Reviews by Friends of scapp70

RudiXeno says "TRESemme European Shampoo: Works nicely for us" about TRESemme European Shampoo, Vitamin E Moisture Rich, Dry or Damaged Hair

RudiXeno — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 11:59:24 GMT

When you live in a household with a bunch of longhaired, oh so style and fashion conscious women as I do, an almost omnipresent item on the shopping list is shampoo and conditioner. Yikes! This can leave a huge hole in the wallet, especially if you've fallen for the "salon brand hype".

I have a pretty fair degree of training in chemistry. I produce my own soaps and skin care preparations and even manufacture specialized high performance cleaning products. So, I'm pretty much at home with the ingredients that typically grace the label of shampoos.

But it seems no matter how much I try to impress my family with the virtues of brands such as Suave and White Rain that can be purchased for the mere value of the products, it's a tough fight.

Interestingly, the most costly ingredient in a 32oz. bottle of a Salon Brand shampoo is the plastic bottle and the dispensing cap! The ingredients inside the bottle rarely exceed 50 cents. Now that's just plain pathetic.

TRESemme European Shampoo,...

...

RudiXeno says "Polar 24 oz. Insulated Water Bottle: Gentler on the environment" about Polar Bottle Insulated Water Bottle, 24 Oz

RudiXeno — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 10:49:46 GMT

A few months back, my daughter returned from school announcing that she had just joined a project to design an effective campaign to reduce the use of single serving plastic water bottles in favor of re-usable insulated bottles by her classmates.

As a result of her participation, we paid a visit to Sports Authority and purchased a Polar 24 oz Insulated Sports Bottle.

Some Interesting research

In 2007, Americans consumed approximately 50 billion single serve bottles of water. That's about 1 billion bottles a week. Although this water is transported in a combination of ships, trains and trucks, imagine a weekly convoy of almost 38,000 18-wheelers needed to transport this water.

While almost all water now comes in totally recyclable polyethylene terephthalate plastic (PET) bottles, it is estimated that over ¾ escape recycling and end up in landfill. Since most of the bottled water we drink is consumed outside the home most bottles are simply trashed. This certainly has the ring...

...

Fardreamer says "Mission Impossible II: Nice story, but cartoonish sequel" about Mission: Impossible II

Fardreamer — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:57:34 GMT

In 2000's Mission: Impossible II, Cruise returned as Hunt and screenwriter Robert Towne teamed up with former Star Trek: The Next Generation writer-producers Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga to write a screen story set around action sequences already conceived by director John Woo.

Woo, of course, is a filmmaker who is known for his high-octane and choreographed action sequences, so it's not surprising that he would have come up with such scenes as the opening titles' rock-climbing by Ethan Hunt or a climactic confontation between Hunt and guest-villain Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott).

This time around, Ethan Hunt is assigned to team up with a beautiful thief named Nyah Hall (Thandie Newton) in order to stop Ambrose from getting his hands on Chimera, a man-made super-virus that kills its victims in less than 24 hours unless they're injected with Bellerophon, an equally man-made cure.

Towne, who wrote Chinatown, borrows a plot element from Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious when he has Mission...

...

Fardreamer says "Pixar's WALL-E is a funny, touching out-of-this-world love story" about Wall-E

Fardreamer — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:26:17 GMT

Ever since I was around 13 or so, I've resisted going to Walt Disney-produced movies of any genre, in seventh grade I was teased a lot by the older kids when I told them I'd gone to see one of the Disney live-action comedies (The Apple Dumpling Gang, if memory serves). The guys (most of my friends at the time were boys, since I was so darn shy with girls then) rolled their eyes at me and said I should go see movies along the lines of Jaws, Grand Theft Auto or The Omen instead.

"Those are real movies, Alex," they'd say almost in chorus, "not that Walt Disney stuff. That's for babies."

Of course, as an adult, I have seen quite a few of the really great post-1970s Disney animated movies, including The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Tarzan and The Lion King.

I still don't go to see too many animated movies when they hit the multiplex, partly because my moviegoing budget is really limited, but also because I tend to notice that much of what Hollywood releases is either too formulaic...

...

RudiXeno says "Bosch Nexxt 500 Plus: The Right Front Loader" about Bosch Nexxt 500 Plus WFMC5301UC Front Load Washer

RudiXeno — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 20:35:34 GMT

A couple of years ago, when our house saw its 20th birthday, several of our major appliances were growing long in the tooth. For the past few years we have noticed that they needed more frequent repair. But now they were beginning to fail. First to go was our GE Dishwasher. After careful research we settled on a Bosch Evolution 500 Series as its replacement.

Next came our washing machine. Our Kenmore Top Loader had served us well. It's no longer common to find washing machines that will last for 2 decades. But now it was beginning to rust out and the time had come to replace it.

Perhaps 10 years ago we might have marched into Sears and purchased an updated version of the top loader we owned. But we were looking for something that was more efficient both in terms of water usage and energy consumed.

The Search

Over the last several years I've read and rated over a thousand reviews of washing machines. With all that experience I found that information has a way of sticking....

...

RudiXeno says "Mitchum Clear Gel Antiperspirant & Deodorant: A Family Choice" about Mitchum Clear Gel Antiperspirant & Deodorant - Rain Storm

RudiXeno — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:03:32 GMT

Recently, when I was at the market I found our Mitchum Clear Gel Antiperspirant & Deodorant nowhere to be found and so we "settled" on Degree Invisible Stick - Cool Rush. We liked it, but still our Antiperspirant & Deodorant of choice remains Mitchum Clear Gel in the Rain Storm Scent.

Living in South Florida, we find that a deodorant itself isn't enough. We prefer a combination deodorant/antiperspirant. Ideally, it should be a product that the whole family both can and want to use. For us that product is Mitchum Clear Gel Antiperspirant & Deodorant.

Mitchum Clear Gel Antiperspirant & Deodorant in the Rain Storm scent goes on as a light gel that is quickly absorbed into the skin. The active antiperspirant ingredient, Aluminum Sesquichlorohydrate, is mild and temporarily fills the pores through which you would ordinarily perspire.

What We Like

The alcohol-free, quick drying formula is mild enough for the Xeno women to use the product soon after shaving underarms. Unlike many...

...

BayouBengal says "Cold Sores and/or Chapped Lips? Carmex to Rescue!" about Carmex Lip Balm - 0.5 oz tub

BayouBengal — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:39:05 GMT

I was never one to pick up Carmex when winter weather brought on dry, chapped and cracking lips. My husband, on the other hand is a Carmex believer. It is his product of choice and the first he will pick up when he feels a cold sore coming on or has chapped lips.

Carmex .5 oz Tub

The famous little Carmex Tub with a yellow lid is a familiar thing to see on my husbands nightstand. He reaches for it at bedtime and puts it in his pocket in the mornings on the way to work.

Carmex .5 oz Tub is designed to relieve the symptoms of cold sores and dry, cracked or chapped lips. It contains moisturizers along with active ingredients of menthol and camphor to sooth lips.

Priced at $1.99 or less, it is a good choice for relieving dry, chapped lips or when you are coming down with a fever blister. The product works well at soothing and contains a moisturizer to help restore moisture back to your lips. Carmex can also be found at just about any store or convenience store. Look by the checkout...

...

Fardreamer says "One star is way too good for lame Jaws: The Revenge" about Jaws 4 - The Revenge

Fardreamer — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:48:15 GMT

One of the many sad truths about being a constant movie watcher and film reviewer is that for every good movie that comes to a local multiplex near you, there are usually two or three fair-to-middlin' ones and quite a few bad apples in the same cinematic menu.

Sure, what might be a good moviegoing experience for me doesn't necessarily mean it will be for some. For instance, I honestly like the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy which was out in theaters between 1999 and 2005, while others honestly and earnestly don't. Conversely, I don't like Michael Bay movies along the lines of Pearl Harbor or Transformers, and yet I've come across reviews that defend those films with an equal passion as my write-ups for, say, The Phantom Menace or Revenge of the Sith.

In short, as the old TV sitcom theme song written by Alan Thicke puts it, Different Strokes for different folks.

But there are times when studios, either for financial or artistic reasons, release realy bad movies that most reasonable viewers...

...

MikeMaroon says "Lost in, but never Rescue Me from These Shows I watch with Glee" about Best TV 2000-2009

MikeMaroon — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 19:17:57 GMT

Here we are at the end of another decade. Of course, I know you can carve any 10 year chunk of time out of the calendar and call it a decade and, well, it is. 1993- 2002 is a decade, BUT we mortals tend to think in multiples of 10 and so, for the purpose of categorising things, we think the beginning of all decades involve a number ending with a zero. Therefore, for most of us, Jan 1, 2010 will begin a new decade.

Now, any ole hack can pick the top 10 TV shows for a year, but this ole hack is gonna have the audacity to name the best (at least in my mind) TV shows I saw in the past 10 years. I KNOW! But, anyway I do understand that anyone making a list like this is gonna bring their preferences and biases into it and I'm not a huge sitcom or reality show fan, which is why you won't find much of that here. I must say, there was a LOT of quality TV out there and it was a tough choice, but I picked the shows that I just couldn't resist. You may or may not be surprised by some...

...

Fardreamer says "Jaws 3 stinks worse than three-day-old fish!" about Jaws 3

Fardreamer — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 17:48:44 GMT

Although Hollywood studios did make a few movie series (The Thin Man, Andy Hardy, Blondie) in the so-called Golden Era of the 1930s and 1940s, the modern concept of the Big Blockbuster Sequel really didn't emerge until the 1970s, starting with Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather: Part II, followed by Airport 1975, Airport '77, and Jaws 2. And, of course, the phenomenal success of Star Wars and the subsequent The Empire Strikes Back proved to be decisive in the studios' increasing dependence on sequels to make millions of dollars at the box office, especially in years where there are no real "boffo" champs deserving of either critical or popular acclaim.

While all the major studios are prone to make totally unnecessary sequels, Universal Studios is perhaps one of the worst purveyors of Film Sequels from Hell, and one of the best (or is it worst?) examples is Jaws 3, which was originally known as Jaws 3-D.

The third film in The Series That Never Should Have Been a Series actually has the...

...

RudiXeno says "ForceFlex Quick-Tie: Not quite ready for prime-time" about Glad Forceflex Quick Tie Kitchen Trash Bags

RudiXeno — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 06:02:41 GMT

Not too long ago I tried Glad's ForceFlex Tall Kitchen Trash Bags. This was the variety that came with the familiar drawstring. Having previously pretty much stuck with the Publix store brand, I had to say I was impressed. In fact I tested them for their strength and found that they could easily hold four 1 gallon bottles of water weighing just over 32 lb. My Publix bags couldn't.

So it wasn't long before I found Glad ForceFlex bags on deep sale in the local BJ's Wholesale Club. A box of a million or so bags (actually "only" 140) for a very reasonable price.

All Glad ForceFlex Bags are not created equal

Had I looked carefully I would have noticed that these bags had no familiar red draw-string. Sure they had the signature criss-cross pattern from which they derive their incredible strength, but no draw-string. In its place were four elongated flaps that could be tied together in order to seal the bag closed. As far as I was concerned, I didn't think it was going to be much...

...

BayouBengal says "Maybelline Dream Mousse Eye Shadow -- It's Moussey!" about Maybelline Dream Mousse Shadow

BayouBengal — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 02:15:26 GMT

I'm not a morning person but I'm also not one to go out of the house without makeup! And that goes for eye shadow too on most mornings. One of my new finds is Maybelline Dream Mousse Eye Shadow. I picked it up because I found it at Dollar Tree and I knew my daughter loved the foundation. So I decided to give it a try.

I bought the pastal lilac shade of Maybelline Dream Mousse Eye Shadow for only a buck at Dollar Tree. I picked up two different shades if I recall. I have opened and have been using the lilac shade for several days now.

Maybelline Dream Mousse Eye Shadow is a whipped formula of eye shadow that is very lightweight. The shade I have is a pastel lilac and it has a shimmer to it that is barely noticeable.

I love the way Maybelline Dream Mousse Eye Shadow applies. It dries quickly, and will allow for you to add another dab if you need the shade to be a bit darker. It is not sticky nor greasy. The slight shimmer is just enough to catch the light and add a bit...

...

RudiXeno says "Alfi Juwel Gold Plated Brass Carafe-Serving it Large & Luxurious" about Alfi 30579000100 Juwel Gold Plated Brass Carafe (Thermal Pot)

RudiXeno — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 19:23:32 GMT

The Xenos just love to entertain. Give me an audience to demonstrate my cooking chops and I'm all set.

And after the meal is done what's better than to savor a good cup of coffee.

"Who wants decaf?' queries Veronica. "G_o_o_o_d G_a_a_d!" I scream in my head, apparently channeling Norman Thayer from On Golden Pond. Great! Now I have to put up two pots. We have plenty of coffee makers around so that's not the problem.

"Anyone need tea?" she adds trying to be the perfect hostess. By now I know she's just trying to tick me off. Veronica knows that's there's no way I'm going to put three glass pots on the dining room table. She wants to show off the Alfi Juwels.

Alfi Juwels
Alfi has been producing elegant carafes since 1918. They were first used almost exclusively on the Pullman cars of American railroads. They are constructed in Germany and feature double walled glass liners that are guaranteed to keep liquids either hot or cold for up to 12 hours. Each carafe has...

...

Fardreamer says "Willis is watchable in 1990's otherwise too formulaic Die Hard 2" about Die Hard 2: Die Harder

Fardreamer — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:37:41 GMT

One of the predictable consequences of the success of 1988's Die Hard was 20th Century Fox's decision to greenlight Renny Harlin's Die Hard 2: Die Harder, a spectacularly violent sequel to Bruce Willis' star-making hit about a brave, wise-cracking police detective who goes mano-a-mano with a band of sophisticated criminals in order to save his estranged wife (Bonnie Bedelia) and other civilians.

The studio's big shots, of course, rarely see movies as works of art but rather as investments for which they expect at least some profit, so when a stand-alone film such as Airport, Jaws, Smokey and the Bandit or Die Hard makes more money than they put into it, the temptation to make them into franchises becomes irresistible.

Although Die Hard director John McTiernan had been tapped to helm the sequel (written by Doug Richardson and Steven E. de Souza), he had to pass because he was working on Paramount Pictures' The Hunt for Red October. Determined to release Die Hard 2 for the summer 1990...

...

Saxguy says "Tastes great and seems to work ok" about Yogi Tea - Berry Detox

Saxguy — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:54:13 GMT

I have been drinking Yogi Tea Berry Detox for several months now.

I enjoy the flavor, which is made for strawberry, blueberry and raspberry, my favorite.

It also includes a propietary blend of the following herbs:

Organic Ginger Root

Organic Fennel Seed

Organic Hibiscus Flower

Organic Orange Peel

Yellow Dock Root

Organic Rhubarb Root

Organic Honeybush

Acai Berry

Organic Stevia Leaf

and also includes Emblic Fruit Extract and Tannins.

It's billed as supportng healthy liver and intestinal function. I don't know how to valdate that, really, but I was getting tested all summer for liver size and function and I have had no problems. It's a mild concern as I am a moderate drinker.

It has no caffeine.

The box reports that up to 10 bag can be used per day and the tea can be enjoyed for 30 consecutive days. The box also says that 2 bags can be used for a stronger effect. I enjoy two bangs when I drink several times a week but not daily.

For me, the biggest con is the $4.99 retail price...

...

Saxguy says "Failed in less than a year" about Timex Timex 5G941 Personal Heart Rate Monitor

Saxguy — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:52:08 GMT

I bought the Timex 5G941 Personal Heart Rate Monitor during the early part of the summer. I was getting occasional arrythmia and rapid heart beatand I wanted a basic monitor so I could check my pulse, not necessarily during exercise as I have a second monitor with more features.I was attracted to the Timex 5G941 Personal Heart Rate Monitor because it's name and price. I paid less than $40.

The unit comes with the watch, of course, and a chest strap, feauthing a front plastic portion that fits under the chest, wth 2 sensors and an elastic band around the back.

The monitor tracks exercise time and pulse rate during exercise, and reports exercise time, average heart rate and eak heart rate when finished.

The watch itself has a backlight and reports time of day.

It worked adequately when I first got it. However, it is not working now. I wanted to use it yesterday, when my arrhythmia flared up. I turned it on and the watch did not pick up the pulse. So, I replaced the CR 2032 battery...

...

vivasuzi says "Soft, warm and comfy - what more do you need!" about Martha Stewart Everyday Extra-Soft Blanket

vivasuzi — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 03:46:01 GMT

I never buy Martha Stewart brand things, not that I have anything against it, I just don't tend to buy it. My Grandmother-in-law gave us the Martha Stewart Everyday Extra-Soft Blanket at our wedding shower and we just busted it out this winter.

The Extra-Soft blanket is - extra soft! It says it's made of microfiber yarns. I'm not sure what that means but it must mean something that makes it soft. We have a queen/king size blanket so it fits great on our bed. We put it on top of our other blankets as an extra layer on really cold nights and it really helps keep us warm.

Outside of bedtime, I use this blanket a lot in the living room while I watch tv or work on the computer. It may be queen/king size, but I love how warm it keeps me so I pull it off the bed often :) It's so soft and cuddly that I can fall asleep and take a nap with it anytime. The great thing is, I never feel overly HOT when I use this blanket. I feel warm and toasty but not hot. So I don't end up...

...

Fardreamer says "De Palma's Mission Impossible reboot goes on Cruise control" about Mission: Impossible

Fardreamer — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 17:13:59 GMT

In 1996, 30 years after its debut on the CBS television network, producer Bruce Geller's spy-action adventure series Mission: Impossible followed Star Trek from the small screen into the silver screen when Paramount Pictures released Brian DePalma's film adaptation, which stars Tom Cruise as IMF operative Ethan Hunt and Jon Voight as Jim Phelps.

Because the series was so much a product of the Cold War - proving Nicholas Meyer's statement that "all art reflects the times in which it's created" - storywriters Steven Zaillian and David Koepp and screenwriters Koepp and Robert Towne couldn't simply take stories from the old show and update them for the film.

They could, however, take some of the series' basic premises and one character (Phelps) and try to extrapolate what the end of the Cold War has wrought on the IMF team and its leaders now that the Iron Curtain has fallen and their roles and missions are being redefined.

The big issue faced by Zaillian, Koepp and Towne was this: Tom Cruise's...

...

RudiXeno says "Magic Jack: It worked for me" about Magic Jack

RudiXeno — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 00:35:39 GMT

About a year ago a friend and business associate was over with his wife for a Sunday evening dinner.

After dinner we were talking about his business when he asked if I might be able to help him out by making some Public Relations telephone calls for him. So we discussed what the message would be and got that all squared away. He went out to his car and when he returned he tossed a little silver gizmo to me and said, "use this to make the calls."

It was a Magic Jack. His business is in Ft. Lauderdale and of course I live in Boca Raton (another County). It'll look better on the caller ID he claimed. He plugged it into my laptop, we spent just a few minutes setting it up and we plugged a corded phone into it. To test it I called my daughter in New York. She heard me loud and clear and her caller ID identified the call as originating in Ft. Lauderdale.

VOIP on the cheap

Magic Jack is basically a VOIP device that permits you to make free calls over th Internet. I'm not sure what...

...

Fardreamer says "Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket is quirky, violent Vietnam War film " about Full Metal Jacket

Fardreamer — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:26:56 GMT

Before I bought Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket on DVD last year, I had only seen the movie once before - when it was released in theaters in 1987.

I was still in college then, a journalism major and - at the time - copy editor of my junior college campus' student newspaper. But because I had been the paper's Diversions editor during the previous semester, I still wrote entertainment-related articles or reviews if the section needed me to do so.

I went to see Full Metal Jacket with my friends Betsy Matteis and Richard de la Pena; we had met in elementary school in the 1970s and remained close until Betsy moved to Alabama several years ago and (sadly) Richard's death at the age of 41 (cancer).

At the time, many Hollywood studios were releasing "combat experience" movies about the Vietnam War, a topic they had either ignored or danced peripherically around by focusing their attention on the post-war experiences or the home front dramas (The Deer Hunter, Coming Home) of the veterans. ...

...