#1:24 on a saturday is of course an entirely acceptable time to be awake. if you're going out. which im not doing today

[hexjulia]

The earrings of madame de... (1953) is so..it feels sentimental but that's mostly how it's filmed, the score. all the fainting and the big dresses. and then i suppose the end, but the sudden reality of the actions at the end when they're the product of fairly empty things preceding them is hm!! quietly funny! wry!

really loved the way it used lying. like the scene near the start where the woman is just lying repeatedly and her husband is playing dumb and encouraging it but not in order to catch her or anything. he just seems to think it's really funny, and seems especially amused when she objects to his suggestion that she could lie to solve her problem 'i can't lie' she says, lying. and then nothing. you expect this to have consequences immediately but they just go to sleep.

also that dialogue in a later scene where the woman meets up with the man she's having an affair with and he's says 'couldn't you speak more plainly?' 'what should i say?' 'my favourite phrase. the one you say so sweetly: "i don't love you."' 'i don't love you i don't love you i don't love you i don't love you' the last part in-between kisses. works so well.

[ehyeh-joshua]

The role of the husband. Part 1; Genesis, at creation.

In this era, one of satan’s ways of attacking society is to attack the husband. By rendering the husband inept, society has been struck deeply, and it is in chaos for lack of godly men, and godly husbands in particular, as examples.

I am a man who aspires to the role. What I lack is, well, a wife...

And as part of what has been a lifelong desire for me I have studied it.

There is no Book in the Bible that does not have lessons for the prospective husband. He can begin learning what is required of him as soon as Genesis. The first chapter of Genesis is God creating a world for us to inhabit. This is our first inkling of one of the most important roles - provider to his wife.

As Isaiah put it, “For your husband is your maker, The LORD of Hosts is His Name; the Holy One of Israel is your redeemer, He will be called God of all the earth.”

God took six periods of daylight to create the world, (not 24 hour days; just periods of light, His own light being cast on the spinning earth before the creation of the sun)  and rested on the seventh day as a pattern for man.

In the same way, of showing a pattern that man was to observe, in providing the earth for us to dwell upon, God showed the man that the husband’s duty and privilege to create a place for his wife to live in, out of the provision God gave him.

In Genesis 2, we see the creation of the first husband. He is manufactured; the Hebrew word used to describe Adam’s construction is he is moulded together; a cast mould, the filling composed from soil subject to extremely careful rearranging, that has the spirit breathed into him, and then he is placed into where he is to build a place for his wife to dwell, when he meets her.

And God brings him most of the animals and most of the flying creatures, and gets him to name them. Why? To create the longing for her, fundamentally. (and the practical value of recognising what these animals could do, hence the singling out of the livestock animals)

And the man doesn’t find her. He sees all these creatures, each one with it’s mate, and he looks to his side, and he is missing someone.

And God puts him under anesthetic, and surgically removes one of the man’s ribs. Next to his heart to be loved by him, and under his arm to be embraced by him, and from his side to be equal to him, and from a self-sacrificial defensive structure in the body to be protected by him. (that, and ribs regrow; marriage is one, multiplied by one, equals one, and it is not a half plus a half)

And from the rib, God builds up - note the difference this time, this time woman is build up by cellular replication, not casting a mould - woman. And man awakes, and sees woman.

And the third lesson for the would-be husband; falls head over heels in love, recognising how special she is.

The chapter closes with one of the most important summaries of marriage in the Scriptures; “This is why a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife; and they become one flesh.”

The problem with dating is the mechanic is entirely flawed - what we are supposed to do is grow in our singleness, and in God’s timing, we are introduced to our other. Yes, it is difficult. But a God-created couple is worth it.

Dating by contrast, is fundamentally an act of distrust; it necessarily implies that you don’t trust God in His timing, and most of all, relies on the assumption that you know what is best. One of the most condemned attitudes the Scriptures speak on is “everyone did what seemed right in his own eyes.”.

And then we get to Genesis three, where the man makes six mistakes that sadly husbands are still making today.

1st mistake; letting the serpent/”serpent” speak to Eve. Why was this so bad? The man already knew what the serpent was like; he identifies it in the previous chapter, given snakes are field-animals. And he fails to protect her. We don’t know why, but whatever it was, he failed to protect her.

2nd mistake; the man had failed to ensure the woman had the place for her to live; in the conditions of Eden, providing the place for her to live just meant ensure she understands what God’s instruction was. Compare what Eve restates in Genesis 3:2-3 to what Adam was told back in Genesis 2:17. He failed her in this.

3rd mistake; he fails to protect Eve from herself. Adam was told that he would most certainly die if the fruit was eaten. And he knew that; he taught it to Eve, relook at Genesis 3:3. He failed to stop her.

4th mistake; now, here Adam runs out of excuses. Perhaps he was away, and the serpent exploited the gap. Who knows. But now, Adam is with her, and Eve has taken the fruit.

Note, nothing has gone wrong at this point; sure, Adam has failed Eve, but he has the chance to do the right thing, to make it right, to take responsibility for his wife’s mistake and his failure to teach her properly.

And he fails miserably. She eats. Genuinely, for all he knew, she was about to kill herself. And he fails to protect her.

Then, the 5th mistake, and the second most serious one. Now, Eve has eaten. The world doesn’t break yet. Note that. Then, boom! Eve mistakenly gives Adam the fruit. What he should have done was stop her. At the minimum stop himself. But no, Adam eats, and suddenly creation is marred.

Having failed to protect Eve, Adam now fails to do the instruction he was given; he eats. And the moment he eats, everything goes wrong.

Then, the sixth mistake.

It was not all over yet; Adam still had the chance to go to God and say “Look, we messed up, we ate what we shouldn’t ate and I failed to stop it.”

But, he doesn’t. They try to cover up their guilt.

Then mistake 7.

God comes along to give them the second chance to come clean and be restored. Like any parent responding to their children doing something naughty, he lets them know He is around.

But, still Adam hides.

So God calls out. He has heard the children smash the vase, and now He gives Adam another chance to take responsibility for what he has failed to do. He calls out to him, and asks if they smashed the vase.

Now, the parent doesn’t really care about the vase; the first concern is did they hurt themselves on the smashed fragments, then figure out what to do with the vase later. Right now, it is the opportunity for the development of the child that is most important.

And then Adam semi-comes clean. He explains what they did.

And as he does so, mistake 8 - instead of taking responsibility, he blames Eve.

Eve accurately restates the facts; she was deceived, and she did eat. And she blames the serpent. So, she partly accepts responsibility.

The serpent of course, has no defence.

So, now, like any parent, God now has to discipline the children. It is the worst part about being a father, but if you say an action has a consequence, you have to be consistent, and you have to do what you said you would do. It gives the child stability as they grow by teaching them safe boundaries.

Eve is first, and partly she has a promise of good and the curse; as she listens to the curse on the serpent, she learns that her child would be the one to crush the serpent. We see that in the statement of faith in Genesis 4:1; she realises God has to take human form, and she says she possesses a man; GOD. Bible translators have the tendency to diminish her statement of faith and add “with the help of” in, but there is no justification for that in the Hebrew text; the Hebrew reads “I possess a man-” followed by the Divine Name. She understood the Messianic concepts in the curse on the serpent, she just wasn’t aware that it would be a much later descendant of hers.

Adam however, now has to work for his provision, and it is the fruit of his toil that he now must eat.

Then, God makes a sacrifice for them, and clothes them in the animal’s skin, before sending them out the garden. Now, they were always supposed to leave the garden in time - you cannot live in a cradle forever - but it wasn’t supposed to be like this. But actions have consequences.

And this leads to the first time Eve gets pregnant, likely with twins, as Adam and Eve discover what becoming one flesh with each other means. And then they discover what parenting is, which they would get a lot of practice at, with three named sons, at least two more additional sons, and at least two daughters. (see Genesis 5)

In this brief summary looking at the life of the first husband, we see the pattern forming; he is supposed to provide for his wife a place to live/nourishment, protect her, become one flesh with her, and lead her spiritually.

As one studies further, it does get more complex, but, this is the prototype - yes, they made mistakes. We are supposed to look at their example, see the mistakes, and correct it, and do better ourselves.

Next part, as I have to go to sleep, will be a brief look at the commandments Moses taught concerning marriage, as those four principles get extended to cover a much wider set of scenarios with higher standards. I plan to type that over tomorrow and Saturday, as the material I have to cover goes from 5-ish chapters to best part of a hundred...

[lasersheith]

Lasersheith’s Sheith Month 2018 Masterlist

These are also on AO3 if you’d rather check that out instead!

Total word count: 19750

I thought it would be a fun challenge to myself to do all the prompts for Sheith Month as pre-Kerberos fluff/humor drabbles. The original plan was to keep them all under 600 words, but I went over on about half of them lol.

Some of the snippets sound angsty, but I promise all of them are silly and light-hearted and fun.

July 1 - Dynamics // Trust

Trust |  Canonverse | Pre-kerb | G | 600 

Keith’s hands were barely long enough to hold both handles at the same time, and he was leaning too far to the right. Even with what little he weighed, it still made the delicately balanced machine lilt just enough to throw them off course. “You’re leaning again.” Shiro gently corrected.

July 2 - Training // Headache

Training | Canonverse | Pre-kerb | G | 600

Of course Keith had grown, Shiro had known that he was going to, eventually. He just hadn’t been prepared to notice so acutely. After a brief 4 week training mission in LEO, Shiro had crashed back down to earth and taken his first shaking steps back in 1G only to find the solid ground swept out from underneath of him. The surly, scrawny teen with a chip on his shoulder who would fight you for looking at him sideways had grown into almost a man right before Shiro’s eyes.

And Shiro’s eyes couldn’t tear themselves away.

July 3 - Sandwiches // Drinking

Drinking | Canonverse | Pre-kerb | T | 900

Some junior officers relished their time on the night roster, scouring the halls for cadets out of bed, busting up parties, giving their friends who were still senior cadets loads of demerits just for fun. Shiro was never one of those junior officers. Sure, he’d busted Matt’s chops once or twice to get him back for a dumb prank, but generally he would look the other way and let most things slide when his turn came up on the duty roster.

July 4 - No Prompt/Free Day

I worked on my Sheith big bang fic this day!

July 5 - Guiding Light // Galaxies

Guiding Light | Canonverse | Pre-kerb | G | 800

Shiro was always up early, but Venus was supposed to be rising at 0413 on the nose, and it was a half hour drive followed by at least an hour’s hike to get to the best spot to see it. 0200 was a much more acceptable time to go to bed than wake up, but he quietly made his way to the senior cadets’ barracks and keyed in Keith’s door code just as his watch flipped 0210. Keith was already up, boots on and backpack shouldered, sleepy but excited smile brightening his face.

July 6 - Pre-Kerberos // Post-Voltron

Pre-Kerberos | Canonverse | Pre-kerb | G | 500

The rooftop of the junior officers’ barracks was technically off-limits, though that had never stopped Shiro from sneaking his way up to stargaze or get some fresh air. The past several months he found himself drawn to the roof more and more; just off the southwest corner the upper stage of the SLS-6 was visible far off in the distance.

It was the orbital launcher that would be taking him and his crew to the very edge of the solar system.

July 7 - Royalty // Clones

Clones | Canonverse | Pre-kerb | G | 650

Shiro frowned as he looked in the mirror, running a hand over his head. “Matt, I thought you said you were good at cutting hair?” He grumbled, turning his head to see the slightly uneven sides. Matt shrugged. “I said I could cut hair, not that I was good at it. You’ve seen what I look like.” He protested. “It doesn’t even look that bad, you’re just being dramatic.” 

July 8 - Save Me // Hover-Bike

Save Me | Canonverse | Pre-kerb | G | 500 

Keith was trying hard to stay awake as he stared at his computer from his suddenly very comfortable desk chair. His morning schedule was pulled up as he tried to remember what order his new classes were in. The door to his room swung open and shut again in a flurry, as a very panicked Shiro first tried crawling under his desk and then slid underneath his bed. “Shiro? What are you doing?” Keith asked, tilting his head to stare at him.

“Matt’s coming, he’s really mad. You have to save me.” Shiro begged quietly.

July 9 - Quality Time // Physical Touch

Physical Touch | Canonverse | Pre-kerb | G | 775

There are a lot of ways Keith would describe Shiro: kind, loyal, strong, dependable, funny, smart, gorgeous, and unfortunately…

High strung.

July 10 - Suspicion // Fidelity

Suspicion | Canonverse | Pre-kerb | G | 970

Keith hadn’t gotten a single demerit all week, not even for staying in the sims past curfew. It would have been a cause for celebration, but it just happened to be the week before Shiro’s birthday. Shiro knew Keith had to be up to something.

July 11 - No Prompt/Free Day

Another SBB day!

July 12 - Eternal // choices

Choices | Canonverse | Pre-kerb | G | 540 

Keith groaned at his screen as he scrolled through the seemingly endless form. Concerned, Shiro looked over at him with a raised eyebrow. “Hey, everything ok?” He asked, walking up behind Keith’s seat and leaning to look at the screen.

July 13 - Happy Ending // Tragedy

Tragedy | Canonverse | Pre-kerb | T | 1.7K (whoops) 

Getting the quartermaster to agree to sign over the newest and best hoverbike in the garage for an evening wasn’t easy. Matt had tried and been denied on the basis that he was awful at driving, which while entirely fair, had thrown a wrench in Shiro’s plan when he asked only a handful of minutes later. “You gonna let Holt drive?” The quartermaster asked, glaring suspiciously.

July 14 - Alternate Realities // Star-Crossed

Alternate Reality | Canonverse | Pre-kerb | T | 1K 

Matt knew something was off the moment he woke up. It was 8am on a Saturday and he could hear people in the living room. Normally Shiro woke with the sun and he and Keith would have long been in the sims training or out wandering around in the desert by then. He pulled on his shirt and sweatpants and walked out of his room suspiciously. “What are you guys doing here?” He mumbled, stumbling his way to the kitchen and the promise of coffee.

July 15 - Sin // Habits

Habits | Canonverse | Pre-kerb | G | 450 

Every Wednesday at 12:30, almost on the dot, Shiro and Keith ate lunch together on top of the roof of the junior officers’ quarters. Technically, it wasn’t allowed, but the area wasn’t well patrolled and it had the best view of the surrounding mountains and open desert out of the whole Garrison.

July 16 - Ignite // Error

Error | Canonverse | Pre-kerb | T | 675 

“If we die, I’m haunting both of you.” Matt grumbled, massaging his rapidly swelling ankle.

Keith looked away from the cliff face to raise an eyebrow in Matt’s direction. “If we all die how will you haunt us? Can a ghost haunt another ghost?”

Shiro groaned under his breath. “Ghosts aren’t real, and we aren’t dying. We’re gonna be fine.” He assured, trying hard to keep both of them calm.

July 17 - Sacrifice // Rebirth

Sacrifice | Canonverse | Pre-kerb | T | 400

Keith looked up from his desk in shock as his door flew open. “Smith, get out.” Matt demanded.

Smith looked up from his desk as well, but more in outrage than surprise. “What? This is my room!” He shouted back.

Matt rolled his eyes and pointed to his shoulder. “Cool story, I’m a Second Lieutenant. Get out.” He challenged. Smith grumbled to himself and shook his head at Keith, grabbing his books and stuffing them into his backpack. “Bye, now.” Matt called with mocking sweetness as Keith’s roommate stormed out.

July 18 - No Prompt/Free Day

SBB!!

July 19 - Pilot // Ninja

Ninja | Canonverse | Pre-kerb | G | 500

Not that Shiro had ever been small in the time Keith had known him, but he’d come back from a month-long training mission absolutely huge. It made sense- astronauts had to be at the top of their game, mentally and physically. Keith wasn’t the only one that had noticed.

July 20 - Simulation // Exploration

Simulation | Canonverse | Pre-kerb | G | 1.2k

Shiro paces when he’s nervous. He’s done it ever since Matt’s known him. Normally, it wouldn’t bother Matt so much, but he was stuck on the couch with a broken leg and no homework left to do and nothing on TV and Shiro wouldn’t stop pacing.

“Shiro, buddy, you have to sit down. For like 3 minutes. Please.” Matt practically begged.

July 21 - Coping // Stress

Coping | Canonverse | Pre-kerb | T | 800

Matt’s idea of coping with finals was to lock himself in his bedroom and turn off his phone, forbidding any human contact whatsoever until he was sure he’d get top marks in everything. Shiro however, didn’t believe in cramming for exams. He’d studied all he was going to and was confident in his ability to pass all of his tests and simulations with flying colors, no matter what his pounding heart told him.

July 22 - Parents // Orphan

Parents | Canonverse | Pre-kerb | G | 450

Keith sounded like he was nearly in tears when he’d called Shiro and begged him to meet up on the roof. It had set off every alarm in Shiro’s brain and he raced to the stairs as fast as he could to see what was the matter. Keith was holding something bundled up in his jacket when Shiro came bursting onto the rooftop.

“I got here as soon as I could. Are you ok?” Shiro asked, slightly out of breath, as he walked over to check on Keith.

July 23 - Zodiac // Concert

Zodiac | Canonverse | Pre-kerb | T | 600

It is said that only the dead have seen the end of war.

It was almost an enviable position, Keith mused as he took in the all-too-familiar face smiling back at him from the poster. A lifetime felt like it wouldn’t have been long enough to pinpoint all of the follies that had led him there, to that moment. He brought a trembling hand up and closed his fingers around the paper. The handsome smile crumbled in his fist as he stalked down the hall.

July 24 - Betrayal // Fame

Fame | Canonverse | Pre-kerb | G | 500 Shiro was used to being the Garrison’s Golden Boy. It was a little annoying, a little isolating, but mostly it suited him just fine. He knew how to be confident in his abilities without being arrogant and how to use his status for minor indulgences without being accused of being a diva (by anyone but Matt, at least).

Keith was always used to being the troublemaker, the discipline case, the odd man out. That suited him just fine as well. He did his best to stay out of trouble at the Garrison for Shiro’s sake. Keeping his head down, working hard in class and blowing off steam in the sims or the gym or out in the desert was a system that had taken time to perfect but Keith figured it out with only a few missteps along the way.Yes, their roles suited both of them just fine… until the first time Keith broke one of Shiro’s records.

July 25 - No Prompt/Free Day

Hit 40k on my sheith big bang fic 👌

July 26 - Rest // Nightmares

Nightmare | Canonverse | Pre-kerb & Post-canon | G | 500

“This is a nightmare.” Matt groaned, threading his fingers through his hair. “Youare a nightmare, Takashi Shirogane.” 

Shiro looked up at him with a mixture of shock, hurt, and confusion. “How am I a nightmare?”Matt glared. “Don’t give me those puppy eyes. You know you’re like this.” He gestured to Shiro’s desk and then to his body.

July 27 - Sports // Stargazing

Sports | Canonverse | Pre-kerb | T | 1.4k Most of the cadets and instructors go home for the holidays in the winter, but Keith wasn’t one of them. He didn’t dwell on the fact that he didn’t really have a home to go to, he made the best of making the Garrison his home. The only part that really bummed him out was the boredom.

He’d already finished all of his homework assigned over the break, and the simulator was down “until further notice” for maintenance, so things had started to get… weird. Gathering all his pens and pencils, he placed a coffee mug on his own desk and sat down across the room at his roommate’s desk. One by one, he started tossing the pens towards the cup, adjusting his position on the chair and the angle he threw with each miss.

July 28 - Protect // Attack

Protect | Canonverse | Pre-kerb | G | 500

Matt had seen Shiro do a lot of dumb things over the years- he wasn’t as cool as he pretended to be. He’d seen Shiro get stuck in more than one t-shirt that had allegedly shrunk in the wash, accidentally put ketchup into his coffee because he was too exhausted to function and then drink it anyway, and he’d watched Shiro hit his head on the sim door more times than he could count.

All of that paled in comparison to the second-hand embarrassment he inflicted upon Matt every single time he was around Keith. 

July 29 - Honesty // Lies

Lies | Canonverse | Pre-kerb | G | 400 “It’s nothing I wouldn’t do for any cadet that was struggling,” it’s not a lie the first time he says it, or if it is, it’s a lie that he believes in his soul. It might be a lie later, after a dozen trips to Iverson’s office, after countless sleepless nights in the library, after hours baking in the hot sun on the back of his bike when he knows he should be studying.

“We’re just friends,” Shiro knows it’s a lie but he says it with conviction. They never become more true, no matter how many times the words leave his lips. And they do- he says it a dozen times, maybe more. There’s nothing just about the kind of friends they are.

July 30 - Feline // Hippopotamus

Feline | Canonverse | Pre-kerb | G | 680 They named the chinchilla Churro. Keith had been adamant. Shiro had suggested Cinnamon, originally, but Keith’s eyes had lit up and when he whispered the word so reverently, Shiro was powerless but to agree. They’d done their best to find Churro’s rightful owner, but it wasn’t like he’d had a collar or anything, and he was technically contraband.

Luckily Matt’s middle name might as well have been contraband, so he and Shiro were locked in a battle of mutually assured destruction should he say anything about Shiro’s illegal pet. 

July 31 - Hero // Pain

Hero | Canonverse | Pre-kerb | PG | 900 

“I can be your hero baby,” the earplugs weren’t working. Not that Matt would have been able to sleep with the foam stuffed halfway into his brain anyway.

“I can kiss away the pain,” he pulled them out with a grimace before tossing them into the trash, putting his glasses on and stalking into Shiro’s room.

“I will stand by yo-” Shiro stopped singing and tore off his headphones, staring up at Matt from his desk like a deer in headlights.

“I say this both as your friend, and as someone dangerously close to committing homicide, you have to tell him.” Matt’s stern tone left no room for discussion or argument.

[luciddeparture]

Is sleep for the weak?

If you had spoken to me a few years ago about sleep, I probably would have told you that sleep was for the weak. In reality that was just an excuse. I couldn’t sleep and even if I wanted to I couldn’t. When I did it would often lead to me waking up from sleep paralysis. Throughout high school my average night of sleep would last around 5-6 hours. That’s when I could sleep. When I couldn’t, it would be far worse, leading to me having pretty severe concentration issues and regular naps. To maintain energy levels at school and work I pursued a healthy diet of constant caffeine followed by an excessive amount of sugar.  When the weekends came around, I would regularly go out till ungodly hours of the morning, often leaving myself with the equivalent of jet lag. I used to think it strange that people went to sleep before 12am as I felt like this was when my own brain finally started to wake up. 

Flash forward to where we are now and sleep is something which I prioritise. I aim to have no less than eight hours a night (albeit with a few exceptions). Such a dramatic shift in my priorities came in part to being sick of constantly feeling like I didn’t have enough energy to do the things I love e.g. to write. Being constantly lethargic comes at a cost. I know that most people don’t have these sorts of problems with sleep, which is fantastic for you! Although infuriating at the time, having these issues caused me to try and work out some solutions to help improve my sleep. I think that some of the points which I came across may help the everyday reader. It is only now that I can appreciate in hindsight that neglecting sleep killed my creativity and learning ability. 

Whilst researching my own sleep, I came across a book called Why We Sleep written by Matthew Walker. A book which Bill Gates has recommended stating - “It took me a little longer than usual to finish Why We Sleep—ironically, because I kept following Walker’s advice to put down the book I was reading a bit earlier than I was used to, so I could get a better night’s sleep.”

Matthew Walker is an English scientist and professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California. He is one of the most high-profile public intellectuals focused on the subject of sleep. Who better to accept advice on sleep from than him?

We still know surprisingly little about why we sleep. Walker has been studying for 20 something years, publishing over 100 scientific studies. He is a New York Times best selling author. He states that 1 in 3 people are not getting enough sleep as the average adult requires 7-9 hours a day.

This is because when we sleep there are two different sorts of sleep which we switch between over the course of the night. Too little of either can negatively impact us. The two sorts of sleep are NREM (Non Rapid Eye Movement) sleep and REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. 

In NREM sleep, our respiration and heart rate slows down, our body temperature drops and our brain waves slow down - for reasons that we don’t yet know. The purpose of NREM Sleep appears to be to consolidate information learnt, and transfer it throughout the brain into long term storage. This captures recent memories making you far less likely to forget them. It also improves our immune system. In later stages of NREM sleep there is a cacophony of waves before you switch into REM sleep. 

In REM sleep brain waves are much more rapid than NREM sleep. Parts of your brain in REM sleep are actually up to 30% more active than when you are awake! It appears that REM sleep acts as a free overnight therapy session for our brains in the form of dreams. It helps us processes the information taken in throughout the day by comparing, testing and connecting recent memories. 

Now that you know a bit about sleep, I though for the rest of this article I could share with you the points which I found to be most interesting and useful with the aim of boosting your knowledge and sharing what has worked for myself - and what I still find to be difficult. 

The points are as follows: 

Regular bed time and wake up time: Having a regular bedtime, ideally with a bedtime routine e.g. read, drink tea, meditate, helps you be able to fall asleep quickly when it is finally bedtime. Waking up at the same time everyday helps to not disturb the cycles, as your brain switches between REM and NREM sleep. Your brain also creates melatonin - the chemical which helps you sleep on a 24 hour schedule, by regulating what times you do certain tasks.

No coffee: As we all know caffeine keeps you awake. What most of us don’t know is that caffeine has a half life which can last five to seven hours! This means if you have your cup of coffee around 7:30pm, by 1:30am you may still have 50% of the caffeine in your system preventing proper sleep. 

Reduce blue light before sleep: No phones. No screens. Ironically you might be reading this article on your mobile phone. The problem with having such addictive little machines at our fingertips is often we will end up scrolling, reading or watching before sleep. It is important for us all to prioritise reducing blue light for an hour prior to getting into bed. 

Chill: When your body temperature drops, you have a better sleep. An easy way to do this is by having a warm shower before sleep. Once you get out of the shower your body temperature drops, leading to… you guessed it: better sleep!

Nap time: Nappers out there, you are in luck! Having a short 20 minute nap some time before 3pm, can actually boost your creativity. Studies have been done in places like Italy where they regularly have “Siesta’s” - a daytime nap after lunch. 

A lethal experiment: 1.6 billion people across 70 countries twice a year participate in a simple test to see what the devastating effects can be when losing only an hour of sleep. Have you worked out what it is? Daylight Savings. When we lose an hour, there is a 24% increase in heart attacks. When we gain an hour we see a 21% reduction in heart attacks. We also see a reduction in car accidents and suicide. That’s only one hour less sleep! 

Alcohol: Many individuals believe that alcohol can be used as a night cap. Ironically like most sleeping pills, alcohol actually sedates the prefrontal cortex. Sedation is not sleep and prevents REM sleep. Which as we have previously discussed is crucial to process what we have learnt throughout the day. 

But what about Saturday night drinks? Here I have included a direct story from the book. 

“Framed practically, let’s say that you are a student cramming for an exam on Monday. Diligently, you study all of the previous Wednesday. Your friends beckon you to come out that night for drinks, but you know how important sleep is, so you decline. On Thursday, friends again ask you to grab a few drinks in the evening, but to be safe, you turn them down and sleep soundly a second night. Finally, Friday rolls around—now three nights after your learning session—and everyone is heading out for a party and drinks. Surely, after being so dedicated to slumber across the first two nights after learning, you can now cut loose, knowing those memories have been safely secured and fully processed within your memory banks. Sadly, not so. Even now, alcohol consumption will wash away much of that which you learned and can abstract by blocking your REM sleep.

How long is it before those new memories are finally safe? We actually do not yet know, though we have studies under way that span many weeks. What we do know is that sleep has not finished tending to those newly planted memories by night 3. ”

- Excerpt From: Matthew Walker. “Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams.”

Further Reading 

If you liked this article I recommend reading the entire book, as it’s full of fantastic snippets of information. Changing my sleep has had such a huge impact on my memory, concentration and creativity and I truly hope that reading this encourages you to continue to prioritise it. 

If you want to read the book, you can access it here: 

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2XSzFZ5

Audible: https://adbl.co/3ioUa9j

Or you can even undertake Matthew Walkers new Masterclass “The Science of Better Sleep”: https://bit.ly/3oZ9Q5t

Unfortunately I’m not sponsored by any of these links, I’m just trying to help! 

[uncleyarn2-blog]

Our 2018 all-Chicago holiday gift guide

Sustenance

1/ Local coffee subscription: Back of the Yards, Dark Matter, or Metric Coffee

Coffee is the social lubricant that wakes you up, keeps you awake—or maybe puts you to sleep. You can drink it hot in winter to stay warm! But drink good, fresh coffee. Chicago is home to many fine craft coffee roasters, and may offer subscriptions for a steady supply. Metric Coffee offers espresso ($20) and blend ($20) subscriptions as well as a Roasters Choice Subscription ($22) and Single Origin Subscription ($24) each with two different eight-ounce bags in every weekly or monthly delivery. Dark Matter Coffee offers three, six, and twelve-month subscriptions to their monthly limited blends for $20 per month—with discounts for longer subscriptions. Back of the Yards Coffee Co.'s Coffee Club subscriptions page is currently under construction. Hopefully that will be available again soon. In the meantime, they do sell their espresso and 47th Street Blend medium-dark roast coffee in twelve-ounce bags ($15.99), with one dollar from every 47th Street Blend going to their Social Impact fund to benefit the neighborhood.—John Dunlevy Prices vary at backoftheyardscoffee.com, darkmattercoffee.com, and metriccoffee.com.

2/ Coffee maker Nº3 by Manual.is

Manual's newest coffee maker is four usages in one: pour over, French press, cold brew, and a pitcher. It can keep its liquids hot for about an hour in the double-wall insulated design. With this elegant, hand-blown borosilicate glass vessel, even a person who doesn't drink coffee regularly (me) will savor the ritual of making, and serving coffee. —Sue Kwong $140 at Manual Shop & Studio, 3251½ W. Bryn Mawr, 312-870-0799, manual.is.

3/ Mushroom tree ornaments by Facture Goods

The handcrafted mushroom Christmas ornaments come in earthy brown clay glazed in gray and flecked with 22-karat gold. They typically sell out in minutes when creator Aron Fischer puts a fresh batch in his online shop. But on November 24 you can find them at Martha Mae in Andersonville during Small Business Saturday. The mushrooms come in enoki, morel, shiitake, and straw varietals. Plus, while you're there, you can snag plenty more gifts for loved ones in Jean Cate's magical shop. —Maya Dukmasova $18 each or $60 for a set of four at facturegoods.com and on November 24 only at Martha Mae, 5407 N. Clark, 872-806-0988, marthamae.info.

4/ Malort soy candle

Everyone's favorite drink in candle form. —Vince Cerasani $30 at reuse-first.com.

5/ Tellicherry Black Whole Peppercorns from Reluctant Trading Experiment

Pretty amazing pepper from an outfit started by Scott Eirinberg, the entrepreneur who founded, and later sold, The Land of Nod. —Suggested by Kate Schmidt, written by Reader staff Starting at $6.50 at reluctanttrading.com.

Self Care

1/ Houseplant from Foyer

This little plant and stationary store opened in Andersonville a few months ago. It's run by a tremendously helpful and non-judgmental Alma Vescovi, who wants you to get past your fear of killing houseplants. The stock is refreshed weekly and she carries hard-to-find varietals like pilea, monstera, and satin pothos alongside all kinds of succulents and cacti. There are also vintage planters and pots as well as ones made by local artists. If things don't go well with your new plant friend, you can always bring it back for a check-up with Vescovi. She once helped me resuscitate a delicate plumosa fern. It's doing great. Plants are the gift that keeps on giving.—Maya Dukmasova Starting at $8 at 1480 W. Berwyn, 713-994-0302, foyer.shop.

2/ Sound wave art, Soundwaves by Mordecai

Kathleen Mordecai turns sound waves from parts of songs or special moments (for example Pat Hughes saying "Chicago Cubs win the World Series" or children's laughter, as pictured) into sculptures she handcrafts using reclaimed wood. Whether you're shopping for someone who lives in a tiny studio, or in a mansion with plenty of wall space to fill, there's likely an option that will fit; the current selection of sculptures in her online shop runs from 12 inches to 4 feet. Mordecai also takes custom orders, and for those who want to be able to hear the sound while enjoying the visuals, she offers an option for audio playback. —Jamie Ludwig Starting at $76 at etsy.com/soundwavesbyMordecai.

3/ Soap Distillery

The brand tagline for Soap Distillery may promise "Small batches. No hangovers," but no such claim can be made about whether these boozy body care miracles are addictive. Because they are, friends. A bottle of the Beer + Cigarettes hand and body wash disappeared so quickly from my bathroom that I'm not entirely convinced my partner wasn't drinking it. Perfect for the person on your list who always smells so damn good. —Karen Hawkins Prices vary at soapdistillery.com. Catch up with founder Danielle Martin at a holiday shopping event or click here for a list of retailers.

4/ King Spa & Sauna

King Spa & Sauna, the Korean spa in Niles, does not fulfil the glossy magazine ideal of the spa day. There are no fluffy white robes, no soothing music or nice-smelling oils and lotions. Instead, there's a series of saunas, each filled with a different substance that will relieve you of a different source of stress, each more baroque than the last: amethyst geodes, living crystals, 350-million-year-old salt rocks, a 23-karat gold pyramid. The admission fee gets a person access to all of them, plus the soaking pools, food court, and movie theater. (Massages and other spa treatments are extra.) The spa's open 24 hours, so guests can stay as long as they like. In Korea, entire families go to spas for an easy weekend getaway. Maybe they're onto something? —Aimee Levitt $40 admission at King Spa & Sauna, 809 Civic Center Drive, Niles, 847-972-2540, kingspa.com/chicago. Gift cards available.

5/ Mochimochi Land knitting kits

Forget sweaters and scarves, Mochimochi Land gives you the tools to show off your needle skills by knitting something truly unique: cute miniature characters like tiny burgers or tiny walruses or tiny robots and really any other tiny thing you can dream up. The kits go for $12-$15 and include yarn, stuffing, notions, and patterns—all you need are knitting needles, available separately on the website. Mochimochi Land creator Anna Hrachovec features her knitted friends in stop-motion animated videos and GIFs of everyday life in the mystical, yarn-covered land of her own creation. Hrachovec also used the style in her book, Adventures in Mochimochi Land, which follows the adventures of a talking doughnut and a lovelorn balloon, of course. The online shop offers patterns for larger, equally adorable knitting projects ranging from $5-$8 and, for the less crafty among us, pre-knit gnomes, hedgehogs, zombies, and unicorns for $25 each. —Brianna Wellen Prices vary at mochimochiland.com.

6/ Mano y Metal handmade accessories

These aren't your basic accessories. Mano y Metal offers handmade metal jewelry that spices up any look. Owner Desiree T. Guzman features hand stamped metal rings, cuff bracelets, earrings, necklaces, dog tags and more with empowering sayings engraved on them like "be badass" ("chingona" in Spanish) or "me vale madre" which translates to "I don't give a damn." The online shop even offers options available for customization and a Chicago collection. —Marissa De La Cerda $10 for keychains, $16 for rings, $20-$22 for double finger rings, $16-$28 for bracelets, $17-$58 for necklaces at manoymetal.com.

7/ The WasteShed Art Supplies

Help fuel your loved one's winter craft addiction and help rescue markers, knitting needles and paints from the landfill. Cultivating a more sustainable culture, The WasteShed accepts donations of art supplies and repurposes art, craft and school supplies. Pull together a gift basket for a DIY project from their low cost offerings, or grab a gift certificate for the creatives and teachers on your list. While you're there, drop off the crocheting you gave up on. The WasteShed is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) so your donations are tax deductible! See their web site for complete list of acceptable donations. — Jamie Ramsay Prices vary at 2842 W. Chicago, 773-666-5997, thewasteshed.com.

8/ Mermaid lessons at AquaMermaid

Who doesn't know someone who once dreamed of being a mermaid? (If your answer is "me," feel free to skip this item.) Fortunately, AquaMermaid exists for the sole purpose of helping people fulfill this glorious dream. Weekly lessons are available on Sunday afternoons at the UIC Sports and Fitness Center pool for both kids and adults; parties can also be arranged. You'll learn basic mermaid maneuvers, like how to glide gracefully underwater, flip your fins, and wave gracefully with your tail. And yes, tails are provided—though you'll have to wear your own bathing suit, or a seashell bra if you want to go full Ariel. Be warned: being a mermaid is a lot harder than it looks, but you'll get a great core workout. —Aimee Levitt Starting at $60 at UIC Sports and Fitness Center, 901 W. Roosevelt Road, 866-279-2767, aquamermaid.com.

Community Care

1/ Chicago Community Bond Fund donation

What better way to spread holiday cheer than to help someone in jail get home to their family? CCBF accepts donations large and small to pay bail for those awaiting trial in Cook County Jail. —Maya Dukmasova Visit chicagobond.org to see the criteria they use to select whose bail to pay.

2/ Women & Children First gift certificate

This post-#MeToo moment is a really good time to give all the sexist jerks in your life a gift certificate to one of the oldest and most significant women-owned bookstores in the US. Making people support women-owned businesses and select from an array of books including a higher-than-average spate by women and nonbinary folks is truly a gift that will benefit generations to come. —Anne Elizabeth Moore Prices vary at 5233 N. Clark, 773-769-9299, womenandchildrenfirst.com.

3/ My Block, My Hood, My City gear

Founded by Jamal Cole, MBMHMC is a connectivity-encouraging, mentoring nonprofit that focuses on providing underserved teenagers exposure to opportunities beyond their familiar neighborhoods. Through excursions in STEM, art, entrepreneurism, and community development, called the Explorers Program, as well as service projects like shoveling snow for seniors, MBMHMC fosters experiences to nurture and empower Chicago youth. Twenty percent of all apparel sales go toward the Explorers Program. On December 1 and 8, volunteer to help hang holiday lights from 51st to 87th Streets along historic Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Like their Facebook page or check https://www.formyblock.org/events/ for updates on projects, calls to action, and to learn about volunteering. —Jamie Ramsay from $50 for hoodies (available in English, Spanish and Mandarin), $25 for skullies, at formyblock.org.

4/ Haymarket Books Book Club

If there's a radical or revolutionary on your shopping list, or, at the very least, someone who cares about social and economic justice, odds are they already know about Haymarket Books, the Buena Park-based publisher of Angela Davis, Rebecca Solnit, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, and Eve Ewing, among many, many others. Membership in Haymarket's book club provides regular monthly shipments of all the publisher's new titles, in either print or e-book format, plus discounts on everything on the backlist. Not only will you provide someone with the foundation of a great personal library, you'll also be supporting a local business. It's a win for everybody. —Aimee Levitt $20-$30/month at haymarketbooks.org.

5/ T-Shirt from the Silver Room

I discovered Silver Room when I first saw Eve Ewing wearing a "Make Chicago Great Again" Harold Washington T-shirt at Pitchfork last year. But the store has a lot more to offer, with shirts by local artists ranging from a profile of Colin Kaepernick made out of tiny red fists to one that looks like a hand-painted bodega advertisement for Hyde Park. The store is full of hand-crafted leather goods, jewelry, and home decor, many by black makers. —Maya Dukmasova $20-$30 at Silver Room, 1506 E. 53rd St., 773-947-0024, thesilverroom.com.

6/ Rebel Betty Arte prints and zines

Support a Latinx artist this holiday season by buying zines, prints, buttons and other artwork by Rebel Betty, an Afro-Latina artist, DJ, and educator. Her work focuses on raising awareness and creating discussions about gentrification and issues affecting black and brown communities. —Marissa De La Cerda $5-$35 for prints, $5-$15 for zines, $10-$15 for buttons and other items at rebelbettyarte.com.

Good Times

1/ Hollow Leg cocktail class

Contrary to popular belief, Hollow Leg is not a store where you can buy a leg lamp a la A Christmas Story, it's a company that offers mixology classes at various venues around the city. Founded by Devin Kidner, Hollow Leg aims to share the art and science behind crafting cocktails so that anyone who attends their events leaves with the knowledge, taste, and skill to finally make a decent drink—and since they offer plenty of non-alcoholic options, everyone can join in on the fun. You can purchase individual tickets or gift certificates to workshops such as Liquid Confidence: Mixology 101, or book them for a holiday shindig so you can give a whole bunch of your friends the gift that keeps on giving (and giving, and giving . . . depending on who you hang out with). Though most classes are hands-on, they also offer tastings, so you and your guests can just sit back, sip, and learn. The best part might be that they'll play "cocktail whisperer," and tailor the menu for their audience, so if, for example, you hate sugary sweet drinks, you won't have to waste your time—or your booze—mixing one. —Jamie Ludwig $60-$95 for gift certificates at hollowleg.com.

2/ Fat Tiger Workshop hat

Streetwear boutique Fat Tiger Workshop first set up in a small Congress Theater storefront four years ago. Founding designers Vic Lloyd, Desmond Owusu, Terrell Jones, and Joe "Freshgoods" Robinson quickly made the space a home for friends, aspiring artists, and established musicians. One day I wandered in to find Chuck Inglish and Sulaiman filming a music video behind the storefront; on another I bought a Save Money shirt during a pop-up helmed by Joey Purp. Fat Tiger has changed locations twice since then, and the owners still make sure its large West Town headquarters is an open-door community space, even as their individual profiles have risen. Robinson has become a streetwear celebrity since he made a one-off clothing line in homage to our previous president, "Thank U Obama" (Chance the Rapper wore one such hoodie while collecting his first Grammy), and he's since been enlisted to make clothes for the Chicago Bears, McDonald's, and the MCA. All four designers make gear for their individual brands, but they also have a run of Fat Tiger clothes. The simple, bold Fat Tiger hat is a great way to show love for all four of these independent, community-driven designers. —Leor Galil $30 for a signature hat at 836 N. Milwaukee, fattigerworkshop.com.

3/ Custom handmade guitar strap from Souldier

In 2004, Chicago musician Jen Tabor started making instrument straps for her friends, and soon began selling them at shows. Nearly 15 years later, her company Souldier, which specializes in hand-cut leather guitar, bass, and banjo straps, has helped support the instruments of artists such as Jeff Tweedy, Tom Petty, and Kim Gordon, and has practically come to have rock-star status of its own. You can find Souldier straps at a number of instrument shops and other retailers throughout the city, or purchase directly through their website, where there's more fun to be had by customizing a strap of your own. Choose between dozens of color and fabric patterns to match anyone's personality and/or artistic aesthetic. And though Souldier is most known for their instrument accessories, their product line also includes camera straps, headbands, wrist cuffs, dog collars, and more, so there are plenty of gift options for your non-musician human and canine friends. —Jamie Ludwig Prices vary at souldier.us.

4/ Fine Prints cassettes

Chicago's rock scene–if you can say there is one single community–is a lot broader than it often gets credited. Local label Fine Prints gets it. Founded by Robby Haynes (who helps run Hermosa studio Strange Magic Recording) and Ziyad Asrar (of Baby Blue, formerly of Whitney), Fine Prints has put out only a handful of cassette releases, but the small catalog shows how weird and wonderful Chicago rock can get. The label launched in August by releasing tapes from prog misfits Mayor Daley, art punks Wage, and synthpop hypnotists Desert Liminal; in October, Haynes and Asrar dropped the second EP by bedroom-pop wizard Adam Schubert, aka Ruins. The acts Fine Prints have worked with don't overlap stylistically, and that's partly why these four cassettes work well as a single package; they're great individual documents, and all together they unintentionally function as a reminder that there's a lot of great music happening in the city beyond the sounds on these tapes. —Leor Galil $7 per cassette at fineprints.bandcamp.com.

5/ Sharkula T-shirt

Can you really claim to be a Chicagoan if you've never met Sharkula? For the past couple decades, the oddball rapper who also answers to Thigahmahjigggee and Dirty Gilligan has roamed around the city's streets, selling his wares hand-to-hand: usually that means CD-Rs of his unpredictable raps housed in a photocopied sheet of paper littered with his drawings. He recently started making his own T-shirts, and his detailed, gritty graffiti style gives his pieces a lived-in quality. Sharkula designs each shirt by hand and no two are identical, which means this is the most unique gift you can give the Chicago hip-hop fan in your life. And, since buying a shirt requires that you call Sharkula, this also gives anyone who has never met him before the opportunity to finally meet a local legend. —Leor Galil Starting at $30 at 773-647-4995.

6/ Experimental Sound Studio tickets

Experimental Sound Studio, founded in 1986 and based in Edgewater since 2006, is one of the city's great incubators of avant-garde and experimental music. The nonprofit's facility houses a full-service recording studio, of course, as well as a small public gallery that hosts exhibitions, workshops, and other events. ESS also provides a home for the Creative Audio Archive, which it describes as "an invaluable collection of recordings, print, and visual ephemera related to avant-garde and exploratory sound and music"—including a trove of Sun Ra material dating back to the 1950s and thousands of improvised and underground shows captured between 1981 and 2006 by Chicago sound recordist Malachi Ritscher. The concert series that ESS presents in its cozy live room, including Option and Oscillations, feature internationally celebrated Chicagoans—drummer Hamid Drake, sound artist Olivia Block, visionary multi-instrumentalists Ben Lamar Gay and Douglas Ewart—as well as renowned out-of-towners such as trumpeter Greg Kelley, saxophonist Don Dietrich, and pedal steel guitarist Susan Alcorn. —Philip Montoro $40 for a pack of five tickets good for any concerts, which usually cost $10 apiece—and if you e-mail info@ess.org in advance to make a reservation, they'll even get you into one of the handful each year that sell out, 5925 N. Ravenswood, 773-998-1069, ess.org.

7/ Ninja Zombie DVD

In 1992, aspiring writer-director Mark Bessenger and a small crew filmed a low-budget Super-8 horror comedy in Chicago, the exurbs, and Wisconsin. No distributor wanted to touch his movie, Ninja Zombie, though I have a little trouble understanding why; the sight of a green, shirtless zombie adeptly fighting off a small army of ninjas would've sold me in 1992, but I was also seven at the time. Bessenger made a few VHS copies for friends, but the film otherwise disappeared. More than two decades later a copy wound up in the hands of cinema fanatic Zack Carlson, who helps run Bleeding Skull, a site and film distributor that documents obscure horror pictures. In 2014, Carlson brought the VHS to his Bleeding Skull collaborators (writer Annie Choi and site founder Joseph Ziemba, an Illinois native) who were so charmed by the goofy, light-footed picture they decided to find a way to release it. Last month, Bleeding Skull and Austin-based nonprofit the American Genre Film Archive co-released Ninja Zombie on DVD. I just hope with this wide release it may soon become a midnight staple. —Leor Galil $13.99 at americangenrefilm.com/releases/ninja-zombie.

About the artists

To accompany our gift guide, we commissioned two local artists to create the gift wrap featured on our two variant covers. To take full advantage of the festivities, pick up a paper copy of this week's Reader.

Justin Clemons from Chicago Lawn is also the Production Manager at Magnolia Printing. His gift wrap features hands spelling "C-H-I-C-A-G-O" in American Sign Language. The piece started as a hand study he painted at age 17 in the program After School Matters, and his instructor noted that it evoked the feeling of people being deaf to the youth of Chicago and their issues. Years later, Justin completed the painting in acrylics. It was featured in Black Creativity Juried Art Exhibition hosted at the Museum of Science+Industry Chicago 2014.

Laura Berger is an artist living in Chicago who paints, sculpts and also animates. Her beautifully minimalistic work often focuses on themes of nature, dreams, or travel. Sometimes, her images feature a host of culturally diverse naked bodies—as appear on one of our variant covers. She is interested in how people create meaning and a sense of belonging to a greater whole.

For more info on Justin's work: justinianart.com. For more info on Laura's work: lauraberger.com.   v

Source: https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/chicago-reader-2018-holiday-gift-guide/Content?oid=63481605