THE HUNGER GAMES Trilogy Review

By: Liberty Kontranowski

Teen fiction is one of the hottest genres out there. Even bona fide best selling authors of adult fiction are dabbling in the teen arena. And, why not? Aside from the ages of the characters, there are a lot of similarities between adult and teen fiction. Which is why you’ll often see a crossover in readership.

If you’re a “grown-up” who simply can’t envision yourself reading teen books, might I suggest THE HUNGER GAMES, by Suzanne Collins, and the subsequential books in the series, CATCHING FIRE and MOCKINGJAY.

Told with a vivid candor, all three of these books relate the dark tale of a teenaged girl living in a post-apocalyptic world. When Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take the place of her 12-year-old sister in The Hunger Games, a televised fight-to-the-death “reality show” held in a dangerous arena, her life changes forever.

Action-packed, violent and impeccably paced, these novels surprise the reader at every turn. If you have a weak stomach, be advised. These tales are very visual in their context and no detail is left untold.

With the underlying themes of first love, commitment, friendship and finding oneself, this trilogy does a fantastic job capturing human nature at its rawest. There is also heavy use of a political theme, which keeps adult characters in the mix at all times. We all know that where there are teens and adults interacting, there is bound to be plenty of conflict.

While I’m not normally a huge fan of dark science fiction, I could not put these books down for anything. Several nights of compromised sleep (both from the hours spent reading and from the non-stop thinking about these stories and their characters) were my end result for giving THE HUNGER GAMES a shot. I must say, it was all totally worth it.

With the movie rights to THE HUNGER GAMES having been sold to LionsGate, now is the time to read all three books. Create Katniss’ world in your own mind, then see what the Hollywood types produce for us. Either way, I promise you’ll be entertained.

**

Liberty Kontranowski is a freelance writer and guest blogger for AccessRx.com, which covers current health & wellness news in their blog. Customers can also purchase prescription medications online in the convenience of their own home or office.

Carpet cleaning that's worth it!

Image Cleaning Systems is an Orem-based carpet cleaning service that actually does the job right, so I want to let you guys know about it.

Here’s the deal: this guy just got frustrated with shoddy workmanship, so he started up his own gig. He wanted to do the job right, so now he does it himself. Here are a few tips I picked up about carpet cleaning from this guy.

My wife and I have a few nephews still in diapers, so sometimes spit-up can be a bit of a concern. Have you ever tried to get that stuff out of your carpet? Not fun. Even when you think you’ve got it taken care of, they can magically reappear. After one event of particular violent spit-up, we had a mess to clean up and a welcoming party for our new apartment in a couple days. Our friendly Orem carpet cleaner couldn’t make it out for a day or two because he had that many appointments, so here’s what we tried until he could show up:

The supplies:

·         Baking soda

·         Club soda

·         Washrags

·         Water

·         Spray bottle

·         Detergent or OxyClean

·         Old toothbrush

The method:

We toweled up everything we could first (thanks, Quicker Picker Upper). If you have a spectacular carpet and want to make sure all traces of chunkiness is gone, use that old toothbrush. Our carpet is lame and we needed the apartment carpets cleaned, anyway (lame landlord), so we figured the towel did the job.

Then we put down a layer of baking soda right over the offending area. Then (after a trip to the grocery store for club soda and a spray bottle), we sprayed club soda over the baking soda. The result? Alka-Seltzer on our bedroom floor.

The problem with cleaning stains out of the carpet yourself is that most people have a tendency to rub their carpet thin. When you scrub the carpet, you tear at its backing until you’ve nearly compromised that area of the carpet. Now instead of preserving the look of the carpet, you’ve actually worn it out. With that being said, my wife and I used wash rags and DABBED the area until we got the soda out.

It looked great, but we knew these stains had a tendency to come back. Some people use OxyClean for this part, but we’re poor, so laundry detergent was our way to go. We mixed a capful of detergent into a gallon of water and started applying. It’s just like a concentrated wash in the washer machine, minus the machine.

If you’ve got to soak the heck out of your carpet just to make yourself feel better, I can’t stop you. Soaking the backing weakens the glue, though, so make sure you have a wet/dry vac if you get over-zealous. Let the concoction stand for a couple of hours and get it out with towels (and/or your wet/dry vac). The stain was gone for our party, and the Orem carpet cleaner (also found on Google as a Provo carpet cleaner) came later and did an astounding job at a stellar price on the rest of the apartment.

Silver & Grace Online Magazine for Women Over Forty

Coffee klatsch - a casual social gathering for coffee and conversation

Most of the women in my mother's generation did not work outside of the house, but they had a definite support system amongst themselves. The coffee klatsch. They would gather in someone's kitchen, drink coffee or tea, and converse. Converse about children, husbands, and their own changing bodies, minds, and spirits.

In this era of double income families, chauffeuring children to extra-curricular activities, and taking care of our aging parents, there is little time or energy left for socializing. The coffee klatsch is becoming a thing of the past, and with it the support system women had in place for each other.

Enter Silver & Grace. I started Silver & Grace as a blog because I wanted to face the changes associated with perimenopause and menopause with informed grace. Soon, women were joining in, sharing their challenges, joys, and wisdom. A community was forming. In fact, a regular coffee klatsch was taking place. Not at a single table, but from tables all over the world.

Recently, Silver & Grace has matured from blog to online magazine. The coffee klatsch is still very much there, but with more diverse perspectives from a wonderful team of writers. All the articles are geared to women over forty, and cover the following topics: Relationship; Health & Wellness; Business & Careers; Fashion & Style; Technology; Travel.

Silver & Grace is completely free, with articles posted Monday through Friday. No sign up involved. Just show up at http://silverandgrace.com, coffee mug in hand. There is also a free monthly newsletter with additional articles on aging gracefully, exercises to enhance your spiritual well-being, thoughts on aging from our writers, as well as discounts and promotions only available to subscribers. You can sign up at http://silverandgrace.com/silver-grace-newsletter.

I love this 'crone stage' of life, but it is not without its challenges. Silver & Grace is all about community, support and sharing. It is the ultimate coffee klatsch.

Bio: Eliza Fayle is founder and editor of Silver & Grace. She is passionate about embracing the crone stage of life, and it is her mission to guide graceful women into beautiful aging.

Cincinnati Reds

I live in Pittsburgh and there is only one time when I like to go to the Pittsburgh Pirates home, PNC Park. It is when the Cincinnati Reds are in town. Thankfully it happens a few times a year, and it's easy to get tickets to those games. I have been a Reds fan since I was knee high to my father and uncles. It's just what I grew up knowing. I especially like it when they come to town during a weekend where my dad and some his brothers can come spend a few days with me. There is nothing better than hosting a weekend to the very family members who taught me to appreciate the Reds the way they do.

My favorite players are Bronson Arroyo and Corky Miller, so I never miss a chance to see them play in person when I can. Even though I have to sit with Pirates fans, they are very good-natured about the teasing I usually give them. On the rare occasion, they can even give it back when their team is up! Regardless, it is a good atmosphere and we all end up having a great time.

I have a satellite TV from bestchoicetv and a big screen television, so when I can't go to the games, I enjoy watching them in my den. It's just very relaxing and I hope to teach my kids the same appreciation for the team that I was taught.

Mixing work with pleasure in Mexico

Guest post written by my buddy Bernardo Graham

Who says business and pleasure can't mix? For the most part, I enjoy traveling, whether it may be to other cities within the USA or cities in Latin America. As a bilingual Californian who lives on the US - Mexico border I frequently am asked by my boss to head south of the border for meetings with Mexican clients. The company I work for has a pretty straightforward mission. Basically we work closely with Mexican and Costa Rican citizens to build and upkeep rental properties so that foreign tourists can enjoy the exotic culture and environment of these two countries.

Personally, I love spending time overseas. I'm usually sent to these countries for 2 weeks. While overseas I have a pretty simple work routine. I'm basically free to roam whatever city I have been assigned to, as long as I keep in contact with the foreign clients so that they can call me in at any time to meet with them, or help them out with something.

In my spare time I pretty much just sample the wonderful local foods, and brush up on the country's history. Many people criticize a transient lifestyle like mine, but I don't mind it. I am looking forward to the next time I can throw my gear in the suitcase, set my home security system and hit the road.

Can't Wait For New Fall Shows!

Post contributed by Leonard Phelps

Well it's almost that time again and I have to be honest and say that I simply can't wait to see the series premiere of Mike & Molly on CBS! This is definitely going to be a must watch on the channels that cable tv offers around California. This show looks like it is going to be absolutely hilarious too. I know that the two main stars of the sitcom are Billy Gardell and Melissa McCarthy, but I'm not sure who else will be in the show. For what I've seen, these two actors seem to have a good chemistry so it will be a lot of fun to see what kind of a relationship transpires.

From the commercials that I've seen so far, it looks really cute. Apparently, the whole show takes place in Chicago and this cop and school teacher both go to the same Overeaters Annonymous meeting. While at the meeting, they end up sparking up a conversation and become friends. While they are getting to know each other better they have to put up with the unwanted opinions of their friends and family members, as well as Mike police partner. As with any sitcom, the rest is history.

I hope that the show ends up being as good as I think it will be. I definitely know I will be glued to the television on September 20th!

5 Tips on Nurturing Your Child’s Spiritual Development

1. As a part of the early introduction and orientation to a child’s chosen faith, a discussion on the existence of children of other faiths, and why they should not be feared nor dominated, but simply respected, should be had.

PURPOSE: This investment at an early age will mitigate the confusion and possible fears that may occur when the child unexpectedly and abruptly comes face-to-face with a child of another faith. This orientation will have to come at some point, and an effort on the part of the parents enables some modicum of control over how this message is conveyed.

2. As a normal course of ‘after school conversation,’ probe the child to see if there are any children in their classes that they are slightly uncomfortable with, or have questions of. Whether this leads to a discussion of spiritual diversity, or simply the possibility of a bully or other like situation, the end result is only positive.

PURPOSE: To proactively assist your child in the orientation to children of other faiths and other differences in general.

3. In the formative years of pre-k, participate in reading children’s stories that use the ‘meeting a strange character’ as their plot, and talk about it with the child as you read through the story. Pose questions such as, ‘have you ever met someone that seemed strange at first, but once you got to know him…’

PURPOSE: This type of conversation lays the foundation for a discussion on spiritual diversity at a later age. At this point, you are simply teaching the lessons of respect and understanding, life-long principles that are timeless.

4. Advance the premise of # 3 to reading stories that actually do touch on spiritual diversity. This may be a bit self serving in that the only entity that we are aware of that has attempted to broach this subject in this manner is Little Lamb Properties.

PURPOSE: This is simple the process of maturing the spiritual development of the child as they start putting form and shape to children of   other faiths.

5. When the time is right, and IF the child shows an interest and aptitude – and only you, the parent can decide this – a discussion and overview of the major faiths in the world may be appropriate. In the process, a discussion of why the parents have chosen the faith that they have will come to light. It is suggested that this conversation may be more appropriate in a group session led by someone who has some familiarity with the subject.

PURPOSE: To develop the child’s appreciation and identification with their own faith, while continuing and solidifying the message of spiritual respect and compassion for children of other faiths.

REMEMBER, IF YOU DON’T MAKE THE EFFORT TO INTRODUCE THE PREMISE OF OTHER FAITHS TO YOUR CHILD, SOMEONE ELSE WILL AND IN A WAY THAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE TO YOUR LIKING.

This guest post was written by Randy Nash, father and co-founder of Little Lamb Properties, LLC.

Little Lamb Properties, LLC and its New Spiritual Child Development™ program provides an avenue to introduce your child to the existence of other faiths in ways that foster respect and understanding. Scripture and beliefs unique to any one religion are left at the door. One way this is accomplished is through a series of fun-loving media characters of multiple faiths that behave and interact like children – they laugh, they live and they love their pals without prejudice or fear. Website: http://www.littlelambkidz.com/