A $25 billion industry, VMS (vitamins, minerals, supplements) stores have benefitted from the recent economic cataclysm in a few ways. First, as part of what sociologist Richard Florida calls the Great Reset, some Americans are focusing more on their health. As they kick habits that are either bad or expensive (or both), they’re smoking less, buying less soda, and cutting back on calorie-laden treats at Starbucks and the convenience store. Vitamins and supplements are a key component of a healthier lifestyle. Second, as Americans lose health insurance and are confronted with the challenge of paying for prescriptions and medical treatment, many of them may be trading down to vitamins and supplements—using them as substitutes or alternatives. Both Wal-Mart and Walgreen’s have reported that sales of vitamins are strong.
I work in publishing
I post about working in publishing, fashion and travel.
November 6, 2009
8:39 pm
8:33 pm
As a general rule, if you are not vitamin D deficient, about 20 minutes a day in the spring, summer and fall on your face and arms or legs without sunscreen is adequate.
8:17 pm
People frequently underestimate the role of art and imagery in their own moral convictions. Through art (e.g., Shelley’s Frankenstein, Hitchcock’s Psycho, King’s and Kubrick’s The Shining), artists convey moral visions. Audiences can reflect on them, reject or embrace them, take inspiration from them, and otherwise be enriched beyond the entertainment aspect. Good monster stories can transmit moral truths to us by showing us examples of dignity and depravity without preaching or proselytizing.
November 4, 2009
4:27 am
Claude Levi-Strauss: Intellectual considered the father of modern anthropology whose work inspired structuralism
When Claude Lévi-Strauss was feted on his 100th birthday last year, the surprise for many was that he was still alive. The surprise on his death, 11 months later, is that, despite becoming the first centenarian among France’s immortels, his days had been numbered after all.
Lévi-Strauss was the quintessential man of his own culture and the global age. He was at once steeped in the ultra-rational intellectual tradition of France, while drawing universal rules from his myriad observations and experiences around the world.
Born in Belgium, persecuted in Vichy France and given refuge in the US until the war’s end, he won fame, and then reverance, as the father of structural anthropology. Structuralism has its critics; it may in time seem less revolutionary, and revelatory, than once it did. But as a great international man of letters, Lévi-Strauss bequeathes a legacy that transcends the narrow academic labels of his time.
November 3, 2009
Facebook Headquarters by Studio O+A » CONTEMPORIST
Because the new facility houses employees coming from various locations, the company wanted to maintain each division’s distinct identity. The design takes its inspiration from the patchwork nature of Facebook users and employees, bringing together seemingly disparate elements to form a cohesive pattern and using color and interior spacing to create neighborhoods within the open plan space. The company’s executives sit in central areas, accessible to all employees. Large lounges and open spaces provide venues for the community to come together. A kitchen and café continue Facebook’s tradition of providing gourmet meals to staff at all hours, while drinks and snacks are available at micro-kitchens throughout the headquarters.
November 2, 2009
6:43 pm
A male writer once told me, in a moment of ill-advised but unforgettable honesty, that when it comes to books, “boys compete with boys and girls compete with girls, like the Olympics.” Much as I’d like it to be otherwise, this is demonstrably at least somewhat true. And no matter how many times some writer–female, always–writes a piquant, well-reasoned op-ed about this phenomenon, it will remain true that carefully observed, quietly funny, romantic stories about friends, love, work and families will be marketed and reviewed as “chick lit” or “literary chick lit” if they are by women and as “coming of age stories” or “astute psychological realism” if they are by men.
October 31, 2009
9:38 pm
THE WINDMILL MOVIE OFFICIAL TRAILER (via TheWindmillMovie)
Amazing documentary on WASP culture.
