After spending several weeks eating the most popular vegan protein bars on the market, we've narrowed it down to 5 of the best with the clear winner being The Vega Vegan Protein Bar.
Runner-up was the Garden Of Life Sport Performance Protein Bar and several others that made the cut.
For the past seven or so years of my life, I have spent approximately 80% of my day running around.
In high school, I was going back and forth from school to dance class to work; college was my internship, classes, dance team practice and my bartending job.
Post-graduation is filled with work, coaching, blogging and spending time with my fiancé and my new pup.
I've 110% officially become a crazy dog mom, mind you … so literally almost every free second is spent researching things about raising a puppy … and buying unnecessary things like elf hats and dog couches).
Needless to say, the craziness has undoubtedly changed but has never died down.
Over the years, protein bars have always been my go-to when it comes to quick, nutritious options that can be taken on-the-go.
I mean, they're SO convenient!
Throw a couple in your bag before running out of the house and your good to go.
That's why they've become so popular in the weight room as well as the bottom-of-the-purse abyss (AKA the dark space of uncharted territory of any women's bag).
In the past, I've always just checked to see how many calories it contained and then calculating if it was a reasonable amount considering my day's agenda.
However, since becoming a health coach (and ultimately becoming more aware of the nutritional makeup of foods/products), I have started looking more carefully at labels.
Especially when consuming bars as a meal replacement or pre/post-workout nutrition.
It's crucial to understand what you're putting into your body.
There is SO much more to a product than its calorie count.
B) If I would recommend it to a client or reader.
These include taste, protein makeup, nutritional value and the quality of ingredients.
Unfortunately, a lot of protein bars tend to lack in the "taste" department.
Usually having a flavor that resembles artificially-flavored soggy cardboard.
In turn, the ones that DO have a yum-factor are typically chock-fulla sugars, unhealthy carbs and other fillers that make it nothing more than a glorified candy bar.
And the worst part? They can be EXPENSIVE as heck.
There's nothing that makes me sadder than buying a box of bars that end up getting reluctantly choked down merely because you don't want to waste the money.
I LOVE eating, and if I'm not enjoying it, it makes me one sad chica.
I've decided to do the hard part for you.
I tried five popular vegan protein bars and provided my honest and true feedback.
I've presented my review in order of my favorite to least favorite product.
But first let's talk a little bit more about why protien is such a big deal and what to look for in a protein bar, shall we?
Eating enough protein is a crucial step when trying to gain muscle, especially for those of you trying to build your glutes.
When your body is lacking amino acids (found in proteins), your body can suffer from muscle atrophy, the breaking down of muscle fibers in order to support energy needs of the body.
Protein also assists in muscle recovery as well after strenuous activities such as exercising.
Enzymes, hormones and neurotransmitters are imperative for cognitive function.
The brain needs a consistent supply of amino acids to keep concentration and energy at its best.
In other words, more protein means less hunger and less hunger means fewer calories consumed … You get the rest.
The healthier bars are going to stay in the 150 – 300 calorie range.
If you are using it as a snack, try and keep it around 150 – 250 calories.
If you're planning on consuming it in place of a meal, then you can go for one that is between 300 – 400 calories.
At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how "nutrient-packed" your choices are, if you're consuming too much then you're going to gain unwanted weight!
Avoid products that have a laundry list of ingredients that you can't pronounce.
If you can't pronounce it, you probably shouldn't be eating it.
Look for minimal amount of ingredients, most healthy bars will contain a lot of well-known protein and health sources such as almonds, whey, pea protein, etc.
Pay attention to the protein amount, don't settle for a bar with less than 7 grams.
Some of these bars will claim to be protein packed and only contain 3 – 5 grams of protein per serving.
At that point you're better off just opting for a hardboiled egg or another form of convenient nutrition.
When looking at the labels, select ones with more than 3 grams of fiber per serving.
Fiber is known for its ability to keep you fuller longer.
This can ultimately result in less calorie consumption and assist in weight loss.
Fiber is also linked to reduced constipation, digestive health and lower risk of heart disease.
The lower, the better. As mentioned, many products being sold today contain an absurd amount.
They may look and advertise as a healthy option when in reality they contain up to 30 grams of sugar!
That's more than a candy bar or bottle of soda.
When looking at the source of sugars, try and make sure they come from real foods such as dates and fruits, not added sugars or syrups.
I was able to sample several vegan protein bars then narrowing it down to the five that stood out.
Since vegan bars do not contain any animal products, they're a great option for those with dairy sensitivities.
The protein sources are plant-based and typically come from rice, peas, hemp or soy.
Rice protein reduces glycemic response and is easy to digest.
Pea protein has a rich amino acid profile, hemp protein also has a great amount of omega fatty acids and soy is a complete protein meaning it contains all essential amino acids.
Vega (previously known as Sequel Naturals), provides customers with on-the-go plant-based nutrition.
Since they started in 2001, Vega has emerged on top for being groundbreakers in the world of plant-based natural health and performance products.
The company was founded by Brendan Brazier, a former professional Ironman triathlete, who was driven to influence the athletic world with vegan nutrition.
They strives to be a company that leaves a net-zero carbon footprint which is something I admire.
This bar is a plant-based protein bar that includes 11 grams of protein and a number of essential nutrients such as vitamins A, C, D, E and K.
All the ingredients in Vega's products are clean and certified organic whenever possible.
This product also contains a whole bunch of additional ingredients such as a variety of fruits and greens which could make this a great option for those who want to use this as a meal bar or pre-workout nutrition.
Since it contains approximately 25% of your daily needs of 11 types of vitamins and 11 grams of protein.
These bars can benefit in muscle building and body recovery as well.
The protein is derived from sprouted, organic peas and brown rice which is easily digested and provides sustainable energy to the body.
The best way to describe this bar would be a vegan version of a snickers bar. It's rich, it's chewy and it's sweet.
There were real roasted peanuts on top and throughout which I was really digging.
I didn't taste the peanut butter too, too much, but it was definitely there in a subtle way.
This bar seemed to almost melt in your mouth with every bite.
The dark chocolate coating gives a softer, sweeter texture while the nuts give a nice crunch that helps satisfy.
The chocolate coating does melt fairly quickly which can make it kind of a mess to consume on the go.
But since it helped curb my appetite for 2 – 3 hours, it was worth throwing one into my bag before I left the house for the day.
Since it reminded me so much of a candy bar, I'm not sure I'd be able to have it in first thing in the morning.
Instead, I really enjoyed it as a post-workout treat or dessert.
This one was a top contender with my roommates as well as myself.
Cons: Couldn't find an issue.
Garden of Life is a natural supplement company that produces a number of health products such as protein powders, probiotics, multivitamin and green powder – all of which are USDA organic and non-GMO.
Garden of Life is known to be the producer some of the cleanest health products on the market.
The calories are a little high in this particular bar, but it makes it an excellent option for pre- or post-workout.
It is low in sugar and has a nice fiber value as well.
What makes this bar stand out from its competitors is that it also contains over 3 grams of BCAA's (Branched Chained Amino Acids).
These are the amino acids that are essential for muscle building and recovery.
An added bonus for anyone trying to tone up and lose weight.
Though it can be consumed at any point throughout the day, I would recommend enjoying this bar as a post-workout refuel option since it is a bit higher on the calories and carbohydrates.
It will help replenish your muscles and give you that boost of energy you crave, plus the fiber will help you feel fuller longer!
Another added benefit of fiber is that it helps feed "good" bacteria in the gut.
Happy gut = Happy body!
I love that there is so much protein in this bar.
As an avid gym-goer it's always important for me to have high protein options available to me post-workout.
And sometimes I'm just simply not feeling a standard protein shake.
Garden of Life gives me an alternative that is even more convenient!
I keep one of these in my bag to snack on while I'm running errands after finishing up my workout.
The macronutrient profile is balanced enough to keep my energy levels up and my belly full.
I thought this flavor was better than most chocolate mint flavors.
There was a delicate mint flavor which I think is better than feeling like you've been punched in the face with a tic-tac.
I will say that there was a slightly gritty texture which left a little bit of a chalky residue on the tongue while eating.
Though I consider this a very small price to pay for such a nutrient-dense snack.
It does have crunchy pieces in it which broke up the texture a little bit, but I found myself getting a little bit bored eating this (is that a thing?) and don't think I would enjoy this flavor every single day.
I am very interested in tasting some of the other flavors though!
Overall it was very soft, not bendy or super chewy and it doesn't stick to teeth like some other bars.
I also really liked that this isn't a protein bar that is wrapped up in a chocolate coating.
I left it in my bag at work next to my foot heater, and it didn't melt, which is fabulous for those on-the-go who toss a bar into their bag and walk out the door.
Similar to many health food companies, NuGo was started by a health fanatic.
David Levine created the first protein bar covered in REAL dark chocolate back in 2005, and they've been taking the world by storm ever since.
They go against the "norms" of others in the industry by steering away from chocolate-flavored palm kernel oil and opting for natural cocoa butter which gives a smooth and velvety texture.
NuGo is an independent food company that make some of the tastiest and healthiest bars on the market.
When it comes to nutrition, these NuGo bars are obviously not the worst things there.
But the sugar is very high, the fiber is very low, and the protein amount is nothing to write home about.
I knocked off another point on the nutrition score for these bars as well because they do contain soy.
Though debatable in the health world, I am not a soy advocate.
So this is one that could be a pro or con, depending on your opinion on the topic!
What is great though, is that these bars are made with REAL dark chocolate which means it's made with cocoa butter and non-fat cocoa solids, not palm kernel oil.
Real ingredients are always a plus in my book.
Dark chocolate is also known for its antioxidant properties, which can play a vital role in overall health and protection against free radicals.
Fact: Dark chocolate and cocoa has more potent antioxidants, flavanols and polyphenols than any other fruits tested.
Now, these bars are delicious, one of my favorite tasting bars out of the bunch!
As mentioned, it is made with real dark chocolate, so it's indulgent and pretty sweet – making it taste more like a candy bar than a protein bar.
Upon my first bite, I was surprised by its thick dark chocolate exterior and crispy.
Somewhat chewy interior, almost like a rice crispy treat but a bit crumblier.
There is none of that artificial chocolate or sweetener flavor you find in most health products.
The dark chocolate isn't bitter like some traditional ones. Instead, it's a balanced luscious flavor.
It was easy to chew and didn't leave my jaw or teeth aching by the end.
I could see these bars being used as a treat to myself when I have a sweet tooth craving I can't kick.
I do wish there were some more interesting notes in the flavor and texture department.
Unlike some of the others that have a combination of soft and crunchy or sweet and salty, this bar is pretty basic in its taste and consistency profile.
RawRev is a nutritional snack and bar company that's mission is to make delicious, healthy, vegan, organic options for its customers.
The company is 100% women-owned and was started by Alice Benedetto in 2004.
Benedetto is a registered nurse, and natural foods chef, her hobby of preparing healthy options for her family turned into a family-owned factory that produces millions of products a year!
Their products are vegan, gluten-free, non-GMO and includes a hearty amount of raw-sprouted superfoods.
I love that this bar has low sugars, high fiber, flax and omega-3's!
It also packs some impressive macro and micronutrients, especially for a vegan bar!
It contains 10 grams of fiber and 45% of your daily iron requirement.
These bars would be a great pre-workout option as the raw ingredients can really help give you a boost of energy needed to power through your sets.
These bars are made up of raw superfoods and are free from any allergens or unhealthy additives which is amazing for those who suffer from certain food allergies or sensitives.
The "superfood blend" that is in all the GLO bars is made up of peanuts, organic brown rice protein, pea protein, raw organic virgin coconut oil, raw organic hemp protein, raw organic chia seeds and raw organic sprouted flax seeds.
The plant-based protein makeup even includes chia seeds, which is a considerably beneficial added nutrient to any diet.
I thought this bar was pretty good overall!
If you are a caramel fan, you will LOVE this product.
It was soft, pretty dense and somewhat chewy (similar to a cookie dough consistency).
Plus it had ribbons of smooth, gooey dark chocolate and caramel throughout.
It was not sickeningly sweet, but sweet enough that it was easy to forget you were eating a protein bar.
As you bite, it bursts in your mouth giving you a nice silky texture of sweet caramel.
The flavor of the cashews and almonds combined with the sea salt was a little overbearing to the caramel, which could be a disappointment to some.
Fair warning, I found that chips melt a bit in the packaging, so it gives you a messy adventure unless you eat it in the wrapper!
Also, due to the nut butter ingredients, these bars get a little bit oily which may be another turnoff if you plan on keeping these bars in the car while running errands, or to keep as a snack in your gym bag.
I actually took these bars and broke them into small little chunks and mixed them into my oatmeal – DELISH!
It was a great way to add some texture and flavor to my oatmeal while giving it some much-needed protein.
A family-owned, natural food company that prides itself on its organic farming roots.
Started in 2004, this company has become a nationally distributing company that stands for sustainable choices and clean eating.
Everything they produce is 100% vegan, USDA certified organic, non-GMO, gluten-free and made-up of raw ingredients.
Score, right? Also, their packaging is SO cute.
All of the GoMacro bars are cold-pressed and nut butter based products that are made from clean components.
The combination of high plant protein and wholesome non-GMO ingredients can help fuel you for your day by providing a balance of carbs, proteins and healthy fats.
They're also grain sweetened which means no refined sugars and no sugar alcohols!
The nut butter base coupled with the rice protein make these bars rich in omega-3's but also cause them to be a bit higher in calories.
A sacrifice you need to make for nourishing ingredients sometimes!
One thing that prevented this bar from getting a better score in the nutrition realm was that its first ingredient was brown rice syrup.
A sweetener derived from brown rice which is basically 100% glucose, the same sugar that causes spikes in blood sugar.
There's evidence to show that consuming foods high on the glycemic index is associated with many diseases such as diabetes, inflammation and obesity.
Not quite what I'm looking for when it comes to a healthy snack or meal option.
This bar has a super chewy texture, similar to a tootsie roll.
I would compare the consistency to a soft taffy.
One major downfall is that it doesn't have too much flavor, in my opinion, considering the ingredients included.
Just a mild peanut butter flavor which surprised me due to the moderate sugar content.
But I enjoyed it nonetheless, and it definitely grew on me as I ate them.
The first time trying this bar I was kind of disappointed.
But after trying it a second time, I realized that the delicate flavors are a nice break when you want something filling but easy on the palate.
The chocolate chips give you random bursts of sweetness and creaminess through each bite.
I also liked that there are real nuts in the bar as well which helps break up the chewy texture.
These bars also are pretty oily.
Probably due to the high amount of brown rice syrup that causes it to have a glazed texture which wasn't my favorite as it left a weird filmy feeling in the mouth.
Give Any Of These Vegan Protein Bars A Try!
My number one recommendation based on overall health and taste would be the Garden of Life Sport Performance Protein Bar.
You just can't beat all of the nutrients and protein packed into a yummy bar.
Compared to some other nutrition bars, I think this Garden of Life brand bar sticks out.
The flavor/texture may not be my #1 choice, but the nutritional value and ingredient quality make up for it.
I have to stress though; all of these brands are worth trying out!
There was not a single one out of the sample that I disliked strongly enough (in flavor or nutritional value) that I would not recommend to someone.
Next time you see one of these in the store be sure to pick one up and let us know what you think!
← The Metabolism Booster: 8 Minute Total Body Workout!


Above: A combination photo shows Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump (L) in Palm Beach, Florida and Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton (R) in Miami, Florida at their respective Super Tuesday primaries campaign events on March 1, 2016.
If you tuned into the last presidential debate like I did (and chances are you did, with an estimated 60-70 million viewers on the edge of their seats), then you noticed both candidates talking about doing away with the carried interest tax. Most people don't know what the heck carried interest is, and neither Trump nor Clinton explained their reasoning for opposing it.
The truth is, however, that carried interest is one of the major reasons VCs can make risky bets on startups — and therefore a big reason behind the success of Silicon Valley and the new tech economy. Earlier this year, for the first time ever, the five largest U.S. companies were all venture-backed at one time. Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Facebook were all risky bets when they first started out, and VCs were able to fund these companies because of the potential upside. Removing carried interest takes a chunk out of that upside.
I — as well as most other VCs and startup CEOs — disagree with the proposition of doing away with carried interest altogether. Why is that? Well, to answer that question, let's go over some background.
Carried interest was initially set up as part of the tax code to classify income earned back from investments as long-term capital gains. In effect, this means income generated from a startup or business investment is taxed at 20 percent rather than ~40 percent for high-income individuals, and therefore allows for investors to take more risk. In fact, that's exactly why it was created in the 20th century — to fuel speculative and capital-intensive entrepreneurship in the oil sector. It's been a mainstay in entrepreneurial investment ever since.
All that sounds great, right? Unfortunately, some forms of investors have taken advantage of it.
The carried interest provision has become unpopular in the last 20 years with the rise of hedge and private equity shops that oversee vast funds. These funds can classify their returns as carried interest, even though most of their investments are done on a shorter timetable and used for the purchasing of existing stock, not creating new stock in a company formation. In some cases, this allows hedge and PE funds to reclassify what would typically be short-term capital gains (and would be taxed as ordinary income) as long-term capital gains. After the Great Recession and the resulting ire against Wall Street, many people see this as greedy and unnecessary.
Above: The author speaking with congressman Pat Tiberi (OH), on the Ways and Means, Tax Policy subcommittee, last Friday.
However, removing the carried interest clause just doesn't make sense in a venture context. By definition, VCs make relatively high-risk bets and expect returns over the very long term — typically 5-10+ years. A good VC portfolio return on investment sits at around 20 percent year-over-year, so you can imagine the chunk of profits that would be lost if gains were taxed at twice the current rate.
Reclassifying profits from startup investment would be enough to drive some VCs, like Keith Rabois of Khosla Ventures, out of the business. Most others would find it more difficult to compete for LP funding, as it would double LP's taxes as well, meaning backing fewer startups and tightening belts, which would slow things down and potentially trigger a downturn in tech.
Sure, there will still be a venture industry. But we might not get the best and brightest if you double taxes. The bottom line is, a vast majority of VCs make salaries similar to a doctor or lawyer, but our main goal is to create profits for our funds and ourselves through the investments we make, which are high-risk bets. There are only 2,000 venture capitalists in the U.S. – a tiny number – and if we double the tax rate on those risky bets, most will leave.
What about the broader effects?
But this isn't just about Silicon Valley — it's about the U.S. economy. One fifth of all public U.S. companies have received VC funding, and VC-backed companies are adding hundreds of thousands of jobs to the U.S. economy every year. As mentioned above, the largest companies in the U.S. all started as venture backed. Lastly, since most venture-backed companies are in the technology space, they have an outsized impact on the rest of the economy, creating tools and technologies that increase efficiency and productivity across nearly all market sectors.
A downturn in venture is a downturn for the larger economy.
To help make some of these issues clear to our policymakers, I've been working with the National Venture Capital Association (I'm on their board), to make regular visits to Capitol Hill as well as host congressmen at our offices to discuss possible solutions. We could certainly use your voice of support by reaching out to your representative or senator.
Policymakers are generally very supportive of entrepreneurship and policies that encourage it and have put forward promising ideas such as R&D credits for startups and changes to immigration policy. But carried interest is one point that is being tied to Wall St. dysfunction, while also serving as a bedrock for VC viability.
Together we can work towards a more nuanced solution.
Phil Sanderson is Managing Director at IDG Ventures.


Here is a new and unique way to celebrate your Mom this Mother's Day.
Easter Brunch is a family tradition for many of us. Now thanks to the Omni Louisville Hotel you can enjoy a nice meal while helping youngsters served by the WHAS Crusade for Children.
Krispy Kreme is rolling out their seasonal Green O'riginal Glazed doughnuts this year and if you order them you could win big.
Money mistakes can ruin relationships. That's why we have Tim Riney from Family Wealth Group to help us keep our Valentine happy.
You can go the salty or sweet route for your valentine thanks to Auntie Anne's.
The motorcade and rally will be held on Jan. 21.


Apple Jack Creek: Ireland 2018 ... All in!
Ireland 2018 ... All in!
We love being in Ireland. It's green (oh, so green), there's water, waves, old stone buildings, castles, amazing food, excellent beer and whiskey and cider, friendly people, and history everywhere you look.
In 2018 The Reluctant Farmer and I will have been married 10 years (Amazing! He's still with me after all we've been through! What a guy.) and we figured a trip to Ireland was a completely reasonable way to celebrate. What we'd really like is to share Ireland with our kids - so the plan is that in the spring of 2018, The Reluctant Farmer and I will fly over and then the kids (who will be 14, 16, and 21) will join us for one week partway through our longer stay. It's gonna be awesome.
After last year's trip, we did realize that Ben's work supporting me is more essential than I had believed. While we had a fantastic time, I was not as well as I would like, and my husband's opinion is that I'd have been much better with Ben along - and he knows my symptom fluctuations better than I do, because part of PTSD is being a bit clueless about your own internal condition, and after six years my husband has figured out what "headed downhill" looks like.
So ... research on taking dogs to Ireland.
The regulations for bringing a dog in aren't that onerous - microchip, proof of vaccination, deworming treatment just before we travel. We can do all that. Only certain airlines can bring animals into the country, and each airline makes it's own policy decisions on service animals in the cabin.
We are planning our third trip to Ireland and planning to travel with Aer Lingus again!
I am writing to you for assistance with a disability: I have PTSD and my dog Ben assists me with me with managing my illness (primarily with nightmares, but he also eases my hypervigilance, particularly in busy places). We left Ben at home on our trip to Ireland last fall, as I didn't feel that he and I were ready to tackle international travel yet, and although I enjoyed myself greatly, I plan to bring Ben along on our next trip as I am so much healthier when he is there to look after me. My husband takes good care of me, but there's nothing quite like having your canine partner at your side, especially as some of the medications I use aren't legal in Ireland so I'm already working at a bit of a disadvantage.
I have checked the regulations on bringing dogs into Ireland and we can readily meet the import requirements, and I understand that it is up to each airline to determine policy on the transportation of service dogs. I see from your (very informative) website that you require ADI or IGDF certification … the problem is that we are currently unable to get either in the province where I live.
I totally understand the problem of people just putting a vest on a dog and calling it a service animal, and I respect your need to see some form of documentation. I wish we had something available, but so far, there's no ADI programs locally that will take on civilians with PTSD, and no other formal structure here … yet. Canada is currently in the midst of creating service dog standards but those are a year out, and provincial certification programs will show up some time after that … too late for our planned trip.
We do have plenty of time to get things organized as we are not planning to travel until March of next year (2018), so I'm contacting you now in the hopes that we can find some alternative form of certification or documentation that will allow Ben to travel with me. We would be happy to do the ADI public access test with a local dog trainer, or get a letter from … my vet? my psychiatrist? Someone else you can suggest? All of the above? J Ben is small – he is a Shi Tzu Poodle cross, about 20 lbs, and he will sit quietly at my feet during travel (he'll fit in the space between the seats, and will stay put from the time we get on until we disembark – he can stay with my husband when I get up to use the loo).
Again, I appreciate the need for your regulations and I hope that we can find a means to meet your requirements and still allow Ben to come along. J Thank you so much for your help.
And today, I have a response!
This letter serves to confirm Aer Lingus will be happy to accept your Emotional Support Dog to accompany you in the cabin of the aircraft provided all conditions set out by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine in Ireland are met prior to travel commencing.
The Department of Agriculture is reachable by telephone 011-353-1-607-2827 or via email at livetrade@agriculture.gov.ie. Once you have been in contact with the Department of Agriculture, I would appreciate if you would provide Aer Lingus with confirmation from the Department of Agriculture indicating arrangements are in place for them to meet you on arrival of your flight.
Additionally, as you are traveling with an Emotional Support Dog, please ensure you have in your possession current documentation from a licensed mental health professional stating the requirement for you to be accompanied by your Emotional Support Dog in the cabin.
Again, my sincere apology. I hope despite the difficulties encountered on this occasion, you will afford us the opportunity to welcome you on board for a more enjoyable and trouble free experience in the future.
Canada doesn't actually have Emotional Support Dogs as a 'thing' but hey, the message was clear - Ben is welcome on Aer Lingus!


 Quality control of AM-CRI200 common rail injector test bench supplier from China - View Taian Aly Machine Equipment Co.,Ltd. (15297672) quality information on EveryChina.com.
Send Inquiry to Taian Aly Machine Equipment Co.,Ltd.
I want to buy ABM-400 Automatic Vertical Balancing Machine product you are selling, please contact me !
Company Name: Taian Aly Machine Equipment Co.,Ltd.


Yann Durieux has taken care of vineyards of Prieure Roch since 2008 and he began to produce his wine in 2010 with 3ha in Villers-La-Faye, Huates Cotes de Nuits. Yann is first and foremost a producer who looks after nature and seeks for the ways to develop viticulture in balance with the eco-system. He treats his vines with the highest standards of quality, no chemicals of course, and extremely low yields.
Vineyards have never been damaged by chemical. Hand picked grapes are fermented with whole bunch with natural yeast, and wines are aged in old barrel. Non SO2 added, non filtered. This totally natural wine making requires taking big risk in Burgundy, but Yann Durieux is boldly pursuing it without compromise and releasing brilliant wines.
This pure, delicately extracted, weightless, yet very tasty wine is kind of the most expensive "Vin de France", but it is in the same line of finesse as Prieure Roch and Pacalet. These new labels from non classified vineyard suggests further possibility of Burgundy.
Copyright © PILLARIWINE CO., LTD.. All Rights Reserved.


Hello hello, I'm creating this thread as tracking log for my pixel art.
All C&C's are welcome, but please take me easy as I'm (soon to be very obvious) only just beginning with PA Smiley , I will take any help I can get, and be extremely grateful for it.
Currently I'm going through a number of tutorials, hoping to improve.
I started with something very simple, black & white, just to get the correct setup in Photoshop and begin to dabble.
which is a bit strange, because I've been drawing faces since I was a young girl. I feel very lost. I'm thinking it's probably the fact that I looked at pixel art as an entirely different art than classical art.
Day 3, I went into reading a number of tutorials, about Anti-Aliasing, about palette and shading, so I've tried each. I've tried to do anti-aliasing on a few simple lines, then created my own palette from monochromatic colors, then tried to do shading on three different shapes, and then tried to place a straight light on a cube.
I also used the palette from the old GameBoy.
I'm not sure what I did wrong, I think I could really use some guidance in improving.
Hi Ash Crimson, thanks for the reply !
Are you referring to the AA, or to adding too many colors ?
I didn't respect the action line in the start, so it came out all wrong. I'll keep on practicing.
@AshCrimson thanks for the advice ! I'll take it easy on the AA :) . I'm still learning on the color palette, as I feel quite limited on colors, and I'm not entirely certain how to mix them, where to start and how to follow.
I'm still having difficulties in choosing color palette, finalizing lines and doing proper shading, definitely would welcome any advice on that.
I'd like to ask : how do I build or connect colors on the ramp ?
Is hue-shifting restricted to neighbor colors or can I jump to other hues not connected to actual color ?
I still don't know how to shift hues correctly, I understand the theory, still I'm not certain how to apply it in practice, so I'd like to ask : what are your pipelines? do you choose colors manually or do you have a process, perhaps choosing a distant color and doing gradients ?
Really good start! Although that dog could be future improved.
@snv - thank you ^^. Yes I felt the same way, the legs specifically, however I'm not certain how to do that. It was my first PA attempt at an animal :) .
>Yes I felt the same way, the legs specifically, however I'm not certain how to do that.
2. Drawing same animal and its parts at different angles and detail.
I heard a few renaissance painting were done by several artist, each of whom trained at drawing different things (one did fish, other did rare flowers, etc...). As I understand it, realistic art is 95% training by drawing from reference and the other 5% talent. Non-realistic/cartoon art also includes training, but also analysis of what features to exaggerate.
Thank you very much snv. Realized I should make art with references more.
I just wanted to let you know that your rate of progress is excellent! You can really see massive improvements in your style and technique over a very short period of time.
For your most recent pieces, I notice that the top character's right foot (the one that is facing us directly) is a little lacking in definition and shading. On the bright side, you don't have this issue with your knight. Additionally, the perspective on the knight's cloth skirt seems slightly off. I do particularly enjoy the shiny highlights that you added to the knight's metal armor, though!
In general -- great work!


The weekend is in a fog.
Outside of a good Filipino home, authentic Filipino food is hard to find. That's why this four-courser of Shrimp Sinigang, Chicken Adobo, Braised Oxtail and Panghimagas—is worth checking out. Just don't try to pronounce that last one.
Half-off drafts like Deschutes amber ale and Trumer go especially well with $3 Hobbs Bacon Tater Tots, Oyster Shooters and Malt Salt-Sprinkled Fries, as well as $5 Juicy Lucy Cheeseburgers and Smoked Ham Mac 'n' Cheese. So good in fact, that we'll see you at the bar.
When you think about drinking and Japan, sake immediately comes to mind. But after Friday's beer tasting featuring the Hitachino lineup (including Red Rice Ale and Espresso Stout), as well as ales crafted by an American brewer from the foot of Mt. Fuji, you'll think beer. Or at least sake and beer.
Two months after opening, Schmidt's got its liquor license and can finally call themselves a bierhaus. So now, you can come in when the sun goes down and run through their ever-expanding German beer list, along with schnitzels and brats. Or, come in for lunch and stay for dinner.
Wine tasting in Napa is a given, which is why an afternoon exploring the rooms and grounds of Ma(i)sonry and admiring the latest collection of paintings from Robert Mondavi's granddaughter is just the thing to shake things up. Wine will be served, naturally.


For some reason I have not yet been able to bring myself to finish Terry Pratchett's last Discworld book, Making Money, possibly because it failed to grip me in the first chapter, and also because I do not find Moist von Lipwig that interesting a character. I had no such problem with Unseen Academicals. It is interesting from the first page, and while it didn't turn into a must-finish all-nighter for me, I did enjoy it. The humour is less dark than it has been in several preceding books, and the book sparkles with good humour throughout, even when nasty things seem to be about to happen, are happening, or have just happened.
Two scientists discover an anti-ageing substance derived from lichen and put it to use in very different ways. When the public find out about the substance it is not, as one might expect, unanimously welcomed, and society is divided into different factions when people start to realise all the implications.
I don't quite understand why this book is labelled as science-fiction even if a scientific discovery and its consequences are at the centre of the plot. The science is explained in simple layman terms and doesn't dominate the plot even though it is of course the factor that sets the plot in motion. This is an interesting moral satire on British society in the mid-20th century and an intelligent examination of what might happen in such a society if the people discovered that it was possible to double their expected lifespan.
Read a biography or autobiography of someone you admire or are curious to know more about.
That concludes the Wednesday reading experiences/suggestions. I will not be continuing this feature in 2010.
Book 22 in my first 52 books challenge.
Came across this while browsing in the library and decided to give it a go. It will be interesting to see what the book that spawned the hit TV series is like.
Read a sequel/prequel or rewrite of a famous novel that features some of the same characters but is written by a different author.
This could be, for example, a modernisation of a famous novel such as Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice as retold in Kate Fenton's Vanity and Vexation or Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre retold as science fiction in Sharon Shinn's Jenna Starborn.
Examples of sequels and prequels (and spin-offs) include all of Jane Austen's books (authors include Emma Tennant and Joan Aiken) and Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes books (authors include Laurie L. King and Nicholas Meyer).
Additionally, you can find thousands of (mostly unauthorised) short stories and some novels that have only been published on-line, written by fans (and not all of it is slash fiction). Most of it is not terribly good, but if you search hard you can find some gems among the rubble.
Book 21 in my first 52 books challenge.
I started reading this book a couple of days ago and have finished the first two chapters. Although nothing supernatural has happened yet, a subtle sense of suspense and creepiness has started to build. So far, I'm reminded of the beginning of both the TV series Rose Red and the movie The Legend of Hell House, but I guess there are limited ways in which you can start a haunted house tale.
Finished it this afternoon. This is a book that is best read in broad daylight – not that it kept me awake or gave me nightmares, but it took me quite a bit longer than usual to fall asleep after reading the first two chapters at bedtime.
Most of these books I bought or was given in India, but three I bought in London, two on the way to India and one on the way home. The first two were the guidebooks, and the third was Ulysses by James Joyce, because I couldn't find an edition in India that I liked.
1. Incident on the Kalka Mail by Satyajit Ray.
4. Le Morte D'Arthur, part II by Sir Thomas Mallory (I have had part I for ages but never could find part II until now).
Books number (from the top) 2, 8, 9 & 17 I was given by my friends.
Celebrate the Christmas season with a holiday-themed read.
Any one of Charles Dickens's Christmas novels will serve to get you in the mood. Start with A Christmas Carol, then move on to The Chimes and The Cricket on the Hearth. I leave it up to you whether you also read the less popular The Battle of Life and The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain.
Fannie Flagg's A Redbird Christmas is funny and somewhat sentimental, but many of us like sentimentality around Chrismas.
Connie Willis has an excellent fantasy and science fiction themed collection titled Miracle and other Christmas Stories.
For younger readers J.R.R. Tolkien's Father Christmas Letters is both heartwarming and funny and while Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas! may have been written and drawn for children many adults find it enjoyable as well.
Choose a major literary award, local or international, and read some books that have been given the award.
It can be any kind of award, not just literary fiction. It could, for example, be for crime writing, romance, travel writing or science, etc.
Did you agree that it should have won the award? For a fairer comparison, you could also read the books that were nominated alongside the winner and decide which one you like best and why.
Originally published in June 2004.
Book 20 in my first 52 books challenge.
I was going to read Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum as this week's book, but I'm too busy right now to read such a long and dense text in only one week. Instead I have switched to another mystery that is shorter and less demanding.
I've read several of Monica Dickens' children's books and the autobiographical book One Pair of Feet, about her experiences as a nursing student during World War 2. It will be interesting to see how I like her adult fiction.
As might be expected I finished only a small (for me) number of books in November. They were mostly read in hotel rooms after dinner to delay sleep so I wouldn't wake up at 4 a.m. and on long train journeys when the company was less than convivial (or I had no company) and I was tired of looking at unchanging landscapes.
6 of these books are about India in one way or another. 2 are travelogues, 2 are collections of articles, and 2 are novels by Indian authors.
One of the friends I visited on my trip introduced me to R.K. Narayan – in fact she gave me the book, and I thoroughly enjoyed my first visit to Malgudi. Satyajit Ray I discovered on her bookshelves and subsequently bought another book by him that I have just finished reading. They are written for children but are thoroughly enjoyable for adult mystery lovers and beautifully translated.
I´m back from a great holiday in India.
Here is the reading report for October. I will post the one for November soon, plus a photo of my book acquisitions from India and possibly some reviews.
I only read one Top Mystery in October, and only one Icelandic book, but I did quite well in the TBR challenge, with 7 books altogether.
Originally published in May and June 2004, in 3 parts.
Book 19 in my first 52 books challenge.
I've wanted to read this book since I read and enjoyed Harry Harrison's short story "The Golden Years of the Stainless Steel Rat" in the comic fantasy collection The Flying Sorcerers.
This is classic science fiction, as can be seen from how long this book has been in print. First published in 1966, it is still being reprinted.
If you have a favourite genre and a favourite sub-genre within that genre (say historical mysteries or paranormal romances), choose a different sub-genre you are less familiar with and try that (e.g. forensic mysteries or Amish romance).
I find I often stick to a comfort zone in my choice of reading materials, concentrating on one or two particular sub-genres and tending to ignore the others, but my original 52 books challenge had me reading out of my comfort zone and I have tried to continue that practice. It has introduced me to authors, genres and sub-genres I might otherwise never have discovered.
As I mentioned yesterday, I went to the library to look for a suitable romance to review so I could keep my promise to choose reading material outside my comfort zone. Found no romance I liked the look of, but came home with The Godmother, Stormy Weather by Carl Hiaasen and Foucaults's Pendulum by Umberto Eco.
I didn't know what to expect when I started reading The Godmother, never having read anything by Scarborough before. What got my attention was the the title and the cover , which shows a middle-aged woman (who resembles Lauren Baccall) with a knowing smile and a pose of authority and confidence, surrounded by graphics that suggest magic and interposed on an image of the Seattle skyline (immediately recogniseable because of the Space Needle). Woohoo, I thought. Magic in the modern world. Nice!
Read some travel tales, real or fictional.
If you're wondering where to start, you can start by browsing through my travel book reviews.
Then, you can check out the Wikipedia article on the subject.
Originally published in 2 parts, in May 2004.
Book 17 in my first 52 books challenge.
This book is about two men who worked on the making of the OED (Oxford English Dictionary) and their longstanding relationship. What got me interested in it was the title. We will have to see if the book lives up to it.
Get to know the roots of your favourite literary genre.
There exist histories of most of the popular genres, and a good librarian can recommend one to you.
Book 16 in my first 52 books challenge.
This book was delivered by the mailman on Friday afternoon, and I had to restrain myself not to start reading until after dinner. Finished reading it around midnight. I am going to read it again - more slowly - before I review it.
This is the sequel to The Wee Free Men and is the third Discworld book for children.
As usual, Pratchett has done an excellent job. The book is written for children, but is actually quite a good read for adults, who will read it at a deeper level. As this is a children's book, there are not as many allusions to other works as there are in the adult Discworld books, but there are still quite a few, some of which will be easily picked up by children and some which are better understood by adults.
Read some of Jules Verne's books.
I have a particular fondness for A Journey to the Center of the Earth, because it partly takes place in Iceland, and for Around the World in Eighty Days, which is partly responsible for my love of travelling.
Book 15 in my first 52 books challenge.
Originally published in 3 parts in May 2004.
Nanna Rögnvaldardóttir is at the moment Iceland's most famous cookery book author who is not a chef. Her previous two cookery tomes, Matarást (Love of Food) and Matreiðslubók Nönnu (Nanna's Cookbook) are veritable food bibles. The first is an encyclopedia of food, ingredients, cookery methods, kitchen science, cookery terms, food history etc. etc., and the second is a collection of over 3000 recipes from all over the world. Both are unfortunately only available in Icelandic.
Discover the literature of a foreign country you are not much familiar with.
I plan to see if I can find some English translations of Indian writers while I am in India, because my reading of Indian literature consists of a prose retelling of the stories told in the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, and a handful of books by Indian women writers who write in English*. When this posts (I am posting this ahead of time) I should have finished reading a translation of the Bhagavad Gita, which is part of the Mahabharata.
*Arundhati Roy, Jhumpa Lahiri, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Anita Desai.
Originally published in 2 parts, in April and May 2004.
Book 14 in my first 52 books challenge.
I seem to have a knack for choosing books that have been made into movies. I wonder why?
This week's choice was made into a memorable, if rather stagy, movie, starring the wonderful Maggie Smith.
These are novels written as a series of documents, e.g. letters or e-mails, blog entries, historical documents, reports, reviews, excerpts from books, newspaper clippings and diary entries. Basically anything that is traditionally written or typed, used without any connecting passages to form a narrative. It enables the author to let the characters (or a chosen number of characters) express themselves directly without having a narrator tell the story.
I have already recommended reading fictional diaries, which form part of the epistolatory genre, so a different epistolatory form is recommended.
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. Written as a series of accounts of the theft of a precious stone, using different styles and voices.
Letters to Alice, Upon first reading Jane Austen by Fay Weldon. What the title says, plus much more besides.
I am off to India for the next 5 weeks. During that time it is unlikely that I will post anything new, but there will be some automatic postings, including the Wednesday reading experiences for the whole time.
In keeping with my India-oriented reading I chose a Top Mystery that takes place in that country, not long before the end of the Raj when Maharajahs still had some power (even if it was dependent on British support).
Setting & time: The fictitious state of Bhopore, India; 1930.
The immensely rich Maharajah of Bhopore is murdered and several people had the means, motive and opportunity (or at least two out of the three), to have done it. Due to an impending visit by the Viceroy of India, the Resident Adviser calls in District Superintendent of Police, Mr. Howard, and presses him to solve the case quickly, because if the murderer turns out later to be the heir to the throne, it isn't good for the Viceroy to have met him. Howard sets out to methodically investigate the case, and in a reconstruction at the end makes some interesting and startling revelations.
Originally published in 2 parts, in April 2004.
Book 13 in my first 52 books challenge.
This looks like a promising piece of women's history. If we were to go by the history books we read in school, it would seem that men single-handedly settled the western parts of the United States. This is of course not so - women did their share of the work and had a great deal of civilizing influence on the men. I'm looking forward to exploring the west with them, through this book.
Challenge your prejudices some more: Read a book that you have panned or derided without actually having read it.
Some frequently panned books that come to mind include novels by Dan Brown, Stephanie Meyer, Nicholas Sparks and Danielle Steel. Others include such famous and/or infamous works of the more distant past, like philosophical and religious writings of all ages and eras, Marx's Communist Manifesto, Joyce's Finnegan's Wake, and anything by the Marquis de Sade. Of course you should choose one that you have prejudices about.
Whether your prejudices are rebuffed or confirmed, you will at least now be able to pan or praise the book in question without hypocrisy.
About 10 years ago, as I waited in a Canadian airport lounge for my flight to be announced, I found some unused Canadian currency in my pockets and went to browse in the airport stores to find something on which to spend the money. I chose a small bottle of Canadian maple syrup, and then decided to get a book to read on the plane. Among all the usual bestsellers and other typical airport books, I found a small shelf of Canadian literature and gave it a browse. One of the books I picked up had a whimsical image on the front, of a block of small shops. The title was Home from the Vinyl Café and the author was Stuart McLean. I opened the book and found myself engrossed in reading a story of a hapless husband charged with cooking the turkey for the family's Christmas meal and running into all sorts of difficulties, starting with forgetting to buy the turkey.
I am heading to India at the end of the month, and have been doing a lot of reading about various places I might visit. I had this one unread India travelogue in my TBR stack, and decided to read it to whet my appetite.
Book 12 in my first 52 books challenge.If you're wondering about no. 11, it was The Wordsworth Dictionary of Idioms. I did not feel it was worth republishing.
This book is about a famous American racehorse and the men whose belief in him took him from the lowest rungs of the racing world and right to the top.
I am not particularly interested in sports, and know next to nothing about horse racing, so this is not a book I would have picked up if it had not been for the fact that it has been made into a film.
As a teenager I enjoyed a film about another famous racehorse, Phar Lap, and so when Seabiscuit hit the cinemas I decided this was a film I wanted to see.
You know the one I mean: the one every one of your friends has read, or the one you promised someone you would read, or the one that you want to have read but don't particularly want to read, or the one that you have desperately wanted to read just about for ever but haven't because it daunts you because of its size or its reputation.
THAT book can be just about any book ranging from Twilight to War and Peace, so I would love to hear what you would choose and for which of the above reasons.
While I listed these books separately on my TBR list, the trilogy is listed as one book in the CWA list, so I will be reviewing them all together. Each book gets a brief synopsis and a very short review, and then I will review the common points together. I will try not to drop serious spoilers in the synopses, so they will necessarily be rather telegraphic, but if you have not yet read these books you probably should avoid this review anyway.
Type of investigator: MI6 agent.
Setting & time: London and Berlin, contemporary.
Originally published in 3 parts, on March 28 to April 3, 2004.
Book 10 in my first 52 books challenge.
I'm studying for exams and writing final essays for the next three weeks, so during that time I'm going to review some of the reference books I use in my field of study. To make it more fun, I'm going to pick some of the more unusual reference books in my library.
As a student of translation I am naturally interested in etymology, semantics and semiotics. This book is not only a nice way of finding unusual words, their meanings and origins, but it is also quite short for a dictionary and fun to read.
Now that you have become firmly familiar with the diary form, both in reality and fiction, why not try keeping one for a while?
Read your journal at the end of the journalling period, and again in 5, 10 or 20 years time. Annotate it if you feel like it.
Alternative suggestion: If you are a regular journal/diary writer, have you ever read your old ones? It can be like meeting a total stranger who is sort of familiar, but sort of not, and it's interesting to read about how you saw or reacted to something back then versus the way you see or remember it in retrospective.
I am about 90 pages into the English translation of the second volume in Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy, The Girl who played with Fire. It's a slow beginner, but the main storyline seems to be kicking off.
I take grave exception to all the [insert expletive of choice] product placements in the beginning chapters of part 2. Who cares whether Lisbet Salander bought Bonde or Billy bookcases? Or what was the brand name of her sofa or her coffee table? It isn't even necessary to list what she bought - surely it would have been enough to say she went shopping for new furniture at IKEA and brought back just about everything she needed for her new apartment? The whole thing reads like a combination of an IKEA advert and instructions for a movie set designer.
Earlier in the book there are several other such lists that, although not as heavy on the product placement, do make the book longer without mattering to the story.
Originally published in 2 parts, on March 24-26, 2004.
Book 9 in my first 52 books challenge.
I first saw the movie as a child and again recently on TCM. I had no idea it was based on a book until I started reading about the film on IMDb, and when I found the book I immediately bought it in anticipation of a good read.
I only finished 13 books this month, which would have been about average for most years except this one. Since I read 20+ books every month of the year up to now, this is actually quite far below average, but I'm not worrying. After all, one needs to have a social life too.
Benedikt Gröndal:Sagan af Heljarslóðarorrustu - a literary parody that tells the story of the battle of Solferino as if it were an Icelandic Saga.
Páll Líndal: Reykjavík 200 ára - a short 200 year history of the city of Reykjavík, mostly told in photographs.
Þórarinn Eldjárn: Sérðu það sem ég sé - a collection of quirky short stories from one of Iceland's best short story writers.
John Berendt:The City of Falling Angels - a combination of travel book and the history of the fire that destroyed the Fenice opera house in Venice.
Dashiell Hammett: Red Harvest (also a Top Mystery read) – a brutal crime thriller.
Betty MacDonald: Onions in the Stew - funny memoir.
Now that you have read a real diary, try a fictional one.
Last Wednesday I recommended a real diary because it helps to be familiar with the non-fiction diary form when reading fictional diaries. In fiction the diary form has been used to good effect in parody and for satire, but also for more innocent humour. It has also been used in dead earnest in fiction. It is one of the forms which epistolatory novels take, a sort of monologue where the reader takes on the role of the narrator's confessor.
I am curious to know how book buyers feel about dust jackets on books. Please vote in my poll!
Book 8 in my first 52 books challenge.
This week's book is about one of my favorite authors: Gerald Durrell. David Hughes, a longtime friend of Durrell's, wrote the book as a tribute to his friend back in the seventies, but it wasn't published until after Durrell's death. It's more a portrait of the man than a regular biography - I guess it should be called a memoir rather than a biography.
Read a published diary/journal or a collection of excerpts from diaries/journals.
Diaries can be an excellent way of seeing into someone's mind and also to find out little things about daily life in the past that can hardly be found anywhere else. For this reason historians find diaries to be an excellent source of research material. They also make good material for biographers.
While the diaries and journals of famous people may be most interesting to the general public in the authors' life time or recently after their death, in the long run it is often the diaries of ordinary people like Anne Frank and Samuel Pepys that end up being much more fascinating. While parts of Frank's diary were written with the view of later publication, Pepys probably never intended his diaries for publication and so he is more candid and outspoken than he might otherwise have been.
Setting & time: Personville, a fictional town in the western USA, probably California or Nevada.
The nameless narrator, know to the reader only as the Continental Op, arrives in the small city of Personville where the crime situation has become so bad that people have started calling it Poisonville. His client is murdered before he can meet him, but the dead man's father retains his services to find the killer. The Op starts investigating and uncovers all sorts of nastiness, and events finally lead to him becoming so annoyed with the place and it's criminal elements that he decides to clean up the town.
About half are BookMooch acquisitions and the rest I got at a second hand shop that sells stuff for charity.
The one you can't see the title of is A Voyage by Dhow by Norman Lewis.
I have already read The Thirteenth Tale, but getting it in hard covers was a piece of good luck.
Originally published in 2 parts, on March 9-12, 2004.
Book 7 in my first 52 books challenge.
I read this book years ago as part of a college course on modern English literature, but I remember nothing about it. Even now, when I'm almost finished with part one, I still remember nothing about the previous reading, which I guess shows how interested I was in it at the time.
Every other chapter happens in the 18th century and is written in the style of that time, which takes a while to get used to. The other chapters are written in modern English and happen in modern times. The narrative point of view shifts between chapters, from 1st person to 3rd person. These stylistic changes necessitate a shifting of mental gears at the beginning of each chapter and make the book challenging to read.
Read a graphic novel. If you are not already a fan of comic strips and/or comic books, you might be surprised to find just how sophisticated they can be.
Graphic novels tell a story in graphic form, using the images and minimal text style of comics to convey what a regular novel does in words alone. The term is used about stories too long to publish in one single edition of a comics magazine, and describes both works originally published in book form and works originally published in episodic form in comics magazines and later collected into book form.
There is some debate as to the exact definition of a graphic novel, but for the purpose of this blog post let's define a graphic novel as a book containg a single long story or a collection of shorts stories with a common theme or setting, told in graphic form.
Book 5 in my first 52 books challenge.
Originally published in several parts on February 22-22, 2004.
I first read about this book in a book review in one of the daily newspapers in Iceland. The title caught my attention and I decided that such an unusual and humorous name was very promising as to the contents of the book. So far I have not been disappointed (after reading chapter one).
I'm quite enjoying the book so far.
"I love all the people whom God made, but I especially know how to love the people who live in this place. They are my people, my brothers and sisters. It is my duty to help them to solve the mysteries in their lives. That is what I am called to do."


I asked our Gender Focus contributors to come up with what they thought were the highlights of the past year for them. Here are their answers.
E. Cain: The Maid – from Chilean director Sebastian Silva.
1. American Apparel: Ironic – Don't you think?
6. Annoying Dating Stereotypes? There's an app for that.


text:
Prince George's shoes flying off shelves
He can't talk, he can barely walk, and already he's a trendsetter. CNN's Jeanne Moos reports on what sold royally after Prince George wore them.
Filed under: International • Jeanne Moos • News • Royal Baby
Prince William and Kate expecting second child: Can the new royal baby 'save the union'?
You can pretty much divide the world into two camps - those who crave every detail about Prince William and Kate's unborn baby and those who couldn't care less about the latest Royal pregnancy.
The baby is already under pressure to "save the union." CNN's Jeanne Moos explains.
Filed under: International • News • Royal Baby
Royal couple's first formal appearance since birth of prince
"Prince William's Passion: New Father, New Hope" premieres on CNN on September 15 at 10:00 p.m. ET
In London, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended a charity event for wildlife conservation. It was the first time the royal couple left their new baby, Prince George, at home with the nanny.
Prince William to leave military service, will devote time to charities
Max foster is OutFront where the red carpet event took place.
Kate Middleton's surprising post-delivery appearance
The Duchess of Cambridge made her first official appearance Friday since giving birth to Prince George, five weeks ago.
Kate Middleton and Prince William helped kicked off an ultra-marathon near their home in Wales, leaving little George home with her mother, Carole Middleton.
Catherine makes first public appearance since royal baby was born
And in keeping with her stylish reputation, Kate thrilled the public with her casual elegance and her post post-baby physique.
OutFront: Eloise Parker, royal watcher and People.com contributor.
Filed under: Royal Baby
Is the new Kate Middleton Untouchable?
It's been just over one week since Prince George of Cambridge was presented to the world by his parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, in an iconic pop culture moment on the steps of the Lindo Wing at St. Mary's Hospital in London. It was like Rafiki presenting Simba in "The Lion King" for the first time. (Cue "Circle of Life.") Except this was the second time. Princess Diana showed off Prince William as a newborn at the very same hospital.
And the similarities don't stop there. It was 1982 when Princess Di surfaced from the hospital wearing a loose-fitting green and white polka dot dress. This time around, Kate Middleton wearing a custom Jenny Packham blue dress with white polka dots, proudly displayed her postpartum bump when she handed the baby to all-grown-up Prince William.
The other thing that hasn't changed much is the media's relentless coverage of the princesses. The paparazzi are as aggressive as ever, tracking down Middleton in France last September as she sunbathed topless. And the tabloids are all too ready to publish them with a cover line that is going to sell the most rags. In the U.S., for instance, the magazine industry raked in an estimated $31 million from the Royal Wedding in 2011.
In the case of the topless photos, though, Kate and Prince William took legal action against the photographer and the French magazine that published the photos. According to Hollywoodlife.com, both are now facing criminal charges. Did the royals scare the tabloids away?
Posted by Jessica Reinis
Filed under: OutFront Extra • OutFront Staff • Royal Baby

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Issue 36: Dance
PROPOSITIONS FOR DOING DANCING
Erin Brannigan & Rhiannon Newton
Erin Brannigan and Rhiannon Newton in dialogue with Newton's recent choreographic work Doing Dancing (Firstdraft Gallery, Sydney, 2nd August – 25th August 2017).
Rhiannon Newton, Doing Dancing, Firstdraft 2017, Image: Benjamin Forster
What is the appropriate verb for the process through which dancing comes into being? While searching for a word that more aptly describes the embodied decision-making processes of dancing or choreographing, it's important to keep this conversation butted up against the terms of language-based knowledge ('thought', 'intelligence', 'information'). If it's not 'thinking through dance', what is it? What is it to stay in the zone of sensation, expanding and thickening the experiential field before recognition, using methods such as interruption, repetition, exhaustion or constant variation? How can we name this commitment to the multiplicities of the decentred corporeal field, the suspension of a shift from experience to cognition? The very fact that it is a verb we search for emphasises the time-based nature of the action and the need for the dancer to be amongst the complex network of factors acting into the event. If we are not to use 'dancing' itself as an all-encompassing descriptor of the somatic, mental, imaginative, memory-based and responsive processes occurring during dance, or a choreographic process, is it more aptly described as 'doing dancing'?
Erin: What is the appropriate verb for the process through which dancing comes into being? Many people describe it as 'thinking through the body,' but thinking belongs to the language of knowledge and cognition. Disciplines such as philosophy command the business of thinking in a way that has defined and determined it. What is the process of dancing if it's not based on a model of thought? If it's not 'thinking through dance', what might it be? What is it to stay in the zone of sensation, expanding and thickening the experiential field before recognition, using methods such as interruption, repetition, exhaustion or constant variation, and how can we name this?
Rhiannon: If we are thinking about getting closer (with words) to the embodied decision-making processes that are happening during dancing, or choreography, it feels important to remain pressed against a consideration of the role of 'thought' and 'knowledge' in dancing processes. Perhaps thought doesn't need to precede, or use dance, in the way thinking through dance suggests. However, emphasising the 'subjective', 'immaterial', 'embodied' or 'instinctive' aspects of dance may impact upon the way dance is valued and able to participate in knowledge-based economies. It is important to perhaps think about how this set of terms affects a resistance to, encouragement of, or a potential transformation of the way dance and its modes of practice support, and are supported by, changing capitalist forms. Performance theorist Bojana Kunst suggests:
as a producer, the artist is namely skilled at numerous creative and production techniques that go hand in hand with the development of contemporary capitalism… (There is) a fetishisation of non-material and speculative experience as the basic social and communicative experience that can be enabled by artistic work.[1]
E: To emphasise this aspect of dancing is certainly loaded. There are the (mostly historical) essentialist or 'primitivist' tendencies in writings on dance to keep in mind, the (im)possibilities of authenticity and its links to instinct, and the false binary formation separating perception/action from cognition/knowledge. And yes, given the nature of our post-capitalist condition it seems important for dance to participate actively and knowingly with that context, pursuing the 'not-knowing' opened up through physical experimentation as an act of resistance in the face of colonisation. This is really the subversive potential of dance…
Choreographer Shelley Lasica describes a type of expertise in 'having in your body and head many many things happening simultaneously… [finding] ways to keep on feeding different sorts of information to keep those things active.'[2] This describes a commitment to the multiplicities of the decentered corporeal field, suspending the shift away from experience and towards a focused form of cognition. Is this, as you have suggested in your recent work, more aptly described as 'doing dancing'?[3]
R: Shelley's description of holding and processing many things at once makes me think of large data farms busily dancing away underneath deserts; transmitting news along cables beneath oceans; producing information out of thin air (clouds) – seemingly magical and immediate, and yet utterly physical and time-based.
When I was first thinking about Doing Dancing – and I can't deny that I was sitting at my computer thinking/imagining – I wanted to make the multiplicity of dancing, the many things the dancer is doing at once, somehow more visible, or laid out beside one another, so that you could kind of get inside the machine of dance. At the same time I also wanted to remind myself that dance is just the singular action of dance – someone might walk by the performance in the first hour and think 'oh she's just dancing around' and come back in the second hour and again think 'oh she's still just dancing around'. The collapse of dance into a single general action is both devastating and wonderful somehow.
This is where I think duration becomes key to a discussion about what verb might best be used – if we are not to use 'dancing' itself as an all encompassing descriptor of the somatic, mental, imaginative, memory-based and responsive processes occurring during dance, or a choreographic process. That it is a verb we search for emphasises the time-based nature of the form, and the need to be amongst the complex network of factors acting into the event. For me what is important to being with dance is the capacity to, as Gertrude Stein says, notice 'one becoming another kind of a one.'[4] As we dance, things, movements, gestures or expressions are temporary fleeting objects, or 'ones', that are somehow recognisable, or meaningful, for the way that they are different, or similar, to the 'ones' or bits of dance that precede or follow them. This constant movement (becomings, transformations or differentiations) between 'things' or 'ones' is perhaps where the dancing is happening. The time-axis is therefore critical.
E: So noticing, moving, becoming, transforming, changing, witnessing are all important. This group of terms really illustrates the shuttling between inside and outside, perception and action that describes the kind of processing centre of your data farm. It also reminds me of the 'centre of indetermination' that we find in Gilles Deleuze's philosophy when he discusses affect. This is based on Henri Bergson's 'living-images or matters' that have a 'receptive or sensorial' facet.
Affection is what occupies the interval… It surges in the center of indetermination, that is to say in the subject, between a perception which is troubling in certain respects and a hesitant action . . . the way in which the subject perceives itself, or rather experiences itself or feels itself 'from the inside.'[5]
Which all really calls for the complexities of a human agent. Apart from time here you also emphasise movement, 'constant movement', which recalls the 'flow' of dance that has also been critiqued in dance studies. To take the movement out of dance has been one of the most radical creative and theoretical moves of the past 10 years.[6] But nothing can stop the flow or dureé of time, so this has been a dialogue with the impossible.
R: If we are talking about constant movement as difference from one second to the next, then yes, I am certainly also talking about movement as stillness – and practices of slowness and repetition. Such forms of supposed stasis seem to produce the clearest experience of movement. I think Kunst states this clearly when she says:
we should think of movement as qualitative disturbance, a constant changing of the forces of life, a temporal dynamics and materiality of space… Pleasure springs from the fact that movement can induce change, that it can function as an important point of differentiation between spectral change and change that directly affects the body and its relations to the world.[7]
With Doing Dancing I was thinking about creating relationships between duration, repetition and accumulation that might support an experience of this kind of change/movement. It is an attempt, I guess, to create the conditions for dancing to happen – and to get a bit closer to the process by which this dance is happening. I chose the title 'Doing Dancing', a phrase from Gertrude Stein's 'Orta Or One Dancing', because of the fact that it takes longer to say it seems to prolong the duration of the present instance in which one is doing the dancing.
E: 'Doing dancing' as a verb-formation does, as you suggest, cleave some space between the dancing and the doing. 'Being with dance', as you describe it in a different way, puts the subject into a relation with the dancing that interferes with the direct inspiration or intuition cited by artists such as Isadora Duncan. If we can distance the dancing from the body/subject, how far can it go?
R: Using 'doing' ahead of 'dancing' implies a certain intentionality, or awareness of one's own dancing. A focus on 'doing' also perhaps takes attention away from pre-emptive or reflective cognition, where judgement, planning and self-consciousness maybe playing out.
I also like the way 'doing dancing' takes dance out of an economy of having to produce something for someone. The language of 'doing' helps me to think of the dancing as an environment, something that is not new or created by the dancer – but existing material that can be walked through, in a sense. Both the dancer and the viewer dwell in this environment and the performance becomes the time they spend dwelling together – there is nothing to take away or exchange. And perhaps the question of how far can it go is again a question of duration – the time spent together perhaps?
Doing Dancing, Firstdraft 2017, Rhiannon Newton with Ivey Wawn, Patricia Wood, Lizzie Thomson, Brooke Stamp, Miranda Wheen and Julian Renlong Wong. Image: Benjamin Forster
E: So this gap between the dancing and the doing of the body/subject is enriched – and expanded – by duration? 'Prolonging the present instance' that is filled up with attention and choice-making resonates with Shelley's description of dancing, the data farms, and that 'zone of sensation' that I opened with.
Poet-theorist Lyn Hejinian gestures to the shift beyond poetic 'thought' to the moment of spontaneous composition where something beyond cognitive thought is happening, and the resulting capacity of the work 'to be periodically surprised by its own inherent logics.'[8] Perhaps 'doing dancing' is the equivalent of Hejinian's 'language writing,' which describes this compressed distance between 'doing' and the material thing. But now we are talking about a specific type of dancing – improvisation – which is your practice. Can we talk about a spectrum or scale regarding the relationship between the doing and the dancing, with this kind of dancing exemplifying compression?
R: I like the way this implies labour that then gives rise to something seemingly spontaneous – the dance emerges from an increasingly specific logic between the dancer, the context and the accumulating dance. I have been thinking about autopoiesis, or more recently sym-poiesis, as models for making and staying with dance. I am attracted to the notion of sym-poiesis, which prioritises a decentralised view-point, in which the agency of environmental and contextual factors are significantly weighted.[9] Equally the physicality and duration of labour – the time spent learning, doing and practicing, the embodied accumulation of experience – mustn't be forgotten in a conversation about spontaneity. I find it very seductive to imagine a dance or choreography that magically produces itself; to outsource dance to dance. But perhaps it is important to be reminded of the invisible labour that has taken place prior, or behind the scenes, or long ago that is nonetheless giving rise to an experience, or sensation, of spontaneity.
E: Could that sense of spontaneity – or apparition of a kind of magic – that may arise for the subject really already be there in the context, requiring some kind of co-recognition?
R: In the final performance of Doing Dancing at Firstdraft there was a dog in the audience. It sat quietly and calmly for some time until I did some sort of fast, low-to-the-ground movement, at which it barked and sort of went to attack me. Despite not directing the movement toward the dog, something significant enough shifted in nature of the movement for the dog to register it as other-than-human, or as something that had the potential to interact with it in unexpected ways. I guess this is an example of a kind of distributed doing, or co-operative realisation of a dancing object. I would hesitate to say that this moment was lying in wait for us to recognise, or that the dog's attendance gave rise to the particular movement. However the dog's reaction did spark a feeling of co-recognition throughout the room, and the author-ity of this recognition seemed to be largely weighted with the dog.
There is a quality at play in this more-than-human network of dancing that André Lepecki (after Heinrich von Kleist) might describe as seriousness, as in this account of a public fight between a bear and a man, which perhaps resounds tonally with an approach to dance that brings doing ahead of thinking or performing.
In its fight with the human, the animal surpasses its opponent on all levels – not only in grace, economy of effort, precision of movement, and lack of affectation…but also through an additional, and quite surprising element: its 'seriousness'…(The bear's) movements are always in consistency with all of the micro-events simultaneously unfolding in its environment.[10]
This perhaps describes a sense of performing on the part of the man, rather than doing. I would hesitate to say the bear performs, but the man seems to. In which sense the animal 'does the doing' with greater intensity than the man. I wouldn't like to draw this as an opposition – but rather say that in bringing the terms doing and dancing together, there is an attempt to attend to this gap between what might be called performing and serious doing.
E: If the imperative of survival leads to a seriousness in the bear, I agree there's a different but comparable form of seriousness when the imperative becomes to dance in the way we are trying to talk about it here. Both involve an attunement with the moment, but the gap (as a spectrum) between doing and dancing distinguishes the latter activity, while for Kleist/Lepecki, the compression is so complete for the bear that the order is reversed in a form of anticipatory action. In dancing, sometimes this gap or distance between the act and the activity might be filled up with a strong sense of performance that is a particular form of this reflexivity, that may be up one end of the spectrum where there is a greater distance between doing and dancing.
So what about this question of doing rather than thinking dance. What is the verb for this 'embodied decision-making' characterised by a decentralised multiplicity within each moment and between each moment that is corporeal/somatic, but also fed by 'mental, imaginative, memory-based and responsive processes'? This action that is self-reflexive, relational, expanded and durational?
Dance artist Chrysa Parkinson says, 'if you think of the material of performance as perception, or as relationship (as Deborah [Hay] would say), then some form of 'doing it' to understand it makes sense.'[11] Dancing then exists in the doing and understanding it is contingent upon the doing and can't exist without it. As you say, a focus on 'doing' 'takes attention away from pre-emptive or reflective cognition'. Doing dancing.
[1] Bojana Kunst, Artist At Work- Proximity of Art and Capitalism (Alresford, Hants: Zero Books 2014), 145.
[2] Shelley Lasica, unpublished interview with Brannigan, 2017.
[3] Rhiannon Newton, 'Doing Dancing,' First Draft Gallery, Sydney, 2nd August – 25th August 2017. This gallery-based work incorporated Gertrude Stein's text on Isadora Duncan entitled 'Orta, or One Dancing', live durational performance, and the production of a real-time digital archive.
[4] Gertrude Stein, 'Orta, Or One Dancing,' published in A Stein Reader Ed. Ulla E. Dydo (Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press, 1993), 122.
[5] Gilles Deleuze, Cinema 1: The Movement-Image, trans. Hugh Tomlinson and Barbara Habberjam, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1986, 65.
[6] See for instance André Lepecki, Exhausting Dance: Performance and Politics of Movement (London: Routledge, 2006).
[7] Kunst 2014, 117.
[8] Lyn Hejinian, The Language of Inquiry (Berkeley, University of California Press, 2000), 10.
[9] On 'autopoeisis' see Humberto Maturana & Francisco Varela, Autopoiesis and Cognition: the Realization of the Living (Dordrecht, Holland: D. Reidel Publishing Co., 1980), 78. On 'sympoiesis' see Donna Haraway, Staying with the Trouble; Making Kin in the Chthulucene (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2016), 58.
[10] André Lepecki, Singularities: Dance in the Age of Performance, (London: Routledge, 2016), 87. He is discussing Heinrich von Kleist's 1810 essay, 'On the Marionette Theater.'
[11] Chrysa Parkinson, 'Reflecting on Practice,' in Ed. Ingvartsen, Mette (ed.) 6 Months, 1 Location (6M1L), (Everybodys Publications, 2009), 32.
RHIANNON NEWTON
Rhiannon Newton is a dancer and choreographer from Sydney. Her practice focuses on meetings of live-ness and repetition. Her work has been presented nationally and internationally in contexts such as Dance Massive, Brisbane Festival, Firstdraft, Metro Arts, Nagib On Stage (SL), Tanzhaus Zurich (CH) and The Judson Church (USA). In 2018 Newton is the associate artist at Dancehouse, Melbourne.
Dr. Erin Brannigan is Senior Lecturer in Dance at the University of New South Wales and works in the fields of dance and film as a writer, academic and curator. Erin wrote on dance for RealTime 1997-2017, was the founding Director of ReelDance (1999-2008), and has published monographs and journal articles internationally.


If you are in the market for a new car (or a used car) there is a lot that you need to consider. One important thing to keep in mind is the kind of drivetrain that you want your vehicle to have. Each has advantages and disadvantages and it's important to understand each in order to make the right decision when purchasing a vehicle. The four different types of drivetrain are all wheel drive (AWD), front wheel drive (FWD), rear wheel drive (RWD), and 4WD (4 wheel drive).
Front wheel drive (FWD) means that the power coming from the engine is relayed to the front wheels of the car or truck. With FWD, the front wheels are pulling the car to create movement. The rear wheels are only following the front wheels and don't receive any power on their own. The pros to a FWD vehicle is that it typically gets better fuel economy and emits less carbon dioxide. Since the weight of the engine is located over the driving wheels, a FWD vehicle can maintain better traction in the snow. However, car enthusiasts claim that FWD vehicles are less fun to drive.
Rear wheel drive (RWD) means that the power coming from the engine is relayed to the rear wheels. The rear wheels are responsible for pushing the car forward, much like a bicycle. The front wheels do not have a power source and are able to move and turn because of the power coming from the rear wheels. Because the weight of the drivetrain on a RWD vehicle is spread more evenly than a FWD vehicle, it has better balance. This is why most sports cars are RWD and RWD cars are considered to be more exciting to drive. The cons of an RWD vehicle are that they do not perform well in poor weather conditions like rain or snow because it is more prone to loss of traction on slick roads.
There are two different kinds of four wheel drive (4WD) systems. A part-time 4WD system lets the driver select if the power from the engine is relayed to only two wheels or to all four wheels. The default setting is typically rear wheel drive. A full time 4WD system permanently engages all 4 wheels.
All wheel drive is essentially the same thing as a 4WD drivetrain, but there is no option to relay power to only two wheels. Power is relayed to all four wheels at all times. The term AWD can be used for vehicles with more than 4 wheels in which all of the wheels are powered. The biggest advantage of an AWD vehicle is that it provides the best traction in all kinds of conditions. The cons of an AWD vehicle are that it is much heavier which hurts acceleration and uses more fuel. AWD is also the most expensive drivetrain option.


For starters, stop blasting your scalp and strands with too-high heat.
If you own a hair dryer (unlike a salon blowout addict), you probably use it every day to take your locks from soaking wet to dry enough to head out the door. And that's probably because you have no clue how to get the most out of this heat styling tool.
The different heat levels should be adjusted to suit your hair texture and condition.
It's never too late to learn, so we've put together a handy hair dryer guide with tips from celebrity hairstylist Ryan Richman and Rowenta Beauty brand ambassador and hairstylist Josue Perez.
Invest in wattage, but turn down the heat.
It seems every new type of hair dryer is always touted as being hotter than the next. However, Richman cautions against using extremely high heat settings, as they're probably not necessary for the DIYer.
"A blow dryer that falls within the 1,300 to 1,875 watts range is great for anyone to use at home," says Richman. "Personally, I like to feel my dryer blow the hair and feel like my tool is working. You can always turn down the heat, but still maintain power."
If you're someone who wants to set curls or simply blow dry your bangs, he recommends purchasing a dryer with a lower wattage because you're not necessarily trying to minimize your blow dry time.
Different types of hair require different levels of heat.
The different heat levels should be adjusted to suit your hair texture and condition, according to Perez. He explains, "The high heat is available for really thick or coarse hair, and to remove excessive moisture when the hair is really wet, but always remember to keep the dryer moving and never focus on one portion of the hair for too long. The low setting is perfect for thin or fragile hair. If your hair is only damp instead of wet, it is important to use the low heat setting to prevent over-drying."
As far as that mysterious "cool shot" button, it seals the hair cuticle, setting the final look for long-lasting hold and adds shine. Perez adds, "When your hair is about 80 percent dry, switch over to the cool shot. All your hair needs at this stage in drying is the finishing touches, and the cool shot adequately completes the drying and protects against overheating."
Richman believes the "cool shot" is also great to lock in a curl, or if you set your hair in curlers, it works to cool down your hair and lock in the waves as desired.
Not all hair dryer types are created the same, so know which kind to use.
"The ionic technology creates millions of negative ions, and what the ionic hair dryers help to do is break down the water molecule," says Richman. "That allows the blow dryer to dry your hair much faster and that's because you're not only using heat and the force of the air flow, but you have this new technology that helps to break down water as well."
The big problem with using ionic hair dryers, according to Richman, is that people don't know when to stop. "Your hair is hot and you're running your brush through it and you don't take the time to notice when your hair is actually dry," he says. "So I think that a lot of people are over-drying their hair, especially around the face." Blondes mostly have this issue because they're getting their hairline highlighted all the time so that it looks natural and they don't have so much grow-out.
Ceramic dryers emit non-damaging infrared heat, which Perez states dries the hair gently for added heat protection. While tourmaline hair dryers emit infrared heat and negative ions, making the heat much gentler on the hair during styling for a shinier and less frizzy finish. It also enables the hair to endure much higher levels of heat without creating damage.
Perez prefers to use the the Rowenta Inspiration Pro Dryer, as this is an ionic dryer with a tourmaline-boosted ceramic system. The combination of all three elements provides the professional with the safest and quickest styling option. Meanwhile, Richman juggles between Amika's fun-printed hair dryers and the Harry Josh Pro Dryer 2000. Though the former is at a really high price point, it blasts air up to 80 mph and works great on thick hair.
The right hair dryer attachment can help take the stress out of styling.
While a lot of people don't use diffusers (those spiky-shaped attachments that evenly diffuse heat) anymore, Richman believes more than just curly-haired girls can benefit from this attachment. "I think it's great because instead of concentrating the heat in one area, it distributes it very broadly. A customer with even a light, natural wave whose looking to enhance it can use a diffuser to add body or bounce to their hair," he explains.
Perez suggests that those with curly and wavy hair textures use the diffuser at the low heat setting. This will help to lift the hair and release a gentle, indirect stream of warm air that is not overpowering so that your curls don't become tangled, frizzy and unmanageable.
Concentrators (a narrow-shaped nozzle attachment) direct and focus the air output when you are styling to control frizz and style outcome. Perez uses them to get straight or softly waved looks. His pro tip: Hold the concentrator closely to the hair, leaving a few inches in between. Use a rounded brush, pulling as tightly as reasonable to get the best results from the concentrator.
No matter what type of hair dryer you use, remember to apply a heat protectant product first.
"Protectant serums, lotions and sprays are the best way to ensure your hair stays protected during styling," says Perez.
Even if you're blowdrying every four days, you're likely touching up in between with a curling or flat iron. So Richman recommends using a strengthening treatment like Living Proof's Perfect Hair Day 5-in-1, which is also oil-free and silicone-free.
This feature was originally published on November 22, 2013.


The Travelin' Rat Spreads The Word About Pet Rats And You Can Too!
Danielle (right) and Brittany man The Travelin' Rat booth at the January 2014 World of Pets Expo Educational Experience.
As much of a difference a single person can make in the lives and welfare of animals, a team can make a substantial impact, especially if the members of that team are passionate, driven and led by a creative go-getter. The Travelin' Rat embodies all of that — and it demonstrates the possibilities that can arise from teamwork and an enthusiastic leader.
The group sprang from a simple introduction of two ladies who were looking for other rat owners in their area. Danielle S. and Julie D. of Maryland attended the World of Pets Expo in Timonium, Maryland in May of 2008. It was there that they discovered their common interest of wanting to help animal rescues and rats, so the brainstorming began that led to the creation of The Travelin' Rat.
But what exactly is The Travelin' Rat? It is a unique organization that helps rescues that take in rats, especially ones that are overlooked. They help in a multitude of ways, big and small. They are often found sitting with rescues at events to aid them in whatever way they can, even if only to give emotional support. However, they are best known for their Rescue of the Month program. The group selects one rescue that takes in rats each month and rolls up its "sleeves" to raise funds to donate to them through many creative means.
Frank V. is vice president and vital to the group. He is the man who hauls all of the goods to events and is responsible for set up and break down, as well as manning the booths. He also makes beaded jewelry for TTR's Etsy store.
Patricia G. is a highly valued volunteer who handles all of the shipping.
Danielle holds Trek, a doll that raises awareness about rat rescues.
One more special member of the team is named Trek. He is a doll that was made and generously donated by Linda B. of The Crafty Rat. His job is to travel around the world to raise awareness for the group and what it does. Friends and rat fans have taken him in and have shown him the sights where they live, sharing stories, photos and videos of his adventures.
"Hopefully this little ambassador will also be able to educate those individuals who he comes into contact with who do not already know about the virtues of pet rats or the plight of animals in shelters and rescues," Abby said. "Trek has his own Facebook page, which is run by all of his hosts. He has really taken on an identity of his own outside of The Travelin' Rat. We keep a record of his exploits on his webpage photo gallery, and Danielle orchestrates his travel plans with the host volunteers. It's been fun, and I'm pretty jealous of the adventures the little guy has had globetrotting." Read about his travels here.
Imagine an animal rescuer sitting by a window watching a mail truck come and go as it does any other day, all the while they listen to dozens of squeaky wheels spinning away in the background with happy critters running on them. But today is different. Today a gift arrives from The Travelin' Rat that will help put food in the bellies of those critters and help provide them with healthcare and the necessities they need. Today the rescuer is guaranteed peace of mind. He or she knows somebody cares, supports what they do and appreciates it.
As for the future, everyone in the group hopes to expand so that they can help more rescues. Danielle dreams of having a TTR East, TTR West, TTR Australia, etc. But she admits that would be quite an undertaking. She has said that she would like TTR to be able to travel to events outside of the Mid-Atlantic region.
World Rat Day Is For Rats!
Best of Craigslist: Is 15 pet rats too many?


The reconstruction of Kosovo after 1999 was one of the largest and most ambitious international interventions in a post-conflict country. The United Nations, other major multinational organisations and many large bilateral aid donors all played a role in restoring stability and establishing governance in the territory. This book looks beyond the apparently united and generally self-congratulatory statements of these international actors to examine what actually happened when they tried to work together in Kosovo to achieve this goal. It considers the interests and motivations, and the strengths and weaknesses of each of the major players and how they contributed to the creation of new institutions in public finance and public sector management.