Reviews by zeichner

zeichner says "A good value, when the lighting is good" about Canon - PowerShot S3 IS Digital Camera

zeichner — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:13:34 GMT

I like the Canon PowerShot Pro S3 IS digital camera a lot. It compares quite favorably with my old Olympus C-2100 UZ - with the advantage of a better zoom & 5 times the pixels.

As long as the lighting is good (in normal daylight, or using the flash) the pictures are sharp & clear. I do a lot of action photography, both indoor & outdoor - and if the above lighting conditions are met, the resulting pictures are great.

The biggest drawback to this camera, is it's poor performance when trying to photograph action in low light conditions. Pictures come out extremely grainy with any setting above ISO 200.

Otherwise, it's a great camera - very easy to use, a good weight (neither too heavy, nor too light). I rarely use the LCD screen, but it has a neat feature of being able to turn completely around to face the subject - so self-portraits are incredibly easy.
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zeichner says "Dark Humor, Sympathetic Characters" about Secretary

zeichner — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 17:09:56 GMT

This film follows the transformation of a troubled young woman (who compulsively cuts herself), as she becomes involved in a submissive/dominant sexual relationship with her new boss.

Maggie Gyllenhaal (in her breakout role) plays secretary Lee Holloway opposite James Spader, as lawyer E. Edward Grey. The two main characters are surrounded by a fabulous supporting cast, including Lesley Ann Warren, Stephen McHattie, Jeremy Davies, and Patrick Bauchau.

The serious subject matter - including self-mutilation, submission/dominance, domestic violence and alchoholism - is dealt with in a sympathetic, but darkly humorous, manner. While this story could have descended into "movie of the week" territory, instead it is an offbeat exploration of the various meanings of love and suffering.

The unique vision of this film lets us see all the characters as complex individuals - not simply two-dimensional representations that only serve to drive the plot. Everyone suffers and everyone deals with their suffering......

zeichner says "Donate to your favorite cause by searching the Internet" about GoodSearch

zeichner — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 16:25:34 GMT

GoodSearch is a front-end to the Yahoo search engine that donates 50% of their advertising revenue (about a penny per search) to charity. Users just need to select their favorite charity and begin searching. The selected charity is stored as a cookie, so subsequent searches are automatically counted.

The really nice thing about GoodSearch is that there is no form to fill out with personal information - they don't even want to know your name. The cookie is sufficient to credit each search to your selected charity.

Recently, GoodSearch has added donations based on online shopping - "GoodShop." As with GoodSearch, users simply have to select the charity they wish to support & start shopping. GoodShop donations vary by online vendor - and some vendors base the donation percentage on what you purchase - donations from e-bay purchases can be as high as 37.5%. There are currently 410 participating vendors, including Best Buy, Petsmart & Wal*Mart. Users simply have to click the online vendor's link......

zeichner says "The ultimate "outsider" movie" about Ghost World

zeichner — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 23:30:59 GMT

Right from the opening credits, with Thora Birch dancing around in her graduation gown to a '60s Bollywood musical - I knew this was going to be one of my all-time favorite movies.

Thora Birch & Scarlett Johansson (way before she was a superstar) play two best friends - Enid & Rebecca, who are beginning to grow apart as they leave high school and enter adulthood. Enid finds herself having to repeat a course in summer school, while Rebecca gets a job and starts making a life for herself. After the girls play a cruel prank on a lonely man (Seymour), played by Steve Buscemi, Enid begins to form a close friendship with him.

The story focuses on these three main characters, as Rebecca grows farther apart from Enid - and Enid grows closer to Seymour. The dialog is sharp, witty & filled with humorous irony. Supporting roles by Illeana Douglas, Bob Balaban & Teri Garr (to name but a few) help to make this one of the best-made independent films of the decade.

Overall, this film is a series of vignettes......

zeichner says "Apple has made a great product even better" about Apple - iPod Shuffle Second Gen. (1 GB) MP3 Player

zeichner — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 22:09:01 GMT

First of all, I love the iPod Shuffle because of its simplicity. You simply load it up with music and it shuffles through the songs. This makes it the perfect personal music device to use when I am exercising.

I love to walk for exercise - and it really helps if I can walk to the beat of some of my favorite music. By creating a playlist in iTunes with only songs at walking tempo, I can load up my iPod Shuffle and never have to worry about getting tired of exercising to the same old music.

The iPod Shuffle (1GB) holds over 16 hours of music - that's a lot of exercise sessions!

There is much about the second-generation iPod Shuffle that is improved over the previous version. The on-off & shuffle controls are much easier to use, since they are now slightly raised & the functions are split into two buttons (on-off & shuffle-loop) - that 3-position switch that was flush to the back of the old Shuffle used to drive me crazy. The spring clip is very handy, since I can clip it where it's easy to reach,......

zeichner says "Great Grand Piano Sound" about Casio CDp100 Digital Piano with Stand

zeichner — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 21:17:38 GMT

If you are looking for a good digital keyboard with the sound & feel of an acoustic piano, this is an excellent choice. Granted, there aren't a lot of built-in voices - but they got the grand piano sound right. Select "Grand Piano 1" with reverb & chorus and play through headphones or good speakers (the built-in speakers are a little too small to accurately reproduce the sound). I am really amazed by the accuracy with which they have captured the sound of an acoustic piano! The action is good (piano is not my main instrument, but I'm familiar with how a piano is supposed to feel.) This is a very good approximation of the feel of an acoustic piano. As for the rest of the onboard sounds, the "Electric Piano" is a very good Fender Rhodes sound. "Harpsichord" bears a passing resemblance to an actual harpsichord & "Strings" is pretty cheesy-sounding. If you want more (or better) sounds, connect this keyboard to a better MIDI source. This keyboard is exactly what I wanted (and actually sounds......

zeichner says "This Artist Deserves to Be Better Known" about Poe - Haunted

zeichner — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 20:46:55 GMT

Ann Danielewski, who performs under the stage name "Poe" is an amazingly talented artist. Unfortunately, her contract with her former record label doesn't permit her to perform any of the songs she recorded with them, now that they have dumped her. So it's up to her fans to spread the word of her talent and encourage others to buy her recordings - especially since they aren't receiving any promotion from the record label.

"Haunted" is a concept album, produced in conjunction with her brother's (Mark Danielewski) novel "House of Leaves." Interspersed between the actual songs on the album are short "atmospheric" tracks that help to tie all the songs together - but trust me, you won't miss them if you filter them out completely on your iPod.

Poe's style is hard to pin down. She slides in and out of styles - from straight-ahead rock, to techno-dance, to hip-hop, alt-pop - and back to rock - sometimes more than once in the same song. What makes it all work is her amazing voice.

She has range -......

zeichner says "Brilliant Songwriting & a Distinctive Voice" about Sarah Slean - Day One

zeichner — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 19:55:10 GMT

It's quite rare when a singer/songwriter is equally talented in both singing & songwriting. Sarah Slean is one of those rare individuals who not only can write intelligent, well-crafted songs with distinctive melodies, but also possesses the vocal talents & range necessary to perform those songs.

"Day One" is a solid album with a number of outstanding songs. It's pop music that you would never hear on the radio, since it really doesn't sound like any other artist. The arrangements have Sarah's piano at the center, but include a healthy mix of guitar, bass & drums (sometimes augmented with synthesizers, strings & horns.) There is a good range of styles & textures - Sarah provides virtually all the vocal harmonies, which makes for a very well-blended sound.

Specifically, the songs range from the light pop of "Somebody's Arms", to a cabaret-style waltz ("Out in the Park"), to the frantic & slightly twisted pop of "Lucky Me", to lush vocal features like "Your Wish Is My Wish."

"Pilgrim" sets......

zeichner says "Excellent Fit & Easy to Take Care Of" about Lands' End Men's Pleat Front Traditional Fit Carefree Chino Pants

zeichner — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 18:45:17 GMT

These pants are high-quality & reasonably priced ($30 a pair.) They have a nice finish (brushed cotton) and are made with 2-ply cotton yarn, so they have a good feel to them.

After washing, they need to be ironed - but they lay nicely, so ironing takes very little time. They hold a crease very well & don't wrinkle easily.

The fit is comfortable & I think they look good.
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