Reviews and More

I’d heard from various sources that there are many medicinal applications for silver, but I never really bothered to check out those claims before. I just figured that the uses were mostly limited to external treatments of burns and similar ailments.

But recently, I’ve been hearing a lot about the positive health benefits of taking colloidal silver as a supplement. Apparently, colloidal silver has extremely powerful antibiotic properties that, with regular use, can help the body ward off infection. This is exciting news for people like me who frequently succumb to common colds and other illnesses due to a weakened immune system.

I’ve done a bit of reading, and it seems that silver — when taken in colloid form — is non-toxic. Some people might have a bad reaction to it, but that usually only occurs when an existing allergy comes into play.

I am very interested in finding out more about the potential health benefits of colloidal silver. I need to start taking a supplement to boost my immune system, and this could end up being the right product for me!

I reeled off another four episodes of The O.C. from the Season 1 DVD box set. I have to say that I think the eps have been very repetitive so far. I mean, how many fights have Ryan and Luke gotten into by now? Four? Five? It seems like they go at it almost every time they’re on screen together. Yeah, I get it: they hate each other. Let’s move on, please!

I still don’t understand Seth’s attraction to Summer. Besides their first kiss in “The Girlfriend” (1×06), Summer hasn’t done anything to indicate that she likes Seth at all. Moreover, she hasn’t even demonstrated any redeeming qualities. She still laughs right in people’s faces (saying, “Ew, who are you, the waiter” to the guy who ended up shooting Luke) and totally uses Seth at his grandfather’s party. I have no idea why Seth likes her — besides the fact that she’s “hot.” I guess it just goes to show that he’s pretty shallow too, despite all his posturing as an atypical Newport Beach kid.

Benjamin McKenzie’s acting still annoys me as well. The only thing he does besides fight Luke and tackle people (Holly’s dad, the waiter with the gun) is stare dumbly at women. Caleb’s girlfriend makes a pass at him? He can’t say anything; he just stares at her with his mouth partially open. Marissa catches him making out with Caleb’s girlfriend in the pool house? He just stares at her. God, do something different for a change!!

And I don’t get the Jimmy/Kirsten timeline. I thought they grew up next door to each other. I could have sworn one of them said so in one of these eps. Plus, Jimmy said that Caleb used to give him sailing lessons “when [he] was a kid.” But then when Jimmy was hanging out with Sandy playing video games and drinking beer, he said that the best time of his life was when he was 16 because that’s when he met Kirsten. I’m totally confused on that one.

Anyway, I hope The O.C. gets better with time. I’m still going to watch it (because it’s fun to complain about it) but I do hope it gets more interesting and varied!

When I think back to the baby showers I’ve thrown in the past for friends or co-workers, I have to admit that I’m a bit embarrassed by my lack of effort. I didn’t realize that there were special baby shower party decorations that I could have purchased, so I always just went with generic ones that said “Congratulations!” or “It’s a Girl!” on them. Those seem so lame now, especially when I see what kind of baby shower themes are available at PartyPail.com.

For instance, check out this set of Rubber Ducky baby shower decorations. I think this is an adorable design that is perfect for both genders. I mean, nothing says “baby” like a rubber ducky, right?! This particular theme comes in a full kit that includes invitations, paper plates, napkins, cups, plastic cutlery, tablecovers, streamers, balloons, and ribbon — in short, everything you need for a fun and memorable baby shower!

All I know is that the next time I get put in charge of a baby shower for someone, I’m heading straight to PartyPail.com for the supplies! I think you’ll enjoy the site as much as I do, so check it out today.

One of the final two episodes of The Sopranos aired last night, and it was just about as action-packed as viewers could hope for! I’m going to get right into the recap here, so if you haven’t seen this ep (called “Blue Comet,” by the way), you might not want to read any further.

Plot summary (with possible spoilers): The episode opens with Phil Leotardo sitting down with his captains to discuss what’s going on with the New Jersey crew. Phil is sick of what he considers all the b.s. that comes from Tony and the gang, so he decides to do something that he thinks should have been done back when Johnny Sack was in power: he orders a hit on Tony, Sil, and Bobby.

The FBI find out about the coming action, so that agent who frequently visits Tony at Satriale’s warns him that something might be up. Tony meets with his guys, and they decide that it would be better for them to strike first. Instead of having Bobby, Paulie, or one of the regular crew do it, Tony wants to call in some “cousins” from Italy. They arrive, but end up killing some civilian by mistake because the guy looked somewhat like Phil.

After that, it’s on!

Phil’s guys come out with a vengeance and start picking off T’s top people. The first to go was Bobby — in front of witnesses in a hobby store, of all places. He was about to buy an $8,000 train (called the Blue Comet) when he got gunned down at the counter.

Next up was Sil, who got attacked in the parking lot of the Bing just as he was pulling away in his car. This was also a very public execution carried out in daylight in front of onlookers. Actually, I guess Sil hasn’t actually died yet, but T mentioned that the doctors don’t think he’ll ever regain consciousness.

After that, T and the remaining guys go into hiding at what looks like his uncle’s house, setting up what should be an awesome series finale!

My reaction: It seems like executive producer David Chase is going for one of those season endings where there’s going to be no one left standing! So far, Tony’s crew has taken the biggest hit, but I hope things even out in the next ep (I haven’t seen any previews or read any spoilers, so I have no idea what’s coming up).

If that was the final session between Tony and Melfi, I have to say I was pretty disappointed with how their relationship ended. It seemed sooo out of character for Melfi, who has really been defined by her professionalism throughout the series, to totally lash out at Tony and summarily dismiss him like that. But maybe that’s the point: that Tony’s sociopathic tendencies have affected everyone in his life, including his therapist.

After feeling so sorry for AJ two weeks ago, I was right back to hating him tonight. What a sniveling little crybaby! Hey, dumbass: you know you’re dad’s in the friggin’ mafia, for god’s sake!! If he tells you you gotta clear out, don’t you think there’s a damn good reason for it??!!

Just one more episode left… I hope we get to see a showdown between Tony and Phil themselves (rather than just their underlings).

I’ve got a couple of short vacations planned for later this summer, and I want to make sure I have new suitcases by then. I specifically want to get some bags that have those new TSA security locks built into them. I hate having to travel with my suitcases unlocked all the time, and have heard that these new locks are actually a very good idea. TSA locks are specially manufactured to allow travelers to keep their bags locked while still giving airport security quick access for their searches.

I’ve heard that some models of Samsonite luggage feature these special locks already, so I’ll probably check out that brand first. It’ll do wonders for my peace of mind to know that my belongings are secure when I pass through airports!

With HBO’s odd scheduling, we got the Season 3 finale of Entourage last night with the Season 4 premiere set for next Sunday. I stopped trying to figure out the HBO rationale behind dividing the seasons this way, so I don’t really care what the schedule is like. It’s just nice to get new eps of something while the rest of the network shows are on hiatus. Anyway, last night’s ep was called “Adios Amigos,” and here’s what happened on it.

Vince/E/Ari: It turns out that Vince didn’t sleep with that woman from two weeks ago, so the boys didn’t get the $60 million check for Medellín. All is not lost, however, as Ari tells them that Nicky Rubenstein just turned 35 and came into his trust fund money. Nicky’s looking to make a movie that will get him out from his father’s shadow, and Medellín could be it. The problem is that Nicky is only willing to spend $25 million on it, when all the studios had it budgeted for $65 million or more.

Vince and E think they can make do with $25 million, so they go looking for a director. The only guy they have in mind is Billy Walsh, the indie director who worked with Vince on Queen’s Boulevard. Billy at first declines because he doesn’t want to deal with “suits” anymore, but after reading the script, he accepts — so long as he gets final cut. Everyone agrees, so the movie will be made.

Of course, Billy is a total lunatic and he’s already coming up with wild ideas. His first one? He wants to film the whole thing in Spanish. It seems like this is going to be one loooong shoot!

Drama/Turtle: Now that the house is sold, Drama and Turtle have to look for a place of their own. At first, Drama wants to rent a cheap studio in a run-down neighborhood, but when Vinnie’s publicist finds out about it, she demands that he get something better so it doesn’t reflect poorly on Vince. So Drama — in typical fashion — goes 180 degrees the other way and ends up spending $1.4 million on a condo.

My reaction: Honestly, I’m getting tired of all this build-up around Medellín. I mean, the payoff for this particular plot line had better be huge, or I’m going to be extremely disappointed. This thing has been dragging on for more than a season now, so hopefully we start seeing results soon.

I still can’t stand E, and now that he’s a so-called “producer,” he’s even more intolerable. What did he really do to make this movie happen? It was Vince’s idea to buy the script. Ari was the one who pushed Vince to join him at the agency again. Ari was the one who convinced the money men to sit down with the boys. All Eric did was help convince the director to read the script. Is that what “producers” do? Sheesh, who knew?!