A few months Several months ago my friend Angela published and gave me her book called Backyard Farming on An Acre (More or Less). For a suburban-raised guy like me who’s now living in the country, it’s become my go to book on how we can lead a more sustainable, eco-friendly, healthier lifestyle.

How You Can Get Started

First, buy the book. It’s a quick but detailed read and helps you understand the basics of growing your own food regardless of the size of your property. With a quick trip to the home improvement store I was off an running with a bunch of 2×4, my circular saw, a cordless drill and some screws. For every three pieces of wood, we were able to cut one in half and make a nice raised bed for our 20′ x 20′ garden.

Once you get the hang of it you can literally have a raised bed put together within minutes. I saw kits recently at Home Depot for making raised beds, but it’s cheaper to buy the wood yourself and do it yourself. Plus, it’s not exactly an intimidating project as you’re not building a house or solid structure – you’re just screwing 4 pieces of wood together in a rectangular shape. Simple, right?

My wife and I then plotted out our garden based on the flowers, herbs, fruits and vegetables we wanted to grow. A quick drop off of soil from the local nursery and we’re off and running. We’re even giving some vertical gardening a try with a trellis that we picked up for a few bucks from the garden center. It’s also crucial that you pick up heirloom seeds so that you’re getting non-GMO products. Unless, of course, you like those bland, apple-like tomatos.

They say the biggest barrier to getting started is just your will to do it. Hopefully this post shows you it’s a lot easier to get started than you think. And, in a short while, you’ll be able to reap the rewards of a weekend’s worth of work.

Food You Can Trust

As my pal Vincenzo says, if he can’t make it he typically won’t buy it. Growing our own food is just one way we’re teaching our kids about taking responsibility for their actions and specifically the food that they eat. It’s also going to be a treat when they go out back to the berry patch or tomato plans and snag a few out of the garden.

You can DO IT!

Will you give Backyard Farming a shot? If you are and are blogging/tweeting about it, please drop a link in the comments to share your progress!

The X4 Razor from Dollar Shave Club

If you’re not a bearded member of the Duck Dynasty

family, the daily (or for some of us, every-other-day) grind of scraping your face with expensive metal and varying degrees of foamy cream isn’t our favorite part of being a man. In fact, for those of us with less rugged genetics, shaving can sometimes be a painful and burning experience.

That’s why I spend a ton of cash on buying more expensive razor blades like the Gillette Pro Fusion Power, which are thinner and supposedly better for my wussy of a mug. The price for making sure my face doesn’t end up looking like Freddy Kruger: $32 for eight blades. No, that’s not a typo.

Despite the fact it severely impacts my kids college funds, I gladly pay the Gillette man his vig because if I don’t, I walk around with cuts and burns on my face. It’s not pretty and it’s a pain in the ass. Since I’m not a fan of strutting around with little pieces of toilet paper all over my face, I go with what works despite the exorbitant amount the company charges for its products. It had become my new normal.

Now, thanks to Dollar Shave Club, I’m reconsidering my loyalty to Gillette.

Most of the Klout perks I usually receive are not spectacular because I don’t work very hard to “up” the score. Just at 70, most of what I get are smaller perks of free mints or free hamburgers from fast food joints. But this time, the perk from Dollar Shave Club intrigued me so I actually ordered it. In a few days, it arrived in the mail with some blades, a razor and shave butter. Now, being what I’d consider an “old school” man – meaning I don’t wax, I don’t pedi/mani, and I usually don’t fuss with fashion in general, to put something called “butter” on my face took some convincing. But I digress.

I decided to put the DSC to the test. I had been a fan of its irreverent ad campaign and it’s really dialed-in brand voice. Besides loving their marketing, I have increasingly become more interested to actually try their service and products. Klout made that possible for free, so I said “what the hell.”

Good stuff but $8 price is a little stiff

Let’s look at the products I was sent and my experience with each:

1. Dr. Carver’s Shave Butter: Again, the word “butter” on my rotund face isn’t exactly something that excited me. But I figured I’d give it the old college try. When I opened the shave butter, it did smell a lot like many of the lotions my wife keeps in the house. That wasn’t building confidence. I squeezed it onto my hands and then proceeded to rub my face. Although it didn’t lather like my usual gel shave cream, it nicely slicked up my face. Although I was a bit concerned that when I put the blades on my face, I might end up looking like Sissy Spacek in Carrie. Note: having a little one with Celiac Disease, I did notice that the shave butter was not gluten free and included barely and oats – and despite listing the ingredients, if you have Celiac or a gluten sensitivity, this isn’t for you. I hope DSC will change their packaging to include this warning. Retail Price: $8 -not exactly cheap.
2. The 4X Razor: When I pulled out this bad boy, it looked a lot like the Gillette I had become accustomed to. I am sure that’s by design. The razor was nice and well built. I’d recommend it but also found some drawbacks on this model – one of three that DSC offers its customers. The chief drawbacks for me were two-fold: the small length of the razor and it’s too active, 90-degree head. Now, perhaps I’m just shave science ignorant but with a head that pivots too much, it doesn’t feel like I control the razor or its direction enough. The head also snaps back quite a bit and it left me feeling a little concerned. DSC promotes this as the “Lovers Blade” because it can be used by both men and women. While men and women may be equal in almost everything, shaving isn’t one and perhaps their other razors are more in tune with just what a man needs, dunno. The handle was also a bit danti for my liking. Yes, length does matter – at least with razors.
3. The 4X Razor Blades: Built like many of the common multi-blade razors these days, the 4X blades did a very nice job on my three day growth. Working in conjunction with the shave butter, the blades glided over my beard and did a nice job and gave me a very close shave. They include a lubricating strip on the top and the shave was easy and painless. I really didn’t notice a difference between these, which retail for $6 a month for four blades, and the blades usually spend almost three times as much on. Well played Dollar Shave Club, well played.

Up close and personal with Dollar Shave Club…a good shave!

So there you have it. My quick experience with the Dollar Shave Club. So the question is: did they get my business?

Although I am opting to upgrade to the more super-duper Executive razor, my experience with the trial pack Dollar Shave Club sent me has me convinced. I’m going to give it a run and see how it goes. Who doesn’t like a nice, close shave at almost 1/3 the cost? I like the way the products worked and I love the brand voice and how the company operates. In many ways, it reminds me of Warby Parker but without any pretense. I love that brand and, after one shave, I’ve become a Dollars Shave Club member.

Will I buy the $8 Shave Butter? Not sure I’m there yet.

What do you shave with? Would you consider the Dollar Shave Club?

Disclosure: This post was prompted by a free sample of Dollar Shave Club’s products sent via Klout.

This blog post is the consumer in me complaining about what has been horrific service by Kenmore and it’s at-home repair arm, Sears Home Services.  It’s been so unsatisfying and uncomfortable, I will never buy another Kenmore branded appliance again. And that’s not an idle threat.

Just to first establish: I have been a loyal Kenmore customer – 2 washers, 2 dryers, a refrigerator, a toaster, etc. Throughout my adult life I’ve invested in the brand and had a pretty good run. The appliances have been reliable and, when needed, the service fine. My brand loyalty was washed away in just a few weeks time thanks to shoddy service, rude technicians and a brand that’s inconsistently responsive.

Long story short: our 2 year-old washer started leaking. As soon as my wife noticed this, she called to have someone come out and look at it. As a family with five growing children at home, we rely on our washer and dryer quite a bit. We maintain it according to the manufacturers standards and had never had any problem with it before.

Once arriving, the tech diagnosed it as a hose leak and replaced the hose. The entire service call was just over $150 dollars and we moved on.

Just a few days after the leak was allegedly repaired, my wife – in the middle of her laundry routine, noticed the washer was leaking in the same exact spot it was before.  It was inconvenient but these things happen sometimes.

My wife, once again called Sears Home Services to let them know the repair did not work and that the original diagnosis was incorrect. We expected they would send out a tech post-haste to fix a problem we had already paid them to fix once with out any success. We were told at that time we had to “get in the back of the line” and wait 10 days for their first available appointment for it to be fixed. Clearly the man on the phone didn’t have five kids or know what it takes to keep their clothes clean

When I started to lose my patience, I asked him if they held back appointments for situations like this. There has to be times when the original diagnosis is wrong and they just have to come out again and make it right. He answered no and that anytime it happened your only recourse was to get the first available appointment.

I even vented in social media and was responded two once asking if my problem had been resolved. I answered no and never heard from them again there or on Facebook. That’s not surprising as their social properties are littered with negatives with no or little response.

Ugh.

So let me get this straight: a brand like Sears and Kenmore do not leave for the possibility that the job isn’t done right the first time. And, if after having an appliance down for sometime, and having paid hard-earned money to repair it, and said device is still malfunctioning, their answer is simple: sorry, go to the end of the line and wait your turn.

How ridiculous is that?

But what else could we do? We took the first available appointment, which was a week later. That’s right: seven MORE days without the use of our washer. Imagine how my kids would smell if we didn’t have the means to wash the clothes elsewhere.

So we now had waited in line twice. We were also told that when the technician came out, if a new problem wasn’t discovered we might have to pay for the service call again. You heard me right: Sears Home Services and Kenmore wanted me to pay AGAIN for them NOT fixing my washer the first time.

This is where my wife put it to them and refused to pay anything until the original problem was fixed. So the numskulls at Sears at Home relented and scheduled for the repair guy to come out again. And we waited.

The day finally arrived and the service technician came to fix the washer. Upon arriving he asked my wife – again – what the problem was. My wife told him and despite her insistence, and the fact he had said before he diagnosed it as a hose leak and fixed it wrong, that he could see no evidence of the leak. My wife lifted up the wet towel after she had run the machine the night before to which he gave her a blank stare.

He than to basically tell my wife there was nothing wrong with the washer. My wife insisted he try and diagnose the issue but he could not replicate while he was there. So he left without doing anything but pissing my wife off for basically telling he she as imagining the leak.

Three hours later, guess what happened? The washer started leaking.

So now we find ourselves at the “back of the line” for a third time with no remedy in sight. We spent significant money on our washer and dryer and now have waited weeks for a problem to be fixed and it’s no closer to being fixed than the first time. We’re out $150 and all we’ve received is bad service.

In a world where consumers are more connected than ever before, the world needs to know how poorly this brand treats its paying customers. They can’t be bothered with “getting it right.” Instead, they put you through a repeatable cycle of inept customer service reps and unprepared repair technicians.  That’s as broken as the washing machine I paid them for.

At the end of the day there is little they can do to win me back as a customer. Having children ages 15 to 1 year old, I’ll be at this appliance thing for a long time. I’ll buy more washer, dryers, toasters, refrigerators, vacuums, etc. What I will never do again is buy Kenmore or Sears. It’s no wonder Sears is a shell of its former self. When you treat your paying customers like nuisances, they tend not to buy things from you.

Goodbye Kenmore and Sears. May your demise be quick and may other customers pay heed to my tale of caution.

The beloved children’s character, which is licensed and marketed by the good folks at Disney, is an American icon. The use of the cuddly bear on everything from toys to food is prolific. He’s also been the start of many a Disney Channel half-hour series and even first-run motion pictures.

Despite the proliferation of Pooh properties, my kids and I have always been a bigger fan of the books. While the television shows and movies have all been fine fare for the young or young at heart, they miss some of the playfulness of their literary cousins. With the release of the all new Winnie The Pooh movie, that has changed.

The usual cast of characters – Pooh, Owl, Rabbit, Kanga & Roo, Piglet, Tigger and the evervesecnt Eyore – are back and this time they have something very important to do.

The film started off with an absolutely amazing rendition of the classic “Winnie the Pooh” theme song sung by one of my favorite singers and actresses, Zooey Deschanel.The modern twist with her classic voice really gave the opening an energy not usual to a Pooh film. Deschanel also sings and performs on a handful of other songs. I highly recommend the soundtrack.

Once into the story, we really loved the focus on the literary side of the Pooh legacy. Throughout the film, the characters and narrator interact on the pages of a book. That really underscores our families belief in reading to our kids at all ages. My three year old, who accompanied me to the screening, commented several times about this style and it made him want to read more Pooh books at home. The use of the words and letters as tools within the storytelling of the movie was also creative and different. I knew at that point it would be a “different” type of Pooh movie.

The story revolves around Eyore having lost his tail and the gangs effort, with the help of Christopher Robin, to find it. Hilarity, misunderstanding and good old fashioned sheninagins ensue with the usual fun outcome. The characters are representative of the types of people and personalities our kids will encounter so the lessons learned in working together despite our differences shines through. The calmness and steady gags, songs and laughs really make the short film (just over an hour) wiz by keeping the little kids attention throughout.

This “reset”, if you can call it one, shows to me that the Disney Animation Studio is getting back to some basics. Despite the success of its computer, 3D animated classics by Pixar (except the latest disaster that is Cars 2), Disney is getting back to creating calming and innocent films for kids in an increasingly busy world. The Pixar classics are great, but the simplicity and literary inspired new Winnie the Pooh movie is a refreshing change from the high-tech and over-the-top energy in most new animated features.

If you have younger kids and you’re looking for a great way to spend just a little time out of the summer heat, I highly recommend the new Winnie the Pooh movie. You’ll get cool in the theater but your heart will warm along with the rest of the gang in the Hundred-acre Wood.

Winnie the Pooh opens this coming Saturday July 15 at theaters everywhere. Check out the Pooh bear over on Facebook.

Note: I was given a free screening of this film because I’m a Klout influencer. I was under no obligation to receive the sample or talk about this company. I get no additional benefits for talking about the product or company. http://corp.klout.com/perks/disclosure.

Once my son was diagnosed 18 months ago, we immediately had to learn the world of gluten free food. Shortly thereafter, I founded the Gluten Free Father blog where I started sharing our thoughts about gluten free products and how they tasted.

Just a short time ago, I decided to move away from a separate gluten free review blog as the readership here at EOT is large enough and diverse enough I now feel this is the right spot to share those reviews. Many of our readers have children with food allergies, Autism or other health issues that require a special diet. I hope they will find these reviews helpful and accretive to the great content here on the blog.

Although our family hasn’t gone completely gluten free along with my son, most of our family meals are GF and as such we really began to search for the best products available. Reviewing these products for manufacturers has been a great joy to my family and I. So this 4th of July we decided to wrap several products into a family barbecue and share with our readers here our reviews of those products.

For our barbecue, we settled on good, old fashioned American hamburgers and grilled chicken. We did so primarily because the folks at both Canyon Bakehouse and Five Star Meat Marinade sent us products to try and then share our thoughts with my readers.

First, Canyon Bakehouse is a artisan bakery in Loveland, Colorado, and has quickly garnered a strong following in the gluten free and Celiac community. In fact, Christi Skow, one of the owners of Canyon Bakehouse was herself diagnosed with Celiac Disease back in 2007 so the business is personal. And her story is a great example of how entrepreneurs are remaking the gluten free food industry for the better.

Canyon sent us some very tasty hamburger buns. Since my son is young, he sometimes will eat the hamburger without the bun. Especially since many gluten free hamburger bun options just don’t taste that great – even for a toddler with simple palate. Despite this, my son at the entire bun and really liked it. The rest of us also had our burgers on this delightful bun and were amazed at how much like “real” bread it tasted. There was no after taste and the light and air texture had the entire family ready to buy our next batch.

The buns were simply great and we highly recommend them to anyone looking for a gluten free hamburger bun that won’t have them missing regular bread.

Family Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars.

In addition to our hamburgers, we also grilled some fresh organic chicken breasts. Thanks to the folks at Five Star Meat Marinade, we were able to marinate the chicken in this flavorful marinade overnight and tossed it on the grill right next to the burgers.

The marinade is full of great flavors from what appears to be paprika to even citrus overtones. It’s also not only gluten free, but also low in sodium and sugar free. That means its great for just about everyone on a restricted diet of some sort.

We found it to be amazingly flavorful with just a hint of spice. The tastes were a bit strong for our young ones but my older kids and my wife both loved the flavor it brought to the chicken. You can also use the marinade on seafood, pork and beef, which is something we plan to do when we buy our next bottle. We’re grilling fanatics during the summer and the tasty flavor of this all-purpose marinade has earned its way into our permanent collection.

One note: despite Five Star Marinade being gluten free, you have to look hard to find that fact on their website and its nowhere on the bottle. Our friendly advice to the nice folks at Five Star is to add it to the label so folks know for sure. Other than that, this is a product we too can recommend to our readers and friends.

Family Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

Lastly, although I was the only one who could enjoy our final gluten free barbecue review item, I did so with great pleasure. New Planet Gluten Free Beer is a fast rising star in the gluten free world with their tasty craft beers made with sorghum. The family owned business is producing what I believe to be the best gluten free beer in America. Dubbed “Old Style Beer for New Style Beer Drinkers,” New Planet not only produces great beer, but also is a good environmental citizen supporting renewable causes as well as running what would be considered a very green business.

New Planet sent a bottle of all three of their brews – Tread Lightly Ale, 3R Raspbery Ale, and Off Grid Pale Ale – for your brave correspondent to try. Not only could my kids not drink, by my wife, who is 7 months pregnant, could not enjoy these tasty beers. But I could and it was a great joy.

Starting first with the Tread Lightly Ale, I found its citrus tones highly enjoyable and even tastier than a Blue Moon standard Belgian White beer. In fact, I preferred the taste of the Tread Lightly Ale over most beers I drink on a regular basis. The taste was full and the boquet quite aromatic. If you like those beers and now find yourself on a gluten free diet, you’ll be amazed by its taste. Even if you aren’t gluten free and are a beer coniseur, I highly recommend that you try it.

Next I tried the 3R Raspberry Ale. Although I love citrus undertones in a beer, I am not a fan of stronger fruit tastes like raspberry or even apple. Yet despite that fact, the 3R Raspberry surprised me in a good way. Instead of strong fruity flavors, the special puree used by New Planet creates a beautiful body color with a natural raspberry flavor that isn’t too strong nor too sweet. They won be over and I’d definately try it again.

Last, I sampled New Planet’s full-bodied ale, Off Grid Ale. This is the closest beer I have ever tasted to a traditional craft pale ale. I happen to be a big pale ale drinker so I was especially patient and focused on drinking this one. It did not disappoint. It was hard to tell the difference between it and other craft pale ales (like Boulevard) I usually drink. The brown rice extract, molasses, tapioca, and spiciness are mixed to perfection. New Planet should be extremely proud of all their beers yet to me this takes the crown as their best.

Again, New Planet is hands down the best gluten free beer available today. It puts others like Redbridge, Bards Tale, New Grist, and Green’s to shame. If you’re GF and you’re looking for the best beer available in America, look no further than New Planet Beer.

Family Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars.

So that’s it. A great gluten free holidays spent with my family and some great gluten free food products. Just because you have to be gluten free doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy great times, great food, and great beer.

Next time I’ll review some tasty gluten free desserts from Ethel’s Edibles. Be sure to read if it will satisfy your gluten free sweet tooth.

Until next time remember: gluten free doesn’t mean taste free.

We all waited – especially my 3 year-old Lightning McQueen fanatic – for the release a few weeks ago for Pixar’s big summer sequel, Cars 2.

The second in the series has our heroes Lightning McQueen and his blissfully unaware buddy Tow Mater baited into an international race by an Italian racer by the name of Francesco Berscolini. Once they travel to Tokyo for the first race in the international Grand Prix, Mater finds himself smack dab in the middle of a James Bond-like spy caper.

And that’s where Cars 2 goes horribly wrong.

Besides the fact the storyline seems a bit too convoluted and mature for younger children, the underlying political message also becomes so central to the story, parents who may have a different point of view, or perhaps simply don’t want political messages force-fed to their children, also get lost. At least that’s what happened for us.

In Cars 2, the villians are “big oil” and their attempt to foil the use of alternative fuels. Sure, there are lots of shallow story lines throughout Cars 2 but the central theme is a “green” one. And even if you’re a supporter of alternative fuel (who wouldn’t be with gas still at four bucks a gallon), the preachy lackluster plot left my kids feeling ho-hum. The spy plot was only a subtext to the anti-fossil fuel message and was simply a bore. Outside of a few minutes of race scenes, the cars don’t get to do what they do best – race. Not only that, the characters millions of kids have come to love are so sparingly used my son kept asking for them by name.

Larry Cable Guy, the voice of Mater, again carries the film. In fact, he really is the star of Cars 2. Owen Wilson, who voices Lightning McQueen, is barely a supporting character. Yet again, another odd choice by Pixar. It’s hard to tell who the star is at times and the introduction of all new characters strays from the Toy Story model of keeping – deepening – our relationship with characters from the previous film. A huge mistake in my book.

It’s always tough for sequels to live up to the original. Yet Pixar has done a good job of it in the past – especially with the Toy Story trilogy. Because of that, we expected much more of Cars 2 than it delivered.

The film, directed by the great John Lasseter, was so far off from the original, it’s hard to believe he had anything to do with the film. In fact, it played more like a direct-to-DVD release than a theatric release. The movie was such a mess, it’s really not worth the space to go in-depth here on the complete story. You can read other reviews for that.

By infusing a kids movie with such an overt political statement, my guess is Pixar and Disney will lose some of the trust they’ve built over the last 25 years. That, coupled with a poorly written and executed film, has this Pixar and Cars Dad feeling ripped off.

My guess is this release was little more than a reason to refresh the successful Cars toy line.

It certainly wasn’t to make a fun, enjoyable and endearing film.

And that’s too bad.

No stains and it's comfortable too!

As a stressed-out busy Dad of four (soon to be five) kids, sleep is a luxury. Even on a good day, with two kids under four, sleep can be hard to get even on the weekend.

As a life-long stomach sleeper, I often find it hard to find a pillow that’s comfortable for me to use. In fact, many nights I chuck the pillow on the floor (or my slumbering wife) and just go bareback.

So when the people at Mattress Giant dropped me a note asking me to try their new Silver Dual Comfort Pillow, designed specifically for stomach sleepers, they piqued my interest. Since we don’t do a lot of product reviews here at EOT (except Don who apparently keeps all of the freebies that come through), I told them I was game as long as our readers could take part. So, the good folks there said they’d not only let me try the pillow, but they’d also give one away here on the blog. Now, before you think it’s some cheap $4 pillow you pick up at the local big-box store, it is not. The pillow, valued at $99, is top-of-the-line. More on the giveaway at the end of the review.

I slept with the pillow for the first time last night after a tough day at the office. After slapping a pillow case on it (a Aquaman cover in honor of Curtis Silver…well, not really!) and doing my pre-sleep regimen, I laid down by weary head and wondered how I would review a pillow. After all, I’d be sleeping. Once you hit the pillow and are out, what is there to say? You’re out.

Recently having gained some weight and just being worn down, I haven’t slept well. Last night, I slept better than I had in a long time. Not only that, but the usual morning back pain I deal with was absent this morning. The memory foam on the surface of the pillow really supported my neck and the usual back pain was gone. After waking up to that, it wasn’t hard for me to realize the pillow actually made a different. I was skeptical that a pillow would make any difference on how I slept. I’ve just not had good experiences. That all changed with the Dual Comfort pillow.

I had such a good experience, I want a fellow Dad out there to experience it. So…thanks to the generosity of the folks at Mattress Giant, we want to spoil a Dad to a free pillow. And since we’re all manly men, I wanted to challenge YOU to compete for the free $99 pillow. So here’s how we’re going to do it:

• Take your existing pillow (after removing the prissy cover your wife or girlfriend puts on it usually) and dress it up!
• The Dad who can do the best job of decorating their pillow, wins the prize.
• There are no rules and the Dads at EOT will decide the winter via good old fashioned voting.
• Creativity is key…and you have to keep it clean. Decorate it with your favorite sports team, or other hobby-related decor. Use your heads fellas.
• Post the photo on the EOT Facebook page as your official entry.

Not to worry if you don’t win the contest. Mattress Giant, through June 30, is running a very cool giveaway/sweepstakes too. The “Treat Your Dad for Father’s Day” contest gives folks a chance to win a 32″ Toshiba HDTV, Simmons Beautyrest Ridgewood Right Side Mattress Set (King) for a total prize value of $2,268.97! Treat yourself to an extended Father’s Day by entering both contests.

Good luck!

The movie, in short, was a dud. While I had high hopes for the film — especially considering Mr. Depp’s range — it just didn’t deliver. And unlike the dialog in some of the other enjoyable kids films (Monsters Inc. comes to mind), this was for the most part way above what your average kid would appreciate. Don’t get me wrong, it was witty, but I didn’t hear any kids laughing unless a fart or burp noise was made. If the dialog was intended for the adults in the crowd, the plot surely was not.

I remember a friend telling me that The KLF wrote a book before publishing “3 AM Eternal” about the music industry. They basically said that in order to write a hit you needed to create a song that sounded “familiar” but not an exact copy of a song people already knew. This included the beat, the hook and the lyrics. If plagiarism is the way to success in music it certainly doesn’t  carry over into Hollywood, where “Rango” steals the familiar plot lines from “Antz” and “Chinatown” to create a “been there” movie.

On top of the lack of originality, the language isn’t suitable for kids. I wasn’t thinking that a kids movie would include “damn” and “hell” — and trust me, I’m far from being a Puritan. While my kids have heard those words before, being engaged in a children’s tale of a gecko fighting to prove his legitimacy doesn’t need it. In fact, recalling the opening credits and seeing the Nickelodeon logo it really was disturbing to think that any vulgar language would improve this craptastic flick.

Overall I can’t recommend the movie. There was witty banter on Rango’s part throughout the movie and the human-like qualities of the characters were very appealing, however the overall plot and lack of originality made it a film worth skipping over — even when it comes to Netflix.

How easy is it to use the machine?

Putting the BrewBot through its paces was a surprisingly easy and quick task. The machine out of the box and onto the counter was very similar to the old Senseo machine and took no time at all. The machine feels solid, even though its exterior is plastic.  Like the Senseo, you have to wash the reservoir and run 4 cups of hot water through it before consuming anything from the BrewBot. The machine brews just about anything a family could want: coffee, tea, espresso, cappuccino, lattes, crema coffees and hot chocolate. Unlike the Senseo of the old days, which only launched with coffee, the Tassimo is extremely versatile and can accommodate all sorts of tastes, varieties and ages.

Once the machine was plugged in and the water had run its course it was time to check out what makes this little machine so special. For those who’ve never used a single serve coffee maker, all of the machines in this category buzz; not like a bumble bee, but more like your wife’s plastic friend if it was powered by a car battery. Before you go and get all jealous just remember that the coffee goodness that comes out of this bad boy is all yours.

The machine brews your drink in about a minute and uses some pretty innovative technology to make a perfect cup every time. Each beverage’s contents come in small “T discs” that contain the coffee, hot chocolate, et al. A box of them is anywhere from $50-60, so a buck per disc for coffee. It’s more expensive than what you’d pay for a pound/pot of coffee but cheaper than heading to Dunkin’ or Starbucks for a cup of joe. Other varieties are similarly priced – more expensive than making it in bulk at home but cheaper than running out for the same drink.

The technology is pretty remarkable. Each t-disc has a barcode on top of it, which when inserted into the machine tells it how to prepare it perfectly every time. You can make a weaker cup of joe by pressing the large button once your coffee’s brewed if that’s your thing.

Back to the machine before we head on to the taste: It’s downright simple to use. You fill the reservoir with water, place your coffee mug on top of the holder (or remove it and put your travel mug in its place), place the T-disc in place, push the giant button and you have yourself a hot cup of coffee to go.

What about the taste?

I was given two varieties to try: Starbucks Primo Cappuccino and Gevalia Signature Blend coffee. The cappuccino is delicious, no questions asked. The Gevalia coffee leaves something to be desired in my opinion. I like different types of coffee – Americano, espresso, you name it – but this one wasn’t great. It needs milk and sugar, which isn’t how I prefer to drink my coffee, to add flavor. I’m sure there are others out there I may like but given my normal morning coffee consumption I can’t see switching from my weekend routine; that being said, I have already enjoyed a hot cappuccino on the way to work and can see having this machine handy for when my parents visit, company comes over or the kids come in this Winter for some hot chocolate.

Will my wife like it?

Let’s just say this: I’ve been in the product review and PR game for a few years now so I don’t get  overly excited to review products. We had a Senseo and eventually sold it before moving because we found that we didn’t use it very much once the free samples ran out. That was then, this is now. The machines in this category have gotten more advanced and unlike the early days when the  machine manufacturers would sign exclusivity deals (Senseo’s was with Sara Lee, and the most frequent comment was “Love the machine, hate the coffee”), today’s manufacturers are letting us decide what will give us the best possible experience.

Given our history with Senseo, I was surprised that my wife fell in love with it. In fact, this evening when I went to get the exact names of the coffee brands for this review she told me that I couldn’t have the last cappuccino. Not because it’s late and it’ll keep me up until 3 AM, but because she wants it tomorrow morning! Overall I’d say the Tassimo T-20 BrewBot is a keeper.

You can get more information on the BrewBot on their official web site here.

Now, for the fun part: You can have a BrewBot too!

Here’s what you have to do for an entry into the random drawing. Each action gets you another entry. I’ll pick someone by Thursday 12/16 at 3 PM EST to get their very own BrewBot!

1. Go to BrewBot.com and in the comments of this post tell me what flavor(s) you’d like to try.

2. Tweet that you entered to win a #tassimo #brewbot on @EOTBlog with a link to this post.

3. Join the Tassimo fan page on Facebook or follow @TassimoTaster on Twitter.  I have no idea how I’ll validate that you did this but we’ll just consider it Scout’s honor, mmmkay?

Tangled is challenging Harry Potter this holiday weekend

Ok, so I am not a big Rapunzel fan.

That aside, over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend we usually take our four kids to the movies and this weekend was no different. It just so happened that Disney Animation’s latest feature, Tangled, opened to positive reviews and lots of holiday excitement.

For the most part, we’re a Disney-heavy family. From my wife’s obsession to anything Disney (she shares a birthday with ol’ Walt himself), to my kids love of the classic to the modern, when a new Disney animated feature opens, we’re usually there that first weekend. We also vacation A LOT with the Disney folks including this year when we’ll take off on our third Disney Cruise Lines vacation. Believe me, I am counting the days until then.

The film, an updated version of the classic Rapunzel, takes the tired old story and makes it much more fun. It’s witty, it’s fun and smart in a way that will keep both adults and kids entangled in its wonderful story throughout. In fact, it’s the first Walt Disney Animation feature that ranks up there with any of the recent Pixar productions.

As part of the promotion of the film, the studio reached out to bloggers via Twitter through Klout – an online tool that measures the reach of individual influencers. Apparenlty, they know the power of the EOT audience and reached out to me with what they called a “Tangled Pack.” That’s good news for our readers as I will give away the swag Disney sent all of us.

Since they obviously had caught on that I mention Disney a lot on the blog, Facebook, and Twitter, I was lucky enough to get this swag. It was an interesting investment and a smart one for the Disney folks. We would have gone to see the film anyway, but by reaching out to influencers at all levels, it shows Disney is getting savvy with their movie promotions.

So on with the giveaway: First person to answer correctly wins a free copy of the Tangled soundtrack on CD. Mandy Moore plays Rapunzel so it’s a great CD for the kids.

Here’s the question: As a youth, Walt Disney started his training in the arts at what well-known art museum?

My family and I highly recommend the film for parents and kids alike. It’s nice to see Disney make a modern classic the whole family can enjoy.

DISCLOSURE: I was given a free product or sample because I’m a Klout influencer. I was under no obligation to receive the sample or talk about this company. I get no additional benefits for talking about the product or company.

Follow Scott on Twitter @sdgully or email him at sgulbransen@gmail.com. His personal blog, where he writes about leadership and social media, is www.scottgulbransen.com. Scott also a contributor on Technorati, to the Shamable Blog, and is the Director of Social Media & Digital Content for Applebee’s at their corporate office in Lenexa, Ks.