Walpurgisnacht

"It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to." W. C. Fields

May 1st, 2010

 

From Wikipedia: "Walpurgis Night (Walpurgisnacht) is a traditional religious holiday of pre-Christian origin, celebrated today by Christian as well as non-Christian communities, on April 30 or May 1 in large parts of Central and Northern Europe.

The current festival is, in most countries that celebrate it, named after Saint Walpurga, born in Devon about 710. Due to the coincidence of her holy day falling on the same day as the pagan holiday on which it was based, her name became associated with the celebrations. Walpurga was honoured in the same way that Vikings had celebrated spring and as they spread throughout Europe, the two dates became mixed together and created the Walpurgis Night celebration. Early Christianity had a policy of Christianising pagan festivals so it is perhaps no accident that St. Walpurga's day was set to May 1."

What if It's All Been a Big Fat Lie?

Low-fat vs. low-carb

April 29th, 2010

 

From Scientific American: "'If you reduce saturated fat and replace it with high glycemic-index carbohydrates, you may not only not get benefits — you might actually produce harm,' Ludwig argues. The next time you eat a piece of buttered toast, he says, consider that 'butter is actually the more healthful component.'"

 

From The New York Times: "After 20 years steeped in a low-fat paradigm, I find it hard to see the nutritional world any other way. I have learned that low-fat diets fail in clinical trials and in real life, and they certainly have failed in my life. I have read the papers suggesting that 20 years of low-fat recommendations have not managed to lower the incidence of heart disease in this country, and may have led instead to the steep increase in obesity and Type 2 diabetes. I have interviewed researchers whose computer models have calculated that cutting back on the saturated fats in my diet to the levels recommended by the American Heart Association would not add more than a few months to my life, if that. I have even lost considerable weight with relative ease by giving up carbohydrates on my test diet, and yet I can look down at my eggs and sausage and still imagine the imminent onset of heart disease and obesity, the latter assuredly to be caused by some bizarre rebound phenomena the likes of which science has not yet begun to describe. The fact that Atkins himself has had heart trouble recently does not ease my anxiety, despite his assurance that it is not diet-related."

1000 Things You Don't Know

About Women

April 27th, 2010

 

No. 732: We'll take nice forearms over six-pack abs any day.

 

Nifty necklace above: Balançoire (swing) from Calourette. 3,5 cm of varnished wood on an 80cm silver chain.

Usually playing at 45 rpm

Mind the gap

April 23rd, 2010

 

Because I Got High

Magic

No Lollipop No Sweet So

It's my Party

That's Life

Friends Will Be Friends

Gam zu letovah

Amor fati

April 24th, 2010

 

From Wikipedia: "Nachum of Gamzu was a Tanna of the 2nd generation (1st century). In the Talmud he is called Ish Gam Zu (the man of gam zu), and this name is explained as referring to Nahum's motto: on every occasion, no matter how unpleasant the circumstance, he exclaimed gam zu letovah (this, too, will be for the best)."

That the wrong and the right are within your mind

Funkadelic "Into You" (1978)

April 17th, 2010

 

I can't get into the neutron bomb

I can't get into something that will do me some harm

I can't get into a drug addict principle

I can't get into something that would close the door

If it's right, it's all right for you now

If it's right, it's all right for me now, yo-ho

Any night you'll be uptight until you find

That the wrong and the right are within your mind

 

Into you now

Into you, my people

 

Into you now

Imagine me

Into you now

Into you

Into you now

My heart

Into you, my people

 

I can't get into the poisoned land

I can't get into something I don't understand

I can't into a bad romance

I can't get into a love that ends in a chance

If it's right, it's all right with you now

If it's right, it's all right for me now, yo-ho

Any night you'll be uptight until you find

That the wrong and the right are within your mind

 

Into you now

Into you, my people

And you into me 

The Long and Winding Road

Oldies in the morning

March 14th, 2010

 

Chestnut brown canary
Ruby throated sparrow
Sing a song don't be long
Thrill me to the marrow
Voices of the angels ring around the moonlight
Asking me, said she so free
How can you catch the sparrow?

 

(from Suite: Judy Blue Eyes by Stephen Stills)

Conformity

Ten Timeless Influencers

March 11, 2010

 

From Psyblog: "Conformity is such a strong influence in society that it's impossible to understand human behaviour without it. Psychological experiments show that people will deny the evidence of their own eyes in order to conform with other people. (...)

Understanding when we conform has all kinds of practical real-world benefits, depending on your aims: it can help you understand your own behaviour as well as understand how others will behave under a variety of different situational pressures. Everyone should be aware of these factors and how they affect the most important areas of their social life."

 

These are the influencers: Group size, Dissent, Are they one of us?, Your mood, Need for structure, Social approval, Culture, Authority, Social norms and Reciprocation.

What is nostalgia good for?

Natural anti-depressant

March 10th, 2010

 

From BBC News: "Once nostalgia was considered a sickness - the word derives from the Greek nostos (return) and algos (pain), suggesting suffering due to a desire to return to a place of origin. (...)

Studies by Mr Routledge, along with colleagues at the University of Southampton, have found that remembering past times improves mood, increases self-esteem, strengthens social bonds and imbues life with meaning. (...)

Nostalgia is usually involuntary and triggered by negative feelings - most commonly loneliness - against which it acts as a sort of natural anti-depressant by countering those feelings."

 

Also, don't hesitate to see Nostalghia (1983) directed by Andrei Tarkovsky - one of my favorite directors of all time.

the New Shelton wet/dry

What Matter Who's Speaking?

March 7th, 2010

 

the New Shelton wet/dry blog by JC from Brooklyn, New York, is simply brilliant. I am very grateful for its deepness, intelligence and obscurity.

 

Found the illustration on Sofía Stefanich's wonderful Tumblr site.