Product Review: Utopia Bedding All Season 250 GSM Comforter - Soft Down Alternative Comforter

 

This is a comforter that can be used in the summer (for those of us who need a blanket to sleep, even when it is warm) or winter. It is lightweight and very soft. You may, depending on how many blankets you need, want to have multiple blankets or a weighted blanket underneath it because it is so light. But, overall, it looks and feels great, and I definitely recommend it.

Product Review: TiVo TCD649080 Series 2 80-Hour Dual Tuner Digital Video Recorder (2008 Model)

 

This was really the best of Tivo. Because of streaming these boxes have pretty much gone extinct, but in the days of cable and satellite TV, this was great to get a ton of DVR space, and the guide was usually much better than what you got with any of the cable or Satellite TV services. And, it organized the recordings very well so you could always find what you wanted to watch easily, and if you had an entire season of a show recorded, the episodes would always be in order, which you cannot always get even on the streaming services' DVRs (Sling TV definitely comes to mind). The only drawback to it is that you have to pay for the expensive box, and then a monthly fee on top of that. But, if that is in your budget and you still have cable or Satellite TV, this is a good option.

Book Review: Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

 

Reclaiming history is a massive book on the Kennedy Assassination by the noted prosecutor and author Vince Bugliosi. It is broken into two "books". Book One, titled "Matters of Fact: What Happened" discusses the Assassination, the various investigations, the evidence, details Oswald's past and movements, and the mountain of evidence against him, and pointing to the fact that he was the only shooter.

In the second book, titled "Delusions of Conspiracy: What Didn't Happen", Bugliosi swats down the most prevalent conspiracy theories, refuting them point-by-point with detailed evidence and citations to bolster his conclusions. Of course, his ultimate conclusion is that there is no proof of conspiracy. He is quite condescending to most of the major conspiracy theorists, holding a special derision for Mark Lane and Oliver Stone, and makes no bones about the fact that he finds most of the conspiracy advocates to be batshit crazy.

The book reads like an extremely long law review article. Almost every sentence is footnoted, and many of the footnotes include a paragraph or more of text. The amount of text in the footnotes can probably fill their own book. As a result, it is not exactly the easiest thing to read but it provides a lot of detail. Obviously, the Kennedy Assassination is one of the most contentious points of debate in history. For people who don't believe there was a conspiracy, this book will just deepen their resolve. For those who do, nothing Bugliosi says, including the fact that such a conspiracy would require multiple people to stay quiet forever and never reveal anything, or that many of the various conspiracies contradict each other, will ever change their mind. So, it is pretty likely if you think that Oswald acted alone you will love this book and if you think something more nefarious was behind the Assassination, you will hate it. Personally, I think it is worth reading regardless of where you stand on the conspiracy issue, if nothing else, just for the fact that it is one of the most detailed books on the Kennedy Assassination out there.

DVD/TV Series Review: House of Cards Trilogy

 

This is the series that essentially served as the source material for the American series starring Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright. If you have watched the US version and then watch this, you will definitely see things that influenced the US series, as well as things that the US series changed a lot.

The BBC series spanned three seasons, all very short (just 4 episodes per season) that ran from 1990 to 1995. It starred Ian Richardson as Frances Urquhart, a whip for the conservative party in Britain's House of Commons, who maneuvers his way into being elected Prime Minister. Like Spacey's Frank Underwood, he will do whatever it takes to get and then hold power. The first season really deals with Francis' rise to power, and the political maneuvering it took to get there. The second season is about Francis' feud with the new King of England as if Elizabeth was no longer going to be queen in 1993, and the third season is about Francis' downfall.

For those who get the complete series on DVD, there are four discs total. Each season has its own disc, then there is a fourth disc with bonus material. There are only two bonus features. One is an 8-minute segment from a talk show featuring the writer hearing it from people who were ticked that his fictional king was making fun of Prince Charles. The second is a documentary about the history and functioning of Westminster Abbey, the palace that houses the British Parlament.

Overall, if you are a fan of the US series and watched that first, as probably most people in the US did, it is interesting to watch this to see what is similar and what was changed. For example, the character that would end up as Cory Stoll's character in the US version was totally different, and the storyline with the reporter, played by Susannah Harker in this series and Kate Mara in the US series, was expanded quite a bit in the US series. Some of it is a bit lost in translation if you are not familiar with how the political system in England works, and some of the slang terms used in England will probably make no sense to Americans. That said, it is still enjoyable. Like the US version of the show, there is drug use, and in the third season, some nudity, so it is definitely an adult series. While I cannot say fans of the US series will like it better, or even as much as they like the US version, this is still worth watching.

Product Review: BGment Blackout Curtains for Bedroom - Grommet Thermal Insulated Room Darkening Curtains for Living Room, Set of 2 Panels (42 x 63 Inch, Navy Blue)

 

These are really good blackout curtains. They do not keep a room 100 percent dark on their own. If you get direct western sun in the late afternoon and do not have a sheer curtain behind these, a bit of light will come through. But, once the sun is down, you will not get any light coming through these unless they are not closed all the way. You get two panels per pack, so it is a very good deal. I definitely recommend these.