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The game starts out a lot of fun. Once you discover the play mechanics and get past the first few tutorial quest you quickly get hooked in. Wow players will probably enjoy the balance here, Guild Wars is designed to not suck your life away and is missing some of the elements that make Wow players feel the need to always be on.
The graphics here are beautiful as well and the story very nice, I would say excellent. Yes, my first month with Guild War was one of the best gaming experiences I have ever had. I joined a guild, made a few friends and greatly enjoyed the casual gaming experience, leveling up at leisure. If no one from the guild is on-line to team up with you, then you simply go into town and recruit henchmen (NPC's or computer controlled characters) to join your party and help you complete quest.
Then I made it about 1/4 way through the game (so I was told by other players, the area I notice a change in is called the Silverpeaks, I'll state that here for reference to others who have played). I quickly found my character in a position where I was always twice as strong has the available NPC henchmen and when I ventured outside of town it was a quick death even with six NPC's in my party. So I found myself in a position where I had to have real players in my party, all the time. On top of that, I found my quest log empty and no near by travel points. Dependant upon level 20 characters to help "run me through", and getting advice from multiple people to buy quest items from other players in town (using in game currency) the unbalanced nature of the game revealed itself, the game became a bit of a bore.
Eventually I resolved to always doing a party search. Making good use of my friends list and finally changing guilds. But I also found another solution. Yes, in this game (Prophecies) the henchmen seem underpowered when you need them the most, but you can "bridge" a character from this game into Nightfall or Factions. If you purchase Nightfall once you get through the Shiver Peaks to Lions Arch (this is about 1/3 of the way through the game) you can complete a quest and bring your character over to Nightfall and you will be granted 4-5 "Hero" characters which start at level 15. You can use them instead of Henchmen with complete control of their actions and you can level them up. This seems to be a gift NCSoft gives you for making the Nightfall purchase a long with the original Guild Wars, you are also going to get a pretty easy 9000 points once you land in Nightfall off of fairly easy quest given only to characters coming from other campange. So if you're really into the game by time your reach Lion's Arch, I highly recommend buying Nightfall and Factions when you get to that point. Take your char to Night Fall to get the four level 15 heroes and then go (with your new heros) to Factions from Lions Arch and you will be able to go from level 13 (or whatever low number you are) to level 20 within a 8 hours or so). It takes so long to level up characters in this GW game that many find this strategy the only way to make the game toleriable, otherwise the chase for level 20 will take you forever. On that note: there becomes a lot of pressure to "power level" and being involved in a guild you will quickly feel inadaquit and will face a lack of respect from others with characters below level 20. But the game does cap at level 20. This is created because of the design of the game and players need to depend on level 20's to help with things that should be accomplish able on their own or with henchmen. I realize that's part of what "Massive On-line Multiplayer Gaming" is all about, but my real problem with Guild Wars is this sudden transition around 1/4 into the game where if you have being playing mostly single player or with one or two friends, you are forced to change your playing style and team up with strangers. This results in a lot of time in chat and less time questing, which again might not be so bad if it were that way from the start, but the fact that the designers force this change upon you can really destroy the fun of the game.
Considering that Guild Wars is free to play on-line, I feel the game is still an excellent value and I feel I got my money's worth for the bit of time I played it, I just feel very let down with the change.
To circumvent this problem, the developer (ArenaNet) only would have had to provide stronger NPC henchmen and more quest, instead they manage to up the difficulty and force a change of play dynamic the result for me was a huge loss of entertanment value. If you're not being entertained then it's time to stop playing.
I also have Guild Wars: Nightfall and it does seem more balanced overall. It introduces heros early and you don't have to wait forever to get to level 20 with a Player vs Environment character. | 1 | neutral | [
"The game starts out a lot of fun.",
"Once you discover the play mechanics and get past the first few tutorial quest you quickly get hooked in.",
"Wow players will probably enjoy the balance here, Guild Wars is designed to not suck your life away and is missing some of the elements that make Wow players feel the need to always be on.",
"The graphics here are beautiful as well and the story very nice, I would say excellent.",
"Yes, my first month with Guild War was one of the best gaming experiences I have ever had.",
"I joined a guild, made a few friends and greatly enjoyed the casual gaming experience, leveling up at leisure.",
"If no one from the guild is on-line to team up with you, then you simply go into town and recruit henchmen (NPC's or computer controlled characters) to join your party and help you complete quest.",
"Then I made it about 1/4 way through the game (so I was told by other players, the area I notice a change in is called the Silverpeaks, I'll state that here for reference to others who have played).",
"I quickly found my character in a position where I was always twice as strong has the available NPC henchmen and when I ventured outside of town it was a quick death even with six NPC's in my party.",
"So I found myself in a position where I had to have real players in my party, all the time.",
"On top of that, I found my quest log empty and no near by travel points.",
"Dependant upon level 20 characters to help \"run me through\", and getting advice from multiple people to buy quest items from other players in town (using in game currency) the unbalanced nature of the game revealed itself, the game became a bit of a bore.",
"Eventually I resolved to always doing a party search.",
"Making good use of my friends list and finally changing guilds.",
"But I also found another solution.",
"Yes, in this game (Prophecies) the henchmen seem underpowered when you need them the most, but you can \"bridge\" a character from this game into Nightfall or Factions.",
"If you purchase Nightfall once you get through the Shiver Peaks to Lions Arch (this is about 1/3 of the way through the game) you can complete a quest and bring your character over to Nightfall and you will be granted 4-5 \"Hero\" characters which start at level 15.",
"You can use them instead of Henchmen with complete control of their actions and you can level them up.",
"This seems to be a gift NCSoft gives you for making the Nightfall purchase a long with the original Guild Wars, you are also going to get a pretty easy 9000 points once you land in Nightfall off of fairly easy quest given only to characters coming from other campange.",
"So if you're really into the game by time your reach Lion's Arch, I highly recommend buying Nightfall and Factions when you get to that point.",
"Take your char to Night Fall to get the four level 15 heroes and then go (with your new heros) to Factions from Lions Arch and you will be able to go from level 13 (or whatever low number you are) to level 20 within a 8 hours or so).",
"It takes so long to level up characters in this GW game that many find this strategy the only way to make the game toleriable, otherwise the chase for level 20 will take you forever.",
"On that note: there becomes a lot of pressure to \"power level\" and being involved in a guild you will quickly feel inadaquit and will face a lack of respect from others with characters below level 20.",
"But the game does cap at level 20.",
"This is created because of the design of the game and players need to depend on level 20's to help with things that should be accomplish able on their own or with henchmen.",
"I realize that's part of what \"Massive On-line Multiplayer Gaming\" is all about, but my real problem with Guild Wars is this sudden transition around 1/4 into the game where if you have being playing mostly single player or with one or two friends, you are forced to change your playing style and team up with strangers.",
"This results in a lot of time in chat and less time questing, which again might not be so bad if it were that way from the start, but the fact that the designers force this change upon you can really destroy the fun of the game.",
"Considering that Guild Wars is free to play on-line, I feel the game is still an excellent value and I feel I got my money's worth for the bit of time I played it, I just feel very let down with the change.",
"To circumvent this problem, the developer (ArenaNet) only would have had to provide stronger NPC henchmen and more quest, instead they manage to up the difficulty and force a change of play dynamic the result for me was a huge loss of entertanment value.",
"If you're not being entertained then it's time to stop playing.",
"I also have Guild Wars: Nightfall and it does seem more balanced overall.",
"It introduces heros early and you don't have to wait forever to get to level 20 with a Player vs Environment character."
] |
This is a nice case, very heavy...HOWEVER...the only problem is you cannot use a different charger with it. I have a backup wall charger & car charger which fittings are exactly the same, I cannot charge the them. The outter box is cut too close around the charging area and does not allow for bit of extra width for the chargers. You have to use the Apple charger or a likeness of one, other wise than that, I cannot think of anything else. I have this in RED. Oh and it comes w/no instructions, you just take the color cover off but be careful because it is made of rubber...or a silicone material that will rip/tear easily if pulled wrong. Then you get to the black box, pop it apart, put the phone in, pop it back together and cover it back up. Very weighty if you like weight if not then do not get it. Overall it is not bad. | 1 | neutral | [
"This is a nice case, very heavy...",
"HOWEVER...",
"the only problem is you cannot use a different charger with it.",
"I have a backup wall charger & car charger which fittings are exactly the same, I cannot charge the them.",
"The outter box is cut too close around the charging area and does not allow for bit of extra width for the chargers.",
"You have to use the Apple charger or a likeness of one, other wise than that, I cannot think of anything else.",
"I have this in RED.",
"Oh and it comes w/no instructions, you just take the color cover off but be careful because it is made of rubber...",
"or a silicone material that will rip/tear easily if pulled wrong.",
"Then you get to the black box, pop it apart, put the phone in, pop it back together and cover it back up.",
"Very weighty if you like weight if not then do not get it.",
"Overall it is not bad."
] |
Honestly when I first thought about buyig this disc I had reservations. One being that it's based off a Japanese video game called "Biohazard" suitably renamed "Resident Evil" for the states. Two I didn't know any of the actors except for Mill Jovavich and I did like her performance in The 5th Element.
I however went ahead and bought the movie. To my surprise the flic wasn't bad at all. I expected certain things to be "stolen" from other flics especially in the horror genre but then again they're all rehashes of each other really. The story was good and the CG kept up with what the director wanted to portray. Don't expect a whole lot from Resident Evil but it's worth placing in your collection definately. I know you have worse titles in there already so at least you're on your way up with this one. If I had to recommend another recent horror flic over this one I would have to say that would be "Event Horizon". This movie is truly a modern classic and I would recommend it to anyone who loves the horror genres. | 1 | neutral | [
"Honestly when I first thought about buyig this disc I had reservations.",
"One being that it's based off a Japanese video game called \"Biohazard\" suitably renamed \"Resident Evil\" for the states.",
"Two I didn't know any of the actors except for Mill Jovavich and I did like her performance in The 5th Element.",
"I however went ahead and bought the movie.",
"To my surprise the flic wasn't bad at all.",
"I expected certain things to be \"stolen\" from other flics especially in the horror genre but then again they're all rehashes of each other really.",
"The story was good and the CG kept up with what the director wanted to portray.",
"Don't expect a whole lot from Resident Evil but it's worth placing in your collection definately.",
"I know you have worse titles in there already so at least you're on your way up with this one.",
"If I had to recommend another recent horror flic over this one I would have to say that would be \"Event Horizon\".",
"This movie is truly a modern classic and I would recommend it to anyone who loves the horror genres."
] |
'We're not quite there honestly': John Fox's last
Not long after John Fox was asked about his faith in Barth the kicker the Bears selected in September 2016 to replace the franchiseâs all-time leading scorer Robbie Gould.
âWeâre in a production-based business â Fox said âand thatâs what we get paid to do. Whether itâs win games as the head coach or whether itâs make kicks as a kicker. Weâll evaluate it.â
Fox meanwhile is 12-30 as Bears coach a three-season struggle that seems likely to soon lead to his exit as well.
Thatâs a 31 percent success rate for those into statistical metrics. And if thatâs piled on to Fox âs .188 winning percentage in division games his permanent residence in the NFC North basement and the reality that the Bears are now staring at a fourth-straight 10-loss season itâs easy to understand how this production-based business may come calling for his Halas Hall key card in the next six weeks.
Late Sunday afternoon Fox attempted to explain why his Bears have had such consistent difficulty succeeding in close games. âWe have lulls â he said. âWe have siestas. We just donât do it for 60 minutes.â
Two long long years ago on Thanksgiving night Fox and the Bears seemed to have their wick lit for a franchise-boosting takeoff. They went to Lambeau Field in prime time and snatched a 17-13 upset. But it wasnât just a road win over the rival Packers that had the sense of belief soaring. At the time it was the Bearsâ fifth win in eight games a surge that spoke of a team figuring out how to win consistently.
Under Fox the Bears have experienced seven losing streaks of three games or longer and have never won three in a row. | 1 | neutral | [
"'We're not quite there honestly': John Fox's last\nNot long after John Fox was asked about his faith in Barth the kicker the Bears selected in September 2016 to replace the franchiseâs all-time leading scorer Robbie Gould.",
"âWeâre in a production-based business â Fox said âand thatâs what we get paid to do.",
"Whether itâs win games as the head coach or whether itâs make kicks as a kicker.",
"Weâll evaluate it.",
"â\n Fox meanwhile is 12-30 as Bears coach a three-season struggle that seems likely to soon lead to his exit as well.",
"Thatâs a 31 percent success rate for those into statistical metrics.",
"And if thatâs piled on to Fox âs.",
"188 winning percentage in division games his permanent residence in the NFC North basement and the reality that the Bears are now staring at a fourth-straight 10-loss season itâs easy to understand how this production-based business may come calling for his Halas Hall key card in the next six weeks.",
"Late Sunday afternoon Fox attempted to explain why his Bears have had such consistent difficulty succeeding in close games.",
"âWe have lulls â he said.",
"âWe have siestas.",
"We just donât do it for 60 minutes.",
"â\nTwo long long years ago on Thanksgiving night Fox and the Bears seemed to have their wick lit for a franchise-boosting takeoff.",
"They went to Lambeau Field in prime time and snatched a 17-13 upset.",
"But it wasnât just a road win over the rival Packers that had the sense of belief soaring.",
"At the time it was the Bearsâ fifth win in eight games a surge that spoke of a team figuring out how to win consistently.",
"Under Fox the Bears have experienced seven losing streaks of three games or longer and have never won three in a row."
] |
Whereas 'The Wrath of Khan' was Star Trek's foray into true action-adventure, The Search for Spock is Star Trek's more contemplative outing. The film picks up right where WoK left off. Spock is launched from the Enterprise after his self-sacrifice and the crew, especially Kirk, are left distraught. But when McCoy seems to be possessed by Spock's katra, Kirk learns that Spock can be resurrected if his body is brought to a Vulcan mountain and Spock's katra is transplanted back into his body. The plot is bazaar to say the least, in many ways mirroring the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is especially odd considering just how different the dramatic drive behind WoK was. This contrast is why the Star Trek films are known for being incredibly inconsistent. The series approaches the many themes and sub-genres of science-fiction with very mixed results. In the case of Search for Spock, the outcome is a bit of a lukewarm affair. Kruge, although not terrible, is no Khan. SoS has none of the genuine thrills of WoK, and the fight scene between Kirk and Kruge is downright laughable. As far as the story goes, it comes off like an epilogue to WoK. SoS could have probably been condensed down into a 10-minute short film and tacked on to the end of WoK as an extended afterword. It drags quite a bit, and the sub-plot with Kruge only serves as an unnecessary distraction from the situation at hand. Despite the problematic storyline, SoS is quite accomplished on a pure filmmaking level. Leonard Nimoy proves to be a more than capable director. There are quite a few stunning shots on Genesis and the final scenes on the Vulcan home planet are gorgeous. The special effects are cheesy by today's standards, but not totally distracting. The music by James Horner is grand and Shatner as Kirk is a bit more restrained but still undeniably daffy. SoS will forever lurk in the shadow of WoK, as it in inferior to it in almost every imaginable way. It's not a complete waste of time, though. The story is interesting enough to keep the viewer's attention until the end and the film itself is technically proficient. | 1 | neutral | [
"Whereas 'The Wrath of Khan' was Star Trek's foray into true action-adventure, The Search for Spock is Star Trek's more contemplative outing.",
"The film picks up right where WoK left off.",
"Spock is launched from the Enterprise after his self-sacrifice and the crew, especially Kirk, are left distraught.",
"But when McCoy seems to be possessed by Spock's katra, Kirk learns that Spock can be resurrected if his body is brought to a Vulcan mountain and Spock's katra is transplanted back into his body.",
"The plot is bazaar to say the least, in many ways mirroring the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ.",
"This is especially odd considering just how different the dramatic drive behind WoK was.",
"This contrast is why the Star Trek films are known for being incredibly inconsistent.",
"The series approaches the many themes and sub-genres of science-fiction with very mixed results.",
"In the case of Search for Spock, the outcome is a bit of a lukewarm affair.",
"Kruge, although not terrible, is no Khan.",
"SoS has none of the genuine thrills of WoK, and the fight scene between Kirk and Kruge is downright laughable.",
"As far as the story goes, it comes off like an epilogue to WoK.",
"SoS could have probably been condensed down into a 10-minute short film and tacked on to the end of WoK as an extended afterword.",
"It drags quite a bit, and the sub-plot with Kruge only serves as an unnecessary distraction from the situation at hand.",
"Despite the problematic storyline, SoS is quite accomplished on a pure filmmaking level.",
"Leonard Nimoy proves to be a more than capable director.",
"There are quite a few stunning shots on Genesis and the final scenes on the Vulcan home planet are gorgeous.",
"The special effects are cheesy by today's standards, but not totally distracting.",
"The music by James Horner is grand and Shatner as Kirk is a bit more restrained but still undeniably daffy.",
"SoS will forever lurk in the shadow of WoK, as it in inferior to it in almost every imaginable way.",
"It's not a complete waste of time, though.",
"The story is interesting enough to keep the viewer's attention until the end and the film itself is technically proficient."
] |
Some of the reviews say after the first few uses, it really doesn't cut well. I never got that far. I can't address its long-term usefulness. Immediately, on using this, I realized it was wrong for me.
-----------------------------
What was I thinking when I bought this? It yields long, narrow strips of citrus peel. Almost everyone knows that one only uses the orange/yellow/green part of the orange/lemon/lime. The white part below is bitter, as explained on nearly every cooking show I've ever seen.
---------------------------------------
I was able to make lovely strips of zest(the colored part of the peel). Since I only cook for myself, I don't worry too much about presentation, only flavor. I use citrus rinds in smoothies(milkshakes). Most fruits, but not all, are enhanced by the addition of a little citrus zest, and a little citrus juice. Zest is a great way to add citrus flavor without a ton of acidity.
I suppose that with milkshakes, one could use the thin strips this zester creates, and throw them in the blender, where they'd probably be chopped up. But as another reviewer put it, there's a problem. Once you've used the zester, you've created "tracks" where there's the white pith, below, and the
orange/yellow/green of the zest. Its difficult, or impossible, to go back and now cut away more zest, as you must place the zester on the fruit, between the previously made tracks. A grater or microplane would give a greater yield.
-------------------------------------
This might or might not be useful for candied citrus peel, I'm not sure. I see its functionality being limited strictly to making garnishes, and such garnishes could be quite nice. But I only use the zest for the flavor it can impart. Therefor, a grater or "microplane" works better for my purposes.
------------------------------
Buy this for food garnishes, or mixed drink garnishes. I know nothing about mixed drinks, and have no need for garnishes, at least at present. The strips I created with this tool were really decent. Then I put the thing away, never touching it again, because it didn't serve any purpose for me. It might be good for others. I can't speak to its long-term durability, because I used it so briefly. | 1 | neutral | [
"Some of the reviews say after the first few uses, it really doesn't cut well.",
"I never got that far.",
"I can't address its long-term usefulness.",
"Immediately, on using this, I realized it was wrong for me.",
"-----------------------------\nWhat was I thinking when I bought this?",
"It yields long, narrow strips of citrus peel.",
"Almost everyone knows that one only uses the orange/yellow/green part of the orange/lemon/lime.",
"The white part below is bitter, as explained on nearly every cooking show I've ever seen.",
"---------------------------------------\nI was able to make lovely strips of zest(the colored part of the peel).",
"Since I only cook for myself, I don't worry too much about presentation, only flavor.",
"I use citrus rinds in smoothies(milkshakes).",
"Most fruits, but not all, are enhanced by the addition of a little citrus zest, and a little citrus juice.",
"Zest is a great way to add citrus flavor without a ton of acidity.",
"I suppose that with milkshakes, one could use the thin strips this zester creates, and throw them in the blender, where they'd probably be chopped up.",
"But as another reviewer put it, there's a problem.",
"Once you've used the zester, you've created \"tracks\" where there's the white pith, below, and the\norange/yellow/green of the zest.",
"Its difficult, or impossible, to go back and now cut away more zest, as you must place the zester on the fruit, between the previously made tracks.",
"A grater or microplane would give a greater yield.",
"-------------------------------------\nThis might or might not be useful for candied citrus peel, I'm not sure.",
"I see its functionality being limited strictly to making garnishes, and such garnishes could be quite nice.",
"But I only use the zest for the flavor it can impart.",
"Therefor, a grater or \"microplane\" works better for my purposes.",
"------------------------------\nBuy this for food garnishes, or mixed drink garnishes.",
"I know nothing about mixed drinks, and have no need for garnishes, at least at present.",
"The strips I created with this tool were really decent.",
"Then I put the thing away, never touching it again, because it didn't serve any purpose for me.",
"It might be good for others.",
"I can't speak to its long-term durability, because I used it so briefly."
] |
Thanks god I got this game from a friend of mine, I borrowed the game from him, and the game was good yeah, but very, very hard! (And no, Im not really into Spiderman..)
The Graphics 8/10: are very detailed and smooth, specially in the outdoor levels, the lightning effect of the game aren't that perfect. The characters here are well detailed as well as Peter Parker, with the exception of Mary Jane, she just doesnt look like Kirsten Dunst. The cutscene are very well implemented, it looks like a real movie :P (yeah and I mean it) my only complaint about it is that there weren't any english subtitles..
The outdoor levels are sooo great and they can be repetitive, it looks exactly like NY, and sometimes you can see the Ubisoft logo on one of the big buildings, awesomee! and abuout the indoor levels, they aren't that special, good, but not special.
Sound 7/10 Music 5/10: About the music...? Well.. theres nothing special on it, but yeah, they are cool, once you play level two and three they will get very repetitive, thank god they have a long lenght. The reason I gave it a 7 star rating was because Tobey Mcguire did the voice for the game (I Dont really know if Kirsten Dunst did hers). But when you are fighting a foe, or something the lines will get very very repetitive specially spidey's (Some of them are stupid anyway..).
Gameplay/Controls 6/10: The camera angles and the save system aren't very good, cause sometimes you won't be able to see the enemies cause this stupid camera will get stuck and you won't be able to rotate it, the save system is a pain (similar to Buffy The Vampire Slayer) there is no checkpoints after all! If you die at the end of the level, you will have to restart the level again! and is not good in the last levels cause you need to avoid these white robots which is not easy.. Spiderman has some nice combos to pull off.. (they are located like some sort of secrets) however it won't be easy to do this cause the buttons layaout aren't that good, they are chunky if you know what I mean, you press the punch button and 4 seconds later you see spiderman punching, is lacking response.. The Difficulty in this game is sooo hard and I started this game on normal, and I found it veryyy hard and frustrating, specially when you are fighting this green big bird, he is throwing bombs at you, and since your bar is too well damned low (an overexageration of the game developers..) you will die instantly!
If you are a fan of the movie take this game, however.. if you are not, avoid it, since is lacking a good control responsive and is lacking some other things mentioned above. | 1 | neutral | [
"Thanks god I got this game from a friend of mine, I borrowed the game from him, and the game was good yeah, but very, very hard!",
"(And no, Im not really into Spiderman..",
")\n\nThe Graphics 8/10: are very detailed and smooth, specially in the outdoor levels, the lightning effect of the game aren't that perfect.",
"The characters here are well detailed as well as Peter Parker, with the exception of Mary Jane, she just doesnt look like Kirsten Dunst.",
"The cutscene are very well implemented, it looks like a real movie :P (yeah and I mean it) my only complaint about it is that there weren't any english subtitles..",
"The outdoor levels are sooo great and they can be repetitive, it looks exactly like NY, and sometimes you can see the Ubisoft logo on one of the big buildings, awesomee!",
"and abuout the indoor levels, they aren't that special, good, but not special.",
"Sound 7/10 Music 5/10: About the music...",
"?",
"Well..",
"theres nothing special on it, but yeah, they are cool, once you play level two and three they will get very repetitive, thank god they have a long lenght.",
"The reason I gave it a 7 star rating was because Tobey Mcguire did the voice for the game (I Dont really know if Kirsten Dunst did hers).",
"But when you are fighting a foe, or something the lines will get very very repetitive specially spidey's (Some of them are stupid anyway..",
").",
"Gameplay/Controls 6/10: The camera angles and the save system aren't very good, cause sometimes you won't be able to see the enemies cause this stupid camera will get stuck and you won't be able to rotate it, the save system is a pain (similar to Buffy The Vampire Slayer) there is no checkpoints after all!",
"If you die at the end of the level, you will have to restart the level again!",
"and is not good in the last levels cause you need to avoid these white robots which is not easy..",
"Spiderman has some nice combos to pull off..",
"(they are located like some sort of secrets) however it won't be easy to do this cause the buttons layaout aren't that good, they are chunky if you know what I mean, you press the punch button and 4 seconds later you see spiderman punching, is lacking response..",
"The Difficulty in this game is sooo hard and I started this game on normal, and I found it veryyy hard and frustrating, specially when you are fighting this green big bird, he is throwing bombs at you, and since your bar is too well damned low (an overexageration of the game developers..",
") you will die instantly!",
"If you are a fan of the movie take this game, however..",
"if you are not, avoid it, since is lacking a good control responsive and is lacking some other things mentioned above."
] |
problems installations. Surprised me, really. But I use XP and I see some others has similar problems. I have been making book video trailers and this was recommended to me. It does have a virtual maze of options. Some didn't function for me, and others I am still learning. It's not 1, 2, 3, go...that's for sure. The slide shows with music was nice, but them you can do that on Rockme.com without the headache of learning this program. Not sure the average user will enjoy this program for it's just too much of everything. I will keep giving it a try but so far, thinking I will give Pinnacle a go, too. Heard it does as much, but it's easier to use. | 1 | neutral | [
"problems installations.",
"Surprised me, really.",
"But I use XP and I see some others has similar problems.",
"I have been making book video trailers and this was recommended to me.",
"It does have a virtual maze of options.",
"Some didn't function for me, and others I am still learning.",
"It's not 1, 2, 3, go...",
"that's for sure.",
"The slide shows with music was nice, but them you can do that on Rockme.",
"com without the headache of learning this program.",
"Not sure the average user will enjoy this program for it's just too much of everything.",
"I will keep giving it a try but so far, thinking I will give Pinnacle a go, too.",
"Heard it does as much, but it's easier to use."
] |
First off to the author... Loved the cover, it's very hot and very appealing. I was sold before I even read the description.
I wanted to like this book, it was written and edited well which pleased me right out of the gate. However, despite what I enjoyed there are many aspects that I wish she'd done differently with it.
This book follows Lila a girl who is addicted to sex and has agreed to go to a sex 12-step program in order to help quit running around on her husband. She doesn't want to be there, but goes there to try and save her marriage.
First off, I feel bad for the husband. I won't say why because I don't want to add spoilers, but the whole time I kept thinking poor, poor man. Also, I was hoping that things would develop differently between her and her "mentor." As for the sex. It wasn't bad, but I just couldn't get myself into the scene.
Overall, the premise was great, but I found myself slightly disappointed. | 1 | neutral | [
"First off to the author...",
"Loved the cover, it's very hot and very appealing.",
"I was sold before I even read the description.",
"I wanted to like this book, it was written and edited well which pleased me right out of the gate.",
"However, despite what I enjoyed there are many aspects that I wish she'd done differently with it.",
"This book follows Lila a girl who is addicted to sex and has agreed to go to a sex 12-step program in order to help quit running around on her husband.",
"She doesn't want to be there, but goes there to try and save her marriage.",
"First off, I feel bad for the husband.",
"I won't say why because I don't want to add spoilers, but the whole time I kept thinking poor, poor man.",
"Also, I was hoping that things would develop differently between her and her \"mentor.",
"\" As for the sex.",
"It wasn't bad, but I just couldn't get myself into the scene.",
"Overall, the premise was great, but I found myself slightly disappointed."
] |
Here's the preface for this review: Your enjoyment of Tomb Raider. If you liked the Tomb Raider series then you might enjoy this game. Very similar graphics, controls, (Remember the jumping and hanging on to even surfaces and then pulling yourself up? It applies here.) and objectives. Mix in a cheshire cat that you can call on for advice, a morbid and psychedelic world, weapons that pertain to Alice's theme - and you have American McGee's Alice.
The game is entertaining at first with it's unique world but becomes boring very fast. I enjoyed the first Tomb Raider, which was released some years earlier, more than this game. A major reason for that was because Alice doesn't require much problem solving like the Tomb Raider series does. Everything in the game is rather straightforward and it's recommended that people who dislike animation and sequences that are nothing more than creative clips meant to point you (literally) to the next scene should avoid this game. Unless you've got an empty schedule, the good news is that it will take some time to complete American McGee's Alice. But as far as ground breaking games, this is a half-hearted attempt. Even though you can find other games on the market with the same format, Alice doesn't stand out much from its competitors. Impressive artwork is the only aspect that stands out for this game.
Best to wait awhile on this one until the price drops. Worth it at a lower price, but not now. | 1 | neutral | [
"Here's the preface for this review: Your enjoyment of Tomb Raider.",
"If you liked the Tomb Raider series then you might enjoy this game.",
"Very similar graphics, controls, (Remember the jumping and hanging on to even surfaces and then pulling yourself up?",
"It applies here.",
") and objectives.",
"Mix in a cheshire cat that you can call on for advice, a morbid and psychedelic world, weapons that pertain to Alice's theme - and you have American McGee's Alice.",
"The game is entertaining at first with it's unique world but becomes boring very fast.",
"I enjoyed the first Tomb Raider, which was released some years earlier, more than this game.",
"A major reason for that was because Alice doesn't require much problem solving like the Tomb Raider series does.",
"Everything in the game is rather straightforward and it's recommended that people who dislike animation and sequences that are nothing more than creative clips meant to point you (literally) to the next scene should avoid this game.",
"Unless you've got an empty schedule, the good news is that it will take some time to complete American McGee's Alice.",
"But as far as ground breaking games, this is a half-hearted attempt.",
"Even though you can find other games on the market with the same format, Alice doesn't stand out much from its competitors.",
"Impressive artwork is the only aspect that stands out for this game.",
"Best to wait awhile on this one until the price drops.",
"Worth it at a lower price, but not now."
] |
I have a real love-hate relationship with this album. First, the songs here are for the most part very good. I especially like "The Big Money" (which is one of my all-time favorite Rush songs), "Mystic Rhythms," "Marathon," and "Grand Designs." The other songs are fine as well, if not quite as memorable.
What I don't like so much about this album is the way that the songs are presented. "The Big Money" would be flawless if not for the silly synthesizer fanfare at the beginning that gets repeated at the end. It sounds too much like Rush is trying to cater to the Breakfast Club crowd (sounds a lot like Simple Minds). Other than that it is the perfect Rush song. The rhythm section (especially Lee) is outstanding, the song is catchy, and it has a middle break that is a pure adrenaline rush (with that extremely cool riff that brings us back to the chorus - WOW!). But, it's just WAY too over-produced, and I have never been a fan of electronic percussion. The rest of the record suffers from the same thing, good songs being weighed down by fussy out-dated production.
Still, I think that the positives generally outweigh the negatives here. If you're a Rush fan you likely already have this and have made up your own mind regarding its merits. If you are new to Rush and are interested in the 80s-period stuff, this would be worth-while to get. But if you like AFTK and HEMISPHERES but don't like SIGNALS or GRACE UNDER PRESSURE so much, then you probably won't fall head-over-heels for this one either. | 1 | neutral | [
"I have a real love-hate relationship with this album.",
"First, the songs here are for the most part very good.",
"I especially like \"The Big Money\" (which is one of my all-time favorite Rush songs), \"Mystic Rhythms,\" \"Marathon,\" and \"Grand Designs.",
"\" The other songs are fine as well, if not quite as memorable.",
"What I don't like so much about this album is the way that the songs are presented.",
"\"The Big Money\" would be flawless if not for the silly synthesizer fanfare at the beginning that gets repeated at the end.",
"It sounds too much like Rush is trying to cater to the Breakfast Club crowd (sounds a lot like Simple Minds).",
"Other than that it is the perfect Rush song.",
"The rhythm section (especially Lee) is outstanding, the song is catchy, and it has a middle break that is a pure adrenaline rush (with that extremely cool riff that brings us back to the chorus - WOW!",
").",
"But, it's just WAY too over-produced, and I have never been a fan of electronic percussion.",
"The rest of the record suffers from the same thing, good songs being weighed down by fussy out-dated production.",
"Still, I think that the positives generally outweigh the negatives here.",
"If you're a Rush fan you likely already have this and have made up your own mind regarding its merits.",
"If you are new to Rush and are interested in the 80s-period stuff, this would be worth-while to get.",
"But if you like AFTK and HEMISPHERES but don't like SIGNALS or GRACE UNDER PRESSURE so much, then you probably won't fall head-over-heels for this one either."
] |
Normally works great for me, but this year the state part had a glitch. So I reloaded , and still had to override the tax table figures, I played around with it all day!!, so that meant it wouldn't E-FILE, so I had to figure what, and how to print, drive to town, and mail (certified), followed the tracking at USPS.com to find out what should have been overnight delivery took 6 days. Miss delivered to wrong post office sub-station where it laid for 4 days. Now my refund that I would have gotten in a few days will probably take weeks waiting for a check in the mail. The federal part was fine. I quit using Turbo-Tax due to big problems with their software 2 years in a row. Maybe next year will be better. Just remember the computer is your friend, and it's only as smart as the humans who input what it knows. TRUST,but VERIFY everything. | 1 | neutral | [
"Normally works great for me, but this year the state part had a glitch.",
"So I reloaded , and still had to override the tax table figures, I played around with it all day!!",
", so that meant it wouldn't E-FILE, so I had to figure what, and how to print, drive to town, and mail (certified), followed the tracking at USPS.",
"com to find out what should have been overnight delivery took 6 days.",
"Miss delivered to wrong post office sub-station where it laid for 4 days.",
"Now my refund that I would have gotten in a few days will probably take weeks waiting for a check in the mail.",
"The federal part was fine.",
"I quit using Turbo-Tax due to big problems with their software 2 years in a row.",
"Maybe next year will be better.",
"Just remember the computer is your friend, and it's only as smart as the humans who input what it knows.",
"TRUST,but VERIFY everything."
] |
Just did my nails two days ago and I now have a big chip in the middle of my index finger. This polish isn't very durable at all. It's not even as sturdy as Essie polishes. This is a beautiful sea green color that I thought would be perfect for spring/summer. It goes on a little dark, but is still pretty. It's too bad it doesn't stand up to even the slightest wear. It went on a little streaky, but once the second coat was on, it was fine. This is the first Zoya polish I've tried. Before now, I haven't been impressed by the color selection, but this nice green color spoke to me when I was in Ulta (and there was a sale to boot, lol!). I don't like having chips and usually do my polish as soon as they start to appear. But I definitely don't like it when I've babied my manicure and a huge gouge appears in the middle of my nail! Not cool at all. I haven't used one of the 5 free formulas before and so far, I don't like it at all. Give me the chemicals that make nail polish last a week please! I guess I'll go repair my chipped nail now, and hopefully that'll be it for a while. I recommend this polish only if you're sensitive to the chemicals in nail polish. Otherwise, try Whim, Butter London, Dior or even Essie. All of which last longer than this Zoya polish. | 1 | neutral | [
"Just did my nails two days ago and I now have a big chip in the middle of my index finger.",
"This polish isn't very durable at all.",
"It's not even as sturdy as Essie polishes.",
"This is a beautiful sea green color that I thought would be perfect for spring/summer.",
"It goes on a little dark, but is still pretty.",
"It's too bad it doesn't stand up to even the slightest wear.",
"It went on a little streaky, but once the second coat was on, it was fine.",
"This is the first Zoya polish I've tried.",
"Before now, I haven't been impressed by the color selection, but this nice green color spoke to me when I was in Ulta (and there was a sale to boot, lol!",
").",
"I don't like having chips and usually do my polish as soon as they start to appear.",
"But I definitely don't like it when I've babied my manicure and a huge gouge appears in the middle of my nail!",
"Not cool at all.",
"I haven't used one of the 5 free formulas before and so far, I don't like it at all.",
"Give me the chemicals that make nail polish last a week please!",
"I guess I'll go repair my chipped nail now, and hopefully that'll be it for a while.",
"I recommend this polish only if you're sensitive to the chemicals in nail polish.",
"Otherwise, try Whim, Butter London, Dior or even Essie.",
"All of which last longer than this Zoya polish."
] |
Words I would not use to describe this product would be, quaulity knife, slim, incredible.
Alas let me explain. The knive is small and of poor quality, this is understandable. The knife has serations and a small profile so it could be useful in certain situations. The bottle opener gets a thumbs up but it like the knife is rather small. The tweezers and toothpick are about the same as the ones in the swiss army knives. The compass works and so does the magnifine glass, but both are super small and not particularly useful. The entire thing is plastic with metal pieces, but all of the pieces and parts fit together snuggly which makes me less worried about loosing parts.
The credit card companion does have some nice design thoughts like tweezer and a magnifing lense for things like splinters. Thats pretty much where it ends though because this thing is so thick that i had no desire to place it in my wallet at anytime I will admit that it is useful, but you will by no means be reaching for this at every possible moment. There are ways this could be improved, for instance if you made the knife and bottle opener clip in whille open so you could use the card as a handle woudl be awesome and if you improved the magnifine lense, i would find much more valuse in this tool.
Bottom line: To thick to carry, to small to useful. | 1 | neutral | [
"Words I would not use to describe this product would be, quaulity knife, slim, incredible.",
"Alas let me explain.",
"The knive is small and of poor quality, this is understandable.",
"The knife has serations and a small profile so it could be useful in certain situations.",
"The bottle opener gets a thumbs up but it like the knife is rather small.",
"The tweezers and toothpick are about the same as the ones in the swiss army knives.",
"The compass works and so does the magnifine glass, but both are super small and not particularly useful.",
"The entire thing is plastic with metal pieces, but all of the pieces and parts fit together snuggly which makes me less worried about loosing parts.",
"The credit card companion does have some nice design thoughts like tweezer and a magnifing lense for things like splinters.",
"Thats pretty much where it ends though because this thing is so thick that i had no desire to place it in my wallet at anytime I will admit that it is useful, but you will by no means be reaching for this at every possible moment.",
"There are ways this could be improved, for instance if you made the knife and bottle opener clip in whille open so you could use the card as a handle woudl be awesome and if you improved the magnifine lense, i would find much more valuse in this tool.",
"Bottom line: To thick to carry, to small to useful."
] |
Now that the official DVD release of George Lucas's visionary epic Star Wars episodes 4, 5 & 6 is here, we regret to bring you the following news....
Legions of Rebellion supporters are unhappy to say the least with the exclusion of the original theatrical release vs. just the special edition. There are also some inconsistencies with the soundtrack including dialogue and other obvious changes to characters.
You must know that Princess Leia went to great lengths to try and convince George Lucas not to tinker with our story. Millions of petitions were collected from numerous star systems and sent to him with Jedi emissaries Master Yoda and General Qui-Gon Jinn, attempted to exert their influence on a number of occasions in hopes of reaching a diplomatic solution. Secret meetings were held and plans to raise money to fund a release of our own, were dashed when it was discovered that George Lucas's wealth and influence is more powerful than the force. Many have declared him a traitor and a sympathizer to the Empire for his treacherous displays of indifference.
"Flash"! This just in......... Supporters to the Jedi council have just informed us that a small, but elite band of rag tag misfits who call themselves "Sisters of C3PO", have set out to hunt and destroy Lucas. This small but effective army of droids have been described as being very effeminate & fastidious killing machines, who's primary goal is to wipe out the threat of a maniac who forces his "New & Improved" vision on us.
Recent reports claim that Mr. Lucas has taken flight aboard a star destroyer headed for the hoth system in an attempt to elude any possible assassinations. Our secret inside sources close to the Empire say that this information may be a ruse or ploy to break apart the droids, sending them on false missions while weakening their effectiveness. Some factions of the old rebellion have said that Mr. Lucas intends to resurrect a new senate council, in hopes to bog down efforts to securing any attempt to bring him in for questioning and listening to reason.
In a last ditch effort Ewoks were dispatched to Skywalker Ranch to picket with signs like; "George Lucas is a scruffy looking nerf herder" and "George Lucas is Jabbas love child", while a small band of Jawas gained access to the production studios and attempted to steal the plans for the DVD release. Unfortunately it ended in disaster with a number of Ewoks and Jawas slaughtered by the Imperial Guard on George's payroll
So while we continue to fight the evil genius Darth Lucas in a on going battle to restore artistic freedom to the galaxy... keep your light sabers up and may the force be with you.
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Editor In Chief | 1 | neutral | [
"Now that the official DVD release of George Lucas's visionary epic Star Wars episodes 4, 5 & 6 is here, we regret to bring you the following news....",
"Legions of Rebellion supporters are unhappy to say the least with the exclusion of the original theatrical release vs.",
"just the special edition.",
"There are also some inconsistencies with the soundtrack including dialogue and other obvious changes to characters.",
"You must know that Princess Leia went to great lengths to try and convince George Lucas not to tinker with our story.",
"Millions of petitions were collected from numerous star systems and sent to him with Jedi emissaries Master Yoda and General Qui-Gon Jinn, attempted to exert their influence on a number of occasions in hopes of reaching a diplomatic solution.",
"Secret meetings were held and plans to raise money to fund a release of our own, were dashed when it was discovered that George Lucas's wealth and influence is more powerful than the force.",
"Many have declared him a traitor and a sympathizer to the Empire for his treacherous displays of indifference.",
"\"Flash\"!",
"This just in....",
"....",
".",
"Supporters to the Jedi council have just informed us that a small, but elite band of rag tag misfits who call themselves \"Sisters of C3PO\", have set out to hunt and destroy Lucas.",
"This small but effective army of droids have been described as being very effeminate & fastidious killing machines, who's primary goal is to wipe out the threat of a maniac who forces his \"New & Improved\" vision on us.",
"Recent reports claim that Mr.",
"Lucas has taken flight aboard a star destroyer headed for the hoth system in an attempt to elude any possible assassinations.",
"Our secret inside sources close to the Empire say that this information may be a ruse or ploy to break apart the droids, sending them on false missions while weakening their effectiveness.",
"Some factions of the old rebellion have said that Mr.",
"Lucas intends to resurrect a new senate council, in hopes to bog down efforts to securing any attempt to bring him in for questioning and listening to reason.",
"In a last ditch effort Ewoks were dispatched to Skywalker Ranch to picket with signs like; \"George Lucas is a scruffy looking nerf herder\" and \"George Lucas is Jabbas love child\", while a small band of Jawas gained access to the production studios and attempted to steal the plans for the DVD release.",
"Unfortunately it ended in disaster with a number of Ewoks and Jawas slaughtered by the Imperial Guard on George's payroll\n\nSo while we continue to fight the evil genius Darth Lucas in a on going battle to restore artistic freedom to the galaxy...",
"keep your light sabers up and may the force be with you.",
"Obi-Wan Kenobi\nEditor In Chief"
] |
Angel's Pawn is a stand alone novella that introduces us to Ashwini, who works for The Guild and Janvier, a vampire she's constantly tracking. Even though you don't have to have read Angels' Blood and Archangel's Kiss before reading the novella, I would suggest you do so. If you're not familiar with The Guild, you will be confused. A lot of character names are introduced in this novella and even I had a hard time keeping them straight. Being a novella, it was a quick read. I enjoyed the sexual tension between Ash and Janvier. They bantered constantly which kept the pace of the novella moving steadily. This was a quick way for me to get my Guild Hunter fix even though Raphael and Elena are not mentioned in the novella. I enjoyed Ash and Janvier's relationship immensely. I finished reading Angels' Pawn feeling unfilled. There was no resolution in regards to their "relationship". Janvier has the hots for Ash but Ash has a steadfast rule of not dating vampires. But throughout the novella, Ash struggled against giving in to Janvier's cajun charm. I hope that A & J will get their own book; I would love to see where their relationship is headed. It has a lot of potential of being just as good as Raphael and Elena's story | 1 | neutral | [
"Angel's Pawn is a stand alone novella that introduces us to Ashwini, who works for The Guild and Janvier, a vampire she's constantly tracking.",
"Even though you don't have to have read Angels' Blood and Archangel's Kiss before reading the novella, I would suggest you do so.",
"If you're not familiar with The Guild, you will be confused.",
"A lot of character names are introduced in this novella and even I had a hard time keeping them straight.",
"Being a novella, it was a quick read.",
"I enjoyed the sexual tension between Ash and Janvier.",
"They bantered constantly which kept the pace of the novella moving steadily.",
"This was a quick way for me to get my Guild Hunter fix even though Raphael and Elena are not mentioned in the novella.",
"I enjoyed Ash and Janvier's relationship immensely.",
"I finished reading Angels' Pawn feeling unfilled.",
"There was no resolution in regards to their \"relationship\".",
"Janvier has the hots for Ash but Ash has a steadfast rule of not dating vampires.",
"But throughout the novella, Ash struggled against giving in to Janvier's cajun charm.",
"I hope that A & J will get their own book; I would love to see where their relationship is headed.",
"It has a lot of potential of being just as good as Raphael and Elena's story"
] |
Recently I've been researching mice and other vermin as they pertain to farmstead habitation.
Knowing that they must be removed from chicken coops and feed storage areas, it's nice to have options that do not require poison, nor snap a mouse/vole/rat to death and leave it for animals to pick at and possibly get sick from.
Your cat, dog and other pets may get access to dead animals in traditional traps, so these enclosed live catch traps seemed like a great idea.
I purchased four and placed them on a shelf where mouse droppings were noted. I also places a motion activated camera so I could better see how they were or were not being trapped by the device.
Within one 24 hour period, three out of four traps placed were tripped with nothing at all inside. Upon video and still image review, a Deer Mouse had trotted over the top of the three traps that were tripped and of course activated them without being inside.
The third trap remained unsprung, but the Deer Mouse only sniffed the opening and failed to enter.
With all four traps re-set for another go, the Deer Mouse now just scampers around each trap and doesn't bother with them at all.
I have added a photo of the setup and mouse to the collection of photos submitted by buyers/reviewers.
I like the idea of the tilt trap and in theory it's great, in practical use it's simply not effective. There are many solutions to this problem:
The most popular is to simply put a cardboard box over the tilted UP end, through a hole that is cut just slightly taller than the trap at the fulcrum. This allows the trap to activate, but does not allow the mouse to stand ON the tipped up section. As this is an innovation which isn't already a part of the trap, I am giving my two star rating on the traps as designed.
It also wouldn't hurt to make them larger with an adjustable balance weight... the buyer can of course make any number of modifications and the system is already being copied and improved by other companies... I guess this is an example of another weak patent registration process.
So, I sadly would not recommend these to friends and others wanting to rid themselves of mice quickly.... but IF you enjoy the process of problem solving and using these as a starting point, you will certainly foil the mice and end up collecting them in short order.
Look for the design which has a housing over the tipped up portion... it's better. | 1 | neutral | [
"Recently I've been researching mice and other vermin as they pertain to farmstead habitation.",
"Knowing that they must be removed from chicken coops and feed storage areas, it's nice to have options that do not require poison, nor snap a mouse/vole/rat to death and leave it for animals to pick at and possibly get sick from.",
"Your cat, dog and other pets may get access to dead animals in traditional traps, so these enclosed live catch traps seemed like a great idea.",
"I purchased four and placed them on a shelf where mouse droppings were noted.",
"I also places a motion activated camera so I could better see how they were or were not being trapped by the device.",
"Within one 24 hour period, three out of four traps placed were tripped with nothing at all inside.",
"Upon video and still image review, a Deer Mouse had trotted over the top of the three traps that were tripped and of course activated them without being inside.",
"The third trap remained unsprung, but the Deer Mouse only sniffed the opening and failed to enter.",
"With all four traps re-set for another go, the Deer Mouse now just scampers around each trap and doesn't bother with them at all.",
"I have added a photo of the setup and mouse to the collection of photos submitted by buyers/reviewers.",
"I like the idea of the tilt trap and in theory it's great, in practical use it's simply not effective.",
"There are many solutions to this problem:\n\nThe most popular is to simply put a cardboard box over the tilted UP end, through a hole that is cut just slightly taller than the trap at the fulcrum.",
"This allows the trap to activate, but does not allow the mouse to stand ON the tipped up section.",
"As this is an innovation which isn't already a part of the trap, I am giving my two star rating on the traps as designed.",
"It also wouldn't hurt to make them larger with an adjustable balance weight...",
"the buyer can of course make any number of modifications and the system is already being copied and improved by other companies...",
"I guess this is an example of another weak patent registration process.",
"So, I sadly would not recommend these to friends and others wanting to rid themselves of mice quickly....",
"but IF you enjoy the process of problem solving and using these as a starting point, you will certainly foil the mice and end up collecting them in short order.",
"Look for the design which has a housing over the tipped up portion...",
"it's better."
] |
Fired FBI director Comey slams GOP memo: 'That's it?'
WASHINGTON (AP) â Former FBI Director James Comey scorned the memo that was released by House Republicans after being declassified Friday by President Donald Trump saying it doesn't add up to much. "That's it?" Comey said on Twitter.
"Dishonest and misleading memo wrecked the House intel committee destroyed trust with Intelligence Community damaged relationship with FISA court and inexcusably exposed classified investigation of an American citizen. For what?" Comey wrote adding: "DOJ & FBI must keep doing their jobs."
The tweet was the latest in a series from Comey this week as Trump clashed with the FBI over the release of the GOP-written memo. On Thursday Comey stood up for the bureau's position against the document's disclosure and took aim at unnamed people he calls "weasels and liars."
"All should appreciate the FBI speaking up. I wish more of our leaders would " Comey tweeted Thursday night amid news that the FBI had lobbied the White House to block the release of a partisan memo on the Russia investigation.
On Friday morning the president continued his verbal attacks against the FBI writing on Twitter "The top Leadership and Investigators of the FBI and the Justice Department have politicized the sacred investigative process in favor of Democrats and against Republicans â something which would have been unthinkable just a short time ago. Rank & File are great people!"
On Twitter Comey urged his former colleagues to "take heart: American history shows that in the long run weasels and liars never hold the field so long as good people stand up."
He concluded "Not a lot of schools or streets named for Joe McCarthy" â a reference to the senator who in the 1950s conducted hearings aimed at rooting out Communists in the U.S. government.
Since his firing last May Comey has made his personal feelings about Trump known testifying in detail about personal interactions he says troubled him .
He also authorized a close friend to share with reporters details from a memo he produced documenting one such encounter â a February conversation in the Oval Office in which he said Trump encouraged him to drop an FBI investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn. That revelation prompted the Justice Department's appointment of a special counsel to run the Russia investigation.
Comey has also used language about "weasels" before most notably in a September 2016 congressional hearing when he defended the FBI's handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation.
"You can call us wrong but don't call us weasels " Comey said. "We are not weasels. We are honest people and we did this in that way." | 1 | neutral | [
"Fired FBI director Comey slams GOP memo: 'That's it?",
"'\nWASHINGTON (AP) â Former FBI Director James Comey scorned the memo that was released by House Republicans after being declassified Friday by President Donald Trump saying it doesn't add up to much.",
"\"That's it?",
"\" Comey said on Twitter.",
"\"Dishonest and misleading memo wrecked the House intel committee destroyed trust with Intelligence Community damaged relationship with FISA court and inexcusably exposed classified investigation of an American citizen.",
"For what?",
"\" Comey wrote adding: \"DOJ & FBI must keep doing their jobs.",
"\"\nThe tweet was the latest in a series from Comey this week as Trump clashed with the FBI over the release of the GOP-written memo.",
"On Thursday Comey stood up for the bureau's position against the document's disclosure and took aim at unnamed people he calls \"weasels and liars.",
"\"\n\"All should appreciate the FBI speaking up.",
"I wish more of our leaders would \" Comey tweeted Thursday night amid news that the FBI had lobbied the White House to block the release of a partisan memo on the Russia investigation.",
"On Friday morning the president continued his verbal attacks against the FBI writing on Twitter \"The top Leadership and Investigators of the FBI and the Justice Department have politicized the sacred investigative process in favor of Democrats and against Republicans â something which would have been unthinkable just a short time ago.",
"Rank & File are great people!",
"\"\nOn Twitter Comey urged his former colleagues to \"take heart: American history shows that in the long run weasels and liars never hold the field so long as good people stand up.",
"\"\n He concluded \"Not a lot of schools or streets named for Joe McCarthy\" â a reference to the senator who in the 1950s conducted hearings aimed at rooting out Communists in the U.",
"S. government.",
"Since his firing last May Comey has made his personal feelings about Trump known testifying in detail about personal interactions he says troubled him.",
"He also authorized a close friend to share with reporters details from a memo he produced documenting one such encounter â a February conversation in the Oval Office in which he said Trump encouraged him to drop an FBI investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.",
"That revelation prompted the Justice Department's appointment of a special counsel to run the Russia investigation.",
"Comey has also used language about \"weasels\" before most notably in a September 2016 congressional hearing when he defended the FBI's handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation.",
"\"You can call us wrong but don't call us weasels \" Comey said.",
"\"We are not weasels.",
"We are honest people and we did this in that way.",
"\""
] |
I first tasted Progresso New England Clam Chowder while visiting a Costco store. They were giving away tiny paper cups of it. I suspect I was pretty hungry at the time. In any case, it tasted quite good and I ended up buying a pack of about a dozen cans, which was probably one of those impulse-item mistakes. We stock up on a number of items like this to have food on hand for "emergency" purposes when forgetting to go to the grocery store. Plus it's an item that might be useful on camping trips.
The clam chowder is OK, but I wouldn't rank it among the better ones i've had. It's rather pasty, somewhat tasteless and the clams seem rather sparse. It will work in an emergency, and that's how we treat it. I'd say the sodium content is much too high and the protein content is not high enough. It's just not the best soup. Well our other use was for camping. After a long day of hiking, etc., it's real easy to prepare and, man, it can taste mighty good out in the open air. Well, I have mixed feelings about this product. I'm not strongly negative, but I don't think I'd buy it again.
Gary Peterson | 1 | neutral | [
"I first tasted Progresso New England Clam Chowder while visiting a Costco store.",
"They were giving away tiny paper cups of it.",
"I suspect I was pretty hungry at the time.",
"In any case, it tasted quite good and I ended up buying a pack of about a dozen cans, which was probably one of those impulse-item mistakes.",
"We stock up on a number of items like this to have food on hand for \"emergency\" purposes when forgetting to go to the grocery store.",
"Plus it's an item that might be useful on camping trips.",
"The clam chowder is OK, but I wouldn't rank it among the better ones i've had.",
"It's rather pasty, somewhat tasteless and the clams seem rather sparse.",
"It will work in an emergency, and that's how we treat it.",
"I'd say the sodium content is much too high and the protein content is not high enough.",
"It's just not the best soup.",
"Well our other use was for camping.",
"After a long day of hiking, etc.",
", it's real easy to prepare and, man, it can taste mighty good out in the open air.",
"Well, I have mixed feelings about this product.",
"I'm not strongly negative, but I don't think I'd buy it again.",
"Gary Peterson"
] |
Its ironic that this game is called Lament of Innocence, or Crying over Innocence, when it resembles another game that involves Crying in the title so closely. I suppose that it could be used as a way of telling Castlevania fans "This still isn't the game you've been waiting for, in fact it's a rip off of Devil May Cry." And sadly that's exactly what it feels like.
I've come to the conclusion that every so often Castlevania must undergo a tremendous change in order to survive. It keeps the series alive, and keeps it from getting stagnant, which is very easy for this series to do, often times because sequels take as many steps backward as they do forward. The exceptions would be Symphony of the Night, and Aria of Sorrow. The vast majority of the series is still stellar, with very few installments being bad games, or flat out unenjoyable (All three original GameBoy titles come to mind, as well as the 2 N64 titles. The rest of the games all range from being great to superb). This game is great, and very enjoyable, however it is not what I was hoping for. The camera is an annoyance, and tracks Leon Belmont like Devil May Cry, the controls are set up like Devil May Cry, everything about this game screams Devil May Cry, which is sad because I have always wanted Castlevania in 3D, (only not so clumsily as it was on the N64) and now I have a much better version of the game in 3D but its lost so much in the translation, this time, where as the last one lost its game play, we loose a lot of variety of levels... long corridor leads to a room, which leads to another long corridor, ala Devil May Cry... except DMC had more variety to its scenery. Where are the forests? The Catacombs? And while I haven't beaten the game yet there's no sign of the classic clock tower either! Where are the deep plat-forming elements? As terrible as Legacy of Darkness was I loved the clock tower in that game, although I felt it was too short... And I have to confess that I have cheated a bit and I have glimpsed through the guidebook, there really doesn't seem to be a clock tower stage. Maybe it would have been to hard to do with the camera system... maybe Konami should have done something else with the camera? Maybe Konami should have put a little more thought into this game. While it is very polished, it does not FEEL like a Castlevania game to me, aside from the art style of Ayami Kojima, which thankfully saves this game's style from falling flat on its face.
If Konami wants to make me happy by copying another game's engine that engine should be a Zelda game. Give us the RPG elements, give us a castle that will take 48 hours of real time to explore, give us a forest, a swamp, a clock tower to explore not just six levels of endless corridors. More variety please!
And don't get me started on the music. For a game that has advertised itself as having fully orchestrated music I must say I am disappointed as I have only found a couple of tunes that have been noteworthy, nothing on the level of Symphony of the Night, or the Recent Soul Calibur 2, both of which featured phenomenal and epic soundtracks. Lament of Innocence simply lacks any music that really screams "Castlevania" at this point in the game (Level 4) which means the game doesn't have much longer to amend this flaw. Simply put this game is lacking in length, in variety, in depth, in originality, and most disappointing of all (since music is generally a huge part of Castlevania) it lacks in a truly noteworthy score. I hate having to rip apart the latest entry in my all time favorite game series, but sadly that's how let down I feel by this game, when I was expecting much more than just another Devil May Cry Clone. | 1 | neutral | [
"Its ironic that this game is called Lament of Innocence, or Crying over Innocence, when it resembles another game that involves Crying in the title so closely.",
"I suppose that it could be used as a way of telling Castlevania fans \"This still isn't the game you've been waiting for, in fact it's a rip off of Devil May Cry.",
"\" And sadly that's exactly what it feels like.",
"I've come to the conclusion that every so often Castlevania must undergo a tremendous change in order to survive.",
"It keeps the series alive, and keeps it from getting stagnant, which is very easy for this series to do, often times because sequels take as many steps backward as they do forward.",
"The exceptions would be Symphony of the Night, and Aria of Sorrow.",
"The vast majority of the series is still stellar, with very few installments being bad games, or flat out unenjoyable (All three original GameBoy titles come to mind, as well as the 2 N64 titles.",
"The rest of the games all range from being great to superb).",
"This game is great, and very enjoyable, however it is not what I was hoping for.",
"The camera is an annoyance, and tracks Leon Belmont like Devil May Cry, the controls are set up like Devil May Cry, everything about this game screams Devil May Cry, which is sad because I have always wanted Castlevania in 3D, (only not so clumsily as it was on the N64) and now I have a much better version of the game in 3D but its lost so much in the translation, this time, where as the last one lost its game play, we loose a lot of variety of levels...",
"long corridor leads to a room, which leads to another long corridor, ala Devil May Cry...",
"except DMC had more variety to its scenery.",
"Where are the forests?",
"The Catacombs?",
"And while I haven't beaten the game yet there's no sign of the classic clock tower either!",
"Where are the deep plat-forming elements?",
"As terrible as Legacy of Darkness was I loved the clock tower in that game, although I felt it was too short...",
"And I have to confess that I have cheated a bit and I have glimpsed through the guidebook, there really doesn't seem to be a clock tower stage.",
"Maybe it would have been to hard to do with the camera system...",
"maybe Konami should have done something else with the camera?",
"Maybe Konami should have put a little more thought into this game.",
"While it is very polished, it does not FEEL like a Castlevania game to me, aside from the art style of Ayami Kojima, which thankfully saves this game's style from falling flat on its face.",
"If Konami wants to make me happy by copying another game's engine that engine should be a Zelda game.",
"Give us the RPG elements, give us a castle that will take 48 hours of real time to explore, give us a forest, a swamp, a clock tower to explore not just six levels of endless corridors.",
"More variety please!",
"And don't get me started on the music.",
"For a game that has advertised itself as having fully orchestrated music I must say I am disappointed as I have only found a couple of tunes that have been noteworthy, nothing on the level of Symphony of the Night, or the Recent Soul Calibur 2, both of which featured phenomenal and epic soundtracks.",
"Lament of Innocence simply lacks any music that really screams \"Castlevania\" at this point in the game (Level 4) which means the game doesn't have much longer to amend this flaw.",
"Simply put this game is lacking in length, in variety, in depth, in originality, and most disappointing of all (since music is generally a huge part of Castlevania) it lacks in a truly noteworthy score.",
"I hate having to rip apart the latest entry in my all time favorite game series, but sadly that's how let down I feel by this game, when I was expecting much more than just another Devil May Cry Clone."
] |
The first two Pokemon Stadium games for the N64 featured a host of game modes other than the Collosseum battles, like MiniGames, the ability to play the Game Boy game on the N64, My Room (in Stadium 2), Rental Pokemon, and team registrations. They were also based off their respective games, where you fought the trainers and Gym Leaders in stunning 3D.
Fast forward to 2004 and the GameCube. Pokemon Colosseum features the first Pokemon 3D RPG, where you play Wes, a former Pokemon snatcher who has seen the light and now fights against his former teammates. With the help of a companion who can see them, you must snag corrupted "shadow" Pokemon and "purify" them by using them in battle. Until you do, they won't gain levels and have a limited moveset. Your opponents are a crew of bizarre-looking crooks with even more bizarre names, and every duel is two-on-two. It's fun, but it can be difficult to raise levels since there's no wild Pokemon to go after. Look for trainers you can battle multiple times.
Colosseum mode is dissapointing. It's based around the internal RPG, so you won't face the Picknickers and Hikers from Ruby/Sapphire. There's no Gym Leader mode, so don't expect to battle the likes of Norman, Archie, or Glacia. No minigames, no rentals, no GB Tower, no 3D Secret Base, and surprisingly, no Contest Mode. You may only register one team at a time and you need GBA-Gamecube connectors, a GBA, and a Ruby/Sapphire game for EACH player in multiplayer. The battle announcer is gone too. Considering that the GameCube is much more powerful than the N64 and that the RPG map isn't that large, these omissions are inexcusable. It's a tolerable game but it feels incomplete. | 1 | neutral | [
"The first two Pokemon Stadium games for the N64 featured a host of game modes other than the Collosseum battles, like MiniGames, the ability to play the Game Boy game on the N64, My Room (in Stadium 2), Rental Pokemon, and team registrations.",
"They were also based off their respective games, where you fought the trainers and Gym Leaders in stunning 3D.",
"Fast forward to 2004 and the GameCube.",
"Pokemon Colosseum features the first Pokemon 3D RPG, where you play Wes, a former Pokemon snatcher who has seen the light and now fights against his former teammates.",
"With the help of a companion who can see them, you must snag corrupted \"shadow\" Pokemon and \"purify\" them by using them in battle.",
"Until you do, they won't gain levels and have a limited moveset.",
"Your opponents are a crew of bizarre-looking crooks with even more bizarre names, and every duel is two-on-two.",
"It's fun, but it can be difficult to raise levels since there's no wild Pokemon to go after.",
"Look for trainers you can battle multiple times.",
"Colosseum mode is dissapointing.",
"It's based around the internal RPG, so you won't face the Picknickers and Hikers from Ruby/Sapphire.",
"There's no Gym Leader mode, so don't expect to battle the likes of Norman, Archie, or Glacia.",
"No minigames, no rentals, no GB Tower, no 3D Secret Base, and surprisingly, no Contest Mode.",
"You may only register one team at a time and you need GBA-Gamecube connectors, a GBA, and a Ruby/Sapphire game for EACH player in multiplayer.",
"The battle announcer is gone too.",
"Considering that the GameCube is much more powerful than the N64 and that the RPG map isn't that large, these omissions are inexcusable.",
"It's a tolerable game but it feels incomplete."
] |
I have read all the Scottoline books up until this one. I Think this one is the most unbelieveable of any I have read. It is very hard to discuss the book and not give away the ending. Judy Carrier is trying to get the jury to believe Anthony "Pigeon Tony" Lucia did not kill Angelo Coluzzi. This is after Pigeon Tony admits he did kill him. Go figure. The Coluzzi family trys to get to Judy and attempts to kill Pigeon Tony. The book will hold you attention, I give it that. It is also very funny in places. The names are great, such a Pigeon Tony, Tony From Down the Block and Tony Two Feet. This is so people won't get the Tonys mixed up. I did not like the flashbacks that Pigeon Tony had, supposed to make you know why he felt like he did but I thought they were way to long. Would like to tell you what I thought was so unbelieveabe but would give away the ending to do that. Part of the book was very good but the flashbacks and the ending was a downer for me. | 1 | neutral | [
"I have read all the Scottoline books up until this one.",
"I Think this one is the most unbelieveable of any I have read.",
"It is very hard to discuss the book and not give away the ending.",
"Judy Carrier is trying to get the jury to believe Anthony \"Pigeon Tony\" Lucia did not kill Angelo Coluzzi.",
"This is after Pigeon Tony admits he did kill him.",
"Go figure.",
"The Coluzzi family trys to get to Judy and attempts to kill Pigeon Tony.",
"The book will hold you attention, I give it that.",
"It is also very funny in places.",
"The names are great, such a Pigeon Tony, Tony From Down the Block and Tony Two Feet.",
"This is so people won't get the Tonys mixed up.",
"I did not like the flashbacks that Pigeon Tony had, supposed to make you know why he felt like he did but I thought they were way to long.",
"Would like to tell you what I thought was so unbelieveabe but would give away the ending to do that.",
"Part of the book was very good but the flashbacks and the ending was a downer for me."
] |
I heard an interview with the author of this book on NPR, and thought it sounded interesting. And I think it could be to someone who is the reader the author had in mind.
Unfortunately, this reviewer is not that reader. The author postulates two systems one of which jumps to conclusions (and is usually right) and the other of which draws on memories and available evidence to form a conclusion. The evolution of the first is why our ancestors were not all eaten by saber tooth tigers before they could pass their genes down to us. The second keeps us out of snow-filled ditches by telling us Steer into the skid! when the first is telling us to do the opposite.
All very well and interesting and those examples make sense even to me. My problem comes when the examples attempt to draw the reader into reacting with the first system to simple arithmetic or logic problems of the How many were going to St Ives? sort. I either saw the answer immediately without needing a pencil and paper (as in the arithmetic problems) or brought my previous experience and knowledge to play (as in a problem weighing stereotypes). There were also some places where better editing would have made a difference (The question How popular will the president be six months from now? is hardly easier to answer than How popular is the president today?)
I am admittedly a nerd and that is probably not the reader the author envisaged. To those who fit his idea, I wish enjoyable reading. | 1 | neutral | [
"I heard an interview with the author of this book on NPR, and thought it sounded interesting.",
"And I think it could be to someone who is the reader the author had in mind.",
"Unfortunately, this reviewer is not that reader.",
"The author postulates two systems one of which jumps to conclusions (and is usually right) and the other of which draws on memories and available evidence to form a conclusion.",
"The evolution of the first is why our ancestors were not all eaten by saber tooth tigers before they could pass their genes down to us.",
"The second keeps us out of snow-filled ditches by telling us Steer into the skid!",
"when the first is telling us to do the opposite.",
"All very well and interesting and those examples make sense even to me.",
"My problem comes when the examples attempt to draw the reader into reacting with the first system to simple arithmetic or logic problems of the How many were going to St Ives?",
"sort.",
"I either saw the answer immediately without needing a pencil and paper (as in the arithmetic problems) or brought my previous experience and knowledge to play (as in a problem weighing stereotypes).",
"There were also some places where better editing would have made a difference (The question How popular will the president be six months from now?",
"is hardly easier to answer than How popular is the president today?",
")\n\nI am admittedly a nerd and that is probably not the reader the author envisaged.",
"To those who fit his idea, I wish enjoyable reading."
] |
I have a very active, food-thieving two year old cat. I got this to get some peace during dinner time without having to put her away in a room. When I first took this out of the shipping box, she immediately hopped into the box (of course), and within five minutes, began to play with this toy very, very energetically. Pressing close to the ground and then leaping up in a Simba v. Scar kind of attack. That lasted for a magical twenty minutes or so. Ever since then, however (today is Day 7), she sometimes uses the scratcher on this thing, but not the toy. I think I saw her bat it once yesterday, but it was definitely half-hearted. I work from home, so I'd definitely know if it's seen any other play time.
Judging by the reviews, I think the success off this toy completely depends on the personality of your cat. I have no major regrets getting this thing because (a) those first twenty minutes were made of gold, (b) she uses the scratcher--always good to have a few of those, and (c) It's not ugly, feels like a well-made product, and is a handsome size. I can easily put it away when not in use. It's feels very well made and the ball goes around with smooth ease. Kind of noisy (I immediately thought "kitty arcade" when I heard the ball race around the track for the first time), but it would have been well worth it if she'd play with it... If you can afford it, might as well give it a try. Especially if you could use a second or third scratcher anyway. I sincerely hope you'll have better luck than I did.
Update 5/27/2014: She still uses the scratcher on this thing, but never plays with the ball. This is her third favorite place to sit when she wants to let us know that she wants to be fed. So for that, still glad I got this, but maybe wishing I had gotten the star-chasing one (?) instead. (The one with the clear ball that lights up.)
Update 9/28/2014: Randomly, totally out of the blue, she'll play with the toy energetically for ~5 glorious minutes. This has been happening about once every two weeks for the past couple of months. She still uses the scratcher part of it every day.
Update 4/28/2015: She peed in it last month so I had to get rid of it. She didn't use it very much, and it ended up becoming a toilet... | 1 | neutral | [
"I have a very active, food-thieving two year old cat.",
"I got this to get some peace during dinner time without having to put her away in a room.",
"When I first took this out of the shipping box, she immediately hopped into the box (of course), and within five minutes, began to play with this toy very, very energetically.",
"Pressing close to the ground and then leaping up in a Simba v.",
"Scar kind of attack.",
"That lasted for a magical twenty minutes or so.",
"Ever since then, however (today is Day 7), she sometimes uses the scratcher on this thing, but not the toy.",
"I think I saw her bat it once yesterday, but it was definitely half-hearted.",
"I work from home, so I'd definitely know if it's seen any other play time.",
"Judging by the reviews, I think the success off this toy completely depends on the personality of your cat.",
"I have no major regrets getting this thing because (a) those first twenty minutes were made of gold, (b) she uses the scratcher--always good to have a few of those, and (c) It's not ugly, feels like a well-made product, and is a handsome size.",
"I can easily put it away when not in use.",
"It's feels very well made and the ball goes around with smooth ease.",
"Kind of noisy (I immediately thought \"kitty arcade\" when I heard the ball race around the track for the first time), but it would have been well worth it if she'd play with it...",
"If you can afford it, might as well give it a try.",
"Especially if you could use a second or third scratcher anyway.",
"I sincerely hope you'll have better luck than I did.",
"Update 5/27/2014: She still uses the scratcher on this thing, but never plays with the ball.",
"This is her third favorite place to sit when she wants to let us know that she wants to be fed.",
"So for that, still glad I got this, but maybe wishing I had gotten the star-chasing one (?",
") instead.",
"(The one with the clear ball that lights up.",
")\n\nUpdate 9/28/2014: Randomly, totally out of the blue, she'll play with the toy energetically for ~5 glorious minutes.",
"This has been happening about once every two weeks for the past couple of months.",
"She still uses the scratcher part of it every day.",
"Update 4/28/2015: She peed in it last month so I had to get rid of it.",
"She didn't use it very much, and it ended up becoming a toilet..."
] |
Another Final Fantasy...this is the first one since FInal Fantasy X that I have played.
So far:
-Really cannot stand the camera. It's too close and causes the movement to be jerky and annoying especially when turning in a circle.
- I am not all that crazy about not being able to hit a town and get more of the story. Just buy stuff 'online'. Not cool at all and running across a save point every 20 mins? Really? Also the game is pretty linear...but for this type of game, this is needed as it's long as all get out.
- The Graphics on the PS3 are wonderful. Eyepopping even. In some places you can't tell the cutscence to the scences you are supposed to play.
- I am noting how much more this game plays a little more like recent RPGs where you really only control one character during battles. It's kind of fun because it takes some of the micromanaging away but at the same time, I do miss being able to command my characters during battles. I do enjoy the Paradigm Shifts during battles but I do hope there are more enemy varieties than what I have seen in the first 6 hours of playing. Also I am mixed right now on teh whole auto heal after battle as that has never been done before in any FF game but this feels more 'western' than others. I also enjoyed in FFX the ability to swap members in the middle of fights and that is also gone now..what's the sense in having 5 members if you are only going to be using 3?
- I wasn't all that crazy that for the first 3 hrs of play was a 'tutorial'. The only thing that saved it from being a complete lete down is that they used this (learning how to fight, learning how to use items etc) to move the story along.
- So far the voice acting is really on point. Playing this game is akin with playing a CG Anime.
- The datalog concept is great. Something that you are finding more and more on RPGs with tons of reading without cramming it all into a book.
if you are a fan of more traditional western RPGs (Dragon's AGe and Mass Effect) and never played a Final Fantasy game, you may want to steer clear but if you have at least tried one JRPG and Final Fantasy in particular an dliked the experience, this is for you. | 1 | neutral | [
"Another Final Fantasy...",
"this is the first one since FInal Fantasy X that I have played.",
"So far:\n\n-Really cannot stand the camera.",
"It's too close and causes the movement to be jerky and annoying especially when turning in a circle.",
"- I am not all that crazy about not being able to hit a town and get more of the story.",
"Just buy stuff 'online'.",
"Not cool at all and running across a save point every 20 mins?",
"Really?",
"Also the game is pretty linear...",
"but for this type of game, this is needed as it's long as all get out.",
"- The Graphics on the PS3 are wonderful.",
"Eyepopping even.",
"In some places you can't tell the cutscence to the scences you are supposed to play.",
"- I am noting how much more this game plays a little more like recent RPGs where you really only control one character during battles.",
"It's kind of fun because it takes some of the micromanaging away but at the same time, I do miss being able to command my characters during battles.",
"I do enjoy the Paradigm Shifts during battles but I do hope there are more enemy varieties than what I have seen in the first 6 hours of playing.",
"Also I am mixed right now on teh whole auto heal after battle as that has never been done before in any FF game but this feels more 'western' than others.",
"I also enjoyed in FFX the ability to swap members in the middle of fights and that is also gone now..",
"what's the sense in having 5 members if you are only going to be using 3?",
"- I wasn't all that crazy that for the first 3 hrs of play was a 'tutorial'.",
"The only thing that saved it from being a complete lete down is that they used this (learning how to fight, learning how to use items etc) to move the story along.",
"- So far the voice acting is really on point.",
"Playing this game is akin with playing a CG Anime.",
"- The datalog concept is great.",
"Something that you are finding more and more on RPGs with tons of reading without cramming it all into a book.",
"if you are a fan of more traditional western RPGs (Dragon's AGe and Mass Effect) and never played a Final Fantasy game, you may want to steer clear but if you have at least tried one JRPG and Final Fantasy in particular an dliked the experience, this is for you."
] |
Pritzker has a Berrios problem and he won't touch it
J.B. Pritzker has a boil on his neck the size of Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios.
Actually it is Joe Berrios as if Joe just walked out of the Erie Cafe after a nice veal chop. Now he âs sitting on his patch of Pritzker for all voters to see.
Joe might as well just light a cigar and wave to the cameras filming those anti-Pritzker political ads.
But Pritzker the billionaire running for governor in the March 20 Democratic primary doesnât want to touch this. He wonât go near it.
Berrios who is also the Cook County Democratic Party chairman (by grace of Boss Madigan) backs Pritzker . And so Pritzker isnât engaging the thing that stares property tax-paying homeowners right in the face.
Kennedy has long made the property tax system and the corruption in it a feature of his campaign. He has called on Berrios to resign. Pritzker and his ally Mayor Rahm Emanuel would rather change the subject and talk about the guy in the White House.
âPritzker talks about things that arenât really the issue. He talks about Donald Trump but he skirts the issue of using Joe Berriosâ office to call political supporters. Pritzkerâs locked in with those guys.â
Most recently reporter Jason Grotto âs excellent series âThe Tax Divideâ â published in June in the Chicago Tribune and continued this month in collaboration with ProPublica â has laid bare much that is wrong with the property tax assessment system in Cook County:
As Kennedy along with Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and his GOP primary opponent state Rep. Jeanne Ives demand Berriosâ head on a pike pressure increases on Joeâs friends like Pritzker .
Pritzker has money. He âs built a statewide political organization. If he can satisfy the media by issuing proclamations against Trump why should he fight on Kennedyâs ground?
Galia Slayen the communications director for the Pritzker campaign notes that Pritzker has publicly called out the property tax system. And she says the criticisms of her candidate are unfounded.
Fair enough. But Pritzker isnât running against Rauner now. He âs not running against Donald Trump either.
He âs running for the Democratic nomination against Chris Kennedy and property taxes will be the issue. And they will be the issue in the general election.
Yet he avoids any mention of Berrios who maintains the system or Madigan who benefits and who can snap his fingers and have Joe come running.
Pritzker has a serious weakness in all this beyond the Berrios on his neck. His ham-handed decision to seek a property tax reduction for his Gold Coast neighborhood mansion will revisit him .
He bought the house next door and had the toilets removed so it would be declared an uninhabitable dwelling. Then he got a tax break of nearly $230 000 for living next to it. | 1 | neutral | [
"Pritzker has a Berrios problem and he won't touch it\nJ.",
"B. Pritzker has a boil on his neck the size of Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios.",
"Actually it is Joe Berrios as if Joe just walked out of the Erie Cafe after a nice veal chop.",
"Now he âs sitting on his patch of Pritzker for all voters to see.",
"Joe might as well just light a cigar and wave to the cameras filming those anti-Pritzker political ads.",
"But Pritzker the billionaire running for governor in the March 20 Democratic primary doesnât want to touch this.",
"He wonât go near it.",
"Berrios who is also the Cook County Democratic Party chairman (by grace of Boss Madigan) backs Pritzker.",
"And so Pritzker isnât engaging the thing that stares property tax-paying homeowners right in the face.",
"Kennedy has long made the property tax system and the corruption in it a feature of his campaign.",
"He has called on Berrios to resign.",
"Pritzker and his ally Mayor Rahm Emanuel would rather change the subject and talk about the guy in the White House.",
"âPritzker talks about things that arenât really the issue.",
"He talks about Donald Trump but he skirts the issue of using Joe Berriosâ office to call political supporters.",
"Pritzkerâs locked in with those guys.",
"â\nMost recently reporter Jason Grotto âs excellent series âThe Tax Divideâ â published in June in the Chicago Tribune and continued this month in collaboration with ProPublica â has laid bare much that is wrong with the property tax assessment system in Cook County:\nAs Kennedy along with Republican Gov.",
"Bruce Rauner and his GOP primary opponent state Rep.",
"Jeanne Ives demand Berriosâ head on a pike pressure increases on Joeâs friends like Pritzker.",
"Pritzker has money.",
"He âs built a statewide political organization.",
"If he can satisfy the media by issuing proclamations against Trump why should he fight on Kennedyâs ground?",
"Galia Slayen the communications director for the Pritzker campaign notes that Pritzker has publicly called out the property tax system.",
"And she says the criticisms of her candidate are unfounded.",
"Fair enough.",
"But Pritzker isnât running against Rauner now.",
"He âs not running against Donald Trump either.",
"He âs running for the Democratic nomination against Chris Kennedy and property taxes will be the issue.",
"And they will be the issue in the general election.",
"Yet he avoids any mention of Berrios who maintains the system or Madigan who benefits and who can snap his fingers and have Joe come running.",
"Pritzker has a serious weakness in all this beyond the Berrios on his neck.",
"His ham-handed decision to seek a property tax reduction for his Gold Coast neighborhood mansion will revisit him.",
"He bought the house next door and had the toilets removed so it would be declared an uninhabitable dwelling.",
"Then he got a tax break of nearly $230 000 for living next to it."
] |
I originally bought this headset for my wife (her first BT headset) because she didn't like the look of my <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Plantronics-Voyager-510-Bluetooth-Headset-with-Multipoint-Technology-Retail-Packaged/dp/B0009B0IX4/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Plantronics Voyager 510 Bluetooth Headset with Multipoint Technology [Retail Packaged</a>]. She found the 330 painfully uncomfortable and decided to sacrifice style for comfort (quite a departure from her typical choices, particularly regarding footwear); thus she is now enjoying my 510 and I'm getting by with the 330. I don't find the 330 uncomfortable for the first few hours, but I never forget it's in my ear like I did with the 510. If you have very small ears, it's probably a bad choice.
Here's a brief comparison between the two with my 5 point ratings:
STYLE & DESIGN
I greatly prefer the 330's single side button that makes it very easy adjust the volume. On the 510, I found the volume and power buttons behind the ear difficult to reach and easy to confuse - probably my biggest complaint with the 510.
I prefer the look and size of the 330. It's more modern and discreet. However, it's not a fashion accessory and everyone looks like a dork with a flashing blue light next to their ear with any BT headset. I wish people would realize this and take these things off in public (especially in restaurants). I only use mine in the car or when at the computer so this is the least important criteria for me.
COMFORT
The 510 is the clear winner here for both me and my wife. Everyone's ear is different and I find the 330 less uncomfortable than my wife did. A few may find the 330 fits them better than the 510, but the 510 includes 3 ear pieces to provide a custom fit.
PERFORMANCE
This is the best reason to get the 510. I've used worse headsets than the 330, but none better than the 510. With the 330, I get static if the phone is on the other side of body from the headset. The 330's claimed 30' range - maybe at high altitude with no obstructions, no other radio interference with no solar flares and a full moon - real world, more like 10' with no obstructions.
Noise canceling is far superior on the 510. People would never guess I was using a headset - usually they couldn't even tell when I was in my car. The 330 is about useless in a windy environment and picks up a lot of background noise.
Both headsets seem to have very good battery life and audio quality for listening. The 510 also has the advantage of being able to pair with 2 devices simultaneously but I've never tried this feature.
STYLE & DESIGN
330 - 4
510 - 2
COMFORT
330 - 3
510 - 5
PERFORMANCE
330 - 3
510 - 5
FEATURES & PRICE
330 - 4 (probably better than most headsets < $30)
510 - 5 (more expensive but worth it for features and performance)
OVERALL
330 - 3
510 - 5
The comfort and performance of the 510 justify the extra $16. | 1 | neutral | [
"I originally bought this headset for my wife (her first BT headset) because she didn't like the look of my <a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/Plantronics-Voyager-510-Bluetooth-Headset-with-Multipoint-Technology-Retail-Packaged/dp/B0009B0IX4/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">Plantronics Voyager 510 Bluetooth Headset with Multipoint Technology [Retail Packaged</a>].",
"She found the 330 painfully uncomfortable and decided to sacrifice style for comfort (quite a departure from her typical choices, particularly regarding footwear); thus she is now enjoying my 510 and I'm getting by with the 330.",
"I don't find the 330 uncomfortable for the first few hours, but I never forget it's in my ear like I did with the 510.",
"If you have very small ears, it's probably a bad choice.",
"Here's a brief comparison between the two with my 5 point ratings:\n\nSTYLE & DESIGN\nI greatly prefer the 330's single side button that makes it very easy adjust the volume.",
"On the 510, I found the volume and power buttons behind the ear difficult to reach and easy to confuse - probably my biggest complaint with the 510.",
"I prefer the look and size of the 330.",
"It's more modern and discreet.",
"However, it's not a fashion accessory and everyone looks like a dork with a flashing blue light next to their ear with any BT headset.",
"I wish people would realize this and take these things off in public (especially in restaurants).",
"I only use mine in the car or when at the computer so this is the least important criteria for me.",
"COMFORT\nThe 510 is the clear winner here for both me and my wife.",
"Everyone's ear is different and I find the 330 less uncomfortable than my wife did.",
"A few may find the 330 fits them better than the 510, but the 510 includes 3 ear pieces to provide a custom fit.",
"PERFORMANCE\nThis is the best reason to get the 510.",
"I've used worse headsets than the 330, but none better than the 510.",
"With the 330, I get static if the phone is on the other side of body from the headset.",
"The 330's claimed 30' range - maybe at high altitude with no obstructions, no other radio interference with no solar flares and a full moon - real world, more like 10' with no obstructions.",
"Noise canceling is far superior on the 510.",
"People would never guess I was using a headset - usually they couldn't even tell when I was in my car.",
"The 330 is about useless in a windy environment and picks up a lot of background noise.",
"Both headsets seem to have very good battery life and audio quality for listening.",
"The 510 also has the advantage of being able to pair with 2 devices simultaneously but I've never tried this feature.",
"STYLE & DESIGN\n330 - 4\n510 - 2\n\nCOMFORT\n330 - 3\n510 - 5\n\nPERFORMANCE\n330 - 3\n510 - 5\n\nFEATURES & PRICE\n330 - 4 (probably better than most headsets < $30)\n510 - 5 (more expensive but worth it for features and performance)\n\nOVERALL\n330 - 3\n510 - 5\n\nThe comfort and performance of the 510 justify the extra $16."
] |
Jezebel is a magicians assistant in Vegas with a heavy drinking problem and a dead fianc. When shes in a bar, shes warned desperately about men who are coming after her the same men who killed her fianc. When shes touched by a strange golden page, she passes out and when she awakes, shes filled with a new ability. Absorbing as many pages as she can (a la The Matrix), Jezebel becomes very powerful and a higher-up into an organization who wishes to keep the populace deaf and dumb to the possibilities of a new world order. JEZEBELS LADDER has plenty of action, some great characters, and a viciously fast pace. The reader is thrust into Jezebels new world along with her and there is little back story. I wish there had been some more meat to the story as far as where the pages came from and how they really worked, as well as character development. Jezebel seems to be the ultimate fantasy woman beautiful, smart, funny, powerful, magical, and has the ability to do anything she puts her mind to doing. I think this is why, even though JEZEBELS LADDER is sci-fi/fantasy it is hard to connect with her being so perfect. I think the characters readers are most able to connect with have some type of flaw and Jezs instantly cured alcoholism isn't enough. However, I can see JEZEBELS LADDER turning into an action film very easily. | 1 | neutral | [
"Jezebel is a magicians assistant in Vegas with a heavy drinking problem and a dead fianc.",
"When shes in a bar, shes warned desperately about men who are coming after her the same men who killed her fianc.",
"When shes touched by a strange golden page, she passes out and when she awakes, shes filled with a new ability.",
"Absorbing as many pages as she can (a la The Matrix), Jezebel becomes very powerful and a higher-up into an organization who wishes to keep the populace deaf and dumb to the possibilities of a new world order.",
"JEZEBELS LADDER has plenty of action, some great characters, and a viciously fast pace.",
"The reader is thrust into Jezebels new world along with her and there is little back story.",
"I wish there had been some more meat to the story as far as where the pages came from and how they really worked, as well as character development.",
"Jezebel seems to be the ultimate fantasy woman beautiful, smart, funny, powerful, magical, and has the ability to do anything she puts her mind to doing.",
"I think this is why, even though JEZEBELS LADDER is sci-fi/fantasy it is hard to connect with her being so perfect.",
"I think the characters readers are most able to connect with have some type of flaw and Jezs instantly cured alcoholism isn't enough.",
"However, I can see JEZEBELS LADDER turning into an action film very easily."
] |
I bought this game over a year and a half ago, out of curiousity. The game was a lot of fun at first, trying to outfit my house, run errands, collect bugs and fish, expand my house, write letters to animals and collect matching furniture sets. However, after the first few months, the game became very repetitive. There are many interesting holidays in the game, but the holidays become repetitive---the holidays are mainly animals standing around talking about the holiday. And writing letters (which MUST be gramatically correct and long or the animals reject them) by typing out each character with the Gamecube controller is VERY tedious.
Also, the game runs in real-time, meaning if you have things to do for a week, you miss a week of game time (and roaches infest your house). At first it gives the gamer a reason to play the game all the time to avoid missing anything. Later on, it is very annoying --- leave the game for a few weeks and you miss a lot and have a lot of work to do when you start it up again.
Once you have collected all of the bugs and fish (which takes about a year because the bugs and fish come out at different times of day and different seasons), expanded your house to the largest (takes about a week if you are playing a few hours a day), there just isn't anything new to see in the game. You can talk to the animals, but there is no depth to the interactions (unlike the Sims), no relationships to build, and the animals do very little by themselves.
I think the game is wonderful for kids, but adult gamers such as myself will get bored fairly soon with the game. Overall, though, the game is a great value and would be much better if it had more depth. | 1 | neutral | [
"I bought this game over a year and a half ago, out of curiousity.",
"The game was a lot of fun at first, trying to outfit my house, run errands, collect bugs and fish, expand my house, write letters to animals and collect matching furniture sets.",
"However, after the first few months, the game became very repetitive.",
"There are many interesting holidays in the game, but the holidays become repetitive---the holidays are mainly animals standing around talking about the holiday.",
"And writing letters (which MUST be gramatically correct and long or the animals reject them) by typing out each character with the Gamecube controller is VERY tedious.",
"Also, the game runs in real-time, meaning if you have things to do for a week, you miss a week of game time (and roaches infest your house).",
"At first it gives the gamer a reason to play the game all the time to avoid missing anything.",
"Later on, it is very annoying --- leave the game for a few weeks and you miss a lot and have a lot of work to do when you start it up again.",
"Once you have collected all of the bugs and fish (which takes about a year because the bugs and fish come out at different times of day and different seasons), expanded your house to the largest (takes about a week if you are playing a few hours a day), there just isn't anything new to see in the game.",
"You can talk to the animals, but there is no depth to the interactions (unlike the Sims), no relationships to build, and the animals do very little by themselves.",
"I think the game is wonderful for kids, but adult gamers such as myself will get bored fairly soon with the game.",
"Overall, though, the game is a great value and would be much better if it had more depth."
] |
-TERRIBLE camera angle...you can never tell where you are in space. Tons of cheap deaths as a result.
-Controls are a mess
-Cutscenes completely lose my attention
-Graphics are no better than a freakin' Sega Dreamcast game
-VERY childish--first 2/3 of the game are far too easy and then it gets hard
-99% of speech bubbles in the game are pointless and useless
-The levels are SO SHORT and it's cheap to have to keep replaying them with slightly different objectives
-Stupid how long it takes just to run to each galaxy in order to just get to the levels (and how FRUSTRATING is it trying to get up that spiral staircase to the kitchen???
-I hate the way Mario runs (starts out so slow at first)
-Swimming controls in this game are AWFUL unless you get a shell
-Too linear, I miss the "open world" feel of Mario 64
-When you use up all your lives the stupid game goes all the way back to the start screen inconveniencing you and making you go through loading, etc just to get back to where you were. Why not allow continues and cut the B.S.?
-Stupid ending...the last thing I want to hear when I win a game is a baby crying incessantly
-It's just not that fun.
+Short loading times
+Some interesting/creative levels but not as creative as I've come to expect from Nintendo
+Some of the music is good at times...I liked some of the classic remixes. Overall I'm just not that impressed with this game though. 3 stars.
EDIT: I just got Super Mario Galaxy 2 after reading from multiple sources that it's the Wii's best game. Indeed it's AMAZING. They addressed just about every one of my complaints listed above, and what's left is a freakin' fantastic game! It's actually FUN to play...in fact I find myself playing it for hours unlike SMG1 which always felt like work for me to pick up and play. No more endless cutscenes, no more having to run around for two minutes just to get to the dam levels, the camera is better, the levels are more challenging from the get-go and are very creative. Less fluff and more FUN. Thank you, Nintendo, for listening to criticism! | 1 | neutral | [
"-TERRIBLE camera angle...",
"you can never tell where you are in space.",
"Tons of cheap deaths as a result.",
"-Controls are a mess\n-Cutscenes completely lose my attention\n-Graphics are no better than a freakin' Sega Dreamcast game\n-VERY childish--first 2/3 of the game are far too easy and then it gets hard\n-99% of speech bubbles in the game are pointless and useless\n-The levels are SO SHORT and it's cheap to have to keep replaying them with slightly different objectives\n-Stupid how long it takes just to run to each galaxy in order to just get to the levels (and how FRUSTRATING is it trying to get up that spiral staircase to the kitchen???",
"-I hate the way Mario runs (starts out so slow at first)\n-Swimming controls in this game are AWFUL unless you get a shell\n-Too linear, I miss the \"open world\" feel of Mario 64\n-When you use up all your lives the stupid game goes all the way back to the start screen inconveniencing you and making you go through loading, etc just to get back to where you were.",
"Why not allow continues and cut the B.",
"S.?",
"-Stupid ending...",
"the last thing I want to hear when I win a game is a baby crying incessantly\n-It's just not that fun.",
"+Short loading times\n+Some interesting/creative levels but not as creative as I've come to expect from Nintendo\n+Some of the music is good at times...",
"I liked some of the classic remixes.",
"Overall I'm just not that impressed with this game though.",
"3 stars.",
"EDIT: I just got Super Mario Galaxy 2 after reading from multiple sources that it's the Wii's best game.",
"Indeed it's AMAZING.",
"They addressed just about every one of my complaints listed above, and what's left is a freakin' fantastic game!",
"It's actually FUN to play...",
"in fact I find myself playing it for hours unlike SMG1 which always felt like work for me to pick up and play.",
"No more endless cutscenes, no more having to run around for two minutes just to get to the dam levels, the camera is better, the levels are more challenging from the get-go and are very creative.",
"Less fluff and more FUN.",
"Thank you, Nintendo, for listening to criticism!"
] |
While I loved Gran Turismo 3 and probably logged more hours than I care to count, after playing Gran Turismo 4 for maybe a few weeks I was frustrated with the game and stopped playing altogether. First off, the setup of the game is almost identical to GT3, which makes me wonder why it took nearly half a decade to release it. You have licenses you need to obtain to race in certain races. There are three different main circuits (amateur, professional, and expert), as well as new circuits based on country. Rally races have been expanded to include ice tracks. Your normal speed ring as well and tuning shops are still a staple in GT4. A considerable amount of cars and carmakers were added in this game; over 500 individual vehicles. The soundtrack is quite literally sublime, with a huge selection from classical to hip hop music. A new feature for those who felt the endurance races required too much...well endurance is the driver or coach mode. With this you can have an autopilot take the reigns of your vehicle for the whole race or get back in the car during a pitstop. My friends and I ended up using it for many many races however. Physics are as always extremely close to real-life. The interactivity is at the same level as GT3 as well as the graphics, which was probably one of the most dissapointing parts of this game. Paying $50 for this which seemed more like an expansion pack sort of griped me. Another problem is the gameplay. I don't think I have played a game quite as difficult as this before or since it came out. The world championship in the professional circuit was where I got to and ultimately had to quit to save my sanity. It wasn't for lack of trying. After using dozens of setups on my multiple Le Mans autos and at least twenty times playing ten different races each time I attempted to even come in 3rd in that championship. You cannot advance if you don't receive at least a bronze medal. One reason and possibly the most likely to make the game so ridiculous challenging is that instead of players complaining about Gran Turismo 5 coming out they will still be glued to their TV trying to beat this one some years down the road. If you liked any of the Gran Turismos you would probably like this one to the extent that it follows suit. Many who love the series as long as it has the name Gran Turismo on it would go with the "if it isn't broke don't fix it," defense. In my opinion, the sequel to GT3 lost some of the luster for this racing series and I am thinking of converting to Forza Motorsport. So, is Gran Turismo 4 worth buying? Ultimately I would have to say no. A game that takes up hundreds of hours of your time that is possible to complete-fine. A game that takes up hundreds of hours of your time that you may never even get halfway through-absolutely not. If you have a game rental service make use of that because you will most likely be dissapointed in GT4; especially if you are a fan of this line of video games. 6/10. | 1 | neutral | [
"While I loved Gran Turismo 3 and probably logged more hours than I care to count, after playing Gran Turismo 4 for maybe a few weeks I was frustrated with the game and stopped playing altogether.",
"First off, the setup of the game is almost identical to GT3, which makes me wonder why it took nearly half a decade to release it.",
"You have licenses you need to obtain to race in certain races.",
"There are three different main circuits (amateur, professional, and expert), as well as new circuits based on country.",
"Rally races have been expanded to include ice tracks.",
"Your normal speed ring as well and tuning shops are still a staple in GT4.",
"A considerable amount of cars and carmakers were added in this game; over 500 individual vehicles.",
"The soundtrack is quite literally sublime, with a huge selection from classical to hip hop music.",
"A new feature for those who felt the endurance races required too much...",
"well endurance is the driver or coach mode.",
"With this you can have an autopilot take the reigns of your vehicle for the whole race or get back in the car during a pitstop.",
"My friends and I ended up using it for many many races however.",
"Physics are as always extremely close to real-life.",
"The interactivity is at the same level as GT3 as well as the graphics, which was probably one of the most dissapointing parts of this game.",
"Paying $50 for this which seemed more like an expansion pack sort of griped me.",
"Another problem is the gameplay.",
"I don't think I have played a game quite as difficult as this before or since it came out.",
"The world championship in the professional circuit was where I got to and ultimately had to quit to save my sanity.",
"It wasn't for lack of trying.",
"After using dozens of setups on my multiple Le Mans autos and at least twenty times playing ten different races each time I attempted to even come in 3rd in that championship.",
"You cannot advance if you don't receive at least a bronze medal.",
"One reason and possibly the most likely to make the game so ridiculous challenging is that instead of players complaining about Gran Turismo 5 coming out they will still be glued to their TV trying to beat this one some years down the road.",
"If you liked any of the Gran Turismos you would probably like this one to the extent that it follows suit.",
"Many who love the series as long as it has the name Gran Turismo on it would go with the \"if it isn't broke don't fix it,\" defense.",
"In my opinion, the sequel to GT3 lost some of the luster for this racing series and I am thinking of converting to Forza Motorsport.",
"So, is Gran Turismo 4 worth buying?",
"Ultimately I would have to say no.",
"A game that takes up hundreds of hours of your time that is possible to complete-fine.",
"A game that takes up hundreds of hours of your time that you may never even get halfway through-absolutely not.",
"If you have a game rental service make use of that because you will most likely be dissapointed in GT4; especially if you are a fan of this line of video games.",
"6/10."
] |
I waited for [the price to drop] for over a year. I like RPG games and this looked unique, pretty, and interesting.
Playing it wasn't the joy I'd been imagining. Even though it's been out for over a year and I have a very stable system (it never crashes for ANYTHING but Black & White) it crashed my system about an hour into the game every time I played. Which is just insane since the system is popular and over a year old --- there should be a frigging patch for it but there isn't.
Also, the game controlls are overly complicated. Before deciding that it wasn't worth it I spent a good 15 hours playing the game and I was still unsure about which controls to use for certain actions. That is a serious design flaw as far as I'm concerned.
It is a pretty game and if you have the patience to put up with the freezes (make sure to save) and the time to devote to it this is the game for you. The graphics are pretty and it is really cute -- just overly complicated and buggy. | 1 | neutral | [
"I waited for [the price to drop] for over a year.",
"I like RPG games and this looked unique, pretty, and interesting.",
"Playing it wasn't the joy I'd been imagining.",
"Even though it's been out for over a year and I have a very stable system (it never crashes for ANYTHING but Black & White) it crashed my system about an hour into the game every time I played.",
"Which is just insane since the system is popular and over a year old --- there should be a frigging patch for it but there isn't.",
"Also, the game controlls are overly complicated.",
"Before deciding that it wasn't worth it I spent a good 15 hours playing the game and I was still unsure about which controls to use for certain actions.",
"That is a serious design flaw as far as I'm concerned.",
"It is a pretty game and if you have the patience to put up with the freezes (make sure to save) and the time to devote to it this is the game for you.",
"The graphics are pretty and it is really cute -- just overly complicated and buggy."
] |
Penn State six years after Jerry Sandusky scandal remains divided
As school leaders try to move on Joe Paterno loyalists including many university trustees continue to fight over the coachâs role in his assistantâs crimes.
In July Penn Stateâs board of trustees met to discuss the most important issues facing a school system with 99 000 students and a $5.7 billion budget. It took about three hours before someone brought up Jerry Sandusky and Joe Paterno .
Supporters of Joe Paterno right question the evidence used to conclude he ignored or covered up the assaults committed by Jerry Sandusky left. (1999 photo by Paul Vathis/Associated Press)
Law enforcement officials victimsâ lawyers and private investigators â including Louis Freeh the former FBI director who authored a damning 2012 report that asserted Paterno âs involvement in a coverup â say the dispute results from stubborn âPaterno-deniers â âJoebotsâ and âtruthers â for whom no evidence will be strong enough to condemn the beloved former football coach.
âThe tragedy of all of this is that it is self-perpetuated and self-inflicted â said Tom Kline an attorney for one victim. âThey have settled on an endless assault on anyone who dares suggest that there was something that happened that was wrong and that the fault lies at the doorstep of either Paterno or the football program.â
But alumni trustees and supporters insist Paterno and the school were victims of a rush to judgment that spared other more culpable organizations â most notably the Second Mile Sanduskyâs charity for at-risk children â from public scorn. They point to conflicting accounts of the assault at the core of the coverup case evidence the NCAA may have influenced Freehâs report and doubts about claims Paterno ignored assaults as far back as the 1970s.
According to Freeh in 2001 Paterno and three university administrators â president Graham Spanier athletic director Tim Curley and senior vice president Gary Schultz â decided to conceal a report of Sandusky assaulting a boy to avoid bad publicity for the university and its football team. The men displayed a âcallous and shocking disregard for child victims â Freeh said as they âempowered Sanduskyâ to abuse boys for another decade.
Freehâs verdict capped an unimaginable downfall for Paterno who just eight months before seemed poised to retire as the winningest most respected coach in the history of college football. In 46 years as head coach heâd piled up 409 wins and two national championships while professing selflessness and education fielding teams that wore simple jerseys with no names on the back his players graduating at rates that outpaced competitors. In the venal world of college football Paterno built a reputation as a coach who valued integrity over winning â âSuccess with Honorâ was his motto â and now he stood accused of covering up for a pedophile to protect his public image.
In including Paterno Freeh had gone further than prosecutors who would charge the administrators with crimes but said they did not believe Paterno participated. In defending his conclusion Freeh cited âthe most important evidence in the caseâ: a chain of emails between the three administrators from 2001.
A newspaper with the headline rewritten was left near a statue of Paterno outside Beaver Stadium on Jan. 23 2012 the day after he died. (Alex Brandon/Associated Press) Freeh conceded his reportâs condemnation of Paterno was made without knowledge of what was said in Paterno âs meeting with Curley. (Matt Rourke/Associated Press)
The emails showed the men planned to report Sandusky to child welfare authorities but changed course after Curley met with Paterno . Instead they banned Sandusky from bringing children to Penn State and informed the Second Mile of the incident. Sandusky was convicted of assaulting four boys after this incident.
In an email one trustee urged then-Penn State president Rod Erickson to tear down the statue of Paterno outside the stadium if it would pacify the NCAA.
Eleven days after Freehâs news conference the NCAA announced that Penn State had entered into a âconsent decree â accepting a $60 million fine and the erasing of all of Paternoâs wins after 1998 the year Sandusky was investigated â but cleared â by Penn State police and a state child welfare agency. Freeh had concluded Paterno should have suspected then his assistant was a pedophile.
Penn State students protested the schoolâs handling of the Sandusky scandal. (2011 photo by Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press) Students also honored the memory of Paterno after his death at age 85. (2012 photo by Gary Cameron/Reuters)
The lawsuit also produced communications between NCAA staffers and Freehâs team that prompted some alumni to theorize Freeh catered his report â which by including Paterno put the case squarely in the NCAAâs crosshairs â to appeal to a desired client.
The NCAA is only a part of why some alumni feel the school and Paterno took a disproportionate share of the blame Schmidt said before explaining theories involving a former governor and the Second Mile. | 1 | neutral | [
"Penn State six years after Jerry Sandusky scandal remains divided\nAs school leaders try to move on Joe Paterno loyalists including many university trustees continue to fight over the coachâs role in his assistantâs crimes.",
"In July Penn Stateâs board of trustees met to discuss the most important issues facing a school system with 99 000 students and a $5.",
"7 billion budget.",
"It took about three hours before someone brought up Jerry Sandusky and Joe Paterno.",
"Supporters of Joe Paterno right question the evidence used to conclude he ignored or covered up the assaults committed by Jerry Sandusky left.",
"(1999 photo by Paul Vathis/Associated Press)\nLaw enforcement officials victimsâ lawyers and private investigators â including Louis Freeh the former FBI director who authored a damning 2012 report that asserted Paterno âs involvement in a coverup â say the dispute results from stubborn âPaterno-deniers â âJoebotsâ and âtruthers â for whom no evidence will be strong enough to condemn the beloved former football coach.",
"âThe tragedy of all of this is that it is self-perpetuated and self-inflicted â said Tom Kline an attorney for one victim.",
"âThey have settled on an endless assault on anyone who dares suggest that there was something that happened that was wrong and that the fault lies at the doorstep of either Paterno or the football program.",
"â\nBut alumni trustees and supporters insist Paterno and the school were victims of a rush to judgment that spared other more culpable organizations â most notably the Second Mile Sanduskyâs charity for at-risk children â from public scorn.",
"They point to conflicting accounts of the assault at the core of the coverup case evidence the NCAA may have influenced Freehâs report and doubts about claims Paterno ignored assaults as far back as the 1970s.",
"According to Freeh in 2001 Paterno and three university administrators â president Graham Spanier athletic director Tim Curley and senior vice president Gary Schultz â decided to conceal a report of Sandusky assaulting a boy to avoid bad publicity for the university and its football team.",
"The men displayed a âcallous and shocking disregard for child victims â Freeh said as they âempowered Sanduskyâ to abuse boys for another decade.",
"Freehâs verdict capped an unimaginable downfall for Paterno who just eight months before seemed poised to retire as the winningest most respected coach in the history of college football.",
"In 46 years as head coach heâd piled up 409 wins and two national championships while professing selflessness and education fielding teams that wore simple jerseys with no names on the back his players graduating at rates that outpaced competitors.",
"In the venal world of college football Paterno built a reputation as a coach who valued integrity over winning â âSuccess with Honorâ was his motto â and now he stood accused of covering up for a pedophile to protect his public image.",
"In including Paterno Freeh had gone further than prosecutors who would charge the administrators with crimes but said they did not believe Paterno participated.",
"In defending his conclusion Freeh cited âthe most important evidence in the caseâ: a chain of emails between the three administrators from 2001.",
"A newspaper with the headline rewritten was left near a statue of Paterno outside Beaver Stadium on Jan.",
"23 2012 the day after he died.",
"(Alex Brandon/Associated Press) Freeh conceded his reportâs condemnation of Paterno was made without knowledge of what was said in Paterno âs meeting with Curley.",
"(Matt Rourke/Associated Press)\nThe emails showed the men planned to report Sandusky to child welfare authorities but changed course after Curley met with Paterno.",
"Instead they banned Sandusky from bringing children to Penn State and informed the Second Mile of the incident.",
"Sandusky was convicted of assaulting four boys after this incident.",
"In an email one trustee urged then-Penn State president Rod Erickson to tear down the statue of Paterno outside the stadium if it would pacify the NCAA.",
"Eleven days after Freehâs news conference the NCAA announced that Penn State had entered into a âconsent decree â accepting a $60 million fine and the erasing of all of Paternoâs wins after 1998 the year Sandusky was investigated â but cleared â by Penn State police and a state child welfare agency.",
"Freeh had concluded Paterno should have suspected then his assistant was a pedophile.",
"Penn State students protested the schoolâs handling of the Sandusky scandal.",
"(2011 photo by Gene J.",
"Puskar/Associated Press) Students also honored the memory of Paterno after his death at age 85.",
"(2012 photo by Gary Cameron/Reuters)\nThe lawsuit also produced communications between NCAA staffers and Freehâs team that prompted some alumni to theorize Freeh catered his report â which by including Paterno put the case squarely in the NCAAâs crosshairs â to appeal to a desired client.",
"The NCAA is only a part of why some alumni feel the school and Paterno took a disproportionate share of the blame Schmidt said before explaining theories involving a former governor and the Second Mile."
] |
I thought this book was good. It started out great then in the last few chapters it was all very rushed. Lots of information was left out and it jumped around a lot. There were lots of grammar mistakes and information left out towards the end of this book. I don't know if I would recommend this book or not because I have mixed feelings about it.
***SPOILERS***
I didn't understand how through the whole book the h was so against telling the H about her secret, then all of a sudden she just gives up and tells him. Also, at the end, one minute the h finds out about Mitch and Marco and runs out the building. Then She sees Marco in car, so just gets a cab ride home in a rush because she has to leave right away. But when she sees all the animals she forgets about everything. Then She sees the wounded dog and trust to get close to him so she can pet him. Then when she turns around everyone is there. And it's just like she gives up and says whatever I'll stand up for myself. Then there's a fight about how soon their getting married then the end. | 1 | neutral | [
"I thought this book was good.",
"It started out great then in the last few chapters it was all very rushed.",
"Lots of information was left out and it jumped around a lot.",
"There were lots of grammar mistakes and information left out towards the end of this book.",
"I don't know if I would recommend this book or not because I have mixed feelings about it.",
"***SPOILERS***\nI didn't understand how through the whole book the h was so against telling the H about her secret, then all of a sudden she just gives up and tells him.",
"Also, at the end, one minute the h finds out about Mitch and Marco and runs out the building.",
"Then She sees Marco in car, so just gets a cab ride home in a rush because she has to leave right away.",
"But when she sees all the animals she forgets about everything.",
"Then She sees the wounded dog and trust to get close to him so she can pet him.",
"Then when she turns around everyone is there.",
"And it's just like she gives up and says whatever I'll stand up for myself.",
"Then there's a fight about how soon their getting married then the end."
] |
There were some parts of this book I just hated, other parts I loved. The star-crossed lovers tale was actually original because her husband pushed her into it. However, the title would lead you to believe there would be a build up to the passion; however, the deed happens very early on in the book, which felt like it was WAY too soon. I guess I like to be teased in the romance novels I read.
It isn't too often that I criticize a book for being too short, but I felt like the author rushed through parts of the book that would have led to a stronger connection with the characters. The ending, which I won't mention, left me shaking my head, because I rarely see a book with such a "perfect" ending. It was too perfect, lacked the dark mood of the book. Felt like someone just said let's come up with a way to tie this up neatly and be done with it.
With all this being said, I would still recommend this book. The kindle edition of it was free with I got it, so it is definitely worth giving it a go. Obviously, my negativity regarding this puts me in the minority, so chances are good you'll love it! | 1 | neutral | [
"There were some parts of this book I just hated, other parts I loved.",
"The star-crossed lovers tale was actually original because her husband pushed her into it.",
"However, the title would lead you to believe there would be a build up to the passion; however, the deed happens very early on in the book, which felt like it was WAY too soon.",
"I guess I like to be teased in the romance novels I read.",
"It isn't too often that I criticize a book for being too short, but I felt like the author rushed through parts of the book that would have led to a stronger connection with the characters.",
"The ending, which I won't mention, left me shaking my head, because I rarely see a book with such a \"perfect\" ending.",
"It was too perfect, lacked the dark mood of the book.",
"Felt like someone just said let's come up with a way to tie this up neatly and be done with it.",
"With all this being said, I would still recommend this book.",
"The kindle edition of it was free with I got it, so it is definitely worth giving it a go.",
"Obviously, my negativity regarding this puts me in the minority, so chances are good you'll love it!"
] |
The make-up is incredible. The action sequences are great. Acting is pretty good. Scenery is beautiful and right in line with what Tim Burton's known for.
BUT...
When I saw the previews fro the first (and 10th) time, I expected an "epic-like" movie. One with complicated characters, underlying stories, swelling music.
Planet of the Apes 2001 is not an epic, and it's certainly lacking compared to the original.
Some examples:
a) The classic first line uttered by Heston,in the original,to the apes was - "Get your stinking paws off me, you d***ed dirty ape!". The 2001 version manages to fit it in the movie with a twist, but pulls it off as just a gimmick.
b) Numerous underlying attacks on Christianity run throughout. Burton has publicly stated his disdain for organized religion, and apparently used this movie as his podium.
The "bad" apes pray to their "Heavenly father" ape. Talk of the "return" and prophesies about the "god-ape" pepper the conversations quite frequently. The "good" scientist-apes reject these notions as fantasy and bunk, of course. By the end of the movie, the "religious" apes find what they belived in to be false, and renounce their beliefs.
This was absolutely not mentioned in the movie or the book, and came off extremely heavy-handed.
3) The female partner for Mark Wahlburg was a total bore. A cardboard box would have sufficed in her place.
4) Also a heavy-handed anti-gun statement was made mid-way through.
5) The ending still leaves me wondering what Burton was somking at the time of filming it. The most "left-field" ending I could have imagined. Nothing near as imaginative as the original.
Ultimatedly a very dissapointing movie (compared to the hype, and the original), but fairly entertaining. | 1 | neutral | [
"The make-up is incredible.",
"The action sequences are great.",
"Acting is pretty good.",
"Scenery is beautiful and right in line with what Tim Burton's known for.",
"BUT...",
"When I saw the previews fro the first (and 10th) time, I expected an \"epic-like\" movie.",
"One with complicated characters, underlying stories, swelling music.",
"Planet of the Apes 2001 is not an epic, and it's certainly lacking compared to the original.",
"Some examples:\na) The classic first line uttered by Heston,in the original,to the apes was - \"Get your stinking paws off me, you d***ed dirty ape!",
"\".",
"The 2001 version manages to fit it in the movie with a twist, but pulls it off as just a gimmick.",
"b) Numerous underlying attacks on Christianity run throughout.",
"Burton has publicly stated his disdain for organized religion, and apparently used this movie as his podium.",
"The \"bad\" apes pray to their \"Heavenly father\" ape.",
"Talk of the \"return\" and prophesies about the \"god-ape\" pepper the conversations quite frequently.",
"The \"good\" scientist-apes reject these notions as fantasy and bunk, of course.",
"By the end of the movie, the \"religious\" apes find what they belived in to be false, and renounce their beliefs.",
"This was absolutely not mentioned in the movie or the book, and came off extremely heavy-handed.",
"3) The female partner for Mark Wahlburg was a total bore.",
"A cardboard box would have sufficed in her place.",
"4) Also a heavy-handed anti-gun statement was made mid-way through.",
"5) The ending still leaves me wondering what Burton was somking at the time of filming it.",
"The most \"left-field\" ending I could have imagined.",
"Nothing near as imaginative as the original.",
"Ultimatedly a very dissapointing movie (compared to the hype, and the original), but fairly entertaining."
] |
Ok, first, this game is not a bad game. I gave it a 2 for fun, but a 3 for overall, because while I didn't enjoy it, I KNOW that it's a damn good game that will appeal to a lot of people. It's just too much customization for me in too big a world with just random NPCs. I'm used to Baldur's Gate: a world that's much smaller, with characters you'll really get to know, and still with plenty of customization (just the right amount, if you ask me). I didn't like this game because I felt like it was trying to be an MMORPG. Many people like WoW and Everquest, etc., but I couldn't get into them because I just feel like my avatar doesn't MATTER in the game.
I did not get far at all in NWN before I got sickly bored, so I'm sure you save the world, etc., by the end, but I still felt like I was a non-presence in the world. I didn't feel that at the start of Baldur's Gate, or even Icewind Dale. But here I felt like my character was just a random guy who is randomly selected by the leader of an academy to go save the world. And then I step out into that world, and I just don't care what anyone has to say. The dialogue was all meh to me, the main town was bland-looking (like I said, I didn't get far at all!), etc.
I feel bad giving this game a low rating because I know it's "good". It has so much customization that will appeal to many people, it has so much mod-capability (and there are so many mods I'm told are great out there already), and you can EASILY put in over 100 hours into this game. So it's a game with a ton of content, but I just don't think it has the same sort of direction that Baldur's Gate did. I'm basically only reviewing this to recommend Baldur's Gate to people, because I think that NWN went too far in trying to make a better version of that game.
All of that said, though, NWN will forever be a landmark game. It's just not one that I got hooked on. | 1 | neutral | [
"Ok, first, this game is not a bad game.",
"I gave it a 2 for fun, but a 3 for overall, because while I didn't enjoy it, I KNOW that it's a damn good game that will appeal to a lot of people.",
"It's just too much customization for me in too big a world with just random NPCs.",
"I'm used to Baldur's Gate: a world that's much smaller, with characters you'll really get to know, and still with plenty of customization (just the right amount, if you ask me).",
"I didn't like this game because I felt like it was trying to be an MMORPG.",
"Many people like WoW and Everquest, etc.",
", but I couldn't get into them because I just feel like my avatar doesn't MATTER in the game.",
"I did not get far at all in NWN before I got sickly bored, so I'm sure you save the world, etc.",
", by the end, but I still felt like I was a non-presence in the world.",
"I didn't feel that at the start of Baldur's Gate, or even Icewind Dale.",
"But here I felt like my character was just a random guy who is randomly selected by the leader of an academy to go save the world.",
"And then I step out into that world, and I just don't care what anyone has to say.",
"The dialogue was all meh to me, the main town was bland-looking (like I said, I didn't get far at all!",
"), etc.",
"I feel bad giving this game a low rating because I know it's \"good\".",
"It has so much customization that will appeal to many people, it has so much mod-capability (and there are so many mods I'm told are great out there already), and you can EASILY put in over 100 hours into this game.",
"So it's a game with a ton of content, but I just don't think it has the same sort of direction that Baldur's Gate did.",
"I'm basically only reviewing this to recommend Baldur's Gate to people, because I think that NWN went too far in trying to make a better version of that game.",
"All of that said, though, NWN will forever be a landmark game.",
"It's just not one that I got hooked on."
] |
I really wanted to like this book more than I did. The plot sounded interesting & I liked the premise. My only problem? The writing just didn't live up to the storyline.
The story surrounds a beautiful DA Julia who must prove her niece's innocence after her stepfather is found horribly murdered in his study. A stepfather whom the niece was being molested by & had plenty of motive to kill. There to help is a figure from Julia's past who holds a grudge and a lot of lust against her, Connor Kinkaid. Moving in the background however is a mysterious group of youths who will stop at nothing to keep their plan moving, even as their shadowy leader pulls their strings.
This story had so many flaws to it. First off, the characters were interesting in theory, but I just couldn't find myself really getting into the main characters. Connor was fine, but Julia just seemed lackluster. The most interesting characters were the ones never fully explored. The other major flaw is the lack of buildup for who the leader is, why he wanted so many people dead, & how he discovered everyone and pulled them together. His real identity isn't even introduced until the last part of the book & didn't really fit with the story. (He showed up before then, but only as the villain. His persona wasn't introduced or anything until the last part of the book.)
For that matter, the reasons & wherefores for the rest of the kids aren't ever really explained either. We're *told* that they're all angsty rich kids who were abused (small spoiler, but not really), but it just never seems enough to really explain why they'd do any of that. In the end Brennan goes for the old standard of "They're crazy, so that's their reasoning". When we finally *do* get the reasons why, they're so farfetched & unsubstantiated that I found it hard to think of it as a real reason or find it very shocking. There just wasn't any buildup for those revelations, so the ending fell flat. While many would find this entertaining enough to keep them occupied, there's just not enough for me to recommend it as a "must read". This is the type of book you pick up when there's nothing else there at the thrift store, not new off the shelves.
2.9/5 | 1 | neutral | [
"I really wanted to like this book more than I did.",
"The plot sounded interesting & I liked the premise.",
"My only problem?",
"The writing just didn't live up to the storyline.",
"The story surrounds a beautiful DA Julia who must prove her niece's innocence after her stepfather is found horribly murdered in his study.",
"A stepfather whom the niece was being molested by & had plenty of motive to kill.",
"There to help is a figure from Julia's past who holds a grudge and a lot of lust against her, Connor Kinkaid.",
"Moving in the background however is a mysterious group of youths who will stop at nothing to keep their plan moving, even as their shadowy leader pulls their strings.",
"This story had so many flaws to it.",
"First off, the characters were interesting in theory, but I just couldn't find myself really getting into the main characters.",
"Connor was fine, but Julia just seemed lackluster.",
"The most interesting characters were the ones never fully explored.",
"The other major flaw is the lack of buildup for who the leader is, why he wanted so many people dead, & how he discovered everyone and pulled them together.",
"His real identity isn't even introduced until the last part of the book & didn't really fit with the story.",
"(He showed up before then, but only as the villain.",
"His persona wasn't introduced or anything until the last part of the book.",
")\n\nFor that matter, the reasons & wherefores for the rest of the kids aren't ever really explained either.",
"We're *told* that they're all angsty rich kids who were abused (small spoiler, but not really), but it just never seems enough to really explain why they'd do any of that.",
"In the end Brennan goes for the old standard of \"They're crazy, so that's their reasoning\".",
"When we finally *do* get the reasons why, they're so farfetched & unsubstantiated that I found it hard to think of it as a real reason or find it very shocking.",
"There just wasn't any buildup for those revelations, so the ending fell flat.",
"While many would find this entertaining enough to keep them occupied, there's just not enough for me to recommend it as a \"must read\".",
"This is the type of book you pick up when there's nothing else there at the thrift store, not new off the shelves.",
"2.",
"9/5"
] |
Sacred it a huge game...the maps go on and on and on and on (get the picture). Graphics are on par with Diablo 2 and plays about the same. I really enjoy game play and the many different avatars one can play, especially with the add on adding 2 more.
Abet it is a great game, it crashes--alot--,no tech support (I have emailed a number of times and have yet to have a reply), many quirks in the game, getting trapped in houses, caves, etc., unable to keep your horse as it disappears when you are playing, unable to complete quests by clicking on the person that wants you do do quests, in the same vein, unable to complete quests by getting the item(s) by clicking on it or using the 'a' key, must do the main quest in order in order to complete game, bad saving system--abet there is an autosave, you have to 'dig' around to find the one you are saving your avatar in or you can accidently save over other avatars you are currently playing--, and a few others that are nagging.
On the other hand, compaired to Diablo 2 and similiar games, leveling, finding set, magic, yellow or gold items, are not to bad. Set or green items, are hard to find, but nothing like D2!! There are a number of difficulties to play in and in each difficulty, more items drop that are very nice, indeedy!!!
I recommend this game for anyone that is a D2 fan and is looking for something similiar to play.
Sacred 2 is in current production as of this date Jan 10, 2007. | 1 | neutral | [
"Sacred it a huge game...",
"the maps go on and on and on and on (get the picture).",
"Graphics are on par with Diablo 2 and plays about the same.",
"I really enjoy game play and the many different avatars one can play, especially with the add on adding 2 more.",
"Abet it is a great game, it crashes--alot--,no tech support (I have emailed a number of times and have yet to have a reply), many quirks in the game, getting trapped in houses, caves, etc.",
", unable to keep your horse as it disappears when you are playing, unable to complete quests by clicking on the person that wants you do do quests, in the same vein, unable to complete quests by getting the item(s) by clicking on it or using the 'a' key, must do the main quest in order in order to complete game, bad saving system--abet there is an autosave, you have to 'dig' around to find the one you are saving your avatar in or you can accidently save over other avatars you are currently playing--, and a few others that are nagging.",
"On the other hand, compaired to Diablo 2 and similiar games, leveling, finding set, magic, yellow or gold items, are not to bad.",
"Set or green items, are hard to find, but nothing like D2!!",
"There are a number of difficulties to play in and in each difficulty, more items drop that are very nice, indeedy!!!",
"I recommend this game for anyone that is a D2 fan and is looking for something similiar to play.",
"Sacred 2 is in current production as of this date Jan 10, 2007."
] |
My least favorite computer protection brands are Norton and McAfee. Norton has slightly improved over the past few years, but I still find McAfee to be bloated, intrusive, slow and determined to pound you into submission and renew it when your initial term is up. I also think McAfee is kind of sneaky in not making clearly apparent that you are signing up for an auto-renewal program. You can opt out of it, but it isn't necessarily intuitive or swift.
The Cloud is everything these days and this program is downloaded from the Cloud. You get no physical media, which many will find disturbing. Download it, hopefully without any hiccups, install it, enter your registration code, which is on a card in the minimalist package and should not be lost, and you're ready to go. If everything works as planned.
This kind of software is, in my opinion, largely the exploitation of the technologically ignorant. Putting things very simply, if you practice safe computing which I will not describe here, but is fully described all over the internet, the odds of your contracting a true computer virus are low, almost to the point of non-existence. Likewise, there are many effective free or low-cost options available for those who invest the time and effort to research the issue.
So a product like this is a security blanket. Yes, it will protect you from all manner of threats that, if you practice safe computing, you are unlikely to encounter.
Operation of this version of McAfee is largely automatic. There is a significant performance hit when the program is scanning which it does much of the time, though if you're brave enough, you can restrict it to certain times. Those with older computers or running limited RAM may encounter significant slowdowns.
Overall, though I personally don't like the brand, the product does the job just as well as any of its direct competitors. I don't like it because of the endless notifications, warnings and attempts to get you to renew long before the initial term is over.
Should you buy it? If you want it. Youll be just as protected with any of the other major and most of the minor players.
Jerry | 1 | neutral | [
"My least favorite computer protection brands are Norton and McAfee.",
"Norton has slightly improved over the past few years, but I still find McAfee to be bloated, intrusive, slow and determined to pound you into submission and renew it when your initial term is up.",
"I also think McAfee is kind of sneaky in not making clearly apparent that you are signing up for an auto-renewal program.",
"You can opt out of it, but it isn't necessarily intuitive or swift.",
"The Cloud is everything these days and this program is downloaded from the Cloud.",
"You get no physical media, which many will find disturbing.",
"Download it, hopefully without any hiccups, install it, enter your registration code, which is on a card in the minimalist package and should not be lost, and you're ready to go.",
"If everything works as planned.",
"This kind of software is, in my opinion, largely the exploitation of the technologically ignorant.",
"Putting things very simply, if you practice safe computing which I will not describe here, but is fully described all over the internet, the odds of your contracting a true computer virus are low, almost to the point of non-existence.",
"Likewise, there are many effective free or low-cost options available for those who invest the time and effort to research the issue.",
"So a product like this is a security blanket.",
"Yes, it will protect you from all manner of threats that, if you practice safe computing, you are unlikely to encounter.",
"Operation of this version of McAfee is largely automatic.",
"There is a significant performance hit when the program is scanning which it does much of the time, though if you're brave enough, you can restrict it to certain times.",
"Those with older computers or running limited RAM may encounter significant slowdowns.",
"Overall, though I personally don't like the brand, the product does the job just as well as any of its direct competitors.",
"I don't like it because of the endless notifications, warnings and attempts to get you to renew long before the initial term is over.",
"Should you buy it?",
"If you want it.",
"Youll be just as protected with any of the other major and most of the minor players.",
"Jerry"
] |
Okay first off I was anticipateing this game to be great. Well it kinda went under expecttations to be met. Now this is a pretty solid game throughout but i have some quarells with it.
Pro's:
Pretty damn challenging game. I mean HARD!
Good, Solid grapics and environments.
C'mon you get to kill Saddam!!!!!
Cons:
Nothing spectacular.
Awful auto aim. It targets enimies closetest to me, not the ones who are SHOOTING at me!
The target cross hairs move you back to your default position at a nosiating speed.
We can tell that's not real voice acting, trust me.
Overall: 3.75/5 | 1 | neutral | [
"Okay first off I was anticipateing this game to be great.",
"Well it kinda went under expecttations to be met.",
"Now this is a pretty solid game throughout but i have some quarells with it.",
"Pro's:\nPretty damn challenging game.",
"I mean HARD!",
"Good, Solid grapics and environments.",
"C'mon you get to kill Saddam!!!!",
"!",
"Cons:\nNothing spectacular.",
"Awful auto aim.",
"It targets enimies closetest to me, not the ones who are SHOOTING at me!",
"The target cross hairs move you back to your default position at a nosiating speed.",
"We can tell that's not real voice acting, trust me.",
"Overall: 3.",
"75/5"
] |
I STILL KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER is a huge let down. Julie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) & her new best buddie Karla (Brandy) win a holiday to the Bahamas. Once there they are stranded after a hurricane warning. The fisherman shows up & starts slicing & dicing.
The sequel is nowhere near the same level as the original. Also the style is different. I KNOW was a clever build-up of tension. I STILL KNOW is all about needless gore, bikinis, tight clothes & cheap scare tactics.
I'll be fair and say that I wasn't bored by I STILL KNOW, the jumps did get me & when the action started I was drawn in to the drama. The film was OK, but it's a let down after seeing what was done first.
The thriller versus the slasher. There is a huge difference. Judge for yourself. | 1 | neutral | [
"I STILL KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER is a huge let down.",
"Julie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) & her new best buddie Karla (Brandy) win a holiday to the Bahamas.",
"Once there they are stranded after a hurricane warning.",
"The fisherman shows up & starts slicing & dicing.",
"The sequel is nowhere near the same level as the original.",
"Also the style is different.",
"I KNOW was a clever build-up of tension.",
"I STILL KNOW is all about needless gore, bikinis, tight clothes & cheap scare tactics.",
"I'll be fair and say that I wasn't bored by I STILL KNOW, the jumps did get me & when the action started I was drawn in to the drama.",
"The film was OK, but it's a let down after seeing what was done first.",
"The thriller versus the slasher.",
"There is a huge difference.",
"Judge for yourself."
] |
While I used to be a fan of the new age genre, my tastes have changed. While Icarus is relaxing and peaceful, there isn't as much substance as there could be. The Winter Consort cd "Road", an official live concert that has fallen out of print on cd, is far more improvisatory and experimental. Icarus has some good moments like the classic title track. But a song like "The Silence of a Candle" with dated vocals brings the album down a notch. I'm tempted to say that Icarus is an acoustic version of a jam band but the playing is better than that and Paul Winter did have a solid jazz background. However, to call it world music is to do the genre a disservice. Listen to Sahara, released by McCoy Tyner that year and hear real jazz with a pan-African influence. Also at the time Philip Glass and Steve Reich were deconstructing avant-classical music with the structure and substance of Indian and African music respectively. Adding a sitar for coloring is fine but that doesn't mean world music or we would have to call "Norwegian Wood" or "Paint it Black" world music. However, if all is said and done and you are a fan of new age music or need something relaxing then please buy this cd over all later Paul Winter cd's with animal contributors which was a novel idea for one album but 30 years later has become totally tired. | 1 | neutral | [
"While I used to be a fan of the new age genre, my tastes have changed.",
"While Icarus is relaxing and peaceful, there isn't as much substance as there could be.",
"The Winter Consort cd \"Road\", an official live concert that has fallen out of print on cd, is far more improvisatory and experimental.",
"Icarus has some good moments like the classic title track.",
"But a song like \"The Silence of a Candle\" with dated vocals brings the album down a notch.",
"I'm tempted to say that Icarus is an acoustic version of a jam band but the playing is better than that and Paul Winter did have a solid jazz background.",
"However, to call it world music is to do the genre a disservice.",
"Listen to Sahara, released by McCoy Tyner that year and hear real jazz with a pan-African influence.",
"Also at the time Philip Glass and Steve Reich were deconstructing avant-classical music with the structure and substance of Indian and African music respectively.",
"Adding a sitar for coloring is fine but that doesn't mean world music or we would have to call \"Norwegian Wood\" or \"Paint it Black\" world music.",
"However, if all is said and done and you are a fan of new age music or need something relaxing then please buy this cd over all later Paul Winter cd's with animal contributors which was a novel idea for one album but 30 years later has become totally tired."
] |
ah ... let is see ... i'm going to a ... conference meeting next week in london . emm ... so am kind of reading preparing for that . trying to figure out when to take vacation ... -lrb- tuts -rrb- emm ... then some laboratory stuff . . n other ... then that . . that is about it for li ... for life | 1 | neutral | [
"ah...",
"let is see...",
"i'm going to a...",
"conference meeting next week in london.",
"emm...",
"so am kind of reading preparing for that.",
"trying to figure out when to take vacation...",
"-lrb- tuts -rrb- emm...",
"then some laboratory stuff.",
".",
"n other...",
"then that.",
".",
"that is about it for li...",
"for life"
] |
I love the Sims2. UNI is an OK expansion pack but it certainly wouldn't be much of a game on it's own. Sims have to study alot and that certainly isn't as much fun as the crazy stuff they will get up to in NIGHTLIFE.
UNI is cool, don;t get me wrong, but if I had my time again ,I would wait for NIGHTLIFE and leave UNI on the department store shelf. The best thing about it is new items like guitars, and some new interactions. Oh, plus a lifetime aspiration.
I also like the ability to move Sims into other Sims' homes, whenever you like.
The reason I would not buy it if I had my time again is that it causes some glitches. ALthough they are only small ones.
My suggestion is to forget about UNI and wait for NIGHTLIFE, especially if you have doubts about the strength of your computer system. | 1 | neutral | [
"I love the Sims2.",
"UNI is an OK expansion pack but it certainly wouldn't be much of a game on it's own.",
"Sims have to study alot and that certainly isn't as much fun as the crazy stuff they will get up to in NIGHTLIFE.",
"UNI is cool, don;t get me wrong, but if I had my time again ,I would wait for NIGHTLIFE and leave UNI on the department store shelf.",
"The best thing about it is new items like guitars, and some new interactions.",
"Oh, plus a lifetime aspiration.",
"I also like the ability to move Sims into other Sims' homes, whenever you like.",
"The reason I would not buy it if I had my time again is that it causes some glitches.",
"ALthough they are only small ones.",
"My suggestion is to forget about UNI and wait for NIGHTLIFE, especially if you have doubts about the strength of your computer system."
] |
Have been using this unit for over a year and for the most part, I like it.
Pros: Easy BT connection to my LG VX8300. Easy to carry in your pocket. Simple to use. Light. Great range. very good battery life. Like the 'flip open the mike to turn it on' feature.
Cons: I have trouble hearing people when there's a lot of ambient noise due to the lack of an earbud that goes in the ear. For this reason, my next BT headset will definitely be of the 'earbud' design. Always feels like it's about to fall off, but generally doesn't - still distracting. A little trouble maintaining a good connection with the phone when my phone is close to my body in my belt holster or pocket (though this could actually be a problem with the phone's BT antenna being in close proximity to my body). It never has a problem if my phone is sitting on a table even when I'm 20-30 feet away.
Overall, a good headset. But after only a year, I am having trouble getting the charger to connect and the shroud around the ear speaker has come off. | 1 | neutral | [
"Have been using this unit for over a year and for the most part, I like it.",
"Pros: Easy BT connection to my LG VX8300.",
"Easy to carry in your pocket.",
"Simple to use.",
"Light.",
"Great range.",
"very good battery life.",
"Like the 'flip open the mike to turn it on' feature.",
"Cons: I have trouble hearing people when there's a lot of ambient noise due to the lack of an earbud that goes in the ear.",
"For this reason, my next BT headset will definitely be of the 'earbud' design.",
"Always feels like it's about to fall off, but generally doesn't - still distracting.",
"A little trouble maintaining a good connection with the phone when my phone is close to my body in my belt holster or pocket (though this could actually be a problem with the phone's BT antenna being in close proximity to my body).",
"It never has a problem if my phone is sitting on a table even when I'm 20-30 feet away.",
"Overall, a good headset.",
"But after only a year, I am having trouble getting the charger to connect and the shroud around the ear speaker has come off."
] |
First of all, I have to say I don't understand why someone said that they could not play this on their PS2. I have a PS2 and this plays fine - just like every other PSX game. Anyway... this game is kind of bland. If you have NOTHING else to play than it's okay. It really recycles old story lines from other games and fighting styles, etc. For some reason, however, the plots and elements that I usually find fascinating in other games, here appear fairly boring. Maybe it's the way it's all drawn - more realisitic than fantasy - I'm not sure. It just doesn't grab my attention. The character control is really good though. And it's pretty easy to get the hang of things. It's just a little lackluster of all. | 1 | neutral | [
"First of all, I have to say I don't understand why someone said that they could not play this on their PS2.",
"I have a PS2 and this plays fine - just like every other PSX game.",
"Anyway...",
"this game is kind of bland.",
"If you have NOTHING else to play than it's okay.",
"It really recycles old story lines from other games and fighting styles, etc.",
"For some reason, however, the plots and elements that I usually find fascinating in other games, here appear fairly boring.",
"Maybe it's the way it's all drawn - more realisitic than fantasy - I'm not sure.",
"It just doesn't grab my attention.",
"The character control is really good though.",
"And it's pretty easy to get the hang of things.",
"It's just a little lackluster of all."
] |
I read the reviews about the cooling station, so I was expecting this. But I was surprised when i turned it on!!! I can even feel the air when I put my hand over it!!! I was expecting this, so I was prepared for modding it.
So, 10 minutes after opening the cooling base, I decided to mod it. I am running it at 12V (the fan are 12V, so you should have no problems) and I removed the air filters in the bottom.
Now is trowing more air, but not enough for my taste. My intercooler TS is doing all the work now. I will go to a local store and take some good fans and replace the crappy ones that come with the base.
BTW, the glow stand looks very cool!! | 1 | neutral | [
"I read the reviews about the cooling station, so I was expecting this.",
"But I was surprised when i turned it on!!!",
"I can even feel the air when I put my hand over it!!!",
"I was expecting this, so I was prepared for modding it.",
"So, 10 minutes after opening the cooling base, I decided to mod it.",
"I am running it at 12V (the fan are 12V, so you should have no problems) and I removed the air filters in the bottom.",
"Now is trowing more air, but not enough for my taste.",
"My intercooler TS is doing all the work now.",
"I will go to a local store and take some good fans and replace the crappy ones that come with the base.",
"BTW, the glow stand looks very cool!!"
] |
I found this book while on Twitter. I'm a published author and am currently involved in the Indie Author scene. I purchase Kindle books through my husband's Amazon account, but have stopped putting my book reviews on his account and am doing them on mine. In all honesty, I could not finish this book, it was so bloody dull. Church has some great one liners that made me laugh, and the teachers and administrators are all buffoons. I believe that most people are buffoons, so that isn't actually a surprise. The book's focal point is an English teacher at The Radley Hill School. Why this English teacher has the Shrek film for his 10th formers is beyond me, kids usually have stopped finding Shrek funny at all way before first form, IME.
The pub scenes are fine, but I have no sense of what kind of school this is as it appears that the students' parents are tattooed and lower middle classe. I stopped reading because the English teacher is an idiot. He is asked to put on the Christmas play and he has no idea what he is doing. His fellow teachers don't even appear to know that indeed, Shakespeare mostly writes about death and there is nothing EASY about a Shakespearean play. The protagonist doesn't really seem like he knows what he is doing, and we have no background of whether he actually has the credentials to even be a teacher.
My other annoyance was Church constantly saying, as an example, "We were sat drinking tea..." I read to 40% and I ran into the "We were sat..." sentence repeatedly. I had no idea if that was some bizarre vernacular from some part of England I had never been to or what it was, but I found it disgustingly annoying. @krautgrrl says: If you can subsist on one-liners then pick up this book, otherwise, wait for something else to spend your $2.99 on, as this is just not worth the money. | 1 | neutral | [
"I found this book while on Twitter.",
"I'm a published author and am currently involved in the Indie Author scene.",
"I purchase Kindle books through my husband's Amazon account, but have stopped putting my book reviews on his account and am doing them on mine.",
"In all honesty, I could not finish this book, it was so bloody dull.",
"Church has some great one liners that made me laugh, and the teachers and administrators are all buffoons.",
"I believe that most people are buffoons, so that isn't actually a surprise.",
"The book's focal point is an English teacher at The Radley Hill School.",
"Why this English teacher has the Shrek film for his 10th formers is beyond me, kids usually have stopped finding Shrek funny at all way before first form, IME.",
"The pub scenes are fine, but I have no sense of what kind of school this is as it appears that the students' parents are tattooed and lower middle classe.",
"I stopped reading because the English teacher is an idiot.",
"He is asked to put on the Christmas play and he has no idea what he is doing.",
"His fellow teachers don't even appear to know that indeed, Shakespeare mostly writes about death and there is nothing EASY about a Shakespearean play.",
"The protagonist doesn't really seem like he knows what he is doing, and we have no background of whether he actually has the credentials to even be a teacher.",
"My other annoyance was Church constantly saying, as an example, \"We were sat drinking tea...",
"\" I read to 40% and I ran into the \"We were sat...",
"\" sentence repeatedly.",
"I had no idea if that was some bizarre vernacular from some part of England I had never been to or what it was, but I found it disgustingly annoying.",
"@krautgrrl says: If you can subsist on one-liners then pick up this book, otherwise, wait for something else to spend your $2.",
"99 on, as this is just not worth the money."
] |
I ordered this set because the description reminded me a bit of the old Mary Kay Satin Hands kit which consisted of three products - a cleanser, an exfoliant and a thick, emollient pink body butter/gel. I always enjoyed the temporary smoothing effect it had on my skin, particularly when used in conjunction with a pair of white cotton gloves and a good night's rest. Although I tend to be leery of infomercial products and am not a fan of these multi-step/multi-product "systems," I did have good luck with the Pro-active line and trust Guthy-Renker, so I thought I'd give this set a try.
At 53, I have yet to find crepe-y areas on my legs or arms, but my neck and upper chest could use some work. After a week of using this exclusively on those two areas, I'd have to say the results are fairly equivocal. First off, the scrub is very slippery and doesn't seem to work as a mechanical exfoliant. I do much better with my Vic Washcloth when I want to slough off dead skin. However it does contain several acids (including lactic and citric), so perhaps it works more on a chemical level (in which case a week is probably not enough time to determine the results). So overall, the scrub was a bust for me.
On the other hand, I really loved the cream. It's very rich and solid with an intensive moisturizing quality. Even after a night's sleep, my chest and neck still felt moist and soft in the morning. And there was slight improvement in the appearance of the skin on my neck but honestly, I think the effect is purely cosmetic. After applying the cream, the skin has a youthful, smooth look which is very lasting because the cream itself has staying power, but I don't think this product actually changes the skin on a cellular level.
Still, it feels very luxurious going on and the light citrus scent is delightful. I don't know if that's enough to justify the cost. You decide. | 1 | neutral | [
"I ordered this set because the description reminded me a bit of the old Mary Kay Satin Hands kit which consisted of three products - a cleanser, an exfoliant and a thick, emollient pink body butter/gel.",
"I always enjoyed the temporary smoothing effect it had on my skin, particularly when used in conjunction with a pair of white cotton gloves and a good night's rest.",
"Although I tend to be leery of infomercial products and am not a fan of these multi-step/multi-product \"systems,\" I did have good luck with the Pro-active line and trust Guthy-Renker, so I thought I'd give this set a try.",
"At 53, I have yet to find crepe-y areas on my legs or arms, but my neck and upper chest could use some work.",
"After a week of using this exclusively on those two areas, I'd have to say the results are fairly equivocal.",
"First off, the scrub is very slippery and doesn't seem to work as a mechanical exfoliant.",
"I do much better with my Vic Washcloth when I want to slough off dead skin.",
"However it does contain several acids (including lactic and citric), so perhaps it works more on a chemical level (in which case a week is probably not enough time to determine the results).",
"So overall, the scrub was a bust for me.",
"On the other hand, I really loved the cream.",
"It's very rich and solid with an intensive moisturizing quality.",
"Even after a night's sleep, my chest and neck still felt moist and soft in the morning.",
"And there was slight improvement in the appearance of the skin on my neck but honestly, I think the effect is purely cosmetic.",
"After applying the cream, the skin has a youthful, smooth look which is very lasting because the cream itself has staying power, but I don't think this product actually changes the skin on a cellular level.",
"Still, it feels very luxurious going on and the light citrus scent is delightful.",
"I don't know if that's enough to justify the cost.",
"You decide."
] |
I loved AVP2 and I enjoyed AVP2:PH.
I give it 3 stars because it's not amazing, but it's not bad either. The graphics, as always with AVP games, are great. The feel of it is eerie and although not as scary as AVP2, you still get nervous. The gameplay is always top-notch with these games, which I love. I often yell out when playing because something scares the bejesus out of me!
However, for an expansion, the feel of it does not seem true to AVP2. It's much more of a firefight kind of situation, especially when you play Dunya, the Corporate Mercenary... because of this, the shortness of the missions seems even more abbreviated.
Still, I liked the new weapons, especially the sniper rifle and I liked being able to take control of the automatic turrets. The Predator's laser was interesting and better for up-close and personal combat, but hunting the indigenous life on LV-1201 could have been left out, IMHO...seemed a little too 'Primal' for me.
Jumping on the mounted machine gun was cool though, and the dual pistols where really handy. Glad they gave the head-bite function to the Predalien, but playing the Alien is always my least favorite because it tends to give me motion sickness!! Too bad since it's fun to crawl on the walls and scare everyone!
Honestly, my favorite thing about PH were the story lines, and how they sort of completed the holes in the AVP2's story lines. That along with the gameplay (even if it is short) made this a winner for me.
Tale of the Tape: If you really like AVP games, buy this product and you'll have fun. If you're curious, see if you can get it used. It's fun, but I'm not sure it's worth the full price. I bought it used, but AVPGold and AVP2 were purchased at full price. | 1 | neutral | [
"I loved AVP2 and I enjoyed AVP2:PH.",
"I give it 3 stars because it's not amazing, but it's not bad either.",
"The graphics, as always with AVP games, are great.",
"The feel of it is eerie and although not as scary as AVP2, you still get nervous.",
"The gameplay is always top-notch with these games, which I love.",
"I often yell out when playing because something scares the bejesus out of me!",
"However, for an expansion, the feel of it does not seem true to AVP2.",
"It's much more of a firefight kind of situation, especially when you play Dunya, the Corporate Mercenary...",
"because of this, the shortness of the missions seems even more abbreviated.",
"Still, I liked the new weapons, especially the sniper rifle and I liked being able to take control of the automatic turrets.",
"The Predator's laser was interesting and better for up-close and personal combat, but hunting the indigenous life on LV-1201 could have been left out, IMHO...",
"seemed a little too 'Primal' for me.",
"Jumping on the mounted machine gun was cool though, and the dual pistols where really handy.",
"Glad they gave the head-bite function to the Predalien, but playing the Alien is always my least favorite because it tends to give me motion sickness!!",
"Too bad since it's fun to crawl on the walls and scare everyone!",
"Honestly, my favorite thing about PH were the story lines, and how they sort of completed the holes in the AVP2's story lines.",
"That along with the gameplay (even if it is short) made this a winner for me.",
"Tale of the Tape: If you really like AVP games, buy this product and you'll have fun.",
"If you're curious, see if you can get it used.",
"It's fun, but I'm not sure it's worth the full price.",
"I bought it used, but AVPGold and AVP2 were purchased at full price."
] |
I'm always jonesing for my next Cat & Bones fix so when Reckoning was released as a stand-alone novella I just jumped at the chance to start from the very beginning of this series. This short story was only previously available in the Unbound anthology and it's installment 0.5 in the Night Huntress series. I didn't love this tale but then again, there's no such thing as a bad read when this series is concerned IMO.
I'm just going to come out and say it. I found Bones severely lacking in this novella. His pre-Cat personality is dark and sad. There's no wit; he's just going through the motions to get the job done. After reading Reckoning I'm curious as to how Jeaniene Frost made the leap from this to the amazing book that is Halfway to the Grave. Even though I found this novella to be somewhat deficient; as a avid fan of this series, it's still a must-read for me. Reckoning is probably not the best introduction to the Night Huntress world but if you need something to tie you over until the next book comes out, what do you have to lose? | 1 | neutral | [
"I'm always jonesing for my next Cat & Bones fix so when Reckoning was released as a stand-alone novella I just jumped at the chance to start from the very beginning of this series.",
"This short story was only previously available in the Unbound anthology and it's installment 0.",
"5 in the Night Huntress series.",
"I didn't love this tale but then again, there's no such thing as a bad read when this series is concerned IMO.",
"I'm just going to come out and say it.",
"I found Bones severely lacking in this novella.",
"His pre-Cat personality is dark and sad.",
"There's no wit; he's just going through the motions to get the job done.",
"After reading Reckoning I'm curious as to how Jeaniene Frost made the leap from this to the amazing book that is Halfway to the Grave.",
"Even though I found this novella to be somewhat deficient; as a avid fan of this series, it's still a must-read for me.",
"Reckoning is probably not the best introduction to the Night Huntress world but if you need something to tie you over until the next book comes out, what do you have to lose?"
] |
I finished this while having my breakfast one morning, and it only took me 20 minutes. There's 240 pages, but each page has a note on it. Which can sometimes only be a line or two, occasionally, a paragraph.
The story's about a mother and daughter, who never see each other, they're like ships in the night, they pass each other. The mother's a busy doctor, the daughter's busy at school and her social life.
The mother discovers she has breast cancer, and suddenly, the relationship between the two changes. It's painstakingly honest, but too brief. You're made to feel like the daughter's selfish and doesn't care. Which didn't feel quite right.
The note style of the book is quite original, much like Cecelia Aherne's Where Rainbows End, but it does feel you leaving empty afterwards. And by the time you get to the last page, and keep turning, and there's no more, it's even worse. I did actually start crying, which wasn't pleasant (soggy cornflakes lovely), but at least I hadn't my face on for work yet. It was twice in twelve hours I'd cried, so don't read this book if you're already feeling emotional. I'm definitely going to pass this book onto my mum to read, and then onto a couple of my friends, as it's an excellent read, just too short. | 1 | neutral | [
"I finished this while having my breakfast one morning, and it only took me 20 minutes.",
"There's 240 pages, but each page has a note on it.",
"Which can sometimes only be a line or two, occasionally, a paragraph.",
"The story's about a mother and daughter, who never see each other, they're like ships in the night, they pass each other.",
"The mother's a busy doctor, the daughter's busy at school and her social life.",
"The mother discovers she has breast cancer, and suddenly, the relationship between the two changes.",
"It's painstakingly honest, but too brief.",
"You're made to feel like the daughter's selfish and doesn't care.",
"Which didn't feel quite right.",
"The note style of the book is quite original, much like Cecelia Aherne's Where Rainbows End, but it does feel you leaving empty afterwards.",
"And by the time you get to the last page, and keep turning, and there's no more, it's even worse.",
"I did actually start crying, which wasn't pleasant (soggy cornflakes lovely), but at least I hadn't my face on for work yet.",
"It was twice in twelve hours I'd cried, so don't read this book if you're already feeling emotional.",
"I'm definitely going to pass this book onto my mum to read, and then onto a couple of my friends, as it's an excellent read, just too short."
] |
Adult
An adult-film star who was reportedly paid to remain silent about a sexual relationship with Donald Trump a decade before he became president spoke to a journalist because she feared he would not pay up according to a new account.
"Daniels said she was talking to me and sharing these details because Trump was stalling on finalizing the confidentiality agreement and paying her " Weisberg wrote. "Given her experience with Trump she suspected he would stall her until after the election and then refuse to sign or pay up."
Also on Tuesday Alana Evans another adult-film star said in a television interview on "Megyn Kelly Today" that Clifford had called her to invite her to a hotel room with Trump who at the time was a reality television star.
Both accounts emerged four days after the Wall Street Journal reported that not long before the 2016 presidential election Clifford was paid $130 000 by a lawyer for Trump to remain quiet about any relationship she had with the future president.
Cohen has dismissed "rumors [that] have circulated time and again since 2011" and said both Trump and Clifford "vehemently denies any such occurrence." Cohen also issued a statement he said was signed by Daniels which describes rumors about her getting "hush money from Donald Trump " as "completely false."
The Slate story adds another layer to the Journal report which landed amid a furor over profane remarks Trump made during a meeting on immigration last week.
Clifford said she had met Trump at a celebrity golf tournament in 2006 â the year after he married Melania Trump now the first lady â and they began a relationship that lasted for nearly a year Weisberg wrote.
Weisberg continued that Clifford did not allege any abuse saying only that Trump had made promises he would break such as vowing to feature her on his "Apprentice" television show. To try and corroborate Clifford's account Weisberg said he spoke to three of her friends all of whom said they knew about the relationship and "confirmed the outlines of her story."
Clifford sought money for her story and was also motivated by "her anger about Trump 's newfound opposition to abortion and gay marriage " Weisberg wrote. However Clifford stopped responding to Slate a week before the election and a friend said she had "taken the money from Trump after all " he wrote.
At that time Trump 's history with women was a significant factor in the campaign. In October 2016 The Washington Post published a recording from 2005 that captured Trump bragging in graphic terms about groping women. A parade of women soon emerged to accuse Trump of sexual misconduct charges that he denied during the campaign.
As the country has confronted a wave of sexual misconduct claims against high-profile men in recent months the accusations against Trump flooded back into the news. Some of the women who had accused him had questioned why charges felled men like Harvey Weinstein while Trump was unscathed and late last year they made a renewed push for public attention. The White House had dismissed the allegations and said any questions were answered when Trump won the presidency.
One of Trump 's accusers a former "Apprentice" contestant filed a defamation case against him due to his denials during the campaign. If a judge allows the case to proceed attorneys could call other women to the stand to testify about their encounters with Trump .
After the Journal's story reporting the settlement last week was published Trump and the White House assailed the publication for a different story arguing that the newspaper deliberately misquoted one of his comments during an interview he gave to multiple reporters there. (The Wall Street Journal is owned by News Corp. which is led by Rupert Murdoch who speaks privately with Trump .) | 1 | neutral | [
"Adult\nAn adult-film star who was reportedly paid to remain silent about a sexual relationship with Donald Trump a decade before he became president spoke to a journalist because she feared he would not pay up according to a new account.",
"\"Daniels said she was talking to me and sharing these details because Trump was stalling on finalizing the confidentiality agreement and paying her \" Weisberg wrote.",
"\"Given her experience with Trump she suspected he would stall her until after the election and then refuse to sign or pay up.",
"\"\nAlso on Tuesday Alana Evans another adult-film star said in a television interview on \"Megyn Kelly Today\" that Clifford had called her to invite her to a hotel room with Trump who at the time was a reality television star.",
"Both accounts emerged four days after the Wall Street Journal reported that not long before the 2016 presidential election Clifford was paid $130 000 by a lawyer for Trump to remain quiet about any relationship she had with the future president.",
"Cohen has dismissed \"rumors [that] have circulated time and again since 2011\" and said both Trump and Clifford \"vehemently denies any such occurrence.",
"\" Cohen also issued a statement he said was signed by Daniels which describes rumors about her getting \"hush money from Donald Trump \" as \"completely false.",
"\"\nThe Slate story adds another layer to the Journal report which landed amid a furor over profane remarks Trump made during a meeting on immigration last week.",
"Clifford said she had met Trump at a celebrity golf tournament in 2006 â the year after he married Melania Trump now the first lady â and they began a relationship that lasted for nearly a year Weisberg wrote.",
"Weisberg continued that Clifford did not allege any abuse saying only that Trump had made promises he would break such as vowing to feature her on his \"Apprentice\" television show.",
"To try and corroborate Clifford's account Weisberg said he spoke to three of her friends all of whom said they knew about the relationship and \"confirmed the outlines of her story.",
"\"\nClifford sought money for her story and was also motivated by \"her anger about Trump 's newfound opposition to abortion and gay marriage \" Weisberg wrote.",
"However Clifford stopped responding to Slate a week before the election and a friend said she had \"taken the money from Trump after all \" he wrote.",
"At that time Trump 's history with women was a significant factor in the campaign.",
"In October 2016 The Washington Post published a recording from 2005 that captured Trump bragging in graphic terms about groping women.",
"A parade of women soon emerged to accuse Trump of sexual misconduct charges that he denied during the campaign.",
"As the country has confronted a wave of sexual misconduct claims against high-profile men in recent months the accusations against Trump flooded back into the news.",
"Some of the women who had accused him had questioned why charges felled men like Harvey Weinstein while Trump was unscathed and late last year they made a renewed push for public attention.",
"The White House had dismissed the allegations and said any questions were answered when Trump won the presidency.",
"One of Trump 's accusers a former \"Apprentice\" contestant filed a defamation case against him due to his denials during the campaign.",
"If a judge allows the case to proceed attorneys could call other women to the stand to testify about their encounters with Trump.",
"After the Journal's story reporting the settlement last week was published Trump and the White House assailed the publication for a different story arguing that the newspaper deliberately misquoted one of his comments during an interview he gave to multiple reporters there.",
"(The Wall Street Journal is owned by News Corp.",
"which is led by Rupert Murdoch who speaks privately with Trump.",
")"
] |
Most of the reviews for this album are five stars, so I'm expecting some people to click the "NO" button by looking at my rating alone. But anyway, the first time I ever heard of Gavin DeGraw was when I saw him on Last Call with Carson Daly (don't ask me why I was watching that). And his song "Follow Through" is pretty good, so I decided to see what his album, Chariot, was like.
There are some other good songs on here, like the title track and the song he has out now, "I Don't Want to Be". And when I looked at the lyrics to "Meaning", I said, "Oh boy, not another we-are-the-world song." But that song actually works pretty well. My favorite song on the album, though, would have to be the smooth "More Than Anyone".
As far as the rest of the songs go, they leave something to be desired, especially the filler track "(Nice to Meet You) Anyway". "Chemical Party" and "Belief" have rather stupid lyrics, and "Just Friends" is fine until Gavin says something about that her body fits him like a glove.
I don't really Chariot is worth ALL the hype, but it's still a nice album to play to pass the time.
Anthony Rupert | 1 | neutral | [
"Most of the reviews for this album are five stars, so I'm expecting some people to click the \"NO\" button by looking at my rating alone.",
"But anyway, the first time I ever heard of Gavin DeGraw was when I saw him on Last Call with Carson Daly (don't ask me why I was watching that).",
"And his song \"Follow Through\" is pretty good, so I decided to see what his album, Chariot, was like.",
"There are some other good songs on here, like the title track and the song he has out now, \"I Don't Want to Be\".",
"And when I looked at the lyrics to \"Meaning\", I said, \"Oh boy, not another we-are-the-world song.",
"\" But that song actually works pretty well.",
"My favorite song on the album, though, would have to be the smooth \"More Than Anyone\".",
"As far as the rest of the songs go, they leave something to be desired, especially the filler track \"(Nice to Meet You) Anyway\".",
"\"Chemical Party\" and \"Belief\" have rather stupid lyrics, and \"Just Friends\" is fine until Gavin says something about that her body fits him like a glove.",
"I don't really Chariot is worth ALL the hype, but it's still a nice album to play to pass the time.",
"Anthony Rupert"
] |
Daphne is a 19-year-old girl who has quite the affinity with the spirits around her. In the center of the town she lives in is a Silver Ash. A very special silver ash. In this tree lives a phoenix and a nymph who revitalize and renew the town once a century. Without this rebirth, the city would fall into ruin and everyone would perish.
As the time of this rebirth approaches, it is discovered that something is seriously wrong. Never in all of the centuries the tree has stood has a single leaf fallen from the silver ash. Now the ground is littered with sticks and leaves. The tree is dying. The phoenix that normally dies and brings new life with her rebirth refuses to depend on the dying to tree to help her back to life. What happens from here leaves Daphne in a position she never dreamed of being in.
There isn't much more I can tell you about the story line at this time without giving too much away. It was a very short story, and I don't want to spoil the story for anyone. I am internally debating whether or not this is a book meant for younger children or older children. The brevity of the book, and the simplistic storytelling lead me at first to believe this was meant for elementary school children. But the events that unfold and the ending of the story made me rethink my position.
This story is based off many legends and old folklore. There is the opportunity to get younger kids interested in folklore after they read this book if the right literature is presented to them right away as a companion to this book. At just barely over 50 pages long, it is short enough to keep a young reader's interest while being long enough to make them think they really got a "long" book.
I believe this book teaches some great lessons. At one point, Daphne must make a decision - and she makes the right one - even when it is the hardest thing she will ever have to do. But she does it because it is the RIGHT thing to do. She puts the lives of all others before her own life. It shows true love and heroism. A very important value to instill in children while they are still little.
I would recommend this to anyone with younger children who get excited about fantasy, folklore, and a smidge bit of action. (It's nothing violent, so no worries on that front) | 1 | neutral | [
"Daphne is a 19-year-old girl who has quite the affinity with the spirits around her.",
"In the center of the town she lives in is a Silver Ash.",
"A very special silver ash.",
"In this tree lives a phoenix and a nymph who revitalize and renew the town once a century.",
"Without this rebirth, the city would fall into ruin and everyone would perish.",
"As the time of this rebirth approaches, it is discovered that something is seriously wrong.",
"Never in all of the centuries the tree has stood has a single leaf fallen from the silver ash.",
"Now the ground is littered with sticks and leaves.",
"The tree is dying.",
"The phoenix that normally dies and brings new life with her rebirth refuses to depend on the dying to tree to help her back to life.",
"What happens from here leaves Daphne in a position she never dreamed of being in.",
"There isn't much more I can tell you about the story line at this time without giving too much away.",
"It was a very short story, and I don't want to spoil the story for anyone.",
"I am internally debating whether or not this is a book meant for younger children or older children.",
"The brevity of the book, and the simplistic storytelling lead me at first to believe this was meant for elementary school children.",
"But the events that unfold and the ending of the story made me rethink my position.",
"This story is based off many legends and old folklore.",
"There is the opportunity to get younger kids interested in folklore after they read this book if the right literature is presented to them right away as a companion to this book.",
"At just barely over 50 pages long, it is short enough to keep a young reader's interest while being long enough to make them think they really got a \"long\" book.",
"I believe this book teaches some great lessons.",
"At one point, Daphne must make a decision - and she makes the right one - even when it is the hardest thing she will ever have to do.",
"But she does it because it is the RIGHT thing to do.",
"She puts the lives of all others before her own life.",
"It shows true love and heroism.",
"A very important value to instill in children while they are still little.",
"I would recommend this to anyone with younger children who get excited about fantasy, folklore, and a smidge bit of action.",
"(It's nothing violent, so no worries on that front)"
] |
I use this to clean my brushes whenever I remember to.
They spray bottle is of poor design. It leaks sometimes. When you use it, expect to have an oily index finger.
This stuff is basically a citrus scented oil. It cleans well, just spray it on and brush the brush along a paper towel until it wipes clean. Then let it air dry overnight. No water needed.
I like it but it's overpriced in poor packaging. I would repurchase but only if they update the spray bottle. It's really annoying to avoid oily fingers by using a tissue on it all the time.
I recommend, but I would rather use soap and water to clean my brushes when I finish my bottle. | 1 | neutral | [
"I use this to clean my brushes whenever I remember to.",
"They spray bottle is of poor design.",
"It leaks sometimes.",
"When you use it, expect to have an oily index finger.",
"This stuff is basically a citrus scented oil.",
"It cleans well, just spray it on and brush the brush along a paper towel until it wipes clean.",
"Then let it air dry overnight.",
"No water needed.",
"I like it but it's overpriced in poor packaging.",
"I would repurchase but only if they update the spray bottle.",
"It's really annoying to avoid oily fingers by using a tissue on it all the time.",
"I recommend, but I would rather use soap and water to clean my brushes when I finish my bottle."
] |
PS2 version.
When I first started this game, I hated it. The controls were confusing and tricky as all get out. I don't know how many times I stood there stupidly grabbing at a suspect before being able to arrest them. Driving and steering were annoying; I kept accidentally getting out of a car when I meant to brake. It was far too easy to rack up "bad cop" points without even trying. But I stuck it out. And it got better.
It was fun trying to clean up the neighborhoods. Good variety of side missions.
The main story was okay, with a nice surprise ending. And one way to avoid those bad cop points is to avoid driving as much as possible. I took cabs everywhere and it worked out fine.
All in all, I would recommend this game, if you have the patience to get past that learning curve. | 1 | neutral | [
"PS2 version.",
"When I first started this game, I hated it.",
"The controls were confusing and tricky as all get out.",
"I don't know how many times I stood there stupidly grabbing at a suspect before being able to arrest them.",
"Driving and steering were annoying; I kept accidentally getting out of a car when I meant to brake.",
"It was far too easy to rack up \"bad cop\" points without even trying.",
"But I stuck it out.",
"And it got better.",
"It was fun trying to clean up the neighborhoods.",
"Good variety of side missions.",
"The main story was okay, with a nice surprise ending.",
"And one way to avoid those bad cop points is to avoid driving as much as possible.",
"I took cabs everywhere and it worked out fine.",
"All in all, I would recommend this game, if you have the patience to get past that learning curve."
] |
This could be a 5 start great product if they just moved the point where they weld the USB / VGA wires together. The device works well. BUT, not with a laptop. If your laptop doesn't have two USB on the same side as the vga port, you will have issues. Every laptop I have the VGA port is on one side and only one USB on that same side. This means I have to use a USB on each side. This cable won't span that distance. I had to manually use a knife to cut off the plastic weld spot on the cable to allow me enough slack to plug in both USB. Once I got it hooked up though, it works flawlessly. If that weld were moved 6-8 inches, the problem is solved. | 1 | neutral | [
"This could be a 5 start great product if they just moved the point where they weld the USB / VGA wires together.",
"The device works well.",
"BUT, not with a laptop.",
"If your laptop doesn't have two USB on the same side as the vga port, you will have issues.",
"Every laptop I have the VGA port is on one side and only one USB on that same side.",
"This means I have to use a USB on each side.",
"This cable won't span that distance.",
"I had to manually use a knife to cut off the plastic weld spot on the cable to allow me enough slack to plug in both USB.",
"Once I got it hooked up though, it works flawlessly.",
"If that weld were moved 6-8 inches, the problem is solved."
] |
I got these to protect my 2 new mouthpieces. They are oval patches that appear to be rubber and don't have a taste that I noticed - a good thing. They make the mouthpiece a little thicker, but not a problem for me, just be aware. On my Alto, they seemed to work fine, but my teeth cut through the one I put on my Tenor. I tend to move the mouthpiece slightly to change my embrasure. I suddenly had a piece of rubber sticking up from the pad on my lip. I've only used them for about 1 hour of playing on my new mouthpiece. They do reduce the feedback (vibration) when playing low notes, and that might be a big benefit for some. I'm going to try some other brands too - these are not expensive and I want to keep the mouthpiece as nice as I can. Hopefully I'll find something that works for me - otherwise I go back to naked mouthpiece and deal with scratches. | 1 | neutral | [
"I got these to protect my 2 new mouthpieces.",
"They are oval patches that appear to be rubber and don't have a taste that I noticed - a good thing.",
"They make the mouthpiece a little thicker, but not a problem for me, just be aware.",
"On my Alto, they seemed to work fine, but my teeth cut through the one I put on my Tenor.",
"I tend to move the mouthpiece slightly to change my embrasure.",
"I suddenly had a piece of rubber sticking up from the pad on my lip.",
"I've only used them for about 1 hour of playing on my new mouthpiece.",
"They do reduce the feedback (vibration) when playing low notes, and that might be a big benefit for some.",
"I'm going to try some other brands too - these are not expensive and I want to keep the mouthpiece as nice as I can.",
"Hopefully I'll find something that works for me - otherwise I go back to naked mouthpiece and deal with scratches."
] |
I thought this rinse might be a more palatable alternative to Listerine Total Care. But with average performance and a questionable active ingredient, it is unlikely that I will use this again.
The rinse comes in an easy to used bottle with a pleasing contour. I did not particuarly care for the wintergreen flavor, it was rather sweet, mint-like and artificial. But my major concern come from the potential side effects for the active ingredient, cetylpridinium chloride. While it has antiseptic, anesthetic and disinfectant properties it is used in bug poisons as well as dental preparations. While its use has been FDA approved, I think there are more natural, less toxic and equally effective ingredients available. Moreover this ingredient has been known to cause browning of the teeth as well as intefering with the sense of taste. The bottle label warns of the discoloration risk but claims that the staining is neither permanent nor harmful. It claims such stains may be removed by brushing or "at your next dental visit". If my teeth suddenly browned, I don't think I would want to wait for my next regularly scheduled dental visit. Dental visits don't rate high on my fun things to do list and I would rather not spend my discretionary income on removing tooth discoloration caused by a mouth wash.
So while the performance of this rinse was adequate, I will pass until they change the formulation. | 1 | neutral | [
"I thought this rinse might be a more palatable alternative to Listerine Total Care.",
"But with average performance and a questionable active ingredient, it is unlikely that I will use this again.",
"The rinse comes in an easy to used bottle with a pleasing contour.",
"I did not particuarly care for the wintergreen flavor, it was rather sweet, mint-like and artificial.",
"But my major concern come from the potential side effects for the active ingredient, cetylpridinium chloride.",
"While it has antiseptic, anesthetic and disinfectant properties it is used in bug poisons as well as dental preparations.",
"While its use has been FDA approved, I think there are more natural, less toxic and equally effective ingredients available.",
"Moreover this ingredient has been known to cause browning of the teeth as well as intefering with the sense of taste.",
"The bottle label warns of the discoloration risk but claims that the staining is neither permanent nor harmful.",
"It claims such stains may be removed by brushing or \"at your next dental visit\".",
"If my teeth suddenly browned, I don't think I would want to wait for my next regularly scheduled dental visit.",
"Dental visits don't rate high on my fun things to do list and I would rather not spend my discretionary income on removing tooth discoloration caused by a mouth wash.",
"So while the performance of this rinse was adequate, I will pass until they change the formulation."
] |
I probably would've enjoyed this movie a lot more if I had seen it before reading the book. Most of the time, that is the really big disadvantage of reading the book before seeing the movie. "Along Came a Spider" was an okay movie, but it could've been a lot better.
When a insane lunatic decides that he wants to be famous, he kidnaps a daughter of a senator. After that, he contacts Alex Cross, and invites him to join his little game. After trying to get away from the detective life after he had lost his partner, Cross knows he's back in the game, and that he may be the only hope the little girl has. As he goes through a series of clues, Alex Cross realizes that the man who kidnapped the girl does not want money, he wants fame. He wants to commit the crime of the century. Now, Alex has to find out what exactly the kidnapper plans before it's too late.
The book was a lot more suspenseful and thrilling than the movie. The book was also a lot more sick and disturbing. The kidnapper played by Michael Wincott, (who is also the bad guy in "The Crow", and "Metro), should've been more dangerous and psychotic, just like he is in the book. In fact, if you read the book and picture Wincott as the kidnapper, it will send chills down your spine. There were a lot of great things that happened in the book that don't even appear in the movie! The very beginning of the movie seems very phony and fake; you'll know what I'm talking about when you see it. The DVD should've had more special features as well. The only ones I could find were the theatrical trailer and a documentary on the making of the movie.
Is this movie suspenseful? Does it have some startling twists? Does this movie keep you on the edge of your seat? Yes, it does all of that, but not as well as the book does. If you're more into movies than books, then see it. If you like books better, read the book instead. And if you're expecting the movie to be as good as the book, you are in for a big disappointment. "Along Came a Spider" is somewhat good, but it does not live up to the book. | 1 | neutral | [
"I probably would've enjoyed this movie a lot more if I had seen it before reading the book.",
"Most of the time, that is the really big disadvantage of reading the book before seeing the movie.",
"\"Along Came a Spider\" was an okay movie, but it could've been a lot better.",
"When a insane lunatic decides that he wants to be famous, he kidnaps a daughter of a senator.",
"After that, he contacts Alex Cross, and invites him to join his little game.",
"After trying to get away from the detective life after he had lost his partner, Cross knows he's back in the game, and that he may be the only hope the little girl has.",
"As he goes through a series of clues, Alex Cross realizes that the man who kidnapped the girl does not want money, he wants fame.",
"He wants to commit the crime of the century.",
"Now, Alex has to find out what exactly the kidnapper plans before it's too late.",
"The book was a lot more suspenseful and thrilling than the movie.",
"The book was also a lot more sick and disturbing.",
"The kidnapper played by Michael Wincott, (who is also the bad guy in \"The Crow\", and \"Metro), should've been more dangerous and psychotic, just like he is in the book.",
"In fact, if you read the book and picture Wincott as the kidnapper, it will send chills down your spine.",
"There were a lot of great things that happened in the book that don't even appear in the movie!",
"The very beginning of the movie seems very phony and fake; you'll know what I'm talking about when you see it.",
"The DVD should've had more special features as well.",
"The only ones I could find were the theatrical trailer and a documentary on the making of the movie.",
"Is this movie suspenseful?",
"Does it have some startling twists?",
"Does this movie keep you on the edge of your seat?",
"Yes, it does all of that, but not as well as the book does.",
"If you're more into movies than books, then see it.",
"If you like books better, read the book instead.",
"And if you're expecting the movie to be as good as the book, you are in for a big disappointment.",
"\"Along Came a Spider\" is somewhat good, but it does not live up to the book."
] |
Do I hate this record? Would I play it with windows down and "normal" people within earshot? Is this just the latest in a long line of post-Pitchfork flavor of the month bands? Meh. Who cares. The real question is this: does not liking a record like Yeasayer's Odd Blood mean that I'm losing my edge? Having just turned 30, I've found myself obsessively asking this question about almost everything. Does the fact that I don't like Coconut M&Ms - or the reality that "Breaking Bad" makes me feel nauseated with anxiety - mean that I'm not changing with the times? Am I becoming what I've always feared: the "Better In My Day" / "All Been Done" guy? Is my palate not as endlessly open to new things as I've always claimed?
No way. I'm not losing it, I'm just selective. I mean, I loved last year's Animal Collective and Dirty Projector records and cite Joanna Newsom's *Ys as one of the best records of the new century. I might not be covered in tattoos but I've always laughed at the Johnny Come Lately kids who fall victim to awful hip-hop and electronic music fads. I don't collect goofy sunglasses and didn't wear the "Buddy Holly specs" (as we called them in 1994) after the first Weezer record came out. Hmm ... maybe that's why I think Odd Blood is one of the ugliest looking records I've ever seen? And maybe the fact that I listen to music on an actual stereo and not an iPhone has something to do with why I think Odd Blood is so laughably experimental and unfocused. Experimental to a fault, even. Or maybe I'm just too old to matter. Meh.
Let's start with the vocals and vocal treatments, which are often awful. Opener "The Children" finds singers Chris Keating and Anand Wilder's vocals so drenched in effects that the song has no real personality - a shame, considering how interesting the loopy arrangement is. Track two, "Ambling Alp," again features heavily treated vocals over an otherworldly arrangement. These are the vocals of someone who takes what they're doing very seriously, which is often the worst trait for someone attempting to make groundbreaking art. And I'm not talking James Murphy when I say "serious," I'm talking Chris Martin - Kanye, even. It's all a shame, really, considering how good the melodies often are and how interesting some of the accompaniments can be.
Anyone who heard and loved Yeasayer's 2007 debut, All Hour Cymbals, was surely looking forward to the flawed Odd Blood. And while many of the hallmarks are still here, including the whole "future tribal" vibe, Blood is the sound of a band working incredibly hard - yet never quite finding their focus. Instead of building on their sound these psychedelic Brooklynites attempt to reinvent themselves through experimentation, even claiming that they, while experimenting with LSD in New Zealand, decided to make a poppier record.
Back to that "experimental to a fault" thing. The 22-year-old version of me would never say such a thing. But when I listen to Odd Blood, I hear great, great things. The ideas are here, but damn if they're not lost in the mud of the band's everything-at-once approach. The easiest reference for the record's sound would be Animal Collective's Feels, the difference being that the Animals would never be caught dead with such cheesy vocals. Another reference would be Odd Nosdam's solo records and the earliest Why? records Nosdam worked on with Yoni Wolf - back before that band got all indie rock on us. Or how about mid-era Talking Heads if they were even more wimpy and overly-produced.
My hunch is that if you are a person who likes modern indie records and plays music yourself, Odd Blood might blow your mind. It might even influence you. But it's also my opinion that, even if you are this rare person who loves Odd Blood for it wild ideas and deep production, you won't hold the high opinion in, say, a year. In fact, I don't think anyone will love this record for very long. Like it? Sure. Be influenced by it? Some. Have your mind blown by the production and creativity found throughout the record's 40 minutes? Many, including this writer. But put Odd Blood on, turn it up and love what's coming out of the speakers? Nah. Not likely. Not after the initial impression is established.
All that said, this is one of the most listenable and interesting global trip-hop records ever made. That counts for something. | 1 | neutral | [
"Do I hate this record?",
"Would I play it with windows down and \"normal\" people within earshot?",
"Is this just the latest in a long line of post-Pitchfork flavor of the month bands?",
"Meh.",
"Who cares.",
"The real question is this: does not liking a record like Yeasayer's Odd Blood mean that I'm losing my edge?",
"Having just turned 30, I've found myself obsessively asking this question about almost everything.",
"Does the fact that I don't like Coconut M&Ms - or the reality that \"Breaking Bad\" makes me feel nauseated with anxiety - mean that I'm not changing with the times?",
"Am I becoming what I've always feared: the \"Better In My Day\" / \"All Been Done\" guy?",
"Is my palate not as endlessly open to new things as I've always claimed?",
"No way.",
"I'm not losing it, I'm just selective.",
"I mean, I loved last year's Animal Collective and Dirty Projector records and cite Joanna Newsom's *Ys as one of the best records of the new century.",
"I might not be covered in tattoos but I've always laughed at the Johnny Come Lately kids who fall victim to awful hip-hop and electronic music fads.",
"I don't collect goofy sunglasses and didn't wear the \"Buddy Holly specs\" (as we called them in 1994) after the first Weezer record came out.",
"Hmm...",
"maybe that's why I think Odd Blood is one of the ugliest looking records I've ever seen?",
"And maybe the fact that I listen to music on an actual stereo and not an iPhone has something to do with why I think Odd Blood is so laughably experimental and unfocused.",
"Experimental to a fault, even.",
"Or maybe I'm just too old to matter.",
"Meh.",
"Let's start with the vocals and vocal treatments, which are often awful.",
"Opener \"The Children\" finds singers Chris Keating and Anand Wilder's vocals so drenched in effects that the song has no real personality - a shame, considering how interesting the loopy arrangement is.",
"Track two, \"Ambling Alp,\" again features heavily treated vocals over an otherworldly arrangement.",
"These are the vocals of someone who takes what they're doing very seriously, which is often the worst trait for someone attempting to make groundbreaking art.",
"And I'm not talking James Murphy when I say \"serious,\" I'm talking Chris Martin - Kanye, even.",
"It's all a shame, really, considering how good the melodies often are and how interesting some of the accompaniments can be.",
"Anyone who heard and loved Yeasayer's 2007 debut, All Hour Cymbals, was surely looking forward to the flawed Odd Blood.",
"And while many of the hallmarks are still here, including the whole \"future tribal\" vibe, Blood is the sound of a band working incredibly hard - yet never quite finding their focus.",
"Instead of building on their sound these psychedelic Brooklynites attempt to reinvent themselves through experimentation, even claiming that they, while experimenting with LSD in New Zealand, decided to make a poppier record.",
"Back to that \"experimental to a fault\" thing.",
"The 22-year-old version of me would never say such a thing.",
"But when I listen to Odd Blood, I hear great, great things.",
"The ideas are here, but damn if they're not lost in the mud of the band's everything-at-once approach.",
"The easiest reference for the record's sound would be Animal Collective's Feels, the difference being that the Animals would never be caught dead with such cheesy vocals.",
"Another reference would be Odd Nosdam's solo records and the earliest Why?",
"records Nosdam worked on with Yoni Wolf - back before that band got all indie rock on us.",
"Or how about mid-era Talking Heads if they were even more wimpy and overly-produced.",
"My hunch is that if you are a person who likes modern indie records and plays music yourself, Odd Blood might blow your mind.",
"It might even influence you.",
"But it's also my opinion that, even if you are this rare person who loves Odd Blood for it wild ideas and deep production, you won't hold the high opinion in, say, a year.",
"In fact, I don't think anyone will love this record for very long.",
"Like it?",
"Sure.",
"Be influenced by it?",
"Some.",
"Have your mind blown by the production and creativity found throughout the record's 40 minutes?",
"Many, including this writer.",
"But put Odd Blood on, turn it up and love what's coming out of the speakers?",
"Nah.",
"Not likely.",
"Not after the initial impression is established.",
"All that said, this is one of the most listenable and interesting global trip-hop records ever made.",
"That counts for something."
] |
okay the case is really really super TIGHT.. impossible to get on.. and the holes do NOT line up.. the description page says the ATT Samsung Galaxy S2..
THE HOLES DO NOT LINE UP.. i could force the case on but since the holes don't line up it would be pointless.. i went back to my order page and i might have failed to see that this is NOT for the Skyrocket.. funny cause i paid a lot of attention..
if you want the case for the Skyrocket.. this is NOT it..
i love Amazon and buy all my stuff here.. it is not an Amazon problem..
it's a Diztronic problem.. or maybe mine.. i am returning these and getting the correct ones for the Skyrocket.. from Diztronic and Amazon.. | 1 | neutral | [
"okay the case is really really super TIGHT..",
"impossible to get on..",
"and the holes do NOT line up..",
"the description page says the ATT Samsung Galaxy S2..",
"THE HOLES DO NOT LINE UP..",
"i could force the case on but since the holes don't line up it would be pointless..",
"i went back to my order page and i might have failed to see that this is NOT for the Skyrocket..",
"funny cause i paid a lot of attention..",
"if you want the case for the Skyrocket..",
"this is NOT it..",
"i love Amazon and buy all my stuff here..",
"it is not an Amazon problem..",
"it's a Diztronic problem..",
"or maybe mine..",
"i am returning these and getting the correct ones for the Skyrocket..",
"from Diztronic and Amazon.."
] |
Garcetti 2020? Some experts say maybe while others say jump from mayor to White House too much of a stretch
Washington (CNN) At the moment Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti doesn't have time to think about anything but battling fires in Southern California. But before the flames threatened his city Garcetti was spending a lot of time out of it.
He traveled to Wisconsin in June where he spoke at the state's Democratic Party convention; New Hampshire in August where he helped campaign for Manchester mayoral candidate Joyce Craig; and Indiana in November where he attended the inaugural meeting of a nonprofit for investing in innovation called Accelerator for America.
"In normal times a mayor running for president would be probably be seen as foolish. But these aren't normal times " Jaime Regalado a professor emeritus of political science at Cal State Los Angeles told CNN. " Garcetti 's increasingly been getting nationwide attention also international attention on the climate change fight. There are a lot of things in his favor for possibly heading in that direction."
" He [Garcetti] would be a long shot " John J. Pitney Jr. a professor of government and politics at Claremont McKenna College told CNN. "Outside of Southern California very few people know who he is." | 1 | neutral | [
"Garcetti 2020?",
"Some experts say maybe while others say jump from mayor to White House too much of a stretch\nWashington (CNN) At the moment Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti doesn't have time to think about anything but battling fires in Southern California.",
"But before the flames threatened his city Garcetti was spending a lot of time out of it.",
"He traveled to Wisconsin in June where he spoke at the state's Democratic Party convention; New Hampshire in August where he helped campaign for Manchester mayoral candidate Joyce Craig; and Indiana in November where he attended the inaugural meeting of a nonprofit for investing in innovation called Accelerator for America.",
"\"In normal times a mayor running for president would be probably be seen as foolish.",
"But these aren't normal times \" Jaime Regalado a professor emeritus of political science at Cal State Los Angeles told CNN.",
"\" Garcetti 's increasingly been getting nationwide attention also international attention on the climate change fight.",
"There are a lot of things in his favor for possibly heading in that direction.",
"\"\n\" He [Garcetti] would be a long shot \" John J.",
"Pitney Jr.",
"a professor of government and politics at Claremont McKenna College told CNN.",
"\"Outside of Southern California very few people know who he is.",
"\""
] |
This program has problems syncing with mobile devices. Calendar appointments disappear in the transfer. If you do serious business you don't want to depend on this program. Earlier versions worked better. Stay with them. Outlook 2007 works much better.
Update: Found a solution for syncing problem. When you make a recurring appointment limit it to set number of occurances. Do not use "no end date." | 1 | neutral | [
"This program has problems syncing with mobile devices.",
"Calendar appointments disappear in the transfer.",
"If you do serious business you don't want to depend on this program.",
"Earlier versions worked better.",
"Stay with them.",
"Outlook 2007 works much better.",
"Update: Found a solution for syncing problem.",
"When you make a recurring appointment limit it to set number of occurances.",
"Do not use \"no end date.",
"\""
] |
While Final Fantasy XIII does do some good things, it takes a real step backwards by making this whole game pretty much like reading a book. No real choices at all, no exploration, no real mini-games worth playing, and yes - it is truly just running down the hall and fighting the next boss.
In my opinion FF-X was vastly superior. The game of Blitzball (love it or hate it) was a huge draw for me. Blitzball was perfectly engineered - but they ruined Blitzball in FF-X2 by taking away player control. The rest of the games in the FF series were all quite better than this one.
Pros:
1) Being able to switch roles in-battle is great. The talent trees are well done and the 2 players that you don't control do a fairly good job at doing their part.
2) It is pretty, even though I felt like 90% of it was just running down a small hallway.
3) If you get killed, you can retry the battle and don't have to reload from a save point.
Cons:
1) Ugh - so much story, so little to explore. This was truly like reading a book and just participating in the fights.
2) It gets so tiresome hearing them repeat the whole game - "we can do it, no we can't". Okay for the first 5 hours, but this is all they can talk about the whole game? It really gets boring.
3) Equipment upgrades?
a) If you upgrade your equipment, the new weapons and items you find a worthless compared to the upgraded original equipment. Finding new weapons and accesories is pretty much pointless.
b) Your supposed to be able to "evolve" your equipment, but this only happened once in the game for me! You have to upgrade a weapon up 25 levels to evolve? Wow - insane AND very expensive in-game.
4) I can only assume that the battle between L'Cie and Fal'Cie had far more meaning to players outside the United States. The whole story line seemed pretty boring to me and if it accomplished anything - it was the ability to simply confuse the player.
5) The creatures you summon in this game are truly worthless.
Overall - this was one of the least impressive FF games I have ever played. It was possibly the worst one. Like I said, it's like reading a book or watching a movie and just getting to perform the fights to get further down a hallway. Hopefully they can come up with something far more similar to the design of FF-X... or any other FF game for that matter. | 1 | neutral | [
"While Final Fantasy XIII does do some good things, it takes a real step backwards by making this whole game pretty much like reading a book.",
"No real choices at all, no exploration, no real mini-games worth playing, and yes - it is truly just running down the hall and fighting the next boss.",
"In my opinion FF-X was vastly superior.",
"The game of Blitzball (love it or hate it) was a huge draw for me.",
"Blitzball was perfectly engineered - but they ruined Blitzball in FF-X2 by taking away player control.",
"The rest of the games in the FF series were all quite better than this one.",
"Pros:\n1) Being able to switch roles in-battle is great.",
"The talent trees are well done and the 2 players that you don't control do a fairly good job at doing their part.",
"2) It is pretty, even though I felt like 90% of it was just running down a small hallway.",
"3) If you get killed, you can retry the battle and don't have to reload from a save point.",
"Cons:\n1) Ugh - so much story, so little to explore.",
"This was truly like reading a book and just participating in the fights.",
"2) It gets so tiresome hearing them repeat the whole game - \"we can do it, no we can't\".",
"Okay for the first 5 hours, but this is all they can talk about the whole game?",
"It really gets boring.",
"3) Equipment upgrades?",
"a) If you upgrade your equipment, the new weapons and items you find a worthless compared to the upgraded original equipment.",
"Finding new weapons and accesories is pretty much pointless.",
"b) Your supposed to be able to \"evolve\" your equipment, but this only happened once in the game for me!",
"You have to upgrade a weapon up 25 levels to evolve?",
"Wow - insane AND very expensive in-game.",
"4) I can only assume that the battle between L'Cie and Fal'Cie had far more meaning to players outside the United States.",
"The whole story line seemed pretty boring to me and if it accomplished anything - it was the ability to simply confuse the player.",
"5) The creatures you summon in this game are truly worthless.",
"Overall - this was one of the least impressive FF games I have ever played.",
"It was possibly the worst one.",
"Like I said, it's like reading a book or watching a movie and just getting to perform the fights to get further down a hallway.",
"Hopefully they can come up with something far more similar to the design of FF-X...",
"or any other FF game for that matter."
] |
When Elly Blair moves to Mystic Hollow to take over running her grandmother's caf, she never expects that her grandmother wants her to use magic as well - Elly didn't know she was even capable of using magic! Elly hopes that a little luck and a lot of hard work will ensure that she doesn't let her grandmother down. But that luck she hopes for turns out to be bad luck - her friend and waitress serves up a bespelled burger to the wrong customer. It's a problem that gorgeous Rory Covington is now being chased by all the women in town - and his equally beautiful ex-girlfriend. It's a bigger problem when handsome National Organization of Magic investigator Tom Owenton shows up to look into Elly's magical mistake. If Elly can't fix the spell, Mystic Caf will be closed down...and Elly will never know if her desire for Rory is real.
Witches, magic, and mayhem are the name of the game in No Shirt, No Shoes, No Spells. The first installment of the Mystic Caf series starts off as a lighthearted, enjoyable romp filled with pratfalls and magical mishaps. Unfortunately, the longer the book went on, the less entertaining I found Elly's problems to be. The problem for me lies with Elly and her increasing woe-is-me attitude and her irritation with Rory's ex. For a while I sympathized with her. But as Rose Pressey made Kim, Rory's ex, increasingly persistent in winning Rory over, I found that I pitied Kim more than Elly, as it was Elly's spell that sends Kim over the edge. Ms. Pressey attempting to explain away Elly's guilt just didn't jive for me; it's a personal preference, but I'd rather have a heroine who will admit just how badly she screws up than one who passes blame.
The romance is in the background of No Shirts, No Shoes, No Spells and it includes the potential (that doesn't really pan out) for a love triangle. When Ms. Pressey first introduces Tom and Rory, I found one of them incredibly interesting and ripe with potential and the other I thought was handsome but completely cardboard otherwise. Naturally, this made me root for Elly to end up with the interesting man...and sadly for my reading experience, she didn't. I really, really wanted to like No Shirts, No Shoes, No Spells, but ultimately the story just wasn't for me.
Reviewed by Shayna
For Joyfully Reviewed | 1 | neutral | [
"When Elly Blair moves to Mystic Hollow to take over running her grandmother's caf, she never expects that her grandmother wants her to use magic as well - Elly didn't know she was even capable of using magic!",
"Elly hopes that a little luck and a lot of hard work will ensure that she doesn't let her grandmother down.",
"But that luck she hopes for turns out to be bad luck - her friend and waitress serves up a bespelled burger to the wrong customer.",
"It's a problem that gorgeous Rory Covington is now being chased by all the women in town - and his equally beautiful ex-girlfriend.",
"It's a bigger problem when handsome National Organization of Magic investigator Tom Owenton shows up to look into Elly's magical mistake.",
"If Elly can't fix the spell, Mystic Caf will be closed down...",
"and Elly will never know if her desire for Rory is real.",
"Witches, magic, and mayhem are the name of the game in No Shirt, No Shoes, No Spells.",
"The first installment of the Mystic Caf series starts off as a lighthearted, enjoyable romp filled with pratfalls and magical mishaps.",
"Unfortunately, the longer the book went on, the less entertaining I found Elly's problems to be.",
"The problem for me lies with Elly and her increasing woe-is-me attitude and her irritation with Rory's ex.",
"For a while I sympathized with her.",
"But as Rose Pressey made Kim, Rory's ex, increasingly persistent in winning Rory over, I found that I pitied Kim more than Elly, as it was Elly's spell that sends Kim over the edge.",
"Ms.",
"Pressey attempting to explain away Elly's guilt just didn't jive for me; it's a personal preference, but I'd rather have a heroine who will admit just how badly she screws up than one who passes blame.",
"The romance is in the background of No Shirts, No Shoes, No Spells and it includes the potential (that doesn't really pan out) for a love triangle.",
"When Ms.",
"Pressey first introduces Tom and Rory, I found one of them incredibly interesting and ripe with potential and the other I thought was handsome but completely cardboard otherwise.",
"Naturally, this made me root for Elly to end up with the interesting man...",
"and sadly for my reading experience, she didn't.",
"I really, really wanted to like No Shirts, No Shoes, No Spells, but ultimately the story just wasn't for me.",
"Reviewed by Shayna\nFor Joyfully Reviewed"
] |
After last winter I decided I needed this device as part of my "snow removal inventory". My house was OK but the accumulation on my 2-car garage was so heavy it popped the small personnel door open . . . TWICE! And the door was hitting the floor at about the 1/3 portion of being fully open.
After inventorying the parts, I determined that I had one-too-many poles with no tapered end and one-too-few WITH a tapered end. I called Suncast and received the correct pole about a week later.
As for removing snow, too soon. (Actually, I hope I NEVER have to use it ! ! ! )
CAUTION: When fully assembled (20+ feet) this thing becomes extremely heavy and hard to control. I would advise raising it up to the edge of the roof AWAY from any windows to avoid glass breakage. Same thing bringing it back down. Walking it up similar to the way a long ladder is raised is my recommendation. (This information really should be included on the instruction sheet, Suncast.) | 1 | neutral | [
"After last winter I decided I needed this device as part of my \"snow removal inventory\".",
"My house was OK but the accumulation on my 2-car garage was so heavy it popped the small personnel door open.",
".",
".",
"TWICE!",
"And the door was hitting the floor at about the 1/3 portion of being fully open.",
"After inventorying the parts, I determined that I had one-too-many poles with no tapered end and one-too-few WITH a tapered end.",
"I called Suncast and received the correct pole about a week later.",
"As for removing snow, too soon.",
"(Actually, I hope I NEVER have to use it!",
"!",
"!",
")\n\nCAUTION: When fully assembled (20+ feet) this thing becomes extremely heavy and hard to control.",
"I would advise raising it up to the edge of the roof AWAY from any windows to avoid glass breakage.",
"Same thing bringing it back down.",
"Walking it up similar to the way a long ladder is raised is my recommendation.",
"(This information really should be included on the instruction sheet, Suncast.",
")"
] |
...These products were generally well reviewed in the technology media when introduced (for use with pre-Windows XP OSs). And if you call Linksys before purchasing (as I did) and ask if they play well with Windows XP, the sales and tech staff will tell you "of course". The correct answer is of course....as long as you are comfortable tweaking your computers network connection settings and don't expect the Linksys documentation to address the OS now being delivered with new Wintel PCs.
The wired router installation was a piece of cake (I use a wired port for the PC co-located with my router and cable modem). This partially because the Linksys install routine and browser based setup instructions worked well, but partially because my cable provider is NOT fussy about NIC MAC addresses and the router recognized the provider's mail domains (which in my case included one that's abbreviated, and some that differ from the address domain name due to a recent acquisition; these are both areas that Linksys is helpful enough to prepare you to overcome, and your mileage may vary depending on your cable provider).
The USB wireless adapter under Windows XP was considerably more challenging. My install was hampered by a local hardware issue (a device conflict between a USB 2.0 port on a separate PCI card and the motherboard USB ports. I had blue screens upon restart when using the PCI port; these continued until I tried one of the motherboard's USB ports, and then the install proceeded as normal.
This is where my main gripe with Linksys develops: the will tell you before purchase that their products work with Windows XP -- and they do....but you'd better be prepared to tweak and geek without their help. When I called about my blue screens, I spent 51 frustrating minutes with a tech support guy and his boss. THe boss became part of the picture when the L1 guy suggested that perhaps I didn't know enough about computers to be trying this (and it was obvious that my experience around computers predated his launch from Mom) install. During the 49th minute, we uncovered an error indicator suggesting this was a hardware issue, which led me to try the alternate USB port. But Linksys was adamant that they were not there to help me fix my broken OS.
Finally, the wireless portion of the network has yet to succeed in establishing a WEP encrypted connection. A separate call to Linkys yielded another tech support guy ill-prepared to help troubleshoot the problem. Their bottom line: Sometime the WEP activation will work under XP, and sometimes it won't. If it won't, stand by for their XP update to these devices "maybe coming in June".
That said, my computers on two separate floors are enjoying high signal strength and shared internet connection. I'm not overly concerned about the balky WEP setup since I live in a low vehicle traffic area (shouldn't be many war riders around), and I have file sharing turned off.
But Linksys really needs to get their user guides and tech support scripts updated to accommodate the growing population of Windows XP users.... | 1 | neutral | [
"...",
"These products were generally well reviewed in the technology media when introduced (for use with pre-Windows XP OSs).",
"And if you call Linksys before purchasing (as I did) and ask if they play well with Windows XP, the sales and tech staff will tell you \"of course\".",
"The correct answer is of course....",
"as long as you are comfortable tweaking your computers network connection settings and don't expect the Linksys documentation to address the OS now being delivered with new Wintel PCs.",
"The wired router installation was a piece of cake (I use a wired port for the PC co-located with my router and cable modem).",
"This partially because the Linksys install routine and browser based setup instructions worked well, but partially because my cable provider is NOT fussy about NIC MAC addresses and the router recognized the provider's mail domains (which in my case included one that's abbreviated, and some that differ from the address domain name due to a recent acquisition; these are both areas that Linksys is helpful enough to prepare you to overcome, and your mileage may vary depending on your cable provider).",
"The USB wireless adapter under Windows XP was considerably more challenging.",
"My install was hampered by a local hardware issue (a device conflict between a USB 2.",
"0 port on a separate PCI card and the motherboard USB ports.",
"I had blue screens upon restart when using the PCI port; these continued until I tried one of the motherboard's USB ports, and then the install proceeded as normal.",
"This is where my main gripe with Linksys develops: the will tell you before purchase that their products work with Windows XP -- and they do....",
"but you'd better be prepared to tweak and geek without their help.",
"When I called about my blue screens, I spent 51 frustrating minutes with a tech support guy and his boss.",
"THe boss became part of the picture when the L1 guy suggested that perhaps I didn't know enough about computers to be trying this (and it was obvious that my experience around computers predated his launch from Mom) install.",
"During the 49th minute, we uncovered an error indicator suggesting this was a hardware issue, which led me to try the alternate USB port.",
"But Linksys was adamant that they were not there to help me fix my broken OS.",
"Finally, the wireless portion of the network has yet to succeed in establishing a WEP encrypted connection.",
"A separate call to Linkys yielded another tech support guy ill-prepared to help troubleshoot the problem.",
"Their bottom line: Sometime the WEP activation will work under XP, and sometimes it won't.",
"If it won't, stand by for their XP update to these devices \"maybe coming in June\".",
"That said, my computers on two separate floors are enjoying high signal strength and shared internet connection.",
"I'm not overly concerned about the balky WEP setup since I live in a low vehicle traffic area (shouldn't be many war riders around), and I have file sharing turned off.",
"But Linksys really needs to get their user guides and tech support scripts updated to accommodate the growing population of Windows XP users...."
] |
Kyle Shanahan wanted Jimmy Garoppolo. What does that say about Kirk Cousins?
“Jimmy is a player we have researched extensively since Kyle and I joined the 49ers ” General Manager John Lynch said.
“ Kyle ” in this case is San Francisco Coach Kyle Shanahan — you know the former offensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins the son of the head coach here who drafted Kirk Cousins.
Here are the people most directly affected by Monday’s trade: Garoppolo incumbent 49ers quarterbacks Brian Hoyer (who was released) and C.J. Beathard and Shanahan still pursuing his first victory as a head coach as the season heads to the second half. Next on that list: I’d argue it’s Cousins.
In the popular parlor game of “Where Will Kirk End Up?” San Francisco has toggled with the Los Angeles Rams (whom we’ll get to) as the leading destination because of the ties those franchises now have to Cousins’s career. We know the links: When Shanahan was the Washington offensive coordinator under his father Mike the team traded up to select Robert Griffin III in the 2012 draft — but then shrewdly spent a fourth-round pick on Cousins that same draft. | 1 | neutral | [
"Kyle Shanahan wanted Jimmy Garoppolo.",
"What does that say about Kirk Cousins?",
"“Jimmy is a player we have researched extensively since Kyle and I joined the 49ers ” General Manager John Lynch said.",
"“ Kyle ” in this case is San Francisco Coach Kyle Shanahan — you know the former offensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins the son of the head coach here who drafted Kirk Cousins.",
"Here are the people most directly affected by Monday’s trade: Garoppolo incumbent 49ers quarterbacks Brian Hoyer (who was released) and C.",
"J. Beathard and Shanahan still pursuing his first victory as a head coach as the season heads to the second half.",
"Next on that list: I’d argue it’s Cousins.",
"In the popular parlor game of “Where Will Kirk End Up?",
"” San Francisco has toggled with the Los Angeles Rams (whom we’ll get to) as the leading destination because of the ties those franchises now have to Cousins’s career.",
"We know the links: When Shanahan was the Washington offensive coordinator under his father Mike the team traded up to select Robert Griffin III in the 2012 draft — but then shrewdly spent a fourth-round pick on Cousins that same draft."
] |
I decided to read this because of Hemingway's stature as one of the few American authors who has received the Nobel Prize in Literature. I read 'The Old Man and the Sea' many, many years ago ( it was really my inspiration and beginning to what has become a lifelong love of books and reading), and I felt I needed to read more to find out what all the fuss was about. Well, this story may have been gripping in 1935 or 1940 or whenever it was written, but I am struggling to finish it. There is of course the ubiquitous double standard for men and women that was the accepted way of life in its time. I understand all that but its like reading about things that happened on another planet. There's the addressing of each other as 'thee' and 'thou' which I'm guessing has something to do with translating Spanish to English but as the book is in English I have to wonder why this is even addressed. Also, why are all the characters referred to by their first names : 'Pilar', 'Maria', etc., but our hero the protagonist is always identified by both first and last names? It was annoying at first - but I've become used to it at this point I guess. I've suspect that this story is NOT going to have a happy ending but I don't know for sure yet. I don't think Maria is going to get her chance at a lifetime of happiness which would undoubtedly consist of making babies and stew for R.J. | 1 | neutral | [
"I decided to read this because of Hemingway's stature as one of the few American authors who has received the Nobel Prize in Literature.",
"I read 'The Old Man and the Sea' many, many years ago ( it was really my inspiration and beginning to what has become a lifelong love of books and reading), and I felt I needed to read more to find out what all the fuss was about.",
"Well, this story may have been gripping in 1935 or 1940 or whenever it was written, but I am struggling to finish it.",
"There is of course the ubiquitous double standard for men and women that was the accepted way of life in its time.",
"I understand all that but its like reading about things that happened on another planet.",
"There's the addressing of each other as 'thee' and 'thou' which I'm guessing has something to do with translating Spanish to English but as the book is in English I have to wonder why this is even addressed.",
"Also, why are all the characters referred to by their first names : 'Pilar', 'Maria', etc.",
", but our hero the protagonist is always identified by both first and last names?",
"It was annoying at first - but I've become used to it at this point I guess.",
"I've suspect that this story is NOT going to have a happy ending but I don't know for sure yet.",
"I don't think Maria is going to get her chance at a lifetime of happiness which would undoubtedly consist of making babies and stew for R.",
"J."
] |
This game left me feeling unimpressed because the graphics were disappointing and the missions uninteresting. Let me state that the graphics aren't bad, they just turned out to not be as good as I had heard.
The game is similar to Syphon Filter and Goldeneye, in that you have to sneak around avoiding guards and completing objectives. I'm starting to get sick of this style of gaming, though. This game does nothing to improve on it, either. It's so ordinary it almost hurts. It's time for game makers to find a more creative way to make these games instead of just sneaking around searching for bombs and weapons, getting from point A to point B. We have WAY too many games on the market just like this one.
Regardless of that, it's not that bad of a game. I would recommend you skip this game and go for something with more innovation. | 1 | neutral | [
"This game left me feeling unimpressed because the graphics were disappointing and the missions uninteresting.",
"Let me state that the graphics aren't bad, they just turned out to not be as good as I had heard.",
"The game is similar to Syphon Filter and Goldeneye, in that you have to sneak around avoiding guards and completing objectives.",
"I'm starting to get sick of this style of gaming, though.",
"This game does nothing to improve on it, either.",
"It's so ordinary it almost hurts.",
"It's time for game makers to find a more creative way to make these games instead of just sneaking around searching for bombs and weapons, getting from point A to point B.",
"We have WAY too many games on the market just like this one.",
"Regardless of that, it's not that bad of a game.",
"I would recommend you skip this game and go for something with more innovation."
] |
I'm somewhat surprised this NES version of Metal Gear isn't more well known considering the many innovative features it offered for its day. You'd think Metal Gear Solid fans would flock to this game at least to see what it's like. To answer your question, no, this is *nowhere* as compelling as the Metal Gear Solid series. I think we can all agree with that. However despite that, what this game does pretty well is provide a relatively short stealth/puzzle-based experience.
It's about Solid Snake who has to find and destroy the Metal Gear itself. Now given this is an NES game, you can imagine simple moves and small areas is what dominates the gameplay, right? Yup. However it's surprising to me that the enemies are usually able to detect Snake better than I realized. I actually think the enemy's ability to detect Snake is better here than in the very first MGS for the Playstation. I remember several times in MGS it was almost comical to be standing right in front of a guard and somehow he's unable to spot Snake. Well the same happens here but not as often. Anyway in this NES Metal Gear game, if you're spotted by guards you will more likely than not find yourself surrounded by many guards that come charging at you from off-screen. Be prepared to battle hard if you're caught!
Basically throughout the game you have to collect card keys, several of them in fact that can be used over and over for a variety of doors, to open new areas while using stealth moves to bypass guards and rescue kidnapped people who provide enough helpful advice to make the adventure at least a little memorable. You're mostly restricted to the inside of a nuclear facility 90% of the time, and the only times you roam around outside are to find your way to more enemy-filled facility rooms that progress the gameplay by way of collecting familiar items. I'm shocked the list of collectible items is so gigantic which includes goggles, rations, cardboard boxes, gas masks, flashlights and more. The gun variety is pretty amazing considering this is an NES game. Machine guns, rocket launchers, handguns and when all else fails, Snake's trusty punching moves which are quite handy (no pun intended) believe it or not. I don't support punching dogs though. Bad Snake!
I wish that 97% of the music wasn't the same theme song, but it's a decent/suspenseful one at least. The boss variety is plain. You fight a guy with a flame thrower, a tank, a maniac standing behind tied-up kidnapped victims and not really much else. There's expanding/disappearing floors you have to contend with, and several connections to the Playstation's Metal Gear Solid involving properly lining up and using guided missiles to explode new areas. Of course do NOT expect a lengthy elaborate storyline. The text is very simple and straight forward here, with simple commands on your radio frequency and bland characters that only serve to help Snake get from point A to point B. Nothing particularly inspiring here. I do strongly recommend using an online FAQ for the elevator rooms because in these particular rooms you're given the option to take Snake to four different hallways which can get pretty confusing in a hurry concerning where you need to go.
Overall, well truthfully this game can get boring after a while because the entire facility is basically one big puzzle and you need to use your smarts to figure out how to use the items you acquire. The enemies are unthreatening for the most part if you're smart with your rations so there's no concern there. Replay value? Not really I'm afraid. Maybe you'll want to play through this game once or twice but probably no more than that. However for a taste of the stealth aspect that has now made the Metal Gear Solid series so wonderful, it's interesting to see a sneak preview of a similar type of gameplay on the NES. Still a decent game but more memorable for what it went on to influence. | 1 | neutral | [
"I'm somewhat surprised this NES version of Metal Gear isn't more well known considering the many innovative features it offered for its day.",
"You'd think Metal Gear Solid fans would flock to this game at least to see what it's like.",
"To answer your question, no, this is *nowhere* as compelling as the Metal Gear Solid series.",
"I think we can all agree with that.",
"However despite that, what this game does pretty well is provide a relatively short stealth/puzzle-based experience.",
"It's about Solid Snake who has to find and destroy the Metal Gear itself.",
"Now given this is an NES game, you can imagine simple moves and small areas is what dominates the gameplay, right?",
"Yup.",
"However it's surprising to me that the enemies are usually able to detect Snake better than I realized.",
"I actually think the enemy's ability to detect Snake is better here than in the very first MGS for the Playstation.",
"I remember several times in MGS it was almost comical to be standing right in front of a guard and somehow he's unable to spot Snake.",
"Well the same happens here but not as often.",
"Anyway in this NES Metal Gear game, if you're spotted by guards you will more likely than not find yourself surrounded by many guards that come charging at you from off-screen.",
"Be prepared to battle hard if you're caught!",
"Basically throughout the game you have to collect card keys, several of them in fact that can be used over and over for a variety of doors, to open new areas while using stealth moves to bypass guards and rescue kidnapped people who provide enough helpful advice to make the adventure at least a little memorable.",
"You're mostly restricted to the inside of a nuclear facility 90% of the time, and the only times you roam around outside are to find your way to more enemy-filled facility rooms that progress the gameplay by way of collecting familiar items.",
"I'm shocked the list of collectible items is so gigantic which includes goggles, rations, cardboard boxes, gas masks, flashlights and more.",
"The gun variety is pretty amazing considering this is an NES game.",
"Machine guns, rocket launchers, handguns and when all else fails, Snake's trusty punching moves which are quite handy (no pun intended) believe it or not.",
"I don't support punching dogs though.",
"Bad Snake!",
"I wish that 97% of the music wasn't the same theme song, but it's a decent/suspenseful one at least.",
"The boss variety is plain.",
"You fight a guy with a flame thrower, a tank, a maniac standing behind tied-up kidnapped victims and not really much else.",
"There's expanding/disappearing floors you have to contend with, and several connections to the Playstation's Metal Gear Solid involving properly lining up and using guided missiles to explode new areas.",
"Of course do NOT expect a lengthy elaborate storyline.",
"The text is very simple and straight forward here, with simple commands on your radio frequency and bland characters that only serve to help Snake get from point A to point B.",
"Nothing particularly inspiring here.",
"I do strongly recommend using an online FAQ for the elevator rooms because in these particular rooms you're given the option to take Snake to four different hallways which can get pretty confusing in a hurry concerning where you need to go.",
"Overall, well truthfully this game can get boring after a while because the entire facility is basically one big puzzle and you need to use your smarts to figure out how to use the items you acquire.",
"The enemies are unthreatening for the most part if you're smart with your rations so there's no concern there.",
"Replay value?",
"Not really I'm afraid.",
"Maybe you'll want to play through this game once or twice but probably no more than that.",
"However for a taste of the stealth aspect that has now made the Metal Gear Solid series so wonderful, it's interesting to see a sneak preview of a similar type of gameplay on the NES.",
"Still a decent game but more memorable for what it went on to influence."
] |
Everyone has something theyd like to hide. Whether its shadows under your eyes from too little sleep or pimples that crop up at the worst possible time, sometimes you need to perform a bit of cosmetic camouflage. This product gives you the option of customizing your concealer by blending together different shades to address different concerns (neutralize redness, even out skin tone, cover dark circles, etc.).
My thoughts:
*Nice packaging. The 3-1/2 x 3-1/2 compact is made of a sturdy plastic that can be wiped clean with a damp cloth. The mirror is actually very nice (unlike most compact mirrors!) and its solidly constructed; opens easily and stays shut when its supposed to.
*The product has a very creamy texture, which is both a plus and a minus. Its easy to blend, which is especially nice for the under eye area, but it may be too oily for some skin types. Id hesitate to use this on acne prone skin.
*Offers medium coverage. Does a pretty good job of disguising minor imperfections like small pimples, but isn't that effective on pigment issues (like sun damage) or even fairly minor scars.
*Decent staying power. If you apply it carefully and use a little face powder to set it, it lasts about as long as the average foundation make-up. Because of the texture it may not have adequate staying power on oily skin.
In the end I have to say this product was just OK in my book. Personally Id rather invest in one quality concealer that I can use for multi-purpose cover-ups. Even though I don't have oily skin, this product felt a little too greasy to me Id prefer something with more of a matte finish. | 1 | neutral | [
"Everyone has something theyd like to hide.",
"Whether its shadows under your eyes from too little sleep or pimples that crop up at the worst possible time, sometimes you need to perform a bit of cosmetic camouflage.",
"This product gives you the option of customizing your concealer by blending together different shades to address different concerns (neutralize redness, even out skin tone, cover dark circles, etc.",
").",
"My thoughts:\n\n*Nice packaging.",
"The 3-1/2 x 3-1/2 compact is made of a sturdy plastic that can be wiped clean with a damp cloth.",
"The mirror is actually very nice (unlike most compact mirrors!",
") and its solidly constructed; opens easily and stays shut when its supposed to.",
"*The product has a very creamy texture, which is both a plus and a minus.",
"Its easy to blend, which is especially nice for the under eye area, but it may be too oily for some skin types.",
"Id hesitate to use this on acne prone skin.",
"*Offers medium coverage.",
"Does a pretty good job of disguising minor imperfections like small pimples, but isn't that effective on pigment issues (like sun damage) or even fairly minor scars.",
"*Decent staying power.",
"If you apply it carefully and use a little face powder to set it, it lasts about as long as the average foundation make-up.",
"Because of the texture it may not have adequate staying power on oily skin.",
"In the end I have to say this product was just OK in my book.",
"Personally Id rather invest in one quality concealer that I can use for multi-purpose cover-ups.",
"Even though I don't have oily skin, this product felt a little too greasy to me Id prefer something with more of a matte finish."
] |
Knights of the Old Republic 2 is, in most ways, extraordinarily similar to the original. All the gameplay mechanisms are the same. There are a few new force powers, more feats to acquire, and more items and upgrades. This is not a criticism: the original KOTOR was a great game.
This is not, for one simple reason: it isn't finished. By this, I don't mean that the door is left wide open for a sequel, although it is. I don't even mean that the game is buggy, although it is. The game is literally not finished.
Plot points appear and disappear at random. For example, and without spoiling anything, in the first part of the game, your actions cause a significant problem on one of the other worlds in the game. You get a quest to fix the problem. You find a way to do so. The quest abruptly ends there--there is no way to let anyone know you've solved the problem. Then, at the end game, people complain to you that you never solved this quest. And that's a minor example. Frankly, more of the end game is explained by the brief blurbs on the loading screens than anything that happens in the game itself.
The game is filled with "Huh?" moments as a result. The end game, in particular, expects you to know things that are never revealed anywhere because those aspects were cut. Side plots are built up and suddenly dropped. One of the end-game cutscenes suggests a critical decision is about to be made, then is completely ignored.
Then there's the ending itself. Sheer garbage. There's no payoff for wading through the disjointed story. There's nothing but a brief little dialog that goes nowhere.
What's particularly sad is that, what story is there is very interesting. This game was designed by the designer for Planescape: Torment, one of the great RPGs. It has a similar feel, full of regret and melancholy, and the weight of decisions made in the past. I'm quite sure a complete story was developed. Some genius decided to start cutting so the game could get out the door sooner. It's a sad waste of potential, and leaves a bitter taste. | 1 | neutral | [
"Knights of the Old Republic 2 is, in most ways, extraordinarily similar to the original.",
"All the gameplay mechanisms are the same.",
"There are a few new force powers, more feats to acquire, and more items and upgrades.",
"This is not a criticism: the original KOTOR was a great game.",
"This is not, for one simple reason: it isn't finished.",
"By this, I don't mean that the door is left wide open for a sequel, although it is.",
"I don't even mean that the game is buggy, although it is.",
"The game is literally not finished.",
"Plot points appear and disappear at random.",
"For example, and without spoiling anything, in the first part of the game, your actions cause a significant problem on one of the other worlds in the game.",
"You get a quest to fix the problem.",
"You find a way to do so.",
"The quest abruptly ends there--there is no way to let anyone know you've solved the problem.",
"Then, at the end game, people complain to you that you never solved this quest.",
"And that's a minor example.",
"Frankly, more of the end game is explained by the brief blurbs on the loading screens than anything that happens in the game itself.",
"The game is filled with \"Huh?",
"\" moments as a result.",
"The end game, in particular, expects you to know things that are never revealed anywhere because those aspects were cut.",
"Side plots are built up and suddenly dropped.",
"One of the end-game cutscenes suggests a critical decision is about to be made, then is completely ignored.",
"Then there's the ending itself.",
"Sheer garbage.",
"There's no payoff for wading through the disjointed story.",
"There's nothing but a brief little dialog that goes nowhere.",
"What's particularly sad is that, what story is there is very interesting.",
"This game was designed by the designer for Planescape: Torment, one of the great RPGs.",
"It has a similar feel, full of regret and melancholy, and the weight of decisions made in the past.",
"I'm quite sure a complete story was developed.",
"Some genius decided to start cutting so the game could get out the door sooner.",
"It's a sad waste of potential, and leaves a bitter taste."
] |
In "Forces of Nature," Ben Affleck stars as Ben, a repressed, buttoned-up stuffed shirt writer who, through a series of natural and manmade mishaps, ends up spending the several days before his impending marriage in the company of a freespirited, totally spontaneous and liberated young woman named Sarah, played by Sandra Bullock.
For the vast majority of the film's running time, the screenplay follows the conventions of the opposites-attract scenario almost slavishly. The script even provides Ben's fiancee with an overly-convenient replacement in the form of a now-hunky childhood friend she has not seen in years who rekindles sparks with her on the eve of the wedding.
Thus, with the troublesome fiance conveniently out of the way, the stage is set for the predictable true love romantic finale. But, damn, if the writers don't pull the rug out from under us and shatter the time-honored cliche. This is particularly surprising because, up to now, the film has exhibited no trace of iconoclasm in either its plot or character development. In fact, the screenplay is less a full-fledged narrative than a series of photographic montage sequences strung lazily together as Ben and Sarah engage in one cutesy situation and encounter after another. Thus, the unconventionality of the resolution comes as an even more stunning surprise than it otherwise might.
Affleck and Bullock are very appealing as two young people who complement each other's strengths and weaknesses and who learn to offer one another valuable life lessons. "Forces of Nature" emerges as one of those rare films that is, perhaps, actually better in retrospect than in the watching. | 1 | neutral | [
"In \"Forces of Nature,\" Ben Affleck stars as Ben, a repressed, buttoned-up stuffed shirt writer who, through a series of natural and manmade mishaps, ends up spending the several days before his impending marriage in the company of a freespirited, totally spontaneous and liberated young woman named Sarah, played by Sandra Bullock.",
"For the vast majority of the film's running time, the screenplay follows the conventions of the opposites-attract scenario almost slavishly.",
"The script even provides Ben's fiancee with an overly-convenient replacement in the form of a now-hunky childhood friend she has not seen in years who rekindles sparks with her on the eve of the wedding.",
"Thus, with the troublesome fiance conveniently out of the way, the stage is set for the predictable true love romantic finale.",
"But, damn, if the writers don't pull the rug out from under us and shatter the time-honored cliche.",
"This is particularly surprising because, up to now, the film has exhibited no trace of iconoclasm in either its plot or character development.",
"In fact, the screenplay is less a full-fledged narrative than a series of photographic montage sequences strung lazily together as Ben and Sarah engage in one cutesy situation and encounter after another.",
"Thus, the unconventionality of the resolution comes as an even more stunning surprise than it otherwise might.",
"Affleck and Bullock are very appealing as two young people who complement each other's strengths and weaknesses and who learn to offer one another valuable life lessons.",
"\"Forces of Nature\" emerges as one of those rare films that is, perhaps, actually better in retrospect than in the watching."
] |
I ordered this unit to 'replace' my Line 6 POD that I usually travel with since the RP50 is considerable smaller and lighter. The reviews had all been positive. I spent a good 2 hours with the RP50 going thru all the patches and effects. I was impressed by some of the reverbs' density and lushness. The built-in drum machine is great for practicing or coming up with riffs. I wasn't crazy about the drum sound but, for $60...? My main beef was the lack of clean guitar sounds available from the different amp-modeling selections. It seems that if one chooses a certain make of amp that it's assumed that the sound the player wants will be full-on metal distortion. There's no way to control the amount of "drive" on the amp selections. You want "clean", you have to go with the "blackface", etc. Selection of amp models and effects is tedious because of the up-down pushbuttons. The delays are all fixed time, only the amount/mix is variable. The EQ is not very effective at all. The most fun I had was with the octave effect. I might have kept this unit for that alone! All in all, this is a good product for the money, but I need the kind of control I have with my POD, which of course costs four times as much. | 1 | neutral | [
"I ordered this unit to 'replace' my Line 6 POD that I usually travel with since the RP50 is considerable smaller and lighter.",
"The reviews had all been positive.",
"I spent a good 2 hours with the RP50 going thru all the patches and effects.",
"I was impressed by some of the reverbs' density and lushness.",
"The built-in drum machine is great for practicing or coming up with riffs.",
"I wasn't crazy about the drum sound but, for $60...",
"?",
"My main beef was the lack of clean guitar sounds available from the different amp-modeling selections.",
"It seems that if one chooses a certain make of amp that it's assumed that the sound the player wants will be full-on metal distortion.",
"There's no way to control the amount of \"drive\" on the amp selections.",
"You want \"clean\", you have to go with the \"blackface\", etc.",
"Selection of amp models and effects is tedious because of the up-down pushbuttons.",
"The delays are all fixed time, only the amount/mix is variable.",
"The EQ is not very effective at all.",
"The most fun I had was with the octave effect.",
"I might have kept this unit for that alone!",
"All in all, this is a good product for the money, but I need the kind of control I have with my POD, which of course costs four times as much."
] |
Lardarse- Haile only got to half way last year. Be careful copying him! Gels and jelly babies seem identical in content, and I've used both. For the race last year, I carried a couple of gels but didn't actually use them. The Lucozade sport seemed to work fine for me. For training runs, I don't bother with gels or any food. The idea on long slow runs is to train your body to burn fat and slowly deplete the available muscle glycogen, so I feel it counterproductive to fuel during the run. As for one jelly baby per mile- whatever works for you really. Be aware that you will burn 100-150 calories each mile, so any food intake for fuel replacement will make a relatively small impact (unless you can consume 100 calories per mile, in which case you will struggle to force it down!). Timing-wise, the earlier you consume the better. Nothing you eat after 18 or so miles will make any difference, as it takes a fair amount of time to metabolise the gel / food. Same principle for water- drink early before you are really thirsty, rather than playing catch-up with fluids later in the race. | 1 | neutral | [
"Lardarse- Haile only got to half way last year.",
"Be careful copying him!",
"Gels and jelly babies seem identical in content, and I've used both.",
"For the race last year, I carried a couple of gels but didn't actually use them.",
"The Lucozade sport seemed to work fine for me.",
"For training runs, I don't bother with gels or any food.",
"The idea on long slow runs is to train your body to burn fat and slowly deplete the available muscle glycogen, so I feel it counterproductive to fuel during the run.",
"As for one jelly baby per mile- whatever works for you really.",
"Be aware that you will burn 100-150 calories each mile, so any food intake for fuel replacement will make a relatively small impact (unless you can consume 100 calories per mile, in which case you will struggle to force it down!",
").",
"Timing-wise, the earlier you consume the better.",
"Nothing you eat after 18 or so miles will make any difference, as it takes a fair amount of time to metabolise the gel / food.",
"Same principle for water- drink early before you are really thirsty, rather than playing catch-up with fluids later in the race."
] |
Rather than a "friends to lovers" story, this is a "friends to friends with benefits" one. Never bought into the romance. These guys are good friends and that's it. Immature, childish, selfish, not very likable good friends at that. The conflict did not make sense at all, at least not to me, and neither did the resolution.
Why the three stars? Because even with all of the above, it was very well written, the sex scenes were incredibly hot, and because it had several LOL moments which I enjoyed immensely. "This bulletin brought to you by the Department of Duh." *snort*
The one character I did like, Eli, is the main character of the next book, <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Bad-Boyfriend-Bad-in-Baltimore/dp/1609288122/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Bad Boyfriend (Bad in Baltimore)</a>, which I can't wait to read. Reviews on that one say it is up to what readers usually expect from this author. Yay! | 1 | neutral | [
"Rather than a \"friends to lovers\" story, this is a \"friends to friends with benefits\" one.",
"Never bought into the romance.",
"These guys are good friends and that's it.",
"Immature, childish, selfish, not very likable good friends at that.",
"The conflict did not make sense at all, at least not to me, and neither did the resolution.",
"Why the three stars?",
"Because even with all of the above, it was very well written, the sex scenes were incredibly hot, and because it had several LOL moments which I enjoyed immensely.",
"\"This bulletin brought to you by the Department of Duh.",
"\" *snort*\n\nThe one character I did like, Eli, is the main character of the next book, <a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/Bad-Boyfriend-Bad-in-Baltimore/dp/1609288122/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">Bad Boyfriend (Bad in Baltimore)</a>, which I can't wait to read.",
"Reviews on that one say it is up to what readers usually expect from this author.",
"Yay!"
] |
This is a very inexpensive and effective product. Though I've decided it's not for me, I'm surprised by the reviews that say it doesn't work. I'm guessing they are used to feeling beads like in microderm abrasion products. It worked TOO MUCH for my sensitive skin!
You wet your skin. Put a small amount on your face - it feels like a serum, which surprised me. Rub it all around until stuff sloughs off. Rinse. Easy enough. For those of you who remember Pretty Hands and Feet, it's SO MUCH like that, except for your face.
I use a lot of quality skin care. This is by far less expensive than similar products. For some of you, it may be perfect. Here's why it doesn't work for me:
- As I mentioned, it's a bit too heavy duty. I have extremely sensitive skin and have to be very careful about the products I use. After, my skin felt so soft and smooth, but it was blotchier and a bit irritated. If I was new to exfoliating, I would think this was a normal reaction to beginning use. However, I exfoliate twice a week and use a Clarisonic, so I know that's not the case.
- The little clumps that slough off can be hard to keep out of your hair. Between the rubbing and the rinsing, I couldn't keep this out of my hairline, even with a shower cap. I'd recommend it for pre-shampoo. This just doesn't really work for my skin care routine - I usually do my face at a different time than I shower.
So if those concerns aren't relevant to you, you would probably love it. However, if you are like me and want to keep looking, I recommend the Aveda clay mask (been using it for years, very gentle) as a lower cost option. For a splurge, Bliss' microderm option can't be beaten.
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/AVEDA-Botanical-Kinetics-deep-cleansing-masque-mask-4-2oz-125ml/dp/B06X99S4DW/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">AVEDA Botanical Kinetics deep cleansing masque mask 4.2oz/125ml</a>
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/bliss-Micro-Magic-Microdermabrasion-Treatment-Gently-Exfoliates-with-Volcanic-Pumice-Soothing-Aloe-Refreshing-Peppermint-Tightens-Pores-Smoothens-and-Brightens-Skin-3-oz/dp/B00GJ7TNX8/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">bliss Micro Magic Microdermabrasion Treatment | Gently Exfoliates with Volcanic Pumice, Soothing Aloe, & Refreshing Peppermint | Tightens Pores & Smoothens and Brightens Skin | 3 oz</a> | 1 | neutral | [
"This is a very inexpensive and effective product.",
"Though I've decided it's not for me, I'm surprised by the reviews that say it doesn't work.",
"I'm guessing they are used to feeling beads like in microderm abrasion products.",
"It worked TOO MUCH for my sensitive skin!",
"You wet your skin.",
"Put a small amount on your face - it feels like a serum, which surprised me.",
"Rub it all around until stuff sloughs off.",
"Rinse.",
"Easy enough.",
"For those of you who remember Pretty Hands and Feet, it's SO MUCH like that, except for your face.",
"I use a lot of quality skin care.",
"This is by far less expensive than similar products.",
"For some of you, it may be perfect.",
"Here's why it doesn't work for me:\n- As I mentioned, it's a bit too heavy duty.",
"I have extremely sensitive skin and have to be very careful about the products I use.",
"After, my skin felt so soft and smooth, but it was blotchier and a bit irritated.",
"If I was new to exfoliating, I would think this was a normal reaction to beginning use.",
"However, I exfoliate twice a week and use a Clarisonic, so I know that's not the case.",
"- The little clumps that slough off can be hard to keep out of your hair.",
"Between the rubbing and the rinsing, I couldn't keep this out of my hairline, even with a shower cap.",
"I'd recommend it for pre-shampoo.",
"This just doesn't really work for my skin care routine - I usually do my face at a different time than I shower.",
"So if those concerns aren't relevant to you, you would probably love it.",
"However, if you are like me and want to keep looking, I recommend the Aveda clay mask (been using it for years, very gentle) as a lower cost option.",
"For a splurge, Bliss' microderm option can't be beaten.",
"<a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/AVEDA-Botanical-Kinetics-deep-cleansing-masque-mask-4-2oz-125ml/dp/B06X99S4DW/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">AVEDA Botanical Kinetics deep cleansing masque mask 4.",
"2oz/125ml</a>\n<a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/bliss-Micro-Magic-Microdermabrasion-Treatment-Gently-Exfoliates-with-Volcanic-Pumice-Soothing-Aloe-Refreshing-Peppermint-Tightens-Pores-Smoothens-and-Brightens-Skin-3-oz/dp/B00GJ7TNX8/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">bliss Micro Magic Microdermabrasion Treatment | Gently Exfoliates with Volcanic Pumice, Soothing Aloe, & Refreshing Peppermint | Tightens Pores & Smoothens and Brightens Skin | 3 oz</a>"
] |
Henry Walker says he shattered his hip buying a watermelon at Walmart. An Alabama jury awarded him $7.5 million.
A worker pushes shopping carts in front of a Walmart store in La Habra Calif. ( Jae C. Hong/AP)
Army veteran Henry Walker was trying to buy a watermelon at a Walmart in Alabama when his foot got stuck in a wooden pallet. When he turned the 59-year-old fell breaking his hip.
Walker sued Walmart over the 2015 incident and an Alabama jury has ruled that he should be awarded $7.5 million.
The incident unfolded June 25 2015 when Walker went to a Walmart store in Phenix City Ala. according to court documents.
Walker reached to pick a melon from a display and his foot became lodged in the pallet under the watermelon container. He turned unaware that the pallet was there and fell and shattered his hip court documents state.
He sued the retail giant on claims of negligence and wantonness. Attorneys presented the case Tuesday and Wednesday in Russell County Circuit Court.
The jury deliberated for about two hours late Wednesday before ruling in favor of Walker awarding him $2.5 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages.
âI think this jury appreciated what Mr. Walker went through and they compensated him accordingly â another one of his attorneys David Rayfield told the Ledger-Enquirer. âThis is a great verdict for the community because this jury wanted to make sure it was safe for shoppers.â
Jurors reviewed security footage from the store and saw that Walker wasnât the only person to get his foot stuck in the side openings of a wooden pallet on the floor OâHara said.
OâHara told AL.com that the incident âcompletely changed Henry Walker âs life.â Among other things the Army veteran who used to play basketball three days a week now needs to use a walker he said. | 1 | neutral | [
"Henry Walker says he shattered his hip buying a watermelon at Walmart.",
"An Alabama jury awarded him $7.",
"5 million.",
"A worker pushes shopping carts in front of a Walmart store in La Habra Calif.",
"( Jae C.",
"Hong/AP)\nArmy veteran Henry Walker was trying to buy a watermelon at a Walmart in Alabama when his foot got stuck in a wooden pallet.",
"When he turned the 59-year-old fell breaking his hip.",
"Walker sued Walmart over the 2015 incident and an Alabama jury has ruled that he should be awarded $7.",
"5 million.",
"The incident unfolded June 25 2015 when Walker went to a Walmart store in Phenix City Ala.",
"according to court documents.",
"Walker reached to pick a melon from a display and his foot became lodged in the pallet under the watermelon container.",
"He turned unaware that the pallet was there and fell and shattered his hip court documents state.",
"He sued the retail giant on claims of negligence and wantonness.",
"Attorneys presented the case Tuesday and Wednesday in Russell County Circuit Court.",
"The jury deliberated for about two hours late Wednesday before ruling in favor of Walker awarding him $2.",
"5 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages.",
"âI think this jury appreciated what Mr.",
"Walker went through and they compensated him accordingly â another one of his attorneys David Rayfield told the Ledger-Enquirer.",
"âThis is a great verdict for the community because this jury wanted to make sure it was safe for shoppers.",
"â\nJurors reviewed security footage from the store and saw that Walker wasnât the only person to get his foot stuck in the side openings of a wooden pallet on the floor OâHara said.",
"OâHara told AL.",
"com that the incident âcompletely changed Henry Walker âs life.",
"â Among other things the Army veteran who used to play basketball three days a week now needs to use a walker he said."
] |
The bag seems to be well made, no bad stitching in mine as mentioned by another review.
There are two lightly padded backpack straps, better than no padding.
Inside, there is another strap to secure the headstock, which is great.
One big pouch in the front and another smaller one at the back.
It arrived folded in half in a plastic bag and seemed somewhat squashed.
The main issue with it is the padding. The specifications say 10mm but it seems more like 8mm or less at the moment.
Either way, the padding seems which light and easily compressed, probably not going to absorb much of a impact.
Well, it is a basic case @ $23.
If you intend to carry the guitar around often, I recommend you get a better bag (with better padding) for a bit more money.
If you intend to use it to store the guitar at home, it is adequate. | 1 | neutral | [
"The bag seems to be well made, no bad stitching in mine as mentioned by another review.",
"There are two lightly padded backpack straps, better than no padding.",
"Inside, there is another strap to secure the headstock, which is great.",
"One big pouch in the front and another smaller one at the back.",
"It arrived folded in half in a plastic bag and seemed somewhat squashed.",
"The main issue with it is the padding.",
"The specifications say 10mm but it seems more like 8mm or less at the moment.",
"Either way, the padding seems which light and easily compressed, probably not going to absorb much of a impact.",
"Well, it is a basic case @ $23.",
"If you intend to carry the guitar around often, I recommend you get a better bag (with better padding) for a bit more money.",
"If you intend to use it to store the guitar at home, it is adequate."
] |
Update 2: the new unit developed a problem with the diverter valve within 5 months and would cut pressure to the tap even when the filter was off. Pur asked me to send the defective unit for a replacement with no questions asked about purchase date, I docked one more star to the rating because I love the effectiveness of the filter but the build quality and/or engineering seems lacking, and I feel like I will have to replace these every 2-3 years on average.
Update 1:
Docked 1 star because our 3 year old filter just died, the barrel shaped plastic housing holding the filter cracked rendering the whole thing useless, also the chrome paint was peeling off around the tap adaptor. By today's standards 3 years is not bad, but the choice of plastic should be better. Pur should strive for a decade of use considering they probably make their money mostly on the cartridges. Still I'm going to buy another because I like this product, even though I am not very happy now that I know that I might have to replace it roughly every 3 years.
***Original review***
Love this thing, We have been using this for over 3 years, just now the collar broke and a google search quickly told me that pur will send a free metal collar, which I just did did with no hassles. Great customer service, just put in my address a few clicks and done!!!. The only downside is that now I have to drink bad tasting water for a few days, learn from my experience and order the replacement now, as you won't be able to live without this after you use it. | 1 | neutral | [
"Update 2: the new unit developed a problem with the diverter valve within 5 months and would cut pressure to the tap even when the filter was off.",
"Pur asked me to send the defective unit for a replacement with no questions asked about purchase date, I docked one more star to the rating because I love the effectiveness of the filter but the build quality and/or engineering seems lacking, and I feel like I will have to replace these every 2-3 years on average.",
"Update 1:\nDocked 1 star because our 3 year old filter just died, the barrel shaped plastic housing holding the filter cracked rendering the whole thing useless, also the chrome paint was peeling off around the tap adaptor.",
"By today's standards 3 years is not bad, but the choice of plastic should be better.",
"Pur should strive for a decade of use considering they probably make their money mostly on the cartridges.",
"Still I'm going to buy another because I like this product, even though I am not very happy now that I know that I might have to replace it roughly every 3 years.",
"***Original review***\nLove this thing, We have been using this for over 3 years, just now the collar broke and a google search quickly told me that pur will send a free metal collar, which I just did did with no hassles.",
"Great customer service, just put in my address a few clicks and done!!!",
".",
"The only downside is that now I have to drink bad tasting water for a few days, learn from my experience and order the replacement now, as you won't be able to live without this after you use it."
] |
This is my first time trying Elixir strings. Im a huge Martin Life Span strings. These strings did compare to their martin counter parts. But had several advantages and disadvantages that I noticed. A major advantage that I loved about these strings was the smoothness. The strings are slick, and when sliding up and down the frets is almost perfectly silent. Another advantage was the packing, individual packaging per string was nice.
Something I dislike about these strings is that they sound great when played individually and picking. But when strumming the quality of their sound greatly diminishes.
So My final conclusion and the reason for my score is very personal. I love chords and strumming more so than picking, and i find that Martin strings have better tone with strumming than these strings. If I was a huge picker I would stay with these strings. All in all still a good set of strings.
Note: I only have 10 hours of play time on these strings. If they warm up to the guitar I will change my review. | 1 | neutral | [
"This is my first time trying Elixir strings.",
"Im a huge Martin Life Span strings.",
"These strings did compare to their martin counter parts.",
"But had several advantages and disadvantages that I noticed.",
"A major advantage that I loved about these strings was the smoothness.",
"The strings are slick, and when sliding up and down the frets is almost perfectly silent.",
"Another advantage was the packing, individual packaging per string was nice.",
"Something I dislike about these strings is that they sound great when played individually and picking.",
"But when strumming the quality of their sound greatly diminishes.",
"So My final conclusion and the reason for my score is very personal.",
"I love chords and strumming more so than picking, and i find that Martin strings have better tone with strumming than these strings.",
"If I was a huge picker I would stay with these strings.",
"All in all still a good set of strings.",
"Note: I only have 10 hours of play time on these strings.",
"If they warm up to the guitar I will change my review."
] |
Simcity 3000 is a good simulation. The graphics are outstanding, the music is ok, it is fun to look down and see vehicles driving on the streets and the people walking around. Even the sound effects match with the specific area of the city you are looking at. For example, high-crime residential areas feature sporadic gunfire, rapid footsteps and the clanging of a chain-link fence. the bustling commercial areas feature heavy traffic noises and sirens, and industrial areas have heavy truck and machinery noises. You control the layout of the streets and the zoning. Then the city develops itself, according to land values and access to transportation.
The not-so-good: When areas become blighted and buildings are abandoned, the buildings become black boarded-up boxes that no longer resemble the original building style-- for example, a twelve story apartment building, when abandoned, becomes a three-story black box with boarded-up windows. You cannot have suspension bridges cross above highways or city streets. ALL the streets intersect (no way to build overpasses, except highways crossing streets) There is no way to build elevated rail lines-- the railroad must cross every street at an intersection. Also, you are mostly restricted to a north-south street grid system
Overall, this is a great game. I just felt like pointing out some flaws that might annoy some people. | 1 | neutral | [
"Simcity 3000 is a good simulation.",
"The graphics are outstanding, the music is ok, it is fun to look down and see vehicles driving on the streets and the people walking around.",
"Even the sound effects match with the specific area of the city you are looking at.",
"For example, high-crime residential areas feature sporadic gunfire, rapid footsteps and the clanging of a chain-link fence.",
"the bustling commercial areas feature heavy traffic noises and sirens, and industrial areas have heavy truck and machinery noises.",
"You control the layout of the streets and the zoning.",
"Then the city develops itself, according to land values and access to transportation.",
"The not-so-good: When areas become blighted and buildings are abandoned, the buildings become black boarded-up boxes that no longer resemble the original building style-- for example, a twelve story apartment building, when abandoned, becomes a three-story black box with boarded-up windows.",
"You cannot have suspension bridges cross above highways or city streets.",
"ALL the streets intersect (no way to build overpasses, except highways crossing streets) There is no way to build elevated rail lines-- the railroad must cross every street at an intersection.",
"Also, you are mostly restricted to a north-south street grid system\nOverall, this is a great game.",
"I just felt like pointing out some flaws that might annoy some people."
] |
I put these on my wifes minivan where space was limited. They never threw a great light pattern, fog and driving lights being pretty similiar with the clear lenses & focusing either is next to impossible. I paid 40 dollars for my set and they've lasted 2 years now but I just noticed one of the lenses took a road debris hit and cracked.
I would buy them again but not for 50 dollars. I also will look around first.
For tight spaces they are good enough and look kinda cool. Dont expect hella quality from them though.
UPDATE 2/20/10. Both lights have cracks, one bulb died within weeks (replaced fairly easily) so they are still working. I have replacement units (different lights) but won't swap them until these finally die. I still wish Hella did a better Quality Control job on these. These are an average value in my book, not great. | 1 | neutral | [
"I put these on my wifes minivan where space was limited.",
"They never threw a great light pattern, fog and driving lights being pretty similiar with the clear lenses & focusing either is next to impossible.",
"I paid 40 dollars for my set and they've lasted 2 years now but I just noticed one of the lenses took a road debris hit and cracked.",
"I would buy them again but not for 50 dollars.",
"I also will look around first.",
"For tight spaces they are good enough and look kinda cool.",
"Dont expect hella quality from them though.",
"UPDATE 2/20/10.",
"Both lights have cracks, one bulb died within weeks (replaced fairly easily) so they are still working.",
"I have replacement units (different lights) but won't swap them until these finally die.",
"I still wish Hella did a better Quality Control job on these.",
"These are an average value in my book, not great."
] |
I'm a HUGE fan of the Contra series since the first arcade game appeared back in the mid 80's. I was really excited about this title and so I bought it. I'm both content and dissappointed with it. Why I'm content:
The game keeps the side-scrolling style of original Contra games; The action is fast paced; the game is challenging (kinda like the Hard mode on Contra 3 for SNES); The control is crisp and layed out well, not perfect; the graphics are great, but not perfect.
Why I'm dissappointed:
Where are the M 80k Helio bombs? Where are the flying ammunitions you can shoot down? And Why can't I recieve anything more then the 3 guns I'm givin' at the beginning (only 1 of them is really useful)? I said I liked the control, I do, but a lot of the times it's too confusing because every button is used. The graphics are a great mix of 2D and 3D but they could have done a lot more with the backgrounds. The music, although its cool heavy metal, it could have been something more original and more fitting to the game itself.
Even though this game is fun, it's not up to par with the original Nintendo contras. What we need is Konami to put some REAL effort and time into a new contra game. This one unfortunately falls into a rental, and now with a lot of stores renting out for a week, that'll probably give you enough time to beat it. | 1 | neutral | [
"I'm a HUGE fan of the Contra series since the first arcade game appeared back in the mid 80's.",
"I was really excited about this title and so I bought it.",
"I'm both content and dissappointed with it.",
"Why I'm content:\nThe game keeps the side-scrolling style of original Contra games; The action is fast paced; the game is challenging (kinda like the Hard mode on Contra 3 for SNES); The control is crisp and layed out well, not perfect; the graphics are great, but not perfect.",
"Why I'm dissappointed:\nWhere are the M 80k Helio bombs?",
"Where are the flying ammunitions you can shoot down?",
"And Why can't I recieve anything more then the 3 guns I'm givin' at the beginning (only 1 of them is really useful)?",
"I said I liked the control, I do, but a lot of the times it's too confusing because every button is used.",
"The graphics are a great mix of 2D and 3D but they could have done a lot more with the backgrounds.",
"The music, although its cool heavy metal, it could have been something more original and more fitting to the game itself.",
"Even though this game is fun, it's not up to par with the original Nintendo contras.",
"What we need is Konami to put some REAL effort and time into a new contra game.",
"This one unfortunately falls into a rental, and now with a lot of stores renting out for a week, that'll probably give you enough time to beat it."
] |
A tale of two rain barrels. The product itself is well designed and has some nice features. The flat back, removable lid, overflow mechanism and linking capabilities are all very useful. Unfortunately, after the barrel designer finished his/her job, the person in charge of hoses and hardware screwed it up. The clamps are too small and very cheap....... you will need to purchase proper clamps from a hardware store. The drain hose is cheap and too small. In my opinion, the drain hose should attach to the barrel with a real fitting instead of clamps. The plastic tubes used for overflow and linking barrels are flimsy. The plastic clip used to hold the hose upright on the barrel falls off constantly. | 1 | neutral | [
"A tale of two rain barrels.",
"The product itself is well designed and has some nice features.",
"The flat back, removable lid, overflow mechanism and linking capabilities are all very useful.",
"Unfortunately, after the barrel designer finished his/her job, the person in charge of hoses and hardware screwed it up.",
"The clamps are too small and very cheap....",
"...",
"you will need to purchase proper clamps from a hardware store.",
"The drain hose is cheap and too small.",
"In my opinion, the drain hose should attach to the barrel with a real fitting instead of clamps.",
"The plastic tubes used for overflow and linking barrels are flimsy.",
"The plastic clip used to hold the hose upright on the barrel falls off constantly."
] |
This is more a review of the whole "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. Started with a bang. Loved "A Game of Thrones" when I read it as a preview of the upcoming HBO series. Liked "A Clash of Kings" and "A Storm of Swords." And, I was looking forward to "A Feast for Crows." First, I can imagine how readers waiting for the next volume of the series felt; the ending of "A Feast for Crows" was akin to being put into suspended animation for the past five years. But, that's not my real problem. During "A Feast for Crows," I just got bored. It's sometimes like a medieval fantasy "Perils of Pauline" for the major characters; and a lot of clutter with the many new minor characters in each succeeding book. Still looking forward to the HBO series (love watching Sean Bean act); but, if it ever comes out, I might take a pass on Martin's next book. | 1 | neutral | [
"This is more a review of the whole \"A Song of Ice and Fire\" series.",
"Started with a bang.",
"Loved \"A Game of Thrones\" when I read it as a preview of the upcoming HBO series.",
"Liked \"A Clash of Kings\" and \"A Storm of Swords.",
"\" And, I was looking forward to \"A Feast for Crows.",
"\" First, I can imagine how readers waiting for the next volume of the series felt; the ending of \"A Feast for Crows\" was akin to being put into suspended animation for the past five years.",
"But, that's not my real problem.",
"During \"A Feast for Crows,\" I just got bored.",
"It's sometimes like a medieval fantasy \"Perils of Pauline\" for the major characters; and a lot of clutter with the many new minor characters in each succeeding book.",
"Still looking forward to the HBO series (love watching Sean Bean act); but, if it ever comes out, I might take a pass on Martin's next book."
] |
This is supposed to be a "premium version of HM3700." Both units I own, and I'd like to compare.
- Quality Feeling: HM6450 > HM3700, Both feel much better in the hand and on the ear than Plantronics
- Sound Quality Mono: 6450 > 3700, Just barely, the bass and audio definately feels fuller on the 6450 compared to the 3700
- Sound Quality Stereo: 6450 > 3700, Just barely better on the 6450, but this may be a placebo effect. The earbuds that come with the 6450 and the 3700 are the same
- Comfort: 6450 = 3700, Both are very comfortable to wear more than an hour at a time
- Battery Life: 6450 = 3700, Both get about 4 and a half hours, despite saying 6 on the box. Talk time is also Music time.
- Accessories: 6450 = 3700, Both come with exact accessories, including ear-buds, clips, and adapters.
- Range: 3700 > 6450, Range on the 3700 is about 40-45ft, actual range on 6450 is 25-30ft, 25 or less the usual average.
- Connection Stability: 3700 > 6450, When you're in range, the 3700 is near-perfect; the 6450 on the other hand is CONSTANTLY cutting in and out, even if the phone is 2 ft away sitting on a shelf.
- Mobile app: 6450 = 3700, While the 6450 has a mobile app to add more functions, the app is so outdated and so incompatible that it likely won't ever install on your device and actually won't. I could not test this, and my guess is anyone with a phone older than 3 years would also be unable to test this.
- Cool Factor: 6450 > 3700, The 6450 has a tiny LCD screen that shows battery, and the profile of the headset looks cool and sophisticated. However the 3700 is much more low-profile. It doesn't stand out as much and is 1cm shorter.
- Final notes: I really liked what the 6450 did well, but its not perfect. Compared to other Bluetooth headsets at $30 or less, its a great choice. When in Stereo Mode, the 6450 is well above other stereo-only headsets of the same price. My only complaints are that the battery isn't closer to the advertised 6 hours, and the most unforgivable thing thats making me consider taking it back is the lack of a solid connection between phone and sink while playing music. Cutting out while playing music and nearly every track breaks the experience. This came at a time when it was 2-3x the price and the HM3700 was considered the low-end model. The HM3700 unfortunately is discontinued, and if you can still fond one new for under $40, I highly recommend it over the 6450, just because the connection is so much more stable, even if the 6450 has superior sound quality. If you compare it to the 3700, its not the whole package, but still strikes closer to perfection than similar headsets that sell from $20-$30 like Plantronics.
I've owned: Plantronics M55, Motorolla HK250, Motorolla Elite Flip, Samsung HM3700, and Samsung HM6450. A rank of favorite to least, so maybe you should consider looking at their pages/descriptions:
1 - Motorolla HK250 - Great battery life (7 hours), range, and stability, low profile, lack-luster audio quality.
2 - Samsung HM3700 - Great stability, great audio quality, lacks the maximum range and battery of HK250.
3 - HM6450 (This Headset) - Its okay
4 - Motorola Elite Flip - Meh, Do not Buy
5 - Plantronics M55 - Do not Buy, worst performer and highly uncomfortable. | 1 | neutral | [
"This is supposed to be a \"premium version of HM3700.",
"\" Both units I own, and I'd like to compare.",
"- Quality Feeling: HM6450 > HM3700, Both feel much better in the hand and on the ear than Plantronics\n- Sound Quality Mono: 6450 > 3700, Just barely, the bass and audio definately feels fuller on the 6450 compared to the 3700\n- Sound Quality Stereo: 6450 > 3700, Just barely better on the 6450, but this may be a placebo effect.",
"The earbuds that come with the 6450 and the 3700 are the same\n- Comfort: 6450 = 3700, Both are very comfortable to wear more than an hour at a time\n- Battery Life: 6450 = 3700, Both get about 4 and a half hours, despite saying 6 on the box.",
"Talk time is also Music time.",
"- Accessories: 6450 = 3700, Both come with exact accessories, including ear-buds, clips, and adapters.",
"- Range: 3700 > 6450, Range on the 3700 is about 40-45ft, actual range on 6450 is 25-30ft, 25 or less the usual average.",
"- Connection Stability: 3700 > 6450, When you're in range, the 3700 is near-perfect; the 6450 on the other hand is CONSTANTLY cutting in and out, even if the phone is 2 ft away sitting on a shelf.",
"- Mobile app: 6450 = 3700, While the 6450 has a mobile app to add more functions, the app is so outdated and so incompatible that it likely won't ever install on your device and actually won't.",
"I could not test this, and my guess is anyone with a phone older than 3 years would also be unable to test this.",
"- Cool Factor: 6450 > 3700, The 6450 has a tiny LCD screen that shows battery, and the profile of the headset looks cool and sophisticated.",
"However the 3700 is much more low-profile.",
"It doesn't stand out as much and is 1cm shorter.",
"- Final notes: I really liked what the 6450 did well, but its not perfect.",
"Compared to other Bluetooth headsets at $30 or less, its a great choice.",
"When in Stereo Mode, the 6450 is well above other stereo-only headsets of the same price.",
"My only complaints are that the battery isn't closer to the advertised 6 hours, and the most unforgivable thing thats making me consider taking it back is the lack of a solid connection between phone and sink while playing music.",
"Cutting out while playing music and nearly every track breaks the experience.",
"This came at a time when it was 2-3x the price and the HM3700 was considered the low-end model.",
"The HM3700 unfortunately is discontinued, and if you can still fond one new for under $40, I highly recommend it over the 6450, just because the connection is so much more stable, even if the 6450 has superior sound quality.",
"If you compare it to the 3700, its not the whole package, but still strikes closer to perfection than similar headsets that sell from $20-$30 like Plantronics.",
"I've owned: Plantronics M55, Motorolla HK250, Motorolla Elite Flip, Samsung HM3700, and Samsung HM6450.",
"A rank of favorite to least, so maybe you should consider looking at their pages/descriptions:\n\n1 - Motorolla HK250 - Great battery life (7 hours), range, and stability, low profile, lack-luster audio quality.",
"2 - Samsung HM3700 - Great stability, great audio quality, lacks the maximum range and battery of HK250.",
"3 - HM6450 (This Headset) - Its okay\n4 - Motorola Elite Flip - Meh, Do not Buy\n5 - Plantronics M55 - Do not Buy, worst performer and highly uncomfortable."
] |
Hana is the bridging story between Delirium & Pandemonium. It is told not from Lena's point of view, but from her best friend, Hana. The story takes place in the summer before the girls get the cure.
I was really looking forward to reading this short story. When I finished I was reading to throw my tablet clear across the room. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Hana was the one that told the authorities about Lena & Alex? *Pardon Me*... The little bitch.
I actually hated Hana in this story, which is funny because before I read this I was excited that Hana and Lena's path cross in Requiem now I don't care if Lena ever sees her again. I felt so sad for Lena in this story. From Lena's perspective in Delirium she was excited that Hana was with her and Alex but it seems that Hana didn't care at all, she was jealous.
I have a totally different perspective of Hana now. I didn't love this story so that's why I just gave it a three-middle of the grain type of read. | 1 | neutral | [
"Hana is the bridging story between Delirium & Pandemonium.",
"It is told not from Lena's point of view, but from her best friend, Hana.",
"The story takes place in the summer before the girls get the cure.",
"I was really looking forward to reading this short story.",
"When I finished I was reading to throw my tablet clear across the room.",
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME???",
"Hana was the one that told the authorities about Lena & Alex?",
"*Pardon Me*...",
"The little bitch.",
"I actually hated Hana in this story, which is funny because before I read this I was excited that Hana and Lena's path cross in Requiem now I don't care if Lena ever sees her again.",
"I felt so sad for Lena in this story.",
"From Lena's perspective in Delirium she was excited that Hana was with her and Alex but it seems that Hana didn't care at all, she was jealous.",
"I have a totally different perspective of Hana now.",
"I didn't love this story so that's why I just gave it a three-middle of the grain type of read."
] |
I wanted to give this 2 stars when I first opened it and saw how little I received for a price list of $24! I was unimpressed. But, after applying it (despite the scent I didn't care for), I was ready to give it a chance, since it did seem to "set" my makeup.
Maybe it's not this product? But, I don't see the "tint" they are talking about. I sprayed some on my inner arm and looked with a bright light and I just don't see it - looks clear to me. Which is not a problem for me as I'd not want a tint over my makeup. It did irritate my skin a little where I applied it on my inner arm, though it didn't on my face so ? Mystery to me.
I suppose I just don't "get" these types of beauty products because I'm not a "girly girl" who spends a lot of money on certain cosmetic type products for which I can't tell whether they are doing me any good or not, and charging too much to do it. While I'll spend extra on serums and face creams and maybe my foundation, these type of products are puzzling to me.
This is my second Bliss product to try. The first was an "oxygen mist" for which the scent was wonderful and it felt great spritz on my face, but it was $38 a bottle! Way too much for my budget. That's how I feel about this Bliss product. $24 for a small can (see photo - it is a tiny can) of product is too much for my budget for something I'll likely not use enough to warrant the cost.
I tested this setting spray by first applying my makeup, spraying the Bliss, waiting a second (it dried very fast!), and then dabbing with a tissue to see how much makeup came off. Not much! I swiped a little harder and a little more came off but not much. I was impressed. I then went for a hike (this is summer as I write this) and climbed up the mountain so I'd break a sweat. I then dabbed my face again and was impressed that not much came off on the tissue. I was considering giving it 4 stars despite the ridiculous price.
Though, I will say here that I didn't care for the scent - a kind of alcohol smell that followed me around for a while. It does dissipate and for that I'm glad. It reminded me of those old hair sprays -not pleasant. (However, their Bliss oxygen mist, alternatively, smelled so good and fresh! They should use the same scent for this product!).
Then once home, I washed off the spray and makeup (washes off easily by the way) and applied the same amount of makeup, but this time I did not spray the Bliss setting spray. I let my makeup "set" and then I did the tissue test. About the same amount of makeup came off. I then spritzed my face to moisten it, to mimic sweat, and there wasn't that much difference in the tissues of spray vs not spray. I conclude that the setting spray works a little bit, but not in the way here I am completely sure about it.
Perhaps the proof is in whether the makeup stays on longer throughout your day or evening. Since I work from home, I don't wear makeup all day. I suppose it could have its merits for long travel or a long night - and I'll try it out when I travel. I'm also going to let my friends who live in a very humid climate try it out and see what they think. If they report back they love it, I'll update my review.
So with the testing of "with spray" and "without spray" there was a little bit of difference but not enough for me to be excited about at this price. Just as with the Bliss oxygen mist spray, if they'd lower the price, I'd be interested in purchasing it. But at $24 for this tiny can, I think I'd find a less expensive alternative if I felt the need for a setting spray.
If you live in a humid climate - I'm in the mountains and do not - and if you don't mind spending a little more on products that probably have some good ingredients in them, you may benefit from this product. | 1 | neutral | [
"I wanted to give this 2 stars when I first opened it and saw how little I received for a price list of $24!",
"I was unimpressed.",
"But, after applying it (despite the scent I didn't care for), I was ready to give it a chance, since it did seem to \"set\" my makeup.",
"Maybe it's not this product?",
"But, I don't see the \"tint\" they are talking about.",
"I sprayed some on my inner arm and looked with a bright light and I just don't see it - looks clear to me.",
"Which is not a problem for me as I'd not want a tint over my makeup.",
"It did irritate my skin a little where I applied it on my inner arm, though it didn't on my face so?",
"Mystery to me.",
"I suppose I just don't \"get\" these types of beauty products because I'm not a \"girly girl\" who spends a lot of money on certain cosmetic type products for which I can't tell whether they are doing me any good or not, and charging too much to do it.",
"While I'll spend extra on serums and face creams and maybe my foundation, these type of products are puzzling to me.",
"This is my second Bliss product to try.",
"The first was an \"oxygen mist\" for which the scent was wonderful and it felt great spritz on my face, but it was $38 a bottle!",
"Way too much for my budget.",
"That's how I feel about this Bliss product.",
"$24 for a small can (see photo - it is a tiny can) of product is too much for my budget for something I'll likely not use enough to warrant the cost.",
"I tested this setting spray by first applying my makeup, spraying the Bliss, waiting a second (it dried very fast!",
"), and then dabbing with a tissue to see how much makeup came off.",
"Not much!",
"I swiped a little harder and a little more came off but not much.",
"I was impressed.",
"I then went for a hike (this is summer as I write this) and climbed up the mountain so I'd break a sweat.",
"I then dabbed my face again and was impressed that not much came off on the tissue.",
"I was considering giving it 4 stars despite the ridiculous price.",
"Though, I will say here that I didn't care for the scent - a kind of alcohol smell that followed me around for a while.",
"It does dissipate and for that I'm glad.",
"It reminded me of those old hair sprays -not pleasant.",
"(However, their Bliss oxygen mist, alternatively, smelled so good and fresh!",
"They should use the same scent for this product!",
").",
"Then once home, I washed off the spray and makeup (washes off easily by the way) and applied the same amount of makeup, but this time I did not spray the Bliss setting spray.",
"I let my makeup \"set\" and then I did the tissue test.",
"About the same amount of makeup came off.",
"I then spritzed my face to moisten it, to mimic sweat, and there wasn't that much difference in the tissues of spray vs not spray.",
"I conclude that the setting spray works a little bit, but not in the way here I am completely sure about it.",
"Perhaps the proof is in whether the makeup stays on longer throughout your day or evening.",
"Since I work from home, I don't wear makeup all day.",
"I suppose it could have its merits for long travel or a long night - and I'll try it out when I travel.",
"I'm also going to let my friends who live in a very humid climate try it out and see what they think.",
"If they report back they love it, I'll update my review.",
"So with the testing of \"with spray\" and \"without spray\" there was a little bit of difference but not enough for me to be excited about at this price.",
"Just as with the Bliss oxygen mist spray, if they'd lower the price, I'd be interested in purchasing it.",
"But at $24 for this tiny can, I think I'd find a less expensive alternative if I felt the need for a setting spray.",
"If you live in a humid climate - I'm in the mountains and do not - and if you don't mind spending a little more on products that probably have some good ingredients in them, you may benefit from this product."
] |
My case was cracked and there was no map ... NO MAP. I can deal with a cracked case, I can deal with the manual being in a PDF although I would've preferred the booklet other people got. But NO MAP, shame on you Ubisoft and shame on Amazon for showing a different version of this game on the ad. The one I got has Ubisoft on the box (Bethesda probably got them to distribute it at some point) and the one they show in the picture is the original Bethesda box which I know has a paper manual and a MAP. I found a map on Ebay for a few dollars ... but I should not of had to.
That being said, The Elder Scrolls are 5 star games ... see rating for "how much fun is this game" ... whether if its Daggerfall, Morrowind, or Oblivion (I never played Arena) The Elder Scrolls are maybe the only 5 star RPGs out there. Not since Lord British's original Ultima series (I-VI, way before EA bought out Origin Systems and made it Ultima Online) has there been such an engrossing computer RPG. If you like single player (this is NOT an MMO) and totally modable RPGs (there are still new mods coming out for Morrowind and it was '02 ... '03 for GOTY version) then you will love The Elder Scrolls whether if its Morrowind or Oblivion. | 1 | neutral | [
"My case was cracked and there was no map...",
"NO MAP.",
"I can deal with a cracked case, I can deal with the manual being in a PDF although I would've preferred the booklet other people got.",
"But NO MAP, shame on you Ubisoft and shame on Amazon for showing a different version of this game on the ad.",
"The one I got has Ubisoft on the box (Bethesda probably got them to distribute it at some point) and the one they show in the picture is the original Bethesda box which I know has a paper manual and a MAP.",
"I found a map on Ebay for a few dollars...",
"but I should not of had to.",
"That being said, The Elder Scrolls are 5 star games...",
"see rating for \"how much fun is this game\"...",
"whether if its Daggerfall, Morrowind, or Oblivion (I never played Arena) The Elder Scrolls are maybe the only 5 star RPGs out there.",
"Not since Lord British's original Ultima series (I-VI, way before EA bought out Origin Systems and made it Ultima Online) has there been such an engrossing computer RPG.",
"If you like single player (this is NOT an MMO) and totally modable RPGs (there are still new mods coming out for Morrowind and it was '02...",
"'03 for GOTY version) then you will love The Elder Scrolls whether if its Morrowind or Oblivion."
] |
Dracula A.D. 1972 is a campy instalment in the Dracula series made by Hammer Films. The gist of the movie is that Dracula gets resurrected in 1972 by a young acolyte, Johnny Alucard and seeks to destroy the remaining Van Helsings, i.e. Dr Van Helsing [Peter Cushing] and his beautiful, hippie granddaughter Jessica [Stephanie Beacham].
Though Christopher Lee reprises his role as the malevolent count, his screen time is quite limited and I felt too much screen time was wasted on portraying the debauchery and free-swinging lifestyle of 70s Hippie culture - drugs, sex and rock n roll. But, when he does appear, Lee is magnetic as the count and doesn't disappoint in his performance.
But the best performance in this movie is Peter Cushing's 20th century Van Helsing - he is assured, intelligent and above-all single-minded in his determination to save his granddaughter Jessica from the vampire's clutches. Stephanie Beacham is luscious to look at and feisty in her portrayal as the strong-willed Jessica.
The rest of the actors were ho-hum - a bit overdone in some instances [the guy who played Johnny Alucard for example].
All in all, this isn't a great Dracula movie, but it isn't the worst either. | 1 | neutral | [
"Dracula A.",
"D. 1972 is a campy instalment in the Dracula series made by Hammer Films.",
"The gist of the movie is that Dracula gets resurrected in 1972 by a young acolyte, Johnny Alucard and seeks to destroy the remaining Van Helsings, i.",
"e. Dr Van Helsing [Peter Cushing] and his beautiful, hippie granddaughter Jessica [Stephanie Beacham].",
"Though Christopher Lee reprises his role as the malevolent count, his screen time is quite limited and I felt too much screen time was wasted on portraying the debauchery and free-swinging lifestyle of 70s Hippie culture - drugs, sex and rock n roll.",
"But, when he does appear, Lee is magnetic as the count and doesn't disappoint in his performance.",
"But the best performance in this movie is Peter Cushing's 20th century Van Helsing - he is assured, intelligent and above-all single-minded in his determination to save his granddaughter Jessica from the vampire's clutches.",
"Stephanie Beacham is luscious to look at and feisty in her portrayal as the strong-willed Jessica.",
"The rest of the actors were ho-hum - a bit overdone in some instances [the guy who played Johnny Alucard for example].",
"All in all, this isn't a great Dracula movie, but it isn't the worst either."
] |
The fabric is very nice. I like the feel. It’s not scratchy. It’s easy to tie to the comforter. I also really liked the directions that came with the cover itself for easiest way to get the cover on the comforter. I have a king sized so that was really helpful for me. When I went to zip the cover up I noticed A LOT of loose seems and loose threads along the seams of the cover. Especially around the zipper. Very very disappointed by this. I’ve decided to keep it as I like all other aspects of this cover. I got mine in white and it’s true white. I just wish the quality was better. That really was a disappointment for me. I’ve reinforced the seam as best as I can by hand. I will just be sure to maybe but the next cover in person. | 1 | neutral | [
"The fabric is very nice.",
"I like the feel.",
"It’s not scratchy.",
"It’s easy to tie to the comforter.",
"I also really liked the directions that came with the cover itself for easiest way to get the cover on the comforter.",
"I have a king sized so that was really helpful for me.",
"When I went to zip the cover up I noticed A LOT of loose seems and loose threads along the seams of the cover.",
"Especially around the zipper.",
"Very very disappointed by this.",
"I’ve decided to keep it as I like all other aspects of this cover.",
"I got mine in white and it’s true white.",
"I just wish the quality was better.",
"That really was a disappointment for me.",
"I’ve reinforced the seam as best as I can by hand.",
"I will just be sure to maybe but the next cover in person."
] |
Is a guy who has killed seventeen people necessarily a bad guy? Not a question everybody is going to have to ask themselves, to be sure, but what if that guy moved in next door to you? Its a situation that just may induce an introspective moment or two. Which is exactly what happens in The Whole Nine Yards, directed by Jonathan Lynn and starring Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry. Hit-man Jimmy The Tulip Tudeski (Willis) ratted out his boss in Chicago, and now hes on the lam. He makes his way to Canada, where he buys a house next door to a hapless dentist, Nicholas Oz Oseransky (Perry), who is suffering from inherited debts and a shrew of a wife, Sophie (Rosanna Arquette), not to mention a mother-in-law from Hell (Carmen Ferland). When he realizes who his neighbor is about to be, his first instinct is to run, but Sophie has other ideas. It seems theres a price on Jimmys head; one Janni Gogolack (Kevin Pollak) would like to take his revenge on the guy whos responsible for his father going away for a long, long time. So Sophie squeezes Oz into a corner until he agrees to go to Chicago and meet with Janni to put the finger on Jimmy. Not a great idea, Oz thinks, but it at least sounds like a nice vacation, so he goes. But, of course, he should have stayed with his instincts, because he soon finds himself looking down the barrel of trouble. And the only way out, it seems, is down...
What Lynn put together here is actually a fairly light-hearted, black comedy; the nature of the story dictates that there will be violence in it, and there is, but much of it is implied rather than graphic. The pace is good, and Lynn develops the characters enough to let you know exactly who they are and what they are all about. Theres not a lot of depth, but its not necessary; the actors have each made their respective characters unique to a point that puts them beyond stereotype, and it works perfectly for this film and the story. Some of what happens is inevitable, though not necessarily predictable, and certain aspects will keep you guessing right up to the end. Typical of a comedy that leans to the dark side, nothing in this story is cut and dried.
Willis is perfect as Jimmy The Tulip, giving a rather reserved, subtle performance that puts Jimmys guarded but confident manner into perspective. Underneath it all, this guy is really rather cold-blooded (he has to be, given his choice of employment), but his relationship with Oz gives it some warmth, at least externally. Like Chow Yun-Fat in The Killer, Jimmy is likable, but when you consider at arms length who he is and what he is capable of, its a bit disconcerting. And thats one of the aspects of the film that is so interesting-- because you know who and what Jimmy is, you never really know which way things are going to turn.
Perry is excellent, as well, as Oz. Henpecked and in dire straits, he is something of an updated version of the W.C. Fields character in Its A Gift or The Bank Dick, although a bit darker. Perry is charismatic, has impeccable timing with his delivery and uses physical comedy to great effect. His reactions to Willis and the situations in which he finds himself are brilliant and hilarious, and he seems to instinctively know just how far to take it to make it work. And its the little, seemingly insignificant things he brings to the character that give the film that extra something and creates some memorable moments.
The supporting cast includes Michael Clarke Duncan (Frankie Figs), Natasha Henstridge (Cynthia), Amanda Peet (Jill St. Claire), Harland Williams (Special Agent Hanson) and Serge Christianssens (Mr. Boulez). It may not be the most original movie ever made, but The Whole Nine Yards is funny, has a great cast of actors who have taken characters youve basically seen before and made them their own, and does exactly what a film like this is supposed to do: Entertain. Its not going to make you ponder the universe or the state of the world today, but its going to give you a couple of hours of laughs and some residual chuckles. Which, when you think about it, is not such a bad deal. Its the magic of the movies. | 1 | neutral | [
"Is a guy who has killed seventeen people necessarily a bad guy?",
"Not a question everybody is going to have to ask themselves, to be sure, but what if that guy moved in next door to you?",
"Its a situation that just may induce an introspective moment or two.",
"Which is exactly what happens in The Whole Nine Yards, directed by Jonathan Lynn and starring Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry.",
"Hit-man Jimmy The Tulip Tudeski (Willis) ratted out his boss in Chicago, and now hes on the lam.",
"He makes his way to Canada, where he buys a house next door to a hapless dentist, Nicholas Oz Oseransky (Perry), who is suffering from inherited debts and a shrew of a wife, Sophie (Rosanna Arquette), not to mention a mother-in-law from Hell (Carmen Ferland).",
"When he realizes who his neighbor is about to be, his first instinct is to run, but Sophie has other ideas.",
"It seems theres a price on Jimmys head; one Janni Gogolack (Kevin Pollak) would like to take his revenge on the guy whos responsible for his father going away for a long, long time.",
"So Sophie squeezes Oz into a corner until he agrees to go to Chicago and meet with Janni to put the finger on Jimmy.",
"Not a great idea, Oz thinks, but it at least sounds like a nice vacation, so he goes.",
"But, of course, he should have stayed with his instincts, because he soon finds himself looking down the barrel of trouble.",
"And the only way out, it seems, is down...",
"What Lynn put together here is actually a fairly light-hearted, black comedy; the nature of the story dictates that there will be violence in it, and there is, but much of it is implied rather than graphic.",
"The pace is good, and Lynn develops the characters enough to let you know exactly who they are and what they are all about.",
"Theres not a lot of depth, but its not necessary; the actors have each made their respective characters unique to a point that puts them beyond stereotype, and it works perfectly for this film and the story.",
"Some of what happens is inevitable, though not necessarily predictable, and certain aspects will keep you guessing right up to the end.",
"Typical of a comedy that leans to the dark side, nothing in this story is cut and dried.",
"Willis is perfect as Jimmy The Tulip, giving a rather reserved, subtle performance that puts Jimmys guarded but confident manner into perspective.",
"Underneath it all, this guy is really rather cold-blooded (he has to be, given his choice of employment), but his relationship with Oz gives it some warmth, at least externally.",
"Like Chow Yun-Fat in The Killer, Jimmy is likable, but when you consider at arms length who he is and what he is capable of, its a bit disconcerting.",
"And thats one of the aspects of the film that is so interesting-- because you know who and what Jimmy is, you never really know which way things are going to turn.",
"Perry is excellent, as well, as Oz.",
"Henpecked and in dire straits, he is something of an updated version of the W.",
"C. Fields character in Its A Gift or The Bank Dick, although a bit darker.",
"Perry is charismatic, has impeccable timing with his delivery and uses physical comedy to great effect.",
"His reactions to Willis and the situations in which he finds himself are brilliant and hilarious, and he seems to instinctively know just how far to take it to make it work.",
"And its the little, seemingly insignificant things he brings to the character that give the film that extra something and creates some memorable moments.",
"The supporting cast includes Michael Clarke Duncan (Frankie Figs), Natasha Henstridge (Cynthia), Amanda Peet (Jill St.",
"Claire), Harland Williams (Special Agent Hanson) and Serge Christianssens (Mr.",
"Boulez).",
"It may not be the most original movie ever made, but The Whole Nine Yards is funny, has a great cast of actors who have taken characters youve basically seen before and made them their own, and does exactly what a film like this is supposed to do: Entertain.",
"Its not going to make you ponder the universe or the state of the world today, but its going to give you a couple of hours of laughs and some residual chuckles.",
"Which, when you think about it, is not such a bad deal.",
"Its the magic of the movies."
] |
Dark messiah elements is a pc port that's on the 360. This doesn't sound reassuring and it will disappoint those who were expecting a ES:oblivion PC treatment equivalent coming to the xbox. Instead what you have here is a linear action adventure. It plays no different then a FPS with levels minus the guns.
The roleplaying elements have been stripped down to nothing more then predetermined classes you choose at the start of the game. The leveling up is linear with no way of choosing what skills and spells to learn.
Gameplay is fun for the most part but its far to easy and the only difficulty comes from being outnumbered and dealing with the very sticky targeting.
The story is not interesting and I tried getting into it but none of the characters have enough back stories that you'll care for them. There is no character development throughout the game everything just happens and you'll shrug and move on.
The enemies are varied orc's,cyclops and goblins making the bunch. But there are other human enemies that will stand in your way as well.
The AI is competent for the most part but they show their flaws when using the stealth class. Stealth is easy in this game when choosing the assassin class.
Graphics are alright and the game has some nice physics, especially when kicking enemies off ledges which is surprsingly never gets old.
Dark Messiah is an OK game, its not going to wow you in anyway. And you'll feel like your playing an unfinished game. The game has odd glitches so its best to make multiple save files just in case. Overall I'd say pass on this game. If your still interested its only worth a rent. | 1 | neutral | [
"Dark messiah elements is a pc port that's on the 360.",
"This doesn't sound reassuring and it will disappoint those who were expecting a ES:oblivion PC treatment equivalent coming to the xbox.",
"Instead what you have here is a linear action adventure.",
"It plays no different then a FPS with levels minus the guns.",
"The roleplaying elements have been stripped down to nothing more then predetermined classes you choose at the start of the game.",
"The leveling up is linear with no way of choosing what skills and spells to learn.",
"Gameplay is fun for the most part but its far to easy and the only difficulty comes from being outnumbered and dealing with the very sticky targeting.",
"The story is not interesting and I tried getting into it but none of the characters have enough back stories that you'll care for them.",
"There is no character development throughout the game everything just happens and you'll shrug and move on.",
"The enemies are varied orc's,cyclops and goblins making the bunch.",
"But there are other human enemies that will stand in your way as well.",
"The AI is competent for the most part but they show their flaws when using the stealth class.",
"Stealth is easy in this game when choosing the assassin class.",
"Graphics are alright and the game has some nice physics, especially when kicking enemies off ledges which is surprsingly never gets old.",
"Dark Messiah is an OK game, its not going to wow you in anyway.",
"And you'll feel like your playing an unfinished game.",
"The game has odd glitches so its best to make multiple save files just in case.",
"Overall I'd say pass on this game.",
"If your still interested its only worth a rent."
] |
EM writes very well, and he had a good subject. However, he seemed to have decided that the personality qualities he saw in an older Ronald Reagan needed to be sown throughout the man's life, always quick to link some thought or action of the past to the future. It was interesting but seemed to reach at trying to prove the author's point.
There were many vague references to people and phrases from movie scripts and literature, both in English and other languages, that was sometimes annoying because not all were easily understood.
The invention of the fictional character is a complete flop and most annoying. Res ipsa loquitor. (How do like that Mr. Morris?)
As many others have pointed out, EM's mixing the past, present and future tends to ruin the mood of the moment.
The one thing I can't explain is why a work with so many flaws was able to hold my attention. I think EM needs to take another shot at this. | 1 | neutral | [
"EM writes very well, and he had a good subject.",
"However, he seemed to have decided that the personality qualities he saw in an older Ronald Reagan needed to be sown throughout the man's life, always quick to link some thought or action of the past to the future.",
"It was interesting but seemed to reach at trying to prove the author's point.",
"There were many vague references to people and phrases from movie scripts and literature, both in English and other languages, that was sometimes annoying because not all were easily understood.",
"The invention of the fictional character is a complete flop and most annoying.",
"Res ipsa loquitor.",
"(How do like that Mr.",
"Morris?",
")\n As many others have pointed out, EM's mixing the past, present and future tends to ruin the mood of the moment.",
"The one thing I can't explain is why a work with so many flaws was able to hold my attention.",
"I think EM needs to take another shot at this."
] |
Objective: Bought 3 36" overhead shelves to create additional garage storage for luggage, camping, and christmas decorations. If system worked well, expand to create an L shape above the garage door to provide even more storage.
When designning the layout and area where you want to install this, know where the ceiling beams (studs) are. Don't assume all the beams are the same length. While the beams are 2ft apart, some extended from the wall in different length, some were horizontal and some were vertical. In my case, the beams at the corner of the ceiling "fanned" out in a square". Moving further from the wall they were horizontal and went across the entire ceiling. The direction of the beam (north south vs east west) will dictate the direction of the shelving.
Bottom line is make sure the beams accomodate the design layout you are trying to achieve. And lastly, due to not knowing this earlier on, the installation took much longer than anticipated. As I had to relocate them to a different part of the garage ceiling. Tip: Drill in the (2) ceiling bolts ONLY when you have all the hangers as you like them and test fit the shelves and clearance. This was one thing I did correctly, otherwise it would have been a nightmare to relocate to a different spot. I also used screws rather than the provided nails to "loose" fit the hangers. It was much easier to install and in my case uninstall.
By the way, I got the 36" system and with 24" beams you think multiple shelves would fit next to each other in a continuos piece. they do not, there is about a 4"-6" gap. So I may have considered the 45" system if I had known that ahead of time.
As for the product it is OK. It is your standard shelving. The hangers are a little wabbly but will hold. | 1 | neutral | [
"Objective: Bought 3 36\" overhead shelves to create additional garage storage for luggage, camping, and christmas decorations.",
"If system worked well, expand to create an L shape above the garage door to provide even more storage.",
"When designning the layout and area where you want to install this, know where the ceiling beams (studs) are.",
"Don't assume all the beams are the same length.",
"While the beams are 2ft apart, some extended from the wall in different length, some were horizontal and some were vertical.",
"In my case, the beams at the corner of the ceiling \"fanned\" out in a square\".",
"Moving further from the wall they were horizontal and went across the entire ceiling.",
"The direction of the beam (north south vs east west) will dictate the direction of the shelving.",
"Bottom line is make sure the beams accomodate the design layout you are trying to achieve.",
"And lastly, due to not knowing this earlier on, the installation took much longer than anticipated.",
"As I had to relocate them to a different part of the garage ceiling.",
"Tip: Drill in the (2) ceiling bolts ONLY when you have all the hangers as you like them and test fit the shelves and clearance.",
"This was one thing I did correctly, otherwise it would have been a nightmare to relocate to a different spot.",
"I also used screws rather than the provided nails to \"loose\" fit the hangers.",
"It was much easier to install and in my case uninstall.",
"By the way, I got the 36\" system and with 24\" beams you think multiple shelves would fit next to each other in a continuos piece.",
"they do not, there is about a 4\"-6\" gap.",
"So I may have considered the 45\" system if I had known that ahead of time.",
"As for the product it is OK.",
"It is your standard shelving.",
"The hangers are a little wabbly but will hold."
] |
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