Tag Archives: love

Marriage Proposals While Orbiting Moon By 2022

February 4, 2021 The Silo Leave a comment

Starting in 2022 it will be possible to ask for the beloved’s hand in marriage while flying over the lunar surface to the sound of Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon”. The one-week interplanetary flight will be carried out using a self-contained and autonomous spacecraft allowing the two lovers to travel alone.

The ApoteoSurprise agency, a French marriage proposal planner specialized in creating extravagant proposals, introduces a whole new service for 145 million dollars which will allow 21st century handsome princes to propose while flying around the Moon. Reaching for the Moon in the name of love is about to become a reality, the ultimate goal of the Paris-based agency being to “stage the craziest and most outstanding marriage proposal of the last 13.8 billion years“.

From March 2022, elite lovers will be able to book the all-included service on the site www.proposeinparis.com and five months later find themselves enjoying the following program:
– Twelve weeks of pre-requisite technical and physical training.
– Takeoff on D-Day from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
– Richard Strauss’s “Thus spoke Zarathustra, Op.30” (Theme from 2001 Space Odyssey) resounding in the two space tourists’ helmets when the first effects of weightlessness are felt.
– Arrival in lunar orbit, three days later, flying over the satellite’s grayish surface at only 200/300 kilometers altitude.

Earthrise Apollo 8 — The famous ‘Earthrise’ photo from Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon. The crew entered lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 1968. That evening, the astronauts held a live broadcast, showing pictures of the Earth and moon as seen from their spacecraft. photo:NASA

– Cut-off of all communication with Earth for around thirty minutes while the capsule flies over the dark side of the Moon.
– The Frank Sinatra song “Fly Me to the Moon” played halfway through the orbital flight, allowing the suitor to make his marriage proposal far from any form of human life (engagement ring secretly hidden in his spacesuit).
– A spectacular Earth-rise seen from behind the lunar craters and return trip of nearly four days before atmospheric re-entry and final touchdown.

The flight-plan followed by the space capsule will mirror that of the mythical Apollo 8 mission in 1968. The spacecraft, traveling at a speed of up to 38,000 km/h, will be equipped with eight cameras allowing the couple to immortalize their entry into the history of the conquest of space and the conquest… of love! For the Silo, Nicolas Garreau.

Culture

4 Ways To Fortify Your Marriage & Manage Your Differences

November 2, 2020 The Silo Leave a comment

Marriage is a complex, ever-evolving relationship that challenges partners to remain active in their efforts to maintain the relationship. While the components of a healthy relationship – passion, commitment and intimacy – may seem abstract, I have found specific actions through my practice as a clinical psychologist and marriage and family therapist that couples can do to prioritize their relationship and make it last.

• Continue or learn to communicate well. We all know to be polite to our bosses at work or strangers we meet, but it is often with those we are closest to that we slip into unhealthy habits of disrespect or inattentive listening. Most likely, at the point in your relationship when you plan to get married, you feel close and communicate well with your partner. It is over time that partners become busier, more distracted or simply make fewer efforts to communicate respectfully and openly with their spouses. But communication is a critical component to a healthy marriage. Couples must schedule time to check in with each other weekly. This “weekly check-in” may seem less necessary in the early years of marriage, but you will appreciate the habit later when work hours become longer and kids enter the picture. Use this time to coordinate schedules, check in about any issues in the relationship, and take time for each other away from technological distractions (that means no phones or TV in the background).

• Create a budget agreement. One of the most common areas of newlywed conflict is managing a joint budget. Even if you cohabitate with your partner before marriage, it is unlikely that you pooled all of your resources, and there is a lack of education about shared budgets. But money is important for your personal and relational well-being. Talk with your partner about your financial goals and concerns. Your spouse should be an equal partner in financial decisions. It is helpful for partners to regularly check in with each other about financial changes and decisions (you can easily incorporate this into your weekly check-ins). I advise couples to set a monthly personal budget – say $500 – that each partner can spend on individual expenses without consulting the other. If a partner wants to make a purchase that goes above the agreed-upon amount, he or she should wait until the other partner is consulted and agrees. By forming healthy spending habits and open communication about finances, partners can avoid one of the most common areas of marital conflict and feel closer as equals.

• Share responsibility for maintaining intimacy. In the early years of a relationship, intimacy seems to come naturally, so many partners take for granted the importance of actively maintaining a sense of emotional connection. This is not the responsibility of one partner, but a requirement that both spouses maintain an interest in fostering intimacy and keeping tabs on ways the other partner wishes to feel loved and cared for (because this does vary from person to person and over time). Date nights are a simple way to establish time to reconnect during a busy week, and they are essential in the early years of marriage and beyond. Take turns planning an evening for each other, and do not get trapped in thinking it has to be extravagant. If your lives are incredibly busy that week, find a time to relax at home or try to cook a new meal together.

Remember that human beings like novelty, so be willing to try new things together.

• Never be afraid to manage your differences. If I had to pick one major takeaway for couples considering marriage, it is to ensure that you are able to tell your partner when you are upset with him or her. That way your partner stands a chance of trying to fix the problem. Without this, resentment takes root and will continue to grow over time until it is addressed. This is so important because resentment often underlies any deficit in the previous points I made. It may sound basic, but it is often difficult for partners to place themselves in a vulnerable position where they can voice their concerns about the person closest to them. For couples to manage resentment, it is essential that partners create a safe conversational space where each can be heard and listen without feeling defensive or attacked. It is inevitable that you will have a different perspective than your partner at some point – whether regarding the family budget, division of household labor, or even the right way to show intimacy. Use any and every opportunity in the early years of marriage to practice talking with each other when one partner is upset with the other. Skills such as empathy, active listening and managing anger and frustration can be learned and need to be regularly utilized in couple conversation. For the Silo, Dr. Anne Brennan Malec.

Reviews

How To Win At Dating In Your Twenties

June 26, 2020 The Silo Leave a comment

Dating in your 20’s can be downright tough these days. A lot of times it’s all about “hooking up” or becoming “friends with benefits”, both which replace the notion of dating as a prelude to a long- term relationship or even saying “I do”. On paper, avoiding commitment seems like a good idea – remaining friends can protect you from the things that tear most couples apart – jealousy, cheating, heartbreak…but what happens when your ”hookup” becomes the one person you can’t live without? Set in the damp and drizzly neighborhoods of Portland, Oregon author Rebecca Kelley’s fun and quirky literary debut, Broken Homes and Gardens [Blake Slate Press] reveals what happens when you toe that fine line between friends and “more”.

Not exactly on-again, off-again, Malcolm and Joanna are in-again, out-again: in love, out of each other’s arms, in an awkward co-living arrangement, out of the country. Their unconventional relationship is the only way, Joanna says, to protect herself from the specter of commitment, which inevitably leads to heartbreak. A When Harry Met Sally meets Portlandia for the Millennial generation, Broken Homes and Gardens is an ode to friendship, lust, and the unrelenting pull of love. It will appeal to readers who love romance, quirky humor, and stories that offer a deeper and sometimes darker look into the risks we take for love.

“Throughout literary history, romantic involvements for young women have been treated as a problem with an easy answer: find the right man, marry him,” says Rebecca, “but I believe the period of early adulthood is not focused only on long-term coupling and knot tying. Many women I know – myself included – were involved in one or two long-term relationships in their 20’s. The struggles of dealing with their ending, and the aftermath, had an enormous impact on our development as women, and an even greater impact on future relationships.”

A contemporary tale full of wry humor, convincing dialogue, and emotional twists and tangles, Broken Homes and Gardens touches upon the following themes:

•     The often messy, complicated, confusing and passionate twenty-something love, both in literature and life
•     A unique look at the melting pot that is Portland, OR, known as the place where “young people go to retire”
•     The “Hookup” Culture: the troubles with 21st century dating and love
•     An honest look at “friends with benefits” – does it ever really work?
•     Broken homes – literally and figuratively

“My heroine in Broken Homes and Gardens undergoes some relationships in her late teens and early twenties that shake her belief in love so firmly that she decides marriage is not the answer to any of her problems,” adds Rebecca. “Joanna’s approach to her relationship with Malcolm isn’t optimistic but it’s rational. It’s understandable. And I think her story speaks to many of us.”

For the Silo, Erin MacDonald-Birnbaum.

Art

Nature’s Power Is Unleashed: Bold New Season At Boca Raton Museum Of Art

October 26, 2019 The Silo Leave a comment

The artist **Maren Hassinger** with children from Pearl City, the historic African American neighborhood where the majestic 100-year-old banyan tree, the “Tree of Knowledge,” still stands today. The children joined hundreds of community members to create together thousands of aerial branches from recycled newspapers for Hassinger’s new monumental installation.

Clifford Ross in the ocean surf, photographing hurricane waves.

The power of nature is unleashed with two timely, powerful exhibitions at the Boca Raton Museum of Art for the new season. Both of these original shows ─ Maren Hassinger: Tree of Knowledge and Clifford Ross: Waves ─ will kick off the museum’s 70th anniversary season (on view November 5th – March 1st).

The museum is presenting both exhibitions together because the two shows sound a clarion call for environmental awareness. These shows also remind viewers that the beauty of nature can still inspire us, despite the over-saturation of society by hand-held devices and screens.
The two exhibitions are presented side-by-side in adjoining galleries.

The artist Maren Hassinger with children from Pearl City, the historic African American neighborhood where the majestic 100-year-old banyan tree, the “Tree of Knowledge,” still stands today. The children joined hundreds of community members to create together thousands of aerial branches from recycled newspapers for Hassinger’s new monumental installation.Clifford Ross in the ocean surf, photographing hurricane waves.The Clifford Ross exhibition features a new approach to his monumental depictions of ocean waves that the artist captures during extreme weather. The result is the most comprehensive survey of his process ever shown in a museum.

Ross dramatically presents the monstrous power of the seas in his new exhibition at a crucial moment in time for our planet: the United Nations recently issued a major new report warning that the dangerous effects of climate change on our oceans is much worse than previously thought.
The new findings warn about warming oceans and damaged ecosystems.

Sea levels are rising faster than previously predicted, glaciers and ice sheets melting more rapidly than expected, shrinking the fisheries that feed millions. Watch the spectacular video of Clifford Ross in the ocean surf at vimeo.com/168830477 The new report warns that many cities around the world will experience annual flooding events by 2050 that previously occurred only once per century.

The world’s oceans have been warming since 1970 and have absorbed 90 percent of the planet’s excess heat, killing off vast stretches of coral reefs. Absorbing massive amounts of carbon has made the ocean more acidic and inhospitable to corals that millions of species depend on for survival.

“When I first began photographing these hurricane waves 30 years ago, most of us were unaware that global warming was seriously damaging our oceans,” said Clifford Ross. “Now, as I look back on my work, it takes on a whole new meaning.”

Above – the two artists headlining the new season: Clifford Ross and Maren Hassinger. MAREN HASSINGER: TREE OF KNOWLEDGERenowned sculptor and performance artist Maren Hassinger was commissioned by the museum for a residency that explored the staying power of nearby Pearl City, Boca Raton’s historic African-American neighborhood.

This is the largest installation that Hassinger has ever created in her long and celebrated career. Her new site-specific installation is based on Pearl City’s landmark, the “Tree of Knowledge.” This majestic, 100-year-old banyan tree still stands today and is protected by the Historic Preservation laws. The tree has served the people of Pearl City since the dawn of the 20th century, as a gathering place for sharing stories and communal spirit. The majestic 100-year-old banyan tree at Pearl City is the inspiration for Maren Hassinger’s Tree of Knowledge.(photo by Aylin Tito)
Hassinger vigorously engaged the public to recreate the tree’s aerial roots by gathering many groups over several months.

People from the community and visitors to the museum spent hundreds of hours twisting by hand thousands of recycled newspapers. Thousands of recycled newspapers were twisted to mimic the aerial roots of the banyan tree for Maren Hassinger’snew installation Tree of KnowledgeThese banyan “branches” will be suspended from the ceiling of the main gallery, representing the community-based “Creation-Stations.” The participants’ names will be incorporated into the monumental new work.

“I want visitors to the museum to think about the endurance of the tree and the endurance of the people who live beside it,” said Maren Hassinger. “I hope they realize it’s possible to build a world in which, like this installation, people work together side by side. Both the tree and the residents have inspired me with their mutual endurance.

In new reports, the United Nations warns that fires such as those causing de-forestation in the Amazon elevate concerns for the planet’s natural life support systems. This global call to action urges countries, companies and consumers to build a new relationship with nature.

The destruction of the world’s largest rainforest calls attention to the need to prevent ecosystems from declining to a point of no return, with dire consequences for humanity.

This year, the leading scientists of the world warned that civilization was in jeopardy due to forest clearance, over-usage of land, climate change, and pollution, putting a million species at risk of extinction.

Hassinger’s new installation is about nature as knowledge and about education. The twisted ropes of newspaper are made of words and stories.

“I hope the community and all of the visitors to the museum take a moment to think about the materials used in the project, which are not traditional art materials, and realize that this giant project was made not by artists, but by the public, working together,” adds Maren Hassinger.

“Both adults and children from the community welcomed my project with enthusiasm and proceeded to twist and twist to create the aerial branches. Their enthusiasm and spirit of camaraderie is uplifting and contagious,” says Hassinger.

Paper is a natural material, made from trees, and throughout the installation there will be fans that evoke the wind blowing gently through nature, as opposed to the hurricane winds of Ross’s work.Wind, the video by Maren Hassinger, will also be part of the exhibition. Watch the video trailer here vimeo.com/368811486

“Following the theme of nature for our new season at the Museum, how appropriate that Maren Hassinger would choose this legendary tree, known as the Tree of Knowledge, as the subject for her site-specific installation,” said Irvin Lippman, the executive director of the Boca Raton Museum of Art.
“From its inception to its installation, this has involved audiences of all ages from every corner of our community to participate in the making of the aerial roots from streams of recycled newspapers. Much in the manner of the Banyan tree, we are all connected to one another,” adds Irvin Lippman.

Hassinger’s new exhibition will also feature the installation Love – an experiential portal for visitors to walk through. As the entranceway into the museum’s main galleries, it will surround visitors with hundreds of recycled pink plastic bags that will completely cover all of the surfaces around them. The shopping bags are filled with the air of human breath, and contain human love notes inside. Love, by Maren Hassinger. This installation will serve as the entryway featuring hundreds of recycled pink plastic bags, surrounding visitors.The bags are filled with human breath and contain human love notes.Maren Hassinger (still from her video Pink Trash).

CLIFFORD ROSS: WAVES On the subject of Clifford Ross: Waves, Irvin Lippman adds: “It would seem obvious that a museum with a coastal address such as ours would naturally be ever fascinated by the subject of waves. The subject of Clifford’s photographs in this new exhibition, however, goes deeper into the unpredictable shapes of waves, as much about abstraction as realism.”
The effect of being engulfed in a room full of his work is profound, causing some viewers to claim they can actually hear the sound of the ocean waves although there is no sound component.
Ross is celebrated worldwide for his Hurricane Waves series, monumental images that were photographed by the artist during storms and while hurricanes were off-shore, while he was attached by a tether to his assistant who remained on land as Ross braved the ocean surf.

The size of these images is humbling. The angle of vision, from as low as possible, is calculated to inspire awe. The waves dominate us, framed or cropped; we feel their full force.
These waves invoke the power of wind as well as the power of water, the great cyclical forces of nature that generate energy.
This major survey includes his monumental hurricane wave images. The exhibition also features a site-specific installation of extremely large-scale prints on wood, as well as the artist’s Digital Waves – A computer generated video displayed on an LED wall that has been acquired by the museum for its collection.
Other sections include: the Horizons series (photographs that explore movement with the added power of obstruction); his Hurricane Scrolls; and the Grains series of bold abstract works exploring the purity of color.Clifford Ross, Hurricane LXIII, 2009. Archival pigment print.“The pure abstraction of the Grains series is an antidote to the hurricane, a space to calm down. A quiet end to this stormy story where we can recompose our thoughts,” said Clifford Ross.
While it explores the limits of photography and abstraction, this exhibition is also a dramatic declaration about climate change.
“This exhibition is a thorough survey of my working methods,” said Ross. “an effort to show all the ways I have approached the subject of ocean waves. But there’s also a deeper theme of addressing climate change – unavoidable in this day and age.”A work from Clifford Ross’s Digital Waves series (computer generated videos displayed on an LED wall) has been acquired by the museum for its collection. “Somehow the apocalyptic quality of the show does not erase the basic lyricism and beauty that I see in nature. When I started out, wanting to celebrate nature by creating bodies of work that were an homage to the sublime, I didn’t understand that the images were also capturing evidence – evidence of our negative impact on nature.”

“The ferocity, the forms of these waves were partially due to global warming. This project has come full circle, as much a meditation on the medium of photography as it is a photographic reflection of our world,” said Clifford Ross.

Photo of artwork — Clifford Ross, ***Wood Wave LIV***, 2017. Triptych UV cured ink on maple veneer.
Caption for first photo at top: Clifford Ross, ***Hurricane LI***, 2009. Archival pigment print.

MORE ABOUT THE TWO ARTISTS: Above – the two artists headlining the new season: Maren Hassinger and Clifford Ross. Maren Hassinger has work held in the permanent collections of the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles; the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture in Baltimore; the California African American Museum in Los Angeles; Portland Museum of Art; The Studio Museum in Harlem; Williams College Art Museum in Williamstown; and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, among others.
Her many awards include: the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women’s Caucus for Art, Maryland Institute College of Art; Joan Mitchell Foundation Grants; Anonymous Was a Woman; and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, among others.
More about Maren Hassinger here.
The works of Clifford Ross are held in the collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, among others. He is the editor of the book Abstract Expressionism: Creators and Critics, and is Chairman of the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation. His work has been widely exhibited in the United States, Europe, Brazil and China.
He has lectured in numerous university and museum settings, including Princeton, Yale, and New York University. Ross is a member of the Yale School of Art Dean’s Advisory Board.
More about Clifford Ross here.

***Love***, by Maren Hassinger. This installation will serve as the entryway featuring hundreds of recycled pink plastic bags, surrounding visitors.The bags are filled with human breath and contain human love notes.

A work from Clifford Ross’s *Digital Waves* series (computer generated videos displayed on an LED wall) has been acquired by the museum for its collection.

Reviews

What We Learn From The Death Of A Spouse And How To Find Love Again

September 23, 2019 The Silo 2 Comments

He had no idea his life would change so significantly……For 31 years, Dennis and Hope Freed had a fulfilling marriage. They raised a family, built a home, and shared their dreams with one another and their two sons.

Then Hope got cancer, and their lives changed drastically overnight. She fought a long brave battle, and went through over 250 chemotherapy treatments, but on April 7, 2012, on an evening that heralded Passover in the United States and Easter in Israel, she died.

Dennis Freed’s beloved wife and best-trusted friend had gone, leaving him alone to figure out a future he’d never imagined. For the first year, he sorted through what society expected of a long-term caregiver and widower. Eventually, Dennis emerged from mourning, his heart ready for life’s next chapter. Is there love after marriage?

In Love, Loss and Awakening, Dennis Freed tells the story of how he began to go out with women again. He shares the reality of dating at age 50-plus—how he endured the awkward and hilarious encounters and embarrassments a man experiences when he hasn’t been on a date with a new woman for decades. Dennis’s book chronicles how one finds love after the death of a spouse. He describes his courageous and uplifting journey through sorrow, his search for new love, and his rediscovery of love and happiness.

Drawing upon the wisdom and personal experiences he acquired dating middle-aged women in all the wrong places, Freed takes the mystery out of the many lessons he learned. Dennis found out that as a widow or widower you can find love again, but it’s a difficult road. Love isn’t unique to the person you loved first. That love never fades, but your heart has room for more. You can get love back in your life. Your new love becomes a special love in its own right.

Here are just a few of the valuable insights:

Hole Heart/ Whole Heart

When you lose your best, most trusted friend, the hardships just begin. You are now alone. Your whole heart collapses to half its size. It transforms into a Hole Heart. The process of resurrecting it to wholeness is like Lego construction, built one little brick at a time. At first, bricks of varying shapes and sizes are sorted through and meticulously placed. Slowly they assume the weight and shape of your newly imagined Whole Heart.

Learn How to Be Physical, Affectionate, and Intimate

You spent thirty-plus years kissing no one but your spouse. If you spend your time worrying about the “what if” instead of enjoying the right now, it will rob you of your joy today. Sometimes you just have to learn something new, like all the kissing pleasures one never experienced. It’s not such a bad idea. Understand that it takes time and practice, and that each person you meet is unique. You’ll make hurtful intimacy mistakes just like a teenager. You’ll make stupid and inconsiderate mistakes. It’s a fact. Practice and learn so that when the right person comes along, you’ll be ready.

A Hundred Bottles of Beer on the Wall

You are going to date a lot of people. It is okay to be sad, mad, depressed, empty, lost after a date that isn’t perfect. Embrace the journey! Feel! Live it! Then get on to the next one so your failures don’t consume you. Have fun searching. Let your dating escapades become the target of jokes for your friends. Entertain them with style!

Love, Loss and Awakening

Dennis P. Freed

List $ 12.95US

88 pages, trade softcover, also available in ebook version

ISBN 978-0-9971916-1-5

Tolawaken Press

The death of a loved one is devastating, and can leave us questioning our new path. Will I ever want to find love again, and if so, how do I find it? What’s appropriate behavior for a widowed fifty-four-year-old? Should I explore dating sites? Meet women in bars? Rely on introductions from friends? The questions far outnumber the answers. In Love, Loss and Awakening, Dennis Freed shares his experiences and his journey to new love and the rediscovery of happiness.

For more information, visit www.LoveLossandAwakening.com

About the Author

Dennis P. Freed is a native of Brooklyn, New York, and, from age three, grew up in Oceanside, Long Island, where he later raised his family. He earned a BS in Civil Engineering at the University of Rhode Island. After a stint as a structural engineer, he entered the Construction Management and Development profession in New York City, where he has led teams to construct and develop more than sixty-five buildings. Also an associate professor at Pratt University in New York, he teaches Construction Management to architecture students.

What People Are Saying

“Love, Loss, and Awakening is an engaging story of how one man bounces back after losing the love of his life. It is an ode to the power of being in relationship, especially when faced with incredibly difficult and heartbreaking loss. And it is with much humor that Dennis Freed takes the reader on a journey to find what we are all looking for to be joyous and fulfilled in relationship.”

—Harville Hendrix, Ph.D., and Helen LaKelly Hunt, Ph.D., Creators of Imago Therapy and authors of Getting the Love You Want

“This is a story of digging deep after loss, finding that being with another is worth the risk, and staying open to lessons both human and Divine. At times an excruciating memoir of living with cancer, at others, a combination of ‘How To’ and, more useful, ‘How NOT To’ of middle-aged dating. Those who have loved deeply will be reminded of what they have or have lost; for others, it’s the promise of how good a relationship can be. The book has a happy ending, yet acknowledges that seeking love must always include a willingness to lose again.”

—Cynthia Wall, LCSW, author of The Courage to Trust: A Guide to Building Deep and Lasting Relationships

“Get ready to cry, laugh, cringe, and howl with wonder and delight as you go through Dennis Freed’s amazing experiences after the loss of his wife. He offers heartfelt real-life insights on how to cope with the despair and overcome the pain so you can face the world and find love and happiness anew.”

—Paul J. Krupin, author of Words People Love to Hear Simple Verbal Recipes for Making the People Around You Feel Good

Culture

Letters To The Silo, Life Is A Hassle So Tell Your Story

September 18, 2019 The Silo Leave a comment

> Dear Silo, It’s your life.
> You are the star of your own movie, it’s as important as that of the billionaire and the celebrity, just don’t expect anybody else to watch it or care about it.
>
> Social media is where you connect and share with your friends, if you’re doing it to brag and establish a career, you’re doing it wrong.
>
> Friends are everything. Build your crew. Share your ideas. Laugh. If your buds are unsatisfying, feel free to bring in new blood, or to graduate all together. But accolades without a posse to enjoy them are worthless.
>
> Money is irrelevant. Not if you don’t have enough, then that’s unfortunate and it’s all you can think about. But if you can pay for food, health and shelter, don’t nickel and dime, at the end of your life you’ll realize it’s just not worth it. Give a few extra percentage points as a tip. Lend money and don’t ask for it back. Pay the fee to put your bag underneath the plane as opposed to schlepping it on board. Being cheap only hurts yourself.
>
> You’re your own hero. The truth is everybody else is just as clueless as you. Don’t look up to anyone else, just build your confidence, and know that everybody’s unsure of the path.
>
> Having said that, everyone has expertise in different areas, it’s the nature of life. You’ll find if you share your dilemmas with others they’ll have loads of insight and will help you navigate what you find so challenging.
>
> Your experience is all that matters, and when you’re gone it evaporates with you.
>
> The government can’t protect you from the scam. Maybe after the fact it can help you claw some money back, but the truth is deception and even fraud are the cornerstones of even the biggest businesses. Just try to cancel a service… It’s nearly impossible. Better yet, try to renegotiate your cable bill. You’ll spend hours on the phone and only few will get a great deal. Buying a car has been democratized by the internet, but signing up, canceling and adjusting your cable bill is akin to the wild west.
>
> Don’t let the testosterone get you. Feel free to say no to the group. Get guys together and one will propose the outrageous and the others will be afraid to be labeled wimps and will go along with what might be dangerous. It takes a lot to say no, but if your insides tell you to, do so.
>
> And just because your fellow travelers in estrogen tell you you’re beautiful and rally around you when your romantic life is challenged, don’t think they’ve got accurate insight into guys. Sure, there are cads, players and manipulators, never mind those who don’t follow through. But the truth is most men are clueless and moldable. If there’s a spark, feel free to text and call them, you’re in the driver’s seat…unless you place all your faith in testosterone and go where your man goes, but that might leave you in a bad place, just like the guys above.
>
> Buy something if you’re gonna use it, don’t buy it to show it off. The truth is no one cares.
>
> Tell your story. Women are good at this, men are bad at this, fearful of appearing weak. But once you tell somebody the way that you feel…you’ve got the opportunity for them to respond in a warm, understanding way and you’ll feel connected, which is the ultimate desire of all people on this planet.
>
> Life is a hassle. You’ll lose and be hurt and despite having plenty of people to blame, you won’t get compensation, or if you do it won’t make up for your loss. Accept this. Plans will get broken, as will you. You can stay at home and never go out or you can enter the world and have unexpected, great experiences, but you’ll be exposed to greater danger. Life is a risk. If you’re playing it safe, it’s pretty damn boring.
>
> Work is about fulfillment more than money. Don’t envy those who don’t work, they’re empty and unsatisfied at the core. Try to have a job you love, but don’t assume just because you’re passionate about it you’ll get rich. But it’s okay to have a mediocre job to support your hobbies. Just don’t have a mediocre job and a mediocre life.
>
> Change happens. The journey to the other side will be painful. But you’ll always end up in a better spot, as long as you can let go of the past.
>
> Don’t be vindictive. Don’t try to get even. No one is keeping score and the longer you try to settle scores the more time you’re losing in life.
>
> Relationships are not about love but commitment, never forget it.
>
> Divorce may be necessary, but it will haunt you forever.
>
> Children center your life, they give you something to live for, they give you purpose. But don’t have them with someone who is unwilling to make themselves subservient to your progeny.
>
> Most of what popular culture will tell you is important is not. Enjoy that movie, follow politics, but if you think it amounts to a hill of beans you’re too deep in the weeds. Records and movies come and go. Who is President will affect you, via Supreme Court decisions if nothing else, but what’s in the news every day is about selling advertising.
>
> The older you get, the less you know. When someone is sure, they’re usually young or insecure.
>
> He who is famous today is forgotten tomorrow. If you’re doing it to be remembered, you won’t.
>
> Lefsetz…………..
> —
> Visit me: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
> —
> http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz

Supplemental- “Prometheus”: The Human Struggle

Culture

Wellness Blogger Offers These Healthy Summer Snack Recipes

July 5, 2018 The Silo Leave a comment

“Every story and every memory from my childhood is attached to food,” Dawn Lerman writes. Our relationship with food starts at a very young age: what and how we eat is often determined by our environment and our upbringing. Our eating habits and snack tastes are cultivated by our family members’ relationships to food, for better or worse. Dawn knows this first hand. The author of the New York Times Well Blog series, “My Fat Dad,” shares her food journey and that of her father, a brilliant copywriter from the “Mad Men” era of advertising at Leo Burnett and McCann Erickson, in her book, MY FAT DAD: A Memoir of Food, Love, and Family, with Recipes (Berkeley; September 29, 2015; Trade paperback/$USD16.00).

Dawn’s father was known for his witty ad campaigns; he was responsible for such iconic slogans as “Coke Is It,” “This Bud’s for You,” and “Leggo My Eggo.” Unfortunately, he was not able to use the same problem-solving skills when it came to his weight. Dawn’s father was obese as she was growing up —450 pounds at his heaviest. His weight would go up and down like an elevator, depending on what fad diet he was on–or what ad campaign he was assigned to. He insisted Dawn, her mother and sister adapt to his saccharine-laced, freeze-dried food plans to help keep him on track. Dawn’s mother never cooked and she witnessed her mother eat only one real meal a day—a can of tuna over the kitchen sink—while she dashed from audition to audition pursuing an acting career.

“As far back as I can remember, there was an invisible wall that separated me from my dad, a distance that I could never completely penetrate,” Dawn remembers. “His closest relationship was with the bathroom scale – his first stop every morning and his last stop every evening. The scale controlled his moods, our days, what we were going to eat and basically ruled our family life.”

Snacks were a particular downfall of her father, especially when he was working on fast food marketing campaigns. “My dad felt that in order to create a good slogan, you needed to believe in the products you were selling,” Dawn explains. “He was always the best customer for the food and drinks he advertised, testing them excessively—especially when Wells Rich & Green promoted him to head creative director for Pringles potato chips”

Listening to him crunch away canister after canister on the crispy snacks in the privacy of his room– trying to come up with the perfect slogan, Dawn knew she had to get inventive to help her dad get healthy while still staying inspired. At 9 years old Dawn had become the official chef for her family, turning her maternal grandmother Beauty’s Jewish weekly recipe cards into diet friendly meals and treats that would keep her dad motivated. It was her grandmother who instilled in Dawn a passion for cooking for oneself and others as she learned that the best food is prepared with the freshest ingredient.

One recipe Dawn developed during that time was her special homemade hot air popped corn coated in ranch seasoning. Upon trying it her father declared “Dawn now that you popped, you can’t stop!” That statement of delight was the kernel of an idea that took her dad around the world– filming highly attractive people on beaches and other fun places, joyfully indulging in Pringles potato crisps that exploded out of the can as the top popped off while the voice over announced…” Once You Pop, You Can’t Stop!”

This spring and summer try these healthy and delicious snacks from My Fat Dad with no stopping required. The potato chip recipe, derived from that long-ago hot air popped corn recipe, can be enjoyed throughout out the day as they are satiating and nutritious. Pair it with Dawn’s Hummus recipe, which is loaded with protein. The combo of complex carbs, protein and healthy fats –will fill you up without weighing you down. A win-win for both mood, energy, and weight control!

Recipes below from MY FAT DAD: A Memoir of Food, Love, Family, and Recipes By Dawn Lerman

Berkley Books/2015

MY FAT DAD: A Memoir of Food, Love, and Family, with Recipes By Dawn Lerman Berkeley / 2015 Trade Paperback/$16.00

Herb Infused Ranch Style Sweet Potato Chips with Coconut Oil

Yields: 4-6 servings

These sweet potato chips are crunchy, slightly salty, and have that wonderful ranch taste. They are a healthy take on traditional store bought chips. They are fried in coconut oil– which not only helps the chips to brown beautifully, but aids in speeding up your metabolism. They are a constant staple in my formerly fat dad– 450 pounds, now 210 pound –snacking regime.

4 large sweet potatoes, can also use white potato’s or beets

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 teaspoon of dried parsley

1 teaspoon of garlic salt

I teaspoon of onion powder

1 teaspoon of minced onion

Sea salt for seasoning

Fresh thyme for garnish

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees, scrub potatoes to remove dirt. Then slice into thin, even pieces. You can cut them by hand or use a slicing attachment on a food processor. Rinse your potato slices in cold water. Now soak the slices in cold water for 30 minutes.

Drain the potatoes and lay them on a paper towel or paper keeping them slightly moist. Dip in bowl with herb mixture –dried parsley, garlic salt, and onion powder. Make sure chips are coated.

In a skillet melt the coconut oil over medium heat. When the oil sizzles place them in the oil for about 1 min till they get slightly brown. Do not over crowd the pan. Best to do in small batches. Use a slotted spoon or spatula to remove your chips from the coconut oil. Drain the chips on a layer of paper towels, and repeat till all chips have been fried and blotted.

Then place all the cooked chips on a baking sheet and bake for 1 minute. Remove and serve warm. Sprinkle with sea salt and garnish with fresh thyme.

*NOTE: if you do not want to fry the chips you can take coated chips, lay them out on a baking sheet sprayed with coconut oil and bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees until golden brown.

Sweet Potato Hummus

Yields: 6 servings

If you are looking for a light, healthy snack this sweet potato hummus is bursting with flavor, spice and color. Because of its high protein content, it will help control your appetite and mood. My dad named it the caviar of hummus—exclaiming, that it was almost illegal for something so nutritious to be this delicious. Pair this with my Potato Chip recipe for the perfect blending of protein and carbs.

1 large sweet potato (about 9 ounces)

1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

5 tablespoons olive oil (plus additional, as needed, for thinning)

2 tablespoons tahini

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Pinch of nutmeg

Position the baking rack in the middle and heat the oven to 425 degrees. Wrap the sweet potato in foil and bake in a shallow baking pan until it can be easily pierced with a knife, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow the potato to cool completely.

Peel the skin off the sweet potato and transfer to a food processor fitted with a blade. Add the chickpeas, olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, coriander, cumin, salt, and nutmeg, and process until smooth. If the hummus is too thick, add a little extra olive oil or water and process until the desired consistency is reached.

MY FAT DAD is as much a coming of age memoir as it is a recipe collection from Dawn’s upbringing and culinary adventures in Manhattan. Her recipes include some of her grandmother’s favorite traditional Jewish dishes, to healthier interpretations and creations. Her father’s life-long struggle with food, along with her grandmother’s love of cooking fresh foods, led Dawn to become a well-respected nutritionist, NY Times blogger and chronicle her story in her best-selling book. Today her dad is a healthy 210 pounds and vegan.

“Dawn Lerman grew up Jewish in the 70’s. I grew up Italian. Might sound different, but for the most part, it’s the same. Especially when it comes to food. The philosophy was simple, food = love. My Fat Dad hilariously and poignantly captures that essence. Whether you’re Italian, Jewish, or anything else you can relate to how family, food, and the love of both affect how we grow up, and live our life. Mangia!”

—Ray Romano, Emmy award-winning actor

“The Manhattan nutritionist was raised by a diet junkie who tried every regimen under the sun and food — or the lack of it — ruled her life. My Fat Dad is about her eccentric upbringing and her constant state of hunger as Albert imposed his wacky ways on the whole family.” The New York Post

“My Fat Dad is an exploration of the many ways food shapes our connection to family. It also includes many delightful recipes.” Michel Martin, NPR, All Things Considered

“It is clear Lerman ‘s life is centered around the table and she gives readers a seat at hers” Baltimore Jewish Times

” ‘My Fat Dad’ is a memoir of food, love and starvation” New York Daily News

ABOUT DAWN LERMAN, MA, CHHC, LCAT

Dawn Lerman is a Manhattan based nutritionist, bestselling author of My Fat Dad: A Memoir of Food, Love, and Family with Recipes, and a contributor to the New York Times Well Blog. She has been featured on NBC, NPR, Huff Post TV as well as several other news outlets. Her company Magnificent Mommies provides nutrition education to student, teachers and corporation. Dawn counsels clients on weight loss, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other diet-related conditions. She is a sought-after speaker and cooking teacher and lives in New York with her two children.

For more information about Dawn, go to www.DawnLerman.net .

Culture

Saddle Up With Your 200 New BFFs In New Advice Book

May 17, 2018 The Silo Leave a comment

Women’s Studies scholar Becca Anderson has gathered the wisdom from a chorus of fabulous femmes for this one-of-a-kind advice book. From housewives to Hollywood starlets, from standup comedians to startup entrepreneurs, from feminists to Facebook queens, these badass women offer unvarnished and unabashed opinions about love, life, word, men, and sex and share their very frank and forthright thinking on the wild world of relationships.

This delightfully dishy gathering of gal pals is like having a heart-to-heart with 200 of your closest friends. Garrulous girls and loquacious ladies from every walk of life unleash their wicked wit in this humorous and enlightening compilation and tell it like it is.

Badass Women Give The Best Advice Book — Price: $15.95 usd
ISBN-13: 978-1633536937

Topics include What the World Needs Now, Love Hurts, Lost Love, and Are Men Really Necessary and cover sex, personal ads, blind dates, break ups, weddings, and the prerequisites for the perfect kiss.

Sidebars include quizzes, love and sex bucket lists and topics like “Size Really Does Matter,” and “Cry Me a River, The Weepiest Romantic Movies Ever.”

Wait, there’s more–true tales about wild women of yore that entertain as much as they enlighten.

From Anais Nin to Lily Tomlin, from Amy Bloom to Dorothy Allison, from Drew Barrymore to Chrissy Teigan and beyond, there’s no shortage of sass, sarcasm, or sizzle and a few shocks along the way! For the Silo, Brenda Knight.

What people are saying about Badass Women Give the Best Advice:

These bold bon mots are a solid roadmap for living a full love. I, for one, will be taking to heart all the advice from these very wise and wild women–silver screen queens, comediennes and brilliants writers. You actually can get what you want, provided you listen very closely.
Nina Lesowitz, author of The Party Girl Cookbook

“Sometimes we women need quotes and pick-me-ups to get motivated or to have our spirits lifted. Badass Women Give the Best Advice is a book for and about women (no men allowed!). This is not a book that you read once and put away. It’s good as a conversation starter or to refer to when you want to feel big on girl power. Oshun, the Yoruba goddess of love, sensuality, and beauty is just one of the women we learn about in this book. There’s also quick rundowns on writer Simone de Beauvoir, advocate Amelia Bloomer, and much more. So fun!”
Heck of a Bunch Blog

Culture

Affirmation Cards From Canada Moms Intended To Affect Millions

August 23, 2017 The Silo 1 Comment

Everyone knows the old saying “to know where you’re going, you have to know where you’ve been” right? This couldn’t be more accurate, and for you to truly relate to Love Powered Co. and where it came from, we feel that you might need to know a little bit about affirmation and about us first.

Our names are Anna Lozano and Lindy Sood and we would like to welcome you to the Love Powered movement. We are friends and soul sisters who realized that together, we have a powerful message to share with the world. Months ago, we started talking about what is lacking in the marketplace when it comes to personal growth products for families. How our children were most certainly gaining positive subconscious programming from stating their daily affirmations, but what about being consciously aware of the words they were speaking?

We wanted them to understand this beautiful new vocabulary. We wanted them to connect with these positive words and statements. We wanted them to link the affirmations to their own daily experiences, to their own unique feelings and emotions, and to how they interacted with others.

Our mission is to create a self-worth movement, powering the next generation of mindful leaders. A better tomorrow starts with our children, and that means we need to do the work now, healing ourselves in the process.

This is so much bigger than a product, it’s a global movement creating a better tomorrow. Welcome home, to our Love Powered family.

How Are We Different?

1. 22 POWERS

Parents & children think of examples and ‘times when’. Going even deeper, we ask ‘How did this make you feel’? By connecting their own experiences to each POWER, and remembering how they felt, it better helps our children to understand the words and statements they are saying, and connect deeper to the meaning behind them.

These are the qualities of emotionally intelligent trailblazers! The POWERS we all have within us, at times, we just need to be reminded of it.

2. CONNECTION

Instead of 1 affirmation per card, we have grouped together 3 related terms + a statement – helping our little ones to grasp the meaning of the words and how they all relate to each other. We are teaching our children a new, beautiful, positive vocabulary.

3. CONSCIOUS AWARENESS

Instead of 1 affirmation per card, we have grouped together 3 related terms + a statement – helping our little ones to grasp the meaning of the words and how they all relate to each other. BONUS! We are teaching our children a new, beautiful, positive vocabulary!

4. EXAMPLES & FEELINGS

We focus on the power of CONNECTION between parent & child. Leave the screen at the door, this is a time to be present, engaged and wholeheartedly connected.

5. AESTHETIC

These cards are so darn adorable and just oh-so-delicious, we are certain that you and your little ones will find it hard to wait to get your hands on them.

For more information, contact us here.

Culture

Toronto Erotic Arts And Crafts Fair Returns To The Gladstone Hotel In February

January 24, 2017 The Silo Leave a comment

The Erotic Arts & Crafts Fair is Back! Toronto’s first – and most beloved – fair celebrating all things sexy is popping up once again this February at the Gladstone Hotel!

Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be brought to you by Hallmark – for another way, full of charm, wit, and craftsmanship, visit Toronto’s beloved Erotic Arts & Crafts Fair this season! The Erotic Arts & Crafts Fair is a one day celebration showcasing local handmade wares celebrating love, sex, and community, hosted by ‘anti-capitalist worker-owned co-operative’ Come As You Are.

Visitors can expect lovingly made goods ranging from raunchy embroidery, whimsical gitch, natural contraceptives, zines, pasties, jewelry, erotic art, leather bowties, sex toys, BDSM gear, and so much more! Come As You Are will also be offering free prize draws throughout the day, plus free sweet treats.

Date: February 11, 2017
Time: 10-4
Cost: Free
Venue: The Gladstone Hotel, North Ballroom. 1214 Queen St. West. Wheelchair Accessible!

www.eroticartsandcrafts.com
https://www.facebook.com/eroticartsfair

About Come As You Are: Come As You Are is the world’s only worker owned and operated sex toy store, and is currently celebrating it’s 20th year. Come As You Are’s mandate has always been guided by the co-operative’s love of sexual health, pleasure, and education plus a profound sense of dissatisfaction with the “sex industry” as a whole.
Click here for a sampling of this year’s vendors.

BlackLine Accessories

A vegan up-cycled jewelry and accessories line made from motorcycle inner tubes.

Crafty Chas Crochet

These dolls are made in the hopes that a wide range of people can finally feel represented, to act as a healing tool, and made to remove the shame from nudity.
Lovecrafters

Geeky, playful, whimsical and fun adult fantasy toys. All hand sculpted and made out of safe platinum grade silicone.

Michelle Gauthier Art

Gauthier creates feminist and reproductive-themed works in order to promote self- love, to embrace individuality, and to show that there is no cause for shame when it comes to what is natural.

Milkweed Zine

Milkweed is a sex-positive erotic zine, featuring photography, visual art, poetry and short fiction from around the world. It explores playfully explores identity, sexuality and eroticism, reflecting a diversity of experiences.
Sartoria

The finest cashmere undergarments for a superior winter experience.
Vanessa Walsh

Watercolour artist specializing in hyper-realistic erotic and bdsm art. Definitely not your grandmother’s watercolours!
vintagelove

A subversive peek into the 1950s modern lifestyle and aesthetic.
Weal & Breech

Makers of bespoke implements for impact and restraint play. All of their toys are designed and made by hand out of the finest local and exotic woods, and full-grain leathers. For the Silo, Noah Kloeze.

Culture

29 Years Young And On A Quest To Learn To Play The Guitar

August 18, 2014 The Silo 2 Comments

2daisyrock_electric_heart_guitar — The daisyrock debutante guitar, ready to break a few hearts

As a younger man, I was like a cat in a bag, probably not unlike most, scratching for meaning and adventure. So when I got the chance for a job teaching in the Bahamas, I decided to go for it. Before I went out to my post on the island of Andros, I stopped over in Nassau to meet with my cousin who lived there. She cooked me dinner, and afterward she showed me around her house. In the basement there was a sandy old guitar leaning against the wall. She didn’t play it anymore and suggested I take it out to the island. I told her I didn’t know how to play, didn’t know anything about music, and didn’t want to take it. But I took it anyway. That teaching job was a total washout, but that’s a story for another time. Six weeks later I was back in Canada, with no job for a year, living with my parents again as a 29 year-old. It was a difficult circumstance. For some reason, that old guitar made the trip back to Canada with me, and I remember it staring at me in my bedroom. I didn’t know E from G, but decided that for me to be in this situation, with this guitar, with the time to learn it, was some kind of important sign I needed to recognize. So I started taking lessons, once a week, at my local hometown music store. Like any beginner it was a struggle, but struggle I did, learning those Neil Young songs that all the kids start with. It was very liberating. A couple of years later I met a real nice girl—Lisa, a chiropractor. Definitely marriage material. I’d been seeing her for quite a while, and it was getting to that crux-time of commitment, where future plans need solidifying, lest a biological clock begin to ring too loudly.

I was keenly aware of my responsibilities and knew that I loved this girl, but I just wasn’t sure if I was ready or not. The soul-searching had been going on for weeks and the matter continued to be grey, and I’m certain she felt me creating a certain distance while I figured things through. It was at my house one day when decisiveness finally cleared a path through my tangled emotions. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to leave you” came out of my mouth. Lisa wasn’t in the house when I said that. Nobody was. But my guitar was sitting snugly in its stand, and it heard those words, and that was it. I broke up with Lisa the next day.

Such an important part of that decision was knowing my guitar playing would essentially stop if I went to the next level with her, and I was just starting to make real leaps in my ability, and had so much further to go since I’d started so late in my life. I couldn’t leave it behind now. The chapter was still being written. As much as I loved Lisa, I had to let her move on. Since then I’ve probably written 100 songs (definitely a couple about that situation), released a CD, cut my teeth in Nashville…too many things to mention. I’ve met so many great people and had so many great opportunities because of that guitar. The spirit and the energy surrounding it all is unparalleled. None of it would have been realized if I had different words for my guitar that day. As tough as it was, I know I made the right decision. Lisa is married and has a child now, and I feel really good about that.

For the Silo by John McIntosh (Speaking of Nashville, it really is true that you’ve got to “know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ‘em.” It’s a key to life. I’m reminded as well of a cameo in the Canadian road movie One Week. Tragically Hip frontman Gordon Downie is questioned by the protagonist: “How do you know if you’re really in love.” His answer is uncommonly succinct: “If you have to ask, you’re not.” Maybe the real question is: who, or what, do you love enough to live by? ed.)

Canada's 'biggest little blogspace'