by Fern Shaw | Aug 18, 2014 | Health and Hydration
I’m usually not one for bemoaning the passing of celebrities and the subsequent hot topic of the day to do with the manner of their passing that insidiously rages through social media thereafter.
Even though blogging is very much part of social media, I like to think that I still have the common sense I developed as a maturing adult – this being about 15 minutes ago. Mentioned common sense runs along the lines of, ‘Never met the person; their actions and behaviour have little or no bearing on my life and if they choose to sway back and forth on a wrecking ball, more power (aha aha) to them’.
On occasion though, when certain famous people die, I find that it does affect me. Case in point is the death this week of Robin Williams.
I’ve always thought that Robin Williams is funny. Not just funny, but no-holds barred, laugh-out loud, clever funny. When I looked a list of the movies that he was in, it’s actually quite daunting how prolific his career has been. Out of those numerous movies, I’ve probably seen a good 60% of them. More than that, I constantly quote his lines in my everyday life, because I think they’re that funny, that clever or that they spark something in me whether it’s to do with word association or ‘idea’ association. Add to this his physical humour and I just think he’s the bomb.
From: ‘Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary’, from Dead Poet’s Society; ‘…what’s the 0 stand for? Oh my God, it’s early!’ of Good Morning, Vietnam through to ‘… Martha Graham! Martha Graham! Martha Graham! …’ from The Birdcage to his genius ad-libbing in just about every single public performance, his effect on me has been quite something.
I also remember from many of his performances how much he used to sweat. I was going to politely say perspire, but that would just be untrue – Robin Williams sweated. I remember thinking that he reminded me of a rather cuddly bear – but not a bear that you’d pick a fight with. Ever.
I think it made me realise too why you would always see stand-up comedians chugging water on stage. Bright, hot stage lights, level of nervousness keeping you at the precipice of flight mode, throat drying out as you frenetically charge through your act – if I really think about, I’m surprised said comedians didn’t have a whole bank of water coolers behind them! Possibly because, if their gig wasn’t going well they could smash the water coolers as part of their act? Hmmm.
Anyhow, let me not get too far off the beaten path. All I really meant to say was, ’Thank you, Robin Williams, very much. For all that you gave, all that you were and your great, big, fat life’.
“If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates,” host James Lipton asks.
Robin responds, “If Heaven exists, to know that there’s laughter. That’d be a great thing.”
by Fern Shaw | Aug 4, 2014 | Water, water cooler
This is an absolutely 100% true story. I’m still a bit traumatised, so I’ve been guzzling water for the past hour or so in order to calm down enough to write this.
I’m beginning to wonder about karma; destiny; poetic justice – all those good? things that defy normal day-to-day occurrences.
Allow me to explain:
My poor, long serving car went in for what Round 32 in seems to be an endless series of repairs this past week. The mechanic decided to loan me his car as I needed to get around while he’s effecting repairs.
During the week, I had replied to an e-mail from my mum, where she made mention of her car being rear-ended by a chap driving a Lexus. My response, based mostly on concern, was that she seemed to not have the best luck when it came to having accidents (and she’s had some humdingers in her time).
I’ve always prided myself on being able to drive just about anything – this includes, with absolutely zero experience, a big lorry for the first time ever, down the M5 when I was working on a farm some years ago – without incident. I also have a rather overdeveloped sense of responsibility when it comes to driving other people’s cars – I take exceptional care of other people’s belongings as I would like them to take of mine.
Add to this, the fact that I have had, in 30 years of driving, a total of 1 accident that I caused. It involved a Fiat Mira Fiora, a Greek style toga made out of a bedsheet and a very slow release clutch on a steep hill. ‘nuff said. Anyhow, let’s return to the story.
So, I’m tootling along in the loan car; which is easy peasy as it’s the same make as mine – doing good I might add – buying tinned food to donate to a charity that’s holding an indoor market in the area. I buy the tinned food, get into said car, check behind me to my left for oncoming traffic and people walking behind me and slowly reverse out, smack bang into an Audi which has parked illegally behind me. Loan car’s bumper 1 – Audi bumper 0. It honestly felt like I’d collided with soft tin. Huge dent in the Audi’s bumper. A man the size of a caber tossing Highlander (and I’m not kidding) gets out of the Audi. Things went pretty pear shaped from there.
I then had to ‘phone the friendly mechanic and explain to him that I’d just dinged his car.
So that’s my sad story. It’s left me wondering. Was it because I’d cautioned my mum about her bad luck? Because I’d loaned a car instead of just patiently (not my strong suit) waiting for my car to be returned?
Whatever the reason, I’m not the happiest camper at the moment. Silver lining? Hmm, I’ll have a good story to tell at the water cooler when I get in on Monday.
by Fern Shaw | Aug 4, 2014 | Health and Hydration
Last week was the intro. to the rather clever *pointing above* – this week I present *pointing above to the end of the heading*.
We kick off with something rather serious and molto importante:
- 1) Stay out of the sun between the hours of 10am and 3pm. The hottest part of the day during the summer is the most damaging time. Don’t stay out in the sun for long periods of time around the hottest hours; the longer you’re outside, the longer your skin is exposed to the radiation. Get your exercise and activities done in the earlier, cooler hours, or in the later, cooler hours of the day.
- 2) Note that some latitudes advise staying out of the sun between 11am and 4pm. Know what is advised for you particular location and err on the side of being cautious either side as well as during the hours suggested.
- 3) Avoid spraying perfume on your skin in the sun. The psoralens in perfume (especially in citrus perfumes) can permanently stain your skin when they react with the sun. During the summertime, it is recommended that you spritz your clothes with your fragrance rather than your skin.
- 4) Yogurt is a healthy addition to your diet; just be sure it’s natural and not chock-a-block full of sugar. I’ve recently converted to full fat plain yogurt (thanks Mum!) and if nothing else, it certainly helps my digestion.
- 5) No-fat or low-fat diets will cause your skin to dry, wrinkle and age. You need essential fats in your diet to keep your skin moist and supple. The answer is to exclude unhealthy fats (hydrogenated, trans fats, and heat or light damaged fats) from your diet but to keep using healthy fats daily. Nuts and seeds and fresh fish are excellent sources of good fats.
So there you have it, some good advice to keep you hydrated externally (and internally) throughout summer.
I can’t resist, though, reverting back to type and suggesting that, while you practise as above, it can only be a good thing to drink sufficient water too. Enjoy summer folks!
by Fern Shaw | Aug 4, 2014 | Health and Hydration, Water
Humans and animals have always had a rather tempestuous relationship. Everyone has their own belief system about this relationship, mine is pretty simple. I believe that we humanoids are by our mere presence obligated to look after animals. They are pretty magnificent creatures and have every right to enjoy their existence on this Earth. But, then, that’s just me.
Animals have fascinated me since I was the sprog of sprogs. Wild animals especially. Their capabilities have always astounded me, whether it’s an ant that can carry 100x its body weight or how about a hummingbird’s wings that can beat at an astonishing 200 times per second!
So, this led me to wonder – which animals are the heavyweights – hyuk hyuk – when it comes to water storage or the ability to last the longest without water?
As one would imagine, the camel is usually the animal that comes to mind. What is a little surprising though, is that the beautiful giraffe – or ‘jarfie’ as my family calls it – and the teensy kangaroo rat can go as long as the camel, if not longer, without slaking their thirst.
Camels
Camels have humps on their back filled with fatty tissue, not water. But one gram of fat is equivalent to one gram of water when metabolised. Storing fat in their humps, instead of having the fat distributed evenly throughout their entire body, allows the camel to keep cool. Otherwise, the overall body fat would act as insulation and cause extreme heat within the camel’s body. The fatty tissue in the hump is a source of energy and water that the camel uses when needed.
They rehydrate faster than any other mammal, able to gulp down 113 litres of water in just 13 minutes.
Giraffes
Giraffes can go longer periods of time without drinking water than a camel. Giraffes get most of their water intake from plant sources. Acacia leaves are the main plant food source for giraffes. They only drink water once every few days. Their bodies do not have resources to store water. However, their plant diet is plentiful and provides a large portion of their water intake
Growing up to 18 feet in height and weighing up to two tons, these gentle vegetarians need to eat around 34 kilograms of leaves and fruit per day.
Due to the high water content in the food they eat, giraffes have the ability to go weeks without drinking water – though when they do, they do it in a big way, guzzling up to 45 litres at a time.
Kangaroo Rats
In terms of endurance, kangaroo rats blow everybody else out of the water. Not that they need to be in the water either. Kangaroo rats drink water rarely. They live in arid environments and are able to metabolise water from their food, which consists primarily of seeds.
‘Roo-rats can go without water for so long because their bodies have evolved to conserve it. For example, most species of kangaroo rats have no sweat glands. Kangaroo rats may take their eschewing of water a little bit far, however, when you consider their bathing habits. In what may be the least refreshing bath known to the animal kingdom, kangaroo rats clean themselves by rolling in the dust.
by Fern Shaw | Aug 4, 2014 | Water, water cooler, Water Coolers
What I know about maths could fit on one hand, both hands, at a stretch.
The first one that boggles my mind is the Fibonacci numbers that are Nature’s numbering system.
Another example is from The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson. In it, there’s mention made of Fermat’s Last Theorem, which Lisbeth Salander attacks with relish. It’s round about here that my grey matter literally freezes and I’m not joking – I can almost feel my brain kick into neutral. There’s actually little wonder that I spend so much time at the water cooler, my brain grinds to a halt so often that I need to drink lots of water to lubricate it to start functioning again!
Having said this, I do believe that the Fibonacci numbers do kind of, sort of, make sense. There’s symmetry in there that appeals to my rather particular warped logic. All of these equations point to connections that are just there or have been there all along if we just choose to open ourselves up to this magic.
Here’s why I think this:
I’m history mad. When it comes to my forefathers, colour me fascinated. Racial memory, call it what you will, whenever I hear about certain ancient tribes, something resonates within me. One particular example of this is the Vikings. I watch a series called Vikings. I see how fierce they were but also discover that they were also interested in farming and fertile earth and all good things. I see some of their rituals which are, to put it politely, rather brutal.
Not one week later, I start watching another series, Shetland and in the second episode, it shows a centuries old Scottish festival called, wait for it, Up Helly Aa. Part of the festival involves the dragging of a galley through the streets of various towns, culminating in lit torches being thrown into the galley, setting it alight and the galley being consumed in fire. (Early galleys were made from a light timber frame covered with canvas or alternatively old boats, whose useful life afloat was over, were converted and subsequently sent to Valhalla). The festival seems to have derived from the Norse culture, some of whom invaded the Shetlands in the 12th century. We all know by now my wish to have a Viking burial, see Tornados are water, who knew? Sometime in all of this, I watched another program and there was mention made of Freya, the Norse goddess of love and fertility, who I only learnt about while watching Vikings.
So now it seems that there is this symmetry and connectivity in choices that I’ve made – okay, watching Vikings was very much a conscious decision, but I had no clue that Shetland would have all the ancient Viking elements in it nor that they would be burning galleys at festivals or that Freya is mentioned on more than one occasion all of a sardine.
I’m going to leave this with you to ponder over. My brain hurts and I need to drink water.
