Photographic Exhibition in Washington DC

Metropolis

Photographic exhibit by Renato D'Agostin

On the occasion of the 2008 Europe Week, the Italian Cultural Institute in Washington, DC presents "Metropolis", a photographic exhibition by Renato D'Agostin.

The exhibition will be open May 1 through June 15, 2008
Mon-Fri 10 am - 12 pm and 2 - 4 pm

Cocktail Reception with the photographer May 5, 6:30 - 8:30 pm

Photo I.D. required

Information

Date: Thursday, May 01, 2008 - Sunday, June 15, 2008

Time: From 10:00 am to 12:00 pm; from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Venue: Italian Cultural Institute, 3000 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC

Organized by: Italian Cultural Institute in Washington, DC

In collaboration with: N.A.

RSVP required: iicwashington@esteri.it or (202) 518-0998 ext. 1 - ID required

Canne film festival 2008 - (1)

The official selection for the 61st edition of the Cannes Film Festival (May 14-25) was unveiled on Wednesday April 23. Total of 22 films will be competing for the most prestigious award given out at Cannes; the Palme d'Or ("Golden Palm") for the best film.

The 61st edition of the super-charged 12-day movie marathon has a strong South American flavor, with two Argentinean and two Brazilian films in the main competition lineup. Also it seems to have many films talk about political and social issues.

The opening will be the apocalyptic 'Blindness'. Will Lawrence talks to its director, Fernando Meirelles. It is a scene of total mayhem in the centre of São Paulo, Brazil's largest city. Fires burn in abandoned oil drums, while crowds of ragged refugees - some clinging onto their few possessions, others aimless - zigzag across the litter-strewn streets, which are ringed by military barricades and barbed wire. Packs of dogs prowl through the garbage, sniffing at the debris before descending on a prone human figure, presumably a corpse, and feasting.

Fernando Meirelles, 52, director of the Oscar-nominated crime drama City of God and the Oscar-winning thriller The Constant Gardener. He is a native of São Paulo and is using parts of the city for his latest film, Blindness, an adaptation of the novel by the Nobel Prize-winning José Saramago. The film stars Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo.

"There are so many ways to understand this story," begins Meirelles as the scene comes to an end and the poor soul playing the corpse is fitted with extra packs of treats to attract the dogs. "First there's the idea of the fragility of civilisation. Just look at this." His arm sweeps out, signalling the chaos that he has unleashed on the streets of his city. "We think civilisation is so solid, but take just one thing away and it all collapses."

The one thing Meirelles and Saramago have taken from humankind - as the title Blindness may suggest - is the ability to see. Saramago's 1995 novel is a harrowing allegory set in an unnamed city where people are gradually, and without apparent reason, robbed of their sight.

The book focuses on a group of the afflicted who are drawn together and, with the government baffled by the problem, sent away to an asylum and placed under heavy guard. More and more inmates arrive until it becomes apparent that the epidemic has swept the world. The whole planet has gone blind, with one exception: one of the primary characters is a doctor (Ruffalo) and his wife (Moore) has retained her sight, guiding the unnamed characters during their confinement and leading their escape into the chaos of the world outside, where gangs of sightless children attack sightless old men, and dogs savage the bodies of the dead and dying.

"It's such a powerful story," says Meirelles, "and actually we have to make the film a little lighter than the book; there is some humour in there, but it's very dark, especially when they are all locked in the asylum. We talk about the same things in the film, the same story, but to shoot it exactly as it was written would be too unbearable to watch. In literature it is easier to go really deep, but if you see it, in can be too much."

Saramago's book is both contemporary and timeless, tackling the human condition head on. "There's also a bit of feminism in the story, because it is the women that do everything," laughs Meirelles. "The men are almost useless. It is the women with their love and their caring nature who make everything better. And some people also see the political aspects of the story and that the only way to build a society is to give up your personal values and work together for the community.

"With everyone blinded and drawn to the same level, they must kill the ego and work together. That's what happens in the asylum. It become a nightmare because each person is only trying to get food for themselves and to survive, but we have this group of people that is working together, like a family, and they are the only ones who can get out and get a better life. It's an allegory."

Addiction - Adrenaline, Stress and You - R U Workaholic?

Below has excerpted from
http://www.doctorshealthsupply.com/homeopath/adrenaline_and_stress.htm

The Hidden Link Between Adrenaline and Stress

what we have not heard clearly enough is that the essence of stress damage lies not so much in the problems of life, but in our attitude toward time and the excitement and pleasure we derive from interesting challenges and demanding schedules. The stress response is a natural form of arousal. In moderation, it is healthy--even necessary. But continuous over arousal leads to stress disease--and it doesn't matter whether this is the consequence of overwork, unhappiness, or plain, old-fashioned excitement.
Such long-term over arousal and excessive flow of those hormones associated with stress will eventually lead to physiological and psychological distress, and the leader among these hormones is adrenaline. Recent research has made it very clear that hyper arousal of the adrenal system is the essential causative factor in coronary and artery disease, the most serious form of stress damage . . .

HOW STRESS DOES ITS DAMAGE

How does the heart know what to do? It has no direct connection to the nervous system to receive signals from the brain. . . . Rather, it is designed to respond to signals from the complex chemical messengers that circulate in the blood--including the adrenaline hormones. Unfortunately, it is this sensitivity to chemical messengers, the genius of the heart's operations, that carries with it risks as well as advantages. Over a period of time, when out of balance, these same messengers can literally destroy the heart. . . .
Besides the mobilizing of our body for flight, the chronic increased flow of adrenaline produces a number of other less helpful and more serious consequences.

These include:
An increase in the production of blood cholesterol
A narrowing of the capillaries and other blood vessels that can shut down the blood supply to the heart muscle.
A decrease in the body's ability to remove cholesterol
An increase in the blood's tendency to clot
An increase in the depositing of plaque on the walls of the arteries
In short bursts, elevated adrenaline is not damaging or dangerous. In fact, that is what it is designed to do. But when sustained at high levels over a period of time, it can be very harmful. Adrenaline arousal can be compared to revving up a car engine, then leaving it to idle at high speed. . . .The most serious effect of elevated adrenaline, when persistent and unrelenting, is its damage to the heart and arteries.

A HURRY SICKNESS
THE TYPE-A PERSONALITY

The idea that there is a particular type of personality that is more prone to experience distress is not widely accepted although, of course, it must be recognized that not everybody can be put into a simple two-box category. In fact, most people are really a mixture of many characteristics. But for our purposes, it can be helpful to think of ourselves as fitting into one category or the other. No doubt you have heard many references to these personality categories--'Type A' and 'Type B' . . .

TYPE-A BEHAVIOR PATTERN TEST:

Read each question carefully and give yourself a score according to the following descriptions:

Score Description
0 This statement does not apply to me
1 It sometimes applies to me (less than once a month)
2 It often applies to me (more than once a month)

Statement
1. I feel like there isn't enough time in each day to do all the things I need to do. _____
2. I tend to speak faster than other people, even finishing their sentences for them. _____
3. My spouse or friends say, or I believe, that I eat too quickly. _____
4. I would rather win than lose a game. _____
5. I am very competitive in work, sports, or games. _____
6. I tend to be bossy and dominate others. _____
7. I prefer to lead rather than follow. _____
8. I feel pressed for time even when I am not doing something important. _____
9. I become impatient when I have to wait for something or when interrupted. _____
10. I tend to make decisions quickly, even impulsively. _____
11. I take on more than I can accomplish. _____
12. I become irritable more often than most other people. _____

Now total your score: _____

ANALYZING YOUR SCORE

* If your total score is less than 5, you are definitely not a Type-A person. You may occasionally slip into Type-A behavior, but not often enough for it to be a problem.

* From 6 to 10, you are beginning to show occasional signs of Type-A behavior. You may have a temporary irritation in your life or some aspect of your work is getting to you. You are approaching the Type A behavior pattern as you get nearer the upper end of this score. You may be a mixture of Type A and Type B.

* From 11 to 16, you are definitely a Type-A person. At the higher end of this score, you are becoming prone to excessive adrenaline recruitment and are likely to be evidencing signs of distress.

* Above 17, not only are you a Type-A person but you are living dangerously. Life may be miserable for you but it can also be very exciting. Either way, you are prone to develop cardiovascular deterioration if you do not change your behavior pattern. If you smoke or have any of the other high risk factors (diabetes, high blood pressure, or family history of heart disease), I advise you to seek professional help.

THE PENALTY FOR TYPE-A TENDENCIES

There are some good things about being a Type-A person. People with this personality type accomplish a lot. They get things done. And often their sense of hurry comes from caring deeply about and feeling responsible for the world around them.
But there is a physical penalty to be paid for being a predominantly Type-A person. Type-A people recruit very much more adrenaline than Type B. And research has shown that Type-A men have three times the incidence of heart disease as Type-B men. This is rapidly becoming true of women, also, as they move into more competitive lifestyles...
What is important to remember is that the stress hormones, including adrenaline, are always found in excessive amounts in these individuals. Type-A behavior patterns and higher levels of adrenaline are lifelong partners . . .

HURRY SICKNESS IS A TWENTIETH-CENTURY DISEASE

A large part of the damage we experience in our lives is caused by 'hurry sickness.' It comes from our urge to live and do everything in haste. As a consequence, we live at a pace too fast for our bodies. This hurried lifestyle creates a persistent internal state of emergency that keeps our stress hormones elevated . . .
Type-A persons constantly struggle against time. They hate to 'waste time' eating, having a haircut, or sitting in the park. They hate waiting in line and are always active, restless, moving, doing things. And Type-A people pay for their sense of time urgency in increased circulation of adrenaline and consequent stress damage.
There's another aspect to hurry sickness that transcends basic tendencies and personality types. Hurriedness has become a distinguishing characteristic of the age we live in. Life has quite literally 'speeded up' . . . Type A's and B's alike are coming under the influence of a technologically accelerating world. They are constantly being bombarded by demands to do more and more . . . faster and faster. Expanding opportunities and enhanced communication also mean constant stimulation and demand . . .

ARE YOU AN ADRENALINE ADDICT?

It is actually possible for us to become addicted to our own adrenaline! We can get hooked on the pleasurable 'high' that comes from the working of the body's own defense system! Both psychological dependence on the excitement of adrenaline arousal, as well as physical addiction to the hormone, can be involved. And this addiction can powerfully control our actions and emotions.

Workaholism is Adrenaline Addiction!!!

2006 My summer in Korea

These are Korean Rice Cakes. It's called 'Ddeok.' These Korean sweet cake made with glutinous rice flour (also known as sweet rice or Chapssal), by steaming. Normal rice flour can be used for some kinds of Ddeok. There are hundreds of different kinds of Ddeok eaten year round. In Korea it is customary to eat Ddeok guk (Ddeok soup) on New Year's Day and sweet Ddeok at weddings and on birthdays. It is often considered a celebratory food and can range from rather elaborate versions with nuts and fruits down to the plain-flavored Ddeok used in home cooking.

There is a small area called 'Insa-Dong', where you can find the very traditional part of Korea. It's not just a place for old and traditional things, but it's more like mix of modern and tradition. There are lots of art galleries and exhibitions and also cafes and restaurants. The most unique character of this area is that all the signs must be in Korean. You cannot use other language on your shop sign or whatever. It was the effort to preserve and respect the Korean culture in the time of invasive western culture flood. Despite its huge resistance in the beginning, even the Starbucks sign is in Korean.

This was a Korean restaurant located about 1 hour away from Seoul. The restaurant used a old and traditional Korean house as its venue. In here, you can enjoy all the delicious and healthy Korean food and also take a time to stroll along the stone blocks and feel the serenity of beautiful nature.