nancylicious

OPERATION: YOKEDDATES: March 13 - 14, 2010 (Weekend Edition) ATE: 1.5 cups of Green Juice (carrot,...

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:12:28 -0400

OPERATION: YOKEDDATES: March 13 - 14, 2010 (Weekend Edition) ATE: 1.5 cups of Green Juice (carrot,...

Me & My Lomo, taken by JJ 2003. And yes, I’m wearing...

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:33:15 -0400

Me & My Lomo, taken by JJ 2003. And yes, I’m wearing a furry, tiger-striped slap bracelet and an engagement ring (not what you think!)

MY DIGITAL CAMERA IS NOW A BEACH CASUALTY

The ONE TIME I bring my Canon Powershot to the beach, after sunset, and as always, take no pictures (flash made everyone looks deer in headlights, the bonfire wasn’t bright enough), it drowns in a puddle of sand and becomes no longer functional.

Luckily, I have a friend coming from the States next week. I might be able to put in an Amazon order with her, fingers crossed.

So! What kind of point-and-shoot digital camera do you have (Canon preferred) and recommend?

In your love, my salvation lies…You looking at me...

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 01:26:00 -0500

In your love, my salvation lies…
You looking at me listening to Alexi Murdoch. Looking forward to trading pranassages for Zinka!. The merry prankster goodness begins tomorrow. You’ve been warned, lovelies. G’night.

Tonight was: a farewell beach bonfire, unsuccessful attempt at ‘smores, campfire singalong...

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 00:44:00 -0500

Tonight was: a farewell beach bonfire, unsuccessful attempt at ‘smores, campfire singalong...

"Put everything at the stake. Be a gambler! Risk everything, because the next moment is not certain,..."

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 14:03:54 -0500

“Put everything at the stake. Be a gambler! Risk everything, because the next moment is not...

OPERATION: GET YOKEDDATE: March 12, 2010 ATE: Continental Breakfast: Fruit Plate (Banana,...

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 09:06:25 -0500

OPERATION: GET YOKEDDATE: March 12, 2010 ATE: Continental Breakfast: Fruit Plate (Banana,...

"Acting is living truthfully under imaginary circumstances."

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:00:00 -0500

“Acting is living truthfully under imaginary circumstances.” - Sandy...

OPERATION: GET YOKEDDATE: MARCH 11, 2010 ATE: 1/2 Small Papaya w/ Amazing Grass Berry Green...

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:41:00 -0500

OPERATION: GET YOKEDDATE: MARCH 11, 2010 ATE: 1/2 Small Papaya w/ Amazing Grass Berry Green...

MARCH 11, 2010 - ON NOT PLAYING SMALL I am currently in an...

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:11:29 -0500

MARCH 11, 2010 - ON NOT PLAYING SMALL

I am currently in an (in)decisive midst, wondering about The Big What Next? of my life. This dilemma is not merely geographical; nor is it simply about the next six months. With greater self-awareness, I am not about to put myself in a temporary holding pattern. To wait and scrimp and save until next season would be the tropical equivalent of ‘living for the weekend.’

The Universe taught me this lesson today - to think bigger, to open up, to continue being true to yourself - through H, one of my closest friends in Nosara. We started our journeys outside of Corporate America together last July and have called Costa Rica home for the past nine months. Like myself, she is asking herself When am I returning? Am I done with Nosara? What next? And unlike myself, she has been much more honest and forthcoming with her emotions and her wants.

H paddled up behind me during yesterday’s sunset surf. “I’m leaving,” she said. And the way in which she said it implied something more permanent than just her next visa run.

“Oh? Where are you going? What are you doing?” I asked.

“I’m going to… New Zealand.”

And there were squeals and splashes as she recounted how our mutual friend Y offered her a six month long opportunity to teach Ashtanga Yoga in Auckland.

I’ll be honest: there was a 5 second Why Not Me? moment. But I know New Zealand is not where I am next meant to be. Y chose absolutely the right person; I cannot think of a better yogini - on and off the mat - deserving of such an international adventure. In fact, secret confession: I may even be sick of being abroad and rootless. Some days, I want to skip ahead two chapters of my life already, to the part where I have a home, a steady, and a puppy. And that admission is hard for this wanderluster to make.

But hearing H’s plan opened my eyes. New Zealand was not even on her radar the last time she weighed and recounted her options to me. New Zealand represents thinking outside the box and playing Big in the game of Life.

I am no longer simply plotting how to spin my wheels for the next 6 months. I am planning my next life adventure. Like Oprah says, I will be doing the best at this moment to put me in the best place for the next moment. Hope you will enjoy the ride.

Well, you and I both.

OPERATION: GET YOKEDDATE: March 10, 2010 ATE: Juice: 2 Carrots, 1.5 Cucumbers, 1/3 Beet, Knob of...

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:33:00 -0500

OPERATION: GET YOKEDDATE: March 10, 2010 ATE: Juice: 2 Carrots, 1.5 Cucumbers, 1/3 Beet, Knob of...

ELIZABETH GILBERT - On Intimacy for PBS’ THIS EMOTIONAL...

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:30:00 -0500

ELIZABETH GILBERT - On Intimacy for PBS’ THIS EMOTIONAL LIFE

Great retelling of the Hedgehog’s Dilemma, philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer’s metaphor for human intimacy.

"Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from weak minds."

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:00:00 -0500

“Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from weak minds.” - Albert...

"every cell in my body is designed expressly for travel."

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:07:35 -0500

“every cell in my body is designed expressly for travel.” - Rachel Adler TRUTH. In less...

2010 ‘BEST DOCUMENTARY’ OSCAR AWARD WINNERTHE COVE -...

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:00:00 -0500

2010 ‘BEST DOCUMENTARY’ OSCAR AWARD WINNER
THE COVE - Director Louie Psihoyos

At the Tokyo International Film Festival, where The Cove was reluctantly and controversially screened, Psihoyos was asked, “what scientific proof do you have that dolphins are intelligent?” He replied:

By whose standards? Yours? A butterfly’s? Dolphins have a bigger brain than yours, and you can’t do anything well that they can do. I’m sure they must feel pity for us in when we’re in their environment. They’ve managed to live on the earth for 50 million more years than us with bigger brains and without jeopardizing the whole planet like we have in just a few decades. I’m glad they don’t have the power to ask, “what good are humans?” because it’s scientific proof that we’re destroying the planet. Dolphins are the only wild animal to save the life of humans, and the only way we can save them now is to prove we’ve made their environment so toxic that they are poison and should not be eaten.” [Psihoyos turns to his Japanese interpreter] will that translate?

Dizzamn, Louie. Congratulations on all the awards but you could have at least started by saying SPOILER ALERT.

So, um, I guess this is my warning.

Confession: I’ve wanted to watch this movie since I started crushing on Dave ‘Rasta’ Rastovich, founder of Surfers for Cetaceans. Who is Dave? A vegan yogi pro free-surfer now better known as an environmentalist: in 2007, he led the a paddle-out protest of Taiji, Japan’s dolphin killings alongside actresses Isabel Lucas, Hayden Panettiere, and former wifey Hannah Mermaid (I’m not kidding on the last one). This was a moment documented in the Cove (though, after watching, largely delegated to the ‘Deleted Scenes’ Special Feature) as a part of their mission to expose and stop the annual slaughter of 23,000 dolphins.

The film was expertly layered. In the foreground, we have the urgent, immediate Ocean’s Eleven-esque plot of, “given all the political barricades, how is Louie going to catch the killings on film?” In the background, we have personal Ric O’Barry’s narrative from Flipper Dolphin Trainer to Animal Rights Activist and an inquiry into why Japan persists this practice and its consequences. What the team uncovers is government corruption, the human health hazard of mercury poisoning, and an industry making over 2 billion dollars a year on captured dolphins.

I will say I’m definitely in the “Choir” section of this movie’s preach. As such, while I enjoyed the film, I wasn’t shocked or wowed by the Japanese’s posturing in the International Whaling Commission nor ultimately their reasons for continuing the slaughter. The one part of the movie that did stir within me a visceral reaction was their chapter on the unfit-for-consumption high levels of mercury in dolphin meat, the intentional mislabeling of it, and thankfully unsuccessful campaign for it to be included in children’s compulsory school lunches nationwide. As such, I was immensely appreciate of the DVD’s “Mercury Rising” Special Feature where they talked to scientists who underwent a ‘Supersize Me’ diet of eating less than a cup of tuna a day and tracked how quickly their mercury levels rose. As someone who eats fish and eggs as her primary animal protein, this frankly freaks me the fuck out.

Overall, a great documentary on-par with Food, Inc. And yet, while The Cove absolutely has merit, I wouldn’t be surprised if it partly won because it’s easier to criticize another country’s politics, pollution, and food culture over taking that same log out of our own eye.

FACT: Today is International Women’s Day.FACT: In Mandarin...

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:00:18 -0500

FACT: Today is International Women’s Day.
FACT: In Mandarin Chinese, 3/8 means ‘Bitch.’
FACT: This is how I remember that today is International Women’s Day.
image via

"‘And I have a lot of self-esteem, which is amazing, because I’m probably somebody who wouldn’t..."

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:20:25 -0500

“‘And I have a lot of self-esteem, which is amazing, because I’m probably somebody who...

MARCH 6, 2010 - LITTLE SUMMERimage from (taken in...

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 13:03:46 -0500

MARCH 6, 2010 - LITTLE SUMMER
image from (taken in Nosara!)

Confession: this little guy is what might keep me in Nosara over ‘Little Summer’.

As soon as I started mentally preparing myself to spend June through October in California, I began to think of all the wonderful things I’d be missing by skipping over Nosara’s veranillo. The first thing that came to mind was no! I’d be missing the halloween crabs!

I love the halloween crabs. They come out to spawn during rainy season. If you should you ever find yourself on a dirt path near the ocean during this time, the ground and foliage are covered with them. And as you walk past, they will quietly crawl out of your way, making you feel as though you are Moses, parting a sea of orange-red-purple crustaceans. It turns a simple stroll across town to living inside a Disney animated movie.

And with that first thought, I started compiling a list of all that I love of Little Summer: the regular afternoon showers, the cooler temperatures, the even less people, less crowded line-up. Getting caught in thunderstorms and improvising trashbags as raincoats. The champinones. I know that list seems small but my wants and needs are simple here. And truly, these are the things that give me claps of delight.

The only reason why I’d want to return to the States was to get my city culture fix. I am on my last disc of Lost, Season 5, after which I won’t know what to do. I miss art, indie cinema, a good variety of books (which I don’t have to plan months in advance), and world cuisine made my someone else’s better skilled hand. I miss variety; I miss choice. But I already will be home for a month - will that be enough to sate my desire?

My first fantasy was to be Sidney Fife for five months: living on Venice Beach, doing daily yoga, writing regularly, wearing hawai’ian prints and madras simultaneously, and walking a dog named Anwar Sadat. But how long with that nourish me? Sustain me? Or is there something else I should altogether? What happened to Europe?

Truly, tell me: if you just spent the last six months living in the beach / jungle, what would you do?

MARCH 4, 2010 - YOKED The word ‘yoga’ originates...

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:00:00 -0500

MARCH 4, 2010 - YOKED

The word ‘yoga’ originates from Sanskrit work ‘yuj’, meaning ‘to unite’. It shares an etymology with the word ‘yoke.’ And according to urbandictionary.com, to be ‘yoked’ means ‘to be well built; having a high level of muscle definition; ripped; cut.’

This can be no simple coincidence.

And last night - after almost two weeks of enjoying my body in a passive, yin state receiving countless massages - I decided, enough! let’s get my yang on.

Yoginis: you can call it kundalini energy, you can call it activating my pranamaya kosha. Call it whatever you want, but I want to get yoked. How awesome is that word? yoked, Yoked, Yoked.

Genuinely excited for Project Bounce-a-Dime-Off-My-Ass. There may be boxing. There may be breakdancing. There may be hula hooping. There will be no rules. The world is my bench press.

My body wants to high-five my mind right now.

Picture taken 5 years ago

GPOYW - ‘BEDHEAD’ EDITION I grew it myself.

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:26:42 -0500

GPOYW - ‘BEDHEAD’ EDITION

I grew it myself.

THE HELP - KATHRYN SOCKETT I picked up this book on...

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 10:13:45 -0500

THE HELP - KATHRYN SOCKETT

I picked up this book on Kristin’s recommendation. I didn’t skim it; I didn’t even read the book jacket. I just picked it up last minute at Barnes & Noble and that was that. I opened it last Monday, hoping that it would be a good way for me to wind down for early nights in bed.

After reading the first chapter - as narrated by a southern black maid in the 1960s named Aibileen - I winced. In first person, her chapters were heavily peppered with phrases like Law have mercy but something’s gone have to be done. I looked at the back book flap with concern. The white young female author’s face peered up at me. Is this fo’real? I thought. Is she writing from the perspective of the mammy archetype? Is it just me or is this the literary equivalent of putting on blackface? I felt embarrassed for the author for thinking this was a good idea. Except, by the end of the novel, it was.

‘The Help’ is a novel told through the first person perspectives of three women in Jackson, Mississippi: two black maids - i.e., the help - and a single white woman named Eugenia ‘Skeeter’ Phelan who appears destined for spinsterhood. Having recently graduated from Ole Miss, Skeeter returns home to the Mean Girls equivalent of Southern suburban living. She finds herself at heads with former friend ~~Regina George~~ Miss Hilly, who is tactless and outspokenly pro-segregation. Through a series of events, Skeeter finds herself composing a book of interviews with the maids of Jackson, invoking sympathy for the disempowered black underclass and exposing the hypocrisy of its white “domestic” housewives. And yet - will there be, if any, consequences of this expose?

I enjoyed the way this novel deftly touched on feminism, racism, classism, and well, humanism. Despite my best attempts to put the book down and go to sleep, I found myself wanting to get through one more chapter … and then another. If I were to use one word to describe this novel it would be plot-driven. Not one of my top 5 novels, but definitely a good book club read. After reading this, you want to - or at least I do! - discuss the characters with girlfriends. Do we love/hate Minny Jackson? Miss Celia? etc.