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For exotic looks, ethnic fashions are wonderful alternatives for the plus size woman. For instance the the ao dai (pronounced “ow zai” in North Vietnam and, “ow yai” in South Vietnam), Vietnam’s national dress, has a styling that looks fabulous on almost anyone. It consists of two elements: a long tunic with a close-fitting bodice, mandarin collar, raglan sleeves, and side slits that create front and back panels from the waist down; and wide-legged pants, often cut on the bias.
While in the distant past both men and women wore the ao dai, in the twenty-first century it is almost exclusively a women’s garment. While the ao dai is now seen as symbolizing traditional Vietnamese identity and femininity, it in fact has a relatively brief history marked by foreign influence. The ao dai provides a outstanding example of how the Vietnamese have responded to both Chinese and French colonization by adopting elements of foreign cultures and modifying them to be uniquely Vietnamese. Prior to the fifteenth century, Vietnamese women typically wore a skirt and halter top. These were some times covered by an open-necked tunic (ao tu than) with four long panels, the front two tied or belted at the waist. Women’s garments were brown or black, accented by brightly colored tops or belts on special occasions.
From 1407 to 1428, China’s Ming Dynasty occupied Vietnam and forced women to wear Chinese-style pants. After regaining independence, Vietnam’s Le Dynasty (1428–1788) likewise criticized women’s clothing for violating Confucian standards of decorum. Since the policies were haphazardly enforced, and skirts and halter tops remained the norm.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Vietnam was divided into two regions, with the Nguyen family ruling the south. To distinguish their subjects from northerners, Nguyen lords ordered southern men and women to wear Chinese-style trousers and long, front-buttoning tunics. After the Nguyen family gained control over the entire country in 1802, the conservative Confucian Emperor Minh Mang banned women’s skirts on aesthetic and moral grounds.
Over the next century, precursors to the modern ao dai became popular in cities, at the royal court in Hue, and for holidays and festivals in the countryside. The outfit basically consisted of pants and a loose-fitting shirt with a stand-up collar and a diagonal closure that ran along the right side from the neck to the armpit, with some regional variations. These features of the ao dao were copied from Chinese and Manchu garments. The upper classes often layered several ao dai of different colors, with the neck left open to display the layers. Among peasants and laborers, however, the skirt (va) and halter top (yem) remained popular for daily wear.
During the 1930s Hanoi artist Nguyen Cat Tuong, also known as Lemur, presented ao dai styles inspired by French fashion. He designed them with light-colored, close-fitting tunics featured longer panels, puffy sleeves; asymmetrical lace collars, buttoned cuffs, scalloped hems, and darts at the waist and chest. Lemur’s Europeanized flared pants were white with snugly tailored hips. Criticized by conservatives, Lemur’s designs nonetheless marked the materialization of contemporary ao dai blending traditional Vietnamese elements with Western tailoring and bodily aesthetics.
French colonialism ended in 1954 with the division of Vietnam into North and South. In North Vietnam,
Communist leaders criticized the ao dai as bourgeois, colonial, and impractical for manual labor, although women continued to wear it for special occasions.
When the ao dai fell into disfavor in socialist Vietnam, Vietnamese who had immigrated to the United States, Canada, Australia, or France preserved it as a symbol of their ethnic heritage. Ao dai were seen at fashion shows, Tet (Lunar New Year) celebrations, weddings, and musical performances throughout the Vietnamese communities of the world, which numbered approximately 2.6 million in 2006.
Meanwhile, in capitalist South Vietnam, modifications of the garment continued. Madame Nhu the sister-in-law of President Ngo Dinh Diem, became notorious in the 1950s and 1960s for the very plunging necklines of her ao dai.
In 1975, the Vietnam War ended with the reunification of North and South under communist rule. Leaders derided the southern ao dai as decadent and promoted simpler, practical clothing styles. But austerity proved short-lived. By the 1990s, economic reforms and improved standards of living led to a revival of the ao dai within Vietnam and to growing international awareness of it as a symbol of Vietnamese identity. In 1989, the Women’s Newspaper in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) hosted the first Miss Ao Dai contest. Six years later, Miss Vietnam’s blue brocade ao dai won the prize for best national costume at Tokyo’s Miss International Pageant. Simple white ao dai have been reinstated in many cities and towns as uniforms for female high school students, while Vietnam Airlines flight attendants wear red ao dai.
The ao dai has also inspired non-Asian designers. Following the 1992 films “Indochine” and “The Lover”, both set in the French colonial period, Ralph Lauren, Richard Tyler, Claude Montana, and Giorgio Armani presented ao dai–inspired collections. While “Indo-Chic” fashions can be Orientalist in their celebration of a demure, sexy, and exotic Vietnamese femininity, they are typically welcomed in Vietnam as evidence that the ao dai has entered the canon of international fashion.
Some current designers employ novel fabrics, abstract motifs, and ethnic minority patterns, while others alter the tunic by opening necklines, removing sleeves, or replacing the long panels with fringe. The once scandalous white pants now seem outmoded, and women instead favor pants the same color as the tunic.
So the ao dia has an interesting history. But with the selections of materials and cuts, the ao dai allows the fashion-conscious plus size woman to be simultaneously trendy and fabulous throughout the year and on special occasions.
In my prior posting, entitled “Ancient Astronauts and Contemporary Skepticism,” I challenged the skeptics (assuming they do not want to acknowledge that the Nazca Lines were made to be viewed by an ancient astronaut) to provide a credible explanation of those geoglyphs. I argued that the people of Nazca cannot be considered unique in human history and that the skeptics need to find parallels elsewhere. However, I imagine that, instead of trying to produce a mundane explanation of the Nazca Lines, the skeptics could simply argue that I have not proven the contrary case.
The basic facts of the Nazca desert are easy to comprehend. Those large geoglyphs cannot be grasped by humans from the ground; in most cases, the hills or mountains are too distant for anyone to even notice that they are there. The figures on the ground can only be recognized from the air. Since humans were unable to fly until relatively recent times, it is logical to consider extraterrestrials as a potential explanation. I have seen skeptics, in desperation, argue that the people of Nazca, in the sixth century, knew how to make air balloons, but I do not believe it for one second.
For whom or for what did the people of Nazca make those ground drawings? Surely, they made those geoglyphs to be viewed by someone or something. That is unquestionable; it is not rational to believe that mass insanity could last the more than one hundred years it took to complete the project. If they made the geoglyphs to be viewed by an ancient astronaut, then where are their drawings of the ancient astronaut? Such drawings do exist. I provide one of them on my website, in a footnote to Gersiane De Brito’s “Tiwanaku Alien and Evolution” article. That picture is not a geoglyph, however; it comes from Nazca pottery, but the timing coincides. This makes sense. They likely thought it might be offensive to the alien to draw a picture of the alien on the ground so they only put it on the pottery, where the alien could not see it.
Beyond any doubt, the ancient astronaut depicted on the Nazca pottery is the same ancient astronaut depicted in the Tiwanaku engravings. In the Tiwanaku versions, the aquatic, alien nature of the creature is easier to spot. Also in Tiwanaku, with all that bird symbolism, it is apparent that this ancient astronaut could fly, freestyle, up and through the air.
Thus, the Nazca Lines have a viable explanation: the geoglyphs were made to be seen by an ancient astronaut that could fly like a bird with the aid of anti-gravity hand-held propulsion devices, without the use of aircraft or spacecraft of any kind. The people of Nazca drew diverse animal figures on the ground to attract the alien’s attention and to entertain it, and they drew lines and directional arrows on the ground to lead the alien back to the people of Nazca.
I think it time for the world’s scientists, archaeologists, anthropologists, psychologists, etcetera, to come to their senses and try to evaluate, objectively, the thinking behind the Nazca geoglyphs. The potential for uncovering an instance of genuine alien contact makes it a worthwhile endeavor.
Authoring your book is the most important business decision you can make. Your book will position you as the expert in you field. The media will clamor to interview you providing you with massive exposure. Your book, if positioned using principles of the Entrepreneurial Authoring Program, will provide an un-ending source of leads for your business. This means ultimately more money for you.
Here are 10 more powerful secrets to make your brain get the write idea:
1. Set specific, measurable goals regarding time. Schedule two 1.5 hour blocks of writing time each week, for example, after considering the impact on others and accommodating your schedule. Writing daily for 15 minutes may be a reasonable and attainable goal.
2. Take 15 minutes a day as reflective time or I.G.A. time (Idea Generating Activity Time). Think about what you are working on and record all ideas that come to you during this time. In this situation you are writing ideas not content but the content will come later.
3. Invite your friends to have coffee and treats with you. Tell them in advance you want their input on some ideas you have for your book. Pay for their coffee and harvest their thoughts. This motivates you to write and enhances your commitment to the process. Remember that reflection and I.G.A. activities are an integral part of the writing process.
4. Write when you need to! Drop everything and write when the time is right or the situation demands it. Don’t feel guilty! You can forgo other jobs and responsibilities you should have been doing and do them later. If others can do this then why can’t you?
5. Use your time more efficiently by having all the materials you need for writing in one location so you can just sit down at any time and write. Whenever you end one authoring session you should automatically prepare the catalyst material to begin the next. This includes being very specific about the topic and key words to begin writing immediately upon sitting down. You will save 10 to 15 or more minutes per session when you prepare in advance. Take 5 minutes to get ready at the end of each session to prepare for the next one, and save writing time for the next session.
6. Treat the time you take for writing as recreational time. It’s writing time that energizes you and makes your life more worthwhile. Tell others how important writing time is for you. They will help you find time to write.
7. Make a pact with your spouse or significant other to trade large blocks of time so each of you can pursue your individual interests. This removes any conflicts and any guilt feelings about using large amounts of time for writing.
8. Prioritizing is a key to successfully reaching your goals in life. Making writing one of your priorities and advertising that plan of yours will open up possibilities to write more. Others respect what you value if they value your friendship.
9. Think Big Picture. Your daily to-do list cannot govern your life. Authoring a book is a Big Picture item. Taking time out just to think and reflect and plan is okay. It will motivate you to write. Go for a bike ride or a walk in the woods to help you keep focused on the Big Picture. Remember that writing is the doing part of thinking. Give yourself time to think and reflect.
10. Use your time more efficiently by having all the materials you need for writing located in one place so you can just sit down at any time and write. Whenever you end one writing session you should automatically prepare the catalyst material to begin the next. This includes being very specific about the topic and key words to begin writing immediately upon sitting down. You will save 10 to 15 or more minutes per session when you prepare in advance. Take 5 minutes to get ready at the end of each writing session to prepare for the next one, and save writing time for the next session.
There is a third set of tips in this series. The best advice I can give you is simply to start putting one or two of these strategies into practice, then add another one or two. Do the ones that are the most powerful for you in your life first.
The Alaskan Malamute dog breed is a medium to large sized dog weighing in at 75 to 85 pounds depending on the sex. The female dogs are a little smaller at 23 inches in height and weight less. You will find the male dogs are 25 inches in height. They are depicted with a curly tail, plenty of fur, and an almost wolf like face, though the snout is a little shorter. They have grey, black, sable, red, or white coloring. You will find their coats can be a mix of all colors or they can be completely white. The coat is actually a double coat designed for warmth with the top coat being extremely thick and coarse. The under coat is softer, and more dense.
There are many working dogs available from dog breeders when you are considering a dog. You will also find these working dogs make some of the best companions. One of the most popular working dogs in the northern United States is the Alaskan Malamute. They are largely used in Alaska for sled dogs, but also make wonderful companions. If you are interested in finding an Alaskan Malamute to become apart of your family you will want to learn all you can about the breed and speak with dog breeders.
The Alaskan Malamute breed should be given plenty of space to run. They do not like to be inside all day, in fact apartment living is not recommended. You will need plenty of space in a backyard. You can even let them run all day while you are at work. You may find they get a little lonely if left for more than a day, but with other Alaskan Malamute dogs around they will be content. They also suffer from heat issues if it gets too hot. Being raised for Arctic weather they don’t like the warmer climates.
An Alaskan Malamute resembles huskies, though there are differences. As sled dogs the Alaskan Malamute is often very loyal, hard working, and intelligent. You will also find they are affectionate with their owners and other dogs they have been raised with. You can find a little aggression as they work on a ranked basis when sledding. However don’t let this dissuade you as they make wonderful family pets. Maturity will see a calming of the dogs spirit and a growing affection. While they make wonderful working dogs they are not the best guard dogs. They tend to be too friendly around others; though they can alert you to other animals or danger. With training you will find activity is best with a firm hand. They like to have plenty to keep them from getting bored, but they can also be stubborn in nature so a firm, but kind hand is needed. You also need to keep training going even as adults to help them keep the skills fresh in their minds.
Care for this dog breed will require a brushing at least twice a week. This will help you get the dirt out of their fur. They don’t usually require bathes, but if needed it is okay. They tend to be heavy shedders because of the thick long coats, so you may have to clean your home a bit. You will also find they are prone to a few diseases such as hip dysplasia, chondrodysplasia, and bloating. You should expect to have this dog in your home for a good twelve to fifteen years.
Alaskan Malamutes are one of the most lovable dogs you can find for your family. They are a wonderful pet and extremely loyal. They also love meeting new people.
