Dora, Dora, Dora, The Explorer?

My almost 2-year-old boy has recently developed an all-consuming obsession with Dora. We have Netflix, so he's been streaming the episodes to our TV through the Wii, starting with Season 1 and moving on up....and down....and up...and down...

Season 1 is pretty okay, I think. Granted, Boots is annoying and makes me hope desperately that my son does not try to emulate him. However, Dora is okay, and the show is definitely educational. I love the repetition of key words or points. The characters count everything there is to count, so I feel that the show is beneficial in that regard, as well as having the obvious advantage of exposing children to Spanish at an early age. I don't think the show is going to teach my son fluent Spanish, but even a small amount of exposure will help him more easily learn a second language later in life.

As the seasons progress, the repetition decreases, which is unfortunate. The characters still count things, but the shows feel rushed. The map's song and the backpack's song are shortened and faster. The shows begin to have more events packed into them, and odd things like star collecting are added in. I could definitely do without the "collecting stars along the way" portion. I don't find any benefit to it, and I consider it ridiculous. The show begins to include things that are more "cute" than educational, with talking insects and flying horses.

Now, I realize that I'm not the only one in the world, and that the makers of the show are trying to make more than a show - they're trying to make money. Therefore, I have no doubt that they are creating the changes that viewers claim to want. However, I don't necessarily believe that these changes are good for the children, and I don't believe that they are in line with the initial concept of Dora. What do you think?

The Quest For The Mighty Sword Review

Today, I thought I would turn on some instant play Netflix for the kiddos to watch while I worked on crocheting some gnome hats. Browsing through the selection, I ran across "The Quest for the Mighty Sword." This title reeked of low-budget fantasy junk. So I hit play.

This movie was not the most horrible movie I've ever seen. In fact, surprisingly enough, it wasn't even any worse than I expected it to be. I think they may have even had more than $10 to spend on graphics. The storyline is your basic epic tale of the boy whose father died, passing on to the young son the duty of claiming the magic heirloom sword and leading his people back to their homeland or some such.

Of course, I either missed the shot of "his people" or else they didn't really show them; but it did include a rescue scene of some scantily clad woman, and a whole lot of love going around. It also included some really ugly critters that looked kind of like the troll from the movie aptly named "Troll". I think these guys were a little uglier than that troll, but I'm pretty sure "Troll" based their troll on these. In fact, there were a lot of ugly people in this movie. I wasn't overly impressed with the hero guy, nor did I consider the female lead to be particularly beautiful. Not to worry - their acting wasn't any better than their looks; however, that said, I think they were the best actors in the movie, other than the pimply and/or scarred guy who liked to make statues out of people.

Overall, I'd have to say this movie didn't even give Ed Wood a run for his money. If you'd like to see a movie in a fantasy epic-style setting with bad (but not horrible) acting, pretty bad (but again, not horrible for the time) graphics, a sketchy storyline, and a scantily clad, not-quite-beautiful female lead, this may be the movie for you. Or you can save yourself the trouble and watch the old version of Clash of the Titans. You decide.

Crayon Hearts Review

Crayon Hearts

I remember melting crayon scraps when I was little. My brother and I would dump out the old shreds of crayon shavings onto a piece of paper. We would then fold the paper in half and heat it up in the microwave. We would take the paper out while the crayon was still molten hot, and open it up. After allowing it to dry, we would look at it, and see what we could see in it. We called this making crayon ink blot tests.

Once, we decided to make a crayon out of our shavings instead of making crayon ink blot tests. I can't remember what we used as a cylindrical mold, but we dumped our crayon shavings in, heated it up, and voila! A multicolored crayon. It was so cool, because it was huge, and as you colored with it, you never knew what color you would discover on your paper from one second to the next. When I see these crayon hearts, I think of that.

The main picture on this listing is beautifully done. I love the way that the hearts are piled in a seemingly haphazard manner. The bright colors caused me to think initially that they were heart-shaped candies. Unfortunately, the seller does not mention in the listing what size these are, nor is there any size indicator in the pictures. Interestingly, the seller placed an apostrophe in the title word "hearts." Curious.

Concerning tags, "children" is misspelled and no materials are listed. I love that shipping is offered to anywhere in the world and two forms of payment are accepted - so if a buyer does not like to use Paypal, this seller also accepts money order.

Miniature Brass Gavel Review

Miniature brass gavel

I'm not certain what it is that I find so intriguing about a judge's gavel. Is it the shape? The color? The loud sound it makes when it slams against something? Perhaps I was a judge in a previous life. Whatever the reason, I find gavels very attractive and seem to gravitate toward them.

The pictures of the gavel are nice enough, but I would love to see this gavel against wood. I would be able to associate this gavel with a courtroom more easily if it was on a wooden desk, because courtroom judges traditionally pronounce their judgments behind wooden desks.

I would like to see more tags on this items, such as metal, traditional, silver or gray. I generally suggest filling up all fourteen tag slots with descriptive words. The more words a seller puts in the tags of an item, the more likely that item is to appear in a search made by a potential buyer. Make sure to think of all of the words that a buyer might type in order to find the item.

If a seller ships internationally, he or she should list international shipping prices. International buyers may click through to the listing, scan down to the shipping area, see that the seller has not listed international shipping rates, and move on to the next item. Even though the seller says "convo me for an international shipping quote," the buyer may not see this upon a quick scan or the buyer may be unwilling to write a convo to the seller and then wait for a response, only to find that the seller's international shipping prices are too high.

This seller only lists Paypal as a payment option. I always suggest listing Paypal plus at least one other form of payment. Many buyers do not use Paypal, and money orders are relatively safe to accept.

Joy Felt Hat Review

Joy..Felt hat...

When I'm walking down the street on any given Sunday, I sometimes see women looking at me strangely - but never from the top of another woman's head! Looking at the main image of this hat, I saw some fuzz and thought "huh, looks kind of like some weird kind of mold on top of a hat..." Then, I took a look at the second image and realized "Oh my God! It's a woman!"

This hat is incredibly unique, to say the very least. I have never in my life worn another woman on my head, but they say there's a first time for everything. It's like a doodle art cameo portrait...on the back of your head!

The seller might want to consider taking the ellipses out of the title and simply calling it "Joy Felt Hat" or something to that effect. I like the fact that the seller ships everywhere, and the fact that the seller is willing to make the hat fit the buyer's head size.

Chocolate Brown Clutch Review

Chocolate Brown Clutch

Is it a flower? Is it an English symbol of royalty? Is it a monster from the depths of I have no idea where? Call it what you will, but the design on this clutch is intricate and beautiful. And, as an added bonus, while you're waiting in the doctor's office for your name to be called, you can play psychologist with your fellow patients by asking them "What do YOU see in this picture?" Be sure to raise your eyebrow when you say this. People find this very intimidating.

I'm thrilled with the usage of the photo slots in this listing. However, I think the second picture should be the main picture. The main picture seems darker than the others and may not accurately reflect the actual color of the clutch. Additionally, the angle in the second picture gives more depth than the frontal picture presented in the main picture.

The placement of the brown-on-red designer's tag is excellent. The contrast works very well to offset what would otherwise be a harsh interior. This listing shows excellent picture quality, a great close up view of the flower design, and an adequate view of the back of the clutch.

I approve of the shipping options outside of the US, although the seller might want to consider shipping to Canada and Everywhere Else.

Sterling Silver Chunky Shell Pearl Necklace Review

Sterling Silver and Chunky Shell Pearl Necklace

I was struck by the simplicity of this black pearl necklace. This single pearl strung on a leather cord reminds me of a Christmas tree ornament. With the swarovski rondelle at the top of the pearl, the sterling silver fastening peeking out the bottom, and the wire connecting the rondelle to the cord, this ornament looks sure to hang around any neck with style.

The black necklace set against a white mannequin is a nice visual touch, creating maximum contrast. I really like that the seller used all of the picture slots, although I would make the second picture into the main picture. This would demonstrate the necklace being used in the thumbnail, thereby decreasing the amount of thought necessary for a buyer, and increasing the likelihood that a potential buyer would click through to the actual listing. If a buyer has to think about what an item might be, he or she might simply pass on to the next item rather than read what the title says.

I love the third picture. The way that the seller has swirled the leather cord into loops is very attractive.

I'm pleased to note that this seller has listed four different options for shipping destinations - US, Canada, Australia, and the ubiquitous Everywhere Else. The seller may regret having such a low shipping cost to Everywhere Else when Everywhere Else becomes Russia, however. Sometimes, international shipping can be more expensive than one might imagine.

Ghoulish Goodies - Cookies in a Jar Review

Ghoulish Goodies - Cookies in a Jar

Initial reaction to the picture: What the heck is in the bottom of that jar???? And then I read on to discover: Oh, my gosh! It's cookies in a jar!

With oatmeal, pecans, M&Ms , chocolate chips, and sugar in this container, what's not to love? The seller even offers to mix you a custom batch that doesn't contain nuts, if you're allergic.

But the fun doesn't stop with the yummy goodness that's inside. The outside of the jar is decorated with Halloween fabric displaying ghosts, bats, and pumpkins.

I love the pictures on this item. Not only are there a lot of them, but also they were taken outside with good lighting and a tasteful background.

The polka dot black and orange ribbon against the ghost/pumpkin/bat fabric may have been a tad much though. There's only so much activity that should be happening in one area, and the polka dots push this one over that edge. Might try that fabric with a plain black ribbon for a better effect.

Halloween Blossom Hair Clip Review

Halloween Hair Blossom

What a stunning hair clip! I love the way that the orange and black chiffon layers appear to flow from one side to the other. This effect appears to be created by placing less of the material on the left than on the right side of the button, so that the flower appears to be leaning to the left. The vintage button adds to the overall effect, looking almost like a flower within the larger flower.

Did I say "appears" enough yet? Pretty soon, I'll have to inform you that you're actually in The Matrix. Would you like the red pill...or the blue pill? But I digress...

I would love to see more pictures of this item, particularly if it were displayed in the hair of a young model. Although the photo currently on this listing is quite fetching, using a human or a mannequin as a model would make it easier to see the size of the hair clip in relation to the average head size.

If I were to purchase this hair clip, I would wear it to a Halloween dance. Placed daintily behind my left ear, this eyecatching hairpiece would accentuate my long black dress as I sailed across the dance floor.

Altogether, this is a beautiful item perfect for that special Halloween occasion. I also notice that shipping on this item is only one dollar within the United States. With the cost of shipping supplies, plus the actual shipping, the seller of this hair clip must be perilously close to losing money on shipping costs. Be careful of the usps demons - they take much more than they give!

Raise Your Hand If You Know What Spalted Means

I was wandering through the Etsy aisles in the woodworking section, when I noticed that I kept seeing the same term over and over again: spalted. Now, says I to myself, what could this word mean? I have a fairly extensive vocabulary; yet these woodworker types seem to know this word that I know not. Because I'm a freakishly curious type, I felt the need to look it up.

However, Webster's remained strangely silent on the term spalted. I tried "spalt" instead, and this is what I discovered: "To split off; to cleave off, as chips from a piece of timber, with an ax." Therefore, this seems to mean that a spalted piece of wood is a piece of wood that has been chopped up. Got it.

So here you go...some spalted items for your viewing pleasure

Spalted Maple Dish




Spalted Birch Pot




Spalted Maple Bowl





Spalted Oak Vessel with Bubinga Finial





Spalted Maple Vase




Seahorse Box

Amityville Horror Remake Review

In my repertoire of random fragments of movies that float around in my mind, leftover from childhood, I remembered the name "Amityville Horror". I couldn't really remember the movie at all, so I decided I should watch it. I mosied on down to one of the various pawn stores hoping to find it, but not really expecting to...and there it was (in the 3 for $10 section - woohoo)!

I rushed home and popped it in the DVD player. Or maybe not. Maybe I actually went and did some grocery shopping or something. Who knows? At any rate, after I managed to get home, I popped it in the DVD player and waited with slightly bated breath. After waiting for what may have been a nanosecond, I went to get food and a drink. By the time I returned, it was to the selection screen.

As the movie started, my initial thought was that the only thing that looked even vaguely familiar about this movie was the house. A man wakes up at 3:15 a.m., grabs a shotgun and proceeds to blow his family's brains out one at a time. It's loud, and I realize that these folks must be related to my family. That is the only explanation for why only one little girl wakes up before they are shot. The name of the little girl in question appears to be Jodi...I make note of this for future reference.

Flash forward. A man and a woman drive into a ritzy neighborhood, apparently house hunting. They stop at what we now know is the Amityville house. There is much gushing, then they determine that they will be able to afford the house. The man does not want the house, but the woman very much does. We all know how that argument ended.

Three children are introduced, and we discover that one parent is a step-parent. A video camera appears out of nowhere to record touching moments for later use as heart-wrenching scenes. Mother is very excited and I predict later rewards of sex for the man. It seems that he does too.

In the next important scene, the man discovers an alarm clock in the basement. The clock is stopped at 3:15. Our ominous bones begin tingling now, and my Yoohoo is gone. I want more, but the movie has its grasp on me, and will not let me go.

Now the man is rewarded with the predicted sex. The woman is a man's fantasy woman, waking him up with groping hands and mounting him. Imagine his surprise when, in the throes of passion, he starts seeing dead children over her shoulder. At the point, he clearly believes that he is hallucinating. Therefore, because he clearly does not have an open relationship with his wife, he refuses to tell her of his vision when she asks what's wrong.

In the clear light of day, the woman is working in the kitchen. She looks over at the refrigerator and sees refrigerator magnets arranged to read something like "catch them, kill them". As you can imagine, this disturbs her and she goes to find the man. However, when she looks again at the refrigerator, the letters are scrambled. Again, the less than solid relationship results in silence about the "hallucination".

Somewhere during this area, the man removes his shirt to chop wood, and my jaw drops. Wow! His chest is unbelievable! He's so buff that he looks like a comic book character. Who would have thought? At this point, I think I wouldn't want to tangle with him.

A babysitter comes to watch the children. She had apparently babysat for the people who were massacred as well. She tells the children what happened to the last family in the house so that she can freak them out and impress the 12-year-old boy who is drooling over her half-naked body. At some point, she manages to piss the ghost of Jodi off. She gets locked into the closet and bad things happen.

The man begins behaving strangely and the woman begins to believe that the house is evil. She discovers that the history of the house includes a psycho who murdered his entire family because he thought he heard voices. We discover that the psycho had killed the family dog a few days before he killed the family. To her credit, the real estate agent who sold them the house had told them about the massacre. They just chose to ignore it...

Moving onward, the man accidentally kills the family dog in the boathouse. It's a reasonable mistake, since he thought it was a demon attacking him. After all, who wouldn't? However, since he's pretty sure he's crazy, he decides not to tell anyone about the little mishap. Nor is he interested in going to counseling for help.

The woman doesn't have these qualms about going for help though. She runs off and finds a preacher to come check out the house. Sadly, the preacher also happens to be a coward who runs away in terror when bugs fly at him in the house. He refuses to come back and help them. However, he does give her the excellent advice to get out of the house.

Meanwhile, unfortunately, the man has discovered the entryway into the hidden rooms in the house where, apparently, a psycho religious fellow had killed a bunch of native americans when the house was fairly new. The fellow religious nut killed himself afterward, in the belief that his spirit would remain in the house, or some such. Our step-father man discovers the religious nut in one of these hidden rooms, and things aren't pretty.

The woman returns to remove her family and the man tries to kill her. Much chasing occurs, during which the ghost of the little girl from the first (Jodi) opens a window so that the family can escape onto the roof. They do so, but then climb down. The man, who has fallen off the roof while pursuing them, was fortunate to land in mud so that he is not injured. He goes after the woman, who knocks him to the ground with a shotgun but refuses to kill him. The man has a moment of clarity and see that if she does not kill him, he will kill her. So she hits him in the head and knocks him out.

The family drags the man into the boathouse, loads him into the boat, and drives away. After they get out on the lake, the man wakes up. He appears to have left the possessed state behind and is his old cheerful self again. Now, we see the ghost of Jodi in the house. She looks sad. Then she disappars into the floor. I think wow, really good acting and graphics for the 80's!

It is only afterward that I discover that the movie that I watched is not the one that I saw as a child. This one is the remake. Also, the original was not from the 80's; it was from the 70's. I also discover that the actor who played the step-father had just come from playing in the movie Blade: Trinity. Well, that explains some things....

Walgreens Diapers Review

So, you look at the pictures and think "yep, looks like diapers." What you fail to realize is that in truth, this is an optical illusion. There are no diapers here!

I went to Walgrens yesterday in search of diapers. I have always stuck with Huggies since the diaper disasters of my first-born. However, I was at Walgreens and saw a magnificent money-saving opportunity. I could buy two jumbo packs of Walgreens diapers for about the same price as one jumbo pack of Huggies! Something deep inside me cautioned against this. It said things like "We've tried other brands before...it was never pleasant." But how could I resist that enticing price? In the end, the money argument won out.

I had my first opportunity to try these diapers out last night directly before bed. Upon opening up a diaper, misgivings arose within myself. The texture was all wrong. The diaper wasn't poofy enough. Little things seemed wrong. But I gave it the benefit of the doubt. Then, this morning when I picked up my son, I noted that his blanket was wet and I thought "Uh-oh...bad diaper, like I predicted." However, having spent the money on these packs of diapers, I convinced myself that this was not the case. Instead, I would rather believe that he simply released an excessive amount of urine overnight...more than any diaper could reasonably be expected to hold. So I changed him into a new Walgreens diaper.

Then, less than an hour ago, I was holding my son in my lap while at the computer. Suddenly, I felt an all-too-familiar wetness running down my leg. Yes, my son peed all over me. And himself. And the chair. Not his fault of course...the diaper is entirely to blame. And if you really want to get down to the nitty gritty of it, I'm to blame. Against all instinct, I bought these diapers. I shan't make him suffer from them anymore, however. It's Huggies from now on!