I never thought I would be jealous of a 210 square foot apartment, but the winner of Apartment Therapy’s Smallest Coolest Home Contest in the “teeny-tiny” division makes me want to live there. It’s cozy and decorated very well. It looks like someplace I’d love to curl up with a good book and relax.
The grand prize winner of the entire contest was the 478 square foot apartment in the “tiny” division. I actually liked the teeny-tiny apartment better, but the winners in all divisions had great places. Even if these people live in small apartments, they clearly have enough money to decorate with good taste. My apartment might win “most items donated for free in a small space,” but that’s about it.
One thing I don’t understand is that the winner of the “small” division had 1150 square feet. How is that a small apartment? I don’t think I’ve ever lived in a place that big, even when I lived in 2 or 3 bedroom places. It’s definitely a cool apartment with a loft sort of vibe, but it’s not small.
Click here to see photos of all the winning apartments: Apartment Therapy
The fashion house Versace is opening a new beachfront hotel in Dubai called the Palazzo Versace. This top-dollar hotel wants their guests to be comfortable at all times. Everyone knows that sometimes the sand on beaches gets hot and can even burn your feet in high temperatures. Most people would just strap on some sandals and go for it.
Not at Palazzo Versace. Instead they are placing a network of pipes beneath their beach that contain a coolant which absorbs the heat from the sand, leaving it a cool, comfortable temperature. The hotel will also be refrigerating their pool so the water stays refreshing, and they are discussing options to put in giant fans outside that will keep a constant breeze blowing through.
It’s so nice to see that when the world is suffering from a recession, there is still enough money to refrigerate beaches. God forbid rich people have to wear a pair of their Jimmy Choos out onto the beach to keep their feet from burning. I think a hotel is nice if they have HBO and a continental breakfast.
When Carrie and Neil Wesseler became foster parents, they not only took care of their own foster child, but decided to start helping children all over the area. At the training session for foster parents, the instructor told them to imagine a child watching TV when someone comes in and hands them a garbage bag, telling them to throw all their stuff in and get ready to go to foster care.
A foster child is already scared and alone, and throwing their stuff into a garbage bag was too much for Carrie. The instructor told her they had no choice, that garbage bags were all they had to use. Most of the children didn’t have many possessions anyway.
Carrie decided to do something about the bags, and started asking for donations for duffle bags. She donated them so that at least some children would have something better to use. Once she began the donations, she decided to set up a booth at a festival to try to get more. To draw people to the booth, Carrie melted down crayons and poured them into molds, making fun shaped crayons which she sold for 25 cents.
The response was overwhelming, and the crayons sold out quickly. Carrie made more. And more. Now she raises enough money from her crayons that she can get duffle bags in bulk for the foster children. She started out donating to one county in Indiana where she lives. Now she is supplying bags to counties all over Indiana.
Carrie also has started making up school bags for foster children, since she found out many of them start out with nothing. She fills backpacks with school supplies and gives them out to the needy kids.
Not only has Carrie brought happiness to foster children around Indiana, but she has brought joy to the kids who get to use her fun crayons. She is using a cute and creative idea to benefit others, and that is something that we need more of every day. It’s simple things like this that change people’s lives. No one ever thinks about those garbage bags, but these children will be affected by what she did for them forever. When they look back on the day they were taken to their foster home, maybe they felt a little more at home right from the start because of Carrie’s work.
Carrie calls her work “Project T3,” which stands for “Totes for Tots and Teens.” For more information on the project, go to the website at projectT3.org. There you can also find out about the donations she needs for her duffle bags and bookbags and other ways you can help out with the project.
“Homeless Real World” is searching for a home on a television network. The documentary series follows six homeless people and documents their daily lives: how they got into their current situation, their issues with alcoholism, even their love lives. As of now, the series hasn’t been picked up by any network. Some have been afraid that it would be too hard to watch or that viewers wouldn’t approve of it.
At first I thought that the show did sound like a little too much. Many shows try to get viewers based on shock value and pushing the limits of what is acceptable. I was afraid they were basically trying to extort these homeless people, taking advantage of their situation for good TV. After watching the trailer and reading more about the show, however, I changed my mind.
The idea for the show came about when MTV’s “Real World” was being filmed in Denver. Hoping to use the popularity of MTV’s show to promote their own, Richard Ayoub, Del Bigtree, Darwyn Metzger and Randal Kirk began shooting their “Homeless Real World” in the streets of Denver at the same time.
The four men created and produced the entire project, and it was a true passion for them from the beginning. They shared laughs, tears, and tense moments with the homeless throughout the shooting of the series. Unlike most reality shows where the producers stay as uninvolved as possible, these men got to know the cast very well. During the show, they sit down and have conversations with the cast instead of just having them talk directly to the camera. “The cast and crew became so close that they’re still very much in touch with each other. So we can tell you what everyone is doing today,” Ayoub says.
Filming the show touched the lives of the crew more than they ever expected. Bigtree says he didn’t plan “to do a show that says ’save the homeless,’ but you realize that there is real humanity here. This is probably one of the most profound experiences of my life.” After shooting wrapped, the producers realized that the humanity they experienced was what should be the central focus of the show. Although they started out just making a sort of “Real World” mockery, it turned into something much more.
We overlook homeless people every day. We never know what their stories are, what they do for fun, or how they ended up on the street. They are just clones to us, copies of failed individuals with no hope. But there is hope there. Hope and love and a need for connections just like everyone else has. They have hope of finding a better life, of becoming something more. “You probably never think of homeless people kissing, making love, falling in love,” Ayoub says. But this series captures those moments too.
They also have their share of problems just like we do, and their problems just happened to land them on the street. If I lose a job, I have a family and friends who make sure that I’m taken care of. I will always have a place to live and people to count on. Not everyone is that lucky. As Dawn says in the trailer, “you’ve got people out here, I don’t.”
The crew weren’t the only ones who were touched by the filming of the series. The cast also changed through the production. After filming wrapped, three of the cast members entered rehab and one has gotten themselves entirely off the streets. Being on film helped them to see the reality of their own situation, and they knew that they wanted to be better, that they were worth something. Unfortunately, one of the cast members has also passed away, but that is the reality of what these situations sometimes come to. It will continue to be a struggle for all of these people, and the combination of poverty and alcoholism can be a vicious cycle that is nearly impossible to escape. But sometimes just being reminded that they are better than that can be the motivation they need to begin to find hope.
Some people still may feel that “Homeless Real World” exploits the lives of these people, and Ayoub says that is something they will have to deal with. But he also says that he hopes it will serve its purpose: “The redeeming value of this show is these people are actually likable and in many cases lovable. They will make audiences look at homeless people differently.”
Janet and Jane Cunliffe are 22 years apart but they look nearly identical. That is because 50 year old Janet has spent $15,000 on plastic surgery to make herself look like her 28 year old daughter Jane. I understand people wanting to look young and even getting surgery to keep some of their youthful appearance. But to take in your daughter and say to the doctor, “make me look like this”?
What does Janet say to defend the fact she is turning herself into her daughter? “The way I see it is that she got her looks from me in the first place — mine have just faded with age.” She also said that she “envied Jane’s crinkle-free eyes, full lips, and luscious, long blonde hair. I was desperate to look more like my daughter.”
Sounds to me that Jane should have filed for a restraining order ASAP. Instead Jane says that she loves the attention they get together. She said her mother is the sister she never had and they spend all their time picking out clothes and makeup. The only hard part? Sometimes people think she’s the older “sister.” But, having the same delusional genes as her mother, Jane blows it off by saying, “It’s not because I look older than my years, but just that Mum looks unbelievably young for her age.”
Click here to read the full article and see photos of the mother and daughter: Daily Mail
Most Christian holidays have become so commercialized that anyone can celebrate them. Even Christmas is celebrated by believers and non-believers alike. Easter, however, is probably the most religious holiday we have left. Christians have managed to keep a handle on it even through the egg hunts, hidden baskets, and a giant bunny mascot. It is seen as the holiest day of the year, celebrating when Jesus rose from the dead, a symbol of hope and strength through Christianity.
So is it okay to celebrate Easter if you aren’t recognizing it as a Christian holiday? The candy suppliers sure hope so, and I’m sure that whatever company makes that plastic green stuff in the Easter baskets will appreciate it too. Yet some people may say no, if you aren’t recognizing the meaning behind this day you shouldn’t be able to celebrate it.
Personally, I say let everyone celebrate. Christians, non-believers, and all religions combined. Get out the eggs and stuff yourself with chocolate! Have a big dinner with your family and friends, enjoy spending a beautiful Sunday together. If the message of Easter is hope and rebirth, then we should all be welcome to participate and find our own meaning in the day. Coming together as a community and spending time with loved ones is a positive thing, no matter if it has religious meaning or just celebrates the chance to be together. People should be welcomed into the holiday and celebration with open arms. It doesn’t have to be an exclusive or selfish day; it’s a chance to show everyone the hope and strength we can have as people who share in a celebration together.
Did you ever wonder why zombies act the way they do? Why do they just want “BRAAAAAAAINS!” and forget about all the other human aspects of life? Which parts of their own brains are controlling their hunger for flesh and slow zombie movements? Psychiatrist Steven Schlozman, MD is giving a speech at The Coolidge Corner Theatre on April 13th to answer these questions for their “Science On Screen” series. The series pairs films with well established professionals who relate the film to their area of scientific specialty. Schlozman himself is a huge fan of zombie films and pop culture. Combining his love of zombie films with his work as a psychiatrist, he has prepared a presentation that helps to explain the motivations and brain functions of the living dead.
Schlozman will also discuss why the humans who are fleeing from the zombies usually react in similar ways through the majority of zombie films. Humans automatically reflect the moods of others around them. They feed off of one another’s stress, feeling the hopelessness of their situation as more and more people are infected. Therefore they eventually fall into the same brain function as the zombies themselves, giving up and rushing out into the mass of zombies, fighting with everything they have until they are devoured. They know it is hopeless to fight the zombies, but their brain’s simple functions take over and they react with the zombie’s own sub-cortical behavior.
After Schlozman’s presentation, the classic George Romero zombie film Night of the Living Dead will be shown. If you live in the Boston area, tickets are $9.75 regular admission, or $7.75 for seniors, students, and Museum of Science members. Admission is free for members of the Coolidge Corner Theatre.
What do you do when you feel too overwhelmed to make life decisions anymore? The obvious choice would be to let complete strangers decide for you, right? Maybe not, but it has worked for Chen Xiao of China, who got tired of making the wrong decisions and feeling unhappy with her life. So she finally made one last decision: to stop making her own choices.
Xiao started a website where other people could decide her life for her, and every day she will do what someone else decides she should. She charges $3 an hour to do all kinds of odd requests. So far she has done things such as taken care of stray cats, delivered soup to a homeless man, and taken pictures for a family during the birth of their child, which she says was the most meaningful task she has performed thus far.
“If somebody asks you to do something, something simple, and you do it, it can make you very happy. You can change from a gloomy person to a very bright one. It can help give you a new sense of self-esteem,” she told CNN.
Xiao does have limits to her services, and will not do anything illegal or something she feels is immoral. It’s just a way to try to find meaning in her life and help other people with theirs. “When people stop needing me, I’ll go back to my original life. But I don’t know what will come.”
Her site is in Chinese, but you can still look through the pictures where she documents all the things she does for others: Chen Xiao
