Welcome to Chromedome: A Filmmaker Review by Eric B. Turnbull -- Guest Post

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Where has all the originality gone in the modern-day film industry? Too often in the last decade, movies have consisted of a mere retelling, spinoff, or “fresh” perspective on another. Fearing the considerable risk of failure that originality may bring, the Hollywood film industry has been reduced to cobbling together overused tropes and has stripped ideas from other artists.  The colossal expense of making movies, from actors’ salaries to the cost of special effects, weighed against the fickle hearts of the masses is enough for anyone to lean toward the safe bet of tried and true tropes. So where does that leave us? Are we doomed to cycle through the same stories over and over until they’ve been so whitewashed that even the simplest minds to entertain catch on? I declare to you now: no. The art of film is still a flourishing, ever-expanding medium of entertainment; we’ve simply forgotten or never knew where to look. This all-pervading ignorance would be the doing of the Hollywood film industry hedging its bets and dazzling the public with a shiny new version of the same old thing, drawing attention away from the genuine originality of the independent filmmaker. 

My New Favorite Shampoo/Conditioner

I've had problems finding shampoos that did my hair justice.  I have color-treated hair with split ends I really should cut but... well, I don't feel like it.  It's long, wavy-curly with heat-damage from straightening it frequently. Long story short, my hair has about had it with me and it was no longer cooperating with me.

I took $20 with me to Wal-Mart and told myself I was either going to chop my hair off or get some really nice hair products because obviously 98-cent bottles of shampoo weren't cutting it.

Okay, so $20 doesn't mean "really nice" hair products, but I was willing to pay more to make my hair more awesome. Give me a break.

Anyway, I walked into Wal-Mart and saw an installation for some new L'Oreal products.  I didn't think much about it and kept going to look at all of the shampoos to see what I can do.

 

There L'Oreal was again in the pretty black bottles.  I know product appearance is all about attracting a consumer to buy based on looks, but I picked up the $5.97 bottle of shampoo anyway. L'Oreal Total Repair 5 Restoring Shampoo.  Sounded good, so I picked up the corresponding conditioner, and figured I could top it off with the Damage-Erasing Balm as well.

Didn't pick up the Dry Oil that went with the set because I was on a budget. I also figured if everything else worked out I would go back and get it.

After my first wash I was AMAZED.  I followed the instructions on the bottle to a T (Just leave the stuff in 1-3 minutes each) and VIOLA! My hair was so soft and silky, and seriously, the split ends were GONE!

YAY!

So if you're looking for a nice affordable treatment for your damaged hair, I definitely suggest this L'Oreal shampoo/conditioner/balm/oil set.

Firmoo Glasses Site Review and Giveaway! Ends 9/17

For those who wear glasses and sunglasses, Firmoo.com is a great place to shop for trendy frame styles or just stick with your typical look for a great price.  Firmoo.com fills all your prescription glasses needs in regular and sunglass form. And as a great treat, first time customers get a pair free! It's an outrageous offer everyone should jump on, right?

Here is a message directly from Firmoo:

"Firmoo is the World's Most Popular Online Eyeglasses Store. We have always been committed ourselves to offering customers the best quality products at the most affordable prices which start at 8 dollars- 80%-90% lower compared to that in local store. Furthermore, Firmoo has launched First Pair Free Program for new customers to test our products and service for free by paying shipping only."

 

Pretty sweet, right?  I love sunglasses myself, and honestly do need to get my eyes checked for a new prescription. I always seem to put it off because glasses are so expensive. Fortunately, Firmoo.com makes it easy and affordable to shop for eye-ware!

Looking to order? Check out their awesome how-to page to get started!

And for my readers I give you a...

GIVEAWAY!  YAY!

This is a special giveaway because EVERYONE WILL WIN SOMETHING! All you have to do is enter!

Two lucky participants will win a free pair of glasses of their choice (from the Classic Series. Eyeglasses selected include frame plus 1.50 single vision lenses. Sunglasses selected include frame plus zero-powered lenses) (shipping not included.) If there are over 50 valid entries, a third pair will be given away.

To the rest of my awesome readers who enter, each will receive a 50% code that includes shipping. Sweet deal, right? Right!  Now get to entering!!

(*Giveaway is open to the following countries: US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, Finland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Greece, Italy, England, UAE, Bengal, Argentina, Pakistan, Brazil, Russia, Peru, Mexico, Ukraine and Israel, Oman, Kuwait, Egypt, Qatar, Bahrain, Latvia, Romania, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Czech, Iceland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Korea, South
Korean, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Mongolia, Indonesia, Poland, Hungary, Turkey and India.)

 

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UGLee Pen Review and Giveaway (Ends 5/22)

When I was little I had a lot of trouble writing "the right way."  I personally feel there is no right or wrong way to hold a pencil as long as the handwriting is neat. Mine, unfortunately, was very messy so I needed a change. The little grips and things that were added to pencils to help me learn to hold it "correctly" caused me some issues and I rebelled against it until third grade because I thought kids at my new school would make fun of me if I didn't.

Copy Kids Healthy Eating DVD: Review and Giveaway! Ends 5/9

My family has a history of diabetes, so both my daughter and I are at risk if we don't eat properly.  I want to instill healthy eating habits in our family, so I know I need to start early with Lily to see that happen.  However, I am not 100% sure where to begin.  Sure, I feed her healthy foods, but what happens when she no longer wants to try new things?  I know that day will come, and I dread it.

I then read about Copy-Kids and became relieved!  It a DVD designed for kids so that they learn from the best source -- other kids!

Let me explain:

Future Oxygen Biodegradable Jewelry Review

Who doesn't like jewelry?  I know I do, and when I saw Future Oxygen's biodegradable jewelry I totally had to get in on it!

These bracelets and necklaces are eco-friendly and help promote our environment by not just breaking-down into the earth, but by growing into different things!  The charms have seeds inside them that help promote our environment by providing oxygen in our future (Hehe, see, Future Oxygen?  Awesome, right?)

Now, they are biodegradable, but how do they look?  Well, see for yourself below!

Dragonfly Necklace!

Smiley Bracelet! 

They look AWESOME!!  Of course, I had some difficulty with the bracelet because my wrist is like a toothpick, but it makes for a very cute anklet!

Because these are eco-friendly, they can get wet but not TOO wet.  Do not swim with these or take a shower with these.

Because these sprout plants, they can be used to recognize special days, like birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, etc.  Just plant them on your special day and watch them grow!

Future Oxygen also has a program called the Smile Exchange where for every bracelet sold a bracelet will be given to a child in need with intent to bring a smile to that child's face.  Kids are precious, and the Smile Exchange is there to help ease the loss of a loved one, an illness, or the absence of a deployed parent to these children. Every smile helps!  Thanks Smile Exchange :)

My daughter likes to use the dragonfly to teethe with, but I think that counts as "too wet" as well.  She doesn't need any wild flowers growing in her tummy :) I think that was my only concern with them, but to be honest, I'm concerned with EVERYTHING around Lily, so it is nothing against the product at all.

If you're ready to get some of your Future Oxygen awesomeness, head on over to their page to pick out some cute items!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

YesterYear All-Natural Handmade Soap Review

Now that I am back in town I finally got the chance to use my new Yester Year All-Natural Handmade soaps! I was itching to get back to try them, and was very pleased when I finally did.

When I opened my package I saw this beautifully wrapped gift-set of three different soaps.  Excited, I opened it like it was Christmas.  The soaps themselves are individually wrapped, so if you want to use them one-at-a-time like I do there are no worries about them getting sticky or used out-of-turn.

They come in many different fragrances, and the ones I received were African Black, Mango Papaya, and Orange Patchouli.

Awesome gift idea

 With the soaps came a small informational sheet that described the product and its origins.  My camera did not do it justice, but I did my best.

 I had a hard time choosing which soap to use first, but Orange Patchouli won.  The ingredients are as shown below:

Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Soybean Oil, Organic Shea Butter, Water

I love knowing that the products I use are all-natural, so it comes to no surprise that I jumped at the chance to try these soaps.  They are made with basic, all-natural ingredients.  My first thoughts, however, were that it didn't seem like enough to make soap.  Would it work?  Only one way to find out!

Natural is good

The fragrance of this soap was my favorite of the three, though all three had an awesome smell.  It also added a nice aroma to my bathroom.  It wasn't too strong, but just enough to give a light, pleasant scent.

After many uses I noticed my hands were softer and I did not have to worry about any smell irritating Lily or me after I washed my hands.   These are great for those with sensitive skin, so they are suitable for all types of skins.  No worries with these soaps!

If you are looking for a great, natural gift (like for Mother's Day coming up) or would like some handmade soaps of your own, order at YesterYear Soap and pick out a few today!  I have a list of my own forming :)

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Cook'n Recipe Software Review

I once had all of my internet-found recipes in a Microsoft OneNote notebook on my laptop.  It was pretty cool, but my computer crashed and I lost everything.  Disappointed, I quit trying to get recipes and figured I would just leave them in the books.  That was, until I learned about Cook'n.

Cook'n is a recipe software that allows you to get virtually thousands of recipes  on your computer.  The Cook'n website has e-cookbooks that go right into the database, or you can type in your own recipes.  With the holidays and all of the good dishes being made, it is good to have somewhere to store all of your swapped recipes!

It took a bit for me to get in the swing of things, but that's because I was stubborn and refused to watch the tutorial and read the manual that came with it after download.  If you are not software savvy, the tutorials will probably help.  If you are stubborn like I am, you can figure it out just the same.  It's actually very easy to use once you use it a few times.

It's pretty nifty because when you are typing in your things a list will come up of various ingredients to make the process faster.  There is also a button on the side to re-calculate your ingredient amounts if you need to change the serving size.  No more calculator for me!

There is also a menu option where you can plan your daily, weekly, or even monthly meals!  Now I have no reason not to plan meals ahead of time.

I definitely recommend this product to my readers as it is a great, paper-free way to store recipes.

I would just be sure to back up my Cook'n on a disc, flash drive, external hard drive, etc. just in case your computer crashes and you are unable to recover it.  While most don't have this problem, I always say, "Better safe than sorry!"

Overall, Cook'n is a wonderful product and if you hurry you can get it for only $79.95 with a money-back guarantee!  Try it for 30 days, and if you don't like it then it's all good; just ask for a refund and you haven't wasted a penny.  Though, I'm sure you'll like it.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Slice™ Safety Cutter - Great for Couponers! -- Review

To those of you that love to coupon or just like to cut pictures and things you like out of magazines, the Slice™ Safety Cutter is something you will love to have!

It is metal-free, pocket-sized, and easy to maneuver with clean cuts where you need them! I love this thing. I really do. I'm an image hoarder as well as beginning couponer, so sitting around using scissors eventually makes my hand cramp. Not anymore, though! I just take that cutter and slice-slice-done!

If it isn't metal, how does it work? Is it really safe?

The blade is actually a ceramic blade. It does not require sharpening, and though it is sharp enough to glide through paper, it won't break your skin. Really! I tried. Like, didn't just see if I would be able to avoid cuts, but actually tested it on my arm tried. Left many marks, but none bled. It stung later, but I never drew blood or caused any major damage. It makes me feel 100% safer around Lily now. I wouldn't hand this to a baby, but now I don't feel as paranoid with her sitting next to me while I cut up magazines and newspapers.

Now, I do not yet have a coupon binder, but this is DEFINITELY going in it. It's small, flat, and not as bulky as scissors so it can easily be carried in a pocket, purse, binder, clutch, whatever!  There is a built-in magnet so you can put it on your fridge.  It has a small hole on it, so I imagine it would fit on a key-ring as well.  Lefty?  No problem!  The Slice™ Safety Cutter  is right- AND left-hand friendly!  It has a nice rubber finish so you can grip it, and the green color rocks!

Tike Myson Approved Magnet!

Concerns?
The only problem I had was when it cut through two or three thin sheets I didn't mean to cut. Usually it was fine with another piece of paper under it, but if you're particular do NOT cut directly on a a table. Use something you don't mind getting sliced underneath what you're cutting, like a mat, cutting board, or even a magazine you don't care for.

Pros

Small

Portable

Safe

Rust-free

Smooth Cuts
Left- and Right-handed
Built-in Magnet

Cons

If you aren't careful could cut your table

Where Do I Get One?
You can purchase a Slice™ Safety Cutter for $5.99 at Sliceproducts.com.


I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.