Today's weather is fabulous. At lunch, I sat on my front porch for nearly thirty minutes, absorbing the warmth of the sun and nearly blowing away with each 30 mph wind gust. Despite nearly blowing away, while basking I began thinking about the positive and healing qualities of sunlight, more specifically, Vitamin D. This is the first article I found:
- Vitamin D is produced by your skin in response to exposure to ultraviolet radiation from natural sunlight.
- The healing rays of natural sunlight (that generate vitamin D in your skin) cannot penetrate glass. So you don't generate vitamin D when sitting in your car or home.
- It is nearly impossible to get adequate amounts of vitamin D from your diet. Sunlight exposure is the only reliable way to generate vitamin D in your own body.
- A person would have to drink ten tall glasses of vitamin D fortified milk each day just to get minimum levels of vitamin D into their diet.
- The further you live from the equator, the longer exposure you need to the sun in order to generate vitamin D. Canada, the UK and most U.S. states are far from the equator.
- People with dark skin pigmentation may need 20 - 30 times as much exposure to sunlight as fair-skinned people to generate the same amount of vitamin D. That's why prostate cancer is epidemic among black men -- it's a simple, but widespread, sunlight deficiency.
- Sufficient levels of vitamin D are crucial for calcium absorption in your intestines. Without sufficient vitamin D, your body cannot absorb calcium, rendering calcium supplements useless.
- Chronic vitamin D deficiency cannot be reversed overnight: it takes months of vitamin D supplementation and sunlight exposure to rebuild the body's bones and nervous system.
- Even weak sunscreens (SPF=8) block your body's ability to generate vitamin D by 95%. This is how sunscreen products actually cause disease -- by creating a critical vitamin deficiency in the body.
- It is impossible to generate too much vitamin D in your body from sunlight exposure: your body will self-regulate and only generate what it needs.
- If it hurts to press firmly on your sternum, you may be suffering from chronic vitamin D deficiency right now.
- Vitamin D is "activated" in your body by your kidneys and liver before it can be used.
- Having kidney disease or liver damage can greatly impair your body's ability to activate circulating vitamin D.
- The sunscreen industry doesn't want you to know that your body actually needs sunlight exposure because that realization would mean lower sales of sunscreen products.
- Even though vitamin D is one of the most powerful healing chemicals in your body, your body makes it absolutely free. No prescription required.
Read more about Vitamin D here.
White is the new black, especially when it comes to the 20-something, down-tempo darling Joe "White" Williams.
Since releasing his debut album "Smoke" late last year, the New York City-based singer, musician and graphic artist already has induced a steady stream of buzz among critics and bloggers, drawing comparisons to Beck (specifically, "Midnight Vultures") and Brian Eno ("Here Come the Warm Jets").
Williams' fall 2007 tour opening for the "Wham City" (that's Baltimore) production prince Dan Deacon and later for Greg Gillis' mash-up project Girl Talk helped to propagate this buzz and served to set Williams apart from his tour mates and the lot of fellow sonic tinkerers within the same genre.
Williams returns
to Austin tonight a few months after his last visit, this time as a
headlining act, performing with fellow New Yorkers Rings and the local
Cry Blood Apache. 10 p.m. 603 Red River St. $10. 477-3667, www.emosaustin.com.
— Shannon McGarvey (Originally featured on Austin360.com)
In the '80s, if you mentioned the phrase "girl band," you were probably talking about one of two acts: the Go-Go's or the Bangles.
The Bangles, who headline at La Zona Rosa tonight, struck musical gold in the mid-'80s with the hits "Manic Monday," "Walk Like An Egyptian" and "Eternal Flame." Originally called the Supersonic Bangs, the all-female quartet later changed its name to the Bangs but were eventually forced to alter the moniker one last time after a New Jersey-based band bearing the same name threatened to sue.
Though the Bangles broke up at the end of the '80s, they reunited in
2000 to record "Doll Revolution," which was released in early 2003.
(And don't worry Go-Go's fans, you'll get your chance to see them on
Monday at Antone's.)
8 p.m. 612 W. Fourth St. $25 - $27. 469-SHOW (7469), www.lazonarosa.com.
— Shannon McGarvey (Originally featured on Austin360.com)
Antony Hegarty, of Antony and the Johnsons fame, has designed a dress for the Sylvia Rivera Law Project charity, up for auction on Ebay.com beginning Feb. 14. The dress, made from white silk jersey, evokes Japanese imagery and is made by hand, as evidence of the intricate detailing and unfinished hems.
Charity dress, Anthony Hegarty
Mexico's newest airline, Viva Aerobus, just announced the lowest international fares that I've ever seen. It's offering $9.99 flights from Austin to select Mexican cities. Sure, you've got to pay taxes, etc. but this is a seriously great deal! Book early and get the fare of your dreams... or nightmares, depending on which Mexican city you visit.
Sure, Canada is widely known for its ice hockey, comedians and maple syrup — but for its contemporary art?
Through Monday, the Art on Fifth gallery hosts 400 unframed works on
canvas and paper by more than 40 Canadian artists in "Hot and Cold: The
Best of Canadian Contemporary Art." Some of the more prominent works
are sprawling cityscapes and landscapes by Montreal-born Gerard
Gastonguay and Toronto-native Sharon Ruttonsha. The abstract work of
Romanian-born Liana Pica Birt, as well as the contemporary pieces of
Natalie Savard, also will be featured. 1501 W. Fifth St. Free. 481-1111, www.arton5th.com.
— Shannon McGarvey (Originally featured on Austin360.com)
The method behind the work of Donna Huanca can best be described as
mystical. Within her latest exhibit, "Secret Museum of Mankind," the
Houston-based artist explores the different levels of consciousness and
memory. Huanca collaborates with other artists such as Owl Eyes, who
channels artistic images via the practice of divination, a psychic
means of seeking knowledge through the supernatural, emerging with
life-sized dioramas, sound tunnels, primitive shelters, rituals and
more. Throughout the exhibit, Huanca almost strictly uses personal
artifacts, including records, clothing, books, video and instruments,
to reflect her fascination of everything from pre-Columbian
civilizations to psychedelic rock. Through Feb. 16. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Women & Their Work, 1710 Lavaca St. Free. 477-1064, http://womenandtheirwork.org.
— Shannon McGarvey (Originally featured on Austin360.com)
Donna Huanca, FORTY FOOT WARSCAPE 2005, Fabric, paint, thread, foam on canvas
Richard Wayne Penniman, the self-proclaimed "Architect of Rock 'n' Roll," known to fans as Little Richard, returns to Austin for a sure-to-be theatrical show at the Paramount Theatre tonight.
Richard's talent and unapologetic eccentricity, as well as hits such as
"Tutti Frutti" and "Long Tall Sally," fractured mainstream American
consciousness when he burst onto the music scene in the mid-1950s. By
the late '60s, Richard had sold more than 32 million records and
inspired countless musicians along the way (Elvis Presley credited
Little Richard as a great source of inspiration). Throughout the '70s,
the artist was in a self-prescribed hiatus. In 1985, Little Richard
re-emerged with an appearance in "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" and a
hit single, "Great Gosh Almighty." Two years later, he was inducted
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 1990 he earned a star on
the Hollywood Walk of Fame, followed by a Lifetime Achievement Award
from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in 1993. 7 p.m. Paramount Theatre, 713 Congress Ave.
$45 - $110. 472-5470.
— Shannon McGarvey (Originally featured on Austin360.com)
Playing a sold-out show this Saturday, Jan. 26, at Antone's. If you haven't heard, take a listen:
According to the Leonard Cohen web string, by way of the Mojo blog, "Leonard Cohen will be touring with his band in Canada and [the] U.S. in May and in Europe in the summer. More details will be announced in February." This marks the first time that the aged singer-songwriter has toured in 15 years. See you there?
