It’s a question we recently asked of stylists across the country in a national search for “America’s Sexiest Stylist.” Sexy Hair Concepts, along with Look Good…Feel Better, a  public service program supporting cancer patients, asked people from every state to nominate hair stylists who embody the term ”sexy” – from the inside out. Those who make their clients look and feel good on the outside and in, and who are involved heavily in their communities. The stories of passion, hardship and community service were overwhelming.

The contest received hundreds of submissions and has since been narrowed down to just 10 finalists: a diverse group of people, of all ages, from across the country. Each finalist was sent a flip cam to film a short video on what makes them America’s Sexiest Stylist – the heartwarming stories can be seen and voted on here.

Online voting will end on Wednesday, July 28th at 11:59 PST. Congrats to all the finalists and nominees chosen!

Heather Gleason and Kristin Heilman

I recently returned from a trip to the Republic of Georgia where I met with the Ministry of Agriculture to discuss marketing Georgian wines in America.  My host on the trip was Paata Tsiskarishvili from Telavi Wine Cellar.   The cellar’s vineyards are nestled in the middle of the vast and quiet Alazani Valley in the Kakheti wine region, with the snow-capped Greater Caucasus Mountains on one side and the Tsiv-Gombori mountain range on the other.  The vineyards were first planted in 1742, and today, Telavi Wine Cellar exports wine to more than 16 countries around the world.

One of the highlights of my trip was visiting this Kakheti wine region with Paata.   As we drove further outside of Tbilisi on our way to Kakheti, the flat landscape gradually changed to rolling plains covered with grass, small walnut trees, spring wildflowers, lilacs, and newborn lambs and calves. 

When we reached the small hill town of Signakhi, we met and had lunch with John Wurdeman, a young American artist dedicated to resurrecting many of the traditional Georgian handiwork crafts.  John owns Pheasant’s Tears, a winery solely devoted to making qvevri wines: wines that are fermented and aged in clay vessels.   His winemaker, Gela Patalishvili, writes poetry and is from a family boasting eight generations of winemakers. 

During lunch, John taught me about the 10 essential toasts of a Georgian toastmaster (tamada). Leading a form of structured dinner conversation among those gathered, the tamada begins with a toast on one topic, and then others in the group make toasts expanding on the same topic.  Once the entire group has spoken, the tamada moves the discussion on to the next topic.  The topics are major life themes, and the order is always as follows:

1. Glory to God
2. Glory to those with whom you share a roof, such as family, friends, monastic brothers, etc.
3. The purpose of gathering together
4. Parents, ancestors and the blood in your veins
5. Women at the table and women in your life
6. Those who have died and their families
7. New life with children and hope
8. The homeland
9. The grape and wine
10. Beauty
11. Love
12. The Mother of God, the one that gave birth to God.

Sitting in this 300-year-old building in downtown Signakhi, enjoying lunch surrounded by my new friends, I listened to the lively conversation and thought to myself that the art of dinner conversation must certainly have begun in Georgia.

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to escort a small group of U.S. journalists to Japan on a food tour of the country.  I can’t possibly begin to chronicle all of the amazing things we saw and did, but here are some highlights:

We began our 10-day visit in bustling Tokyo, where we had the privilege of meeting Elisabeth Andoh, an expert on Japanese cuisine and culture.  Andoh lectured on the “Seasonal Japanese Kitchen” and the importance of seasons and regions.  She explained to us the importance of “Washoku” literally, the “harmony of food” as a way of thinking about what we eat and how it can nourish us.  It was the perfect stage-setting for the days to follow.

Next, we attended FoodEx Japan, Asia’s largest food and beverage exhibition where we had the privilege of sampling more than 90 Japanese products and as a group, were asked to vote on our five favorites. 

At dinner, we were joined by Harumi Kurihara, the “Martha Stewart” of Japan, where we ate dishes from her latest cookbook and drank Shōchū, a distilled beverage made from sweet potato, rice or barley.

The next day, we took the Bullet Train North to Fukushima, where we learned about the art of miso production, met a poultry farmer who fed and treated his chickens as though they were his children, ate Waygu beef, sampled sake from an eighteenth generation sake maker and drank regional beer from a microbrewery.

A flight south to Kumamoto was equally exciting.  A stop at the impressive Kumamoto castle yielded a lunch representative of what would have been available during the reign of the 15th lord in the 1800s, before the invention of soy sauce.  Like most food in Japan, it tasted as spectacular as it looked.

 A dinner with the governor of Kumamoto featured the best sustainably farmed tuna sashimi I have ever consumed in my life. 

During an afternoon visit to the Kumamoto oyster beds, we learned that Kumamotos were exported to the U.S. 60 years ago by order of the Japanese Fishing Association.  There is a government funded effort to again begin cultivating the mollusks in the Fukura Bay.  This never before attempt to farm Kumamotos began in Japan three years ago and is projected to yield one million oysters this year.

The group ate freshly dug bamboo shoots barbequed over bamboo charcoals sandwiched neatly between cinder blocks.  The stunning resulting dish, prepared by the Denkis, a husband and wife team who first began farming bamboo and green tea leaves 40 years ago to pay for their children’s college tuition, bore no resemblance to the bamboo shoots we know. 

Traditional accommodations in Ryokans and multi course dinners followed by steaming hot baths in onsen (Japanese for hot springs), and of course, competitive karaoke, were experiences I will not soon forget.

There is so much we can learn from the Japanese.  The food, while indescribably delicious, is only one piece of what makes this country and its people so lovely. The humility, the civility and the desire to please are genuine and aspiration-worthy.   I, for one, cannot wait to return.

A massive online movement has taken place over the past 24 hours via Facebook, Twitter and other social forums where people shared their opinions on the Leno vs. Conan vs. NBC controversy.  The media is reporting that tens of thousands of people took part in this online movement yesterday afternoon alone.

Just as the volume of this online activity reached its height yesterday, we were hit with the news of the devastation that occurred in Haiti. It was an instant reality check for all of us. A reminder of the life and death issues facing the world that are much more important than the future of our late night TV.

The family of a dear friend of mine is in Haiti. She has only been able to reach a few of these family members over the past 24 hours. The fate of some of her loved ones is unknown as I write this post.

If everyone that took the time to voice their “O’Brien vs. Leno” opinion now took a moment to donate to the rescue effort in Haiti, we would be able to make a small dent in the tremendous need for resources that now exists in Haiti.

If you are looking for a way to help and are able to do so, here are some links to organizations through which you can make a donation online:

https://www.imcworldwide.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=878

http://www.redcross.org/portal/site/en/menuitem.1a019a978f421296e81ec89e43181aa0/?vgnextoid=a8712721ea326210VgnVCM10000089f0870aRCRD

https://my.care.org/site/Donation2?5000.donation=form1&df_id=5000