ADHD

Just read an article about five foods that should be avoided by people with ADHD.  Truthfully, it seems like these five foods should be avoided by ALL people, or at least only eaten in moderation if at all.

 

They are: sugar, salt, caffeine, hydrogenated oils, and additives.

 

 

Important Information for Parents

I think this is worth being aware of.  The Snopes article explaining the truth of the "dust off" story.

 

 

 

Fun Stuff

Totally cool video of underwater marvels.

 

This is just a fun clip of a golden retriever puppy learning to enjoy snow.

 

Here are two heart-warming videos of reunions.  The first is the reunion of a lion with the two men who raised him as a cub.  Here's a webpage with the story.  And the second one is a reunion of a lion with the lady found a wounded and malnourished lion on the verge of dying in the forest. She took him to her house and nursed him back to health. When the lion recovered, the woman sent him to his new home, an animal sanctuary.  This video was filmed when the woman went to visit the lion six years later.

 

And five ragdoll kittens playing on a cat structure.  (Not as heart-warming as lion love but still entertaining.)

 

 

 

Helpful Stuff for Beaders

Here are two links I think some people may want to bookmark.  This one has all kinds of charts and tables on measurement conversions, etc.  And this one has a great glossary and useful charts and tables.

 

 

 

Some News That is Actually Uplifting

 

Just one more reason (like we needed more… ha!) to love Johnny Depp. (Yes, if it's red, underlined, and bold… click on it J)

 

 

 

A  POEM ABOUT OUR GIRLFRIENDS

 

Someone will always be prettier.

Someone will always be smarter.

Some of their houses will be bigger.

Some will drive a better car.

 

Their children will do better in school.

And their husband will fix more things around the house.

So let it go, and love you and your circumstances.

Think about it!

 

The prettiest woman in the world can have hell in her heart.

And the most highly favored woman on your job may be unable to have children.

And the richest woman you know, she's got the car, the house, the clothes~~~~ might be lonely.

 

And the word says, 'If I have not Love, I am nothing.'

So, again, love you. 

Love who you are.

Look in the mirror in the morning and smile and say, 

'I am too Blessed to be Stressed and too Anointed to be Disappointed!' 

 

'Winners make things happen~~ Losers let things happen.'

Be 'Blessed' Ladies~~~~~ and pass this on to encourage another woman.

'To the world you might be one person, but to the one person you just sent this to, it could mean so much.'

 

(Thanks L!)

 

 

 

Check it Out

I recently happened to catch a small post on the SRAJD forum about one of our members having a sale.  Wow, I am SO GLAD I went to check it out.  I just got the goodies in the mail today and WOW!!!  Let me share her with you now: Crafts by Chris

 

Wanna see a couple of other really cool sites?  This person paints on maps… you must see their work.  And this one does paper cut-outs.

 

 

 

Upcoming Project

Oh, I'm totally excited about receiving an email from someone I sent a note to the other day (although he sounds as busy as I am).  I mentioned to you that I wanted to do a series of jewelry based on the paintings of Lady Frieda Harris.  Well, this guy, Claas Hoffmann, wrote an article and posted it to the internet.  It's: Projective Synthetic Geometry in Lady Frieda Harris' Tarot Paintings and in Aleister Crowley's Book of the Law. Boy, after reading that I'm even MORE excited about starting this project.  Of course, holding and looking at the cards, I feel a smidge intimidated.  I mean, I'm used to being an intuitive artist/creator… I'm not used to following any kind of pre-thoughtout ideas, plans, or designs.  Keep your fingers crossed!

 

 

 

Feng Shui

So I'm reading another book on the subject (did I already mention that?).  And there's an interesting part about teens.  One, the book says if they want to surround themselves with the color black, let 'em.  Black is an introspective color and it probably means they're trying to learn about themselves.  The other thing I found interesting in light of the fact that most if not all of Feng Shui is about rules and certain ways things need to be, etc.  It said let teens arrange their furniture and their surroundings any way they like, regardless of good Feng Shui placement and order.

 

Also, I don't have the book on me at the moment (and I'm not the best paraphraser), but I wanted to mention a part that really FIT me and some of my issues (aka "problems").  It was about de-cluttering and how you may have things that you want to get rid of but you think they're still too good to just throw out, so you make a section or pile or whatever of all this stuff that you're going to take to a consignment store or list on eBay or have a garage sale for.  Well, that's NOT a good thing to do.  They say, just put the stuff in bag and/or boxes and give it to charity/goodwill.  Because otherwise, it just sits in your house and continues to be clutter, organized or not.  OMG, that is SO true.

 

 

 

Oh, Sharon Peters posted some funny YouTube links in Lampwork Etc today.  I jotted them down and added a couple other ones, but don't recall which are which…

 

Make sure your volume is on for these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vqiw-Kqtlr0&feature=bz302

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=964uCtgsDoE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYuX1rFOMvM&feature=bz303

 

 

 

Musing

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860): The 19th-century German philosopher is renowned for his pessimistic view of life as defined by needless suffering and the primacy of human desire over the intellect. But he saw the possibility for salvation from this miserable existence through ascetic living, an appreciation of art, and charity for fellow man ("loving kindness", in his words). The two enemies of human happiness are "pain and boredom", he wrote. The symptom of unhappiness is the pursuit of wealth, he believed.

 

 

 

Neat Stuff Pointed Out to Me By Other Internet People

 

Totally awesome mural! (çclick there)

This mural was unveiled last week at the Cochrane Ranche House. Each tile is 1 foot square, is it's own individual picture and each is by a different artist. All of them together form this huge mural. You can click on each of the tiles to see them in detail. Check out the horse's eye.

 

Lazy Cat (çclick there)

Not Lazy Cats (çclick there)

Hilarious Cats on Treadmills

 

 

 

In the News

I tell ya, I can't fathom a 7.7 earthquake.  And yet, there was just one in Chile last night.  Killed 2 people, injured 150.  I'm not happy about those killed or injured, but holy cow... that seems so fortunate considering the magnitude of the quake.

 

Yesterday I heard that more Veterans committed suicide in 2005 than all U.S. Soldiers had been killed in the Iraq war since 2001.  That is so sad.  According to CBS, in 2005 alone 120 of those who served in the military took their own lives every week (at least 6,256 total suicides) - more than double the suicide rate for those who haven't served.  While veterans are 11 percent of the general population, they now make up an estimated 25 percent of the homeless.

 

And just so you don't think all news is bad news, here is some good news in the news:  An Albuquerque hospital and several of its surgeons donated life-saving surgery to a Kosovo toddler. Now, the 2-year-old and her mom are heading home.

 

Hey, here's one that's serendipitous (because I purchased from them a few months ago): Poor Ugandan women who were living on the streets begging for food, have now turned their lives around after joining BeadForLife, a small Colorado-based nonprofit group dedicated to eliminating poverty through handcrafts.

 

In a beautiful story, an unnamed 'friend' gives $100 million to the struggling old industrial city of Erie, Pennsylvania, to be divided among its 46 charities including the food bank, a women's center, and a group for the blind, and its universities. "What a godsend for some of these agencies," says a resident.

 

A surfer in California was under attack from a great white shark when "a pod of bottlenose dolphins intervened, forming a protective ring around him, until he could get to shore.

 

The producers of MythBusters said they plan to present Julian Shaw with merchandise in a "hero pack" to honor his good deed." The 14-year-old punk rocker used what he had learned from the TV series MythBusters to save a 54-year-old from a freight train (link).

 

Okay, off to do other things now.  Will try to talk more soon!

 

 

 

Dove's Perception of Beauty Video

 

Now, have a look at some popular "before and after" photos and you'll see that without the make-up, the air-brushing, and the expensive outfits… most of today's celebs look very much like people you see every day.

 

Dove's Perception of Beauty Video

 

Now, have a look at some popular "before and after" photos and you'll see that without the make-up, the air-brushing, and the expensive outfits… most of today's celebs look very much like people you see every day.

 

Catrine Zita Jones - Before and after picture

Stars Before and After - Angelina Jolie

Eva_Longoria.jpg

Naomi_Campbell.jpg

Cher_celebrities_without_makeup.jpg

Britney with and without make-up

Celebrities Without Make-up

penelope-cruz.jpg

lisa-kudrow.jpg

julia-roberts.jpg

drew-barrymore.jpg

cameron-diaz.jpg

calista-flockhart.jpg

britney-spears.jpg

alicia-silverstone.jpg

 

unretouchednumbered-2.jpg

1. Added more hair

2. Got rid of her crow's feet

3. Thinned out the cheeks

4. Decreased the depth of mouth lines

5. Removed shadows and lines from neck

6. Removed part of her back

7. Removed clavicle

8. Removed the fat from under her armpit

9. Added an arm

10. Chopped her butt from the photo

11. Skinnied up her arm, removed her tan, and removed the moles from her upper arm

redbookcoveranime0707.gif

 

Are we having fun yet?

 

Wouldn't it be sinful to let men think women are SUPPOSED to have pores?

 

 

 

bressane.jpg

 

Heaven forbid anyone find out this gorgeous beauty has the teeniest, tiniest bags under her eyes.  Eek!

 

14-year-old Lynn undergoes digital alterations to suit the beaty ideals of the media world. Left  and right images, before and after respectively.  She's 14.  Did she need virtual implants?

 

Hey look!  Real women!!!

 

 

So please, women and girls, feel good about yourself and do not try to reach a non-existent standard.  Don't worry about what men think or feel regarding women's looks; worry about what YOU think and feel regarding women's looks.

 

Oh, and I found this great website for pregnant women or women who ever were pregnant or anyone else who just wants to be ejamacated to reality. 

 

The Shape of a Mother

 

 

I have to share some photos from a link on one of the threads about odd animals...

 

 Leafy seadragon

 

 Komondor Dog

 

Angora Rabbit

 

  

Red Panda (I totally want one!!!)

 

 Emperor Tamarin

 

 Star-nosed Mole

 

 Axolotl

 

 Aye-aye

 

 Tarsier

 

 Dumbo Octopus

 

 Sucker-footed Bat

 

 Blobfish

 

 Yeti Crab

 

 

 

Those of you who know me well, know that I study Buddhist philosophies.  And I said "philosophies" because I just can't come to grips with the idea of "religion"... any religion.  There are so many that have philosophies that I agree with, but what I see put into practice that is supposed to represent these organized religions... well, it's nothing that "clicks" with me.  I tend to be a very "gut-level" person—do things mostly by intuition, and so if something doesn't feel precisely right to me, I'm not that interested in it.  Doesn't mean I won't be interested in it at a later date, though.  I embrace the idea that any of us can change how we think and/or feel about anything at any given time.

 

So anyway, I decided to read a bit about Taoism.  And from the little bit that I've read so far, it seems pretty "up my alley", so to speak.

 

I think I'm going to have to (soon or eventually) decide, however, if I believe in the randomness of the universe (chaos?) or if I believe in Fate/destiny.  Can there be something in between those?

 

It's really pretty depressing to believe in a random universe, and yet that is currently what my heart/head tells me makes the most sense.

 

At the other end of the scale is Fate or destiny.  I can't wrap my logic around the idea that "things happen because they're supposed to happen".  Not to an extreme extent, anyway.

 

I think, perhaps, I'm searching for the middle ground.  Something that states that the universe is not as chaotic as I believe it is, but our lives also are not plotted out for us either.  Instead, it'd be more like: there is an underlying order to the universe, not as in Fate or destiny, but more like puzzle pieces that fit together well.  And when you go WITH the flow, things work out better for you; and when you go AGAINST the flow, life is harder for you.

 

I don't know.  I guess I just have to keep studying, musing, and living.  Don't know if I'll ever know... the answers to my questions.  I am not even convinced I'll have any answers when I die.  I mean, if I can't comprehend what a soul is and/or how our thoughts are related to anything that lives on beyond this life, then maybe all this musing is beyond retarded.  And yet, at that point I have to ask myself: Why would we HAVE the ability to muse like this if not for a reason?  Wha IS man's purpose?

 

The whole Tao thing, though, seems a bit in contrast to Nietzsche and maybe even Darwinism (but I guess that would be a little more on how one interprets "survival of the fittest").

 

By the way, Mom, that section you had me listen to on the cassette tape is Taoist through and through: Winning a fight by giving in.

 

Now here's something from the Tao that I (personally) believe is true and very important: Rigid behavior will kill you. 

 

When alive, the body is supple, yielding. In death, the body becomes hard, unyielding.
Living plants are flexible; in death, they become dry and brittle.

Stubborn people are disciples of death, but flexible people are disciples of life.

In the same way, inflexible soldiers cannot win (a victory).
And the hardest trees are readiest for an axe to chop them down.

 

Oh, now here's a Taoist thought that I really need to embrace: One should plan in advance and consider carefully each action before making it.

 

 

I thought I'd share a couple of really cool internet resources with my friends.  These are things I find very handy; maybe you will too:

 

Beads Per Inch Chart: Tells you how many beads there are in a strand.  Very helpful for quick "price per bead" calculations.  Example: 8mm beads in a 16" stand = 51 beads.  So if I'm considering buying a 16" strand of 8mm Smoky Quartz beads at $40, I now know that each bead costs about 78 cents ($40 divided by 51 beads).  And that can help me comparison shop.

 

Shape Chart: Shows diagrams and photos of various common bead shapes.

 

Swarovski Shape Chart:  Shows diagrams and photos of various Swarovski bead shapes.

 

Gemstone Information: Although the internet has a plethora of sites dedicated to gemstone information, this one by Rings-Things is comprehensive and easy to use.

 

Some information on Metals: Articles on solder, base metal, precious metals, allergies, plating, and more.

 

Stringing and Threads: Articles on wire, cord, elastic, and more.

 

Swarovski Color Chart: Again, there are many Swarovski color charts available via the internet, but this is one of my favorites.

 

So, I'm listening to John Madden on KCBS the other day (okay, probably more like a few weeks ago).  They were discussing that ref in basketball who was found out to be betting on games and therefore making calls that might really have had nothing to do with reality, but more to do with his wallet.  Anyway, I'm thinking, if an athlete knew ahead of time that the outcome of the game was already determined... if he knew for a fact that it was decided ahead of time who would win and who would lose, would he still be interested in playing the game?

 

And THAT brought me to the thought of: How is this different from those who believe (strongly) in fate and/or destiny?  What is the fun of playing the game if your actions really have no affect on the outcome?