House Party 101: Drinks Your Guests Will Love

A house party can mean a lot of things. Catching up with friends, celebrating a pay-raise, a milestone birthday or simply a way to blow off some steam. If you are inviting friends over for a house party and have booze on your mind, you can do a lot better than a crate of beer cans and a bottle of vodka. Don’t get us wrong. While handing out a pint of beer or lining up shots is a great place to start, you might want to give your guests something more if you want them to stay to the end.And here are some simple concoctions that you can prepare at home to sweep your guests off their feet and claim the title of the coolest host in town.#1 The Classic Screw DriverOne of the easiest drinks to make and enjoy is the Screw Driver. It’s a universal drink that suits every palate and can be paired with all kinds of snacks. All you need is orange juice and vodka. You can either squeeze out fresh orange juice with just the right amount of pulp or buy some. Added Covid bonus is that you get some immune support with the vitamin C.  Here’s how to make it:Add 1 oz of vodka to 5 oz of orange juice. Throw in some ice cubes and cut a sliver of the fruit for garnishing. Your tangy, refreshing drink is ready to be served.#2 The Sophisticated CosmopolitanA drink for the ladies and curious men (we won’t judge), the Cosmopolitan became popular in the 90s, courtesy of Sex in the City. Since then, it’s been a drink of choice for women across the board.If you are making this drink at home, you are going to need vodka, ice, lime juice, cranberry juice, orange-flavored liqueur (Triple Sec), and a cocktail shaker to mix it all together. Here’s how to make it:Mix 1.5 oz of Vodka, 1 oz of lime juice, 0.5 oz of Triple Sec, and 0.5 oz of Cranberry Juice in a cocktail shaker ShakeServe in a chilled cocktail glassUse a lime wedge for garnishing#3 The Unexpected MeadA bottle of mead can be your party’s main highlight because everyone wants to try it. If you didn’t know, mead is a type of wine that is made from honey and accented with spices and fruity flavors. It comes with an alcoholic strength ranging from 5% to 25% and can be served chilled or at room temperature. Mead is one of the oldest drinks ever known to human civilization. If your guests appreciate antiques and the value that they carry, then this drink will definitely sweep them off their feet. It does not require any preparation. You can drink straight from the bottle or serve in antique glasses to enjoy mead just like the Vikings of medieval times.#4 The Refreshing Virgin MojitoThis might seem something out of the blue, but we thought it was important. If you have anyone under 21 on your guest list, then you might want to arrange for them to have something special too. A can of soda is fine, but let those who can’t participate (or choose not to) have something special too.The mojito is easy to prepare at home. All you need is club soda, mint leaves, ice, sugar syrup, and lemon wedges.Crush some mint leaves and sugar syrup in the bottom of your shaker. Add lime juice and club soda, then shake.Pour over ice and garnish with a lemon wedge.If you are planning to have a few drinks, espcially come New Years Eve, be sure to do so responsibly. Or, if you happen to over indulge, make sure you have a game plan. One unique way to curb that hangover is with something called IV Therapy. Instead of popping pain killers and reaching for energy drinks, getting a dose of IV Therapy can eases anxiety, promote health, remove free radicals (toxins) and help with certain nutrient deficiencies. Get some vitamins into your body, even when you are dealing with a debilitating hangover and don’t feel like eating anything. Want to try it? Arrange an appointment with Reset IV to replenish the water content and essential salts in your body with a simple 30-minute drip procedure. That should supply you with the energy you need to go about your day without feeling tired or nauseous. Cheers to a new year hang-over free!The post House Party 101: Drinks Your Guests Will Love first appeared on SD Entertainer Magazine.

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Movie Review – Spider-Man: No Way Home

Long before Marvel released its first ever superhero movie (“Iron Man“) that helped launch the most successful superheroes franchise of all time (“The Avengers”), Tobey Maguire (“Pawn Sacrifice”) swung into theaters as Spider-Man.  Believe it or not, that was 20 years ago.  Maguire’s trilogy was beloved.  Then the reboot came only five years after with Andrea Garfield (“The Amazing Spider-Man,” “The Social Network,” “99 Homes”).  Despite of criticisms and incomplete iteration of this version, I enjoyed the movies.  Maguire embodies Peter Parker more, but Garfield’s a great Spider-Man.  In “Captain America: Civil War,” I couldn’t have imagined how Marvel could weave a brand new Peter and Spider-Man into its universe successfully, but they did with Tom Holland (“The Impossible“), seamlessly incorporating him as Tony Stark’s protégé and the youngest Avenger.  “Spider-Man: Homecoming” was fresh and “Spider-Man: Far from Home” knocked it out of the cobweb.  As a matter of fact, I couldn’t help but flash back to the speedy ride of the uproariously action-packed ‘Far from Home’ during the slow start of ‘No Way Home.’  It does get going though once the multiverse portal opens up and past villains start showing up.It’s no spoiler to say that Doctor Otto Octavius/Doc Ock (Alfred Molina), Norman Osborn/ Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) and Maxwell Dillon/Electro (Jamie Foxx, “Soul”) appear in the movie, as they’re shown in the trailers.  While fans may be able to put two and two together, this is one of those movies that’s not easy to review without spoiling, as some characters are integrally embedded into the story.  The storyline though is very straightforward.  The movie picks up exactly where ‘Far from Home’ ended, antagonist Mysterio (Jack Gyllenhaal, “Source Code,” Nightcrawler,” “Prince of Persia: Sands of Time”) revealing to the world not only the identity of Spider-Man, but also framing the web slinger of murdering him and launching the drone attack over London. As a result, Peter’s life is turned upside down. His aunt May (Marisa Tomei), girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) and best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) are also now targeted due to being associated with Peter.  Even as Peter become very famous though, at the end of the day, he’s still a broke high school senior kid, now trying to get into the college of his dreams.  Peter goes to see Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch, “Doctor Strange,” “The Imitation Game”) and ask him to cast a spell so that people would forget his identity as Spider- Man.  With Peter trying to self-select who should remember him, the spell-casting process goes wrong, creating a tear in reality and a gateway for dead villains from other universes appear in this universe.  The first action set piece on the freeway and bridge involving a hanging car is huge and hilarious.Wouldn’t the solution be simply returning these villains into their respective universe?  Well, yes, but the thing is they died there, in their fights against Maguire’s Spider-Man or Garfield’s.  While they may be the bad guys, they’re also people and it’s not in Spider-Man’s nature to turn his back on humanity.  I wish this part would have been explored more for a richer story instead of oversimplifying with a quick fix, but at nearly 2.5 hours already, it wouldn’t be possible.  “With great power comes great responsibility” truly hits home here, even as tragedy befalls and emotions flow.The scenes that follow are high in nostalgia, leading to cheers and claps.  The end battle is filled with special effects, but it’s nothing you could have imagined in other superhero movies.  The warmth, wisdom, humor, charm, camaraderie, poignancy and throwback are wrapped in iconic images and interactions.  Marvel has pulled off something incredibly special here.  Human experiences and memories are priceless.  Heroes make choices all the time, even life or death, but this is different.  Peter realizes what it means to be a really good person and there’s no way home from here.  Holland’s trilogy concludes on a clean slate and his Spider-Man is either ending or moving forward on a path that is wide open.  The mid-credit depicts a curious scene that makes you wonder whether the multiverse portal is completely closed and the end credit reveals that you don’t mess with magic without consequences.Nostalgic and iconic, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” is a special tribute to fans… You’ll never see another superhero movie like this one, truly one-of-a-kind.  Copyright (c) 2021. Nathalia AryaniThe post Movie Review – Spider-Man: No Way Home first appeared on SD Entertainer Magazine.

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Giving Tuesday Means More Than Ever This Year

Giving Tuesday is today, November 30th and, as part of our commitment to San Diego, we wanted to feature a charity that we at the Entertainer & Lifestyles Magazine feel, from personal experience, is very worthwhile. The charity we are highlighting today is Interfaith Community Services.Interfaith Community Services’ mission statement says it, “empowers people in need to stabilize and improve their lives through comprehensive programs in partnership with diverse faith communities and people of compassion.” Yes, that’s a mouthful, but we have seen them do just that.First, some brief background on giving: The best way we have found to check out a charity, in general, is both to look it up on the State of California Registry of Charities to make sure they are listed and are legitimate. Of course, with Interfaith Community Services, that is not an issue. The other is to go to Charity Navigator. This site offers ratings on non-profits that rate them in a number of areas; such as compliance, the actual percentage of funds that end up actually addressing their mission statement, (we’ve all heard of charities where only a very tiny percentage goes to the actual need). Again, Interfaith Community Services passes these tests with flying colors.We chatted recently with Interfaith’s CEO, Greg Anglea, whose passion for those in need is immediately evident. Anglea, who became CEO in 2014, shared some of the non-profit’s many challenges. “The amount of barriers that low income families face just to keep food on the table, much less facing the disparities in education and so many other elements that many of us take for granted is truly heartbreaking,” he shared. He also has seen firsthand that the inequities caused by Covid are even more pronounced. “Covid has made all the problems that existed prior to it even more pronounced. Many families have been pushed beyond their means,” he recalled. “Plus for those struggling with addiction, their struggles have increased significantly. For example, overdose deaths have tripled during this time.”So clearly there is a need and that is what Giving Tuesday is all about. You can check out Interfaith Community Services at www.interfaithservices.org. A tax-deductible gift could make a big difference not just in someone’s holiday, but in their future, as well.The post Giving Tuesday Means More Than Ever This Year first appeared on SD Entertainer Magazine.

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