Reviews and More

When I read news articles about the impending shortages of natural resources, I rarely ever see water make it on the list. I guess that’s understandable in a way. I mean, water is all around us, so it’s easy to see how people could forget that we need to start cleaning and preserving the world’s water supply right now.

In addition to engaging in energy-efficient practices at home, there are other things you can do to show your dedication to this important social cause. For example, you can visit the new Friends of Water website at www.friendsofwater.com to learn what that group is all about, to subscribe to their free ezine, and to learn about some of their efforts to preserve water. There are many informative articles on the site that I think you’ll find interesting, including this one about the very real fluoride risks that infants face due to chemical additives in drinking water.

The Friends of Water site also features current events and press releases, which will make it easier for you to keep abreast of all the latest developments as far as water conservation goes. This is a nice touch, in my opinion, and is certainly a lot easier than having to sift through all the various news outlets on my own in an effort to find relevant stories.

While you’re on the site, be sure to check out the Friends of Water store, where you can purchase high-quality products that will help you conserve and enjoy water.

All in all, Friends of Water is an excellent site dedicated to an issue that we should all be concerned about.

Sir Post A Lot came up with a list of celebrity and entertainment blogs a few days ago, and I was supposed to pass it on when it came out. But since many of the entries on Reviews and More are time-sensitive (like the TV show recaps), I haven’t had a chance to do my part yet. Anyway, I’m getting to it now, so better late than never, right?!

***Begin to copy here***

1. Write a short paragraph at the beginning of your post and link back to the blog that put you on the list in the paragraph. This isn’t a suggestion. You need to break up the duplicate content string. Someone took the time to add you so the least you can do is give them an extra linkback.

2. Copy the list of originals below COMPLETELY and add it to your blog. If you would like a different keyword for your blog then change it when you do your post and it should pass to most blogs with that keyword.

3. Take the adds from the blog that added you and place them in the “Originals” list.

4. Add no more than 5 Entertainments blogs to the list in the “My Adds” section.

My Adds:

Scribble on the Wall

The Originals:

You Know Not!
Two Dog Zoo
Gilmore Girls Fanatic
oh, hey. what’s up?
Celebrity Scoop
You think you know me
Hell’s Forecast
Whatever I Feel Like
Talkin’ ‘Bout TV
Candid Quips
Burned By the Man
Reviews and More
Whatever Happened To…
Adriana Lima
Bebo’s Retro Site
Peace Fairs

My parents gave me my very first puppy when I was 10 years old, and I’ve had dogs in my home ever since then. Right now I have two canine companions: a five-year-old Beagle and an eight-year-old Miniature Dachshund. They truly are a part of my family and I take my responsibility as a pet owner very seriously. As a result, I’m always looking for great new products that will help me take better care of my beloved animals.

I just found a website called Love My Pet Supply that offers a huge selection of dog and cat supplies at great prices. They have all the essential items from bedding to collars and leashes, as well as a nice assortment of fun products like toys and even dog clothes.

I travel quite frequently, so it’s essential that I have the right dog crates and carriers on hand at all times. The ones I currently own are getting a bit worn out, so I’m thinking that I should probably buy a couple of new ones pretty soon. Love My Pet Supply has me covered there, as they’ve got a wide variety of both hard and soft crates and carriers to choose from.

Overall, I have to say that Love My Pet Supply is a fantastic online pet supply store that has the products you want at prices you’ll appreciate. Check out the site today!

Episode 1×11 of House was called Detox. I think this just aired as a rerun last Monday, which is a bit of a coincidence (I’m actually watching from the DVD box set). Anyway, here’s my recap and reaction:

Mysterious Symptoms of the Week: A college kid named Larry is brought into PPTB after a car accident. He shows signs of hemolytic anemia (unusual in a person his age), has had internal bleeding for weeks, is running a temperature, and coughing up blood. Later on, Larry develops a retinal clot (which results in temporary blindness), liver failure, hallucinations, and a nasty case of rectal bleeding.

Mistaken Diagnoses: Lupus, Hepatitis E, lymphoma, drug abuse, infection, and cancer.

Final Diagnosis: Naphthalene poisoning brought on by a termite infestation in the boy’s home.

Character development: A central storyline in this episode was seeing whether or not House could go one week without Vicodin. He manages it, but goes through absolute hell in the process. At the end of the week, he admits that he has a problem with pills, but declares that he won’t stop because they make his pain manageable and he can still function.

My Reaction: I was more interested in what was happening to House during this ep than what was causing all the patient’s problems. It’s about time the writers addressed his affinity for pill-popping. House’s withdrawal symptoms looked pretty intense! I have to say I was happy to see the writers opt to go the route they did as far as House not wanting to stop because it feels like any other option would have been highly out of character.

Overall, I’m still loving this show!!

Prior to this age of online banking, I chose my banks based strictly on geographical area. The only two criteria I examined before opening an account was whether there was a branch in my neighborhood and their hours of operation. I didn’t bother looking at account features because convenience was more important to me, and as a result, I wasn’t getting the best interest rates or service.

These days, however, opening bank accounts is not about location anymore. Online banking has exploded in popularity in recent years, and there are many good reasons for that. For one thing, people can perform the bulk of their banking tasks right from the comfort of their own homes or offices 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Talk about convenience! Obviously, no bank is going to have lobby hours like that. In addition, online banking makes it easier to compare the features and rates of different accounts to make sure you’re getting the most for your money and patronage.

Take the Co-operative Bank, for example. This UK-based financial institution offers four different accounts that are designed to cover all your banking needs. Not sure what you want out of your bank account? Then go ahead and perform a side-by-side comparison of all of the Co-operative Bank’s accounts right on their homepage. From the basic Cashminder account to the benefit-laden Privilege Premier account, you’ll be able to choose a package that’s perfect for you. Moreover, you’ll be able to bank online no matter which Co-operative Bank account you sign up for.

The Co-operative Bank conducts business under a strict ethical policy, so you can rest assured that your deposits will be protected. For more information, visit the Co-operative Bank homepage today.

One of the best parts about watching a fairly old movie (seven years counts as old in showbiz, doesn’t it?!) is seeing what has happened to the actors since the film in question came out. As far as the action flick Vertical Limit went, I was treated to a reunion of several TV characters that I’ve seen in the past couple years. From the opening scenes with Chris O’Donnell (Finn on Grey’s Anatomy) and Robin Tunney (Veronica on Prison Break) to later scenes with Nicholas Lea (Krycek from The X-Files), Bill Paxton (Bill Henrickson from Big Love), and Alexander Siddig (Assad from 24), I felt right at home with these actors. Unfortunately, all the familiar faces didn’t help make the film any more enjoyable.

O’Donnell stars as Peter Garrett, a former mountain climber who hasn’t been near a mountain in the last three years — not since a climbing accident forced him to cut a line and send his own father tumbling to his death. Now Garrett is a wildlife photographer for National Geographic.

Garret’s sister Annie (played by Tunney), meanwhile, continued on with the sport and is now one of the top climbers in the world. She’s so good, in fact, that she’s been selected to be part of billionaire Elliot Vaughn’s (Paxton) team that will try to summit K2.

Garrett happens to be at K2 also, and he briefly reunites with this sister before she and the rest of Vaughn’s team begin their ascent.

Even though he’s a skilled climber, Vaughn is portrayed as something of a selfish, egotistical control-freak. So you know going in that he’s probably going to make some stupid decisions on the mountain, and sure enough that happens just a few hours after the team sets off. It looks like there’s a bad weather system moving in, but Vaughn insists on pressing forward even though the team leader Tom McLaren (Lea) wants to turn back. Since it’s Vaughn’s money, they go on and of course are hit hard by the storm. Most of the team is swept away in an avalanche, while Annie, Tom, and Vaughn fall into a deep crevice. They’re still alive, but will anyone find them?

That’s when Garret decides to form a rescue team of his own to go up there and save the survivors. He recruits five other people (including the reclusive Montgomery Wick) to carry some nitroglycerin up the mountain to try to find his sister, Tom, and Vaughn before it’s too late.

The rest of the film deals with Garret’s climb and the difficulties his team faces on the mountain. There’s another avalanche, a couple of nitro explosions, and plenty of close calls along the way.

My Reaction: I wasn’t expecting Vertical Limit to be anything great, but hoped that it would at least be a decent popcorn movie. I wanted to enjoy the mindless action sequences and get caught up in the whole atmosphere of the film.

Well, that didn’t happen. The events were so utterly predictable that I was distracted throughout most of the movie, waiting for my guesses to come true (they did). As soon as Peter had to cut his father’s line, I knew that he wouldn’t be climbing anymore. I also knew that there would DEFINITELY be a parallel scene somewhere else in the movie — and there was. I knew Vaughn was tempting fate when he went up the mountain despite the weather warnings, and I knew his arrogance would cost lives. I also knew that Peter would climb again and that he would save his sister. In other words, total lack of suspense here.

I also didn’t like the fact that the screenwriter thought it was ok to sacrifice four lives to save just one. That would never happen, so the entire premise of the movie was hard to swallow. Sure, Peter would have done anything to save his sister, but I doubt that anyone else would have volunteered to go with him — not even for $500,000.

The action scenes themselves were decent, I guess. But again, just too repetitive. How many avalanches, nitroglycerin explosions, and broken bones did we need to see here?

Overall, I thought this movie was pretty bad and give it just 4.5 stars out of 10. There are far better action flicks out there, so don’t even bother wasting your time with Vertical Limit.

I spend a lot of time running Internet searches for various products and services, and most of this time is wasted in sifting through irrelevant results. Targeted browsing and searching in high-quality directories would obviously eliminate many of those irrelevant results, which is why I’m giving the Fourfind Directory some attention right now.

The Fourfind Directory allows users to browse or search in four core categories: Blogs, Forums, Directories, and Websites. This enables them to quickly find good sites and useful information without having to filter through a bunch of junk.

While there aren’t many sites listed in the Fourfind Directory now, I’m sure there will be in the near future, so I’m definitely going to check back every once in a while. In the meantime, I should head on over there to submit my own URLs in the Blogs category!