This is an incredible beautiful dance by the Japanese company Enra called Pleides, after the constellation of stars that represent the seven sisters who hunted with Artemis back in the day. My family were all so mesmerized by it that we watched this 3 times in a row before returning to a reality that unfortunately doesn’t include shining bits of light that answer to our every movement.
Take the four plus minutes out of your morning to watch it. You won’t be sorry.
The good thing about this last burst of cold/flu season is that your local pharmacy is most likely well supplied with all of this stuff. As opposed to mid January when it’s all sold out…
It looks like the end of the tunnel is in sight. We’ve had a couple of days in the 50′s, which at this point feels warm beyond all reckoning. We have also had snow flurries, freezing rain and temps in the teens in the past few weeks. The combination is a recipe for disaster.
Which is why, though I really did mean to post this oh, back in November at the start of the cold and flu season, I am writing about it now. Because my daughter was out sick this week, as were all sorts of other folks. We can’t let our guard down. It ain’t over till it’s over, my friends, and it is far from over.
Here is a quick list of the various things I do to keep my family as healthy as possible. And I must say, we’ve done pretty damned well this year.
Elderberry tea, they say, is as effective as a flu shot if taken regularly. It is also available as a tincture, and an extract of the plant, in pill form, called Sinupret works wonders on sinus infections. Elderflower tea works more on upper respiratory problems, while the black elder, which is also more tasty, is what people tend to take for flu and chest issues.
Honey is just delicious. Turns out it is also great for calming a cough. In a tea, with lemon juice, hot water and apple cider vinegar, it can potentially cure whatever ails you. This is the drink I usually make at the first sign of cold symptoms. You can also add a little cayenne pepper to the mix, if you (or your kid) can take the heat.
Oil of Oregano is a powerful antibiotic used to treat respiratory tract disorders, gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, menstrual cramps, and urinary tract disorders. It is overwhelmingly potent, so dilute it at least 1:3. I usually take a drop of this while I’m waiting for the water to get hot for my apple cider vinegar tea. I would not recommend giving it to your kids, unless you don’t want them to trust you ever again. It tastes horrible.
I first discovered Oscillococcinum when I had a cold in Paris, which sounds much more romantic than it was, let me assure you. I worked really really hard to learn how to pronounce it so that I didn’t sound like a fool to the pharmacist when making my purchase… Actually, this was my introduction to homeopathy, a practice that is as common in Europe as taking aspirin is here in the States. You put a bunch of these sugary pellets under your tongue as soon as you think you may be getting sick, and they magically make the illness go away. But you have to catch it at the onset. This is great for kids, as the medicine is so mild, and it tastes good.
ColdCalm is just like Oscillococcinum, but for sniffles more than aches and fever. Same pros and cons apply. My daughter LOVES this stuff.
Chestal is basically honey in a jar. And yet it actually works surprisingly well as a cough suppressant. One thing to note: the kids formula is IDENTICAL to the adult version. It’s just a marketing thing to put the word “kids” in happy crayon writing on the bottle. Everybody can drink from the same vessel, in this case.
Put a drop of sinus oil under each nostril and you can feel the passages clearing up instantly. A combination of eucalyptus, peppermint, tea tree and thyme, you can also put a few drops of this in the humidifier before bedtime to help you breathe more easily through the night.
As might be evident from the extensive nature of this list, I have tried all sorts of homeopathic kids medicines, and for whatever reason, that I honestly cannot explain, Natrabio’s Children’s Cold and Flu Relief drops are the ones that work for us. So I now always stock it. I notice it is often sold out, which is reassuring, if also a bit annoying.
And lastly, but potentially most importantly, the twin pillars of Goldenseal (another natural antibiotic) and Astralagus (used in Chinese medicine to support the immune system) in tincture form are also quite helpful when taken at the onset of symptoms. I tend to give mild tasting Astralagus to my daughter to avoid her demanding some kind of ice cream chaser, as she does with some other drops I try to get into her.
I’m sure there’s lots more, but this should get you through at least these last few weeks before Spring settles in for good. Please feel free to add your own favorites in the comments. I am all about learning new tricks wherever I can!
Every weekday afternoon, when I was a kid, my sister and I would come home from school and settle down in front of the TV for a blissful hour of Batman and Gilligan’s Island.
I am currently reliving this little habit, with my daughter subbing in for my sister, who lives far away on the island of Manhattan and has her own after school activities these days. What with it being #throwbackthursday and all, I figured I’d share…
We’ve watched all the Batman episodes, so it’s on to Gilligan’s Island. And I’ve got to say, the show is potentially even better now than it was then, as I can now appreciate the total absurdity of the whole situation, rather than being slightly bothered by the number of outfits Ginger and Mrs Howell had packed for a three hour cruise. (as a 7 year old, that drove me CRAZY)
I hear they made a movie where the castaways are rescued. I’m not sure I ever want to see it… Somehow I feel a bit better knowing that somewhere out there, 7 people are running around on a tropic isle, listening to the radio and coming up with crazy and impossible plans for their rescue. We can all learn a little something from their optimism.
Oh please oh please… Spring is almost here…
“Goddess Hera” by Odysseus Glaucos Osborne. Of course she’s not smiling. Look what she has to deal with…
I may be mortal, but being immortal has it’s downsides, too. Especially if you are married to Zeus (who’s kind of a jerk, lets be honest) and most people think you are a raving bitch. But I’ve always loved Hera, and this wonderful graphic novel by George O’Connor helps to cast her in a more well rounded and positive light.
Also, the fact that somebody actually took the time to transform our most iconic movie quotes into charts gives me hope.
Look at how complex and beautiful our brains are. And we are only just beginning to understand how it all really works.
So once we understand how our brains work, maybe we can figure out, once and for all, if any of the increasingly popular brain exercises and games actually work to improve brain function. The jury is still out, but that doesn’t stop me from being tempted to try them all.
Is this my new mattress? Because I’m definitely in need of one… And so is my brain.
And while we’re on the topic of brainiacs, a recent Harvard study shows that good looking men do better in business. No f-ing kidding. I bet they spent millions of dollars to come to that conclusion. Clearly I am in the wrong business.
Good looking or no, average lifespans are increasing at an almost alarming pace. We’re all in for a longer time here on this Earth. I guess we’ll just have to make the most of it.
Here, in the distance, is my husband with one of his oldest friends, the inimitable Howard Goldkrand, plotting to take over the world while walking outside of the Parrish Art Museum, located in the middle of an old potato field in Southampton, NY.
The building’s stunning architecture (it’s modeled after the potato barns that used to dot the fields all over pre-McMansion eastern Long Island) is reason enough to make a pilgrimage, but we were visiting the museum to see works by two important African American “outsider” artists, Thornton Dial and Claude Lawrence. More on that later…
Photographer Cristina De Middel’s multi-media piece on the Afronaut project, a 1964 Zambian space program that aimed to put the first man on the moon.
So many things to complain about when speaking of the airline industry… evidently much aviation technology is stuck in the 1960′s.
And while we’re on the topic, here is an entire section of a website dedicated to complaints about Delta. Which is, in my personal experience, the Worst. Airline. Ever.
But who cares about airplanes when our galaxy is colliding with our neighbor and there’s almost certainly life on other planets?
Speaking of other planets, meet the people who have signed up to go settle a colony on Mars and never come back.
All of this sounds very technologically advanced. So why is American internet so damned slow? (“We’re #31!” is not a slogan to be proud of…)
Maybe we just shouldn’t bother with travel at all, be it air, space or internet. Perhaps the answer is just to get this book and look at the lovely pictures photographer Mikael Kennedy shot on during a week of road tripping in California.
The Atlantic has been kind enough to post an in depth article on why writers are the worst procrastinators. Which I will read maybe two or three times before going on to write, or do, anything else today. Thanks!
A shot taken in the hopes that the bright colors would drive the drab of winter away…
Through the magic of the internets, one day, I’m standing outside on E Houston St, shooting photographs of beautiful silver jewelry by my dear friend Jill Platner, and the next day the photo is up online, announcing her latest sale. In the olden days, we had lead times– sometimes of three months– before we ever saw the fruits of our labor published. And while sure, I’ve become accustomed to the speed of the turnover today, it still never ceases to amaze me.
But I digress.
The real piece of news is that Ms Jill Platner is actually having a sale. This is rare. And it’s because her whole crew is so sick of this never ending winter that they figured maybe if they had a “winter be gone” sale, the winter would, well, be gone.
SO go check it out on Crosby street (or online) and get yourself a little something while the getting’s good. Because the sale only lasts for a week. And hopefully winter will exit the stage right after.
Brian Eno’s Another Green World is one of my all-time favorite albums that I’d completely forgotten about till I started organizing my records…
When you reach a certain age, you stop caring so much about what the newest hottest thing is and you settle on stuff you’ve always been into. The old reliable stuff. Why go to Beacon’s Closet when you can just go shopping for free in your own? Why bother listening to a bunch of cockamamie new music when you (and by you I mean I) have hundreds of LP’s in piles all over the apartment, just waiting to be taken out and spun around on a turntable?
Well clearly, the answer to that is of course we listen to new music because there are lots of great things happening out there. But that does not stop me from reacquainting myself with sounds I already know and love. Like Brian Eno’s album Another Green World. Which
Rama Cromeado has been kind enough to upload to YouTube, for all of us to enjoy. Unless we don’t need the link because we are crazy packrats and still have the record that we bought in high school when we were totally obsessed with Eno and Bowie and all sorts of other things that shall remain nameless.
So take a little trip back to 1975 while you check your e mail. You never know… maybe it’ll spark an impromptu Spotify roadtrip or something. Or at the very least, provide your kids with something more inventive to dance to.
I tied this baby my own damned self. After, of course, watching this helpful video. And then I made Roast Pork Loin with Apples and it was delicious.
