Archive for May, 2010
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer is an enjoyable fantasy book that I would recommend to kids of all ages. The story opens in the bustling metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City. Artemis Fowl and his servant, Butler, are meeting a man who has promised to introduce them to a fairy. After meeting a weak fairy who has been drained of magic by rice wine, they trick her into sharing her secret fairy book with them in exchange for saving her life. The book, which contains all the rules and secrets of the world’s fairies, is photographed by Artemis and e-mailed to his server for safe keeping. Meanwhile, Captain Holly Short, a LEPrecon (Lower Elements Policeman) enters a pod in the fairy city near the center of the earth that will shoot her out of a vent to fight a troll who has escaped to the earth’s surface. Little does she know that soon after that she will be kidnapped by Artemis Fowl!
Artemis Fowl is a character with a plan. He is a driven, wealthy twelve year old who wants to steal fairy gold. In the beginning of the book he is described as an extremely pale young man who seems to have no friends except his servant, Butler. He is a bright, tech genius who is not in school because his mother is loosing her mind. My favorite part of the book was reading about how he is training himself to become a criminal mastermind. Right before he meets with Commander Root to negotiate for Fowl’s fairy hostage, he prepares for the interaction by concentrating on how he will act. “Artemis put on his best sinister face. Evil, he told himself, evil but highly intelligent. And determined, don’t forget determined. He put a hand on the doorknob. Steady now. Deep breaths, and try not to think about the possibility that you have misjudged this situation and you are about to be shot dead.” (Colfer 213)
The underground fairy world in Artemis Fowl is an incredibly imaginative creation. Although we are told a limited amount about the underground city, we are thrown into a fantastic description of Captain
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I admit, it took me a little while to warm up to this series, but now I’m hooked! The audiobook is an incredible performance, as well. Eoin Colfer creates a fascinating new universe that is peopled with equally fascinating characters. It would be a great read for preteens, but as an adult, I thoroughly enjoyed it as well. I also love the physical book – the cover is much nicer than shown here, and it has uneven, old-fashioned looking rag paper pages. It’s much higher quality material than you usually find in a hardback.
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Book Description
As a young man, Jacob Jankowski was tossed by Fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It was the early part of the great Depression, and for Jacob, now ninety or ninety-three, the circus world he remembers was both his salvation and a living hell. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It was there that he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. And he met Rosie, an un-trainable elephant who was the great hope for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and, ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.
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This book came to us as a recommended read from several sources. Once selected, we could not possibly put it down. The author, Sara Gruen, builds the detailed and fantastic world of a travelling circus during the Great Depression from the ground up! The story of Jacob Jankowski is one of sorrow, love and at times terrifying. His constant emotional struggles can be related to by many readers (though perhaps not as fantastical) and will captivate the imagination. The other characters Gruen constructed are perhaps the most remarkable outside of young Jacob, as with any circus, they all act their parts accordingly … with flawless precision.
One does not need to be a circus aficionado or historical reader to take pleasure in this novel, for it contains a little of everything to captivate any bookworm. We guarantee you will not be able to put this one down!
Flora of the Northwest
This ’steam vac’ is amazing. Even though it does not utilize or create true ’steam heat’, the machine is incredibly effective.
While the F5819-900 does a great job of delivering the cleaning solution to the carpet, the true secret is its suction/extraction power.
This evening was my first attempt at using this machine to clean my entire 20×15 living room and the results are amazing. The F5914 is much more sophisticated than it looks. The controls that deliver the cleaning solution to the carpet function very well… and are incredibly easy to control.
Delivery of the cleaning solution is controlled by two separate triggers at the head of the handle. The index finger trigger delivers moderate cleaning solution. The addition of the thumb-activated “Clean Surge” button delivers twice the cleaning fluid. The “Clean Surge” feature is awesome for combating difficult stains.
The suction this SteamVac generates is amazing! My carpet was COMPLETELY dry two hours after I finished the job!
One of my dogs managed to get hold of a small Halloween-sized chunk of chocolate while I was at work one day. I returned from the office to find an empty wrapper and a stain that wouldn’t completely go away regardless the generaly available ’spray cleaners’ available at the grocery store. Tonight, using the SteamVac and patience… that 6-month-old stain is GONE!
I’ve read negative reviews and there are a few common, easy to overcome themes:
- Take your time. Cleaning a carpet is more involved than vacuuming a carpet. Make sure you are delivering enough cleaning solution to the carpet, using enough passes over the area for the Spin-Scrub brushes to agitate the carpet fibers, and using enough passes to allow suction to draw the liquid back to the collection tank.
- This machine uses water as part of its primary function. When your are finished cleaning your carpet, you will want to store the machine somewhere other than a carpeted surface. Carpet saturated in water= mo
Stack On PB 23
Very nice addition to my garmin gps. Small enough to fit almost anywhere in your vehicle, yet big enough to firmly hold the unit.
Fish Eye Lens for
It’s cheap,and can be used as a starter until I can find someting sturdier. I don’t trust the plastic conectors between the bag and shoulder strap.
Zeikos ZE CA48B Deluxe
I was surprised at the poor quality of this book but I guess appealing to mass markets is the cause of this. The book is a paperback with a very poor hard cover. Paper is rough and poorer quality of paperbacks in general and the printing is small. If you want this book to remain on your book shelf after reading then steer clear of this one. Great classic and is readable.
Londons Times Religion Heaven
Live Like A Fruit Fly, a book i recently found on amazon, is far more practical.
African humanism and national
I have a black lab with a gorgeous, shiny topcoat, but with a very thick undercoat. Despite this healthy coat, he’s always been a shedder. Though I had heard of the Furminator, I was dubious as to its mythic powers (anything advertised via infomercial has to be a scam, right?), but was willing to try it, as regular dog brushes yielded little fur.
This product is INCREDIBLE. I hope its inventor is a quadruple-gazillionaire, because a few swipes with the Furminator pulled out so much fur that I can practically build another dog out of the pile of hair. My dog’s coat looks even sleeker now, and more importantly, he loves the way it feels (must be a big relief for him to get rid of all that dead hair) whereas he hated being brushed.
I highly recommend this product to anyone who owns a hairy beast. You won’t be sorry, and your beast will thank you.
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Although there is a micro difference in the cut of the blades (a hair narrower), and the black things on the underside are taller, again by a noticeable hair, and the blade section shorter, in the end it is the same height as the old and this not only fits our Hamilton Beach Blender Type 814 (14-speed, also labeled the “ice breaker”) just right, it is easier to unscrew AND it does a much better job of blending than the original ever did. The original used to balk just to puree cottage cheese. I just made a pasta sauce that involved chickpeas, fresh herbs and tomatoes. Piece of cake, under a minute, required little scraping down. I’m happy. Took another reviewer’s advice and also purchased a new O ring. I also recommend it.
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