glycerin in it.",
"That is not the only ingredient mystery.",
"Triclosan is an antimicrobial agent that has been restricted by the European Union and will soon be banned in consumer hygiene products in Minnesota.",
"In addition to disrupting the balance of bacteria on skin and creating resistance, the concern is the effect of triclosan on bacteria in wastewater.",
"The tube of Dermud Intensive Foot Cream that I received does not list ingredients.",
"But the list of ingredients on the box on Amazon's product page includes triclosan.",
"The list of ingredients on Ahava's web site does not.",
"That list contains methylisothiazolinone, another antimicrobial that is cytotoxic and neurotoxic.",
"Perhaps Ahava is replacing triclosan with methylisothiazolinone in anticipation of further restrictions on the chemical.",
"This begs the question of why Ahava feels the need to put antimicrobial agents in its products.",
"As a preservative?",
"To retard odor-causing bacteria?",
"No thanks.",
"Methylisothiazolinone is also an irritating chemical and common allergen.",
"Along with the fragrance ingredients alpha isomethyl ionone and benzyl salicylate, it makes this product unsuitable for sensitive skin.",
"Although it did not bother me at first, the cream is irritating to my skin after a week's use.",
"To be clear, there a two ingredients listed on the old boxes that are not on Ahava's web site: triclosan and 2-Methyl-2H-Isothiazolin-3-One.",
"There is one ingredient listed on Ahava's web site that is not on the box: Methylisothiazolinone.",
"Which ingredient list represents the product you receive is anyone's guess.",
"Ahava's customer service has been unresponsive to inquiries on this topic.",
"Ingredient list from Ahava's web site: Aqua (Mineral Spring Water), Glycerin, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Ceteareth-20 & Cetearyl Alcohol, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Sodium Lactate, Propanediol (Corn derived Glycol), Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Decyl Oleate, Glyceryl Stearate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract & Aqua (Water) & Propylene Glycol, Peg-40 Stearate, Stearyl Alcohol, Lactic Acid, Maris Aqua(Dead Sea Water), Xanthan Gum, Panthenol (Pro Vitamin B5), Zinc Oxide, Parfum (Fragrance), Silt (Dead Sea Mud), Allantoin, Tocopheryl (Vitamin E) Acetate, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate & PEG-4 Laurate & PEG-4 Dilaurate & PEG-4, Hippophae Rhamnoides (Oblipicha) Fruit Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Methylisothiazolinone, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool, Alpha Isomethyl Ionone, Benzyl Salicylate, Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde, Geraniol, Coumarin, Benzyl Benzoate, Cinnamyl Alcohol, Limonene."
] |
The three stories in this novel, told sequentially, are set in different times and told in different styles. Each takes place in New York City; the characters' names are the same from story to story. There may be some transmigration of souls going on here, and the author hints at that, but there are as many dissimilarities between the characters as there are commonalities. What unifies the stories is a sense of loneliness and loss that is juxtaposed against the expansive and life-affirming verse of Walt Whitman. Indeed, Walt is channeled through a character in each story, and his visionary rants are interjected into the dialogue in a way that sometimes seems prescient and at other times inappropriate. In all, one gets the sense that the author is drawing us toward the end of the world. We don't get there, of course, but at the end of each story we are left with an eerie combination of desolation and calm, and lots of questions about what it means to be human and whether life is worthy of affirmation.
I found the stories extremely imaginative, and the writing ranges from workmanlike to brilliant. Overall, however, this novel was a bit too obscure for my taste. Others obviously disagree, and some have gone so far as to label it a masterpiece, which I think is hyperbole by any stretch. All in all, I was not left feeling drawn back to Michael Cunningham's work, and perhaps more's the pity. | 1 | neutral | [
"The three stories in this novel, told sequentially, are set in different times and told in different styles.",
"Each takes place in New York City; the characters' names are the same from story to story.",
"There may be some transmigration of souls going on here, and the author hints at that, but there are as many dissimilarities between the characters as there are commonalities.",
"What unifies the stories is a sense of loneliness and loss that is juxtaposed against the expansive and life-affirming verse of Walt Whitman.",
"Indeed, Walt is channeled through a character in each story, and his visionary rants are interjected into the dialogue in a way that sometimes seems prescient and at other times inappropriate.",
"In all, one gets the sense that the author is drawing us toward the end of the world.",
"We don't get there, of course, but at the end of each story we are left with an eerie combination of desolation and calm, and lots of questions about what it means to be human and whether life is worthy of affirmation.",
"I found the stories extremely imaginative, and the writing ranges from workmanlike to brilliant.",
"Overall, however, this novel was a bit too obscure for my taste.",
"Others obviously disagree, and some have gone so far as to label it a masterpiece, which I think is hyperbole by any stretch.",
"All in all, I was not left feeling drawn back to Michael Cunningham's work, and perhaps more's the pity."
] |
Heavenly Sword / 711719813224 / B000K9OP2A
Disclaimer: This review is written for people who haven't bought / played this game but are considering doing so now that the game is older and slightly cheaper than the newest stuff out there. Thus, this is an "as is" review, not an "as was" review, hence the "retrospective" perspective.
"Heavenly Sword" is a very pretty game, with an interesting setting and intriguing backstory. The story is well-told, through many interesting and lovely cutscenes, and I think it is probably safe to say that this remains one of the most attractive and visually polished games on the PS3, which is doubly impressive considering that this is also one of the earliest titles on the system.
Having said that, I do wish a bit more polish had been spent on the game mechanics overall, as graphics and story can only go so far to forgive a clunky play system, particularly in a hack'n'slash adventure game. The control system in regular combat is... adequate. It does feel a little too much like "smash every button on the control and hope for the best" and less like finesse and timing is appreciated, but eventually it does start to feel like skill is appreciated (particularly via fatality moves) over stamina. Although when some of the armored baddies show up, it does feel like your fingers are in danger of falling off at times.
Most of my frustration, however, comes with the addition of what I would call gimmicky gameplay. Several sections require the use of the Sixaxis controller to guide arrows and cannonballs towards their targets. I, personally, have never been a fan of the Sixaxis, as I feel that the controller is just too sensitive to the slightest movements in some regards (as in, oh, I accidentally moved the control ever-so-slightly off-level, so OF COURSE that means I wanted my cannonball to swing giddily off into the ether), and completely insensitive to certain deliberate movements in other regards (look, I'm tilting left! LEFT! What's wrong with this thing?). I'm not a big fan of movement-sensitive gameplay period, as I tend to have shaky hands, and flat-out requiring it in gameplay to get past a level is kind of frustrating for me. Now, I know that some people love the Sixaxis and if you're one of them, that's great, but if you're like me - well, now you know that at least one level in "Heavenly Sword" requires Sixaxis control, and be forewarned.
The other facet I don't much care for in "Heavenly Sword" is the preponderance of quicktime events. Now, given an infinite number of "do overs", I don't mind quicktime events so much at the start of a chapter if it's an adventure interlude - I can play Simon Says with the best of them, so if I really MUST press X-0-L-R-U-D-X-X before I can be let into the chapter, well so be it. But "Heavenly Sword" also uses quicktime events as 'finishing moves' for boss battles, and if you fail to get the sequence perfectly correct, the boss gains all his hitpoints back, and that is annoying. Add into the fact that restarting the battle on your part means wading through dozens of red-shirts before you can even GET to the boss, then you beat him down low enough to trigger the quicktime event, and THEN you must get a perfect sequence of buttons or he regenerates all his health for no adequately explained reason, and it's just frustrating.
Action/adventure brawlers are not, I admit, for everyone. They're not my usual genre-of-choice, probably because I'm not very good at them, and "Heavenly Sword" certainly felt more like 'work' than 'play' for me. Someone more experienced and appreciative of the genre would no doubt feel differently. I did appreciate the stunning graphics and interesting story, but because the story so frequently felt walled off by the Sixaxis and QTE gimmicks, I eventually lost interest in the game despite the story. I would recommend checking out "Heavenly Sword" if you know you're already a fan of the genre, but if you're not already an action/adventure fan, "Heavenly Sword" probably won't make a convert out of you.
~ Ana Mardoll | 1 | neutral | [
"Heavenly Sword / 711719813224 / B000K9OP2A\n\nDisclaimer: This review is written for people who haven't bought / played this game but are considering doing so now that the game is older and slightly cheaper than the newest stuff out there.",
"Thus, this is an \"as is\" review, not an \"as was\" review, hence the \"retrospective\" perspective.",
"\"Heavenly Sword\" is a very pretty game, with an interesting setting and intriguing backstory.",
"The story is well-told, through many interesting and lovely cutscenes, and I think it is probably safe to say that this remains one of the most attractive and visually polished games on the PS3, which is doubly impressive considering that this is also one of the earliest titles on the system.",
"Having said that, I do wish a bit more polish had been spent on the game mechanics overall, as graphics and story can only go so far to forgive a clunky play system, particularly in a hack'n'slash adventure game.",
"The control system in regular combat is...",
"adequate.",
"It does feel a little too much like \"smash every button on the control and hope for the best\" and less like finesse and timing is appreciated, but eventually it does start to feel like skill is appreciated (particularly via fatality moves) over stamina.",
"Although when some of the armored baddies show up, it does feel like your fingers are in danger of falling off at times.",
"Most of my frustration, however, comes with the addition of what I would call gimmicky gameplay.",
"Several sections require the use of the Sixaxis controller to guide arrows and cannonballs towards their targets.",
"I, personally, have never been a fan of the Sixaxis, as I feel that the controller is just too sensitive to the slightest movements in some regards (as in, oh, I accidentally moved the control ever-so-slightly off-level, so OF COURSE that means I wanted my cannonball to swing giddily off into the ether), and completely insensitive to certain deliberate movements in other regards (look, I'm tilting left!",
"LEFT!",
"What's wrong with this thing?",
").",
"I'm not a big fan of movement-sensitive gameplay period, as I tend to have shaky hands, and flat-out requiring it in gameplay to get past a level is kind of frustrating for me.",
"Now, I know that some people love the Sixaxis and if you're one of them, that's great, but if you're like me - well, now you know that at least one level in \"Heavenly Sword\" requires Sixaxis control, and be forewarned.",
"The other facet I don't much care for in \"Heavenly Sword\" is the preponderance of quicktime events.",
"Now, given an infinite number of \"do overs\", I don't mind quicktime events so much at the start of a chapter if it's an adventure interlude - I can play Simon Says with the best of them, so if I really MUST press X-0-L-R-U-D-X-X before I can be let into the chapter, well so be it.",
"But \"Heavenly Sword\" also uses quicktime events as 'finishing moves' for boss battles, and if you fail to get the sequence perfectly correct, the boss gains all his hitpoints back, and that is annoying.",
"Add into the fact that restarting the battle on your part means wading through dozens of red-shirts before you can even GET to the boss, then you beat him down low enough to trigger the quicktime event, and THEN you must get a perfect sequence of buttons or he regenerates all his health for no adequately explained reason, and it's just frustrating.",
"Action/adventure brawlers are not, I admit, for everyone.",
"They're not my usual genre-of-choice, probably because I'm not very good at them, and \"Heavenly Sword\" certainly felt more like 'work' than 'play' for me.",
"Someone more experienced and appreciative of the genre would no doubt feel differently.",
"I did appreciate the stunning graphics and interesting story, but because the story so frequently felt walled off by the Sixaxis and QTE gimmicks, I eventually lost interest in the game despite the story.",
"I would recommend checking out \"Heavenly Sword\" if you know you're already a fan of the genre, but if you're not already an action/adventure fan, \"Heavenly Sword\" probably won't make a convert out of you.",
"~ Ana Mardoll"
] |
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