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Monday, 8 March 2010

Small Magnetic Dry Erase Board

I'm a high school soccer coach and purchased this board for half-time chalk talks. To be honest, I bought it because it was cheap. But, you get what you pay for...

It's incredibly difficult to erase, particularly if you're animated in your drawings (which some games can create.) Also, the outlines on the board began to chip and fade within weeks. It looks like I've had it for years after less than a season's worth of use.

All in all, if you just need it for quick and easy diagrams then it's a good buy. Otherwise, spend a little more and get one with durability. Baden Dry Erase Soccer Game Board with Clipboard and Pen'

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Buzz Lightyear - toy story, buzz

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This is a fun set. It has some interesting pieces but isn't hard to build. While it's a little on the small side, it isn't exactly tiny. (If you're familiar with Legos, you can get a good idea of its size by looking closely at the photo on the box.) And the spaceship has a few moving parts, which add to the play value.

I agree with the other reviewer that Buzz's helmet doesn't stay on very well. In addition, the fact that it's clear means it's very likely to get lost, so be careful with it. Also note that Zurg's cape is made of paper, and that you have to give it a little twist to get it on properly. If a young child is building this set, it's a good idea for a grownup to help with Zurg.

Incidentally, what's not to love about an Evil Emperor Zurg minifigure? It's a classic! And I believe this set is the only way to get him. LEGO Toy Story Buzz's Star Command Ship (7593)

I am a recent convert to Toy Story....i know, i am behind the times here. i loved every minute of 1 and 2 and was sad to see 3 end...but anyway.

i bought his on a whim because it was the only model with a Zurg in it and wanted one in my vst lego collection. here's the problem....the Zurg is a pain to put together. other then that...i think this ranks up there with the best f the sets. i had no problem putting it together or keeping it together. but then i don't have a five year old throwing it around. i then would expect to have to rebuild it.

i wish i was younger. legos no a days are so much cooler then when i was a kid. i had to have my own imagination to build rockets and they didn't turn out this cool

We have a lot of Legos in our house...about 7 years worth and growing. So believe me when I tell you that this kit is very poorly designed. It falls apart as you're trying to build it and once it's together, it falls apart as soon as your child starts to play with it. I've found that other Toy Story 3 Legos fall apart too. Maybe Lego is just getting sloppy in its designs.

We got this for our 4.5 year old son after he thoroughly enjoyed building and playing with the toy story RC car. For the most part he put this together himself. He needed a little help putting on the back part that opens and closes. He was also at first a little frustrated when opening and closing this part because it kept breaking off. However after I showed him how it works (move each piece to the side and not up) he now can do it just fine. This shuttle is really neat with multiple places that open up. Zurg is cool looking and it's neat that the little car fits right into the back of the shuttle.

Our son likes taking apart and rebuilding legos more than playing with them...

Buzzs helmet comes off too easily, but otherwise this set is a lot of fun.

This is a great toy for any child who loves Toy Story.

The main downside is that it falls apart easily. If they handle the ship at all, plan on them having to repair it quite often. I'm not talking about throwing the thing here--just simply opening the canopy is enough to snap something off.

Again, love the look and theme of the ship, but would have liked to have a more solid construction.

My five year old son just started building Lego sets by himself.

He's built several sets in the Creator series, and has very much enjoyed building and playing with the models. The Creator models are great, and he is so proud of his accomplishments.

This set, however, has brought nothing but tears and frustration. He was able to build the model himself, but it falls apart very easily and is difficult to repair without having more pieces fall off. It's a cool looking model, but too hard to keep together. It is not robust enough for play and is a real nightmare to repair, even for me.

I recommend getting a model from the Creator series instead. They are everything you want from a Lego set, and have the added bonus of coming with instructions for three different models to build with the same set of pieces.

This is pretty cool Lego toy if your child is into Toy Story. However, we build a lot of Legos in our house and I must warn parents.

This model will cause a lot of frustrations because the model is poorly designed. It constantly falls apart with very light play.

You or your child will be building and rebuilding this model countless times.

They just don't make Legos like they used to.

Cool model, poorly designed. - Buzz Lightyear - Blueproton - Toy Story - Buzz'

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Harry Potter Movie - hermoine, emma watson

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This was really good to see. It highlighted some of the scenes from the first 5 Harry Potter films. It gave a little depth into Harry's plight and allowed us to see Hermoine, Ron and him as they grew over their years at Hogwarts. I think anybody who hasn't been a Harry Potter fan will see this and be intrigued to want to watch the movies. Great job on whoever put it together!!!!!! Harry Potter Years 1 - 5

Don't you think it's curious that Amazon Instant Video has loads of these non-movies (10 minute previews)? Isn't it curious that they are the first images you see when doing a quick check of what movies are available on Amazon Instant Video and these non-movies just happen to have the same picture (cover) as the full length movie? I think it's obvious they get folks to sign up for Amazon Instant Video thinking that there are some new releases (Harry Potter, Avatar, King's Speech, etc), only to find these are mere previews or advertisements or how they filmed some scene. Am I wrong?

I'm going to have one more look to see if there are any movie I've ever heard of on Amazon Instant Video.

I like to "relive the magic" before reading or watching the next in a series. I reread each previous Harry Potter before moving on to the newest, and watched each movie before heading to the theater. This series of previews is an advertisement telling you to do that. It is the theatrical trailers for each of the first 6 movies strung together, with a couple shots thrown in recommending you watch the first 5 movies on BluRay or DVD before watching the 6th movie. I suppose it accomplishes exactly what it set out to do, I just didn't realize that I was getting trailers. In short, it's not that there was anything wrong, per se, with this download, but there was also pretty much no point. Unless you really really like previews. Then, have at it! I was hoping for some commentary or something, but it really is just the trailers.

I used this as a test to see if the streaming abilities of Amazon are comparable to what I had before I fired Netflix. I've already started a Blockbuster account to cover the discs (blue ray and games were a great add from what Netflix offered) and now I need to find a streaming home. This worked fine, but I need to figure out the price of streaming here vs. other locations. Preview was a good show as to how the system works, but there doesn't appear to be anything really for free here without a prime membership. - Adventure - Action - Emma Watson - Hermoine'

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Industrial Revolution - kindle devices, industrial revolution

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This was an impulse purchase a week or so ago, and I'm VERY glad indeed that I didn't start reading it until the hot weather broke (briefly) in New York this past weekend, as it's the chilling (sorry, bad pun) story of the 1896 New York heatwave that killed thousands, mostly poor working men and infants.

Kohn begins his story of a week in August by describing a horrific death toll of another kind -- the result of a railway crash. To New Yorkers, by the time the 19th century was drawing to a close, it seemed as if natural disasters had been replaced by those associated with man-made phenomena of various kinds -- until the heat wave struck, and they were reminded forcibly that some things, like the weather, can't always be conquered.

But the best thing about this book isn't the chronicle of misery during the heatwave, but the way Kotman weaves that horrifying story of death (including the deaths of horses in the streets, left to rot for days...) into the political climate of the day. At first, I was tempted to ask what the connection was, other than that of timing -- the presidential nominees for the Republican and Democratic parties had recently been selected -- but Kohn quickly makes clear where he's going. He's telling the story of the way in which the heatwave indirectly contributed to the end of the political ambitions of populist demagogue William Jennings Bryan, whose campaign hit the skids in New York on the same day that the heat wave peaked, for reasons that Kotman argues have as much to do with the heatwave as with Bryan's own unwelcome opinions. (There's a lot here about the battle to add silver as a reserve currency, and bimetallism, which is interesting, if you care to forge through it.) But it's also the tale of Theodore Roosevelt's ascendancy to political power, which took on fresh momentum in the wake of the heatwave. To borrow a phrase, it was the tipping point in both their political ambitions.

There's also plenty of fascinating detail about how people in New York's tenements really lived at the time -- despite having visited the Tenement Museum on the lower east side, Kohn's vivid prose brought this to life for me in a way that I hadn't experienced before. These days, people hold parties on their rooftops; in the late 19th century people slept there, despite melting tar and the risk of rolling over the parapet to their deaths, because it was the only way to catch a breath of air that wasn't fetid.

An excellent story, not only fascinating because it deals with the story of how people lived at the time, but because Kohn weaves into it the historical, political and social context. As the world gets hotter and our society even more urbanized than it was in 1896, we take refuge in our "cooling centers" and air-conditioned rooms -- but this book offers a lot of food for thought. I expect every time the thermometer jumps above 90 Fahrenheit, I'll be thinking about this...

4.5 stars, rounded up. Just don't read it in a heatwave. Hot Time in the Old Town: The Great Heat Wave of 1896 and the Making of Theodore Roosevelt

Author Edward Kohn has written two books, in a sense, with his new offering, "Hot Time in the Old Town". Each has its merit....one regarding the New York heat wave of August, 1896...the other, the rise and fall of the political lives of Theodore Roosevelt and William Jennings Bryan. As separate entities, they merit a read, but together, the book doesn't work.

Kohn is at his best when describing the prolonged, public suffering of those who lived and died during the heat wave. Individuals perished after falling off rooftops, collapsing at work and being suffocated in their own tenement apartments. Horses died more quickly than the health department could remove them and the stench that filled the air was palpable. The city government did virtually nothing, forbidding its citizens even to sleep in public parks. The relief from ice distribution was slow to begin and uneven in its delivery.

The connection to all of this with Roosevelt and Bryan is, to put it mildly, a stretch. Bryan's fate was sealed with his nomination and Roosevelt's fame would come after the Spanish-American War, so incorporating them doesn't serve history accurately. It's a nice try, but the heat wave story is the far better one to be told.

The title indicates that the book will show how the New York heat wave of August 1896 influenced the political career of Theodore Roosevelt. If that really is the author's intent, then the book is a frustrating failure. TR is a tangential figure in the narrative, no matter how many anecdotes the author tells about Roosevelt's tenure as president of the police commission. In fact, the book only shows one effect of the heat wave: that people suffered, including those who attended William Jennings Bryan's speech at Madison Square Garden, and Bryan himself. The author suggests that the poor speech derailed Bryan's chances of winning the election, but there is no evidence for that assertion.

On the other hand, perhaps the title was some sort of editorial compromise, because the majority of the text covers a slice of 1896 presidential campaign politics. The heat wave figures in to the campaign, we are told, because of its effect on Bryan and those around him, but the political effects of the heat are not as prominent in the book as the personal tragedies of random New Yorkers that get tossed into the book every few pages or so. The repetition is numbing and boring, but it is the sense of padding that really distracts the reader. The book seems little more than story after story about the campaign, punctuated with tales of heat wave victims, none of it tied into a cohesive whole. Even at the end, the author makes assertions about TR and Bryan that are unsupported by the text.

In fact, nothing is supported in the text. There is a bibliography, but it is more like a list of suggested works for further reading. The book has no footnotes, and there is no way to verify the author's work. He doesn't say where he got this or that fact, or why he comes to the various conclusions he does throughout the book. We can take him at his word that he reviewed the dozens of death certificates that he says he did, but we shouldn't have to trust him for his political observations unless we know exactly what their bases are.

The book is superficial and repetitive, and it jumps here and there among several topics that the author fails to unite coherently. I recommend this book for people who don't read a lot, and therefore will not be put off by the simplistic writing; for readers who get bored easily, and want a narrative that jumps among its disparate topics without threading them together; and for the easily distracted, who need to have the same point repeated ad nauseam. - Industrial Revolution - Kindle Devices - Ebook - E-reader'

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Animation - animation, panda

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The original Kung Fu Panda is one of the only Dreamworks Animation films that actually holds its own in comparison to Pixar films. It managed to capture the look and feel of the classics old and new that martial arts film enthusiasts such as myself admire so much while also offering humor that was actually funny, fantastic animation, and just an incredibly entertaining film overall. It turned out to not only be one of the more enjoyable animated films of 2008, but one of the best films of that year period. So, here we are, three years later with Kung Fu Panda 2 resting on the horizon of its release that actually feels just as strong as the original without all of the endless shortcomings most would expect to plague a sequel.

When it comes to animated films, one of the most important ingredients is the cast. The voice cast can make or break an animated feature. A talented one can make it even better while a weaker one can result in it hurting the overall enjoyment of the film. Fortunately, the cast for Kung Fu Panda 2 is pretty spot on. The entire main cast (Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, David Cross, Lucy Liu, Dustin Hoffman, James Hong) returns from the first film and while it would be nice to see some of them have meatier roles and/or more lines (Jackie Chan and David Cross for starters), just having them return is fantastic. Casting changes between sequels are never really great. They can be pleasantly surprising, but it never feels the same. So it's great to see the entire ensemble back in full form. My personal favorite from the original cast is James Hong as Mr. Ping. The Asian American actor is perhaps best known as the villain in Big Trouble in Little China and was also Hannibal Chew in Blade Runner, but hearing that actor voice a goose who runs a restaurant and is so attached to his kung fu panda/China saving son is awesome in itself. Mr. Ping is an emotional wreck with Po putting himself in danger so often and Hong just makes his heartfelt performance stand out above the rest.

Newcomers such as Dennis Haysbert (Heat, "24") and Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Sunshine) were fun additions. Yeoh voices The Soothsayer, who has a few humorous moments with Lord Shen, but realizing that Jean Claude Van Damme voiced Master Croc gave a little more weight to the throwbacks to well-known martial arts films. That influence is definitely there in the Kung Fu Panda films and both of them use that influence as a crutch in the best of ways, but having talent like Van Damme, Jackie Chan, and Michelle Yeoh participate make it all feel a little more genuine. It'd be like bringing in Chuck Norris, Jet Li, Donnie Yen, or Sammo Hung. The cast in this is just as much a drawing factor in this as it is in something like The Expendables. It makes that homage mean so much more.

Gary Oldman practically steals every scene that he's in though. He brings that intensity and dark lunacy associated with his roles in Leon and The Fifth Element to the Lord Shen role; those same traits that made fans love his talent in the first place. He fits the role of an evil albino peacock rather well.

The animation is really the film's Tour de force. Every movement flows naturally and everything is so crisp and smooth. Fight scenes are so fast yet easy to digest. Animals talking, portraying human emotion, their hair folding in the wind all look natural. But the art direction of the film is something special. It was already fantastic in the first film, but they really bulked it up for the sequel. It's slightly reminiscent of "Samurai Jack" yet more awesome; more engrossing. It captures the feel of Chinese martial arts perfectly and the use of traditional animation during Po's flashbacks was an extremely welcome addition; having Guillermo Del Toro as the creative consultant on the film surely helped in their benefit.

Kung Fu Panda 2 is beautifully animated, exceptionally cast, laugh out loud funny, and nearly upstages the original at every turn. While certain things in the film like the "inner peace" bit are slightly predictable, it doesn't take away from the overall enjoyment of a sequel that capitalizes and improves on its predecessor rather than feeling like a watered down version of it. Kung Fu Panda 2

When it comes to sequels, it's rare enough that one manages to measure up to the first film. More often than not they end up being disappointing to one degree or another. Particularly when you're talking about animated films (the Shrek and Toy Story films being more the exception than the rule). But Kung Fu Panda 2 is that rarity among sequels in that, in my opinion, it is actually an improvement on the first film in quite a number of ways, which I'll get to later.

In this film, Po (the kung-fu panda of the title) and the Furious Five (Tigress, Mantis, Monkey, Viper & Crane) are called on to face a new threat: the return of the exiled Prince Shen (a peacock), who has come back armed with a powerful new weapon and determined to take over the kingdom. Complicating matters though are the fact that Prince Shen apparently had something to do with how Po, a panda, came to be raised by a goose, Mister Ping, his loving if noodle-obsessed father. In order to find the 'inner peace' he needs to defeat Shen, Po must first find the secret of his past, a past that he only sees in flashes of haunting memory that Shen's appearance has awakened in him.

Beyond the plot though, almost everything in Kung Fu Panda 2 is better than the first film, which was already pretty respectable to begin with. One thing is that KFP2 steeps itself even deeper in Chinese culture and it shows in both the sumptuously colored and detailed art of the backgrounds, in the traditions subtly brought out in the story, and even in the musical score wrought by John Powell and Hans Zimmer. And there is more depth, both philosophically and artistically, to the kung-fu; a particular key sequence by Master Shifu early on is a slow and beautiful thing to watch.

The voice actors are all excellent, with all of the original actors reprising their roles: Po (Jack Black), Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu), Crane (David Cross) and of course Mister Ping (the inimitable veteran James Hong). New additions include a sooth-saying ram (beautifully done by Michelle Yeoh), and kung-fu masters Ox (Jean-Claude Vam Damme) and Croc (Dennis Haysbert). And a notable cameo for film buffs is the voice of the Musician Bunny (director Paul Mazursky).

I have to give particular praise though to how well Prince Shen was done. At first thought, the idea of a villainous peacock sounds, well, ridiculous. But Prince Shen, as conceived and dazzlingly executed by the animators of KFP2, and as masterfully voiced by Gary Oldman, radiates arrogant menace and threat, in attitude and physically, in a fashion that is both artful and deadly. Director Jennifer Yuh said that "Shen proved to be a great challenge to animate, so much that the complexity of the character was like that of doing six characters all at once." IMHO, KFP2 is worth seeing just for Shen alone.

And, for what it's worth, this is one of the few 3D movies I've seen that was actually worth seeing in 3D.

My only quibble with the film is that it really didn't develop the Furious Five much as characters, which I would like to have seen. There are hints of things given about Tigress, but they're never really developed, and the rest of the Five are relegated to the same hero-support roles they had in the original.

Highly recommended for anyone who likes a good story and especially for anyone who liked the first film. This one definitely takes it up a notch. - Animation - Movie - Panda'

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Fun With Kids - games, educational

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I was trying to find a game to play with a client who has dementia and ran across this in an article. After I bought it I tested it out with my kids (25, 24, 19 and 11) and myself (47). We had so much fun!! It is one of those games that can be played at different levels. We started getting quite inventive on where and when to play to maximize our points and block our opponents.

I then played with my client. She and I did not keep score. We just made the chains with either shapes or colors and added wherever she first recognized a play. No trying to strategize where to build for future etc. We also played with both of our tiles up so we could talk about the best places to play. She likes this game and actually remembers having played before and wants to play again. The 'rules' have to be re-learned but the fun remains.

For one more note, we had a group of my daughters friends over and four of us played Quirkle. They were all 19 - 22. That got pretty cutthroat <lol> They all want to play again.

I HIGHLY recommend this game. I think I'm going to buy a 2nd one so more than 4 can play together (We played with 5 first night and it does work too). Qwirkle Board Game

Everyone in my family had the same initial reaction, "Looks lame." After all, it's just making rows of shapes or colors. After the first game we all figured out there's more to it. As my daughter said, "Well, checkers looks easy too; it's just moving pieces diagonally to the other side of the board."

On the downside, as another review mentioned, the pieces are cheaply made- low quality wood and paint, non-uniform size. But the most egregious design flaw is the selection of colors. For me, the red and orange are so close that even in good light I find myself holding them up at different angles just to make sure I don't confuse them.

I must compliment the author of the instructions. As you would expect on a game that appears simple on the surface but ultimately has many nuances, communicating those to the game player is essential. The directions walk through a hypothetical series of moves that pretty much cover any scoring or strategy intricacy that you might run into.

Bottom line: As long as you have decent color vision and are not a stickler for perfection in construction then put this game in your cart and check out right now. Your family will thank you. - Games - Strategy - Educational - Board Game'

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Blackberry Charger - blackberry bold 9700, charger

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I ordered this charger as a backup for my blackberry Tour 9630 and the charger that I actually received was the wrong charger and it does not fit my phone. Returning it is a hassle and not worth the trouble. Now I will have to spend more money to buy the correct charger. Very disappointing!! BlackBerry Original Travel Charger for BlackBerry Pearl 8220, Gemini 8520, Curve 8900, Storm2 9520, Storm 9530,Tour 9630, Bold 9700

I only gave this 4 stars because when it's folded up the charger "rattles." The plugs move so it definitely makes a noise but when it's folded out, it's solid & works like a charm so I can't complain too much. I mean, it's an authentic Blackberry charger for way less than you'd pay in a store so what the heck. I bought it to keep in my travel bag so it will definitely serve it's purpose. I paired this with the charging pod & now have the perfect traveling charging station for vacations.

Because of the low price, I was a bit sceptical when I ordered this - however, it is indeed a blackberry product and it works just fine straight out of the box. Been in use every day for 3 weeks now and works just fine.

I wanted a second charger for my travel bag, so bought this one. I notice no difference between this one and the original that came with my blackberry. No complaints, it works perfectly with my Blackberry Bold 9700.

It is a good idea to have a spare charger especially if you move around a lot. This one was a great value for the price. The order was processed quickly, shipped right away and arrived in perfect condition ahead of schedule. A great buy!

The charger worked fine at first, but then both my son and daughter's phones broke. The metal piece where the charger goes into the phone broke and fell out of their phones. I'm not sure if it was from using the same charger or a coincidence!?!?

wrong caption first of all.

it says charger for bold 9700 but actually not.

i ordered the charger and i got the wrong one.

i sent an email to the company.

they replied rather quickly though, they said they'd send me a new one and i keep the old one i got wrong as a gift which was nice of them but i can't use it anyways.

5days later i got a blackberry car charger.

that pissed me off because that again was not what i ordered!

4days later i got the one i wanted from the beginning.

i like how they reply to your emails instantly but i mean i don't have time for this.

pros: cheap, it WORKS, portable and its a bargain for the price

Cons: does not really seemed as quality made as the original charger, and i think it gets hot not sure though.

Over all, great product and its a bargain on what you can find at this price...!! would recommend this to any of my friends or any of you people looking for a good charger... - Blackberry - Blackberry Accessories - Charger - Blackberry Bold 9700'

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