By Lauren

Last evening Cinema 21 screened Eric Schlosser’s Food Inc. As the credits began to roll, I walked up the red carpet and out into the Portland night feeling a little uneasy about the chicken in my fridge. Was my purchasing decision really instigated by the provincially pleasant cartoon farm scene on the label? Was I easy bait for the big food corporations of our country? I am afraid so. Even after my constant vigilance, seeking out the high fructose corn syrups and hydrogenated matter in my food, I am still a sucker.

The ease of relief came when I realized it is really not that hard to eat local in our city. I’ve talked of the farmers markets before and now I want to share my absolute favorite products Made In Oregon.

I will take you through 24 hours of my life, sustaining my body with PDX grown sustenance.

7:48 am – Breakfast

By Ann Daly PhD

Most of life is spoken in declarative sentences. But if you really want to cultivate balance and clarity, you’ve got to inject a healthy dose of the interrogative into your life. That’s means questions rather than statements. In short: Ask more questions.

Ask questions about yourself. What’s going on? What’s wrong? What’s working? What’s next?

Otherwise, it’s easy to stop paying attention to what really matters to you. You jump onto auto-pilot and get swept up in other people’s agendas.

Believe it or not, there’s an art to asking yourself good questions. Here are my top Do's and Don'ts:

Don’t start with ‘Why.’ It only elicits defensiveness.

Don’t ask a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question. Better to ask an open-ended question.

A happiness survey conducted at Harvard University all the way back in 1937 recently surfaced. In it, researchers questioned college sophomores for their keys to happiness and then incredibly followed those people for 72 years (yes, the study is still ongoing). From info they culled down the happiness tips that actually panned out. Here’s what they found:

Have a Healthy Outlet

Many of the study’s participants who forged successful careers, created beautiful families and lived in idyllic neighborhoods ended up unhappy later in life. Why? Because success (whether personal or material) is little indicator of lasting happiness. What does indicate long-term happiness is a passion for…well, something else. It could be dedicating time to charity, an enriching hobby or even just a really well developed sense of humor. We all need an outlet for our anxieties and fears, something that personally fulfills us.

Don’t Take Yourself too Seriously

I saw RENT last night at the Keller Auditorium, and was lucky enough to see two of the original cast members, Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal, reprise their roles in the current tour. Suffice it to say that every element of the production was fantastic. RENT follows a group of friends living in the East Village during the late 1980s as they struggle with AIDS, poverty, love and – as the title suggests - paying their rent. Throughout the show they champion the plight of the homeless, make up and break up, all while fearing the death sentence that an AIDS diagnosis guaranteed at that time. It would figure then that the show is completely life-affirming, as characters plead with the audience that all anyone really has is today, this moment, and the only way to measure your life is in love. It is beyond poetic irony that the creator of RENT died unexpectedly of an aneurysm shortly before his opus became a worldwide phenomenon, only confirming that you can never count on a tomorrow, so you might as well seize every moment you have.

  Who is the most highly recommended among males with healing hands? According to Portland Mercury it is our own East West College of the Healing Arts graduate Chris Lacey! Chris does Thai massage at the Woodstock Wellness Center and at the Khalsa Pain Relief Clinic on SE Hawthorne. On Chris’s website he helps people understand what Thai massage is and why it might be great for you. He says, “So what are some reasons to try Thai Massage instead of another massage modality?

Want to encourage people to think you are one of the 'Rich and Famous'?

Get out of the house and be seen! Go to all the popular parties.

Buy some oversize sunglasses.

Buy some designer labels, if you can't afford them, buy knock-offs.

If you are going to a party or a club or anywhere really, hire a car, not a limo. The only people that still rent limos are going to funerals and proms, or weddings. Any late model luxury sedan will do.

Get a close group of friends that you really like and invite them to come with you, you don't want to be a loner! Have your friends follow you about, like the Harajuku girls and Gwen Stefani.

Dress like a celebrity but add your own twist! You don't want to look exactly like someone else! Find your own swag or style.

Get glittery! You probably can't afford diamond jewelry, so buy fake diamonds; they look just as good and it isn't as bad when you lose them while dancing.