A Case of Shoeshine Head

Since I've ruined several pairs of high quality shoes with shoe polish (the fact that some chemical components attack rubber is never mentioned anywhere), I no longer wish to use that expensive toxic junk which is all bad. So in order to stay true to my principles, I've decide once again to do without the industrial rubbish and make my own cheap shoe polish.

This recipe is very quick and easy to make, is totally odourless except for a faint olive smell which won't stay, and is as efficient at leather stuffing and waterproofing as any industrial counterpart, while being more pleasant to use. And the icing on the cake... it's much cheaper too. I use it with all my shoes and handbags and shall never purchase shoe polish anymore.

Ingredients

• 10 g shea butter
• 59 g olive oil
• 25 g white beewax
• 2 drops vitamine E

QSF 100 g

Instruction

Melt wax and butter in a double boiler.

Add oil and vitamine E and mix well.

Quickly transfer to a jar or recycled shoe polish box while still hot. Put cap on and chill about 60 minutes until hardened.

Apply like ordinary shoe shine using a rag. Leave to dry a couple of minutes before polishing.

NOTE: This polish is colourless and suits all types of leather. However, you might wish to revive the colour of your shoes, bags or else, or conceal stains and scratches so you can add 6 g of natural pigments and mix well before transferring to a jar. A few examples: for black polish, you may use activated charcoal powder; for light brown polish, use chesnut powder; for dark brown polish, use walnut stain powder; for white polish, use zinc oxide; for other colours you'll have to mix oxides or micas but you may have to do many trials to obtain your desired colour.

As the late French humourist Coluche would say, “Some politicians are so desperate to shine in public, they'd be willing to eat shoeshine”. So if you're in this mindset, be aware that this shoeshine is perfectly edible — however it may disagree with your bowels. But it's a case of the biter bit if you like (another of these untranslatable puns that would be too polically incorrect anyway).

© La Pensine Mutine. All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited.

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Thought Contagion

While waiting for the new album they must certainly be recording in between extended world tours, we'll make do with a couple of singles released sparingly over time, though going by what I've heard so far, I'm afraid we'll have to give up any hopes of ever getting a worthy successor to Drones. Truth is the standards have been set just a tad high. So long as they don't crash out into soup! Rather than the official tackier-than-ever zombie-style promo clip, here is the version they performed as an opener to their song-on-demand show in Paris, last Februrary which was streamed live on YouTube and most popular social media platforms so we could enjoy at home (heard about the rat race ticket sale — thank god for music that brings people together!). Comments on the new Muse welcome.

Ey@el

Strung out, falling from the big time,
Welcome to the infinite black skies —
Brain-cleansed fractured identity,
Fragments and scattered debris.

Thought contagion...
Thought contagion...

Fall down, learn when to count it out.
Prop me up before I black out.
Withdraw before you're out of time —
A clean slate and buried war crimes.

You've been bitten by a true believer.
You've been bitten by someone who's hungrier than you.
You've been bitten by a true believer.
You've been bitten by someone's false beliefs.

Thought contagion...
Thought contagion...

They'll never do what you want them to.
Give it up and watch them break through.
It's too late for a revolution,
Brace for the final solution.

Thought contagion...
Thought contagion...

You've been bitten by a true believer.
You've been bitten by someone who's hungrier than you.
You've been bitten by a true believer.
You've been bitten by someone's false beliefs.

Thought contagion...
Thought contagion...

Strung out, falling from the big time,
Welcome to the infinite black skies.
It's too late for a revolution,
Brace for the final solution.

Original text by MATT BELLAMY
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Scientists Discover That Trees Have a “Heartbeat” Too

Don't know about you, but I've always been attracted to trees as if we had a special bond. Forests are definitely my favourite natural environment where I can resource myself best. Maybe it's because I was born on the edge of Vincennes Woods, but I could never live anywhere without trees. It breaks my heart and infuriates me whenever I find some trees have been cut off because they blocked off the light or sight of some residents. I'm that kind of “nuts” who hug trees like old friends, so I have a smile when reading that scientists have discovered they have a heartbeat too for I have always known that and didn't need any scientific proof.

Nor is there any doubt that J.R.R. Tolkien and J.K. Rowling knew this as well as illustrated with Old Man Willow, Treebeard and the Ents in The Lord of The Rings or the Whomping Willow in Harry Potter. One day for sure, trees will kick our asses as they should or save our lives depending on how we decide to treat them. Those who have tried will tell you that when you hug a tree, there is an energy transfer and a powerful reconnection to the planet and cosmic whole occurring. So let all the jackals and jackasses be heard, this trailer of awakening consciousness is no Noah's Arch and will go on with or without them.

And it's whispered that soon, if we all call the tune,
Then the piper will lead us to reason.
And a new day will dawn for those who stand long,
And the forests will echo with laughter.
Does anyone remember laughter?

Stairway to Heaven", Led Zeppelin (1971)

Ey@el

It seems everyday more and more information is being uncovered about trees and the many mysteries within them. We know that they are alive, but it seems they are even more alive than we may have thought. Trees are interconnected underground, we also now know that trees can communicate with one another, but recently scientists have discovered that trees actually have a sort of heartbeat, it is just so slow that they’ve never noticed before.

Up until recently scientists had thought that water moved through trees by the process of osmosis, in a sort of continuous matter, but now they’ve discovered that the trunks and branches of the trees are actually contracting and expanding and essentially pumping water up from the roots to the leaves, kind of like how our heart pumps blood throughout our bodies.

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Trouble Spot: The War on Pimples

Welcome springtime! Mother Nature's awakening anew and coming into buds. So are our faces. Unfortunately. The good news is there are natural DIY solutions all more effective and less harmful than the standard costly range offered by pharmacists, dermatologists and other cosmetic money-grubbers on Big Pharma's payroll that can only make things worse. This is mainly for women, though not only.

In addition to a healthy lifestyle and diet, you are advised to drink a lot (of water) and avoid using skin irritating antibacterial products, soaps, etc. which destroy its protective hydrolypidic layer. You may use natural ACV cleanser (1/3 apple cider vinegar in 2/3  mineral water) or oil washing solution.

Internally, you may take a one-month treatment of magnesium choloride (one glass daily) which works fine in reducing spot outbreaks.

Locally, try applying thyme or manuka honey before bedtime. Its antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and healing properties will safely dry out your pimples not the skin around. For whiteheads, you may apply some thick paste made with baking soda and water and leave it to dry for quick and effective results.

Ground olive stone gel scrub

In addition to the tips above, it's essential to remove dead skin cells and pollution particles from your face to allow your pores to breath and prevent pimples and blackheads. The gel scrub recipe below is very easy to make and provides gentle facial exfoliation suitable for sensitive skin. Apply once a week on clean face while still wet and massage in small circular movements avoiding the eye contour area. Rinse with clear water. You may apply a clay mask or else afterwards.

Ingredients

• 50 g organic aloe vera gel
• 1.65 g ground olive stones
• 30 drops natural fragrance (optional)

Instructions

In a sanitised bowl, mix aloe gel and fragrance if you use any (I've used oily rose petal fragrance, it smells like heaven) then add the powder. Transfer to a small jar. Since the gel already contains a preservative, the mixture should keep at least 6 monts (during summertime, it's safer to store it in the fridge).

Purifiying anti-redness tea tree stick

This corrector provides extra coverage and is mainly used at night to dry out pimples without causing any skin desquamation, but may also be used with concealer and mineral or non-comedogenic light foundation to hide pimples and red spots during the day.

Ingredients

• 1.7 g beewax
• 1.4 g shea butter
• 0.7 g coconut oil
• 3.3 g black cumin oil
• 8 g zinc oxide
• 5 drops tea tree essential oil
• 0.3 g green mineral oxide

Instructions

Melt wax, butter and coconut oil in double boiler. Meanwhile, crush oxides with a mortar. Add black cumin and tea tree oils to the melt mixture then crushed powder and mix well avoiding clumps. Pour into a stick (recycled or bought online — you may find some on Amazon). Put cap on and chill about 30-60 minutes until hardened.

Lavender concealer

This is a traditional dark circle concealer for the eye contour zone, but it is also suitable for use on red spots as it will both conceal and treat them.

Ingredients

• 4 g shea butter
• 3.1 g watermelon oil
• 6.9 g zinc oxide
• 1.3 g yellow ochre
• 0.3 g pink ochre
• 12 drops lavender essential oil
• 1 drop vitamin E

Instructions

Crush oxide and ochres with a mortar. Melt shea butter in a double boiler. Add oils and vitamin then crushed powder. Mix well avoiding clumps. Transfer to a clean small cosmetic jar and leave to cool overnight before using.

That's it. You are now ready to fight and all-out war against ugly pimples that should have known better than to pop up on your face.

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Chance

It is purely by chance (no pun intended here) I found that had life not been so hard on Stuart Adamson, he would have turned 60 on 11th April, last week. So I wanted to honour his memory with a song that's always got under my skin and gave me goosebumps. I'd already done so a couple of years ago, but that may not have been the right time and then, hearing this song again after some British friend on a forum mentioned about it compelled me with the desire to shout my indignation to the world about the tragic death (right his early forties) of such a charming and lively man I had the chance to meet while he was still alive (yes, you guessed right: I'm still one of yours — well, at least, I think so). Don't know why, I never knew him personally, yet it affects me greatly. A bit like I caught some of his pain lingering on. Surely “life's both wonderful and cruel” (dixit my favourite French band Indochine) and the cost of fame is sometimes too high for some. Rest in peace, Stu.

Ey@el

All the rain came down
On a cold new town
As he carried you away
From your father's hand
That always seemed like a fist,
Reaching out to make you pay.

He came like a hero from the factory floor
With the sun and moon as gifts,
But the only son you ever saw
Were the two he left you with.

Oh Lord where did the feeling go?
Oh Lord I never felt so low.

Now the skirts hang so heavy around your head
That you never knew you were young,
Because you played chance with a lifetime's romance
And the price was far too long.

Oh Lord where did the feeling go?
Oh Lord I never felt so low.

Oh Lord where did the feeling go?
Oh Lord I never felt so low.

Oh Lord where did the feeling go?
Oh Lord I never felt so low.

Oh Lord where did the feeling go?
Oh Lord I never felt so low.

Oh Lord where did the feeling go?
Oh Lord I never felt so low.

Original text by STUART ADAMSON
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How Earth’s Magnetic Fields & ‘Human Aura’ Carry Biological Information Connecting All Living Systems

Now if you ever wondered why all the efforts to make us physically sick, to stress us, to keep us in fear, division, competition, distraction, to dishearten and decentralise us, to fuel our egos, desacralise love and hack the sexual function, patent nature and the human body, saturate the ionosphere with electromagnetic waves set on the same frequency range as the human brain (as if there wasn't any other range available) as well as to tamper with climate data to justify climate intervention to block solar rays — well, I guess this article should provide all the answers which could be summed up into a single one: to impede our awareness and our power to change the world from within us.

The reasons why it's so difficult to achieve have just been mentioned (though incomprehensively). So if it doesn't incite you to change, at least do spare us all your complaining about fools for you're one of them and your focusing only serves to feed the bullshit. Oops! If that's all it takes to make you more conscious (and less compelled, compliant, and complacent), then I take full responsibility for the indignity, particularly when I admit behaving like a fool at times wherever I forget to be in the present moment, allowing borrowed emotions to overwhelm and even possess me. I'm no longer ashamed of that though, since I realise that feeling is not mine either. Even so, I do not deem myself brave (ego judgement). Just like you, I'm just doing the best I can, learning by the day how to reach the next level to eventually meet my optimal threshhold.

Regarding solar and geomagnetic activity both mentioned in the article below, “we are actually in the midst of an episode of geomagnetic storms along with strong solar winds penetrating into the electromagnetic field of the Earth and affecting all living things on the planet.” (Source)

We have reached numerous peaks within the Schumann Resonance [...] And all this at the same time as a Full Blue Moon. If you are experiencing great surges of energy or fatigue, you now know the reason why. Most of all, let's stay in the course of positive energies and everything will be fine […] Gaia is shifting its vibration frequency and so are we. These are one of the many signs that we are AWAKENING [...] All this is meant to bring us into harmony with the NEW EARTH. (Source)

“One day in our lives, we'll get enlightened” would sing Indochine. Reckon they should have said “we'll shine our light”, for no one will come and plug us in. Especially not the electric company with all their dumbing meters, let alone Santa Claus.

Ey@el

Science has recently shed light on the fact that what we used to perceive as ‘human’ aura is actually real. All of our bodies emit an electromagnetic field, and this fact plays a very important role far beyond what is commonly known when it comes to understanding our biology, and the interconnectedness we share with all life.

For example, did you know that the heart emits the largest electromagnetic field of all the body’s major organs? These fields and the information encoded into them can change based on how we are feeling, what we thinking, and different emotions we take on. The heart even sends signals to the brain through a system of neurons that have both short-term and long-term memory, and these signals can affect our emotional experiences. The emotional information that’s modulated and coded into these fields changes their nature, and these fields can impact those around us. As Rollin McCraty, Ph.D, and director of research at The HeartMath institute tell us, “we are fundamentally and deeply connected with each other and the planet itself.”

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Wild Tales of Global Warming

Flaky chilly Easter,
Frozen silly feaster!

“Come on baby light my bonfire”
Sang the penguin on Midsummer's Eve.

Come August, boo caribou,
Owly Spirit gets so low.

The Beatles having slept off
All summer long
Found themselves much put off
When the blizzard came along.

MORAL:

When I get cold,
I fancy a French summer —
A perfect summer
Where anything could do as a warm-up
Sorry for the national frost,
Such a hellish weather —
Slow death on the way!

NOTE: In the hope that Messrs de la Fontaine and Sirkis will forgive any deviation from their own words.

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