Walk, Dance, Sing, Drum, Paint, Write, Play your way to the Creative Side

Exploring Our Creative Side
Engaging in Community Arts
Brings Unexpected Rewards
by Judith Fertig

Sept 2012 - pg 22 - 24



link to Natural Awakenings Publishers - Acadiana...
http://www.napublishers.com/acadiana

"...experience proves what many dancers, artists, writers, actors and musicians know:
Active, hands-on, group participation in the arts is beneficial on many levels."


 National Trend

"...study...Wallace Foundation...'Gifts of the Muse: Reframing the Debate About the Benefits of the Arts'... found 'People that engage in arts in a group setting develop a sense of community as they exchange favors...identify themselves with a cast, music ensemble or choral groups; and develop a sense of trust and expectations of reciprocity.'...also notes 'through the arts of ethnic traditions--such as classical Indian dance, Jamaican steel drums or Japanese raku ceramics--participants develop and maintain their cultural heritage and communicate their cultural identity to outsiders.' "


Gateway Experiences

"Most art disciplines can be experienced at any age. No previous training or ability is required, just a curious spirit and willingness to participate and learn. Fun options range..."

note: locally Painting with a Twist, where you can drink wine & paint a set project in an evening with a group

link to Painting with a Twist - Lafayette, La...
http://www.paintingwithatwist.com/lafayette/

Link to Painting with a Twist - Lafayette, La - Event: Just Koi...
http://www.paintingwithatwist.com/events/viewEvent.aspx?eventID=163948
(note: for an example...I would be interested in painting this Koi fish, as I adore them & perhaps have a tattoo of one or two of them somewheres on my body as well, different kind of art that, it's the Pisces/water sign of the Zodiac, in me is my excuse...)


Tues Nov 12, 2013 7-9 pm BYOB

Gateway Experiences - cont'd

" 'A drumming class is a great way to reduce stress, have fun, relax and reenergize, all at the same time, it has even been shown to positively affect your immune system,' say co-founders...' " African drumming... www.DrumRise.net (in Decatur, GA)

link to YouTube - Women's Drum Circle at Festival International de Louisiane - Lafayette, LA - Festival International - April 28, 2009...
http://youtu.be/a5SiW6WdFWM

note: this example for a feel of a Drum Circle, locally...funny tho I know one of the French ladies in the drum circle that happens to also volunteer a lot in the evenings at the AcA in downtown Lafayette, LA where I often did most of last year too, but didn't know she could beat a drum?! And I know I've read somewheres a listing for local Drum Circle but right now, online, I can't seem to find it...Now I've, in the past, had a great desire to play the violin/the fiddle just not the drums...

other examples of the serious "power of drums" is the Japanese Kodo or Taiko Drummers...
search Japanese Big Drums & all sorts of Videos will come up on YouTube
different groups of these drummers have also come to Lafayette, LA for the Festival International de Louisiane or just Festival International...

link to Wiki for an explanation of Kodo (Taiko Group)...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodo_(taiko_group)

"In Japanese the word 'Kodo' conveys two meanings: 'heartbeat' the primal source of all rhythm and, read in a different way, the word can mean 'children of the drum,' a reflection of Kodo's desire to play their drums simply, with the heart of a child."

link to a clip from the DVD: Big Drum -- Taiko in the United States - Feb 10, 2009 - 8:14 min's...
http://youtu.be/AiIuZdD0sCA

link to Japanese American National Museum webpage store where you can buy the DVD & read more about it, the many groups all over the USA, plus historical footage...
http://janmstore.com/230013.html

Burundi (African) Drum Music is another drum group with the "power of drums" - in both cases perhaps began as war drums, but now it's entertaining & if you're participating serious aerobic exercise I would guess...

link to Wiki for an explanation of the Royal Drummers of Burundi...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Drummers_of_Burundi

note: watch a YouTube for the entrance & exit carrying their drums on their heads...



Drummers of Burundi at the Univ. of Indiana...
link to the YouTube...
http://youtu.be/IzO_TludzTU
(note: if nothing else watch the entrance with the drums on their heads coming thru the audience to get to the stage...to about 6:42 min's in the video)

link to YouTube - Women Burundi Drummers...
http://youtu.be/XGwwojIbQVI
(note: and as they remark--didn't know there were 'women' Burundi Drummers...but there are...dressed in similar colors...& they are having a blast in their women's drumming circle I'm thinking--no matter I don't know the language...)


back to the article...

"Such activities allow us to dabble and explore amidst the power of a group and maximize the joy of artful endeavors, which many prefer to the cost of individual lessons."

"One of the most accessible community arts is choral music, as it requires no special equipment. Singing in a group can also become a community tradition that gathers people of all ages and lifestyles in fellowship and celebration."

"Storytelling is yet another community performing art that requires no special equipment...members include professional and amateur storytellers, poets, actors and newcomers that love to practice--or just listen to--this ancient art."

note: locally there's a Hub City Theater & Storytelling Festival...
this description is for the one held last year, 2012...
notice too there's a Liars Contest too (or aka The Honorable Practice and Art of the Tall Tale)

"Hub City Theater and Storytelling Festival -- Dec. 6-9, 2012

     Lafayette - Cite' des Arts, Acadiana Center for the Arts and Theatre 810 are presenting the Hub City Theater and Storytelling Festival, Thursday, Dec. 6, Sun., Dec. 9, 2012. The Festival will consist of original works, plays, storytelling, readings, street performances, workshops and panels -- and a Liars Contest (aka the Honorable Practice and Art of the Tall Tale.) Signups are online for the Liar's contest or open registration and preliminary rounds are Saturday, December 8th upstairs at ACA. The performances, workshops and group panels will be for writers, directors, actors, storytellers, teachers, parents and kids -- and audiences of every character and spirit.

     The HCTSF mission is to foster the Southern literary arts by supporting, encouraging and cultivating new and emerging voices in the performing arts, as well as, developing new audiences for these voices. the festival will take place at three locations: Cite' des Arts, Theatre 810 and Acadiana Center for the Arts (ACA.) Theatre 810 is hosting the first annual Entrances Student Theatre Festival where theatre students in our area can present their mid-year work to one another, network and attend workshops on both performance and technical aspects of theatre.

     For a copy of the schedule and to purchase tickets for performances, go to www.citedesarts.org .
For more information call Christy Leichty, Cite' des Arts Program Director...."

--Acadiana Theatre Happenings Blog


note: then last year there was something even bigger locally--the Biggest Liar in All The South Contest...

link to article on local Lafayette, LA KATC Channel 3 - Biggest Liar in All the South Contest...
http://www.katc.com/news/biggest-liar-in-all-the-south-contest/

"Can you tell the biggest and best story of all? Can you make your friends/child/parents/professors believe anything you say? Can you weave a tale so amazing that folks can't help but believe it? Come and lay a claim and bragging rights to the title of "The Biggest Liar In All The South" at The Streampunk and Makers Fair, downtown Lafayette on Saturday, November 9th. Pay the $5 entry fee, weave your story in 5 minutes or less, then pick up the cash prize ($100 Adult 18 and up - $50 Youth 5 to 17) and elegant stainless steel Steampunk and Makers Fair award made by our Title Sponsor, Begneaud Manufacturing.

Pre-register online at www.steampunkandmakersfair.org , or, register before 11 a.m. when the stories commence. Guest Judges start judging at the Liars Contest stage, Cite' des Arts, 109 Vine St.. Join the fray or be a part of our gullible - uh gracious audience. Finalists and winners will be on the main stage at 5 p.m.

Co-sponsored by Cite' des Arts and The Lafayette Science Museum."

note: this year I think they're doing the same...

link to this year's Steampunk and Makers Fair - Lafayette, LA...
http://steampunkandmakersfair.org/

link to this years Liars Contest...
http://steampunkandmakersfair.org/?page_id=202

(note: I'm here to tell you, as I heard a lot of these "Tale Tales" last year--local folks & beyond can tell some Fab u lous 'stories,' but are they Liars? I'm never quite totally sure...)

link to another local Storytelling Night--The Spinner's Web, again last year 2012...
http://www.downtownlafayette.org/Events/EventsDisplay_asp?p1=9833

"Jim Phillips Presents The Spinner’s Web, Storyteller’s Night"

"Jim Phillips will present The Spinner’s Web, Storyteller’s Night, taking place at Cité des Arts on Friday, September 28th, and featuring Barry Ancelet, storyteller and folklorist; Sally O. Donlon, storyteller and educator; Bill Matthews, renaissance man and chef; Hogie Seibert, artist and musician: and, the master of ceremonies will be Jim Phillips, storyteller and artistic director. Telling and listening to stories is the way to make sense of one’s life. Stories help people connect in ways they might not otherwise. Folks get to see the world through different eyes. Audiences gasp, applaud, and sometimes cry, but, the most exhilarating and healing experience of The Spinners Web is laughing yourself out of your chair... 'Jim Phillips is a lyrical BS’er and 'natural born' storyteller! We have learned to trust and believe in him here in Cajun Country. He is the genuine article. I feel very lucky to count him among my many, talented, artist-friends and colleagues. 'You bet!!' – Pat Mire, Filmmaker" note: Oh my, if I could only remember any of these stories...I especially adored the ones told by Sally O. Donlon about her childhood growing up--were they 'tall tales' or is she a 'liar' or a great 'storyteller' or maybe all of the above?! again back to the article... "Strong community and cultural identity is forged on other stages, as well. The Community Actors Theatre...'They have the raw talent that could be developed into something wonderful. People don't just learn to be actors and playwrights. They learn to work together, to commit to a common struggle. When they leave, they know how to work with people, to be team players.' " "Sometimes, a life change can open the door to a creative outlet...dance scene...'It became my primary social life.' " Auditioning for the Role of a Lifetime "The next level of volunteer arts participation may involve an audition and a greater commitment. At the same time these pursuits offer prime opportunities to expand artistic skills and join in something bigger than one's self." "Plein air painters forsake the indoors to take their paints, easels and canvases outside...regularly paint in groups in the fresh air and then hold an exhibition; annual workshops help teach techniques (p-a-p-a.com)...featured artists set up alongside amateurs eager to learn more (PleinAirfl.com)" "Whatever one's newly discovered or longtime treasure, individuals engaging in a group arts activity forge strong social bonds, keep ethnic arts traditions alive, learn new things in new ways and experience joyous personal growth. ...All while creating something wonderful" Judith Fertig - contributor to Natural Awakenings Award-winning cookbook author: AlfrescoFoodAndLifestyle.Blogspot.com ~~~ Quotes from her article... "Turning, moving, spinning, dresses swirling, music beating, eyes in contact with a partner, then another, then another, then another, and the fiddle turns a corner, the phrase repeats, the dance repeats. You smile. Your body smiles." --Doug Plummer, photographer and contra dancer, Seattle, Washington "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." --Pablo Picasso note: OK, I've heard this one before...but then I've seen & read a lot of Pablo Picasso over the years... link to Pablo Picasso - The Barefoot Girl - painted in 1895...http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/pablo-picasso/the-barefoot-girl-1895 note: he was born in 1881...so he was 14 yrs old when he finished painting this...the earliest painting I can find online of a painting he did as a teen but not as a child...I was hoping to find one of his paintings or drawings or sketches from when he was a small child...he started young & was sent to art school young as well... "When I'm not doing any plays, things just don't go right. This is my justification. This is my opportunity to just be me." --Eva Jones, foster parent and member of Community Actors Theatre, Oak Park, California ~~~ My Final Note: the magazine clipping continues, as we've not moved yet...photos, ideas, recipes, articles, whatever from whatever years that are still laying around in boxes, bins, file cabinets, in drawers, under the bed, up in the closets, on the bookshelf, stuffed in books, up in the attic...on and on they go, one day it will all be recycled, shredded, trashed, burned perhaps, but until then, saving every scrap or until I move just simply Blog about it...

He's neither black...nor white...nor red...

neither black nor white
nor red...















link to The Ind - Entertainment article - Red by John Logan...
http://www.theind.com/a-a-e/arts-a-entertainment-stories/15412-wanderlust-theatre-presents-red

link to Wanderlust Theatre Co...
http://www.wanderlusttheatre.com/#!

link to Wanderlust Theatre Co Facebook - Red in September/October Timeline...
https://www.facebook.com/wanderlusttheatre?hc_location=timeline


link to YouTube - Red (John Logan) - Theatre Trailer...(another production)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLeIRtaBbok


link to YouTube - Highlights from "Red" Starring Alfred Molina Jonathan Groff...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED0hrzFWZrI

love the beginning line: "What do you see?" followed later by all the lines rapid fired back & forth regarding the color of red...I'd never thought of so many colors in the world that are the color red in all it's many multi- faceted versions of...

link to Wiki of artist - Mark Rothko...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Rothko

link to Wiki of the play - Red...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_(play)

link to the chapel - Rothko Chapel...
http://www.rothkochapel.org/





photo credit: Wiki - Rothko Chapel
(inside...taken from the doors looking to the back wall & then from the back wall looking toward the doors)
photographer: Woderful Tree (aka Wonderful Tree)

link to YouTube - The Power of Art - Rothko (BBC Documentary)...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WAjk0DIU00
documentary length 59:01 min's long

link to Tate - London - Artists: Mark Rothko...
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/mark-rothko-1875

link to Tate Modern Exhibition - London - 26 Sept to 1 Feb 2008...
http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/exhibition/rothko

Rothko Room - The Seagram Murals
"...desparate for pockets of silence where we can root and grow..."

51:39 Rothko Chapel - Houston, TX - 1965

link to Tate Modern Exhibition - London...
http://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/video/rothko-0
Curator meets Conductor...sound--music is added

The History and Manufacture of Lithol Red, a Pigment Used by Mark Rothko in his Seagram and Harvard Murals of the 1950s and 1960s...
http://www.tate.org.uk/research/publications/tate-papers/history-and-manufacture-lithol-red-pigment-used-mark-rothko-his

"...Rothko’s use of lithol red has had significant implications for the longevity and understanding of his artworks: the extremely high light levels suffered by the Harvard murals mean that they have faded to the degree that they are no longer considered suitable for display, whilst the fading of some of the Seagram murals – although much less dramatic – has altered the colour and tonal balance of the works, which must influence our interpretation and appreciation of them. It is only through the study of the history, properties, and behaviour of such materials that we can begin to understand how best to care for works of art that incorporate them, to admit the possibility that gross colour changes may occur, and to incorporate this into our understanding when there is good evidence that they have occurred..."

link to Room Guide - Rothko Room - Room 1-9...
http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/exhibition/rothko/room-guide

Room 1 - The Seagram Murals between NYC & London
Room 2 - Four Darks in Red
Room 3 - The Segram Murals
Room 4 - Material History
Room 5 - Towards the Houston Chapel
Room 6 - Black-Form Paintings
Room 7 - Seagram Studies
Room 8 - Brown and Gray Works on Paper
Room 9 - Black on Gray

from Room 3 description...
"...His studio assistant, Dan Rice, recalls that Rothko ‘was very reflective, gathering all the paintings together again and jumbling them up. It would be very difficult to say that one was intended as part of the murals and one was not’..."

note: in the play Red the studio assistant's name is Ken--here I find the real assistant's name is Dan (tho it's possible there was more than one studio assistant over the years)

link to the Menil Collection - Houston, TX...
http://www.menil.org/collection/modern.php

“ A picture lives by companionship, expanding and quickening in the eyes of the sensitive observer.”
—Mark Rothko

note: the Rothko Chapel & the Menil Museum will be the only place I'll be able to view Rothko's paintings...tho I may have passed the Rothko Rooms while visiting the Tate Modern in London once--as I was with another who didn't care to stand still long in any museum I really don't remember them, the Segram Murals...I do know for sure I've seen any of them 'pulsate' & for that alone I will revisit at least what I can view & stand a bit longer in meditation to try for this feeling or the idea of the 'gate' or 'gateway' inside the light & shadows of the Rothko paintings or murals...






link to the Wiki about the Seagram Building - 1958 - Midtown Manhattan, NYC...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seagram_Building
the restaurant The Four Seasons opened in 1959...

Re: the art in the Four Seasons restaurant in the Seagram Building & Mark Rothko the artist...
(because I was curious about the 'rest of the story' - if there was no Rothko Murals then what...)

Art in the Four Seasons

"The artist Mark Rothko was engaged to paint a series of works for the restaurant in 1958. Accepting the commission, he secretly resolved to create 'something that will ruin the appetite of every son-of-a-bitch who ever eats in that room.' Observing the restaurant's pretentious atmosphere upon his return from a trip to Europe, Rothko abandoned the project altogether, returned his advance and kept the paintings for himself. 

The final series was dispersed and now hangs in three locations:
London’s Tate Gallery, 
Japan’s Kawamura Memorial Museum 
and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. 

During the period in which Rothko worked on his murals, the Four Seasons rented Jackson Pollock's masterpiece Blue Poles from its then-owner, art collector Ben Heller. 

John Logan's Tony Award-winning 2010 play Red dramatizes Rothko's time working on the Seagram Murals.

From 1975 until 1985 four paintings by Ronnie Landfield from the collection of Philip Johnson were installed on the wall that had been initially planned for the Mark Rothko commission. 

In 1985 the artist James Rosenquis was commissioned to install a permanent mural on the wall; the Landfield paintings were returned to Philip Johnson...

The large curtain designed by Pablo Picasso for the Ballets Russes ballet Le Tricorne (1919) has been hung between the Grill Room and the Pool Room since the restaurant opened..."




link to Wiki of Japan's Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art - Sakura City: Collection - Mark Rothko's Segram Murals...
http://kawamura-museum.dic.co.jp/en/collection/mark_rothko.html
note: 7 of the murals...9 of the murals are in London at the Tate & once they were all together there...in both locations they have their very own room--The Rothko Room...

my program...Wanderlust Theatre Co. Presents Red by John Logan



note: I don't have enough words in me to describe the feeling of this play...I tried not to read much about Rothko or the play before watching this local presentation of the play...my first reaction was just simply Wow...I wanted to read the play--now I've forgotten that I did ask if I could read a script, must follow up on that and soon (before I go back to the Menil & the Rothko Chapel... or I may just buy the script to have my very own clean copy to read & reread ad fin)

There is so much physicality going on in this play that I did not expect, I also did not expect Rothko/Duncan to light a cigarette, (OK, a red ended e-cigarette...but it was well realistic what with him clicking a real lighter to light up the thing,) mix red paint, paint on a canvas or two--with his assistant Ken, speak about Art, speak about the color Red...that I could read & re-read, all the permutations of the color Red...afterwards on social media, prob fb, all I could manage to say was thank you thank you thank you--as there were the 2 actors & the 1 director & am not sure too many others in this play, which you wouldn't think would hold you enthralled--but it does...I am now so over curious I've been reading, watching video's about Rothko--when I should probably just go stand in front of his canvases again...and again...I'm waiting for the 'pulsating' to occur at some point in time...

link to John Logan quotes from Red on Goodreads.com...
http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/19586.John_Logan

“ROTHKO: (Explodes) 'Pretty.' 'Beautiful.' 'Nice.' 'Fine.' That's our life now! Everything's 'fine'. We put on the funny nose and glasses and slip on the banana peel and the TV makes everything happy and everyone's laughing all the time, it's all so goddamn funny, it's our constitutional right to be amused all the time, isn't it? We're a smirking nation, living under the tyranny of 'fine.' How are you? Fine.. How was your day? Fine. How are you feeling? Fine. How did you like the painting? Fine. What some dinner? Fine... Well, let me tell you, everything is not fine!!
HOW ARE YOU?!... HOW WAS YOUR DAY?!... HOW ARE YOU FEELING? Conflicted. Nuanced. Troubled. Diseased. Doomed. I am not fine. We are not fine. We are anything but fine.”
― John Logan, Red

aka the 'Fine' rant...now to find the color 'Red' rant...

link to quotes about red, the color red--not the color red rant in the play Red between Rothko & his assistant Ken...
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/red

link to Wiki, regarding the color Red...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red




photo credit: Wiki...9 diff shades of red color (tho I don't think of pink at first)

link to an aside of the color red--Carmine...made of Cochineal...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochineal

(note: aka bug guts, dried or otherwise...ew...think about that wearing red lipstick...again ew...or worse--food dye...pst pst...or even worse--in yogurt...noo, I liked yogurt...no more red yogurt my friends...)

note: I must find the script lines, must borrow a script...until then...I'll see Red when I close my eyes before falling asleep, which if the light is just right I will, I have before, but soon it fades to black...and sleep...

"...you eat like crap & expect your body never to retaliate? really?"

remember article culling continues
my idea of recycle reuse
save paper save (freight) weight
and I like to be reminded of healthy things
when I'm about to go under the stress gun
what with moving and all that 'fun'--right...

Wellness
The Three Laws of Healing
Live long and live strong!
by Dr. Bart Precourt

pg 34 The Thirty-A Review
Sept/Oct 2012

note: the 30-A is a highway in FL
Grayton Beach may be my fav along it

link to the article...
http://www.thirtyareview.com/SeptOct2012/page38.htm

Three Laws of Healing

1. Law of Cellular Replacement
2. Law of Time
3. Law of Supply and Demand

note: you could prob guess Law 1 (your body replaces cells) & 2 (it takes time to heal) but 3?

"your body will heal accordingly to the supply and demand of healthy options for your body"

"remember you are what you eat"

note: now that last phrase I have heard before...and more than once
tho I did 'not' know it was a TV show, cookbook, other books, an eating plan, a Wiki, etc etc...

link to Wiki - You Are What You Eat...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Are_What_You_Eat


I love this subject line...
because it struck a chord, in me, I've done this--like a lot...

here's the rest of the paragraph it belongs to:

     "Our health care system has taught you to believe that things happen to you' that you 'catch' a cold or have hormonal imbalances because of something other than your own doing.  then of course you need them to fix you. You let yourself get run down, stressed, you eat like crap and expect your body never to retaliate? Really? In reality we are at fault. And this is a good thing, because it means we have the power to do something about it. We are not victims that can only be saved by more frequent doctor visits and drugs."


and from another source regarding the same phrase: You Are What You Eat, Digital Cafe...
(or Vegetarian Diet for Optimum Health)

"Experts say that ninety nine percent of the diseases known to man are caused by cheap food-like processed stuff. Processed food are dead food. They are 'hurt' food. Not health food. 

The trillion cells in our body regenerates every few days crying out for nourishment. Whatever you ingest or consume becomes YOU."

link to You Are What You Eat.com...
http://www.you-are-what-you-eat.com/


about that phrase:

You Are What You Eat

here's more about the origins of it...

link to Phrases.Org...
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/you%20are%20what%20you%20eat.html

1826

a translation from French:
"Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are" - Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

link to his Wiki...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Anthelme_Brillat-Savarin

note: love this part...grow fat 'willy-nilly'...

"Brillat-Savarin is often considered as the father of low-carbohydrate diet. He considered sugar and white flour to be the cause of obesity and he suggested instead protein-rich ingredients."

"Sure enough, carnivorous animals never grow fat (consider wolves, jackals, birds of prey, crows, etc.). Herbivorous animals do not grow fat easily, at least until age has reduced them to a state of inactivity; but they fatten very quickly as soon as they begin to be fed on potatoes, grain, or any kind of flour. ... The second of the chief causes of obesity is the floury and starchy substances which man makes the prime ingredients of his daily nourishment. As we have said already, all animals that live on farinaceous food grow fat willy-nilly; and man is no exception to the universal law. Brillat-Savarin, Jean Anthelme (1970). The Physiology of Taste. trans. Anne Drayton..."

1863 or 64

another translation from German:

"...man is what he eats." - Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach

link to his Wiki...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Andreas_Feuerbach

1920's or 1930's

"Ninety per cent of the diseases known to man are caused by cheap foodstuffs. You are what you eat." 1923 beef advert

(note: surprisenly sounding like the blog above--You are what you eat, digital cafe...hmm...)

 phrase take from the nutritionist Victor Lindlahr who developed the Catabolic Diet...
in 1942, he published: "You Are What You Eat: how to win and keep health with diet"

link to his Wiki...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Lindlahr

note: says his book sold over a 1/2 million copies

link to Amazon.com & all of Victor Hugo Lindlahr's books, you can still order...
http://www.amazon.com/Victor-Hugo-Lindlahr/e/B001KMGD3A

(note: $9.95 you can still get a copy of the original 1942 paperback...it makes me itch, from paper mites, to even think about it...)

1960's
referred to as the hippy era
during the macrobiotic wholefood phase of diets
and then it stops following the phrase



Artist: Giuseppe Arcimboldo

my description: you are what you eat?

link to Wiki Paintings...
http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/giuseppe-arcimboldo/vertumnus-emperor-rudolph-ii

link to the References there on Wiki Paintings...
http://www.tigtail.org/TIG/S_View/TVM/X1/c.Mannerism/arcimboldo/arcimboldo.html

description of painting at Tigtail.org...

Vertumnus
Emperor Rudolph II
about 1590-1591
oil on wood; 68 x 56 cm
Skoklosters Slott
Balsta, Sweden

Every time I move I go thru the magazines...

Every time I move I go thru the magazines...
clip clip...recycle...trash...cull...declutter...show time...stage...it's like theater...

so for the next few weeks to months
I will post articles I've discovered/rediscovered
to recycle them in yet another way
much easier on the moving boxes
and freight weight for sure

yes there will be a new blog
but that will all come later

first up...

The Free Press Houston aka FPH (newspaperly magazine) - Issue 155
note: take a hint on where this newspaper is from for what's up next in the blog dept for me

link...
http://www.freepresshouston.com/

note: I have also taken note that under Staff there is a Wolf
his name is Paul Holzhauer, tho as well under Wolf the he could be a she Wolf
I will keep an eye on this position/job description & also try to figure out what it is
I have never heard of this title in a newspaper/anywheres before
(other than the zoo or the wild animal reference)

link to the article that caught my eye...
http://www.freepresshouston.com/featured/top-ten-annoying-food-trends/


Top Ten Annoying Food Trends
Hey, Foodies! Stop Doing These Things

by Omar Afra and Rob McCarthy
Images  by Arthur Bates

1) Over-Glorified Junk Food
2) Truffle Oil
3) Fried Egg Topper
4) Bacon Everything
5) Cross-Cultural Fusion Poserdom
6) Kimchi
7) Locally Sourced
8) Water, No Ice (This is America)
9) Have it Their Way
10) Science "Food"

Thoughts on No. 1 - 10

1 - Over-Glorified Junk Food
no mention of in this article--but now there are french fries in burgers on TV adverts...
really? this is creative, the next step, are we kids again...(I 'know' this is not a 'new' idea too btw)
it all makes me remember when my sister & I made bologne & honey sandwiches, hot dogs with pancake syrup on them, on & on...that "I'm bored this summer let's make something silly outta the ingredients left in the refrigerator/pantry" kind of thing

Wiki will need an update...to add the French Fry Burger...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_fries

as will the Wiki on Hamburger...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburger
(note: there is a photo of No3, see below, on a burger)


I don't often post fast food--like never, I think, because...I don't eat it, unless I'm in an airport with absolutely nothing else & starving, near migraine level...but I refuse to make a hamburger to put 4 french fries on top for my own photo of this dumb duo, so here's their promo photo from Facebook that I borrowed still from an article in The Week on why the BK FF Burger is a Bust (duh)

2 -Truffle Oil
I heard this a long while ago on I think it was Master Chef or maybe Hell's Kitchen (all official like right, no matter)--it was a big No No on the show...ever since, I'm wary of when I spot that ingredient on a menu item description (I'd much rather have real mushrooms, real truffles even the better--after I found out how expensive they can come)

link to what a Truffle is...nearly the uglest veggie in the world, maybe...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truffle

Wiki quote: "Most 'truffle oil,' however, does not contain any truffles. The vast majority is olive oil which has been artificially flavoured using a synthetic agent such as 2,4-dithiapentane." (ew...how bad can that be for you?!)


black (foodie) diamonds?
from a French truffle market
I've never understood the attraction
nor the absurd price they go for
(photo credit: VanessaFrance blog - Life on La Lune - March 2012)

3 - Fried Egg Topper
this choice I can imagine at breakfast, at any other meal of the day--forget it...
what are you adding, is it attractive--nothing/more calories & no I'd say


the local The French Press Lafayette Restaurant - added fried egg on a sandwich menu item
there are more than one item now with fried eggs on top


4 - Bacon Everything
when they added this to chocolate to make bacon chocolate cake I knew we (the people of the US) were in trouble...tho I adore bacon & eggs, after that it's overkill not to mention greasy & I think possibly the wrong kind of fat to be eating period...the worst tho was walking thru the French Quarter (for those who live under a rock--New Orleans) only to first see the sign & then see people walking around with them...Bacon-tini's (yes, as in Martini only made with bacon & big strips of bacon hanging out of Martini glasses like massive gross stir sticks...can you say Yuck, like a lot...later I will read in one recipe that you smear the bacon grease around the rim of the Martini glass, ugh, double Yuck...) & somewhere these have been referred to as 'Shock-tails' (I'm beginning to think all these 'annoying food trends' have something to do with 'shock' value...sad to say...)

link to Bacon Today & recipe for a Bacon-tini...
http://bacontoday.com/bacon-martini/
(don't know what's scarier--that there's a webpage to Bacon Today or a Bacon Martini...sigh...perhaps they are done, after this, with the exploration of Bacon in Everything...wait--there's more, there is a Bakon Vodka...)



from Bakon Vodka recipes
there is not just a Bacon/Bakon Martini, but a Chocolate Bacon Martini...
(so adds to my earlier troublesome Bacon Chocolate Cake discovery)

5 - Cross-Cultural Fusion Poserdom
the worst I'd seen & experienced, at least visually--that I refused to eat, was TexMex Sushi at what was suppose to be a Mexican Restaurant (or so I thought from the signs & the menu--at first)...needless to say that restaurant is no longer in business - and - it didn't take long to go under either

links to further definitions/photos...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tex-Mex

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sushi

(I don't know who would want to put them together, really...unless they're trying to just add a sauce to the sushi rolls, but even then I'm not sure the marriage of these two flavors is tasty enough for a whole restaurant to stand by - or well, locally, it wasn't...)

6 - Kimchi
let's see what are the origins of this food--is it food, something ethnic, and to do with burying jars in the ground for long periods of time with old vegetables/cabbage is it, in them until they rot & stink & ferment... Yum--no Not yum, at all...how can people put it on anything & actually eat it...luckily where I'm living they haven't discovered this as a 'topping' on anything (perhaps they're still not done with bacon or fried eggs to go there yet)

link to if you want to learn more about Kimchi...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimchi
(I'm sorry I read more)



from Easy Korean Food online Cookbook - Kimchi Recipe
(maybe if I liked cabbage or fermented or pickled foods more, but no--I don't think so...says even better if fermented for 6 to 12 mo's....uh, don't know how I could get past the smell at that point...)


7 - Locally Sourced
hear hear...I agree, I try very hard to support local...but am not going to buy it just because it's made/processed/sold locally...

for instance now here in specifically Southern Louisiana they're trying to make local Rum--No, not drinking it (am wondering if Pirates would want to drink it--but I've sworn off alcohol for so many more years than when I could drink that I wouldn't know how awful/good the stuff was anyways)...

or local coffee? really, it's just roasted locally right (isn't that the way coffee works--they're 'not' growing coffee plants/harvesting coffee beans in Southern Louisiana...caveat, I did hear a rumor some old lady in the country was growing/roasting--but I have not met her/seen this coffee plant or coffee beans to date...) but I do still support the local roasters because they have good (local) guy Baristas that can make a descent cup of coffee (ie an espresso)...

have found many a Fab local Barista so that often makes up for it & really many of their coffee shops bring in small batch roasted local elsewhere coffee, which isn't supporting the machine or some non-fair trade coffee farmer so I'd like to feel I'm helping out the small business owner even if not a local one (for the beans, but for the barista/the coffeeshop--those are local...tho I will drive quite a long Long way for good coffee!)

and also here of late there's Pecan Oil to try 'n replace Olive Oil, they say, but I don't see that blowing up all over the country & I love pecans & all things baked/cooked with pecans but Pecan over Olive Oil am not convinced of...

there is local cheese, is it just goat cheese am not sure--but to find it, well you have to look...once spotted it at Great Harvest, perhaps it's been at the Farmer's Markets & I've missed it, then one time at a test tasting at e's Kitchen I think it was--then never saw the lady again, was talk then of opening up a cheese shop downtown (now maybe with the Astra Market setting up downtown she may show up again...)

there are local 'jars' of I don't know what all--condiments? sides? appetizers? veggies? fruit/jams? pickled quail eggs? on & on of what they could be--all in jars...those I see all over, in stores/shops/farmer's markets, but do I want to try them? uhm...no, not really...except, there's got to be an exception--I'll try anything in jars from Bread & Circus, nothing has disappointed me there & I'd like to think I know the 2 behind this 'jar' food or 1 of them actually does cured meats of all sorts to boot (not in a jar) & so far, knock on wood (or a jar) they've been oh so very de-lish!

I admire local supported/local made - some foodie items are just best as original (say Cajun or Creole--if there's not a chef/food stuffs in the kitchen from Louisiana I have great doubts about how original that dish is coming out to the table) & I think these originals (esp if made in the USA) should be sold as such but still sold local so we can still support the local shops...

this is all starting to sound like when I found out after the French Fry ban that there are way Way more things made in France or owned by French companies than we'd like to think about in the good ole' local USA...if you dig far enough what is grown/made locally--do we want to know...

but I have to say they're trying really Really hard at the Farm to Table/Farm to Fork idea here--more power to them & the few restaurants/chefs that are trying really Really hard to keep up with this trend/good idea (a lot of people will have to be reminded of Seasonal Foods though along the way--we are So use to having what we want to eat whenever we like that we've forgotten how Mother Nature really works at different times of the year...)


Pecan Oil from Kinloch Plantation Products

link to what Cajun food is or Cajun Cuisine (or per the World According to Wiki)...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cajun_cuisine

link to what Creole food is, as differs from Cajun food...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Creole_cuisine
(mostly folks will just tell you there's more tomato/tomato sauce in these dishes)

8 - Water, No Ice (This is America)
water is always a subject to ponder...but with or without ice I thought was only to worry about in foreign countries where the tap water was suspect, so that you had to drink bottled water...we'd like to think that here in our own country that we didn't have to worry about that--but lately after contaminated water in a nearby town/Parish I can see you'd go for not just bottled water but no ice as well...really as for me I like lukewarm/room temperature water--I think it's better for you (& as a kid I would eat ice cubes in Florida growing up & have a hard time 'not' crunching on them--which I think my teeth are not the better for...) so I would probably go with this water, no ice...tho I have heard at least one college age girl order this at a table next to me recently & wondered why did she order that? I didn't know it was a thing


this is where I put my filtered water, no ice when I'm at home or in the car or at friends or anywheres really 'other' than taking it inside a restaurant or a coffeeshop...
glass water bottle in sleeve by Life Factory...see more of these at their link... http://www.lifefactory.com


9 - Have it Their Way
because we have gotten use to a lot of choices...and...we all seem to have allergies or are watching what we eat for whatever diet/exercise program there is--I can't imagine a restaurant now a days 'not' taking a request for a revision to your order...I know that most restaurants will charge a split fee for halving an order & I've been told I'll have to pay the full price for a menu item that I've asked for something to be left off of it, which I've not argued about (at the time didn't think of it, I just wanted what I wanted to eat & not have to pick out the offensive item so that by the time I did everyone else at the table would be done eating) -perhaps they'll start a charge for mucking up their recipes as well in future...

link to article considering restaurants substitutions & paying more for them...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-goldwyn/restaurant-menu-substitutions_b_1317023.html

link to Restaurant Hospitality's spin on that same article...
http://restaurant-hospitality.com/operational_tips/charge-for-substitutions-0711

10 - Science "Food"
at first I thought they were going to go off on GMO's & that kind of science made food...guess they mean more the equipment of science (but as of today I have never seen anyone try to laser my food at the table like flaming desserts kind of deal) I don't much like being a lab rat in a doctors office nor in a restaurant...it's like the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain or a Dog & Pony Show is done to entertain/to cover up the bad/cheap food or in an attempt to be new or creative--that's not the way to do it I'm thinking & my taste buds too...did someone say you eat with your eyes before (then again I've not tried the restaurants in the dark and am not about to anytime soon...) also along with this I personally like food that I can eat easily--if I have to wait forever or make a huge effort at getting to my food to eat it or too have so many oddball ingredients or cooked oddly items on my plate...my tastebuds are confused & I'm not a happy satisfied (tummy/) customer, esp if just laid down a day to a week's pay for a meal...

link to New Scientist magazine & article on 'laser cookery'...
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21628965.200-laser-cookery-makes-your-food-more-fun.html#.UkZPONLa_4Y



No miracle (Image: Kentaro Fukuchi)
note: image from article in New Scientist on 'Laser Cookery'
(yes that is a QR-Code...could you actually use your cell phone to look up anything with this--I don't know, but obviously somebody in Japan is trying)

I'm sorry all in all I want to taste good whole real food, that simple, thank you & good night

Take a walk...in the shop...on the wild side...

Talk a walk...
in the shop...
on the wild side...

but first Thai
I don't know how they oragami'd that napkin like that
and then there was Thai Coffee--so very sweet (when I thought nothing could be sweeter than sweet tea)
the seafood treasure was a surprise, it wasn't mine but it was fun to see come out to the table

link to Nidda Thai Cuisine restaurant...
http://www.niddathai.com/

note: Thai toasts & Nidda Salad were my fav (but then I love crispy tofu)

rain
'merica
Houston, TX
that flag, you can't tell, is so enormous--I can hear it flapping over the noise of the rain thru the hotel window
oddly there is screen in the window at the hotel (mind you in a modern, updated, fun hotel)

coffeebreak
Blacksmith Coffee
Lucky Cat collection (some with price tags still on...I wanted to ask if tiny yellow one was really for sale or they'd forgotten to take the tag off--but I didn't)
wallpaper, loved the design, is that dated or is it new or is it new made to look old - black & white graphics pull me in (like babies with mobiles in black & white over their cribs...I am mesmerized...)

link to fb pg, don't find a webpg...
https://www.facebook.com/blacksmithhouston

Lucky Cat Wiki...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maneki-neko
note: read this you know in case you live under a rock 'n never saw one or heard of one before
(talk about a sheltered life then...)

description from Fab.com fits these guys pretty darn well...

The epitome of creepy-cute, these Max & Moritz Salt and Pepper Shakers 
were designed by Chris Collicot for Kikkerland...
(I know I couldn't have them looking at me all day or night from the kitchen--so no, no way...)

Take a walk...in the shop...on the wild side...
4 floors or creative energy, topped off by a top floor to wander thru the sale items
strewn every which way, as it should be, like a bazaar or a souk--gawd I miss a good souk...sigh...
but this will do, in a pinch...
sense of touch & sight very happy in here, if only there were spices (like at the souks) then it would be grand
btw I am in (lust) love with this warehouse of a store...I will return to wander & wander, another day away...

link to the store, there is as well (of course) a catalog...
http://www.highfashionhome.com/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Bing_Branded

note: lots of fun to wander past a whole side of a room dedicated to being set up for photos
all the set ups were marked 'not' to move anything for the photoshoot...
but alas I musta missed it as there was already a man with a skateboard type cart already as if it were all done, wheeling chairs, etc's away...



2013 Summer Catalog

another link, another of their shops--but just for Fabrics...their High Fashion Fabrics shop, just across the side street from them...
http://www.highfashionfabrics.com/

another note:  there is a whole other just Fabric Shop as well as the Home Shop...if I were a fabric/sewing person I would be in awe as well over there, just cross the side street, I'm sure...



for summer...the bbq--in fabric...oh why not
it's kinda looking like a robot, alien, crown kind of image anyway to me
if nothing else there is orange, red orange, orange going on all over it


ps: the horse photos were all for my sis, of the Rescue Ranch--got a dozen horses kind of gal...

another coffee...iced coffee...
this one a Vietnamese coffee
less sweet/more strong, after that couldn't tell

take a walk...outside a shop...on the wilder side...
Party Boy...is not just interesting on the inside--be sure to walk the outside...
then keep going into the next building where there is a warehouse of costumes
for only $100 bucks can put together a Steampunk costume for 2 or 3 days
that you can take from Houston back to say Lafayette then ship it back when you're done
come November 9th, or before, with the Steampunk Festival & Maker's Fair going on in downtown Lafayette, LA
I may just reconsider to drive back earlier to Houston to rent me a whole costume
then take a million photos & I'm good--one day I may own such a thing, but until then renting is fine with me
(well I did buy a brown felt top hat & a vest to start a costume with--it's a start...)

link to Party Boy...
http://partyboytexas.com/
(note: don't get excited, there is 'not' a link to the warehouse of costumes--so you can't see them all online, you have to go there...I need to go back, check it out like a library or a bookshop--see what I can put together...try a few, few too many, things on--then we'll see if I'll end up with my very own Steampunk costume or not, finally...hmm...one day...



a sneak peek inside...Party Boy's costume warehouse...





and I did find a top hat, brown, felt/fuzzy, nearly like this one...
what could I do with it--well I went to look see...

I like this idea to start: brown/yellow feathers, some pin on lapel type mini gears, prob a clock or some watch gears, plus coppery eye goggles...(and me, I want to add some buttons somewheres--I envision a vest as well, covered in buttons...if not completely...but can I sew that many buttons, hmm...)




from a thumbnail photo, the webpage will not come up on Chrome
also cannot search for the hat for halloween link below--I get an Opps
took note that there was a box & a blank on my blog post so went to look for the photo
I did not copy it into my picture file, so went back to find it by Google Search
this may or may not have been the hat--but it's the idea
add feathers, gears, watch parts or keys or etc plus goggles & voila--a Steampunk hat?!


thank you steampunk.com
http://www.steampunk.com/find-your-perfect-steampunk-hat-for-halloween/#more-2153
note: tho it says for Halloween, works for Steampunk Festivals as well...

of course too there has to be an octupus, a kraken...

or--there is this octupus...whoa...I may have to look up all the different kinds of octupus...


can you say bizarre-o
oh my

from Wiki
he's a--Cirrothauma murrayi (octupus)

drawn sometime in 1910
if you believed in nightmares, aliens & such
(the Kraken is looking really lovely right about now...)

enough--I will stop before I go to bed or I will have octupus filled nightmares for sure
like ear worm music, I must now go look at a lot of something else...

oh wait--there was more shopping, there was more coffee...

NL aka No Label Beer
the choices at Spec's
I was sent to Oh just pick up a sixpack while you're in town...uh huh...
so there are no less than 5 choices--I was told 'not' to choose the jalapeno pepper beer
well that was the 1 choice they didn't have
rest of the story--pale ale won out

somebody I know knows somebody who knows/is perhaps related to somebody at this crafty brewery

link to NL/No Label Beer...
http://nolabelbrew.com/

"friends, sunshine, beer
no labels necessary"

that's their line, not mine...

link to Specs - wines, liquors store...
http://www.specsonline.com/cgi-bin/showpage?pageid=main
note: they're huge, they're in houston, they're in Texas, they're Texas-size

started with (iced) coffee...end with (not iced) coffee
espresso--cortado, on the go
plus a garden of 'Goofy' grafitti art, street art
in the making or it's what you do with a broken pot
the clean white chalky surface was too much for someone
they had to draw, they had to draw 'Goofy'
Oh really why not
Cheers

link to Catalina Coffee...
http://catalinacoffeeshop.com/
there's prob already lots & lots, loads even, of coffee photos online
so why not a pot of cactus with 'Goof' Grafitti
(now I've nearly forgotten about creepy cute salt/pepper shakers or ancient octupus...nearly...)