Events: Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to you all! Wishing everyone great success in all areas of your life for the new year. I think this year will be a great one :)

And just so you start off January 1st with the best energy you can, I am passing on these 5 tips to avoid a hangover from Dr. Weil:



1. Moderation is the best way to avoid hangovers - make sure to pace yourself. (Good luck with that ;)
2. Eat food if you have more than a drink or two. (The heavier, the better)
3. Avoid dehydration (and cut down on alcohol intake) by drinking as much water as possible while you're drinking alcohol. (You're grown up! You should be drinking straight or with soda/water anyways!)
4. Take a B-complex vitamin supplement plus extra thiamine (100 mg) to counter the B-vitamin depletion caused by alcohol. (This works)
5. Choose beverages that are "cleaner." Some distilled beverages are rich in substances called congeners - toxic impurities that can greatly add to your woes. Bourbon, rum, and cognac are particularly dirty, while vodka, which is just pure alcohol and water, is the cleanest. (Always go Vodka! And avoid anything sweet, like too many juice mixers)

Music: Adele

Adele! If you are not listening to her yet, you should start. Recently nominated for a slew of Grammy's, it hardly seems fair she has this amazing voice & songwriting ability at the tender age of 19.

Global 411: Canadian Gov't - Daily Show Style

And you thought American politics was interesting! For those who are out of the loop, Canada is in the midst of government upheaval. It is easy to dismiss Canada as a friendly Country with a friendly Government, which sometimes, is very true. But if you have every watched Canadian parliament in action, with all the heckling and yelling, you may quickly change your mind. No one can deliver a stinging insult while still remaining polite like us ;)

Learn more from my favorite guy on television, (who also happens to have a lot of Canadians on his writing staff), the wonderful Jon Stewart:

**Update: Damn 'copyright' people pulled the video off youtube. See part of it here: http://watch.thecomedynetwork.ca/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart/correspondents/daily-show-aasif-mandvi/#clip120030

Movies: Award Season

The Stars! The clothes! And, oh yeah...the movies! Once again, we are entering the season where actors like to reward themselves again, again, and again. But you have to admit, it is kind of fun, and the nominations for the first few award shows before the big 'O' (That's 'Oscar's' people, get your mind out of the gutter ;) have now been announced. Lucky for us, 2008 actually brought about a lot of very good movies & performances. And for the love of God, somebody give Kate Winslet an award already. The poor girl has been nominated enough, and they finally gave it to Cate Blanchett. The big players this year are:

Best Actor: Sean Penn (Milk), Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon), Brad Pitt (Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler), Richard Jenkins (The Visitor), Leonardo Dicaprio (Revolutionary Road)

Best Actress: Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married), Angelina Jolie (The Changeling), Meryl Streep (Doubt), Meliss Leo (Frozen River), Kate Winslet (Revolutionay Road), Kristen Scott Thomas (I've loved you so long)

Best Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin (Milk), Heath Ledger (Batman), Robert Downey Jr. (Tropic Thunder), Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt)

Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), Viola Davis (Doubt), Amy Adams (Doubt), Taraji P. Henson (Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Kate Winslet (The Reader)

Best Picture: Milk, Slumdog Millionaire, Frost/Nixon, Doubt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Revolutionary Road, The Reader


On a side note, I will be curious to see how Hugh Jackman does hosting the Oscar's this year. He has hosted the Tony awards in the past but this is indeed a very different audience. Good luck!

To see the entire nominee list for the Golden Globes & the SAG awards, go here:
http://www.goldenglobes.org/
http://www.sagawards.org/

**Update: If you have not seen "Slumdog Millionaire" yet...GO!!

Beauty: Honey

Last night at a Christmas party, I had an interesting conversation with a Russian scientist (yes, seriously), who was insisting on the various uses of honey as a cure all. He said if we all included it in our diet, or even used it on our skin, we would all see great benefits to our health (apparently good for acne, cold sores, and even a moisturizing mask: He said put it on for 20 minutes and wash off with cold water.) I was intrigued, and we discussed the various uses, which I took seriously considering he is: A) Well respected professionally, B) Looks 15 years younger than his age of 76 and C) Sounded better & better after every sip I took of his honey/vodka concoction (1 part pure honey, thoroughly mixed with 4 parts vodka. Sounds disgusting, but it is surprisingly good.) Hey - why not. I say give it all a try, especially considering honey is a much less expensive beauty product than everything else on the shelves these days.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Health-And-Beauty-Benefits-Of-Honey&id=762493

Inspiration: Tina Fey

I think Tina Fey is my hero. Seriously. And I know it may be redundant to say so since so many of you may feel the same and she seems to have taken the crown of 'Media Darling' after her various impersonations of Sarah Palin during the election. All the while, she manages to stay true to who she is, in all of her NYC neurotic glory (I am sure many of us can relate ;)She is hilarious & brilliant - the first female head writer for Saturday Night Live, writer of 'Mean Girls' and now the creator & star of the ridiculously funny "30 Rock", which continues to get showered with accolades (recently won 7 Emmy's). I am hardly telling you anything new, I'm sure, but any time you are in need of a little self deprecating humor - my personal fave - watch her show (along with the amazing Alec Baldwin), read about her in the January issue of Vanity Fair or bring her up on You Tube and share in a laugh.

Events: Happy Holidays!

Hello! I have been MIA as of late, but I'm back, with lots to report and some exciting developments for 2009. All which will be revealed in good time;) In the meantime, I hope my friends in NY & Toronto are weathering the storm, my peeps in Vancouver are getting over the shock of all the snow. In Canada, it will be the first coast to coast White Christmas in over 4 decades. Hope you all have Happy Holidays!! xo

Global 411: Hillary

Exciting news today with the announcement that Hillary Clinton has been named Obama's nominee for Secretary of State. Let's hope she uses her vast knowledge of global affairs from her previous time in the White House to steer us in the right direction, lead our country to recovery at home and gain the respect of the international community.

As she said: "America is a place founded on the idea that everyone should have the right to live up to his or her God-given potential. And it is that same ideal that must guide America's purpose in the world today."