Reviewing 1989

Its been a while since I wrote any sort of review. Today I am gonna put words to my thoughts on Taylor Swift's move from country to pop-country to all pop. Taylor's 5th album (not including her Christmas one) is titled 1989 - after the year of her birth I presume. If you have her other albums and you know anything about her songs - her writing, her words, her letters to you - than you will quickly see that aspect of her hasn't changed when you read her album insert and listen to the songs. What you will hear different is the sound of her music. There's no country here anymore. The girl from Reading, PA...the girl who sang of Tim McGraw and teardrops on guitars....is a woman of New York City now, but who still has a lot to say. If you pay attention and you buy the actual CD's and read the inserts you will also notice that there is only ONE song on the album that she is solely credited for writing; this is a departure from other albums. There is no doubt in my mind that Taylor is talented. If I didn't think so I wouldn't have bought every single one of her CD's. I did had reservations about purchasing this one as I knew the Taylor of old was now new. I won't post her letter to us, her fans, her listeners, but I will post this excerpt because it sums up the entire album and the change in style:

" I've told you my stories for years now. Some have been about coming of age, some have about coming undone. This is a story about coming into your own, and as a result....coming alive."  

That is the nature of Taylor's albums - they were her stories. She puts her writing, her stories, to music.

Dracula rose and here's my Review

I thought I'd take the time to review NBC's new show, Dracula. Dracula airs on Friday nights at 10 pm on NBC. The premier was 3 weeks ago, putting the show at 3 episodes with number 4 airing this week. I have watched all 3. I must admit that I do record them and I am glad I did because I ended up needing to watch the premier episode a second time. I watched the premier, curtosey of my DVR, but it apparently did not hold my attention through most of it, because I knew that I had missed things. So, I needed to watch it again, that in itself does not bode well. 

Three episodes in and the story, more or less, has been revealed. You know the characters and mostly, I think, know what their goals and intentions are. Those are positive points because anything that takes too long getting to the point will lose viewership. That being said though, the episodes, to me, seem to drag on. I am not really sure what I was expecting of a show of this content on a network like NBC, but I guess it's just not fast paced enough for me and I find my mind wondering while I am watching. Even with that negative point, I am not willing to give up yet. 

Album Review: Lifehouse: Almeria

Lifehouse has to be one of my favorite bands. I just love lead singer, Jason Wade's voice. Their lyrics always move me and I just have so many favorite songs of theirs. I went to the store looking for a specific group, Fireflight, to be exact, but much to my dismay, but not surprise, they did not have any albums by them. An album by this band has been exceedingly hard for me to locate so I have decided the only way is online. Anyway, I love music and like I told my son as we stood there looking at the rows of CDs, I need music; I crave it. My life would not be complete without it. Music inspires me, it guides me, it soothes me; its usually one of the first things I turn too when I need something to lean on.

I was feeling the need to add to my music collection. Sure you can buy MP3s online, but there is just something about that CD that I just want; like a book in print rather than digital. Not finding what I wanted I should have just left the store, but the bands name stuck out and struck me - hey, I like Lifehouse and I only own one CD, which I absolutely love, and had been wanting to get an older album for quite some time. Well they didn't have any older albums. The only two they had were, Smoke and Mirrors, which is the one I have and thought was their latest one and Almeria, which based on price was clearly their newest. There were two versions of that album, one with 10 songs and one with 13 songs.

My greeky opinion

Greek yogurt...I'm sure you've heard of it, seen in the stores, or know someone who thinks it's the best yogurt, well today I am going to tell you what I think about it. I too have seen it and heard about it in so many places; people touting this or that reason to eat it, so I tried it. Actually I have tried 3 or 4 brands now. Let me see if I can recount them - Fage, Chobani, Activia, Oikos and most recently Yoplait greek yogurt parfait. Before I go on let me tell you that I am NOT a big yogurt eater. On the rare occasions that I bought yogurt previously (more on this in a bit) I bought Dannon's fruit on the bottom as it was the ONLY yogurt that I didn't mind eating. Sure I tried other brands and with yogurt supposedly so good for you I keep trying. I find that I can not eat it every day and I usually can not eat it first thing in the morning. Why? I have no idea. I know I am lactose intolerant, but yogurt isn't supposed to affect people who are (or so I believed, but now I see lactose free varieties). Yogurt for me is usually a snack or a dessert.

So onto the greek yogurt. Greek yogurt touts more protein and at least one website I read says it also has more probiotics contained in the yogurt. If you are on a low-fat diet you can also substitute sour cream and use greek yogurt. I've actually tried this in a couple Clean Eating recipes - my verdict - I would rather buy fat free sour cream. Some of the brands of greek yogurt taste like a sweetened sour cream. Now I am also not a big fan of the white goop so perhaps I am the wrong person to ask. I do use sour cream on tacos or in chili occasionally and in very very small portions. Greek yogurt is a bit sour and some more than others, perhaps that's what I don't like. The Chobani for me was the worst tasting. The newest I tried, Yoplait greek yogurt parfait has granola and fruit (on the bottom) - the first couple bites I get that tang, but I don't mind eating this yogurt nearly as much as the others. Will I buy it again? Probably not.

My Review of Banded Underwire Bra by Goddess®

(this is an auto generated blog post from review of product on the site of purchase)

Originally submitted at WomanWithin

Beautifully designed in ultra-supportive satin with a sheer top cup, gives you a lighter look...a more feminine feel. Imported.

• full cup with sling design provides maximum lift and shaping
• stretch straps for all-day support
• supportive leotard-look back prevents str...

Banded Underwire Bra by Goddess®

Great Support

By hollys2cents from PA, USA on 4/5/2012

 

4out of 5

Cup Fit: Feels true to size

Band Size: Feels true to size

Pros: Good Coverage, Pretty, Comfortable Fit, Figure-Flattering, Comfortable Material, Good Support

Best Uses: Everyday

Describe Yourself: Comfort-oriented, Practical

Was this a gift?: No

I love this bra. I hate underwires because most poke under my arms or are just not comfortable for me. I need the support and full coverage for my large chest and this bra delivers both. Time will tell if the underwire will pop out of the bra as is one reason I don't buy them normally. I love the fit and it's very flattering look. A little pricey but a good bra is worth it.

(legalese)

Good Reading Reviews

I want to take today's post to tell you that sometimes I do reviews over at Goodreads.com on books I've read; so if you're ever interested in reading them you can find me there. Goodreads has been a wonderful resource for me to put into lists the books I've read or want to read. I have a nice stack of books at home waiting for me to get to them. I do not end up reviewing every book I read and I've been stuck on reading several Young Adult fantasy stories.

I reviewed the latest today though its not that in-depth. The book took me a really long time to finish...longer than usual. I am kind-of looking forward to finishing the series so I can move on to maybe a more exciting one. Below is my Goodreads review. I don't plan to re-post each review onto my blog, so please find me over there if you're interested. I have my Goodreads profile box in my sidebar on this blog. (Or click here)

Nightfall by L.J. Smith

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Another breif overview here. This book took me way too long to finish. I think in part because it wasn't captivating me..it was kind-of bland. I wanted to like it and care about what was going to happen next, but when you're able to put a book down for a whole week without picking it up, there's probably an issue. That said, life has also been in my way of finding free time to read, but I know from other series that even that does not stand in the way of a good book. This series so far is just okay.

The whimsy of Dr Seuss

Yesterday I took my kids to see Dr Seuss' The Lorax. I love Dr Seuss. Since I was a child Green eggs and Ham and One Fish, Two Fish were 2 of my favorite books. I had never heard of The Lorax until the movie previews started on T.V. After some research (you know, I love to fill my head with stuff!) I found this book was first published in 1971, so it's rather odd that I have never heard nor seen it before. On March 2nd, the day the movie came out, libraries and schools all over celebrated Dr Seuss' birthday. The man behind the name and countless books/illustrations died in 1991, but he contributed much in the way of reading, notably children's books that kids and adults love.

So my mini review of The Lorax movie is as follows.

Bringing back a Sea Of Memories

"Mind Strong. Body Strong. Try to find equilibrium. Head straight. Screwed on. Been screwed up for too long. I don't want to lean on the waves. I watch the storm evaporate. I think of you in starry skies. I keep you so alive. Let's walk through the fire together. Disappear in the golden sands. It's all in your face. I see you break. It's like the sound of winter...."

Those are just some of the lyrics you will hear in Gavin Rossdale's band, Bush's comeback album. I have been following Bush since their debut album Sixteen Stone came out in the 90s. Hearing their new album has made me revisit their older albums as well as bring back fond memories of another time. I read several reviews on the album titled, The Sea Of Memories, and not to my surprise much was negative. Bush seems to have been one of those bands that critics didn't get, but their fans love. Sixteen Stone did very well, but the next album Razorblade Suitcase didn't seem to get the same praise. I once reviewed Razorblade Suitcase for an assignment on Associated Content (and my article can be found exclusivally there), and I stand by what I said in that article. Razorblade Suitcase remains to be my favorite album produced by the band. There is a lot to like in each, but that one just stands out for me.

Breaking Dawn Doesn't Sparkle

Before you shoot me for my title of my blog post...yes, I am going to give a brief review of Twilight Breaking Dawn pt 1. Now before I begin let me start by saying that I read the entire book series, I saw every movie in the theater and I own them all on DVD. You can't call me a "Twihard" but you can call me a fan. I say that because "Twihards" live, breath, and love everything about the series, where I didn't/don't. Don't get me wrong, I throughly enjoyed the books, I couldn't put them down; that is before I got to the final book, Breaking Dawn. I wasn't sure I wanted to finish it honestly, but I did, mostly to just get closure and get it over with and read what I already expected and known was going to happen. It was too predictable for me. I've written reivews of Twilight and New Moon which can be found over at Goodreads. I never got around to review the last two books, my two least favorite of the series.

So, my review of Breaking Dawn; I am going to try and do this with as little spoilers as possible, but if you don't want to know anything about the movie until you see it, than best to read this after. Here goes:

Review - Everything Sucks

Today I am gonna review a book I just finished reading. It's called Everything Sucks : Losing My Mind and Finding Myself in a High School Quest for Cool, written by Hannah Friedman. I didn't know a thing about this book when I picked it up for $3 at Ollies (discount warehouse). I was looking in the inspirational section and this was just sort-of laying there on top of a stack of books so I flipped it over and read the back and scanned through it. It sounded interesting so I decided what the heck, it was only $3. Once I started reading it, I was sure it was probably not in the right section at the store, but no matter, I kept on, and I am glad I did. This book was an easy read for me. The author, Hannah Friedman, was young when she wrote this book (she is still young) but even younger still when she was published in Newsweek. She was still in highschool then. She'd written a personal essay piece about high-schoolers filling out college applications. It is clear early on how that came to be. Her writing is so honest, witty, and just so easy to read.

A sort-of review of Taylor Swift's Speak Now

Today I am going into this blog post with a million things to say and my fingers feel like are on fire typing. My challenge is to funnel all the thoughts in my head and write about one thing today, another tomorrow, or when time allows. So today I just want to write a bit about something I just read.

I don't like to admit to a lot of people that I enjoy the writing and songs of Taylor Swift. Why? I really don't know, probably because some people mock me, but hey, she's a great song writer and I respect her words more than anything else about her. I don't care if she's a country singer (I used to live for country music, but now it's not really my thing), or that she's looked at as a teenie-bopper favorite or has been so hyped up and medialized. (is that even a word?)