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Alito is in which comes as no surprise to me but it does make me sad. I can only hope that he does come as a surprise to the conservatives and isn't half the anti-civil rights guy he currently appears to be.
If only I could figure out how to tie up the camels on this one......
I am not myself a person of great faith but neither am I an atheist. I believe in the spirit (my own, yours, the zeitgeist of the culture, the powers that be) but not in any formal way. I recently watched a great documentary about Tibet called 'Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion' which is about how China has invaded and destroyed Tibet with impunity. Shameful, shameful, shameful on the part of the US who worked very hard to keep Tibet free before Nixon and Kissinger brought the cold war to an end and Coca-Cola and KFC to China which necessitated playing nice with China by not defending Tibet. But I digress. What I got out of that movie in addition to my outrage about Tibet is the sense that I am inherently a Buddhist - sort of. I believe in starting every day anew; I believe that harboring resentment, shame and remorse are useless and I believe somewhat in fate. The "sort of" part comes because I also believe that luck favors the prepared and that you tie up the camels and then trust in God.
I sometimes envy people of greater faith. It would be nice to be able to attribte more to God and less to what John Gardner referred to as the 'hit and miss of the cosmic pumpkin' but I'm afraid I err on the random noise side. It would be nice to have a stronger belief in what happens after you die other than that you are gone (again, I'm a little short in the Buddhist arena, there). If something bad happens it would be nice to believe that it is for a reason. I don't believe that. I don't believe that people die in car accidents so that their surviving family members can grow stronger in faith, or have a reason to work for MADD or something like that. I think people die in car accidents because there are bad drivers out there and bad road conditions and things just happen sometimes. I don't see how a good and merciful God can bestow the blessing of new life on a young couple and then have the mother die of cancer or the father die in a war. To me believing it is all about God is just the desperate act of trying to make the insane seem somehow rational and the incomprehensible acceptable. But be that as it may the faithful derive comfort from their beliefs and to them I say, good for you, there is nothing evil about it as long as you don't think I'm a bad person for not sharing your faith.
Anyhow, enough about me. I thought that the debate profiled in that post was interesting and the blog is just full of fun stuff (check out the archives) so I give it those of you who don't already have it as my Monday "let's have a great week" kick-off. And on that note I think I'll go back to rambling locally instead of globally.
This will require saving up some money as well as training but it could happen - really. How about Rome in March 2007? Or Venice in October (Oct 22 - see the city before it sinks!) or Maranello Oct 15? Or how about Padua in April 2007? And there are more, oh so many more. Anyone want to make it a goal? We could go see Stefano and have a really, really good time. Talk about an excellent location for carbo loading! Who's in?
Maybe this is what I need - a singleringen. It fairly screams, "I'm single! Take me, I'm yours!" It comes with a built in community of singletons who are so desperate to become doubletons that they buy a stupid ring to make that abundantly clear to .... to all the people who read popgadget and buy the rings. At least that's my guess. I think I'll pass and just honor the day by buying my kids some candy, instead.
You scored as Psychology. You should be a Psychology major!
What is your Perfect Major? |
I don't have one of those '100 things about me' posts but if I did number 42 would read: I spent 2 years working on a PhD in physiology. Because of that training I often doubt popular but odd sounding nutritional and fitness theories. If I had any guts I'd find a way to go back to graduate school and get a PhD in exercise physiology but I digress.
Not only are the crystals a myth, there isn't really any lactic acid that forms in your muscles. What you get is lactate which is a by product of metabolism and is something you need. The whole 'lactic acid threshold' thing is grossly misunderstood and widely misrepresented. I even recall the Discovery Channel doing a thing on Lance Armstrong where they showed that he didn't produce lactic acid the way most of us do. I'm sure Lance does something different than the rest of us (like winning the Tour de France 7 times) but I'm guessing what we all understood from that special isn't quite right. If I think of it I'll do some more research.
Anyhow, back to the crystals:
From Lactic acid and running: myths, legends and reality - the ABC :
Most runners still believe that lactic acid is released during hard or unaccustomed exercise and that this is what limits running performance, as well as being the cause of stiffness. Neither is correct. But not even is the terminology of “lactic acid”.Lactic acid does not exist as an acid in the body: it exists in another form called “lactate”, and it is this that is actually measured in the blood when “lactic acid” concentration is determined, as is done from time to time. This distinction is important not only for the sake of correctness, but more importantly, because lactate and lactic acid would have different physiological effects.The greatest myth is that lactic acid is the cause of the stiffness felt after an event such as a marathon. Stiffness is due mostly to damage to the muscle, and not an accumulation of lactic acid or lactic acid crystals in the muscle.
From the link in the title of this post which is also found here:
health.iafrica.com fitness online running Cramp: every runner's nightmare
Another misconception is that lactic acid (melksuur) build-up causes cramp. This is patently incorrect. High levels of lactic acid in the muscle contribute to fatigue and the inability to sustain a particular exercise intensity by interfering with muscle contraction. On the contrary cramp is a sustained muscle contraction. Lactic acid is generated during high intensity exercise where oxygen delivery to the muscle is insufficient to meet the demand. In endurance events oxygen transport is not a limiting factor, so lactic acid production is minimal. Also, lactic acid does not stay in muscle for very long - it is shunted off to the liver to be recycled into more glucose. It does not form crystals, either in the muscle or anywhere else, so this additional explanation for cramp and also muscle pain is also without physiological foundation.
So - if you are laboring under the idea that you have lactic acid crystals in your body or some other form of lactic acid poop fagetaboutit. Not true. A massage feels great - I absolutely endorse getting a massage at every opportunity but know this - it isn't about your crystals, it's all about your chakras.
To those of you who are anti-choice I would ask this question. If you or your daughter or your wife or your sister or a good female friend was jumped one day or night while leaving the movies, the shopping mall, school or just sitting at home; and if that unwanted assault resulted in a pregnancy, do you really, really believe that that woman who never wanted that man's penis in her body - who never asked to have his seed deposited where it could reach one of her eggs - should have to endure 9 months of pregnancy and then give birth to this unwanted alien? Do you really think that it is a woman's burden to bear any baby she might conceive regardless of the conditions under which conception was initiated?
And what if it happens because her Daddy gets in her bed at night while Mommy is asleep and tells her he loves her and while sliding down her panties whispers, "don't cry honey, daddy loves you - this is okay but it's our little secret" while he forces his penis in her vagina? Or maybe it isn't her Daddy - maybe it's her Uncle Bob who is visiting for Christmas or maybe it's just a friend of her parents. Is she supposed to be forced to have that baby? What if she is only a teenager of 13 or 14?
And what if a woman learns that her baby has an enlarged head and that the size of the baby's head will kill the mother and the child will never have a fighting chance at any sort of life and will be dead within days of birth? Does that mother have to see it through and hope she lives to tell the tale?
Now try writing legislation that says it's okay to have an abortion or to take the morning after pill if any of the things listed above happen but not for any other reason. Attempt to write legislation that protects women from having babies that were forced upon them or that will kill them but will make any other kind illegal.
You can't do it. It isn't even possible. Even if you could word the legislation correctly how do you enforce that? How can you ever really know? If rape or incest are the only legally allowed pre-conditions for abortion how many false reports of rape do you suppose will be filed? Most rapes go unreported so going to a doctor after the fact and claiming rape and making up a credible story woudn't be that hard - and to what end?
No - the reason we must forever give women the right to choose is because it is the woman who is having the baby. You can feel horrible about terminated pregnancies. You can see it as an act against God but you who are not the woman effected by the pregnancy have no right to tell her that it is her burden as a woman to endure under any circumstance. The choice must always be hers just as it is today by order of the Supreme Court of the United States of America.
Every night before his mother could go to bed, she scrubbed his everything (but the paintings) until everything (but the paintings) returned to their original form. The boy, at the time, didn't feel guilty about putting his mother to work, because cleaning was part of what made his mother his mother.
If you are a Mother you know that this is precisely how children think no matter how many times we yell "Why do you leave this place such a mess!" The whole story is quite remarkable. I kept expecting that it would turn out to be a shaggy dog story but no - it is not. It is simply a story that tells a truth with which we are all too familiar. Nice work Jeremy and welcome!
This is supposes to make us feel bad:
Only those who have seen its teeth truly grasp the arbitrary power of the Enron Task Force to threaten, browbeat and intimidate those witnesses it may select. Should one of them dare to defend himself he is faced with intolerable legal expenses and the ultimate uncertainty of litigation which, if successful, exposes him to a life sentence in prison without parole and the probable forfeiture of all his assets. If successful, he is left with astronomical legal expenses and untold emotional damage.
Do you feel bad? Neither do I.
Alas, I find that although I’m very much in step with what is happening, the times they are a changin'. For one thing, I had to raise my kids without benefit of a Boppy or a Bubmo seat and the baby sling thing, although ancient, is new to Western parenting (I had a snugli that required a 2 week intensive to figure out how to use and I damned near broke my kid’s arms getting them in and out. They don't even make 'em like THAT any more - no link!) On the other hand our strollers did not cost $750, did not have latte holders and did not make it easy for us to park our kids in a plastic bucket and just carry them around (a practice I abhor). We were not tyrannized by the ‘Attachment Parenting’ brigade (I'm a natural born attchment parent but I support others in choosing whatever works for them) although the forceful La Leche Commandos could be a problem (note – I did NOT use the “N” word because the internets have taught me better), if you let them (I did nurse all 3 of my children but that was just my choice). Babies slept on their tummies because we were afraid they would choke to death in their own spit up if we put them on their backs. Little did we know we were setting them up for SIDS. 21stCentury parents have to be ever more vigilant to nocturnal death. Good thing they have those video baby monitors – we only had audio. We had far fewer vaccinations to deal with and there was nothing like the very questionable chickenpox vaccination on the market – they just got chickenpox and that was that. Certain medical/psychological issues that were known but uncommon in the late 20th Century are on the rise now. ADHD, ADD, Autism, fatal peanut allergies, just to name a few. I believe current statistics indicate that you can’t just dismiss some of these trends as being the result of new diagnostic practices although some seem to be possibly due to irresponsibly fervent labeling and over treatment.
As if all of that isn’t enough we have the Internet. Kids are serious Internet users and there is a whole new set of issues that goes with that. In the SF Chron there is a little back page piece called Public eavesdropping that had this entry the other day:
"Do you know your whole name?"
"Ethan.''
"That's your first name. What's your last name?''
Dot com.''
Conversation between toddler Ethan Swope and his proud eavesdropping dad, David.
Ah – those 21st Century Kids! They don’t know where the internet stops and their lives begin.
That same day the Zits comic looked like this:
And so it is – college bound kids are under tremendous pressure to perform. You would never know that from all of the bad press about how poorly the schools are preparing them and all of the “No Child Left Behind” BS. Where are those naysayers when parents are gifting their beach houses to the pre-school of their choice just so they can get on the waiting list? In any case, by the time they get to High School they know how to get help with their papers by going to Spark Notes, or even finding a suitable paper that has already been submitted for use. Teachers are forced to figure out how to keep up on the other side because if you stick with traditional learning methodologies in a technologically advanced world you just end of playing 'who is the foxiest internet user'.
Social interactions between kids have been changed dramatically by the interent, most notably My Space and Instant messaging. There is a whole new, low risk way to test the waters of your casual acquaintances. There is a whole new way to find out that you have not been invited to parties given by people you thought were your friends. There are admissions of adoration the likes of which might have sent us to the nut house when we were high school. There are photos of our kids in various forms of undress and debauchery. There is sharing and camaraderie. There is a really easy way to nurture long distance relationships with camp buddies. Good and Bad and In Between the Internet is having a profound impact on kids lives.
So what do I really write about? Paris Hilton and my cooter. I think it might be time to get back to my original intentions.
Both of them got straight As.
Babies, you done your Mama proud!
If you are anti-choice don't bother posting a comment letting me know that - I'll just delete it. It's my blog and I get to do what I want with it.
Won't you drop me a line???
ps - I'm playing with my template - it will be a while before I get it right. Please stand by.....
I'm not sure what will happen when it comes time to run again but run I shall because I already paid my charter member registration fee (a mere $75!) and I'm in, baby. I am soooo in. Thanks today and every day to all of you real runners because I take a lot of inspiration from your blogs. Especially Jeanne because I have a long distance, internet based girl crush on her. I hope her Mom is doing better.
I'd say I'm going to resolve in 2006 to be more interesting and work harder to increase my readership but I'd be lying. I do this for my own amusement. The blogosphere has gotten huge and I've never been one to try to grab attention in a crowd. I'm not about to start now but I will keep writing because what else am I going to do with all of those crazy thoughts that rattle around in my head? I hope that from time to time I give you a laugh or a sense of kinship. Hang in there and I'll try to make it worth your while.
These are cruel times for vaginas. Lately, as if I don't have enough to worry about, with the deadline on various unkept 2005 resolutions fast upon me, I have begun obsessing about various aspects of my genital appearance.
She goes on to expose and lampoon (poon- get it?) all the various cooter taming procedures that are becoming so popular - Brazilian wax (oh no - there's hair down there! remove! remove!), labial sculpting, vaginal tightening and the truly incomprehensible hymen reattachment (because that brand of searing pain just once is not enough - we need more!).
Okay, I confess that I do shave my bikini line and I might even do a little trimming but come at my yoni with a bowl of hot wax and I'll gouge your eyes out.
All I can say is the very day that someone decides saggy, hairy testicles are a problem in need of hot wax and a knife is the day esthetology will be outlawed across the board. Fight back ladies - set your cooters free!
