Tag Archives: pop culture

Online Reviews

Posted on by
4

I tend to put way too much stock in online reviews. I obsess and obsess and obsess, reading everything possible on every possible site. Recently I was trying to buy A. a raincoat for his birthday. I wanted to find a good deal on one of the fancy name brands, so I was checking several sites frequently for sales and coupon codes. In the meantime, I saw one at Target that was considerably less expensive, but I refrained from buying it. I read and read some more about taped, water-tight seams, drawstring hems, under-arm zipper vents, and inner pockets.. All the raincoats started to sound alike after awhile, which, hello, they kind of are. Customers had good and bad things to say about all of them, which was little to no help at all. And you know what? I eventually stopped the madness and went to buy the one at Target, which seems to work absolutely fine. I keeps the rain off, which was the whole point to begin with.

I do the same thing with restaurants. I have several apps on my phone that provide reviews and information about restaurants and I usually check ALL of them before I try a place out. One of the apps, I’ve learned, tends to be more promotional, so its reviews are always glowing. I had really poor customer service at one place that it raved about. But other times, I’ve been pleased with a restaurant that had mixed or so-so reviews from a lot of people. On Saturday, I was craving sushi, which happens to me with some regularity. I looked up sushi places near me and did what I do: obsessed. Neither of the two closest to our apartment had particularly positive reviews. One thing I’ve noticed about online reviews is that reviewers tend to latch on to one thing and harp on it. So, for example, at one of the sushi places they apparently play weird techno-ish music, which is what multiple reviewers complained about. But I don’t necessarily care about the music; I care more about the food and the service! It taints my first impression of something if I have these preconceived expectations that I’ve gleaned from random people on the internet. The sushi place with the music is in the same shopping center as my Kroger, so I decided to chance it for convenience’s sake. I took myself there for lunch after church and was pleasantly surprised! There actually was weird music playing, and all of the staff seemed a bit frantic and rushed, but the food was good and cheap. I was slightly intimidated by the sheer number of choices on the menu, but that’s my problem, not the restaurant’s. The other nice thing is that I sat at the sushi bar and I was not the only person sitting alone reading! I felt like I was part of a club or something. And the next time I’m craving sushi, I’ll be quite likely to head back there.

However, I didn’t rush online to write a review. That’s one reason I’ve learned you need to take online reviews with a grain of salt: people are much more likely to write negative reviews than positive (or if positive, then it will be GLOWINGLY positive). No one writes a review to say, “Yeah, it was fine. I’ll probably go back there some day.” There’s none of that middle ground. But what I try to look for is consistency among negative (or positive) reviews. If multiple people mention that they got food poisoning from the same dish, or if a couple of reviews point out the same nuanced flaw in an electronic item, I’m going to take note. And if a review is well-written, I’ll give it more credibility. When we were looking for an apartment, A. found numerous well-written reviews of one of the places on our list that had the same specific complaints, so we took those to heart and removed that complex from our list.

I think online reviews can definitely be useful (that’s probably why they exist in the first place), but I think there’s a lot to be said for just trying stuff, too. If you have reasons for being really interested in something, I’m not sure online reviews should sway you against it until you’ve checked it out for yourself. But if you’re on the fence, a comprehensive set of online reviews might be just the ticket. Only you probably don’t need to obsess the way I do and read 13 pages of them. :-)

Do you read or write online reviews? What do you think about them?

Mish Mosh

Posted on by
Reply

I think this has been my sparsest week yet as far as posting goes! I was out of town for a few days, but since technology is so portable these days that hardly counts as an excuse. I’ll have some more great content coming up next week, but here’s a light post to tide you over.

I was reading an article in Redbook magazine about a movie coming out called I Don’t Know How She Does It (which, by the way, sounds pretty funny, and I’d probably like to see it!). It’s about a working mom who doesn’t do a good job of balancing everything and has some funny mishaps along the way. One of the questions asked of the actresses was, “We’ve been called the ‘Having it All’ generation of women. How does that phrase resonate in your own life?” Aline Brosh McKenna said, “I would describe my approach as: Having Some But Not All Things Some of the Time, with breaks for snacks.” I love it. Especially the breaks for snacks part. Because isn’t that so true? Some days, I whip out four loads of laundry, exercise, and make a sewing project, so then the only energy I have left for dinner is throwing a frozen pizza in the oven. And I’m totally okay with that.

Stay tuned for some a Tasty Tuesday post about cabbage, Thoughtful Thursday reflections on parental relationships, and hopefully some craft projects and a guest post from my mom. Have a great weekend!

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

Posted on by
3

Guerilla knitting strikes Freedom Park!

And my favorite little guy:

(Pardon the terrible picture quality. I snapped these with my iPhone in full sun and realized later they were terrible. I kept meaning to go back with the “real” camera, but every time I tried it was raining, and by the time I could have, the knitting was gone. I did some mediocre post processing on these to try and help.)

To Kindle or Not to Kindle?

Posted on by
6

I recently took the plunge and ordered one of these beauties:

Source

That’s right. I, the vocally staunch, long-time advocate of the paper book has entered the world of the e-reader. And I am actually pretty dang excited about.

My reasoning, though, betrays my true identity as a Lover of Books. The list of books I want to own because they may never make it to the library is long. The amount of space on my bookshelf and in my apartment in general is not. So, I decided that a Kindle could be just the thing: I can own all the books I want without taking up any more of my living space! Sure, they will not have beautiful physical covers, and sure, no one will be able to perceive my impeccable literary taste simply by entering my apartment and viewing my bookshelf, but they will be readable texts, and I will be able to enjoy them over and over again just as with a physical book. An added plus is that many of the classic books suggested to me on my recent post “Why Don’t I Like Classic Books?” are FREE on the Kindle, so I can download them guilt-free–it won’t matter whether I like it or not. The Kindle hasn’t even arrived in the mail yet and I have already downloaded The Scarlet Pimpernel, per many recommendations.

I also like that the Kindle is lower profile than a paper book. When I travel, especially on long trips, I typically find my suitcase or backpack carry-on loaded down with books, because I have a fear of finishing one and not having anything else to start. This way, I can have a whole library’s worth of books in my purse at all times! How can you beat that?

Once I get it and have perused it more, I’m sure you’ll be hearing more, but this is my big announcement/confession for the day. Don’t worry, I won’t be abandoning my love of libraries (and in fact am now looking forward to the day when lending e-books becomes a mainstream practice) or beautifully published books; I’ll just be devouring my words in a different format.

What’s your opinion about e-readers and the effect of technology on books as we know them?

Hip to Be….Me?

Posted on by
1

hip /hip/
adjective
hipper, comparative; hippest, superlative

  1. Following the latest fashion, esp. in popular music and clothes
    • it’s becoming hip to be environmentally conscious
  2. Understanding; aware
    • he’s trying to show how hip he is to Americana

Or, according to Wikipedia, “Hip is a slang term meaning fashionably current and in the know. Hip is the opposite of square or prude. Hip, like cool, does not refer to one specific quality. What is considered hip is continuously changing.”

I am rather an old soul. Always have been. I credit that to the fact that I am an only child and grew up spending a lot of time either alone or with my parents and their adult friends. I would say I had more than the average childlike flights of imaginary fancy, but as far as “playing” went…I was a bit hopeless. I was serious about everything I did. And now, I’d choose a coffee shop over a bar and a thrift store over a fancy boutique. I always struggle when A. and I go on dates or on the few occasions I’ve gone out with the girls because most of my nice clothes are more suitable for church than the club. I don’t think these are necessarily bad things, but it occasionally strikes me that I am unlike many my age. I enjoy a good cocktail as much as the next person, but I somehow missed out on the party gene.

However, the neighborhood that A. and I moved into is what one might be able to call “hip” (see above). We were attracted to the area for its plethora of walkable destinations, its extensive green space and walking path, and its mix of urban bustle with residential charm. Plus, it is close to A’s work, and since he HATES to drive, it was desirable to not have much of a commute. It’s probably un-hip that we’ve even wondered, but we’ve been trying to decide if we are “worthy” of our new neighborhood. In other words, are we hip?!

On the surface, I’d say we’re not. My shorts are too long, my hair too staid, and my body too un-tatooed. But in a truly un-hip manner, we began a mental list of the things we do that ARE hip, at least in our minds. Here are a few of the reasons we came up with.

  1. Two words: Apple Products. We has them.
  2. I own and wear Tom’s shoes.
  3. I use reusable grocery bags (which my mom always has, and which I used to find mortifying. Sorry, Mama!)
  4. A. bikes/walks/takes public transportation to work, and we drive fuel efficient vehicles.
  5. I enjoy thrifting and shopping second-hand.
  6. Some (though not most) of the music I listen to is cool and alternative.
  7. A. works for a small startup-ish tech company.

And now, I suppose we can add our location to the list! But some of those are a stretch, and I draw a blank after those seven. For the most part, I think “hip” is over-rated, and I definitely don’t worry about it. In fifth grade, probably the lowest point of my life on the cool scale, one of the cute, popular girls told me that if you were cool you just didn’t have to try. (I definitely wasn’t, and I definitely did.) It’s kind of fun to be an observer of people and culture and weigh how you measure up, but in the end what really matters is being true to yourself and enjoying life.

So what do you think? What does being hip mean to you?