Aerial Hoop

Amy on the Hoop courtesy Amy Cruickshank

Some people make the most of life and live to the fullest. My friend Amy is one of those.
If you want a little more zest your life in your life why not take an Aerial Hoop Class with Amy? Classes are taught in an easy to get to Sunset Park location in beautiful Brooklyn. Amy is a gifted teacher.
If you are interested contact Amy at cruickshank.amy(@)gmail.com.

Haiti

In regard to Haiti: I did talk to friends who are trained & work for humanitarian organizations and in disaster relief specifically. Wisdom has it that what works is to give money to already established local reputable organizations. And otherwise to give to established international organizations.
If you head over to Charity Navigator , you can find a list to reputable organizations to give to.
Charity Navigator also echoed some of the things I heard from friends and explains what they think is the best way to help and who to give to here:
www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=1004.
I think this is very helpful to read.
Network for Good is another organization that evaluates charities. You can find them here: www.networkforgood.org.

UPDATE: Two organizations that keep being mentioned in the news and by people in the field are: Partners In Health and Architecture for Humanity.

Runaway Moon

The Sea Horse © Minette Lee Mangahas

My friend the very talented Minette Lee Mangahas is having an opening this week.

Minette Lee Mangahas
Runaway Moon
SB D Gallery
125 East 4th Street
New York, NY
Opening Reception: January 16, 2010 5-8 PM

See more of Minette's work at: www.brushsong.com.

Culturehall: Framed & Haiti

© Andrea Chung

Please head over to www.culturehall.com for the latest issue titled Framed, curated by Candace Gottschalk and myself. Working on this project was a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with Candace again. The feature led us to discover the work of Sara Applegren and gave us an opportunity to highlight work by three of our favorite contemporary women artists: Andrea Chung, LaToya Ruby Frazier and Tiana Markova-Gold.
We are proud to showcase this eclectic yet cohesive selection of work that reflects on the traditional and the progressive. And we hope that the dynamic of this selection is thought provoking. Thank you Tema and Andrew of Culturehall for the opportunity.

Please also re-visit my Nymphoto Conversation with Tiana, by clicking here. In that interview I presented work Tiana photographed in Haiti, and of course in light of the devastating earthquake in Port-au-Prince, those images become even more poignant.
One feels so powerless every time a catastrophe likes this happens. I just asked some aid worker friends of mine what a constructive way to help would be. I'll keep you posted on what they say.

And while it sounds trite, I do believe that it also matters how you conduct yourself in your every day life. Be polite, be helpful, be active in your own community. I think changing the world starts at home. As my sister once said, raising a child is a very political act. Each of us has an impact.

Galette des Rois

Three Kings letting me eat cake (yup, I went outside an got me some galette) ©Nina Buesing Corvallo

It has been a long time since I lived in Paris, but since I did so in my formative years, I (proudly) carry with me some French-ness.
Galette des Rois is a delicious cake with an almond paste filling (so good!) that was traditionally served in France on the Epiphany. But nowadays Galette des Rois can be found all through the month of January. Even in New York! Most authentic French Bakeries will have it and the Belgian chain Le Pain Quotidien also has a traditional gallette on the menu this month. I am still a bit triste about Mountain and all, but seeing the galette in the window of my local bakery cheered me up.
I might just have to go back out in the frozen tundra and get myself a piece.
Head over to www.chocolateandzucchini.com to read more about La Galette des Rois.

Mountain

Fauna I (Ghost) Framadani , Belize 2008 --image of Mountain. R.I.P Buddy - hope you found even better pastures . ©Nina Buesing Corvallo

Last week Mountain died or as my mother-in-law more poetically said, he departed. I don't like to have favorites, but Mountain was my favorite. Or maybe a better way to describe my connection to Mountain is to say that he was my muse. He had a lot of character, the most beautiful & expressive eyes and I loved his crazy mane. Mountain, you will be missed. "Che tristezza" my husband said and I agree.

Sunday Reading (Peter is the new Julia)

My dad is an engineer and he used to travel to Nigeria for work every month. The other day at my house he was reading Uwem Akpan's fiction piece for The New Yorker Baptizing the Gun and he was commenting how authentic the writing felt. It brought my dad right back to Lagos. You can find the piece here: www.newyorker.com.

Kottke.org made me aware of Nil by Mouth by Roger Ebert for the Chicago Sun Times , an intense piece of writing. Roger Ebert is a great critic, but clearly he is also a great person. You can read Nil by Mouth by clicking here.

I am reading Elizabeth Gilbert's Committed, and so far I like it. I know some find her too much, but I like how she embraces life and I find her courageous too. And to me she is a hero just for that.

Andrea got me reading cook books. I used to never cook. I did not cook for two reasons: because my husband is an outstanding cook and out of a feminist sentiment that deemed all things domestic secondary. I now have a different view of all things domestic and I capable of some very decent cooking. My friend Andrea however is a really talented cook who makes heavenly meals. Yum.
She recommended Peter Berley's cook books to me and while I always thought of myself as cook-from-the-heart& trial-by-error cook, I have found myself reading Peter Berely's books with great enthusiasm. After Julie & Julia, I was chagrined that my vegetarianism was depriving me of being able to cook through all of Julia Child's recipes. I briefly toyed with experimenting with making some sort of fake meet Beef Bourguignon. I no longer have to do so blindly as Peter Berely has an excellent recipe for Seitan Bourguignon in his book The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen.
I think I can take my cooking to another level, thanks Andy & Peter ;)