tisdag 25 december 2007
fredag 21 december 2007
You know why you get grumpy during the winter months? It's not just the lack of Vitamin D/sun but also the lack of negative ions. You know how the air feels so great at the beach, or after a thunderstorm? It's because of the negative ions generated by Mom nature. But in the winter when we're stuck inside, the dry heat tends to make static and positive ions, which are actually bad for you. The Santa Ana and mistral winds are those winds with a reputation for making people crazy or bringing bad vibes. Interestingly, they are also full of positive ions.
Beeswax candles are an awesome and fragrant way to get some cheer-making negative ions into your life. This smiling Buddha from Sunbeam Candles is the best. Not only that, but this company is RUN ON SOLAR POWER. What more could you ask for?
They also have a ton of other styles (e.g., plain votives) in case you have qualms about burning Buddha.
torsdag 20 december 2007
Fertility gone wrong, here! I feel like they shouldn't let these people be parents! You can't treat a child like a Christmas present you can return to Home Depot. This guy didn't bother to get Dutch citizenship for his daughter for years...and he works in a consulate! WTF?
This comes in via G'OAL, the Global Overseas Adoptees link.
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Couple gives up girl, 7, adopted here as a baby
December 10, 2007
HONG KONG ― A high-ranking Dutch diplomat and his wife, who adopted a 4-month-old Korean girl in 2000 when he was posted in Korea, gave up the child last year, officials here said. Now, officials here are looking for someone to take care of the school-age child.
The girl, Jade, is still a Korean citizen because the adoptive parents, whose names were not released, never applied to give her Dutch citizenship, according to an official at the Hong Kong Social Welfare Department.
She doesn’t speak any Korean. She speaks only English and Cantonese, according to people close to her. And she doesn’t have Hong Kong residency status, either.
The Hong Kong Social Welfare Department, where the Dutch diplomat left Jade in September last year, has had responsibility for her ever since, the official said.
Jade has been in Hong Kong’s foster care system, according to Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post. The paper also reported that the diplomat, who has a senior management role at a European consulate in the city, said “the adoption had gone wrong,” without any further explanation.
“It’s just a very terrible trauma that everyone’s experiencing,” he told the paper. “I don’t have anything to say to the public. It is something we have to live with.”
The diplomat’s wife thought she was infertile when the couple adopted the Korean girl in 2000, the official said. After they moved to Hong Kong, the wife got pregnant. They now have two children of their own.
The story has fueled anger among the Korean immigrant community in Hong Kong, which criticized the diplomat couple for “irre-sponsibly renouncing their custody of a child who’d been with them more than six years after delaying the naturalization process in Netherlands for years.”
By Choi Hyung-kyu JoongAng Ilbo/ Lee Yang-kyoung Staff Reporter [ enational@joongang.co.kr ]
read more http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2883720
This comes in via G'OAL, the Global Overseas Adoptees link.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Couple gives up girl, 7, adopted here as a baby
December 10, 2007
HONG KONG ― A high-ranking Dutch diplomat and his wife, who adopted a 4-month-old Korean girl in 2000 when he was posted in Korea, gave up the child last year, officials here said. Now, officials here are looking for someone to take care of the school-age child.
The girl, Jade, is still a Korean citizen because the adoptive parents, whose names were not released, never applied to give her Dutch citizenship, according to an official at the Hong Kong Social Welfare Department.
She doesn’t speak any Korean. She speaks only English and Cantonese, according to people close to her. And she doesn’t have Hong Kong residency status, either.
The Hong Kong Social Welfare Department, where the Dutch diplomat left Jade in September last year, has had responsibility for her ever since, the official said.
Jade has been in Hong Kong’s foster care system, according to Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post. The paper also reported that the diplomat, who has a senior management role at a European consulate in the city, said “the adoption had gone wrong,” without any further explanation.
“It’s just a very terrible trauma that everyone’s experiencing,” he told the paper. “I don’t have anything to say to the public. It is something we have to live with.”
The diplomat’s wife thought she was infertile when the couple adopted the Korean girl in 2000, the official said. After they moved to Hong Kong, the wife got pregnant. They now have two children of their own.
The story has fueled anger among the Korean immigrant community in Hong Kong, which criticized the diplomat couple for “irre-sponsibly renouncing their custody of a child who’d been with them more than six years after delaying the naturalization process in Netherlands for years.”
By Choi Hyung-kyu JoongAng Ilbo/ Lee Yang-kyoung Staff Reporter [ enational@joongang.co.kr ]
read more http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2883720
onsdag 19 december 2007
MAN Fertilitiy found this for me on the BBC. Does eating the glop they serve at the Renaissance Faire count?
| Last Updated: Tuesday, 18 December 2007, 01:11 GMT   |
| Medieval diets 'far more healthy' | ||
Their low-fat, vegetable-rich diet - washed down by weak ale - was far better for the heart than today's starchy, processed foods, one GP says. And while they consumed more they burnt off calories in a workout of 12 hours' labour, Dr Roger Henderson concludes. But the Shropshire GP accepts that life for even prosperous peasants was tough. But after examining the available records, Dr Henderson suggests that medieval meals were perhaps even better than the much touted "Mediterranean" diet enjoyed by the Romans. While this would have involved fish, fruit, whole grains and olive oil - as well as red wine - the rich often overindulged, while the poor may not always have been able to obtain them. The average medieval peasant however would have eaten nearly two loaves of bread each day, and 8oz of meat or fish, the size of an average steak. This would have been accompanied by liberal quantities of vegetables, including beans, turnips and parsnips, and washed down by three pints of ale. Crucially, there was little refined sugar in their food, while modern eating habits are dominated by biscuits, cake and sweets. | ||
tisdag 18 december 2007
Check out this stylin' bag from Envirosax's ORGANIC SERIES. It's 45% bamboo, 55% linen. Witty graphic designs, and it has its own cute little pouch and comes packaged in a recycled cardboard box.
I took this shopping and was the belle of the farmers' market.
And of course, I'm nuts for anything bamboo...
måndag 17 december 2007
Isn't it weird that you never know about the s*** that's in the products you use until there's some kind of foment to take it out?
Here's our previous post about lead in lipstick (and candy--yum!)
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Minn. to ban mercury in beauty products
By MARTIGA LOHN, Associated Press Thu Dec 13, 5:23 PM ET
The quest for thicker lashes and defined eyes should get safer on Jan. 1, when Minnesota bans mercury from mascara, eye liners and skin-lightening creams.
The state apparently is the first in the nation to ban intentionally-added mercury in cosmetics. When the law takes effect, Minnesota will have a tougher standard than the federal government, which allows small amounts of mercury as a preservative in eye makeup.
Retailers who knowingly sell mercury-containing cosmetics could face fines of as much as $700. Penalties could reach $10,000 for manufacturers who fail to disclose mercury on product labels, according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
'Mercury does cause neurological damage to people even in tiny quantities,' said Sen. John Marty, the Democrat from Roseville who sponsored the ban. 'Every source of mercury adds to it. We wanted to make sure it wasn't here.'
The cosmetics provision is part of a larger ban targeting better-known sources of mercury, such as thermostats, barometers, industrial switches and medical devices. The law also covers toiletries, fragrances and over-the-counter drugs such as eye drops, nasal sprays, hemorrhoid treatments and antiseptics."
Read more o fthe ApP story here.
Here's our previous post about lead in lipstick (and candy--yum!)
-------------------------------------------------------------
Minn. to ban mercury in beauty products
By MARTIGA LOHN, Associated Press Thu Dec 13, 5:23 PM ET
The quest for thicker lashes and defined eyes should get safer on Jan. 1, when Minnesota bans mercury from mascara, eye liners and skin-lightening creams.
The state apparently is the first in the nation to ban intentionally-added mercury in cosmetics. When the law takes effect, Minnesota will have a tougher standard than the federal government, which allows small amounts of mercury as a preservative in eye makeup.
Retailers who knowingly sell mercury-containing cosmetics could face fines of as much as $700. Penalties could reach $10,000 for manufacturers who fail to disclose mercury on product labels, according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
'Mercury does cause neurological damage to people even in tiny quantities,' said Sen. John Marty, the Democrat from Roseville who sponsored the ban. 'Every source of mercury adds to it. We wanted to make sure it wasn't here.'
The cosmetics provision is part of a larger ban targeting better-known sources of mercury, such as thermostats, barometers, industrial switches and medical devices. The law also covers toiletries, fragrances and over-the-counter drugs such as eye drops, nasal sprays, hemorrhoid treatments and antiseptics."
Read more o fthe ApP story here.
torsdag 13 december 2007
Okay, so here I am taking the fun out of your Christmas tree. Actually, MAN FERTILITY and I don't observe this practice even though he is part German. First, it seems sad to kill a tree, then there's the _%&_#)($ needles that get all over the place, plus we used to have this endearingly crazy cat. Now, decorating a rosemary bush is about as ambitious as I get.As Grinchy as this sounds, if anyone in the household has asthma/allergies, it might be a nicer present to now have a tree. And puhleeeeeze don't get one of those artificial ones!
"FRIDAY, Nov. 16 (HealthDay News) -- While bringing home a live Christmas tree marks the beginning of the holiday season for many, the mold that thrives on its branches can trigger weeks of suffering for some, a new study shows. Connecticut researchers have found that the mold count from a live Christmas tree rose to five times the normal level two weeks after the tree was brought indoors, and that can prove problematic for people with mold allergies. Their research was presented this week at the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology annual meeting, in Dallas. 'Christmas trees are another possible source of mold exposure during the holiday season,' said study co-author Philip Hemmers, an allergist and immunologist with St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport, Conn. 'Mold allergies peak in the fall, and we see a second peak with a lot of our mold-sensitive patients during the holiday season. Our finding correlates with this second peak of mold sensitivity.'"
read more here.
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