Thrift books and the little street library: antidote to today’s busy life and choice stress
Feeling a little overwhelmed by life’s choices? Why not join the small street book library movement? Let unique thrift books come to you, at the right place at the right time. Says Mary Contrary: it will do you the world of good.
‘Vertical Forest’ of Wonderwoods: the new urban living for people, trees and birds
A new architectural-defying project is about to offer an ecological way of life in one of the largest cities in the Netherlands. Comprised of two tower blocks, Wonderwoods will have tall trees and lush shrubs attached to it. It will offer a new urban living for people, trees and biodiversity all in one. We spoke with landscape architect Timo Cents.
A dog is our best friend. But are we theirs? A professional perspective by Judith Versluis
In the West we all care for our dogs in much the same way. We put them in a crate when we go to work and we give them treats. We remind them now and then who’s boss. But if we all basically do the same thing, does that make it okay? According to welfare professional Judith Versluis, there is room for improvement. Says Judith, this way we can also become our dog’s best friend. This is her story.
The emotional cleansing effect of… watching a movie!
Are you watching a movie or your favourite (TV) programme tonight to release some stress? An British therapeutic model called ‘MOVIE’ has taken this way of relaxing to a new level. Thanks to the innovative method we can be sure that watching movies is not only relaxing. It can be a form of emotional cleansing and have a deeper therapeutic effect. Turns out, watching a movie can be good for us, in an accessible way.
Let’s talk about cooking: Welcome to your new kitchen!
A good meal needs expensive ingredients. It needs a long time to prepare. It needs a good recipe. It needs to be from a certain country, like “Italian.” It needs meat as the centre of attention. Right? Mary Contrary begs to differ. She has put aside all her ideas about cooking. And she feels a lot better for it, she says. Mary’s advice is simple: Time to shake things up! A nice healthy meal doesn’t have to be complicated.
“One family dog please.” Do different dog breeds really have different characters?
As people with dogs in our lives we all say we can choose a dog breed with a certain character. That a dog behaves according to its breed. So we can choose, for instance a “family dog.” But a study is now challenging such stereotypes. It says that our dog’s character has more to do with the quality of life we give it. Are we projecting our ideas about dog breeds onto our dogs?
Before air conditioning: How did we ever keep our homes cool in the sweltering heat?
Once upon a time, let’s call it BAC (before air conditioning), we kept our homes cool in the summer without electricity. Even in the desert. Nowadays we can’t imagine life without air conditioning. Despite its electricity bills and links to poor health and, ironically, to global warming. From Indian skywells to Middle Eastern windcatchers: Can we learn from ancient methods of passive cooling?
