The house of mixed fortunes

Advantages: Great characters and exceptional writing
Disadvantages: Available on Amazon but otherwise hard to find

...Firstly, a little bit of info about the author...Margot Livesey is Scottish, but has lived in the USA for many years. Rather sadly, she is not well known here in the UK, but is famous in the USA. I discovered her through my mum, who is a big fan - and not just because Livesey is an excellent author. There was a long standing relationship between her family and my mum's, particularly my gran. So much so that my mum's name is used for a minor character in one of Livesey's novels. The House On Fortune Street was published in 2008, and is available from Amazon.co.uk. Sometimes Livesey's books can be hard to find here, but this one was easily available from publication date. I've never seen any of her novels in a library though. It tells the story of four people whose lives are connected. Sean lives with Abigail, whose best friend is...

eilidhcatriona 23.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of The House On Fortune Street - Margot Livesey

Welcome to Miami!

Advantages: Great beaches, nightlife and shopping
Disadvantages: it can be expensive

...into several districts: South Beach It is where the gorgeous, young sun-seekers head for the day relaxing on the miles and miles of glorious beach, and a night partying in the clubs. It is also home to the fabulous Art Deco distric, housing around 800 buildings, near Dade Blvd at the North & 6th Street at the South. Miami Beach Just north of South beach on another 'island' Miami Beach is a more affordable place to stay. Like South Beach, it is home to plenty of bars and clubs on Collins Avenue and Washington Avenue. It is also famous for the Bal Harbour Shopping mall. Coconut Grove A trendy area for that attracts many artists, it is also home to golf courses and upscale restaurants. Southern Miami/Dade County This is where you will find many of the city's attractions, such as the zoo, and the aquarium. A great place...

funphobic2 10.10.2005 · Read review
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Review of Miami

Miami Ink!

Advantages: Interesting to watch, loads of cool tattoos to look at
Disadvantages: Often I find myself wanting a tattoo done by Chris Garver but unfortunately I don't live in Americ

...Miami Ink, if you haven't heard about it already, is a TV show about a tattoo parlour in Miami (if you hadn't already guessed!). The series began in July 2005, introducing four eager tattooists, Ami James, Chris Nunez, Chris Garver and Darren Brass, as well as Ami's apprentice, Yoji Harada. Throughout the episodes new tattooists enter and go, the most famous probably being Kat Von D who turned the studio around with her beautiful portrait tattoos. Each show lasts about an hour long, and during that time we see a variety of clients enter the studio to get their tattoos. The guys who run/work in the studio are all fairly young, heavily tattooed and have been through different walks of life. Most of them have spent their lives tattooing, so working in the shop you can tell means a lot to them. Each artist has a different personality...

Stephoohla 06.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Miami Ink - Series 1 - Complete (Box Set) (DVD)

The Trotters do Miami

Advantages: More brillaint humour and a great story
Disadvantages: dodgy canned laughter in latter part of episode

.... Meanwhile, Rodney, (Nicholas Lyndhurst) and Cassandra, (Gwyneth Strong) are still struggling with their marriage, with Cassandra concentrating more on her career than her relationship. So when Del hears that Rodney has come into some money he decides to try and help their marriage by booking a holiday for the young couple, much to Rodney?s delight. Although, with Cassandra unable to get time off work, the holiday isn?t quite what Rodney hoped for, especially as Del manages to tag along. But once at their destination things go from bad to worse, with the Trotters somehow becoming involved in criminal activities, involving a mistaken identity and a family of very dodgy people, even more dodgy the Del himself. With Del and Rodney miles from home and in a bit of bother in Miami they are keen to get back to the safety of the streets...

blissman70 18.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of Only Fools And Horses - Miami Twice (DVD)

Miami Vice

Advantages: Numb/Encore Soundtrack
Disadvantages: Dull, Uninspiring, Bad dialogue, Overlong

...I really wanted to like Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell. I tried hard. After seeing respectable performances in Ali (Foxx) and The Recruit (Farrell) I began thinking something like "Yeah, these guys could maybe take my interest in future movies." Unfortunately for me, the next two films I saw them star in were Jarhead and S.W.A.T.. To say that I was mildly pissed off with those two films would be a huge understatement. After sampling Michael Mann's work for the first time with the sheer brilliance that was 1995's Heat, I expected great things. After a decent opening scene in the club, aided by the Numb/Encore Linkin Park/Jay-Z mix, I thought yeah, the groundwork in Miami Vice had been set. Almost immediately after that song ended though the plot had lost me entirely; I just couldn't believe just how tedious and frustrating the rest...

andycarrington 10.02.2009 · Read review
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Review of Miami Vice (DVD)

The stunning Four Seaons Miami

Advantages: Luxurious, elegant hotel with excellent service
Disadvantages: Loation, location, loation

...I visited the Four Seasons in Miami in March 2006 after a somewhat frantic and frenetic trip to the theme parks in Orlando and was looking for a place to rest and relax and to be pampered as well as some nice places to explore and eat out. The 70 storey Four Seasons is located I the downtown financial district of Miami at Brickell Avenue and is home to not only the Four Seasons Hotel but also the HSBC bank headquarters and Four Seasons Residences; yes you can actually live in the Four Seasons Hotel for ever! Arrival and check-in. From the moment we arrived at the Four Seasons the service was implacable. The bell man who took our luggage even greeted myself and my companion by name having presumably sneaked a quick look at our luggage tags! We were greeted inside the door by a pleasant lady who took us to the seventh floor to...

nickjj78 30.04.2006 · Read review
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Review of Four Seasons, Miami

Hotel Miami

Advantages: Sits on the Beach
Disadvantages: Pool area always crowded

...I have stayed in the Hotel Miami, maybe three times. I have been to Es Cana probably about 8 or 9 times now. I'm only 20. Anyway, on with the review. When I first stayed in the Hotel Miami, I was only young, but I do remember. We had a corner room with a balcony overlooking the sea and bar area, this due to my sister being in a wheelchair and needing the extra space. They were very helpful and did well to accommodate for this. Although the beds needed a bit of a shuffle and the wheelchair could not get into the bathroom. (As I say, we were young so Dad simply lifted her across). The rooms were comfortable. I remember them originally being abit dreary in decor, but I know for a fact they have since decorated as they were a nice light green colour last time I stayed. Really brightening up the room and making you feel welcome...

Magikal 11.09.2007 · Read review
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Review of Hotel Miami Ibiza, Ibiza

Mixed Feelings

Advantages: Evocative read of Blethyn's formative years
Disadvantages: Loses it's way a bit once our heroine becomes an adult

...I have always liked the actress Brenda Blethyn - ever since I first remember seeing her in "Chance in a Million" a sitcom she starred in with Simon Callow on Channel 4 in the 80s. There was something incredibly endearing about her in that show, and that charm seems to be an integral part of her persona, to my mind anyway - even when she is portraying less than sympathetic characters. Browsing the books in Tesco one day I came across "Mixed Fancies", Blethyn's memoir, and I immediately decided I wanted to read more about the girl born Brenda Bottle in Ramsgate. Blethyn was the youngest of nine children, and her Catholic parents seem to have had a loving and enduring marriage, despite some of the poverty they had to cope with. Blethyn describes her family history well - for instance her parents didn't actually marry until 1944, despite...

rosebud2001 24.08.2009 · Read review
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Review of Mixed Fancies - Brenda Blethyn

Must have a Miami

Advantages: Smells lovely, lasts well, free gift
Disadvantages: can be quite strong, quite expensive

...I?m such a perfume fiend, I love to try anything new that?s doing the rounds, so this was no different. I?d first seen this advertised on the TV, and to be honest I didn?t really given it a second glance, because I remembered how much I hated J Lo Glow, the original. Anyway, a few days after the perfume was first released, I found myself wandering along the perfume counter in Boots, my boyfriend had just spent £60 on a pair of jean, on the credit card, so I decided I deserved a treat to. I had a sniff of various bottles, but came back to Jo Lo Miami Glow. I purchased the 50ml bottle, which cost me £29. It?s available in sizes, 30ml, 50ml and 100ml. There are also various body lotions and shower gel available in the range too. The perfume is available on www.cheapsmells.com for £24.75 for 50ml, which is slightly cheaper than I...

MurkyDismal 31.03.2005 · Read review
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Review of J.Lo Miami Glow Eau De Toilette Spray

Miami Vice - Waste of time!

Advantages: Excellent direction
Disadvantages: No plot!!!

...First review on here for a long time, so be gentle with me!!! I have been doing a 'Classical Hollywood Cinema' module as part of my degree so I thought it might be an idea to have a go at a film review... Here goes! Plot For those of you familiar with the original TV series, this is a cop drama following two vice squad detectives, Crockett (Colin Farrell) and Tubbs (Jamie Foxx). The basic plot revolves around the pair infiltrating a gang of drug dealers (the FBI were supposed to be doing this but their agents are exposed as working for the FBI and therefore Miami police get involved as they are unknown to the dealers). There is also a subplot of Tubbs' girlfriend being kidnapped by white supremacists. To be honest, there isn't too much of a plot and what there is seems to be pieced together through by some very tenuous links...

jovichick123 20.04.2007 (27.04.2007) · Read review
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Review of Miami Vice (DVD)