Pittsburgh KM

Archive for May, 2010

The Help is a novel set in the Jackson, Mississippi in the early 60’s and told from the viewpoint of three women. The first is Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan, a young white woman, a recent graduate of Ole Miss and daughter of a wealthy cotton farmer. To her mother’s chagrin, she is different from her friends. She is sensitive and curious, and wants to be a writer. Her friends meanwhile, though just out of college, have already settled down with husbands and started having children. And they have also hired their first black maids.

It is through one of these maids, Aibileen, that Skeeter gets the idea to write a book telling the stories of black help in Jackson. Aibilene is the second POV character, and she acts as a conduit between Skeeter and the maids who will eventually contribute to the book. She is older than most of the maids, so serves as something of a leader for them. She has much wisdom from her years of service and even finds a sense of peace in her job through the raising of the white children she cares for. She takes pride in this job, and tries with all her might, though usually futilely, to prevent them from being influenced by the bigotry everywhere around them.

The third POV character is another maid, Minny, who is set up as a contrast to the mature and even-keeled Aibileen. Minny is rebellious and has an unstoppable mouth. She has often been in trouble with her employers, and a cruel practical joke on one of the characters serves as a sort of resolution to Minny’s conflict with her and as a solution to the problem of secrecy that dogs the writing of the book.

Stockett does a great job portraying Mississippi in the sixties, with nice humorous touches, such as the rusty old pick-up that Skeeter drives around in. She peppers real events and cultural references to keep us firmly tied to the time and to help build the racial tension. Further tension comes from a number of different relationships: Skeeter against her friends, who become incre
Follow for Now Interviews

Outstanding! Finally, our product research as to which carpet cleaner to purchase paid off. We almost purchased a cleaner prior to investigating product reviews; in fact, the particular cleaner we almost purchased had unfavorable reviews. The Hoover F5914-900 received the highest consumer ratings. Finally, we discovered a product particularly easy to assemble and use without difficulty. Moreover, in our new Hover upright carpet cleaner, there are no hoses needed to connect from the machine to your sink faucet; in direct contrast, in our former Bissell cleaner. Surprisingly, the Hoover cleaner was able to remove several set in stains – which we had attempted to remove several times prior, without success. Important tips: we fill our container with 5 oz of the Hoover Pet and Stain Remover solution and 5 oz of the Hoover High Traffic solution, next pour 1/3 with cool water, then fill the remainder with almost boiling water. Also, when using the cleaner, move slowly and overlap by one inch – cleaning in sections. Once you have sprayed solution onto the carpet, it is imperative to repeatedly extract the solution until you can no longer see any liquid being drawn into the cleaner. Given these facts, we will strongly recommend to our family, friends and neighbors to purchase this superior product.
CaseCrown Hard Case Mobile

If you have a PS3 and a plasma over 32″ and appreciate HD you will be sickened by the Wii. The graphics are tragically horrid. The lack of response in the controllers compared to other gaming system is also not an appreciated attribute. That said, if you are considering this for your 5 year old or you really like to be active this is the system for you! The games that involve activity just don’t exist outside the Wii in the same manner so for that fact alone it’s worth the purchase if you want to move around. If you seek aesthetics and rapid response stick with XBox 360 or Playstation 3.
Mattel Christian Dior Barbie

The wait is finally over..I’ve been ’searching’ (no pun intended) for years for this movie. Oddly enough; I only seen it once while stationed in Nurnberg, Germany…and it’s where the movie was shot! That’s why I like it so much..it has awesome footage of Nurnberg. Very good movie.
The Search NON USA

I just got this vacuum a few days ago. It seems to suck, well. I am using it on a new carpet so there is a lot of carpet fuzz to vacuum, it did a decent job of it.

The hose that comes with the vacuum is almost useless though and it costs about 30 dollars to get the 20″ extension hose. The vacuum bags (Y bags) seem to fill fast, Hoover could used bigger bags for the production. That being said I think this is a decent vacuum for the price. It does the job, it doesn’t spew dust, and the apt smells good after using it.

Bling Gems and Rhinestones

Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Receiver With Heart Rate Monitor

This Garmin Forerunner 305 is the best!! I don’t leave home without it!! It keep track of everything! I don’t have to worry about how many calories I burn I know what I have burned with the 305. It is exactly correct on the miles I run. I love the way you can download your progress on your computer without having to be online. I do a lot of 5 and 10k runs so this is very much needed to help me keep track of my progress. It is a great product for advanced runners, I do recommend this product to any runner that wants to keep up with their progress. Awesome product.
Why the Mind Body

I bought a scale at a local retailer for twice the price that never worked correctly. I found this company on Amazon because of a kitchen scale they were selling…hoped it would help me on my diet journey and it looked to be an amazing tool. This scale was no disappointment. Ultra accurate and looks awesome in my bathroom. No regrets on this one. Will buy from these guys again.
SHOW ME THE PLAN!

The Nerf Dart Tag kids are quite a bit of fun but the extra darts are a must have. These are not the kind with the suction cup end, they match up with the dart tag sets and have hook and loop fastener stuff (Velcro) on the end. It makes for more picking up but it also makes playing with Nerf guns a lot more fun.
Nerf Mega Dart Tag

Very powerful vacuum — better than vacuums costing more than twice as much. Accessories all stored on vacuum for very easy access. Accessory hose permanently attached to vacuum for easy switching between upright vacuuming and vacuuming with nozzles. I am so satisfied with this vacuum, that I have bought 4 of these over the last year for myself and various family members.
Garmin Nuvi 850 Nylon

I bought this program specificly for Word 2007, I write novels. Word 2007 + Imagnation = A winner.
Industrial Democracy v 1