A Flurry of Thoughts..... About Cheese The milk derivative, casein, which is often in “lactose free” and “dairy free” products like soy cheese and yogurt causes cancer to grow in 87% of the poor little creatures labs use for tests. About the Carnivore The carnivore has a very short digestive track in order to get the “meat” in and out as quickly as possible, as it will cause all kinds of trouble if it is allowed to linger in the intestines (polyps, cancers, bacteria infections, etc.) A little something about el Rodeo As much as we would like to believe that bulls are wild, out of control creatures – making rodeos an expression of bravery for el cowpoke– it is, in fact, a contrived condition forced upon a docile animal. A leather strap is fastened around a particularly sensitive nerve and then pinched causing excruciating pain for the animal. The bronco and steer are simply trying to get away from the pain. Add to this a man with sharpened spurs kicking him in the groin and you begin ...
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Sometimes you read something that reiterates all the sentiments you have. Regardless of how much you might want the words to be your own, they belong to someone else. I wish I had written the following, but then again, the New York Times would be bugging me about deadlines and such, which would seriously interfere with my working out and down time. So, with no further ado, Mr. William Rivers Pitt and...... the REAL State of the Union Address The Economy: Since 2000, the number of Americans living in poverty has risen to almost 37 million with more than 13 million being children. Over one in four American families with children make less than $30,000 a year – 46% of African American families and 44% Hispanic families make well below this amount. Average annual income for Americans fell again in 2005. Savings has dropped to Depression Era levels. 46 million Americans live without health insurance The response to this? Vice President Cheney, three days before Christmas, cast the tie-brea...
“Good day sunshine…good day sunshine…” Yes, it’s a good day. I went to the doc (Dr. Michael “The” Mann – best orthopedic doc anywhere) and the MRI shows a tear to the meniscus. But I can continue with my life, as it appears my knee has ended its mutinous ways and is working with me. Swelling is down, movement is back and I am able to resume with my yoga and aerobic classes and elliptical machines. The Mann said he was proud of me, which is awesome to hear. Makes me want to send him a basket or something. I have a clean car. My finger has deflated to “just a bit” swollen. After spending all day yesterday, no exaggeration, trying to figure out why I could not get online, I finally got it this morning. I am having a delightful tofurky hickory smoked turkey, cheez (yeah, this vegan cheese is actually edible), lettuce, carrot and honey mustard sandwich . And for dessert…vegan chocolate chip cookies! Woohoo! And they taste like c.c. cookies! Not like something that would come out of Barbie’...
Power Tools A lifetime ago…mid 80’s...I had returned from a stint in England for about 9 months and I was back in Houston. I ran into a girl I knew in high school and she invited me to a little get together at her boyfriend’s house in the Montrose. That’s where I met one of the greatest guy friends I have ever had, still have, came to my wedding and my fortieth birthday. It got to be a pretty regular thing that we would get together, about six of us usually sometimes more sometimes less, around ten or so on Friday and Saturday nights and go to either Numbers or a place called Power Tools – in downtown Houston. I loved Power Tools. I mean, I loved it . I would go, on my own, after work at the Ale House on Alabama on Thursday nights and go straight to Power Tools. You walked down into the club – about twenty maybe thirty steps, paid your entrance fee, and entered a cave, with all these little nooks and crannies. Alcoves with couches or seats usually occupied with subversives or artists o...
Hamas I have but one thing to say about the elections in Palestine. Let’s see if Hamas, (also the former name of the Movement of Society for Peace) labeled a terrorist organization, can become part of the system in a constructive, positive way now that it has won so much political capital. It could be an incredible precedent. Instead of alienating, demonizing and forcing groups like this to the fringe, incorporating them into the “mainstream” could make for a completely different path for the future. Something to think about. I am cautiously hopeful.
20 years since Challenger. I remember being in my mom's living room. Not a big "space" person, I watched casually as it launched. I saw it go up with the trail of white following behind. I saw something come off....that usually happens, right? I thought to myself. Parts that are just dead weight...rocket boosters, etc. I thought to myself, knowingly. I'm so clever. Then the fateful "Y". The split. I sat there trying to get my mind around it. Initially, being "space" naive, I truly thought that it was supposed to do that. But I started questioning almost immediately. "Hey, mom. Come in here." She came. "Is that supposed to happen?" We watched, and within moments knew. Knew from the horrified looks on the families faces who were there to watch their loved ones make history. The solemn voices of ground control and the commentators. Doing the adventurous, the daring is a risk. Tragedy happens every single moment of every single day...
The Young Ones I drive my son to school every morning. He would ride his bike, but there are no sidewalks since the school was built on the edge of the community. We drive, usually, in disappearing darkness past million dollar bricked in communities, past the most incredible displaced English manor, and an encroaching community of mid-range homes. That’s all the left. On the right is open field. In the misty soft lighting of sunrise, the silhouettes of the cattle come into view. Above, on a telephone line, sits a hawk. I am always captivated by the birds of prey, but that’s another story. On the field, little social groupings splatter about, lone cows graze and the new guys, the calves, capture my attention and heart. There is nothing that affects me more than the young. Babies, toddlers, kids in general, and young animals. As I drive back from the high school, I watch as the calves suddenly burst into a bucking, frolicking dance and tear around in a circle. It’s a freedom thing, I gue...
Smokin'! I have a soft spot for smokers. I smoked for twenty plus years but decided that I wasn’t going to be smoking at forty, so I quit. Sounds so easy. It was so not. I was rehashing history a while ago with my sister who went with me on one of my many, oh, and I do so mean many, attempts to quit. We went to a hypnotist. I laid back on the couch, my sister sat protectively in a chair behind the hypnotist. He started his soothing talk, swinging a gold object in front of me like a pendulum. You are relaxed (how much did this cost again?) your eyes are getting heavy (what time do I have to be at work?) you are getting slllleeeeppppeeee (better get gas and then take Steph home) . This went on for about thirty minutes. I can’t really recall what he said, but I did manage to make a complete grocery and to-do list for the rest of the week. My sister, however, a non-smoker, has no intention of smoking ever again. I remember semi-jogging to the exit in order to light up. I tried Zyban...
Here We Go Again..... . Yesterday in the New York Times an article appeared labeled “White House Was Told Hurricane Posed Danger” and this followed: “Homeland Security Department report submitted to the White House at 1:47 a.m. on Aug. 29, hours before the storm hit, said, "Any storm rated Category 4 or greater will likely lead to severe flooding and/or levee breaching." The internal department documents, which were forwarded to the White House, contradict statements by President Bush and the homeland security secretary, Michael Chertoff, that no one expected the storm protection system in New Orleans to be breached. "I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees," Mr. Bush said in a television interview on Sept. 1. "Now we're having to deal with it, and will." Other documents to be released Tuesday show that the weekend before Hurricane Katrina made landfall, Homeland Security Department officials predicted that its impact would be wor...
What exactly is the war on terror? That is not a rhetorical question, it is one that I have had rolling around my head for about a week. I remember how I felt during the war on communism. Threatened. Frightened. But exactly how do you fight an abstract foe? It’s not like you can look at someone, their passport, voter registration card, student id or drivers license and tell. It is a philosophy. A way of thinking that is not contained by any organized religion or organization. There are places where they seem to congregate, but it appears that terrorism isn’t just being applied to people who want to terrorize, but to anyone that uses alternative, more destructive means to draw attention to their cause. Unfortunately, any time you start diluting in order to broaden the scope, the focus and intensity is lost. Someone letting minks out of their prisons is not a terrorist. Someone who blows up uninhabited cars and destroys property is not a terrorist. They are vandals and breaking the law, ...
Gotta Go Gotta Go Gotta Go RIGHT NOW! Have you ever felt like you were just going to blow? You felt it building and you try to reign yourself in, but for whatever reason your blood pressure continues to rise, the hairs on the back of your neck stand at attention, you might get a growing knot in your stomach. I’ll use the example of a small child. A precious, darling of a child. You adore this kid, and you do all that you can to protect her but of course you have to trust that others will realize the worth of this prized human being, and tenderly nurture her as you have. You send her to a school, you aren’t crazy about the school but with the wonderful system we have in place, as usual, the money isn’t attached to the person, it is attached to the institution, you send your kid to this school. You hear rumblings of improprieties. You try to investigate but can’t seem to get anywhere. And then you turn the corner to her classroom and you’re in your worse freaking nightmare. Your precious...
Mirror Mirror From what I gather, there has been quite the hullabaloo regarding Senator Hilary’s comments at an MLK function on Monday. She said that the administration and the house are run like “a plantation” and that this administration will go down in the history books as the worst to a predominantly black group of attendees. I do agree that this administration is the worst ever, but the whole house thing…I don’t know, I'm not in the loop on that whole gig. I do take issue with the Hillster for her lack of consistency. Ah! The plight of the democrat! What was the Fox News Mantra for Kerry (except the lack of equal time, swift-boating, attacking and negative imagery)? – flip flop flip flop. I don’t mind her saying what she thinks to this group, just start saying what you think all the time. Don’t say one thing to one group and another to a different group. Of course, you aren’t going to talk about racial equality to a bunch of war vets, likewise you aren’t going to dominate yo...
Special K So what is the K Street Project? A fitness program? A response to the British Downing Street Memo ? From the repub side, it is described as an answer to the 40-year stranglehold the demos had on the house and the senate. I am often baffled by this kind of response to scrutiny. I have received it not only from my own children but also from every child I have ever encountered, when confronted by a big mistake, problem or mismanagement. “He started it!” “She did it first!” 12 years ago, in 1994 Majority Party Whip DeLay wanted to ensure that repubs kept hold of the house and senate. K Street is where most of the lobbying firms and trade associations have their offices in Washington. DeLay launched The K Street Project so that the money flowing from K Street firms flowed only to repubs. Demo lobbyists were replaced by repub ex-staffers. If demos were hired by any of the firms, repubs found out about it and would not pass certain bills or other such legislation that would benefit ...
A Little Clarification Alright, I just got through doing a little surfing and I have to clarify a couple of things. Just because I am a vegan does not mean that I am a freak. I am not particularly aware of positive or negative energy in my house or swirling around my loved ones. I cannot say that I have ever actually had the pleasure...or displeasure of centering my Chi. I had out of body experiences when I was really young but haven't had any since I was twelve. I don't see auras. I think they exist but I don't see them. I don't see dead people and cannot communicate with anyone who has passed . I don't feng my shui. In fact, I don't feng anyone's shui. I'm sure it works for some people but I don't know what it is. I don't "unschool". I pay taxes. I don't hear the carrots or broccoli screaming - but if you do, you might want to see someone. I rarely wear tie-dye and I do get my hair cut. I might not be that into makeup, but mostly ...
Diving in with Ice Cube It appears that others see that the race issue needs further examination. Not the blatant confederacy, KKK, white power type of racism but the continuous, acceptable flow that exists everywhere, every moment of the day. I want to say it’s ignorance but I think that would be ignorant. You can tell. You can tell when someone knows when they are saying something they shouldn’t say. The other day, Cody did a re-enactment of someone about to tell a racist joke or make a racist comment. The swiveling of the head looking right, then left and then the ducking in, moving closer to the recipient for the commentary. It’s everywhere from the seemingly positive ( well, you know, Orientals take school so much more seriously ) to the obviously negative ( blacks and Hispanics bring the property value down. It’s a fact! That doesn’t make me racist!! ). Now it looks like a show (created by Ice Cube and Culter - the guy who did The War Room) on FX in March will be diving head firs...