What do we like this week? Great speaker, a catchy tune, locally-grown salad, environmentally friendly dishwasher detergent and a new offering for wing lovers are just some of our favorite things.
The Orb Mod1 Plus Home Theater speaker system -- This system, currently on sale at the company's Web site (orbaudio.com) for $999, features five single orb speakers, which are sleek, stylish and mod-looking, a Super Eight audiophone subwoofer and a Yamaha RX-V367 receiver (along with cables and speaker wire). There are many configurations at all price ranges available on The Orb site. I got the chance to test drive a Mod1 system recently and it was quite an experience. The 200-watt subwoofer had the floor rumbling and when balanced with a surround of the unobtrusive and attractive orbs, I could close my eyes and believe I was in a cinema or, when music was playing, at a dance club. Some surround systems I've experienced have been muddy and disappointing, but this set up suffered from none of that. This made it especially satisfying when playing back classic jazz records of the '50s and '60s with deep acoustic bass response and no woof. Looking at the range of components, I feared set-up would be cumbersome, but it was the opposite. The subwoofer connects with an RCA cable and the Orbs each have one-touch posts. Push down, slip the speaker wire through and let up and you're good to go. Although the Orbs come in a range of finishes -- polished white, metallic black, polished steel, antiqued copper and antiqued bronze -- and with a number of mounting options, I liked the basic black and white. You may also be happy to know these babies are made in the U.S. Like me, you can also try the Orb systems out for 30 days with no hassle. -- Bobby Tanzilo
"I Pray for You," by Jaron and the Long Road to Love -- Popster Jaron Lowenstein, one half of of the twin duo Evan and Jaron, released a solo country effort in June and it features one of the summer's most fun tunes, "I Pray for You."
The lyrics for this breakup tune are more than fun, they're funny. The video, featuring Jamie Pressly, while corny is kinda funny too. Here's a sample of the lyrics: "I pray your brakes go out runnin' down a hill. I pray a flower pot falls from a window sill. And knocks you in the head like I'd like to. I pray your birthday comes and nobody calls. I pray you're flyin' high when your engine stalls. I pray all your dreams never come true. Just know wherever you are, honey, I pray for you." Need a light-hearted listen today? Check out this tune. -- Jeff Sherman
Method Smarty Dish Dishwasher Detergent -- Yup, I'm that guy. The one that used to stand in the detergents and cleaners aisle comparing the levels of phosphorus in the various options. Nowadays most every grocery store has more environmentally friendly options, which means I spend less time reading the labels. I recently tried Method's new dishwasher detergent. They come in tablet form (and in a couple scents but I prefer the free of perfume and dye variety), which made me skeptical. I haven't had a lot of luck with tablets dissolving and getting the job done, but the Method ones dissolved just fine. And the dishes were as clean as can be. But what's really exciting is that in addition to actually working -- which is more than I can say for some dishwasher soaps, phosphorus or no -- these are naturally derived and non-toxic, with no bleach and no phosphates. Now I can save even more time comparison shopping. As my cousin Mario says, "problema? soluzione." -- Bobby Tanzilo
Growing Power salad mix -- It's always a pleasure to support Growing Power, a non-profit organization in Milwaukee dedicated, among other missions, to provide healthy, high-quality food to all people. But regardless of where this lettuce mix comes from, it's delicious. This container is packed with a mixture of green and red lettuces, arugula, beet greens, pea shoots, red mustard, spinach, sunflower shoots, chard and watercress. The salad is so fresh and hardy I can eat it in a wrap as the main ingredient, along with a thin layer of cream cheese and a few drops of hot sauce. Get it at The Outpost. -- Molly Snyder
"Dry" wings from Buffalo Wild Wings -- As our Milwaukee Wings Challenge showed, I'm not a fan of saucy wings, choosing the more flavorful (and less messy) dry options from places like Points East Pub. A recent visit to Buffalo Wild Wings led me to discover their dry offerings, which might very well force me to change my earlier vote. Available in four flavors -- salt and vinegar, chipotle BBQ, Desert Heat and Buffalo -- dry-wing lovers now have reason to sit, play trivia, swill beer and watch games all day long. Plus, green freaks will appreciate the amount of napkins saved. -- Andrew Wagner
