Pandora vs Grooveshark

Sometimes, I enjoy listening to music while I work. I like all kinds of music, but soul, R&B and soft rock are my favorites. The Internet has a lot of free radio stations, but Pandora and Grooveshark are the two that I use. I learned about both through blog posts. I like Pandora a little bit better.

Pandora allows you to choose the type of music they play for you. What I mean by that is if you select an R&B song, Pandora will start playing more R&B songs. Every now and then they'll throw in something from a different genre, just to see what you think. If you "like" it, they make a note of it in their system, then go back to playing R&B music. If you "dislike" the music, they make a note of that, too, and let you know, via popup message, that they won't play any more songs of that type. Another thing that I like about Pandora is that you can buy the songs you're listening to with little hassle.

With Grooveshark, you have to create music play lists. If you leave the music selection up to them, regardless of what you mark as a "favorite," they're going to play whatever they want. If you can buy songs through Grooveshark, I haven't discovered how to do it, yet. What I do like about Grooveshark is that you can replay your favorite songs over and over again. You can't do that with Pandora. Also, Pandora, like a regular radio station, has commercials. Grooveshark has ads that run down the side of the page; however, if you have a paid membership, you can remove the ads.

Another plus to Grooveshark is that you can mix music types. Since I like a lot of different kinds of music, my play list has everything from R&B to hip hop to rap to 80's pop to contemporary pop to gospel. It doesn't have to be that way, though. I could easily create a separate play list for each different type of music. I can do the same with Pandora by simply choosing a particular song or an artist who sings a particular type of music, then saving that music type as one of my "stations."

I find Pandora to be the most convenient to use. All I have to do is open the page and my music starts playing. Of course, I only have one station. Things might be different if I had two or more. Also, Pandora never interrupts the music to ask me if I'm still there. Grooveshark does that.

DVD Review - Live Free or Die Hard

For those who are “die hard” Bruce Willis fans, this latest offering in the franchise will not disappoint. “Live Free or Die Hard” delivers enough pyrotechnics, shootouts and tightly choreographed fight scenes, to satisfy any action-movie lover’s heart.

Based on the article A Farewell to Arms, by John Carlin, “Live Free or Die Hard” opens with hackers from various locations sharing their trade secrets with Mai (Maggie Q) over the telephone. Shortly thereafter, the unwitting hackers, all except Matt Farrell, played by Keanu Reeves look-alike, Justin Long, are compensated for their help. Because McClane is “in the neighborhood” and a senior officer, he receives the dubious honor of escorting Farrell to FBI the director, Bowman (Cliff Curtis), in Washington, D.C. It is at  this point that one might say, “Let the games begin!” Mai (Q), her boyfriend and terrorist ringleader, Thomas Gabriel (HOT Timothy Olyphant), and a team of dedicated assassins and technicians go for broke trying to tie up one last loose end.

Gabriel, et al intend to pull off an even bigger heist than either Hans in “Die Hard” or his brother, Simon, in “Die Hard With a Vengeance.” The film brings back memories of the day the Northeast stood still during a massive power outage spread across eight northern U.S. states and parts of Ontario, Canada. Picture that on a larger scale like, say, the Eastern Seaboard of the United States.

Faced with the reality of what his algorithm program has helped create, Farrell is determined to help McClane set things right again. Au contraire, you’ll be saying by the end of the film as both McClane and Farrell survive explosions, gunshot wounds and falls that should have, if not killed them, then at least left them totally incapacitate. The same goes for what some of the villains got up and walked away from, too. Nobody takes a punch more prettily than Maggie Q. Patricia Arquette, who admittedly took her punches like a man, didn’t look even half as good after James Gandolfini was done with her in “True Romance.”

The stunts and action sequences in this movie are nothing short of exciting. The tunnel and fire hydrant sequences are amazing. Later, there is a scene where one assassin incorporates "free running" or "parkour" to navigate. He also navigates a la Jackie Chan at one point and a la Mitch Gaylord at another. The whole scene is fun to watch.

“Live Free or Die Hard” is rated PG-13, in spite of all the violence. Directed by Len Wiseman (“Underworld” and “Underworld: Evolution”), the film provides two hours and nine minutes of virtually non-stop action. It’s well worth seeing if you’re into exciting, fast-paced, totally impossible movies. I can’t wait to see it again when it comes out on DVD so I can – I hope – check out how those incredible stunts were done in the special features segment.

I give this movie *** for fun and excitement.

DVD Review - Snakes on a Plane

"Snakes on a Plane" is kind of a combination disaster/horror movie. The disaster movie part is people in peril on a plane; the horror movie part is people being killed by something or someone with no help in sight. "Snakes on a Plane" is like "Anaconda" without the escape route. I must warn you will need to suspend a lot of disbelief to watch this movie.

The movie opens with the main character, Sean (Nathan Phillips), witnessing a murder. He draws attention to himself but gets away before the bad guys can get a good look at him. That's okay. The little litter bug left behind a piece of evidence that led the bad guys right to his front door. In fact, the bad guys are breaking into his apartment just in time for the evening news, which is reporting on their earlier handiwork.

Enter FBI agent, Neville Flynn (Samuel L. Jackson). He knows where the witness lives, too. Don't ask how. You're suspending disbelief, remember? Anyway, Agent Flynn saves Sean from the bad guys and clues him in to just how bad Eddie Kim (Byron Lawson), a ruthless organized crime lord, and his minions really are.

Now, we come to the plane ride that will take Sean from Hawaii - of which we sadly see precious little - to Los Angeles, Kim's base of operations, to testify. Naturally, Kim has other plans. As the passengers wait to board the plane, we're introduced to a prima donna rapper (Flex Alexander) with issues, a newlywed couple (Tygh Runyan and Emily Holmes), a pampered princess (Rachel Blanchard) and her dog (it looks like a Chihuahua), and two boys (Casey Dubois and Daniel Hogarth), traveling as unaccompanied minors. These two are left in the capable hands of Claire (Julianna Margulies), a stewardess and recent law school graduate who's on her last flight before becoming a "legal eagle."

We're introduced to more passengers and crew members as the passengers board the plane. Claire (Margulies) and Tiffany (Sunny Mabrey) inform the boarding passengers that the seats in first class have been commandeered by the FBI and, of course, one of the passengers - an obnoxious English businessman (Gerard Plunkett) - complains loudly. Let's just say he's the resident anal orifice. Every movie like this has at least one character that everybody loves to hate.
The tension builds slowly as the snakes that were smuggled in by the bad guys begin to make their way through the plane. The first unlucky victims are a young couple (Taylor Kitsch and Samantha McLeod) who decide to join the "Mile High Club" in one of the restrooms. This scene, for me, is reminiscent of all those "Friday the 13th."

This movie is bad. It's chock full of stereotypes but only one really offended me: rapper Three Gs' best friend/bodyguard, Troy (Keenan Thompson). His behavior in the cockpit made me want to cover my head, even though I was watching this movie alone in my own home. Up until that point, I liked Troy because he served as a much needed reality check and voice of reason for his neurotic rapper friend.

"Snakes on a Plane," which is rated R, because of brief nudity, language, and violence, would go on my list of guilty pleasure movies. I really did find it entertaining; however, Samuel L. Jackson and Julianna Margulies had such an obvious lack of chemistry that it made me wonder why the final scene between them wasn't rewritten or deleted altogether.

Despite poor story line, poor acting -- by some, not all -- the shameless stereotypes and the total lack of chemistry between two of the main characters, "Snakes on a Plane" is worth watching if you want some humor. I give it a rating of ** because it was a little funny ... and a little nostalgic for someone who grew up watching those '70s Airplane disaster movies.

DVD Review - Blood and Chocolate

"Blood and Chocolate" is a movie about werewolves that didn't do very well at the box office. It's clearly a low budget film with minimal special effects and no real big name stars. Although three of the main characters, Vivian, Aiden, and Gabriel, are played by actors with loads of big screen experience between them, none of them is really well known enough to draw in the kind of crowds that would have made it more of a success.

I wanted to see this movie for two reasons -- one, because it's about werewolves and two, because Olivier Martinez is in it. I've always been fascinated by movies about werewolves and vampires. They lead such dichotomous lives, and I find that interesting. My fascination with Olivier Martinez is obvious.

In "Blood and Chocolate," the werewolves or -- loup-garous as they call themselves -- are legendary creatures who "only hunt [men] to survive." In one scene -- designed to make the idea of having werewolves in the neighborhood more appealing -- Gabriel (Olivier Martinez), the leader of the pack and the only one who seems to be rich, has a conversation with a drug dealer who is later brought before the pack. You can guess what happens next. But this movie is about a young girl named Vivian (Agnes Bruckner) whom Gabriel has chosen to take for his own. According to "Gabriel's Law," it is customary for him to take a new wife every seven years. The trouble is, Vivian has her heart set on Aiden (Hugh Dancy), a young graphic novelist with a troubled past.

As in all movies of this type, there's a rebel in the pack. His name is Rafe (Bryan Dick). Rafe has a mini-pack that he travels with, terrorizing young female tourists or following Vivian around and, generally, making her life unpleasant. Rafe, Gabriel's son and heir apparent, scorns the laws of the pack, especially the one regarding the hunting of humans.

The tension between Rafe and Vivian, stems from Vivian's reluctance to embrace being a loup-garous. Furthermore, she has absolutely no interest in being Gabriel's latest seven-year-itch remedy. Perhaps that's why he chose seven years instead of ten or twenty. This very question is put to him by one of his former wives, Astrid (Katja Riemann), who he still visits for the occasional booty-call. Gabriel has the audacity to tell her, "we all grow old, and we need to learn how to do it gracefully." This from a forty-year-old man-wolf, who looks like a forty-year-old man-wolf, who is pursuing a nineteen-year-old girl who detests the idea of being his next "bride."

To make matters worse, Aiden manages to end up in the same predicament as the drug dealer. It's up to Vivian to save him ... if she can.

There are no surprises in this movie. The title "Blood and Chocolate" comes from something Astrid says to Vivian before a hunt. The only special effects are when the werewolves' eyes change color and when they transform from human to wolf. Don't expect to see the kind of transformations offered by such films as "American Werewolf in London" or "Underworld." The humans instantly become wolves as they leap into the air. All they have to do is think about becoming a wolf and it happens.

I've seen worse movies -- "Fair Game," "Most Wanted" -- that did better at the box office because of who starred in them. That's a shame because it wasn't a bad movie. It was pat and formulaic, but entertaining nonetheless. The Romanian location where the film was shot has some of the most beautiful architecture known to man. Another thing I liked was the use of free running -- a derivative of parkour -- as Rafe et al's method of getting around town. Vivian uses it, too. In one scene, she uses it quite effectively to elude Aiden.
"Blood and Chocolate" is not a must-see movie. It's rated PG-13 for violence/terror, some sexuality and substance abuse. There was refreshingly little swearing and no real gore. I give it a rating of *** because it's a nice, undemanding story with some good cinematography and halfway decent acting.

Double Mastectomy

I went to my doctor's office at the end of February fully expecting to hear nothing but good news. Silly me. I received terrible news. I have to have a double mastectomy.

Although removing my breasts doesn't guarantee that I won't ever get a new strain of breast cancer, it does provide the cancer with less real estate to devour. The other bad news is that the original strain of cancer that I had could come back ... anywhere else in my body that it chooses. My ovarian cancer could also recur, though only in the area where it originated. Lovely!

I haven't lost my spirits, though. According to my last CAT scan, I have no discernible cancer cells running rampant in my body right now. I consider that a plus.

I haven't scheduled the operation, yet. My doctor says that there's a possibility that I could get my breasts reconstructed, despite being on Medicaid. If I could, that would take a huge weight off my shoulders. I know there are some women who proudly go around breastless. I just don't think I could be one of them. If don't have to, then I don't want to be one of them.

Cancer Free!

Woo-hoo! I had my last chemotherapy treatment on January 11, 2011. On January 25, 2011, I had a CAT scan that didn't detect any tumors. Yippee!

I still have to have that confirmed by my oncologist when I go in for my next appointment, but I feel hopeful, to say the least.

A little bit about CAT scans. Number one, the barium drink that I got was in the form of a fruit smoothie. It didn't taste half bad. Actually, I had to drink two. The first one I had to drink slowly, over the course of an hour. The other one I could drink more quickly as long as I didn't gulp down in seconds. As if. They didn't taste that good. The barium drink was part one.

Part two came when I actually got to the hospital for my CAT scan. After the first round of scans, I was injected with a dye that made me feel hot all over. Fortunately, I wasn't having a hot flash when this happened. Imagine holding on to a steaming cup of tea while someone lights a match under hand, just close enough for you to feel the heat of the flame. That's what it would have been like to have a hot flash while the heat of that dye coursed through my body.

Anyway, what I dislike about CAT scans is that little tube that I get shuttled back and forth through. I don't actually suffer from claustrophobia, but I always feel a little panicky.

Once the chemotherapy drugs have completely exited my system, it will be time to start Avastin treatments. Basically, Avastin is a drug that stunts the growth of cancer cells. So, if any microscopic cells remain, the Avastin will prevent them from growing and spreading as quickly as they might otherwise. Once a month for twelve months, I will have to go in and get juiced again. Avastin doesn't have the same kind of side effects as chemotherapy drugs, so at least I will be able to lead a normal, active life again without feeling fatigued just from going shopping.

The fear that the cancer will return someplace else in my body remains in the back of mind always. On the surface, I pretend it's gone for good. It's the only way I can get through each day without panicking over every little body ache or upset stomach.

Loopholes - Part 5

Leda practically skipped back to her apartment, where she got her car and drove to Tariq’s apartment.

“You don’t look like someone who just executed her best friend,” Tariq said as Leda walked in.

Leda winked. On a table beside the couch, stood a white phalaenopsis orchid beneath a bright lamp. As she reached out to touch one of the blooms, her hand began to burn. She quickly pulled her hand back, covering it with the other.

“Sun lamp,” Tariq explained.

Leda nodded.

“How long have you been this way?”

“More than 300 years.”

“How?”

“I was a slave, escaping to freedom … I thought. I got caught. Was beaten to within an inch of my life. There was a man there, a Frenchman-”

“Jean-Pierre?” Tariq interrupted.

“Right. After everyone else had left, he picked me up and took me back to his house. As he cleaned my wounds, he made me an offer that I couldn’t pass up.”

“Any regrets?”

“I can’t eat food,” Leda laughed.

Tariq nodded. “How’s Sebastian?”

Leda grinned. “Right as rain.”

Tariq nodded again as he looked out a window.

Leda and Tariq took advantage of the weather and spent the day together. Leda showed him places around town that most humans didn’t know about and answered all his questions about vampires. In the afternoon, they went to Leda’s apartment where they spent the rest of the day and most of the night together. Tariq took Leda to a jazz club he frequented to celebrate Sebastian’s release. It was the best time she’d had in decades.

Before Tariq came along, Leda had always avoided developing romantic attachments with humans. She’d seen other vampires try unsuccessfully. The humans who didn’t opt to become vampires themselves always ended up leaving. Tariq worked with vampires every day. He knew Leda was a vampire when he met her. There were no surprises. He accepted her and her way of life. So, when he asked if he could return to spend Saturday with her, she said, yes, without hesitation. When they parted company Sunday afternoon with the promise to meet by the river Monday morning before dawn, they had no idea how dramatically their world was about to change.

As Leda sat on the bench by the river early Monday morning, she heard the tell-tale sound of Tariq’s footsteps as the delicious scent of his cologne drifted toward her.

“Leda …”

She turned. Her smile melted into a look of horror. Tariq stood before her with a woman’s hand poking through his mid-section, dripping with blood. Slowly, the hand withdrew and Tariq sank to the ground.

“No!” Leda ran over to Tariq’s side. “Why?” she asked, looking up at Moira who was licking Tariq’s blood from her fingers the way humans licked barbecue sauce from theirs.

“Why?” Moira taunted. “I’ll tell you why Miss Goody Two Shoes. You took something that was of great value to me, so I took something – or someone – of great value to you.”

Leda shook her head. “What are you talking about?”

“The Council! The Council! That’s what I’m talking about. After his little meeting with you, Jean-Pierre called me in and made me give a sample of my blood for a ‘background check.’ Isn’t that funny? That’s what humans do … background checks. Anyway, my blood ‘confirmed the rumors’ they’d been hearing about me. I can’t ever have a seat on the Council … and it’s all because of you.”

“How is this my fault? I’m not the only one who about your penchant for ratting out other vampires to curry favor with the Council.”

“Maybe not, but you are the only one Jean-Pierre adores. He would do anything for you. Anything!”

“So?”

“So, he did this for you because you complained about me turning in that undisciplined idiot, Sebastian.”

“Your own unscrupulous behavior put you in this position, Moira, not me. Own it,” Leda finished as she lunged toward Moira.

In a flash, she had Moira pinned to the ground. She drained the other vampire of enough blood to reduce her strength to that of a female human. One punch easily stunned Moira, allowing Leda to go over to Tariq and get his handcuffs. Leda dragged Moira over to the bench and handcuffed her to it. It would be dawn in another hour and the weather man had predicted a cold but sunny day.

“Please, don’t leave me,” Leda said as she cradled Tariq’s head in her lap.

“I don’t think I have … a choice … in the matter … my love.”

Leda looked at the gaping wound in Tariq’s middle. Only one way to save him. Tariq took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

“I don’t know whether to thank you or curse you,” said Tariq as he and Leda sat on their favorite bench the next morning.

“I’ll help you make the adjustment,” Leda promised.

Tariq smiled as he enveloped Leda’s hand between his. She missed the warmth of his touch.

“Just think how much easier it’ll be for you to catch the bad guys now that you’re a vampire detective,” Leda smiled.

“Hm, yeah.” He kissed her hand. “Better get goin.’ Sun’s about to come up.”