PART 1: Stop Drinking Calories!
THE BIG PICTURE When we say “body weight” and “weight loss”, we are usually talking about fat mass and decreasing it. Muscle and other tissues make up a lot of our weight also, but few people are trying to “lose muscle mass”! Bodyfat is generally stored when we eat more food than we need, storing extra calories in our fat tissue for the next famine. The problem, of course, is that in modern, Westernized countries, there is no famine. Instead we have near-constant opportunities to feast. In this article series I’ll be laying out some no-nonsense approaches to reducing calories and increasing nutrients in the food we eat. This strategy, along with appropriate exercise habits and other healthy habits, is the key to maintaining a healthy amount of fat in our bodies.
LIQUID CALORIES
Stop drinking calories! Liquid calories tend to increase your total calories (consumed energy) per day, but, because they are mostly nutrient-poor, they decrease your daily nutrient intake. This means a tendency toward fat-gain and decreased health.
Examples of Liquid Calories: -Juice, even fresh -Milk, dairy or nondairy -Alcohol -Energy Drinks and soda pop, even sugar-free
Replace with: -Tea, especially green/white/black -Carbonated Water -Vegetable Juice, especially that made from green vegetables (carrot juice is still very high in sugar and lower in nutrients than green vegetable juice) -Whole Food Smoothies, especially those containing both fruits and vegetables
HERE'S WHY Juice, usually made from fruit or carrots, is essentially sugar water with a small amount of some vitamins. So many nutrients, including fiber, are lost when juicing fruits, that the end product can hardly be considered healthy, even when fresh-squeezed. Eat fruit instead!
Milk is also a low-nutrient food. While most milks (nondairy included) are high in calcium and Vitamin D, these are only two nutrients, and there are thousands of nutrients that we should be getting in our food. Also, milks are somewhat high in sugar, and non-skim dairy milk (along with coconut milk) is high in saturated fat and further increases your calories per day without significantly increasing your nutrients per day.
Alcohol is a low-nutrient food. Some benefits are conferred from moderate alcohol consumption (1-2 drinks per day), but these benefits might be outweighed by simply eating another small salad per day instead of drinking alcohol. If you are physically quite active, 1 alcoholic drink per day is probably fine.
Energy Drinks are not healthy. They are generally made out of carbonated water and sugar with a handful of vitamins and stimulants thrown in. Caffeinating oneself frequently as a lifestyle choice is a questionable practice on its own. But regularly consuming energy drinks is like regularly drinking soda pop, also called liquid candy.
What about sodas and energy drinks that are sugar-free? Artificial sweeteners are linked to a slight increase in body weight. Why? The prevailing theory is that consuming fake sugar confuses your body’s ability to sense when real sugar is being eaten. That means that when you do eat real sugar, like from some orange slices, your body is less-well equipped to deal with these sugars since it believes they are fake sugars. Personally, I consume drinks with real sugar those few times per year when I splurge on super sweet beverages.
HEALTHY REPLACEMENT DRINKS Tea, from the tea tree (different than the “tea tree” plant from which “tea tree oil” is obtained), is green, white, or black, depending on how much the leaves are processed after harvest. All three are full of nutrients, free of calories, and will benefit your health. Black has the most caffeine, green the least.
Water and carbonated water is healthy stuff. Drink in abundance! Actually, a sign that you are well-hydrated (but not over-hydrated) is having urine that is slightly yellow, but mostly clear.
Vegetable Juice, especially that made from green vegetables, is very good for your health. Low in sugar but very high in nutrients, green vegetable juice is a great addition for anyone. Watch out for vegetable juice that is based on celery or cucumber, since this is lower in nutrients than juice made primarily from vegetables like romaine, kale, broccoli, and spinach.
Whole Food Smoothies contain all the stuff that the whole food has, it’s just mixed and “pre-chewed” for your enjoyment. As long as you drink them somewhat close to when they are made (try 10-20 minutes), drinking whole food smoothies can be a super healthy way to go. Try mixing fruits and green leaves. You’d be surprised how many leaves (like spinach or romaine) you can add before you taste them. It’s like a fruit salad meets a green salad, and super convenient. You can also add other flavors by throwing in some cinnamon, unprocessed cocoa powder, ginger, etc.
What About Athletes? Athletes have higher--sometimes much higher--calorie needs, and liquid calories can be a good way to get those additional calories. It’s still smart to get calories from nutrient-dense foods though, since the body needs more nutrients to repair from increased physical activity. I recommend that athletes consume 1 or 2 calorie-dense smoothies per day that include lots of fruits, green leaves, and nut butter, like the one below:
Recovery Smoothie: 2 bananas, 3 cups mixed greens, 1 cup blueberries, lots of cinnamon, whole food hemp protein powder, 3 TBSP peanut butter, water. Blend until smooth. Makes about 4 cups.
DISCLAIMER: The author is neither a nutritionist nor registered dietician. Information contained herein was gathered from many sources and can be found in the literature of such organizations as the World Health Organization, the American Dietetics Association, the American Council on Exercise, National Institutes of Health, and others. Consult with a physician before making changes to your diet or exercise programs.
For more about the Author, Sebastian Grubb visit: SebastianGrubb.com
While in Edmonton, Canada for The International Fringe Festival the cast of The Man Who Wasn't There took time to Busk on The Fringe Grounds. This not only gave us more opportunities to perform but was a fulfilling way to connect with people and invite them to our show!
Our tech rehearsal is finally here which means we get see the performance space for the first time. The Fringe festival only allows 3 hours in the space to take care of all technical issues such as; lighting, sound, spacing, etc. We managed to cover all our bases and more. By more I mean we managed to sneak in a little photo shoot.
Our venue is on the King Edward School campus, only two blocks from the FRINGE sight. The school is absolutely breathtaking!
After tech rehearsal Lauren Cox and I, James Koroni, invited everyone over to our hosts home to eat dinner, prepared by us. 
Our hosts have an organic garden that provides half of their produce and the other half comes in every Tuesday from a farming co-op, which is evenly split amongst local families. You basically receive whatever can be grown with current weather conditions in consideration. With our host family out of town there were so many veggies to eat. The trick is, you must use what is available which was mostly onions, potatoes, cucumbers, parsley and peas. We got creative with some tempeh and here's the result:
We're excited to see how local produce can inspire every meal for the rest of our stay here in Edmonton.
And... it begins. Tuesday night after rehearsal was the official Edmonton FRINGE Festival kick-off. Before heading over to the event the whole The Man Who Wasn't There family ate dinner at Chianti, an Italian cafe and restaurant in Old Strathcona.
We reminisced about our journey here over a bottle of wine and merrily ate pasta at an affordable $8.99 a plate. Through our process, I can say that we've all seen tremendous growth and this was certainly something to celebrate.
After dinner we migrated to a cocktail hour at a local bar called The Pint. A private back room with a square bar at it's center was surrounded by members of every show in the FRINGE this year. Accompanying each cast were hosts from Edmonton who had graciously taken each cast in for the two weeks.
The rest of the night is simple: socializing, drinks, laughs, ketchup flavored potato chips, Oreo cookies and then Zzz's.
After our first relaxing day in Edmonton we all went our separate ways because five different homes were taking us in for the next two week. For the first night Lauren Cox, Maya Oliva and I, James Koroni, went to a home just four blocks from The FRINGE sight. Our generous hosts have a two story home with a basement, a beautiful tree with two swings in it, three bright children and two handsome guinea pigs. In their backyard there's a raspberry bush, two kinds of apple trees and every Tuesday a fresh shipment of organic produce is dropped off. Wow! Too much excitement for one day. We called it an early night.
After three months of rehearsal and performing in various New York City venues we, the cast of The Man Who Wasn't There, were ready to depart for The FRINGE Festival in Edmonton, Canada. We excitedly and sleepily arrived at LaGuardia Airport on August 12th at 3:30 AM with hopes to get through airport check-in and security with ease. This wasn't the case. Our check-in alone, with our group of nine people, took over an hour and a half to complete. We then arrived at Airport Security around 5:15 AM.
With a boarding time of 5:45 AM and our flight at 6:15 AM we thought we were set but that was before we noticed the line was longer than that of Splash Mountain at Disneyland. This is when we started to sweat. Fortunately with our New Yorker sense of urgency and a lot of sarcasm we managed to get on our flight right on time.
Our hosts live in is a cozy home with family portraits lining the stairwells, an organic garden with tomatoes, zucchini, pumpkins, apple trees etc. and a scent of fresh baked bread that filled every room. Heidi even crocheted a scarf for everyone in the cast and production crew!
Mishay Petronelli is an extraordinary dancer and friend in New York City. Her mother passed away on Friday, July 27 and with the high cost of funeral expenses, medical and legal fees, 
Our ensembles' interests and talents are as diverse as the group itself. We come from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Providence, Jamaica, Singapore, Puerto Rico, and beyond. Between us we have worked on performance projects across the globe. We are interested in what we have in common as human beings. We believe that performance is a bridge, that it is deeply imbedded in our nature, and provides a means toward social change and greater understanding of our shared condition.
In the beginning, all was played in my memory in reverse, starting with death and ending with birth. I don’t fear death. I fear birth. Here is where I seek answers.
-James Koroni
A celebration of individuality. Inspired by the NOH8 Campaign.
For pinup modeling or a glam night out! Discover how to curl any type of hair, create long-lasting Victory rolls, glamorous waves, sturdy up-dos, and how to create hairstyles to withstand hot studio and stage lights or vigorous dancing! Also learn how to incorporate accessories for quick vintage looks and how to troubleshoot mishaps. Bring your accessories, hair flowers, vintage hats, and all of your hair questions. This is primarily a demo class with question and answer.
If you've decided to become a professional dancer in the commercial industry you may have noticed it's not a smooth ride. Whether your dream is to perform on a Broadway stage, in music videos, on tv, movies, on world tours etc. there are few succinct resources. 
Katherine Roarty
Bas CONTEMPORARY JAZZ
Sat, 9-10:30 am
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Jared Jenkins
Bas HIP-HOP
Sat, 7:30-9 pm
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