WHEN PLUNDER BECOMES A WAY OF LIFE

MY PHOTO FOR THE DAY - POT POURRI

This photo of pot pourri bowl was taken at Ikea

WEIGHT LOSS - IS YOUR SHAMPOO AND PLASTIC BOTTLES CAUSING WEIGHT GAIN

Whether you are trying to lose weight or trying to keep healthy and fit, it's worth knowing there are chemicals in your environment that may contribute to weight gain. Research has shown that endocrine disrupting chemicals like Phthalates contained in shampoos, creams and lotions and Bisphenol-A in plastic bottles used in packaging water,  ketchup, salad dressing, juices and so on, lead to weight gain.

Read the labels of your shampoo, creams and lotions for presence of phthalates and switch to glass bottles instead of plastic.

HUMOR - PHOTOSHOP

ART - GIANT COLORFUL SLUGS WITH PLASTIC BAGS

"Slow Slugs" a giant installation work by Dutch artist Florentijin Hofman looks quite interesting. This was created as a part of the Accroche Coeurs Festival in Angers, France. Do you know what they are made of? Colored Plastic bags...that too 40,000 of them, woven around massive metal frames designed and shaped like a slug.

(image credit design boom)

INSPIRATION - BE HAPPY, YOU ARE AMAZING

My neice who wrote this inspirational message is  a cheerful and positive young girl who is a 11th grader, living in U.S.  I did a teeny-weeny bit of editing though.

MY PHOTO FOR THE DAY - GRILLED TILAPIA

About two weeks ago,  after I finished picking up whatever I wanted at Geant Hypermarket, I looked at their hot food counter and saw lots of grilled tilapia and I thought, why not buy fresh tilapia from Geant and grill myself. And that's what I did. Here's the grilled tilapia I made and my husband and I loved it. It goes really well with rice. If you are interested in the recipe, I will be posting it soon.

HUMOR - KICK STARTING LIFE IN MIDDLE AGE

HITACHI - INCORRUPTIBLE QUARTZ GLASS FOR SUPER LONG TERM DATA STORAGE

Hitachi has come up with an incorruptible system that may allow data to last forever.  Data is stored forming microscopic dots serving as binary codes within a piece of quartz glass. This should be easily readable using an optical microscope. Only thing being, several hundred years from now, the concept of binary code should still be understood to whoever is around then. The prototype developed by Hitachi is two centimeters (0.8 inches) square by two millimeters thick, incorporating four layers of dots. As of now, the memory capacity is40 megabytes per square inch, roughly equal to that of a music CD. The glass square is expected to withstand exposure to high-temperature flames and various harsh chemicals, and survived being heated to 1,000º C (1,832º F) for two hours. It is also unaffected by radio waves or immersion in water. Though glass is breakable, quartz is known for being particularly hard.

INDONESIAN CULTURAL DAYS AT KUWAIT NATIONAL MUSEUM

On Monday we attended the Indonesian Cultural event that showcased a blend of traditional music of Indonesia and a Fashion Show, at the Kuwait National Museum, organized by NCCAL (National Council for Culture Arts and Letters) and the Indonesian Embassy. This was held as a part of the ongoing Asian Cultural Days program.  The hall way leading to the auditorium, was adorned with traditional handcrafts, clothing, jewellery and artefacts from Indonesia which was quite remarkable. A live batik session had interested people try out their hand at traditional batik painting on cloth.

Indonesian musical event and Fashion show will be held at Sharq Mall amphitheatre at 7.30 pm on Wednesday October 10 for the public. The event is ofcourse free of cost. If you'd like to enjoy some traditonal Indonesian Music and fashion show, drop into Sharq Mall this evening. Try to be there early to catch a place to sit or stand.

Here are some pictures I took of Monday's event we attended.

APPRECIATING LIFE

I love this quote by William Blake....

MY PHOTO FOR THE DAY - LET THE LIGHT SHINE

About two weeks ago, after a beautiful musical event at Regency Palace Hotel, we were exiting from the car park of the hotel and I noticed these beautifully lit up trees that glowed in the dark, giving a magical hue to the green. If it weren't for the lights, we probably wouldn't have looked at the trees in the dark. When things aren't going bright and all seems dark, let your inner light shine, and in that glow, in that amazing moment when your light shines, you know you can release your troubles and concerns to the Universe, and everything is going to be alright.

WEIGHT LOSS - HOW TO MAKE PROGRESS

Are you trying very hard to make progress in losing weight? Do you feel tired of it all and you rather relish an icecream or burger or pizza or cake? They say, there is no progress without struggle. It's true. But why should you consider the effort or time it would take to do anything that will only bring you good, to be a struggle? Trying to lose weight and doing what it takes to reach your goals becomes a 'struggle' only if you brainwash yourself to think so everyday.  If you feel you are not going to ever reach your goal weight, it means you are giving up too easily. Don't give up. If you think you are unlucky or something and that the thin people are eating more than you and they don't put on any weight and you have to stay away from so many yummy and delicous foods, well, stop right there. You know, honestly, you are better off without all the junk food, fatty and sugary food or high amount of carbs. Your body does not require a huge amount of calories either.  After whatever is burned for your chores and activities, and if you're eating more than what you burn, it gets converted to fat and adds on week after week, month after month. So don't pity yourself if you cannot have what others are devouring. Your genetic makeup, metabolism, or the activities you do to burn your calories are different from others. Don't compare yourself with thin people. Instead motivate yourself by reading about people who were bigger than you and how they lost all their weight, what tips are they sharing and so on.  If they could have done it, so can you -  if you put your heart and soul into it, like they did.  So undo all the negative talk in your mind and watch what you eat. And exercise. You didn't become overweight in a few days right, so it will take you some months to lose weight.

BATH AND BODY WORKS - BODY BUTTER

Basically most of the variety of body butter available at Bath and Body Works feels really good on the skin - very nourishing and moisturizing . The only thing then left is choosing a body butter for it's fragrance . And what I liked the most are Black Amythest, Je t'aime, Sweet Pea and Japanese Cherry Blossom.



ASIAN CULTURAL DAYS ORGANIZED BY NCCAL - INDIAN MUSIC AND DANCE

In view of the upcoming Asian Summit meet, the National Council for Culture Arts and Letters (NCCAL) in coordination with embassies of Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Japan, India, Indonesia and  held cultural events by renowned and talented artists invited to perform from these countries. The Indonesian cultural event too place yesterday and will continue over the next two days, followed by cultural events from China during the weekend.

As a part of the Asian Cultural Days event, the Embassy of India hosted a beautiful musical and dance show on 3rd and 4th October. Satwic Veena (that resembles an elongated guitar) was played by Salil Bhatt on both the days. Gifted classical dancer Parwati Dutta performed the beautiful  'Kathak'  dance on October 3 and the next day, she performed one of the most beautiful and oldest dance forms of India called Oddissi, which comprises of intricate movements, stamping of the foot and striking sculpture postures. It's known to be the oldest form of dance in India. Here are some photos I took.

Remaining events to take place:

Ongoing Asian Formative Arts Exhibition - Modern Art Museum, Gulf Road (Tuesday 9 October to Thursday 11 October and Sunday 14 October; timing 9.30am to 1pm and 5pm to 8.30pm)

Indonesian Traditional Music Group event -  Souk Sharq ( Amphitheatre, Wednesday 10 October, 7.30pm )

Chinese Folkloric Group Jiangsu - Thursday 11 October and Friday 12 October - Kuwait National Museum (theatre/auditorium, 7.30pm), Saturday 13 October at Avenues Mall, 7.30pm

Salil Bhatt (centre) on satwic veena

Partwati Dutta and her group performs Kathak a lovely rythmic dance of India

Parwati Dutta and her group performs a beautiful classical dance form called Oddissi