Book Review - A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Long before J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Lewis Carroll in the British literary scene, there was Charles Dickens. He was a prolific writer who made references in his writing to child labor and cruelty, social structure, political turmoil, poverty, etc. His most famous and (in my opinion) his best work is the classic novel, "A Christmas Carol". His most iconic characters are from that novel: Ebenezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, and Tiny Tim.

Many people are familiar with various film adaptations of "The Christmas Carol". It has to be the most popular Christmas film in history. Why is "The Christmas Carol" so popular and appealing? It has to do a lot with the sentimental story and remarkable transformation of Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge. He starts off as a single-dimensional character- a character who was greedy for gain and negative. There is a reason why he became that way. As we journey into Mr. Scrooge's past, we understand (alongside with him) on why he became that way. As we develop compassion for his, Mr. Scrooge also starts to develop compassion within him for other people. The way Charles Dickens relays that story through the visitations of his former business colleague, Marley, and three ghosts aspects of Christmases- past, present, and future. In the original work, Charles Dickens directly references hell and punishment if Ebenezer Scrooge remains the same greedy person. He had to transform to a better person to serve mankind.

Upon reading the original version or even watching the older classics starring Alastair Sims or Reginald Owens, it seems like a ghost story that scares you more than it inspires you. But, when you experience the fear, wonderment, and transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge, it is well worth reading or watching the movie- though you will get a more impactful experience if you read the original book.

"The Christmas Carol" should be read every year to remind us and our family about the spirit of Christmas and the spirit of giving. It is a good book to allow us to reflect on our own lives and what we did throughout the year. There is something magical when you can experience "giving back" or charity the way Ebenezer Scrooge was able to towards the end of the book.

The creative genius and ingenuity of Charles Dickens comes alive in "The Christmas Carol". Reading the book in its original unabridged format is more impactful than using 3-D glasses and watching it on-screen. There is magic in the words of the book.

As an author, Pascasio Felisilda recently published the book "Nanay: Lessons from a Mother". This is a very inspiring book. Its simplicity empowers the message and story about a legacy that is worth living. The book is available through http://www.ebookstand.com/book_details/Nanay_Lessons_from_a_Mother_PAPERBACK_VERSION or through

http://www.amazon.com/Nanay-Lessons-Mother-Felisilda-Pascasio/dp/1589096673/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1291229112&sr=1-1

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Eat, Pray, Love By Elizabeth Gilbert - Book Review

The author partakes in a yearlong trip, after she discovers that she no longer loves the man she is married to and a bitter divorce ensues(of which she does not go into detail with), that would make most readers drool. Myself included! This is a book for the person that travels and enjoys living in their current surroundings- whether it is an ashram in India or a small house in Bali. The author was looking for total immersion in a culture or perhaps escape from her other life and throws herself into each new situation with abandon. Not all of us can escape from our responsibilities as easily, but some are possibly envious of this disregard for status quo.

In Italy, the first stop in the adventure, Elizabeth Gilbert is trying to get a bearing on her life. And as many do, food becomes a great substitute for living. The author even admits to not visiting a single museum in Italy- she was too busy learning the language, for fun I might add, and eating her way through the various cities. I think I gained 5 pounds just reading about the food. Not your typical travel log, but I liked it.

The author leads you on her own personal spiritual healing in India, but is lighthearted about this theme and does not preach. Through meditation, yoga, fasting, and a good friend, Elizabeth Gilbert starts to heal and gain control of her life again. In a sense, she learns to live with herself again. Even in her darkest moments, however, she can laugh at herself, and take the reader with her.

Bali is her last stop, and fits the last word in the title. When you think of love and romance, a tropical island is really the location that pops into my mind. She comes to love others as well as herself, amidst the beautiful scenery. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and am quite envious of the ability to just get up and go someplace. My only criticism is the lack of details in the surroundings in India and Bali. I would have liked to experience the people and countries a bit more in depth. I realize India was all about the ashram, but I, personally, wanted more from the villages. The same is true about Bali- less about the love interest and more about the island and its ways. With that said, Elizabeth Gilbert has captured my attention, and I would love to join her on her next excursion!

Tracey Schabel is the editor of http://www.GirlzDealz.com and [http://www.GirlzNetwork.com], websites "for women by women", where you can find ideas, tips, and deals about home and lifestyle trends. Be sure to check out our websites for the latest in interior decorating, green living, lifestyle trends, handpicked shopping deals, entertaining, book reviews, and much more.

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The Pursuit of Happyness- Review

In 1981, Chris Gardner (played by Will Smith) was a broke, struggling salesman of un-needed overpriced medical bone density scanners, while his wife wallowed in misery over having to work double shift to support the family including a young son. Chris, seeing that his medical sales career was not going anywhere asked two very pivotal question to a passerby in a Porsche, what do you do and how can he do it. These two questions changed his life and set in motion his pursuit of Happyness.

Desperate to gain financial happiness for his son and himself Chris takes a chance and applies for a stockbroker internship where one in twenty has a chance of a lucrative full time career. But this chance does come with a price. The opportunity does not come with a salary as he trains for the position. Chris is forced to get serious about his medical bone density business and make it work while he studies for his brokers exams. Because of his pursuit of this dream and the downfall of the medical sales business Chris's wife leaves him and he eventually becomes homeless. But he never loses his dream. He fights every step of the way for the pursuit of Happyness.

I absolutely loved this movie. It teaches tenacity and determination in the face of adversity. I especially loved the line Chris states to his son "Don't ever let anyone say you can't do something, their just trying to discourage you from something that they could not do". What a statement, what a line. This movie is a tear jerker from beginning to end. It brings into focus would most of us fight for what we believe in after losing a wife, losing a car, losing a home and sleeping on the streets with their son or daughter. Or would we just fold away and settle for what life give us. If you have not seen this movie definitely rent this movie. Matter of fact "BUY IT", you will not be sorry.

Visit Rental Movie Guide to learn more about upcoming movies and feature presentations. For video games visit Video Game Rental Guide [http://www.videogamerentalguide.com]. Come by and visit today.

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The Pursuit of Happyness - How Can We Be Happy?

In Pursuit of Happyness, Will Smith plays Chris Gardner, a motivated man living on the last of his means. Chris is constantly looking for a consistent quality of life, but seems to get beaten down at every road. A few times throughout the movie, Gardner expresses his thoughts on happiness, and whether or not it is actually attainable. Happiness can be looked at in many ways, but I will outline two of them: Short-Term and Long-Term happiness.

Short-Term happiness is achievable by anyone. Regardless of your age, gender, social status, economic status, etc. It can be experienced everyday. The exciting feeling of getting that paycheck, the excitement of watching your favorite movie, the internal joy of expressing gratitude, or it can be the motivational nudge received when you complete an activity/goal. We may not notice, but feelings of happiness occur often throughout our lives, we just need to know how to look for it. It can strike us when we need it most: In the Pursuit of Happyness, Chris gains short-term happiness when he sells each bone density scanner for $250. It is the happiness that he will be able to sustain his family for another month. And it also provides him with enough happiness to accomplish his long term goal of becoming a stock broker.

Long-Term happiness is much more difficult to notice in our everyday lives. 60% of our LT (long-term) happiness is predetermined at birth (genes, heredity), and the other 40% is determined by what we do in our lives. Some people are genetically inclined to be more happy than others. But regardless, we all have our long-term goals, set with the intention of making us happier. We tell ourselves, "I am going to finally be happy when I achieve this goal". But when the goal is achieved, the happiness soon goes away, and we are looking for more things to make us happy. Long-Term happiness is very difficult to notice; and is a gift of living. Try to monitor your happiness levels for a day, and try to notice how happy you are.

We are all different in virtually unlimited ways, but we are all looking for happiness. Happiness can be experienced in life everyday, in both the short and long term. Look for both, and be twice as happy. The Pursuit of Happyness inspired me to write about the different types of happiness in our lives. Whether short-term or long-term, we all have something to be happy about.

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How to "Do" Happiness and Get Ahead Even in Difficult Times

It hardly needs pointing out that one of our core desires is to be happy. Yet happiness is as elusive as the Scarlet Pimpernel for most of us. We are caught up in the uncertainties of life and the daily worries of survival in an environment that seems to be getting tougher rather than easier.

All the talk about the energetic shift, ascension and the like are of little help when you are facing your own demons in a world that appears basically unfriendly and dangerous. Most of us are at a level of our cognitive development where we need to see proof that the things we are doing are working.

There is now an unprecedented number of alternative therapies about and alternative medicine is booming. For good reason, because more and more of us are waking up to the fact that the old ways of dealing with our emotional health, which also ultimately dictates our physical well being, have ceased to work.

Our growing understanding of universal laws makes it clearer by the day that the draconian methods of old suppress the body's natural healing powers rather than supporting them.

In case you wonder what this has to do with your ability to "do" happiness, let me tell you this: It has a great deal to do with it. Only when you understand your body and mind and how it functions as part of a much larger part, namely the universe, can you begin to understand what is involved in becoming truly happy.

Happiness basically consists of three things: A healthy working and living environment, a healthy body and a healthy mind. This in itself is not rocket science, however, most people make two fundamental mistakes on their happiness quest. First, they underestimate the importance of their immediate surroundings on their mental and physical well being. (I have written about the dangers of geopathic stress and EMR, electro magnetic radiation extensively and will cover this important subject again in another article.)

Second, they spend too much time figuring out why they are unhappy instead of working out how they "do" unhappiness. This is a common flaw in many therapies and personal development work. The emphasis is on understanding why you have problems. Yet, the answer to this question is so simple, that it would put most psychiatrists and therapists out of business tomorrow. The reason is always to do with unresolved early live trauma, if you have persistent problems, and if you encounter isolated problems they will be linked to an undigested experience later in your life and finally, environmental factors can seriously affect your mental and physical well being.

The point though is this: While it is necessary to neutralize unresolved negative emotions to clear the road to happiness, you do not need to know, nor analyze in great detail why you have these problems. You just need to know how to clear them and there are a number of techniques you can learn easily.

Remember this: You will always get what you focus on. It really is as simple as that. If you focus on why you have a problem, now, that might be interesting knowledge to have, alas it will do precious little to solve your issues. On the other hand, when you work on figuring out how you do unhappiness and begin to see the often absurd pattern you are running, you will stop running them automatically over time.

So my advice to you is this: Learn techniques to increase your cognitive awareness. Focus on the how rather than the why of your actions. You will be amazed what you uncover. And your ability for true happiness will grow accordingly and your life will become more successful too.

Mercedes Oestermann van Essen is a human development coach, energy therapist and author. She has created the Happy Venn Diagram for environment, body and mind, a unique approach for happiness and success. Get your free report, 5 Little Known Keys To Happiness

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How to Say Happy Father's Day in Portuguese, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Polish, and German

If you think back to when you were a child you can probably remember sitting in the front room eagerly waiting for your dad to get home. You can probably envision the excitement that you felt when his car turned into the driveway or even when you heard the garage door open and he pulled inside. You couldn't wait for him to walk into the door so you could give him a huge hug and tell him everything that had happened to you during the day.

For most kids their dads are their rocks. No matter what is going on with you, whether it is good or bad, you knew you could always tell your dad what was happening. The best part of being able to tell your dad what was going on is that it seemed like he could magically fix everything for you. As a little kid falling and scraping your knee required a kiss from Mom to make it better, but when your bike had a flat tire it was only Dad who could make it right.

No matter where you live, whether it is in a remote village in Alaska or on the island of New Zealand, how you view your dad is going to be similar to how other children view their dads. The relationship that a child has with their father has even withstood the sands of time. Dads all across the world play with their kids when they are young and teach them to drive when they get older.

It is because of this relationship that a child has with their father that all across the globe we celebrate Father's Day. The date that Father's Day is celebrated on in various regions around the world varies, as does the language you use to wish your dad a Happy Father's Day. However, despite these differences the main point is to show how dads how much they mean to us.

Here is how you would say "Happy Father's Day" in a variety of different languages:

• Portuguese - Feliz dia do pai
• Spanish - Feliz dia del padre
• Italian - Giorno di Padre Felice
• Polish - Wszystkiego Najlepszego Z Okazji Dnia Ojca
• Dutch - Gelukkige Vaderdag
• German - Alles Gute zum Vatertag
• French - Bonne fete des peres

One thing that is interesting to note is that most countries follow the American custom of celebrating Father's Day on the third Sunday in June, but there are a handful of other countries that follow their own customs. Austria, Costa Rica, and Belgium celebrate Father's Day on the second Sunday in June. New Zealand and Australia celebrate it on the first Sunday of September. Russia doesn't celebrate the event on a Sunday instead the celebrate it on February 23 every year. China also has a specific date for Father's Day, which is August 8. Iran and Germany have no specific date for celebrating Father's Day instead they celebrate it based on certain events. Iran follows the Islamic calendar, so they celebrate it on 13 Rajab, while Germany uses Ascension Day, which comes from the Bible, to decide what date they are celebrating the event.

No matter what day you celebrate the event or what language you use to tell your father Happy Father's Day celebrating Father's Day is all the same. The day is set aside to show our father's how much we love and respect them for everything that they have done for us.

Gwen Addison is an avid writer and greeting card sender. She highly recommends sending your dad a personalized Father's Day Card with easy-to-use greeting card software.

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