Paintings by Hannah Faith Yata
Several new works of the Brooklyn-based artist-painter Hannah Faith Yata (featured previously) who creates phantasmagorical paintings featuring female bodies merged with expressive fish heads. Find more of her work on Tumblr and Instagram.
Cross Connect Mag // Facebook - Twitter - Instagram
posted by Margaret
Friday, October 13, 2017
crossconnectmag: Paintings by Hannah Faith Yata Several new...
crossconnectmag: Paintings by Hannah Faith Yata Several new... crss
crssPaintings by Hannah Faith Yata
Several new works of the Brooklyn-based artist-painter Hannah Faith Yata (featured previously) who creates phantasmagorical paintings featuring female bodies merged with expressive fish heads. Find more of her work on Tumblr and Instagram.
Cross Connect Mag // Facebook - Twitter - Instagram
posted by Margaret
redlipstickresurrected: Ingri Haraldsen (Norwegian, b. 1984,...
Ingri Haraldsen (Norwegian, b. 1984, Sandnessjøen, Norway, based Oslo) - iSee, 2009 Drawings: Watercolors, Pen, on A3 Paper
redlipstickresurrected: Ingri Haraldsen (Norwegian, b. 1984,... crss
crssIngri Haraldsen (Norwegian, b. 1984, Sandnessjøen, Norway, based Oslo) - iSee, 2009 Drawings: Watercolors, Pen, on A3 Paper
On October 13, 1938, production began on “The Wizard of...
On October 13, 1938, production began on “The Wizard of Oz”. Buddy Ebsen, pictured here, was cast as the original Tin Man but ten days into shooting he was rushed to the hospital due to an adverse reaction to the aluminum powder makeup. Production stopped until Jack Haley was found as Ebsen’s replacement.
Black Tea: Origins, Health Benefits and How Does It Different From Green Tea
Some like it hot, and some like it cold, but cultures around the world agree: black tea is an incredible beverage. From Chinese tea ceremonies to British tea-time, this drink has shaped the way that people live their lives for centuries. Although black tea may look humble as it steeps in your cup, it has a storied past and impressive list of health benefits associated with it.
Black tea has a rich past
Black and green teas actually come from the same plants: Camellia sinensis assamica and Camellia sinensis sinensis.[1] Green and black tea are processed differently, which results in distinct color and flavor profiles.
China has been brewing green and oolong teas for thousands of years, but black tea didn’t come about until the 1730s. After a green tea factory’s production was held up, green tea leaves started to oxidize.[2] The oxidization led to the distinct flavor and color of black tea, and the accident became one of the most popular drinks worldwide.
There was lots of money to be made in the tea trade in the 1700s, but green tea didn’t retain its quality as well in transport as black tea. This is why most British tea culture revolves around black tea, while Eastern traditions favor green tea.
The West’s insatiable desire for tea led businessmen to take tea plants and seeds from China so that they could start tea plantations in other countries. India was among the most well-known of these locations, and tea became one of the main imports from the British East India Company.[3]
You’ve probably had black tea before, but you may not have realized it
Iced tea, sun tea, Earl Grey tea, Ceylon tea, and English breakfast tea are all variants of black tea. Black tea is served hot, cold, sweetened, and unsweetened. People often add milk, sugar, lemon, or honey to their drinks.[4]
All the varieties of black tea have different flavors, and taste preferences can define a region. The American South, for example, is known for its sweetened iced tea. The British have hot tea and pastries in the mid-afternoon. In Turkey, black tea is served hot in small glasses with the option to sweeten it with sugar cubes.
Many black teas are named for their region of origin. For example, Ceylon tea comes from Sri Lanka, and Darjeeling tea comes from India. Other designations, such as sun tea, refer to the manner in which the drink was prepared.[5]
Black tea vs. Green tea
As two of the most popular varieties of tea, you might be wondering what the difference between black and green tea is. As previously mentioned, green tea is made from unoxidized tea leaves, while black tea is fully oxidized. Green tea leaves are dark green in appearance, and when they are brewed, they produce a light greenish or golden drink.
The oxidization process gives black tea leaves their dark color. When brewed, the resulting beverage is a dark reddish-brown color. This is why black tea is often referred to as “red tea” in China. Green tea has a light flavor, while black tea tends to have a more robust taste.
Flavor can also change depending on the way that the leaves are prepared. Some of the highest quality green and black teas are loose-leaf varieties, which produce a better taste than bagged teas. Matcha, tea made from powdered leaves, is another fine variant.[6] Most often, matcha is made from green tea leaves, but it is possible to get black matcha as well.
Tea bags were an accidental invention that became popular for people on the go, but if you’re a tea aficionado, it’s worth looking at the quality of the leaves packaged in that manner.[7] Often these are finely chopped, and they tend to be low-quality compared to loose leaf varieties.
Black tea contains 25-48 mg of caffeine per eight ounce glass compared to green tea’s 25-29 mg per cup.[8] Depending on the quality of the leaves and the preparation methods, green and black tea can have roughly equivalent amounts of caffeine, but you’re more likely to get a bigger jolt from drinking black tea. These teas have significantly less caffeine that coffee, which averages about 95-165 mg per cup.
5 Amazing Health Benefits of Drinking Black Tea
1. It’s rich in antioxidants such as polyphenols, catechins, thearubigins, and theaflavins. Antioxidants can reduce illness and signs of aging by preventing damage to your DNA.[9] These same antioxidants may lower your risk for getting certain types of cancer.[10]
2. It’ll wake you up. Black tea contains caffeine and theophylline, both of which have a mild stimulant effect.[11] Some sources suggest that consuming black tea can prevent osteopoerosis, and Type II diabetes but more research is necessary to verify those claims.[12]
3. Black tea is good for your teeth. As long as you don’t pour yourself a glass of sugary sweet tea, you’ll experience improved dental health when you drink black tea. Black tea prevents plaque build up and kills bacteria that causes cavities.[13]
4. It’s an excellent way to support cardiovascular health. Reaching for a cup of tea can ward off headaches, lower cholesterol, and relieve high blood pressure.[14] Regular consumption of black tea is also known to prevent atherosclerosis (clogged arteries).
5. It supports your digestive health. Surprisingly, black tea can also have a soothing effect on the digestive system.[15] The tannins in black tea make it valuable for treating diarrhea and other digestive conditions.
People have been using the stems and leaves of black tea for medicinal purposes for generations. As more research on black tea is published, we’ll learn even more about its potential benefits.
Here’s how to brew yourself a cup of delicious black tea
Now that you know a little bit about the history of black tea and its possible health benefits, you may be eager to reach for a cup. There are so many ways to prepare black tea, but brewing it for consumption while its hot is one of the most popular methods.
The quality of your ingredients matters
Since the primary ingredient of tea is water, you’ll want to make sure that you use good water to brew. Some tap water has a strong chlorinated flavor, which will impact the quality of your final product. Choose filtered water if you can.
There are different grades of tea leaf. The cheapest and lowest quality teas are found in flat round or rectangular bags with finely chopped leaves similar to the ones below.
Although you can produce a serviceable cup of tea from such bags, it will have astringent and bitter qualities that you don’t find as often in higher grades of tea.
If you are using a teabag, opt for one filled with loose leaves instead of chopped pieces. A pyramid-shaped bag will give leaves a greater chance to steep and infuse your water.
Loose leaf teas that you put into a infuser or teapot will make a better drink than most bagged varieties. When you buy loose leaf tea, it’s almost always going to be a higher quality leaf. The infuser allows water to flow freely around the tea to bring out the delicate flavor notes.
When it comes to a good cup of tea, timing is everything
Many people over-heat their water when brewing tea today, but it’s unnecessary. Heat water until it’s almost to a boil. Add one teaspoon of leaves or one tea bag to the water, and allow it to steep for 1-2 minutes. Allowing the leaves to steep for longer will produce a bitter and unpalatable concoction.
Enjoy a calming and refreshing drink
After you’ve removed your leaves, you can enjoy your tea. Some people choose to add a small amount of sweetener to their cup of tea, but that depends on personal preference. While it is delightful with honey or lemon, black tea can also be enjoyed without any additives.
Black tea is the perfect pick-me-up during a busy day, but you can also serve it with meals or a mid-afternoon snack. This drink’s versatility, the multitude of health benefits associated with it, and the cultural impact that it has had around the world make it a great addition to your kitchen.
Reference
| [1] | ^ | Teatulia Organic Teas: What is Black Tea? |
| [2] | ^ | Art of Tea: History of Black Tea |
| [3] | ^ | East India Company: Timeline |
| [4] | ^ | The Spruce: An Introduction to Black Tea |
| [5] | ^ | Republic of Tea: What is Black Tea? |
| [6] | ^ | Health: 7 Things You Should Know About Matcha |
| [7] | ^ | UK Tea and Infusions Association: The History of the Tea Bag |
| [8] | ^ | The Mayo Clinic: Caffeine content for coffee, tea, soda and more |
| [9] | ^ | Smart Cooky: 10 Spectacular Black Tea Benefits You Should Know: For the Love of Chai |
| [10] | ^ | Web MD: Black Tea: Black Tea |
| [11] | ^ | WebMD: Black Tea |
| [12] | ^ | Livestrong: Is Black Tea Good for You? |
| [13] | ^ | Lifehack: 11 Benefits of Black Tea that You Didn’t Know About |
| [14] | ^ | Medical News Today: Black Tea: Health Benefits and Risks |
| [15] | ^ | Organic Facts: 5 Benefits of Black Tea |
The post Black Tea: Origins, Health Benefits and How Does It Different From Green Tea appeared first on Lifehack.
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Ladies, Use "Stylebook" and You Don't Have To Worry About Last Minute Styling Again
Ladies, we all know this story. It’s time to get ready. You open up your over-stuffed closet and start rummaging through the endless selection of clothes, but alas, you have nothing to wear! All of those must have items that you simply can’t part with aren’t doing it for you. They don’t fit right, they don’t match your mood. We all experience this issue more than we’d like to admit. It’s an absurd phenomena where even with an abundance of choice you still come up empty handed.
As women this can be very frustrating. You know that your clothes are nice, but you just have trouble matching and styling them. It becomes even more difficult to style our outfits at the last minute, as we constantly change our minds and switch up our outfits as we get ready.
Even though we come out looking flawless, we are hindering ourselves by spending so much time picking out our outfits and perfecting the details. In all honesty, we aren’t going to care as soon as we walk out of our front door. So there’s no point in making ourselves late to our obligations by waiting until the last minute to style our outfits.
The answer to all of your fashion problems: Stylebook
The app Stylebook is a visualized catalogue of all of the items that you have in your closet. Remember Cher’s closet from Clueless? With the virtual outfit designer that she used to sift through her enormous collection of garments?
It’s similar to that, but you don’t have to be a millionaire to own it. You just need a smartphone with enough storage to download the app.
Stylebook doesn’t only save you time picking out outfits, but it gives you an overview of the items that you already have so you don’t waste your money buying duplicate styles.
See how it saves you from all the last minute fashion hustle
Just a heads up, you will probably get addicted to this app. It’s so interactive and will open your eyes to possibilities that you didn’t realize were already in your own closet!
You can start off by scanning through an overview of your closet to see what you’re working with. Then, you can pinch and drag those items to create new styles and save them if you design a winner.
After putting together some looks, you can sort them into categories. Have a business meeting and aren’t sure how to dress to impress? Just pull up your work-outfit folder and pick out a pre-designed outfit, styled by yours truly.
The app also saves your previous outfits, so you can gauge when you wore a certain outfit last and where, so that you don’t have a repeat.
You can also use the shuffle feature, that mixes up the looks that you’ve already put together in order to design something completely new! You can share your outfits on social media, with friends, or transfer them to another device.
If you reach a point where you still feel like you truly have nothing to wear, you can shop directly from the app, browsing items that fit your personal style.
The app also features personalized statistics to keep track of your favorite styles.
With the help of Stylebook, you’ll never suffer the panic of finding something to wear at the last minute. Just pull up a look, pluck it out of your closet, pose in front of the mirror a few times to see what you’re working with and go take on the world.
The post Ladies, Use “Stylebook” and You Don’t Have To Worry About Last Minute Styling Again appeared first on Lifehack.
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Why You Can't Pay off a Sleep Debt You've Accumulated Over the Week
We’ve all been there: you’ve woken up promptly at 6 or 7 in the morning Monday through Friday, dragging and exhausted as you got ready for work. Then when Saturday rolls around, you wake up and check your phone to discover it’s already noon.
While this is something we can relate to, it’s not actually “normal.” When you don’t sleep enough during the week yet wake up early every day, you may try to compensate for that sleep-deprivation you feel by sleeping in on the weekend. However, you may have noticed that even when you sleep until late in the day on a weekend, you still feel like you aren’t caught up in your rest. So you make the typical promises to yourself; you’ll get to bed sooner tonight, you won’t stay out so late next week, but those promises typically go unfulfilled and you typically go restless.
Sleeping can never be compensated
Sleep and your health isn’t like the bank; you can’t sleep off a debt you’ve accumulated during the week in an attempt to pay off the sleep debt. As you’ve probably noticed, no matter how hard you try, you can’t gain back that lost energy over the week, no matter how late you try to sleep on the weekends.
Let’s assume you were only able to catch six hours of shut eye Monday through Friday. You decide that if you can sleep an extra ten hours on the weekend, you’ll be able to catch up and essentially start over. While it’s a nice idea, it’s not a realistic one. In fact, your reacting times and ability to focus will tend to be worse than if you had pulled an all-nighter.
If you slept poorly last night, or just not enough, you may have a chance to make up for it, but only if you make up for it tonight. If you try to catch on lost sleep over a long period of time, you won’t succeed.[1]
While some of you may have just read that and thought, ‘hmm, that means I can go to bed late tonight to finish up my project and I’ll just make up for it later,’ don’t be tempted. Sleeping late on the weekend to try to make up for the lost time will only result in further disrupting your sleeping pattern. You’ll only feel worse.[2]
One such study, done by Northwestern University, has shown that when animals are sleep deprived – even partially – over consecutive days, they actually make no attempt to make up for that lost sleep.[3] This study is the first to prove repeated (although partial) sleep loss negatively affects an animal’s ability to compensate for that lost rest. And as animals ourselves, we can learn from this fact.
Catching up a sleep debt later makes your brain suffer
No matter what you’re doing late at night, sleep should be a priority. The more tired you are, the harder it is to accomplish even the smallest task. Even menial tasks like participating in a conversation with someone can seem particularly challenging because focus requires an intensity that you can only achieve through rest. The distraction you experience due to sleep loss is serious. Not to mention how dangerous that can make something like driving.[4]
Lack of sleep also impacts short-term memory. Research has shown that sleep deprivation has a big impact on verbal learning and cognitive understanding. The findings show that,[5]
“there are dynamic, compensatory changes in cerebral activation during verbal learning after sleep deprivation and implicate the PFC and parietal lobes in this compensation”
Essentially, we overcompensate in our sleepy state and hyper-focus on what someone is saying to us-but only in the moment. We quickly forget the information and that can lead to embarrassing forgotten events.
An extra hour of sleep a night for a rested feeling
Go to bed when you are tired; don’t try to fight it. Set reminders to get you to sleep earlier. You may start with setting an alarm to remind you to sleep half an hour earlier at night, and then reset it to an hour earlier a week later. Gradually you’ll get used to sleeping earlier.
If you have to be on your phone or computer before bed, dim the screen brightness to aid you in the transition to darkness.
If at all possible, allow your body to wake you up naturally in the morning (this means no alarms). As your body resets itself over time, you may feel a bit worse before you feel better, but be patient.[6]
“As you erase sleep debt, your body will come to rest at a sleep pattern that is specifically right for you. Sleep researchers believe that genes—although the precise ones have yet to be discovered—determine our individual sleeping patterns. That more than likely means you can’t train yourself to be a “short sleeper”—and you’re fooling yourself if you think you’ve done it.
More than anything, make sure you listen to your body. If you feel you would sleep later than the alarm you have set in the morning, or like you need coffee in the morning to focus on anything, there’s a good chance you aren’t getting the amount of sleep you need. Don’t get caught up in aiming for 7 hours, 8 or even 9 hours of sleep. Instead, focus on what your body is telling you and how you feel when you personally sleep for 6,7, 8, etc. hours.
Owe no sleep debt
Whether you’re a student, a professional, or a stay-at-home parent, remember that one of your most important and essential jobs is to sleep. While there are so many articles out there telling you how many hours you should get based on gender and age, none of those articles know your body like you do; so listen to it.
Whenever possible, skip the morning alarm. Enjoy coffee if it’s something you love, but if you realize you feel like you can’t function without it, determine how you could have slept better or longer the night before.
Featured photo credit: Pixabay via pixabay.com
Reference
| [1] | ^ | HuffPost: 6 Sleep Myths To Finally Put To Bed |
| [2] | ^ | Tuck: Myth of Catch-Up Sleep |
| [3] | ^ | Science Daily: Chronically Sleep Deprived? You Can’t Make Up For Lost Sleep |
| [4] | ^ | Business Insider: 23 Incredible Benefits Of Getting More Sleep |
| [5] | ^ | Nature: Altered brain response to verbal learning following sleep deprivation |
| [6] | ^ | Scientific American: Can You Catch Up on Lost Sleep? |
The post Why You Can’t Pay off a Sleep Debt You’ve Accumulated Over the Week appeared first on Lifehack.
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