Online Store

Imagine Dragons

2013-08-29T03:14:00.000-07:00

Lady Gaga

2013-08-29T03:12:00.003-07:00

Lorde

2013-08-29T03:11:00.005-07:00

Robin Thicke

2013-08-29T03:09:00.003-07:00

Katy Perry

2013-08-29T03:08:00.002-07:00

Nine Inch Nails

2013-08-29T03:06:00.000-07:00

Jimmy Buffett

2013-08-29T03:04:00.001-07:00

Tedeschi Trucks Band

2013-08-29T03:02:00.001-07:00

AVENGED SEVENFOLD

2013-08-29T03:00:00.000-07:00

Bob Dylan

2013-08-29T02:58:00.000-07:00

The Hunger Games

2012-09-12T04:11:00.002-07:00

After reading "The Hunger Games" novel, I gave it a solid 4 stars out of 5. I had a very similar reaction to this movie, an indication of the faithfulness of the book-to-film transfer.

For a basic plot summary, "The Hunger Games" sees Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) & Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) thrown into a battle-to-the death with 23 other young people as a result of a "1984"-like dystopian society bent on total population control. Living in a society completely controlled by "The Capitol", Katniss & Peeta struggle to survive in the deathly competition while at the same time sending a message of hope to the thirteen districts watching the Hunger Games event.

In terms of being faithful to the book, this movie succeeds tremendously. Director Gary Ross takes a great written story and adeptly adapts it to the big screen. All the major events happen as written by Suzanne Collins, while even the minutiae is, for the most part, accurate. There's really nothing to get upset over in the translation, besides (of course) the usual pairing down of some background dialogue to keep the film from going even longer than its 2 hours, 22 minute runtime.

The casting/acting is also quite well-done. About the only cast member that didn't potentially live up to the billing was Liam Hemsworth as Gale. Other than that, I really enjoyed the two leads as well as the auxiliaries such as Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson, & Elizabeth Banks, to name a few.

Basically, "The Hunger Games" movie succeeds because of the strength of the original story and the faithful adaptation of that story. Because this is (at heart) a young-adult story, a lack of deeper character development & plots prevents me from giving it a full five stars (fair or not). Other than that, though, there is nothing else negative I can say about the experience.

Safe

2012-09-12T04:10:00.002-07:00

I really liked this movie. It had an interesting story about a little girl who has the ability to memorize everything she sees and has a code in her head that the Chinese mob, Russian mob and almost the entire New York City police department want. It seems they are all willing to destroy a city to get her and if not, kill her.

Ex bad cop Luke notices everyone chasing her in a subway and somehow grabs her and they get away only to be chased by everybody.

This movie does not lack action and violence. It's over the top but not in a way where it looks stupid.

If you're looking for a movie with non stop action this is it. Pair that with a likable loser ex cop and a cute little girl that can shoot a gun and you have a movie worth seeing again.

What To Expect When You're Expecting

2012-09-12T04:09:00.001-07:00

Inspired by the perennial bestseller, WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU'RE EXPECTING is a hilarious and heartfelt comedy about five couples whose intertwined lives are turned upside down by the challenges of impending parenthood.

Starring: Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez
Directed by: Kirk Jones
Runtime: 1 hour 50 minutes
Release year: 2012
Studio: Lionsgate

Doctor Who, Season 7, Ep. 2 "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship"

2012-09-12T04:08:00.000-07:00

If you look at the title "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" and think "That's silly. I won't like it," then you won't. If you look at that title and think "F*#$ yes I want dinosaurs on a spaceship. And throw in some Egyptians," then you will. As a bonus, Mitchell and Webb!

The Five-Year Engagement

2012-09-12T04:06:00.002-07:00

I've never written a review on Amazon before. I can't say much about this film other than for what should be a knockout comedic cast, it is amazingly boring and slow. I think the director imagined the humor would be found in the characters' quirky, offbeat dialogue, except the dialogue isn't funny or quirky. It's like watching the life of two semi-funny people, minus any interesting parts. I want my 3.99 back.

Battleship

2012-09-12T04:05:00.001-07:00

I can remember as a younger father playing the Hasbro game with my kids. I also have a vague recollection of playing a version as a kid myself using a pencil and paper but that could be just dead brain cells floating around. Speaking of dead brain cells...with a movie like "Battleship" it is usually a good idea to set the bar low (pick a Michael Bay movie) and just relax. For me, I use the second "Transformers" movie "Revenge of the Fallen" as my standard.

Here we have some early scenes that actually aren't bad and begin to flesh out the characters. The focus is on bad boy, Alex Hopper (Taylor Kitsch) who somehow becomes a U. S. Navy officer at the insistence of his big brother, Stone (Alexander Skarsgard) who already is a Commander. Unless memory again fades, having been in the Navy myself it is unlikely that they would accept a drunken felon into their officer corps (i.e. Alex) but maybe things have changed.

While this is a minor nit not worth picking, there are so many other flawed technical aspects of the film, it can't be taken seriously. The good news is that the movie is wildly, if absurdly, entertaining. It is decently constructed with a beginning, middle and an end. The movie is extremely loud at times, especially when the alien visitors take offense at being threatened and launch their razor sharp ball bearing thingies. I mean, the Earthlings did invite them, right? All is well that ends well, especially when you have the mothballed (yet battle ready!) U.S.S. Missouri easily launched with a skeleton crew (pun intended).

Breaking Bad Season 5, Ep. 8 "Gliding Over All"

2012-09-12T04:03:00.000-07:00

Spoiler Alert: Immediately after Walt went for his PET scan for cancer, punched the paper towel holder in anger I assume, things started to change fast. He did a 180, gave Jesse his money, and told Skyler he is out (of the drug business). He is acting like he's trying to go back to his old life, as though he knows it's over--but then again, who knows?? Walt has become such a good liar and schemer, it's hard to tell if he has something else up his sleeve and a plan for all that money in the storage space. The cancer is back and he knows he no longer is going to be able to be 'Gus" after all??? Yes, Hank then finds out about WW, but don't forget about the first scene of episode one when Walt is in a diner, having breakfast, with a wig or hair and using a fake name. What is that about? I think Hank confronts him in the next season, and Walt goes 'on the run'...but keeps his Czech Rep. connections. This show is so amazing, it keeps you guessing and trying to figure out what will happen next. How can we wait til next Season??

Xbox 360 Live Points Card

2012-06-07T05:43:00.001-07:00

This review is from: Xbox 360 LIVE 1600 Points (Video Game)

First off, I'm an otherwise very happy Xbox Live Gold member. Instead of buying a points card from a retailer, I made the mistake of buying the points online from Microsoft through the Xbox. I used my gamer tag account and entered my credit card on the TV and I bought 500 points. I got the email confirmation that I bought the points. I then used the points. So far so good.

Over the next two days, four other Xbox charges totaling $30 mysteriously appeared on my credit card. Someone bought more points and a game subscription using my credit card info. I called Xbox Live support- their answer was "we don't give refunds." I explained that it's not a REFUND if my account is used fradulently. They still said no.

Note that clearly the security leak was with them, as no other fraudulent charges appeared on my credit card...just Xbox charges.

I then asked them to delete my credit card info from my Xbox Live account. They said they could not do this. I could not believe this! Given that someone had access to my credit card and they were unwilling to remove my credit card info, I had no choice but to cancel my credit card.

My advice- buy the points from a trusted source like Amazon. Don't ever give Microsoft direct access to your credit card info. I hope this helps.

Battlefield 3 - Back to Karkand DLC Pack [Online Game Code]

2012-06-07T05:38:00.000-07:00

This review is from: Battlefield 3 - Back to Karkand DLC Pack [Online Game Code] (Software Download)

Code-in-a-box and 3rd Party method:

Open the Origin client on your PC, and click Redeem Product Code, under the Settings menu (gear icon).
Enter your code then hit Next.
Confirm that the code is for Back to Karkand and hit Next again.
You will receive a confirmation of your code redemption.
You will now need to go to My Games and update Battlefield 3 to play Back to Karkand.

For me, I didn't have to update anything in my game once I activated the game. (Karkand may have come with that 4GB patch release a while ago.) Anyway, I just started a game, and joined a Karkand map. Truth be told, I too was confused as to how to activate the game until I came across a post by EA. I hope this helps.

Battlefield 3: Premium [Download]

2012-06-07T05:34:00.001-07:00

This review is from: Battlefield 3: Premium [Download] (Software Download)

I got this directly from the publisher but so far it has been quite enjoyable. I'm liking some of the new weapons already. This is a one-time payment and is not annually-based like Activision does with the CoD franchise. In my opinion that is much more of an appeal. We pay for enough services out there on a yearly basis.

Hopefully somebody can clarify this for me, but if you own Back to Karkland already do you receive a discount/reimbursement or is it going to stay at $50? Either way knowing that I paid for the future expansion packs all in one payment is ideal and convenient.

It's worth the purchase/download. The queue prioritizing is nice but essentially worthless on premium servers, since everyone has premium.

I'm a casual gamer and I'm sure there will be much more thorough reviews than mine but I wanted to provide the casual crowd with my take on this offering.

20 new weapons, 20 new vehicles, new dog tags, queue priority, and other features become available. I believe new kits and uniforms as well. New achievements are introducted for premium users along with the new expansion pack, two weeks early access for expansion packs along with being able to reset your player stats.

Crysis

2012-06-07T05:30:00.001-07:00

This review is from: Crysis Maximum Edition (DVD-ROM)

With Original Crysis going on 3 years old, I have upgraded my system 3 times since the original install. If DRM were in the original Crysis, I would likely not be able to install it on my next generation upgrade, which will happen because of the new MB's with USB 3.0, addional PCI16 slots, and additional SATA I connectors of 6+ on the newer MoBo's. Graphics card is always upgraded, and when each new Mobo, I always upgrade my processor. So it will look like a totally new system, and that is the problem. Great Game, but I won't buy anything with DRM, period. It is impacting sales.
Of course I could get a cracked version free, but I believe piracy can lead to the end of innovation and possibly products for the PC despire that I am honest. DRM inhibits sales to honest people, not pirates. When will the dolts at EA get it. Likely never, so sadly I suspect that means no purchases from EA. It is killing me because EA has been around since the Atari 800 and they have always made awesome games. No Crysis Warhead either... DRM.. :(

NBA 2K12(Covers May Vary)

2012-06-07T05:29:00.002-07:00

List Price:	$19.99
Price:	$9.99
You Save:	$10.00 (50%)

ArmA 2: Combined Operations

2012-06-07T05:26:00.001-07:00

This review is from: Arma 2 - Combined Operations (DVD-ROM)

If you are a soloist, a Rambo, a loner, this is probably not the game for you. The majority of people playing video games now days, are multiplayers. They play online for that extra challenge. This game involves not only multiplayer but teamwork on a high level. That high level is set by the players. Once you immerse into the land of Arma II, you will find yourself talking as if you have been in the military for years. This is a military simulation, not the average arcade game. You will not hear people talking about face rolling, and total pwnage and all that crap. You will only hear the calls for close air support, transport and long ranged artillery. If you are that role playing, military game guru, you will love the multiplayer associated with this game. However if you are into points and worrying about your kill to death ratio, find a server with Player Vs. Player. Some snipers pride themselves on taking out those loners. The Delta Force will work together on special operations missions, the pilots will be in their own group, and don't be surprised to see a Shooter and a Spotter acting as one Sniper. This is an incredible game, if you play it the way it was intended to be played.

If you are considering picking up the game. Check out the guys at 7th Cav, they always keep a populated server, and they really use that teamwork you are looking for.

The Sims 3

2012-06-07T05:24:00.003-07:00

This review is from: The Sims 3 [Mac Download] (Software Download)

I have never reviewed an item on Amazon, but my experience was so different from the other two listed here that I had to put in my two cents. I've wanted the Sims 3 since it came out, but my old Mac's video card wasn't up to the job. As soon as my new Macbook Pro was up and running, I went looking for a copy I could download. Since these reviews scared me off Amazon a bit, I tried another site first, but it just sent me in circles and I never got the game. Finally, I decided that Amazon was my only choice for immediate download, and decided to risk it. And you know what? It worked perfectly. Absolutely perfectly. A 5GB game downloaded in 1.5 hours, it installed flawlessly, and I've been playing it ever since, like the good little Sims addict I am. FYI, I'm on a Macbook Pro, 2.3 GHz, 4GB of memory and an Intel 3000 video card.

As for the game itself, I find it a great jump up from Sims 2, though it's very similar. This one has fewer loading screens and the world is definitely a bit more detailed. I'm trying to resist buying all the expansion packs right away, but I somehow doubt I'll succeed.

Omron G7L-1A-TUB-CB-AC100/120 General Purpose Relay, Class B Insulation, QuickConnect Terminal, Upper Bracket Mounting, Single Pole Single Throw Normally Open Contacts, 17 to 20.4 mA Rated Load Current, 100 to 120 VAC Rated Load Voltage

2012-06-06T05:03:00.001-07:00

ASIN B0073U6CXY

Specifications for this item

Brand Name: Omron

EAN: 4536853480509

Number of Items: 1

Part Number: G7L-1A-TUB-CB-AC100/120

Size Name: Single Pole Single Throw Normally Open Contacts