Anna Bananna

Christian the Lion Reunited

2008-08-15T18:32:00.001-07:00

Do schools today kill creativity? (Ken Robinson, TEDTalks)

2008-07-21T04:31:00.001-07:00

Weezer- In the Garage

2008-07-18T15:14:00.001-07:00

R.E.M. Nightswimming Video

2008-07-18T05:22:00.001-07:00

Here's a little present.

A Disease That Allowed Torrents of Creativity

2008-04-10T09:07:00.000-07:00

New York Times

By SANDRA BLAKESLEE

Published: April 8, 2008

If Rod Serling were alive and writing episodes for “The Twilight Zone,” odds are he would have leaped on the true story of Anne Adams, a Canadian scientist turned artist who died of a rare brain disease last year.

Trained in mathematics, chemistry and biology, Dr. Adams left her career as a teacher and bench scientist in 1986 to take care of a son who had been seriously injured in a car accident and was not expected to live. But the young man made a miraculous recovery. After seven weeks, he threw away his crutches and went back to school.

According her husband, Robert, Dr. Adams then decided to abandon science and take up art. She had dabbled with drawing when young, he said in a recent telephone interview, but now she had an intense all-or-nothing drive to paint.

“Anne spent every day from 9 to 5 in her art studio,” said Robert Adams, a retired mathematician. Early on, she painted architectural portraits of houses in the West Vancouver, British Columbia, neighborhood where they lived.

In 1994, Dr. Adams became fascinated with the music of the composer Maurice Ravel, her husband recalled. At age 53, she painted “Unravelling Bolero” a work that translated the famous musical score into visual form.

Unbeknown to her, Ravel also suffered from a brain disease whose symptoms were identical to those observed in Dr. Adams, said Dr. Bruce Miller, a neurologist and the director of the Memory and Aging Center at the University of California, San Francisco. Ravel composed “Bolero” in 1928, when he was 53 and began showing signs of his illness with spelling errors in musical scores and letters.

“Bolero” alternates between two main melodic themes, repeating the pair eight times over 340 bars with increasing volume and layers of instruments. At the same time, the score holds methodically to two simple, alternating staccato bass lines.

“ ‘Bolero’ is an exercise in compulsivity, structure and perseveration,” Dr. Miller said. It builds without a key change until the 326th bar. Then it accelerates into a collapsing finale.

Dr. Adams, who was also drawn to themes of repetition, painted one upright rectangular figure for each bar of “Bolero.” The figures are arranged in an orderly manner like the music, countered by a zigzag winding scheme, Dr. Miller said. The transformation of sound to visual form is clear and structured. Height corresponds to volume, shape to note quality and color to pitch. The colors remain unified until the surprise key change in bar 326 that is marked with a run of orange and pink figures that herald the conclusion.

Ravel and Dr. Adams were in the early stages of a rare disease called FTD, or frontotemporal dementia, when they were working, Ravel on “Bolero” and Dr. Adams on her painting of “Bolero,” Dr. Miller said. The disease apparently altered circuits in their brains, changing the connections between the front and back parts and resulting in a torrent of creativity.

“We used to think dementias hit the brain diffusely,” Dr. Miller said. “Nothing was anatomically specific. That is wrong. We now realize that when specific, dominant circuits are injured or disintegrate, they may release or disinhibit activity in other areas. In other words, if one part of the brain is compromised, another part can remodel and become stronger.”

Thus some patients with FTD develop artistic abilities when frontal brain areas decline and posterior regions take over, Dr. Miller said.

An article by Dr. Miller and colleagues describing how FTD can release new artistic talents was published online in December 2007 by the journal Brain. FTD refers to a group of diseases often misdiagnosed as Alzheimer’s disease, in that patients become increasingly demented, Dr. Miller said. But the course and behavioral manifestations of FTD are different.

In the most common variant, patients undergo gradual personality changes. They grow apathetic, become slovenly and typically gain 20 pounds. They behave like 3-year-olds in public, asking embarrassing questions in a loud voice. All along, they deny anything is wrong.

Two other variants of FTD involve loss of language. In one, patients have trouble finding words, Dr. Miller said. When someone says to the patients, “Pass the broccoli,” they might reply, “What is broccoli?”

In another, PPA or primary progressive aphasia, the spoken-language network disintegrates. Patients lose the ability to speak.

All three variants share the same underlying pathology. The disease, which has no cure, can progress quickly or, as in the case of Senator Pete V. Domenici, Republican of New Mexico, who announced his retirement last fall because of an FTD diagnosis, over many years.

Dr. Adams and Ravel had the PPA variant, Dr. Miller said.

From 1997 until her death 10 years later, Dr. Adams underwent periodic brain scans that gave her physicians remarkable insights to the changes in her brain.

“In 2000, she suddenly had a little trouble finding words,” her husband said. “Although she was gifted in mathematics, she could no longer add single digit numbers. She was aware of what was happening to her. She would stamp her foot in frustration.”

By then, the circuits in Dr. Adams’s brain had reorganized. Her left frontal language areas showed atrophy. Meanwhile, areas in the back of her brain on the right side, devoted to visual and spatial processing, appeared to have thickened.

When artists suffer damage to the right posterior brain, they lose the ability to be creative, Dr. Miller said. Dr. Adams’s story is the opposite. Her case and others suggest that artists in general exhibit more right posterior brain dominance. In a healthy brain, these areas help integrate multisensory perception. Colors, sounds, touch and space are intertwined in novel ways. But these posterior regions are usually inhibited by the dominant frontal cortex, he said. When they are released, creativity emerges.

Dr. Miller has witnessed FTD patients become gifted in landscape design, piano playing, painting and other creative arts as their disease progressed.

Dr. Adams continued to paint until 2004, when she could no longer hold a brush. Her art, including “An ABC Book of Invertebrates,” a rendering of the mathematical ratio pi, an image of a migraine aura and other works, is at two Web sites: members.shaw.ca/adms and memory.ucsf.edu/Art/gallery.htm.

The Original Human TETRIS Performance by Guillaume Reymond

2008-03-12T15:03:00.001-07:00

This one is for Tetris lovers :-)

Space Invaders

2008-03-07T16:27:00.000-08:00

Walking around some cities in Europe last winter made me realize that some of the streets had mosaics with little space invaders. If you look for them, you find them, and if you do not, you find them too. They are in the Raval in Barcelona, in Le Marais in Paris, in Australia, in Africa, in the US... they do not speak, but they are so funny and clever!
Here's the official web page: www.space-invaders.com

Len Chandler - Beans in my Ears

2008-02-10T03:44:00.001-08:00

Angryalien.com

2007-12-26T02:50:00.000-08:00

In this webpage you can find a summary of movies in 30 seconds. Pretty funny.
www.angryalien.com/

The story of Stuff

2007-12-13T14:45:00.000-08:00

It is only 20 minutes, it is worth watching!
http://www.storyofstuff.com

Feel like cooking?

2007-11-23T02:44:00.000-08:00

Check out this web page: http://www.cookingforengineers.com

Fun Fun Fun

2007-10-24T11:37:00.000-07:00

Check out this web page! Fun Fun Fun

http://demo.fb.se/e/ikea/dreamkitchen/site/default.html

Almost 30 and do not know what to do yet?

2007-10-24T10:01:00.000-07:00

DREAM IT. DO IT. DREAM CAREER QUIZ IN 20 QUESTIONS
http://www.dreamit-doit.com/content/toolkit/quiz.aspx
This is what I got:

Creative
A creative job is most likely to be your dream career, so you probably shouldn't bother with formulas and bar graphs. You usually like the challenge of creative something out of nothing – it's a skill not everyone has. Maybe you'll design the world's fastest production car. Maybe you'll be a staff writer for a stereo manufacturer or create the first full-body airbag. Either way, your creativity will be the key. Making things, big ideas, new ways to do stuff – it's what you’re best at. We'd tell you exactly what you should do, but something tells us you've invented some pretty good ideas already.
What did you get?

Really funny

2007-08-18T05:59:00.001-07:00

I still think this is one of the funniest things I have ever seen! Poor guy!

Little People

2007-08-12T04:39:00.000-07:00

Some of you might have seen his artwork near the cathedral in Barcelona, here you have his blog. Enjoy! http://little-people.blogspot.com/

Who killed the cockroach?

2007-07-30T13:15:00.000-07:00

11:30am Sunday Maria (my roommate) sends me a text message "Anna, are you awake? There is a giant cockroack smashed on the floor". She is right, there is a 6cm winged red cockroach smashed in our bathroom floor. I clean it and the animal's juices are stuck on the floor, who killed it did a great job. The strange thing is that we were the only ones in the appartment, so... WHO KILLED THE COCKROACH?

This is how the events went:
10:30pm Saturday, Maria leaves the appartment for a bbq while I am in the bathroom fixing my hair. No cockroach has been seen so far.
10:45pm Saturday, Mike leaves the appartment for a party while I am in my room getting dressed. He doesn't enter to the bathroom.
11:15pm Saturday, I leave the appartment after spending the last 30 min in the bathroom. No cockroach has been seen.
3:15am Sunday, I am the first one to get home. I go to the bathroom and I do not see any cockroach
3:30am Sunday, Maria gets home. Goes to the bathroom. No cockroach yet.
9am Sunday, I go to the bathroom wearing sandals, I am really sleep. I do not see any cockroach.
11:30am Sunday, Maria goes to the bathroom and sees the smashed cockroach on the floor.

None of our shoes had any evidence.
Other people with keys: Gerard (the neighbour with a sleepwalking disorder), Aleix (a friend who likes to get drunk, flirt and dance, lives about 15min far), Solange (cleaning lady), Mike (roommate that got home at 4pm on Sunday and swears that the last time he was home was saturday at 10:45pm).

WHO DO YOU THINK KILLED THE COCKROACH?

Unnecessary Facts

2007-07-28T04:14:00.001-07:00

FOOD EXPERIMENT in Barcelona

2007-07-28T04:11:00.001-07:00

Alternativas a Pandora

2007-07-22T03:18:00.001-07:00

Ya que no podemos escuchar Pandora desde Europa hace días que necesito una alternativa. Aunque ninguna de las alternativas ni tan siquiera se acerca a Pandora, con la que estoy más contenta en cuanto a variedad es Musicovery.

Mario: Game Over

2007-07-20T13:10:00.001-07:00

¡Qué cosas más raras me pasan últimamente!

2007-07-20T12:11:00.000-07:00

Strange things are happening to me:
-I get stunk by a bee
-I see an ambulance upsidedown in the middle of the street
-I see the most beautiful clouds ever while flying
-I see whales

Pep Bou. Clar de Llunes

2007-07-13T14:02:00.001-07:00

The most delicious thing I have ever seen.

Avui he retrobat en Pep Bou. No és que mai m'he n'hagués obligat, ja que per sort l'he pogut seguir gràcies al treball amb la Marta Carrasco. Segurament vosaltres també el recordareu perquè us deixava bocabadats davant la televisió de petits. Sí, és aquell senyor que fa bombolles.
Bé, aparentement només fa bombolles però el que fa s'apropa molt més al sublim que a una barreja química, tot i que no deixa de ser mai quelcom físic. Les paraules no sonen bé.
Tot el teatre amb la boca oberta. Tots. I ell amb els peus ben arrelats a terra sense deixar de flotar.
El d'avui i les balenes al mig del mar són els moments més poètics que he percebut mai. No em creia als que deien que l'home podia conseguir aquests nivells de sublimitat.
Per un moment tot semblava que tenia sentit i armonia i de cop "pluf" la bombolla explota. Que real, quant de sentit i armonia en l'explosió.
Fins hi tot les parts desembombollades, les projeccions, els entremitjos, els somriures, LA MÚSICA, ... fantàstic tot! Sí, fantàstic!
Estic plena de paraules buides així que millor que calli i us digui que estan al Tívoli fins el dia 22 de juliol. Aneu-hi, és el millor regal que us podeu fer. Ja m'ho explicareu!

La Revolucion de los Medios // English with Spanish subtitles

2007-06-17T11:48:00.001-07:00

Although it only talks about the north part of the planet it is interesting.

Talento

2007-06-08T14:20:00.001-07:00

Hoy hemos ido al Teatro Llantiol a ver una obra llena de talento. Si el próximo viernes quieres que te sorprendan durante una hora ve a verlos:
Cia Guantazo
Reserva tu entrada a Micromental World solo 6€ruillos

Feu-vos un favor i aneu-hi

2007-06-07T13:03:00.000-07:00

Sols, acompanyats, enfadats, il.lusionats, adormits, amb ganes o sense, us recomano moltíssim que aneu al Versus Teatre a veure WOLFENSTEIN i Tetris.perquè surto plena, però segur que no us deixaran indiferents.

Del 6 al 24 de Juny "WOLFENSTEIN" DIMECRES / DIUMENGE 19:30 H.
Del 7 al 24 de Juny "TETRIS" DIMECRES / DIUMENGE 21:30 H.

Reserva aquí amb la teva entrada per 8€

Hard things to understand

2007-06-02T06:19:00.000-07:00

On July 31, 1761, the French ship L’Utile is shipwrecked on a tiny island in the Indian Ocean. Not long after, the sailors manage to reach Madagascar, but they leave behind the Malgache slaves they had embarked illegally on L’Utile. Only a handful of survivors remain when they are found 15 years later, in 1776. A corvette drops anchor near a small island, lost in the Indian Ocean, on November 29, 1776. The island seems completely deserted, a stretch of white sand with a few palm trees. Yet the sailors discover a baby and seven women, all former slaves from Madagascar. Dressed in tunics of woven feathers, they are the only survivors of a shipwreck 15 years earlier. They survived by eating birds, turtles and shellfish.

--------------------

Ship picks up 26 migrants -31 May 2007

The 26 African immigrants that were picked up by a Spanish fishing trawler in the open Mediterranean earlier this week have been transferred to a Spanish rescue ship, the transport ministry said.

The immigrants were taken aboard the Clara Campoamor some 40 maritime miles off the Italian island of Sicily, it said in a statement. The ship will now take them to the northeastern Spanish port of Tarragona.

Conditions aboard the trawler Montfalco were difficult due to a lack of supplies and limited space but the 26 Africans who are believed to be from the Ivory Coast were in good health, it added.

Italy, Libya and Malta refused to allow the would-be immigrants to disembark arguing the Africans were in international waters when they were rescued by the Spanish trawler despite appeals from Madrid for them to do so.

Spanish Employment and Social Affairs Minister Jesus Caldera appealed to all nations in the European Union to respect laws regarding rescues in the open waters, which he said had not occurred in this case.

Relax and enjoy

2007-05-31T12:17:00.001-07:00

Make sure you make it to the last minute.

Let's destroy everything!!!

2007-05-26T03:57:00.001-07:00

When I go to my parent's house I like to go for a long bike ride in the country. My favourite part is in La Vall d'en Bas (Bas' Valley), it is the most quiet and peaceful place around there, only the bad smell of some cows bothers you there. Against everybody, the authorities decided to build a highway there and according to the experts they designed it in the worst way possible. On Friday this road started beign visible from the valley and tomorrow I am going to go for a bike ride and I cannot help to get my eyes full of angry tears because that place will become another valley with a highway, just like so many others and we will have destroyed the quietness, the peacullness of the place. Now that my hometown doesn't have any industries the only solution to survive was the tourism but who will visit that place is it is just another valley with a highway in the middle? Why don't we think before doing things? This case makes me particularly angry because the authorities decided without taking the neighbours opinion into account. The neighbours chained themselfs in the machinery and protested everyweekend for a long time but nobody listened to them. How is that possible?
Well, tomorrow I will go for my bike ride and I will feel stupid and angry, then I will go vote. Funny, isn't it?

Kevin Panozzo

2007-05-23T13:06:00.000-07:00

Once I introduced a class saying that the speaker was like a Renaissance man. He was a comic writer, illustrator, script writer, teacher, movie director... Kevin is somehow a Renaissance man, he is a writer, a singer, a painter, ilustrator and I have heard that he is a good lover too! Cheers to Renaissance men.
This is his web page:
www.kpanozzo.com
Specially good are his Oils and Mixed Media Paintings

Arponeu

2007-05-16T08:49:00.000-07:00

Arponeu has a new blog with some really good pictures

http://arponeuseyes.blogspot.com/

¡Este sábado!

2007-05-16T08:43:00.000-07:00

El meu domicili en permuta

2007-04-21T02:55:00.000-07:00

Fa un parell de mesos una noia va venir a fer fotos a la casa i a medir els espais. Llavors, els artistes interessats van enviar les seves propostes d'interacció amb els nostres espais.

Looking for Paradise

2007-04-01T10:17:00.000-07:00

Looking for Paradise is the name of Yoko's Exhibition in Girona, if you have a chance please check it out. I love her work!
La Llibreria
c/Ciutadans, 15
Girona
Until the end of April

Hello Stranger

2007-03-29T13:27:00.000-07:00

Llevo años llorando en sitios públicos. He llorado en la calle, en un autobus, en la andana, dentro de un vagon, esperando el verde de un semáforo, en el aeropuerto, en la estación, en un ascensor, y hasta que ayer no lloré apoyada a una pared, nadie nunca me había preguntado si necesitaba algo. Lloré tan fuerte que esa chica morenita con el ipod a todo volumen me oyo, y ella se acercó a mi para ver si necesitava algo. Desde aquí muchas gracias estraña. Agradezco que me tocaras el brazo y me hicieras levantar la cabeza, aunque solo fuera para mirar quien me estaba "molestando" en tan íntimo momento. Al levantar la cabeza vi que había mundo, gente en la calle, nueves en el cielo, respire poco a poco para que pudieras entenderme cuando hablava y me calmé. Te dije que estaría bien, y que no te preocuparas, que gracias y de verdad de agradezco tu gesto. MUCHAS GRACIAS CHICA ESTRAÑA CON CARPETA DE LA AUTONOMA.

Derek Kirk Kim

2007-03-18T05:07:00.000-07:00

I just got done reading "Same difference and other stories" by Derk Kirk Kim and need to recommend it to you. You can read most (all?) of his comics in his web page www.lowbright.com
I got this book at my local library, it is really suprising all the good materials you can find in your local library. I encourage you to go there and get a library card, it is free and they can help you discover some really cool books/movies/music.
Find your nearest library at:
http://www.publiclibraries.com/
Troba la biblioteca més propera a casa teva:
http://cultura.gencat.net/biblio/bicerca.asp

Lethal Sounds: Deadly Sonar Harms Whales

2007-03-04T14:04:00.001-08:00

Donate at www.savebiogems.org/whales/

Luci Gutierrez

2007-03-04T13:07:00.000-08:00

Have a good time checking out this web page. She has some really cool desktop icons there.
_____________________
Aquí la pàgina web de una ilustradora muy ingeniosa.

Johan Potma

2007-03-04T12:49:00.000-08:00

Here's the webpage of a guy that makes really Cool drawings.

Domicili en permuta

2007-03-04T12:35:00.000-08:00

"en permuta" es el primer proyecto de mas, y plantea una serie de exposiciones de corta duración realizadas en espacios privados (casas, espacios de trabajo u otros), que cedidos a la plataforma por un periodo de tiempo corto, se abrirán al público como espacios expositivos.
Aproximadamente cada cuatro meses, se realizará una sesión de “en permuta”. Para cada una de ellas se elegirán entre cinco y diez espacios situados en una misma zona, creando así la posibilidad de hacer recorridos entre cada uno de los espacios, en donde se encontrarán a un mínimo de tres artistas, que crearán o interrelacionarán una, o varias de sus obras con el espacio temporal expositivo. Cada sesión de “en permuta” contará con un equipo diferente de curadores.
El 19 de MAYO en Av. Paral.lel 192-194 Ent. 4a y otros domicilios
Más información en www.masarte.org

Gente interesante

2007-02-23T16:05:00.000-08:00

Un día dije que no conocía a gente interesante. Me equivoqué. Mira a tu alrededor.

________________

Once I said I wasn't meeting any interesting people. Look around you.

Who Killed the Electric Car trailer

2007-02-19T14:34:00.003-08:00

Hey everybody! This is a really important and interesting movie! Check it out!

Pictures from Robert's Party

2007-02-15T14:35:00.000-08:00

Pictures from Robert's Party or Crazy Hair Party.

City / Simcity

2007-02-07T15:19:00.000-08:00

I spent a huge number of hours playing Simcity, that is one of the thing that I have in common with the director of the play that I went to see today. His name is Jordi Casanovas and he is my age. His play is called City/Simcity and I am really thankfull to him because I thought I didn't like plays anymore and he made me realize that I do like plays, but just certain kinds of plays. Also we showed me that there are good actors in this country, that not all the actors sing while they talk. Thank you very much!
The play will be at the Sala Beckett until the 18th of February. Only in catalan.

Sin electricidad

2007-02-07T15:12:00.000-08:00

Ya hace 24h que no tenemos electricidad en casa. El resto de vecinos tiene y nosotros no. Mañana vienen a repararla. Tengo ganas porqué hace mucho frío pero también hay algo inigualable de la experiencia de vivir sin electricidad. Durante el día puedes hacer vida normal y por la noche no hay nada que hacer sin unas cuantas velas cerca. Sin electricidad la vida era sin duda muy distinta, esto puede sonar como a algo muy obvio pero de verdad, intenta vivir 24 sin nada electrico, el ritmo te cambia, la productividad también y supongo que la gente haría más hijos. Una experiencia 100% recomendable!

My sister / La meva germana

2007-02-03T00:59:00.000-08:00

In my case it is true, mine is the best. Yes, I have the best sister ever! Here you can see her supersmily face in the cover of the magazine that she has been interning for. Alba, thanks for being so super!!!
_____________________________________
Avui llueixo de germana, tinc la millor germana del món! Felicitats per tot el que estàs aconseguint! T'estimo molt!

Girl takes pic of herself every day for three years

2007-01-10T16:11:00.001-08:00

Babel - An Exhausting Film

2007-01-10T16:00:00.000-08:00

Author: brocksilvey
Alas, it appears that, based on other user comments here at IMDb, I am in the minority on this film. I found it to be tedious and exhausting, and the effort I put into sticking with it far outweighed any sense of closure I received from it.

Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu appeared at the screening I saw and introduced his film as the final entry in a trilogy that includes "Amores Perros" and "21 Grams." Innaritu, in a comment that surprised me, said that his intent with this trilogy was not to focus on politics or social commentary, but rather to look at the modern family and what it means to be a father, son, mother, daughter, etc. This may have been his intention, but I don't feel that over the course of three entire films Innaritu did say much about these issues. Instead, he has painted a portrait of the world as he apparently sees it as a pretty bleak, uncaring and unforgiving place to live. I thought "Amore Perros" was so pessimistic as to border on nihilism; "21 Grams" came closer to finding a sense of peace and redemption among the general human crappiness. "Babel" sticks closer to the sentiments of the first film than the latter.

"Babel" is of course about communication, or more exactly miscommunication, in the modern world. It's a theme that has engaged the interest of many a filmmaker lately -- the idea that technology has made instant communication so much easier, yet people seem to be more than ever incapable of understanding one another. It's a conceit that greatly interests me, but Innaritu doesn't exploit its potential here. "Babel" consists of a monotonous series of scenes in which people shout, storm, fight and talk over one another, always in a hurry to be understood without taking the time to understand. Very well, point taken. But Innaritu makes this point within the film's first half hour -- you only need see one or two scenes of this kind of frustrating verbal gridlock to understand what he's trying to say; after that, the frustration just mounts without any kind of pay off. People are mean to one another, some are unbelievably callous (I didn't buy for a second that the group of tourists who accompany Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett's characters to a remote Moroccan village after Blanchett is accidentally shot would be so uncaring as Innaritu depicts them). In Innaritu's world, all authority figures are to be justifiably feared, as they go around beating everybody up and pulling guns on innocent people. There's no nuance in Innaritu's world; he pounds his message into you. For example, he obviously feels strongly about the mistreatment of illegal immigrants, especially those from Mexico, but instead of engaging in an intelligent debate about the topic, he sets up such an implausible, not to mention one-sided, scenario in this film that you can't help but agree with him. (...)

After "21 Grams" I thought I was warming up to Innaritu, but this film has sent me back to the detractors' camp. He certainly knows how to put a movie together, and he finds engaging ways to tell his stories. But his attitudes and approach to the modern world are so depressing and fatalistic that his films push me away rather than draw me in.

Arrecades / Ear rings

2006-12-31T02:50:00.000-08:00

You do not have jewlery to wear tonight? No problem! Try this! All you need is:Pierce the fuzzy ball with a safety pin and hang it on your regular earring!
Cool ah?

Quina angúnia!

2006-12-17T12:12:00.000-08:00

Mireu el fàstic que fa el nen que li falta una dent i li creix una de nova!!! Era necessari?
Check out the missing-a-tooth-kid!!! Isn't it kind'a creepy?

What's in My Food? By Pallavi Gogoi

2006-12-16T12:16:00.000-08:00

Business Week Online
Few people know that the food coloring listed as cochineal extract comes from female beetles. Food activists want to spread the word.

When you dig into a strawberry Yoplait yogurt, take a moment to contemplate where the beautiful pink color comes from. Strawberries? Think again. It comes from crushed bugs. Specifically, from the female cochineal beetles and their eggs. And it's not just yogurt. The bugs are also used to give red coloring to Hershey Good & Plenty candies, Tropicana grapefruit juice, and other common foods. You won't find "crushed bugs" on the list of ingredients for any of these foods, however. Companies have a bit of latitude in describing exactly what they put in our food.

Many larger companies, such as General Mills, the manufacturer of Yoplait and Pepsi, the maker of Tropicana, identify the dye in their products as either carmine, or cochineal extract. Still, many companies simply list "artificial color" on their ingredients list without giving any details.

Food activists are trying to change disclosure requirements. The Food & Drug Administration has received numerous complaints over the issue and is now in the process of considering a proposal to require color additives like the cochineal extract to be disclosed on the labels of all foods that use them. "Hopefully we'll see something by the end of the year," says Michael Jacobson, executive director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a food advocacy group in Washington, D. C.

ALLERGIC REACTIONS. Jacobson says that consumers want to know what they're eating. Some are allergic to bug extract; others are vegetarians. "The food product should indicate that it comes from insects so that vegetarians at least can avoid the product," he says.

Carmine may be the least of food activists' worries. It is known to cause allergic reactions in just a small percentage of the population. Food producers sometimes add much more dangerous chemical additives to make their products look attractive (see BusinessWeek.com, 3/27/06, "Hershey: A Sweeter Bid").

Indeed, who would think that chicken, eggs, and salmon are often artificially enhanced to look more appetizing to consumers? The plump, juicy chicken sitting on the supermarket shelf is likely to have been fed canthaxanthin, a pigment added to chicken feed to enhance poultry's yellow color and make it look palatable. And egg-laying hens are also given a dye along with their feed, making egg yolks vary in color from light yellow all the way to bright orange.

IN THE PINK. Farmers can have their pick from a color chart that goes from the numbers 1 to 15, coinciding with colors from yellow to red. The yellow color comes from xanthophyll and carotenoids in the feed absorbed through the intestine, metabolized, and deposited in the egg yolk. In an article published last year, R. Scott Beyer, a poultry specialist from the Kansas State University, recommended different levels of xanthophylls, depending on what color of yolk is desired. He says 23 mg of xanthophyll per pound of feed results in a "medium orange" color.

The fresh, farm-raised salmon that shoppers buy also get their orange-red hue from eating the chemicals astaxanthin and canthaxanthin. Wild salmon are pink because they eat shrimp-like creatures called krill. But to achieve the same pink color, farmed salmon need chemicals, which are mixed with their feed. In the past couple of years, the European Union significantly reduced the level of such dyes that can be fed to salmon because of concerns that the dyes, at high levels, can affect people's eyesight.

Two years ago, in the U.S., Seattle law firm Smith & Lowney filed two class actions against grocers Kroger and Safeway in Washington and California, contending that they should disclose that their salmon are dyed pink. Both lawsuits got thrown out of court. However, Knoll Lowney, a partner at the law firm, says that the lawsuits raised enough public awareness that many grocers voluntarily use "color added" labels to their salmon.

Still, Lowney says that such dyes are totally unnecessary. "This is a growing problem because the food companies are using more artificial means to enhance the appearance of the product and make it appear like something that it is not," he says. A walk down the grocery aisle for processed food is an eye opener—the bacon and ham get their red tint from sodium ascorbate, an antioxidant and color stabilizer, and the Betty Crocker icing gets its bright white color not from natural cream and egg whites but from titanium dioxide, a mineral that is also used in house paints. Betty Crocker manufacturer General Mills didn't return phone calls seeking comment.

Guinea Bissau

2006-12-11T14:30:00.000-08:00

Aleix is going to Guinea Bissau. He is leaving tomorrow and will be there for a whole month. He will help built an orphanage. You are my hero! Enjoy your days there!
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Demà l'Aleix marxa a Guinea Bissau, hi serà fins a mitjans de gener. Ajudarà a construïr un orfanat. És el meu heroi! Que gaudeixis dels teus dies allà.

www.pandora.com

2006-12-06T01:26:00.000-08:00

Per si no vau llegir el post us recomano moltíssim www.pandora.com
S'ha de crear una "estació de radio" basada en un grup que us agradi i després ell sol us proposa grups que tenen un estil semblant. És fantàstic per conèixer nous grups i per recordar cançons que havieu oblidat. Es gratuït i les cançons baixen molt ràpid. A mesura que aneu escoltant podeu dir si us agrada la cançó o no i us ofereix la següent segons el que li heu indicat. Proveu-ho! És genial!
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Not so long ago I wrote a post talking about www.pandora.com, if you did not read it now it is the moment to check it out. It is really cool, you will be suprised. It is free and really easy to use. I use it at work all the time and it is awsome. You just need to start a "station" with the name of a band you like or a song you like and it will start playing songs in the same style. Then you can say if you like that song or if you don't and depending on what you say it will give you the next one! It is genious! Please give it a try!

The Xylophonist

2006-11-28T13:58:00.001-08:00

Really funny! It is great to see that there are people that actually DO things and not only think about doing them. // Si no entens el primer minut no et preocupis, el millor és a partir del segon minut. Superdivertit!

Techo pintado en un área de fumadores / Painted ceiling in a smokers area

2006-11-28T12:08:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving

2006-11-23T15:15:00.000-08:00

Mensaje de un compañero de trabajo a toda la oficina:

"Hoy es el Día de Acción de Gracias en los Estados Unidos. Visitamos a la familia, comemos pavo, miramos football americano y, gracias al pavo, nos quedamos dormidos en el sofá. Lo típico de un día de fiesta.

Pero hay una tradición un poco especial que me gusta mucho y que me gustaría compartir con vosotros: paramos todos y, durante un momento, pensamos en las cosas que tenemos y damos las gracias por tenerlas. Creo que es una reflexión muy chula y a pesar de pertenecer a otro país con sus propias tradiciones, os invito a hacerla.

Paremos todos un momento y pensemos... "¿De qué cosas debo dar gracias?"

-Chris"

Prou of being his friend / Orgullosa de ser la seva amiga

2006-11-17T16:31:00.000-08:00

L'aleix ha guanyat un premi de teatre a Andorra. Va parir una obra que es diu IRA, la va imprimir, la va posar dins un sobre i la va enviar en un concurs. Ara ha guanyat el concurs i el seu talent ha estat reconegut.
No deixeu de visitar el seu blog és genial! Moltes, moltes, moltes felicitats Aleix!
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My good friend Aleix won an award last week. He writes plays. Well, he fights to write plays. And now a jury thought that his play was the best of all the ones they got. I am sooooooo proud of him!! Thank you very much Aleix, my life would be pretty miserable without fiction and you are the fiction master. Thanks! And congratulations!

Josh Rouse

2006-11-12T03:43:00.000-08:00

We went to see Josh Rouse last night, great show! He is done with his tour in Europe but he will be playing in the US in a few moths with John Mayer. If you have a chance go to check him out. Great show!
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Ahir vam anar a Bikini a veure en Josh Rouse, us recomano que us mireu la seva música. Està molt bé!

Who was your favourite in Northern Exposure? / Qui era el teu preferit a Dr. en Alaska?

2006-11-09T14:46:00.001-08:00

In Spain they called the show Dr in Alaska, isn't it funny? The second season just came out here and they sold so many copies! Do you remember the show? Who was your favourite character? Shelly the blonde that works at the bar? Dr. Joel Fleishman? Ed with the black leather jacket? Maggie the sexy pilot? Chris in the morning? Maurice the astronaut? Marilyn the receptionist? Holling the ex-hunter that runs the bar? Ruth Anne and her grocery store? You will have to read the commentaries to know mine!! If you know how to programm a poll let me know!
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Dr en Alaska, els dies d'estiu cap a mitjanit a La2, quan La2 no era La2 sino TVE2. Els que us heu comprat el DVD ho tindreu fresc, els que no us l'haugueu comprat digueu-m'ho i us el deixaré! Qui era el vostre preferit? Shelly? Joel? Ed? Maggie? Chris? Maurice? Marilyn? Holling? Ruth? Podeu votar en els comentaris. Si algú em sap programar una enquesta m'ho podeu enviar a la meva adreça!

Corinne Bailey Rae

2006-11-07T13:51:00.000-08:00

Perdoneu però no ho puc evitar, una altra recomenació musical. Música de bon rotllo per anar en metro, en bus, estar a casa, estar treballant... segur que us agrada.
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I couldn't help it. I saw her in SNL and then I had to download her album. And now... I can not help sharing her with you. Enjoy her!

Leadership and Self Deception: Getting Out of the Box / La Caja

2006-11-06T11:54:00.000-08:00

I normally do not like to read this kind of self-help book but this one is very good. Mainly it is good because it is short and secondly it is good because it talks about you. The title says that it talks about leadership but they only say that to sell books among biz people, it is really about being in peace with oneself and with those that are near us. This book makes a good present too. It is by the Arbinger Institute.
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Ja sabeu que no m'agraden gens aquests llibres d'autoajuda però aquest és diferent, es diu La Caja i m'agrada força. Primer perquè és curt, i segon perquè de forma gens dogmàtica t'explica un parell de coses sobre estar en pau amb tu mateix i amb els que t'envolten. Si heu de fer un regal a algú que estimeu aquest és un bon regal. I molt fàcil de llegir! És de l'Arbinger Institute

Fall is here

2006-11-05T12:49:00.000-08:00

Fall is finally here, now we can start spending entire days at home, making puzzles, watching movies, keeping ourselves warm... nice. I am listening to Sujfan Stevens, you should check him out. He is pretty good. If you like Kings of Convenience you will defenetely like him.

An Inconvenient Truth

2006-11-05T12:44:00.001-08:00

Since Friday it is in all the movie theaters in Spain! Please take 1h and 30 min of our time to listen to Al Gore talk about global warming. Great presentation skills and great message. Please go.

The Departed / Infiltrados

2006-10-30T16:14:00.000-08:00

Thank God there is still someone who remembers how to make a good movie!
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Si teniu festa dimecres ja sabeu a on anar! Infiltrados!

Dylan Dog

2006-10-29T12:15:00.000-08:00

"Puedo leer la Biblia, Homero o Dylan Dog durante días y días sin aburrirme" dice Umberto Eco. Por mi cumpleaños me regalaron Mort Cinder de Oesterheld y Breccia. Y debo decir que Dylan Dog sigue siendo mi favorito. Compré dos tomos de sus cómics hace muchos años en un kiosco de Las Ramblas, no sé si sus historias siguen a la venta o no, pero si tenéis ocasión de leerle no dejéis pasar la oportunidad.
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Sorry but these books are not translated into English yet!!!!

To kill a mockingbird / Matar a un ruiseñor

2006-10-24T14:37:00.000-07:00

More than 10 years ago I read that To kill a mockingbird was Truman Capote's favourite novel. Last month was on sale at the bookstore so I got it. After reading it I need to recommend it to all of you. Do you remember reading books for school? Some of the books that made us read were for literature class, and those were boring because we couldn't understand them. But there were other classes where you could read for pleasure, I remember that there was a shelf full of books and as long as you wrote a little note about the book, you could choose as many as you wanted and the wants you wanted. All those books on the shelf made you think outside the box and ask you things..., I remember The 79 squares by Malcom J. Bosse. To kill a mocking bird is one of those books that you enjoy and after reading it you feel like you have learned a lot of things and that you have many things to improve and to think about. Plus it is really easy to read. I hope you enjoy it! By the way, can you make a recommendation of a book that you read in high-school?
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Recordeu aquells llibres que ens feien llegir a l'escola o a l'institut i que ens canviaven la manera de veure el món? Matar a un ruiseñor hagués estat un d'ells si l'hagués llegit fa 10 anys. Un dels llibres que em van tenir més afecte en mi, va ser Demian de Herman Hesse o quan encara anava a l'escola Els 79 quadrats. Quin va ser el teu llibre?

Waking Life

2006-10-23T16:23:00.000-07:00

I went to see Scanner Darkly today. I do not really want to talk about the movie right now but I would like to recommend you the previous movie from the same director. It is called Waking Life and if you video store has it you should rent it. It's a perfect fall movie! If you have seen it and you want to comment on it, please do so.
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Avui he anat a veure Scanner Darkly. Si us ve de gust aneu-la a veure, però sobretot m'agradaria recomenar Waking Life, aquella si que era una passada de peli. si la tenen al vostre video no ho dubteu dues vegades! Si ja l'has vist i tens ganes de comentar alguna cosa, no dubtis a fer-ho.

Yoko Kataoka

2006-10-10T13:21:00.000-07:00

Yoko is from Japan and now she lives in Girona, Spain. She makes one of the coolest art work I have ever seen. Please visit her page www.yokokataoka.net and fall in love with her work. I think you can buy her postcards but I am not sure.
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Alguns ja la coneixeu. Es diu Yoko i el que fa és una passada. No us perdeu la seva pàgina web, preciós! www.yokokataoka.net

Action Squad - Minneapolis Urban Adventurers

2006-10-02T15:11:00.000-07:00

Action Squad
I wasn't going to post so soon but I need to show you this because what they are doing is really cool. They are the Minneapolis - St Paul Urban Adventurers and they go to abandoned buildings and explore. Great webpage, great pictures, great initiative! Isn't just awsome when somebody actually does something?
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Si us plau, no deixeu que l'idioma us freni mirar aquesta pàgina. El que aquesta gent fa em sembla d'allò més interessant. Es dediquen a anar a edificis antics, entrar-hi i fer recerca de què era l'edifici. Troben coses super interessants! Una idea genial i que genial que algú la porti a terme! Action Squad

Thanks for the party!! / Gràcies per la festa!

2006-10-01T07:18:00.000-07:00

Click Here To See More Pictures

Sushi

2006-09-25T07:30:00.000-07:00

On Thursday our floor neighbours came to give us some sushi that they had prepared. I was so happy! So happy to see that there are people out there that are not afraid of talking with other people! A lot of times I have the sensation that people in Barcelona are skared to talk with others, that is why everybody looks rude in the subway and nobody smiles, they are like walking walls.
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El dijous els veïns de davant ens van venir a portar un plat de sushi que els hi havia sobrat. Va ser fantàstic! Fantàstic veure que hi ha gent que no li fa por parlar amb altra gent. De vegades aquesta és la sensació que tinc a Barcelona, que la gent fa mala cara tota l'estona perquè ningú els molesti, com murs que caminen.

Drooling Madonna / Madonna babejant

2006-09-22T10:06:00.000-07:00

These are real pictures, I took them today dowtown Barcelona. It looks like she really likes it!
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Aquestes fotos són reals, si les voleu veure només cal que aneu a Plaça Catalunya. És la Madonna Babejadora.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet

2006-09-17T03:18:00.000-07:00

If you liked Amelie check out this shortfilm by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Things I Like, Things I Hate
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Si et va agradar Amelie mira't aquest curt del seu director Jean-Pierre Jeunet:
Foutaises, catalogue nostalgique des plaisirs de la vie

Clak!

2006-09-16T05:54:00.000-07:00

Ahir vam anar al Club Capitol a veure Clak! us la recomano moltíssim. És un espectacle d'humor visual, molt enginyós, molt xulo. Una hora i mitja de riure constant. La vam trobar a Atrapalo.com molt bé de preu i ens ho vam passar MOLT I MOLT BÉ. Crec que a tots us agradaria. També serveix si voleu fer un regalet a algú altre, segur que també riuràn. Està a Barcelona fins a l'1 d'Octubre. Ja m'ho explicareu si l'aneu a veure!
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If you are near Barcelona and you do not speak Spanish or Catalan you will really like Clak! because you will understand everything! It is a humour show playing at the Club Capitol (Las Ramblas). You can buy the tickets with a discount at Atrapalo.com.
If you do not live in Spain here is a little present for you, it is a really nice shortfilm City Paradise.

Harvey Danger

2006-09-14T14:24:00.000-07:00

Si no els coneixeu us els recomano moltíssim, es diuen Harvey Danger i us podeu baixar el seu nou disc de la seva pàgina web gratis i escoltar-los, són molt potents. Això si, si us agraden molt, si us plau, feu una donació, és molt fàcil i us sentireu millor. A gaudir-los!
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Harvey Danger. Some of you might know them, but in Europe they are really unknown, if you haven't checked out their new album please download it for free from their webpage and enjoy it, it is really cool! Also if you like them and you recommend them to other people please make a donation, you will feel better. I do!

Why do you like to snooze? / Tu per què fas el ronso al matí?

2006-09-11T13:31:00.000-07:00

The alarm clock goes off at 6:30 but you press “Snooze” until 6:40, then at 6:50 it goes off again and you put the day off once more, finally you get up at 7am, and you do the same everyday. Why? What is the pleasure of snoozing for you?
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Segur que tu també ho fas… poses el despertador 20 o 30 minuts abans de l’hora d’aixecar-te, però per què? És una manera d’autoenganyar-te i fer-te creure que estas dormint més estona? És perquè t’agrada notar que estas dormint? Per què t’agrada intentar recuperar somnis deixats a mitjes? Tu per què fas el ronso al matí?

Si això és un home / If this is a man by Primo Levi

2006-09-09T03:47:00.000-07:00

Aquesta setmana he acabat de llegir Si això és un home de Primo Levi. Primer de tot dir que qui el vulgui llegir que m'ho digui perquè us el deixaré sense cap problema. De fet, tots els llibres que vulgueu us els deixo, i si no me'ls torneu sinò que els deixeu a algú altre no passa res. Us vull recomenar moltíssim aquest llibre que parla de l'experiencia de Primo Levi en un camp d'extermini nazi. Vicenç Villatoro diu en el próleg: "Sembla que l'única via per parlar eficaçment del Lager sigui el testimoni vital, net, en primera persona, que explica les coses tal com són, sense afegir ni treure res, sense buscar efectes especials, sense més truculències que les imprescindibles. I aquest és el fonamen de l'obra de Levi." Val la pena.
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Please read this book, it's very short, very easy to read and it makes you think about human kind and what we have done in the past. But not only about the past, if you also read Thomas Friedman's The world is flat, please link what Friedman says about muslims being humiliated and the germans being humiliated before the III Reicht. It gives you a lot to think about today's situation and a possible future if we do not change things. Very interesting. For a long time I felt lazy about reading this book because I didn't want to read about horror but it is written not from the horror presepective but from a very real and cold point of view. I am sure that all of you will really like this book. If this is a man by Primo Levi.

El mundo es plano / The world is flat

2006-09-09T02:57:00.000-07:00

I strongly recommend you to read The world is Flat by Thomas Friedman. The first chapters might be a little bit boring if you are not really into the technological stuff. But after a while the book gets so much better! It gives you an outlook of the world situation, politically, economically,... very interesting and easy to read. If you want to know what is going one in the world today this is the book. Again, very easy to read, really. Also, it makes a good present.
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El mundo es plano de Thomas Friedman no sé si a la majoria de vosaltres us agradarà gaire... parla molt d'Estats Units així que millor no us el recomano.
La foto però, mostra que el món es força pla per alguns afortunats. A la foto hi ha gent de Guatemala, Peru, Estats Units i 5 catalanetes!

www.pandora.com

2006-09-09T02:18:00.001-07:00

Per si no vau rebre el meu email us recomano moltíssim www.pandora.com
S'ha de crear una "estació de radio" basada en un grup que us agradi i després ell sol us proposa grups que tenen un estil semblant. És fantàstic per conèixer nous grups i per recordar cançons que havieu oblidat. Es gratuït i les cançons baixen molt ràpid. A mesura que aneu escoltant podeu dir si us agrada la cançó o no i us ofereix la següent segons el que li heu indicat. Proveu-ho! És genial!
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Not so long ago I sent an email talking about www.pandora.com, if you did not get it now it is the moment to check it out. It is really cool, you will be suprised. It is free and really easy to use. I use it at work all the time and it is awsome. You just need to start a "station" with the name of a band you like or a song you like and it will start playing songs in the same style. Then you can say if you like that song or if you don't and depending on what you say it will give you the next one! It is genious! Please give it a try!

Per què l'Anna té un blog? / Why does Anna have a blog?

2006-09-09T01:59:00.000-07:00

Com que estic tipa d'escriure missatges multitudinaris recomenant llibres, pelis... he decidit que ho penjaré en un blog i qui vulgui que ho miri! Has pensat de tu també tenir-ne un? _________________________________
I am tired of sending spam emails to all my friends recommending movies, books... so I have decided to post that in a blog for you to look it up whenever you want! Have you thought of having one yourself?