Battle Hymn - Wild Turkey

Advantages: Classic old-school heavy metal songs on more diverse topics than the band usually covers.
Disadvantages: Weak and simplistic compared to the second album and others, due to temporary line-up.

...Manowar's debut is widely regarded as a classic of early 80s heavy metal before the spawning of 'false metal' glam acts, as well as Manowar's own increasing movement towards self-parody, robbed the genre of its credibility. That's not to say that 'Battle Hymns,' for all its legacy, is an entirely sombre and sinister affair, featuring the band's usual ridiculous lyrics on numerous themes from bikes to heavy metal to ancient battles, but sung over music that remains true to the spirit and sound of early, simplistic metal without any of the pompous excess that would later turn the band into a laughing stock. Collecting most of the songs recorded by the band in the previous two years, 'Battle Hymns' is something of a mixed bag with songs heading in often wildly different directions, the earlier pieces tending more towards a party... Read review

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Advantages: a place to rediscover forgotten cultures; beautiful landscape
Disadvantages: huge distances to cover

...You don't need to fly all the way to Central Asia, South America or Central Africa to discover untouched territory. Southeast Turkey bears a treasure of undiscovered culture and nature - little known even by most Turks, let alone western tourists. This is the land of the ancient Mesopotamia, the world's first real civilisation (that is if you don't believe in Atlantis), from 12 thousand years ago. Embedded between mountain ranges and the rivers of Euphrates and Tigris, this region has been the source of legends for generations. Let yourself be mystified. This part of Southeast Anatolia is part of the Kurdish territory, and has been barred from visits for decades due to severe security threats. But since late 1999, this part of Kurdistan is open to visitors again, and you may only have a few years to discover this region before... Read review

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Advantages: A generally nice animated film
Disadvantages: Lacks orignality, and it's no Monsters Inc!

...We were meant to be going to a party last night, but unfortunately it was cancelled. Hubby and I went onto plan B - DVDs, pizza and a bottle of vodka and diet coke! We went to Blockbusters and bought DVDs from the 3 for £20 range of ex-rentals (therefore costing £6.66 per DVD). We bought 3 each, and one of my 3 was "The Wild" - Disney's 46th Animated Classic (according to the DVD box). In general hubby and I love animated films - I had heard some not so good comments about this film, but I was prepared to give it the benefit of the doubt. Background If you've seen the film "Madagascar", you will immediately notice similarities?..animals in Central Park Zoo in New York?escape to experience being in the wild. However, the story is a little bit different, and I certainly think it's worth seeing "The Wild" even if... Read review

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