© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc. This feed is subject to our terms of use: http://www.epinions.com/help/rss_terms http://www.epinions.com/user-driftless Recent reviews written by member driftless en-us 121 37 http://www.epinions.com/ http://img.epinions.com/images/epi_images/logos/epinions_121.gif http://www.epinions.com/content_492635917956?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author driftless - Insect.   Just add an exclamation point and you may think you're reading about a bad horror movie from the ‘60s, starring Raquel Welch.    Actually, the truth is much less frightening and immensely more... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~492635917956 Sun, 22 Nov 2009 12:33:28 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_492635917956?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_491294264964?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author driftless - Judging poetry is inherently challenging.  As with any true art form, the viewer’s point of view and biases are such a large part of the experience that people are frequently going to disagree when critiquing a given work.   I even... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~491294264964 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:36:59 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_491294264964?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_488348683908?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author driftless - As with most things intangible, trivia is in the mind of the beholder.  One man's trivia is another woman's vital or cherished detail.  The Ultimate Book of Useless Information provides about 200 pages of factual tidbits, some... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~488348683908 Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:04:27 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_488348683908?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_487133056644?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author driftless - Predicting the future is hard.    Even over the short term.  Weather forecasters, stock pickers and palm readers keep their jobs mainly due to their clients' generosity and ignorance.    In $20 Per Gallon,... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~487133056644 Sun, 4 Oct 2009 09:53:34 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_487133056644?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_486807211652?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author driftless - It is my Interstate bible.  In preparation for a recent summer family vacation road trip I found myself filled with anticipation as I prepared to procure a brand new 2010 Rand McNally Road Atlas to replace my tattered and torn 2003... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~486807211652 Thu, 1 Oct 2009 09:20:01 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_486807211652?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_485592567428?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author driftless - We're all stupid.  I'm sure that everyone reading this can recall past personal life events that have proven this point convincingly.  In the children's picture book The Stupids Step Out, author Harry Allard and illustrator James... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~485592567428 Sun, 20 Sep 2009 10:26:44 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_485592567428?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_484103917188?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author driftless - This past Father's Day my kind and indulging family consented to join me for some hiking at Natural Bridge State Park in southwestern Wisconsin.    It was our first visit to this park and fortunately the intermittent light rain and... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~484103917188 Mon, 7 Sep 2009 15:11:15 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_484103917188?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_483142176388?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author driftless - While shopping during a recent summer trip in Asheville, North Carolina, I wandered into one of the many eclectic art stores in the downtown area and noticed a small hardcover book displayed prominently.  The owner immediately sensed my interest and... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~483142176388 Sun, 30 Aug 2009 09:59:04 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_483142176388?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_482766655108?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author driftless - I am not a writer.  Although I sometimes like to pretend otherwise while epinionating, I really wouldn't know how to where to even start if my goal was to write a novel or tell my life story.   When a non-writer - like me - actually has a... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~482766655108 Thu, 27 Aug 2009 10:13:44 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_482766655108?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_482442579588?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author driftless - One of the great challenges for any storyteller is to successfully tell a tale when everyone already knows the ending.  How do you keep the audience riveted when a plot's twists and turns are common knowledge?   In Lincoln: A... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~482442579588 Mon, 24 Aug 2009 18:32:27 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_482442579588?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_480467259012?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author driftless - What makes a rose a rose?  How many different plants are named rose?   Who gets to decide if a particular plant is really a rose?   These may seem like rather trivial botanical questions, but when you start asking similar... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~480467259012 Sat, 8 Aug 2009 09:49:53 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_480467259012?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_478589521540?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author driftless - Machiavellian: suggesting the principles of conduct laid down by Niccolo Machiavelli; specifically: marked by cunning, duplicity, or bad faith [Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary--2009]Rarely does one... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~478589521540 Thu, 23 Jul 2009 10:28:43 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_478589521540?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_477253897860?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author driftless - Is reading good for you?   It may seem like a stupid question, but why should we value spending many hours reading about the thoughts and actions of someone who may or may not even exist?   Wouldn't it be better to spend that time... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~477253897860 Sun, 12 Jul 2009 19:02:40 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_477253897860?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_475439795844?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author driftless - One of the challenges I enjoy in the kitchen is creating meals that replicate the offerings at a fine restaurant, bakery or deli.  Not surprisingly, I often have to procure some sort of specialized contraption to achieve this goal.  ... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~475439795844 Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:13:10 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_475439795844?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_474510364292?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author driftless - He may well be the most famous Englishman of all time, yet he remains a man of mystery.    More words may have been written about him and his work than any non-religious figure in history, but we know next to nothing about his actual... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~474510364292 Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:31:08 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_474510364292?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_473808211588?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author driftless - Years ago, during college I had a rather rebellious housemate whose most infamous act was to burn the word "DOGSTYLE" into our living room ceiling with a candle.  We didn't live together much longer.  A Wisconsin native, his loathing of all... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~473808211588 Sat, 13 Jun 2009 14:12:43 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_473808211588?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_473138499204?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author driftless - As I descend deeper and deeper into the crevasse known as "middle age", it becomes rather rare to revisit the pieces of my childhood in any sort of pure form.    However, I recently chose to read the newest publication from Ray Bradbury,... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~473138499204 Sun, 7 Jun 2009 15:49:55 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_473138499204?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_472349576836?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author driftless - Rarely in history have the extremes of the human experience been in as close proximity as they were in the early days of the "wild west".   Stories of utter deprivation or colossal wealth; limitless freedom or deliberate genocide; technological... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~472349576836 Sun, 31 May 2009 19:29:18 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_472349576836?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_471630974596?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author driftless - It is rare that a crucial social movement of any type - whether it be the abolition of slavery, the fight for women's suffrage or the effort to allow homosexuality into the mainstream - thrives with a pessimistic approach.  It's really not too... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~471630974596 Mon, 25 May 2009 15:26:19 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_471630974596?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_468360859268?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author driftless - I'm typically a rather traditional traveler - usually staying in hotels with big corporate names - but sometimes you just have to take a chance and try something a little different.  While planning our recent trip to Asheville, North Carolina, my... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~468360859268 Sun, 26 Apr 2009 17:13:30 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_468360859268?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_467581963908?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author driftless - She was a successful door to door salesman, brave soldier, compassionate nurse, inspired war spy, loving wife, devoted mother and resourceful farmer. Few people in American history have ever assembled such an impressive life full of... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~467581963908 Sun, 19 Apr 2009 17:19:54 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_467581963908?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_466058251908?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author driftless - The Bible doesn't work well as a geology or biology textbook.  Whatever your views of the Bible as a spiritual or historical document may be, it comes up rather lacking in the details when it attempts to explain the origins of the oceans, the... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~466058251908 Sun, 5 Apr 2009 16:38:17 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_466058251908?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_465297903236?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author driftless - Over the past forty years, the idea of travel to the moon has become blasé.  While a movie like Apollo 13 can inspire some passion, most of the time NASA seems to be regarded with a "what have you done for me lately" kind of... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~465297903236 Sun, 29 Mar 2009 17:58:55 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_465297903236?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_464202468996?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author driftless - There's always some sort of weather out there.  You may not think about it much, but if you pay attention, you can find some sort of meteorological phenomenon every day.  Whether it's common things like clouds, dewdrops and wind, or more... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~464202468996 Wed, 18 Mar 2009 22:46:13 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_464202468996?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_463894908548?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author driftless - "Gone to seed".   The phrase evokes feelings of decay and deterioration.   Not exactly the thoughts one wishes to bring forth when striving for the perfect garden.   But there may be another way to look at the lowly... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~463894908548 Sun, 15 Mar 2009 22:56:35 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_463894908548?linkin_id=8003929