Amazon Vine Review: Martin Misunderstood

I have completed my listening of the audio book, Martin Misunderstood, and my review is up for your edification. While I like the idea of audio books, I cannot recommend this one. Follow the link to find out why.

Here's hoping that The Grand turns out to have been a better choice.

Until next time...
PH

Ooo That Smell...

Pardon the Lynyrd Skynyrd reference, but it fits well in the context of a new car. As I mentioned in a previous post, the time had come to find something a little more gas friendly than the Altima. The Honda Civic was winner of the bake-off that we did last month, and we went in last Saturday to pull the trigger on purchasing. The experience at Huggins Honda was so good that we went back there in search of a 4-door EX model in Royal Blue Pearl. While they didn't have one in stock, they did have one coming in between July 3 and July 6 so of course we said, "We'll take it."

Now in these times of $4 gas, the Civic has become a quite popular car. It's in such high demand that they can't keep them on the lot. That doesn't bode well for negotiating the price, and without a lot of discussion we settled on full sticker price. While this isn't what anyone would hope for, it's a simple matter of supply and demand. At the end of the day, 35+ mpg made it worth it. After I get past the break-in period, I'll give an update on how it does with hypermiling compared to the Altima.

I have to say that the Huggins experience was unlike any other car buying experience I've had. The salesman never gave us the hard sell, and he actually never contacted us after our first visit. Between the three visits, we spent about 3 hours total at the dealership from initial test drive to driving off the lot yesterday.

I could probably go at great length about the features of the car, but most of it is available on the Honda web site. If anyone has specific questions, please leave them in a comment.

Until next time...
PH

Amazon Review: Parador

Much like Jackie Greene, Wisely was an artist that I learned about through Vine. You seen my review for his self titled CD on Vine earlier this year, but I recently picked up his previous CD, Parador. I have posted the lone review for it on Amazon. As I mentioned in a previous post, I think a lot of him because he seems like a regular guy who happens to be a musician living. Perhaps I biased, but I think he's a good artist. He and Jackie Greene are different enough that it is difficult to place one higher than the other. What I can say is that you can usually find at least one CD from one of these two in my car at all times. I'd love to hear your thoughts on these guys if they pass muster with you.

Until next time...
PH

Second June Vine Offering

The "leftovers" Vine selections for June came out last Thursday, and I thought I'd give you the lowdown on my next Vine items. For the first time, they have offered an audio book, Martin Misunderstood. I haven't listened to a narrated book like this before, and the story sounded interesting. My other selection was a comedy DVD called The Grand. The preview on the product page looked pretty funny. We'll probably watch this over the weekend.

Until next time...
PH

Amazon Vine Review: Emerald Sea Salt & Pepper Cashews

My review of the Emerald Sea Salt & Pepper Cashews is now up on Amazon for your reading pleasure. As with the O.N.E. Coffee Berry Juice, these turned out to be rather unique. If you had an ice cold beer to go with them, I could see it being very easy to eat the entire canister of these cashews.

In other news, the June Vine leftovers become available later this afternoon. I'll keep you posted as to what my next review items will be.

Until next time...
PH

Amazon Vine Review: O.N.E. Coffee Berry Juice

My review of the O.N.E. Coffee Berry Juice is hot off the press. It was an interesting drink, but I wasn't able to draw good conclusions based on one sample. I didn't hate it, but I'm not sure if it is something I would pay $2.40 a pop for either.

Until next time...
PH

June on the Vine

Thursday brought the first newsletter from Vine for the month of June. As always I never know quite what to expect. My initial list was limited this month so my selections are both in the grocery category. Be on the lookout for reviews of Emerald Sea Salt & Pepper Cashews and O.N.E. Coffee Berry Juice. I expect to have both of these reviewed by around the end of the week. This Thursday we'll see what additional items they are going to make available.

Until next time...
PH