The Great Evaluation: Archive

A Royal Affair

I put this movie in my Netflix queue on a whim, thinking that it was some vaguely boring BBC drama which would make good background noise for filling papers or something. Boy, was I wrong. This film was the most compelling I have seen in a long time. Most movies I watch, I check the time about thirty minutes in to decide whether to quit or push through to the end. With this movie, I had the...

May 3rd

Mirror Mirror

The original trailer for Mirror Mirror looked awful. A mish-mash of Julia Roberts looking terribly miscast as the evil queen, Nathan Lane acting extremely awkward, and the dwarves delivering gems such as, “Snow White? Snow Way!” made me want to actively avoid this movie. It didn’t help that on Rotten Tomatoes the critics were split and even those who liked it weren’t...

Oct 11th

Sinful Colors Professional Nail Polish

Revlon, Loreal, OPI, Salley Hansen, Orly, Nicole, Spoiled, Milani, Bon Bons, Nutra Nail, N.Y.C, Essie, Wet N’ Wild, Maybelline…if you can name a brand of nail polish, I have probably tried it at some point in my prolific ten years of polishing my nails. One of the few that had stood out is Orly simply because they are clever enough to put a rubber top on the nail polish so you...

Sep 15th

The Adventures of Tintin

Today I would like to recommend a film that bombed at the US box office: The Adventures of Tintin. It’s based on a series of comic books by a Belgian man and children in other parts of the world were raised on these stories. He’s like their Encylopedia Brown, only he has a dog named Snowball that can communicate, he has his own apartment, and his enemies are a bit more sophisticated...

Apr 23rd

Chik-fil-A: Banana Pudding Milkshake

If you love banana pudding, but always end up thinking to yourself, “This would be so much better through a straw,” then this is the dessert for you. I received a coupon for a free shake while at work and immediately planned to go straight after I punched out. ”Wow, you don’t waste any time,” my co-worker jibed. ”I’ve been waiting my whole life for...

Apr 5th

Mistress of Rome

I’ve been a fairly avid reader ever since I got into the Boxcar Children around the age of 9. Something about them drinking milk in what amounted to a metal shed seemed incredibly rebellious to me somehow. Over the years, I’ve picked hundreds of books off the library shelves by judging them by their covers and reading about three sentences. I usual quit about 80% of them within the...

Mar 19th

Glade Carpet & Odor Eliminator

I had just moved into a new apartment and liked everything from the carpet to the tiny dishwasher to the well-lit computer nook. So imagine my dismay when I opened up one of the closets and it smelled like a retirement home for the Borrowers. Naturally, I tried Febreezing the smell which simply added a cranberry layer to the scent of geriatric socks. My next step in the process was to Google...

Mar 12th

Temple Grandin

Usually “feel-good” movies involve sports or cartoon characters and/or poor cinematography. Temple Grandin the movie, just like actual woman, breaks the mold. I’m not a person who particularly enjoys writing snappy plot summaries, so I’ll just tell you that the film stars Claire Danes as Temple Grandin, an autistic woman who has trouble connecting with people but who can...

Feb 20th

Sophie's Revenge

I think that if we’re all honest with ourselves, we can admit that we are in the dark ages of American chick flicks. After all, The Holiday was good…six years ago. Awhile back I was perusing Netflix when I happened upon an Asian movie called Sophie’s Revenge. It stars Ziyi Zhang whom you might know as the main girl in Memoirs of a Geisha and Hero. This was her first comedic...

Feb 7th

Chaps Jeans

My relationship with Kohl’s is complicated, but the one thing that keeps me coming back are Chaps jeans. I’ve owned $20 jeans, $100 jeans, and everything in between but these are definitely the best for my one quarter Italian behind. They have just the right amount of stretch and height. I actually fell asleep in my jeans the other day which is about as common as a solar eclipse or...

Jan 22nd

1 note

tumblrbot asked: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE INANIMATE OBJECT?

Jan 16th

The Moth Radio Hour

If Public Radio stations were desserts, Michigan would be a slice of heaven from the Cheesecake Factory. While other NPR stations can’t stop talking about basketball, baroque, or banking, Michigan focuses on cultural and human interest stories. They have a program called The Moth Radio Hour that showcases a wide range of story-telling talent: they have everyone from cops to immigrants to British...

Jan 16th

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser

About a week ago I was dying my hair black (sorry mom) (and grandma) and an hour later I looked at the sink and noticed that I had dripped dye onto it. If you’ve ever used hair dye before you’ll understand that my first thought wasn’t, “I wonder how to get that out,” but rather, “I wonder how much I’ll get charged for that.” I tried my usual go-to of rubbing alcohol with minimal success and...

Jan 15th

Conclusion

Update: Dear Readers, I wanted you to know that I stopped keeping my blog current in part because taking pictures of normal food with a standard camera can be tedious and in part because I now hate shopping at Walmart. Not only are the service, lighting, and acoustics poor, but now they have installed TVs at the end of aisles that make you feel like you’re in Minority Report. Overall,...

Jan 10th

Sargento vs. Great Value

Round 22 Price Comparison: Sargento Provolone: $3.38 Great Value Provolone: $2.68 Test: Given my love for cheese, I figured pitting Sargento provolone against Great Value provolone was only natural. Unlike gummy bears, cheese is not my expert field. I have never taken a class discussing cheese nuance and all of my cheese comes in what the French consider to be...

Jul 1st

Hungry Jack vs. Great Value

Round 21 Price Comparison: Hungry Jack Pancake Mix: $1.78 Great Value Pancake Mix: $1.57 Test: Salt, butter, and attitude is what I tasted when biting into the Hungry Jack pancake. My mind instantly flooded with memories of depressing Saturday morning cartoons, melted chocolate chips, and pancake hangovers. I appreciated the taste, but the pancake seemed...

Apr 25th

Great Find: Key Lime Pie Dessert Cup

If you like lime and you enjoy relatively low-calorie, yet decadent desserts then you will love this Great Value product. It’s not ice cream, but rather a substance with far more mysterious properties like the treat version of Flubber. (And yes, I apologize for referencing that movie.) On top are small pieces of white chocolate, followed by cold, creamy lime. The bottom is layered with...

Feb 28th

1 note

Cool Whip vs. Great Value

Round 20 Initial Comparison: Cool Whip: .98₵ Great Value Whipped Topping: .88₵ Appearance: As with the wheat crackers and potato soup, Great Value looked yellower (that’s totally a word -check it.) Smell: Same. Texture: Same. Taste: The generic Great Value tasted clean, pure, and crisp like a particularly tasty cumulus cloud. In contrast, the name brand...

Jan 31st

Jello vs. Great Value

Round 19 Initial Comparison: Strawberry Jello Brand: 52₵ Great Value Strawberry Gelatin: 38₵ Appearance: As usual, the name brand directions seemed designed for the visually or cooking impaired which I appreciated. In terms of the actual gelatin, Great Value looked a bit cloudier. Smell: The scent wafting from the generic Great Value Gelatin was that of...

Jan 16th

1 note

Dole vs. Great Value

Round 18 Initial Comparison: Dole Mandarin Oranges in light syrup: 62 ₵ Great Value Mandarin Oranges in light syrup: 86 ₵ Preparation: Rinse off lids and open cans. For some reason, it took five times longer to open the generic Great Value can than the brand name Dole one. Appearance: The Dole mandarin oranges appeared to be glowing fruit jewels of...

Jan 1st

Calm Before the Storm

Black Friday Cometh…

Nov 25th

Really Great Value?

Nov 16th

Toll House vs. Pillsbury vs. Great Value

Round 17 Unofficial test: I consumed all three of these brands of cookie dough within a relatively short amount of time although I did not conduct an official test. However, they were all baked in the same oven after following the directions and I thought my impressions were worth sharing. Pillsbury: The uncooked dough tasted acceptable but the cookies reminded me of the Pillsbury Doughboy...

Nov 16th

Lean Cusine vs. Great Value

Round 16 Initial Comparison: Lean Cuisine Alfredo Pasta w/ Chicken & Broccoli: 1.98 for 10 Great Value Alfredo Pasta w/ Chicken & Broccoli: 1.68 for 10 oz Preparation: Heat dinners, peel off plastic, and reheat. Great Value’s plastic seemed more likely to awkwardly rip into little shreds. Appearance: The name brand Lean Cuisine looked livelier than its store brand competition as if...

Nov 7th

Nature's Pride vs. Great Value

Round 15 Initial Comparison: Nature’s Pride Whole Wheat Bread: 1.68 for 10 oz Great Value Wheat Bread: 1.98 for 10 oz Preparation: De-twisty tie bread and select the fourth slice. Appearance: The actual bread looked similar with the only discernible difference being that Nature’s Pride was a bit lighter. This time Great Value’s packaging did not look like it...

Oct 26th

Potential Pancake Disaster

Article from The Consumerist I’ll have to keep this in mind if I do a cooking spray test at some point…

Oct 21st

Hershey's vs. Great Value

Round 14 Initial Comparison: Hershey’s Milk Chocolate (6 pack) : 3.18 for 263 g Great Value Milk Chocolate (6 pack) : 2.00 for 263 g Preparation: Unwrap candy bars. Appearance: Their packaging looked similar. The name brand Hershey’s bar had its name imprinted in that thin, innocent font. The generic Great Value had little patterns...

Oct 3rd

1 note

Mrs. Butterworth's vs. Great Value

Round 13 Initial Comparison: Mrs. B’s Sugar Free Syrup: 2.86 for 24 oz or 11.9 Great Value Sugar Free Syrup: 1.88 for 24 oz or 7.8 Preparation: Remove the seals and prepare pancakes for added tasting realism. Appearance: Mrs. Butterworth has a comely figure, what some might refer to as zaftig in nature. Her visage echoes of a simpler time with...

Sep 24th

Campbell's vs. Great Value

Round 12 Initial Comparison: Campbell’s : 1.50 for 2.8 oz or 8 cents/oz Great Value: 1.38 for 2.8 oz or 7.3 cents/oz Preparation: Pop open the tops of both cans of baked potato soup. Slop into bowls. Appearance: The color of the Great Value potato soup was that of middle aged people’s toenails. This is the third time the Great Value product has been more...

Sep 16th

10 tags

Frosted Shredded Wheat vs. Great Value

Round 11 Initial : Frosted Shredded Wheat: 2.68 for 18 oz or 14.9 cents/oz Great Value: 2.50 for 24 oz or 10.4 cents/oz Preparation: Pour equal amounts of cereal into bowls and add skim milk. Appearance: The generic Great Value cereal looked as if it someone with deft hands had spun it through a wheat loom, lining up the little rows of fiber...

Sep 9th

Haribo Gummy Bears vs. Great Value

Round 10 Initial Comparison: Haribo: 97 cents 5 oz or 19.4 cents/oz Great Value: 1.00 for 9 oz or 11.1 cents/oz Preparation: Open gummy bears. The Haribo bagged ripped nicely on the corner, but then later proceeded to split down the back anyway. Appearance: The Haribo gummies looked like handsome devils as they stood tall and strong with their limbs...

Sep 2nd

10 tags

Kraft Mac & Cheese vs. Great Value

Round 9 Initial Comparison: Kraft: 74 cents for 7.25 oz or 10.2 cents/oz Great Value: 50 cents for 7.25 oz or 6.9 cents/oz Preparation: Rarely in my life have I consumed Macaroni & Cheese with butter and so the test was conducted without the aforementioned lard. However, I did prepare the pastas identically and according to the exact directions. I...

Aug 26th

10 tags

Chewy Bars vs. Great Value

Round 8 Initial Comparison: Chewy Bars: $3.38 for 15.2 oz or 22.4 cents/oz Great Value: $2.98 for 15.2 oz or 19.6 cents/oz Preparation: Open both variety packs which include the flavors chocolate chunk, peanut butter chocolate chip, and s’mores. Great Value opens at the top which makes it more difficult to choose flavors unlike Chewy which opens...

Aug 19th

10 tags

Yoplait vs. Great Value

Round 7 Initial Comparison: Yoplait Light: .50 for 6 oz or 8.3 cents/oz Great Value Light: .40 for 6 oz or 6.7 cents/oz Preparation: Pull off both lids. Yoplait’s lid sticks all the way around the top of container like a little barnacle so it is harder to get detach than Great Value’s which has a pull tab. As an aside, I find Yoplait’s attempts to pass...

Aug 12th

10 tags

La Preferida vs. Great Value

Round 6 Initial Comparison: La Preferida Fat Free: $1.77 for 16 oz or 11 cents/oz Great Value Fat Free: $0.82 for 16 oz or 5 cents/oz Preparation: Open cans of beans Appearance: Both were the same shade of brown/orange. Great Value appeared chunkier like peanut butter whereas La Preferida had more of an applesauce look about it. Smell: The...

Aug 5th

10 tags

Wheat Thins vs. Great Value

Round 5 Initial Comparison: Wheat Thins:$2.98 for 10 oz or 29.8 cents/oz Great Value: $1.34 for 10 oz or 13.4 cents/oz Preparation: Open boxes. Appearance: Each brands’ cracker was perforated with nine holes. The Great Value crackers had very distinctive holes and the Wheat Thins’ holes looked more like dents. In addition, the Great Value...

Jul 29th

1 note

10 tags

Oreos vs. Great Value

Round 4 Initial Comparison: Oreos:$2.50 for 18 oz or 15.5/oz Great Value: $1.77 for 18 oz or 9.9/oz Preparation: Open packages. Oreo cookies are resealable which is nice. I chose to taste test Double Stuff versions of the cookies because I love frosting and will seize any opportunity to consume more of it. Appearance: Both looked dark like hearty soil...

Jul 22nd

10 tags

Jif vs. Great Value

Round 3 Initial Comparison: Jif: 3.42 for 28 oz or 8.5 cents an oz Great Value: 2.38 for 28 oz or 12.3 cents an oz Preparation: Take the lids and seals off. Aside: I do not understand why they make such tiny rectangular lips on the seals. When I’m 60, I won’t be able to open peanut butter which will be truly tragic. Appearance: Their containers bore much resemblance...

Jul 15th

4 notes

10 tags

Ruffles vs. Great Value

Round 2 Initial Comparison: Ruffles: 3.28 for 10 oz or 32.8 cents an oz Great Value: 1.75 for 12oz or 14.6 cents an oz Preparation: Open chip bag. Appearance: Neither brand of chip had any especially peculiar shaped chips, but their “defective” chips looked completely different. Some of the Great Value chips appeared singed around the outside, whereas a...

Jul 8th

10 tags

Crystal Light vs. Great Value

Round 1 Initial Comparison: Crystal Light: $2.98 for 3.2 oz or $0.93/oz Great Value: $1.98 for 3.2 oz or $0.62/oz Preparation: Add water to yellow power and stir until all the grit is gone. Appearance: Both had the same faintly yellow, watery appearance as if someone had just cleaned off a yellow paint brush in it after creating a...

Jul 1st