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There isn’t too much that interests me when it comes to television these days with one exception,Project Runway. Neither Tim or Heidi, certainly not Nina or Michael, not even the special guest judges can hold my attention. It’s the diversity of the designers, their projects, the workroom and the trips to Mood that keep me glued to my sofa.

This past Thursday, Michelle Franklin was declared the winner of Season Eleven. I wasn’t particularly a fan of hers, but when you see her final collection, you will be impressed with her skill and the cohesiveness of her runway show.

It turns out I’m not the only one who loves Project Runway. They have 1.5 million fans on their facebook page. 1.5 million plus one can’t wait to see the start of Season Twelve.

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It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see. Henry David Thoreau

I love it: a day to appreciate works of art. What could be better? Imagine what you might discover?

Slow Art Day is the global event to help more people discover the joy of looking at and loving art. Why Slow? When people look slowly at a piece of art they make personal individual discoveries.

Tomorrow, April 27, people all over the world will look at five works of art for 10 minutes each and then meet with others over lunch to talk about their experience.

Simple by design, a brilliant idea, to focus on the art and the art of seeing.

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Having been in Warsaw in 2005, I had no desire to re-visit. This week’s opening of the new Museum of the History of Polish Jews makes me reconsider.  

Jewish Polish history dates back to the 10th century. By the 15th century, Jewish populations existed in nearly 100 settlements contributing to both secular and religious culture. 70% of Ashkenazi Jews (myself included) can trace our roots back to this historic Polish territory.

The World Jewish Congress puts the present-day Jewish population of Poland at a conservative 5,000. When I was there in 2005, Poles were still quite uncomfortable disclosing their Jewish connections.

The Museum’s opening coincides with the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw ghetto uprising, the most extensive Jewish revolt of the Second World War. The museum’s striking entrance of sand-colored walls symbolizes the parting of the Red Sea. Throughout this year there will be a host of temporary exhibitions and cultural events including a complete authentically constructed wooden synagogue. When the entire museum is opened some time next year we will discover everything there is to know about the 1,000-year Jewish presence in Poland.

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Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed. Mahatma Gandhi

Thinking about the crazy weather we had this spring makes me consider the serious nature of global warning and its actual effects on our natural resources, our animals, and ourselves.

Today being the 43rd anniversary of Earth Day is an opportunity for each of us to commit to something that will help alter the face of climate change.  Take a personal action and call upon our leaders to act boldly.

If you need help with a greater vision of possibilities, spend some time with the videos from SPREAD Sustainable Lifestyles 2050 a social platform that is working to improve the quality of life in Europe by showcasing societal innovation that achieve long-term economic prosperity for all within the bio-capacity of our planet. 

Need an action, come today at 5:00 to REI, Allegheny Cleanways and The Friends of the Riverfront’s Earth Day Volunteer Event to help cleanup the South Side segment of the Three Rivers Heritage Trail.

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The first suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings is dead, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, a Chechen, legally living in the US. The surviving suspect is Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, his brother.

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Fallingwater Rising, written by our local historian Franklin Toker, is the complete unabridged version of everything one ever thought to ask about the making of the most famous house of the twentieth century, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater.

Wright got the commission from the Kaufman family in 1937 during the depression when he was seventy years old and struggling in his career. The book uncovers the complex relationship of a wealthy Jewish merchant to his family, his business, and his community in collaboration with the architect genius of Wright.

Featured on the cover of Time Magazine on January 20, 1938, Wright’s masterpiece fed the public’s imagination to turn something modern and suspect into something original, homegrown and patriotic.

Let’s root for another philanthropist/artist team to create an inspirational project like Fallingwater that can fuel us through today’s challenges.

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I had a free introduction to personal training yesterday at the LA Fitness. Here is some of what I learned:

Strength training should be 50% of any exercise routine.

Good nutrition and sufficient sleep are equal in importance to exercise.

Right now almost half – 42% of my weight is body fat.

If I do strength training an hour, three times a week, I will expend 3500 calories, which translates to losing one pound a week.

When exercising it is most important is to find and maintain my target heart rate.

It is not possible to spot reduce fat.

The system at Curves is absolutely the worst form of exercise.

If I begin training now, I will see the first results in 6 weeks and will reach my goals in one year.

The bottom line is to commit to a plan that takes into consideration the what, where, why, how and where of my training plan. My sore muscles of today tell me I’m ready to give this Something Plan a go. Anything is possible!

Mitumba

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Our economic growth depends on the continual marketing of new products. Every season we buy something new and caste off something old. According to the EPA Office of Solid Waste, Americans throw away more than 68 pounds of clothing and textiles per person per year. The Council for Textile Recycling estimates that 2.5 billion pounds of postconsumer textile waste (which includes anything made of fabric) is collected. This represents 10 pounds for every person in the United States.

Most of us take a tax deduction by donating to NCJW or Goodwill but only about one-fifth of that donated clothing is directly used or sold in thrift shops. The rest is sold to textile recyclers like Trans-America Trading Company and ABS Inc. Clothing and Exports where workers separate used clothing into 300 different categories by type of item, size, and fiber content. 

30% of these textiles are turned into absorbent wiping rags for industrial uses and 25–30% are recycled into fiber for use as stuffing for upholstery, insulation, and the manufacture of paper products. 45% of these textiles continue their life as clothing overseas. Rare vintage high-end fashions are imported by Japan who is the largest buyer in terms of dollars. The rest is sold in more than 100 developing countries. One example is Tanzania where mitumba clothing markets dot the country. Small entrepreneurs buy 100-pound bales of mixed clothing and separate out the pieces to price individually depending on the condition and desirability of the clothing.

Whenever watching something about a developing country, I always wonder about the clothing that often looks like it came from Marshalls or Gabriels. Turns out that’s not so far from the truth.

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The  moment you see how important it is to love yourself, you will stop making others suffer. Buddah

The Buddah’s Smile: A guided Reflection by Tara Brach, Pg. 96 in True Refuge.

Close your eyes, take a few full breaths, and with each exhale sense a letting go of tension, a softening and relaxing of the body. Imagine a smile spreading through your eyes, gently uplifting the corners and softening the flesh around them. Feel a real yet slight smile at the mouth and also sense the inside of the mouth smiling. Relaxing the jaw, notice the sensations that arise through the mouth and cheek area.

Image smiling into the heart. Sense the smile spreading through the heart and chest, creating space for whatever you might be feeling. Allow the sensations and feelings in the heart are to float in this tender space.

Imagine smiling into the navel area, letting the curve of a smile spread through the belly, softening any tension there. Notice awareness awakening to include your whole body. Take a few more full breaths, sensing the aliveness that fills your entire body held in the openness of a smile. Rest for as long as you like in that felt sense of aliveness and openness.