Jewelry Fashion Trends

You may have heard that skin cancer is the most common type of cancer, but did you know that sun damage can affect people of all ages, races and colorings – not just those with light skin and light eyes? While people with darker skin tan more easily, tanning still is a form of skin damage, according to the American Cancer Society. The phrase "healthy tan" is actually a myth. The American Cancer Society also notes that melanoma is almost always curable when detected in its early stages. It is not only very important to protect yourself from sun exposure, but to conduct monthly self exams and show any suspicious findings to your family physician or dermatologist.

What Does Melanoma Look Like?

The "ABCD rule" is an easy guide to follow when looking for the usual signs of melanoma. Be on the lookout and tell your doctor about any spots that match the following description:

-A is for ASYMMETRY: One half of a mole or birthmark does not match the other.
-B is for BORDER: The edges are irregular, ragged, notched, or blurred.
-C is for COLOR: The color is not the same all over and may include shades of brown or black, or sometimes with patches of pink, red, white, or blue.
-D is for DIAMETER: The spot is larger than 6 millimeters across (about ¼ inch -- the size of a pencil eraser), although melanomas can sometimes be smaller than this.

How Can I Lower My Risk For Skin Cancer?

The American Cancer Society provides the following sun safety tips to help prevent melanoma and other skin cancers:

- Avoid unprotected exposure when the sun is at its strongest (from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.). UV rays pass through clouds and water, so don’t assume you’re safe if it’s not sunny or you’re feeling comfortable in the cool water.
- Check the UV Index for your area before planning a day outside. This number between 1 and 10 is a measure of the amount of radiation reaching the Earth’s surface. The higher the number, the greater the exposure. You can find the UV Index by clicking here and entering your ZIP code.
- Wear UV-blocking sunglasses. Ideally, glasses should have 99 percent to 100 percent UV absorption. Darker lenses are not necessarily better because the protection comes from an invisible chemical applied to the lenses. Look for an ANSI (American National Standards Institute) label.
- Use sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher that protects against UVA and UVB radiation. Apply generously and properly – 30 minutes before sun exposure. For most sunscreens, reapply every two hours or immediately after swimming, toweling dry or perspiring. Guard against loss of your sunscreen’s effectiveness from heat by keeping it in your cooler.
- Stay in the shade as much as possible or cover up with protective clothing. Dark colors provide better protection than light colors. Choose tightly woven fabric and select a hat with a broad brim to protect your neck, ears, eyes, forehead, nose and scalp.

Regular skin examinations are key. This includes monthly self exams as well as an annual skin examination by a health care practitioner to identify any changes in your skin or the development of anything new.

The SHADE Foundation of America emphasizes the importance of learning sun safety early. To encourage parents to teach their kids about sun protection, the Foundation has created the SHADE acronym:

- Sunglasses. Always wear sunglasses with UV ray protection.
- Hats. Always wear a wide brim hat made from a close weave fabric.
- Always wear protective clothing, long-sleeved shirts and pants.
- During the peak sun hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., reduce exposure to the sun; stay in the shade.
- Every 90 minutes, reapply sun block with at least an SPF of 15.

Source:
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute
American Cancer Society
SHADE Foundation of America
United States Environmental Protection Agency

SPF, or sun protection factor, describes how much longer protected skin can resist reddening than unprotected skin - if you're wearing SPF 15 then you can theoretically spend 15 times longer in the sun without burning.

It's true that there is a minimal difference in coverage between SPF 15 and, say, SPF 45 if you apply the appropriate amount of each. But studies have shown that most people apply about one-quarter of the sunscreen they should, and get only 20-50 percent of the SPF they think they're getting. For the record, you should apply about a quarter-size amount to your face, neck and chest - use that as a gauge for the rest of your body.

That's why higher SPFs are so valuable: Even if you don't apply enough, you're still better protected than you'd be if you used lower SPF. But you still need to reapply - every hour during direct sun exposure!

Matt Damon’s wife Luciana is due soon with the third baby, who will join Isabella (2) and Alexia (9). It seems that it is going to be a girl again and Matt jokes of his girl-powered household "I'm so outnumbered down here, it's crazy". The couple still hasn’t picked out the name and wants to wait till the baby is born.

Matt is also involved with One X One Foundation's U.S. operations, and prepares for San Francisco opening gala on Oct. 23. The charity helps children worldwide. "It's about helping kids," Damon says. "It's not like before I was a father I was like, 'The hell with those kids.' But something does shift when you have a child of your own. It's hard not to look at every child as somehow connected to you."

Damon is responsible for talent recruitment for the events. "I have to make calls. Sheryl Crow is going to play at one of our events. It's the easiest call in the world to make," Damon says. "I just tell what the charity is about, and everyone wants to do anything they can."

Good luck Matt

A Maryland community activist Rocky Twyman founded The Pray At The Pump movement. In the time of rising gas prices and economic downturn Twyman and his group believes that praying at the gas pumps will lower the prices. However, he is not only relying on God’s help. Twyman will be leading prayers in Washington and collecting signatures for the petition to the Saudi oil minister, asking him to pump more oil to drive gas prices down.

The group is active since April 2008 and claims that their prayers already caused some local miracles. “We had a really big all night prayer vigil in Toledo, Ohio, one of the car capitals of the United States (…) It was a tremendous gathering of Baptist, Methodists and Anglicans. After that gathering, the press called me from Toledo and said that the prices had gone down 30 cent.” – Rocky Twyman said.

High gas prices are definitely taking toll on US economy and are a big contributory factor in over quarter million job losses this year. Mr. Twyman’s initiative gives some people hope and won’t harm anybody but I really doubt its effectiveness.

German Health Minister Ulla Schmidt presented a proposal which would prevent underfed models to work on runways or in ads for German fashion industry.

According to the agreement the acceptable minimum BMI (body mass index) should be 18.5, which is comparable to size 36 in Europe. Minister Schmidt said: “We want to make clear stand against an unhealthy body image”. The agreement has been already signed by some modeling agencies, German Fashion industry federation and German Fashion Institute. Unfortunately majority of fashion industry representatives participating in Berlin Fashion Week doesn’t acknowledge or pay attention to Schmidt’s proposal. The sad truth is that most of the designers don’t pay attention to models’ health.

We can only hope that modeling agencies and fashion industry representatives will pick up the idea and participate in the agreement. Maybe it will prevent future tragic cases of anorexia like the one of Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston, who died at age 21 in 2006. At the time of her death Reston weighed only 40 kilograms (88 lbs.) and measured 172 cm (5 feet 8 inches). She had a body mass index (BMI) of about 13.4, below the index value of 16 which the World Health Organization considers to be starvation.

This is a video my friend sent me couple days ago. It is pretty funny.

Enjoy ! 

A Swiss company – Algordanza, offers quite unique service: transformation of the ashes of your loved ones into quality high-grade certified diamonds. Believe it or not, but the company has many clients and many people choose this form of “funeral”. The company was founded in 2004 and today has branches in 21 countries.

The whole process takes up to 8 weeks and costs up to 10600 Euros. The price depends on the number of carats. The first step of the whole process is the physical-chemical analysis of the ashes in laboratory. In this way a kind of "chemical finger print" is prepared. This analysis is necessary to be able to steer the subsequent physical and chemical processes, and to document the source of the memorial diamond from the original ashes. As basic material for the actual synthesis for one or more diamonds a quantity of 500 [g] ashes is needed. If requested all ashes can be used for the synthesis. They remain in the process until they are completely exhausted. The transformation of the ashes is carried out with utmost care and reverence. Every production step is accurately documented. The actual transformation process, the conversion of graphite into a memorial diamond is carried out under enormously high pressure and high temperature and requires a couple of weeks, depending on the size (weight) of the stone.

The memorial diamond shines white to bluish color. As different human beings are, as distinct are the tints of the diamonds. The bluish tint is depending on the individual quantity of the element Boron in the carbon. Boron is therefore an evidence for the organic source of the carbon. After the synthesis the rough diamond is cut and polished according to the client's request. Furthermore, the diamond can be engraved in micro scripture by means of laser inscription. The inscription is only readable with a magnifying glass.

Diamonds are forever; would you like to be ?



 

Couple of weeks ago, a good friend of mine prepared a chocolate mousse with rasperries and let me try it. I must say - it was delicious. Laughing When I asked her how she made it, she just smiled and gave me the recipe. She found it on Fineliving website. I have to admit, I would have never guessed the ingredients.

Here is the recipe:

2 cups avocado (the richer, the better)
1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons maple syrup
2-4 tablespoons organic evaporated cane juice or organic sugar (optional: for the sweeter tooth)
2 tablespoons Omega Nutrition coconut butter, or any coconut butter/oil that does not have a strong, fragrant smell (optional)
1-2 teaspoons non-alcohol vanilla extract
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar (aged balsamic is best)
1/2 teaspoon shoyu
1 cup pure cocoa powder (Green & Black is choice)
1 pint raspberries
Handful of fresh mint leaves
Sprinkle cacao nibs (optional)

In a food processor: Blend avocado, maple syrup, organic sugar (if choosing), coconut butter, vanilla extract, balsamic, and shoyu until smooth and creamy.

Add cocoa powder and blend until smooth. Sifting the cocoa powder before adding is a good idea so prevent lumps. A simple metal strainer works well.

Put a few raspberries on the bottom of the glass, then a dollop of mousse, a sprinkle of chopped mint and finally top with raspberries, chopped mint again and cacao nibs.

Yields: 4-8 servings

Bon Appetit !