The Land of Lin

Win a Book of Poetry!

2011-12-08T20:26:00.003-05:00

From Dec. 7 - 14, 2011 the Poetic Muselings (six Muse Conference friends) are having a crazy contest at their web site http:poetic-muselings.net with a book of our poetry called Lifelines as the prize.

To win, you must provide us with the most awesome answer to a few questions:

-- Who is your favorite poet?

-- What is your favorite poem?

-- Why?

Now, a cool thing about this contest is that your favorite poem may be a stand-alone you discovered -- not necessarily by your favorite poet. And the answer to the question "Why?" is the critical piece. Why did you choose this poet? Why this particular poem? What is it that resonates with you, or just won't let go?

We anticipate serious arm-wrestling and shouting by the end, as we select the ONE set of responses we feel best captures the essence of why we write, what moves us, creates unforgettable imagery . . . and we'd like your help to drive us nuts in this process. The winner will receive a copy of Lifelines, mailed to your house.

And, if you have a blog or website and would be interested in connecting to us or spreading the word, please let us know. We're starting a blogroll.

So -- thank you for reading this, and we hope you will have some fun and enter our contest.

Soul Collage Blog Party

2010-07-30T19:29:00.003-04:00

My two most recent cards followed by a slide show of cards on the Gulf of Mexico Crisis. Enjoy!

Summoning the Gray Fox Totem

I Dream of Dancing But Have Two Left Feet

Gulf of Mexico Crisis Slide Show

Slideshow made with Smilebox

Soul Collage for the Gulf Oil Crisis

2010-07-18T23:49:00.002-04:00

I was moved to make 7 Soul Collage cards for the healing of the Gulf of Mexico, its animals, plant life, waters and people. OK, maybe I got a bit carried away, but I was moved by the Spirit. That and a stack of awesome National Geographics. May the Spirit of Healing be upon them all. I'll be posting a card a day till I have them all posted, so keep looking till you see the dolphin card- that's the earliest one.

Heal the Birds and the Marshlands

2010-07-17T20:11:00.001-04:00

Heal the Whales and the Gulf People

2010-07-13T18:14:00.001-04:00

Heal the Fishes and Plants

2010-07-11T21:22:00.001-04:00

Heal the Birds and the Fishermen

2010-07-11T21:19:00.001-04:00

Heal the Turtles

2010-07-09T11:34:00.003-04:00

Heal the Gulf People and the Coral

2010-07-08T21:56:00.004-04:00

Heal the Dolphins

2010-07-08T00:22:00.004-04:00

Vicious Verses and Reanimated Rhymes: Zombie Fare for the Mind!

2009-08-11T23:05:00.001-04:00

I'm in print for the first time!

My Zombie poem "Amore, Zombie Style" is appearing in the anthology Vicious Verses and Reanimated Rhymes: Zany Zombie Poetry for the Undead Head, just released August 11th.

I am extremely excited to see my name in print and on real paper, dammit, for the first time. The anthology is stuffed with poems, so if you're into Zombies- or poetry- let your fingers walk on over to Amazon and pick up a couple of copies as a Halloween surprise for your best ghoul-friends.

Just a Dog

2009-01-18T12:34:00.006-05:00

From Point A to Point B: Making Art Again

2008-09-16T23:46:00.012-04:00

Thanks, Lacey!

I think my recently passed dog Lacey wants to see her Mama doing something she loves. I knew when I heard her ghostly dog tags mysteriously jingling that she was telling me "Get on with things you love- I know you haven't forgotten me".

It's still lonesome here in my computer room/quasi art studio because she always laid under my desk. Still I feel her presence strongly in here, and it keeps me good company, as my other dog Smokey is as quiet as a church mouse. He's feeling the loss too.

As far as getting from Point A to Point B, I joined a collage group seven weeks ago and make a collage a week. I also joined a mandala group a few weeks later. How on earth are those two things related? Well, both involve art, and both are ways I've been expressing my creative urges and my emotions. And recent events have brought the emotions to the forefront.

This week my collage was about art and the spirit it evokes in me, the urge to play. Our animals teach us about this important part of life every day but we often ignore it as silly or childish or foolish. But we really need it. It keeps us balanced and healthy. The animals know it but we forget. So the collage was called "The Point Is Play, Play, Play" and here it is:

I got some good feedback on it and was pleased with it. I had been playing with some new filters for my graphics program today so when I got a challenge to create a mandala with an Autumn feel to it, remembering Lacey and Smokey's past antics, I decided to play.

I got out the central image of the collage, the woman in orange, and used a new kaleidescope filter on it that had all kinds of settings to play with. I dialed away, moved sliders and just had fun, till I finally came up with this image.

I cropped it into a circle, and voila, instant flame medicine wheel. I wanted to do more though. I brought in a second image, a photo I took of some faded yellow Ixoras, seen here.

I cropped that to get the best bits of the flowers. Then I got brave enough to try making a mask with an alpha channel - my first ever - and was successful. I loaded in the flowers as partially transparent and moved them around to look the best with the medicine wheel, using the mask to get rid of the unwanted parts of the flowers.

Last I played with the color and added an edge and a drop shadow, as well as a background. One final cropping and I was done. Here it is, Autumn Medicine Wheel:

You'd never believe one picture would lead to another, would you?

It just goes to show, we have an innate need to play. So go outside (or inside) and do it!

Almost 14 Years of Love and Devotion

2008-08-27T22:20:00.005-04:00

Lacey

1994-2008

I lost my sweet, beloved Sheltie Lacey to cancer today. Life had ceased to be a thing of joy and adventure and instead become full of lassitude and pain, so I elected to end her suffering and set her feet onto the Rainbow Bridge. I know she waits for me, happy and whole, and will be wondering what takes me so long.

She was my nurse dog, always first on the scene to investigate and treat any owies with a good licking and gentle nudging. For a long time she shared a pillow on my bed, keeping away nightmares, until arthritis made it too difficult to jump that high up. She was my intrepid adventurer, sneaking out of the fence on voyages of exploration, assisted by kind neighbors returning her home when they found my phone number on her collar. And she was my four-legged alarm system, alerting to any suspicious activity in a two-block area like it was her own personal front yard. Then too she would perform her duties as the welcome wagon at the vets as we waited our turn, going around the room to visit with everyone, two-legged or four.

She taught me patience, unconditional love, and the power of cheese. I will be lost without her. I have her collar in my purse and it will be going up around her picture- it still carries her scent. I got a few strands of her beautiful orange and white fur as a memento as well. But nothing takes the ache away, only time. This poem helps a bit, as well-

The Loss of a Heart-Dog

I stood by your bed last night,
I came to have a peep
I could see that you were crying,
you found it hard to sleep

I whined to you softly as
you brushed away a tear,
"it's me, I haven't left,
I'm well, I'm fine, I'm here"

I was close to you at breakfast,
I watched you pour the tea
You were thinking of the many times,
your hands reached down to me

I was with you at the shops today,
your arms were getting sore
I longed to take your parcels,
I wish you could do more

I was with you at my grave today,
you tend it with such care
I want to reassure you,
that I'm not lying there

I walked with you towards the house,
as you fumbled for your key
I gently put my paw on you,
I smiled and said "it's me"

You look so very tired,
and sank into a chair
I tried so hard to let you know,
that I was standing there

It's possible for me,
to be so near you everyday
To say to you with certainty,
"I never went away"

You sat there very quietly,
then smiled, I think you knew
In the stillness of that evening,
I was very close to you

The day is over,
I smile and watch you yawning
And say "goodnight, God bless,
I'll see you in the morning"

And when the time is right for you
to cross the brief divide,
I'll rush across to greet you
and we'll stand, side by side

I have so many things to show you,
there is so much for you to see
Be patient, live your journey out,
then come home to be with me.

- Author Unknown

That consoles me, that I will see her faithful soul running towards me again up there. It must be a wonderful place. Two things though I hope they got straight: dogs need to live as long as we humans do, and God needs to let dogs sit on the sofa in Heaven. It's much homier that way.

12 Foods You Should Alway Buy Organic

2008-08-08T15:25:00.008-04:00

From Dr Weil: http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02985/12-Foods-You-Should-Always-Buy-Organic.html

The Environmental Working Group (www.ewg.org)
is a nonprofit organization that advocates in Washington D.C., for policies that protect global and individual health. Among the many valuable services they provide is a Shoppers' Guide to Pesticides in Produce.

It is based on the results of nearly 43,000 pesticide tests performed on produce and collected by federal agencies between 2000 and 2004. Nearly all of the data used took into account how people typically wash and prepare produce - for example, apples were washed and bananas peeled before testing.

Of the 43 different fruit and vegetable categories tested, these had the highest pesticide load, making them the most important to buy organic versions - or to grow organically yourself:

Peaches
Apples
Sweet bell peppers
Celery
Nectarines
Strawberries
Cherries
Lettuce
Grapes (imported)
Pears
Spinach
Potatoes

Why should you care about pesticides? The EWG points out that there is a growing consensus in the scientific community that small doses of pesticides and other chemicals can have adverse effects on health, especially during vulnerable periods such as fetal development and childhood.

A few other notes from the EWG: Nectarines had the highest percentage of samples that tested positive for pesticides (97.3 percent) followed by peaches (96.6 percent) and apples (93.6 percent). Peaches had the
highest likelihood for multiple pesticides on a single sample: 86.6 percent had two or more pesticide residues.

Also keep in mind that maintaining your family's health is not the only reason to choose organic food. Pesticide and herbicide use contaminates groundwater, ruins soil structures and promotes erosion, and may be a contributor to "colony collapse disorder," the sudden and mysterious die-off of pollinating honeybees that threatens the American food supply. Buying or growing organic food is good for the health of the planet.

Failure-Smailure!

2008-08-05T13:48:00.009-04:00

"A failure a day is success on the way!"
- Lin Neiswender

I came up with this meaningful quote yesterday, in a discussion about Redefining Failure at Coach Creative Space. Nick pointed out the vital necessity of frequent failures on the path to success, and that we should be seeking out failures, not running away from them, as they are getting us closer to our goals. That struck me as so profound, and whammo, the quote was born. Thank you for that Nick, and Dan for establishing the discussion.

I used the motivation from the quote to do my first collage - shown above - for an artists' collage group called Collage Play (info about it here) that I just joined. I was nervous about my virgin effort- what if it was awful? What if my style was nothing like anyone else's? In short, what if I sucked at this? But I did it anyway, printing off things I had made that I thought would go together with the required elements, changing some of the graphics, scaling them and altering the colors, playing.

And a funny thing happened. I started getting excited about the process, and started having fun. Isn't that what creativity is all about, the process? The fun? So even if the end product had been ugly, it still would have been OK. I would have had great pleasure making it. The piece is called the Queen of the Meadowlark Palace. And, paradoxically, I don't think it is ugly. Whew!

Well, got to go get busy now and seek out some new failures. Success is calling my name!

Take That Tiny Step

2008-07-30T17:18:00.003-04:00

Here's a quote I ran across this afternoon in the lung health group I belong to, where they were talking about outliving their predicted mortality and mentioned this strategy: Do something about it. "If it's to be it's up to me."

Many times I find myself whining and complaining and then totally failing to take even one baby step to help myself. This makes all the whining and complaining for nothing, and irritates my friends and family to boot! Inertia is easy; it's the status quo, business as usual. It's when I decide to get off my duff and do something about my situation, however small the step, that magical things start to happen. The universe or God or my Higher Power sends things or people I need into my path, where it is then my responsibility to connect with them and or use them to move myself forward. Don't let depression or inertia or despair hold you back any longer. Take that tiny step today! And make your universe a brighter space.

Like Science Fiction and like to laugh? Download "Hal Spacejock" - Free!

2008-06-07T09:10:00.005-04:00

"Fast, funny, quirky, enthralling comedy adventure" Tom Holt

Hal Spacejock Cover

The Hal Spacejock series is published by Fremantle Press & distributed by Penguin Australia

To celebrate the release of Simon Haynes's latest novel, Hal Spacejock: No Free Lunch, Fremantle Press is giving away free electronic copies of the first book in the series! Read this free novel on your PDA or computer screen, or print the whole manuscript off and read it on paper. Whichever you choose, you get the whole book exactly as published, completely free.

Even if you're not interested - what about sons, daughters, nephews, neighbours, nieces, grandkids, fellow workers, friends, enemies ... Give them all a treat!

Here's the link: http://www.spacejock.com.au/Hal1Download.html

We Heart You , Miss Snark

2008-05-20T01:41:00.003-04:00

May 20th, 2008, marks the first anniversary of literary maven Miss Snark, the Literary Agent's final blog post. The woman- or was it a man?- made an impact on wannabe writers throughout the country, gathering a following of avid Snarklings who turned to her for writing advice, humor, and a reality check with every delicious post.

I made my goal of getting (anonomously) into the blog with the Killer Yap Sex Toy Contribution ("Killer Yap is not amused" http://misssnark.blogspot.com/2007_04_15_archive.html) and making Miss Snark almost shoot coffee out her nose. Sorry it couldn't have been for my literary genius, but I took what I could get. I was so saddened when it all came to an end a short time later. I miss her every day. But there is still plenty of writing gold to be mined there, so new writers, do check out the archives. You will be amazed. And amused.

Perhaps the Snarklings' dearest wish will someday come true and Miss Snark will come out of retirement, but then again, I have to respect her wishes if she doesn't want to write us a sequel. Two million plus visitors wore out the welcome mat. It would take George Clooney in red stiletto heels to lure her back out, and I don't think they make them in his size.

DreamLand Calls: New Discovery Health Series "In Your Wildest Dreams"

2008-03-29T22:41:00.001-04:00

I caught about 45 minutes of a television program today that absolutely fascinated me called "In Your Wildest Dreams" on Discovery Health today, Saturday, 2 PM eastern. In it, three people whose recurring or frightening dreams were impacting their lives received help from professional dream interpreter Lauri Loewenberg in learning to recall, decipher, and ultimately control their dreams. It was eye-opening. If you get a chance to see it on repeat, check it out. I believe it is the start of a regular series. Loewenberg has a dream interpretation book but I haven't had a chance yet to check it out. Her interpretations were right on the money for these people.

The Source of Creativity

2008-03-12T12:49:00.001-04:00

Some major kewl info on creativity found on the website of Charlotte Rains Dixon called "This is Your Brain When it is Creative", here. At least for jazz musicians, an MRI has shown that creativity is like a dream state: "Creativity in the form of jazz improv utilized the same parts of the brain as dreaming. First of all inhibition switched off and then self expression switched on. The musicians also showed heightened sensory awareness, with areas associated with touch, hearing and sight lighting up."

While the areas may turn out to be different for writing and art, the implications are staggering. Are we at last onto the source of the wellspring of our creativity, and on our way into tapping into it directly, not just by chance?

Mixed Bag of Chips (er, Tips) for the Diet

2008-03-10T11:32:00.001-04:00

From Real Age and Prevention

100 Ways to Save 100 Calories:
http://www.prevention.com/100calories/

Peanuts- Good For Your Diet!
http://www.realage.com/ct/eat-smart/food-and-nutrition/tip/5227

Fresher Breath With Food:
http://realage.typepad.com/food_bites/2007/07/5-foods-that-fi.html

Why You Should Be Eating Brown Rice:
http://www.realage.com/ct/eat-smart/food-and-nutrition/tip/5185

Recipe for "A Gilding of Shrimp and Saffron Rice":
http://www.realage.com/NutritionCenter/Recipes/A_Gilding_of_Shrimp_and_Saffron_Rice.aspx

A Picture Worth a Thousand Words

2008-03-02T09:48:00.002-05:00

This is a series of four poems on the seasons, each two-hundred and fifty words, to make up a picture worth a thousand words.

I wish you could see it in it's full size format but it's way too big for here.

So here is the text for each season:

Winter

Winter’s frosty reign opens cold but serene,
Austere and clear, echoing across frozen lakes
The death of the green and the living
It seems, masked in ice crystals, sleet and snow,
Shivering in the chill air, waiting and still
A dark night creeping upon us in midday,
Something gray and ominous and unwanted
That steals our breath away and freezes it
Unyielding and too strong for us to fight
So we surrender to it and give in as it
Dims our eyes with a storm of stinging white
A cold embrace from an opened door
That sends feet scurrying back within
To seek a warm fire or loving arms
But once more frozen in time, until
One day seeing the beauty of a single snowflake,
As it dances its way down to the snowbank
Or witnessing black bare branches silhouetted
Against a bluer backdrop that heads toward March,
Its beauty and perfection jogs loose memories and we
Realize the earth didn’t die and pass away into darkness,
It just lay asleep, silently dreaming
Nodding and turning over onto her other side, to wait
For the resting time to rejuvenate soil and sky,
Regenerating creatures too, bodies and souls alike
The peaceful, silent days required to
Make all things clean and pristine, culling
The weak and those whose time was at an end
Old feelings and old thinkings both alike
Waiting for the proper time to start
Thawing and repeat the process all over again,
Winter, when all of life begins

Spring

Spring time earth soil warming slowly, root hairs
Tingling, stretching out underground, prodding
Earthworms to reclaim dark soil, as grasses’ roots
Push their way to the surface in a burst of green
So shocking it almost hurts the eyes after
All the somber colors of the cold time, stark trees
Put on new garments of fresh color, budding into flowers
While far below tubers prepare to release the blossoms held within
Tulips, hyacinths, daffodils with their pungent scents announcing
Light and color has returned to the world, reflected in pools of rainshowers
Let spirits rejoice with the woodland and the field, drinking in
The rich jewel tones of red and yellow and purple, regal enough for any king
To wear as proud plumage, like the birds that call, announcing their joy
To mate and bear young, replenish the skies with new life as
Flowers and trees and grasses and weeds replenish the face of the earth mother
She is pleased and sends out her blessings and benediction, richness
Overflowing as the flowers set fruit and the eggs are laid,
Cubs and kits are born, the acorn forms in microcosm, and winter
Becomes a distant memory, life is moving fast, a blur, quickly spurred
By a rhythm that tolerates no delay, no pausing by the way, only
The quickening of the earth and all its creatures, including us,
We who would set ourselves apart from this cycle, but really
Are as much a part as any other, observer, participant, and lover

Summer
Summer rolls in lazy and soft, her countenance hot and hazy
From a distance, we doze, lying under laden peach trees sucking
Rosy flesh from fuzzy skins, juices running freely down our chins
While bees hum over our heads and butterflies alight to sip nectar
Here in this wilderness garden a thousand plants bloom with abandon,
Lantana with its prickly stems and golden heads of tiny flowers,
Trails of white clover, perfect for threading into blossom
Necklaces, crowns for our heads, bracelets, and rings,
Our little fingers find, digging right down among the grass
Hiding way down low, bright delicate strawberries
Nestling there, from tiny nub to sweet luscious orb, sprinkled
With tiny seeds that shine on the ripe surface sublime
We plunder them too, more juices streaking our skins,
Our leavings attracting the white doves who peck at the bitten fruit
Then we spy not far away, over a low stone wall another delight
With a thousand shades of red and pink and yellow
The rose garden so tangled and wild, a faint path
That winds through sun baked field heady and nodding
With their spicy scent, the two, the fruit and the flower,
Scarlet rose-hips nodding in rhythm while rose petals ruffle
In rare breezes, here we can only look with wonder and breathe deep
The perfume guarded by spiky thorns, stems too strong for surrender
To young hands, they go free of our plundering ways and know
They will survive the end of our pirate summer days

Autumn

Autumn unfurls carpets of bright wheat, ripening in fields
Rippling proudly by strong northern winds snapping cold
Sharp air that makes the chest expand with joy at being alive
Relief from the heat of the season past, now glowing with energy
Gourds and pumpkins snake their way over land
Yellows and golds, striped, and rusty orange with dark green leaves
Earthy potatoes huddling underground to breed white flesh
Tall gnarled trees dangling shiny crimson apples come to ripeness
People in sweat-stained, worn clothes swarm gardens and fields
Hay falls before machines and rolls into great shocks
Corn stands at attention and then leans into tents of stalks
Harvest is readied to be scythed and bundled, then trundled away
To granaries and silos, to be salted, dried and preserved,
By wise, knowing young or ancient hands, in jars and crocks
Filled to the brim for the empty season that lies ahead
A rich time, a turning time, a winnowing time
When the world waits for the bounty to be stowed away
Red squirrels gather stores of acorns from stately trees
Oak leaves evolve from sage to yellow to burnished amber,
Dark veins tracing patterns in leathery matrix, falling
And spiraling down down down to the damp ground
Wind piling them in drifts of colors all mixed, a blaze
Of fall’s chaotic design, a kaleidoscope that shifts
With every breeze, frost coming on with setting sun
Bonfire burns brother oak’s beauty to soot and ash
Announcing to all, this season is done

Stress-Buster Guaranteed

2008-02-28T14:25:00.005-05:00

"A little more to the left. Ah, perfect!"

Five More Diet-Friendly Real Age Hints

2008-02-25T11:28:00.002-05:00

Fabulous Five from Real Age
http://www.realage.com/index.aspx

Pick the Best Breakfasts:
http://www.realage.com/NutritionCenter/Articles.aspx?aid=10377

Get a Good Night's Sleep With These Foods:
http://realage.typepad.com/food_bites/2007/04/the_secret_to_g.html

Healthy Nails Start Here:
http://www.realage.com/ct/tips/5111

Best and Worst at Chain Restaurants:
http://realage.typepad.com/food_bites/2007/07/best-and-worst-.html

Weekly Yum Recipe: Balsamic Vinegar-Spiked Strawberries
http://www.realage.com/NutritionCenter/Recipes/Balsamic_Vinegar_Spiked_Strawberries.aspx

Real Age Diet Tips Round-up

2008-02-22T12:13:00.007-05:00

This week's health and diet-tips round-up from Real-Age

A must-read on the Healthy Fats needed to balance out the bad ones:

http://www.realage.com/ct/eat-smart/food-and-nutrition/tip/5073

Fruit: Brain Food- Who Knew?

http://www.realage.com/ct/tips/5031

How many steps equal "Active"?

http://www.realage.com/ct/tips/5066

Whole-grain Goodness for your health:

http://www.realage.com/ct/tips/2613

The Power of the Pomegranate:

http://www.realage.com/ct/tips/2607

Five More Diet Tips From National Body Challenge

2008-02-19T16:59:00.006-05:00

Five Hot Tips from National Body Challenge

Update how you grocery shop with this Supermarket Guide:

http://health.discovery.com/national-body-challenge/eating-well/supermarket-guide.html

Simple stretches to start your workday:
http://health.discovery.com/national-body-challenge/promo/stretching.html

Portion Distortion Quiz- how do YOU measure up?
http://health.discovery.com/national-body-challenge/adults/portion-distortion/portion.html

Get out THIS calculator to figure your Target Heart Rate:
http://health.discovery.com/tools/calculators/hrc/hrc.html

Cook it up- Blue Ribbon Meatloaf- true yum, small bum!
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/meatloaf.html

New Collage "Geisha Memories"

2008-02-18T11:36:00.006-05:00

Geisha Memories

I quite enjoyed making this collage yesterday 2/17/08 as I was in a mood for some Asian flair and had fun looking for just the right images, one of which I colored myself. I used a weaving technique to unify the two different background papers which worked quite well.

Valentine's Day Images Hurray!

2008-02-14T12:06:00.004-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here is my take on the holiday from the pages of my Art Journal. I'm just a beginner at this and don't have any cool quotes or anything written in, since my handwriting is so totally crappy and illegible. But I had fun with the collage: finding a site with real sheet music- this one was for a romantic waltz which I graphically tinted and printed out, and the images were from various free sites on the web. I am so enjoying my color laser printer but I'm using up yellow toner at a prodigious rate ($$$)! Still, here it is -

Diet-Tip Mania! from National Body Challenge

2008-02-12T10:21:00.000-05:00

Can you tell I'm on lots of email lists??? Diet tips from this week's National Body Challenge.

How Many Calories to Lose Weight?
http://health.discovery.com/national-body-challenge/eating-well/calories.html

Keeping a Food Diary:
http://health.discovery.com/national-body-challenge/eating-well/food-diary.html

All About Healthy Eating:
http://health.discovery.com/national-body-challenge/eating-well/healthy-eating.html

Good Eats in Restaurants:
http://health.discovery.com/national-body-challenge/eating-well/restaurants.html

Walk-a-Lot:
http://health.discovery.com/national-body-challenge/eating-well/walk-more.html

Dieting: Goodies From RealAge

2008-02-11T12:34:00.001-05:00

Some diet-friendly goodies from this week's RealAge:

Mixed Tips: http://www.realage.com/ct/tips/4918/

Smart Scents: http://www.realage.com/ct/tips/4929/

Guide to Fats: http://realage.typepad.com/food_bites/2007/07/good-and-bad-fa.html
Awesome Strawberry (great recipe): http://www.realage.com/ct/tips/4948

In Praise of Yogurt: http://www.realage.com/ct/tips/2860

Double Meme

2008-02-10T12:32:00.006-05:00

Got double-tagged for a meme from friend Karen at http://www.justmorewords.com/2008/02/ive-been-tagged.html.

Here's the rules:

Part 1

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages.)
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.

I picked up "Self-Editing For Fiction Writers" and guess what? Page 123, including the illustration, only has three sentences! So I'm off the hook. However I would like to mention that I'm learning a lot from the book, like what a conversational "beat" is (ask me!)...

Part 2 Answer these questions:

1. If you could do anything you want to, what would it be?

Live by the ocean.

2. If you could paint the whole world 1 (one) colour - what would it be?

Peacock blue.

3. Would you rather be an animal or a person?

My dogs have it pretty easy so enough said.

4. If you said animal - which one?
Dog.

5. Do flowers talk?

Only to other flowers.

6. Have you ever known that a spirit from another realm was nearby?

Yes, once in a good way, once in a bad way.

7. Add your own question here.

Have you ever had a dream that later came true?

Now, Link back to the person who tagged you.
That was Karen, above.

Tag five new people.
Tagging German, Carla, Becca, Gail R, and Gail C. Feel free to email if you don't have a blog.

That Dieting Thang

2008-01-22T23:12:00.001-05:00

That Dieting Thang, Ya'll/Youse Guys

It's the third week of January, pushing into the fourth, and many of us are hitting the diet-for-2008-slump. The new is wearing off both our slimmed down menus and our resolutions. Time to kick it back up a notch as we continue on our weight loss journey.

Here are some goodies I culled from a newsletter and web site. Click on the headings to select. I call it - "The Cream of the Crop" from
National Body Challenge.

Calculate Your BMI (Body Mass Index)
A little plug in the numbers and play. Gives you the bare minimum you need to lose to get back in the happy, healthy part of the graph.

Handling Cravings
Strategies for defeating those dastardly cravings that threaten to derail us at every turn.

Eating Mindfully
Pay some attention to what you're putting in your mouth- really! It's good for you...

Healthy Cooking Tips (plus recipes)
Not just healthy but also fast ways to get something on the table so you don't let hunger make you do something stupid.

Stress Eating
Yes, there are alternatives to that late-night double-fudge half-gallon of ice cream!

Chris Jordan's Stats: Hits You in the Gut

2008-01-16T13:27:00.001-05:00

Photographer/Artist Chris Jordan has a gift for translating icy, dry statistics into art that hits you right in the gut, as these selections from an article by Richard Woodward detail.

Be sure you check out the interactive presentation to see the art in the "Numbers in Art" interactive feature.

The illustration shows a few of the nine million building blocks in the massive piece representing U.S. children without health insurance, a shameful statistic since such children are twice as likely to die from medical issues as those who are insured.

Chris Jordan Numbers Photo Essay - Portfolio.com

Running the Numbers

by Richard B. Woodward January 2008 Issue

Photographer Chris Jordan turns cold, hard stats into provocative statements on economics, culture, and the American way of life.

Chris Jordan keeps his eyes open for staggering statistics, and the more alarming the better. What sets his 44-year-old heart racing is some new figure expressing American excess and neglect--the number of disposable batteries manufactured by Energizer every year (6 billion) or plastic beverage bottles used every five minutes (2 million) or children without health insurance (9 million). Think of him as the unofficial artist of the Harper's Index.

The puzzlelike photographs he makes in response to these big numbers are designed to illustrate "the scale of consumption of 300 million people" and what such rampant profligacy, if unchecked, might mean for the future of the planet. He has completed 19 pieces for the sardonic series he calls "Running the Numbers: An American Self-Portrait," and he has more in the works.

Please check out the rest of the article.

Low-Energy Bulbs: Still Need the Old Ones

2008-01-06T10:43:00.000-05:00

In light of global warming and our depleted energy resources, many nations, including the US and Britain, are starting the process to phase out incandescent light bulbs in favor of energy-saving ones. Some problems that were not considered are now coming to light, as these excerpts from a British article show. As I take medication that makes me sensitive to light, I hope I will still be able to buy the bulbs I need to remain healthy in my own home!

BBC NEWS Health: Low-energy bulbs worsen rashes

The switch to energy-saving light bulbs may put thousands at risk of painful skin reactions, health charities warn.

Fluorescent bulbs can exacerbate skin rashes in people with photosensitive skin conditions, experts said.

The government is planning to prevent the sale of conventional bulbs by 2011 to cut carbon dioxide emissions.

Several groups including the British Association of Dermatologists called for exemptions to allow those affected to continue using traditional bulbs.But representatives of the lighting industry said there would be alternatives to fluorescent lighting available.

Health conditions which can involve some form of light sensitivity, include the auto-immune disease lupus, the genetic disorder Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP), certain forms of eczema and dermatitis, photosensitivity, and porphyria.

Other groups have warned that low-energy bulbs, which use approximately a quarter of the energy of conventional bulbs, cause migraines and increase the risk of seizures in people with epilepsy.

Campaigners want people who have light sensitive conditions to be able to continue to buy conventional bulbs for their homes.

They warned that employers must also be able to purchase incandescent lighting as employees have a right to such adjustments under the terms of the Disability Discrimination Act.

The switch to energy-saving light bulbs may put thousands at risk of painful skin reactions, health charities warn.

Conventional or "incandescent" bulbs are being phased out in a voluntary agreement with retailers and will no longer be on sale from December 2011.

Andrew Langford, chief executive officer of the Skin Care Campaign, one of the charities involved, said: "Incandescent light bulbs are the only source of electric light for many thousands of people with light sensitive conditions.

"Add to this the thousands of people whose conditions or treatments may secondarily cause them to be light sensitive, and you have a large number of people potentially being isolated in the dark.

"We certainly don't want to say no to greener bulbs just that other bulbs need to be available."

Dr Colin Holden, President of the British Association of Dermatologists, said: "It is important that patients with photosensitive skin eruptions are allowed to use lights that don't exacerbate their condition.

"It is essential that such patients are able to protect themselves from specific wavelengths of light emitted by fluorescent bulbs, especially as they are often trapped indoors because they can't venture out in natural sunlight."

Kevin Verdun, chief executive of the lighting association said only two-thirds of incandescent bulbs were being phased out.

"These things have been taken into consideration and there will be bulbs they can still use.

"There are also halogen bulbs and LED bulbs coming in in the next two or three years."

You Are What You Eat- COPD and Processed Meats

2008-01-04T21:29:00.001-05:00

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is one of several illnesses now thought to be made worse or perhaps even caused by high levels of nitrites in processed meats. If you eat things like bacon, sausage, and hot dogs plus if you are a smoker, you could be putting yourself in harm's way through your diet. You may want to reconsider before stuffing that hot dog in your mouth at the next sporting event. Check it out in excerpts from the article below.

Processed Meats Up Chances of Developing COPD, Emphysema, Other Lung Ailments

Nitrites in processed meats might be putting some people at risk of developing serious lung diseases like emphysema and chronic bronchitis. According to emerging research, men who smoke may be increasing their risk of developing emphysema and chronic bronchitis if they eat lots of cured meats such as sausage, ham, bologna, bacon, and hot dogs which contain high levels of nitrites. Nitrites are added to these meats to prevent rancidity and bacterial growth and to also enhance the meat's pink color. And just like cigarette smoking and air pollution, nitrites generate molecules known as reactive oxygen and nitrogen species that have been linked to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Dr. Raphaelle Varraso of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and colleagues note.

COPD is a lung disease in which the lungs are damaged, making it hard to breathe because the lung's airways become partly obstructed, making it difficult to get air in and out. In healthy people, each airway is clear and open. The chief risk factor for COPD, which encompasses chronic bronchitis and emphysema, is cigarette smoking. Research by Varraso and colleagues suggests that eating cured meats may worsen the harmful effects of smoking on risk of COPD.

Researchers reviewed data on 42,915 men participating in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, 111 of whom were diagnosed with COPD within 12 years of enrolling in the study. Men who ate cured meats at least once a day were 2.64 times more likely than those who almost never ate cured meats to develop COPD, the researchers found. Cured meat consumption has also been linked to diabetes and certain types of cancer, Varraso noted in comments to Reuters Health. "Uncured" versions of processed meats are likely no better for health, according to the researcher. But regardless of the current findings, Varraso added, the most important way to protect oneself from COPD is to quit smoking.

Another recent study presented new evidence that backed up the theory that eating a lot of red and processed meat can increase the risk of bowel and lung cancer. The study found that those who ate the most red meat exhibited an increased risk of developing colorectal, liver, lung, and esophageal cancer compared with those who ate the least red and processed meats.

Videos on Lung Diseases

2007-09-28T11:20:00.000-04:00

Blausen Medical videos about lung disease, from the site www.About.com

How Lungs Function
COPD
Emphysema
Bronchiectasis
Congestive Heart Failure
Bronchodilators
Inhalers

Photoshop Match Color: Improve Your Pictures With Classical Art

2007-09-20T08:45:00.001-04:00

Improve Your Photography With Classical Art.

Cool new Photoshop tool called "Match Color". This tip takes it a step more creative by using Old Master paintings as the color source, maintaining a library of favorites for use. The pic shows a few. Detailed instructions in the original post- highly recommended!

Play: Not Just a Silly Thing, Really a Forger of Bonds

2007-09-18T19:52:00.001-04:00

What are the Opportunities: The Dog and the Polar Bear

Why Didn't the Wild Polar Bear eat the Husky?

In Churchill, Manitoba, Canada something amazing happened. A tethered dog didn't get eaten by a hungry polar bear. Instead, they played.

Play practitioner Fred Donaldson applies lessons learned from animals to people, especially uptight adults. The hope is that play will be returned to it's rightful place as a forger of bonds between individuals and even between species. Read the whole article for details.

Success From Failure: Never Give Up On Yourself, OK?

2007-09-17T23:01:00.001-04:00

The Rejection on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
But They Did Not Give Up

Failure. That big ugly word that stops us cold in our tracks. Well, screw it! Everyone from Abraham Lincoln to Albert Einstein to Thomas Edison failed, and failed big. But they didn't give up. They picked themselves up and kept going until they reached their goal. We can too.

For inspiration when the going gets rough, come here and feel invigorated, ready to slug it out with your particular demons of failure. Like the Woody Allen saying goes: "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying. Eighty percent of success is showing up." Be sure you show up tomorrow for round two. Those demons don't have a chance.

Pop No Wheelies on an EasyGlider

2007-09-13T22:19:00.001-04:00

Electric Easy Glider: My Chariot Has Arrived | GroovyGreen.com

If you have an illness like COPD and are looking for a scooter or electric wheelchair, this might be a cool and affordable alternative if you are able to stand upright OK. Check out this:

"If you yearn to travel the streets of your town reenacting the procession of a festive Roman Triumph (sans slave holding a golden wreath above your head), look no further than the assistance of the Electric Easy Glider. This one-wheeled 380-watt electric scooter features a detachable footbridge that visibly mimics a chariot style stance. It will travel about 15 miles on a single charge (at a top speed of 13mph) and can be juiced back into service in about three to four hours. Including your choice of five colors, expect this one to retail for somewhere around $1300 when it hits the States this fall. As the rest of the Internet has declared; 'it’s way cooler than the Segway.'"

COPD Food for Thought

2007-09-12T19:32:00.000-04:00

Nutritional Guidelines for People With COPD

Feeding your body is pretty simple until an illness like COPD enters the picture. COPD requires more calories for breathing so getting the proper nutrition is vital. This article sums it up nicely. Whether you need to gain or lose, cut salt or caffeine, or add fluids, there is plenty to learn in here to help manage this disease.

Take the "Grade Your Dog Food" Challenge

2007-09-12T19:26:00.001-04:00

inkforums How to Grade Dog Food

Use the information in this post to grade your dog's food. You will surprised - and appalled - at the pathetic scores of most commercially available dog food from your grocers or large pet-store chain. For quality foods, shop at the small Mom & Pop pet stores who stock organic and healthier alternatives. You'll pay more but the difference in your pet's health may well astonish you- sleeker coat, increased energy, fewer illnesses.

SUGGESTED SEQUENCE FOR USE OF MULTIPLE INHALERS

2007-09-10T14:57:00.001-04:00

Suggested Sequence of Use for Medical Inhalers

http://www.emphysema.net/inhaler_sequence.htm

This site provides a suggested sequence, in chart form, for using popular short and/or long -acting medical inhalers. COPD sufferers and others with lung disease will find this information useful and may want to print it out for future reference.

Green Roofs: Not Just For Hobbits Anymore

2007-09-09T08:19:00.001-04:00

Green Roofs: An Introduction with Pretty Pictures | EcoGeek

(Please visit the link for the full text)

Written by Philip Proefrock
Tuesday, 21 August 2007

"It's not just for hobbits anymore. The logic of green roofs is becoming more apparent. We can minimize our bills while maximizing the beauty of the urban landscape. And every day it's becoming a little easier to live in a house that just happens to have plants growing on it.Vegetated roofs, or green roofs have a layer of living plants on top of the structure and the waterproofing elements. There are really two types of green roofs, intensive and extensive."

"Intensive green roofs often have a soil depth of a foot or more, and require substantial structural elements to support the weight of the whole roof. Intensive roofs can sustain a wide range of plant species and typically require a fair amount of regular maintenance. Because of the additional demands they impose, intensive roofs are much less common than extensive roofs."

"Extensive roofs are much shallower, typically only 2 to 4 inches deep, and are planted with particularly hardy plants. Over the last 50 years or so, this kind of roof has been developed, especially in Europe,. But now they are becoming increasingly common in the United States."

"Why are green roofs such a great idea?"

"First, they help to reduce roof stormwater runoff. In some cases, this can help reduce the size of stormwater pipes, and the amount of stormwater that needs to be treated by municipal water treatment. In a light rainfall, a building with a vegetated roof can have no stormwater runoff at all."

"Green roofs also protect the roof membrane from sunlight, which breaks down the roofing material. Having even a couple inches of soil helps to greatly extend the life of the roof, and a longer lifespan means less material ends up in landfills from re-roofing buildings after the membranes have failed."

"Green roofs keep the roof cooler, which helps to reduce the heat-island effect, which contributes to cities being hotter than the surrounding countryside. This can be beneficial to the building in reducing its summertime cooling load."

"A green roof is also a source of oxygen and provides a habitat for some birds. Birds and insects can find homes much more readily in the living environment of a green roof, where an ordinary roof is nearly barren. And yes, it's even possible to graze goats."

"What is a green roof made of?"

"Starting from the top, an extensive green roof has a layer of plants, which are typically sedums. These are low-growing, shallow rooting, drought tolerant plants. There are many different varieties of sedum, with different different coloration and different flowerings, so that a roof can have a varied appearance, rather than looking like an entire crop of a single variety."

"Can I put a green roof on my house?"

"Green roofs make sense for residential use as much as for commercial buildings. However, retrofitting a green roof onto an existing house is not a simple matter because of the extra weight a vegetated roof adds. Most roofs are not structurally strong enough to support a vegetated roof without some reinforcement. Green roofs also work best on lower slopes."

"The added cost of a vegetated roof versus a conventional shingle roof, and the relatively small number of contractors familiar with installing them are probably the biggest limiting factors."

"Does a green roof have to be mowed?"

"A sedum covered roof is naturally self limiting in size. Most sedums grow only a few inches tall. As mentioned above, it is also fairly self weeding, due to the inhospitable environment it offers to most weed species."

"What Does the Future Hold?"

"We were excited a while back to announce Toyota's green roofing tile. These modular, interlockable grass tiles make green roofing an absolute cinch.They're a lot lighter than other methods, and installation is a breeze. At about $34 per tile, they're still expensive, but prices would of course drop if demand were to increase. "

"And, second, I and many others would like to see Friedenreich Hundertwasser's vision of every horizontal surface being returned to nature:

'The true proportions in this world are the views to the stars and the views down to the surface of the earth. Grass and vegetation in the city should grow on all horizontal spaces - that is to say, wherever rain and snow falls vegetation should grow, on the roads and on the roofs. The horizontal is the domain of nature and wherever vegetation grows on the horizontal level man is off limits; he should not interfere. I mean taking away territories from nature, which human beings have always done.'"

More Wearable T-Shirt Art

2007-08-25T11:54:00.001-04:00

Stencil Revolution :: View topic - Bleach on fabric tutorial

"First: bleach will not work on most synthetic fabrics. You will need natural fabrics. The good news is that even the cheap tee-shirts are generally 50/50 Cotton and Polyester, and they will work just fine. 100% cotton will also work well, HOWEVER, bleach really weakens the material. If you get big, wet drips of bleach on 100% cotton, they will quickly develop into holes in the material. I do know that, for at least one clothing company, this is actually the desired effect but I prefer the stronger 50/50 blends for bleach designed clothing."

"Second: I use Duralar material (.005) to create my stencils. Cardboard will only soak up your bleach and become a mess. Duralar is available at your art supply dealer or online and is only about $2.50 USD for a 32 X 40” sheet. It is thin, plastic, and clear and you will get a lot of mileage out of each of the stencils you cut out of it."

"Third: Cheap bleach is fine. It is still a toxic chemical. Wear a respirator or work in well ventilated areas, or both. Don’t wear anything you love. You’re spraying bleach."

"Fourth: Empty your spray bottle after you’re done. If you store bleach in it, it will expand due to softening of the plastic and gasses from the reaction between the chemical and the plastic bottle. This can be messy and dangerous.""

"With stenciling bleach onto dark fabrics, you have to think in the negative. This is opposite the general process of stencil work with spray paint or roll-on paints and inks. The light colors are going through the stencil and the dark areas are being blocked by it. Otherwise, this process is darned close to the spray paint stencils more commonly created."

"For this stencil, I created the stencil for the half-tone layer to be applied first. On the back side of the stencil, I used a repositionable spray adhesive. This is a 3-M product and makes the stencil sticky but easily removable. It leaves no residue on the substrate (fabric). This is used to prevent under-spray for those clean, crisp lines and edges. It is important to also select a spray angle with your wrist position and stick to it. The angle of your spray should remain consistent throughout the even application. If you roll your wrist at all, you’ll risk under-spray and inconsistent application."

Read the article to get the full process. It produces a very professional look, well worth it for your wearable art-piece!

True Inter-Species Communication

2007-08-20T20:41:00.000-04:00

,

Wet nose to wet nose, let a gray dolphin and a black dog get together to bridge the gap between species, as shown in this photograph from the Indianapolis Zoo.

Never Too Old

2007-08-20T10:58:00.000-04:00

Great wisdom! Thanks AngelAngel!

Remote Healing Mandala

2007-08-20T06:04:00.001-04:00

Sample Remote Reiki Transmission

Reiki mandala

This site has a Reiki-charged mandala for your viewing pleasure (and health) so look on and feel better!

"If you take a moment or two to quiet your mind and ask that you receive Reiki as you are reading or while quietly meditating for a moment. You will receive a remote Reiki treatment if it is appropriate for you to do so at this time."

Plenty of energy-healing (it works, folks!) and other healing modalities links on this site to explore.

What Comes Out of Your Mouth Counts

2007-08-19T21:15:00.000-04:00

Think of the Importance of a Word

(Thanks AKAPearlofaGirl)

The Careless Word

Harper's Magazine March 1853

"A careless word may kindle strife,

A cruel word may wreck a life,

A bitter word may hate instill,

A brutal word may smite and kill.....

A gracious word may smooth the way,

A joyous word may light the day,

A timely word may lessen stress,

A loving word may heal and bless"

(anonymous)

Animal Poison Control: Side-Stepping Tragedy

2007-08-19T19:08:00.001-04:00

Voice of Experience- Roach Bait is Peanut-Butter Flavored and Smells Yummy to Dogs

If you're an animal lover, there's two things you might want to keep handy: the number to the National Animal Poison Control Center (University of Illinois) at 1-800-548-2423 and a bottle of ordinary 3% hydrogen peroxide like you buy at any drug store, in case you are instructed to make your animal throw up (amount depend on the dog's weight, breed and health). For some poisons, throwing up may not be the right thing to do, so call first. There is a fee for the service but they are actual on-site vets and let you make follow-up calls.

My Shelties and I tried out this service this afternoon when I returned from a meeting to discover them snacking on a package of roach baits I didn't put up high enough in the kitchen (I was going to put the baits out tonight). That's how I learned about the peanut butter thing and the peroxide.

We had a fun session in the back yard on lead tossing up whole wheat bagels soaked with peroxide and the remains of the baits. Smokey was the main culprit, a good thing since he's a heavyweight compared to my old lady Lacey. They tell me he will metabolize the poison and should be OK. I have a 24 hour watch and know the signs and symptoms to look out for. We had some animal-loving angel watching out over our household this afternoon, I'll tell you!

Better Lock Up That Wiki Cookie Jar

2007-08-19T11:40:00.001-04:00

maltaStar.com

Student’s program sends PR chaos in Wiki-scandal

"One American student sent major corporations, governments and even the Vatican on the defensive after coming up with Wikipedia Scanner, a software program that reveals who changed Wikipedia entries.

What Virgil Griffith did was come up with a program that reveals who edits these articles, via a system where it scans the I.P address and cross-references it with the I.P. directory.

As soon as the software was launched on the internet, chaos erupted."

Everybody from the Pope to the Republican Party to the FBI got caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Read the article for the extensive list.

Get An Idea Burst With These Tools, Writers

2007-08-18T14:43:00.001-04:00

No More Hard Drive!
100 Free Software Apps to Go Online-Only

Of special interest to writers are these:

Brainstorming and Mindmapping

"Mindmapping software is great for brainstorming, organizing information hierarchically, creating advanced to-do lists, planning and much more. Unfortunately, brainstorming software can also be very expensive, and far less convenient because it can't easily be shared with other collaborators. By contrast, these webware alternatives are not only free, but also provide the added benefit of being accessible from anywhere."

1. Bubbl.us. Bubbl.us is a basic mindmapping app with an easy to use interface, is multi-lingual, and allows maps to be embedded in web pages.

2. Comapping. Comapping takes mindmapping one step further, allowing simultaneous use by multiple users.

3. Kayuda. Kayuda is a mindmapping-plus app, good for developing "campaigns". Maps are shareable and serve as navigation. Add text and details to each node.

4. Mind42. Mind42 ("Mind for two") is another collaborative mindmapping application that is a bit closer to its desktop cousins, and throws in web sticky notes as well.

5. Mindomo. Mindomo might make you forget it's a webware app in terms of interface and mindmapping functionality. It has non-real time collaborative features.

6. Mindmeister. Mindmeister offers non-real time collaboration and many of the import/ export features of Mindomo. The interface lies between Bubbl.us and Mindomo in feature quantity.

The Kindness of Stranger-Angels

2007-08-16T17:22:00.001-04:00

My breathing has gone steadily downhill. COPD, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease does that to a body. First you can't walk quite as fast as you used to. Then not quite so far. Before you know it, you start skipping certain things you used to do because you tell yourself you just don't have the energy for it anymore. After all, we tell ourselves, we're aging. The truth is, COPD is gaining control over our very breath. And we need to start keeping up with that fact and monitoring it more carefully.

To that end I wanted to get an oximeter, a device that fits over your fingertip and measures the amount of oxygen in your blood. It tells you how well you are breathing. But the price is steep, nearly $300 US. And insurance usually will not cover it. My budget took a hit last March when one of my dogs fell gravely ill - he recovered - but the budget didn't. Buying one new was out of the question.

So I tried the FreeCycle Yahoo group. It's a marvelous program for people in your local area to recycle items rather than throw them away or sell them. I placed my carefully worded ad and got- nothing. Well, not exactly nothing, I got something: a lead to E-Bay where another FreeCycle member had found an oximeter for a more reasonable price, but still out of my range. I blessed her for contacting me however and sharing her information with me. She was my first Stranger-Angel. Her name is Laura.

Still I was without any real hope of getting what I needed. So I sent up a little peep of prayer, "Help Lord!", then went about my business. Days and weeks passed. I was blogging more and started volunteering on a newsletter for those with breathing issues. Kept me out of trouble and my mind off myself. Till one evening on StumbleUpon, a social networking site, I got this instant message.

It's my practice to acknowledge people who visit my site with a "Hi, Thanks for stopping by". I didn't know it then but I had been visited by my second Stranger-Angel. His name turned out to be Terry. And "Voila!" , he asked if I would like an oximeter. Out of the blue! By the kindness of strangers and the working of angels here on earth, God had answered my prayer through this kind-hearted man.

He had visited my blog several times because of my occasional COPD content. Both his mother and his wife had passed away of COPD within almost a year of one another. Yet through his pain he had the grace to offer a goodwill gift of such value to me, a complete stranger. The Lord works in mysterious ways, and I got to see that close up this time. I am one blessed woman, with two new friends. And I'll soon have a much better handle on my breathing. So remember to be polite- you never know when you might be entertaining angels.

Guest Blog: Breathe

2007-08-15T09:19:00.000-04:00

From CherishMe
(Aidin - 2007):

Breathe.

[sleazy, like smoke]

Breathe.

[easy, provoked]

Breathe

[cheaply, for granted]

Breathe.

[deeply, enchanted]

More on COPD For Your Viewing Pleasure

2007-08-11T10:38:00.000-04:00

Cruised YouTube this weekend for more COPD videos and hit the Motherlode. Hope they prove helpful to you in your struggle with this disease, or will inform you about it. Here they are...

(Embedded version not available)
YouTube - COPD in the Summer

(Embedded version not available)
YouTube - Women and COPD

YouTube - Asthma COPD and Risk of Anesthesia, TIVA

YouTube - Living With COPD Part 3 Diaphragmatic Breathing

YouTube - Living With COPD Part 4 Stress Management Segment 1

One For the "Enough Said" Pile...

2007-08-11T09:07:00.000-04:00

My sentiments exactly!

Army Dog Team Laid to Rest Together

2007-08-11T08:32:00.001-04:00

Killed in Iraq, dog team buried together -
Military News, Army News, opinions, editorials, news from Iraq, photos, reports -
Army Times

By Michelle Tan

"The first military working dog team killed in action together since the beginning of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were laid to rest together July 18.

Cpl. Kory D. Wiens, 20, of the 94th Mine Dog Detachment, 5th Engineer Battalion, 1st Engineer Brigade of Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., and his partner, Cooper, were killed July 6 by an improvised explosive device while on patrol in Muhammad Sath, Iraq. They had been in Iraq since January.

The cremated remains of Wiens and Cooper, a Labrador retriever, were buried together at Salt Creek Cemetery in Wiens’ hometown of Dallas, Ore., at the request of his family, said Master Sgt. Matt McHugh, the family’s casualty assistance officer.

McHugh added that based on his own research, the last military canine team to be killed together was during the Vietnam War.

“Kory referred to Cooper as his son, that’s now much of a team they were,” McHugh said.

Cooper was Wiens’ first military working dog, and Wiens was Cooper’s first handler, McHugh said."

Please read the full text of this very sad story at the link.

I'd Be A Rich Woman...

2007-08-10T14:45:00.000-04:00

If I had a nickel for every time I heard "But you don't LOOK sick"...

Lichtfaktor Really Shedding Some Light on Notions of Art

2007-08-10T10:54:00.001-04:00

Color + Design Blog / Interview with LICHTFAKTOR:
Light Graffiti Artists by COLOURlovers
stairwell light graffiti

These amazing guys work with light and their surroundings instead of a paint brush and a canvas. It's challenging to think of something so ephemeral as art, but it certainly is. Thank God for film.

"The 3-man creative force behind LICHTFAKTOR is VJ sehvermoegen, graffiti artist jiar, and VJ 1"0X."

"To keep up with LICHTFAKTOR and see more of their creations, visit their Myspace profile(mostly in German) and be sure to check out their Flickr page for nearly one-hundred light creations."

Healing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Some Day Soon

2007-08-08T01:11:00.001-04:00

Bad Memories Tied to DNA -- Lester 2007 (730): 2 -- ScienceNOW/>

In this article by Benjamin Lester:

"People haunted by traumatic memories could be missing a few amino acids, say researchers. A new study links a deletion in a neurotransmitter receptor gene to a marked increase in an individual's ability to remember emotionally charged events. The finding represents the first gene shown to play a role in emotional memory and could have implications for anxiety and other psychiatric disorders."

This may be the key to unlocking the mystery of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, with wide implications for victims of war and violent crime.

Crafty T-Shirt Stamping

2007-08-06T09:38:00.000-04:00

Craft Chi » Blog Archive » Sneaker Stamps

Feeling crafty? Well stamp that T-shirt with the bottom of your sneaker! No, I'm not kidding.

The instructions tell you how to make a stencil mask and do the stamping to give yourself a unique wearable work of art. Check it out!

Phil Hansen, Internet Art Sensation

2007-08-04T11:58:00.001-04:00

People of the Web -
Strokes of Genius by Kevin Sites

Phil Hansen

(This article features artist and Internet sensation Phil Hansen. Be sure to watch the videos on this site for an overview of his work.)

"Phil Hansen is not only tearing down the “gallery” walls that keep many people from seeing and enjoying art. He’s also showing us how it’s made -- all on the Internet.

Phil Hansen stubbornly adheres to one artistic cliche. He's willing to suffer for his art.

Take the giant portrait he made of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il as a protest against nuclear proliferation. He applied 6,000 adhesive bandages on a plywood backdrop. Then, using a quart-sized bag of his own blood, he painted Kim's face on the exposed gauze.

Hansen shrugs off the experience.

"Five hundred cc's of blood seems like a lot, but it's just nothing," he says from the basement of his brother's house outside St. Paul, Minnesota, where he currently lives and makes his art.

It's not the suffering that really distinguishes Hansen's work (after all, it's hard to top Van Gogh) but his style and method for displaying it. Hansen eschews galleries, preferring to take his art directly to the eyeballs rather than bringing the eyeballs to the art — through the Internet.

An art school dropout, Hansen works as an X-ray technician by day, spending all of his spare time and money on his art. But his work, and his method of presenting it, has given him a huge audience.

His breakthrough piece was a time-lapse video of a two-day project called "Influences." He painted 30 pictures on his own chest, one over the other, with each picture representing an influence in his life. When he was done, he peeled the quarter-inch thick layer of paint from his skin and cut out a silhouette of his own profile. The video was streamed more than a million times on the Web — a cyber art phenomenon in which both process and final piece were revealed.

Hansen often uses the technique of pointillism, in which the canvas is dabbed with tiny bits of color, rather than fluid brush strokes, to create a larger image.

His works often have a political stance. Several years ago, Hansen devised an image of President George W. Bush by hand-painting the names of 1,700 coalition soldiers killed from the beginning of the Iraq War until April 2005.

"They're dying for George Bush," he explains. "They're dying for an idea that he had and unfortunately it wasn't a clear idea."

Covering the entire back wall of his brother's basement is a 7 x 14 foot mural of the Ku Klux Klan, made up from thousands of verses copied from the bible and individually cut out. It's a companion piece to an image of civil rights hero Rosa Parks — also made from bible verses.

Hansen says the idea was to show the far-reaching influences of religion for both evil and good.

Hansen's commitment to his own brand of pointillism is most evident in a portrait of the so-called Green River killer, Gary Ridgeway.

He made the piece by drawing one-inch portraits of each of Ridgeway's 48 female victims in various shades of light and dark. He then photocopied the drawings and cut them out into 12,000 tiny squares which he arranged, one by one, to reveal the killer's face.

Hansen says it's about remembering the victims — women all connected by the misfortune of having crossed paths with Ridgeway. The project took four months.

The detail work has taken its toll. Hansen holds up his right hand to show me a twitch he says he's had since high school, when he was first introduced to pointillism and became obsessed with it.

Hansen created his self-portrait 'A Moment' over the course of six days, oven sitting cross-legged for up to 12 hours straight.

His latest project used the Internet to connect his viewers to the art being created. He created a ten-foot, spinning, circular canvas in his brother's garage, then moved in there himself. Taking a week off work, he spent six days straight living in front of his web cam, sleeping on the floor, eating takeout and encouraging people to call him or email him with a "moment" that changed their lives.

He got over 600 responses. People from all over the world, from the United Kingdom to Romania to Botswana, told him their personal moments: their first time acting on stage; the death of a parent without being about to say goodbye; seeing the rainforest destroyed.

Starting from the center of the canvas, Hansen then painted their words, working out to the edges until the image they had collectively created was a face — Hansen's own — bordered by four hands.

Strangely, Hansen says the jitter in his hand that has plagued him for so many years went away while he was making the piece.

-See more of Hansen's work at his Web site."

Write That Bad Novel Your Bad Self

2007-08-02T07:38:00.001-04:00

Want to Write a Novel Badly? Here's How!

32 Tips on Writing a Crappy Novel- or Not!

"Do you want to write a novel? Most people try to write a good novel and fail. Dare to be different. Try writing a bad novel instead. If you finish, you will have either succeeded in writing a bad novel or failed and written a good novel. It’s a win/win situation. Here’s a guide to writing an absolutely terrible novel. The path is clear. All you have to do is follow it."

I especially like rule # 22:

"Don’t start your novel with an interesting event. Take a few dozen pages to explain everything that would lead up to that interesting event. The reader will gladly hand around until you get to the point."

Homeless Solutions

2007-08-01T10:22:00.001-04:00

Web Urbanist »Creative Urban Furniture:
Convertible, Inflatable & Portable Homeless Shelters

"Helping the homeless means more than handing out food or coins on the street. The urban landscape of most major cities is unfriendly to the homeless population. Urban centers discourage homeless people from sleeping public spaces - without necessarily providing alternatives. However, some activist artists, designers and architects have developed clever solutions to this problem."

Check out the Unfriendly Vs. the Friendly solutions to this urban problem. Pretending that the homeless don't exist doesn't make the problem go away, contrary to what many urban planners think!

Japan's Unique Art Form

2007-07-31T08:15:00.000-04:00

Japanese Version of Crop Circles-
But More Highbrow

Rice field art --

Pimp my rice paddy ::: Pink Tentacle

Japanese farmers in Inakadate make crop art every year, this time based on Hokusai's 36 Views of Mt. Fuji. They use purple and green kodaimai rice along with their regular seedlings to create these show-stoppers.

God Gets More Bang For His/Her Buck

2007-07-29T20:22:00.001-04:00

This site plays on the now-familiar God billboards in a way that really makes you think, "Hey, I bet He/She DOES feel like that!"

"And it came to pass that God visited the earth, and He did behold a series of billboard ads attributing to Him utterances of such banality that they would never pass His lips in a billion years. And it came to pass that God in His wrath considered a libel suit, but in the end opted simply to mount a cantankerous, self-contradictory ad campaign of His own. . . ."

I never said, "Thou shalt not think." —God

If you seek to know my ways, read a damn science book. —God

Six days? Yeah, right. I'm a scientist, not a magician. —God

E=mc². Yeah, that's one of mine. —God

I like to kick things off with a bang. A Big Bang. —God

Books, Gotta Love 'Em

2007-07-22T11:57:00.000-04:00

This drawing by illustrator and author Colin Thompson sums up what I feel about books.

They are my windows on other mysterious worlds I'd otherwise never be able to visit and explore, tickets to new experiences which, although vicarious, are none the less valuable.

They're my magic carpet ride to foreign lands and other cultures, helping me understand this human experience. And maybe, just maybe, that lets me build some bridges in my own fiction that will lead a reader on their own voyage of exploration. Books, gotta love 'em.

Bloomin' Dahlias!

2007-07-19T15:50:00.000-04:00

I think this is the most astonishing video of a Dahlia blooming (thanks friend Duchie!) that I simply had to share it.

I raised dozens of these beauties, all sizes and color combinations, from seed one summer. I had little brown peat pots (available at any garden center) everywhere with seedlings growing in them. Then I transplanted them to the flower bed outside.

The garden was filled with these glamorous blossoms all the way through the fall. Neighbors were coming to me for cut flowers for their dinner parties. All from a 59 cent packet of seed! (Prices have gone up since then- it was long ago!) I recommend you try it sometime.

Click on the animation for more information on the art of growing these lovely flowers.

COPD YouTube Video Goodies

2007-07-14T10:20:00.000-04:00

Today I spent some time strolling through YouTube for some COPD goodies. Here are the best of the bunch for your viewing pleasure and eddymacation:

COPD from Campbell Teaching
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HttxNPQ6SzM

COPD II from Campbell Teaching
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqdE1Mh2PC0

Living With COPD with Michael Riser
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5EfAmGeEqg

Living WIth COPD Part 2 Pursed Lip Breathing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFqrWVeskR0

Cured Meat Danger
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ_-2MFCHFs

Way to Go, FDA!

2007-05-05T09:11:00.000-04:00

Way to go, FDA! From pet food to people food, you are falling down on the job. Now the "dilution factor" has become the "weapons of mass destruction" of the current pet food and people food scandal, and we know how much truth there was to that expression!

If you don't stop minimizing and ignoring this problem, our food supply will be hopelessly compromised. Yes you need more people and more funding but most of all you need a reality check. The American populace is not going to stand around twiddling their thumbs until you and the USDA finally decide to do something about this mess.

How about you step up and start taking responsibility and provide some real leadership on this issue? Or is it asking too much for you to go against the wishes of big business over the wishes of the people?

Virginia Tech- Making Sense

2007-04-18T09:04:00.000-04:00

Some things just don't make sense. The massacre at Virginia Tech ranks at number one on that list.

What pain must have emanated from one human being to cause him to spread his suffering to so many innocents? What possible reason could he have for such disregard of the consequences of his actions?

These and many other questions about that tragic day will remain debated, kicked around and pulled apart by law enforcement, psychologists, and of course the families far into the future.

In the end, all we know is this: something is wrong with the world we live in. Whether we can do anything to set it right is questionable.

Deep in our hearts, we have to look for ways to connect to one another, to see one another's pain and not turn away from it. That sharing may lead us out of this nightmare, in time. At least that is my hope.

Someone's Killing Our Pets

2007-04-05T15:28:00.000-04:00

Someone's killing our pets, and I'm damned angry about it.

In case you've been living under a rock, the company Menu Foods has been recalling pet food right and left along with some other manufacturer's products because they have been contaminated with a poison or more likely poisons that are killing cats and dogs at a much higher rate than the "official" death toll of 16.

How do I know this? I've been following the reports in the news, that's how. Numbers are put at least in the hundreds if not thousands, with many more being affected with renal failure that will shorten their lives. My heart aches at all the deaths and the bereaved owners, many now blaming themselves for feeding their pets poison when all they were trying to do was take care of them the best they could.

So far the smoking gun points squarely at China, source of the wheat gluten suspected of being the primary contaminated ingredient, but there may well be more. Not all animals are having signs of renal failure. There have been reports of pancreatitis and liver failure as well. The recalls may spread from just wet and foil pouch food to dry, sending many of us into a frantic search for a pet food that doesn't contain wheat gluten or hasn't been manufactured by Menu Foods.

One good thing that is coming from all this - people are looking at labels now and insisting on an explanation for the piss-poor ingredients in our pet food. Another is that people are looking to the FDA for more oversight on our food supply in general and testing in specific.

It is possible to feed a raw diet as well as cooking at home for the pet. Google around for recipes and instructions but remember that cats and dogs need specific (and different) nutrients to have a balanced diet. Be sure the web sites you visit take that into account. Canned tuna as a diet for your kitty can have disastrous consequences long term. Your best bet may be to contact your vet or failing that a good book on the subject.

Let's not let up the pressure on our elected and appointed officials and local and national news agencies so we get to the bottom of this. Our pets deserve no less.

COPD Webring

2007-04-02T00:28:00.000-04:00

I just did some HTML editing to get a vertical layout for the COPD Webring I just joined, shown on the sidebar. Click away and learn more about COPD, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, one of the leading killers in the United States.

Not a pleasant subject perhaps but you will meet many pleasant people in the Ring and educate yourself to boot. The life you save may be your own or that of someone dear to you.

Being Appreciated

2007-03-17T23:02:00.001-04:00

Let's face it, writing is a lonely business. It's you and a blank page or empty screen, waiting for words that sometimes just won't come, often with a deadline looming over the right shoulder.

And blogs can be the worst, not knowing if anyone out there besides family and friends is reading what you've toiled over, sweated over, cussed over and polished as best you might.

So I was thrilled to get an encouraging note from a fellow writer and coincidentially fellow COPD sufferer, Kwrenb. She added my blog to her COPD pages and I added her COPD pages to my permanent links. If you get a chance, check out her writing site as well. She has a real gift for words I think you'll enjoy.

And if you're a writer too, drop her and me a line. We have to keep up one another's spirits in the lonely writing world!

Life From a Hospital Bed

2007-03-09T11:08:00.000-05:00

I just spent some time in the hospital with a pituitary gland problem and boy do I have some stories to tell about the roommate from hell.

This chickie kept me up every night hanging on the buzzer for pain meds when she knew she couldn't have them until the scheduled time, and calling on Jesus and all the Saints in the meantime just for fun evidentially. She spent a lot of time talking to herself and not making much sense.

When she wasn't busy keeping me sleepless- like I needed any help between blood pressure checks and blood-draws- she spent time buzzing the nurses for things like pudding they didn't stock. Then she made a federal case that she was discriminated against due to not being provided pudding in a timely fashion.

She refused to eat her meals and then carried on when the trays weren't left in the room just in case she might want to eat something off of them hours later.

Then she started floor-surfing in the wheelchair. She had been untethered from her IV pole to go to dialysis. She missed her IV antibiotics by three hours due to smoking outside the hospital ER, and generally wheeling herself about so that the nurses had no idea where the hell she was at any given time.

My roommate even had a neighbor bring her the checks out of her mailbox and persuaded him or her to drive her to the check-cashing store around the corner. Evidentially her need for pain meds was taken care of by freedom to roam the halls and nearby streets since she missed her dosing schedule by hours.

The kicker was when she fell asleep sitting up in her bed - finally- with a thousand plus dollars in her lap. The nurses didn't dare leave the money unsecured so they counted it and placed it in the safe while she slept on. Upon awakening she accused "someone" of stealing her money. When she was informed it was locked up and would stay that way until she was released, she threw what we in the south would qualify as a hissy-fit, something better suited to a two-year-old than a grown adult.

Never was I more grateful to hear the blessed words, "You can go home today."

Two Graphics Tools

2007-02-20T20:51:00.000-05:00

Today I want to share two tools gleaned from the blog of iHanna, a crafty gal I highly recommend. First is the card catalog tool and second is a cookie cutter text generator.

Use the card catalog tool to make a graphic card of any type for your blog- like for now:

Once you create the card, right click on the image that is created to save it to your computer for later use.

For the cookie cutter, replace the text in the box with your own text and click "Submit". Save the image as above. Here it is for my own site, which I love and may use in my header some day:

I'll pass along any other cool tools I see.

My Mystery Shopper

2007-01-29T18:43:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I had a most unusual Mystery Shopper
at my Yard Sale: Figaro, the neighbor's white cat.

Poor Figgy has been in one too many dust-ups in the hood. One of his ears now hangs an inch lower than the undamaged one and keeps getting infected. His coat is dirty and he looks skinny and unwell so I didn't have the heart to chase him off the premises Saturday amidst the preparations.

Making himself at home on a pile of linens near the doll furniture, he slept through the first crush of shoppers for a good twenty minutes. Then he awoke and did the cat-weave through the Christmas lamps and glassware and dog-eared paperbacks down the length of three long banquet tables placed end to end, jam-packed with stuff. He made it without touching or rattling a single item, including two large nativity sets and a Christmas village complete with little people.

There he came to rest for awhile for a good paw-cleaning session and another brief snooze. The Christmas ornaments didn't even tempt him, so soon with that aloof cat's grace, he was gone, my Mystery Shopper. He didn't even drop a quarter on a Jamaican straw handbag, green Christmas votive, or doggie Valentine tin. His loss, another bargain shopper's gain.

Next sale I'd better remember to lay in the catnip.

The Softer Side of Miss Snark

2007-01-29T11:37:00.000-05:00

Today I received a reply to yesterday's email to Miss Snark, the famous literary agent. It was my cleverly designed ploy - which failed by the way - to get into her blog by inquiring on the absence of George Clooney and the presence of one llama-looking creature on her sidebar.

Turns out the little brown creature is not a llama but a baby alpaca and he's on the sidebar because she thinks he's cute, so there, you heard it here first, there is a softer side to the divine stiletto-heeled, gin-slugging Miss Snark. And no, George Clooney has not been supplanted by a newborn alpaca.

12 Steps Please

2007-01-15T11:10:00.000-05:00

I need a 12-Step program.

No really, one for the directionally impaired like me.

It started in my childhood where I could never read a compass in Girl Scouts. It worsened when I hit sixth grade and had to start changing classes. I kept losing my classrooms and was always late to class until I finally learned the routes.

Then God help me when I started driving. I'd have to repeat directions fifteen times to be sure I could remember them. It seemed so easy for other people- go east on First Avenue three blocks then north on Carter Street 1.5 miles, turn right onto Morgan, third house on the left. So simple an idiot could find it. Except me.

Evidently when God was handing out directional good sense, he forgot to put that tiny bit of magnetite in my head. Geese got it, turtles got it, my brothers got it but not me. As a result I'm chronically lost.

Mapquest is my best friend- I should buy some stock in it since I've used it enough that it probably goes "Oh no, not her again!" each time I sign in. If only I had a nickel for every visit, I'd be well on my way to a life of luxury.

All this getting lost business is why I'm so excited about the new GPS systems. Every time I turn around there's a new one being advertised. If I buy one I won't be getting lost anymore. But what would be the fun in that? No more scenic routes, adventures, or happy discoveries. I'm really attached to my directional style. Hmm, maybe I do need that 12-Step program after all.

Pleasant Author's Surprise!

2007-01-08T22:38:00.000-05:00

Today I had a pleasant surprise as I checked my pathetic MySpace page for email. There was a new comment there from an Internet sort-of friend Simon Haynes, shown left.

Simon is an Australian author who writes the Hal Spacejock series of science fiction novels, amusing romps that are both selling well and well regarded in the fiction community.

He dropped me a line in response to a note I left on his blog about liking some marketing done for his latest book. He's sending me a copy of one of his books! I felt like I'd won the lotto with 4 picks or something. Hopefully it will be signed! Can't wait for the mail from Australia...

Now C'mon Guys

2007-01-03T15:08:00.000-05:00

"Drawing Impairment Predicts COPD Mortality"

(Medscape- you must be a member to view the article there but anyone may join)

"An inability to "copy drawings with landmarks," a standard feature of neuropsychological tests, is associated with an increased risk of death in patients with severe COPD, according to a report in the December issue of Chest."

Now c'mon guys, let's get real. I thought this article was a practical joke when I saw the headline but it's deadly -sorry I couldn't help myself- serious.

I'm far from being dead but I cop to a severe inability to copy drawings with landmarks even on my best days at any age. Let me state it more strongly. If I were to channel Leonardo da Vinci I still wouldn't be able to draw anything with landmarks. I max out at stick figures on gallows, and even those look pretty crappy.

Put a drawing pencil in my hand and I freeze, reverting to four years old and that jumbo crayon. Figures of people have eyes on the side of their heads and noses in the vicinity of their left shoulders. Houses have that squiggle of smoke coming from a pointy roof and crosses in something sort of like a square for window panes. Doors are more like hobbit holes. And poor doggies or kitties look like cotton balls on toothpicks tapping their way through the scenery.

Draw? Not I. So does that make me ready to die? I don't think so. I think you need to tie your statistics to something called common sense instead of nonsense, then we'll talk about valid prognosticators of mortality.

The Diet Blues

2007-01-01T09:58:00.000-05:00

As promised -or threatened- here are my thoughts on dieting, influenced by recent events in my life.

On December 20th I made my annual pilgrimage to Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Florida, to check on the status of my lungs. I have COPD, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. It is a progressive disease, slowly (usually) worsening with time. I rely on experts like my doctors to tell me where I'm at as far as possibly needing a lung transplant.

This year although my numbers were worse than last year's, I still do not meet the criteria for transplant, thank goodness. But I got some bad news too. If I were to crash and burn number-wise through a sudden worsening of my lungs, I still would not qualify for transplant. The culprit? My weight.

Overweight is associated with poor prognosis for lung transplant, from the surgery itself to the long, physically demanding recovery afterwards. So I have to lose some thirty-plus pounds just to meet the minimum standard for my height. I have to meet this goal weight just in case I run into a problem down the road. I've seen two friends this year go from relatively fine one day to hospitalized and in one case dead in the period of a week. So I have to be proactive.

I foresee an extended period of carrot and celery sticks with a side of major lifestyle changes tossed in for good measure. So I turn to humor for inspiration, hence the poem. If you have any good ones, please send them my way! My grumbling stomach will appreciate it. Weight Watchers and South Beach, here I come!

Diet poem- not by me though. More on this topic later.

2006-12-30T07:41:00.001-05:00

It Was the Diet After Christmas
- Author Unknown

T'was the day after Christmas, and all through the house

Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.

The cookies I'd nibbled, the eggnog I'd taste
At the holiday parties had gone to my waist.

When I got on the scales there arose such a number!

When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber).

I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd prepared;
The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,

The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese

And the way I'd never said, "No thank you, please."

As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt

And prepared once again to do battle with dirt---

I said to myself, as I only can
"You can't spend a winter disguised as a man!"
So--away with the last of the sour cream dip,
Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip

Every last bit of food that I like must be banished
"Till all the additional ounces have vanished.
I won't have a cookie--not even a lick.
I'll want only to chew on a long celery stick.

I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie,
I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.
I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore---
But isn't that what January is for?

Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.
Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet!

How I Survived the MLM Stalker

2006-12-29T21:22:00.000-05:00

The MLM Stalker

Recently a MLM salesperson for Mannatech accosted me in a Kirkland's and then followed me to the mall parking lot, irresistably lured by my portable liquid oxygen machine swinging from my shoulder. I had a mental picture of their sales force following around people in wheelchairs, old folks with canes, anybody with a body part in a cast or with a conspicuous bandage, maybe lurking outside hospitals, doctor's offices and the local all-you-can-eat buffet diner.

With visions of an easy sell twinkling in her eyes, she praised their latest product as a panacea for everything from cancer to headaches, pointedly asking me what my particular health problem was - she'd never even heard of it by the way (COPD, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). There I am with the car window rolled down, trying to escape this person who is pressing two tapes into my hand. I'd previously been stupid enough, before she got deep into her spiel, to give her my email and phone number so now I was in some way obligated (I never figured out how) to continue this little scenario out to the bitter, inevitable end.

Before I know it she's at my house with a DVD and a CD. Dammit, now I'm trapped. I agree to watch them and do. I can't help but notice that the music plays continually and loudly in the background of the movie but there are a hell of a lot of edits in the testimonials covered by the music. Then there's the conundrum of famous doctors support this product but most doctors don't know anything about the science of the glyconutrition yet. Huh? Red flag number fifty goes up.

And when I try pulling up info on the "science of glyconutrition" I keep getting disguised ads for Mannatech and no information really on the "science" that's supposed to be involved.

I finally throw caution to the winds and toss "MLM" into Google and up comes QuackWatch. And guess who's listed there as a company to watch out for? You guessed it, baby. www.mlmwatch.org/04C/Mannatech/mannatech00.html

Lesson learned- don't trust MLM stalkers, and watch out for Google too! Now I have to worry about the stalker returning. At least I gave the materials back to her, but I could tell she was pissed off. May have to put a garlic wreath on the door to keep her away...

2006-12-29T21:15:00.000-05:00

It Pays to Complain: National "Do Not Call" Registry Works!

You know this scenario: You sit down to a fine, lovingly-prepared steak dinner, your first in weeks of chicken and fish, eagerly anticipated and salivated-over. Your knife and fork stand poised over that delectable morsel cut from the soft side of the T-bone, and this happens- the phone rings.

What if it's work and the server crashed? Or what if it's the baby-sitter and she's crashed? Or any of a dozen other terrifying possibilities. So you put down said knife and fork and answer the damned phone. And it's Bellsouth, trying to sell you internet service you cancelled over a year ago. And this is not the first or the second or indeed even the third time they've done this dastardly deed.

Forget that every time you tell them politely you are not interested. Forget that each time you tell them "I'm on the National "Do Not Call" Registry so please do not call again." Forget that they ignored that and merely changed their caller-id to show 'Out of Area' instead of the telemarketer's number in Texas or wherever they used before you told them about the NDNCR. Forget that the telemarketer laughs that off and tries to continue with their marketing script until you hang up on them.

Forget all that until you get really, totally and completely pissed off. Then sic the FCC on their sorry asses.

Businesses don't like that because they get fined; it gets them in the pocketbook and the PR book. A dissatisfied customer tells many others, like now. So how to stop the madness? Keep some basic records. Date of calls, telemarketer's name, telephone number, company name they're plugging. If they're using 'Out of Area' on the caller id, note that as well (it's against the rules to do so). Then complain.

I thought, "Well that's that, another wasted email. " But I got a surprise about ten days later.

Bellsouth was on the horn, calling me to say that they had removed me (magically!) from their telemarketing lists and that it would take a few days for that to take effect. I have to say that our government really kept the ball running on this one. And I'm one grateful citizen. Now I can sit down to enjoy that juicy steak in peace, that is if the server doesn't crash.