Congratulations, Dianna. If you do not reply within 4 days then the prize will go to another entrant.
I went to Steel City Con before I left Pittsburgh and was blown away by all the vintage toy vendors, artists, and comic book enthusiasts. Even had a chance to see Elvira. Although being in the presence of so much creativity was awesome, I was excited to meet the author of M3, Erica Schultz. She was brightly amused by the pop culture event and shared her comic industry wisdom that I simply ended up purchasing 2 first issues of M3. Here I am giving one away. Not to mention, she was humble enough to sign the issues so you get a signed copy!
M3 won Best Comic Book at the 2012 Burbank International Film Festival and this particular comic is about:
…assassin Machiavella Maria Marcona as she escapes FBI custody and ticks names off her hit list.
Relentlessly following her is FBI analyst Christopher Morris whose own past has crossed with Machiavella’s many years ago.
I am always up for a strong female character as it shows with my Sandra Bullock taste. But enough about me, what about entering to win a signed copy of M3.
The Giveaway:
(1) Author Signed Copy of M3 #1
Who can enter:
Anyone with a valid mailing address and valid email address.
How to enter:
Leave a comment below describing your favorite comic book character.
Now, I always enjoyed a good Southern brew of iced tea, but never understood why tea and herbs for that matter were so attractive. Then I read crazy stories about the effects of herbs and I’m not just talking about drug-affiliated uses either. According to Cleveland.com this past summer there was a bill presented to President Obama to outlaw both bath salts and herbal incense.
A Texas man chewed into his housemate’s dog earlier this month during an herbal incense-induced rampage. Last year in Washington, a man using bath salts shot his wife and suffocated his 5-year-old son before shooting himself. The drugs have caused some to lose sight of their own humanity, spurring horrific acts across the country, said U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, a co-sponsor of the bill.
Clearly, the article continues by reemphasizing that the ingredients to make such items are synthetic and that’s exactly what we have to remember when we talk about herbs in general. I do not like synthetic manufacturing or genetic engineering when it comes to my food and you shouldn’t either. This is why a push for an organic lifestyle needs to be stressed. Anywho, this is Bernard digressing a bit.
Natural and organic herb use, I believe, is all right as long as you have proper medical advice and guidance first. (This is my see-your-doctor-before-you-believe-me disclaimer.)
Overview of the herb
Defining an herb is clearly varied across the scope of my herb research but I do like to keep my knowledge simple and not make it too complicated so I prefer you watch this video and understand what the difference is between a herb and spice. Just know that for this post I am squishing spices and herbs into one nice word: herbs.
Yumm, just talking about all these herbs makes me want a cup of tea. I’ll be back…
Great! You’re still here. We can still continue our delightful talk about herbs. Did you know that the International Herb Association already chose the herb of the year? In 2012 it was Rose and now 2013 is all about Elder. They sell neat Herb of the Year booklets of information and are great resources for your herby fetishes.
Since you have a little bit of knowledge on herbs, it is now time to share with you common herbs that you probably have interacted with over the years. You can view the various herbs by watching the slideshow. Just identifying the herbs is important, because we clearly don’t need you placing something rather bitter in place of something sweet.
Speaking of the flavors of herbs, Susan Marynowski from HolistisBird.org shares her insight on the flavors of various herbs based on the traditional flavor systems and I created this infographic to visually demonstrate what she mentions in her article.
Whether your choice of flavor is sweet or salty, knowing this information now will deepen your own herbal awareness and will have you paying more attention with how you use your dash of choice. Marynowski also includes health areas that the various flavors do affect so I encourage you to read her article. If you still aren’t convinced that herbs truly are remarkable then watch this video.
Using herbs for life
Besides herbs touching our taste buds, the use of them can also have symbolic meaning to help manifest and strengthen various parts of our life whether it is for love, luck, or protection.
TipToeChick, notorious witch from YouTube, shares her herbal practice online through The Green Eyed Owl at www.thegreeneyedowl.org and has a lengthy list of herbs and their magical uses. You can create tinctures, herbal rubs, homemade lotions and soaps that incorporate the power of herbs. My mother boils some cinnamon in a pot to raise the energy of gaining more cash in her life.
Working on a metaphorical level expands the use of herbs and can change the modern reality that we currently perceive. This aligns well with the idea of law of attraction. We bring into our life what we say, do, and think to put it lightly. Herbs are plants that come from the Earth and they have many benefits associated with them whether it is for magic or not. Yet, we as a society degrade them into cold-hearted manufactured pills with artificial chemicals that can cause cancer , I feel like the human quality (magic) is stripped away. No one will be giving up their corporate business any time soon especially in the United States because we are artificially motivated to make and produce money. Still getting political, Bernard (yeesh) why not you all listen to a good friend and colleague who lives near the sea. She’s a great sage in today’s modern world.
I interviewed Lyn Thurman, Life-Teacher from My Inspiration Network and she gladly shared her wisdom on the use of herbs. “Different herbs have become associated over time with specific traits. Basil, for example, helps attract money and coriander can help you find love. If you want to add some passion to your life, share a cup of cocoa, laced with a pinch of cinnamon, with someone you’d like to know a lot better!” Thurman explains the further importance of herbs and making these ingredients more meaningful in your life. “Any herb and spice you find in your cupboard can be used to attract or repel something. Become aware of the magical properties of herbs and then you can combine the pleasures of eating with the thrill of making magic.”
It’s cold & flu season
Preventing yourself from getting the cold has probably been on your mind and you might not have known that this herb could help reduce your chances of contracting the cold as well as other infections. In a recent 2012 study, by Amy C. Keller from the American Botanical Council, further discovery when using Echinacea proved to be both safe and effective in helping to prevent symptoms of the common cold. The American Botanical Council released this statement in a news release:
The results showed that subjects using the Swiss echinacea extract had significantly fewer incidences of cold or flu symptoms (149 colds lasting a combined total of 672 days, while subjects in the placebo group reported 188 colds lasting 850 total days), decreased recurrence of such symptoms (65 vs. 100), respectively), less appearance of influenza-type viral infections, and had to rely less on the use of conventional over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen or ibuprofen — frequently used by the public to help reduce cold symptoms — than those persons taking the placebo preparation.
This is exciting herbal news, but like any alternative medicinal practice, it’s best to seek out a professional’s advice. You never know, you could end up being allergic to the poor herb. If you aren’t allergic and can obtain the herb than you should keep on reading.
Getting your herbs
Finally, you know more about herbs and how they can be applied in your life. Now, it’s just a matter of getting your eager hands on some. You can purchase herbs from your local grocery or nearest garden store. However, if you wanted to buy in bulk or would like to order online than you should check out the top 10 herb places across the United States compiled by yours truly. If you live outside of the USA then you would need to contact the store personally.
Belly is full now
And that’s the last sprig in the pot! You have some juicy herb knowledge and resources at your fingertips and I hope I encouraged you to expand your spice rack a bit. This is the last post for the blog series, BernardEats. It’s been an immense pleasure to write about so many different things associated with food and you can re-read your favorite BernardEats posts by hovering over the blog tab at the top of the page.
Before I go, here is one last infographic goody for you. It’s a recipe for Herb Beer! The information has been taken from Herbs from the Labyrinth.
I don’t know about you, but those awesome holiday jingles and tunes are making me extra cheerful this season. Not to mention, that my motivation to still pursue my dream-job is flying full force underneath the covers of graduation because of Regis Philbin and inadvertently Bing Crosby.
Last weekend, I went out Christmas shopping and decided to buy a book that was rather impulsive and selfish in nature. The book I chose to get was Regis Philbin’s “How I Got This Way”. I remembered that Philbin was still deciding on a book title when he was hosting Live. The show even asked Facebook fans on what the title should be, and I do remember suggesting a title, but silly me I forgot.
The book was on the table and I rummaged through my mind if I had enough money for it. Then it hit me that I had to read this book and knew that my intuition was talking. OKAY, it was screaming that this book would help me understand what my next course of action should be in becoming a national television talk show host. I did read plenty of books on Ellen, Whoopi, and Oprah so why not add a male to my collection.
Yes, good ole Regis was my only favorite male talk show host, but along comes Anderson! Needless to say, Anderson is hovering in limbo still because of ratings and that he hasn’t called me. All I’m saying, is that we could have worked really well together. I would balance that mental energy with my passionate energy. A young cute lil Bernie sidekick! Anyway, I bought Regis’ book without hesitation and that night I read the first chapter.
The book retells much of Philbin’s story of how he became who he is today hence the title. I am always preaching to friends, colleagues and strangers about the importance of the journey as oppose to the destination and here is a book that does that. Soon, I hope to captivate people with my journey in a book too. It’s been my story that keeps people believing in me or so I think. I do so much that it’s hard to keep track of how I inspire people and why they adore me. Ah! Enough about me and Regis being like twins. Philbin tributes each chapter to specific people that has made an impact on his life and the chapters are not long at all by the way –something that makes reading this book nightly so much fun. A chapter a night keeps those broken-dream nightmares away.
I am still reading this book and am very open to Regis’ passion for sports and find myself chuckling most of the time because you would not believe the gumption that Young Regis had, well if you watch him on TV then you would believe it. His personality has not changed and neither has his first seed of inspiration.
The first chapter of the book is dedicated to Bing Crosby and I knew he was a singer as this was made clear in the book. But, this afternoon I was listening to Christmas music online and saw that Bing Crosby was the artist singing White Christmas. I just looked outside my window and smiled. The connection of synchronicity was so perfect in time. Obviously, this isn’t a world changing occurrence and people just know of Bing Crosby, but in reading Regis’ book I know that Bing was his first entertainment inspiration. Much like how Ellen DeGeneres is mine. Well contrary to the season, Bing Crosby does have other songs other than White Christmas and reading this book helped expand my awareness. I gave a moment of respect for the connection to seep into my brain and to enjoy this feeling. It was liberating to connect the dots and to feel why Regis chose such an admirable character to emulate his strength.
Like I said, I am still reading the book and finding little reminders of my dream along the way. So, if you wanted to keep up with my neat A-HA moments while I read the book, or if you’re reading it too then you should follow me on GetGlue. We can check in and comment on some awesome Regis quotes.
Bernard's Mission: To not only serve himself and those close to him, but to impact the greater public and persist on spreading the joy of learning and creation.
Inspire the People. Dream of Places. Create new things.
Preventing yourself from getting the cold has probably been on your mind and you might not have known that this herb could help reduce your chances of contracting the cold as well as other infections. In a recent 2012 study, by Amy C. Keller from the 
The book retells much of Philbin’s story of how he became who he is today hence the title. I am always preaching to friends, colleagues and strangers about the importance of the journey as oppose to the destination and here is a book that does that. Soon, I hope to captivate people with my journey in a book too. It’s been 
