Heat Waves Due from Brazil this Swimsuit Season – Women
Heat Waves Due from Brazil this Swimsuit Season
Blake Kritzberg
If youve passed a swimsuit hanging on a rack, or touched on a swimwear website, youve probably noticed that Brazil is leaving no stone unturned on the beach scene this year.
Why the focus on Brazil Youll find the answer in a bikini-sized history lesson. In short, Brazil is urbane: almost every Brazilian lives in the fast-paced city. Tack on Brazils legacy from Europe -- a love for high fashion that borders on religion. Now top it all off with Brazils 5000 miles of beach, each and every one of them filled with fashion-forward women who insist on clothes to sizzle at the scene.
Now lets return to America. Weve done and redone the triangle-top and string bottom. Weve pretty much exhausted the thong -- de minimis can only go so far before theres nowhere left to go. But theres one thing we havent exhausted: high glamour.
Enter Brazil, drenched in the big, heady spirit of the sixties, and the international goddesses that drove it. Think Brigitte Bardot. Or Ursula Andress, stepping out of the surf in her belted bikini to set the world on fire.
// The Colors
Just like other areas of the fashion scene, the Brazilian retrospective combines modern colors and fabric tech with unmistakable hues from the Sixties. This means bright, bright plastic white, cocktail black, and clashing fluorescents. And touches of vinyl and metal. And Mod.
// The Shapes
The old triangle top, always meant for the small-busted woman, starts to look a little blah compared to the womanly styles from Brazil, like low-slung "hipster" bottoms especially beguiling when combined with kicky belts. Youll find Brazilian tops emphasizing larger busts, with stabilizing lace-ups or underwire support.
// The Textures
My favorite thing about Brazilian styles are the textures, which seem exotic in our post-production, plasticized world. Brazil knows that women love the softer side of sexy -- the kind that never shows up in beer commercials.
Instead of vying for minimal coverage, Brazil uses high-tech savvy to weave water-friendly crochet and macram
Fish Health in Hot Summer Heat – Home
Fish Health in Hot Summer Heat
Brett Fogle
Summer is over, but for many of us - the heat remains. Here a couple of things to do to keep your fish healthy and your pond clear going into winter. First, remember to keep your pond well aerated. This is very important to your fish because the pond water actually holds less oxygen at higher pond temperatures. So if its still hot in your part of the country, keep those waterfalls and fountains running! This will keep your pond water full of oxygen, and reduce stress on your fish.
If you see your goldfish or KOI gasping at the surface, its a good sign that you dont have enough dissolved oxygen in the water, and this can be dangerous. Especially if you have a lot of green water algae in the pond. This algae can absorb much of the oxygen in the pond water at night and cause very low dissolved oxygen levels during the day - which can be deadly to fish!
One thing we recommend this time of year, is to do a partial water change. Drain off 10 - 25% of your total pond volume, and replace it with fresh, new dechlorinated water. If possible, vacuum or drain decaying organic matter and debris off the bottom to reduce the ponds bio-load.
Your fish will usually be vibrant and playful after a water change. Its like giving them a breath of fresh air and invigorates them. Again, we only recommend a 10 - 25% water change right now - but feel free to experiment with whatever works best for your pond.
Remember to re-add your pond salt whenever you drain and add new water. Having a salt water test kit is also helpful, or a digital salinity meter, to determine optimum salt levels.
Publishing Guidelines
You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.
About The Author
Brett Fogle is the owner of MacArthur Water Gardens and several pond-related websites including macarthurwatergardens.com and pond-filters-online.com. He also publishes a free monthly newsletter called PondStuff! with a reader circulation of over 6,000 pond owners. To sign up for the free newsletter and receive a complimentary New Pond Owners Guide for joining, just visit MacArthur Water Gardens>
Exercising In Heat – Diet
Exercising In Heat
Lynn Bode
Summer is officially here. Finally you can pack away your jackets and get outside. Summer offers extras hours of daylight and with it the opportunity to spend even more time enjoying outdoor activities. For many, this means more time doing physical activities and playing sports. So, it