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SanDisk Sansa View 8 GB Video MP3 Player (Black)
$124.99
I purchased the View to replace my old Sansa e200 series player. It quit working after the pc jack soldier joint separated from the board. The View is a sleek looking machine, has good user interface and sound quality. The problem is getting the thing to charge. Sometimes I plug it into my computers USB port and the screen will indicate it is charging, but later I find the battery totally discharged and the player is unable to power up. I have tried flash upgrades, different computers, wall chargers and different cables without success. Sometimes I can reset the player and then it will charge, but even when the battery indicate a full charge I never get the playing time claimed by the manufacturer.

I have spent hours looking for solutions on Sansa's support site as well as numerous forums on the web. What I've learned from this is that is that there are others experiencing charging problems like mine. As well as a host of other problems too.

SanDisk has been the preferred brand of memory cards for my DSLR camera for years. Because of this good experience I chose the Sansa MP3 players. But I will never buy another one. Buyer beware!

Uncle Milton Pet¡Çs Eye View Camera
$39.99
This was a lot of fun, until it died after just a few months. For the price, I'd expect it to last much longer. Very disappointed.

Witch Bitch?
$22.98
The View open their sophomore CD "Which bitch" having fun on an accordion ("Typical time 2") before the thumping beats and buzzing guitars of the bouncy "5Rebbeccas" announce their return proper. Their sound is similar to fellow Brits Fratellis or The Kooks, catchy fun-loving Brit Pop sung with pronounced British accents.

"One off pretender" is a groovy Rocker with spoken verses, a truly gorgeous song. Everything stands out, from the Fratellis-sounding "Temptation dice" (with nice chiming guitars), "Glass smash" (a choir-like intro leads into a blazing Smiths-style Rocker), the theatrical string ballad "Distant doubloon", the Rockabilly-style "Jimmy's crazy conspiracy", the beautiful horn-sprinkled acoustic ballad "Covers" (which features Paolo Nutini), the jangly "Double yellow lines" (with an incredibly groovy bassline), the sunny "Shock horror", the tender "Give back the sun" (which has a nice theatrical intro, and features Kim Falconer, sister of lead singer Kyle), to closing Folky acoustic ballad "Gem of a bird".

However, my absolute favourite is the haunting Oasis/Beatles-style ballad "Unexpected" with throbbing guitars, orchestral flourishes, and a gut wretching vocal delivery from Kyle Falconer, a tribute to his father whom he lost when he was 16 to cancer. "Cut out your pictures now I know that you are near. Tack them into the frame for now, as I know you won't be here" he sings. Incredibly moving and indescribably beautiful.

A Room With a View (Two-Disc Special Edition)
$26.98
It is rare that a film can be artistically beautiful, romantic, and at the same time be laugh out loud funny! It is one of my all time favorite movies. I will warn that there is a nude scene but it is not in a sexual context. So parents, if you don't wish your children to see as Archie Bunker once said 'full nudal frontity' :)don't watch this movie with kids. That being said, the dialogue is brilliant, the acting superb, and Lucy and George are two lovers you will champion from the beginning.