Food And Music

Music be the food of love, as the bard didn’t exactly write. He wasn’t wrong when he didn’t write it though, few people will disagree that the right music can really enhance a romantic situation. Whether it’s a first date or a full on steamy one-on-one session, the rhythm and nuances of music can have a subtle or not-so-subtle influence on our basic emotional state which can make all the difference between a great moment and a mediocre one.
Music and romance have a long standing shared history that extends right through our culture. It is thought that the earliest examples of music, as with many art forms, were created for ritual purposes and one of the stock ritual form common to all human cultures is the marriage or union ritual. Music’s contribution to these early rituals would have been to bring the various participants closer together; rituals have primarily a social function, validating and concreting certain truths that uphold the social order, such as the creation of a family unit within the larger tribal context. The power of these rituals in early cultures is often greatly enhanced by the addition of a unifying influence such as repetitive rhythmic music, which helps to establish a common mood and set the emotional bar.
The use of music for rituals and rites of passage such as marriage has survived, albeit in somewhat more sedate form, into the modern day. Perhaps closer in spirit to the ancient tribal rituals, however, is the modern day nightclub environment in which, repetitive rhythmic music and mind altering substances are used to create an alternative reality in which the individual is subsumed by a larger, tribal mentality. Perhaps unsurprisingly, many people choose these venues as the place to carry out their own courtship rituals.

Of course, music has long had a more sophisticated and genteel relationship with romance. Whether you like it or not, love is one of the driving forces behind the production of great art throughout the ages, and music is no exception. From the beginnings of folk music, through the great romantic composers to the modern charts (look at the top 10 next time you get the chance and see how many love songs you can count) love and music enjoy a reciprocal relationship, each feeding the other inspiration, drive and momentum. From the rawest of rock music to the most sophisticated and delicately executed classical opus, from the basest of sexual instinct to the finest and most gently expressed romantic sentiment, for every stage of the romantic spectrum there is a corresponding musical counterpart.

About the Author

Croydon J Hounslow works for http://www.loopylove.com online dating and chat
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Article published on June 28, 2007 at Isnare.com

Festival season is in full swing. Summer is a great time to be in Toronto since there are multiple events going on at the same time. I had just heard about the “Taste of Little Italy” street festival and decided to partake of a little free-admission Italo-style celebration.
When I got there yesterday at about noon the restaurants and bands were still setting up. Streets were closed all the way from Euclid to Shaw and everyone was working feverishly to prepare for the 3rd and final day of this year’s Taste of Little Italy. All the major bars and restaurants had big screen TVs to beam the live Brazil-Australia World Cup match to a crowd of avid soccer fans.
At the heart of Little Italy is the CHIN Building, headquarters of Toronto’s first multicultural / multilingual radio station, founded by famous Italian-Canadian entrepreneur and community leader Johnny Lombardi. CHIN broadcasts in more than 30 languages in Toronto, in more than 18 languages in Ottawa/Gatineau and is available via satellite all across North America.
Little Italy is one of Toronto’s most popular entertainment areas with a great variety of Italian restaurants, trattorias, bars and cafés. Other cultures have also made culinary inroads and you’ll find Japanese, Mexican, Peruvian and Portuguese eateries as well.
Since the festival wasn’t quite off the ground yet I decided to treat myself to a little lunch and chose a nice window seat at “El Bodegon”, one of Toronto’s foremost Latin restaurants. Although the menu is dominated by meat and seafood, I opted for a light meal, combining a savoury avocado salad with fried plantains, one of my favourite vegetables. I had a perfect view from my little table by the window and caught a glimpse of two celebrities making a brief appearance: Jack Layton, federal NDP leader, and Olivia Chow, now a federal Member of Parliament. Toronto’s foremost political power couple, made an appearance on their bikes at the street festival.

At about 1:30 pm the music started to get going and right across from my lunch spot a two-man band started to play Latin rhythms and flamenco. After a very satisfying mid-day meal I started strolling through the area and chatted with a few of the bands. One of the music groups, Los Imbakayunas, is from Peru and tours all throughout Eastern Canada during the summer months and plays at various street festivals and special events. The hot Peruvian rhythms and melodic sounds of the pan flute were enchanting the crowds and hips were started to gently sway. Even a woman in an electric wheelchair started to dance exuberantly to the music.
I talked to a gentleman from the Coro Folcloristico Italia di Toronto who informed me that his group has been singing for more than 15 years and their repertoire includes the whole gamut of Italian folk songs, from the north to the south. I also had a brief chat with Pablo Terry, bandleader and flute player of Sol de Cuba who has been brightening up the Toronto music scene for the last 11 years.
Across the street was another band playing Latin Jazz, followed by a group playing contemporary Italian music. A few steps down from Terry was the Jeanine Mackie Band who got the street cooking with their funk, blues and R&B tunes. Further east another Italian choir, the Coro Abruzzo, was setting up for its performance.
A street festival always attracts interesting people. An older gentleman on a bike decorated with a tiger tail, a green plastic superhero adorning the handlebar and a tyrannosaurus rex made an appearance. Of course I had to talk to him. He said his name was Mickey, he’s retired now and he figured decorating his bike would be something to do in his retirement. From dressed-up dogs to dogs in baskets on bikes, everyone seemed to have a lot of fun.

Various entertainment areas were set up for children: young ones were running back and forth inside a very large inflatable train, a soccer challenge was set up and at “Hoop It Up” people could test their basketball skills. Various games of chance were enticing the crowd to try their luck.
Low-cost shiatsu massages were available and henna tattoos could also be obtained. Many of the local stores participated in the festival by providing special sale-priced items on the street.
The Nicorette girls, dressed in devilish red dresses, adorned with diabolic tails, were handing out free stop-smoking chewing gum, trying to entice the smokers to give up their filthy habit.
More freebies were to be had in the form of “clodhoppers”, a truly delicious concoction of fudge and graham wafer crackers. I have to admit I walked by the Clodhoppers truck four times just to scrounge up another free sample of these delicious sweet treats. Another bunch of people were handing out free taste bags of Doritos, containing the new Jalapeno flavour. Later on I bought a pop at Kalendar Koffee House and was promptly given a free hot Nutella sandwich. The generosity was appreciated.
Freebies were available everywhere, free music and very reasonably priced food samples (costing between $1 and $5) made for a great low-cost outing on a hot June weekend.

About the Author

Susanne Pacher is the publisher of http://www.travelandtransitions.com, a web portal for unconventional travel & cross-cultural connections. Check out our brand new FREE ebooks about travel.
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Article published on August 09, 2007 at Isnare.com

McDonalds Burger King Pizza Hut There are dozens of fast food chains in every part of the world, making it quite difficult for anyone to have a strict diet. Who would want a salad when they could easily have a large fry and an entire pizza? Unfortunately, the foods that taste the best are often the worst for your body. While we usually ignore this important fact, it is crucial that we at least try to consume nutritional food four days out of the week.
Since the health trend has spiked in most recent years, a myth has circulated across the globe. Most people feel that “nutritional food” – the types of products with an abundance of fiber, protein, and other vitamins, taste like the bottom of your toilet seat. Although many of these products do taste a bit bland, there are plenty that are delicious. It is just a matter of weeding out the disgusting foods and focusing on the ones that taste the best.

If you are trying your best to be healthy, it is essential to find foods that will treat your bodies well. Most grocery stores include products that have an “organic” symbol at the bottom of each box. This is great to look for, especially if you are searching for healthy alternatives. Once you have come across this symbol, you should try to find something high in fiber. For instance, Fiber One cereals or Kashi products are very high in the nutrients your body needs. Fortunately, they also taste amazing. Looking for something sweeter? Add a few berries to your cereal each morning.
Looking for wheat products is also key. Instead of buying Wonder bread, opt for whole grain or wheat. These types of products are much better for your bodies, and actually include the fiber that you should be getting. Not ready to give up all of the bagels and danishes? At least try buying the low fat wheat bagels, which barely taste any different. Add light cream cheese, and you are all set for a healthy breakfast.

Aside from organic foods and whole wheat bread, you should be taking nutritional supplements. While some people enjoy swallowing their daily vitamin, others like to be creative. Noni Juice is a popular favorite, as it is a natural fruit juice that does not have any extra preservatives. Looking for sweetness with all of the nutrients? Noni Juice is the perfect product, if that is what you are looking for. It not only boosts your immune system, but it gives you energy, and it fights off viruses that are trying to get you sick.
Health food is always going to somewhat have a negative connotation. After all, it never will be Pizza Hut or Burger King. However, these junk foods will by no means give you the nutrition that you desperately seek. By eating healthy foods and looking great, you will not only feel better about yourself, but you’ll have additional energy. It is a known fact that you will feel much different if you consume foods with fiber and nutrients. Once you start eating these types of groceries, chances are you’ll turn the other cheek to fast food chains.

About the Author

The author Pascal Erdmann is the director and owner of Natures Products Ltd, supplier of organic noni juice at Natures Products Ltd
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Article published on November 03, 2006 at Isnare.com

Browsing one of the Russian websites I have recently found a little article claiming that music can affect our health both improving and worsening it. That sounded very interesting and I decided to research how can music actually affect our well-being.
What I found has blown my mind and I want to share the results with you.
Scientists all over the world agreed that music influences hormone production that are directly connected with our emotions. If you think about it you are influenced by music all the time. Think of your last time you’ve watched a horror movie. Remember how music actually made your heart race faster. Music physicians in Japan and China help patients form their own music aid kits, where you can find CDs with the names like "Liver", "Lungs", "Migraine" or "Metabolism".

Now let me tell you about my most valuable discovery. Music can not only improve your overall health, it can also help you lose weight! Eating dinner while listening to Mozart helps to improve your metabolism and food digestion. When you eat while listening to the pop or rock music you automatically start eating faster. As a result you swallow bigger pieces making it harder for your stomach to digest the food.
Which inevitably leads to extra pounds. "When we listen to classical music, subconsciously you get an image of luxury, wealth and sophistication", explains this phenomenon psychology Dr. Adrian Nort. It improves our mood, and makes us take our time and eat slowly enjoying food.

Exercising while listening to the classical music help you lose weight a lot faster than listening to loud fitness pop music. Why? Maybe because during the experiment a first group of people listening to Vivaldi music worked out on a stationary bike a half an hour longer than the group who was listening to the pop music.
Even if you are not a big fan of classical music I urge you to try it! What do you have to lose except for the ugly looking cellulite, extra body fat, and bad eating habits?

That’s a fair question!
Basically, you can call music any noise that is set to either a rythm as in percussions or that follows a melodic line of some sort.
Our early ancestors sitting outside the cave by the fire, after a hard day of gathering and hunting food, probably made music by tapping bones together or blowing in sea shells. While the rest of them would make conveniently placed grunts and howls.
Obviously, this was not Beethoven or Vivaldi musicality:) However, music is music!
This begs another question and that is: What is "good" music?

Altough this may seem like an impossible question to answer, there is a simple one.
Good music is any music you enjoy listening to! That’s it!
Music is a deeply personal experience, the more varied your exposure to music the wider your taste in music will be. My own personal taste are very ecclectic to say the least. My personal collection includes over 5000 songs and will forever keep growing.
The music I create is computer generated and I will sometime voice over one of my poem. How good is it? I have been reviewed as an heir to the famous group Kraftwerk!
But again those that do not like the type of music would refer to it as CRAP! I am getting airplay in the USA, Europe and Canada thus far. I do sell a few CD here and there:)
As I write this I have 5 albums available and working on number 6…

Music is but one of my passion but definatly the most influential driving force behind all of my other artforms and it shows in my everyday actions.
Basically, look back at history, and you will find music as the corner stone of every society no matter how small a tribe or how big a nation. It is an unavoidable fact that music is and will always be here to take us along on the long road of life.

Let’s talk about food and I don’t mean fish and chips. I mean what you put in your system that can guarantee you optimum performance. Those things you consume that improve rather than threaten your health and fitness.
It’s no use just knocking yourself on the head and saying you hate your body. You just need to eat right. Be selective about what you eat. Good food, good fitness. The psychology of eating projects the fact that what we eat affects how we feel. It believes that food should should make us feel good. The food we eat should taste great and nourish our bodies not make us larger than life to put it mildly.
In this day and age you don’t have to go and spend a fortune in the restaurant to have a great meal. You can buy the ingredients and follow a simple recipe and have a time of your life. Just imagine eating the food you like, which you have cooked and listening to the music you like in the comfort of your own home. Get these great recipes in your kitchen and start eating good food.

What about the music you listen to? How does the music we listen to affect our personality? I wonder what kind of music Tim F is listening to. Those who listen to soppy love songs are often ‘a love wreck’. Those who listen to rock and hard metal are often ‘incongruent’. Those who listen to calm slow songs are often ‘placid’.
I intend to do an exposition on the power of music using an experiment that was recently carried out using a plant, Kenny G’s style of jazz and, rock music but I will have to do that in my next article.
Whatever music you listen to, enjoy it and enjoy it and enjoy it.

Music is said to be the food of the soul. There is nothing more persuasive and pleasing than good music. Soothing music heals the mind. No entertainment is complete without music. Playing of your favorite music and songs instantly changes your tension filled mind to a more relaxed and serene state of mind.
Though people can listen to songs and music on stereo systems and walkmans, however, they do not think twice before lining up for live music concerts the reason – passion. It is the power of passion that attracts them to see the stars perform in person and live. Nothing beats it.
Live music is also preferred at parties and events. Live music entertainment consists of classical music, Jazz, Swing, World music, period music of 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and the 90’s and performed by artists who haven’t made it big. Classical music consists of quintet, quartet, trio, duo and solo. Performances of live music can be given on any instrument as a piano, guitar, keyboard, cello, harpoon, flute, trumpet, saxophone and the jazz set.

Whether it is a birthday party, wedding reception, a private party or a corporate party, live music is a must if you are not hiring a DJ to mix songs for you. Even if there is a DJ, live music is not a bad idea. Almost every city and town in the US has bands that perform live music. The choice of songs and music may be limited with a live music performance, but it is the limited selected songs and music, which makes the band endearing to people. DJs would charge 25% – 50% of what a live music performing band charges. However, the allure of live music is something that is irresistible if one can afford it. Some live music performing bands capture and reproduce the tone of music that were not recorded properly by the unsophisticated recording machines of the 50‘s and the 60’s.
A DJ can mix songs to provide you the ultimate music entertainment. What needs to be done though is that you should give the DJ a list of your preferred song long before the event. That gives the DJ time to arrange the CDs for you. The variety of music becomes enhanced when a DJ plays CDs. A sudden request from the guest also may be honored by the DJ and the song may be played. Most DJs come prepared with a number of CDs to meet immediate requests.
The success of any event depends on the music entertainment. If the guests hear the music they enjoy your party will be a success.
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