http://www.viewpoints.com/aboutme/TheBard Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:33:21 GMT Reviews by TheBard http://www.viewpoints.com/The-New-World-2005-review-55071 Bottom-Line:  Unconventionally told, and slow and plodding at times, The New World is nonetheless a movie well worth watching if only to see the performance of Q'orianka Kitcher. — The story of fabled Pocahontas her real name was Mataoaka), the Indian princess from Virginia, has been the subject of many a story cartoon and otherwise and none of them seemed to get it right.  The latest attempt 2005's The New World manages to tell the story, but does so in an unconventional manner.  From the opening frames one gets the sense that this movie starting Colin Farrell, and new-comer (yes, supposedly Jewel's second cousin) is going to be different.  — My Viewpoint — The New World is not a conventional film in that it does not fill in the gaps in your knowledgebase with narrative or lengthy explanations about what is taking place on the screen.  The screen writer/director assume you already know the story and therefore there is no need to waste time... Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:33:21 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/The-New-World-2005-review-55071 TheBard 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/The-New-World-2005-review-339d3 Bottom-Line:  Unconventionally told, and slow and plodding at times, The New World is nonetheless a movie well worth watching if only to see the performance of Q'orianka Kitcher. — The story of fabled Pocahontas her real name was Mataoaka), the Indian princess from Virginia, has been the subject of many a story cartoon and otherwise and none of them seemed to get it right.  The latest attempt 2005's The New World manages to tell the story, but does so in an unconventional manner.  From the opening frames one gets the sense that this movie starting Colin Farrell, and new-comer (yes, supposedly Jewel's second cousin) is going to be different.  — My Viewpoint — The New World is not a conventional film in that it does not fill in the gaps in your knowledgebase with narrative or lengthy explanations about what is taking place on the screen.  The screen writer/director assume you already know the story and therefore there is no need to waste time... Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:33:19 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/The-New-World-2005-review-339d3 TheBard 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/Euge-Groove-Born-2-Groove-review-86f5 Bottom-Line: In the world of Smooth Jazz album Born 2 Groove is relatively short, checking in at (10) tracks, but those tracks have been well worth the double take.      Euge Groove is a Contemporary (Smooth) Jazz saxophonist with a sound and style similar to that of Richard Elliot, in fact he replaced him in the famed Jazz group Tower of Power when Elliot decided to pursue what is now a very successful solo career.  Euge Groove is also known for his (Pop) session work, most notably with the Miami girl group Exposé, which he has a No. sax sole hit on their album Seasons Change, and yet another on their 1993 hit CD I'll Never Get Over You (Getting Over Me). — Having not listened to Euge Groove's other offering I have nothing to compare Born 2 Groove to; I can only tell you that the sound is somewhat fresh, soulful, and engaging.  A big fan of the saxophone I have historically gravitated toward those artists.  Groove is... Sun, 20 Jul 2008 14:37:41 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Euge-Groove-Born-2-Groove-review-86f5 TheBard 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/Little-Children-review-011b0 Bottom-Line:  Little Children is a power reminder of the consequences of not growing up can be, or could be, and that is a lesson never to be lost.       — Kate Winslet is far and away my favorite Hollywood actress.  Her roles are almost always bold, daring and engaging; Mistress Kate is unabashed when it comes to her craft and no role has proved to risqué for her to tackle with equal aplomb.  While other actors limit themselves, my dear Kate is not afraid to bare herself physically and emotionally for her craft; she becomes the character and is so doing draws me in and makes a connection.  And so it is with Little Children (2006) in which she stared alongside another favorite actress of mine, Jennifer Connolly, as well as Patrick Wilson.      My Viewpoint — Despite its title, Little Children is not a film aimed at that audience, at all; this is a decidedly adult movie with strong... Sat, 19 Jul 2008 17:40:09 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Little-Children-review-011b0 TheBard 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/United-States-Savings-Bond-I-Bond-Bond-review-b4a25   Bottom-Line: As long as you can spare the investment cash, I say purchase I-Bonds and like traditional EE savings bonds, keep them tucked away for retirement. — In my opinion the recent economic turmoil has made 410(k) accounts that have traditionally invested heavily in the stock market, a losing proposition.  My personal 401(K) which invests in a fairly diversified mix of vehicles has lost close to $5000.00 since the beginning of the year in this now Bear market.  Now my wife and I have our retirement savings spread over a number of different investment vehicles including United States Saving Bonds in the form of I-Bonds, which are currently enjoying an average fixed rate hovering around 4.84% per bond.  — Unlike traditional EE Savings Bonds I-Bonds, one buys I-Bonds for the face value of the bond, making the bonds very liquid; e.g. we purchase $200.00 I-Bonds and pay $200.00 for them.  The beauty of the I-Bond is that we do not have to wait... Thu, 17 Jul 2008 21:31:01 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/United-States-Savings-Bond-I-Bond-Bond-review-b4a25 TheBard 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Sex-and-The-City-The-Movie-review-b16c1 Bottom-Line:  In the final analysis, I thoroughly enjoyed the 145 minute long Sex and the City the movie and hope they make another, perhaps ten years in the future this time.  — First an admission: I used to watch Sex and the City on HBO religiously together with my wife.  There I said it.  I enjoyed the show and I was displeased when it went off the air.  My favorite character was not Carrie, but Charlotte; I just adore Khristin Davis, her nose and the way she portrayed Charlotte with such sweet innocence.  So though my wife thought I would not want to go see Sex and the City, the movie with her, I agreed to accompany her.  — My Viewpoint — I did not go into Sex and the City expecting to dislike to movie and I didn't; I knew what Sex and the City was and didn't expect anything more.   While I knew mostly what to expect in terms of story, there were quite a few twists that pleasantly took me by surprise.  Sex and... Sun, 13 Jul 2008 14:43:42 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Sex-and-The-City-The-Movie-review-b16c1 TheBard 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/Dell-Poweredge-R900-review-eb881 Qualifications: I am the manager (Network Administrator) of a medium-sized server farm in the Mid-West, which consists of some 250+ Dell PowerEdge servers of various models and designs.  These models include 1750, 1850, 1950, 2650, 2850, 2500, 2600, 2850, 2950 and R900 servers, running Windows 2003 Standard Server or Windows 2003 Standard and Enterprise Edition(s) x64-bit. In my capacity as a network administrator I have worked on and administered all manner of server platforms from all of the major vendors: IBM, Hewlett Packard, Compaq, and Dell.  But for the last four years I have worked almost exclusively with Dell server platforms of all sizes, from the small 1U's to the larger 6U multi-hard drive, multi-processor rack mountable boxes.  So I have lived through the evolution of the Dell 2000 series of 2U rack mount servers, to the latest to enter our data center; the PowerEdge R900, a few of which I have installed and configured. — Dell designed the (4U)... Sun, 13 Jul 2008 02:25:25 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Dell-Poweredge-R900-review-eb881 TheBard 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Synergy-Roboform-Pro-Form-Filler-review-31603 Bottom-Line: In an on-line (and off-line) world filled with a sprawling array password protected sites and programs, Roboform Pro & Form Filler really shines. — Okay, I'll admit it; I have long lists of passwords like everyone else; it seems you cannot even visit a web site these days without filling our reams of on-line forms. So like everyone else I started looking for a solution to manage all of these passwords.  I developed a list which I kept secreted away on my computer, but I also bought a cool keyboard with a fingerprint reader built in.  The keyboard is a great solution but one that is mated to just the one computer; what about my laptop and other desktop?  And the password list it kept was not transportable.      Enter Synergy Roboform Pro & Form Filler a program that stores your user names, passwords, Internet Forms and other confidential information in encrypted files on your computer using powerful AES (Advanced... Sat, 12 Jul 2008 23:30:40 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Synergy-Roboform-Pro-Form-Filler-review-31603 TheBard 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Juno--132967-review-23c72 Bottom-Line:  In the end-game Juno is entertaining, but scratch below the surface and you will see a movie that none too realistic, at least in this America.  — What can be said about Canadian actress Ellen Page within the paragraph's of this review that have not already been said by countless silver-screen reviewers before me.  She is a wonder, a lithe woman trapped in a girl's body, but she owns the screen in every movie I have had the privilege of seeing her perform in.  Such is the case with last year idiosyncratic movie that everyone seems to love Juno about a teenage girl, a baby in her belly, her reluctantly supportive parents, the couple who want to adopt the baby (sort of), and the unassuming boyfriend whom she loves, but is quick to deny it.      Much too has been made of the writer of this little movie (Juno) that could: Diablo Cody, an exotic dancer, now darling of the Hollywood movie scene.  Ms. Cody proves... Sat, 12 Jul 2008 18:48:09 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Juno--132967-review-23c72 TheBard 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/Chrisette-Michele-I-Am-review-cf502 Bottom-Line: My advice to Ms. Lewis: next time around, and no doubt there will be a next time, leave Mariah at home and bring your voice and personality to the musical table. — Who knew my 20-year old daughter had genuine taste in music!  But so it was from her that I first heard this new R&B diva with the voice forged from angel dust and frothing ocean water.  The songstress is 25-year old Chrisette Michele from Long Island New York, who released her first studio CD I Am, last June on Def Jam Records.  — And who knew Jay Z's Def Jam Record, long associated with the oft-times outlandish world of Hip-Hop, could nurture, let alone release Ms. Michele's soulful CD I Am, but here it is, and we are the better for it.  From the opening notes of track No. 1 Like A Dream, to the closing sweet notes of the last (untitled) bonus track, there is everything to love and nothing to loath about this album.  — Superbly engineered and produced, I Am pulls... Sat, 12 Jul 2008 16:48:29 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Chrisette-Michele-I-Am-review-cf502 TheBard 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Proposition-review-c78a3 Bottom-Line:  Bleak, gritty, violent, enormously powerful, wonderfully acted, and beautifully shot, The Proposition lays witness to the birth of yet another nation on the backs of the innocent and unsuspecting. The Story — Directed by John Hillcoat The Proposition is a gritty, violent movie dominated by male actors, vile acts, and testosterone.  The movie is grey, red, black and raw, and opens with a violent gun battle in the town of Banyon as the local British lawman, one Captain Morris Stanley (Ray Winestone) apprehends Charlie Burns (Guy Pearce) and his younger brother Mikey (Richard Wilson), after the pair along with their brother Arthur (Danny Huston) and his gang, are accused of a vicious rape and murder.  — But Arthur has fled to the hills, but the town wants blood for blood, so Captain Morris makes an unconventional proposition: if Charlie can find and kill his older brother both he and Mikey can go free. Otherwise, Mikey, a meek and weak boy, will... Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:32:59 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Proposition-review-c78a3 TheBard 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Yankee-Peddler-Inn-Newport-RI--155371-review-783b5 Bottom-Line: All and all, I would rate my stay at the Yankee Peddler Inn, Newport, Rhode Island as favorable, despite the diminutive water closet.  — The Yankee Peddler Inn is housed in a typical 19th century Greek revival mansions that so typify Newport, and is one of the oldest Historic Inns in Newport.   Like I stated above the Yankee Peddler Inn is centrally located in downtown Newport mere steps from celebrated Bellevue Avenue and the famed Hotel Viking and the toniest shopping areas in this seaside city.      Our Room — Since most of the family was sweeping into town, we reserved a suite, of sorts.  The room was actually two and had two queen-sized beds and a very, very small bathroom.  My sister and daughter shared one bedroom and I took the other.  — The fist (common) room housed a queen-sized bed, non-working fireplace, a small 19" television with cable, couch, and small refrigerator. ... Thu, 03 Jul 2008 20:13:53 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Yankee-Peddler-Inn-Newport-RI--155371-review-783b5 TheBard 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/Sleep-Inn-State-College-State-College-PA-review-f0193 Bottom-Line: The Sleep Inn, State College MD is an okay hotel in the middle of renovation; beware the smell, and the high cost compared to other area hotels. — I am traveling once again, but this time I am on vacation, sans the spouse (I miss her already), but toting a 13-year-old on a two-day car ride to Rhode Island to visit family for a week.  I have come to loath air travel, a pastime I used to adore, but the world's political situation has made air travel, even national travel, more of a hassle than it's worth.   And expensive!  So I decide to drive to the East Coast from Chicago, and needed a waypoint rest stop; I chose the Sleep Inn in State College, Pennsylvania along Interstate 80 a little more than half way to our destination.  — Our Room — Since my youngest daughter was with me this time around I booked a room non-smoking room with two double-sized beds, at a rate of $85.99 a night, plus tax, which surprisingly was only 5%. ... Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:23:55 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Sleep-Inn-State-College-State-College-PA-review-f0193 TheBard 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/Premonition-review-9d305 Bottom-Line:  In the final analysis Premonition is a confusing, head scratching (I know redundant term) mess, a riddle, wrapped inside a puzzle that cannot be solved, at least by this reviewer.  Now I consider myself a pretty intelligent guy; rocket scientist no (but I suppose I could be if I had wanted to be), but a fairly intelligent man as far as humans go.  So why for the life of me can I not figure out what the hell Premonition (2007), staring Sandra Bullock and Julian McMahon, was all about?  I mean really, how convoluted can one make a plot before the audience just loses all interest?  Premonition should be the case study in how not to make an intriguing film!  — My Viewpoint — In an attempt to be clever Premonition ended up a rather convoluted and unmanageable mess from a viewer's standpoint.  The movie was hard to follow almost for the start and halfway into the 96 minute movie I lost interest in even trying.  Part of the... Tue, 10 Jun 2008 01:43:51 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Premonition-review-9d305 TheBard 2 http://www.viewpoints.com/The-Painted-Veil-Theatre-Release-review-5a771 Bottom-Line: With its sweeping vistas of the Chinese countryside and superb leading performances, The Painted Veil is well worth a look. — The Painted Veil is actually the third film version of author Somerset Maughm's 1925 novel.  This remake is directed by John Curran (We Don't Live Here Anymore)-is ripe with stunning Chinese locales and rich performances by Ms. Watts and Mr. Norton.  — Edward Norton portrays Walter Fane, a proper English doctor living and working in 1925 pre-WWII China at a time when the sun never set on the British Empire.  He travels to London and meets Kitty (Watts) whom he immediately falls in love with, marries and whisks back to Shanghais, where he studies infectious deceases.  — But Kitty, who doesn't love Walter, grows bored and lonely, and falls in with the local (married) playboy Charlie Townsend (Liev Schreiber).  They have an affair; Walter finds out and threatens to divorce Kitty unless she accompanies him... Sun, 08 Jun 2008 02:27:32 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/The-Painted-Veil-Theatre-Release-review-5a771 TheBard 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/Scoop-review-18d63 Bottom-Line:  Scoop is a skipper — Written, directed, and staring Woody Allen, Scoop follows the meanderings of American journalism student Sondra Pransky (Scarlet Johansson) after she is visited by the ghost of a recently departed newspaper reporter, Joe Strombel (Ian McShane).  Strombel, a well respected journalist (or at least he was), has stumbled upon some information in the afterlife that might solve a series of serial killer murders, so he appears to Sondra as she is taking part in a magic trick performed by Sid Waterman/Great Splendini  (Woody Allen).  — Strombel sends her after one Peter Lyman (Hugh Jackman), a well respected English gentleman from a fine English family.  Sondra enlists the help of Sid is ferreting out the truth, but falls for the tall handsome Englishman in the process.  Blah, blah, blah, been-there-done-that, fill in the blank plotline...        My Viewpoint —... Mon, 26 May 2008 04:30:58 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Scoop-review-18d63 TheBard 2 http://www.viewpoints.com/Alicia-Keys-Diary-of-Alicia-Keys-review-34953 Bottom-Line: Though it didn't click with me at first Songs in A Minor now gets much respect and much play within my repertoire. — Alicia Keys, the beautiful, light-skinned, black bombshell diva from Harlem released her sophomore album The Diary of Alicia Keys in December 2003 some 2.5 years after her smash 10 million selling Songs in A Minor (2001).  Two point five years is not an inordinate time to wait between albums, but it was time well spent, for Ms. Keys serves up collection of R&B tracks that are better than those that came before and has avoided the dreaded sophomore slump.  — The Diary of Alicia Keys spawned three notable singles: track No. 5 You Don't Know My Name and track No. 6 If I Ain't Got You, both of which reached the top five on the Billboard 100 chart, and; track No. 7 Diary, which entered the top ten on the same chart.  The last single from the album, track No. 2 Karma peaked at number 22 on the Billboard 100 chart, but saw more success... Sat, 24 May 2008 20:06:19 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Alicia-Keys-Diary-of-Alicia-Keys-review-34953 TheBard 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Alicia-keys-Songs-in-A-Minor-review-6c235 Bottom-Line: Though it didn't click with me at first Songs in A Minor now gets much respect and much play within my repertoire. — "Alicia Keys, Alicia Keys, Alicia Keys, that girl is off the hook, her music is dope, she's the sh_t, she's the bomb!"  And then I heard for myself the song that had Alicia Keys' name dripping from every self-respecting R&B devotee under the age of 25, Fallin'.  I liked it, I like it, I even found myself humming along at first, then I heard my voice rise in concert with Alicia's as she poured herself into this beautifully soulful love song.  Yet I resisted the temptation to buy and listen to her debut CD, Songs in A Minor released in 2001.  Something in the back of my mind kept saying that there was something missing here, something I couldn't quite put my finger on. — Time would prove me wrong about the versatile, beautiful dive from Harlem.  Songs in A Minor went on to be a huge success, indeed the aforementioned... Sat, 24 May 2008 16:22:12 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Alicia-keys-Songs-in-A-Minor-review-6c235 TheBard 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/An-American-Crime-review-ef68 What if you knew something happening in the house next door was not right; what if you heard horrific screams emanating from the basement and did nothing?  That and many other disturbing things are the basis of An American Crime (2007), a straight to DVD movie based on real life events that transpired in Indianapolis Indiana in the summer of 1965.  The film officially premiered on the US cable network Showtime on May 10, 2008.    The Story-Line — The story center on the true story of the torture and eventual murder of 16-year old Sylvia Likens portrayed by Ellen Page (Hard Candy) by mentally disturbed single housewife Gertrude Baniszewski (Katherine Keener - 8mm) and her band of seven warped children.  Sylvia and her sister, Jennifer (Hayley McFarland) are left in the care of Gertrude by their parents who blame the children for their separation.  After pawning of the girls on a complete stranger-for twenty dollars a week-the two take... Wed, 21 May 2008 23:28:32 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/An-American-Crime-review-ef68 TheBard 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Windows-PowerShell-for-Exchange-2007-Server-2007-SP1-review-6e9c1 Bottom-Line: All and all Windows PowerShell for Exchange 2007 Server 2007 SP1 is a good general reference book on the form and functionality of the Exchange 2007 Management Shell. — Anyone who has been a Microsoft Exchange 2000, and or Exchange 2003 administrator and now has to deal with Exchange 2007 knows that the administrative game has changed and not necessarily for the better.  Not content with the rather convoluted but, somewhat easy to master administrative model they developed for Exchange 2000/2003, Microsoft decided to go in different direction and move many of the administrative functions off the familiar Graphic User Interface (GUI) and into the command-line world via Windows PowerShell and the Exchange Management Shell.  — Predictably there was a backlash from Exchange administrators like myself who continue to enjoy the ease and simplicity of the GUI, so Microsoft did move some commands back to a multicolored interface with the release of Exchange... Tue, 20 May 2008 19:58:34 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Windows-PowerShell-for-Exchange-2007-Server-2007-SP1-review-6e9c1 TheBard 3