LEISURE - Time for Headspace!

I started using this app Headspace last week. It's an app that you can use to create 10 minutes of headspace everyday it learns you something about mindfulness. 10 days long you will listen to a men that talks to you for 10 minutes. He helps you to clear your mind and gives you guidelines for breathing. The app also shows you an animation once in a while and that animation gives a perfect example of your mind. They're very funny so it's nice to watch them.

I've been using this app for 5 days now and I notice that these 10 minutes a day of headspace are good for me. In this life where we are all so busy it's nice to take a moment for yourself everyday. Because we don't notice how fast time is going anymore. You can also subscribe and unlock the full Headspace journey. You can browse the collections and pick sessions to suit your mood and lifestyle. You can join with other users to track your progress or buddy up with friends to motivate each other.

If you're interested in this app you can download it or visit the website . It's worth a try!

Source: https://www.headspace.com

Source: 13252.jpg

COOLHUNT - The canary: a gluten tracker

For people with a gluten allergy it’s hard to find out if there’s gluten in the food that they eat. They don’t have very much choice and sometimes the ingredients are not listed on the packaging of products. For some people it can be dangerous if they don’t know what’s in their food so we need something that they can detect what’s in their food.

WHAT? According to trendhunter.com there is a solution. And that is ‘the Canary’ a portable device that can test gluten in foods. This gadget will help people with allergies and it will prevent them from getting sick. The device is created by 6SensorLabs and it is a pocket-sized device that has disposable units. You can put those units in your dishes to test the gluten levels. The information will appear on the device and you can track it by using a corresponding smartphone app.

WHY? People with allergies can now go out for dinner without worrying about the food. It’s a great invention with a lot of potential. Maybe in the future the device can not only track down if there are gluten in the food but also other nutrients that are dangerous to other people like nuts or sugar. It’s an example of an Inline device with the underlying value of people who are more curious about what’s in their food these days. We’re much more conscious these days about what we eat. If you have a gluten allergy this device is great, because it can detect gluten in dishes. People don’t have to worry anymore if they can eat something the device will do that for them. Devices will take over a lot of functions from humans but sometimes it’s convenient. This is a great example of Inline. Because you take something offline (a measure instrument) and you make something online from it (a gadget). 

Source: http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/portable-gadget

Source: http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/portable-gadget

COOLHUNT - The clothing library

In April 2013 a clothing factory in Bangladesh collapsed. These factories are known for their extremely low paid employees and extremely dangerous working conditions. Those people work very hard but don’t get paid enough for it. And the clothes are sold for much more in Europe. These ratios are not good. We spend a lot more money on clothes and also we never have enough (especially the women among us). The question is can we create a more even distribution and can we stop the child labour in third world countries.

WHAT? Well this is a big problem but 3 friends in the Netherlands came up with a plan of starting a clothing library in Utrecht. Karin Zwiep one of the founders says: “Costumers can borrow clothes for 4 weeks with a card”. And when the costumers bring it back they will wash it because it seems that people don’t trust each other washing qualities. Evita one of the founders has done some research for her study, which showed that people more often exchange clothes and they don’t want to buy it anymore. But how do they get the library filled with clothes? They put large buckets in the city where people can put in their old clothes. And they got a lot of clothes from the organisation Humana. They also have a special feature that they can bring costumers in contact with designers that will make their piece of clothing unique. The target audience is primarily young women because they are the biggest users en polluters.

WHY? This is an idea that can grow in the future because if it works it can be introduced into more cities and maybe we can bring the consume numbers down a bit. It’s a great example of Togetherness because we can share clothes trough an open library. The value behind this trend is definitely sharing because this has became a great part of our lives like Facebook etc. So if you’re interested go to Utrecht where you can borrow clothing in the clothing library. You can keep it for four weeks and then you’ll have to return it. A great way of sharing!

Source: ‘Bewuste modeliefhebber kan naar de kledingbieb’. (Metro, do 18-09-14)

Sources:
* http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2668/Buitenland/article/detail/3431680/2013/04/25/Bangladesh-200-doden-die-20-cent-per-uur-verdienden-voor-onze-goedkope-T-shirts.dhtml

* ‘Bewuste modeliefhebber kan naar de kledingbieb’. (Metro, do 18-09-14)

COOLHUNT - The life saving bracelet.

According to ‘Noorderboog’ each year more than 600 kids in Dutch hospitals end up with unconsciousness caused by the use of too much alcohol. Or even worse they will end up in a coma. And if you are lucky one of your friends will bring you home before it’s to late. So how can we prevent the number of teenagers that ends up in the hospital?

WHAT? A bracelet that will measure your alcohol and dehydration levels when you go out. It’s called the ‘Vive Smart Bracelet’. This bracelet with all his functions has to make sure that you come home save and don’t end up in the hospital. What are those functions? Well you can connect the bracelet with an app that will measure your alcohol level when you start drinking. During the evening the bracelet will send random vibrations and when you squeeze it the bracelet knows you’re OK. If you don’t squeeze the bracelet will send an aware through social media to your friends so they can check on you if you’re all right. It can be used by anyone who goes out for a drink.

WHY? It is a cool idea because maybe in the future a lot of patients that come into the hospital with an alcohol problem could be prevented because of this bracelet. And maybe the quality of going out will be a lot more fun. It is an Inline trend because a bracelet is an offline thing with in this case an online function. I think the need behind this trend is safety. We see a rise of young kids that end up in the hospital drunk and I think with this product parents and friends don’t have to worry anymore.

So maybe this is the future of going out? The product still needs some thinking because there are some problems but I’m excited about this idea because I hope it will prevent a lot of alcohol problems in the future!

Source: http://www.nsmbl.nl/handig-deze-armband-vertelt-je-vrienden-of-je-dronken-bent/

Sources:

* http://www.noorderboog.nl/ziekenhuiszorg/patienten/onderzoeken-en-behandelingen/nazorgtraject-alcoholvergiftiging-bij-jongeren

* http://www.nsmbl.nl/handig-deze-armband-vertelt-je-vrienden-of-je-dronken-bent/

APPEARANCE - Emma Watson against man hate.

We all know Emma Watson from the famous movies Harry Potter. Emma is also very popular among the men because of her beautiful appearance and she also has the brains. In July this year Emma became ambassador of the United Nations. Last Monday Emma Watson gave a speech to the United Nations about man hate. According to Emma men should be more involved in the equality of sexes. 

Last week she was in Uruguay for a campaign that is meant for boys and men to stand for equality between men and women. In the speech she talks about feminism and how often that is compared to man hate. She thinks that this has to stop. She says that its time that we see sexes as a spectrum instead of two controversial ideals. As a reaction to her speech there was loud applause. 

I think it's amazing that Emma is committed to this problem because it's true that people associate feminists with men hate. And most of the time this is not true. Emma Watson is an idol for a lot of people and especially younger people. I think more people will listen to her. 

FOOD - The countermovement of super foods

Lately a lot of people are busy or obsessed with super foods. Everywhere you look you will read something about health and food and the newest trends and hypes around our own health. The funny thing is I'm also into the super foods. Ever since I try to find a balance between food, sleep and health the super foods get my attention. I've tried quinoa, goji, coconut, chia etc. And since a little while I also drink water with cucumber and lemon. It's nice and it should detox your body. A lot of people find this bullshit. And now there is a movement against the super foods and most of all the Instagram posts about super foods (which I'm also guilty of). Here's an article from Tim den Besten a columnist at VPRO. It's a dutch article so I will translate it also. I laughed my ass off when I read this article. And the countermovement goes on because the other day I read on Facebook that it's now popular to put your unhealthy snacks on Instagram as a reaction to all the water with cucumber on Instagram. 

 

Source: http://www.mindbodygreen.com

(Dutch)

Het is donderdagochtend half tien en in mijn tijdlijn heb ik al drie foto’s voorbij zien komen van karaffen water met daarin slierten komkommer.

Ik ram mijn voorhoofd een paar keer tegen mijn tafel, tot ik me beter voel. Een foto maken van je water met komkommer en die op internet zetten; het is alles wat er mis is met de wereld. Naast de man die allemaal mensen onthoofdt dan hè.

Ik loop de deur uit om koffie te drinken op de hoek, maar niet voordat ik mijn gezicht heb ingesmeerd met een hydraterende energizer. Alsof het allemaal nog niet erg genoeg is gaan er naast mij op het bankje voor het koffietentje twee quinoakutten zitten. Quionoakutten zijn mensen (het kunnen ook mannen zijn) die bij voorkeur in het openbaar luidruchtig over ‘superfoods’ praten. Het zijn dezelfde mensen die foto’s van hun komkommerwater online delen met de wereld, het liefst voorzien van de hashtag #healthy. In dit geval zijn het twee meisjes van een jaar of vijfentwintig van wie ik helaas een gesprek opvang:

Q1: “Superrrfoods zijn zó chill.”

Q2: “Ja echt fucking chill.” 

Q1: “Megachill.”

Q2: “Chill.”

Het zijn mensen die de laatste tijd ineens overal zijn. Ze vinden het belangrijk om de hele dag zaden en pitten te eten maar ze vinden het nog belangrijker om er de hele dag over te praten, en er foto’s van te posten. Zelden kom je iemand tegen die al die dingen eet en daarover zwijgt. Het zijn mensen die je aankijken alsof je vertelt dat je op vakantie per ongeluk een baby hebt gefrituurd als je zegt dat je ‘s ochtends brood eet.

Q1: “Ik eet echt nooit brood.”

Q2: “Nee brood is echt niet chill.” 

Q1: “Brood is de duivel.”

Q2: “Ik kan niet eens naar brood kijken.” 

Q1: “Ik zag laatst een brood: niet chill.”

Deze voedselevangelisten zijn de jehovagetuigen van de supermarktscene. Begrijp me niet verkeerd: ik ben voor vrijheid van etensuiting. Iedereen mag eten wat hij wil, en je mag er ook voor uitkomen. Maar je ziet nu eenmaal nooit een frikandel op instagram. 

Als ik ‘s avonds thuiskom na een dag koffiedrinken wordt pas echt duidelijk hoe groot de schade is. Een van mijn huisgenoten staat een komkommer te raspen. Ik huiver. Als ik voorzichtig vraag wat ze met die slierten gaat doen antwoordt ze: “Die doe ik zo in een karaf water. Superchill.” Ik stamel nog iets over de vaas die zij een karaf noemt maar zak halverwege door mijn knieën. Met mijn handen in de lucht gevouwen smeek ik haar er geen foto van te posten. Het komt nu allemaal wel erg dichtbij.

________________________________________________________________________

(English)

It's Thursday morning, half past nine and in my timeline I've already saw 3 photo's of carafes of water containing pieces of cucumber. After three pictures I smash my head against the table until I feel better. Taking a picture of your water with cucumber and put them on the Internet; it is everything that is wrong with the world. Besides the guy who beheads people. 

I walk out of the door to drink coffee at the corner, but not before I rubbed som hydrating energizer in my face. As if things are not bad enough outside the coffee shop two 'quinoakutten' are sitting down next to me at the bench. 'Quinoakutten' are people (it can also be men) who talk loudly about super foods preferably in public. the same people that take photos of their cucumber water and share it online with the world, preferably with the hashtag #healthy. In this case, the two girls are twenty-five of whom I catch the conversation:

Q1: "Superrrfoods are so chill." 

Q2: "Yes, really fucking chill." 

Q1: "Super Chill." 

Q2: "Chill."

These are the people who have been popping up everywhere lately. They find it important to eat seeds and kernels all day long, but they find it even more important to talk about it the whole day and post pictures of it. Rarely you come across someone who eats all those things and is silent about it. They are the people who look strange at you when you tell them you eat bread in the morning as if you've fried a accidentally fried a baby on a holiday. 

Q1: "I really never eat bread." 

Q2: "No bread is not really chill." 

Q1: "Bread is the Devil." 

Q2: "I can not even look at bread." 

Q1: "I recently saw a loaf of bread: not chill." 

These food evangelists are the Jehovah witnesses to the supermarket scene. Don't get me wrong: I am for freedom of food expression. Everyone can eat what he wants, and it's OK if you let people know what you eat. But you never simply see a hot dog on Instagram. 

When I come home at night after a day of drinking coffee it becomes really clear how great the damage is. One of my roommates is grating cucumber. I shiver as I carefully ask what she will do with those strings. She replies: "I will put them in a carafe of water. Super chill". I still stammer about the vase that she calls a carafe but halfway I pocket my knees. With my hands in the air I beg her not to post the picture. It all comes very close now. 

Source: http://www.vpro.nl/lees/smaakmakers/tim-den-besten/qinoakutten.htm