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The Hunger Games: A Review

02/14/2012 By Leave a Comment

I like to rebel against anything everyone likes.  When everyone else is reading a book and raving about it, I ignorantly convince myself that I wouldn’t like it, it’s not my thing, not for me.  However after getting sucked into The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series, I am starting to jump on bandwagons on a regular basis.  The Hunger Games being one.  I will say the deciding factor in reading this book was seeing the movie trailer and being extremely intrigued.  If you haven’t seen it Click Here to watch it.  I started reading this book at ten o’clock last night….I finished at 4:56 this morning.  Now I am typically a fast reader, but I normally don’t stay up that late to finish a book.  (and yes I am silently hating myself for it, because I really want to go back to bed right now)

Once you get out of high school or college, you just get to read for fun, which was a completely new idea to me.  I like to read chick lit, nothing too heavy, just good old fashioned fun.  So needless to say The Hunger Games is a departure for me, as was The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (which I also suggest reading)  After reading the book jacket, I thought – “wow every english teachers’ dream”.  It’s a complex story of survival, love, out of control government, morality and a scary glimpse into a very scary future.

I could probably write about it for days and summing it up here seems almost impossible.

The story follows one girl in a quest for survival, during her country’s “Hunger Games”.  Panem, which used to be North America is ruled by The Capital and has 12 districts.  Every year, one boy and one girl are chosen from each district to fight to the death in the Hunger Games.  Katniss, the heroine volunteers in place of her younger sister with no realistic hope of survival.  She doesn’t think much of herself at all, but has promised her sister that she will try her best to come back to her.  Thus begins her journey.  I won’t go into detail about what happens, because you need to read the book yourself.  I will tell you that there is a love triangle of sorts, some great action scenes and it is a page turner.  You won’t be bored.

The underlying themes of corrupt and overpowering government are reminiscent of George Orwell’s 1984, albeit in a more savage setting.  This book makes you think.  It makes you think about the choices you would make and just how far things can go when a cruel and totalitarian regime takes over a government.  I can’t wait to watch the movie and I really hope they do a good job with it.  I also can’t wait to read the next book in the series, although I think I am going to get some sleep first.  Read the book.  Just trust me on this one and read it today!

Filed Under: Entertainment, Gypsy Books

Rita Ballou’s Hollywood Hullaballou

01/26/2012 By Leave a Comment

Auf Wiedersehen to Heidi and Seal’s marriage…

 

Like Heidi always says, you are either in or you are out…and it looks like Seal is out. Heidi Klum from Project Runway and her one name husband Seal surprised their friends, family and fans when they released this press announcement Sunday:

 

“While we have enjoyed seven very loving, loyal and happy years of marriage, after much soul-searching we have decided to separate. “We have had the deepest respect for one another throughout our relationship and continue to love each other very much, but we have grown apart. This is an amicable process and protecting the well-being of our children remains our top priority, especially during this time of transition. “We thank our family, friends, and fans for their kind words of support. And for our children’s sake, we appreciate you respecting our privacy.” 

 

Seal apparently fueled rumors that they couple was splitting the sheets when on Friday he tweeted:

 

“The End”

 

Ouch.

 

So what is next for this no-longer power couple?  Well, they are going to continue to co-parent their four youngeons as Heidi remains the host of Project Runway and Seal heads Down Under to be a judge on the Australian version of “The Voice”.

 

Cashing in on her 15 minutes of fame…

 

In reality show news, Kyle Richards from the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills released her first book entitled “Life Is Not a Reality Show: Keeping It Real With the Housewife Who Does It All” last week. In the book she gives tips on everything from how to deal with a cheating spouse to how to get shiny, super long, age inappropriate hair just like hers. If you don’t want to buy the book, but still want to know the answer…Kyle swears she uses Pantene shampoo on her hair. Oops, I leaked the secret.

 

Look, reality television is my guilty pleasure and I love to watch all of the Real Housewives shows on Bravo because it is mind numbing entertainment, plain and simple…but I am not sure I need to take advice on how to “keep it real” from someone living in Beverly Hills, who also just happens to be Paris Hilton’s aunt.

 

I am going to pass on this one .

 

Have your own “most dramatic rose ceremony EVER”… 

 

If you have ever wanted to know how it would feel to spend the night in the Bachelor/Bachelorette house? Well, depending on the filming schedule, now you can!  The Spanish-style estate in Agoura, California where the ABC television show is filmed rents for $2,100 a night, $13,225 a week or $35,225 for the entire month.

 

The six bedroom, nine bathroom 8,000 square foot house even comes with its own she-she name, “Villa de la Vina”…which I am going to assume  loosely translates into “House of the Desperate Fame Seeking Bimbo”.

 

I wouldn’t mind spending some time lounging around the mansion, but there would be no way I would even put a toe into that hot tub…some cooties you can’t kill no matter how much chlorine you use.

-Rita

 

Filed Under: Entertainment, Gypsy Books, Movies & TV, Music

How Good Are You?

12/30/2011 By Leave a Comment

I love, love, love this book!  It is an easy read and so fun.  It really makes you stop and think with the little things it says.

It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be by Paul Arden

It’s really an easy question, how good do you want to be, what are you willing to do?  What are you willing to give up to be that?  It’s a book of short simple stories or questions that make you smile, laugh and really think!  I love it!  It makes you think.  You don’t have to be the best at anything, only at being you!  I can read it over and over again and it makes me feel so creative.  With the everyday worries of business I forget the simple things that got me where I am today.

I love how he and I look at failing.  I fail at a lot of things everyday, but on those special days it all comes together it’s AWESOME!  I live for the challenges and the moment it happens, when an idea that has failed in the past but is now a success or the challenge of doing something has never been done.  This book is so good, it is perfect for the New Year.  It is something that you can keep with you all the time when you are feeling lost or blue, and it brings it all back to life for me.  GO BUY THIS BOOK.  YOU WILL LOVE IT!

If something does not apply to you, then turn the page.  There is so much that will, if you are following your dreams.

The other thing I love to do is write in my books when and where I bought them.  I got this one at a trade shopping trip on the Santa Monica Promenade with Amy.  It makes me smile when I think of when I fell in love with this book.  Just something fun to do.

-Lorinda

 

Filed Under: Entertainment, Gypsy Books

Gypsy Book Review: The 4-Hour Work Week

10/26/2011 By 3 Comments

The 4-Hour Work Week

By Timothy Ferriss

Well it starts off as great book and by the end I could not even finish it!  He has a few good ideas but do they really work for everyone?  Hmm… I don’t think so.

Like only checking your e-mails two times a day.  That would not work for me I have so many things that have to be answered or attended to right away I feel like there is no PASSION behind what he is doing, only passion in doing nothing?

Ferriss has a lot of good points about being productive.  I feel as a business owner there is huge difference between being busy and being productive; some people do not understand the difference.  He is right that people seem to value people making personal sacrifices instead of personal productivity we all make personal sacrifices, the real question is are you making those sacrifices worth while by being productive not just busy.

I really feel people take criticism too personally and he states people who avoid it are more likely to fail and I totally agree.  People need to constantly evolve, try new things and new methods, criticism is an important tool in your own personal and professional growth.  It’s how we improve and become a better person overall.  I have been self employed most of my life.  People always ask “How do I do it?” or “How do you keep a handle on your fear of failing?”.  Failing is not even an option!  I never look at it that way I just go for it, I could not live with someone controlling where I would like to go with my career or where I want to go with my life.

In this book he talks about defining the nightmare and I so agree with this.  People worry about things that might never even happen and if they do you handle one by one and move on!  Amy & I have fires to put out or issues to manage everyday and we find the answer someway or somehow.  He says in the book “most people choose unhappiness over uncertainty”, this is so sad to me.  That is the challenge of life, that is what makes me push for more; the chase, the game and what might or might not happen tomorrow.

“I am an old man and have known a great many trouble, but most of them never happen” – Mark Twain

I have to say my favorite part of the book is the E for Elimination, examining what people or customers we have seeing who is sucking you dry on time and money.  In other words, who is really giving you a good return on your investment.  In the book Ferriss looks at who is bringing in the highest percentage of your revenue and conversely who is taking most of your time with no legitimate return.  If that is out of balance, you need to look at who is a good person or customer to have.  Sometimes you just have to fire that person or end the customer relationship.  Ferriss discusses how to handle the problem and is quite funny about this particular subject.

But not long after that the book fails me.

The key points I discerned were:

  • Busy equals laziness; you need to be productive and I totally agree
  • Do not let fear control your life, you control it!
  • It is important to learn what is and is not a good customer and learn to accept when it is not a good fit
Overall there some good points of this book and things that you can take and use in your career and everyday life, but is a four hour work week for me?  NO!
-Lorinda

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