When it's good it's great, or...it's tough
359823
Each batch seems to have a mix of moist, delicious strips and some that chew like shoe leather. Trader Joes used to be my favorite, but the percent of tough strips got too high. These are now my favorites, but batches vary. I will keep reordering these....
632861
It's good when it actually POPS!  >.<  There have been way too many FAILS with this product.  Thus, it makes my mouth water, but leaves me unsatisfied.  :(
1597829
Compelling ready and you must persevere.  But it is hard going at times.  I will probably buy the next one despite this just to see how it "ends"
2043621
It's sort of difficult to apply it. But once it's set its great!:
2878850
Like so many things in life, "Rhapsody" falls somewhere between the earth-shattering revolutionary and ordinary failure that so many seem to be trying to place it. However, although it may not change the genre, it is certainly worthwhile and a wonderful read.
If Haydon improves over time, as she well should, we can look forward to wonderful books for years to come. "Rhapsody" is a terrific first effort by this writer, but you must stick with it to really appreciate it. At first you'll be confused as to what is even going on, then you hit a section that, frankly, drags on a bit too long, but then the story truly comes alive. You'll get to know exciting characters an intriguing world and a good diversion from the boredom of everyday life.
3457206
This Time helps convey something essentially American about struggling in the pursuit of our deepest held dreams. I'm a professional performer so perhaps I'm biased, but I think the film's explorations of success and vocation, faith and heart, will resonate with a wide audience.

The struggle is especially intense for performers - and this movie captures a slice of the capriciousness and brutality of the music industry -- but it is not exclusive to us. The film shows us how one can be 'on top' by some measures, like having a hit record, and still be nowhere by other measures, like financial security.

There is no success in show biz that inures one to financial stress, or career dips, or self-doubt. Frankly there is no success in any industry that does that, though we pretend there is. In the music business there is no pretending.

In the film we see its subjects repeatedly confronting their own definitions of success, re-considering their choices, re-committing to their careers, accepting or rejecting standard markers of who and how they should be. For all of them, faith -- in an outside source, in themselves, in each other, in the value of their art - is the anchor amid that constant re-examination.

In many ways in this country we're still ingesting bootstrap myths about how life is in America, and we cling to them despite all evidence to the contrary. `If you're good at what you do, you will naturally ascend'; 'once you hit your stride, you're set for life'; 'you have total control of your success or failure'. This film challenges those notions, along with the subconscious operating mantra that setbacks won't happen to us if we plan carefully and behave well.

We see in the film that the best laid plans can be upended, and that many of our assumptions about the correlation between work and success are false.

Doing what you love, without structure and progress, is not gratifying in and of itself. Doing excellent work is gratifying, but doesn't necessarily lead to money or fame. Fame by itself didn't equal success for anyone in the movie. Working hard doesn't guarantee financial reward or career advancement. Being business savvy and having contracts in place doesn't mean other people will play fair.

You'd think it'd be sobering, but instead I left the screening refreshed and uplifted. By the end of the film, it seems like the focus shifts from the external rewards everyone is still actively seeking to the internal rewards they have already created for themselves; staying connected to the essential truth of their dreams, keeping an open heart amid the daily toil, building the sort of character which allows them to survive and thrive no matter what the weather brings.

I was moved by the music, hopeful about the subject's futures, and rooting for the continued buoyancy of their spirits. Thank you for a terrific film.
3336594
I don't know how the ladies manage. These comments are for males.

When it's good, it's very good. When it's bad, it can drive one up the wall. It's ingenious, accurate and convenient. If one has an empty pocket in which to drop it, one can forget about it until one wishes to check the data, or draw off accumulated information. It's better in these regards than any other pedometer I've ever used, plus, there's none of this business of hooking it to one's belt or some other attachment requirement.

However, the Chinese market research, if any, didn't reveal to them that it's unlikely most American males wander around with an empty pocket. Adding a flimsy ribbon with a cheap plastic attachment does not address the issue. I threw mine away as soon as the package was opened. Because there is no protective cover, nor is the offset sufficiently deep, the input buttons are vulnerable to unexpected pressure. When I first started with the device, it went into a pocket with a cell phone (tiny) and a leather folding money clip. Within two days, I discovered the true meaning of the mysterious east when I attempted to discern what information was on the thing. Fortunately, the money clip has a slot into which the pedometer can be slipped which gives the buttons limited protection, although it's never certain. My other pocket contains key rings, coins, etc, and is not a viable option. Trouser watch pockets are a thing of the past.

That's not all the marketing issues, folks. The directions are on a folded sheet of paper in print so tiny one needs a magnifying glass to read them. One finds the directions referring to a manual for more details. However, it turns out the sheets of paper are the manual. Furthermore, one could guess the people who drafted the directions are the same ones who created the famous inscrutable directions included with Nikon cameras.

If it was not for these minor issues, there's no question the device deserves five stars. In my opinion, it is the best pedometer on the market warts and all. It's my constant companion.
2858543
It's alright but the staic sometimes comes through
4099481
It's good, tough. Will buy another when it breaks in 10 years.
96105
Now and then a book comes along that blows the lid off some part of life's complexity. You come to the last page reluctantly, wanting to remain in that space a bit longer. A Chicken in the Wind is such a book. I'm always on the lookout for them, but they are (sorry, I can't help but say it) scarcer than hen's teeth.

Life does not come with guarantees of ease. Under any circumstances, it dishes out challenges that throw us for a loop. People with serious mental health challenges are thrown for more than a loop. It doesn't help to live in a culture that views those challenges as personal failings that just might be contagious.

Frank's issues shook him like rocks in a tumbler. Instead of smoothing his rough spots, they left him scarred. By the time his wife and two children sat him down and insisted he stop drinking, he was in a precarious state that was undermining him professionally and personally.

Knowing what's behind all the upheavals can help us cope with them. For Frank it was ADHD, along with some nasty partners, like hypomania and depression. With no easy cures in sight, Frank still had some powerful tools to work with. They included his wife Margaret and his two children (both diagnosed with ADHD). They also included his considerable talents as a writer.

A Chicken in the Wind takes us on a harrowing journey. From the beginning we know we are in sure hands. Though nothing about the story is easy, it is laced with humor and candor. Frank is clear-eyed about the impact of his challenges on everyone around him. What he has to learn is compassion for himself. As he writes, "I think we need to forgive others their slights and slips as much as possible. But more importantly, we have to learn to forgive ourselves and, maybe with some help from others, work on adjusting how we handle things."

Self-compassion is hard won. Writing helps. "Maybe if I write more, Ill lash out at others less. That would be a bonus. Thing is, there are no guarantees when you start pounding out honest words. Honesty, like public nudity, is not for everybody."

It is as tempting to define someone by their mental health challenges as it is to wrap stereotypes around each other. But that misses a key point Frank describes repeatedly through the candid stories he tells: "[W]hat were talking about is meaningful connection between people. The challenge facing family, friends, and caregivers of those with any type of disability or chronic ailment is to keep the whole person center stage -- the rest is secondary. The problems, strategies, and medications are important, sure, but the human being comes first."

Laughs abound in the book. So do tears. One page I'm laughing as Frank's hypomania kicks in when he's stopped by the police. And then I'm crying when I read of the castle his father built him.

Emotions are right out front in this book. So is insight. Read it for the first-rate storytelling, for what you'll learn about ADHD and other mental health challenges, and for the love that runs through it.
2673715
It's a little tricky to seal when you first start (thus the 4 out of 5 stars), but once it gets going it is great!
3222521
This game is not perfect, but it's awesome. It takes a while to learn the mechanics and how to survive, but when you do it's epicness.
678135
working hard to get through this. Good yet challenging-
1349883
Hard to rate something like this, either it works or it doesn't, it does, so I am happy with it.
970997
Very good, despite several flaws.  The characters are very "real", sharing the same struggles that we have.  Some portions are violent or heavy.
3199217
might buy it again, some of them were great; and some were not so great
2659912
(This review contains spoilers.)

This book was recommended to me by a number of friends and colleagues.  I was initially excited to read it, and as the book went on and the family situation became more dire, it grew hard to read.  All along, the quality of the writing and the consistency of the author's even-handed reportorial voice made the book worth giving a 4 or 5-star review.  It's not really a flaw of the book that it's a struggle to read about children not having enough to eat, not going to school on a regular basis, not having health care, and living at the whim of their alcoholic and mentally ill parents.  Nevertheless I had to force myself to read the middle of the book, which muted some of this amazing story's impact.  It may have been my incredulity at the author and her siblings' seeming to let their parents off the hook too easily and not appearing to confront them or try to change their lives until they were nearly adults.  Unlike some of the negative reviewers, I do believe that this is a true story.  And it is has been meticulously and beautifully told.  As the story neared its conclusion, I was glad to have stuck it out to witness the resilience of (most of) the children as they became adults and the way that they were able to individuate from their now homeless and ne'er do well parents.