All posts by She Seeks Serene

My Journey of Reimagining Life, Love and Education

Poetic Tribute: “The Swan” By Mary Oliver (1935 -2019)

The Swan

Did you too see it, drifting, all night, on the black river?
Did you see it in the morning, rising into the silvery air –
An armful of white blossoms,
A perfect commotion of silk and linen as it leaned
into the bondage of its wings; a snowbank, a bank of lilies,
Biting the air with its black beak?
Did you hear it, fluting and whistling
A shrill dark music – like the rain pelting the trees – like a waterfall
Knifing down the black ledges?
And did you see it, finally, just under the clouds –
A white cross Streaming across the sky, its feet
Like black leaves, its wings Like the stretching light of the river?
And did you feel it, in your heart, how it pertained to everything?
And have you too finally figured out what beauty is for?
And have you changed your life?

– Mary Oliver

New Years Resolutions: “Stop Making Excuses Not To Exercise!!” (NY Times)

From a New York Times online article:

The New York Time logoAt the moment, about two-thirds of Americans do not meet the standard exercise guidelines of about 30 minutes a day of moderate exercise, such as walking.

These findings might suggest that, if we adjusted our schedules and turned off the TV, phone or computer, most of us would have plenty of time to work out.

Screen Time vs Physical Activity vs Free Time Chart CDC

Almost all of the respondents — whatever their income, age, gender or ethnicity — reported about five hours a day of leisure time. Men tended to have more free time than women, older people more than the young, and African-American women the least of all. But no group reported less than about four and a half hours a day of free time.

To read more

New Travel Videos: “Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia 2019” By Indo-Pacific Films

This is a showreel showcasing some of our work from 2019. Most of this showreel has been taken in the Nusa Tenggara Region in Indonesia at the islands of Alor, Komodo, Flores and Bali.

2019 has been an incredible journey that took us close to some of the most beautiful and fascinating cultures as well as spectacular sceneries and great encounters with the most captivating marine life.

The locations and the people featured:

0-11 sec. Kelimutu Volcano Sunrise – Flores Island.
11-41 sec. The Traditional Waving ( Ikat ) from the tribes – Maumere mountains – Flores.
41 sec. to 1:05 sec. Samambaia Liveaboard and dolphins in Komodo and Alor.
1:05 sec. to 1:32 sec. Talent Freediver Leona Chen from China in Nusa Penida island, Bali.
1:32 sec. to 1:47 sec. Manta Ray from Manta Point dive site in Nusa Penida, Bali.
1:47 sec. to 2:16 sec. Talent Freediver Leona Chen at the Liberty Shipwreck Dive site in Tulamben, Bali.
2:16 sec. to 2:41sec. Fishermen from Alor Island
2:41 sec. till End Manta, Speed boat, Reef and Samata Luxury Liveaboard filmed in Komodo Island.

Website

Hotels: “Waldhaus Sils” In Sils Maria, Switzerland – In A Venue Called “Heroic And Idyllic” By Nietzsche

111 Years Hotel Waldhaus Sils – History and Stories for an Unreasonable Family Dream Book111 Years of Waldhaus Sils ranges across the hotel’s life and history. Founders Josef and Amalie Giger and their descendants, by now in the fifth generation, have guided the “house in the woods” with skill and fortitude through good times and bad through the twentieth century and into the present. The owners and their exceptionally diverse guests—lively families side-by-side with intellectuals and artists of world renown—have created a unique blend of luxury and modesty, historic grandeur and playful fun, smooth professionalism and unexpected idiosyncrasies.

Those in the know are aware that Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel has a real-life counterpart in the Swiss Alps: The Waldhaus Sils, which has pleased and puzzled visitors for 111 years and become an icon of Swiss hospitality. Located above the small village of Sils Maria near St. Moritz, it overlooks a striking landscape of forests, lakes and mountains and offers a combination of Belle Epoque flair and modern comfort. Its distinctive charm comes from the fact that the Waldhaus has been family-owned and operated since its grand opening on June 15, 1908.

To read more or purchase book

Interviews: Author Of “The First Cell” Azra Raza On Why Today’s Cancer Research Is Failing (Video)

Slash, poison, burn. That’s what a leading cancer doctor calls the protocol of The First Cell and the Human Costs of Pursuing Cancer to the last Azra Raza booksurgery, chemotherapy and radiation. We spend $150 billion each year treating cancer, yet a patient with cancer is as likely to die of it today — with a few exceptions — as one was 50 years ago. Today we spend the hour with renowned cancer doctor, Dr. Azra Raza, author of the new book, “The First Cell: And the Human Costs of Pursuing Cancer to the Last.” She argues that experiments and the funding for eradicating cancer look at the disease when it is in its later stages, when the cancer has grown and spread. Instead, she says, the focus should be on the very first stages — the first cell, as her book is titled. She says this type of treatment would be more effective, cheaper and less toxic.

To review or buy book

Economics: A Review Of The U.S. Economy Over The Decade Of The 2010’s (PBS)

As the year comes to a close, we look back at the past decade in the American economy — the first without a recession since record-keeping began in the 1950s. While unemployment remains at a historic low, wage growth has been sluggish, and inequality continues to divide the country. David Wessel of the Brookings Institution and The Washington Post’s Catherine Rampell join Jeffrey Brown.

Interviews: 80-Year Old Lily Tomlin Opens Up On Her Long Career (NY Times)

From a New York Times interview (12/30/19):

Dustin Hoffman with Tomlin in “I Heart Huckabees” in 2004. Fox SearchlightEverett CollectionHas comedy evolved since you started? I think a lot more is allowed. When I was first starting out and was on “Laugh-In,” around ’71, I was trying to keep a low profile when I’d be working on something new.

 

Did you have that sense early in your career that your approach to comedy was different from most comedians? No. I just wanted to do the person, and more than likely the character would be self-confident and secure in her world. for instance. She mostly was looking out for herself and skewering pomposity, if I was going to be true to a child, the humor would take on a different quality.

Read more NY Times article