Thursday, February 28, 2013

Keep 2 O'clock Open on Your Schedule Through March 19th



The Mascletà is one of the hallmarks of Valencia’s Fallas celebration. As far as I know this phenomena (I can’t think of another, better word to describe it) is unique to Valencia. The Mascletà is a percussion fireworks display that takes place every afternoon at 14:00 in Valencia’s Plaza del Ayuntamiento, and when I say 14:00 I mean it starts exactly at 14:00. As many as 100,000 people show up every afternoon to be assaulted by a five minute barrage or ordinance that would rival the greatest cannon battles in history. You already missed the first Mascletà which was this past Sunday. You still have 19 more to experience.

·  Viernes 1 de marzo: Pirotecnia Peñarroja.
·  Sábado 2 de marzo: Pirotecnia Hermanos Fernández.
·  Domingo 3 de marzo: Pirotecnia Gori.
·  Lunes 4 de marzo: Pirotecnia Crespo.
·  Martes 5 de marzo: Pirotecnia Mª Angustias.
·  Miércoles 6 de marzo: Pirotecnia Lluch.
·  Jueves 7 de marzo: Pirotecnia Girona.
·  Viernes 8 de marzo: Pirotecnia Marti.
·  Sábado 9 de marzo: Pirotecnia Aitana.
·  Domingo 10 de marzo: Pirotecnia Borreda.
·  Lunes 11 de marzo: Pirotecnia Tomas.
·  Martes 12 de marzo: Pirotecnia Zarzoso.
·  Miércoles 13 de marzo: Pirotecnia Caballer FX.
·  Jueves 14 de marzo: Pirotecnia El Portugués.
·  Viernes 15 de marzo: Pirotecnia Hermanos Caballer.
·  Sábado 16 de marzo: Pirotecnia Europla.
·  Domingo 17 de marzo: Pirotecnia Valenciana.
·  Lunes 18 de marzo: Pirotecnia Caballer.
·  Martes 19 de marzo: Pirotecnia Ricardo Caballer.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

MUSEO FALLERO



Las fallas están a la vuelta de la esquina, tras un largo año de preparaciones y espera, los Valencianos interán olvidar y evadirse por unos dias de sus problemas de la vida cotidiana y trataran de vivir y disfrutar de estos dias de ocio y diversión.

Tras la plantá, es tradicional todos los años que se indulten aquellas figuras mas carismaticas que poco a poco hacen crecer el museo del ninot que todos los años puede vistiarse por estas fechas. Este año el museo podra visitarse en la explanada de nuevo centro hasta el 14 de marzo con un horario de 10 a 20:30 horas.

El museo fallero es uno de los eventos tradicionales en estas fallas. La entrada cuesta 2 euros y con ella tendrá derecho a votar por su ninot favorito, que será salvado de las llamas y pasará a formar parte del museo en años venideros.

En www.globexsshortstay.com ya hemos votado!

Better Off Med: Eating Like the Spanish Is Good for You, Says Science



 from Bon Appetit Magazine
For the first time, science has proven what generations of nonnas have known: the Mediterranean diet really is better for you. The report, published this morning on the New England Journal of Medicine's website, found that a whopping 30 percent of heart attacks, strokes, and deaths from heart disease could be prevented in people at high risk if they stick to a Mediterranean diet. The health benefits of the diet, which is heavy in olive oil, nuts, beans, fish, and (best of all) wine, were so clearly proven in the study that the researchers conducting it decided to stop five years early--not because they already had good results but because they thought it would be unethical to let the non-Med diet participants keep eating their way to an early grave.


The most interesting part of the study is that the Mediterranean dieters didn't end up eating less fat, or even losing weight, they just ended up with healthier hearts compared to their counterparts who were eating a diet high in red meat, processed food, and soda. The 7,447 participants were all Spanish, so eating only Mediterranean wasn't too much of a stretch, but with EVOO available at every Walmart in the land, there's hardly a county in America where eating Mediterranean would be harder than eating American.


And wouldn't you know it, we have a whole slideshow of our favorite Mediterranean recipes, filled with nuts, beans, fresh fruits and veggies, fish, and (of course) olive oil. The basic outlines of the scientific Med diet included more than four tablespoons of olive oil per day (including that used for cooking), two or more servings of vegetables, three or more of fruit, three servings of fish per week, white meat instead of red meat whenever possible, and a few handfuls of tree nuts every couple days. Perhaps more importantly, the Med dieters were supposed to have less than one serving per day of soda, spread fats, and red or processed meat, and less than three servings per week of commercial baked goods.


And, happily, the study notes that the heart-healthy participants on the Mediterranean diet were advised to drink at least (!) seven glasses of wine per week with dinner, assuming they were already drinkers. So even if you're eating to keep your heart healthy, no need to skimp on the vino with your olio.


Mediterranean Diet Shown to Ward Off Heart Attack and Stroke

By GINA KOLATA from The New York Times

About 30 percent of heart attacks, strokes and deaths from heart disease can be prevented in people at high risk if they switch to a Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil, nuts, beans, fish, fruits and vegetables, and even drink wine with meals, a large and rigorous new study has found.

The findings, published on The New England Journal of Medicine’s Web site on Monday, were based on the first major clinical trial to measure the diet’s effect on heart risks. The magnitude of the diet’s benefits startled experts. The study ended early, after almost five years, because the results were so clear it was considered unethical to continue.

The diet helped those following it even though they did not lose weight and most of them were already taking statins, or blood pressure or diabetes drugs to lower their heart disease risk.

“Really impressive,” said Rachel Johnson, a professor of nutrition at the University of Vermont and a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association. “And the really important thing — the coolest thing — is that they used very meaningful endpoints. They did not look at risk factors like cholesterol or hypertension or weight. They looked at heart attacks and strokes and death. At the end of the day, that is what really matters.”

Until now, evidence that the Mediterranean diet reduced the risk of heart disease was weak, based mostly on studies showing that people from Mediterranean countries seemed to have lower rates of heart disease — a pattern that could have been attributed to factors other than diet.

And some experts had been skeptical that the effect of diet could be detected, if it existed at all, because so many people are already taking powerful drugs to reduce heart disease risk, while other experts hesitated to recommend the diet to people who already had weight problems, since oils and nuts have a lot of calories.

Heart disease experts said the study was a triumph because it showed that a diet was powerful in reducing heart disease risk, and it did so using the most rigorous methods. Scientists randomly assigned 7,447 people in Spain who were overweight, were smokers, or had diabetes or other risk factors for heart disease to follow the Mediterranean diet or a low-fat one.

Low-fat diets have not been shown in any rigorous way to be helpful, and they are also very hard for patients to maintain — a reality borne out in the new study, said Dr. Steven E. Nissen, chairman of the department of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

“Now along comes this group and does a gigantic study in Spain that says you can eat a nicely balanced diet with fruits and vegetables and olive oil and lower heart disease by 30 percent,” he said. “And you can actually enjoy life.”

The study, by Dr. Ramon Estruch, a professor of medicine at the University of Barcelona, and his colleagues, was long in the planning. The investigators traveled the world, seeking advice on how best to answer the question of whether a diet alone could make a big difference in heart disease risk. They visited the Harvard School of Public Health several times to consult Dr. Frank M. Sacks, a professor of cardiovascular disease prevention there.

In the end, they decided to randomly assign subjects at high risk of heart disease to three groups. One would be given a low-fat diet and counseled on how to follow it. The other two groups would be counseled to follow a Mediterranean diet. At first the Mediterranean dieters got more intense support. They met regularly with dietitians while members of the low-fat group just got an initial visit to train them in how to adhere to the diet, followed by a leaflet each year on the diet. Then the researchers decided to add more intensive counseling for them, too, but they still had difficulty staying with the diet.

One group assigned to a Mediterranean diet was given extra-virgin olive oil each week and was instructed to use at least 4 four tablespoons a day. The other group got a combination of walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts and was instructed to eat about an ounce of the mix each day. An ounce of walnuts, for example, is about a quarter cup — a generous handful. The mainstays of the diet consisted of at least three servings a day of fruits and at least two servings of vegetables. Participants were to eat fish at least three times a week and legumes, which include beans, peas and lentils, at least three times a week. They were to eat white meat instead of red, and, for those accustomed to drinking, to have at least seven glasses of wine a week with meals.

They were encouraged to avoid commercially made cookies, cakes and pastries and to limit their consumption of dairy products and processed meats.

To assess compliance with the Mediterranean diet, researchers measured levels of a marker in urine of olive oil consumption — hydroxytyrosol — and a blood marker of nut consumption — alpha-linolenic acid.

The participants stayed with the Mediterranean diet, the investigators reported. But those assigned to a low-fat diet did not lower their fat intake very much. So the study wound up comparing the usual modern diet, with its regular consumption of red meat, sodas and commercial baked goods, with a diet that shunned all that.

Dr. Estruch said he thought the effect of the Mediterranean diet was due to the entire package, not just the olive oil or nuts. He did not expect, though, to see such a big effect so soon. “This is actually really surprising to us,” he said.

The researchers were careful to say in their paper that while the diet clearly reduced heart disease for those at high risk for it, more research was needed to establish its benefits for people at low risk. But Dr. Estruch said he expected it would also help people at both high and low risk, and suggested that the best way to use it for protection would be to start in childhood.

Not everyone is convinced, though. Dr. Caldwell Blakeman Esselstyn Jr., the author of the best seller “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease: The Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven, Nutrition-Based Cure,” who promotes a vegan diet and does not allow olive oil, dismissed the study.

His views and those of another promoter of a very-low-fat diet, Dr. Dean Ornish, president of the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute, have influenced many to try to become vegan. Former President Bill Clinton, interviewed on CNN, said Dr. Esselstyn’s and Dr. Ornish’s writings helped convince him that he could reverse his heart disease in that way.

Dr. Esselstyn said those in the Mediterranean diet study still had heart attacks and strokes. So, he said, all the study showed was that “the Mediterranean diet and the horrible control diet were able to create disease in people who otherwise did not have it.”

Others hailed the study.

“This group is to be congratulated for carrying out a study that is nearly impossible to do well,” said Dr. Robert H. Eckel, a professor of medicine at the University of Colorado and a past president of the American Heart Association.

As for the researchers, they have changed their own diets and are following a Mediterranean one, Dr. Estruch said.
“We have all learned,” he said.

  Spaghetti with Clams

 

Ingredients

 

  • 6 1/2 pounds clams
  • 6 tablespoons olive oil divided
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine, divided
  • 3 garlic cloves, sliced, divided
  • 3 small dried chiles, crumbled, divided
  • 1 pound spaghetti or linguine
  • Kosher salt and freshly gound black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

 

Preparation

 

  • Place clams in a sink filled with cold water. Scrub shells well with a coarse brush to remove any sand. Drain water and soak clams in clean water, repeating until water remains clean.
  • Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large pot with a lid over medium heat. Add ¼ cup wine, 1 garlic clove, and 1 chile. Add half of clams, cover, and cook over high heat, shaking pan frequently, until clams open (keep lid on pot so heat is not released, making cooking time longer). As soon as clams open, transfer clams and their juices to a large bowl (discard any clams that do not open). Repeat process with 2 Tbsp. oil, remaining ¼ cup wine, 1 garlic clove, 1 chile, and remaining clams.
  • Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until tender but al dente; drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid.
  • Heat remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in pot with lid over medium heat. Add remaining 1 garlic clove and remaining 1 chile; stir until garlic is fragrant and light golden, 1–2 minutes. Return clams and their juices to pot; toss to coat and remove from heat. Add pasta and toss to coat evenly with juices, adding pasta cooking liquid by ¼-cupfuls if pasta is dry. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle parsley over.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Francisco Sebastián

Francisco Sebastián (Valencia 1920 - 2013) is a featured artist at Valencia's Instituto de Arte Moderno (IVAM) until March 3rd. Remember that admission to the museum is free on Sundays.

  • Opening hours and days.
    Museum hours:
    Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 19:00 hours. / Monday close
  • General entrance: 2 euro 

    Students / Student card: 1 euro 

    Retired people: Free entrance

    Civic and cultural groups (advanced booking): Free entrance 

    Sundays: Free entrance

    For guided tours:
    Apply in advance 

    Tel.: +34 96 386 30 00 Fax: + 34 96 392 10 94



Saturday, February 23, 2013

Wear Sunscreen




Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '99

Wear sunscreen.
 
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proven by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.

 I will dispense this advice now.
 
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth.  Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded, but trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.

 You are not as fat as you imagine.
 
Don't worry about the future or worrying know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.

 Do one thing every day that scares you.
 
Sing.
 
Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
 
Floss.
 
Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and in the end, it's only with yourself. Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults.  If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters.  Throw away your old bank statements.
 
Stretch.
 
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life.  The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees; you'll miss them when they're gone.
 
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the 'Funky Chicken' on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else's.
 
Enjoy your body, use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your own living room.

Read the directions even if you don't follow them.

Do not read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.
 
Get to know your parents; you never know when they'll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings, they're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
 
Understand that friends come and go but for the precious few, who should hold on.  Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once but leave before it makes you hard.

Live in northern California once but leave before it makes you soft.
 
Travel.
 
Accept certain inalienable truths: prices will rise, politicians will philander.  You, too, will get old and when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
 
Respect your elders.
 
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse but you never know when either one might run out.
 
Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.
 
Be careful whose advice you buy but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.
 
But trust me on the sunscreen.

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