Tuesday - March 19, 2024
OnDenver.com - Your One Stop Site For Everything Denver!
 

Season’s Tweakings

November 22nd, 2015

When it comes to performers, we’re ridiculously inconsistent. We discover an actor we like, and we want them to deliver more of what attracted us in the first place. Then we either throw a fit if they take a chance on something new, or bitterly complain when they do “more of the same.” One example is poor Meg Ryan. Long known as a darling of fluffy rom-coms, she understandably grew tired of briefly being America’s sweetheart. As a result, she tried to stretch her range. She played a crumbling alcoholic in When A Man Loves A Woman, and a doomed Army helicopter pilot in Courage... Read More

Something is Always Better Than Nothing

November 18th, 2015

We live in an “all or nothing” society.  You are either an exerciser or you aren’t; you are a healthy eater or you aren’t.  The fact of the matter is that the all or nothing attitude is not helping us to be healthier.  The judgment associated with all or nothing is “If you can’t do everything, why do anything?”  You should absolutely do something because something is always better than nothing.  Let me explain. When we skip our walk/run/bike/Zumba® because we don’t have time to do as much as we wanted to meet our goal, then we do ourselves a disservice. Why?  Because we... Read More

Reading Between The Lines

November 15th, 2015

There’s an old expression* you’ve probably heard that says, “May you live in interesting times.” We have the misfortune to live in interesting times, particularly when several of the seemingly indestructible institutions of our society are crumbling before our eyes. One of those institutions is print journalism. After Woodward and Bernstein raked Nixon over the coals in the pages of The Washington Post, the business of investigative journalism became highly sexy. A number of bright and capable people saw a way to speak truth to power, to make a difference, and, what the... Read More

Ski Tips

November 11th, 2015

The snow is starting to fly! Some ski areas in Colorado are already open.  Are you ready for ski season? Whether you are a super jock, a couch potato, or somewhere in between, there are some things that you should be doing to prepare for ski season.  The older we get the harder it is to recover from a random injury caused by being ill-prepared.  If you spent the summer running, biking, hiking or climbing you might be in great shape, but you may be missing one of the keys to ski fitness – balance, core strength and muscular endurance. Stability is highly important for skiing, because you are... Read More

The Name Is Bland. James Bland.

November 8th, 2015

Ready for a surefire way to start a fistfight? The next time you’re in the midst of a conversation, with great conviction, state the name of your favorite actor to play James Bond. Tell whoever is listening that your choice is clearly the closest approximation to what Ian Fleming had in mind when he created his gentleman spy.* No matter who your choice is, someone will eventually scoff at it and offer their pick. Your job is to roll your eyes and reply with some variation of, “Well, he tried.” Continue this until someone throws a punch. Since 1962, 6 men have played Bond, with... Read More

Breakin’ Down the Facts About Red Meat

November 4th, 2015

Recently the media reported that the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a statement regarding a possible link between processed and red meats and cancer. National Public Radio’s online headline read “Bad Day For Bacon: Processed Meats Cause Cancer, WHO Says”.  Here is what the statement really said. There is evidence to support the idea that eating red meat (beef, lamb, pork) causes cancer.  There is sufficient evidence that processed meat causes cancer, specifically colorectal cancer.  Eating 50 grams (about 2 oz.) of processed meat daily increases the risk of colorectal cancer by... Read More

The Apple Of His Eye

November 1st, 2015

As I sit here writing this review, my iPhone rests on the desk next to me. It’s become a nearly indispensable feature of my life. I can view my hilariously low bank balance, check the weather, and catch up with friends living on the other side of the continent. I have access to a mind-boggling amount of information, and my iPhone has more computing power than Apollo 13. When I hold it in my hands, it feels comfortable, it feels right. I’m not necessarily sure that’s a good thing. My life was utterly changed by Steve Jobs. So was everybody else’s. The invention of the... Read More

Mind full or Mindful?

October 28th, 2015

On Mondays I attend my favorite yoga class. Every week, as class disperses and the yogis and yoginis depart, most of them head straight to their phone to see what they’ve missed. The hour they spend unifying their breath and body, finding peace, and practicing mindfulness, is shattered almost immediately after they leave the studio. Why is it so hard to practice mindfulness in our modern society? Here is my take on why practicing mindfulness every day is so hard. In the era of the 24-hour news cycle, portable devices that go everywhere with us, and social media – my apology to the medium that... Read More

Red In Their Ledgers

October 25th, 2015

In order for a film to be considered successful, the rule of thumb is that it must make back at least twice its production budget.* Crimson Peak, the newest film from visionary director Guillermo del Toro, had an estimated production budget of around $55 million. So far, it’s only made back about $16 million. It’s tanking hard, a sizable failure. So why is Crimson Peak going down like the Titanic? It’s certainly not because of del Toro. A Mexican filmmaker, he’s not just an artist. He’s a fierce individualist, a director determined to grasp the beautiful and... Read More

Stress is a Four Letter Word

October 21st, 2015

It’s a downhill slide into the holiday season once we get past Halloween. Stress is a hallmark of American life, particularly during the holidays.  Did you know that most Americans don’t use their vacation time?  And when we do take vacation, many of us take our devices with us to stay connected at work.  The 24-hour news cycle creates additional stress that we may not even notice. Stress impacts every area of our life – how we eat, sleep and work. Prolonged stress causes our body to be constantly bombarded with stress hormones, which inhibits the body’s ability to utilize fat. When... Read More