I have always believed that art and alcohol go well together. Glad we're getting some credit for the idea in Seattle now.
There's a difference between saying:
- I don't have much in common with the Olympics
- I don't like the Olympics
- The Olympics are bad
Just like there's a difference to these statements:
- I don't have much in common with the Christians/Muslims
- I don't like the Christians/Muslims
- Christians/Muslims are bad
The first statement talks about what you identify with. What's within the sphere of your world. We operate almost entirely within the sphere of our own world, and within that sphere there's a whole other spectrum of taste, preference, and morality, but outside of the sphere of personal identity I think that the application of preferences and morality become very potentially ungrounded.
Because, it's not very easy to judge something that you don't identify with. Most likely, you also don't fully understand it, and are rarely as giving of the benefit of the doubt as you are when an object resides within your sphere of identity. Think of your friend circle. Most likely there's at least one person that you wouldn't necessarily like if you weren't so close to them. If there's not a friend like that, there's probably a family member. But because they're part of your circle, you're more likely to say, "but that's just who they are" and be sympathetic to them. But that same person may be totally misunderstood by someone who is not in their friend or family circle and be harshly judged.
I guess the question is, which judgment is more fair?
And, how static is the circle of identity? Can we (and should we) try to stretch it out to include more and more of the world? Like in a world war. We stretch our sphere of identity to include all nationalities on our side, or on the side we identify with. It's software in our head that is played with through creating sides, creating a sense of unity across extremely different people. Will globalization create a wider sphere of identity or will it fracture it? Will we all be able to feel like brothers because we all drive cars, drink Coke, and listen to U2? Probably not.
Meditation and personal will can probably stretch this out, but there are bound to be people who think that the sphere of identity is as big as it is for a reason. It's a sphere of trust. And you can't trust everyone. But then again, if that were the case, there are probably already people in the sphere that should not be there. And people outside of the sphere that should be there.
I'm just trying to be careful when I say "this is bad" and it also happens to be something that I can't identify with or that just isn't "me". 50% of the time I could be saying it just because I don't understand it. And rather than disliking it, trying to understand it might be a better strategy. There's a chance I may find something new of interest, and that's always good.
Eliot's story:
once there was a little baby monster going out for a walk with his brothers. then they go out for another walk to go to the toy store. then there was a butterfly going to the monster and the monster ate it all up. the monster likes to eat butterflies all up. the monster made a circle with his paws. (i'm coloring a circle in for the story). then he goes to the airport and then to the park on an airplane. he figured out that idea. then he went for a walk to the airport. he built a tiny little circle. and then he saw a mysterious mouse eating strawberry cheese and then we went in the water to swim with the mermaid so they can be friends together and mix up the colors of their uniforms so they can play play-doh together. then they saw a cute tiny dinosaur and they went out to the ocean to swim with him. then they saw another mermaid with cherry cheese. and they went for another walk together, eating cherry cheese, making friends together and they saw a robot and caught it in a tube and played in the sand. they saw a spot of color on the rock. then they saw some paper to draw on, a remote control color crayon, and a sheep, they went across the ocean. across on a boat, an airplane and a taxi cab to go to the park. they made stickers with smiley faces on them to put in their sticker book. they found a piece of paper and they saw the robot in bed all night for 68 hours! then they ate some m&m's. they put stickers over their bed and saw another remote control crayon, letters, and the a car driving down a street. then 20 cars then 9 cars then there were so many cars and that's the end of my story.
I have been obsessed... OBSESSED... with iPhone apps these last couple weeks. Part of it is because I haven't really dove into something new and interesting for a while, part of it because I think I was basically put on this planet to build iPhone apps in some weird conglomeration of my talents and interests, and part because I'm really busy with everything else going on in my life and like they say if you want something done, ask a busy person to do it.
So, I'm getting married in less than 60 days. I'm going to Italy for 3 whole weeks after that. And stuff is happening with McLeod. And I spent a week in NYC. And it's summer. It's actually all a little crazy and sometimes I daydream about next January and its relative normalness. But I know I'll just jam pack it full of new craziness.
Kellianne's in Vegas this weekend with a few of her girlfriends doing what girls do in Vegas. Afternoon tea! I know it's all a front for some serious debauchery. And I'm retaliating by pretty much refusing to leave the house. Reading, napping, working on stuff, researching a few wedding things, etc. But I do have a bottle of wine in the fridge that will most likely not be in there much longer.
http://rawfoodsuccess.blogspot.com/2008/08/raw-food-lessons-by-and-for-kids-little.html
This is one of the cutest best videos ever!! Props to the raw food success blog! Smooch!
Please please please watch this. Adorable.
"If you're not living on the edge, you are taking up too much room."
~African proverb
Yesterday I completed a 30 day trial membership with a local yoga studio. It was life changing for me. In less then two weeks I was doing back bends which I haven't had the courage or flexibility to attempt since I was a kid. Also, as of yesterdays class I was able to go into full plow pose and another tricky one for me: hold myself with my hands, head up, and legs up, hovering my bootie above the mat- and stay there! I felt like a magician/wonder woman. And you know what I realized is kind of fun? Trying something and then literally falling right over. Ha! Then you get back in and try again!
I'm converted and hooked! So happy I realized what a strong training component yoga is to all the stress of marathon training.
Any yoga people here?
I am so delighted to say I have a guest blog post today over at rozsavage.com. Please check it out! So exciting to be a small part in Roz's big history making journey.
I decided to post my rough draft from the article I sent to Roz just in case there are more details that might interest readers here. Remember to check out Roz's site, she's endless in inspiration and amazes me!
I love food! I love to talk about food, eat food, and for the first time in my life, I love making food. My newest passion is raw, or "live," food -- a radically simple and healthy way to eat. Over a year ago, I met Roz as one of her personal trainers in Northern California, and she recently became interested in raw food after reading my blog. Roz is incorporating it into her diet, so she's asked me to write a little about my lifestyle and how to get started with raw foodism.
My introduction to raw food came several years ago, with the opening of Juliano's Raw in Santa Monica. I was amazed at the potential of raw vegan food and the surge of energy and happiness that came with every meal. I was raised a meat-eater, but switched to vegetarianism 15 years ago, before becoming vegan last year. In the process of my own journey, I've read countless books, taken classes, and paid for nutritional advice -- all to find what would give me loads of energy, lose body fat and increase lean muscle. But it wasn't until earlier this year that I really dove into raw food.
Raw food is nutritious, available and easy. As a
rule of thumb, stick to local, organic and in-season ingredients, with
a staple diet of greens, green juice, green smoothies, salads, fruit,
fruit smoothies, nuts, seeds and sprouts. Sprouts are very easy to
grow, even in the middle of the Pacific Ocean! During her row, Roz is
growing her own fresh sprouts, providing instant access to a great
source of vitamins A, C, E, and B. Raw chef and instructor Kristin
Suzanne writes,
"There is no doubt that sprouts are one of the healthiest foods you can
consume because they're considered a pre-digested food, making them
more easily assimilated by your body."
Recommended, but not
required, are some fun kitchen gadgets -- a powerful blender, a food
processor, dehydrator and juicer. I only own the first two and get by
famously. Almost every day, I make fresh, green juices by using my
BlendTec blender, then straining through a cheesecloth-like bag. It's
so easy and feels like instant energy! If you do have a juicer and
dehydrator, your big bonus is the ability to create flax crackers with
extraordinary flavors and densely-packed nutrition until your heart and
belly are content.
More and more, ready-made raw food products are being offered because of growing demand from raw-curious consumers. Larabar and Lydia's Organics make it easy to not own a dehydrator for this aspiring raw foodist. Roz wrote about her supply of Larabars' "yummy fruit and nut bars" on day 32, writing, "My favourite flavours are Apple Pie, Banana Cookie, Ginger Snap, Chocolate and Chocolate Coffee." Lydia's Organics makes delicious bars, cereals, crackers, breads and trail mix.
But where do you get your protein? Sprouts, seeds, nuts, goji berries, spirulina, quinoa, collards, coconuts and more. Carbohydrates come from vegetables, fruit, nut butters. Healthy fats are only available in flaxseed, hemp seed, olive oil, avocados, nuts, and more seeds. And like Roz, I'm one of those people that believes a day without chocolate is like a day without sunshine. So yes, I eat chocolate every single day!
"Superfoods" is a buzzy word in the raw and health food worlds, short for highly-nutritious foods packed with anti-oxidants. Things like cacao, goji berries, spirulina, acai, hemp seeds, and bee pollen (not strictly vegan, so you'll have to decide for yourself). These shining superstar foods really pack a lot of nutrition, and they're easy to add to cereals, smoothies and, in some cases, even homemade ice cream. Yum!
I've found eating this way has given me energy, quicker recovery from physical training, sleep improvements, and beautiful skin, which I've struggled with most of my life having some minor rosacea and acne. Plus, less processed foods mean less waste in the trash can and around the waist!
To get started with making your own raw foods, start with some simple Green Smoothies. Blend up a couple of your favorite fruits like a banana and a handful of frozen blueberries, a cucumber and a few spinach leaves. Slowly add more spinach each day, or try some kale. If you still taste the greens, try squeezing in some lemon to cut it.
For Green Juice, try a mix of kale, celery, cucumber and a whole lemon. Blend it up and strain thoroughly. Put in on ice, and you have green lemonade!
For dessert, blend up a few bananas, cacao powder, mesquite, vanilla, pitted dates, a little chocolate liquid stevia, ice cubes, and a little water to get it all moving. Set this mixture in the freezer and you have healthy ice cream! Seriously!
The raw food community is also abundant. Lovely people at Gone Raw and We Like It Raw post recipes and inspiring stories from all points of view.
So, there you have it. A little crash course in raw food fun. Lots of people tend to be turned off by the term raw food and prefer to say live food. But I say, how about just "food"? Sometimes, I think we need to relearn what real food is. For myself I've found that there are incredible benefits to adding more greens, fruits, and veggies to my diet. How new and revolutionary is that? Ha!
Thank you, Roz!
Have a beautiful day everyone!
This disturbs me:
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/08/06/scientists-invent-me.html
Meat spaghetti? What?
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