Issue 1 | October 2012 THEFACTORYTIMES The Sexy Edition Plus: Fashion Week Hockey Melissa Vargas Marvel Avengers Saturday Night The New Normal Live NBC’s Hot New Fall Show New Cast Members Caffeine Dreams The Science Behind Coffee PUBLICATION DIRECTOR JESSICA HOUSE LEAD DESIGNER BRENT PICKERD DESIGNER ERIC MARKSON DESIGNER PAMELA COOPER WRITER MITCH EKLUM WRITER COURTNEY COUTURE WRITER MELISSA VARGAS WRITER MEGAN LANDSTROM DESIGNER KIRSTEN KNAPP DESIGNER NICK SCIARRETTA WEBMASTER KYLE RAPP ADVISORS DR. PATRICIA MURPHY, D.A. DR. DREW SABOL, ESQ. PROFESSOR KEVIN VOLO PRINTING ROBERT JONES & SUNYIT PRINT SHOP 2 • factory times Questions comments or concerns? Ideas for articles? Submissions? Interested in joining the Factory Times? Enjoying the new sexy design? E-mail us! [email protected] factory times • 3 Fall Fashion Cu Culture lthough New York fashion week for the spring and summer of 2013 has already past, many Apeople are still curious about the fall fashions that are coming up on the scene for 2012. One particular accessory is making a splash both in men’s and women’s fashion. The hat, has been an ac- cessory for centuries, and it is making a comeback like Tiger woods...ok, not a good analogy. Making a comeback like Michael Jordan, there that’s better. So get out your grandfathers felt bowler hat or pick up your new fedora at the mall as soon as possible. I would leave the viking hat at home, but pretty much anything goes to keep your noggin warm and styled. In my personal opinion, the current style is not very original and went from one extreme of the bold mismatched colors that just “go,” to muted boring tones. Women, wearing men’s clothing such as oversized coats, pressed collars and sweater or suit vests is in. Not sure if it’s my cup of tea, but this is what the people want! One feminine touch added to the new masculine style is a defined waist, which is a very elegant and classy way to add femininity to any outfit. One last trend that is rising up for the fall is all-over leather. A leather jacket here and there...Fancy. Head to toe leather? Or pleather?!! Look, it’s catwoman!!! All joking aside, in the right combination, any of these trends can be pulled off. Create your own look and stand out or be comfy or quirky. Do whatever your fashion heart desires, except for maybe the leather suit at the interview. written by Nina Stoecke 4 • factory times ADVERTISE HERE! contact us at [email protected] factory times • 5 Cu Culture Meditation iving in such a fast paced, Although there are a wide shaken out of it by a friend or interconnected culture, variety of meditation styles, relative’s interruption. When Lwe may find ourselves these instructions will be you first begin the practice, consumed by the anxieties based on the very simple, yet you may find yourself inherent in our daily routine. effective technique of focusing being easily distracted, We can attempt to hush exclusively on your breathing. the easiness of distraction these anxieties with simple will be reduced with time. pleasures, however these pleasures seem to naturally Although you can sit progress to obsessions, “Meditation is a lot like cultivating directly on the floor, creating more anxiety— a new land. To make a field out of if you have hard wood consider how many times flooring I recommend a forest, first you have to clear the you check your facebook using a thin matt. It feed per day or reload trees and pull out the stumps. Then isn’t necessary to your favorite subreddit. you till the soil and you fertilize it. tangle your body in Then you sow your seed and you the full-lotus or even While I would never harvest your crops. To cultivate half-lotus position, just condemn these social your mind, first you have to clear cross your legs. It is mediums, from time to time, out the various irritants that are however necessary we could all benefit from in the way, pull them right out by to keep your back enjoying the very essence the root so that they won’t grow entirely straight during of living rather than getting back. Then you fertilize. You the practice. Once in caught up in these artificial pump energy and discipline in the right position, you worlds. This concept of “living should feel your upper the mental soil. Then you sow the in the now” or “mindfulness” body holding itself is nothing new and has been seed and you harvest your crops of up, with little tension the goal of buddhists for faith, morality , mindfulness and on your muscles. centuries through a practice wisdom.” known as meditation. Meditation was originally a way to further Firstly, find a very quiet place understand the sacred and where you know you won’t be mysterious forces of life. distracted. This is key because Recently, however, meditation you don’t want to spend 15 has been used as an effective minutes getting into a pleasant relaxation technique. state of mind only be to 6 • factory times Now, breathe! Attempt to contract your diaphragm as much as possible, expand your stomach so that air is forced into the lungs. As the air enters your body, become completely aware of it, without letting your mind wander any further than just knowing that oxygen is coming in and carbon dioxide is being expelled. If done properly and for a long enough period of time, the inner chatter that makes up our anxieties will be soon mute and we can achieve the natural happiness of just being alive. Once you feel comfortable sitting in this position with only your breathing on your mind, try the next step of meditation. That is, think about nothing at all. While this takes an enormous amount of self-discipline, it is also one of the most beneficial things we can do. In his book, Mindfulness in Plain English Henepola Gunaratana, a buddhist monk likens meditation to cultivating a field. The first four pages of Mindfulness in Plain English can be found at www. urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe1-4.html Written by Mitch Eklum factory times • 7 Sci Discover The Science of Coffee or some, the very act After ingesting a serving of receiving neuron and the signal of getting out bed in coffee, the consumer will feel continues down through the the morning without a energized, alert and happy-- network. Fcup of coffee seems daunting. this benefit of coffee quickly Without their caffeinated becomes a daily necessity for Every waking moment, drink, daily consumers can some consumers. Although our neurons are communicating even experience debilitating it is considered the world’s by releasing neurotransmitters headaches. Statistics show most widely used psycho- into the clefts. One byproduct that over half of the adult active, the unique mechanism of this transmission is the population in the United States of coffee remains a mystery production of the inhibitory consumes coffee. Whether you for a great number of coffee neurotransmitter, adenosine. indulge in coffee or abstain, it drinkers. An enormous The brain is constantly can be agreed that the bitter, amount of information detecting levels of adenosine brown drink has become a regarding caffeine can be through adenosine receptors. salient aspect of our culture. found online, and this article When these receptors detect is merely an introduction to enough adenosine, they are The very first uses of the coffee caffeine’s affects on the brain. activated. The activation of the plant have been debated adenosine receptors leads to by historians. However, the The brain is made up of a a slowing of the neural activity earliest credible evidence massive network of neurons. in the brain by preventing of coffee drinking points to These neurons communicate the release of the excitatory 1400’s Ethiopia. From its place by releasing chemicals known neurotransmitters. This is the of discovery, the coffee bean as neuro transmitters into body’s natural way of pushing spread quickly. Within 100 the synaptic cleft between you towards sleep. years, the entire world would each neuron. This generates be riding the caffeine buzz. an electrical impulse in the Did You Know That? The Effects of Coffee were first recognized by Ethiopian Shepherds who noticed their goats were getting frisky and “dancing” when they ingested coffee berries. In 1675, the King of England banned coffee houses, claiming they were places where people met to conspire against him Coffee is the second most traded commodity on Earth, only behind Oil. 8 • factory times The main reason for extent of the stimulation and With coffee being such a caffeine’s stimulant effects-- euphoria is greatly reduced. socially accepted and widely it has a similar structure to However, caffeine still has a consumed product, it’s easy adenosine. Once the caffeine high potential for addiction. to forget that it is still in fact is consumed and reaches While active in the nervous a drug. Even considering the the brain it fits perfectly into system, caffeine will decrease unique mechanism of action the adenosine receptors. lethargy and give the consumer which provides caffeine’s By filling the receptors, the a sense of well being. Once stimulation, this is a drug that actual adenosine is blocked the effects of caffeine wear off, should be used in moderation. from entry and the receptor the neurons will release less While I won’t recommend fails to activate. By preventing neurotransmitters than at the anyone entirely stop their the adenosine from entering baseline level to compensate caffeine intake, remember the receptor, the neural for the exhausted excitatory that hindering the function activity remains unhindered.