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Archive for February, 2010

It does what it’s supposed to do, and as far as I can tell it’s accurate.
Disturbing Behavior by Unknown | thaipsy

Title: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Pages: 214

Time spent on the “to read” shelf: 4 or 5 months I think.

Days spent reading it: 4 days.

Why I read it: The Catcher in the Rye is an American classic and very controversial. I honestly wanted to see what was so controversial. Also, it was one of those “classics” that I did not read while in high school. In researching about it later I read that in 1981 it was the most censored book in US high schools and the second most taught book in high schools. It was one of the 10 most challenged books in 2005, but it came off the list in 2006. Those are some fun facts for you.

Brief review:
This book frankly annoyed me. The writing has very repetitive and had many aggravating sayings in it. The word “really” is used almost as much as the curse words that are prevalent throughout the book (one reason it is often censored–I would guess that gd appears 2-3 times a page at minimum, sometimes significantly more). And I assure you, both appear more than they need to, I really mean it.

Holden Caulfield is the main character. He is the epitome of teenage angst. His world is utterly pessimistic. He sees only the bad in everything except his sister and his deceased younger brother. He is bright, but is failing out of school. He is obsessed with sex, but cannot develop a relationship with a girl. He is active and pursues all the pleasure trappings that a big city have, but has no defining meaning to his life.

The book covers three days between him being kicked out of school and his untimely return home. Holden is depressed, hates everyone, exaggerates EVERYTHING (annoyingly so), and seems to have few people skills. In short, he is the perfect anti-hero and irritating enough that I did not like him one bit while reading this book.

I suppose this book speaks to the hearts of some disaffected youth, but they would have to be interested in drudging through 200 pages of dribble in order to find the voic
1 GB XD MEMORY | bcmushrooms

my husband has to have every video game system that comes out, we’ve owned everything from sega genesis to dreamcast to ps1-2-3 xbox + xbox360 and he spends too many hours playing after work each day. he always tries to teach me to play, i quickly loose interest because using the controller is too difficult AND THEN THERE WAS WII! sent from heaven i can really enjoy playing video games! now he complains i’m on the video game too long…
Hydroxatone Celtrixa Stretch Mark | osvescen

Is The Catcher in the Rye as captivating as its title? J.D. Salinger’s impressive novel deals with Holden Caulfied, a sixteen year old boy, who is expelled from Pencey for his poor grades, and consequently decides to explore New York City before confronting his parents with the unfortunate news. In New York City Caulfield reveals his view of the world through the characters.

Caulfield considers people like Ackley, Stradlater, and Lillian Simmons as “phonies” and “morons”, in which he repeatedly criticizes their fakeness and unintelligence. He has an obvious dislike for adults and sees them as a corruption to society, and his encounters lead to separation. Caulfield’s description of adults limits the perception of the readers and emphasizes the havoc in adulthood.

This negative aspect of people is not true for every character introduced to readers. Caulfield exposes his peaceful side when he speaks of his sister Phoebe, his brother Allie, Jane Gallagher, and the singing boy. Caulfield’s memories of his family regard his childhood and their innocence. The thought of Jane, an old friend, brings a sense of joy in Caulfield’s eyes because he contemplates on their angelic friendship. The boy walking down the side walk sings “If a body catch a body coming through the rye”. Caulfield states that this relieves his depression, and confesses to Phoebe he wants to be the person guarding kids from carelessly running over a cliff on the rye.

This is an exceptional novel written by Salinger, and I especially recommend this to young and old readers because it concerns both age groups. This book discusses the big gap between the new and the old age, and Caulfield struggles to accept his time for maturity. There is a point in a person’s life in which one has to acknowledge their transition to adulthood.

SkinMedica TNS Body Lotion | thaipsy

I have only had this pedometer for a few weeks but I love it. I have had many before that didn’t stay hooked to my belt so they fell off and broke, didn’t keep an accurate count of my steps, or reset themselves in the middle of the day. This one resets at midnight so I don’t accidentally have too many steps registered or double counted by my forgetfulness to reset it in the morning.
Pacific Oceanside Men s | ggler

I was so looking forward to protecting my new iPhone with this case. It’s a good thing it is well insulated because the phone has fallen out of it 5 times already!!!
The plastic holster case does not grip the phone well and it doesn’t take much for it to tumble out! I got tired of putting a rubber band around it to make it stay! And I got tired of worrying about losing my phone. So, it is very easy for a thief to pick pocket and hard for the wearer to know it has fallen if you are on a soft surface. When it falls out you don’t hear it hit the ground. Needless to say, I’m not using it anymore. Now I just hope they refund my purchase price!!!
Will keep you posted on that issue!
Strongg | mellatnews

Mixed reviews held me back from reading this book for quite some time, despite my recent foray into juvenile literature. I have to say I have mixed feelings as well, though not for a lot of the reasons I’ve read (okay, people who say a 12-year-old criminal mastermind is just ‘too farfetched’ of an idea… did you notice the fairies and dwarves and trolls and the centaur? Oh, a 12-year old genius is too much to handle, but all of the fantasy creatures… no problem? Fiction, people… it’s fiction. If I wanted ‘real world’ stuff I’d just leave the house!). Mostly I had a very hard time picturing a lot of the creatures (specifically the dirt-eating unhinged-jawed dwarf) and didn’t have a great handle on the setting/technology/magic being described. But the action was good, and I did like a lot of the characters. So it gets a pretty middle-of-the road review, though I will read more in the series.
Canon EF S 55 | ggler

This product came quickly and was a cinch to install – just typed in the product code and we were set!
Swagman XP 3 Bike | ntctiawc2005

So many people have written off Gasaraki as a clone of Eva, but imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Gasaraki takes the mecha formula in a new direction with realistic portrayal – the Tactical Armors are believable, unlike the Evas – and mixes it with a gripping story of global turmoil, personal journeys, and supernatural weirdness. It also contains probably the best animation I’ve ever seen, made more incredible by the fact that very little of it is fantasy-based. The world of Gasaraki is presented in a manner that makes you consider that it could really happen, unlike the majority of fantastic anime. Sadly, the very realism of Gasaraki probably cost it many fans, which is too bad – they missed out on a great achievement.

I will not include any final plot developments here, but I will say that unlike Eva, the ending is definitely satisfying and straightforward, while still allowing room for interpretation. Expect the unexpected, which should be easy if you’ve watched the series from the beginning. The final confrontations are anything but cliched – I was not close to disappointed, which is more than I could say for Eva. The only regrettable thing was that the series has now reached closure.

Putting together the superb animation and plot, the extras on the DVD, the better-than-average dub, and most of all, the relentless atmosphere gives you the best anime series since Cowboy Bebop, in my opinion. The only downfall of Gasaraki is the somewhat stunted character development, but that’s easily forgivable given the complex storyline. It’s surprising that Gasaraki didn’t reach the exposure level of more popular series, but that’s certainly not because it’s anything less than brilliant. Fans of mature, convoluted storylines a la Serial Experiments Lain will find a new home with Gasaraki.
Gasaraki To Be a | osvescen

An excellent use of $76.49! (w/free shipping)

Pro: I think this is one of the most powerful vacuum cleaners I have ever owned.

Con: The plastic hose is just a bit too short.

Very pleased. Would definitely recommend to a friend.
Canon EF S 55 | societyofherbariumcurators