FOOD & HEALING JOURNEY, PASSIONS OF MUSIC AND ART & DESIGN, The ALISON D. GILBERT Blog

Some Thoughts from the Aspen Idea Festival 2013

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some positive notes of the Aspen Ideas Festival 2013

It’s fair to say that from the name of today’s blog, Some Thoughts from the Aspen Idea Festival 2013, that there will be some positive notes to share on Alison*s Blog post. There are quite a few features that confirm this.

Although the Aspen Ideas Festival 2013 is over, the swag bag designed by Tory Burch, is the biggest status symbol of the event. It is also the envy and curiosity for those who did not get one to wonder what was in it, according to the article written by LinkedIn Editor, Chip Cutter. My favorite item is Steve Case’s Message in Chocolate Form.

some positive points
Steve Case’s Message in Chocolate Form. Photo credit: LinkedIn

“Entrepreneurs, Steve and Jean Case emphasized Thursday that Americans need to take more risks — in both business and philanthropy. Hence, their gift of a ‘Fearless’ chocolate bar to attendees. This one, produced by a Berkeley-based chocolatier, combines organic dark chocolate with ginger and hibiscus flowers to create what the company describes as ‘playful proclamations upon your palate.'”

Then there’s the amazing curated story story about how a man lost over 100 lbs in a laboratory experiment. “The researchers, who were microbiologists, had simply put the man’s gut microbes on a diet”.

some positive points
The Flower Essence, Mimosa. Photo credit: http://www.flower-essence.co.uk/
If that is not enough positive notes, there’s the flower essence Mimosa, introduced by Channel Island Flower Essences. The company reports that it “carries the vibrational energy of empowerment. It resonates with the solar plexus chakra. It supports a feeling of personal power and belief in one’s own ability. It enables a very rounded approach to all life issues and promotes warmth of personality and persona.”
There are still some positive points to explore. But you get to browse them on you own. In the right hand column are today’s Alison*s Art Online Magazines published by RebelMouse and a feature of Alison*s Blog.

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PASSIONS OF MUSIC AND ART & DESIGN, The ALISON D. GILBERT Blog

Some Art for Saturday, Alison*s Art Online Art Tour

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Some Art for Saturday

Let’s take a virtual tour and look at some art for Saturday, pleasant, uplifting, creative things. Pretend we are taking a gallery tour. We can travel all over the world since we are on the Internet.

Our first stop is London and the studio of a very talented young lady. I found her lovely artwork thanks to another paper.li publisher, Angel Ceballos’ Art & Design.

Through his online magazine, I was introduced to her work. She is creating some magnificent art work that has morphed into tapestry design. It’s very exciting to see the artistic process at work.
Her name is Hannah Waldron. She was interviewed by designboom.com. Her creations are impressive. They are also light-hearted, colorful and usable.

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Now let’s head back to the US to take a look at two of my other favorite styles of art on our some art for Saturday tour. These styles are graffiti inspired illustration and tattoo art.

My two favorite artists who started out doing graffiti/comic book style illustration are located on opposite coasts of the US. L’amour Supreme is from NY. He is pictured (the image is from his website, www.lamoursupreme.com) with some of his creations as the featured image at the beginning of our tour. Man One is from LA. Below are some of my favorite examples of his work. One is a mural of Rita Hayworth who is one of my favorite film gems. Here’s some Rita trivia. She was born in Brooklyn and started out as a dancer. She was married to Orson Wells, foreign royalty, a popular singer and two other men.


Both L’amour Supreme and Man One have produced prolific amounts of work. So I am going to suggest that you return and visit their virtual studios on your own. That way you can take as much time as you like to explore their very creative careers and stories. Do let them know I suggested you stopped by.

As the last stop on our some art for Saturday tour is one of my favorite local places to visit, Empire State Studios, a tattoo art gallery on Long Island. There are those who might not consider this a form of art. But keep an open mind before drawing any conclusions. Take a look at the work of these artists. Then tell me what you think. In fact, if you are in the area, they have art shows that change every two months.

some art for Saturday
The banner from the ESS website, www.empirestatestudios.com

I hope you have enjoyed our relaxing, virtual trans-Atlantic and back tour of some art for Saturday. Let me know if you would like to take another one some time soon. I certainly would.

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FOOD & HEALING JOURNEY, PASSIONS OF MUSIC AND ART & DESIGN, The ALISON D. GILBERT Blog, THE ECONOMY & ENVIRONMENT

Indigenous Cultures: The Kara Women of Ethiopia

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Indigenous cultures represented by this young Karan woman

Indigenous cultures are rare, precious, fragile, and quickly becoming extinct. Is this progress or a form of genocide? Is this the price we pay for planetary technological advancements? What happens when there are no civilizations left who dance to the rhythms of the earth and thrive on a daily, intimate relationship with nature?

A story in the current issue of the Global Oneness Project Magazine, photographed and told by Jane Baldwin (the above and other photos), is about an indigenous culture, the Kara Women of Ethiopia. Her photographs and the interview of her encourage readers to ponder these questions. Ms. Baldwin’s story is about her eight year developing relationship with the Kara women.

indigenous cultures are impacted by the Omo River dam projects
Map of the Omo River with dam projects highlighted in red
They are inhabitants of Ethiopia’s Omo River Valley and the Omo River-Lake Turkana watershed. The areas that they and other groups have inhabited for hundreds of years are threatened by the continuing dam building of the Omo River dam project. This one is Gibe III.

The residents of the river valley have had no say in these projects. The projects clearly do not benefit these agro-pastorialists, the indigenous people who have lived in harmony with their river. They are its victims and will be the casualties again, of this half finished project, Gibe III. The dam will benefit those whose priorities differ drastically from theirs. Their flowing relationship with the Omo River will stop. The lives of about a half a million people will be impacted and their traditional way of life will be affected. The consequences will be a disaster.

These people do not read or write. Marriages have traditionally been arranged although that is changing. The women’s lives are based primarily on child bearing and telling their stories through oral tradition. This is current life of the Kara Women. They are subservient in every way to the patriarchy they live in except for one essential responsibility. They are the keepers of their culture’s stories.

They make up songs that they sing to their children from the time they are babies. This is part of how they pass on their stories. What will become of their lives in the river valley when they crash, head on with Gibe III? They will still have their stories. But they will be bloody nightmares not happy memories.

At right, discover more about the Kara Women and other stories about ART | FOOD | HEALING in today’s issues of Alison*s Art Online Magazine, a feature of Alison*s Blog and published by RebelMouse and paper.li.

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FOOD & HEALING JOURNEY, RAISING SOCIAL AWARENESS, The ALISON D. GILBERT Blog

Developing Food Growing and Selling Trends

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Present day food growing and retailing trends are resulting in some fascinating, untraditional farming and distribution systems

Developing food growing and selling trends are resulting in some fascinating, untraditional farming and distribution activities. These movements are making food more available and more affordable.

GROWING
Eat the City: The Art of Urban Farming reintroduces farming into the city is a truly unique way. The ‘truck farm bed’ feature photo is a creative example of this idea. Urban farming, other types of local farming and local farmers markets have created a new class of eaters, locavores.

Food Farming and Selling Trends
Deciding between organic or locally grown food. Photo Credit: Flickr Corey Templeton
They believe that eating locally grown food is the best way to go for several reasons. This food tastes the bests. Food can be freshest when eaten. There is a huge savings in transportion and distribution costs. It has even been said that locally grown food can be just as beneficial as organic food. In a variety of situations, each has advantages.

SELLING
A novel idea in a weekend only, makeshift outlet supermarket in the Netherlands has caught on like wild fire. Nearly ‘expired’ packaged foods are sold at a huge discount. One often sees this on certain perishable items in US supermarkets. But in the case of this ‘past its prime’ concept, the entire store is filled with these items.

Food Growing and Selling
Willem Jan Stamm, the owner of Outlet Stam in Schagen,The Netherlands. Photo credit: Christopher F. Schuetze

A recently discovered facebook page shines a light on a new way of selling and distributing food. It is reminiscent of the food co-op. It is called WholeShare. According to their facebook page, “Wholeshare is a website that helps you get access to good quality, affordable local food by organizing group purchases. www.wholeshare.com”.

food growing and selling
Wholeshare, the facebook page
Another fascinating concept is something called, Pay It Forward. It is practiced by a restaurant called Karma Kitchen. The staff are volunteers. The customers pay whatever they want. In other words, they pay the bill for the next group of people who come to eat. They ‘Pay It Forward’.

food growing and distribution
Karma Kitchen practices, ‘Pay It Forward’. Photo credit: www.goprojectfilms.com

CONCLUSION
Due to personal choice, as a political statement about food waste, or out of necessity, some people have taken to off the beaten path to obtain food. These include food foraging, dumpster diving, food banks, food kitchens and food stamps and bread lines. However one acquires one’s food, it is important to be conscious of the the choices we can make. Some people in this country do go hungry. The options discussed here are intended to help everyone find resources to have enough to eat.

Continue to read other posts about ART | FOOD | HEALING on Alison*s Art Online Magazines from RebelMouse and paper.li, a feature of Alison*s Blog.

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PASSIONS OF MUSIC AND ART & DESIGN

Gatsby Graphics Glitz and Gold Take Hold

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Gatsby Graphics Glitz & Gold

Gatsby Graphics Glitz and Gold take hold ever since the remake of the movie, The Great Gatsby. The creators of the movie admit that they did not attempt certain detailed, exact period reproduction. For example, the music was changed from 1920’s jazz to rap to give a present day audience the feel of that time as modern. They went more for the feel of the time, the opulence, the glamour, the glitz and the gold.

Like the movie itself, the graphics are not meant to be exact reproductions. They are representational, designed to conjure up a feeling. It is a feeling the we can relate to today. We relate to it in the same way people felt when they originally experienced the story. The movie and everything about it is redesigned and refreshed. This gives it an up to date feeling that we can be part of. Perhaps it is also so that we can dream of having a life like that ourselves.

To a greater or lesser extent, the couples who chose to use these great Gatsby wedding invitations aspire to that lifestyle as well. One would want only to be a fly on the wall to see how much more than the Gatsby style invitation they realized in their nuptial celebrations.

Enjoy more reading material about ART | FOOD | HEALING at right on Alison*s Art Online Magazines, a feature of Alison*s Blog and published by RebelMouse and paper.li.

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FOOD & HEALING JOURNEY

Bless Bhutan

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Blessings from Bhutan in becoming 100% organic production

Bless Bhutan, a tiny nation in the the mountainous amphitheatre of the Himalayas. Bhutan Prime Minister, Jigmi Thinley has declared that Bhutan is to become the first 100% organic agricultural producing nation on the planet. This is a blessing, an outstanding example and hopefully a motivation for the rest of the globe to follow suit.

 

Bless Bhutan thanks to Prime Minister Jigmi Thinley
Bhutan Prime Minister Photo Jigmi Thinley. Photo credit: thesolutionsjournal.anu.edu.au

To quote an article from Banoosh.com, “Last month the Prime Minister, Jigmi Thinley told his government he is developing a National Organic Policy because the country’s farmers are increasingly convinced that ‘by working in harmony with nature, they can help sustain the flow of nature’s bounties.’”

Bhutan is a producer of rice, corn, beans, potatoes and oranges. It’s red beans are distributes to Whole Foods, one of the largest US health food retailers. The term, made in Bhutan, may soon become synonymous with 100% organic. In frightening contrast to this uplifting news, is what is going on in the US with the increasing number of ‘frankenfoods’. This is a nickname for the nightmare of GMO foods that have been shown to cause cancer in rats. It is only a matter of time before the detrimental human effects will be able to be proven.

Bless Bhutan for not allowing GMO soybeans
GMO Soybeans Image Credit: Ryan McVay/Digital Vision/Thinkstock

The increasing death rate in the bee population is of grave concern to environmentalists. This is an indicator of an imbalance in nature that threatens the process of pollination, natures way of producing its bounty. Nature’s ability to reproduce is being threatened by the take over of GMO food and pesticides. GMO food is at war with nature. The goal of this war is two-fold: to make natural, healthy production of food extinct and for corporations to control food production and food characteristics.

Bless Bhutan
Bhutan Prime Minister Thinley being received by other world leaders. Photo credit: philosophicalanthropology.net

Who knows how long it will take for Prime Minister Thinley’s plan to become a reality. How much benefit can the food stuffs from a nation of 700,000 have on a planet of 7.093 billion people who need to be fed? The primary considerations are, will other nations follow suit? If they do, will we be able to stop the growing Global (food producing) Monster Organizations? Only time will tell.

Read more about this topic along with other food, art and health issues at right on Alison*s Art Online Magazines, a feature of Alison*s Blog and published on RebelMouse and paper.li.

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PASSIONS OF MUSIC AND ART & DESIGN

When Life Imitated Art, James Gandolfini 1961 – 2013

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Life Imitated Art and cut short the life of James Gandolfini aka Tony Soprano

The blackout scene of the final Sopranos episode left everyone debating the fate of Tony Soprano and family. But when life imitated art, his ultimate demise became a forgone conclusion.

One wants to shout, ‘No, that’s just the story. He’s not really supposed to die’. But the untimely passing of HBO’s ‘iconic New Jersey mobster’ played by James Gandolfini is like a bad dream within a bad dream. One thinks it is over and that it did not happen only to awaken to realize that it did. A combination of grief, shock, frustration, sadness, loss and even nausea regarding the incredulity of the coincidence take over. One wonders, in this case, had life imitated art too much? Is that even possible? Did the Tony Soprano character take over James Gandolfini’s life to the extent that the fate of one became the demise of the other? That is a very unsettling concept.
One commentor, @Jigsjigz wrote on YouTube,”Well hes just passed away so hes dead in the story too.”

But James Gandolfini’s persona as well as his diverse body of work survive his nemesis, Tony Soprano. Here are some examples of the man and the actor in other roles he played. They show his range beyond the ‘conflicted yet iconic New Jersey mobster’ and ‘the shlubby but imposing work stiff’ (both descriptions from Variety).

A man with a huge heart who has been described in his industry as a ‘unique embodiment of creativity, humanity and humility’ has left us. May this post and Alison*s Art Online Magazine from RebelMouse, at right, be a small tribute to a very big man.

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PASSIONS OF MUSIC AND ART & DESIGN

Great Ads Are Art: Atomic and Otherwise

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Great Ads Are Art

Great Ads Are Art: Atomic and Otherwise. Why? Because they can make us smile, make us cry and move us in ways that few other things can or usually do.

This is clearly illustrated by THE AD WORLD’S BEST IDEAS: 12 CAMPAIGNS THAT WILL WIN AT CANNES by Teressa Iezzi. Some of the entries shown do just what is described above. They clearly make a case for great ads are art and include the role that technology has come to play in the creative process.

This year, the use of technology at the International Festival of Creativity (aka the International Festival of Advertising, aka the Cannes Lions), has risen to such heights that a new category has been named for them. The festival kicks off on Sunday, June 16th.

Quoted from, ‘THE AD WORLD’S BEST IDEAS: 12 CAMPAIGNS THAT WILL WIN AT CANNES’, “While Cannes has certainly honored ‘apps, tools, and programmes’ before (several years ago, the festival launched the ‘Titanium Lion’, designed to recognize the new forms of work that refused to be bound by traditional ad categories), the new ‘Innovation Lion’ seems to be designed to give more recognition to the ideas that aren’t communications and to the tech platforms that underlie the communications initiatives that Cannes has traditionally cited.”

One community service project video, Metro Trains’s, ‘Dumb Ways To Die’ gained such popularity that other creatives crafted take-offs and spoofs of it. The original and its progeny are shown below.

IBM captured a million views in just one day for a demonstration of the future of atomic memory. Here’s how they achieved that and why it matters.
SOLVING HUGE PROBLEMS, ONE ATOM AT A TIME: THE PURPOSE AND POWER OF IBM’S “WORLD’S SMALLEST MOVIE”
BY: JOHN KENNEDY, IBM, AND STEVE SIMPSON, OGILVY & MATHER.

A Boy And His Atom: The World’s Smallest Movie

‘The Bridge of Life’ by Samsung Life Insurance
This project turns potential tragedy into a joyful work of art.

‘Coca-Cola Small World Machines – Bringing India & Pakistan Together’
Who would have thought that Coca-Cola could be used for political unity?


great ads are art as shown by You Can Still Dunk In The Dark
You Can Still Dunk In The Dark

The best was saved until last. The Oreo, 100 year birthday video, ‘Oreo Daily Twist’. We all know what happened to that one when the lights went out on last year’s Super Bowl.

Are you all choked up yet? See what I mean about ‘Great Ads Are Art’? Which ever ads win at Cannes, there is no doubt that they will all be works of art.

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FOOD & HEALING JOURNEY, PASSIONS OF MUSIC AND ART & DESIGN, The ALISON D. GILBERT Blog

Building 3D is Organic and The Way Nature Does It, Now Man Can Do It

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A 3D sculpture by George S. Hart

Building 3D is organic and the way nature does it. It is not with straight lines and 90 degree angles, the way man has traditionally done it. What man will do it?

Who will be first architect, engineer, or builder to accomplish this feat of 21st century structural technology? That is the question at hand.

Nature has always defined its structures through a system of weaving and construction that man has wondered at. The closest anyone came until now was the geodesic dome. But even it used straight lines with angles. It is not organic either, the way nature is. Building 3D, or using the latest 3D printing technology, will allow man to come as close to building like nature in history.

Building 3D or 3D printing, as it is more commonly known, has resulted in the miracle of creating human organs. 3D printing has also allowed for traditional artforms to metamorphosize. Besides that, everyday objects, like shoes can be created with 3D printing. As amazing as all of this sounds, and it is, it is still the beginning. The question for this post remains,’who will be the first to build a 3D printed building’?

Build 3D and who knows what can happen to performance
The Nike 3D Football Cleat Photo © Nike

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Do Not Eat Animals, Take Care of Them Instead

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Do not Eat Animals, Take care of them. Eat Quinoa Instead

This comment, ‘Do not eat animals, take care of them instead’, comes from three year old Luiz Antonio and is explained by him in this video.

I think he would be delighted to see this field of quinoa, one of nature’s super foods, bountiful and beautiful.

Luiz Antonio is considered one of the rainbow children. Rainbow children are explained in the link provided. For those who question or wonder if we are evolving in consciousness, this post is a very interesting study.

According to Doreen Virtue’s AngelTherapy.com, there are three levels of children on the earth today who have evolved consciousness, rainbow children, crystal children and indigo children. People who are familiar with these children would not be surprised to hear a three year old say, ‘Do not Eat Animals, Take Care of Them’.

To eat meat or not to eat meat is an age-old discussion between omnivores and various types of non-meat eaters. Documentation about meat consumption is provided in this post by NPR.org. The United Nations has been in the forefront of discussions, suggestions and endorsements about various foods of late. A post from TakePart.com included a video featuring Stephen Colbert and the suggested ‘UN endorsed bugs for protein diet’ or comically called mini-livestock.

Another more palatable and much less controversial declaration has been made by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, ‘International Year of the Quinoa IYQ-2013’. I plan to get into a much more in-depth conversation about ‘super foods’ like quinoa in future posts.

For now, enjoy this post and the accompanying Alison*s Art Online Magazines, at right. Be sure to let me know what you think in the comments area.

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