During a holiday season in which Wii, XBox360 and PS3 are the rage, the venerable Playstation 2 seems to plod along, unassuming.
Add to that quiet confidence the fact that hundreds of games, maybe thousands, already exist for this platform and you might think it's difficult to find a new standout.
I've recently found TWO.
Ratchet and Clank (the first game) and Ratchet and Clank - Going Commando, are two fabulous entertainment options for your PS2.
The premise behind the first one is that Captain Drek is planning to destroy the galaxy and Ratchet (a cat/fox/adventurer) and Clank (a mini robot) are given the task of capturing Drek and saving the galaxy.
The game goes through nearly 20 levels that take Ratchet and Clank to different planets and space stations.
A variety weapons allow you to fight an increasing level of enemies and big bosses at the end of each level. I was able to beat the game in about three weeks of casual play.
The second version of the game is similar, but about the same degree of difficulty.
Neither version is as good or intricate as Legend of Zelda, but it's good clean fun for most ages.
And if you keep finding new games for PS2, you won't be tossing away a ton of money on the newer, more expensive game systems.
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Blooming Buds - Fun, Basic Earbuds
11.24.2008
Got an iPhone or iPod? Or even a Zune or iRiver? Then you need earbuds. Sure, your device came with a set, but after a while those get grungy and beat up. Why not replace the standard set of 'buds with something that has a bit more personality?
That's where BloomingBuds come in.
These new-to-market earbuds are nearly identical sound-wise and size-wize to the set that comes with your music player. But the fun part is that you can snap decorations into the back of the earpieces to give your headphones a different look.
At $15 or so, BloomingBuds have dozens of snap-ins in categories that are great for boys, girls, men and women. Take a look...
Here are some other designs you can get...
And here's how they plug in, a simple hex snap keeps the inserts secure.
To learn more, go to MyBloomingBuds.com. These items make great stocking stuffers or fodder for under the Channuka Bush.
-30-
That's where BloomingBuds come in.
These new-to-market earbuds are nearly identical sound-wise and size-wize to the set that comes with your music player. But the fun part is that you can snap decorations into the back of the earpieces to give your headphones a different look.
At $15 or so, BloomingBuds have dozens of snap-ins in categories that are great for boys, girls, men and women. Take a look...
Here are some other designs you can get...
And here's how they plug in, a simple hex snap keeps the inserts secure.
To learn more, go to MyBloomingBuds.com. These items make great stocking stuffers or fodder for under the Channuka Bush.
-30-
Fung Wah Bus Lines
11.11.2008
Based on one trip to the Big Apple - and I'm writing this as the bus careers around bends and over bridges and generally avoids disaster by the tin of its teeth - I am not sure that I can recommend Fung Wah buses for anything more than barriers in a paintball game or as obstacles in a Jeep orienteering competition.
Just the fact that I'm writing this is proof that I want to get something down in electrons before I die. The bus keeps harring me from side to side and up and down and my typing looks like I keep smashing my face into the keyboard. Which will likely happen soon.
Further, the reason I can be so definitive about the Fung Wah experience is because I took a marvelous, gentle and safe trip to New York City on a competing bus line this morning.
MegaBus deposited me nicely at 31st Street with nary a scratch on my person and hardly a worry in my head.
I'm barely out of Manhattan on Fung Wah and I'm thinking I better FTP my entire hard drive to a safe site so that it doesn't perish in the fireball that will certainly occur somewhere around Sturbridge.
What? Points? I can't even give Fung Wah two stars out of five because I don't know anyone that would pay $15 to be tortured for four hours - even if it meant saving a buttload of money on gas and transportation fees.
Just to be clear, I had to retype that last paragraph SEVEN TIMES because the bus was tossing me around like the boats in The Perfect Storm.
You decide if the tone or content of this message are hyperbole of if I'm just kidding around and Fung Wah has put the Fun back in Fung Wah.
-30-
Just the fact that I'm writing this is proof that I want to get something down in electrons before I die. The bus keeps harring me from side to side and up and down and my typing looks like I keep smashing my face into the keyboard. Which will likely happen soon.
Further, the reason I can be so definitive about the Fung Wah experience is because I took a marvelous, gentle and safe trip to New York City on a competing bus line this morning.
MegaBus deposited me nicely at 31st Street with nary a scratch on my person and hardly a worry in my head.
I'm barely out of Manhattan on Fung Wah and I'm thinking I better FTP my entire hard drive to a safe site so that it doesn't perish in the fireball that will certainly occur somewhere around Sturbridge.
What? Points? I can't even give Fung Wah two stars out of five because I don't know anyone that would pay $15 to be tortured for four hours - even if it meant saving a buttload of money on gas and transportation fees.
Just to be clear, I had to retype that last paragraph SEVEN TIMES because the bus was tossing me around like the boats in The Perfect Storm.
You decide if the tone or content of this message are hyperbole of if I'm just kidding around and Fung Wah has put the Fun back in Fung Wah.
-30-
Bigelow Vanilla Chai Tea
11.07.2008
Instead of wasting my brain cells watching yet another episode of CSI Miami, I decided to give you a quickie review of a product.
Lainie shared with us one of her tea reviews the other day and her content is much more structured than what I’m going to provide you with here. As you know from earlier columns here, I don’t provide you with much pricing detail for magazines and little items.
In fact, I didn’t even provide you with the price of tickets for the showing of Martha Mitchell Calling. That’s going to hold true for small items and consumables here on Jeffsnotes.com for the foreseeable future.
Today we take a shot at tea. That’s right, a consumable. Bigelow Vanilla Chai tea.
If you’ve worked with me at any of my freelance assignments or taken a stroll through the study and the kitchen at my compound, you realize that I’m a hoarder. And one of the things I hoard the most is tea.
Here’s just a few of the teas I keep on hand.
And the Bigelow Vanilla Chai is right there on the bottom left.
While Bigelow might be a standard, off-the-shelf tea brand, they make some pretty flavorful and easy-brewing blends.
Let’s start with the flavor. This stuff is strong. When I get a Chai Tea Latte at Panera, I add whipped cream for flavor and that is not quite creamy enough. The Bigelow teabag packed enough creamy and spicy flavor to negate the need for milk.
Purists might be annoyed by my addition of sugar, but I like a slight sweetness in my teas and Chai is no exception.
According to the description on the back of the tea packet, Bigelow says the Chai is “a delightful blend of tea and exotic spices.”
It goes on to say, “It is often brewed with milk, which gives Chai a wonderful, creamy characteristic. In Bigelow Vanilla Chai we have added the flavor of vanilla, offering you a whole new dimension of Chai.”
It is a whole new dimension and here’s my bottom line...
If you like strong spiced tea, this is a nice little tea for you to try. It could be a little strong for some tastes and definitely has character. You can get it at any supermarket for around $3 a box. I’d suggest having it in the afternoon or as a post-dinner brew - if you don’t have an issue with strong flavors or caffeine.
So many review sites give stars as a measuring stick. I give Bigelow Vanilla Chai four stars out of five for flavor, body and freshness.
-30-
Lainie shared with us one of her tea reviews the other day and her content is much more structured than what I’m going to provide you with here. As you know from earlier columns here, I don’t provide you with much pricing detail for magazines and little items.
In fact, I didn’t even provide you with the price of tickets for the showing of Martha Mitchell Calling. That’s going to hold true for small items and consumables here on Jeffsnotes.com for the foreseeable future.
Today we take a shot at tea. That’s right, a consumable. Bigelow Vanilla Chai tea.
If you’ve worked with me at any of my freelance assignments or taken a stroll through the study and the kitchen at my compound, you realize that I’m a hoarder. And one of the things I hoard the most is tea.
Here’s just a few of the teas I keep on hand.
And the Bigelow Vanilla Chai is right there on the bottom left.
While Bigelow might be a standard, off-the-shelf tea brand, they make some pretty flavorful and easy-brewing blends.
Let’s start with the flavor. This stuff is strong. When I get a Chai Tea Latte at Panera, I add whipped cream for flavor and that is not quite creamy enough. The Bigelow teabag packed enough creamy and spicy flavor to negate the need for milk.
Purists might be annoyed by my addition of sugar, but I like a slight sweetness in my teas and Chai is no exception.
According to the description on the back of the tea packet, Bigelow says the Chai is “a delightful blend of tea and exotic spices.”
It goes on to say, “It is often brewed with milk, which gives Chai a wonderful, creamy characteristic. In Bigelow Vanilla Chai we have added the flavor of vanilla, offering you a whole new dimension of Chai.”
It is a whole new dimension and here’s my bottom line...
If you like strong spiced tea, this is a nice little tea for you to try. It could be a little strong for some tastes and definitely has character. You can get it at any supermarket for around $3 a box. I’d suggest having it in the afternoon or as a post-dinner brew - if you don’t have an issue with strong flavors or caffeine.
So many review sites give stars as a measuring stick. I give Bigelow Vanilla Chai four stars out of five for flavor, body and freshness.
-30-
Martha Mitchell Phones It In - Sort of. Play Review
11.04.2008
While I liked the Nora Theatre Company’s production of Martha Mitchell Calling, I was under the presumption that the show would have more depth and a more complete story.
In fact, there were some actors listed in the program who got credit for voices, yet they never showed up on stage and the scenes and voices shown on screen at the back of the stage were all from news reports of the day.
Unless I’m mistaken, none of this richer content was used in the show.
Needless to say, the show was an interesting way for people my age to learn more about a time in our nation’s history many people would as soon forget. Until I went to the production I hadn’t even known about this woman and the effect she had on the presidency.
Shown in three, run-together acts, Annette Miller does an admirable job of carrying the production and allowing the audience to grow with Martha. We are given a complete background of her personality and of her relationship with John Mitchell.
We’re also - as stated in a Boston Globe review - shown how “Watergate was at once Martha Mitchell's reason for fame and the cause of her destruction.”
The upside of the play was the acting of Miller and Timothy Sawyer as John Mitchell.
The downside was that if you didn’t grow up in an age where the instruments of information exchange were only TV, newspapers and radio, you’ll find some of this a little unbelievable. Especially in an age - and time (election day today) - where so much commentary and information is shared online.
The after-show discussion touched on this, but many of the mature audience members didn’t have a grasp on how far-reaching and influential the Internet has become. Many didn’t even know what a blog was and therefore still believe that there could be a Martha Mitchell in today’s administrations.
I believe they’re right. But the Martha Mitchells that we see today would be Twittering, blogging, podcasting and emailing their discoveries around the world instead of picking up a pink Princess phone and calling a reporter to discuss them.
-30-
In fact, there were some actors listed in the program who got credit for voices, yet they never showed up on stage and the scenes and voices shown on screen at the back of the stage were all from news reports of the day.
Unless I’m mistaken, none of this richer content was used in the show.
Needless to say, the show was an interesting way for people my age to learn more about a time in our nation’s history many people would as soon forget. Until I went to the production I hadn’t even known about this woman and the effect she had on the presidency.
Shown in three, run-together acts, Annette Miller does an admirable job of carrying the production and allowing the audience to grow with Martha. We are given a complete background of her personality and of her relationship with John Mitchell.
We’re also - as stated in a Boston Globe review - shown how “Watergate was at once Martha Mitchell's reason for fame and the cause of her destruction.”
The upside of the play was the acting of Miller and Timothy Sawyer as John Mitchell.
The downside was that if you didn’t grow up in an age where the instruments of information exchange were only TV, newspapers and radio, you’ll find some of this a little unbelievable. Especially in an age - and time (election day today) - where so much commentary and information is shared online.
The after-show discussion touched on this, but many of the mature audience members didn’t have a grasp on how far-reaching and influential the Internet has become. Many didn’t even know what a blog was and therefore still believe that there could be a Martha Mitchell in today’s administrations.
I believe they’re right. But the Martha Mitchells that we see today would be Twittering, blogging, podcasting and emailing their discoveries around the world instead of picking up a pink Princess phone and calling a reporter to discuss them.
-30-
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