An open mind leaves a chance for someone to drop a worthwhile thought in it.
Van Gogh’s café ce soir
If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.Vincent Van Gogh
Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.
Warhol’s Marilyn
An artist is somebody who produces things that people don’t need to have. Andy Warhol
Michelangelo’s David
A man paints with his brains and not with his hands. Michelangelo
Picasso
The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls. Pablo Picasso
Art is the only way to run away without leaving home. Twyla Tharp (dancer/choreographer)
No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist. Oscar Wilde
Georgie O’Keeffe. Double click to enlarge.
I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for. Georgia O’Keeffe
Art is like masturbation. It is selfish and introverted and done for you and you alone. Design is like sex. There is someone else involved, their needs are just as important as your own, and if everything goes right, both parties are happy in the end. Colin Wright
ONE week from tomorrow I’ll be running my second half marathon – the Nike Women’s in San Francisco and I’m hyped. The natural progression to that would be to run a fullmarathon however I’m not so sure I want to. It’s not only the extra time and dedication but physically it doesn’t sound the healthiest for your joints and body. Having said that…
Thousands of healthy women run marathons every year!
But there are plenty of stories out there about elite womenrunners who have become too thin, missed periods, and had other health problems. How dangerous is it for women to run marathons? In fact, is it dangerous at all? Some people certainly seem to think so. So…
Are Women Marathoners Endangering Their Health?
“It is generally not dangerous for women to train for and run in marathons, as long as proper nutrition is maintained and precautions are taken,” says Michael Lu, MD, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the UCLA School of Medicine.
As with most major physical undertakings, however, there are some risks. Most of these are related to going to extremes: training too hard, eating too little, getting too thin. “The greatest potential gynecological risks of marathon training for women involve amenorrhea(no periods), osteoporosis, and disordered eating, in what is commonly called the female athlete triad,” Dr. Lu explains.
In their article on the female athlete triad in American Family Physician , Julie Hobart, MD, and Douglas Smucker, MD, MPH, state that the female athlete triad is a combination of three interrelated conditions that are associated with athletic training: disordered eating, amenorrhea (absence of menstruation), and osteoporosis. According to Hobart and Smucker, “Athletic endeavors such as . . . distance running…that emphasize low body weight and a lean physique can increase the risk of developing the female athlete triad.”
Eat Enough and Eat Well
A great benefit to training for a marathon is that you can eat more—in fact, you have to so you can replace all the calories you burn during training. Make sure your diet is adequate to meet your body’s increased demands. In general, the diet should provide adequate calories to meet the athlete’s energy needs. It should be balanced, providing all macronutrients and micronutrients from a wide variety of foods.
Keep Training in Check
One of the contributing factors to the female athlete triad is excessive exercise—and with marathon training, that’s obviously a possibility. The amount you can train is largely determined by genetics. The less there is of you, the easier it is to do weight-bearing exercise, but if you start to get too competitive and try to shed weight so your times will get faster, there can be health risks.
As with most things, moderation in marathon training is key. Don’t do more than your bodycan handle—and that amount is different for every runner. B Well but most of all HAVE FUN!
GOOD LUCK TO ALL THOSE RUNNING THE VICTORIA MARATHON TOMORROW!
You might also like: Is Stress Ruining Your Life?Find out how to stop stress from ruining your life! Brad King, Host of “TransformingHealth” interviews Dr. Jack Singer – The Patch Adams of Psychology. He will inspire, energize and motivate you to not only lighten up in your workplace, but to positively impact your immune system so you can add life to your years and years to your lives! If you want to significantly reduce stress from your daily life tune in for Dr. Jack’s stress busting tips… they will be life changing. Listen up at: http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/55759/is-stress-ruining-your-life
Making up is made easier using some of my favorite brands:
Nars: Bronzer in Laguna & Multiple Stick in Portofino.
by Terry: expert perfecting foundation brush & Rose de Rose sheer liquid blush (made from crushed rose petals). The smell alone is incredible.
Stila: “fabulous in fiji” – collectible travel palette.
Dolce & Gabbana lipstick in Dramatic & Dior Addict lipstick in Hollywood Rose. Kate Moss 01 lipstick (not show) for RimmelLondon is a beautifully moisturizing shade of red. laura mercier: secret camouflage.
MicBella mineral foundation, bronzer, blush, lip pot & lipsticks (above).
MicaBella mineral eye shadows that double as eye liner. Right: mineral pressed foundation with SPF. Mica Beauty!
MicaBella moisturizing mineral lipsticks (nature, tango + sunset)Benefit highbeam, stila smudge pot & urban decay 24/7 are great little fix-me ups! Currently loving “Diorshow” electric blue mascara, Hard Candy ginormous purple haze and MicaBella mineral lengthening & thickening mascaras. Shu uemura for natural looking lashes & their eyelash curler is BEST, BEST, BEST!
Wong’s World – a visionary, collaborator, anti-consumerist, provocateur, “paraconceptualist“ (as he called himself), prankster – was 35
He was a designer whose outrageous mimic of luxury goods and witty expropriation of work by other designers blurred the line between conceptual art and design. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Wong attended the University of Toronto, studied Art and Architecture at Cooper Union in Manhattan then concentrated on sculpture. The design and art world lost one of it’s brightest stars when he sadly took his own life at his home in the East Village.
Killer Diamond – look closely and you can see the claws. Double click to enlarge.
Clever objects of Desire:
This diamond has been set upside-down, pointy and sticking out, and is held within 4 claws.
Catherine Osbourne of Azure Magazine says it as “the most truth telling, bittersweet object I’ve ever seen that describes what marriage really feels like.”
Lit from within
This is a lamp!
Philippe Starck Bubble Club chair turned into a softly glowing lamp.
The wrong store – double click to enlarge
One of his most elaborate productions was “the WrongStore“, a hoax-like exhibition he organized in 2007 with Gregory Krum, the director of retail at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum.
The store, in a tiny Chelsea gallery, was stocked with objects by artists and designers from the United States and Europe and appeared, from the outside, to be a bona fide business enterprise. Mr. Wong had a business phone installed and printed letterhead paper and cards for a nonexistent group of directors. All was not as it seemed, as the discerning might have gathered from a sign in the window that read, “Come In, We’re Closed.” In fact, the store had never opened.
elaborate gold bill holder used for snorting drugs. Double click to enlarge.
Other companies were not as accepting of Wong’s work. In a collaboration with Ju$tAnother Rich Kid, Wong turned a McDonald’s coffee stirrer (an infamous 1980s “icon” that frequently appeared as evidence in drug trials) into a coke spoon.
Protect me from what I want tattoo
His one-man show is currently on display at the Vancouver Museum (at the Planetarium). I went to the opening and it was most interesting. You may not love it all but all will agree that he was an Original! See more below:
Let’s Talk “Tools of the Trade.” Not only makeup artists require these.
How many of you have most or all of the items listed below?
“The Art of Makeup”
1: Tweezers – fine edge and slightly pointed tip work best. “Tweezerman” made in Germany is my favorite.
2: Sponges– good for blending foundation and getting into tiny creases around the nose and eyes.
3: Eyelash Comb – the fine tooth comb prevents lashes from turning into a clumpy mess.
4: Eyebrow Brush– one of the most underused makeup tools. Simply brushing the eyebrows upward can open up the eye area and reveal hairs that need tweezing.
5: Huge Powder Brush – buffing the face after powdering or bronzing removes any excess powder.
6: Blush Brush – bristles should be soft. The ones that usually come with the compact are too small and too hard.
7: Lip Brush– applying straight from the tube doesn’t always allow for control over application.
8: Sponge-tip Applicator – for applying eye makeup, evening out eyeliner and under browbone.
9: Eyelash Curler – an essential for me. Shu Uemura from Japan or Chanel precision curlers are my favorites. Begin by applying the curler as close to the base of the lashes as possible. Softly squeeze the curler and then gently walk it outwards. Apply mascara as needed. Currently loving “DIORSHOW” electric blue mascara, Hard Candy Ginormous Lash in Purple Haze and for black it’s still MicaBella mineral mascara.
MicaBella 100% mineral makeup on eyes and face
10/11/12: Eye Shadow Brushes– different kinds for applying eye makeup to lids and browbone. Slanted is great for dipping into powder when slightly damp for eyeliner.
13: Contour Brush – this may seem a rather peripheral tool but many women use it for blending and to shape the face. I never use this but if you have a wider face you can use a darker shade of powder foundation or bronzer and apply it directly to the outer part of cheeks to create the illusion of a slimmer face.
14: Scissors– cuticle scissors with slightly curved points are good for trimming false eyelashes and brows.
Cleaning your brushes: I dip them in a solution from “MAC” mixed with warm water then rinse in regular water & leave on paper towels to dry completely. Best done every couple of weeks.
Armenian hand painted tile from the old city in Jerusalem
Tiles as Art? Why Not?
Sometimes you want to bring a souvenir art piece back from certain travels but they’re too cumbersome.
Mexican tiles imbedded outside front door to resemble a decorative door mat
Consider nice hand painted tiles that are little pieces of artwork that represent a country you’ve visited instead.
Tile over fireplace
They’re easier to pack and will adhere to the wall with tile cement quite easily. Granted, if you move it will be harder to take them off but at least you didn’t invest much in the first place.
Also it’s another excuse to go back and get more.
To decorate a doorFrom Jamaica – ackee is the national fruit of Jamaica – over stove top cooking elementsPetroglyph from trip to UtahItalian tiles up staircaseTile on upper deck bought at Home SenseFramed Mexican tile on upper deckLive one day at a time – outsidePretty & Useful – on tumbled Italian marble kitchen countertop.
*TIP: Tiles travel well and can double as trivets for hotplates or cooking utensils while cooking.
SUGAR (even the natural kind) is currently getting a bad rap from best-selling books, diet gurus and even mainstream doctors. Experts share what the real problems are and the smartest ways to cut back.
Take the following quiz below to find out if you’re hooked. Answer True or False for each question.
1) I crave something sweet after nearly every meal. 2) I have at least one soft drink (diet or regular) a day. 3) When I see something sweet, I have trouble passing it up. 4) I almost always have some sort of chocolate or candy every day. 5) I sometimes feel out of control when eating sweets.
If you answered TRUE TO THREE OR MORE questions, you’re under sugar’s spell and it might be time to start curbing your intake.
Guilty to numbers 1, 3 and 4. My correct score should really be 2 ½. I struggled with answering yes to #1 because I don’t always eat sweets after breakfast or lunch.
WHAT’S SO BAD
It can add belly bulge. Ab fat anyone? What you eat matters – counting calories are not the only thing that counts. Sugary foods are rapidly absorbed, precipitating insulin spikes that cause rebound hunger and elevated triglyceride levels (increasing your risk of heart disease). Scarier still, surplus fructose can build fat deep in the abdomen, which is the worst place in terms of health risks.
IT AGES YOU
Excess suger in your diet can trigger the formation of advanced glycation end-products, which can cause premature lines and wrinkles. WAIT: you can use sugar based products for your skin? Sugar actually works well as a topical exfoliant, gently sloughing off dead layers to reveal smoother, brighter skin. That’s great and all but will it still satisfy my craving for something sweet while it’s on my skin? I don’t think so! My question is can you eat sugar and then use wrinkle reducing products to wipe off the accumulated line damage after? – probably not!We’ll do skincare in another post then.
DON’T BE A FAKER
Satisfying your cravings with artificial substitutes isn’t a smart swap. People who drink diet sodas are more likely to gain extra pounds. One possible explanation? The faux stuff primes your palate to crave sweets, making it harder to scale back. Plus the fake stuff is even worse for you in general.
SUGAR GETS BUSTED
Since it’s publication in February, the “Blood Sugar Solution” has been generating a buzz and landing on the best-seller list for at least 12 weeks. Followers of Dr. Mark Hyman’s no-added-sugers edict are staving off what he calls “diabesity,” a cluster of symptoms that can lead to serious health issues. (Little Brown, $28; amazon.com)
Slashing Sugar Made Simple: some strategies to slowly step away from sweets without sacrificing taste or satiety.
Pick the finest fruit – few dietitians advise cutting out fruit entirely since it has fiber along with the natural sugars. Focus on low-sugar, high-fiber, and phytonutrient-rich choices like blueberries and peaches over super-sweet fruits like pineapple.
Beware of breakfast cereals – even the seemingly wholesome varieties can be laden with the white stuff. A serving of Kashi Go Lean Crunch has a whopping 13 grams of sugar. That is the main reason why I make my own granola. The only additional sugars is with added dried fruit.
Avoid Hidden Sugar – sweeteners go by many names and can be lurking where you least expect them. Common sources include breads, ketchup, pasta sauce, peanut butter, salad dressings and soups. Read the labels carefully. Bone up on the aliases you may find on labels, such as brown rice syrup, corn syrup, solids, dexrin, galactose, and malt syrup.
Sip Smarter – be wary of drinking too much juice. Juice might seem health savvy -witness the juice-cleanse craze. But most are high in sugar too. Eating the whole fruit is more filling for fewer calories or dilute your juice with some water. I love juicing but will add veggies like carrots, kale and cucumber to balance out the fruit intake. Watch out for the sugar intake in energy shakes too.
“Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.”
*TIP: It may not be chocolate but for a healthy take on something sweet try baked sweet potatoes sprinkled with cinnamon.
**If you can’t CUT OUT then at least CUT DOWN. Eating sugar in desserts, ice cream, etc. is my guilty pleasure but I vow to cut down…..bit by bit (or bite by bite).
You might also be interested in: How YOU can become almost totally resistant to colds, influenza, and other infections with the bestselling author of SUPER IMMUNITY on Transforming Health with Brad King. VoiceAmerica.com – #1 internet radio station in North America. Listen to this and other health related issues with Brad King every Wednesday live at noon (pacific standard time) and 3:00 p.m. (EST).
I don’t know where the term “easy aspie” comes from because as a rule the crusts are never so easy to make (still working on it) – only the fillings. I think you`ll find this one surprisingly simple and one of the best tasting.
I picked up a basic recipe in Key West Florida – the birthplace of “keylimes” but made it my own. While key limes are always the best to use they’re a pain to juice and you can’t get the exact same ones here. Substitute using Persianor regular limes. They’re less acidic so the recipe is adjusted for taste. Approx 6 large and a couple more for optional garnish.
Recipe:
Graham Cracker Crust: ¾ cup of graham cracker crumbs, 2 Tbsp. of melted butter and 1 Tbsp. of sugar. Mix together in the bottom of a 9” pyrex pie plate. Pat down and refrigerate. (this is the same crust used for making new york cheesecake).
Filling: 5 oz of lime juice (if you like it less tart then use 4 oz.) 1 can (14 oz.) of sweetened condensed milk 4 egg yolks Grate zest from limes and reserve
With electric mixer combine milk and eggs, then slowly add juice and some of the zest. Mix thoroughly.
Pour over top of the graham cracker crust. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. Refrigerate. Usually best made the night before.
Top with meringue (made with the leftover egg whites) while filling is hot or with whipped cream when cold. Top either with grated lime zest and decorate with sliced limes and some fruit for appearance sake.
**TIP: Did you know that you can freeze limes? First zest them and freeze the zest in a separate container so you can use it when you need it.
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