Eat, Pray, Love - Finding Inspiration Off The Beaten Track (by Elizabeth Gilbert)

Eat, Pray, Love is a short yet powerful book by Elizabeth Gilbert. The full title of the book is "Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia".

Part memoir about the author's breakup from an unfulfilling (yet not terrible) marriage and part travelogue, Eat, Pray, Love is a chatty book that reads like one long letter from a girlfriend.

She's unsparing about her own failings and problems and doesn't place the blame for her divorce on her ex - instead, she beautifully expresses the existential "Is this all there is?" angst that so many women feel who have bought into the American dream of husband, house in the suburbs, and child, only to realize that in their heart they desire none of those things.

When Elizabeth Gilbert realizes that marriage and kids aren't for her (at least, with this particular man, at this particular time in her life,) she embarks on a personal, funny, and moving quest to find out just what IS right for her.

And she takes us on the journey with her.

Through the author's optimistic and breezy recounting of her adventures, we get to travel with her to Italy, India and Indonesia. Part spiritual quest, part journey of self-discovery, and part hedonistic escapade, her experience echoes what so many women go through. How do you find meaning and spirituality while also fully celebrating the wonderful things that life in a physical body can offer you? Through her, we taste the gourmet wonders of Italy, learn about repose and meditation at an Indian ashram, and embark on an unpredictable yet entertaining affair while pursing mystical knowledge with a funny medicine man in Bali. (Yes, it turns out there are such things as funny medicine men. Spiritual advisors and healers aren't all deadly serious, Gilbert discovers.)

This is a great stocking stuffer type of book -- a short, breezy read. I'm giving copies to the girlfriends in my life who have pursued all the trends like yoga, Pilates, crystals, massage, and so forth while at the same time finding those traditions (which are too often into denial of bodily pleasure) stultifying and restrictive.

I love Gilbert's message about how we can all find a balance between the pleasures of the body and the joys of the soul. I fully believe that that's what we're here to achieve, anyway.

I mean, c'mon. We're spiritual beings, sure, but we've chosen to hang out in these bodies for a while. Why not charge them with passion, joy, and pleasure? Doesn't that make us more able to extend love and positive energy to others, because we ourselves are experiencing life as JOY instead of LACK?

Repressing desire, repressing fun, or cutting out too many carbs only lasts so long on the spiritual path. As with all things, eventually we must come full circle - and as this happens we usually strive for a balance of living in both worlds. We're spiritual beings having a material experience. Both aspects of our nature should be honored and celebrated, and this book inspires readers to do just that.

This book is perfect for the armchair traveler in your life interested in gaining a glimpse into exotic places, and it will also resonate with women in your life who have loved and lost, loved and hated, and loved and despaired only to later find joy again. Inspiring and fun, you've got to check out this book!

I don't always agree with Oprah's book recommendations, but this was actually a book I wanted to write a review on for some time, and when I saw that Oprah was featuring it on her show today, I said - let me share my own impressions of this entertaining and enlightening book.

In short, I say get a copy - and consider stocking up on a few extra editions for those women in your life who are seeking ways to remain "good girls" while still craving some "bad girl" experiences. This book shows you that craving love, wanting good food, or desiring more than what you have doesn't make you "bad." It simply means that your spirit is expanding in what it needs to feel fulfilled.

And that's a good thing.

Source: lipstickmystic.com

Story Of Jesse James Hollywood - "Alpha Dog"

Jesse James Hollywood (born January 28, 1980 in Los Angeles, California) is an American drug dealer and fugitive. He allegedly kidnapped and ordered the murder of Nicholas Markowitz. Ryan Hoyt, a "posse member" of Jesse James Hollywood, has been convicted of the slaying of Markowitz on August 9, 2000. Hoyt reportedly owed Hollywood money for drugs and was offered the opportunity to kill Markowitz as a way of erasing his debt. Hoyt was convicted of 1st degree murder and was sentenced to death. He currently is on death row at San Quentin State Prison in California.

Hollywood's drugs trade allowed him to acquire a small fortune with which he bought a $200,000 property in the San Fernando Valley area of Southern California and numerous exotic sports cars.

He was profiled on America's Most Wanted on June 12, 2004. Upon being captured, AMW showed him again on March 12 and April 2, 2005. Hollywood was found to be living in Saquarema, Brazil. American authorities worked with Brazilian agents and found out that Hollywood was supposed to meet a cousin in a mall. He was arrested by Interpol agents in Saquarema on March 8, 2005, at 11:35am, and was returned to the United States on March 10, 2005.

He is currently awaiting trial in California, starting after 2007. If found guilty, he could face the death penalty.


Alpha Dog

In January 2007, the movie Alpha Dog, based on Jesse Hollywood and the kidnap and murder of Nicholas Markowitz, premiered at the Sundance Film festival. The film stars Emile Hirsch (as Hollywood, under the name Johnny Truelove), Justin Timberlake, Bruce Willis, Sharon Stone, Ben Foster and Harry Dean Stanton. Universal Studios originally set a release date in May 2006, but the film was pushed back to be released on January 12, 2007.

During filming, Santa Barbara County Deputy District Attorney Ronald J. Zonen provided copies of virtually every document in his file and served as an unpaid consultant to the film, citing his desire to have Hollywood captured. Zonen prosecuted Hollywood’s co-defendants and was poised to prosecute Hollywood. This alleged conflict of interest led to the decision by the California Court of Appeal for the Second District, who ruled on October 5, 2006 that, based on Zonen's disclosure of the files—which included confidential information and service as consultant to the film—he should be recused from further involvement in prosecuting Hollywood.

On December 20, 2006, the California Supreme Court granted review on Hollywood and a factually-unrelated case, Haraguchi v. Superior Court, involving the recusal of another prosecutor from Zonen's office, thus effectively staying the order to recuse Zonen. It is unclear how long it will take for the California Supreme Court to decide whether Zonen or his colleague will remain on their respective cases.

NBC's Dateline and Fox Network's America's Most Wanted have been covering this story extensively. You can get the Alpha Dog DVD Here>>>