So the line-up has been revealed for ITV’s C-List celebrity vehicle – I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here 2011. The “celebrities” – note the speech marks as I [...]
Archive for January, 2012
Can Music Save Your Life? – Part 2
Jennifer Campbell continues her exploration of music and the powerful effect it can have on our lives. To read part 1 of Can Music Save Your Life, click here. Music is featured almost everywhere, we can even go as far as saying that we each have our individual soundtracks to our lives. And as each [...]
Top 5 Restaurants in Bali
In her bestselling 2006 book Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert found love in Bali. I wasn’t that lucky but I did discover great food! Everyone who knows me will tell you that I’m a real foodie – a vacation for me isn’t complete if I haven’t sampled local delicacies and the best of what the [...]
Government Announces New Plans to Boost Medical Research
Alzheimer’s Research UK has broadly welcomed the government’s announcement to boost research and innovation in life sciences in the UK. The Prime Minister’s speech, which coincides with the release of the government’s Strategy for UK Life Sciences, has pushed for greater collaboration between the health service and private medical companies to promote medical advances in the [...]
Just How Bad is Pollution?
Just how bad is pollution? A little head scratching could yield an answer. Ad hoc and non-systematic collection of air and water samples provide some useful information and underpin a wide range of environmental pollution studies. However, scientists have been scratching their heads for years hoping to come up with a better way of monitoring [...]
Insomnia – Coping Strategies
My clients often complain that they are unable to sleep and that their GP has suggested tablets for their ‘condition’. This sometimes works but can lead to other issues later down the line. While this can be a very appropriate treatment in a variety of cases, and I am by no means advocating you alter [...]
Amy Winehouse – Now She’s Gone
I used to think that I was the biggest Amy Winehouse fan in the world. I can still remember the first time that I heard Stronger Than Me from her debut album Frank. I fell in love although then I denied it. My older sister used to play that album on full blast all the [...]
Perk Up Your Home with Tray Gardens
If you live in an urban high rise and long for the bliss of indulging in gardening then despair not, a tray garden in your home is the best way to perk up your living space. No matter what your design style or space constraints, a tray, some sand, a few pebbles, rocks and coloured [...]
Nostalgia – Part 1
We live, it would seem, in nostalgic times. Clothing now hailed as the height of fashion by critics and fashionistas, is more often than not, derivative of earlier times; usually the 1960s and seventies, sometimes earlier. Often this is regarded by cultural critics as referentiality; a self-conscious and ironic invocation of the past through the [...]
Chameleon – Dublin’s Intimate Indonesian
Chameleon is an intimate and cosy Indonesian restaurant serving contemporary cuisine in the Temple Bar district of Dublin. Opened in 1994, Chameleon has been very successful and has won many prestigious restaurant awards and has been included in “100 best in Dublin 2009″. This speciality restaurant has also been featured in the Bridgestone Guide’s “Best [...]
Fennel Pilaf Rice
Fennel, a fragrant spice, giving a lovely liquorice flavour to dishes. Using this in this vegetable pilaf, it brings freshness to the dish making it delicious and aromatic. Preparation time – 5 minutes Soaking time – 35 minutes Cooking time – 30 minutes Serves – 4 Ingredients: 1 cup Basmati Rice 2 cups Hot Water 1 [...]
Can Music Save Your Life? – Part 1
“I cannot tell you how many times in the 6 year period of severe depression I felt hopeless and that there was nothing to live for in this world. I thought about killing myself numerous times, sad to say. But the one thing that always stopped me from wanting to die was music. I knew [...]
Three Ways to Beat the Blues
Tennessee Williams once said, “when so many are lonely as seem to be lonely, it would be inexcusably selfish to be lonely alone”, likewise it is important to note that in the UK approximately 1 in 5 people suffer with depression so there is no need to deal with your feelings on your own. It [...]
Dublin – More Than Just Guinness
Mention Ireland to someone and one of the first things they’ll say is probably Guinness. Ireland is famous for the land which created “the Black Stuff” and Dublin was were it all started. The original brewery near the centre of the city is now a museum – called the Guinness Storehouse – where you can [...]
Film Review: Margin Call
In a movie industry that is increasingly demanding more spectacle than intelligence, Margin Call isn’t a film you expect to see on a big screen. It seems more like a TV special that wins awards but no one actually sees. Having said that, Margin Call deals with a subject that another pair of hands could [...]
Pichet – French Cuisine with Irish Charm
Pichet is a friendly French bistro restaurant based on Dublin’s busy Trinity Street in the heart of the city. Pichet opened in 2009 and is owned by Nick Munier and Stephen Gibson. The atmosphere is relaxed and informal with stylish blue leather chairs and dark wood tables. Pichet has a colourful and interesting menu with [...]
Nicotine Patches May Slow Progression to Alzheimer’s
Scientists in the US announced clinical trial results showing that nicotine patches may improve cognitive performance in elderly people with early memory problems. The findings could take scientists a step closer to the development of new treatments to tackle dementia. The study, published in the journal Neurology, was completed by 67 volunteers. All of the volunteers [...]
Masala Aloo (Spicy Potatoes)
Tender baby pototoes steamed and cooked in a fusion of spices and aromatic green peas gravy. Preparation time – 15 minutes Cooking time- 30 minutes Serves- 4 Ingredients: 10 Baby new Potatoes 1 cup frozen or fresh Green Peas 1 red Onion finely diced 2 medium Tomatoes 1 teaspon Garlic paste 1/2 teaspoon Mustard seeds [...]
Garlic Rolls with Sesame and Coriander
I had these rolls at a friends place and couldn’t resist asking her for the recipe. I followed her recipe mostly but as my aim this year is to have more leisure time – I used a store bought bread mix with yeast to save time. Hope that you will try out my version and [...]
Drug-free Therapy Staves off Cognitive Decline in Dementia
German researchers have found a combination of behavioural and cognitive exercises can help slow cognitive decline for people with dementia. A trial of the therapy also found people with the condition were more able to carry out daily living activities such as gardening or food preparation. Researchers at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, in Germany, studied [...]
Look Younger Using Nutrigenomics
Last year, you heard us talk about epigenetics which is the study of changes produced in gene expression caused by mechanisms other than changes in the underlying DNA. Now we delve into a new and more specific niche – nutrigenomics. This field analyses both nutrition and genomics studying the relationship between what we eat and our [...]
Happy Birthday Jason Bateman
Jason Bateman – the American television and film actor – was born on this day 14 January in 1969 and City Connect celebrates his birthday in our weekly Born This Day series of famous people birthday tributes by looking at Bateman’s life and work on the small and silver screens. After appearing in several 1980s [...]
Cognitive Decline May Begin at 45
A study has found age-related cognitive decline may begin as early as age 45. The ten-year study of Whitehall civil servants, carried out by a team of international scientists in the UK, France and the US, is the first to find signs of cognitive decline in people younger than 60. Led by researchers at the [...]
Ethical Internet Use at Work
Your boss probably knows all about your misuse of the company internet connection, the IT department will have logged your every Facebook access, registered every viral email you sent, and the dozens of page refreshes you did when you were hoping to snipe that last eBay auction. You might think a good boss would be one [...]
How to Soundproof with Style
Street traffic, noisy neighbors and pets keeping you up at night? If you’ve finally found the perfect flat but are unable to sleep with all the city noise, don’t fret! If you’ve considered soundproofing but can’t go constructing walls, and you don’t want to sacrifice style for a sound night’s sleep- check out these chic, [...]
Houmous Dip
A rich and creamy Mediterranean dip, with a hint of garlic, perfect dip for any snack. Preparation time – 10 minutes Cooking time – none Serves 6 Ingredients: 15oz / 450 grams cooked white chickpeas,( precooked in can) rinsed and drained 1 clove garlic 2 tablespoons water 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 teaspoons tahini (sesame [...]
The Origins and Effects of Morality
The Moral Experiment is a revolutionary social networking concept; it has the potential to make history. It has been designed to harness the power of a participant’s online social network and can be many things to many people: fun, insightful, controversial, charitable or profitable. If you came into some money that was not meant for you, [...]
Ask City Connect
Is It OK to Recycle Your Wardrobe?
Thank you for your question. When I first read your question it was slightly misleading as I thought you were referring to donating your clothes to charity. Although this was [...]
Style
Swarovski Adds Sparkle to Mirror Mirror
Swarovski once again adds depth and dimension on the big screen– this time, one of the most beloved stories of all time comes to life in Relativity Media’s live-action motion [...]
Relationships
Is Poetry the Real Food of Love?
Isn’t it funny how different buttons pressed at the right time can trigger the most imaginative and erotic experiences?
Recently I was introduced to the Iranian poet, Rumi, and up until that point my encounters of [...]
