Monthly Archives: December 2009

What Matters Now

By Simone | Published: December 31, 2009

Happy 2010!  Are you excited for the new year? Do you have fantastic plans for world domination? Goodness, I hope so.  I, personally, am determined to eat a lot of chocolate. If you’re still formulating those plans, or any sort of New Year’s resolutions, I’d like to suggest you read What Matters Now, a fantastic [...]

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The Popularity of Papercraft

By Simone | Published: December 29, 2009

Papercraft seems to be popping up everywhere lately, and people are into it!  Just look at the numbers! Below I’ll share with you the more interesting manifestations of this particularly popular medium. DIY Papercraft Have you noticed all of the cool printable papercraft art that’s out there?  Tubbypaws has created some of my favorites.  Such [...]

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Orthorexia

By Simone | Published: December 26, 2009

I read about orthorexia for the first time a couple of days ago in Health Magazine.  Have you heard of it yet? Orthorexia, a term coined by Steven Bratman in the late ’90s, involves an obsession with eating right.  This ABC News report introduces the concept, but I’ll give you the gist below. Common symptoms [...]

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One-Dish Restaurants

By Simone | Published: December 21, 2009

Themed restaurants rock, but the themes are usually aesthetic, not culinary.  As of late, however, I have been lead to believe that single-food-themed restaurants are on the rise! One-dish restaurants are obviously not new.  After all, pizza and ice cream parlors have existed for decades, and smoothie, hot dog, salad, frozen yogurt, doughnut, and bagel [...]

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Holiday Headphones

By Simone | Published: December 19, 2009

Headphones! People are so excited about headphones!  Why? Because they make for super convenient holiday gifts.  Crunch Gear even posted a holiday gift guide on the subject, and as you can see below, searches on the subject peak around Christmas time: It has been fun to see the headphone discussion flare up.  Some are more [...]

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Coolhunter Profile: Kirin of TokyoKawaiietc.com

By Simone | Published: December 13, 2009

One of my favorite blogs for news on new Japanese trends is Tokyo Kawaii, etc.  Its author, Kirin, describes it as a website for those who are interested in kawaii goods, art, shopping, and fashion, as well as travel, food, and culture. Kirin’s blog features various Japanese stores and boutiques, food tutorials and posts, language [...]

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Academic Inflation

By Simone | Published: December 9, 2009

In 2006, TED posted footage of a Ken Robinson talk on why schools kill creativity. The discussion is very interesting overall, but what struck me as particularly interesting was Robinson’s reference to academic inflation. Academic inflation refers to the fact that degrees are losing value, just as a currencies do.  As more people are graduating [...]

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Alli and the 17th Century French Court

By Simone | Published: December 8, 2009

We live in an indulgent world.  How do we deal with excess?  For those of us who have had a bit too much decadent food, there’s Alli.  After seeing numerous Alli commercials and adverts, I became curious as to how the drug actually works.  Here is an informative video, but I’ll sum it up below. [...]

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Twilight Mania

By Simone | Published: December 7, 2009

You can’t deny it.  Twilight has become part of a freakish cultural movement that expands entirely beyond the book and movie series.  Somehow, the vampire saga has hit our cultural funnybone, and the reaction is HIGHLY amusing. As you probably know, New Moon has been a huge box office hit, apparently making a total of [...]

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Virtual Fireplaces

By Simone | Published: December 6, 2009

The other day, my dear room mate Caroline received a DVD from her mother.  ‘Twas not a movie or TV program; ’twas a fireplace. With optional Christmas music and several different fire intensity settings. Ah, the fireplace video!  A classic piece of Americana!  This thoughtful delivery prompted me to look a bit further into this [...]

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