Elena

In a world where too much seems to go to waste too fast, I have the urgency to move against the torrent and try to redress the balance. Yet more than just recover I want to reshape and more than only recycle I long to re-harmonize.

My creation process is highly ceremonial. First I go out into the world and salvage the material from the bins of industry (aided by many winged helpers) then back home I sort the junk and transform it into treasure – next I become the ancient craftsman by physically flattening each crown cap with a fist hammer on a granite cobblestone and finally I internalize and let the printed patterns and colors come to life through circular harmonization.

In retrospect, I reversed the drop of water-ripple effect back to the drop. There’s something very gratifying and revealing in that.

You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop.

Rumi

Read Oceaninadrop by Neokentin on Recyclart!

What’s the world’s largest power plant? How does solar compare to nuclear, coal and gas? How much of the world’s renewable energy potential are we using?

Understanding the world’s energy systems isn’t easy, so we’ve made it a little simpler with this ranking of the world’s biggest and most notable power plants.

» Power through to the graphic
» See the data

Strong teeth are essential for a healthy mouth! You can work on strengthening your teeth by getting the right vitamins and minerals in your diet. You can also protect your teeth through healthy habits. In addition, certain foods and habits can weaken your teeth so limit those as you work for a healthy smile.

EditSteps

EditGetting the Right Nutrients

1. Ensure you're getting 1,000 to 1,200 milligrams of calcium a day. You probably know calcium helps keep your bones strong; the same is true for your teeth. Eating the recommended amount of calcium in your diet every day will help increase the strength of your teeth. Dairy products are a great source of calcium; however, you'll find other good sources, such as fortified cereal and leafy greens.^[1]
   
   • For instance, both of low-fat milk and a few cubes (about the size of 3 dice) of cheese have 305 milligrams of calcium.
   • However, other foods have calcium, too: a serving of fortified cereal can have anywhere from 150 milligrams to over 1,000 milligrams so read the label.^[2] Tofu with calcium sulfate added, as well as calcium-fortified milk substitutes are good choices. Canned fish with the bones, such as sardines or salmon, collard greens, bok choy, turnip greens, and kale are also good sources of calcium.^[3]
2. Aim for 800 IU (40 μg) of vitamin D a day. Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium properly. Many milk products and cereals are fortified with it for this very reason. Being out in the sun is another way to get vitamin D, though you need to weigh the costs of sun exposure, which can damage your skin. However, if you're not getting enough, you may need to take a supplement.^[4]
   
   • Fish is a great source of vitamin D. A serving of fish that's about the size of a deck of cards can have anywhere from 4 μg to 18 μg. Sardines, rockfish, herring, halibut, and tuna are on the low end, in the 4-5 μg range. Fish like coho or sockeye salmon, mackerel, whitefish, and sturgeon are about 10-11 μg, while smoked sturgeon, smoked chinook salmon, trout, swordfish, and canned sockeye salmon are on the high end of that range.^[5]
3. Eat phosphorus-rich foods to get 1,000 milligrams per day. Like calcium, phosphorus is essential to bone and teeth health. Most dairy foods are high in phosphorus, as well as many fortified foods, so if you're getting your calcium from these foods, you're likely getting enough phosphorus, too. Also, many protein-rich foods, such as meat and eggs, are high in phosphorus.^[6]
   
   • Phosphorus is used as an additive in many processed foods, mainly as a preservative. In fact, sodas are high in phosphoric acid. That doesn't mean you should increase your intake of processed foods; however, if you are eating these foods, you're likely getting enough phosphorus in your diet.
   • Toddlers should get 460 milligrams, 4-8 year-olds should get 500 milligrams, and 9-18-year-olds should get 1,250 milligrams a day.^[7]
4. Eat a balanced diet for teeth and mouth health. Aim to eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables in your weekly diet; try selecting a variety of colors when choosing your produce, as that ensures you'll be getting a wide variety of vitamins. Fill your plate up halfway with fruits and veggies at every meal, then opt for a lean protein and whole grains for the rest of your plate, along with a serving of low-fat dairy.^[8]
   
   • While focusing on nutrients like calcium and vitamin D are great for dental wellness, a healthy diet overall is also essential. Getting a wide variety of vitamins and minerals will help support your strong teeth.

EditPracticing Healthy Habits

1. Brush your teeth twice a day to remove bacteria. To brush well, hold your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle to your teeth. Use soft, gentle strokes to brush all the surfaces of your teeth and aim to brush for at least 2 minutes. Set a timer to help you brush longer!^[9]
   
   • Remember to replace your toothbrush or toothbrush head every 3-4 months.
2. Floss once a day to get food from in between your teeth. Pull out about of floss. Wrap around your middle finger on one hand. Leave loose between your hands, then wrap the rest around the middle finger on your other hand. Gently press the floss between your teeth, taking care not to ram it into your gums. Make a "C" around each side of the tooth and move the floss up and down to help clear food.^[10]
   
   • As the dental floss gets dirty, move clean thread into the middle by taking some off the finger holding most of it and wrapping the extra around the other finger.
3. Visit your dentist at least once a year for x-rays and cleaning. These visits help detect problems before they begin. Plus, if you start to get a buildup of plaque, which can weaken teeth, the dentist can remove it for you so you can start fresh.^[11]
   
   • If you have dental problems, you may need to visit more often.
4. Increase saliva production by chewing sugarless gum and drinking more water. Dry mouth can increase your chances of tooth decay, and it can be a side effect of many medications. To help your body produce more saliva, try chewing on sugarless gum throughout the day or even sucking on sugarless candy.^[12]
   
   • Sipping water can help combat dry mouth. To increase the benefit, don't swallow immediately; instead, hold it in your mouth for a few moments first.
5. Opt for fruits and veggies high in fiber to clean your teeth. These foods naturally clean your teeth, helping to keep them strong. Plus, they increase saliva production, which in turn will help reduce the bacteria in your mouth and protect your teeth.^[13]
   
   • Try produce like carrots, leafy greens, apples, and celery.
   • Saliva has small amounts of calcium and phosphate in it, which helps restore the minerals in your enamel.
6. Enjoy green and black teas to reduce bacteria in your mouth. These teas contain polyphenols, which help to reduce bacteria in your mouth. Try drinking tea with your meal or shortly after to help protect your teeth.^[14]
   
   • Keep in mind, though, that teas can stain your teeth over time.
7. Consider oil pulling to reduce bacteria in the mouth. Oil pulling is a traditional Indian technique that some people experience good results with. To practice this method, simply put 1-2 spoonfuls of oil in your mouth (enough to swish around) and move it around in your mouth for 5-20 minutes. When you're done, spit the oil out in a trashcan and rinse your mouth out. Then, you can brush your teeth like you normally would.^[15]
   
   • Typically, you do this in the early morning before you eat.
   • While moving the oil around, try to swish it between your teeth.
   • You can use sesame oil, olive oil, coconut oil, or sunflower oil, just to name a few.

EditAvoiding Destructive Foods and Habits

1. Rinse after eating soft, starchy foods. Soft breads, potato chips, and even crackers can wedge food particles in your teeth, leading to increased bacteria and tooth decay. Try to avoid these foods when you can. When you can't, try swishing your mouth with water after eating them to clear out the food.^[16]
   
   • You can also try eating sugarless gum.
2. Choose chocolate and other short-lived candies over hard candies. Avoid sugary candies that you hold in your mouth a long time like lollipops, hard candies, and caramels. Because the sugar stays in your mouth so long, it promotes bacteria growth and tooth decay. If you need something sweet, pick something that will wash away more quickly, such as chocolate.^[17]
   
   • Reach for dark chocolate, which has less sugar and may have other health benefits.
   • Also, go for sugary foods when you're already eating a meal, as the extra saliva will help clear out the sugar.
3. Slow down your alcohol intake. Alcohol can dry out your mouth, which can lead to tooth decay. Try limiting your intake of alcohol or skipping it altogether to help avoid this issue.^[18]
   
4. Quit smoking to protect your teeth. You likely are aware that smoking causes lung cancer and a whole host of other health problems. In addition, it can also weaken bone tissue, including your teeth.^[19] Plus, smoking can cause oral cavities and oral cancers that lead to teeth decay.^[20] If you've been thinking about quitting, now may be the time.
   
   • Consider joining a quitter's group to help you learn how to deal with triggers and cravings.
   • Discuss nicotine patches and gums with your doctor to help you quit.
   • Get your friends and family to help you out by letting them know you are trying to quit.
5. Opt for water over sugary sodas. The sugar in soda is bad for your teeth, but it goes beyond that. The acids can break down your enamel over time, leading to decay. Avoid sodas when you can and opt for water instead.^[21]
   
   • If you really need a soda, try using a straw, which cuts down on the soda's contact with your teeth.

EditReferences

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After a few weeks of murmurs without any hard facts, Warner Bros. has closed out the week with a stirring confirmation that yes, Robert Pattinson will indeed be our next Batman.

Like the anointing of a new Pope – commemorated with clinking champagne glasses instead of billowing white smoke – the selection process for the latest iteration of the Caped Crusader has been long and arduous. But today, Deadline ran the exclusive that Pattinson won out over contender Nicholas Hoult for the leading role in Matt Reeves‘ scheduled trilogy of films focusing on the DC Comics superhero.

The film currently titled The Batman and its two planned sequels will keep Pattinson busy for some time, which comes as cause for consternation in the fans that know him primarily as an arthouse mainstay and regular presence at Cannes. He wouldn’t be the first thespian to put a career of challenging, unpredictable work on pause for a tour of duty through the studio system.

By that same tack, however, Pattinson’s adherence to the old “one for me, one for them” maxim could work in his favor on a longer timeframe. It’s been about a decade since the Twilight days, and his reputation as a ticket-selling movie star could use some recharging; if three Batman movies get us eight more films from David Cronenberg or Claire Denis down the line, so be it.

All that said, Pattinson’s sure to do a fine job, bringing an actorly complexity to the role like Christian Bale before him. And above all, these films will exist outside of the Ben Affleck diegesis, keeping Pattinson safe and sound from the clutches of the proper DC cinematic universe.

The Batman comes to cinemas in the US on 25 June, 2021.

The post Warner Bros confirms Robert Pattinson as its new Batman appeared first on Little White Lies.

“There is no war in camps. But no peace, either. There’s a need for everything. And yet a desire for nothing.” Palestinian-Jordanian filmmaker Dina Naser’s haunting words draw a clear picture of life in Jordan’s Al Zaatari refugee camp, Tiny Souls. Children form the heart of her documentary: Marwa, an observant and mature nine-year-old, her feisty younger sister, Ayah, and their mischievous younger brother, Mahmoud. Even their liveliness can’t quite mask the limbo of refugeedom.

Another family, miles away in Syria, decide against this fate. For Sama by Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts is a visual message from al-Kateab to her baby daughter Sama. An attempt to explain why she and her husband stay in Aleppo from 2012 to 2016 as the Assad regime bombards the city, urgency and determination propel her film – but so do love and vulnerability. It communicates universal fears, like a mother’s for her child’s future, without minimising the particular brutality of their situation. “What a life I’ve brought you into,” al-Kateab laments. “Will you ever forgive me?”

Far from mortal danger the children in Tiny Souls may be, but exile proves another kind of hardship. Naser documents young Marwa’s excitement as the refugee family move to an apartment in a Jordanian city. Looking out at the bustling night, Marwa happily declares she could almost be back home in Daar’a. But a few months later Naser finds the family has returned to Al Zaatari camp. “Life was too expensive in town,” Marwa tells us. “A kilogram of tomatoes cost a dinar and a half. It costs a quarter of a dinar here.”

The conflict rapidly matures children like Marwa into teenagers, and young adults into carers, parents and guardians. Throughout For Sama, it is easy to forget al-Kateab is in her twenties. She was in the forth year of studying for an economics degree when the revolution began in Aleppo in April 2012. Al-Kateab’s hand-held footage captures how youth demonstrations snowballed into mass civil resistance. The state’s systematic retaliation from 2013 onwards took the form of massacres, aerial bombing and chlorine gas.

Al-Kateab’s future husband, Hamza, is a new doctor and fellow activist; working together every day under harrowing circumstances, the two eventually marry and attempt to make a home in the briefly rebel-held Aleppo. By the time Sama is born in January 2016, her father delivering her in a hospital bomb-proofed with sandbags, the future of the revolution is looking bleak. When Russian forces demand the surrender of the remaining civilians in the city, Al-Kateab, Dr Hamza, and their friends and neighbours eventually agree. One snowy morning, they leave Aleppo with heavy hearts.

As Tiny Souls is not autobiographical, it opts for a method that mirrors For Sama’s first-person intimacy; Naser leaves a camera with the children. Their endearing, impromptu footage shows off their games, diverse personalities, and knacks for storytelling. But these are rare moments of levity: food and water security demands their constant attention. At one point, UNICEF tells the family they will only deliver water when they have a surplus, as their street is not a “designated refugee area”.

When the Jordanian police visit their older brother, wrongfully suspecting him of being a young Al-Nusra or ISIS recruit, the family’s fate is sealed. The brother is questioned and Marwa’s family is eventually deported from Al Zaatari camp back to Syria. Naser is too late to say goodbye to the children; she picks up their final tape from a neighbour.

Tiny Souls restores narrative agency to the most disenfranchised – refugee children – in a quietly powerful way. The girls film themselves, and interact with Naser naturally: the result is a unique window into their world via gesture, composition and portraiture. For Sama, in contrast, is citizen journalism that does not flinch from explicit images of human carnage, child victims included. It candidly illustrates how war shifts circumstances in a heartbeat, as well as how people and places can endure. Al-Kateab realises her camera is her best weapon of activism, and feels duty-bound to record the trajectory of the uprising at great personal risk.

These two striking films remind us that bearing witness is a defiant act. Harnessing both the poetic and journalistic powers of documentary For Sama and Tiny Souls capture the experience of one brutal, ongoing conflict through its two locations – the home being fought for, and the exile endured for safety. “The people I filmed will never leave me,” al-Kateab concludes. “If I could rewind, I would do exactly the same.”

For Sama and Tiny Souls will screen at the Sheffield Doc/Fest, which runs 6-11 June.

The post The documentary filmmakers reframing the refugee crisis appeared first on Little White Lies.

Like Hamlet or Oedipus, the role of the Joker has grown into a proving ground for great actors. Such esteemed thespians as Jared Leto and Cesar Romero have delved into the dark psychology of the clown who fights Batman to tap into their most extreme selves, pushing their abilities to the limit in intense scenes like this one.

A fearless performer well-versed in the fringes of human behavior, of course Joaquin Phoenix couldn’t resist the challenge to summit this acting Matterhorn. The newly released trailer for the villain’s solo origin film, simply titled Joker, offers a taste of his herculean efforts.

Phoenix begins the film as Arthur Fleck, mild-mannered stand-up and failure in life. He’s got no professional prospects, no women in his life apart from the mother he must personally bathe, no possibilities – until he discovers the sneak trapdoor of madness.

Director Todd Phillips has cited such Martin Scorsese classics as Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy as inspirations for his foray into the superhero genre, and aside from the presence of Robert De Niro himself, this film appears to be the account of one man ground down by society. Like Travis Bickle before him, Arthur Fleck must eventually snap.

The trailer goes light on the action, calling into question just how much ass-whupping will be featured in the film. Though the trailer’s voice-over narration states that Fleck became the Joker when he started thinking of his life as a sick comedy, Phillips has described the film as a “tragedy”.

The other players of this tragicomedy include Zazie Beetz (making the jump from the Marvel house, after appearing in last year’s Deadpool 2), her Atlanta co-star Brian Tyree Henry, and as a pair of Gotham beat cops, character actors Shea Whigham and Bill Camp.

Phoenix provides a more recognizably human take on the Joker than we’ve seen in the past, in no small part due to the fact that the film joins him pre-makeover. But beyond that, even when he’s got the facepaint on, Phoenix can emote a wounded, snarling vulnerability like few others. There’s a direct line to be traced from Freddie Quell to Arthur Fleck.

Joker comes to theaters in the UK and US on 4 October.

The post Joaquin Phoenix puts on a happy face in the first Joker trailer appeared first on Little White Lies.

“I don’t deal with ‘women’s issues’, I deal with all kinds of issues from a woman’s point of view,” says the Israeli director Michal Aviad of the gaze she explores in her work. “I look at reality and just change the angle a bit. Throughout my career it’s remained fresh; still, after 30 years. It’s new and original to see the world from the point of view of women.”

Aviad started making films in San Francisco during the late ’80s, before returning to her native Israel at the start of the next decade where, alongside her own practice, she now works as a Senior Lecturer in the Cinema and Television department at Tel Aviv University.

With a preference for documentaries, Aviad’s stories are anchored in politics, conflict and religion, often but not solely engaged concurrently with one another. Her 1995 film Ever Shot Anyone? examines Israeli masculinity by interviewing army reservists, while 1997’s Jenny and Jenny follows a pair of teenagers over the course of a summer on the country’s Mediterranean coast. More recently, 2016’s Dimona Twist highlights the stories of seven women who arrived in Israel during the ’50s and ’60s and were subsequently sent to the newly established desert town of Dimona.

Following Invisible in 2011, Aviad has returned to narrative feature filmmaking with Working Woman, which debuted at the Jerusalem Film Festival in 2018. It follows Orna, a mother of three who has recently returned to work to provide for her family as her husband’s new restaurant struggles to finds its feet. She excels at her job assisting Benny, a power-driven realtor, quickly winning praise and a promotion. Not only is she good at the work but, more significantly, she relishes it, which makes Benny’s ugly behaviour – executed with awkward situations and culminating in sexual violence – all the more devastating.

“For years I was thinking about sexual harassment – like everybody else I suppose,” reflects Aviad, who spoke at length with lawyers who specialise in sexual harassment while researching for the film. “I read tonnes of testimonies but I wanted to know what it looks like. What is the proximity of the parties? What is the tension in-between the words? All those things that we cannot read.” Punctuated with telltale lines like “where’s your sense of humour” and comments about how Orna should wear her hair, the film mirrors realities of workplace harassment in such a frank and uncomfortable manner that some have labelled it a thriller.

Written in 2012 in collaboration with Sharon Azulay Eyal and Michal Vinik, Working Woman began shooting in tandem with the emergence of #MeToo, and the film’s arrival, in a climate ferociously more attuned to power blind spots and abusive behaviour, isn’t lost on the director. “Unfortunately, the films I’ve made before which I thought were really relevant didn’t seem so to other people, so I’m very glad this is,” the director says.

Working closely with Liron Ben-Shlush and Menashe Noy (who play Orna and Benny respectively) for several months prior to shooting, Aviad says she feels fortunate to have found such responsive actors. “We formed intimacy, we talked and we ate and we talked and we drank and we talked, and together we formed the characters.”

More specifically, in the case of Noy’s character, there was some concern over falling into villainous stereotypes. “Both of us know people who are sexual harassers,” explains Aviad, “and we knew that he’s much more complex than that.” Alluding to this depth on screen, Orna’s idea of Benny is first established via another woman at the agency, who tells her “Benny’s a great boss, thank god.”

Aviad’s hope for Working Woman is that it might encourage further discussion around sexual harassment in the workplace. As she says, returning to the central feminist theme of her work, “We have to continue to talk about the relationship between men and women, and really try to change it. In the last 200 years of feminism we got the right to vote, but consciousness hasn’t changed. I really hope that we will start to see each other as human.”

The post Meet the Israeli filmmaker tackling sexual harassment in the work place appeared first on Little White Lies.

Oxytocin-dependent reopening of a social reward learning critical period with MDMA

Oxytocin-dependent reopening of a social reward learning critical period with MDMA, Published online: 03 April 2019; doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1075-9

Podcast: MDMA and the malleable mind, and keeping skin young

Podcast: MDMA and the malleable mind, and keeping skin young, Published online: 03 April 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-01075-z

Cats know their names — whether they care is another matter

Cats know their names — whether they care is another matter, Published online: 04 April 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-01067-z