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(This has also been published at another of my websites: Easy Blog Creation.)

There are many blogging tools around, but WordPress is now regarded as the best blog software. This means that more people are working on it, making tools for it, and are generally involved and invested in it than in any other platform.

Easy Set Up and Customization

A huge amount of time and energy has been spent making WordPress easy for the non-geek to work with. What used to take a lot of work and a fair amount of knowledge can now be done with a couple of clicks of a button. This includes changing the entire look of the blog and adding plugins. There are literally thousands of themes available for download and they can be previewed and integrated into a blog within seconds. Plugins add functionality to a blog, for anything from the boring stuff like spam filters to fun stuff like social network integration and video integration. Again, a couple of clicks and the job is done.

Many themes have their own settings page allowing the blog owner to adjust settings. This could be something as simple as a color change or as fundamental as a change from single column blog to three or four column magazine style interface. The same is true of plugins.

Flexibility

With so many themes and plugins to choose from the blog can be set up to serve any purpose required, from a single-user diary type setup to a complex multi-user corporate one with different levels of access and password protection. There used to be two distinct types of platform, the blog which served the more basic functions and the Content Management System (CMS) which would be used for the more complex sites. WordPress has matured from being just the former to being more than capable of fulfilling both functions. This provides the great benefit of allowing a blog to change from one to the other in mid-stream, as it were.

Lots of Experts

The domination that WordPress has achieved by being the best blog software gives it one huge advantage: it has grown an expert base that is second to none. In English that means if you have a WordPress website and a problem occurs that requires a little more than a button click to solve there are no shortage of people that can help you out for a reasonable charge. If you were using a more esoteric platform you could find yourself hostage to the only expert in the field – and help from such a source usually comes with a very hefty price tag. With WordPress the laws of supply and demand definitely work in the user’s favor.

Can be Used for Traditional Type Websites

The days of the old static type website where a company just stuck a variation of its brochure online are fortunately long gone, but some do insist on clinging to this outmoded way of doing things. WordPress can be used for this type of site very easily as it allows for the creation of pages as well as posts. With recent improvements in menu handling it is now very easy to make a WordPress site that resembles the old static websites. It was always possible, but it used to require a fair amount of skill in the graphics department and a willingness to mess around with some of the code. Many developers use WordPress as a platform even when the client only wants a basic static site as this makes for a relatively painless upgrade when the site owner sees the light and decides to join the twenty-first century.

Scalability

This leads indirectly to another tremendous advantage and that is something called scalability. This means that WordPress can grow with a company’s or an individual’s needs. It can support anything from a basic site containing little more than a contact details page, bio, and mission statement to a full blown multi-user customer website with shopping cart and a private section for agents and employees.

Summary

Ease of use, flexibility, scalability and a large expert base all help make WordPress the best blog software.

For much more about blogging basics Easy Blog Creation For a free recipe ebook Minimalist Cooking

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Life is stressful and we all need ways of calming down. Here are five such ways that require no specialized equipment or expensive club memberships.

Walk Away

Know when you are beginning to get stressed and know your specific triggers. If politics tends to send your blood pressure rocketing then politely make your excuses when, say,  the subject of the election comes up. This is actually quite hard to do as the subjects that are most likely to trigger stress are the ones that interest us the most. They are also the ones that people tend to hold very strong views about, so a healthy, stimulating exchange can become an intolerant and stressful one very quickly.

Liquid Relaxation

Despite the heading this is not a recommendation to go to the nearest bar or to open that bottle of wine. There is something in most people’s psyche that responds to a view that has water in it. Whether it is a rough sea, a flowing river or a placid lake the calming effect is the same. This may be because we are comprised of over 70% water or it may be that a large body of water immediately gives us back a sense of perspective, our place in the larger scheme of things. Another possibility is that water on some very fundamental level represents a memory of our time in the womb where we were completely protected, literally cushioned from everything unpleasant or stressful.

Breathe

There are many different methods that people use to combat stress and any approach is better than none. Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth seems to work best. A possible explanation for the fact that breathing through the nose is much more calming than mouth breathing is that the nasal sinuses produce a large amount of a gas called nitric oxide. When this gas enters the lungs along with the inhaled air it makes it easier for oxygen to move from the lungs and into the blood. This in turn makes more oxygen available for the body’s organs, which really helps the calming down process.

When inhaling, the stomach should be pushed out to make room for the air. This is very different from the more common expansion of the top of the ribcage but with a little practice it becomes second nature and will not require conscious thought. This method uses the full volume of the lungs allowing for more oxygen transfer and it fully flushes the old air out of the lungs. Incidentally, this method is highly recommended for anyone who has a constricted upper airway or who naturally breathes through their mouth. In both cases the lung filling is so much more efficient that a return to nose breathing may be possible along with the automatic calming effect that this brings.

Go for a Walk

Walking works to relieve stress on many levels. The legs work as a pump to get the blood flowing and the oxygen to where it is needed in the body. A steady moderate pace is best for relaxing and as little as ten minutes can have a big effect on combating stress.

Mentally one of two approaches can be taken. Focus can be on the body, the action of the legs, posture and breathing or it can be on the problem that needs working through. The brain responds well to the increased oxygen and nutrient availability brought about by walking, especially for the higher functions such as problem solving. The most productive walk will incorporate a mixture of these two approaches, with an initial period spent concentrating on the body, especially the breathing and a secondary problem solving phase.

For those spending their working hours behind a desk or in front of a computer monitor this should be done two or three times a day at least. A greater sense of well being and increased productivity is all but guaranteed.

I Want to be Alone

Sometimes, the only solution is to get away from everything and everyone. Go to a room, lock the door, draw the blinds, turn off any computer type devices or telephones and even insert earplugs if the room is noisy. Then lie down, focus on breathing and then on nothing. At first thoughts will crowd in but gently, and the operative word here is gently, push them away. This one does take a little practice and can be a little frightening for some people. Initially short sessions of around 10 to 20 minutes are the best. Some people go on to do this for two hours at a stretch and claim that the restorative and calming down effect is on a par with a short vacation.

Final Thought

If nothing else, learn to breathe properly.

For more thoughts about keeping things simple in a stressful world Minimalist Woman

Or if good healthy simple recipes and kitchen tips are more your thing Minimalist Cooking

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Minimalism

Minimalist interior design came about as a direct result of the Minimalist art movement which first surfaced in the 1950s in New York and dominated the art world through the 1950s and 1960s. The art movement came from the overarching movement of the time, Modernism. This is why the terms Modernism and Minimalism are often used almost interchangeably when discussing design. While it is accurate to say that a minimal approach is a modern one, the reverse is not always true.

Minimalist art is self-contained art; external references and emotion are avoided. Interior designers who work with minimalism tend to broadly follow this ideal. The approach to minimalism in interior design is less rigorous than it is in the art world. This is to be expected as a building’s interior has to serve a function beyond the aesthetic–it has to be conducive to the act and to the art of living.

There are several distinct objectives within minimalist interior design and the task of the designer is to make these rationales come together as seamlessly as possible. This is no easy task and involves a lot more than knocking down a couple of non-supporting walls and painting everything white.

The Spiritual

The first objective is the spiritual. Minimalist interior design aims for a sense of calm and peace. People’s surroundings have a huge impact on the way that they feel and consequently act. To this end colors tend to be extremely pale or white so as not to induce an emotional response. The use of whites and pastels on walls also maximizes the reflection of light giving a soft, diffuse illumination that is not harsh or uncomfortable. The minimalist interior designer uses light to define the forms and the spaces where other designers would use materials and finishes.

Open plan designs are favored as this type of architecture promotes a calm, detached feeling. Patterns and textures are generally not used unless they are essential to an object’s function. An unfinished brick wall could easily be incorporated into minimalist design as the texture is directly related to its function, but wallpaper with an image of bricks would be about as anti-minimalist as it is possible to be.

The Practical

The second objective is the practical. Multi-purpose objects are important in this regard. The floor that is also a radiator, windows arranged for the gathering of heat as well as light, and even the sofa that converts to a bed all follow the minimalist ideal. This multi-purposing ethos also extends to the use of spaces within the home. A committed minimalist will not be happy until every space serves at least two distinct functions.

Energy Efficiency

Thirty years ago this third objective would have been a subset of the practical. The importance of energy conservation in the light of recent discoveries regarding climate change and potential fuel scarcities means that energy efficiency is now an essential part of minimalist design. In fact it could be argued that it is impossible for a home to be considered an example of minimalist design without a serious attempt at energy conservation. At the very least the house should be insulated and all windows double- or triple-glazed. A purist would argue that the minimalist needs to go beyond these standard measures and look at non-fossil fuel options such as geothermal heating or solar panels.

If a designer meets these three objectives, the design produced would undoubtedly be a minimalist one.

Concluding thought

Of course many will slap a coat of white paint on the walls, rip some carpets up, and put a few openings in walls and label it a minimalist interior design, but for a design to be truly minimalist a bottom-up approach is needed. The functioning of the home, spiritually, practically, and energy-efficiently, will to a very large extent dictate its appearance. This is true minimalism and it comes from below the surface.

For much more about decluttering and minimalism check out Minimalist Woman

Or if free minimalist recipes and cooking tips is more your thing Minimalist Cooking

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Minimalism

Minimalist interior design came about as a direct result of the Minimalist art movement which first surfaced in the 1950s in New York and dominated the art world through the 1950s and 1960s. The art movement came from the overarching movement of the time, Modernism. This is why the terms Modernism and Minimalism are often used almost interchangeably when discussing design. While it is accurate to say that a minimal approach is a modern one, the reverse is not always true.

Minimalist art is self-contained art; external references and emotion are avoided. Interior designers who work with minimalism tend to broadly follow this ideal. The approach to minimalism in interior design is less rigorous than it is in the art world. This is to be expected as a building’s interior has to serve a function beyond the aesthetic–it has to be conducive to the act and to the art of living.

There are several distinct objectives within minimalist interior design and the task of the designer is to make these rationales come together as seamlessly as possible. This is no easy task and involves a lot more than knocking down a couple of non-supporting walls and painting everything white.

The Spiritual

The first objective is the spiritual. Minimalist interiors are designed to facilitate a sense of calm and peace. People’s surroundings have a huge impact on the way that they feel and consequently act. To this end colors tend to be extremely pale or white so as not to induce an emotional response. The use of whites and pastels on walls also maximizes the reflection of light giving a soft, diffuse illumination that is not harsh or uncomfortable. The minimalist interior designer uses light to define the forms and the spaces where other designers would use materials and finishes.

Open plan designs are favored as this type of architecture promotes a calm, detached feeling. Patterns and textures are generally not used unless they are essential to an object’s function. An unfinished brick wall could easily be incorporated into minimalist design as the texture is directly related to its function, but wallpaper with an image of bricks would be about as anti-minimalist as it is possible to be.

The Practical

The second  objective is the practical. Multi-purpose objects are important in this regard. The floor that is also a radiator, windows arranged for the gathering of heat as well as light, and even the sofa that converts to a bed all follow the minimalist ideal. This multi-purposing ethos also extends to the use of spaces within the home. A committed minimalist will not be happy until every space serves at least two distinct functions.

Energy Efficiency

Thirty years ago this third objective would have been a subset of the practical. The importance of energy conservation in the light of recent discoveries regarding climate change and potential fuel scarcities means that energy efficiency is now an essential part of minimalist design. In fact it could be argued that it is impossible for a home to be considered an example of minimalist design without a serious attempt at energy conservation. At the very least the house should be insulated and all windows double- or triple-glazed. A purist would argue that the minimalist needs to go beyond these standard measures and look at non-fossil fuel options such as geothermal heating or solar panels.

If a designer meets these three objectives, the design produced would undoubtedly be a minimalist one.

Concluding thought

Of course many will slap a coat of white paint on the walls, rip some carpets up, and put a few openings in walls and call it a minimalist design, but for a design to be truly minimalist a bottom-up approach is needed. The functioning of the home, spiritually, practically, and energy-efficiently, will to a very large extent dictate its appearance. This is true minimalism and it comes from below the surface.

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Cubism originated in the first decade of the twentieth century. It is an abstract art form where the normally observed view is dissected by the artist and then put back together again, but with the conventions of representational art removed. Complex shapes are reduced to basic geometries, depth cues are removed, and faces which would not be visible to the observer from one position are nonetheless represented on the canvas. It is definitely one of the more academic art forms and the first branch of Cubism, Analytic Cubism, was well named.

To understand Picasso and Cubism it is important to know something about both the artist’s development and the state of art at the time.

The Evolution of Cubism

Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque are credited with the invention of Cubism. Accounts differ as to whether it originally Braque’s or Picasso’s idea or whether it was a genuinely equal discovery. The most widely accepted version is that Picasso persuaded Braque to make the move from Fauvism to the new form.

Cubism did not spring from nothing though, and its roots can certainly be seen in the work of the Post Impressionists Gauguin and Cezanne, especially the latter. Cezanne was a reductionist; he stated that all of nature could be reduced to simple geometric forms such as spheres, cylinders, and cones. More importantly, he developed a style that used what can best be described as facets of color which gave his paintings a sense of more than one viewpoint. There is general agreement, however, that these works were not truly Cubist. The first true Cubist works from Picasso and Braque did not just use viewpoints that were relatively close in space, like Cezanne, but would go to the extreme of showing both the back and the front of an object next to each other and on the same canvas.

Picasso’s Formal Art Training

Picasso received formal art training from his father, starting at age seven. By age thirteen his father, a respected art academic, announced that his son had surpassed him and gave up painting. Picasso attended formal art schools but he didn’t respond well to them, possibly due to finding the work too easy, and his father was his main teaching influence. Many people assume that Picasso only worked with abstraction but this is far from the truth. His father was a hard taskmaster and emphasized the importance of copying the work of the Masters and of studying the human figure.

Blue and Rose Periods

Picasso’s working life is often broken up into artistic periods. Paintings from his Blue Period were generally pessimistic in nature and the predominant color was blue. Next came the Rose period when his paintings became warmer in tone and more optimistic. Both of these periods were characterized by being representational with little hint to the level of abstraction that was going to become the hallmark of Picasso’s works. He did gradually increase his use of symbolism during these periods and this provides a less tenuous connection to his later work.

African Period

After the Rose Period came his African or African Influenced period. The paintings from this time show a definite trend towards the Cubism which would come later. The paintings from this period possess the use of geometry and composition, as well as the palette which would carry over into Cubism, but the underpinning philosophy of the art form had yet to take shape. Analytical Cubism introduced a level of detachment and a movement away from the expressive which was a prerequisite of modern art, especially minimalism and conceptual art. Undoubtedly it was Picasso’s friendship and conversations with Braque that facilitated the jump from the largely decorative African Period to the much more substantive Cubism.

Picasso and Cubism

Picasso produced Cubist work for a decade from 1909 until just after World War I. The first three years were spent developing Analytical Cubism and the next seven, Synthetic Cubism. Synthetic Cubism was developed by Picasso and Braque along with Juan Gris. A strong argument can be made that Gris was actually the pioneer of Synthetic Cubism and Braque and Picasso the followers. Unlike the inventors of Analytical Cubism Gris tended to work with strong bright colors and often used them in unconventional ways.

Further Reading

No artist or art period can be studied in isolation from either their geography or their time. To understand both Picasso and Cubism, it is essential to know a little about the other artists working at the time and about the artists who in turn influenced them. With this in mind I’d recommend gaining an overview of Picasso, and of the following artists at the very least.

• Matisse
• Cezanne
• Gauguin
• Braque
• Gris

Wikipedia is an excellent resource and it is always enlightening to read not only the main page for each subject but also the discussion pages. Art history is no different than any other history in as much as different interpretations are always possible and the Wikipedia discussion pages give a good insight into this process.

I am Steve A. Wolfe, a visual artist and minimalist photographer.

For writings about minimalism check out my wife’s blog Minimalist Woman

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_A_Wolfe

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Ingredients:

• 3 c unbleached flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp instant yeast
• 1 3/4 c water at 120F

Instructions:

• Whisk dry ingredients together in bowl.
• Add water that is already at 120F. Stir really well.
• Scrape dough off the spoon and sides of the bowl.
• Cover bowl and wrap in a towel.
• Leave the dough at room temperature for between 8 and 18 hours. The dough is ready when it is bubbly on top.
• Sprinkle flour on a work surface and scrape the dough onto this work surface. The dough will be soft and wet.
• Roll the dough to cover its surface with flour then divide into halves.
• Gently shape each half into a baguette shape.
• Set the shaped dough into a baguette pan.
• Set baguette pan into a foil buffet pan and pinch the lid shut.
• Put this on the middle rack of a cold oven.
• Set oven temperature to 450F and let bake for 45 minutes.
• Then remove lid and bake for another 15 minutes to brown.

Aluminum foil can be substituted for the baguette pan and for the foil buffet pan to make either baguettes or a traditional shaped loaf. In other words, as long as you have a mixing bowl, a spoon, a tight-lidded container, and an oven, you are good to go!

For pictures of all stages and details about the aluminum foil method check out my wife’s blog Minimalist Cook No-knead bread

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_A_Wolfe

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Minimalism first appeared  in the 1950′s in New York as a subset of Abstract art but became a dominant trend in the 1960′s and 1970′s. Many sculptors were associated with the movement and pieces featuring large flat planes, industrial finishes and industrial materials were common. Geometry was extremely important as this represented the most pared down representation possible, a form stripped of everything decorative but still retaining its essence.  Repetition was also prominent, not only in sculpture but also in two dimensional art and also the other art form that embraced the genre,, music.  This music tended to consist of repetitive pulses or small groups of notes with changes being very gradual. Writing also had its own drive towards the minimalism. Authors tended to use fewer adverbs and adjectives and didn’t describe everything down to the last detail which allowed the reader to fill in the blanks deliberately left by the author.

Minimalism was also hugely influential in design and architecture with traditional Japanese buildings being perhaps the most dominant influence. Design, by its nature, is functional, unlike the fine arts such as music and painting which by definition have no practical job to do. Architects embraced this with such novel concepts as making a floor double as a radiator and removing internal walls to create multipurpose spaces.

For a deeper understanding of the topic I recommend reading Robert M. Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. The author never, as far as I know, claims to be dealing with  Minimalism per se, and the work itself is definitely not a Minimalist work, but one of the main themes running through the entire work is a discussion about the Romantic world view versus the Classical world view. The former represents the surface as being all-important, i.e. the decoration, the visible, while the latter argues that the appearance of something should be determined by its function and that this is where true beauty lies. Pirsig  uses the motorcycle engine as a metaphor for the Classical world view stating that everything visible when looking at an engine exists purely as an offshoot of its function. Minimalism, however it is expressed, always comes from the Classicist viewpoint. It can appear to be a very dry academic subject, as most think of art as being about emotions and surface, but Pirsig’s novel removes much of the abstraction involved and weaves a discussion of a Minimalist philosophy using concrete examples into an book that, though very complex, is also a really good read.

I have deliberately not listed names of prominent exponents of the genre as I felt that this would make the article too disjointed and the names are easily available elsewhere.  I recommend looking up Minimalism on Wikipedia as a jumping off point as there are some extremely good articles on there written by many different people. As with any art movement there are many conflicting views, even among experts or maybe especially among experts, and the discussion pages allied to the Wikipedia pages will give an insight into some of these.

For much more about day to day minimalism check out Minimalist Woman

Or if free minimalist recipes and cooking tips is more your thing Minimalist Cooking

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• Spend 15 minutes a day decluttering a room
• Get rid of any clothing not worn in the last twelve months.
• Reduce the amount of storage space in the home.
• Keep a chart and highlight days when decluttering is done.
• Throw out two things for every new thing introduced into the home.

These lists are all well and good but they all tend to suffer from one problem, and that is putting the cart before the horse. They address the symptom as opposed to the underlying condition. If we dig a little deeper it is not difficult to see that we create our own reality, certainly as far as our immediate surroundings are concerned. If a person is surrounded by a mountain of stuff in their home it is a fair bet that the same will be the case in subsequent homes and has been the case in past homes. The problem is not going to be solved by such simplistic solutions as those listed above, at least not on their own.

A deeper solution to the clutter problem requires an examination of one’s relationship to stuff. After all, clutter is simply too much stuff and there can only be two reasons why someone has too much stuff: they either bring in too much, or don’t get rid of it fast enough (or a combination of both). Having lots of stuff pass through one’s home is a little self-defeating; therefore acquiring less stuff is the only long-term, sustainable solution. On the surface this looks easy but, and there is always a but, millions of dollars a year are spent with one thing in mind and that is to get people to shop, to get them to acquire loads and loads of stuff. That is why stuff tends to be bright and colorful and have really well-designed packaging and is supported by lots and lots of television advertising. Simply being aware that stuff makes someone’s life better, but it generally isn’t the purchaser’s, should provide great motivation to give the mall or the shopping channels a miss.

If you arrived at this page looking for a list of things that you could do to declutter and reclaim your space you may feel a little cheated, but I make no apologies. Those lists are ten a penny and a quick Google search will show hundreds of pages of them. The world does not need yet another ‘Twenty Ways to Declutter and Have a Fabulous Life’ type list.

Here is a useful list:

• Buy a whole lot less. Remember, you don’t need something just because the man or the woman on TV tells you that you do.
• Internalize the idea that stuff you buy from a store has no emotional value–it was not made with you in mind.

For much more about decluttering and minimalism check out Minimalist Woman

Or if free minimalist recipes and cooking tips is more your thing Minimalist Cooking

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There are four basic things things that need to happen to ensure food is safe to eat:

Hands, work surfaces, and utensils must be kept clean

Hands, surfaces, and utensils have to be washed often with attention paid to the use of correct cleaners, soaps and antibacterial agents. It is also important to make sure that hand washing is done for at least twenty seconds in warm soapy water and rinsed thoroughly afterward.

Hands should be washed:

• Before and after handling food, especially raw meat, fish and eggs
• After using the bathroom
• After handling a pet
• After tending to a sick person
• After coughing or sneezing or nose blowing
• After changing a diaper

Cross contamination must be avoided

Foods must be separated to prevent cross-contamination. This is especially important with meat: cooked and uncooked meat should never be stored together. Perishable food should be well wrapped to prevent cross-contamination.

Food must be properly cooked

Food must be cooked to the proper temperature. Temperature can be checked using a sterile food thermometer which must be used in such a way that the least cooked part of the food is tested, e.g. with meat the tip should be as close to the center of the cut as possible.

These are the minimum cooking temperatures for meat as recommended on the US Department of Agriculture (USDA): website:

• Steaks & Roasts – 145 °F
• Fish – 145 °F
• Pork – 160 °F
• Ground Beef – 160 °F
• Egg Dishes – 160 °F
• Chicken Breasts – 165 °F
• Whole Poultry – 165 °F

The thermometer should be checked for accuracy frequently by putting it in a bowl of ice and water that has been allowed to stand. It should read 32F.

Perishable food must be properly refrigerated

Perishable food should be refrigerated as soon as possible, within two hours of purchase or one hour if the temperature is 90 degrees or more. The refrigerator temperature should be 40F and this should be checked regularly. Poultry, fish and ground meat should be frozen or cooked after two days and beef, veal, lamb or pork after three to five days.

Concluding thoughts

Cleanliness, correct storage and thorough cooking should always be uppermost in the mind of anyone who is working in a kitchen or with food. A few basic precautions can save suffering, lost workdays and even lives. There are many courses available for those that want to learn more either for professional or personal reasons and there is a wealth of information on the internet. The USDA website is an excellent starting point.

For a sample ebook containing 7 basic recipes check out this basic recipe ebook courtesy of the Minimalist Cook. Sign up for the news letter and get a free copy of the full ebook on the day of publication.

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