Misc.

Stan Lee was a legend.

To anyone who thinks that their creativity can’t make a difference in the world – dive into his story. He’s created an entire universe of characters with unique stories, challenges, strengths, and flaws.

One of the things I appreciated most about his characters, without getting too nerdy, is the backstories of some of the Marvel villains. To create a great antagonist, I think it’s key to give them relatable characteristics – to make audiences feel like they could, given a similar set of circumstances, relate to the bad guy. If you’re asking questions like, “Is he really all bad?”, you’ve nailed a good antagonist in my opinion.

Take Magneto, for example, the antagonist of the X-Men comics. Magneto has an excellent back story that will leave you feeling for him. His family was born in the 1920s to a German-Jewish family, and he saw his mother, father, and sister executed by the Nazis. Later on in his story, Magneto consistently is influenced by the way humans treat mutants as second class citizens (something he saw from the Nazis during his childhood). Because of this influence, he rejects the possibility of human-mutant coexistence, and ultimately wishes to see mutants win a war against humans. The character’s early story has often been compared to Malcolm X.

Stan Lee was the master of telling stories that made us see multiple shades of characters. The good in bad, the bad in good, the weakness in strength and the strength in weakness. He was a creative genius, and he’ll be missed. The good news is he created something so brilliant, so extensive and beloved, that he’ll live on in his work forever.

As Stan often ended his articles:

Excelsior!

6 months ago, I got really sick.

I was sweating profusely, sneezing, had serious ear pain, could hardly breathe and was congested to the max. It wasn’t a pretty picture.

I’d tried taking medications prescribed by my doctor, was taking it easy, took time off work and altered my diet. Nothing was easing my pain.

It was in the middle of battling a round of chills that I thought to myself, how could I get myself warmer? Blankets? A bath? Crank up the heat and make my bedroom a sweat lodge?

That’s when it hit me. My gym, conveniently located across the street, had a sauna. Perfect. I would just run in there for 10 minutes and take care of the shivering.

After doubling my time (because it felt so good) and spending 20 minutes in the sauna, I was shocked at my results. I could breathe again, my congestion was gone, my ears unplugged, and I wasn’t shivering anymore. Was this a cure-all?

No, it turns out. My symptoms came back in a couple of hours. But the impression was left on me and it stuck – the sauna has some serious benefits, and even if they’re just for the short term, I should explore this more.

So, I started doing some research. I found out that regular sauna use (three times per week) can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease by over 20%. Upping your sauna use to 4-7 times per week can reduce your risk even further. On top of that, it’s also been proven to:

• Reduce depression and stress while releasing endorphins in the brain
• Reduce blood pressure
• Reduce your risk of all-cause mortality by 40% (dying of anything non-accidental)
• Increase growth hormone production by 200%-300% after a little as one session)
• Reduce muscle atrophy (which is why it’s great to use the sauna after a workout)
• Reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and other degenerative diseases

The benefits of sauna have yet to be fully understood – but one thing is for sure: they’re far-reaching and significant. I think that as more studies are conducted, sauna use in North America is going to explode, similar to how meditation and yoga have gone mainstream.

From a personal standpoint, I can vouch that the endorphin rush is absolutely real. It’s what keeps me coming back to the sauna 3-4 times per week. I even dragged my fiancé to the thermal baths in Budapest, Hungary to learn from the masters of the sauna. I’d highly recommend a visit to the Szechenyi Thermal Baths for anyone looking to test out the Taj Mahal of saunas. It’s mind-bogglingly beautiful. The photo below isn’t mine (our phones were locked up while we explored the baths)

, but it gives you an idea.

Morning dip 💭✨ #beautiful #budapest #3degrees

A post shared by Nicole Jayne White (@njwhite) on Jan 5, 2018 at 7:29am PST

One of my goals for 2018 is to use the sauna ever three days, or 122 times total. As for how, when, and for how long, here’s what matters:

1. Stay in the sauna for a minimum of 19 minutes. The full benefits of using the sauna are achieved after this time period.
2. Use a dry sauna, which has been proven to extend the greatest amount of the benefits listed above.
3. Go 3-7 times per week.
4. Use the sauna after working out to slow muscle atrophy.
5. Make sure the temperature is around 80 degrees Celsius for full benefits.

If you follow these five steps, you’ll be on your way to using the sauna like a Hungarian. Twenty minutes a day initially felt like a lot to me, so I started meditating in the sauna to kill two birds with one stone and save a bit of time every day. Let me know on Twitter if you’re giving the sauna a try, and how it makes you feel overall. I figure even if all the studies are wrong and it simply makes me feel good while bringing me to the gym more, it’s a win.

If you want to learn more about the benefits of sauna, listen to Dr. Rhonda Patrick’s podcast below, or read her report – Hyperthermic Conditioning’s Role in Increasing Endurance, Muscle Mass, Neurogenesis. She’s one of my favorite listens/reads when it comes to the health field. More sources are below.

Sources:

New Study Shows Infrared Sauna Benefits Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Are Saunas the Next Big Performance-Enhancing "Drug"?

Sauna use associated with reduced risk of cardiac, all-cause mortality

I’m in unchartered territory, here.

50 days without alcohol is something I never thought I’d do. Not because of the difficulty, or length of time – just because I’ve never felt the need to give up alcohol. In social settings, I like drinking. It’s never been a habit I’ve wanted to give up.

However, roughly 50 days ago, I was forced to do just that.

I was diagnosed with a stomach issue in October, and along with giving up coffee (which I’m much more unhappy about), I’ve had to give up alcohol. No beer, no wine, no whiskey, no scotch – I’m as dry as a London newspaper.

This wasn’t a test of will or really difficult at all. If a doctor tells you that you can’t do something, you take a cue from Nike and just do it. Or in my case, you just don’t do it. While I haven’t learned much about my own discipline or strength, I’ve have learned a few things that I thought I’d share on the blog today.

1. Being the one person not drinking is still fun

I was always worried that not drinking in social settings because of a diet or having to drive would suck. I really painted it that way in my head. I’ve found that to be very far from the truth. Going out as a sober person with a group of people drinking the night away is still a good time. You’ll see your friends in a new light, in many cases. Inebriated people say a lot of ridiculous things in hilarious ways that you might not pick up on if you’ve been drinking too. This has added an awesome new dimension to my nights out.

2. People drink a lot 

When you’re in the mix, cheers-ing and tipping drinks back, you don’t really realize how much alcohol is flowing. I think I assumed that alcohol makes people need to use the restroom a lot, but after the past 50 days I can definitely say it’s not the booze – it’s just the total amount of liquids being consumed. It would be hard for me to drink as much water in a night as I’ve witnessed people drinking glasses of wine. I never noticed this before I went totally sober.

3. Drinking is expensive

Seriously – and not just at the club or bar. Even at restaurants, I’m shocked at how much cheaper my bills are than my friends when we go out now. I don’t mind picking up the most expensive meal on the menu now that I’m not drinking – a $30 steak is still going to be way less than a $20 burger and three drinks, plus the drinks at the next bar.

4. My weekend mornings are awesome

This has to be the best part. I’ve never been an early riser on weekends. I always sleep in until 10AM at the earliest. Now, I’m up and at ’em as soon as the suns up. There is an awesome feeling associated with getting out of the gym on a Saturday morning 9AM – before I would’ve even been awake in the past. In a weird way, I kind of feel like I’m living a lot more without the alcohol.

That’s about it. I’m sure once I can I’ll go back to drinking moderately – but I’m going to try to limit it for a few reasons, related to the points above. I like saving money, so I’m going to try to eliminate booze at restaurants. I definitely don’t need a beer or a whiskey with my dinner. My weekend mornings are now my favorite time of the week, so I’m also going to protect these. Being the odd person out who isn’t drinking isn’t so bad, especially if it leads me to a better sleep and better morning the day after. One or two drinks on a night out is definitely in my future.

Until then, I’ll remain on the wagon – and surprisingly, I’m not itching to get off.

Thanks for reading! If you want to connect with me, follow me on Twitter or on Facebook.

Today we spent the day in Jodhpur. We slept in until 830AM and had breakfast at our hotel, Singhvi’s Haveli. I had an omelet and Amanda had French toast, with Masala Chai of course. After lounging around in the breakfast area on the comfy floor cushions, we got ready and headed out into the city. We wandered through the old alleyways while following Google Maps offline feature to a clock tower at the center of the city. On the way, I bought three types of spices I wanted to bring home – Garam masala, tikka masala, and a vegetable masala. I also bought masala chai so I can make plenty of tea when I get home. You just boil it with milk and water and you’re good to go.

At 2 PM we met Chhotaram, our guide for the afternoon. We signed up for a camel safari, something we were supposed to do in Jaisalmer. Chhotaram drove us 65km out to Osian where we met our camels, Michael Jackson and Mick Jagger. I rode Mick Jagger, the lighter in color, bigger camel.

Partially I took Mick Jagger because Amanda and he got off to a shaky start.

We toured through the desert for a couple of hours. Riding a camel was much more comfortable than I expected. I would do it again in a heart beat. After an hour or so on the camels, we stopped to take pictures in the dunes and met some local children.

Mick Jagger looked pretty exhausted during our break.

We rode some more, and then said goodbye to head back to Jodhpur. We drove back to the clock tower while sampling some of Chhotaram’s favorite Rajasthani music, and then took a tuk-tuk back to the hotel. We’re located in a very narrow alleyway, so cars won’t fit. Our dinner at the hotel was fabulous, Malai Kofta which is dumplings in a sweet curry, and the Singhvi Special which is a spicy vegetable curry. Accompanied with lots of garlic naan and beer for good measure. All in all, another great day in India.