It’s a sad day for journalism.
I highly recommend watching the documentary on The New York Times, Page One. Not just entertaining, it’s an important beacon of light on what we take for granted when it comes to good journalism.
PSA
I’ve practiced yoga on and off since about 1998. I should be a lot better at it than I am, but here’s the thing about yoga. It reminds me a lot of the movie “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” and the apprentices who might spend a year trying to perfect cooking rice, before they are allowed to do anything else. There is not a single pose that is supposed to be without a challenge, meaning that there is no ease, no rest, and always some sort of focus and engagement. There is almost no finish. Take downward dog. It’s the classic yoga pose, one that I have come to find restful, and yet, yesterday in class, my teacher came and touched my ribs and told me to subtly shift my weight, changing the way I’ve been holding the pose for years.
Earlier this year, I decided to buy a new yoga mat. My brother gave me my last one, smartly designed with a creased grid. It folds perfectly and slides into its own bag, obscuring me from the mass of mat toting Brooklynites in my neighborhood.
Khataland YoFoMat – on amazon.
After doing some quick research, I decided to go with this eco-friendly mat from JadeYoga. I love this mat. I went with green, known for its effects of healing and renewal.
There aren’t many things that I can say I’ve dedicated so many years of my life to like my yoga practice. There’s never an end, and I am so thankful for that specifically.
From the words of Jiro Ono:
I do the same thing over and over, improving bit by bit. There is always a yearning to achieve more. I’ll continue to climb, trying to reach the top, but no one knows where the top is.
Photo from leckerlee.com
Winter brings me down. Wanna know what can defeat the heavy cold and gray skies? Lebkuchen! My friend recently sent me a tin on a particularly unkind winter day and it was like receiving a big yellow ray of cozy sunshine. It comes in a perfect tin. I didn’t know what a lebkuchen was, but I took a bite and realized I have had this flavor before, somewhere in my childhood. It was a joyful moment.
I had to look up the company, Leckerlee, that makes these beautiful cookies, and I see they only ship in season, and lebkuchen season ends in about a week. Consider this your fair warning on how to survive the rest of winter.
From their site:
Nuremberg-style lebkuchen is widely regarded as the finest gingerbread in the world. This gustatory heirloom has been handed down by Bavarian medieval monks and fiercely protected for centuries by lebkuchen guilds, confining its designation to the city limits of the German gingerbread capital. Until one enchanting Bavarian winter day, a crazy lebkuchen convert decided its destiny was to travel far and wide…
And, speaking of the School of Life made me think of this interview with its founder Alain de Botton on Krista Tippett’s On Being podcast:
Listen to it here.
Which is also making me want to re-watch this documentary that I originally saw on Bill Moyer’s Journal:
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If you know me, there’s a chance you know that there is a frugal streak that runs through my family. My mom started it, setting the example that if you are going to buy anything, it will be because it’s on sale, whether you need it or not. My brother inherited this but has taken it to another degree, seeking things on sale, and oftentimes sacrificing a normal train of thought or the notion of convenience to make the ultimate sale purchase (or money-saving scheme) possible. I am the least frugal in comparison to them, but this little obsessive gene does unpredictably pop up and start controlling my comfort levels of paying normal prices for things, especially those things that might be considered mundane.
And what is more lame than paying to rent a car? The last time I rented a car, the guy at the rental counter asked me how I felt about being issued a Ford. Am I supposed to have feelings about this?
Somehow, I have discovered that the absolute best deal you can get in renting a car (and if it wasn’t obvious, this is only relative to someone who only cares about a car getting from point A to point B) is through the “Name Your Price” feature on priceline.com. I have gotten away with paying as little as $6/day for a rental car. It’s a genius ploy on the psychology of getting a good deal, as you have to name a price low enough to satisfy your good-deal needs, and high enough that a reputable rental car company will take your asking price. I’ve used it several times now and every single time have bursted out in “YES!” when the bid is accepted.
Pretty certain that my mom and brother would be proud.
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(Via Real Simple) Photo by Craig Cutler; Screen Saver Design by Alan Dye
I have the best screensaver. Many people who see it ask me where to get it. I sleuthed and found it here.
UPDATE: Oops! My favorite, I mean, my faithful reader pointed out that the screensaver link does not work on Real Simple’s site. Sorry! You can always send me an email to ask if I will share my mac file with you. And maybe I will. Or maybe I won’t.
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I am currently away on vacation. If you are in need of assistance and unsure of how to get away on your own, I highly recommend checking out the latest update to Tinybop’s app, Plants, available for iOS devices. It includes the addition of the Grasslands biome, an excellent get-away that you can take on your couch, at your desk, or a nearby park. And yes, we did make this app for kids (as we do all our apps), but I think it’s perfect for anyone who’s just a tad bit curious about the world we live in.
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It’s stone fruit and berry season. Do yourself a favor and make this fruit salad right now. I just had it for dinner. Here’s my best version:
3 peaches, cubed
pint of blueberries
strawberries, sliced
bunch of mint
tablespoon of rum
lemon
honey or agave
Cut up all the fruit and put in a large bowl. Tear up mint. Sprinkle a splash of rum. Squeeze one lemon. Drizzle of honey (or not, depending on how sweet your fruit is). Toss. Savor summertime.
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Just bought this collage from Erica Harris. All of the proceeds go to support Erica’s work with Buddha’s Smile School. Take a look at her etsy store – the India fundraiser is open through September 15.
CommentI’m a follower of Nicholas Kristof‘s column and the Half the Sky movement he has led with his wife, Sheryl WuDunn. After reading the book, I was inspired to sponsor women in Rwanda through Women for Women, and educated on
the potential of a girl’s education, despite the threat it poses. While this past Sunday’s column comes off as a softer subject in the midst of his usual reporting on inequalities around the world, it takes one to know Kristof to understand he actually really wants us to visit the far-off places, for the far-reaching potential that it would make the world a better place.
And, adding no. 53 of this to my to-do list.
Faroe Islands. Photo by Hans J. Hansen.
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