Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone and I have been loving some new recipes! First of all, I am happy to say I made it through the holiday without even sniffing gluten or sugar! Yay me I was a little lot worried that I would not be able to resist all the traditional food. So, I made sure to take my own and basically stayed away from the large table of food at my mom’s. I have been learning more about the anti-candida diet and really prayed hard that God would help me stick to it! He answered my prayer

My Thanksgiving day started off with a yummy HOT breakfast–southwestern style. I have realized that I do much better with a BIG HOT breakfast–not cold and raw (more about that later). Here are a few I have been enjoying.

1 egg + 2 whites, cooked peppers, onions and black beans over spinach

More eggs, peppers, onions and black beans over spaghetti sqaush

Coconut flour pancakes with Sweet Almond Sauce--OMG!!

Did I mention I have a new BFF? I don’t think she knows it yet, but Ricki at Diet, Dessert and Dogs is saving my life with this Anti-Candida thing!! Thanks a million Ricki! I still have SO many more recipes to explore! The recipe for the Sweet Almond Sauce is here and it is to die for!!

Lunch on Thanksgiving day was:

Kale Salad with Sweet Potato Fries

These recipes were also on Ricki’s blog I’m afraid sweet tators may be out for me for a while though–they make me crave sugar! UGH!

Dinner on Thanksgiving:

Anti-Candida Stew

Yet another wonderful recipe from Diet, Dessert and Dogs! I used quinoa instead of rice and I did put the sweet potato, but will probably leave it out next time. I took this with me to my mom’s and didn’t touch anything else. I KNEW if I took even ONE bite of the traditional food, my taste buds would go BONKERS and I would be in trouble!

Dessert on Thanksgiving:

Tofu Carob Pudding (sugar free:)

I’m still not sure that tofu works for me, but it was certainly better than eating sugar and gluten. Tofu doesn’t make my stomach hurt, but I have noticed some unpleasant reactions to it. I think it is worth eating occasionally, but I couldn’t eat it every day.

So, basically, Ricki saved my Thanksgiving. I LOVE the blogging world. We have never even met and yet blogs are SO helpful!

Just a quick note about the raw diet in my life. I went to the ND the other day and she and I both think it is best if I just concentrate on staying away from sugar and gluten. With my past eating history, too many rules was REALLY freaking me out! Food was VERY quickly becoming my enemy and I just can NOT go there again. So, I will eat raw when I want (like kale salad) and cooked when I want. I’m sure it will be more cooked than raw and that has to be okay–if for no other reason than to keep my sanity! Eating disorders are a powerful form of bondage that I don’t want any part of–EVER AGAIN!! I have to see food as fuel and as my friend,and I wasn’t seeing it that way when trying to follow so many rules. I am feeling MUCH better emotionally since coming to this place with my diet I know there are rules to follow on the anti-candida diet, but I think it is easier than trying to do mostly raw. I’m not much into raw eggs, but have been loving them scrambled for my breakfast!

Better run now. I think my daughter and I are going to try to go to a movie today and maybe do a little window shopping Hope you have a blessed weekend!

I started my day with an early run for 60 minutes – it was great, I could watch the sunrise from a hill. The greater surrounding of Zurich has a marvellous landscape. Up the hill I did a light meditation, balance, stretching and mobilisation training, which I integrate regularly into my training. Meditation helps you to keep inner balance – mostly I do certain breathing techniques to calm down. At the same time I visualize my goals, the next steps to it or a certain situation in the future. This helps me to keep focussed.

Balance and mobilization exercises help you to stimulate the neural system and activate your intrinsic muscles. Stretching, together with strength training, aims to avoid muscular imbalances and keep a good posture.

I will prepare photos for this different topics and show possible routines later in the exercise section.

In the afternoon I will do workout as stated in David`s “Sound Mind Sound Body”: chin ups, knee lifts, triceps press, crunch, triceps kick backs.

Food today: Breakfast consisted of an apple, a yoghurt and a tea, as a.m. snack, after the run, I prepared scrambled egg white with paprika and tomato. For late lunch I prepare chicken and broccoli, dinner most probably low fat yoghurt and an orange.

Have a great weekend, Jens

Sucking a dick in my cubical doesn’t make me a corporate whore, nor does fucking in the downstairs bathroom.  It is the bought and paid for soul that the Mortgage business tries to get me to sell that would make me a corporate whore, and I have yet to enter into negotiations.  How much is my life worth?  More importantly how much is my soul worth?

I think its worth at least the things money can’t buy… Like a chiseled body on top of mine (actually I could probably purchase this), a perfectly cooked Filet Minot and a side of good conversation that includes heartfelt laughter and not just me pretending to care to get to the end of the date, a drive in movie, a perfect wave I don’t have to get beat up for riding, a harassment free ex-husband, and/or some education to get me far, far away doing what makes me happy.  Mostly getting me away from this corporate hell spin cycle that will inevitably continue without much change for all of eternity.  Maybe I sold my soul in a past life, and that’s why the last office came with phones without the “mute” button and instead a 24 hour harrassing, high maintence Executive that is the biggest douche bag you’ve ever met as my director.

I cashed in this job I mention.  I got more than what I thought I would.  Experience of how to deal with pushy jerks and prepare for a wierd combat of deception being thrown on me like what you also get from the pent-up monkeys at the zoo.  

I’ve been proactive and decided to go a new route.  I have decided to sign on with Dream Pleasure Tours promoting and living.  I’ll be blogging about this new adventure of sexual liberation, while maintaining my spiritual beliefs that I’ve found for myself.  Thank goodness I’ve found something that is a nice balance and a little more solid in the realm of honesty…  So I think so far.

swollen members armed to the teeth album cover idea girl consulting

I was reading an article in The Standard (Friday November 27, 2009 by Grant Lafleche – which I throughly enjoyed) and decided to showcase the band  on my entertainment site after listening to their awesome music video – Bollywood Chick and Kyla.

I was pleasantly surprised at how professional it was.

I really liked the youtube videos, they are very professionally done and the music is cool too!

Loved the voices and the lyrics, and I’d like to hear this song in a dance club.

Just thought I’d share it with all of you!

Okay I just Googled the bands name and they have been around for awhile, my apologies for my ignorance!

Here’s a run down on what I found on Hip Hop Canada’s website:

Balance 1999

Best Rap Recording 1999 – Mad Child – Juno Award

Bad Dreams 2001

Best Rap Recording (award #2) 2001

First Platinum Album

Monsters in the Closet 2003

3rd and 4th Juno Award

Group of the Year

Rap Recording of the Year

Heavy 2004

Black Magic 2006

swollen members idea girl consulting

You can view the Swollen Members band on myspace or on youtube channel SWOLLENMEMBERS

swollen members full band idea girl consulting

Hoewel het een eer is om een mixcompilatie op te nemen voor EQ Recordings’ Balance-serie, heeft degene die deel 015 zou mixen Joris Voorn’s voorgaande meesterwerk op te volgen. Diegene is Will Saul geworden en Saul heeft lef. Op een drieluik krijgt hij ruim de tijd en ruimte om zijn eigen ding te doen, met een niet onverdienstelijke resultaat.

De eerste cd biedt veel downtempo muziek in de vorm van disco, dub en elektronica. Met name de drie tracks van I:Cube springen er uit, waarvan Supernovac de bekendste is en tevens een redelijk slot inleidt. Ook de track van Dolle Jolle en Life’s A Beach (Todd Terje Beach House Mix) zijn het vermelden waard, hoewel dit wel het begin is van een wat flauwere tweede helft.

De tweede cd is andere koek. Hier ligt de piek wel in het midden, beginnend bij Typerope van Mathew Johnson. The Voice From Planet Love van Precious System waant je, ondanks crazy vocaal, in detroit en de uitstekende productie van Wighnomy Brother Robag Wruhme is een fantastische dollemansrit. De interlude in de vorm van Shell Of Light van Burial is een prachtig sereen moment in de mix, die de onvoorspelbaarheid en daardoor de spannende mix van Saul nog maar eens bevestigt. Pangaea’s Router vormt een onverwachts dub hoogtepunt. De cd wordt passend afgesloten met vocalen van Radiohead Thom Yorke ondersteunt met een grove Modeselektor breakbeat, zo horen wij dat graag.

De derde cd gaat na een korte intro van start met King Of My Empire van Rhythm & Sound, een track die we al eerder op de Balance van Joris Voorn hoorde. De klassieker van Patti Jo genaamd Make Me Believe In You (Black Science Orchestra Re-Edit) komt, net zoals Shell of Light, zeer onverwachts en wijkt op een prettige manier af van de lijn van de mixt. Na wat relaxte break beats voor de kiezen gekregen te hebben, wordt de mix van Jordan Fields ‘I Wanna Thank You’ dan écht dansbaar en al direct met Sebo K & Metro met hun catchy Sax Track gaat het dak er gelijk af. Nogmaals gebeurd dit met de vocalen en piano riedel van Tony Lionni met Found A Place die meer Detroit-achtige stuk inluidt, dat tot een het einde (Son Of Dragon, smullen) aanhoudt.

Hoewel de verwachtingen voor elk deel hoog gespannen zijn, is het onmogelijk om de kwaliteit van het voorafgaande deel opnieuw te eisen. Vergeet Joris Voorn’s Balance 014. Dat moeten overtreffen is een niet realistische eis en bovendien brengt Will Saul een totaal andere stijl. De essentie is wel hetzelfde, namelijk muziek uit meerdere genres combineren, alleen is deze cd op de traditionele manier en tevens live gemixt. Balance 015 klinkt lekker onvoorspelbaar en blijft daardoor boeiend om naar te luisteren. De kwaliteit druipt er vanaf, Saul slingert je door alle gemoedstoestanden heen en daarmee is Balance 015 een episch goede cd geworden. 5/5

CD1
01. The Irresistible Force – Sunstroke
02. Smith & Mighty – Anyone (Mellow Mix)
03. Lawrence – Laid One
04. Junior Boys – Work
05. Karma – Beach Towel (I:Cube Cosmix Marathon Remix)
06. I:Cube – Vacuum Jackers (Maurice Fulton Remix)
07. Chromatics – In The City
08. Studio – Life’s A Beach (Todd Terje Beach House Mix)
09. Dølle Jølle – Balearic Incarnation (Todd Terje’s Extra Døll Mix)
10. Cage & Aviary – Georgio Carpenter
11. Daniel Wang – Panoramic (Acid Dub)
12. Kerrier District – Let’s Dance and Freak
13. Syclops – NR17
14. Tensnake – Holding Back My Love
15. Capracara – King Of The Witches (Rub ‘n’ Tug Remix)
16. Bostro Pesopeo – Falls (Hercules & Love Affair Remix)
17. Hercules & Love Affair – You Belong
18. Sally Shapiro – Jackie Junior (Junior Boys Dub)
19. I:Cube – Supernovac (Live at the Lanchonete Version)
20. Recloose – Get There Tonight
21. Bat For Lashes – Pearl’s Dream

CD2
01. Isolee – I Owe You (Villalobos Remix)
02. Cortney Tidwell – Palace
03. DJ Koze – First Snow
04. Ricardo Villalobos – Minimoonstar
05. Lawrence – Rabbit Tube – (DJ Koze Remix)
06. Isolee – Pillow Talk
07. Konrad Black – Medusa Smile
08. Adam Marshall – Vespers
09. Mathew Jonson – Typerope
10. Will Saul & Tam Cooper – Sequential Circus
11. Precious System – The Voice From Planet Love (Dixon’s Chic-A-Go-Go Edit)
12. Robag Wruhme – Robag’s Bobb 2005 Fur F
13. Appleblim & Ramadanman – Sous le Sable
14. Model 500 – Wanna Be There (Dave Angel Remix)
15. Will Saul – Mbira
16. Burial – Shell Of Light
17. Zomby – Test Me For A Reason
18. 2562 – Embrace
19. Pangaea – Router
20. Peverelist – Infinity Is Now
21. Pearson Sound – So Far Ago
22. Modeselektor – The White Flash feat Thom Yorke

CD3
01. Pangaea – Memories
02. Rhythm & Sound – King In My Empire
03. Geiom & Appleblim – Shreds
04. Sly & Robbie – Skull & Crossbones
05. Geiom – Reminissin’
06. TRG – Broken Heart (Martyn’s DCM Remix)
07. Rhythm & Sound – Free For All
08. Atlantic Conveyor – Nasty Things
09. Patti Jo – Make Me Believe In You (Black Science Orchestra Re-Edit)
10. Dapayk & Padberg – Island (Noze Remix)
11. Wolf + Lamb – If U Had (Shaun Reeves Edit)
12. No Regular Play – Lady Luck
13. Jordan Fields – I Wanna Thank You
14. Sebo K & Metro – Sax Track (Reboot Remix)
15. Motorcitysoul – Vivid (Roman Flugel’s Desperate Dub)
16. Will Saul & Tam Cooper – Teddy’s Back
17. DJ T – Bateria (dOp Remix)
18. Tony Lionni – Found A Place
19. Shonky – Coco Feel & Love Shonk
20. Seth Troxler – Love Never Sleeps
21. Morgan Geist – Detroit (Carl Craig Remix 1)
22. Liquid People – Son Of Dragon

Very Important Record: Sebo K & Metro – Sax Track (Reboot Remix)

New Balance Women’s WW644 Walking Shoe Review

This is the most comfortable sneaker I have ever had. The price here was – cheaper than in the local stores.
I Love Amazon!

New Balance Women’s WW644 Walking Shoe Feature

• ABZORB provides a superior blend of cushioning and compression set features with Dupont Engage and Isoprene rubber for the ultimate ride
• Stability Web provides optimal arch support that¿s both rigid and lightweight while preventing midfoot flex
• C-CAP is a compression-molded EVA for superior midsole cushioning and flexibility
• Solid rubber outsole

New Balance Women’s WW644 Walking Shoe Overview

A breathable and cushioned country walker that is perfect for everyday wear and adventurous environments. Abzorb® foam material at heel and forefoot makes for an ultimately comfortable ride. Suede and mesh upper. Light weight stability web arch support provides optimal rigidity preventing midfoot flex. Walking Strike Path® outsole stabilizes and guides the foot through the walking gait cycle.

New Balance Women’s WW644 Walking Shoe Specifications

The WW644 sneaker from New Balance will incline you to walk every where you go. This shoe is a great companion to your busy feet, and with all of its comfort technology like the Abzorb® heel and forefoot, stability web, and C-CAP midsole, you’ll be in it for the long haul.

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

Related Products

• New Balance Women’s WW558 Walking Shoe
• New Balance Women’s WT571 Outdoor All Terrain Trail Shoe
• New Balance Men’s MT571 Outdoor All Terrain Trail Running Shoe
• New Balance Women’s WW749 Outdoor Shoe
• New Balance Men’s MW644 Walking Shoe

Customer Reviews

new balance – Topaz Tije – Maine
Loved the sneakers. There was an issue with one of the laces, but I dealt with it.

Different color but a good comfy shoe – Michael J. Faber – OH USA
the shoe is more brown than the picture but the quality and price make up for the color

Ouch! – M. McCormack – Tacoma, WA
These shoes ate my feet! I do not recommend these for actually walking any sort of distances- Ouch Ouch Ouch!

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Nov 27, 2009 11:07:10

For the first time in a very long time, I feel like we are where we should be. And I am at a loss for words.

So many new feelings swirl around my brain that I’m enjoying a little writing hiatus to just sit back and feel each one as they come and go. Uninterrupted and under-analyzed. And in some weird way I’ve let go.

Last night after making our first Thanksgiving meal in the new house our family snuggled by the fire to play games. My eyes became sleepy with pure satisfaction so I did something I would never do – I took a grateful look around the room, blessed each person and fell asleep. I am talking out cold.

Everything was as it should be. And it still is.

Submitted by: Tom-Erik J. via Submit a Kludge!

Ganzheitliche Einweihungsspirale in Acryl, Seidenpapier, Weizenhalm, Kleister, Permanent Ink Pink auf Leinwand.

Size: 140 x 100 cm

500 Euro

Lecture About Design principles

the lecture was about design principles, we recap on the design principles(Balance,Contrast,Movement,Emphasis,Unity) from last week and had a bit more on unity and if you work on does 4 principels that they contribute to a good image and how that brings unity to an image and people will like it more and it will keep there interest for longer period.We also did a physical display of the 5 principals in groups of 4. our group had one person looking forward while the other 3 where looking at the opposite  way so you had foreground and background.

Image shows how we where in the assignment

Loneliness shines with a withering ray
Rapidly aging me until I obey
Now I must work twice as hard as I play
Or suffer karma’s balance at the end of the day

Yesterday was a wonderful family day.

Yesterday was a 10-mile run day. 

Today is a Rest Day. 

Who knew after you’re 40 your body does most of its hard work when you’re actually resting? 

Photo Credit

Ahhhh.  Life is good.

It’s official. I’ve become MOM. Yep, not just a twentysomething mom, but an all out MOM. It’s been a long time since I’ve written about life in the world of young parenthood, but now’s the time to start up again. In the past few months, I’ve left my Great American corporate job-with-benefits to stay home and spend time with the children.

What, you say? ChildREN? Yessir. More than one. We welcomed baby boy #2 into the world in October, the day after my birthday. Happy Birthday to us!

But why the sudden reality check of mothering? Because, my friends, Black Friday is tomorrow and I’ve actually SERIOUSLY considered participating.

Considered, and cringed. Am I really a Black Friday shopper? Not yet… but probably next year. The thought of lining up outside Khol’s or JC Penny at 4am is not my cup of tea. The madness, the competition, but Oh, the great deals!

Black Friday makes so much sense…cents? Gifts, wants and necessities, all a mere fraction of the regular price. So much money to be saved! And then to think about all the holiday shopping getting done in one fell swoop… oh, what a dream.

It seems like it’s just the best way to save and splurge all at once. Even Canadians look forward to a Black Friday. I learned this evening from a friend from up north that Canadian Boxing Day is just like our Black Friday… get it? BOXing Day. Where you pack everything up in BOXes. I always thought it was something about the sport of boxing. As a child, whenever I saw “Boxing Day (Canada)” on my calendar, an image of Joe Luis popped in my head.

But I digress…

I’m also slowly but surely shopping for a new family vehicle. How nice to have a brand new crossover, I think to myself. The new station wagons are oh so hot and sleek and trendy and not at all like the soccer mom minivan.

But now that I’m home all the time, a Reverend’s budget for a family of four doesn’t allow for such luxuries. So I look to used cars… and what do I find in searches for our budget, taking into consideration two car seats, a massive dog, and at times, a cello all riding in the same vehicle? You got it: a minivan.

GAG. Am I REALLY a minivan driver? I mean, they are beyond affordable, spacious and safe. They make SO much sense!…just like Black Friday. See where I’m going?

 The minivan is a great invention for the middle American family. But me? With sliding doors? Sliding doors?!

Then it dawned on me. OMG. Will that be me next year? In line at Khol’s at 3:30am drinking coffee in the warmth of my Freestar as I prepare to stock it full of Black Friday spoils for my childREN?

Yes, my friends. And surprisingly, I’m ok with it. Mostly. I can’t keep running from the truth. I’m just a few short years away from being a full-fledged soccer mom. In in those years, I’ll enjoy the journey of adding to the stereotype piece-by-piece. What comes after a minivan and Black Friday shopping?

Probably getting a crock pot and organizing craft shows…(check, and check!)

“It’s not over,” he said. “There’s always a chance to change. You should not — you dare not — give up.”

Gregg Mozgala, actor and dancer with cerebral palsy

In yoga classes, I’ve notice some students’ difficulty moving their ankles and toes. Point, flex. Easy enough. Rotate them in synchronized circles. Okay. Now flex only the toes back, in tiptoe position (some call it “floint” or the amusing but apt “Barbie”). More struggles here. Now spread the toes wide apart. Half the population can’t seem to separate their toes.

Having grown up in a no-indoor-shoes culture (which I enthusiastically support for the whole world), I’ve spent most of my home life barefoot. So my toes splay like an amoeba and can retrieve fallen socks and writing implements with minimal effort. (Of course, I have other weak spots.) But the frozen-toe syndrome made me wonder: can immobility or “deadness” in our bodies be corrected?

Regarding feet: One of my first yoga teachers (and still a favorite from long distance), Sandy Blaine, couldn’t move her toes much when she was a beginner. So, upon waking in the morning, she would look at her toes and just try to move them. By the time I met her, a decade later, her toes could spread like a hand. She conjectured that trying to move her toes (perhaps even mentally directing them to move) spurred new neural connections.

Yesterday, I read a fascinating story, “Learning His Body, Learning to Dance,” New York Times, November 24, 2009, about Gregg Mozgala, a man with cerebral palsy who at age 31 is relearning how to move his body through dance. Due to his disability, he’s always struggled with basic actions, such as walking; when choreographer Tamar Rogoff tried to teach him new forms of movement, he’d either fall or be incapable of even trying them.

So Rogoff started from scratch with him, to “‘find’ individual bones, muscles and tendons that he had had no command of before.” According to the article, “[t]hey started at the top and worked down—sternum, sacrum, knees—with Mr. Mozgala’s body and brain opening paths of communication that had not existed.”

In the article, Dr Stephen A. Paget, chief of rheumatology at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan states, “In the past, people thought that a neurological deficit was fixed and immutable. Now there’s this whole concept of neuroplasticity: the neurological system has this ability to change itself and constantly grow.”

Wow. Sandy was right. We can teach our bodies new tricks. I’m not talking simply about strength and flexibility, the more straightforward and common limiting factors. Rather I’m talking about whole new connections. Moving body parts that seemed frozen. Or moving with improved coordination and posture. Or balancing on limbs (or a limb) once too wobbly. If Mozgala can reawaken his body and transform his gait, it’s a lesson to us all.

Mozgala’s step-by-step learning reminded me of Iyengar yoga, which requires constant observation of the entire body, from crown of the head to fingers and toes. Likewise, he employed specific instructions to help maintain awareness in daily life, off the dance floor. (Of course, his cues, “sternum down, tailbone up,” are the opposite of ours!)

Bottom line: if you can’t move your toes, arch your thoracic spine, or balance in handstand … don’t give up.

Image: yvetteAL

Week 8 started off with a recap on Semiotics and our Semiotic Assignment. Week 8 brought us on to Design Principles. We already covered shape/form, space, point, line, texture, pattern and colour earlier during the module but these can be considered elements of design used to create a composition.  We learn that space between and around our elements is very important and can be as dominant as the elements themselves. How we combine the elements of design forms design principles and the method we apply these principles determines how good our compositon/artwork becomes. We can combine our elements using balance, contrast, movement, emphasis and unity.

Balance
Balance refers to the equilibrium in a compositon. This is achieved by choice in arranging the elements in relation to each other and frame area. There are 2 forms – Symmetrical and Asymmetrical. Sysmmetical is an even distribution/mirror image. This is achieved by placing elements evenly in design.

Asymmetrical Balance
Asymmetrical balance is an uneven distribution of elements on the page/frame. These designs can be difficult to achieve but can work out very well. They can be created by placing small or no items on one side and a large item on the other side. This can create tension drawing the viewer in.

If you know the rules you can break them, lack of balance can convey action and motion. An off-balance design can make people think, it’s not good to end up having an off balance design by accident.

Contrast
Contast means difference, having similar components throughout and become bland and boring. Contrasts in composition, shape, size and colour can make a dynamic design. It creates interest for the viewer. Contrast can create tension by placing opposing elements in relation to each other. This can be achieved by placing subject to the side of the frame or even partially out of the frame.

Contast in size can be usefull for visual arrangement of elements such as large bold text for a dominent headline followed by an arrangment of text and images. Contrasting shapes can add tension to the image, the difference in elements should be obvious. Colour contrast can be very effective, small areas of vibrant colour and contast large areas of neutral colour.

Movement
Movement is the path our eyes follow when we look at art, this creates unity and can be achieved by using line, repetition and rhythm. Movements combines all elements together. Repetition in movement is when elements are often repeated or hav similar structure creating visual rhythm. Lines can be used to create movment, this is used alot in cartoons and Japanese animation ‘manga’.  Rhythm refers to the way your eye moves through a picture

Emphasis
Emphasis is the creation of an obvious area of importance in an image/design rather than have everything equal. Without emphasis nothing stands out drawing the eye to it. Simplicity/minimal-design omitts all non-essential elements and details with only the important elements represented and can be called KISS (keep it simple stuipd). A large object placd in the centre can be seen as a focal point.

Seperating bright and dark areas of colour can also be used to create emphasis.

At the end of the lecture were were broken into groups and each given a movie poster to talk about its principles of design. We were given Casablanca

We discovered that there was movement using rhythm by the arrangement of people on the right hand side of the poster and thru line by using the sloping text. We found emphasis on importance by use of the main 2 characters in the centre of the poster. There is a colour contrast with the name in bright red and the main characters in colour with surrounding yellowed compared to the dark blue tint all around the poster. The poster was slightly asymetrical with a heavier concentration on imagery on the right hand side.

That concluded our lecture for this week, we continued on with our semiotics in the lab.

Continuing on from yesterday, part of the situation of working in media is that it is a collaborative industry and so you don’t always have to worry about your own balancing act.

sometimes it’s others that can bring things to a crashing halt. Not through any real fault of their own, other then their life got in the way. There was an imbalance. This has happened to several projects I have been involved with in the past few years. sometimes its me, sometimes its not, but most times the project comes to a crashing halt.

Occasionally, if lucky, we are able to dust ourselves and it down and pick it up again/ start again. sometimes even with what feels like a great idea we are not.

Im going through that a bit at the moment and wanted to talk about one particular example. Whilst developing an idea on Youth Activism, with a student of mine, Olie Martin, we had the opportunity to film and later interview a Student Union representative from Belgium on the subject of Student Prostitution. In the following months Olie and I would discuss that topic and what we could do about it. the more we researched it the more we wanted others to know about it.

Olie isn’t a ‘typical student’ in many regards, what ever that actually means. Acutely politically aware, with a strong belief in socialism and a desire to achieve his best it was interesting to approach a project not  as lecturer/ student but as equals.

To discuss the merits and our joint desire to bring light to this issue.

However

This has to be done whilst we both find our balance. And so with us both being in college we agreed to meet Thursdays to  discuss things. Even if we hadn’t achieved anything. The right decision was to meet anyway, so that it stays part of our conversation, even micro achievements better then not meeting at all. Because it is very easy for one week to become two and then a month and then you cant remember when you last met to discuss the project.

Media is a collaborative medium and sometimes the collaboration is just staying the course.

…have been amazing!!!

I’ve found out that Fiffy (my car) is not In actual fact going to be a ‘write-off’, as the garage first told me. They rang me yesturday morning, & said that she’s all fixed up, & the paintwork is all done. & earlier this afternoon, they rang again to say my car is ready to be picked up 2moro! Alas, that means I will be £300 lighter (but at least I don’t need to fork out for a brand-new motor).

Talking of ‘Forks’…last nite Dave & I saw the second installment of the Twilight (read *Twatlight*) franchise BTW what is up w/advertising it as ‘The Twilight Saga:…’?! It was v good indeed. I’ve read all the books, like a good little fan-girl, so I know what to expect, but the no. of shirt-less guys was laughable, as was R Pattz’ portrayal of a constipated block of ice. Good but could have been better, I guess the film is never as good as the book. Oh, & the trailers for Avatar & Sherlock Holmes look amazing!!!

Before we went to the cinema, we had a slight matter of Dave meeting my extended family! He’s obv already met Mum (that was scary enough!), & most of my girlies @ work, but last nite he met The Horners! Aka my Auntie & Pippy, & my sisters from another mother Kelsey & Aaron i guess the time was right for the people who I love in my life to finally meet, & I loved it! Dave was lush (who incidently looked H.O.T.! as fuck!) w/them all, & they were equally cute (inquisitive but cute). Ooo! Almost forgot-I drove us to my Grandma’s old house before, just to share another part of me w/him. I haven’t seen it in over a year & alot’s changed but it holds lots of memories. I wish she could have met him.

Today has also been equally fun! Today I had a day off, courtsey of Sherry, who is kindly working my shift on HER day off. Mum also had a day off & so we decided to ‘go over the bridge’ & visit Barry Island, Wales! The place of all things ‘Gavin & Stacey’! We started off early, on the road by 10am, & we called in @ Costa for refreshments (read *life-juice*) making it to Barry by 12ish. It was pissing it down, but we had a laugh! Took loads of pics (some are on Twitter) but it was freezing so we only spent about 3/4hr there, until we headed into Cardiff for a bit of girly shopping.
We had lunch in Pillars for lunch (it’s tradition!) & then we spent around about an hr in the amazing Cardiff Primark I bought some cute dresses, hot panties, & a new umbrella all for £30! Amazing!
Leaving Cardiff we got royally lost, but that’s the fun in a road-trip! Today we spent quality time together, & it made us stronger Balance!

Back in Bristol, home dry, I’m glad to be home! Ate some sushi, pjs on super early, make-up off & chilling whilst watching the new series of Gavin & Stacey. Amazing!

Joy for the Journey: Welcoming Change

Thanksgiving table is set. But where is the turkey?

You have heard the saying, “Familiarity breeds contempt!” But for many people, and perhaps for most people, familiarity breeds comfort.

We humans are creatures of habit and so we find comfort in familiarity, sameness and routine. Some would go so far as to do everything possible to resist change so we can hold on to traditions and habits: because we feel a sense of security and being in control when everything around us stays the same.

In 1998, Spencer Johnson wrote a parable, Who Moved My Cheese, about human reaction to change in the workplace. He uses mice with different personalities to represent the variety of reactions to change. As you can already guess, those that embraced change were the ones that eventually found their cheese for food.

Today is Thanksgiving Day in America. Traditionally American families would have a menu of roast turkey with bread stuffing, cranberry sauce, candied yams, and pumpkin pie with whipped cream. Within this tradition, different families may tweak the menu slightly for their regional and familial preferences. Over the years then, American adults who grow up with a certain tweaking of their tradition have become attached to this. For my husband, turkey stuffing without celery and chopped walnuts would not be Thanksgiving, because that was the way his mother had always made the stuffing. For me as his Chinese bride who grew up in Hong Kong, I have no emotional attachments to any particularly tweaking of the menu or the recipe. My horizon is wide open and I am ready to tweak in a thousand and one ways, or more.

After 27 years of marriage, change, customization, improvisation and adaptation seem to have become the hallmark of our holiday dinners.

Today our 21-year old daughter and her boyfriend are joining us for Thanksgiving dinner. To accommodate our daughter’s vegetarian taste, our menu includes tofu with black bean garlic sauce, steamed fish Chinese style, oven-fried sweet potatoes American style, Shepherd’s Pie Scottish and vegetarian style, and Japanese mochi for dessert.

What a glorious fusion and confusion!

What is significant here? Not the fact that we have such a conglomeration of ethnic cuisines in one meal, all eaten here in America! What’s significant is my perspective about the change, the customization, improvisation and adaptation.

A Thanksgiving menu like ours could cause many Americans grave grief because it is such a radical departure from tradition. But what are some other priorities at work besides my and my husband’s attachment to traditions, habits, and familiarity?

These other priorities are many: the opportunity to build relationships, to explore a new experience, to create new and positive memories for our family album, to stretch our ability to adapt, and to create positive fusion out of confusion. Change is an opportunity to create: to create a new dimension to relationships, a new level of adaptability in us, a new perspective about life and family interactions and much more. We unleash our creativity when we welcome change; we experience joy instead of grief.

In comparison of these priorities, perhaps holding on to what is familiar is not automatically the thing to do on Thanksgiving Day. It may not even be the thing to do at any given time.

The image in this blogpost is attributed to jondis on www.flickr.com.

Yesterday I volunteered in E.’s first grade classroom to help the kids make “Thankful Turkeys”.  I also volunteer during her library time, every other week.  It’s great to get a glimpse into her life at school, but it is even more fun to get to know her little classmates.  Like the little girl who wanted to know how to spell “hotel pools” so she could write it on the one of the Thankful Turkey feathers, next to “my Mom”  “my teacher” and “my dog”.

The part-time juggling of being a mom and running my own PR business is really hard some times.  I wish I worked in an office instead of my living room.  I wish I made as much money as my full-time working friends so we could travel more, upgrade the minivan and of course, save for college.

I also feel like I’m constantly changing between Clark Kent and Superman and sometimes forget to take off my glasses for the client meeting or still have my cape over my jeans during library time.

It’s a balance, but yesterday was a good balance.  I smile every time I think of E. in her pilgrim bonnet, making her Thankful Turkey.

The house for Alvar Aaltos boat by the architects Claudia Schulz and Anne-Mette Krolmark is an important statement for a poetic relation between architecture and nature in recent Scandinavian architecture.

Claudia Schulz has 10 years of experience from Copenhagen based offices KHR, DOMUS and JJW including everything from competitions, designwork, construction and supervision. Her nature languages is both Danish and German. If you have any good ideas then please let me know ore send her a mail at claudiakbh@gmail.com. You can download her CV pressing here: LINKEDIN

photo: Maija Holma © Alvar Aalto Foundation

Was doodling a truck, then out of nowhere felt the need to add an elephant up in the trunk of the truck. I can’t even draw, hence the three misshapen elephants on top of the page. Not that the one in the truck is accurately drawn….

It was during Intro. to Intercultural Communication class, btw. One of the many things mentioned in the reading was how different cultures perceive time differently. One might follow schedules strictly while other is more lax about punctuality (you know who you are.) As a teacher originating from certain massive country said, “We are controlled by time.”

I suppose that is true for some people, bounded by schedule and task lists. How ironic, to end up being controlled by the very device that we invented to help us. It doesn’t have to be like that, isn’t it?
We take drugs to relieve pain, doesn’t mean we have to go as far as to being a junkie. We can use alcohol and sex to release stress every once in a while without being an alcoholic or a sex addict.

Yeah yeah, I know that’s a theoretical balance. You can stop yelling, Head. The point is, you have a bigger chance to be able to ride a unicycle than finding balance in many aspects of life.

But what I want to say is, there’s a different perspetive to punctuality. It’s not about submitting to schedule, it’s about keeping your words. Culture isn’t supposed to be an excuse for tardiness.
When you do things on your own, do as you like and hell might not even care. But when you keep people waiting and waste their time for no good reasons or with no prior notice, it’s bloody annoying.

We had a lecture about 5 design principles (balance,movement,emphasis,contrast and unity) and how they effect each other in an image and that if you have a perfect balance of them 4(cause we didn’t have enough time to talk about unity really…) that an image is more suiting to the eye and more likely to keep the viewers attention

Balance: That you don’t want allot of things  in an image cause its hard to see the focus point and the eye doesn’t know where to look
Movement: That you show that an object is moving by say having speed-lines or its aligned in a certain way so that your eye looks from one point to another
Emphasis : By giving something a certain color or shape so it stands out and you know thats the object of focus
Contrast: To have like a big white square in a black image or vice versa  to make it stand out