All posts by She Seeks Serene

My Journey of Reimagining Life, Love and Education

New Exhibitions: “Cézanne – The Rock and Quarry Paintings” (Princeton)

Cézanne The Rock and Quarry Paintings book edited by John Elderfield April 2020Cézanne: The Rock and Quarry Paintings is the first major exhibition to examine an essential but understudied aspect of the revolutionary French painter’s work: his profound interest in rock and geological formations.

Throughout his career, Cézanne made canvases that take rock formations as their principal subjects. Although they are among the artist’s most extraordinary landscapes, such paintings of geological forms have never before been the focus of significant scholarship.

Cézanne: The Rock and Quarry Paintings will feature approximately 15 of the most important of these paintings, as well as selected watercolors and related documentary material. Together, they reveal the artist’s fascination with geology, which helped shape the radical innovations of his artistic practice

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Podcast Interviews: “Parks” Author Brian Kelley On History Of National Park Service

Monocle 24 On Design LogoThe National Park Service spans hundreds of sites across the US, including monuments, seashores, memorials and parks. Brian Kelley and Jesse Reed survey the design history of the agency’s visual identity.

Parks book by Brian Kelley 2019This book brings togethere a collection of over 400 maps produced by the United States National Park Service from 1910 to today. Photographer Brian Kelley has impulsively archived the rarely seen treasures over the past three years, uncovering a design portfolio with little to no credit to their respective designers. The growing collection displays a progressive design approach, from more typographic-driven covers, to the proliferation of duotone print production, culminating in the Unigrid system developed by Italian designer Massimo Vignelli in the 1970s.

Video Interviews: 58-Year Old Nobel Prize Author Olga Tokarczuk (2020)

In this interview from the Nobel Banquet on 10 December 2019, Literature Laureate Olga Tokarczuk talks about her childhood dream of being a scientist, curiosity as motivation and the importance of translators.

Olga Tokarczuk, (born January 29, 1962, Sulechów, Poland), Polish writer who was known for her wry and complex novels that leap between centuries, places, perspectives, and mythologies. She received the 2018 Nobel Prize for Literature (awarded belatedly in 2019), lauded for her “narrative imagination that with encyclopedic passion represents the crossing of boundaries as a form of life.” A best-selling author in Poland for decades, Tokarczuk was not well known outside her homeland until she became the country’s first author to win the Man Booker International Prize in 2018 for Flights (2017)—the English translation of her sixth novel, Bieguni (2007).

From Encyclopedia Britannica

Health Studies: “Habitual” Supplementation Of Fish Oil (Omega-3) Lowers “All Cause Mortality” (BMJ)

From a BMJ Research study (March 4, 2020):

The BMJ podcastHabitual fish oil supplementation is associated with a 13% lower risk of all cause mortality, a 16% lower risk of CVD mortality, and a 7% lower risk of CVD events among the general population

Fish oil is a rich source of long chain omega 3 fatty acids, a group of polyunsaturated fats that primarily include eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid. Initially, these compounds were recommended for daily omega 3 fatty acid supplementation for the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Consequently, the use of fish oil supplements is widespread in the United Kingdom and other developed countries.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids Cardiovascular Protection

Several mechanisms could explain the benefits for clinical outcome derived from fish oil supplementation. Firstly, the results of several studies have indicated that supplementation with omega 3 fatty acids has beneficial effects on blood pressure, plasma triglycerides, and heart rate, all of which would exert a protective effect against the development of CVD. Secondly, several trials have shown that omega 3 fatty acids can improve flow mediated arterial dilatation, which is a measure of endothelial function and health. Thirdly, omega 3 fatty acids have been shown to possess antiarrhythmic properties that could be clinically beneficial. Finally, studies have reported that fish oil can reduce thrombosis. Additionally, studies have reported that the anti-inflammatory properties of fish oil could have a preventive role in the pathophysiology of CVD outcomes. Other mechanisms could also be involved to explain the effect of fish oil on CVD outcomes.

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New Travel Videos: “In Laos”, The “Quiet” Country In Southeast Asia (2020)

Filmed and Directed by: Marta Trela

‘The Vietnamese plant the rice, the Cambodians tend the rice and the Lao listen to it grow’ – said the French colonialists. Needless to say, they didn’t mean it as a complement. And maybe they should have.

Hundred years later, looking at Laos we might find out that there is much to learn from its quiet population. Living unhurriedly, they seem to be living a life full of what we in the Western world struggle to find- balance.

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New Science Podcasts: Dogs’ Cold Noses Sense Heat, Coronavirus And The Search For Alien Life

And finally, from a recording made at this year’s AAAS annual meeting, host Meagan Cantwell talks with Jill Tarter, chair emeritus at the SETI Institute, about the newest technologies being used to search for alien life, what a positive signal would look like, and how to inform the public if extraterrestrial life ever were detected.

Comedy: “Remembering Groucho Marx” (CBS Video)

In this report first broadcast on August 19, 2007, thirty years after the death of comedian Groucho Marx, “Sunday Morning” host Charles Osgood looks back at the life of the ringleader of the Marx Brothers, who starred in such classics as “Animal Crackers,” “Duck Soup” and “A Night at the Opera.”

Osgood speaks with Marx Brothers fans Elliott Gould, David Steinberg, Frank Ferrante (who played Groucho on stage), Washington Post columnist Harold Meyerson, and Charlotte Chandler, author of the book “Hello, I Must Be Going: Groucho and His Friends.”

Travel & Culture Books: “St. Tropez Soleil” By Simon Liberati (Assouline)

The legend of St. Tropez starts with a dog, a rooster, and a martyr; and it leads to movie stars, world-renowned artists and distinguished writers. Located on the sparkling French Riviera, St. Tropez has enjoyed the spotlight for more than half a century, for better or worse, with celebrities flocking to this idyllic locale for its beaches and a dose of Mediterranean sun.

A picturesque oasis, St. Tropez has served as inspiration for a who’s who of notable writers from Françoise Sagan to Colette; as well as renowned artists Paul Signac and Henri Matisse; and even filmmakers. However, St. Tropez would not be the same without then belle du jour Brigitte Bardot, her films and lovers and many other famous couples including Annabel and Bernard Buffet and Bianca and Mick Jagger.

St. Tropez Soleil Assouline book

St. Tropez Soleil guides the reader through its storied past and ever-evolving present. Featuring annual mainstays such as Les Bravades and the Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez as well as exclusive events like a Chanel fashion show at the quintessentially Tropezian Sénéquier café and the White Party at Nikki Beach begun by Naomi Campbell. But despite all that changes, the spirit of St. Tropez remains the same and this volume is an ode to the unique joie de vivre that keeps everyone coming back.

Simon Liberati is an award-winning French writer and journalist. He has worked for publications such as PurpleNuméro, and 20 Ans and he frequently collaborates with Vogue. He has written ten books including Jayne Mansfield 1967 (2011), which won the prix Femina, and the best-selling Eva (2015).

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Heart Health Video: “Beta Blockers” Lower CVD Risks Of Harmful Gut Microbes

Hazen and colleagues find that gut bacteria play a central role in the conversion of dietary proteins into a compound, phenylacetylglutamine ( PAGln), which not only is associated with future cardiovascular disease risk in humans but also promotes platelet responsiveness and blood clotting potentially via adrenergic receptors, according to mouse models.

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