Reviews and More

Staying connected to friends, family, and business associates is a vital part of everyday life, and having a mobile phone is the easiest way to ensure that you’re always just a call or text message away. Now that you’ve got a great phone, it’s time to find the best service plan for your calling needs. But with so many different options out there, it can be a tough task to identify the one that’s right for you. That’s why I think a site like Best-Mobile-Contracts.co.uk is a very useful resource.

Best-Mobile-Contracts.co.uk allows you to compare the best mobile phone contracts in a matter of seconds. You can specify the criteria you’d like to compare (contract length, number of minutes, network, cost, etc.), and the site will return relevant results that you can then browse through until you find one you like. The search results will even tell you if there’s a special deal or free gift associated with a particular contract, so that’s an extra benefit right there.

I ran a couple of test searches on the site and am happy to report that everything ran very smoothly. I got lots of results that matched my criteria, and it was easy to compare the offers to find the lowest price.

Anyway, if you’re looking for a new mobile phone contract in the UK, then I know you’ll find Best-Mobile-Contracts.co.uk to be a handy tool for your search. And while you’re there, be sure to sign up for email updates and to check their blog for all the latest mobile news and deals so you’ll always be ready to take advantage of the best deals around!

The nominees for the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards were announced this morning. To no one’s surprise, The Sopranos led the way with 15 nominations among regular series, while Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, a made-for-TV movie, topped everyone with a whopping 17 nominations. This year’s Emmys will air on September 16, and you can bet I’ll be tuning in to see how my favorite shows and actors fare!

Here’s a quick rundown of the nominees in some of the major categories.

Outstanding Comedy Series

• 30 Rock
• Entourage
• The Office
• Two and a Half Men
• Ugly Betty

Outstanding Drama Series

• Boston Legal
• Grey’s Anatomy
• Heroes
• House
• The Sopranos

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

• Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
• Ricky Gervais, Extras
• Tony Shalhoub, Monk
• Steve Carell, The Office
• Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

• Kiefer Sutherland, 24
• James Spader, Boston Legal
• Hugh Laurie, House
• Denis Leary, Rescue Me
• James Gandolfini, The Sopranos

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

• Tina Fey, 30 Rock
• Felicity Huffman, Desperate Housewives
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine
• America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
• Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

• Sally Field, Brothers and Sisters
• Mariska Hargitay, Law and Order: SVU
• Patricia Arquette, Medium
• Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer
• Minnie Driver, The Riches
• Edie Falco, The Sopranos

I’ve lived in the Chicago area my whole life and have had no less than nine different apartments, condos, and houses in that time. Because I’ve changed residences so often, I’ve had plenty of experience dealing with various Realtors© and agencies, which in turn means I’ve got a very good idea of what to look for when evaluating whether or not a particular firm can help me efficiently navigate the Chicago real estate market when I’m trying to buy or sell a property.

I’ve recently been checking out the SuburbanHouseHunters.com website and am thoroughly impressed by what I’ve read. Led by licensed Realtor© Ken Smith, the Suburban House Hunters team goes far beyond what other real estate agencies do in order to ensure that you get great service whether you’re buying or selling in the city or the ‘burbs.

So what does Suburban House Hunters do to distinguish themselves from other firms? Well, for starters, they not only promise outstanding results, but also provide written guarantees to back up those promises. For example, as part of their Guaranteed Home Sale Program, Suburban House Hunters pledge that they will sell your home at an acceptable price in 60 days or less. Try getting a commitment like that (in writing) from any other agency!

In addition, the SuburbanHouseHunters.com website is filled with other tools, resources, and information that I believe you’ll find helpful in your quest to buy or sell a home, including a free MLS search, extensive relocation guides, condo living guides, a real estate blog, and more. You can even get a free CMA to estimate the current market value of your home.

These are all fantastic perks that other brokers simply don’t bother to provide, which is why I recommend visiting the SuburbanHouseHunters.com site today so you can experience the difference for yourself. And be sure to use the Suburban House Hunters team the next time you buy or sell real estate for a smooth, hassle-free transaction from start to finish!

I have been studying the Japanese language for about 7 years now. Way back when I first started, I took graduate-level online courses from the University of Wisconsin (Madison). However, I found those classes to be far too difficult and expensive, so while I did learn a lot, I had to drop out and rely on self-study to fill in the gaps. To this day, I still look for (and buy) any books or other materials that will help me achieve my goal of total fluency in the language. One of my most recent purchases was Essential Kanji by P.G. O’Neill. Here are my initial thoughts after spending some time with the book.

First of all, I’m a bit surprised that it took me this long to buy Essential Kanji. I’ve been hearing good things about the book ever since I started studying Japanese, and it’s even listed in my UW text as an excellent supplemental reference. I think one reason could be that in the early going I was really focusing on technical/scientific terms and didn’t want to sift through the elementary school stuff that ordinary kanji texts invariably start with. At any rate, I’ve got the book now — and I’m glad that I finally did get around to buying it!

One of the best features of Essential Kanji is its compact size. This is unusual for text/reference books, but it’s definitely a much-appreciated change from the other texts that I have. Essential Kanji is small enough to stuff into my purse or backpack as I’m heading out the door, and is unobtrusive enough that I don’t feel self-conscious when I take it out to study a few characters while on the train, in the doctor’s office, or at a restaurant.

The content is top-notch as well. The characters are arranged “systematically,” which in this case basically means that they’re listed in the order that a typical Japanese school child might learn them. So you start off with the easy stuff, and the characters get progressively more difficult (and obscure) as you move along.

The entries themselves contain quite a bit of information. There are eight per page, and I recommend studying one page per week. Each kanji character is presented twice: once in printed form (as it would appear in a book or other publications) and once in “written” form (as it might appear if someone wrote the character by hand). The printed form is numbered so that you can memorize the stroke order if you’re learning to write.

In addition, each entry contains the ON and KUN readings, the etymological origins of the character, and some sample compounds that the character appears in. And finally, there’s an index in the back listing all characters that have the same pronunciations so you can view the similarities and differences.

Overall, I think Essential Kanji by P.G. O’Neill is a very useful book for anyone trying to learn the 2,000 basic characters that the Ministry of Education has designated as important for everyday life. The only thing I don’t like about this book is the lack of examples (each entry only lists two compounds). Other than that, Essential Kanji is definitely a keeper!

Back when I was in college, I used to frequent a couple of nearby Indian reservation casinos on weekends. While blackjack was my game of choice, I also liked to play bingo every now and then for a change of pace. I found bingo to be just as exciting and profitable as other casino games, and I actually made a fair amount of beer and pizza money back in the day. I’ve been wanting to get back into the game recently, but have found the local scene to be severely lacking in fun and variety. That’s why I’m looking into online bingo games instead.

One of the more promising sites I came across is BingoHouse.com. What I like about my initial visits to BingoHouse is that they have such a wide variety of games to choose from. For example, I can start with free bingo to get an idea of how the online version works without the pressure of having real money on the line. Once I feel comfortable, I’ll be able to move on to other games, such as Bingo Central, Blackout Bingo, and Fair ‘N’ Square Bingo (where everyone has the same number of cards and thus the same odds of winning). I can even venture into the High Roller room if I’m feeling particularly lucky!

I think it will be a lot of fun to play bingo online, so I can’t wait to try. Hopefully I’ll have some time this weekend to check out the free games and see how I like it!