Debunking conventional wisdom on longevity

Wonder Woman lived forever - no?

Veronique Greenwood interviews Howard S. Friedman, co-author of The Longevity Project:

One of our longevity myths is "Get married, and you will live longer." The data tells a different story. Marriage was health-promoting primarily for men who were well-suited to marriage and had a good marriage. For the rest, there were all kinds of complications.

For example, women who got divorced often thrived. Even women who were widowed often did exceptionally well. It often seemed as if women who got rid of their troublesome husbands stayed healthy—most women, it seemed, can rely on their friends and other social ties. Men who got and stayed divorced, on the other hand, were at really high risk for premature mortality. It would have been better had they not married at all. 

(source: the Atlantic, Veronique Greenwood)

What's in a Surname?

Being American and a bit heritage obsessed, I am delighted to have stumbled upon this view of the United States based on the distribution of common last names. It shows great history and diversity. Unfortunately, none of my family names show up. I've decided to keep some anonymity on this blog and not share, but nevertheless you should know that my family name is a long polish last name with 12 letters and my mother's family name originated somewhere in Latin America. The name I now share with my husband is a somewhat common name in America, but with a unique spelling.

Based on this website that lets visitors find hot spots for their surnames around the globe, my husband's name is most commonly found in New Zealand. Cool-li-o! Plug in your surname and it shoots out a color-coded map showing you the top countries where that name is prevalent. It also spits out amazing statistics like roots of the name, top regions, top cities, and top forenames!

For example my family name is most prevalent in Poland! Duh! I knew that! Daddy-o's first language was Polish. What's more fascinating are the top forenames: Jan, Irena, Stanislaw (very common Polish names!). So cool.

When I plugged in my Mother's maiden name it's most prevalent in Argentina and the USA. Totally debunking my Grandmother's fishy story that they came from Spain to Puerto Rico, in fact, the name shows low status in Spain on the color-coded map. Very interesting!

Now back to my lovely husband's name. Top surnames are: David, John, Richard, Sally, and Peter! What!

Needless to say, I'm obsessed with Heritage of names and people, so therefore I'm obsessed with this.  To all my friends out there, I've definitely already put in you name!

Advent calendar: Days 5 and 6

I'm a day behind on my advent calendar. So today you get two items from my wishlist. Happy Monday!

Day 5, wish 5: Castor & Pollux's Maggie Thick Bracelet. Mrs. Pollux describes this 100% brass piece as an instant heirloom. She told me that, "This is a piece that only gets better with age."

Day 6, wish 6: A photo portrait from the late Richard Avedon's collection, like the one shown here of Brigitte Bardot. Wouldn't this look perfect in a modern California home? 

Or better yet! What about a first edition of Observations with photographs by Richard Avedon and comments by Truman Capote. Talk about iconic!

NASA finds new life

"The definition of life has just expanded."

NASA has discovered a new life form - called GFAJ-1- that doesn't share the biological makeup of anything currently living in planet earth. It uses arsenic to build its DNA, RNA, proteins, and cell membranes.

Click here to read more on the insanely groundbreaking discovery.

In other news, NASA tweets: "NASA tweeted that this discovery "will change how we search for life elsewhere in the universe."

Busker what it is right now

Happy Monday everyone! How was your weekend? Mine was amazing, I watched Xtina run the marathon, had dinner with Russell Crowe at Le Bilboquet (well not exactly, but he was there), watched The Town, and learned a new term, busker.

A busker is a person who entertains in public places for donations (i.e. a street performer). I see buskers all the time in NYC and I love them! A talented busker can turn a boring subway ride into an experience to remember.

I saw my favorite type of busker this weekend, a norteño band. Norteño is a type of Mexican music that is comparable to country music (i.e. lyrics about family, love, and loss)and includes an accordion. I love it!

If you are interested in sampling some music from the norteño genre, download some music from Los Tigres Del Norte - they are great!

p.s. The guys in this photo are clearly brothers, no?

Need a challenge? Participate in National Novel Writing Month

Have you ever thought about writing a novel? Stop procrastinating and join National Novel Writing Month.

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.

Here are the ten easy steps on how to participate as provided by NaNoWriMo's website:

1) Sign up for the event by clicking the "Sign Up Now" link at the top of the site. It's right there above "National."

2) Check your email and read the ginormous email our noveling robots send you. It will have "Love" in the subject line, and may be hiding in your Junk folder.

3) Log into your account and use the links on the My NaNoWriMo page to set your timezone, affiliate with a region, and tell us a little bit about yourself.

4) Begin procrastinating by reading through all the great advice and funny stories in the forums. Post some stories and questions of your own. Get excited. Get nervous. Try to rope someone else into doing this with you. Eat lots of chocolate and stockpile noveling rewards.

5) On November 1, begin writing your novel. Your goal is to write a 50,000-word novel by midnight, local time, on November 30th. You write on your own computer, using whatever software you prefer.

6) This is not as scary as it sounds.

7) Starting November 1, you can update your word count in that box at the top of the site, and post excerpts of your work for others to read. Watch your word-count accumulate and story take shape. Feel a little giddy.

8) Write with other NaNoWriMo participants in your area. Write by yourself. Write. Write. Write.

9) If you write 50,000 words of fiction by midnight, local time, November 30th, you can upload your novel for official verification, and be added to our hallowed Winner’s Page and receive a handsome winner’s certificate and web badge. We'll post step-by-step instructions on how to scramble and upload your novel starting in mid-November.

10) Win or lose, you rock for even trying.

Remember the Goethe quote: "Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it."

Do it.