I’ve recently decided that I desperately need to alter my relaxation to stress ratio in favor of the more positive of the two aspects. Decisions like “I really need find more ways to relax” tend to change the way you look at things, activities, the cost and complication of acquiring things and of participating in activities. It also can change the places that you LOOK for relaxation and methods for achieving the effect in general.
I personally feel that starting with the easiest, most readily available method of relaxation is the best way to free up thought-space to better enable the “creative” conjuring of relaxing ideas. For me, that means reading or in extreme cases of distress, not even something that mentally involved. There are occasions where if I even have the energy to be conscious (read: anything beyond constant sleeping), I have only enough consciousness at my disposal as to make watching television as challenging of a task as I can handle outside of necessary function. At that point, I can’t even watch movies unless I didn’t have to make the choice of which one to watch in the first place. This is a VERY bad place to find one’s self.
UNLESS…the boob-tube proves to actually be informative for a change. We know that’s rare but even more rare that a commercial — that capitalist trap of eye-candy — is for a product that can legitimately make me drop my jaw in awe, envy and excitement. When suddenly you see the very PRODUCT which could virtually CURE you of all of your stress and tension and woes with just a mere purchase…it’s a day to chock up as an “amazing TV” day.
Enter, THE VIBRACOUSTIC (by Kohler). The currently most BAD ASS bathtub I have ever seen.
After seeing the commercial that made my palms sweat with wondrous anticipation, I immediately thought two things: #1, I bet you have to use JUST the crap they pre-program the thing with like those stupid “white noise”/”spa” sound machines and #2, I bet that thing costs as much as a small car.
Well….as it turns out, it’s a good thing I don’t waste my time in casinos or playing Lotto because I was wrong AND right… The sound system on this awesome tub does come with specific, pre-loaded tracks which are designed to utilize acoustics in a fashion that morphs music into hydro-massage-therapy. Additionally, you CAN load your own music into the system for a customized experience. SCORE!
On the down side, the part I WAS right about sucks pretty badly. According to KOHLER’S pricing on their website, these tubs range from $5, 670.00 to $7,770.00. OUCH.
Can’t they have a heart?!? The common folk are in DIRE need of this sort of relaxation due to added job stress (layoffs: fear of being laid off and/or the added burden of picking up the work that was left behind when OTHERS were laid off), economic stress (even IF someone still has a job these days, almost no one is getting a raise any time soon and that’s given that they didn’t already LOSE money under the guises of “saving jobs” by cutting a percentage of all employees’ salaries). We working folk desperately need some way to avoid the cardiologist!!
After my considerably more adult review of LittleBigPlanet in association with some films that the art design reminds me of, here’s a childish bit of ha-ha for you. Since LBP is by design, customizable and enables every player to become a level developer, that literally opens the door for all SORTS of stuff.
I have a VERY sensitive nose. I can smell that someone smoked a cigarette 2 days ago. I can smell when some no-good man has been whoring about. Thankfully, I’m not limited to nosing out only the stink of this world. Pleasant, subtle scents are also at my olfactoral disposal (even if there is a disproportionate amount of good vs. evil odours in the air). Unfortunately, much like the great tales of this and previous millennia, Evil often poses as Good; in this case, in the candle aisle, at the incense shop and at the perfume counter. In other words, this also means I can’t stand strong fragrances/perfumes/colognes. Only if they’re not too powerful can I stand scents in any embodiment. Even then, I typically favor fruity or natural scents.
Understanding that, it shouldn’t be difficult to guess that I do NOT hang out at perfume counters, in “head shops” or even the oh-so-popular candle stores. I did, however, inadvertently stumble upon a candle line that caught my attention called “Modern Alchemy” by the company, D.L. & Co. Just based on their product naming, design and their scent descriptions, I might have to start saving up my pennies to give a couple of their pretty (and pricey wares) a go.
I’m not very trusting — especially with advertising — but even if these candles and fragrances smelled like putrid garbage on a sweltering July day in Atlanta, GA, I’d probably still have to at LEAST get my hands on the “Seven Deadly Sins” collection…just to say I had it. I mean, what if someone one day ponders aloud in your presence: “I wonder…if ‘sloth’ had a smell, what it would smell like?” If you had this candle collection, you would KNOW!! And if you’re like me, you’ll also find it HIGHLY amusing that it is (among other aromas) a “cannabis” (the plant more commonly known for its intoxicating effects) scented candle. To be honest though, I guess my inner nature-girl/hippie always thought the plant’s sharp, citrus smell refreshingly clean — even if I never understood why anyone would enjoy the effect of sounding like a moron and being a worthless sack of flesh as a result of smoking the stuff.
Most of the fragrances and candles by D.L. & Co. are very sophisticated in their scent base and quite crafty in their themes and artistic presentation. Just upon reading the choices of fragrance combination, I would expect most of these candles (even the ones that DON’T include the cannabis flair) to be pretty heady and dense (i.e. burn in a REALLY large room — maybe with some doors and windows open too for good measure) but also very unique. Some of the others sound incredibly fresh and considerably lighter. I’m fairly sure the lighter scents will be more appealing to my hyper-delicate snout but I have to admit that the other, more complicated varieties still sound intriguing.
In the event that you’re interested in scraping YOUR pennies together to check these fragrances out as well, I’ll let you cheat and start with a couple of places I found that actually sell them (since the company doesn’t sell their Signature line or Modern Alchemy line directly from their website it seems).
Modern Alchemy can be found for purchase at these and other sites:
Sure, I favor some things that people might consider kind of dark but as it should be coming through bit by bit, I like a touch of fun to my darkness too. That inevitably means that there are some instances of “fun” that I find amusing which contain little to no darkness about them whatsoever.
Even more evident should be my tendency towards the artistic in things that I enjoy. I do love movies and music and other forms of “normal” art but I don’t actually play many video games. I am wound quite tight enough without the added stress of trying to “beat” a game or level or find some boon. I can stand to watch more games than I can play and the better done the game artistically and functionally and intellectually, the more I typically enjoy watching it. That said, there are few games I even enjoy watching enough to consider actually playing for myself. Little Big Planet is one of those VERY rare exceptions.
This is SUCH a fun game, visually, functionally, even regarding its soundtrack and storyline. This game is so textural and logical — but in a fantastic way — that even the greatest hardcore “kill em all” gamer has to stare at it and even play a little (even if he talks smack about the ‘gay’ factor the whole time). The 3D feel of the levels, the way the physics engine allows the “sack person” to swing and bounce and grab things, even the expressions that you can control on your customized little-you are fascinatingly fun.
In playing this game, I thought of two films I love for their alarmingly simple, yet unique art design: The Science of Sleep and Coraline (in 3D specifically). These films convey very much the same surreal and child-like qualities that art used to embody back when art meant clay and construction paper, pipe cleaners and cotton balls. The sophistication of this game and these movies steps in with the approach, stories and consequences of actions in each.
In Little Big Planet, you may be having a blast with your one-eyed, polka-dotted, cross-dressing lion(ess?), but the humor you encounter is definitely adult — as are the goals of the game. The Science of Sleep is about a couple of very eccentric, only mildly mature adults who sort of fall in love through the language of imaginative avant-garde art and music. Coraline is really probably the most kid-friendly of the three of these playful examples of fun art (in motion). Coraline is a bit darker but necessarily so since it DOES have a bit of a moral-of-the-story thing going on (be who you are but appreciate what and who you have — summed up).
I like the unique in the world. These movies and this game definitely qualify for this category so if you’ve got some spare change (and time) lying around, go check any or all of them out if you want your lovely little eyeballs to be dazzled and your mind to be entertained and expanded (if only a little depending on how far out there you already are).
Designer, Tithi Kutchamuch is definitely an “outside of the box” thinker as you can see here from his projects. Although innovative, not all of his designs are practical. Hell, his “Virgin” project, I don’t even understand — and I’m not quite sure I WANT to considering the confusion his descriptions and displays instilled. (I’m hinting that he could do with a little ENGLISH assistance to perhaps better his presentation effect.)
Aside from that, it was evident from the overall impression that I got from his designs that he is a very sensitive soul. Sound hippie-like enough for you? He’s very AWARE of his surroundings. He is aware of the spacial relationship that people have to the world around them, to each other and to themselves. Sound better? His creative endeavors that he bares to the world on his website are gentle, artistic and in most cases, useful applications of that awareness.
Of all of Tithi Kutchamuch’s designs, one that I favor over all of the others is also an ironic favorite for me. I may be a woman but I am NOT a chocoholic and tetter on the verge of dare I say, disliking the stuff altogether. That being said, Kutchamuch’s chocolate is designed to encourage people to eat less while focusing on the EXPERIENCE more than the quantity in this day and age of obesity, overeating and market trend toward selling more for a supposed greater value. This really is simply fun in the most literal sense. Check it out.
Despite the fact that Andrew Zimmern of the Travel Channel’s “Bizarre Foods” series started off his show being a fairly huge ASS to the people who played host to him as he searched out the oddities of the world, he did finally start warming up to those kind enough to share their culture and cuisine with him. That regained some respect from me immediately. I love his show.
I don’t watch much TV at all but when I do, two of the few stations that I can actually remember what channel they can be found on are Food Network and The Travel Channel. Aside from having a terrible memory, there just isn’t a lot on television that actually holds my interest. Much due to the same poorly fated memory, I only have room in the working bit of my memory for the stuff I REALLY, REALLY think stands out. (We’ll call it “natural elitism” to fluff my ego.)
It just so turns out that Andrew Zimmern’s trip to Ethiopia happened to be one of those episodes that stood out to me. I can’t seem to shake the flashbacks from his trip to the butcher shop specializing in camel when I see some of the scenes from the latest of the Resident Evil games, RE5 although, I think I might rather. Thankfully, out-weighing the imagery of raw camel-meat is the memory of watching Mr. Zimmern sit down for a 3-hour coffee break with an Ethiopian family and among other things, eating popped sorghum like miniaturized, husk-free popcorn.
I was fascinated and have been on a half-assed mission since then to try to find some poppable sorghum grain in stores. Being that I live in the “Midtown” section of my city, that is synonymous with “eccentric” and “eclectic” along with some less flattering associations people make with my area. This also means, I just automatically assumed it wouldn’t be a bit of trouble to find some poppable sorghum. Huh! Right.
As it turns out, sorghum (especially in the South) is almost immediately assumed to mean sorghum SYRUP or at best, flour. The grain is not so easily procured. Ahh, enter the Internet. What did we DO before we had this wondrous connection to any- and everything we could ever imagine wanting to put our hands on?! I have discovered that there are others even more obsessed with this snazzy snack than myself. I have also learned that sorghum is about as amazing a grain as quinoa since it is gluten-free, packed with vitamins, has a ton of anti-oxidants (depending on the line of sorghum) and can be a God-send of a solution as a food staple for individuals with Celiac Disease (CD).
I personally just REALLY hate husks and would like something to snack on that offers a little more than the boring, standard popcorn. Why not go for something stupidly hard to get your hands on?? Oh, but wait… I already mentioned the wonders of the Internet! Even more nerve-settling is the dependability of the web in some areas. Good old Amazon comes to the rescue again. I WILL have my go at this (and if it doesn’t work out, I may turn to tracking down The Baltimore Snacker’s lazyman’s solution and hunt down some of the pre-popped goodness)!
