Friday, October 4, 2013

Music: Clara Luzia "The Waving Ones Are Us"

A great deep house edit by German duo, FlicFlac of Clara Luzia's single "The Waving Ones Are Us".

Our Favorite Halloween Ideas

Make this Halloween Fun & Memorable!

The 5 Must-Have Qualities Of The Modern Employee

A few weeks ago I wrote an article covering the 5 Must-Have Qualities Of The Modern Manager. However it’s not just the managers that need to adapt and evolve to the changing workplace; it’s also the non-managerial employees. As I mentioned in the previous article dramatic changes in the way we work are being fueled by new behaviors and new technologies. In fact, there are five trends which area shaping the future of work. . To keep pace there are five qualities that the modern employee needs to possess.
Embrace change
Employees have grown accustomed to doing things a certain way. They have used to the same technologies and the same processes for many years but that doesn’t mean that those technologies and ways of doing things are the best for our companies or for ourselves. Consider that in a few years millennials are going to become the majority workforce in the United States. These are people who grew up using social and collaborative tools to communicate, collaborate, and find people and information. This new workforce means new behaviors and new technologies; employees should be stepping forward together and embracing the change that is going to make their jobs and lives easier. As Winston Churchill said, “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.”

Have a voice in your company
For the first time in the history of business “leader” and “manager” are not mutually exclusive. Leaders no longer to have to be managers, they have to be people who are passionate, knowledgeable, and comfortable with sharing (which is another key quality mentioned below). New collaborative technologies are empowering every single employee within an organization to share their passions, interests, ideas, and feedback. If you care about something you have the opportunity to become a leader and a known voice on that topic within your organization. However, this can’t happen if you don’t speak up. You can’t become a leader if you are scared of sharing your voice and your opinions. This means using the new collaborative technologies that are available to you to get recognized within your company. Why be a employee when you can become a leader?

Be autonomous
Now that employees have the ability to work from anywhere at anytime, being self-directed is crucial. There is no longer a manager watching your every move and reminding you to “get back to work.” This a privilege but it’s also a responsibility. A great deal of trust is being placed on you to accomplish your tasks. As a modern employee you must be capable of executing on your deliverables whether you are in an office, cafe, or at home.

Share and help others
This was one of the key qualities for the modern manger but it’s also a key quality for the modern employee. Traditionally employees wanted to keep ideas to themselves to get credit for their own contributions. This model is no longer effective. With the emergence of collaborative tools, ideas and feedback can easily be traced back to individuals within an organization. Sharing not only benefits the team  but it also benefits you as an employee. Your peers and managers will recognize your can-do attitude and ability to lend a helping hand. Sharing can take many forms; you can share your ideas, feedback, what you are working on, documents, or anything else that you choose to. By sharing, your team and neighboring departments will recognize your name. To be a modern employee you must become comfortable with sharing and helping others.

Filter and focus
In today’s work environment we are pulled in many directions. We are on meetings while we check email, simultaneously tweeting, editing a document, and IMing with a colleague.  With the proliferation of content and tools that coworkers and friends can “ping” us on it’s all too easy to lose focus.  With emerging technology employees must remember to focus on what needs to get done.  This means being able to put people and messages “over ice.”  Information bombards employees from every direction which means employees need to become adept at filtering out and focusing on what’s crucial.
What other qualities do you think are crucial for the modern employee?

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Cleobella X Ella Moss

Very exciting news. . .
Here is a sneak peek of Cleobella's exclusive collection for Ella Moss. This incredible line will launch in October on ellamoss.com (as well as in store at the Ella Moss & Cleobella boutiques). The prices will range from $248 to $298 for styles like beaded clutches, fur and fringe cross body bags, perforated leather clutches, and more.

Ella Moss has been selling Cleobella bags in their boutique for a while and because the response was so overwhelming they had to create their exclusive line. 

Penelope Chilvers Dream Slippers

Penelope Chilvers designs accessories to fall in love - and stay in love - with. Combining a modern, fashionable edge with lasting style, these are timeless pieces, made to last, that work seamlessly with the season's trends.
The brand has an avid following of sophisticated women who known instinctively how to make fashion work for them; Alexa Chung, Cate Blanchett, Claudia Shiffer, Jemima Khan, Pixie Lott, Rebecca Hall and Erin Wasson to name but a few.

Penelope Chilvers is featured regularly in Vogue, Grazia, Harpers Bazaar, Vanity Fair, Marie Clair, The Times, How to Spend it (FT) the Independent, Lucky (US) etc.

Penelope insists on using 100% natural materials of the highest quality - her shoeboxes are handmade, and some are hand painted for her.

Her passion in local sourcing and protecting local industry is what keeps her style so authentic.

"I have been fortunate to meet wonderful people with rare skills; some of which are dying away. I have learnt from the best and worked closely with local artisans that have taught me my trade."

She endeavors to source each component of every product, which is crafted by hand, using traditional methods, ensuring the durability of each shoe made for her label.

Out Top Picks

Naturally Nude Lips by L'Oreal

L'Oreal Paris launched a new mini line of sleek and beautifully natural nude lipsticks inspired by faces of the brand.

Gold for Eva, pink for Doutzen, mocha for Liya, peach for Julianne and beige for Leila. Behind each L'Oreal's five new nude lipsticks lies one simple obsession: the desire to give lips a natural-lookin boost. Better yet, to make sure these new Color Riche lipsticks maintain a natural finish, they have been enriched with a powerful combination of pure silver powder and mother of pearl. The result is the perfect shade of lipstick that can be worn with L'Oreal coordinating nail polish. Think chichi twi-set with a beautiful twist.
Color Riche Collection Privee Lipsticks, $11.18 EUR
Riche Collection Privee Nail Polish, $5.50 EUR

Only available in Europe

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Cilantro: More Than An Herb, It Can Purify Water Too

The next time you find yourself facing some questionable drinking water, look for some cilantro.At least that’s what a team of U.S. and Mexican researchers made up of undergraduate students suggest.
The research team, lead by Douglas Schauer of Ivy Tech Community College in Lafayette, IN, along with colleagues from the Universidad Politécnica de Francisco I. Madero in Hidalgo, Mexico, have been studying the region of Tule Valley near Mexico City to identify cheaper ways to filter water. Mexico City has long dumped its waste water in the valley, and the contaminated water is then used by regional farmers to irrigate crops. Once in the edible foods, heavy metals such as lead and nickel can make their way to consumers, where they can contribute to neurological and other health problems. “The organic toxins we can take care of pretty easily with a number of different methods, but the only way to really get rid of those heavy metals is to treat them with filtering agents like activated charcoal (like what’s found in a Brita filter), but those types of materials are kind of expensive,” says Schauer. “They are a little expensive for us to use, but they are very expensive to the people living in that region.”
After testing various samples of plants from cacti to flowers, the researchers determined that cilantro is the most prevalent and powerful so-called bioabsorbant material in the area. Bioabsorption is the scientific term for using organic materials often found in plants, that when dried, could replace the charcoal currently used in filters. The team suspects that the outer wall structure of the tiny cells that make up the plant are ideal for capturing metals. Other plants, like dandelions and parsley may also provide similar bioabsorbant capabilities.
Schauer says ground-up cilantro can be inserted into a tube into which water is passed through. The cilantro allows the water to trickle out but absorbs metals, leaving cleaner drinking water. Dried cilantro can also be placed into tea bags that are placed in a pitcher of water for a few minutes to suck out the heavy metals. “It’s something they already have down there, it takes minimal processing, and it’s just a matter of them taking the plants and drying them out on a rock in the sun for a couple of days,” says Schauer.
Because cilantro isn’t an essential crop, using it as a purifier won’t take away from people’s food needs in the region, and the relative ease with which the plant grows also makes it a realistic option for cleansing water.
So far, the researchers reported success in removing lead and nickel with their cilantro filters, and are studying how well the herb can removed other heavy metals found in the Tule Valley water such as arsenic and mercury. “We are hoping we can look at how cilantro absorbs those metals, and see if those metals work in some kind of synergy when they come into contact with the biomass,” says Schauer. “We need to look at mixtures of metals to see if cilantro evenly pulls all the metals out.”
How much cilantro would it take to effective make contaminated water drinkable? Schauer says a handful of cilantro will nearly cleanse a pitcher full of highly contaminated water of its lead content.
The researchers are presented their findings at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society.