Oct 19 2012

DisneyNature – Crimson Wing review

Not all that long ago, I reviewed African Cats from DisneyNature. Around the same time that I watched that film on Blu-Ray, I also watched Crimson Wing.

DisneyNature - Crimson Wing

Crimson Wing traces that fascinating story of the life cycle of the flamingo. In particular, the documentary follows the migration surrounding Lake Natron in Tanzania, Africa. It details the courtship of adult flamingos, the birth of their offspring, and many of the struggles which the birds must endure to sustain life in a rather hostile environment.

Unlike African Cats, this film didn’t have a stunning colour palette that really came to life on Blu-Ray. Instead, the most prominent colour spread was comprised of whites, greys, and some blues (not as much crimson as I would have thought). I don’t believe that this was the fault of a bad transfer to Blu-Ray, but rather, the somewhat washed look of the environment in which the film was shot. Coupled with the slightly disappointing visuals, the narrator had very little vocal and tonal fluctuation, which made the presentation a little dull and monotonous. Also, the balance between information delivery and entertainment was skewed toward the former. Not that facts are bad in a documentary, but it seemed to lack a lot of the charisma of other DisneyNature films. To make matters worse, I didn’t come away from this one knowing much more about flamingos than I did before I started watching.

Overall, though it wasn’t awful, it was certainly not my favourite of the DisneyNature series. However, it is still worth a watch, especially if you are a nature lover.

Filled starFilled starFilled starFilled starFilled starFilled starUnfilled starUnfilled starUnfilled starUnfilled star

Cheers,
Zach

Oct 18 2012

Yo-N-Go frozen yoghurt – Saint Louis, MO

Back in early August, there was a Groupon for a new frozen yoghurt place called Yo-N-Go in Saint Louis, MO. Located in the “downtown” area near Laclede’s Landing, the location can be somewhat difficult in terms of parking. However, just a couple blocks to the north, there is plenty of free street parking available.

The establishment looks very similar inside to many of the other premium frozen yoghurt places in the area (and elsewhere, for that matter). One thing that caught my eye, though, is that the flavours are displayed on the machines via a digital screen instead of just a sign above them. Not that the display impacts the quality of the yoghurt, but I just thought that it was neat. Now, interestingly, the only legitimate review on Yelp (I say “legitimate” as the other review was a customer who was angry that her attempt to abuse the Groupon policy had failed, and she decided to lash out at the owner) indicates that the yoghurt was lacking flavour. I would have to strongly disagree. I had a combination of red velvet cake and carrot cake, both of which were very tasty! Deb had the sugar-free chocolate which was surprisingly not gritty (many of the sugar-free flavours tend to have a less-than-pleasing texture). That being said, there were not as many topping offerings as I would have liked. Some of my favourites (like graham cracker crumbs, and a wide assortment of fresh fruits) were not available.

Also, unlike the upset reviewer on Yelp, I found the owner (Matt) to be quite helpful and friendly. We used our Groupon according to the terms and conditions, and didn’t have any problem doing so.

In any case, though, I think that Yo-N-Go is a good addition to the host of premium frozen yoghurt venues in the Saint Louis area, and it is good to see one that isn’t in the county. I wouldn’t say that it is the absolute best frozen yoghurt that I’ve ever had, but it ranks significantly higher than many of the others around town.

Cheers,
Zach

Oct 17 2012

Prepac Quad media rack – BMA-1520 review

As a huge film and music buff, I was starting to have trouble finding space for my CDs, DVDs, and Blu-Rays. I had small or medium-sized media racks scattered throughout my house, but that wasn’t really working all that well for me. I had considered having a woodworker craft a custom cabinet for me, but that proved to be a long-term goal given the exorbitant price associated with having anything custom-made (especially fine wooden furniture). In the interim, I found a large rack that seemed to fit my needs made by a Canadian company called Prepac. They specialise in furniture and media cabinets that are sturdy, but don’t cost a small fortune.

In particular, I thought that the BMA-1520–more commonly referred to as the “Quad,” since it is a quad-width rack–looked promising. The Quad holds an impressive 1520 CDs (where it gets the “1520” portion of the model number), 700+ DVDs, 1200 Blu-Rays, or any combination thereof. It comes in oak or black, and I decided to go with the black finish as it would match the other items in my living room:

Prepac BMA-1520 quad width media rack

In terms of build quality, I’m pretty impressed with the Prepac Quad. Even though it is constructed from laminated composite woods, it is substantial. Also, it is weighted really well so that it doesn’t feel like it is going to tip over. The rack comes with zip ties and hooks in order to secure it to the wall, but I didn’t find them necessary on the carpeted flooring in my family room.

I also found assembling the unit to be fairly straightforward. The steps were clearly outlined and illustrated. However, the only part that I found a bit unnerving was the backing of the rack. It is nothing more than cardboard, but that’s not my main concern. The primary issue is that the pieces of cardboard fit precisely against the dividers, and they are attached using small nails. This normally wouldn’t be a big deal, but the first part that I attached was slightly shifted toward the other side of the unit. That meant that every subsequent piece of backing was shifted as well. Considering the divider beams are quite narrow in the first place, attaching the other backing pieces proved to be very difficult, and required some overlapping. After splitting a couple of the dividers ever-so-slightly, I finally did get the backing completely attached. Granted, my assembly qualm may be my own fault since I was trying to do it without having someone else there to assist (by holding the backing in place, et cetera).

Overall, the unit is sturdy, holds a huge amount of media, has virtually no wasted space, and fits nicely in the space that I had for it. I’m very pleased with the media rack given its price.

Cheers,
Zach