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(I love this.)

The Sketchbook Project collects sketchbooks from people all over the world, and turns them into a global, traveling library — taking them on tour in a little trailer that’s a bit like a taco truck for books. Created by friends Steven Peterman and Shane Zucker in 2006, The Sketchbook Project is a tribute to collaboration, proving that, sometimes, an artist doesn’t need a mystical muse to come and shower them with inspiration to make art happen, but just a neatly-planned project and a bunch of strangers to join with them.

To participate, you sign up for a sketchbook tour on the project’s website and once registered, receive a sketchbook, a send-in date, a choice of several different themes to center your sketchbook around (past themes include “Strange Neighbors,” “Borders and lines,” and “This is not about me”). Once submitted, your sketchbook is loaded onto The Sketchbook Project mobile library and goes on tour — becoming part of a worldwide community of artists, traveling across cities, and, in the end, living in The Sketchbook Project’s permanent library in Brooklyn, NY, where visitors can get a library card to check sketchbooks out.

In March, co-founder Steven Peterman traveled from the project’s headquarters in Brooklyn to Richmond, Virginia to speak at TEDxRVA, and brought the library with him.

At TEDxRVA, Steven spoke on the genesis of the project and the power of collaboration. From his talk:

I went to art school…I went to Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta and I wanted to create art, but I never — I didn’t think I was that good. I didn’t think I was ever going to be a professional artist, but I still wanted to create… I really needed a purpose. I never liked to just make art for art’s sake. I wanted it to be for a show or I needed a deadline or something like that … so I was kind of struggling a little bit with this idea of just creating art for art’s sake and I knew that there were other people out there who also kinda felt this way — you know, they weren’t going to be professional artists; they weren’t going to be selling their work to museums or having these big shows, but they wanted to be inspired and create together…

So, I met this guy Shane …. and we came up with this idea for these projects.

Steven and Shane’s projects, the biggest being The Sketchbook Project, aim to get the crowd involved in art — to give even the most wayward artist purpose, deadlines, motivation. “Our mission,” they write on The Sketchbook Project website, “is to allow anyone to be able to participate in art, and to create a collection of work that represents the current state of artists worldwide.”

And since its start, The Sketchbook Project’s results have been incredible:

Participants from over 135 different countries on 6 continents

26,735 sketchbooks in the collection (as of March 2013)

962,100 pages in the collection

45,583 Sketchbook Project library cards issued

94,866 library check outs

For more information on the project, watch Steven’s entire talk below:

(Photos via The Sketchbook Project and TEDxRVA)

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New print ad we'll be running in the Philadelphia Secret Admirer next week!

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All the recommendations in this article are very good. :)

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When Not to Stretch: Before Exercising

Finally! Some science to back me up about static stretching prior to physical activity actually impeding one's performance. From Gretchen Reynolds at the NY Times...: Most of us grew up hearing that we should warm up with a stretch. Strike and hold a pose, such as touching your toes, for 30 seconds or more, we were told, and you’ll be looser, stronger and injury-proof. But anyone who follows fitness science — or this column — knows that in recent years a variety of experiments have undermined that idea. Instead, researchers have discovered, this so-called static stretching can lessen jumpers’ heights and sprinters’ speeds, without substantially reducing people’s chances of hurting themselves. Now, two new studies are giving us additional reasons not to stretch. One, a study being published this month in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, concluded that if you stretch before you lift weights, you may find yourself feeling weaker and wobblier than you expect during your workout. Those findings join those of another new study from Croatia, a bogglingly comprehensive re-analysis of data from earlier experiments that was published in The Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports. Together, the studies augment a growing scientific consensus that pre-exercise stretching is generally unnecessary and likely counterproductive. Many issues related to exercise and stretching have remained unresolved. In particular, it is unclear to what extent, precisely, subsequent workouts are changed when you stretch beforehand, as well as whether all types of physical activity are similarly affected. For the more wide-ranging of the new studies, and to partially fill that knowledge gap, researchers at the University of Zagreb began combing through hundreds of earlier experiments in which volunteers stretched and then jumped, dunked, sprinted, lifted or otherwise had their muscular strength and power tested. For their purposes, the Croatian researchers wanted studies that used only static stretching as an exclusive warm-up; they excluded past experiments in which people stretched but also jogged or otherwise actively warmed up before their exercise session. The scientists wound up with 104 past studies that met their criteria. Then they amalgamated those studies’ results and, using sophisticated statistical calculations, determined just how much stretching impeded subsequent performance. The numbers, especially for competitive athletes, are sobering. According to their calculations, static stretching reduces strength in the stretched muscles by almost 5.5 percent, with the impact increasing in people who hold individual stretches for 90 seconds or more. While the effect is reduced somewhat when people’s stretches last less than 45 seconds, stretched muscles are, in general, substantially less strong. They also are less powerful, with power being a measure of the muscle’s ability to produce force during contractions, according to Goran Markovic, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Zagreb and the study’s senior author. In Dr. Markovic and his colleagues’ re-analysis of past data, they determined that muscle power generally falls by about 2 percent after stretching. And as a result, they found, explosive muscular performance also drops off significantly, by as much as 2.8 percent. That means that someone trying to burst from the starting blocks, blast out a ballistic first tennis serve, clean and jerk a laden barbell, block a basketball shot, or even tick off a fleet opening mile in a marathon will be ill served by stretching first. Their performance after warming up with stretching is likely to be worse than if they hadn’t warmed up at all. A similar conclusion was reached by the authors of the other new study, in which young, fit men performed standard squats with barbells after either first stretching or not. The volunteers could manage 8.3 percent less weight after the static stretching. But even more interesting, they also reported that they felt less stable and more unbalanced after the stretching than when they didn’t stretch. Just why stretching hampers performance is not fully understood, although the authors of both of the new studies write that they suspect the problem is in part that stretching does exactly what we expect it to do. It loosens muscles and their accompanying tendons. But in the process, it makes them less able to store energy and spring into action, like lax elastic waistbands in old shorts, which I’m certain have added significantly to the pokiness of some of my past race times by requiring me manually to hold up the garment. Of course, the new studies’ findings primarily apply to people participating in events that require strength and explosive power, more so than endurance. But “some research speaks in favor” of static stretching impairing performance in distance running and cycling, Dr. Markovic said. More fundamentally, the results underscore the importance of not prepping for exercise by stretching, he said. “We can now say for sure that static stretching alone is not recommended as an appropriate form of warm-up,” he said. “A warm-up should improve performance,” he pointed out, not worsen it. A better choice, he continued, is to warm-up dynamically, by moving the muscles that will be called upon in your workout. Jumping jacks and toy-soldier-like high leg kicks, for instance, prepare muscles for additional exercise better than stretching. As an unscientific side benefit, they can also be fun.

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Why you should be taking epsom salt baths!

I'm constantly telling my patients to try taking an epsom salt bath, particularly if they have pain in their legs or arms (since circulation gets progressively more difficult the further the tissue is from the heart). I can actually usually tell from the way muscular tissue responds to massage whether or not a person is deficient in magnesium—the muscle is typically not only frozen in a spasm, but it'll refuse to soften up with massage. I think of it as the muscle simply not being open to listening to my hands—& it's frustrating because I can't really get in there & work things out through the tissue.

(A caveat: There are a few other reasons that a muscle may not be responsive: it may also be that way because another, related muscle has a trigger point [= "knot"] in it {which is the reason I sometimes work in areas besides where you're feeling the pain or discomfort}, or—less commonly—because the muscle is "splinting" an injury in a neighboring joint or bone, or because you have a deficiency of high quality B vitamins in your diet, or you're dehydrated...but a magnesium deficiency is quite common & belongs at the front of the list.)

ANYWAY: so, if you want to get the most you possibly can out of a massage, take an epsom salt bath beforehand! You only need to be in the bath for 15 minutes for it to be effective. Here's some more information on epsom salts (from Melissa Breyer at care2.com):

Most of us know about the importance of iron and calcium for our bodies, but what about magnesium? It is the second most abundant element in human cells and the fourth most important positively charged ion in the body. It helps the body regulate over 325 enzymes and plays an important role in organizing many bodily functions, like muscle control, electrical impulses, energy production and the elimination of harmful toxins.

Most of us are deficient in magnesium, so I’m going to put on my wise-granny hat on here and tell you this: soaking in a bath with Epsom salt, which is high in magnesium, is one of the easiest ways to get a boost.

According to the National Academy of Sciences, American’s magnesium deficiency helps to account for high rates of heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, arthritis and joint pain, digestive maladies, stress-related illnesses, chronic fatigue and a number of other ailments. Who knew?!

Our magnesium levels have dropped by half in the last century due to changes in agriculture and diet. Industrial farming has depleted magnesium from soil and the typical American diet contains much less magnesium than that of our forefathers. And in fact, the modern American diet with its fat, sugar, salt and protein actually works to speed up the depletion of magnesium from our bodies.

Another factor in decreased magnesium levels has been our focus on getting enough calcium. It’s a delicate dance—calcium depletes magnesium yet calcium functions best when enough magnesium is present. Studies indicate that taking a calcium supplement without enough magnesium can increase the shortage of both nutrients. Researchers have found that many Americans have five times as much calcium as magnesium in their bodies, although the proper ratio for optimum absorption of both minerals is two to one.

With such widespread magnesium deficiency one might think that magnesium supplements would be called upon, but studies show that magnesium is not easily absorbed through the digestive tract. The presence of specific foods or drugs, certain medical conditions, and the chemistry of a person’s stomach acid can render magnesium supplements ineffective.

This brings us to Epsom salt. Known scientifically as hydrated magnesium sulfate, Epsom salt is rich in both magnesium and sulfate. While both magnesium and sulfate can be poorly absorbed through the stomach, studies show increased magnesium levels from soaking in a bath enriched with Epsom salt! Magnesium and sulfate are both easily absorbed through the skin. Sulfates play an important role in the formation of brain tissue, joint proteins and the proteins that line the walls of the digestive tract. They stimulate the pancreas to generate digestive enzymes and are thought to help detoxify the body of medicines and environmental contaminants.

Researchers and physicians suggest these health benefits from proper magnesium and sulfate levels, as listed on the web site of the Epsom Salt Industry Council:

Improved heart and circulatory health, reducing irregular heartbeats, preventing hardening of the arteries, reducing blood clots and lowering blood pressure.

Improved ability for the body to use insulin, reducing the incidence or severity of diabetes.

Flushed toxins and heavy metals from the cells, easing muscle pain and helping the body to eliminate harmful substances.

Improved nerve function by electrolyte regulation. Also, calcium is the main conductor for electrical current in the body, and magnesium is necessary to maintain proper calcium levels in the blood.

Relieved stress. Excess adrenaline and stress are believed to drain magnesium, a natural stress reliever, from the body. Magnesium is necessary for the body to bind adequate amounts of serotonin, a mood-elevating chemical within the brain that creates a feeling of well being and relaxation.

Reduced inflammation to relieve pain and muscle cramps.

Improved oxygen use.

Improved absorption of nutrients.

Improved formation of joint proteins, brain tissue and mucin proteins.

Prevention or easing of migraine headaches.

All this from a bath? Hurray! While there are many different brands of Epsom salt, they are all the same product chemically, and can be found at most drug stores. Add two cups of Epsom salt and soak for at least 12 minutes. Do this three times weekly.

If you are pregnant or have any health concerns, please check with your doctor before using Epsom salts.

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The deadline to sign is February 10th! Despite overwhelming evidence of the positive impact acupuncturist have on patient health, they are not recognized as healthcare providers under the Social Security Act and, therefore, cannot be paid by Medicare for therapy management . The Social Security Act does recognize other healthcare professionals such as dieticians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurse midwives, and clinical social workers. By changing the compensation structure allowed under Medicare, we can ensure that patients have access to the medical expertise of Acupuncturist. Studies have shown that when an Acupuncturist is directly involved in patient care for pain management and other issues, the patient recovers quicker with less medication required.

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When a new drug gets tested, the results of the trials should be published for the rest of the medical world -- except much of the time, negative or inconclusive findings go unreported, leaving doctors and researchers in the dark. In this impassioned talk, Ben Goldacre explains why these unreported instances of negative data are especially misleading and dangerous. Ben Goldacre unpicks dodgy scientific claims made by scaremongering journalists, dubious government reports, pharmaceutical corporations, PR companies and quacks.

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Glial cells, which comprise much of our brain, have been historically overlooked in brain science as mere "packing material." In the past decade or so, scientists have begun to actually look more closely at what these cells are responsible for—and realising that much of the behavior of neurons is mediated or determined by glial cells.

The Other Brain: From Dementia to Schizophrenia, How New Discoveries about the Brain Are Revolutionizing Medicine and Science by neuroscientist R. Douglas Fields is a book which covers much of the emerging research findings on glial cells. Among other things, they're involved in...

chronic pain conditions,

paralysis in stroke & spinal cord injuries,

brain cancer, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's

HIV and prion disease (e.g. mad cow disease)

addiction, depression, schizophrenia

the unconscious brain

pregnancy

If you're at all interested in neuroscience (& where it has failed to provide real solutions), you should check out The Other Brain.

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The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently...and Why by eminent psychologist Richard E. Nisbett boldly takes on the presumptions of evolutionary psychology in a provocative, powerfully engaging exploration of the divergent ways Eastern and Western societies see and understand the world.

When Richard Nisbett showed an animated underwater scene to his American students, they zeroed in on a big fish swimming among smaller fish. Japanese subjects, on the other hand, made observations about the background environment. These different “seeings” are a clue to profound underlying cognitive differences between Westerners and East Asians. For, as Nisbett demonstrates in The Geography of Thought, people think about and see the world differently because of differing ecologies, social structures, philosophies, and educational systems that date back to ancient Greece and China and that have survived into the modern world.

It addresses such questions as...

Why does Western medicine value dissection and discrete disorders as opposed to traditional Chinese medicine, which prefers a more holistic view of health?

Why do East Asians find it so difficult to disentangle an object from its surroundings?

Why do Western infants learn nouns more rapidly than verbs (when it's the other way around in East Asia)?

Why did the ancient Chinese excel at algebra and arithmetic, but not geometry (as the Greeks did)?

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John C. Parkin's F**k It: The Ultimate Spiritual Way is the book I usually recommend to my patients when they talk about not knowing where to begin lowering their stress levels. It's basically a recapitulation of the tenets of Buddhism—except in a way that makes sense to Westerners (without getting super-duper into the technicalities & terminology of Buddhist philosophy). Incidentally, it's pretty dang hilarious, too. (Which is always nice!)

In short: it teaches you how to be at peace with the things you cannot change...like your boss, for instance.

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Right Hand, Left Hand: the Origins of Asymmetry in Brains, Bodies, Atoms and Cultures by Chris McManus is a delightful romp through a variety of disciplines to try to explain why some of us are left-handed, but most of us are right handed. Some chapters cover the biological, neurological, molecular, and evolutionary basis of handedness; other chapters cover linguistic, cultural, and historical anecdotes on handedness. It's fascinating stuff and it's wonderful to have a great variety of the information we have about handedness compiled into a single book. And a very readable one, at that!

Answering questions such as...

Why are most people right-handed?

Do left-handers behave differently from right-handers?

Why is the heart on the left-hand side of the body?

Why is each side of the human brain so different?

Why do the British drive on the left?

Why do European languages go from left to right—while Arabic ones read the other way? 

Why do clocks go clockwise?

What is the relationship between handedness and speech disorders (such as stuttering)?

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Paleontologist Neil Shubin unites the discoveries of fossils and the sciences of paleontology and genetics with his experience of teaching human anatomy into a written voyage of evolution, titled Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body.

“The best road maps to human bodies lie in the bodies of other animals,” Shubin writes in his new book. “The reason is that the bodies of these creatures are often simpler versions of ours.”

In Your Inner Fish, Shubin, Professor and Associate Dean of Organismal and Evolutionary Biology, and provost of the Field Museum, uses new fossil finds, genetic discoveries and animal anatomy to trace the origins of humans and the evolution of different body parts, such as limbs, teeth, skulls, ears and eyes. He explains how everything that is apparently unique about humans is built from parts that are shared with other creatures.

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Researcher Bonnie Bassler discovered that bacteria “talk” to each other, using a chemical language that lets them coordinate defense and mount attacks.

(After watching this video, you should be able to understand a little bit better why antibiotics are a double-edged sword.)

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Jessa Gamble, author of Siesta and the Midnight Sun: how our bodies experience time, talks about sleep and time, showing how our internal body clock struggles against our always-on global culture. Now that humanity has spread right to the Earth's poles and adopted a 24-hour business day, Gamble argues that our internal clocks struggle against our urban schedules.

So, what would our natural rhythm look like? What would our sleeping patterns be in the sort of ideal sense? Well, it turns out that when people are living without any sort of artificial light at all, they sleep twice every night. They go to bed around 8:00 p.m. until midnight and then again, they sleep from about 2:00 a.m. until sunrise. And in-between, they have a couple of hours of sort of meditative quiet in bed. And during this time, there's a surge of prolactin, the likes of which a modern day never sees. The people in these studies report feeling so awake during the daytime, that they realize they’re experiencing true wakefulness for the first time in their lives.

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Dean Ornish shares new research that shows how adopting healthy lifestyle habits can affect a person at a genetic level. For instance: when you live healthier, eat better, exercise, and love more, your brain cells actually increase.

(Ornish is a clinical professor at UCSF and founder of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute. He’s a leading expert on fighting illness—particularly heart disease with dietary and lifestyle changes—as well as the author of The Spectrum.)

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Journalist Carl Honore believes the Western world's emphasis on speed erodes health, productivity and quality of life. But there's a backlash brewing, as everyday people start putting the brakes on their all-too-modern lives.

Carl Honore is best known for his advocacy of the Slow Movement. His book In Praise of Slowness dissects our speed-obsessed society and celebrates those who have gotten in touch with their “inner tortoise.”

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Classic, hilarious (but also quite insightful!) TEDtalk from Sir Ken Robinson. He makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity. Robinson challenges the way we're educating our children: championing a radical rethink of our school systems—to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligence.

If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.