The River Between Book Review

The River Between, tells the story about the separation of two villages of Kenya who were neighbors but differences in faith separated them. The bitterness between them caused much hatred between the adults of each side. The story tells about the struggle of a young leader to unite the two villages of Kameno and Makuyu through sacrifice and pain.

In the story a boy, Waiyaki, the son of Chege, was to be a great leader in the village of Kameno. Chege sent Waiyaki to Siriana, where the white men stayed, to gain knowledge of the white men's advancements to help his village. Waiyaki dreamt of the day where he would be born again to be a man; "All his life Waiyaki had waited for this day, for this very opportunity to reveal his courage like a man" (p. 45). He was to be circumcised to be initiated to be a man and gain respect from everyone in his village.

Circumcision of both the men and women was the way of all tribes that had not embraced Christianity or the British educational system. To monotheistic followers it was an abhorrent practice; they were strongly against the female circumcision or female genital mutilation depending on how non-tribal, traditional followers viewed it.

The River Between Book Review

In Kameno the inhabitants there are followers of the traditional tribal belief of polytheism. In Kameno, the inhabitants praised and respected all who went through the pain and got circumcised. The Kameno people did not want to accept the new faith and they strongly resisted the white men's way of life. In Waiyaki's earlier years his father lectured him to work hard for the community and do all he can to help keep the traditional way of life.

Unlike the traditional polytheistic followers of Kameno, the people of village of Makuyu were the followers of Christianity. Their leader Joshua, embraced the religion of Christianity after the white men settled in Kenya. In Siriana, there was the knowledge of white men; schools teaching the ways of white men flourished and hospitals helped the ill get better. Joshua was a strict Christian and he was strongly against circumcision and drinking. Joshua and his wife were circumcised before they became Christians, but Joshua repents hard for begin circumcised for it was a sin in his faith; "In fact Joshua believed circumcision to be sinful that he devoted prayer to asking God to forgive him for marrying a woman who had been circumcised" (p. 31). Circumcision was the main factor that separated the villages. The followers of Joshua were strongly against it.

Joshua's daughter, Muthoni, was an ambitious girl. She wanted to be a woman in the tribal way even though she was a Christian. Muthoni went against her father and went to the circumcision rituals. When Muthoni came to the ceremony it surprised Waiyaki, knowing that Muthoni was Christian and she is of the new cult. Muthoni got circumcised; however, she did not heal well after the circumcision. She was taken to the nearest missionary hospital and soon died after. Rumors spread quickly saying that it was her father's curse that caused her death because a girl dying from circumcision was rare. Muthoni's death reached her family. Muthoni's mother and sister, Nyambura, cried and strongly felt the pain of losing a family member; however, Muthoni's father disowned Muthoni for getting circumcised and refused to feel anything for his deceased daughter. Livingstone, the head missionary from Siriana, knew of the tribal warfare from past missionaries so, he did not force Christianity to the villagers instead he wanted the faith to slowly blend in the land to avoid conflict with the natives. Livingstone trusted Joshua greatly but it shocked him when he got the word that it was Joshua's daughter that died from circumcision. He was appalled that his own student's progeny went thorough this forbidden practice of Christianity.

Waiyaki grew to be a noble person after his father. He became the headmaster of a school he established called Marioshoni. As time passes he established more schools in Kameno and taught the knowledge, the "magic" of the white men. He strongly pushed everyone to understand that only through education that his people can be stronger than before. He also had strong and intimate relationship with Joshua's other beautiful daughter Nyambura. Even though he loved her Waiyaki could not marry Nyambura due to their differences in faith and that caused him a great deal of pain. Nyambura loved Waiyaki too, but she didn't want to go against her father like her sister did; "Can't you see we cannot marry?....Father will not allow it. I cannot disobey him." (p. 107). Waiyaki struggled hard to unite the two ridges and went through many convictions especially from his own sides because of his education from Sirana. Waiyaki and Nyambura ware tested when Waiyaki went to Nyambura's father's house to save her. Nyambura admitted in front of everyone that she truly does love Waiyaki. After her daring confession of her love for Waiyaki, Nyambura was told to leave the house by her father. Joshua disowned her for betraying him, for loving a pagan. As they were out of the house Waiyaki told Nyambura to go back to her father's house, but she refused and she stayed with him.

In Kameno there was a big gathering; people wanted to see if the rumors were true, they wanted to see if Waiyaki broke the oath, the oath to protect the purity and the traditions of the tribe. Kabonyi, a person from Kameno, who was always jealous of Waiyaki's prominence, made Waiyaki stand trial before the Kameno people. Waiyaki and Nyambura's love was yet tested again in front of a massive crowd. Waiyaki had so much respect from his people and there, in the gathering, he admitted his love for Joshua's daughter and this shocked everyone. It was depicted as if Waiyaki broke the oath to keep the tribe pure from outsiders and their ideas. However, Waiyaki generalized that the oath never went against loving someone.

The story depicts the struggle between the followers of the monotheist faith and the polytheist faith. The pain and bitterness between these two people of the same origin causes more separation day by day. The story shows that religion can cause great ominous feelings between similar people of different faiths. The title of the story "the river between" is well thought out giving the theme of dividing two ways of life, the traditional, tribal way of life and the new introduced, Christian way of life; both struggling against each other.

In a way I can connect to the story in which my country, which was once East Pakistan, separated from West Pakistan due to exploitation, language differences, and genocide. Even though we were one country and with one religion there were still bitterness between us due to the difference of languages we spoke and our ways of life. There is still hatred and bitterness between us due to what happened and there are few that have forgiven and forgotten the pain and crimes of the past.

The River Between

By Ngugi Wa Thiong Cox & Wyman Ltd. 1965

152 pages.

The River Between Book Review
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Azmi Jahan writes about personal development [http://www.azmijahan.com] where he offers detailed advice in self improvement, self confidence, success, motivation, positivity, and productivity.

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Back 2 Life Machine Review

Back 2 Life Machine - As Seen on TV

Back pain is one of the leading illnesses that is in the world today. Some people develop back pain because they have a strenuous job that is hard on the back muscles. Most of the pain that people have is in the lower back muscles. Low back pain from any cause usually involves some spasms of the large, supportive muscles located along the spine. These muscle spasms and stiffness that accompanies back pain can feel very uncomfortable. Many people suffer from back pain when they are over 30 years old, are pregnant, feel stressed out or from depression. Also if they have a low tolerance for pain, osteoporoses, or arthritis, if they have bad posture, smoke and do not exercise, and if they are overweight. However, these are not the only reasons a person suffers from back pain. There are many sorts of infections and other illness that cause back pain.  This discomfort is one way that a person's body tells them that something is wrong in another part of the body. This is why people who suffer from continuous pain should consult their physician.

The Back2Life Machine aligns your spine, relieves pain, and releases the pressure causing pain. This machine uses a technique called continuous passive motion, which loosens tight muscles and releases pressure on the backbone. The exercises are not strenuous; you are lying down to do these exercises. You do not have to do any stretching. It only takes about 12 minutes twice a day, one time in the morning and one time before you go to bed. If you suffer from very severe back pain you can use the Back2Life machine more often, however, you do not want to overdo your workout. If you feel any uneasiness after the recommended time limit, simply stop the process until the next session is due.

Back 2 Life Machine Review

This product has been getting excellent reviews after the workout many report feeling recharged, more alert, and relaxed.

It costs 9.75, made of  plastic and weighs 12 pounds. It comes with four pieces: a base for the electric portion, two legs to hold the machine upright, and a horizontal piece with two sections where you rest your legs. The pieces fit together easily.

A control on the front of the machine adjusts to your height, between 4' 8" to 6' 6". Your legs are pulled very slightly up and inward (toward you), lifting the hip area. The cycle continues, pulling the legs slightly out, and then the legs are brought back to the starting position. The machine does all the work completing this motion. This is what they call "continuous passive motion." You simply lie there and wait for it to complete the 12 minute cycle. It shuts off by itself and they suggest lying there an extra 2 minutes before getting up. Rising from the floor is the only difficult part of this therapy.

It is recommended that you use the machine twice a day and can expect to see results after two weeks and continue for 30 days.  It is designed for gentle long term use.

Back 2 Life Machine Review
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Movie Review: Rock of Ages (2012)

Rock god Stacee Jaxx vents that he's a slave to rock 'n' roll. His lament parallels the problems at the core of Rock of Ages; the story and characters are swallowed whole by the music - and when the pounding beat ebbs, there's little left to attract us to what's underneath. This won't be a problem for many as the creative use of classic rock songs as a form of narration has its own substantial appeal. The clever juxtaposition of recognizable tunes and the extravagantly choreographed dance sequences are also entertaining, but they don't provide the stability of a stronger plot and more intricately developed characters. When the guitars roar and the singing starts though, it can be easy to forgive the faults and submerse yourself in the pulsing music and fervent performances.

With high hopes of becoming a singer, young Oklahoma girl Sherrie Christian (Julianne Hough) heads to Hollywood. Once there, a chance encounter lands her a job at the Bourbon Room, a famous nightclub run by Dennis Dupree (Alec Baldwin) that has played host to countless rock icons, including the wildly unhinged Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise). Falling in love with the Bourbon's busboy Drew (Diego Boneta), Sherrie thinks she's found happiness, but a grave misunderstanding finds the lovers parting ways; as each one drifts further away from their dreams, tragedy also strikes the Bourbon in the form of a bitter mayor's wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones), intent on shutting them down. But with a little luck and a lot of love, the power of rock 'n' roll might just save them all.

Fleeting cleverness works its way into a story of shattered dreams, lost and found love, personal redemption, and all that is '80s rock (including oodles of sweat, skin, pyrotechnics, girls, booze, and mischievous pet monkeys). With laughs from sexually deviant setups, suggestive comedic arrangements, and lascivious routines, and awkwardness from the stereotypical insanities of out-of-control musicians, the lack of a plot is intermittently forgotten. The infectious, nonstop soundtrack is also, fortunately, so intoxicating that it hides the deficiency in scripting. Generic characters and expected revelations messily fill in the gaps for a thrillingly assembled composition of catchy tunes and innovative duets, further augmented by an impressive cast (considering the success of the stage play, notable actors were probably easily attracted to the theatrical adaptation).

Movie Review: Rock of Ages (2012)

An abundance of energy similarly makes up for the unconvincing lip-syncing and spontaneous song-and-dance that isn't as smoothly integrated into character actions as other modern musicals. The flow and transitions are somewhat abrasive at the start, but after a few montages that seem to exist in their own indeterminate time frame, it's difficult not to get caught up in Cruise's silliness (embellished with an unwarranted sense of entitlement and extreme decadence), Giamatti's go-to sleazy linguist role, and Baldwin's uncharacteristic visual styling. Russell Brand, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Bryan Cranston, and Malin Akerman conflictingly add nothing but recognizable names and missed potential. Despite the foibles and faults, however, the music really makes it work.

- The Massie Twins (GoneWithTheTwins.com)

Movie Review: Rock of Ages (2012)
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The Massie Twins are identical twin film critics who have been professionally reviewing movies full time for over 5 years, appearing on TV, radio, online and in print. They are members of the Phoenix Film Critics Society and the Internet Film Critic Society and their work can be seen at GoneWithTheTwins.com

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PUSH Movie Review - Hey, They Forgot to Film the Last 10 Pages of the Script!

I still stand by the assessment that I made before that this film looks suspiciously like NBC's Heroes. In any case, for those that stay true to the current unbridled mess that is Heroes, I've spent the cash for you so you can maintain your integrity and not pay for Push if you don't want to. Either unfortunately or fortunately, depending on your point of view, Push is generally better than what NBC is dishing up on Monday nights recently.

Let me get my final word on this Push/Heroes thing out of the way first. Do I think that there was some "borrowing" of intellectual property here? I can't deny that at least in concept, there are definitely some similarities that are hard to swallow as chance. As I stated in the previous article, I don't know who "borrowed" from who or what the intentions were, but it's definitely trying to create the same universe. To take it further, the plot of Push is pretty much directly the "plot" of the first half of season 3 of Heroes (which I'll get into in the rest of the review). In Push's defense, the execution, tone, and "genre" of this film is a different animal than Heroes. This is pretty much an action film with some paranormal dressings. So, no more tirades on intellectual thievery from me on this topic, though in fairness I may call upon Heroes later in the review for sheer comparison purposes.

I would also like to point out at that so far, Tim Kring and NBC don't seem to have any hard feelings here since Push is advertising in Heroes now and SURPRISE, there was an NBC ad with Heroes clips playing before the film started in the theater. I think that there is no question that Push was counting on pulling in fans of Heroes.

PUSH Movie Review - Hey, They Forgot to Film the Last 10 Pages of the Script!

And now the feature presentation. Push is about Nick Gant, a somewhat hapless guy with underdeveloped telekinetic powers that gets embroiled in a plot by Division, an arm of the US government trying to use the segment of the population with special "abilities" as super-soldiers: yes, like in a quickly developed and forgotten subplot in season 3 of Heroes. Division has been developing a serum meant to enhance and amplify the "abilities" of these people that have them, not to be confused with the serum from Heroes that gives abilities to people without them.

Division has apparently been around since sometime after World War 2, but the destruction of the one and only seemingly viable version of this serum is apparently the one thing that will "bring Division down." Not sure the logic here because Division has been doing just fine without a viable version of this serum for years. Also, the focus of all this seems to be recovering the one syringe filled with this serum. It's a little strange that the guys that developed the serum would have no record of the formula used for it or any idea how to recreate it.

Division seems to work with a large base of "Seers," "Sniffers" and "Pushers." Seers are people that can see the future, Sniffers are people that have a highly developed sense of smell, and Pushers are people that have the uncanny ability to push thoughts into other people's heads.

So, in the midst of a lot of weirdness, illogic and craziness we get it into several action hijinx scenes, and the action isn't horrible. It's actually done fairly well. Probably the high points of the film are Dakota Fanning and Chris Evans who play the "heroes" of the story. They manage to produce a couple of rather entertaining performances in this hit and miss mishmash of a movie. They did manage to ground things just enough that the most outrageous of the logic problems of the plot really didn't start to hit home until it was almost over. Part of the problem our heroes have is that everything that they are going to do can be seen by Division's seers who always know the future. In order to subvert the seers ability to see their next move, they concoct a rather clever plot to outsmart them which is the crux of the final act of Push.

This leads to one of the big cop outs with Push. They utilize a cheesy way of ending several of the movies big action set pieces. You see, since Division's seers are so good at telling the future, whenever our main posse is cornered into a seemingly hopeless situation, Division simply lets them go because the "seers" didn't see our main characters dying in that manner and they are afraid of changing the future that they see coming out in their favor. So we have several scenes where everything is painted into corner with disappearing paint, so to speak. Cheap.

So what the hell is Push at it's heart? It's a one hour and 52-minute tease wrapped in an action film. The film actually has some fun in getting to where it's going. Unfortunately, where it goes is virtually nowhere. The movie doesn't end. Sometimes, when you walk out of a movie you say to yourself "man, they obviously set that up for a sequel." In the case of Push, you can't really say that because the movie doesn't end. It literally stops before the story is finished. It's not just set up for a sequel, it would require one to finish the story. The damned thing stops talking in mid-sentence. In my professional opinion, that's a cheap assed thing to do someone that paid full price admission for a ticket. The Empire Strikes Back had more story resolution than Push.

So, I have some logical beefs with Push along with the fact that it's a completely unresolved story. Yes, there is some minor resolution to the immediate danger the main characters are in as the credits roll, but they are still pretty much dead center in the middle of resolving the story as it's laid out. Hence, the whole movie comes off as a nearly 2-hour advertisement for the sequel that we will never see if this sucker bombs at the box office.

So what's my final judgment on this? The story has some plot holes that are pretty striking. The only real motivation for the main characters is kind of wrapped up in a plot that never gets resolved. The climax of the film really doesn't make a whole lot of sense, though it is done rather well from an action standpoint. There's a lot of shooting, screaming and running. The film's kind of a hot mess but not without some fun. Not sure I can recommend it much beyond that though. It's probably a nice Saturday Noon Afternoon Matinee diversion. I'd say save the cash you'd spend on a ticket for this and spend it on a large popcorn and drink at the premier of Watchmen next month.

It's actually a sad statement for Push that it was as much fun as it was for all the problems. It simply tells me that the script was a small amount of effort away from being a pretty damned solid film if they had just tried a bit harder. I didn't hate Push, but I did hate the sloppy story-telling and lack of an "end" to the story.

PUSH Movie Review - Hey, They Forgot to Film the Last 10 Pages of the Script!
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Mike "ScuzzBuster" Broda is a film critic and editorial writer for Deviant Knowledge, an entertainment/leisure blog .For full reviews and opinion, visit http://www.deviantknowledge.com

Mike "ScuzzBuster" Broda is a film critic and editorial writer for Deviant Knowledge, an entertainment/leisure blog.

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Titanic - A Love Story Movie Review

'Titanic' is a love story that captures the romance of two young lovers as the tragedy of the doomed vessel, RMS Titanic, unfolds around them. It was released in 1997 and was a great commercial and critical success, winning 11 Academy Awards (the first to do so since 'Ben Hur') and 3 Grammys.

It was was written, directed, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron, who also won the Academy Award for best director. 'Titanic' became the highest grossest movie of all time, earning .8 billion at the box office, until it was surpassed in 2010 by 'Avatar', another movie by James Cameron.

The story concerns two young people from different social classes - Leonardo DiCaprio appears as Jack Dawson and Kate Winslet has the role of Rose DeWitt Bukater - who fall in love while aboard the doomed maiden voyage of the Titanic in 1912. Although the love story is fictitious, many of the characters - crew and passengers - were based on those who were actually aboard the real vessel.

Titanic - A Love Story Movie Review

For instance, the brash Margaret "Molly" Brown (played by Kathy Bates) was famous for her heroic efforts (not shown in the movie) of trying to save drowning passengers. She later became known as the "Unsinkable Molly Brown".

There were many scenes in the movie, although only briefly touched on, which added greatly to the emotional impact of the inevitable sinking on passengers and crew. Two historical characters were Isador and Ida Strauss. Isador was a former owner of R.H. Macy and Company and was also a former NY Congressman. In the movie, his wife Ida has a chance of leaving the ship in a lifeboat but declines and returns to her husband, saying she will honor her wedding vow and remain with Isidor. She is last seen embracing him as they lie on a bed in their stateroom, with the water rushing in.

Layers of emotion are added with other scenes that depict obvious heroism by crew members. Joseph Bell, the Chief Engineer, and his men work desperately until the last moments to maintain the power for lights and so distress signals can be sent. All are lost.

Wallace Hartley, the bandmaster, and his orchestra, continue to play uplifting music to the very end, even as the ship sinks.

The two lovers, Rose and Jack, initially come together when he rescues her from a suicide attempt brought about by her despondency at a loveless engagement, having been pressured to marry a wealthy suitor, Cal, because of her family's financial needs.

Jack is scorned as inferior by Rose's mother and Cal but he does manage to attend a stuffy first-class dinner, where he renews his acquaintance with Rose and their bond deepens.

The next day, Rose defies her mother and Cal and goes to the bow of the ship where she meets Jack, realizes her feelings for him and the two passionately embrace. They then go to the privacy of Rose's stateroom and she asks him to sketch her wearing only the Heart of the Ocean, a blue diamond necklace which was an expensive engagement gift from Cal. She later leaves the sketch in Cal's safe.

While attempting to escape from Cal's bodyguard, Rose and Jack enter the cargo hold where they enter one of the cars stored there and make love on the back seat.

They witness the collision with the iceberg and overhear the lookouts discussing how serious it is. Rose and Jack decide to warn her mother and Cal but, in the meantime, Cal has discovered the nude sketch of Rose and furiously plants the necklace on Jack; then accuses him of stealing it. Jack is arrested and taken below deck, where he is handcuffed to a pipe.

The emotional elements of the 'Titanic' are very powerful, with the later scenes showing the aftermath of the collision, the desperate attempts of those aboard to find shelter on a lifeboat, or the brave acceptance of their fate. As there were not enough lifeboats, more than 1500 passengers and crew perished in this catastrophe. Throughout, the musical score strongly reflects their feelings and the dangers they face. The closing song, 'My Heart Will Go On' (sung by Celine Dion) won an Academy Award and two Grammies. Following the success of 'Avatar', a 3-D version of 'Titanic' will also be released.

Titanic - A Love Story Movie Review
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Read more of the story of Rose and Jack and what happens to them here: Titanic A Love Story and also on this page: Titanic Romantic Movie.

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