Reviews and More

Gambling has long been a favorite pastime of mine. I hit the Chicago-area riverboats at least once a month with a group of friends, and find few things more relaxing and entertaining than playing shoe after shoe of blackjack all night long. The only thing that could make my casino trips even better is if my husband would go with me.

My husband doesn’t enjoy casino games very much, but I think it’s just because he hasn’t had enough exposure to blackjack, craps, roulette, and slots. He grew up in Japan, where they only have pachinko and horse racing, so I guess it’s understandable that he doesn’t know how to play these other games.

I’ve been trying to get my husband to share my passion for gambling, and it seems that he’s coming around little by little. I think my next step would be to get him a game of the month club membership from Executive Gaming Monthly for his birthday. This membership would make a great gift because my husband would be able to choose which games he wants featured each month, and then he’d receive the appropriate gaming packages once a month right here at home. After he gets the packages, he’ll be able to practice these casino games in the privacy of our own home until he becomes confident enough to take the action to the boats.

I’d recommend that my husband start with the blackjack package for sure, because I think every gambler worth his or her salt needs to know how to play this game well. The Player Level package comes with a 4-deck shoe, table layout, chips, and cut card, which is enough equipment to get started learning the game. I’d then urge him to select the Player Level craps package for the next month’s choice so he could learn how to play that game as well.

I’m anxious to try out this gift idea to see if it helps change my husband’s attitude towards gaming. Wish me luck!

Sunday night’s episode of Desperate Housewives was called “Gossip” and dealt mostly with the various ways that neighborhood gossip interferes with people’s lives. We got lots of interaction between the wives (which is always a good thing), plus a nice mention of Bree. Anyway, here’s a more detailed look at what happened in episode 3×20.

Lynette/Tom: Tom is becoming more mobile after six weeks of bed rest, so one night he surprises Lynette at the pizza joint — just as she and Rick were about to head out to a restaurant event together. Lynette pulls herself together quickly and doesn’t let on that she’s disappointed to see her family, but Kayla sees her talking to Rick and gets the feeling that something’s up between those two.

She opens her big mouth to Tom, saying that she thinks Lynette “likes” Rick. No, likes likes him, ya know? So Tom puts the feelers out there and tells Lynette that he thinks it’s time for him to get back to the restaurant. That way, they’ll be able to cut Rick loose and enjoy more of the profits for themselves. Lynette skirts around the issue, saying Tom needs to rest some more so he doesn’t injure himself again. Plus, why would they fire Rick when he’s the one that’s responsible for their new-and-improved menu in the first place? At that point, Tom realizes that Lynette is acting strange and that maybe he has something to worry about after all.

Susan/Ian/Mike: Both Ian and Mike continue to try to get back with Susan, but she refuses to see either one of them. The strain of her personal life is causing her to stress out over little things, and she flips out on a guy in a mall parking lot. She ends up assaulting him, then has to go to court-ordered therapy.

While in therapy, Susan decides that she really does love Ian and that she wants to marry him. She goes and breaks the news to Mike first, then calls Ian to celebrate. Just before they head upstairs, Susan checks her phone messages and hears one from Mike (he’s congratulating the couple and telling them he’ll stay out of their way). She listens to it again, not knowing that Ian is standing behind her. At that point, Ian knows for sure that Susan will never be his, so he breaks up with her.

Later on, Susan hears from a neighbor that Mike packed up his truck and moved away — all without stopping to say goodbye to her.

Gabby/Carlos/Edie: Gabby has an engagement party to celebrate her upcoming nuptials with Victor, but Edie ruins her night by admitting that she and Carlos have been seeing each other for a while. Gabby is outraged, and tries to get Lynette and Susan to join her in dissing Edie. They reluctantly agree, but Edie gets the last laugh by asking Lynette to cater Travers’s birthday party and asking Susan to do a book signing at the party.

Gabby ends up making a scene at the party, at which point Carlos physically hauls her off to have a chat with her. He wants to know what her problem is, since she’s the one who demanded a divorce in the first place. He’s free to date whomever she wants, and Gabby’s engagement should mean that she doesn’t care what Carlos does. Gabby finally relents, but only because she can see that Carlos is still in love with her.

Mrs. McCluskey: As expected, it’s revealed that Mrs. McCluskey didn’t actually kill her husband before putting him in the freezer. He died of natural causes, but since he didn’t change the beneficiary on his pension plan, his first wife stood to get everything and Karen was about to lose it all. So she decided to put him in the freezer, not report his death, and keep cashing his pension checks.

My Reaction: While this wasn’t a great episode, I did enjoy it very much. There were even a few laugh-out-loud moments along the way, like when Lynette and Susan were crawling around on the ground trying to hide from Gabby or when Susan attacked the guy in the parking lot. This felt like a fun episode again, and that’s really what Desperate Housewives should be. Here’s hoping this trend continues next week!

I was talking to a friend of mine last night and we got onto the subject of our favorite “comfy” clothes. Since both of us are work-at-home moms, we rarely have the need to get dressed up from day to day, but instead can hang out in whatever makes us the most comfortable. For me, it’s definitely just a t-shirt and shorts or sweats (depending on the season). My friend surprised me by telling me that she likes to wear nursing uniforms and scrubs when she’s puttering around the house.

I have to admit that I’d never really considered wearing scrubs just to lounge in, but after hearing my friend rave about them, I guess I can see the appeal. They’re roomy, allow for a wide range of motion, are ultra-comfortable, and are also very easy to care for. Plus, nursing uniforms and scrubs are pretty cheap, with tops and bottoms available in a variety of colors for less than $10 each.

My friend hyped up her scrubs so much that I just might have to buy a set for myself soon. I’m all for being comfortable when I’m doing my computer work at home, so we’ll see!

Sunday night’s episode of The Sopranos was called “Chasing It” and dealt almost exclusively with Tony’s escalating gambling losses, along with the ensuing tension caused by his mounting debts. Here’s a quick recap of what happened in episode number 6×16.

From the last episode, we know that Tony borrowed $200,000 from his good friend Hesh to cover some of his gambling losses. Well, in this episode, we see Tony consistently making terrible bets — and losing big. For instance, after hitting a number straight-up in roulette, he lets the $18,000 ride on the very same number and loses. After winning at blackjack, he puts $100k on a horse race just because the horse’s name is Meadow-something.

All of his losses cause Tony to become anxious and pissed off with everyone he deals with. He gripes about having to pay Hesh back, and can’t pass over the $3,000/wk vig without making biting comments as well. He gets into a huge fight with Carm when she doesn’t want to put money from her first commission on a “sure thing” football game. And he snaps at his crew because they’re not earning what they should be.

Aside from the gambling, Tony has to deal with other nagging problems in this episode as well. For instance, Vito Spatafore’s wife comes to him complaining that Vito Jr. is acting up in school, and she asks Tony for $100,000 so the family can relocate to Maine. Tony is livid that she’s placing the burden on him, especially since Phil Leotardo caused the problem in the first place and Phil’s her cousin. In the end, Tony offers up $18,000 to send Vito Jr. away to a camp in Idaho for troubled teens.

Other things that happened: AJ proposed to his girlfriend Blanca. She was hesitant at first, but AJ told her that he loves her and is willing to work hard to support her and Hector (her son). She then agrees, but later changes her mind again and ends up breaking up with AJ.

Hesh’s girlfriend Renatta was found dead in bed one morning, and the writers didn’t make it very clear what happened to her. She could have just died in her sleep, or Tony could have had her clipped because he didn’t like the way Hesh was acting about the big debt. Either way, Tony shows up at Hesh’s house and pays off the $200k in full the same morning that Renatta died.

My Reaction: I had mixed feelings about this episode. First of all, I have no idea where Tony’s huge gambling problem is coming from. It’s like the writers just decided to pull this whole storyline out of a hat and make it loom large for a while. I mean, I know Tony’s a mobster and a big part of his business is taking in sports bets, so he’s obviously been around that kind of action for his whole career. But no one has ever dropped so much as a tiny hint that Tony had any kind of gambling problem, so I’m calling b.s. on the whole thing.

Usually I feel bad for Carmela for the way Tony treats her, but in this episode she showed just how selfish she can be as well. Wasn’t Tony the one who gave her the money to get started with the whole realtor business? And now when she finally turns a profit she doesn’t want to share with him? Um, okaaay.

And poor AJ. I never really liked him before, but he seems to have sincerely changed his ways for Blanca. So I felt bad for him when Blanca dumped him so unceremoniously.

Just a handful of Sopranos episodes left. I can’t wait to see how this series ends!

A couple weekends ago, my family and I took a short trip out to a city called Iga, where we got to tour an old-style ninja house. This house was pretty cool because it was full of secret compartments, hidden doors, and underground passages that the ninja used to help overcome enemy attacks. Of course, as soon as we got home, my son started asking me to buy him some ninja gear of his own so he could dress up like the tour guides.

I started checking out some online stores just to humor him, and was surprised to see that there’s a wide selection of authentic ninja weapons and clothing available from various websites. I really had no idea that it was so easy to buy a full ninja costume, complete with a hood, mask, tabi socks, and tabi boots. The costume looks best when it’s accented with weapons like swords, daggers, and shuriken — all of which are readily available as well.

These products look like they could really do some damage, so I wouldn’t buy them for my four-year-old, but I’d definitely recommend them to adults!

Last night HBO treated viewers to yet another new Entourage episode. It was number 3×16 and was called “Gotcha!” In this ep it seemed that Ari, Drama, and Turtle got more screen time than Vince and E, which was actually a nice change — especially since there’s not much going on in Vince’s career right now. Anyway, here’s a closer look at what happened:

Ari/Mrs. Ari: I just realized that Ari’s wife has no name! I went to look it up on IMDB.com for this recap, and saw that she’s listed simply as “Mrs. Ari.” Strange, huh? Anyway, these two spent the ep entertaining an old frat buddy of Ari’s. They hadn’t seen the guy in 10 years, and back then he was a loud, obnoxious loser who was bartending at Hooters and didn’t have a decent future ahead of him. Plus, he always made lewd comments about Mrs. Ari, which Ari found hilarious, but she didn’t.

Anyway, when the guy arrives, he’s got a hot young fiancée who looks even better than Mrs. Ari. The Golds can’t believe what’s going on, and after repeated questioning, the frat brother finally explains himself: he was one of the early investors in Stamps.com and when he sold his share, he got $65 million. Ari, despite laughing about how absurd the whole thing sounds, becomes insanely jealous and spends the rest of the ep making an ass of himself.

Drama/Turtle: Turtle tells Drama that Pauly Shore is doing a Punk’d style show and wants Drama to be the first victim for the pilot episode. Drama hates Pauly Shore, but the thought of being in a pilot is too tempting to pass up, so he agrees. Since Turtle already explained to him that there would be hidden cameras around, all Drama has to do is “act surprised” and everything will be ok.

Those two head out to the scene of the supposed punking and get into a confrontation in the parking lot as some guy tries to pull into the same space. Drama thinks this is the punk, so he gets out and acts tough even though the other driver is an Ultimate Fighting champion. Turtle tries to tell Johnny that’s not the punk, but Johnny is past the point of no return. The fighter threatens to kick his ass later on (he can’t do it now because his daughter is in the car).

Drama spends the rest of the ep worrying about having this ultimate fighter after him, but Turtle comes up with a way to earn the guy’s forgiveness. All the have to do is show up at the fighter’s charity event, make a donation, and apologize. They go there, and the guy calls Drama into the ring where he tells him he has two choices: either get down on his knees and beg for forgiveness in front of everyone or start fighting. Just as Drama drops to his knees, they reveal that this is the punk after all.

Vince/Amanda/E: E figures out that Vince and Amanda slept together, and he thinks it’s a huge mistake. Vince doesn’t agree, however, and it’s clear that he and Amanda actually like each other as more than just business associates. The ep didn’t really pursue this avenue very far, but I’m sure this storyline won’t just go away. Could this be how Vince eventually finds his way back to Ari??

My Reaction: This was pretty much a throwaway episode with filler content, but like I said above, it was fun to see some of the other characters take center stage for awhile. Plus, anything that keeps E off my screen is fine with me! Oh, yeah — did you see that shot of a shirtless Jeremy Piven?? OMG, he’s got some abs!!!

These days it’s more important than ever to have a college degree in order to embark on a successful career. Employers expect job candidates to have at least a Bachelor’s degree in order to be considered for both entry-level positions and promotions, so it makes sense to secure your future by earning a degree right now.

The good news is that a college education has become increasingly accessible over the years, thanks in large part to the availability of elearning options at accredited academic institutions everywhere. The ability to take online classes means that working adults and other non-traditional students have just as much of a chance to obtain a Bachelor’s degree as those students who can afford to go live on campus for four years immediately after high school.

To find out more about how you can continue your education and get ahead in your field, visit Capella.edu today.

This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.

I occasionally go back and watch old movies that I’ve liked in the past to see how well they hold up with time. An Officer and a Gentleman was first released in 1982, making it a quarter of a century old already! I saw it when I was in high school (not in 1982, mind you), then again a few years later and liked it well enough both times. I still wanted to view it once more, however, with a more adult perspective to work with.

An Officer and a Gentleman stars Richard Gere as a young man named Zach Mayo who has enrolled in the Naval Aviation Officer Candidate School in Washington. We learn early on that he’s had a rough family life: his mother committed suicide when he was a child and he had to go live with his father (a Rear Admiral in the Navy) in the Philippines. It didn’t help that all his father cared about was drinking and chasing hookers, so by the time Zach enrolls at the OCS, he has the usual problems with authority figures as well as commitment issues.

Mayo’s drill instructor is Gunnery Sergeant Foley (played by Louis Gossett, Jr.), and we can see right from the start that they’ll butt heads before all is said and done. Mayo actually does very well with the physical aspects of the training, but struggles with the academic component. That’s when he hooks up with Sid (David Keith), another candidate who promises to help get Mayo through their Aerodynamics class if Mayo keeps Sid well-supplied with polished belt buckles and boots for barracks inspections.

While most of the story takes place at the OCS, there’s a major subplot involving Zach, Sid, and two local women they meet during their weekends off from school. These women are Paula (Debra Winger) and Lynette (Lisa Blount), so-called “Puget Debs”: working-class girls who try to hook up with officer candidates and perhaps get a marriage proposal out of the deal. Some Puget Debs would go so far as to fake pregnancy in order to trap a man into proposing. Paula pairs off with Zach, while Lynette gets Sid.

The rest of the film follows Zach as he tries to get through the 13 weeks of OCS and deal with Paula at the same time. Since Zach is the “officer and gentleman” referred to in the title, viewers can pretty much guess what the end result will be on each front, but that doesn’t detract from the enjoyment of this movie.

My Reaction: Even after 25 years, An Officer and a Gentleman is still a pretty powerful movie. There are some truly great scenes in this film, scenes that have become classic movie moments for fans everywhere. For example, Gere’s “I got nowhere else to go” confession to Foley and (of course) the final scene are still moving in this day and age — even when you know they’re coming.

I thought the pacing of this film was pretty good as well. The running time is nearly two hours, which was practically an eternity in 1982, but I didn’t get bored along the way because the OCS scenes were neatly balanced with the love story. In addition, viewers get plenty of time to come to care about the characters — not only Zach, but Sid and Paula as well, so what happens to them really matters in the end.

Overall, I give an Officer and a Gentleman 7.5 stars out of 10 and recommend that you watch it again if it’s been awhile since you’ve seen it. It has held up remarkably well after 25 years!

My husband has been riding motocross bikes since he was 18 years old, but strangely enough, his passion for two wheels never really crossed over into street bikes. He has a couple of 50cc scooters that he uses to go to work, but that’s been about the extent of it — until now, that is. Recently he’s been talking quite a bit about getting a sport bike like the Kawasaki Ninja 250R, and from all the research he’s been doing, I know he’s pretty serious about it.

I know some wives would be completely opposed to their husbands buying a street bike, but I’m not like that at all. First, I know my husband is an experienced rider who always puts safety first. He can control a motorcycle and wouldn’t attempt anything stupid while on the road. Second, I think a 250cc Ninja is safer than a 50cc scooter because the Ninja is better able to keep up with car traffic on some of the busier roads that my husband uses to get to work. And finally, I saw that we can get a Ninja for less than $50 per month with some of the special financing deals going on right now, so the purchase wouldn’t put a strain on our budget.

I haven’t been too involved in my husband’s motorcycle hunt thus far, and I think I’m going to stay out of the way. If he wants to buy one, I’m going to let him go ahead and do it, and if he drops the whole idea, that would be fine with me too. He was into bikes long before I came into the picture, so it would be unfair of me to start changing the rules now!

The weekend box office receipts have been tallied up, and Shia LaBeouf’s Disturbia is again the No.1 movie in the country — for the third week in a row. The suspense/thriller took in just $9.1 million, one of the lowest weekly grosses for a No.1 movie in years. A couple of my friends have seen this film and say it’s a total Rear Window ripoff that doesn’t even acknowledge the Hitchcock classic as an “inspiration” or whatever. Hmmm.

At any rate, second place went to Disney’s The Invisible, starring Justin Chatwin and Margarita Levieva. I’ve never heard of either of these two actors, and the plot doesn’t sound that good, so I think I’m going to pass on this one. Nicolas Cage’s latest effort, Next, came in third with just $7.2 million in its first weekend in wide release.

Here’s the complete top 10 for 4/29/07:

1. Disturbia, $9.1 million
2. The Invisible, $7.6 million
3. Next, $7.2 million
4. Fracture, $7.1 million
5. Blades of Glory, $5.2 million
6. Meet the Robinsons, $4.84 million
7. Hot Fuzz, $4.8 million
8. Vacancy, $4.2 million
9. The Condemned, $4 million
10. Are We Done Yet?, $3.4 million

Most forms of online gambling have taken a severe hit from recent U.S. legislation that prohibits such activities. But that legislation didn’t cover horse racing, so there’s still a 100 percent legal way to wager and win money online. All you have to do is go to a site like xpressbet.com, register for a free membership, and start betting.

At xpressbet.com, members can wager on horse races in North America, Australia, and Europe, which means that there’s almost always an event going on. The thoroughbred racing season is about the begin, so this is a great chance to get in on some big-money races like the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, the Sunshine Millions, and a bunch more.

I haven’t bet on a horse race in years, but I might get back into it soon — especially since this is the only way I can gamble online!

The CSI episode that aired on April 26 was called “Ending Happy” and marked yet another departure from the typical CSI formula. There was just one storyline throughout, but it played more like a comedy than anything else. Unfortunately, I don’t tune into CSI for laughs, so I didn’t like it at all. Nevertheless, I’ll still write a quick recap of what happened in episode 7×21.

“Ending Happy” opens with Grissom and Sara getting called to a brothel. A former prizefighter named Happy Morales has been found floating face-down in the pool, so the CSIs get to work trying to determine exactly what happened.

That task turns out to be more difficult than usual because Happy has a whole slew of injuries and ailments that could have contributed to his demise. These injuries become apparent when Happy is on Doc Robbins’s autopsy table, and include such things as blunt force trauma to the head, two holes in his throat from being shot by an arrow, anaphylaxis as a result of a shellfish allergy, and snake venom in his bloodstream.

It turns out that four different people in the brothel attempted to kill Happy via the means listed above, but none of those things actually caused his death. Instead, he drowned after falling into the pool due to a broken leg on the chair he was sitting in. So after getting confessions from all the suspects, Brass can’t even make an arrest because Happy drowned on his own.

My Reaction: For a show like CSI, I find that comedy works best when it comes in the form of throwaway lines or brief moments between the characters. So basing an entire episode on a comedic premise didn’t work for me at all. I was pretty bored throughout the whole thing and ended up reading emails and surfing the ‘net while the ep was still on.

I also wanted to say that I still get squicked out whenever I think of Sara and Grissom together as a couple. Therefore, when I heard them openly discussing sex, and how Sara makes Grissom happy, I nearly vomited then and there. Gawd, no more of that crap please!!!

A couple days ago I came across a cool website called Bid4Prizes.com. The name pretty much tells you what the site is all about: you bid for cool prizes against other registered users. What makes bid4prizes different from other auction or bidding sites is the fact that the person who submits the lowest unique bid wins. That’s right — the lower you go, the better your chances of walking away with some swag!

I took a look at the prizes that are currently available, and I have to say that I’d really love to win that Samsung 50″ plasma television. I think it would look fantastic in my family room and would make watching all the movies and TV shows that I review for this blog a lot more fun! Coming up with the lowest unique bid would be very tricky, though. I think for this particular prize, I’d stay over $1.00 because it seems as though there would be lots of interest — and therefore lots of bids — on the TV. So I’m sure other users will cover the $.01-$1.00 range at least twice each (meaning no unique bids there). I’d probably take my chances on $1.17 and hope that no one else picks the same number.

The auction for the 50″ plasma television ends in less than 24 hours and it’ll be interesting to see what the winning bid is. Actually, I should get in on this one while I still can… after all, I have just as much of a chance to win as anyone else does!

The newest episode of Grey’s Anatomy was number 3×21, and it covered a lot of ground for once. It seems like several different storylines are moving forward at last. Although I didn’t agree with the all the things that happened in the ep, I did like it as a whole. Here’s my recap of “Desire”:

Mer/Der: These two didn’t interact very much together, but that was by design. Meredith was actually reaching out to Derek; however, he didn’t respond because he’s still struggling with his desire to be chief of Seattle Grace. I think he’s finally able to see Chief Webber’s point of view that it will be impossible to balance work and family if Derek assumed that role. Plus, Derek realizes that Meredith is perhaps a lot more screwed up than he initially thought. At the end of the ep, he makes this whole speech about being her crutch — and it really sounds like he’s ready to give up on them as a couple.

George/Izzie/Callie: I admit that when George and Izzie first slept with each other, I was disgusted that the writers decided to go in that direction. But now that these two characters have been interacting with each other more and more in the last few episodes, I have to say that they’re sort of growing on me. They just look like they’re so in tune to each other and are actually having fun together.

Of course, there’s still Callie to deal with. In this ep, she confesses to Addison that the way George and Izzie spend so much time together makes her uncomfortable. Addison says there’s probably a good reason she feels that way, which prompts Callie to come right out and confront Izzie. She basically begs Izzie to back off from George, saying that she wants her husband back. And just like that, Izzie decides to comply and give George the cold shoulder for the rest of the ep.

Cristina/Burke: Burke is pressing for Cristina to make a decision about the wedding cake, but Cristina keeps putting it off because she has a huge exam to study for. Plus, I’m not even sure why they need a cake when Cristina insisted that she just wanted to go in front of a Justice of the Peace with only Meredith and maybe Derek as witnesses. Anyway, Burke is patient as usual and Cristina finally chooses a red velvet cake.

Mark/Addison/Alex: Sloan reminds Addison of how many days they have left in their “60 days of no sex” agreement. He has actually been adhering to the terms of the agreement, which shows that he’s really serious about getting back together with Addison.

But Addison’s not as into it as Mark is, and that’s because she’s got Alex on her mind. In fact, she gets jealous when she sees Alex acting protective of Jane Doe when the woman undergoes a C-section, and gives vent to her jealousy by reprimanding Karev for getting to close to a patient (a la Izzie and Denny). Then, she realizes where her feelings are really coming from, so she kisses Alex, pushes him into the nearest empty room, and has sex with him.

Then later, Mark realizes that something’s going on between Addison and Alex, so he abruptly tells her that he’s broken the agreement and slept with someone else. This catches her off guard, so she goes looking for Alex. But he’s been talking to Jane Doe, who overheard Addison tell Callie that she likes Alex because he seems so “stable”. Apparently Alex doesn’t like that, because he ends up being a complete ass to Addison, telling her that she’s not his girlfriend and that he’s too busy to go out for a drink with her.

My Reaction: As I said, I liked this episode because of the forward progress in a lot of these storylines. It’s clear that the writers are setting up Addison’s big spin-off move, and I’m ok with that. I’m looking forward to watching the new show and hope Kate Walsh can pull it off. Furthermore, I’d like to see Meredith and Derek break up once and for all. They are a boring couple and the show would be much more interesting if each of them started pursuing other love interests.

I hate the way Callie’s once-strong character has turned into a groveling wimp. It doesn’t seem like she would actually beg Izzie to stay away from George. If this had happened a couple months ago, she would have been demanding things and giving out ultimatums. Still, I’m interested to see how long her marriage lasts.

Finally, it was nice that the writers once again showed the interns being interns and studying for an exam together. I’ve missed this group camaraderie, especially since they’ve pretty much paired off since Season One. More scenes like this, please!

I’ve spent a lot of time in Japan and one of the customs I’ve adopted from that culture is the whole ritual of taking a bath every day instead of a shower. I have a state-of-the-art bathtub with a control panel that allows me to set both the water level and temperature, and I think it’s the greatest thing in the world! There’s nothing like soaking in a 110 degree bath to unwind at the end of a long day.

Another thing I like to do is buy special products to use with my bath. For example, I’m always looking for new bath oil, bubble bath, and soap to try out. Over the past year or so, I’ve fallen in love with handmade soaps and now rarely use anything else. I recently heard about a website called RememberMaui.com that sells handmade soap made in Maui with Kukui Nut Oil. I think that sounds wonderful and really want to give it a try soon. I’m sure the product will be as soothing and refreshing as the description makes it sound, so I definitely need to order up a couple of bars as soon as my current soap supply runs out!

After several weeks of monitoring my traffic stats, I’ve decided not to post any more recaps of House. This show is just not bringing the visitors that my other regular TV programs do, so it almost feels like a waste of time to blog about it at this point. Perhaps I’ll reconsider when I get caught up to the current season, but for now, I’m just going to watch the rest of Season One, as well as Seasons Two and Three without posting regular recaps (unless I come across a truly outstanding episode).

Thanks for understanding!

I have homes in two different countries and am often away from one or the other of them for several months at a time. As such, it’s absolutely critical that I have a top-of-the-line home security system that can monitor my property when I’m not there. I’m not particularly happy with the service I’m using now, so I’m looking to boost its performance in any way possible.

One of the products I’m considering is the UControl Home Security System. I just learned about UControl recently, but have already spent a lot of time looking through their website to gather more info about the system. I viewed three different demo videos and have to say that UControl seems to be exactly the kind of home security solution that I want. This was made apparent in the video called “The UControl Difference”, which highlighted all the unique features that help separate this security system from the rest of the pack.

For instance, I love the fact that I’d be able to monitor my home remotely (through my computer or PDA) and receive instant notification of any security breaches. This is a feature that my current security company doesn’t provide on its own, so I have to rely on family members to drop by my home once in a while to make sure everything is ok. It would be nice to be able to take care of the monitoring myself and not to have to burden them with that responsibility.

Overall, I think the UControl Home Security System is something that would be perfect for my situation. Of course, I’m going to have to do even more research before making a final decision, but I haven’t seen any other security products that come even close to what UControl does, so I think it’s safe to say that this is the frontrunner right now!

I had to TiVo the April 23 episode of 24 and I just got around to watching it this morning. Since I’m so late with this post, I’m just going to give my reaction instead of running through an entire recap. The episode was 6×19 and the action took place between 12:00am and 1:00am.

I can’t believe the writers went ahead and made Karen (of all people) fire Bill Buchanan from his post as CTU director! I think Bill is the most competent director they’ve had in the six years I’ve been watching the show, and I don’t understand why they’d fire him now — especially for something that happened off screen. I mean, if he’s gonna go, at least let him go out with a bang.

I haven’t been reading any gossip magazines or websites lately, so I don’t know if James Morrison (the actor) is leaving 24 or not. I hope this is just a temporary thing for the character and that he’ll be back once the current Chinese threat is resolved and CTU gets back to normal. Oh — Nadia is acting director now until Division sends over someone more qualified. Gah.

Jack’s plan to rescue Audrey and destroy the circuit board didn’t go over very well (how could it? There are still five hours left in the day!). He arranged to meet Cheng in an abandoned motel, got there early, and wired the place with C4, planning to blow the place as soon as Audrey was safe. But Doyle figured out where Jack would be and he arrived there before Cheng also and had to muck things up.

I’ve said this before, but it’s worth repeating: when will CTU operatives learn to TJB (Trust Jack Bauer) and not go sticking their noses in his plans? He’s saved the U.S. countless times already. Why would any of his actions be questioned?

Anyway, by the end of the episode, Cheng escaped with the circuit board containing algorithms to Russia’s entire defense system. But hey, at least Audrey Raines is safe (albeit a bit twitchy and mentally disturbed).

There was more White House nonsense as well, but I haven’t cared about that stuff all season and still don’t.

Overall, this was an OK episode. I would have liked it a lot better if they hadn’t canned my beloved Bill Buchanan though…. He better be back at CTU before the day is over!

My husband has been an avid gamer for as long as I’ve known him. Although he likes all types of games, his favorites are those that can be played online with and against people from all over the world. For the past few years, World of Warcraft has been his absolute favorite MMO (massive multiplayer online) game. He spends several hours per week playing the game, and several more researching such things as strategy and World of Warcraft gold prices.

I don’t play WoW myself, but since I’m online so much, I try to make note of sites that might be helpful to my husband. In fact, I just discovered another one this morning that I think he’ll like. It’s called mmobux.com, and its main purpose is to provide users with price comparisons between online game currency sellers. For example, a couple of the better known WoW gold sellers are Gamepal and GamerKing. Well, instead of having to visit each site separately to see how much WoW gold is currently going for, users can just visit mmobux.com to instantly find the cheapest prices.

The mmobux.com site is still in beta, but is functional enough to be a very useful tool. In addition to currency comparisons, there’s a forum that allows users to share information and experiences about specific WoW gold sellers or to talk about the game itself. If you’re into World of Warcraft, you should definitely check out mmobux today!

I used to be a fan of the TV series Sex and the City, and particularly liked Sarah Jessica Parker in that show. So ever since it went off the air, I’ve been trying to keep up with the SATC actresses and their latest projects. For Parker, this includes the 2006 romantic comedy Failure to Launch, co-starring Matthew McConaughey.

The premise of Failure to Launch if very simple, but not exactly convincing. McConaughey plays a 35-year-old man named Tripp who is good-looking, has a good job making decent money, and has excellent social skills, but who nevertheless still lives at home with his parents (the unlikely pairing of Kathy Bates and ex-football great Terry Bradshaw). Tripp’s parents feel it’s high time that he moved out, but can’t quite bring themselves to tell him. Instead, they think it would be a good idea to hire someone else to carry out that task.

The someone else happens to be Paula (Parker), a woman who, luckily enough, specializes in getting grown men to move out of their parents’ homes. She does this by dating the man until he becomes serious enough about her to want to move out. The script doesn’t bother telling us how Paula then extricates herself from the situation or why the men would stay moved out after she’s gone.

Anyway, the rest of the movie then deals with the various tactics Paula uses on Tripp. Of course she breaks all of her personal rules along the way (don’t get emotionally involved, never sleep with a client) and she and Tripp end up being a real couple. I’m not giving anything away here; anyone who’s ever seen a romantic comedy before would be able to predict the ending.

My Reaction: I usually don’t like Matthew McConaughey, but I thought he was actually pretty charming in this movie. Sarah Jessica Parker’s character was likable as well, but that just wasn’t enough to overcome the subpar script. The movie was utterly predictable, took no chances at all, and didn’t have very many laughs along the way.

Overall, I give Failure to Launch 5.5 stars out of 10. It’s watchable, but that’s about the only positive thing I can say about it.