My friend went to a casino recently & I asked how she enjoyed it.. not, she said, she seemed to have the same feelings that I had when I went. It was a birthday party.. for my husbands step-brothers 40th.. and his wife rented a limo bus and took a bunch of us to Niagara, it was an over-night party, lots of fun. But I found the casino part of it very sad.. I just kept seeing all these people who don’t have the $ to be there.. spending their pay or w/e, probably trying to make rent or get money to pay bills and drinking.. and it was just really sad. I was glad to be out of there actually. Not my kind of lifestyle at all.. Horse races I’ve been to a few times.. it’s a bit better. Probably cause we were usually sitting at a table, eating, drinking.. more intimate – didn’t feel as much of the gambling or desperation... but those casinos, to see people sitting there plugging quarter after quarter into some machine.. Life is just a whole lot better than this. But this is life, & it’s all good.. & to each their own, ykwim.In the travel articles I was reading, I was interested in Dubai.. but got a bit of the same feeling as I did from the casinos. Maybe because it’s so about the money and man-made. But it is an interesting concept in city-building:
Boomtown Dubai
by Robin Esrock / Published November 15, 2005 at 10:28 am
Breaking hearts around the world, Modern Gonzo reports from Dubai - a city that draws in the young and hungry, the rich and restless, the greedy and desperate.
Boomtown Dubai. A Development Supernova! Imagine if you will, one hundred skyscrapers being constructed simultaneously, in a development that will instantly create a city. Now imagine ten of these developments, all within 20kms of each other. And a new one announced every month. Dubai is not so much a city as the World's Biggest Construction Site, a shrine to excess and one man's incredible vision to build a world center in a desert. Excess? The World's Biggest Shopping Mall. The World's Biggest Theme Park. The World's Tallest Hotel. The World's First Underwater Hotel. The World's Richest Horserace. Three man-made island developments you will see with the naked eye from space. And, when it is completed, the Burj Dubai will be the World's Tallest Building. Dubai is what Vegas dreams of becoming when it grows up. ..more: http://www.thetraveljunkie.ca/articles.php?articleid=112
Robin Esrock has more weekly travel reports at: http://www.moderngonzo.com/
Gonzo – gon’zoh/ With total commitment, total concentration, and a mad sort of panache. Overwhelming; outrageous; over the top; very large. Using an exaggerated, highly subjective style.
Modern Gonzo ohno’I’m’losto/ Embracig life in the worldiness. Extreme travel with a focus on adventure, authenticity; absurdity; beer. Experiencing the beauy, wisdom and people of our planet and also, it’s toilets
Interesting raw food article:
Raw foodists meet for Vibrant Living Expo by Connie Korbel
http://www.advocate-news.com/local/ci_4266561
excerpts:
‘Whether a food fad or a sustainable life choice, there is a movement - some say a revolution - afoot.
… Simply defined, raw foodism is the practice of eating only those foods that have never been heated above 118 degrees Fahrenheit. The term raw foods, interchangeable with living — or live — foods, is meant to differentiate foods in which the enzymes are intact and living from cooked foods, in which the enzymes have been destroyed by heat and are no longer functional.
Enzyme activity is the key doctrine in the raw foodism better-health ideology. The philosophy purports that the key to optimizing the value of vitamins, minerals and enzymes found in foods is in proper food preparation, in which up to 90 percent nutrients are destroyed during regular cooking.
Reasons for taking on the raw diet lifestyle vary among individuals and include health, environmental, ethical and spiritual concerns.
Environmentally there is less pollution, less packaging, a reduction of greenhouse gasses and runoff from contaminated water and decrease to exposure of pesticides. Some people strive ethically to live a life that leaves a smaller footprint that hopefully helps to sustain rather than further impoverish the planet.
Although environmental and ethical interests are equally valid, the Vibrant Living Expo focused primarily on nutrition and health factors. The raw food diet has been shown to benefit digestion, weight management, cure and prevent chronic degenerative diseases, increase mental clarity, rejuvenate and extend life longer.
… Raw foods diet -
Just as various categories of vegetarian lifestyles have emerged over the past decade or more, so have those who identify with raw foodism.
The goal is 80 percent raw, but broad categories have been established to include whatever works best for each individual.
Three key definitions have been loosely identified. The raw healing vegan diet is 95 percent or more raw, with no animal products of any kind, condiments or sweets. This most extreme diet often originates with individuals who are healing health problems.
The raw gourmet vegan diet is 80 percent or more raw with no animal products. They may also eat raw honey and spices. This group represents the raw foodist standard.
The raw vegetarian diet incorporates about 20 percent "cooked" (referring to foods that are only slightly heated to temperatures that will not destroy the majority of food enzymes) foods and limited animal products such as dairy, eggs, fish, but no red or white meat.
… Preparation techniques include soaking, sprouting, blending, dehydrating, fermenting, juicing and food processing in ways that closely approximate the taste and texture of cooked foods, such as soups, pastas, crackers and desserts.
Most recipes take less time to prepare than traditional ones and there's no cooking time to follow. Some recipes improve with refrigeration and others with just an ever-so-slight warming.
While becoming a raw foodist certainly isn't for everyone, the benefit of just adding more fruit and nut snacks to the diet is inarguable. Reducing and eliminating refined packaged foods is yet another aspect of the program that is sound and sensible for everyone.
Somewhere between the American mainstream diet and the raw food movement there is room for change and improvement for everyone. Ahead of their time or not, there is much food for thought in this ideology for the skeptical or discerning mind.
"The key to being a raw foodist is fast, easy and you-love-doing-it recipes," Kimberly Mac
Pic from http://saveursdumonde.net/ency-voy/asiemineure/emirats/images/dubai.jpg
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