Reviews by JusttheFactsMa-am

JusttheFactsMa-am says "Only Serious Espresso-lovers Need Apply; but ALL will Appreciate" about Norpro Stove-top Espresso Maker - model# 5587

JusttheFactsMa-am — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 23:56:17 GMT

OK, so this doesn't have the instantaneous quality that Americans seem to demand. However, if you've ever wondered why you can't make espresso as well at home as you can get at the espresso shop, then blame your own impatience! Besides, there is something to be said about ritual when it comes to the things we treasure...

I'm an espresso fanatic, total junkie and self-proclaimed connoisseur that wouldn't bother having it at home if I couldn't make it significantly better than a store bought cup. Less than excellence just will not fly in my house, and drips aren't even allowed through the door! I can't even remember the last time I drank a drip; but I suspect the last time I drank something other than espresso, it was probably French Press. Plus, drip coffee gives me gut-wrenching rot, so I'd rather go without if need be. I may be an addict, but I'm a very picky addict too!

Ritual is a very important part of this particular process for me, and this method satisfies my need. I'm hardcore, and......

JusttheFactsMa-am says "Politicly Incorrect was never THIS offensively funny!" about The Bloodhound Gang - One Fierce Beer Coaster

JusttheFactsMa-am — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 04:02:37 GMT

This band is beautifully absurd, as if it were an art form. This particular album has a nostalgic quality to me because it sounds as if they've revisited the best of 80's rock and added something a little more modern. I can listen to it endlessly without it ever becoming tired of it too.

The guitar riffs are definitely reminiscent of the 80's, and there's even a rendition of "Tricky" that sounds almost as if Metallica had written the song themselves. I think if you're going to remake a song, you really should create something entirely different with it - and that's exactly what they have achieved with this classic!

I'm definitely a fan of the heavy, and this album offers some softer rock too. I like that it isn't all the same genre; it makes certain songs appropriate for some times, and the rest for others. I've actually rearranged the songs and burned them to another CD for this exact reason. One of my favorite tracks features "Rip Van Wrinkle" in a song called "Boom" and I think one of......

JusttheFactsMa-am says ""Restaurant Style" - Indeed! Surprising how GREAT they are." about Nuevo Grille Grande Quesadillas

JusttheFactsMa-am — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 01:38:42 GMT

This is seriously one of the tastiest frozen foods you may ever have. The first time we had these my guy and I went back and forth with, "They're really good aren't they?" - "They really are, wow." We will be getting these again...and again, and probably AGAIN.

Mainly, it's grilled (white meat only) chicken, Pepper Jack cheese, and just the right amount of spice. It says "fire roasted peppers" and jalapenos, but tastes more like green chillies to me - which I love! I can actually take quite a bit of spice too, but I truly appreciate a well balanced spicy that allows the other flavors to come into the mix.

The portions are great, a little large - just like I like them. There are four to a box, and each is a tortilla folded in half (with all the goodness inside) and they nearly take up half a plate. You see, I'm one of those women that the ladies "love to hate" because I can eat just about anybody under the table, and I almost never gain a single pound. I was simply blessed with a wicked......

JusttheFactsMa-am says "Gibran was kissed by God the day he wrote this." about The Prophet

JusttheFactsMa-am — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 22:58:24 GMT

This is a fictional story about a prophet that was written nearly 100 years ago, and has been my all-time favorite book since the first time I read it about 15 years back. It was the very first book Gibran had written in English; as a Lebanese man, it was not his native language. That fact is just mind-blowing to me because this book truly shows a better command of English than many native speakers! This is in part, why I've often said of this book, "Gibran was kissed by God the day he wrote this."

It's simplistically and beautifully expressed, yet there are untold depths to be discovered within this masterpiece. The story is essentially about of a prophet that lived as a pauper on an island, amongst a small community. After 12 years there, his ship has come to take him home and the people are asking him to speak on various subjects before he departs. Each chapter begins with, "Speak to us of..."

It's the sole book that I can honestly read over and over again, and I've done exactly that too.......

JusttheFactsMa-am says "Disturbing; both in content, and in the holes it presents. " about Savage Grace: The True Story of Fatal Relations in a Rich and Famous American Family

JusttheFactsMa-am — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 23:54:40 GMT

If this film had not been based on a true story, I don't think it would have EVER made it into the theaters. I haven't read the book, so I can't say how it compares there. I really dig true crime and true stories in general for that matter, and have always been attracted to more disturbing plots. However, this one seemed to only serve out the disturbing pieces without any purpose other than to merely expose them. While I will admit it's true that this type of missing content can largely be attributed to many a true story, this is more so than most others.

This story starts in the 40's which made it extra intriguing for me. I really enjoy stories about that period, as well as the 20's & 30's. This film definitely highlighted the eccentricities of that era, and that part was well played out right through to the 60's. What I felt was seriously lacking was the building of the charters, as well as the depth and dynamics of the relationships between them. I thought that it played out more like......

JusttheFactsMa-am says "Frangela, your new best friend." about Frangela

JusttheFactsMa-am — Sat, 31 May 2008 20:46:44 GMT

I'm a CONSTANT listener of talk radio; nearly all day, every day. I'm posting this in the misellanious catagory because only TV and film are here so far... I'm going to HAVE to get a new catagory for radio opened here! I've been deep into politics and news for many years now, and I find talk radio to be one of the very best resources we have to keep up with REAL news.

Although, that is for another day, because this review is about a show on the lighter side; Frangela. The name is a blend of Angela & Frances, and these two life-long friends have gone by this name almost since the moment they met. They say it was long before Hollywood started identifying celebrity couples that way. They acquired the name because they were so much alike that their own friends couldn't tell them apart, and so everybody just called them Frangela.

Frangela discusses current events, but there are many other human interest stories, or down right ridiculous items they play around with too. One of their segments......

JusttheFactsMa-am says "Comfort food in fun environment, offers something for everybody" about The Kitchen - Silverlake, CA

JusttheFactsMa-am — Thu, 22 May 2008 02:12:15 GMT

I have eaten in ad carried out from The Kitchen, and I'm never disappointed! I've also tried several different dishes, and all were very good. The atmosphere in there is very homey and comfy. You get the feeling that most of the people know each other, a sort of neighborhood hang-out.

I marked both the $21-$30 and the next tier up in pricing because you can very easily make your order bigger here, but it's not necessary to be satisfied. While the plates are VERY reasonable, especially considering the large portions, I have trouble not ordering more than I should eat - it's all just so good! I have an unusually large appetite though, so I'd think most would be full with just an entree. I'm not so much for dessert, the extra I usually have is a salad. The spinach salad is super YUMMY!!!!

There are only a couple vegan items, but a fairly wide variety of vegetarian dishes - they are fairly well known for their incredibly decadent mac & cheese. Plenty of fish and meat dishes too, make for "something......

JusttheFactsMa-am says "Its easy operation and quality prints won me over from HP. " about Canon PIXMA MX310 All in One Printer

JusttheFactsMa-am — Wed, 21 May 2008 23:42:18 GMT

I had almost always been a die-hard Hewlett Packard fan, and truly loved my old printer...until it broke down. Don't get me wrong, almost ALL of my other computer hardware is in fact HP, and I probably printed the very life out of my HP printer that had seriously lasted me for nearly five years. I do a BUNCH of printing for work - probably too much. Anyway...

When shopping for a new printer I was pretty sure I'd go right back to HP, but this new Canon printer won me over because not only did I mange to get an excellent deal, but there was plenty more "bang for your buck" in this package when comparing all my options. I highly recommend comparison shopping for this one, since I manged to get it for quite a bit less than the going price listed by Canon!

A combination fax, printer, copier and scanner is a MUST for me - no other way to operate my business, and therefore it was the only thing I was looking for. The printing quality is just as good as HP too. When I first bought my HP printer......

JusttheFactsMa-am says "Unique, fashion forward, consciously sound, organic adornments." about Verlu - Silver and Wood Collections

JusttheFactsMa-am — Wed, 21 May 2008 22:41:36 GMT

By far, the most popular products in this line are the silver & wood collections, of which there are MANY styles to choose from! Wood jewelry has been up and coming in the fashion world for a while now; but generally speaking I've found that it's not as well made nor as exciting design-wise as wood jewelry by Verlu is - I think you can see what I mean in the pictures. The production considers itself a quality jewelry maker first and foremost; and being eco-friendly & fair trade just the way to properly do business - and has been doing so for well over twenty years now. Although this line is only a little more than a year old in the US.

The picture shown in the details tab, is a pair of earrings from the "Gypsy" collection. They feature Rosewood with textured silver sheets on both sides of the slightly twisted shape, with teardrops of silver that freely dangle off the bottom. The other pair of earrings shown (from Kayumanis) has an ingenious designer's creation; the hook is connected to a......

JusttheFactsMa-am says "Fun, informative, and SAVES -both your pocketbook and the earth!" about WhiteApricot.com

JusttheFactsMa-am — Sun, 18 May 2008 05:06:21 GMT

White Apricot is a really fun website for the eco-conscious shopper. I receive their weekly newsletter; they are entertaining and have a great sense of humor, while "hipping" you to the latest in green lifestyle. It is a shopping website, but they don't actually seel products on their website. They show you the way directly, mainly to the designers but also to stores.

The first time I discovered them I signed up for their newsletter because I really liked the style of their site, and I'm into green news. I seriously appreciate that they don't send them out constantly too. They also have a blog where a community of staff writers from all over the US contribute. I believe the company started in LA, but I can't say for sure.

One of the best things about White Apricot is their "Exclusive Offers" page, where you'll find TONS of great products, along with a discount code for anywhere from 15% to 35% off! So then I went straight to the offers page, and found a long-time favorite shoe company of......

JusttheFactsMa-am says "All in one, user friendly busness management system." about Intuit QuickBooks Pro 2007 Software

JusttheFactsMa-am — Sun, 18 May 2008 01:07:17 GMT

I have been managing a business for nearly a year now, and was assisting small start=ups for a couple years beforehand. So while I had some general knowledge of business operations, I hadn't had actual experience with complete management until now. I'm very thankful for my boss' ability to see that I could do what I now love! Although I seriously doubt I'd be able to do it so well without the help of QuickBooks - seriously. It's just amazing what you can do with this program. Invoicing and managing inventory is virtually effortless, and all my communications with clientele is customizable too. The possibilities are virtually endless!

I can email invoices through QuickBooks, and there is the ability to process payment through them too - although I haven't done that because we had an alternate way of doing so set up before I came on. There are numerous ways to generate reports; you can also save your company's current books on a thumb drive and send it to your accountant. There's also a......

JusttheFactsMa-am says "Don't even THINK about US Bank!!!!" about US Bank - Minneapolis, MN

JusttheFactsMa-am — Sat, 10 May 2008 01:53:52 GMT

I manage a wholesale company, I had two different bank accounts, with two different banks. I called into US Bank to get a current balance on that account because I needed to temporarily transfer the majority of it to our other account, and then I confirmed with my accountant about minimum balance requirements etc... and thought I had made a safe transfer. A month later I received my statement (no other notices or calls in between), and discovered that they had charged me DAILY for a $30 overdraw, totaling over $240! I don't live where we are headquartered, so by the time I had called in to try and resolve it, it had risen to about $310! Not only that, but they had closed the account and sent it to collections too. So I asked our accountant to reason with them because he deals with them regularly. They reopened the account so he could deal with it, and were "gracious" enough to knock a mere $100 from the gaping hole. But when I went to pay it off, I was told it had increased by another......