According to the latest study, which was published in January in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise:

exercising strenuously in the afternoon, depriving yourself of carbohydrates afterward, training gently the next morning and then swallowing a mound of pancakes might be a useful way to improve endurance and performance. The regimen seemed to have increased the athletes’ ability to access fat as muscle fuel, she said, allowing them to exercise harder during the workouts than the control group and gain additional fitness and speed.


Banksy Art
Banksy Art: "I can’t believe you morons actually buy this shit."

Banksy mocked Sotheby's and its clients in one work showing a packed sales room bidding for the framed words "I can't believe you morons actually buy this shit".

 

 

 

 


Word of the Week
UserpicPerlen vor die Säue werfen
Posted by Sasha

Word of the Day:

Perlen vor die Säue werfen

Worttrennung:

Per·len vor die Säue wer·fen

Aussprache:

IPA: [ˈpɛʁlən foːɐ̯ diː ˈzɔɪ̯ə ˈvɛʁfn̩], [ˈpɛʁlən foːɐ̯ diː ˈzɔɪ̯ə ˈvɛʁfm̩]
Hörbeispiele: Lautsprecherbild Perlen vor die Säue werfen (Info), —

Bedeutungen:

[1] umgangssprachlich: demjenigen etwas (Gutes, Edles, Schönes) bieten, der dies nicht zu schätzen weiß

Banksy Mural at School

Street artist Banksy left a surprise "present" at school in Bristol. Head teacher has no plans to sell the mural and thinks it is a wonderful addition.


A fascinating new study reveals that different cultures view smiles differently. Be careful to not smile in Russia as you will be viewed as a village idiot.

Smiles are highly diverse in their types and in their possible meanings. They are used to communicate a range of different psychological signals, including positive emotions, social intentions, or a person’s social status (Matsumoto and Willingham 2009). Past research has offered a number of distinctions among smiles. The utility of one of the most popular distinctions, viz. Duchenne versus non-Duchenne smiles (Duchenne1862), has been recently questioned because there is evidence that the use of the Duchenne marker of a ‘true’ smile is not universal, but rather limited to certain cultures (Abe et al. 2002; Thibault et al. 2012). In their simulation of smiles model, Niedenthal et nl. (2010) focus on the perception of smiles and suggest that the distinction between Duchenne and non-Duchenne smiles may be largely superseded by a distinction based on the functions of smiles, which may be derived from (and mapped onto) identifiable brain systems that represent different meanings of smiling.

There is also a direct correlation between countries high in corruption and general view of the smiles.


Yesterday, according to Gizmodo, Google was awarded a patent that proposes placing a strong adhesive on the hood of its autonomous cars. This way, pedestrians or cyclists who happen to find themselves being struck by a Googlemobile would be protected from what’s called “secondary impact.” This is the part of a crash when a person is thrown back off the moving vehicle, usually hitting the roof of the car, the hard surface of the street, or another car. It’s also the part that often causes the most serious injuries.


Photography
UserpicPictures of Perestroika
Posted by Moxietype
Man With A Clock
Man With A Clock, Triva Group
Boy In A Tub
Boy Inside A Bath, Triva Group
Lunch Time
Lunch Time
Empty Store Shelves
Empty Shelves
Perestroika

The photographs - some of them shown here - were taken by Siberians Vladimir Vorobyev, Vladimir Sokolayev and Alexander Trofimov who worked in the late 1970s - the era of Soviert leader Leonid Brezhnev - Novokuznetsk Metallurgy Plant. 

The trio called their group TRIVA, and while they had no written manifesto for their work, they had a definite aim: it was one that the authorities found it hard to cope with.


A fun read at The Guardian on the latest Gwyneth's sex advice:

But Goop sex isn’t all joyless health fears and unnecessary vegan treasure hunts. There is also the option of “background sensuality”, a concept that would have the scribes of the Kama Sutra nodding in awe at its daring. It involves allowing your own hair to brush your shoulder, and appreciating your shirt. “If you move your shoulder and allow yourself to feel the rub of your shirt on your skin, or the brushing of your hair against your neck, those sensations are innately sensual, and pleasure that can be accessed any time,” exults one of the tantric specialists on Gwyneth’s speed-dial. Imagine how many of us, previously completely numb, can be freed by this. Closing our eyes, suddenly becoming aware of the rasp of M&S cotton on elbow – and boom, we’re teetering on the precipice of a full body meltdown.

Don’t get too giddy, through, as Goop’s advice on “the elusive orgasm”, from a male doctor, takes us through his lengthy story of cancerous testicles before romping through abuse issues, medication and trauma. If you still feel turned on after this gloomy essay, you may qualify for a place in sex-addict rehab.

Gwyneth cheers us up, though, with a shopping section on Goop-approved sex toys, including the $535 (£295) Agent Provocateur cat whip (useful for pounding mung beans into a fermented paste) and a $15,000 gold dildo that might be handy if you tire of grinding wellbeing-friendly spices with an ordinary pestle and mortar.


Word of the Week
UserpicErhalten
Posted by Sasha

Ich habe ein Nachricht erhalten.

Wir haben Ihre Nachricht erhalten und werden diese umgehend bearbeiten.

Wir haben Ihre Nachricht erhalten und werden sie schnellst möglichst bearbeiten.

Ich habe die Nachricht zur Bestätigung der Eröffnung meines Schweizer Bankkontos erhalten und danke Ihnen dafür.


With declining print sales and in search of new revenues The New York Times will begin selling ingredients for recipes from its NYT Cooking website. The New York Times is partnering with meal-delivery startup Chef’d, which will send the ingredients to readers within 48 hours. The Times and Chef’d will split the revenues from the sales.


Running Foxes
Photographed in Biei, Hokkaido, Japan.

The National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest is now underway, and entries will be accepted until the end of the month, May 27, 2016. Make sure to check out some early submissions.


Ruhig is the corresponding adjective to the German noun die Ruhe, which itself has its origins in the Germanic rowo. Relatives of rowo can be found in pretty much all other Germanic languages … except English. For some reason all English words forRuhe come from Latin… silence, quietness, peace, tranquility, calmness… even rest can be explained via Latin.

Here some examples with ruhig as quiet.

  • Sei ruhig!
  • Ich gehe in ein ruhiges Café.
  • Thomas ist im Kurs immer sehr ruhig.

Read the rest of this story »


New York, Offbeat
UserpicSunroom Design Decoration
Posted by Sasha

Sunroom Design Idea

Bamboo shades and Portugese tiles.


Photography
UserpicMagnolia Tree on Princeton Campus
Posted by Sasha
Magnolia tree on Princeton campus
Magnolia Tree. Princeton University, March 31st

Rolleiflex 2.8F, Zeiss Planar 80mm


You may hear the phrase “electronic music” and think of superstar dubstep DJs in funny helmets at beachside celebrity parties. Alternately, you may think of the mercurial compositions of Karlheinz Stockhausen, the musique concrete of Pierre Henry, or the otherworldly experimentalism of François Bayle. If you’re in that latter camp of music nerd, then this post may bring you very glad tidings indeed. Ubuweb—that stalwart repository of all things 20th-century avant-garde—now hosts an extraordinary compilation: the 476-song History of Electronic/Electroacoustic Music, originally a 62 CD set.

Visit the website to learn more


Offbeat
UserpicHow to Make Fire with a Lemon
Posted by Sasha

Get ready to make fire with a lemon, toilet paper, steel wool and some nails… Safety first.


In a recent randomized placebo-controlled trial of 17 heavy-drinking American men, for example, they found that taking kudzu cut alcohol consumption by between 34% and 57%.

But before you rush out to buy kudzu extract, there's a sting in this particular tale. Our test, and those carried out in the US, involved each person taking 500mg of the active ingredient. But we looked hard and we couldn't find any brands of kudzu available in the UK that have the government's THR mark, which guarantees that they actually contain what they say on the label.

Most problem drinkers eat badly and generally lack sufficient levels of vitamins (particularly B and C) and amino acids (the building blocks of protein). Excessive alcohol itself is toxic. The vitamins, herbs, and other supplements in our list can restore depleted nutrients and also aid in dealing with the effects of withdrawing from alcohol.

Recovering alcoholics may confuse feelings of hunger for alcoholic cravings and need encouragement to return to normal dietary patterns. A healthy diet for recovery includes vitamin-rich protein, complex carbohydrate and high-fiber foods. Vitamin supplements aid in restoring proper nourishment.

Vitamin B Depletion

The most common deficiencies from alcoholism include thiamine, pyridoxine and folic acid, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Thiamine, a B vitamin found in meat, grains and yeast, helps metabolize carbohydrates. Fish, liver, cereals and yeast contain pyridoxine, or vitamin B-6. Green vegetables, fruit and liver contain folic acid, also a B vitamin. B vitamin foods also include poultry, nuts, brown rice and dairy products. Broccoli, asparagus, potatoes, bananas, apricots and figs contain B vitamins.


L-glutamine

500-1,000 mg L-glutamine twice a day between meals

Vitamin C

1,000 mg 3 times a day

Milk Thistle

120-175 mg 3 times a day between meals

Chromium

200 mcg twice a day

Kudzu

The Chinese Pharmacopoeia states that an effective dose of dried kudzu root is 9-15g taken prior to drinking (1 hour minimum) if you are trying to cut down on your drinking. Take 10g, 3 times a day if you are abstaining from alcohol.

Kudzu root compounds can affect the same neurotransmitters (including serotonin, GABA, and glutamate) as alcohol consumption can.

According to A Holistic Approach to Health in Early Recovery article:

In double-blind research, alcoholics treated with DLPA (D, L-phenylalanine) combined with L-tyrosine, L-glutamine, prescription L-tryptophan, plus a multivitamin, had reduced withdrawal symptoms and decreased stress. One study suggests that kudzu, used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat alcohol abuse, might help reduce cravings and the patients that I’ve treated with it respond with fewer cravings [1].

1). Benlhabib, et al. “Kudzu root extract suppresses voluntary alcohol intake and alcohol withdrawal symptoms in P rats receiving free access to water and alcohol.” J Med Food. 2004 Summer; 7 (2): 168-179.


Offbeat
UserpicExercise and the Brain
Posted by Sasha

According to thethe new study, which was published this month in the Journal of Physiology, researchers at the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland found that:

Those rats that had jogged on wheels showed robust levels of neurogenesis. Their hippocampal tissue teemed with new neurons, far more than in the brains of the sedentary animals. The greater the distance that a runner had covered during the experiment, the more new cells its brain now contained.

There were far fewer new neurons in the brains of the animals that had completed high-intensity interval training. They showed somewhat higher amounts than in the sedentary animals but far less than in the distance runners.

And the weight-training rats, although they were much stronger at the end of the experiment than they had been at the start, showed no discernible augmentation of neurogenesis. Their hippocampal tissue looked just like that of the animals that had not exercised at all.

Read full article at The New York Times


Photography
UserpicPhotographers Banned in the USSR
Posted by Sasha
Man With A Clock
Electrician

Banned by the KGB in the USSR, group of photographers, TRIVA.

 


Offbeat
UserpicAmazon AWS Has You Covered
Posted by Sasha

Amazon’s web services arm has updated its terms of service with a special clause that kicks in in the event of corpses consuming human flesh and the like fall of civilisation.

Clause 57.10 of the AWS terms of service states: “This restriction will not apply in the event of the occurrence (certified by the United States Centers for Disease Control or successor body) of a widespread viral infection transmitted via bites or contact with bodily fluids that causes human corpses to reanimate and seek to consume living human flesh, blood, brain or nerve tissue and is likely to result in the fall of organised civilisation.”