Dariana’s Neighbors

Doing a Demo for Ben

nobody@vox.com(Nancy) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:19:30 -0800

Hi guys. Just showing Vox to my friend Ben. Hey, isn't this cool?!

The Little Monkey

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Romantic Love: 15 months or a lifetime?

nobody@vox.com(Patty) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 06:12:15 -0800

candy covered heart

Apparently for 10% of couples, romantic love does not fade. What set of scientists do you think are right?

Story Highlights

Scientists have discovered that people can have a love that lasts a lifetime
About 10 percent of couples appear to feel young love's first blush permanently
Research has suggested first stages of romantic love fade within 15 months

(CNN) -- Love's first blush fading? Lost that loving feeling? Love is not all around?

Sick of cliches?

Take heart, scientists have discovered that people can have a love that lasts a lifetime.

Using brain scans, researchers at Stony Brook University in New York have discovered a small number of couples respond with as much passion after 20 years together as most people only do during the early throes of romance, Britain's Sunday Times newspaper reported.

The researchers scanned the brains of couples together for 20 years and compared them with results from new lovers, the Sunday Times said.

About 10 percent of the mature couples had the same chemical reactions when shown photographs of their loved ones as those just starting out.

Previous research has suggested that the first stages of romantic love fade within 15 months and after 10 years it has gone completely, the newspaper said.

"The findings go against the traditional view of romance -- that it drops off sharply in the first decade -- but we are sure it's real," said Arthur Aron, a psychologist at Stony Brook, told the Sunday Times.

The original article is here.

The CNN article above is at:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/01/04/true.love.found/index.html

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Please Help Solve The Mystery Of The Brussels Lovers Statue

nobody@vox.com(Patty) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 13:32:43 -0800

The Lovers Statue in Brussels Belgium

We saw this statue in Brussels and I took a couple of photographs. It reminded me of the piece of art we bought last year in Amsterdam. However, there was no sign or plaque noting the name of the piece, the artist or its origin.

So this evening I was looking online to see what I could find about it by Google searching. We're still in Germany so I had to get Google to cooperate and speak English to me, but then I tried searching "lovers statue Brussels" and variations including adding "stone" "outdoor" "and even added the location near where we spotted it, the Theatre de la Monnaie. And nothing. It's as if this piece of art in the center of Brussels doesn't exist.

Help Solve The Mystery

This is not a small piece of art. It's life sized in fact. And it's right out in a public space. But the only thing I could find on it online was one man's photo of it on Flickr, from 2006. One. No other images, no background, no history.

That seems so weird to me.

So I'm putting it out there as a Vox challenge. Do any of you know anything about this sculpture? Or care to play detective for me?

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New blog location!

nobody@vox.com(beba) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 23:07:36 -0800

Keep up with me at http://bebablog.com :-)

And for those of you who twitter, follow me (and I'll follow you...) at http://twitter.com/bebablog

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Matcha

nobody@vox.com(Nancy) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 11:05:20 -0800

I recently decided to get some matcha because I read that the health benefits of green tea are much greater in this concentrated form than with brewed green tea, since you are consuming the entire leaf. I don't really like the matcha drinks they have at the coffee places because they always add a bunch of sugar. I purchased some at a lovely local tea store (Teance). The plain matcha actually makes a very nice latte. The funny thing is that there is not a single word of English anywhere on the packaging - except for the opening instructions embossed on the actual can, which are ony in English. I guess the cans are made here and filled in Japan.

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Don't You Hate It When People Talk At The Movies?

nobody@vox.com(Patty) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 09:52:35 -0800

Apparently this guy took his sssuuuuusssshhing a little more seriously than the rest of us.

Man shoots talker at movies

(CNN) -- A man angry that a family was talking during a movie threw popcorn at the son and then shot the father in the arm, according to police in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

James Joseph Cialella, 29, was charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and weapons violations, a police report said.

Cialella told the family sitting in front of him in the theater on Christmas Day to be quiet, police said.

An argument ensued while others at the Riverview Movie Theatre watched "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Cialella then approached the family from the left side of the aisle and shot the father, who was not identified, as he was standing between Cialella and his family, according to the police report.

The victim was taken to Jefferson Hospital with a gunshot wound to his left arm, police said.

Cialella was carrying a Kel-Tec .380-caliber handgun clipped inside his sweatpants, police said. He was arrested and taken into custody.

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We lucked out! There are three EMPTY seats between us.

nobody@vox.com(Patty) — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 12:41:31 -0800

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

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Combining music and movies

nobody@vox.com(Irma) — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 06:50:26 -0800

There is this Steven Jay list of 1001 movies you must see before you die ( http://www.listsofbests.com/list/1081 ) and though I don't totally agree with the choices (no Ed Wood, No Barbarella, No Duel), it brought some forgotten gems to my attention so that I'm currently working my way through the list (Just approaching the two thirds mark). Along the way I had unwittingly done a few videos using footage from various films on said list and I thought it would be a really good thing to eventually have 1001 videos that will cover all of Steven Jay's picks individually. For that, of course, I need your help. So what I want you to do is: Get the list, choose your favourites and create a video that is based on only one movie at a time. It doesn't have to be the rather easy music clip thing that I do. Whatever takes your fancy really. Then join http://www.youtube.com/group/1001movies and submit your video. But please be creative and don't just add the official trailer.

Excellent idea. Here are some of my favourites:

Pink Martini - Amado Mio

Nouvelle Vague: Bela Lugosi's Dead

Nicola Conte & Lisa Bassenge: All Gone

Roque Baños: Fragile

The Cramps: Faster Pussycat

Peggy Lee: Bewitched

The Kills: I call it Art (La Chanson de Slogan)

Sukia: The Dream Machine

Sonic Youth: Sugar Kane

Lola vs Michal: the dearest Love

Lale Anderson: Lili Marleen

The Puppini Sisters: Wuthering Heights

Stan Getz & Luiz Bonfa: Insensatez (How Insensitive)

Nick Drake: Cello Song

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The Purrrfect Diva

nobody@vox.com(Irma) — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 05:25:09 -0800

Eartha Kitt, the US singer, dancer, actor and self-proclaimed "sex kitten" whose career spanned six decades, has died in the United States aged 81.

Eartha Kitt - I Want To Be Evil (Live Kaskad 1962)

Eartha Kitt - C'est Si Bon (Live Kaskad 1962)

Eartha Kitt - Just An Old Fashioned Girl (Live Kaskad 1962)

Eartha Kitt - An Englishman Needs Time (Live Kaskad 1962)

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Random Act of Kindness

nobody@vox.com(Nancy) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 10:27:53 -0800

I was out running errands yesterday and with all the shoppers out there the only spot I could find was a metered spot with a one hour limit.

I finished my errands and was rushing back about 5 minutes after the meter expired. When I arrived at my car, I found the meter with 12 minutes left. Took me a moment, then I realized someone had seen the expired meter and put some change in it for me.

Holiday spirit? or just a kind soul? Either way, it made the world feel a little bit friendlier.

Best wishes - whoever you are.

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