Culture
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PARENTING: It Takes a Village…of Good Listeners
I have started and restarted this piece three times. I have talked with professionals. I have made pages of notes and looked at it from a teacher’s perspective (I spent five years teaching high school). I also tried the political perspective and the psychological perspective. The more perspectives that I try to see, the more I write and then I only end up with more unanswered questions. Finally, I decided to scrap all of the other points of view and focus solely on the parents’ perspective. My perspective. I want to think about what I have done and will continue to do with my children. My ultimate hope is…
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In the Spotlight with Rae Dunn
Years ago I purchased an adorable little 3×3 inch plate at a fun shop in Laguna Beach, California. It is just a simple porcelain plate with a picture of a spoon on it but I just love it for it’s simple – yet functional design. It reminds me a bit of the design concept that stems from Japan where less is more and to choose only those items to place in your house that you find beautiful. So I am very excited that I had a chance to speak to the person behind the amazing company, Rae Dunn of Rae Dunn Clay. I think you will fall in love with her…
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A Dream Vacation to Scotland
© Copyright Ian Taylor and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence. I have always been fascinated with history. I can lose myself for hours simply researching different civilizations and the ways of life of our ancestors. I am particularly in love with Scottish history. There is so much rich history in the land. From ancient battles, wars with England, battles with Vikings, clan feuds….Not to mention the amazing stories of the people who lived through it all. We all hear about William Wallace (Braveheart), but there are so many more legends and tales that derive from Scotland. All of this has fueled my endless need to learn more. So when asked where I would…
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Reflections: Dropping the Stones
On a soul level there is an inner reckoning that takes place during the holidays. Regardless of whether or not we honor the process, the season grants a pause of contemplation in which we take stock. Specific to this is a measure of our year’s gains, and too a more sullen depth awareness of losses or sacrifices that may have been at stake. We quietly account, if we take the pause to consider within. This is part of the human rhythm which inter-webs us all, and natural as the flux of the seasons or regularity of the here-then-gone-again moon. This year’s reflection seemed to have repeated expression, or in other words, a…
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Artist Robin Kaplan
It is easy to walk into the children’s section of a bookstore and get lost in the magical worlds that the authors and illustrators create. That has always been a favorite pastime of mine to do with my young daughter. There is something special about opening up a beautifully illustrated children’s book for the first time. The ability to illustrate in such a way takes practice and a natural ability to create such worlds. Robin Kaplan is such an illustrator and she will be releasing her first book with Penguin, a young reader’s edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz which is coming out February 2nd. Robin is also…
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The Health Benefits of Yoga
After the birth of my daughter I took up yoga to help with getting back in shape and to reduce my stress levels. No one really tells you how hard it can be at times raising a child and I found some real peace of mind in my yoga classes. Yoga is one of the oldest known health practices in the world and studies have shown that it helps with reducing stress, lowers blood pressure, regulates the heart rate and even slows down the aging process! Yoga is a subset of Ayurvedic medicine and is a system of psychophysical exercises designed to integrate the physical, mental and spiritual energies…