Primping Paws and Whiskers from The Brooklyn Ink on Vimeo.

Physical therapist Pauline Peck who uses an acupressure technique known as the Rwo-Shr Health Method, has recently been helping a child with cerebral palsy. Five-year-old Siti Rashidah – adopted as a baby by an elderly and poor couple – has never been able to crawl or stand due to a severely-deformed backbone. Her biological parents abandoned her once they realized she had brain damage that rendered her incapable of walking, sitting, talking or eating solid foods. The elderly couple who adopted her, have since used their life savings to nurse her and now their expenses per month for their daughter are $253 for milk, diapers and other necessities.

Since the treatment began a couple of months ago, Siti’s bodily responses and movements have been improved a lot. When Peck first met her, she had spasms and her backbone was very misplaced. With a massage technique combining acupressure and reflexology, the nerve points were stimulated and now Siti’s muscle mass has improved. No drugs are used; just daily massage enhanced by olive oil. She can move her hands and feet and her spasms have gone. Peck is thus confident that very soon her patient will be able to stand and possibly walk too. Due to publicity on the case, the family’s plight was highlighted and many have come forward to help such as The Buddhist Tsu Chi Society and Datuk Lee Kim Shin, who arranged for the State Welfare Department to increase their welfare assistance budget. In addition, Shin has given $952 for special therapy equipment for Siti’s usage.

Treatment

The physical therapist learned Rwo-Shr ten years ago in Taiwan. The way it works is by first diagnosing the affected areas; thereafter applying pressure to the reflex zones either with hands or a wooden/plastic bar and applying Fuss Balsam (a special cream) to reduce the friction on the feet. Each session goes for between 30 and 40 minutes and then the patient needs to drink around 500cc of water. Peck has used this treatment on a number of her patients. Currently, Siti is also going for physiotherapy a few times a week, at the Miri Hospital in Malaysia.

The Full Plate Farm Collective is a network of farms founded in 2005 by Remembrance Farm in Trumansburg, and Stick and Stone Farm in Ithaca, both in upstate New York. Together with other producers the two original farms are able to provide a large variety of organic produce to their 500-member summer CSA and to their 300-member winter CSA throughout the Ithaca area. Residents of New York City have been able to share in the benefits of CSA membership during the winter with the Full Plate Collective through the Hawthorne Valley CSA located in Ghent, N.Y. This winter, beginning in January, 2012 the Full Plate Collective will be working with CSA members in NYC directly for the first time.

Winter CSA from the Full Plate Farm Collective

The farms of the Full Plate Collective are situated in New York’s fertile Finger Lakes Region close to Ithaca, about four and one half hours by car northwest of New York City. This area of New York is the home of many innovative small growers of organic produce, milk, cheese and meats. The farms feel a strong sense of fellowship as they are involved in this special project. It is not unusual for the farms to share resources, equipment, and sometimes their labor, including childcare! Most of all they share an active commitment to food justice. (See www.healthyfoodforall.org for more info.)

Those who become members of the Winter CSA in Brooklyn will receive a box of vegetables twice a week. Included in the box will be 2 pounds of carrots, 2 pounds of potatoes, onions or leeks, 2 pounds of other root vegetables,  2 bunches of cooking greens, and a mix of other items like baby spinach, kohlrabi, Brussels Sprouts, cabbage, and winter squash.  Also included will be some special tasty farm treats such as lacto-fermented pickles, apples and tender baby salad greens straight from the greenhouse.

All of the produce from the Full Plate Collective is organically grown in the Finger Lakes region and packed one day before being shipped down to BIG!NYC. One of the collective’s farmers, Chaw Chang, visited the BIG!NYC warehouse recently to reach out to potential new members in the City. While there he noticed that,

“People are really excited to hear how flexible our share is in terms of the pick-up schedule: you can swing by any time during BIG’s regular business hours to pick up your share.  We’re really grateful to BIG!NYC for hosting us here.”

For more info or to sign up for a Winter CSA Share: Katie Church, CSA coordinator
fullplatefarms@yahoo.com or 607.342.7632
www.fullplatefarms.org

Pedro Zaragoza meets Rudy Giuliani

Former Mayor of New York City Rudolph Giuliani spoke in Ciudad Juarez in order to help reduce crime in the city. Many were in attendance, including Pedro Zaragoza Fuentes.

 
He offered several helpful tips that the region will need in order to dramatically reduce crime levels. One, he said, is to look to the most reliable people to head the police department, and to back the position with financial stimulus as well. The second, he said, is to improve the law enforcement system itself, ensuring that criminals face the maximum penalties with no “easy way out.” Giuliani’s third tip was to categorize and understand crime and criminals, as this is the best way to stop it. His fourth suggestion was to reform prisons and jailing systems, inhibiting criminals from continuing their actions from the inside.

He added that an important aspect is “zero tolerance.” Giuliani emphasized the problem by saying: “The streets are for honest people, decent, to enjoy their lives, people should not be afraid to go to the movies and bookstores, and women should not be afraid to walk at night.”

Cooking Event

The idea behind the event? To show these chefs that even low priced and mass-produced food could be healthy and well-prepared.  She showed how a simple mac and cheese recipe could be made healthier with whole-wheat bread crumbs, for instance 9along with whole-grain macaroni and low-fat milk).

Creative Cooking Ideas

She showed the chefs all sorts of creative ways to cook for healthy content.  Use extra mushrooms in the meatloaf and take out some of the meat; add some grated carrots and oatmeal to the meatloaf; use low-sodium tomato sauce as a topper rather than ketchup that is filled with sugar.

Her cooking class at City Harvest was well attended, offering great solutions for the time and creativity-strapped chef.

As she said,

“City Harvest has been on the cutting edge of not just feeding people, but feeding people well.”

During the event, she shared a number of the recipes from her cookbook “Comfort Food Fix: Feel-Good Favorites Made Healthy.”

A 33.19-carat diamond ring from actor Richard Burton was sold for $8,818,500, though predicted to sell for between $2.5-3.5 million. Other jewels sold at the event include a collection of the actress’s necklaces, earrings, pendants, rings and other gems. A spokesperson from Christie’s said the ring was bought by a private buyer from Asia.

A pearl, famously known as “La Peregrina” reached a world-record price of $11,842,500, though estimated to sell for around $2 million. The pearl was originally purchased for Taylor by Burton for $37,000 at an auction in 1969.

Another popular item was a diamond bracelet given to the actress by Michael Jackson, which was sold for $194,500.

Elizabeth Taylor starred in classics like ‘National Velvet’, ‘Cleopatra’, ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’ and ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’. She was married to actor Richard Burton twice, and died in Los Angeles at the age of 79. She loved jewelry, and collected Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Chopard pieces.

• Decorate with a lot of a particular thing: “I love using lots of one thing. If it’s tinsel, really go crazy with the tinsel,” she said. “If it’s popcorn and cranberries, try covering the tree in a web of the stuff.”

• Utilize the great outdoors: “During my childhood, we made lots of chains of pine cones, wiring them into these long ropes. And after a big storm last year, I found sweet-gum tree pods and horse chestnuts. It’s hard to forage in Brooklyn but you can do it.”

• Use fruits, vegetable and leafy foods: Make bowls filled with citrus fruits and “poke a few bits of foliage like fresh bay leaves into the crevasses between the fruit to dress it up,” she said. The bowls can then be placed at a buffet table, an entryway or as a centerpiece.

• Remember the evergreen: “Tucking evergreen foliage around candles, ornaments or trays of cookies adds an immediate seasonal feel.”

• Mix the nature with the artificial: “Put real pinecones on a fake tree,” she suggests, adding: “even though I’m in favor of more natural and wild aesthetic, I like the contrast with something man-made.”

Whatever you do, don’t forget to be unique and incorporate your own personal style. Involve your family and friends to compare ideas and approaches to create a winter wonderland that it truly unforgettable.

At the meeting, which took place at NYCHA Miccio Community Center, Glen Kelly of CB6 Parks and Recreation Committee motioned to fund a total renovation of the Naquan Heyward Jr. Playground. The plans were approved unanimously when put forward to vote.

“This has been on the board’s priority list for a long time and we presented it last meeting,” Kelly said. “All of the money is there. We have received funding from various sources to renovate two-thirds of the park and we can start moving within six months.”

Some of the park’s new additions will include a new steel gate, bicycle racks, a play-safe jungle gym with shock-absorbent ground, water-play areas and a clean passage through the park. The last third is currently awaiting future funding, but is designated for basketball and handball courts.

“This is something the area has wanted for a long time,” Kelly said.

In addition, the board approved plans for the much-anticipated Gowanus Sponge Park. The park, which will be constructed along the Second Street bank, was designed by local firm dlandstudios. The park will feature sections of specialized plant life to filter rain, storm water and any water overflow from the banks.

A reporter, armed with a radar gun, discovered that riders go as fast as 31mph, which is faster than the 25mph speed limit in the area. Many riders move that quickly through red lights at crosswalks, as well as through the crowded drives surrounding the parks.

This year, the NYPD has ticketed a mere 22 cyclists in the park, mainly for riding the wrong way or for “reckless operation.” This past weekend, park police officers set up a barricade and handed out prints of the rules for cycling in the park. No tickets were issued then.

According to Jennie Modica, a psychologist from Windsor Terrace, “The park is a danger zone because of these cyclists. The cyclists need to control themselves.”

Though Prospect Park deals with this issue on a regular basis, the conflict is not limited to there.

“They think they own the world,” said Brooklyn resident Roberto Linares of the cyclists. “They’re overconfident.”

Dana Jacks, a Brooklyn actress, was hit by a cyclist and had to spend a month in the hospital. Her husband, Forrest Cicogni, explains that the “culture of racing” is a large threat, one which is not limited to cars.

“The cars are stopping at stoplights,” he said. “The cyclists are not.”

“His leg was just hanging there,” Kasia Bednarska said. “I understand they’re both animals, but you should have some control over your pet.

After searching got the dog’s owner, who Kasia described as a “blond thirty-something year old,” she began posting fliers throughout the park and posted an ad on Craigslist, recounting the incident and asking for help.

The story was taken up by the Brooklyn Paper, and was later publicized on TV. At least six people came forward, offering to help with the medical bills. In the end, an orthopedist and several other anonymous donors funded the dog’s $5,000 bone graft. Doctors said Tali was close to losing his leg, but the procedure ended well.

“It’s a happy ending,” Bednarska said. “He’s expected to fully recover, I’m very grateful.”
Kasia has stated that she may sue the pit bull’s owner if she is ever found.