By Cooper Banks

Are you hip to 8D Audio yet?

These impeachment hearings and all the floor debates can try ones patience and, as with anything, there are many ways to cope.

It reminds me of sitting in class back in college, fighting fatigue (and a hangover) while trying to pick out the most important parts of the profs lecture.

Its like that except now, I can take breaks whenever I want (chuckle).

One of the ways Ive found respite is to relax with my headphones on and soak in so-called 8D Audio

I found it on YouTube earlier this week. If you dont know about it yet, I strongly encourage you to grab your best set of headphones or earbuds (Air Pods are great) and give it a try.

With 8D Audio, its as if the music is floating around your head. Its really amazing.

Heres a sample;

Personally, I like to listen to movie soundtracks while my brain is locked in the information processing mode. I find it affects me similarly to classical music.

I get a little bit of a break, but my mind is still getting a light workout (finding patterns, bass structures, and proper harmonies, etc.) instead of relaxing entirely.

Wellback to watching the impeachment stuff.

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Taking Impeachment Respite With "8D Audio" - 750 KXL

Saraana and Gino have been at The Salt Box daily, preparing for the event in which theyll reintroduce themselves and salt therapy to the community. (Photos courtesy of Saraana Jamraj)

By: Jill Fox

After two years of working for the local salt therapy spa in Parkland, and experiencing the benefits of it firsthand, a Coral Springs resident and her family have bought The Salt Box.

On Saturday, January 25, they intend to celebrate with the community with a free event open to the public including vegan food trucks, live music, free salt therapy, yoga, meditation, arts & crafts, and several local vendors.

The new owner, Saraana Jamraj, 27, started working for previous owners, Jessi and Brian Powell, in 2017. Jessi, a speech therapist, and Brian, a firefighter, opened the space while raising a toddler and pregnant, after seeing the natural benefits it brought to their daughters respiratory health.

Despite having never previously owned a business, they successfully opened the second salt therapy facility in South Florida, and have helped thousands of people in the community improve their health and lives over the past five years.

When the Powells decided to sell, in order to spend more time with their children and each other without being so thinly spread, it was a difficult decision, but deciding who to sell it to, they said, was not.

It was a no-brainer since Saraana started working at The Salt Box over two years ago, she has always treated our business and our clients as if she was the owner, said Jessi.

She said Saraana was incredibly caring and had the time and energy to continue their legacy, and bring new ideas to the business they started.

In addition to working full time at The Salt Box, Saraana is completing her Masters degree at Florida International University and writes for local news sites, including Coral Springs Talk, Parkland Talk, and Tamarac Talk.

She immigrated to America from Trinidad two decades ago, with her parents Sharon and Drona Jamraj, who were instrumental in her purchase of the business.

I couldnt do any of this without themtheyve dedicated their lives to creating opportunities for me, and taught me so many lessons in the process, said Saraana.

When she applied for the job in 2017, Saraana was still suffering from a yearlong mystery illness, and after taking a break from work, she was ready to move on. She said she wanted to go somewhere that encouraged healing.

It was magical. I thought the job sounded perfect for me, and I came, not knowing what to expect, but it turned out better than I couldve imagined, said Saraana.

She didnt know much about salt therapy at the time but was amazed at how it appeared to helped her and all of the clients.

Holistic salt therapy works when clients spend time in the salt rooms, where the machines disperse salt that clings on to allergens and toxins in the body, drawing them out more quickly, through an anti-inflammatory mechanism.

While salt therapy rooms are relatively new in American culture and research, the practice in Europe dates back to the 1800s, when a Polish doctor, Dr. Feliks Boczkowski, found the first salt cave in Poland, upon realizing that salt miners were in particularly good health, and studying the benefits of salt inhalation.

According to The Salt Therapy Association, it can be used to improve respiratory health and breathing, to enhance the skin, and to boost the immune system for general health and wellness and typically works best when done regularly.

The Salt Box has three rooms in which people can experience the benefitsa kids room filled with Himalayan pink salt, toys, and books, an adult meditation room equipped with heated neck pillows, recliners, blankets, relaxing music, and dimmed lighting, and an individual salt bed that provides privacy and more concentrated salt.

So many people come in and say theyre feeling better than they have in years, and knowing that we helped is such a great feeling, said Saraana.

Sometimes, she said, clients come for chronic conditions while other times they have no chronic health issues, but after their sessions, they say it was the most relaxing part of their entire week.

Saraana will continue to work full time and run the business with her life partner, Gino Martinez, 26, who also makes crocheted goods, teaches astrology, and offers tarot readings.

We hope to keep the essence of everything that made people fall in love with The Salt Box in the first place while bringing new events and new ways to make the space even more community-oriented, said Martinez.

To celebrate new beginnings, honor the previous owners, and reintroduce themselves to the community, they will be hosting The Salt Box Community Day, on January 25 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. with complimentary salt sessions all day. Guests can also enjoy live music, yoga, meditation, art, food trucks, and vendors.

To book a complimentary salt therapy session, guests can call (954) 906-5985. They can also be found on Facebook and Instagram. The Salt Box is located in the Parkland Town Center, at 6710 Parkside Drive.

Were blessed to be surrounded by so much love. We want to share that with the community, said Saraana.

This article has been edited.

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Salt Box Holds Free Community Day with Vegan Food, Salt Therapy, and Live Music in Parkland - Parkland Talk - Parkland Talk

Jenna Palacio, Barton Health

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. Barton Health has expanded acupuncture services at its Center for Orthopedics & Wellness to now offer community acupuncture treatments. Community acupuncture provides similar health and wellness benefits of private acupuncture but differs from the private clinical room setting taking place in a group environment with lower costs per treatment.

Just like private acupuncture, community acupuncture can be added to care plans by Barton medical providers to help patients reach their health goals. As part of Bartons innovative healthcare model that treats the whole person and not just symptoms or disease, acupuncture is often recommended to address health issues such as chronic pain, anxiety, insomnia, smoking cessation, and generalized stress. Anyone can schedule an appointment for community acupuncture, as it does not require a doctors referral and is available as a retail, cash-paid service not dependent on health insurance coverage.

After a brief consultation with a provider, participants in community acupuncture are treated across staggered appointment times in a group setting and do not undergo the traditional patient evaluation and intake process. Zero-gravity chairs, soft blankets, and tranquil music create a relaxing atmosphere in the Barton Center for Orthopedics & Wellness medical environment for these treatments, which are typically shorter than in the private setting.

Local acupuncturist and Traditional Chinese Medicine specialist, Melinda Choy, LAc, MTCM, partnered with Barton to bring acupuncture services to the Center for Orthopedics & Wellness when it opened in 2018. The success of these integrated treatments and demand for acupuncture quickly grew, and community acupuncture was launched to expand access for this coordinated care. As a provider at the Center, Choy oversees acupuncture services and advises patients on lifestyle and other alternative forms of treatment.

Healthcare is shifting to a patient-centered model that coordinates treatments like acupuncture to improve health outcomes, said Choy. While acupuncture has helped heal people for thousands of years, its refreshing to see this modern approach of offering integrated treatments in a medical environment here in Tahoe.

Jamie Miller, LAc, MTCM, has joined Choy and the care team at the Center for Orthopedics & Wellness to expand access to acupuncture. Miller specializes in pain management and emotional well-being, with experience in orthopedic acupuncture and sports injury.

For more information integrated wellness services at the Barton Center for Orthopedics & Wellness, or to make an appointment for community acupuncture, visit BartonOrthopedicsAndWellness.com or call 530.539.6620.

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Barton Health offers acupuncture treatments at Center for Orthopedics & Wellness - South Tahoe Now

Millenials in India today dominate the workplace and many in this generation work online. India boasts the largest population of Millenials and it is no wonder the country is the second-largest online market after China.

While working online comes with multiple benefits, there are also unique challenges. These include information overload, burnout, stress, social media addiction, inappropriate content, among others. Luckily, the internet also provides myriad ways of relaxing when working online. Here are a few creative ways to let off steam when working online or using the internet for long.

After hours hunched over your laptop, it is healthy to take a breather. One of the most interesting forms of digital therapy is window shopping. There are thousands of online stores stocking all types of items. Whether you love cars, clothing, jewelry, cool gadgets, or anything else under the sun, you can now find it online. Browsing through these shopping websites is a great way to take your mind off work and relax.

YouTube is one of the most popular websites with over two billion people logging in every month. If you need some form of relaxation, you can now watch any music you wish on this platform and in any format. Music therapy works in any stressful situation, and it boosts your productivity.

Ever wondered how stuff works? Theres no better time to learn than when you need to relax. If you have been working on a project for a long time, you can take a breather by taking your brain on a journey of discovery. Online platforms cover all topics under the sun, and you will not only add to your ken but also relax the mind.

Many people suffer burnout when working online.

Millenials who make up the largest percentage of Indias online workforce are susceptible to this problem. Listening to instrumental music online can help unwind thus overcoming stress and burnout.

Some addictive online behaviours can ruin an individuals life and this is where e-counselling services come in handy. Some not-for-profit organisations offer free online counselling and these can help alleviate stress.

Talking to a stranger online might seem weird but with time, this becomes a relaxing way to let off steam and focus on your life. If you have any emotional problems hindering you from living comfortably, you need to check out e-counselling platforms and other support groups.

Online gaming is a big industry and you can leverage different types of games to relax and unwind. You can also download free games or play online at any time you need to take a break from work. If youre feeling lucky theres a bunch of online games that involve potentially winning or losing real or fictional money, such as thisgovernment lottery in India.

The rise of the do-it-yourself (DIY) culture has seen the rise in demand for handy skills. Whether you want to build a backyard pool, gazebo, smart home, or any other project, you can now use online tutorials to gain these skills. This is a creative way to relax and also improve your life.

You can learn income-generating skills or acquire any other skills you would like.

Meditation is one of the oldest self-care practices with roots in the orients. Today, meditation is popular in alternative medicine, and doctors recommend it as a way of treating both body and mind.

Almost every service is now available online and you can partake in a guided meditation session through online platforms or mobile apps. It is a creative way to unwind whenever you feel tired or if you need to let off pent-up emotions. Some apps will even remind you of your scheduled meditation.

Working online offers Millenials in India immense advantages. However, theres the risk of stress which requires creative ideas to overcome. These tips will help you stay safe when working online and also boost your productivity.

Excerpt from:

8 Creative Ways for Indian Millenials to Relax Online - NorthEast Today

A SIGN telling mums to put down their phones while breastfeeding babies has caused outrage at one hospitals baby unit.

It read: Mummy & Daddy... Please look at ME when I am feeding. I am much more interesting than your phone! Bosses at Yeovil District Hospital in Somerset said the poster was to encourage bonding and strengthen a mothers milk flow.

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But parents have reacted angrily saying keeping in touch with friends and family was a lifeline while poorly babies were receiving care. Lynsey Hope, from West Malling, Kent is expecting her third child and here argues why no mum should be shamed this way.

IN an ideal world, all mums would breastfeed their babies in a dimly-lit room while listening to relaxing music and gazing lovingly at their newborns perfect face. Sadly though, for many, that is not the reality of motherhood.

Breastfeeding can be an amazing experience and one that has been championed by the NHS for its health benefits, for both mother and baby. But, as any new mum would tell you, it is not easy. If you are one of the lucky ones who manages to feed successfully, well done. But thats a big if.

Britain has some of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world, with around half of new mums stopping before their baby is six weeks old. Only 34 per cent of babies are still receiving breastmilk at six months.

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If you can feed but it takes an age and you want to chat on your phone or do internet browsing at the same time you should not be shamed for doing so. When I had my son Jacob in July 2014, he had a healthy appetite. He fed every three hours and each time would take a good hour thats eight hours a day.

And some mums have babies who cluster-feed over a few hours, during which time they are pretty much chained to their little one. Needless to say, breastfeeding can seem, at times, like a full-time job. With Jacob, I was changing nappies, doing washing, taking baby out and going to groups during the day.

Often, around 2am or 3am, Id be WhatsApping friends with babies. Night-feeding was often the only chance Id have to talk to mates. Wed laugh about all being up in the middle of the night, joke about who was going to have to take their baby out in the car to get them back to sleep again, arrange catch-ups, play dates and coffees.

It gave me a lifeline and made me feel less alone. I knew I was not in this haze of sleep-deprived motherhood alone. New mums already feel isolated enough, so anything that can make us feel more connected and less alone should be encouraged.

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Often while feeding, Id find myself Googling baby-related stuff: Why is my babys poo green? When do babies start teething? At what age do babies start rolling? It was the only chance I had to research things I had no idea about.

On top of that, there would be nappies to order and baby classes to book. Usually, Jacob was sleepy anyway, so I dont understand the experts who say that having eye contact with your baby while breastfeeding is important for bonding.

My babies rarely fed with their eyes open, so this was an opportunity to tick off my to-do list rather than when my babies were alert and I was trying to get a smile out of them. When my Olive was born in March 2017 I was diagnosed with sepsis during labour and had to remain in hospital for several days.

My husband couldnt stay as he had to care for Jacob. It would have been a very lonely time without a phone to keep in touch. I was even able to speak to my little boy while feeding Olive. Once home, the phone and feed multitasking got more necessary. There was even less time and even more jobs to do with two children.

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Between feeds I built train tracks or read stories to Jacob, or prepared his tea. I had a two-year-old whod wake at 5am, plus a newborn who liked to be up all night. Falling asleep while feeding was a real risk and of course it can be dangerous.

Looking at my phone was one way of keeping awake. Id also be catching up on my sons pre-school admin such as paying invoices, buying World Book Day costumes, all while feeding Olive.

She didnt seem to mind and it meant fewer jobs to do during the day, giving me more time to play with my kids. I was working for myself by this point too, so had very little time off. I needed all the time I could get to email and make calls for work even while Olive was feeding.

Its only the same as celebrities like Gisele Bundchen getting her hair and make-up done while breastfeeding.

Im expecting my third child in April, and I suspect Ill have to do even more multitasking. If I want to phone a friend and ask advice or jump on social media to see whats going on in the outside world, Im not going to beat myself up.

The simple act of having her on me, feeding her, hugging her and loving her regardless of what else I need to do is all the bonding Ill need.

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Sun writer slams hospital feed-shaming sign and says smartphones are a lifeline for lonely mums - The Sun

Weve all been there. As your long weekend comes to a close, or your annual leave comes to an end, that feeling returns to the pit of your stomach. Before you know it, its the night before youre due to return to work and you cant think of anything else. You cant stop worrying, cant sleep, cant focus

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on Happiful

Its no surprise that so many of us feel anxious when getting back to work after taking time off. In the UK alone, 74% of us have felt so stressed at some point over the past year that we have feltoverwhelmed or unable to cope.

Feeling worried or anxious from time to time is completely natural; however, when it starts to interfere with your day-to-day life, or the enjoyment of the last few precious days of your time off, it can be a sign that you may need a little extra help to relax, unwind and address what has you on edge.

According to leading mental health charityMind one-in-six of us experiences common mental health problems such as anxiety and stress at any given time, with one-in-four of us experiencing mental ill health during our lifetime.

If worries about work are keeping you up at night, or a growing sense of dread is seeping into your time off, there are plenty of small things you can do to help. Here are five simple ways you can beat back to work anxiety and make the most of your time off.

Set yourself up for success

We all worry about the future; the anticipation, and mounting what-ifs, can be one of the toughest things to get past. Instead of focusing on the tasks or meetings you have ahead, try instead thinking about the here and now.

Ben Edwards suggestsgetting your thoughts in order. Whether youve been enjoying a long weekend or are just getting back from time off after being ill, the first day is bound to be the hardest and one of your busiest. If you are worried about being bombarded with new tasks, emails, catch-up conversations, meetings and more getting your thoughts in order can be a good starting place.

Where possible, its great to take just five or 10 minutes to organise your workload and the week ahead before going away; this gives you an easy starting point when you return, whilst reminding you of any outstanding tasks that might have slipped your mind. Having the reassurance that you have a list of priorities ready and waiting to go can help put your mind at ease, allowing you to let go and take full advantage of your time off.

Think long-term

Ourfight, flight or freeze response releases hormones including cortisol and adrenaline that make us feel more vigilant great when we are actually in danger or there is a physical threat, but not so helpful if we are dreading getting back to our inbox at work.

Figuring out exactly what is causing you to feel this way is the first step towards addressing your worries and creating sustainable routines to counter these negative feelings. It can be tough, but try thinking back to the last time you were away from work. Is the anxiety you are feeling now new, or is this something youve experienced before? Can you identify what is causing it, or are you feeling a more general sense of unease?

Unfortunately, there isnt always an easy solution that you can implement here and now, but you can start looking into other, more long-term, methods that can help. Try thinking outside of the box; different solutions work for different people its all about finding a method that works best for you.

Hypnotherapycan be an effective way to seek out the root cause of your worries and change your relationship with anxiety. Hypnotherapy can help boost feelings of confidence and self-belief, whilst helping to reduce your feelings of fear and worry. Working together with anexperienced hypnotherapist, you can tailor your sessions to help discover what triggers your anxiety and why, working towards changing the ways you react and helping you achieve a calmer state of mind.

Take care of your body

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It can be easy to overlook, but how well we look after our bodies, and what we eat, can have a significant impact on ourstressandanxiety levels. For example, the more stressed and anxious we are feeling, the more our digestive systems can be under strain. Small changes to your diet can have a surprising impact on how you are feeling, physically and emotionally.

Try reducing your caffeine and alcohol intake, as well eating fewer foods high in fat and sugar. While alcohol may have an instant, calming effect in the moment, it can also increase the amount of long-term stress through further impact on your overall health and wellbeing over time.

Similarly, while high sugar foods may provide a short burst of energy, the release is only temporary, followed by a sugar crash that can leave you feeling worse. Switching caffeinated teas and coffees for decaf versions can reduce the amount of strain our bodies are under, as caffeine acts as a stimulant, causing hormones like cortisol the substance usually activated during fight, flight or freeze responses to release, putting us on edge.

Switch off and relax

Take a moment to consider: how do you usually relax? Weve each got our own unique,self-careroutines, but how many of us spend our downtime moving from one screen at work, to another at home? If you find yourself putting your brain in neutral and setting down with Netflix, or scrolling through social media, you may not be giving yourself the time to actively relax, unwind, reconnect with your body and recognise any signs of stress or strain you may be experiencing.

Listening to music or podcasts can be a relaxing way to unwind without staying glued to your screens. Providing a soothing background noise during meditation, music can help us to calm ourselves, reduce the effects of anxiety, andprovide a boost of comfort and positivity. Creating your own playlist can be a soothing way to refocus nervous energy and take your mind off of what is worrying you, whilst at the same time creating a tool you can use in the future to help you unwind. If youre looking for a few songs to get you started, check out our

If music isnt your thing, podcasts and audiobooks can offer the opportunity to learn new things, gain confidence and become inspired by others. If youre feeling stuck in a rut, thesenine podcasts to help inspire and motivate you can help you to gain confidence, refocus the direction of your career, and rediscover your passions.

Consider why youre feeling like this

If back-to-work anxiety, and work worries, have been plaguing your time off, and invading your thoughts, it could be worth taking a step back and considering why this is happening. Is it because youve had time away and the thought of returning to your routine is daunting? Or do you feel this same back to work dread every time Sunday rolls around? Is yourwork/life balanceoff-kilter, or is there a short-term, temporary reason for your worries?

Work-related stressand anxieties can have a huge impact on all aspects of our lives both in the office, and at home; the longer we ignore it, the worse it can get. Work-related stress is thought to lead to a number of other mental health problems, ranging from anxiety and depression to low self-esteem and low self-confidence.

If youre worried that your work is impacting your emotional health and wellbeing, it could be time to speak with a qualified therapist. A counsellor can offer a private, confidential, judgement-free space where you can talk about what is worrying you and explore the steps you can take to overcome these problems.

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Beating back to work anxiety - Ed Exec

Director Bartlett Sher is now working on an opera based on Lynn Nottage's Intimate Apparel, and preparing the London premiere and national tour of To Kill A Mockingbird. He's shown above during a rehearsal in May 2006, in Seattle. Elaine Thompson/AP hide caption

Director Bartlett Sher is now working on an opera based on Lynn Nottage's Intimate Apparel, and preparing the London premiere and national tour of To Kill A Mockingbird. He's shown above during a rehearsal in May 2006, in Seattle.

Theater is a team sport just ask Broadway theater director Bartlett Sher. "I don't believe in individual genius, I believe in collective genius," he says.

That approach has earned Sher a Tony Award and nine Tony Award nominations. As resident director of New York's Lincoln Center Theater, Sher digs deep into American classics To Kill a Mockingbird, My Fair Lady, Fiddler on the Roof and makes them feel relevant to today's audiences.

Great coaches need to know every position on the field and theater directors are no different Sher says that's part of the fun. "I have to know as deeply as I can about the lighting, about set design, about clothes and about acting and pull all of them together ... " he explains. "You have to be kind of in everybody's experience and helping them all do the best work they can do without the assumption that you could do it better."

Celia Keenan-Bolger is an actor who has seen Sher's approach firsthand. She played Scout in the Aaron Sorkin adaptation of To Kill A Mockingbird which Sher directed. In meetings with the cast, she says Sher would "source the room" asking: "Does anybody have a way to explain this that might be more helpful than what I'm using?"

It's a hard balance to strike she says. "Sometimes, if you open up the room too much, it starts to feel like, 'Who's in charge here? Who's running the ship?' But with Bart, there was always a very clear sense that he was in charge, that he had a vision, that we were working towards something, but that he could be greatly influenced by the artists he had surrounded himself with."

Two Broadway shows Sher directed My Fair Lady and Fiddler on the Roof are currently on national tours. The national tour of To Kill a Mockingbird begins this summer.

Sher's With Shaw

Sher recently came down from New York to attend an early preview of My Fair Lady at Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center. The following day at rehearsal, he darts around the theater, talking to the choreographer, the sound and lighting technicians, the conductor in the orchestra pit and the actors on stage.

Three suffragettes walk across the stage with protest signs during the song "With A Little Bit of Luck." In the preview, they were in the background and Sher thinks they walked by too fast. "We need to pull them out more because the audience loves them," he says. He asks the three actors to walk to the front of the stage, stop, face the audience, raise their signs and yell: "Vote for women!"

"Be righteous about it," Sher tells them. In the age of #MeToo, he need not say more.

My Fair Lady was inspired by George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play Pygmalion, in which Eliza Doolittle, a poor-but-feisty flower girl, dreams of a better life. Along comes the arrogant, class-conscious phonetics professor Henry Higgins to teach or more like torment her to speak the Queen's English. In the final scene of Pygmalion, the newly empowered Eliza has tender feelings for the sexist professor but leaves him end of story. But in the musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, Eliza comes back. In a supposedly crowd-pleasing, happy ending, the dueling couple falls for each other, despite the fact that Henry has treated Eliza horribly throughout the entire show.

Sher's with Shaw on this one: "Shaw hated the idea that they will ever, ever end up together," Sher says. "He was anti rom-com of any kind. He was an incredible feminist, fought hard for all kinds of equality."

In Sher's My Fair Lady, Eliza ditches Henry for that better life she's been dreaming about, far from "Hartford, Hereford and Hampshire."

Shereen Ahmed, who plays Eliza in the national touring company, says she connected to her character's "resilience and ambition."

"As a young Egyptian girl trying to just find her place in society, I was having trouble fitting in and finding my own identity," Ahmed says. "Something about Eliza's determination to better herself ... really resonated."

She says Sher gave her the "space" to "discover" that connection.

With classic productions, Sher tries to understand the context in which the works were created and then bring them into the present day.

"Whenever you do one of these musicals, you have to look at the immediate significance of the time you're in and why are you doing it right now," he says.

A 'Fiddler' For Today

For the Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof, Sher drew from his own background. Sher's father was born in a shtetl in Lithuania, similar to Tevye's Anatevka. In the opening and closing scenes, Sher made a small but important change: the actor playing Tevye looks like a modern-day tourist, dressed in a parka. He could be Tevye's descendant.

"We looked at that experience of somebody going back to explore their past ... and mix that with the current refugee situation," he explains. The Fiddler revival explores "what it means when you're driven out and who you are and how you survive that."

Yehezkel Lazarov, the Israeli actor who plays Tevye on the national tour, says Sher wants to make sure audiences connect the past with the present.

"He definitely wanted people to understand that we are part of a community," says Lazarov. "Unfortunately [the refugee crisis], it's part of our reality. It's part of our life right now, as we speak. And although Fiddler exists for 60 years already or more, it's still very, very much relevant."

Confidence ... And Chaos

To find out how his shows are being received, Sher talks with audience members during intermission. In New York, they can be brutally honest. He remembers directing a musical version of the Pedro Almodvar film Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and ... it didn't go well.

"I remember walking up the aisle and a group of older Lincoln Center women subscribers looking at me and all together turning their thumbs over and down to tell me that it was terrible," Sher says. "And I joyfully went up and said, 'So why are you feeling that?' I got more of an answer than I probably wanted but that's the spirit in New York. And you have to have enough confidence, enough belief in what you're doing, that it's not about whether it's good or bad it's about this sort of thing you're making."

Sher admits it's taken years of practice to develop that confidence. He grew up in San Francisco, one of seven children. No one else in his family worked in the arts but he credits his older brothers with giving him his first theater experience when he was 11 at a Grateful Dead concert.

"They were an improvisational band, so they never knew what number they were going to do next ..." he recalls. "And the audience ... they were connecting into it in a very intense way. So you had this ... kind of spiritual kind of insane experience all at once."

He says both the city and his family made for a lively adolescence. "I had one brother at the Naval Academy and one brother at Stanford," he says. "And the difference between the two, and the politics that were all over, everybody was screaming and yelling. It was fun. I thought the world was pretty crazy and pretty exciting and got to be lucky enough to not have a problem with chaos."

That might be a Broadway theater director's most valuable skill. Sher's "collective genius" credo means lots of research, many deadlines and constant communication with actors, writers, choreographers, lighting and costume designers.

Back at the bustling Kennedy Center rehearsal of My Fair Lady, Sher's passion for his gig is infectious. "The music, the movement, the design, the fact that we're doing a whole film in front of you every night," he says, "Everything delivering, up and down and the coordination of all these elements. It's pretty mind-boggling."

Original post:
Director Bartlett Sher On Chaos, Confidence And 'Collective Genius' - NPR

An auction, that starts today, offers a glimpse into the lives of the men who built post-Independence India.

Its well known that before Mohandas Gandhi launched the Satyagraha movement in India in 1917, he had deployed it, quite effectively, in South Africa in1907, when he was working as a barrister there. In a book entitled Satyagraha in South Africa, Gandhi writes: Satyagraha is a priceless and matchless weapon and that those who wield it are strangers to disappointment or defeat. This week, a fi rst edition of the book, published in 1928 and translated from Gujarati into English, will be up for auction at an event organised by auctioneer Prinseps. The collection is a tribute to three of Indias most signifi cant historical fi gures: Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

As father of the nation and freshly in the news because of the recent Gandhi Smriti incident its probably appropriate that Mohandas dominate the collection. Besides the satyagraha book, there is also a 70-volume set called The Collected Works of Gandhi, which spans a large period: Volume One covers the years from 1884 to 1896, while Volume 75 dates back to 1942. The books were authored jointly by Gandhi and his associates, like DG Tendulkar, says Indrajit Chatterjee of Prinseps. There are exceptionally rare and extremely important. According to our research, about 100 volumes were published, but weve only been able to source 70 for this auction. The government, Im told, has a few.

If there is an enduring interest in Gandhi, there is also a lot of curiosity about Subhas Chandra Bose, especially with debates about whether he survived the crash that is supposed to have killed him. While one of the books in the collection, entitled Verdict from Formosa: Gallant end of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, has its own theory, the other rare books relating to Bose include the original manifesto of the Forward Bloc [from June 1946] and the principles and policies of the Indian National Army (INA), both of which were founded by Bose. Some of the Netaji books have never been offered by any auction, says Chatterjee. We spent months researching what Netaji books are available in libraries in India and abroad, and we didnt find these anywhere. Therere also The Mission of My Life, written by Bose himself and published in 1949 by the Kolkata company Thacker Spink, and a collection of the text of all his speeches, put together in 1946 by one Arun. Theres also a first edition of The Springing Tiger: A Study of Subhas Chandra Bose by Briton Hugh Toye, a historical account of the INA.

The collection relating to the countrys first prime minister is smaller. But an interesting item in the Nehru section is a book entitled A Bunch of Old Letters correspondence between Nehru and people like Gandhi, Motilal Nehru, Sarojini Naidu and even Franklin Roosevelt and George Bernard Shaw. The other eyecatcher is Nehru on Gandhi by Ricahrd J Walsh, published in 1948 which has portions culled from Nehrus speeches that make references to Gandhi.

What makes these books valuable is that besides being published in the 1940s, 50s and 60s, very few of these have made it to any libraries, says Chatterjee. They were often printed on newsprint quality paper, and given the India climate, one can only assume that many other, similar books may have simply disintegrated over time. Its remarkable that even these have survived, given our tendency to reuse paper from old books or turn them into bhelpuri wrappers.

This no-reserve auction of rare books and prints starts today, 10 am onwards, and closes on Jan 26 at 7 pm. Visit: http://www.prinseps.com

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In the name of the father - Mumbai Mirror

The digital revolution has been a huge commercial success and made small imprints widely available, but it has made us shallow, irritable and depressed, argues a leading publisher

I object to publishers: the one service they have done me is to teach me to do without them. They combine commercial rascality with artistic touchiness and pettiness, without being either good businessmen or fine judges of literature. George Bernard Shaw

I started my first job in book publishing on 16 September 1968. My father told me I should not accept a salary of less than 900 (yes, nine hundred) a year and that was precisely what I was offered. I accepted. The publishing house I joined had just been founded and was called Darton, Longman & Todd (DLT). Its main mission was to publish religious books in the traditional areas of theology, liturgical books, patristics and Bibles, but it had also discovered that there was a popular appetite for a relatively new category: spirituality.

In a Church Times survey of religious publishing in 1972 I was described as Robin Spirituality Baird-Smith. I launched writers such as the Russian Orthodox Anthony Bloom, Rabbi Lionel Blue, Carlo Carretto and Rowan Williams. I felt I was closely in touch with our readers, and that there was a direct correlation between the quality of a manuscript and how successful the book would be. Book publishing has undergone a revolution since then.

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Rediscovering the art of reading - The Tablet

Jim Gavin could only thank his former Dublin players as he was made a Freeman of Dublin City.

The former Dublin football manager was given the prestigious designation by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Paul McAuliffe, in the Round Room of the Mansion House last night.

Among the guests were Gavin's family, including his wife Jennifer and children Yasmin and Jude, as well as some of his ex-players, including Paul Mannion, Brian Fenton, Paddy Andrews, Ciaran Kilkenny, and Dean Rock.

And it's those same players who Gavin was, in typical style, quick to funnel the praise towards, saying his award is really an award for them.

"I am constantly aware that this isn't really for me, it's for the team that I represented, the Dublin Senior Football team, and particularly the players," Gavin said afterwards to DubsTV.

"They did all the hard work on the field of play.

"It was my good fortune in my football journey to come across their path, and to meet those great men who proudly, and still do, wear the Dublin jersey.

"When I was on the sideline, as a coach, as a manager, or as a player, it was always a privilege to wear that Dublin crest.

"I'm really honoured to represent them tonight. This award, really, is for them."

Gavin becomes the second Dublin GAA manager to receive the freedom of the city, after legendary Dubs boss Kevin Heffernan did so in 2004.

Other recipients of the prestigious honour include former American Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and John F Kennedy, as well Nelson Mandela, George Bernard Shaw, Bono, Jack Charlton, and Bob Geldof.

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Jim Gavin says Dublin players deserve freedom of the city after receiving honour - Dublin Live