3/27/2010

HAPPY EASTER!

http://blog.jumpitz.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/happyeaster.png

WHAT IS EASTER ?
Easter is the celebration of Jesus Christ's rising from the dead (His Resurrection) after His crucifixion which took place on what we now term Good Friday.
Easter is usually celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon following the Vernal or Spring Equinox on March 21st. This can be any Sunday between March 22nd and April 25th. It is the most sacred of all the Christian holidays or celebrations.
Christ's return (or rising) from death is called the Resurrection. According to the scriptures, Christ's tomb was empty three days after His death, which is commemorated on Good Friday. His followers saw Him and talked to Him after this. Christians therefore believe that they have the hope of a new life (an everlasting life in Heaven) after their earthly death.


WHAT IS THE HOLY WEEK ?
The Holy week is the last week of Lent. It begins with the observance of Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter Sunday. The name, Palm Sunday originated from Jesus's entry in Jerusalem. The crowd laid carpets of palms on the street for Him. The Last Supper is commemorated on Holy Thursday of special week (often called Maundy Thursday) and Friday is the anniversary of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the cross. The Lenten season and Holy week end with Easter Sunday (the Resurrection of Jesus Christ).

HOW DID EASTER GET ITS NAME ?
The English name "Easter" is much newer. Before Christianity in early England, the people celebrated the vernal equinox with a feast honoring Eostre, the Pagan goddess of spring. When the early English Christians wanted others to accept Christianity, they decided to use the name Easter for this holiday so that it would match the name of the old spring celebration. This made it more comfortable for other people to accept Christianity. Some believed that the word Easter came from an early German word "eostarun", meaning dawn and white. Newly baptized Christians wore white clothes as a sign of their new life on Easter.


NAMES OF EASTER
Easter was called Pesach by early Christians. It is the Hebrew name for Passover. Today, the name for Easter in many cultures in Europe are similar to the word Pesah. For example :
France -Paques /Spain -Pascua /Italy -Pasqua /Albania -Pashke/ Greece -Pascha /Norway -Paaske /Holland -Pasen /Sweden -Pask


EASTER EGG
As Christianity spread, more familiar traditions, symbols and celebrations of spring were associated with Easter . One of the oldest spring symbols in the world is the egg. The oval shape of the egg was the same shape for a raindrop and a seed. These two were important life-giving elements. The egg itself promises new life as in spring, birds, and many other animals are hatched from eggs. In fact, the Persians, Hindus and Egyptians believed that the world began with a single egg. In ancient China, Rome and Greece, eggs were given as springtime gifts. In Polland and Russia, hours are spent on drawing intricate designs on Easter eggs. In England, members of the royal families gave each other gold-covered eggs as Easter gifts in the middle ages. The most famous Easter egg decorator was Peter Carl Faberge. He designed eggs from gold, silver and other precious gems for kings of Europe and czars of Russia. These eggs are priceless now and can only be found in museums and private collections. In early America, children decorated their eggs by using dyes made from natural materials like fruit and leave coloring.


3/26/2010

MORE ON HEALTHY DIETS?


I'm not really sure whether this would come as HEALTHY DIETS but it is a delicious dessert recipe, and easy to do that Dra. María Jordano has left for you all as a little gift for the Easter break!! Really mouth-watering...




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCdy4vmqwx0


Any other "weight-reducing" but yummy recipes?

The Daughters Of Edward Darley Boit By John Singer Sargent

ART
The Daughters Of Edward Darley Boit By John Singer Sargent

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-znOSWfAb_8&feature=player_embedded

This is not a blog about art, and I do hope ED won't get mad at me (!) but I've come across this wonderful video in the forum of another of the subjects I have as a tutor: it is good practice for your ears, it is learning about another painter and about how to look at a painting and you can watch many other paintings by many, many other painters but, above all is enjoying art and learning more English and about English speaking countires.

It's Friday and we need a little break like this. Now, enjoy the video. Yo can write later about your impressions on art. Have a relaxing weekend if you can.

3/22/2010

"CONFIDENCE PILLS" AND HEALTHY DIETS. Food revolution.

www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2006/05/17/jamie_o...
I'm sure many of you know this guy, Jamie Oliver, the chef. He is really involved in many, many things ( I wonder if he can get some sleep!) but his main "battle" at present has to do with our topic: Jamie's food revolution . He is a father so he also focuses a lot on schools (ministry of food campaing, school dinners campaing... )Don't miss his recipease, healthy(and Mediterranean) recipes, today's recipe. Have a look: http://www.jamieoliver.com/campaigns/ http://www.jamieoliver.com/about
"Jamie has made a new series for American TV about food – how families eat, what kids get at school and why, like the UK, the diet of processed food and snacks is causing so many health and obesity problems. The series was filmed in Huntington, West Virginia.Jamie's challenge was to see if he can get a whole community cooking again. He worked with the school lunch ladies and local families to get everyone back in the kitchen and making tasty meals with fresh ingredients – no packets, no cheating. He's started a Food Revolution: to get people all over America to reconnect with their food and change the way they eat."
Please, watch as much as you can of this video (I know, Mr. Oliver speaks really fast but you just need a general idea to start practicing) and DO NOT MISS minute 11 , when he is in a school with children, you'll be open-mouthed! Is this our future?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIwrV5e6fMY

Don't forget to write some lines...

"CONFIDENCE PILLS" AND HEALTHY DIETS. Eat and run.

EAT AND RUN:
With more than 300,000 fast food restaurants in the United States, the American fast food culture has become super-sized:
http://www.history.com/shows/modern-marvels/videos/playlists/food#eat-and-run


ARE WE EATING HEALTHY? DO WE HAVE THE TIME TO COOK PROPERLY?
DO WE GET ENOUGH EXERCISE? ARE WE TOO TIRED FOR IT? WHERE?

NYC farmers market: http://www.break.com/usercontent/2010/1/nyc-farmers-markets-try-something-new-1621051
Okay, sometimes you don't have time to cook properly, especially if you're rushing out to meet friends or have clubs and societies meetings. You can still throw together a snack like beans on toast or an omelette without too much stress before it's time to head out the door. http://www.thesite.org/healthandwellbeing/fitnessanddiet/food/howtocook


and more...
http://www.history.com/shows/modern-marvels/videos/playlists/food#three-things-you-didnt-know-about-cheese
http://www.history.com/shows/modern-marvels/videos/playlists/food#three-things-you-didnt-know-about-chocolate
http://www.history.com/shows/modern-marvels/videos/playlists/food#american-barbecue

Many questions are now in our minds. Leave your comments please...

"CONFIDENCE PILLS" AND HEALTHY DIETS. Plus-size models




Plus-size models on ELLEN (Crystal Renn, Kate Dillon, etc)

You have just watched Crystal Renn in this show, author of "Hungry", ex-top model and plus-size model nowadays. Renn started her modeling career in high fashion at the age of 14 after being told to lose almost a third of her total body weight. This weight loss eventually triggered a health crisis, causing her to reassess her diet and exercise habits. After gaining 70 pounds (32 kg) and re-emerging as a U.S. size 12, she was re-marketed by her agents as a plus-size model.

In addition to working repeatedly with notable fashion photographers Ruven Afanador and Steven Meisel and being the only plus-size model to appear on a Harper's Bazaar cover and appearing in four international Vogue editions, Crystal has enjoyed lucrative contracts with many high-profile plus-size clothing manufacturers such as Lane Bryant, Evans and Torrid, and has also appeared on the runway for Vena Cava, Heatherette, Elena Miro, and most notably for Jean-Paul Gaultier in his Spring/Summer prêt-à-porter 2006 collection in Paris, garnering favorable and extensive media interest.
Renn is also notable for appearing in back-to-back campaigns in 2007 wearing regular-sized (not specifically plus-size) clothing for Spanish retailer
Mango; her photos appearing amid those of smaller models and without notation regarding her larger size, a rare occurrence in conventional apparel advertising.
Renn's first book, HUNGRY, was co-authored by Marjorie Ingall and released on September 8, 2009.
During an on-camera interview at an Australian industry function, Renn's agent Gary Dakin noted that her total income would now be "close to 7 figures".
Renn is currently reporting for
Glamour Magazine on New York Fashion Week 2010 on the fall collections.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Renn

Crystal Renn on HUNGRY : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhjs5HfWN30 Crystal Renn speaks about her new book Hungry: A Young Model's Story of Appetite, Ambition and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves.

Plus-size model Crystal Renn on Good Morning America and 20/20: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JtcOcj8sGQ&NR=1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfhlo80doK4&feature=related

I'm sure many of you would like to leave their comments on this topic, please, do it, there are many things to say.

"CONFIDENCE PILLS" AND HEALTHY DIETS

http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20351257_1,00.html

Foods to Boost Your Mood.

Blissful meals
Though their findings are debated, several studies show that a lack of certain vitamins and minerals may put you at risk for depression. Try these 10 nutrient-rich meals that taste as good as they make you feel.

http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20351257_1,00.html

Salmon Salad With Vinaigrette Studies show that omega-3 fatty acids may have therapeutic benefits in depressed children. And this savory salmon dish contains 6 grams of this monounsaturated fat. Ingredients: Green beans, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, extra virgin olive oil, minced shallots, salmon fillets, mixed salad greens, Vidalia onion, eggs Calories: 271

Read also:

The Science of Living Longer
A century of life was once a rare thing, but that is changing. Science is slowly unraveling the secrets of the centenarians. http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/0,28757,1963392,00.html

Let´s see THE DIET: How eating less (much less) may help you live longer (much longer) John Apollos is losing weight the old-fashioned way — by eating less. A whole lot less. As a volunteer in the two-year Comprehensive Assessment of Long-Term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy (CALERIE) study at Tufts University in Boston, Apollos has lowered his daily caloric intake 25% over the past eight months. The fat, not surprisingly, has melted away; the 52-year-old physical trainer has lost more than 25 lb. (11 kg) since the study began and is down to his high school weight. Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1963392_1963366_1963381,00.html