Reviews by jec

jec says "Used to be cool but now the shirts all look the same." about Threadless

jec — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 03:39:47 GMT

Oh, Threadless. The site used to be a favorite of mine. I placed several large orders during their $10 sales and joined the Shirt of the Month Club. But that was in 2005. In the past three years, the site has only gotten more popular, and, as it happens, more expensive and less cool. While each and every design used to be neat enough to catch my eye, the latest styles tend to fall into predictible ruts (cute talking foods/tiny animals/amorphous globs/scenes in a forest). Plus they are now more expensive, running at least $18. Once in a great while I will like a design but it will be part of their "Select Series" which cost $25. Moreover, you can't go ANYWHERE without seeing a million hipsters in Threadless shirts, and lets face it, something so popular is never as cool as it used to be.

Also I live like three miles from their stupid warehouse but I still have to pay $5 shipping. Though that isnt really their fault.
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jec says "My browser of choice." about Mozilla Firefox 2.0

jec — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 03:19:36 GMT

I am a big fan of Firefox. I used to use Internet Explorer but it was constantly crashing when I had multiple windows open. I switched to Safari but never really loved it. Firefox was a ray of light. All the best features are on Firefox first -- tabbed browsing, integrated searches -- and it's very stable. It only crashes once in a while and has a feature that reloads all the browsers windows you had open when it does.

I had a few nitpicks here and there (it took me a while to get used to the way favorites are sorted) but overall, it's the best way to surf the web....

jec says "Clothes just cheap enough to justify their poor quality." about Old Navy

jec — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 02:56:18 GMT

Old Navy. The cheap offshoot of The Gap (which is the less expensive Banana Republic). Third tier prices on third tier clothes from a third tier store. What I like about the place is the fact that you can go in and spend $40 and get 2-3 items of clothing. If you search, you can fine some semi-hip styles among the bland khakis and graphic t-shirts. Generally the quality isn't greap. The fabrics feel cheap, the stitching is poor, the fits are boxy. The jeans especially seem to be unflattering on everyone.

But I keep going back because a few items I have bought there get a lot of wear. Until they fall apart because they are mostly crap. But what do you expect when you paid $10 for it?
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jec says "Poorly written anti-feminist, and dull to boot." about Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1)

jec — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 21:10:19 GMT

I must admit, Twilight is one of those literary phenomenons I just don't get (kind of like Dan Brown, except his books have too much plot, whereas Twilight, well, read on...). I borrow the first book from the library shortly before book four came out. I had zero expectations and only knew they had been popular. No need to summarize the plot, which everyone knows by now. Instead let's talk about the troubling relationships between the teen Bella and the much older Edward, which borders on abusive. He treats her more like a daughter, ordering her around and telling her what to do, but she views it as the deepest romance. He spies on her when she sleeps, but she is charmed by it instead of creeped out. The author does nothing to establish the relationship between the two; their all-consuming passion is taken as a given because of the way she smells and the way he looks.

So Meyer is basically telling millions of young girls that relationships are based on looks and lust and are worth sacrificing......

jec says "The best car I have ever driven." about Toyota Prius - 2004

jec — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:29:57 GMT

I have owned my Prius over almost five years and never looked back. I had to pay extra to get it, and sometimes it makes me ill to think about it, but over the years it really has been worth it as gas climbed to over $4 per gallon. The hybrid engine works great and I get about 45-50 mpg. The car drives just as well as a gas engine and over 65,000 miles, I have experienced zero problems (save the tape deck that stopped working a few months ago).

The interior is much bigger than you'd think and seats four adults comfortably and five in a pinch.
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jec says "My favorite TV show ever." about The Office

jec — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:24:13 GMT

NBC's American version of The Office is easily my favorite TV show ever. I have all four seasons on DVD, and they have been watched and rewatched frequently even as other TV shows gather dust. I liked the original British version but the US take, despite a rough start in season one, has grown to become even more loveable, with a large cast of eccentric characters that make up the staff of a struggling paper company in the northeast. No one would ever wish a boss like Michael Scott (Steve Carrell, in a career-making performance) on their worst enemy, but it's great fun to watch him find new ways to humiliate himself every week (not that he usually notices). Office weirdo Dwight (Rainn Wilson) is the least realistic but most amusing character int he cast, and has gained depth through his recent breakup with buttoned-up accountant Angela. The romance between salesman Jim and receptionist Pam is a low point. What was once endearing has grown cloying over the years, and though the couple is......

jec says "Good show, but lays on the 1960s themes a little thick." about Mad Men Season One

jec — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:14:02 GMT

AMC's MAD MEN is one of the better shows on television right now. The trials and tribulations of a group of advertising executives at a New York firm in the early 1960s make for fascinating television, a exploration of the business and social climate of the era that saw men asserting their virility from the confines of an office while women worked as secretaries or stayed at home to raise the kids. Despite an excellent cast and very strong writing, the show can be a little off-putting at times, if only because the suburban malaise element familiar to anyone who has read Revolutionary Road is laid on a little too think, serving as the basis for nearly every episode in the first season.

As a DVD or Blu-ray, the show plays well in large chunks and includes some informative extras.
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jec says "Great player, but beware battery issues." about Apple - iPod Video White (30 GB) Media Player

jec — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:07:06 GMT

I love my iPod Video White (30 GB) Media Player! I am a Mac person so iPod is the way to go, and after owning one of the old 4 GB iPod minis, I made the upgrade to a 30 GB iPod video two years ago. It's wonderful! Even though I have loaded it with music, there is still tons of room. Before a plane trip I like to add episodes of my favorite TV shows to give me something to do in the air if I get tired of reading. It's also great for listening to audiobooks because it saves your place even if you are listening to multiple books at once.

On the downside, the casing is easily scratched. Mine is marked up even though I put a cover on it. The hard drive is a little slow sometimes and can take a second or two to respond when you try to load music. And worst of all, the battery life varies greatly. After two years of moderate use, my player no longer works at all unless it is plugged in to a power source. A replacement kit runs about $30 if I install it myself, and $60 if I have Apple do it.

This......

jec says "You won't miss real chicken nuggets!" about MorningStar Farms Veggie Buffalo Wings

jec — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:32:17 GMT

My girlfriend is a vegetarian and we never keep meat in the house. I have also been trying to eliminate meat from my diet, both for health and environmental reasons. Still, old habits are hard to break. I always loved chicken nuggets. Luckily, Morningstar Farms makes soy-based chicken nuggets that i like even better than the real thing (and I challenge anyone who doesn't know what they are eating to figure out they aren't real chicken!). This review is for the Morningstar Farms Veggie Buffalo Wings variety -- they are good, but the spiceyness can creep up on you if you eat too many at once....

jec says "I found this movie's emphasis on internet porn to be troubling." about FIREPROOF

jec — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 05:28:22 GMT

Kirk Cameron plays a semi-abusive husband who almost breaks up his marriage over an addiction to internet porn in the Christian message movie Fireproof. He also like boats. This is one of those made-for-TV (PAX) level movies that no one would actually want to see if their church didn't someone convince them they were doing the lord's work to watch it. Instead, I would suggest actually doing something worthwhile, like volunteering at a burn clinic or renting a DVD that isn't terrible. All in all, thumbs down....