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Picture Credits:
1. Good fun on board the water taxi
2. Incredible views of Miami Skyline
3. Me with Rose Maria Cossick (executive board of the culture committee)
4. The organizers of the Film Festival fundraiser: Hal Axler the Director of operations. Front me, Estele Fineberg, Pat Nagele and Denise Hein.
5. Fashion show modeling one of the special creations
6. Outstanding outfit representing the film Scream
Sailing to Work
I have discovered a special mode of transport from Fort Lauderdale to Miami as a healthy alternative to a hellish 45 minute journey on the very frightening 95 motorway, infamous for its high death toll. Maybe I am becoming paranoid now I am getting older and the will to live is even stronger, but when I see some of the driving here with the retired having lost their driving skills, due to age and/or prescription pills, I just dread it. Since necessity is said to be the mother of invention I looked for alternatives and now I travel on the water taxi. It takes two and a half hours but is really worth it. I get my forced relaxation, a chance to contemplate how lovely life can be with this continuous idyllic weather combined with the beauty of the river. The New River as it is called runs parallel with the beach and it's just heaven to sail on, passing the most desirable places in the city with luxurious yachts and ostentatious mansions worth millions of dollars.
Arriving in Miami the views are breathtaking with beautifully shaped skyscrapers. The captain tells us they are mostly condos (apartments) that are 50% empty due to the recession, but guess what, they still keep building.
The water taxi price is really fantastic at £35 for the round trip and you can return any day. Another bonus is that you meet really cool people. I had lunch with a writer I met on board and I believe we will be keeping in touch.
I have just come from a fund raiser for the Fort Lauderdale film festival held at the Museum of Art. I thought it would get me in the mood for going to the Cannes film festival in May to take the book I am co-writing on a famous Miami murder as a project for a film. I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and was fascinated by the fashion show with a difference. It was a real first. Fashion students created "artistic" garments by taking 15 celebrated famous artists' works, scanning them digitally onto plain white fabric and creating originals of their own featuring the works of Da Vinci, Warhol, and Peter Maxx.
The event was organized by the students, faculty and staff of the Fashion Department of the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. Andre West, the fashion programme chair, explained that "...the technique involves using garment patterns like a traditional tailor would use, the imagery is placed on each of the pattern pieces, allowing for the exact placement of the image. With no wasting of dyes or fabric it is environmentally friendly. This also allows for customization allowing each garment to be made individually." A big "well done" to Hal and the ladies for creating such a great evening.
Car Condos!
Yes, if you have a new Ferrari or BMW what better for your car than to treat yourself, or the car, to its own condo? The advertisement just came through the post. You can have your car's condo plain or with special tiles or with a bathroom or even furniture so you can admire your car in comfort. Who says that no one is spending?! Well, Florida is a bit like California with some very eccentric ideas but fun.
At the opposite end of the economy it has been reported that a large office building has been demolished and the perfectly good office furniture is being destroyed. The city brought in convicts to sledge hammer the equipment much to the fury of the residents saying that the furniture should be sold off or given to people in need.
I am off to the Cannes Film Festival in May to take the book I am co-writing on the "Miami Joe Cool murder" as a project for a film. I have just attended the Film Festival here and made some very interesting contacts.
Getting interested in DIY to pull!
I have a lot of single friends of all age groups that cannot seem to find a man. They are still single after some years of mediocre experiences. They are all independent and don't need monetary support but never seem to discover where the right type of single men go. That is until now. My friend went to Home Base (a B&Q equivalent) and found aisles of interesting men looking for goods for their DIY projects. She said she is going to get dolled up and go there once a week pretending to look for something and add that to her social calendar. "At least they will be handy around the house," she said. Gosh that sounds sexist but I regularly hear single men saying that they don't know where to go to meet single women. Their main complaint is that as soon as the woman suspects they have money she starts to cling. If you have any ideas where a good place is to meet single people let me know so I can tell our readers. Writing this makes me miss Georgina more with her excellent social events.
Fatal Distraction
If you think stress doesn't affect you...
My husband is looking into the 'child left in the car' tragedies. This is were the parent puts the baby in the car and totally forgets about them. The child then dies in the car from the heat, sometime left for hours. The parent is then generally vilified but after careful research it was found that they were normally very good parents but a combination of events could lead to this tragedy. Events such stress, emotion, lack of sleep and change in routine, and the baby out of view can contribute but add this to extreme stress and you have a recipe for disaster. This combination can leave the parent with a sort of amnesia overload. David Diamond is a professor of molecular physiology at the University of South Florida and a memory expert. He said, "If you are capable of forgetting your cell phone you are potentially capable of forgetting your baby." I doubt if people are really aware how dangerous stress can be as it could also lead to train crashes, accidental injuries and car accidents so beware. Take care of your stress or it will take care of you and you don't want that.
Unhealthy prediction or Health Timebomb?
The department of health predicts that by 2010 that one third of all adults will be obese with more than 14 million adults and children so dangerously fat that it will put their health at risk. Millions of us are creating a lifetime of unhealthiness that includes heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Junk food and food that has a shelf life is a big part of it and the necessity or even obsession with computers is not helping. If you think drugs are the answer beware Beta-Blockers for blood pressure have been found can bring on diabetes. If you are taking them don't stop but do start eating healthily with organic food and see the change in a couple of months. You will be amazed and so will your doctor. Your diet must be fully organic of course and is exactly what I recommend to my clients. I use the hypnosis to allow them to stay on organic, or should I say real food, without chemicals or pesticides. So if you are not ill but just want to make a start look at the tips below.
Are you being exposed to 175 chemicals a day from your cosmetics?
If it looks like you have to spend money on organic food to get healthy, the good news, for the women at least, is that you can save money on makeup, moisturizers and body cream. Such products expose women to up to a 175 chemicals in one day. Cosmetics ingredients are linked to cancer, hormone problems and skin irritation. One of the ingredients commonly found in moisturizers and body cream is Parabens, a preservative which has been linked to breast cancer. Others are linked to asthmas and headaches. Ask yourself do you really need them and see what you can cut out.
Tips:
Nowadays with our food being potentially dangerous with all the additives and pesticides, why not make an effort to buy 'real food'. If you can't get organic at least buy fresh food it could help you stave off the dreaded diabetes, strokes, cancer and high blood pressure that are so high on the list of killers at the moment.
Your Life Savers:
Why not make a habit of getting the three 'A's". Apples, apricots and avocados. When you see what they help prevent you may decide to put them on your weekly grocery list.
Apples protect your heart, prevent constipation and block diarrhea. They improve lung capacity and cushion joints. Now you can understand the saying "An apple a day keeps the doctor away."
Apricots combat cancer, control blood pressure, can save your eyesight, shield against Alzheimer's and slow down the aging process.
Avocados battle diabetes, lower cholesterol, help stop strokes, control blood pressure and smooth skin.
Thank you for reading my page. You can e-mail me at: valerieaustinhyp@aol.com
Please visit my website at www.valerieaustin.com
Valerie Austin Training (founded 1989)
Validated (GHR, GHSC) Hypnosis Training courses at foundation & practitioner level in business and medical hypnotherapy.
Valerie Austin is author of six successful self-help books including SELF HYPNOSIS published by Thorsons
Founder of UKRAH (1992) The UK Register of Advanced Hypnotherapy.
Eds Note: VALERIE AUSTIN is an author, journalist and trainer with an international reputation in the field of hypnosis. Her best selling books and training help people achieve their full potential. She founded the Austin Corporate Stress Management Company focusing on reducing stress and anxiety amongst executives and CEO's. She also worked as a consultant in hypnosis at the Priory Hospital, the UK's equivalent to The Betty Ford Clinic, which specialises in food addiction and alcohol abuse. Valerie's work in the film industry (Hollywood) interviewing movers and shakers, producing TV news segments and publishing celebrity magazines in London gave her invaluable experience for her current Harley Street practice. |
