Book Review: Soul Cutter

*Warning: a couple of brief plot spoilers are in this review*

I won a copy of this book from another LibraryThing program that I am enrolled in called Members Giveaway. It’s sort of similar to the Early Reviewers program in that you still have to go through the list of books offered for that month’s batch and request the ones you want, but it’s different in that in some cases, the recipient has to provide a review in exchange for the book. I consider that requirement a win-win since I was going to review it anyway. lol I never request books in either of LibraryThing’s programs for funsies or leisurely reading; every book that I request from LibraryThing is for the purpose of reviewing it on here. I like both programs; there’s such a wide array of books to choose from that it would be hard not to find at least 3 books per month that you want to read. Enrollment in the program is free, just make sure that you read the description carefully and fulfill any requirements that the author may ask of you (providing a review, having a certain amount of books in your library, etc.) before requesting any copies of a book. Anyway, that’s Members Giveaway in short. Let’s move on to the book.

Soul Cutter is the debut novel by Lexa Cain. This young adult horror/romance book mainly centers around 17-year-old Elan, a young woman with a few dark secrets who debunks fake psychics and ghosts for a living. A student from the school of logic, she has no faith in the supernatural, despite the visions and dreams suggesting otherwise. When she has to travel to Egypt to find her estranged mother after she goes missing, however, the situations—and people—she encounters question and rock her beliefs in everything she thought she knew. She also meets 18-year-old Ramsey, a Lebanese boy with a few dark secrets and on a quest of his own. As the two reluctantly join forces to find Elan’s mother, they come into a few realizations about each other…and themselves…in the process. If gore isn’t for you, then neither is this book. You definitely shouldn’t eat while reading this one.

That was the closest to a synopsis that I could get without spoiling a lot of major things. I’m still tweaking how I do my book reviews, so bear with me. Anyway, this book was very fast-paced. Lots of action and intrigue, so if that’s your kind of book then Soul Cutter won’t disappoint. You think that Elan has to be in her mid-twenties or something at first because of how much mature she acts in comparison to her peers, then you find out that she’s only 17 herself. Because of the dark secret in Elan’s past, she had to grow up very quickly and this shows in the story because she’s very intelligent and unfortunately very jaded about the world and the people in it. *Brief spoiler alert*  I liked that the real feelings and fears that follow a rape victim were explored here. I hate when I read a book and even though a character is raped, she still carries on as if nothing happened, with none of the fears, thoughts or feelings that most real-life victims are unfortunately left with afterward. I also really liked that as the story progressed, Elan came into some healthy realizations about herself and despite the ever-present sense of danger lurking, she still somehow came out of the situation healed. She wasn’t a weeping willow and I appreciated that about her character, even though it clashed, as it often does, with the Middle Eastern mentality of what women should be like. 

I liked the array of characters that were in this story, although I wish they could have been explored a bit further. I think Miss Cain did a great job of employing an urban Egyptian myth and bringing it to the forefront of the story without making it overly campy. There was the normal skepticism, the normal “that’s the old folks tale” present, but over the course of the story it became larger than life as the reality that it was true came about. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that the urban myth that haunted much of the book ended up falling prey to false impressions and assumptions. It goes to show that nothing’s safe from an assumption. I enjoyed that this story was as much Ramsey’s as it was Elan’s, as they both had some things to learn and accept along the way. They’re both more mature than their years and have had to learn more than a couple of ugly truths. I also liked how everything ultimately served to drive the larger plot of the story, from Ramsey’s dark secret to the disappearance of Elan’s mother, two things that would not normally have a connecting link. Yet they were both integral to the progression of the story and helped to push it along.

However, a bit of the action was so fast, it took on a bit of a frenetic pace and was a bit of everywhere. My mind would be racing to try and picture everything as I was reading it, but it had a very fast, jittery sort of energy about it. It was kind of hard to figure out exactly how much was going on at once towards the end of the book, because so much was happening all at the same time. I’d slow down just a touch in certain parts and make sure the reader’s still with the story. The story wasn’t able to progress as fluidly as it should have because it kind of jumped from place to place quite quickly. I also didn’t like the 180 flip that Elan did concerning Ramsey about halfway through the book; she went from fighting a simple attraction to him to feeling like he was her entire reason for surviving. It was a bit sudden to me. I was left with a lot of unanswered questions, so I was relieved to hear that a sequel to Soul Cutter is on the way. The battle between Ali and Ramsey felt unfinished, and I hope that’s explored further in the next book. There were a few holes in what the Soul Cutter turned out to be and the limits of his powers, something else I hope is fully resolved in the next novel. There were a few grammatical errors here and there, but they weren’t so bad that they took away from what was happening in the story. All in all, I enjoyed it and found it to be a great debut for Lexa Cain. Once I was pulled in, I was intrigued to see how everything would resolve itself. YA and horror aren't the genre I usually read, but I didn’t walk away disappointed. I look forward to the sequel of Soul Cutter. This would be safe for older teens to read as I think some of the more gory parts would be too much for tweens and younger teens. There's some cursing, but nothing sexual beyond one kiss and a bit of tension.

If you're interested in picking up this book, here's where you can get it:

Smashwords/Kindle

Rating:

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Subscription Box Series Month 2: Beauty Box 5...and a Bonus!

For the second month in the SBS, I chose Beauty Box 5. I was actually getting ready to choose another box, but I saw that Beauty Box 5 had free shipping and if I signed up by a certain date I'd get a free box so I chose this one instead. I likes my freebies. lol 

I ordered this box back on the 27th of last month, I got an email that it had shipped back on the 4th, and I received it on the 7th. The following day, I received my bonus box. I wasn't aware at all of what I'd be getting in the box and hadn't seen any previews of any of the products either, so this was a completely new unboxing experience for me. Here is the box and sample sheet that I got with it.

1. H2O Plus Spa Sea Lotus Body Wash, $18
Just an FYI, the first thing that jumps out at me with most things that I purchase is the scent. Scent is everything to me. If I don't like the smell, I probably won't try it. In a few situations I've been proven wrong and something that smelled awful ended up being great for me, but that rarely happens. Most of the time, when I don't like how something smells, it ends up only being a hint of what I should expect when I actually sample the product. So you'll probably hear something about scent in nearly every product review. Get used to it. lol Anyway, the scent of this body wash is so clean and fresh at first sniff. It reminded me of the sea, that mist that sprays up from the ocean when you're walking along the beach. When I washed my face with it though, the saltwater smell got pretty strong and it was a little off-putting at first. It's a good size though.

2. Nubar Cuticle & Nail Oil, $10
The first thing I thought when I sniffed this nail oil (I smell everything lol) was that it reminded me of that anointing oil the pastors used to put on everyone's heads at church when I was a kid. LOL I like the size of this bottle. You would think with such a small bottle that it wouldn't go very far if you're not familiar with this stuff, but I think I can get a lot of use out of this. I also like that the brush is a regular brush that you'd see with nail polish, which makes it easier to brush on your nails and remove any excess oil from the brush beforehand. It makes my cuticle area (which is especially prone to hangnails during the winter) feel soft and moisturized, which gives that area a more polished appearance...no pun intended.

3. Swissco Bath & Shower Exfoliating Gloves, $5
My mom has used exfoliating gloves for the longest time, but they always felt so abrasive to me that I just wasn't having it. lol I tried them out once but they irritated my skin. I decided they weren't for me and continued using my washcloth. But in addition to my mom raving about them, a few years since the skin scratch-off fiasco has gone by so I've had time to mentally recover (LOL) and now I keep hearing about all the benefits that these gloves boast from different people so I tried them again yesterday. This time around, I was pleasantly surprised. It got the dry skin off from underneath my arms, I felt much cleaner when I got out of the shower, and most importantly, my skin wasn't irritated at all. These gloves are awesome.

4. Jergens Daily Moisturizer Lotion, $6.99
I've used this a couple of times since I got the box, and while my hands were dry a little while later, I think with regular application of this moisturizer, I can start re-hydrating my skin. My hands are always the driest around this time and with seasons here that always end up drying out my skin, I'm trying hard to get whatever moisture back into them that I can. The sample fits into my pockets, it's easy to purchase, and it's affordable. It smells great to boot.

5. Epic Blend Hemp Coconut Lip Balm, $3.49
This lip balm is the business. The texture is somewhere between a thicker Chapstick and maybe a Carmex, just not as greasy. It's very moisturizing and the smell of the coconut oil is the dominant scent, which reminds me of this oil my mom used to put on my hair when I was younger. I don't even smell the hemp, thank goodness. I smelled a hemp scented shower gel once and nearly died lol, so I was hoping that it wouldn't be the same for the lip balm. It doesn't have an overly greasy texture and it's not tinted, so it would wear well underneath lipsticks or glosses. Before I got this sample, I was working through a stick of Chapstick's Gingerbread House balm, but I think I might switch because I love this one so much. My lips are often drier in the winter than at any other time during the year, so I think this might have more benefits for me. It's also an organic balm and I've been working on switching some of my beauty products out for those with a natural or organic base, so now I know what sort of lip balm to get next time I need a refill.

Bonus Product: That Awkward Moment Mirror Compact
I've been hearing a lot about this movie, but I have yet to see any previews, trailers or learn anything about it other than that Zac Efron is in it. The other smaller mirrors that I own were both from CoverGirl pressed powder compacts that I've had since I was 13 LOL, so I think it was about time I got a new one. Not familiar with the movie at all, but since my life is a series of awkward moments, I can deal with having the name of the movie slapped across the front of the compact.



Here is the bonus box that I got for gratis. That's your daily Spanglish lesson if you weren't aware already that gratis means free. LOL The sample sheet is also included with the box.

Bonus Box:

1. Rockstar Nail Polish & Caviar Sprinkles, $14.99 each
I've been seeing a lot of posts and photos over time as the popularity of the nail sprinkles continues to grow, but I was never all that interested in it. They seemed like they'd hinder what I could do with my nails to avoid them falling off and since I am both a klutz and hands-on in most things that I do, including falling, I just didn't think they'd be a good fit for my nails. I wasn't crazy about the color of neither the polish nor the sprinkles, but I decided to try them both out. Eventually. I couldn't find a link for the company, so if you have one please send it my way!

2. John Frieda Luxurious Volume Shampoo & Conditioner, $6.99 each
This shampoo and conditioner were made to enhance the shine and color payoff of color-treated hair and since my hair isn't colored, I won't get the intended benefits of either one. However, I've never tried any John Frieda products so I decided to use them anyway when I washed my hair yesterday. I'm in love. The shampoo smelled wonderful and even though it wasn't African-American geared (those are the hair products I usually gravitate toward because they boast the most benefits for my hair texture) it did great at getting the dirt out of my hair and moisturizing my scalp. The conditioner smelled equally nice and made my hair so soft it was unreal. It took the dullness out of my hair and two days later, it's still very manageable and tangle-free. I used the conditioner as a leave-in and let my hair air dry, and it did wonders. I straightened it the following day and my hair is still soft, free of tangles, and not as limp as it was beforehand. I feel like Casper, "Can I keep you?"

3. Aveeno Positively Nourishing Calming Body Wash, $6.99
I loved this stuff. I've never tried anything by Aveeno before, as it was always either out of my price range or just didn't fit in with my bath & body preferences. I tried this body wash though and it was awesome. Even on my peach fuzz adorned legs, this wash really moisturized my entire body and made everything much smoother. I wasn't deathly ashy afterward; I don't think I even put lotion on. lol The lavender was very strong but not overpowering. The formula creates a rich lather, which I also liked. I didn't have to keep going back for more body wash so I could probably squeeze another shower or two out of this little bottle. I have a lavender scented footcare set, so next time I use this and shower at night I'll probably go all out and use that as well. Even though it was just in a body wash, the lavender was very calming for me. I don't have to order this online and I love that too. No complaints.

4. Elizabeth Mott It's So Big Volumizing Mascara, $19.99
I tried this mascara on a low-key makeup day where I'd only be wearing mascara, and honestly this was nothing special. I do love the wand; it has a wand sort of like an hourglass, and I can catch my smaller lashes because of it. It works like any other mascara that I've tried, and as small as the tube was I definitely wouldn't pay $20 for it. Asking me to pay $7 is already pushing it and those tubes are larger. lol It didn't give my lashes much volume but they'll do fine on a day that I keep my makeup light.



Faves: 
Regular Box: Epic Blend Hemp Coconut Lip Balm

Bonus Box: Aveeno Positively Nourishing Calming Body Wash

Duds: 
none!

My Thoughts:
I liked Beauty Box 5; even though many of these products were from companies I'd heard of before (Aveeno, John Frieda, Jergens). I hadn't tried the products yet, so it was cool to see familiar brand names and get to sample things that normally I wouldn't be able to afford. There were a few brands I hadn't heard of before, so again, the goal of exposing myself to new products and brands was accomplished. Most of these products were hair and body related and despite receiving two new body washes, that's the thing. I still received two completely new body washes. I also got a couple of organic products, which is helping with one of my side goals of discovering more organic-based companies and items.

As far as subscription boxes go, I'm learning that many of them follow the same procedure from start to finish. You sign up and select your desired subscription, take the beauty profile quiz and get linked up with recommended samples. The box comes a couple of weeks later, which gives you time to cancel before the next month's batches are prepared and you get billed again. The sign-up process is fine; it's the cancellation process that I have a complaint with. Right now, you have to make a request to cancel and then wait for the company to get in touch with you to confirm, which isn't always reliable. It was much easier to sign up than it was to cancel and I think both should be of equal ease. I also noticed that there were few options for viewing received boxes like some of the other services have, and instead of you being able to see direct links to your boxes or the products, the company simply has a "Brands" page, which then takes you to the product on an external site. I'd prefer a different setup.

Beauty Box 5 gets an extra star for adding the bonus box as an incentive for those who signed up for the service before the 31st of January. It's a good thing that they're allowing third parties to help bring more attention to their boxes by offering discounts. It's a big risk for a company to offer an entire month's worth of samples for free to a subscriber who may just order the box for the free samples and choose not to return the following month. The free box could have been full of some bonk things in order to decrease the risk a bit but I got some pretty good samples in that box as well so it paid off. All in all, I got 11 products for $10. All of these samples were practical and good for everyday usage; I didn't have to worry about saving some of them to use only on special occasions. Not only are the companies that were included in my boxes easily accessible in stores and pretty affordable as well, but I didn't feel like any of the products weren't "me," a complaint I've had a few times over about previous boxes from other companies. If I could change anything, it would probably be the color of the polish I got lol, but otherwise I have no complaints about either box.  If this wasn't a monthly challenge that I had to do, I wouldn't mind picking this up for another month.

Rating:

Nice group of products. I'd get this again and I'm recommending it to you!

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Foodie Review: Clif Energy Bars

Firstly, I'm probably not going to do many food reviews. I don't think many new things are going to be coming out that I can review, but if I do find some and I like them I'll give it a go. But to the point of this post. I don't know if I've mentioned it in other posts, but I have an ongoing love affair with YouTube. I visit the site several times a day, I have an ever-increasing amount of subscriptions and I've even started to categorize them and look for new channels. I've found YouTube based series on there that I watch as faithfully as I watch Scandal every season. In short, it's kind of a problem. But I figure in the grand scheme of things, YouTube isn't the worst site to be addicted to. I could still be on Myspace. LOL

Moving on, many of the channels and personalities that I am subscribed to live in California, so a lot of times when they mention certain foods or drinks that they've been loving, I haven't heard of them. A lot of the people I watch regularly eat really healthy and mention a lot of healthy or organic snacks, one of them being Clif energy bars. They rave about these things anytime they're mentioned, so I wanted to try one and see what the hype was all about. I hadn't found any in the stores near my house, so I just figured we didn't have them. Today though, I was at the Wally World pharmacy and a Clif bar was in the bin right next to me, so I figured why not try it out. I ended up getting four, so I wanted to do a quick review of the ones I got in case you were like me and hadn't tried them either. Each of these were 98 cents in the health and fitness section of the store. Here are the four I purchased:

Crunchy Peanut Butter
This is probably my least favorite of the bunch. It does have a nutty flavor and does taste like peanut butter, but it is otherwise rather bland. On the flipside, I found that the first few bites I took didn't have the heavy aftertaste that I usually associate with peanut butter, didn't dry out my throat, and didn't have a gummy or soggy texture. It also wasn't overly crunchy, which I was relieved about because I've been having some dental problems (lol) and can't really accommodate food with rougher textures. I'm not a lover of peanut butter myself so I'm sure I'd like this more if I was more partial to peanut butter, but even though I'm not I still didn't hate it. Unless you love peanut butter, this particular bar won't be for you.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut
This was the first bar that I tried. I like this one quite a bit, although I'm not crazy about it. I wanted something pretty different from the other ones that I got, and while it didn't taste like either macadamia or white chocolate, it still somehow wasn't nasty. It was slightly nutty (I hate that word but it applied lol), slightly sweet, but otherwise wasn't much of anything. lol All I remember about the taste was that it grew on me and I liked it. It wasn't too hard of a bar but was pretty thick from what I remember.

Chocolate Brownie
This one was rather heavy on the chocolate. This seems like a bitter dark chocolate rather than a milk or otherwise manufactured chocolate, and since I'm not a big fan of bitter or dark chocolate this obviously wasn't one of my favorites of the bunch. Those who are trying to eat healthy snacks but don't want to be reminded that this is an energy bar would probably prefer something like this. It's heavy on the chocolate, but the bitterness throws me off. I had to mix it with the chocolate chip bar in order to finish it. Now that was good. lol Because of the different kinds of chocolate, this was one of the more crunchy bars.

Chocolate Chip
This bar was my favorite. It was a very clean tasting chocolate if that makes sense, nothing too sticky at the back of the throat or too syrupy. It didn't overwhelm the rest of the bar, didn't have a strong aftertaste, and answered my chocolate craving quite nicely. Like the peanut butter, this didn't have a strong texture even with the chocolate chips (which I believe were milk chocolate, but don't quote me) and when I started mixing bars so I could finish them lol, I think the chocolate chip bar made them taste even better. The chocolate chip is one of the softer bars.


Overall:
Overall, for me Clif bars were an acquired taste. I didn't love them at first. I didn't even like them very much, but the more I ate the more I enjoyed them. I didn't feel like I had any more energy than usual eating them either, so if that was the intended benefit then unfortunately I have to say that it failed...for me, anyway. However, these are definitely not your typical granola bar. These bars are larger and more filling than regular energy or granola bars and they'll make for great mid-day snacks. When I'm out and about during the day, one of these would hold me over between meals because they're thick and rich enough for me to not need to eat the entire bar at once. That could simply be my appetite and the fact that I don't need large snacks between meals, but I still found these to be filling and quite tasty. And even though they're filling, their taste isn't heavy, they're not overly sweet, and the oats don't dry out the mouth or the throat. I like that I've finally been able to find a more nutritious snack than what I usually go for, and I love that they're only 98 cents apiece. It's a beautiful price, if you ask me. But I'm also cheap as hell and find Target to be on the cusp of too expensive. I digress. I intend to work my way through more of these and see what else Clif bars have to offer, but I liked the ones I tried a lot. Didn't love them, but they're affordable, good for me, and still give me a bit of sweet, a very important factor in a Mandy-approved snack.

Rating:

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Sponsored Reviews?

So far, every review...as random as it is, hence the name of this blog....has been done on my own and I've received nothing for it. I wasn't attempting to; I simply wanted to review the product. Which is still the case, but here's the thing. I'm a broke blogger with little influence and a narrow area of what I can and do review. I have a hard time finding products that are worth covering and haven't been reviewed to death, I have an even harder time finding opportunities that at least have the benefit of a free product at the end, and I'm having a harder time still with finding my audience. I don't want a benefit every time, that's not why I created the blog. Over the years, I've received a couple of books as part of free giveaway programs within the book clubs I'm part of and I emailed Nailene for that nail review I gave a couple of years ago, but otherwise everything has been all things that I randomly purchased and decided to review afterward. I enter a lot of giveaways on the off chance that I win, so I can describe my experience with both the company and the product because I think that's just a more well-rounded review than explaining one or the other. I enter giveaways anyway though because I think I'm kind of addicted to them, review blog or not. LOL But that's beside the point. Excluding those two things, everything else is all me.

Lately, I've been considering taking on sponsored opportunities so that I can consistently expose myself to things that are worthy of a review. I'll admit that I don't really understand sponsored reviews, other than that a company pays you to review something that they send you, and most blog readers hate these kind of reviews with a blue burning passion. From what I do understand, I think that it's kind of a 50/50 thing--on one hand, when the review is sponsored, how do we know what is genuinely the blogger's thought on the product? Logically speaking, a company isn't going to send a blogger a product that they will then expose to their audience and the Internet for a scathing review. They're going to want a favorable review, but what if the product isn't good enough for one? The pressure of knowing that the company is looking for this review and positive exposure (and are paying the blogger to provide them that) would probably be enough to make the blogger roll over and give the company what they want, which robs the audience of an unbiased and honest perspective. In turn, this potentially jips the audience into spending their money. I understand the influence that more popular bloggers have on their readers and that's important. Our readers trust us to give them our honest opinions and guide them to the best products in the genre currently being reviewed. It would be stupid and manipulative to misuse that trust for the sake of a sponsored review and money.

However, with a sponsored review you get to increase your readers if the company decides to send you a product and you give a genuinely positive review, because they'll then display your review on their website. This gives blogs with few readers like mine some much needed exposure and hopefully a couple of loyal readers afterward. I honestly don't want a platform of 1M subscribers like some of my favorite YouTube personalities, and I don't want some 200 comments every time I post a blog. I guess that's a bit too much pressure for me to be 'on' and consistently crank out greatness on an ever-rising standard level. If I can get a small, loyal circle of people who enjoy reading my musings on a subject and have benefitted from it in some way, then I feel like the blog has accomplished its goal. Anyway, in some of these opportunities you get paid to review the products, and if your word is reliable then the opportunities and frequency you get to review their products grows, which benefits the blogger financially and in terms of audience. You also don't have to spend quite as much money if the companies don't mind sending you things to review. Not a bad trade-off.

My major question is if it's possible to participate in sponsored reviews and still provide an unbiased opinion on the product, whether it be good or bad. I wouldn't mind a sponsored review so that I can get a product and decide whether or not it would be worth my (or my readers') money, but at the same time I don't want to feel like a company is going to roll over on me if I don't give the best opinion on what they sent. I don't have much influence right now, but I hope to increase that and don't want a reputation for being dishonest because I choose to go with the money and have my posts sponsored. Many sponsored reviews kinda seem like a walking advertisement for the company and as a reader myself, I don't like that. If I'm posting something on my blog, I want to be able to say what I want and not worry about it. I can't do that if my review is sponsored by said company. So I'm kinda stuck.

I could use the exposure and the partnerships by different companies so that I have something to review and they have an unbiased review that they can possibly use on their site. If the review wasn't exactly favorable, if nothing more they have some suggestions for improvement on the product, which they can also use. It could potentially be a win-win situation. But I do know what it's like to be a reader or viewer and watch the content, the quality and the frequency of posts adjust over time as corporate and sponsored posts take over what was once a unique blog. I also know what it's like as a blogger, to watch the years go by and either have a blog that doesn't yet have its own identity or many readers to listen, regardless of post quality. I know what it feels like to put in hard work to create a good product and not have a platform on which to display it and no end benefit, either through comments, likes, payment or products. Neither of those situations are the most favorable in the world and because I understand what's on both sides of the fence, I feel a little lost on what to do.

I refuse to lose myself or the standard that I have set for this blog for the sake of a dollar. I also refuse, though, to blog for another five years and put in work with the design, the content and the quality of my posts only to remain in the same position. When the 10-yr anniversary of my blogging life comes around, I don't want to be in the same place I was when I starting blogging, at zero. I don't want to lose the randomness or the authenticity that I've tried to establish over the past 5 years that it's taken for the blog to finally come into its own. I also don't want to develop a bad reputation; I've spent many years reading blogs and reading the disillusionment of former readers as the blogger turns from doing something authentic to doing something generic and sponsored. I've seen too many comments about the blog losing its heart and subscriber as a result. I don't want that for this blog before I've even had a chance. I've just finally established a definitive idea for this blog and I'm happy with it. I'm hoping that readers will come but I don't want to ruin any opportunities before I've had the chance. Long story short, I'm not sure what to do. I don't want the blog to grow stagnant during the times where money is lean and I can't afford much, but I don't want to become a corporate mouthpiece, either. Ain't nobody got time for that. At all.

I guess there isn't much of a point to this post other than to say what was on my mind lately concerning the blog in general. I've got some ideas for posts that I'm still working on which should keep me busy for awhile, but after that well runs dry I have to consider some things so that I still have something to post. I just thought I'd let you all in on what I was thinking for a minute since I don't really get too personal on here. On the off chance that you were listening though, thank you. :-)

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Quick Update & February Photo Challenge

So the first month of 2014 is already over; didn't it go by fast? I feel like last week we were just getting over the craziness of the holidays and here it is, almost Valentine's already. But anywhoodle, with the entry of a new month comes the intro of this month's photo challenge. If you happened to click on my Instagram at any point last month, then you already know that I failed January's challenge miserably. LOL Before Day 10, I was down for the count. I never recovered. lol

As much as I love taking photos, the thing for me is that I'm not used to taking photos on a daily basis. I'm from the pre-social media extravaganza, where if you weren't there to experience something then that was your loss because people weren't scrambling trying to take pictures of it, so I'll forget to take a picture. I think it also has something to do with the fact that I'm a boring little old lady, so many times there simply hasn't been anything interesting enough for me to want to photograph. I grew out of my attention-seeking years where I felt the need to share everything years ago, so it's hard to let people in my life and what I see on a daily basis. On the occasions that I do take photos, most of the time they stay in my personal collection. I don't want to see everyone's photos of everything in their life, so it would stand to reason that people don't want or need to see every photographed occurrence in my life either. I'm cool with that because I don't want to show it. LOL. And on other occasions, I just don't feel like dragging a camera with me everywhere, hoping for something good enough to capture on my phone or camera. It's annoying, the process doesn't let you just enjoy and immerse yourself in the moment, and meh. Miss me with all that. Long story short though, this challenge has been a lot harder for me than I originally anticipated that it would be. Then I forgot my password to Instagram and couldn't log on for the last two weeks thanks to my no-good Internet not letting me reset it (update on the net, I went back to AT&T yesterday, so hopefully all the 'Net problems of old are behind me...yay!) so in addition to figuring out the many reasons why this challenge isn't agreeing with me like I thought it would, it all came together to form another edition of what I call Mandy's Misadventures. lol

So for this second month of Mandy's Misadventures with Instagram, I'm going to try again to do this Photo Challenge. I got this month's calendar from Fat Mum Slim again, so without further ado here it is:

Lindsay from Pen & Paint came up with this list, and yet again, I like it. It seems rather easy to handle, but yet again, for me that's easier said than done. I'm going to try. I guarantee nothing except that there will be at least one photo from this month on there. lol I'm also going to be putting a widget on here so you can see my Instagram; maybe that'll motivate me to get off my duff and keep my New Year's resolution to find something pretty in every day.

On another quick update note, I'm almost finished with January's Pinterest Project. I wasn't able to get the sweatshirt until earlier this week, so I didn't get to do the project until Wednesday. With the project not turning out as expected and my birthday the following day (plus normal daily stuff), I didn't have the time to complete it by yesterday. But it should be up in a few days. Sorry about that!

I do believe that's about everything for now, I don't have anything else to add so I hope you all have a great Super Bowl weekend...and if you're not into football, I hope whatever you're doing is of equal awesomeness. lol

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The Pinterest Project M1: Glitter Striped Heart Sweatshirt

I have been so excited to start this project. If you have just found my blog and haven't read any other entries, The Pinterest Project is a year-long project that I started this year to tackle my ever-growing DIY board on Pinterest as well as finally indulge in a little bit of crafting, which I don't usually get the time to do. It's an ongoing joke for most of us who love Pinterest that many of the things we pin on the boards we don't end up actually doing, so I also wanted to try and kill that theory as it pertains to me. I've had Pinterest about as long as it's been around, and so far I think I've done maybe 3 things in total. lol Another ongoing joke is that the stuff on Pinterest is always so well-made, while any attempts to replicate it look like crap. I really hope that doesn't happen here. lol

Moving on, I chose this Glitter Striped Heart Sweatshirt from WobiSobi for this month's project. I chose this because firstly, the design is cute and I never would have imagined that it was as easy and affordable to make as it was. Secondly, I don't have many sweatshirts. I don't have any, now that I'm thinking about it. So this was also a practical decision with the colder weather. It was easy enough for me to do just starting out with this series of projects, so I said why not. 

Image from WobiSobi

You can click the link above if you want to check out the original project. I followed the instructions but added a few modifications of my own. Here's my finished sweatshirt:

Here's the sweatshirt, then the button cuffs and the button
closure on the shoulders.

As you can see, my finished product isn't just like the original project. I used a few less stripes in my heart and my heart is a bit smaller than the original. This is after a day's wear that it's shedding this bad so I strongly suggest a sealant or the loss of glitter will start removing the defined lines from the stripes. The first time that I did the project, I cut the collar a little too narrowly so I had to go back and widen it so that it would hang off the shoulder. The one-shouldered part of this sweater really makes a world of difference and it looked much better after I did that. Instead of using studs to close the seams like the original sweatshirt, I used red buttons. I cut off the cuff of the sleeves and rolled the arms up a little larger than the original project dictated although I might change that later, then I added a button to the top and bottom of each rolled-up cuff. The first day that I did the project didn't give me the end result that I wanted, so I gave it a little time and went back later, thickening the stripes on each layer of the heart and reinforcing the glitter so that the entire shape wasn't lost once the glitter began to shed. That made it much better and more prominent than when I initially finished, and now I'm quite pleased with it. It was extremely comfortable, it wears well either bare-shouldered or with a thin-strapped tank underneath, and keeping the original hem (I was going to cut it so it'd have a looser fit) kept me warm and looked better with my jeans than the way I was going to do it. My biggest complaint was that the glitter shed constantly. I'm going to have to go back and redo it at some point if I don't get a sealant.

Grade: C

I gave myself a C for this project, mainly because my heart didn't turn out the way it was supposed to and I had to make so many edits in order to be satisfied with it. The glitter didn't stay on too well until I sprayed some hairspray over it, but it would have stayed much better if I'd had a sealant specifically for that kind of stuff. It still shed glitter even after the hairspray got a lot of it to set, so when I wore it I left a trail of sparkles everywhere I went. lol

I recorded a video and wrote out the steps, but I didn't want to seem as if I was plagiarizing or anything, so I didn't upload it. Let me know if you'd prefer that I do that instead of just posting pictures of the end result in these next few projects to come.

And with that, the first month of the Pinterest Project comes to a close. I was really excited to do the project and while the coats of glitter were drying it looked like it was going to be the bomb dot com, the end result was definitely not what I'd expected. I was pretty disappointed in it at first, actually. lol I felt a little bit like a failure, since I'd picked this project due to its difficulty level and it still didn't turn out right at first. After I made my edits to the finished product, I was happier with it but meh. I still wish it had turned out a little better when I first did it.

Here's hoping I do better with next month's project! lol 

*On another note, I haven't been doing my job with the Instagram Photo Challenge, so I'll be starting fresh in February. I gave up on January on Day 6. LOL I'll be making a post about that in a couple of days, but I am going to resume my challenge starting in February.  

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Full Game Review: Dreamscapes: The Sandman

I just finished playing the PC puzzle game Dreamscapes: The Sandman, which is the first of a two-part game series. The first is about a girl named Laura, who spontaneously falls asleep during a recital and remains in a coma, where everyone gives up hope of her ever waking up. All except for an old doctor named Professor Sanders (the Colonel's grandson, perhaps? LOL Bad joke. I'm sorry.), who takes Laura into his chambers, where he tries everything he can to bring her out of her coma. The player comes in as a volunteer to help Sanders bring Laura out of the coma by entering her mind. While initially the focus of the game appears to be helping Laura wake up, it becomes evident that in order to do so, the player must discover and conquer the reason she fell into the coma in the first place. Puzzles and poor dialogue ensue as a larger story develops.

--The game is very interactive and has a number of locations per level that you can gather clues from. It isn't one of the games where most of the background is just scenery; just about everything in the scene is useful in some way. There were a few occasions on which you were able to move something and it ultimately did nothing other than to further the 'creepy' aspect of the game (i.e. moving lights, pushing the heavy hooks that hang down in garages, etc.) but for the most part, the environment was largely part of the game.

--There was an array of different puzzles and mini-games as you progressed throughout the story. I definitely did not get bored with the different types of games or feel like 'aw it's this kind of puzzle again?' unless I could tell that it was a type of game I wasn't good at. lol Many games with these puzzles as part of the story have similar set-ups so it's inevitable to come across certain types of games if you play this genre regularly, but while some games repeat a few of these games continuously throughout the story, this one does not.

--Each location that you unlock in the game is very different from the ones before and after it. In this game, there is an amusement park, a desert, and a haunted forest, just to name a few. While it may sound like these three locations have nothing to do with each other, in the end they do serve as a vehicle for the progression of the game and also provide for some variety so that you're not constantly searching and re-searching the same locations for different clues.

--Each puzzle involved was also a vehicle to your progression throughout this story. I find it confusing and sort of irritating when I come across games that have puzzles to help you get through the main storyline, then smaller puzzles on the side that don't have much of a purpose and don't help very much. It just seems like a waste of time to me. This game thankfully utilizes all of the puzzles.

--As with most pc games, when you start the game you get the option to either play in regular mode, with hints and tutorials throughout, or the expert level, with no hints or tutorials. I always play in regular mode because I'm a little too dense for the expert level on some of these things. lol In many of these games, you get a certain amount of hints and have to earn any extra amounts through the solving of future puzzles or one of the mini-games. In this game, you just have to wait until the hint button recharges, which doesn't take any longer than 7 seconds. You can use as many hints as you want throughout this game without repercussions, and you can skip some of the puzzles if necessary without any repercussions as well.

--The story ends, but on a cliffhanger for Part 2 of this game so if you liked Part 1 and what it had to offer, you'll be able to get to do it all over again when this story continues. The fact that a second part of the story is being created will explain why the end battle to this story is so anticlimactic.

--I liked the graphics in this game as well. Many of the locations revolve around some type of outdoor setting and I liked the attention that was paid to the little details in each location. I think the developers did a good job of making the scenery more realistic and catching those little bits in environments that we don't see every day.












--One of my biggest complaints with this game is the character narration and dialogue. Most of these games don't have Oscar-worthy plot, dialogue or narration. However, at least make the voices convincing. If you're in-game and find a frightened character, they shouldn't be smiling and their voices completely without fear. There should be some consistency with the narration and direction of the dialogue but instead it comes across as laughable. The villain's voice in this game pushes the normal campiness in these games to an over the top level, the voice overs are not always consistent with the subtitles and it isn't convincing at all.

--There isn't always a clear understanding of what to do in some of these locations. On some of the levels, there may be three places for you to explore and using a hint may point you in all of these directions, but the clues are sometimes very subtle and easy to miss; in many of these locations you have to build something in order to progress throughout the level, and the clues are scattered around the different areas. It's not always clear that you'll have to build something or what you may need, so it can sometimes become a lot of back and forth until you understand exactly what the goal is.

--If you don't understand what to do, you end up going through a lot of hints and those aren't always helpful because as I said above, a hint may point you in several directions at once if you're missing clues from all of those areas. It's confusing and if you haven't yet figured out which one to explore first, you waste a lot of hints...and time...trying to figure it out. The hints aren't always helpful if there are multiple things to do.

--You'll probably begin to piece things together at the beginning of the story if you're as suspicious as I am in these types of games, but if not then about halfway through you'll probably figure out who the villain is. It's rather predictable.

--There are these little eyeball looking bugs that you'll have to scout for in every scene. This is probably just a personal annoyance, but after awhile of looking through the different locations and trying to focus on the real point of the game, remembering to look for those bugs gets distracting. As far as I'm aware, other than unlocking a trophy when you find them all, they have no ultimate purpose so I don't see why they're there. It got annoying towards the end of the game. On another note though, the bugs are spying on you....I can't quite explain the comfort I felt when I found the last bug in a scene and knew I wasn't being watched anymore. Don't judge me.

Overall:

If you can overlook the cons (and none of them detract majorly from the game so I think you can), this is actually a pretty solid game. There is a lot of variety in the types of puzzles that you do, so you won't have to worry about the puzzles getting repetitive. There are also a lot of places to explore and after a level is completed, you won't have to revisit it. The attention to detail in the scenery and the graphics are also really nice to look at; they don't look cheap or poorly done. I like that as you're exploring what you think is the main point of the story, you realize that it goes a little deeper and you can continue to add on to that story as the game progresses. The concept of this being a hidden object game isn't done in the typical manner of getting scenes and 12 things to search for with the bonus object being something that helps you in the major storyline, but you do have to look for every object that you need and every object that you do find ends up being used to help you move forward in the story. I enjoyed this game.


Rating:

It's pretty good, but the cons keep me from rating it higher.


*Note: This game is much better if you're already a member of Club iWin. If you aren't, your gameplay will be incessantly interrupted every 5-7 minutes for ad breaks. It's extremely annoying. You've been warned.*

I hope you liked this review! I'm trying to learn how to make my reviews shorter while still being thorough and to the point. Let me know if you want me to include screenshots of gameplay in future posts. I've got a few more games to review this month that I've been checking out, I'll see if I can make them a little shorter.

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Subscription Box Series Month 1: Beauty Army

Welcome to my first post in the Subscription Box Series! For the first month in this project, I chose to go with the Beauty Army. I ordered the box back on the 27th of last month (I was in the process of cancelling my Birchbox so I figured I'd go on and pick my first box for the series while I was at it) and my confirmation email said that it would take around 10 business days to receive my box. I believe it shipped around New Year's and I received it on Monday.

One thing I really liked about this box was that I was allowed to select my 6 samples. After creating a beauty profile on the basics--my skin color, skin concerns, preferred makeup looks and the samples I would like to receive, I was taken to a page with 9 samples and asked to select up to 6. I wasn't crazy about the samples, but I believe I would have had to take another test to get different results. I wasn't trying to do all of that, so I just stuck with these 6. Here's what I chose:

I chose these because for me, these were the most practical. The other three were samples I'd never need and never use; these weren't exactly what I was expecting but at least I got to choose. Even though we're in the midst of winter, Texas (my city in particular, which I am close to believing is right on the tip of hell's balls) is still pretty sunny so I'm in need of another sunscreen; I've been out of my COOLA sample for months. I'm not in strong need of a face wash, but I don't mind trying out another one. I'm trying to be a little more fitness-friendly this year, so $25 of downloadable workouts seems feasible and I wonder how many workouts you can get for $25 these days. I don't do much right now other than walking a few times a week and the occasional game on Wii Sports, but my stamina sucks ass and I really want to improve it. I believe I've heard of English Laundry, but I want to try out a new fragrance. My current makeup remover wipes are A+, so this option was partially to see if there was anything better. Lastly, I picked the BH because it was the only real makeup product on the sample list and I've been wanting to try more of the California Collection anyway. I have the San Francisco palette, but the one I've really been wanting to try is the Malibu. Each one of these are things I haven't tried or heard of; I wish there had been a few more makeup options but I'm aight without them. So let's give 'em a whirl, shall we?

I ordered my box right in the midst of holiday madness, so it took me awhile longer to receive it than it probably would have had I ordered it at another time of the year. So this is what came in the box:

1. COTZ Sunscreen--Face for Natural Skin Tone SPF 40, $19.99
I was hot when I first saw this in the box. I could lose this in a clutch bag easy and in order to stretch it out, I have to use it very sparingly. I've never received a sample this small, so maybe I'm an asshole but that irritated the hell out of me. However, it's a wonderful product. It blends translucently just like it says, I love that it has a high SPF, and it feels like velvet on the skin. It smooths out the texture of my face, makes it feel a lot softer, and blends in really easily. At first when you're smoothing it out it feels a little like a dry mousse, but it still blends in really well. Despite the fact that the sample size is baby ant small, it's a great product. I would recommend still moisturizing your face before using this if you have dry skin though; I used it this morning without lotion underneath and I noticed that it showed the small dry patches on my cheeks so that's a no-go. Moisturize your face first for better results, especially if you have dry skin.

2. Menza Daily Face Wash, $40
First of all, this is a men's face wash. Why was a men's face wash in my recommended samples? Despite the benefits it boasted, it ended up being nothing special at all. It smelled like hospital soap, firstly. I know that usually face & body washes for men are typically cleaner in scent than face & body washes for women, but I know many men aren't trying to walk around smelling as sterile as a hospital lobby. It was off-putting for me. The instructions say to pour a small amount of the wash into your hands and rub into a thick lather before putting on your face, but no thick lather ever develops. I get more lather and bubbles out of my Dove bar than I did this wash. Not only was I disappointed to (finally) realize that this was a men's face wash, I was disappointed that it smelled too sterile, didn't really lather at all, and didn't make my face feel any different than a dollar store face wash.

3. $25 in iTrain downloadable workouts
I honestly think I might try to find a way to get more workouts on here after I go through my full $25. The workouts are structured in terms of the type of exercise you want to do as well as your exercise level (beginner, intermediate, advanced) and even differ in workout times. I really like that there are options for someone who wants to dance for a few minutes and not put up too much of a sweat in the process. I always figured I was asking for too much. LOL All of the workouts that I've seen are under $9, a few that I've picked out are only 99 cents so that's great, and I've seen workouts listed that last for either 20 or 30 minutes. The options are pretty wide ranging and I think it would be easy for people to find something that will benefit them and their requirements for a good workout.

4. English Laundry No. 7 Fragrance, $90 for 3.4oz.
I feel like I've smelled this before. It reminds me a lot of the fragrance I got in last month's Birchbox. It has a strong fragrance, but it fades a little in intensity the longer you wear it. It's not really my go-to for preferred fragrance scents, but I like it. It's kind of tart but sweet and depending on how much you spray you can get about 2 good uses out of the sample. The top notes of the fragrance are listed as a combination of fruits like pear, melon and apricot with jasmine, and secondary floral and nutty notes. The base notes are sandalwood, vanilla and musk, which explains why it smells similar to last month's Birchbox fragrance. I'm not crazy about it, but the tartness stands up to the colder weather, the floral notes soften out the pear and balance out the vanilla, and it's a clean sort of smell, not heavy or stuffy at all. Unless you drown yourself in it, at which point it becomes a personal problem and not my fault. LOL

5. Every Beauty Cleansing & Makeup Remover Pads, $6.99
These pads are sorta cool in that they start out dry and feel thicker than the average makeup remover wipe, and when you wet them the properties activate and help remove your warpaint. It was hard for me to abandon my current makeup removers but I wanted to see how this worked by itself. The pads are pretty thick, which I like. I guess if I did have a complaint with my current makeup remover wipes, it would be that they're very soft but could stand to be just a tad thicker. These come in a stack of 5 little square pads that you can tear off and use as needed, so thankfully it's not just one or two large pads. They work really well without you needing to rub the skin roughly, which I liked, and my skin didn't feel as rough or turn as red as it does when I use makeup remover pads other than my regular. If I was coming home after a long day and didn't feel like bothering to go through my entire skincare procedure and just wanted to take off the warpaint, these would be good.

6. BH Cosmetics California Collection Sample Trio, $17.95 for the San Francisco Palette
This sample trio includes an eyeshadow from each of the three California palettes, one of which I already own. When I tried to swatch the colors on my hand though, I was rather disappointed in the purple and tan shades; the purple had no intensity and the tan was too close to my skintone to really show up. It came off as more of a sheer shimmery color on me than anything actually pigmented. The gold was beautiful though. The funny thing about that is that the gold is from the Malibu palette, which is the one I wanted the most. Maybe that's a sign?

Fave: iTrain Gift Certificate

I wasn't expecting to order a beauty box and get some workouts for my troubles. One of my many excuses for not working out on the regular is that I can't find anything that I feel I can do and have fun with, but this gift certificate effectively shut me up. It was easy to register, find a number of workouts that are moderately timed for my desired level of exercise, and wouldn't immediately use up my gift certificate. For someone who doesn't really care for exercise, I'm really surprised that this ended up being my favorite product in the box. 

Dud: Menza Face Wash/BH Cosmetics Trio

Funny note, when I was typing out the BH Cosmetics right now under the 'dud' category, I accidentally typed BS first instead LOL but then I realized that's how I actually felt about it. lol I was so excited to receive the trio because I love the company's eyeshadows and usually don't have too many problems getting a color to show up; they usually layer really well for me if I'm trying to increase the intensity. That wasn't the case with these, though, and two out of the three colors really disappointed me. The Menza was a dud on a few levels. No more to say about that.

Overall: I came into the Beauty Army subscription expecting a little more than what I got, but I did get out of here with some cool stuff that I hadn't gotten from Birchbox, which was one of the major things I had been looking to do. I didn't want to change subscription boxes only to be exposed to the same products and Beauty Army didn't disappoint me there. The COTZ was a completely new thing to me and gave me a good alternative to my COOLA sunscreen & moisturizer. I might actually end up working out a few times thanks to the iTrain gift card, and if I run out of Avon makeup remover wipes before I can get some more, the Every Beauty ones are a more than worthy substitute. I'm a little interested to see what I would have gotten for next month had I continued my subscription, but not enough to actually order the box. lol 

Rating:

Just average. Nothing special. 

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TV Review: Don't Trust Andrew Mayne

Image courtesy of Joke Productions

A&E's Don't Trust Andrew Mayne premiered tonight at 8MST, and up until about two days ago, I had no intention to watch it. I've been seeing trailers and promos for this show on A&E since the end of November, beginning of December, while I was watching Duck Dynasty. I'm not really one for illusionist and magic-based shows, so I wrote this off as a Criss Angel: Mindfreak kind of thing and never really paid any attention to anything but the name, which I found funny and wanted to find out exactly why he couldn't be trusted, but didn't want to know enough to watch. This past weekend, though, I saw the trailer again (yet again while I was watching Duck Dynasty lol) and finally watched it for real. I was intrigued when I realized what it was he was actually doing to people's belongings, and even though I'm an immediate skeptic and want to see where the trick was behind the stunts, I still found myself interested. So I decided to give the premiere a whirl. If you haven't gotten a chance to see the promos, here's one of the trailers:

The reason why this show is called "Don't Trust Andrew Mayne" is proven quite efficiently within the first 30 seconds of the program, then reinforced constantly for the other 29 minutes. He's an asshole and you can't trust him for shit. LOL Just within the first episode, he locked bike tires into bike racks, trapped people's id's behind fire alarm glass (then stole their wallets), and tricked others into thinking their money was counterfeit (and threatening to call the police on them afterward), just for funsies. The episode started out with him pranking strangers in public, stealing their phones through glass windows, on one occasion taking a photo of himself with the victim and her friend in the background, and another in which he stuck the phone down his pants. He stole another woman's sunglasses, borrowed a salt shaker from someone's table outside, and that wasn't even the major story of the episode. The person who actually called for Andrew's help is a woman whose husband refuses to stop riding his motorcycle despite signing a contract promising he would, and has even involved their two young daughters in the act. Andrew makes the guy's bike vanish, and because there are cameras around, you can clearly tell that the guy's struggling to hide his anger. Guy is livid when he realizes his bike is gone for good, and even more so when he sees his wife coming towards him afterward. Andrew knows it too, and gives him a hug, then tells him to let it out and that he'll never forget this day, because it's the last day he rode a motorcycle. lol So in addition to showing that he'd rather help create an awkward moment than deflate one, he's also an incredibly smart-mouthed dude, teasing one man about his fashion and zinging another about her hair earlier in the episode. It's hilarious.

The second episode, Andrew kicks things off by turning random people's phones into '80s versions of cell phones and even producing a couple of physical photos from pictures people had had saved into their newer models. He's clowning people here too; called one guy Al Franken and teased another lady about calling her now deceased cat with her now stuck-in-the-past cell phone. Did I mention that after he pranks these random people, he leaves them to their own devices....err, no pun intended.....to figure things out on their own? The next segment, he takes people's phones, this time in a grocery store, puts them in a Ziploc bag then in a paper bag, then smashes the bag so everyone can see that it's empty, only to turn around so the person can see their phone.....inside a jar of pickles.....in the middle jar at the bottom of a pickle pyramid display. Unfortunately, retrieving the phone usually makes the rest of the jars collapse, causing more commotion. And where's Andrew? Nowhere to be found. LOL He stops a young lady and asks to see her purse, citing recent thefts in the area, then makes the contents of her purse disappear save for a nail file. He then stops the next lady he sees, telling her she had 'a suspicious face' and took her purse, where the first victim's items were then found. He accuses her of stealing from the girl and walks away, leaving both women looking confused as all hell. In another segment, he stops a girl on her phone, then a young man who happens to walk by. Telling them both to write their names and numbers on a piece of paper, Andrew instructs them to fold the paper into quarters and place the papers in their mouths. He then holds up a small sheet of glass and asks them to kiss it, as if they were kissing each other, then pull away and remove the paper. When they show their papers to the camera, it is the other's name and number on the paper, not their own. As a little bonus, Andrew fogs up the glass and their initials are on it (they had not disclosed any of that beforehand). In what I am noticing is becoming custom, Andrew leaves the two to figure it out. Another girl has an e-reader and Andrew asks her to select a word from the page but not to tell him the word, then he turns the e-reader into a physical copy of the book and then shows her the word she had chosen, which was already circled on the page. The focus of this episode is on a girl whose boyfriend Giovanni is addicted to his phone. Andrew throws his phone into a toll booth (that was not there 30 seconds prior) and it is shown that dude's iPhone is now attached to the toll booth, where the phone receiver should be. Capitalizing on dude's fear of heights, Andrew then makes the booth levitate, tells the girlfriend to close her eyes, hold out her hand and visualize her boyfriend coming down, then leaves before she opens her eyes. The phone is restored to its former glory, and the now-'reformed' phone addict leaves hand in hand with his lady.

I don't have my typical list of good vs bad here, I'm just going to give my thoughts and my overall review.

Overall:

First things first, I'm a skeptic. Truth be told, I'm so skeptical that it gets on my own nerves. Strangely enough, I am a big fan of supernatural and paranormal things, but the concept of magicians and illusionists always makes me too curious. I risk spoiling the trick/illusion for myself because I become so interested in figuring out how it's done, and I stay looking for the trap door, the string, the hole in the plan. But then if I find it, I'll think the person isn't good at what he's doing. LOL However, if I cannot find it, I don't want to allow myself to be completely awed by it knowing that it's someone's intention to trick me into believing it's real. I end up being so skeptical because I know there's some mad science behind it that I can't enjoy it, but then if I know how it's done then the point of the illusion or trick is gone. Apparently, this complete contradiction is how I roll though, so I don't usually watch these kinds of shows. But I have to give it to this guy. He's freakin' awesome. The tricks I saw him performing today were tricks I haven't seen, seemed to be completely at random, and I really enjoyed how many segments were able to fit into one 30-minute program. It gave a lot of variety, maintained a fast-paced vibe throughout the show, and since each prank was different, gave me something else to gasp over. I also liked that you were invited and encouraged to contact him if there was someone you wanted to get a little revenge on; according to him he enjoys messing with people, so really it's a win-win if you get him to help you out. He's not trying to be nice and although it makes him look like an ass, I love it. LOL

I think the only thing I am still skeptical about is whether or not the people he stops at random are really random folks or if they're the typical moles to make the stunts more believable. In this day and age, it's quite obvious that very little is real anymore. I mean, seriously. Reality television, which was supposed to be the breaking of the 4th wall and allowing us to see real life (hence the word 'reality'), is even scripted now. The concept that reality tv of any kind will be even remotely real is quite laughable now. Reality tv to me has taken on a Truman Show-ish vibe, especially in recent years, so I think it's just become normal now to be skeptical about anything, especially something being shown on television. There's editing, there's special effects tricks, there's willing moles rather than random participants, there's additional takes. All of that is involved in reality tv. With that in mind, how much of anything is real? So if I did have anything to genuinely be skeptical of with this show, it would be the concept of whether or not the people being pranked were truly unaware of what was going on. From what I have seen, they really are. But I'm suspicious of everything.

But enough about that. Overall, I really liked this show. I think Andrew Mayne is incredibly talented, and for someone pulling off these illusions and tricks that look terribly hard to learn how to execute, not only does Andrew do each one with ease, he makes it look like fun in the process. Andrew knows how to work the camera and engage the viewing audience and while we're sort of being duped as well, we're not getting our stuff stolen in the interim. lol Even though he pulls asshole stunts, you can tell that he enjoys what he does and enjoys the reactions of others, which makes or breaks the overall joke by itself. If these really are random people, then that makes his talent level more apparent and makes the show more believable. Despite my skepticism, this show hooked me. I can't wait for next week. If you like magic-themed shows with a more realistic environment rather than a professional or glamorized stage or if you enjoy pranks being pulled on unsuspecting people for absolutely no reason, I think you'd enjoy yourself watching Don't Trust Andrew Mayne. The pace of the show is quick and styled in different segments that don't last too long, but provide some variety to keep you from getting bored. As the main storyline progresses, various prank segments keep you entertained, then the final trick of the episode ends the show, with a small follow-up segment on one of the people pranked earlier in the episode. I believe this is a show you can easily get hooked on, even if it's simply to find out what the hell else he does to these poor people he meets out in public. I'm not sure if these people in the episode's main story truly learn their lessons afterward, but even if they don't....it's still funny.

Rating:

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TV Review: Enlisted

Image courtesy of Fox

Enlisted is a new comedy that premiered last night on Fox. It stars Geoff Stults as Pete Hill, a 'supersoldier' who gets stationed in Afghanistan but after punching out a colonel, gets reassigned to the Rear Detachment Unit, aka the nesting ground for military flunk-outs, where his two younger brothers happen to be stationed at. He also gets assigned the task of finding a missing dog. The middle brother, Derrick (Chris Lowell), is the bitter and rebellious one of the bunch, while the youngest, Randy, (Parker Young) is so stupid that it really should be a crime. He idolizes Pete and I think really wants to be a good soldier, but because he's not all that bright Derrick usually has to babysit him. Upon Pete's arrival, he meets his platoon as well as Sgt. Perez, (Angelique Cabral), who is in charge of the other platoon on base. The RDU soldiers have an upcoming War Games and Pete tries to train them for that, but this platoon is awful. Worse than the guys in Dodgeball before Patches whipped them into shape. Pete's disappointment in not being at war and being relegated to the RDU comes off badly, and an LCD sign displaying "I don't want to be here" couldn't have vocalized his feelings or demeanor any louder. 

Image courtesy of Google +

This platoon is incredibly stupid. It's almost annoyingly so. Derrick was bitter and had a nasty disposition almost the entire time, and this finally comes to a head when he reveals that he resents Pete for not keeping in touch with them while he was at war. The next morning, Pete apologizes to his platoon and has a little heart-to-heart in which he acknowledges that the platoon is full of losers, but includes himself in there as well and motivates them to try their hardest in the upcoming War Games. At the beginning of the show, the dad is shown leaving to war and before he goes, he and the boys all put their hands on the other's head. It becomes a custom with them, as the pictures throughout the boys' lives show them doing the same thing. When Pete returns, however, Derrick's not having it. He won't let any of his brothers do it and he won't do it either. At the end of Pete's speech, however, he finally gives in and puts his hand on Randy's head, signaling that he's going to try. It becomes a platoon custom and the platoon goes in to the War Games, ready to win. They still suck, but they end up almost winning the War Games. Pete finds the dog just as they're about to win, and elects to retrieve the dog instead of win the games. He actually could have found it earlier, but wasn't paying attention. LOL After returning the dog to its owner, the brothers are applauded and get some off time to mud ski---skiing through the mud on cardboard slabs while being dragged by a tank--which is how the show ends. 

Image courtesy of Zap2It

As the show progresses, you can understand the brothers a little more. Well, two of them, anyway. Pete's not a screw-up, but he's got a chip on his shoulder about himself the size of Florida. This is especially evident when dealing with his platoon because he knows he's a better soldier than them and doesn't belong there. Derrick's bitterness is understandable, but I can easily see it being the down part of the show if it's not toned down. Not only is this not a drama series, it's only half an hour long. You don't want every scene with this guy to be some rebellious, withdrawn or angry interaction or it will bring down what could easily be a funny series. Because it's only half an hour those scenes stick out a lot more. Randy is....I don't know what Randy is. He's an idiot. He belongs in the Rear Detachment Unit. Putting this guy out in a real war situation would get him and the entire platoon killed on day one. The rest of the platoon is pretty much the same way. But I can see Pete trying to make it work. 

So per usual, here's the good: 

I was glad that they included some bits in there that happen to real military families because of war. Although I said I was a little tired of Derrick's disposition throughout most of the show, it was understandable. Many military families go through that, whether it be on the part of the soldier when their families don't write as often as expected, or on the part of the families when their overseas relative doesn't get in touch on a regular basis. Pete feeling like a failure for not being in war when his men are still there is also really realistic for soldiers who come home early and I like that that was included. 

I'm also glad that Pete got that chip on his shoulder in order before the end of the episode. Undoubtedly he's still going to be high on himself, probably more than he should be, but he's not running around like he's Mr. Cool at School anymore either. But the fact remains that he's there with the Army's answer to The Replacements because he screwed up, which makes him no better than them. It was good to see him finally understand that and try to make the best of the situation. 

I find Randy incredibly stupid, and I'm going to mention him again before the end of this review. But most of the comedic moments during the show involved him, so he gets a thumbs-up by himself. 

I like that there's a female in the midst who isn't dumb, and hopefully won't fall for Pete. I'd like if they became BFF's over time but I don't want them to fall in love. I want to know more of her story, she seems really competent and makes a good soldier, so why is she stuck with The Replacements? 

And here's the bad:

The general stupidity of Pete's new platoon is borderline annoying. Scratch the borderline. It is annoying. I refuse to believe that adults who were this surface level in mentality still got into the Army. I mean, seriously. There was no reason for them to be written that stupid and I didn't find it entertaining. 

Speaking of stupid, that brings me back to ol' Randy. He's like a 10-year-old mentally; how in this galaxy did he get in the Army? It has the potential to be funny, but it also has the potential to get and be really annoying after awhile if we never see any maturity from him. He's a grown man, not a child. I think the writers went a little overboard with making some of the characters unqualified for military careers. 

The entire storyline involving the dog was completely unnecessary. I get that it was partially to show how far Pete's fall from grace was, going from the thick of war to looking for a dog, and it was partially so that the "aww" moment at the end of the episode could happen, but ehh. I really wasn't interested in it at all.





Overall:

This show has potential. It's not innovative, ground-breaking or even gut-busting funny, but it's something light-hearted that will give you a break from the Scandals and True Detectives on the tube and maybe even teach you a little something about family in the process. It's good for a few chuckles, but it's not exactly memorable either; I already can't remember one line from the premiere and I just watched it. It's just okay to me. I would like to see some of these plots develop though, like what happened to the boys' parents and what Sgt. Perez's story is. If the writers tone down the naivety of the soldiers and allow them to progress in some way while still allowing for the moments that I'm sure are a large part of the comedy relief, I'm sure the show will be fine for a season or two. I honestly don't see it lasting longer than that, but I could watch it again. 

Rating:

....don't hate it, but I'm not crazy about it either. 

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