For Writers and Alert People: News from Nellie

Geraldine Ferraro, RIP, fought for all women.

Sarah Palin fights only for herself - and fights WITH everyone else.

Years ago, Christine Miserandino, who has lupus, started the web site

 http://www.butyoudontlooksick.com    

It was a tremendous resource for people with “invisible” illnesses, like migraine headaches, or fibromyalgia, or chronic fatigue syndrome, or arthritis, or… you get the idea.

Many people struggle with their day-to-day lives but have no outward sign of illness. I used to say that I wished my migraines would bleed, so people would know how awful I truly felt. I wanted more understanding and sympathy - but I didn’t look sick!

One night while eating in a diner with a friend, Christine hit on The Spoon Theory to explain what it feels like to be chronically tired from a long-lasting or permanent illness. She handed her friend a dozen spoons and explained that they were her energy allotment for the day. Each activity had an energy cost of one spoon.

When you are chronically tired, taking a shower is exhausting - one spoon.

Getting dressed is involved when your movements are limited and you have to consider what your symptoms will be for the day - another spoon.

Standing up on the subway on the way to work - another spoon.

And so it went. By the end of the day, there was just one spoon left. Suppose some friends call and invite you to go to a movie? One spoon might last through the movie, but you’ll be too tired to drive home or fix dinner. You have to turn down your friends, again. They might, or might not, understand.

Please see my article “Living Without Energy” at thirdage.com:

http://www.thirdage.com/fibromyalgia/have-chronic-disease-youre-spoonie

Dr. Laura Schlesinger Might Not Want to Use the Bible to Support Her Anti-Gay Agenda

In her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, she believes homosexuality is an abomination, according to Leviticus 18:22, and it cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura, written by a US resident, and posted on the Internet. It’s funny, as well as informative:

To Dr. Laura: Why can’t I own a Canadian? 

Dear Dr. Laura:
Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God’s Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God’s Laws and how to follow them:

1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can’t I own Canadians?

2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?                                                                                                    

3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?

6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination, Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don’t agree. Can you settle this? Are there ‘degrees’ of abomination?

7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?                                                              

8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10

16. Couldn’t we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I’m confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God’s word is eternal and unchanging.

Your adoring fan.
James M. Kauffman, Ed.D, Professor Emeritus,
Dept Of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education
University of Virginia

PS (It would be a damn shame if we couldn’t own a Canadian)

7 Minimalistic Posters Representing Various mental disorders.  // Very clever!

Agoraphobia                                    Dissociative Identity Disorder

OCD                                                       Narcolepsy

Gender Identity Disorder                        Depression

Anorexia Nervosa

http://twentytwowords.com/2011/03/14/7-minimalistic-posters-representing-various-mental-disorders

Just Discovered Hirotoshi Itoh - Works in Stone

I can’t believe this freaking advertisement for Diet Coke, which suggests that drinking Diet Coke is good for your heart. Why else would they put “The Heart Truth” next to their logo?

But here’s the REAL truth: 

Even after taking into consideration other risk factors like smoking, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure, people who drank diet soda every day were 61% more likely to have a “vascular event” (stroke or heart attack). Researchers found NO increased risk among people who drink regular soda.

While the Coca Cola people will work overtime to convince you that it’s pizza, not diet soda, that is the real problem, here is more to think about: caramel coloring has already been linked to vascular problems in animal studies.

The truth is that ALL soda is bad for you. But this ad campaign for Diet Coke is heinously misleading. Drink Diet Coke and this could be you:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41479869/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/

My other favorite is Psyduck because he gets migraines. I know, Psyduck, I know.

It all started with a friend of mine who ate too many carrots and turned yellow.

After that, I was prescribed too many different medications, and too many steroids for too long - for my migraine headaches - and I turned fat.

I got curious, and did some research on drug side effects that can alter our appearance. I discovered that different common prescriptions (and combinations of common drugs) can cause not only weight gain, but also:

•  Blue gums (!)  •  Grey teeth, or dark spots on your teeth •  Dry mouth (which can cause tooth decay and gingivitis) •  Hair loss (everything from thinning hair to full blown alopecia) •  Changes in hair color, and in the way your hair accepts hair dye  •  Dry, dull, brittle hair •  Acne •  Dry skin •  Increased facial hair •  Photosensitivity, phototoxicity, and photoallergy

And more!

Please read my article at www.thirdage.com and see if any of your medications are mentioned. If you start taking a new prescription and notice changes in your appearance, talk to your doctor. There’s a good chance he or she did not mention all the possible side effects because for fear you might start imagining them.  There’s also a good chance he or she can prescribe a different medication that will be just as effective for your problem, but will not affect you the same way.

Incidentally, birth control pills, hormones, and steroids can cause many cosmetic changes, as well as more serious side effects like strokes, blood clots, and cancer. Don’t take anything that isn’t absolutely necessary - and go online or read the fine print in those package inserts to find out what your doctor isn’t telling you.

RT @ILoveMyBodyBCuz

If you’re feeling disgusted with yourself, take deep breaths and remember your body is still here for you. It hasn’t given up. 

So, let me get this straight…Kelsey Grammer can end a 15 year marriage over the phone, Larry King can be on divorce #9, Britney Spears had a 55 hour marriage, Jesse James and Tiger Woods, while married, were having sex with EVERYONE. Yet, the idea of same-sex marriage is going to destroy the institution of marriage? Really?

Detroit closed half its schools & now has 60 kids in @ high school class.

NASA just blew $424 million on a rocket crash.

Here is an article pointing out that a book by ex-pat Jill Shaw Ruddock, who moved to London and wrote a book about menopause, received 52 five-star reviews on Amazon/UK all at once - and all by names that have posted no other reviews. The reviews did not actually discuss the book; they just mentioned the author’s name a lot and threw in some hyperbolic adjectives.

Probably every author begs their friends and family to post favorable reviews about their book on Amazon. That’s human nature and nothing will change it. But it’s just wrong to have a public relations machine generate dozens of fake reviews on a single day to drive up a book’s ranking. 

Amazon reviewers are supposed to “sign in,” but is there any attempt made to verify the existence of a legitimate e-mail address? I have never tried to scam the system, so I don’t know the answer. 

It would not be hard to flag books receiving an unusual number of reviews, and it would not be hard to verify e-mail accounts. Amazon could do better, and we would be able to buy with more confidence.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1362830/Eyebrows-raised-menopause-survival-guide-gets-52-star-Amazon-reviews-days-publication.html

When Democrats organize, 17,000 people donate to run an ad.

When the GOP organizes, 1 billionaire runs an ad.

I love, love, love this blog post from Elizabeth Patch, Artist, High School Art Teacher, and Real Woman. 

 Imagine a room full of teenage girls who live in a land filled with images of beautiful women. Every beautiful woman in these images is extremely thin and tall, with skin as smooth and flawless as a doll. Sometimes these images have been digitally altered to give the women longer legs or smaller hips, longer necks or thinner waistlines. Sometimes the women themselves have surgically altered their own bodies. But no matter what color hair or eyes or skin, all of these beautiful women have the same type of body.

The girls carefully study these images, and dream of someday becoming like them.

Teach these girls about the beautiful daughters of  Zeus: Euphrosyne, Aglaea and Thalia, Goddesses who represent the feminine Graces of Beauty, Charm and Joy. 
These “Three Graces” presided over banquets to entertain and delight the guests of the Gods.

Tell them about the painter Peter Paul Rubens and the Baroque period of art, with its emphasis on curving forms, luscious colors and details, rich mythological meanings, swirling movement, dramatic composition.

Now imagine showing the following painting to these girls:
The Three Graces,
by Peter Paul Rubens, 1636-1638
Museo del Prado

I bet you can guess the reaction!THESE are the beautiful daughters of Zeus?!?! Eeeuu! Fat! Soft & squishy arms! Cellulite! Butt dimples! Belly rolls! Gross! Ugly!

But their reaction is not much different from the kind of fault-finding women of all ages do every single day when we look in the mirror…

The term “Rubenesque” refers to a “plump, fleshy woman” according to my dictionary. To our modern eyes, trained to admire the “Perfect Thin Beauty,” Ruben’s women seem too fleshy, and beyond plump; they’re just plain disgusting!
In fact, they are neither too fat nor abnormally fleshy; they are fairly accurate representations of normal female (Caucasian) adult bodies.

Let’s try some modern clothes on the Three Graces. A tank top and some “skinny jeans”…

I don’t think that Euphrosyne, Aglaea and Thalia deserve such strongly negative reactions, do you?

I don’t think WE deserve such strongly negative reactions when we judge ourselves, either!

The ladies in the painting are no more “real” than the photographs in a magazine.
Artists, Rubens included, often change things around to meet an ideal. However, they show us that feminine beauty has NOT always been the angular, lanky and bony figures that predominate the media. They show us that the normal curves, dimples, rolls and bulges that we all have (sooner or later!) can be a thing of beauty, value, pride, desire.
They show us that even Goddesses have cellulite!

Work of Art

Look at yourself
through a painter’s eyes.
Look at yourself
through a sculptor’s hands.
Look at yourself
through a poet’s words.

You are an incredible woman!

from More to Love, © Elizabeth Patch, all rights reserved

Used with permission of Elizabeth Patch, author and illustrator of More to Love. She created the Modern Three Graces using PhotoShop. To see charming original artwork by Elizabeth, and to read more of her wonderful posts, please see her web site at:  http://elizabethpatch.com/2011/01/rubenesque-work-of-art.html

Bear with me, and you’ll see why I’m upset.

When you have a chance, please read this excellent, insightful response to Dr. Oz’s show about autism, from Dr. Ari Brown at http://autismsciencefoundation.wordpress.com/2011/02/17/response-to-dr-oz-show-from-dr-ari-brown/

Autism is a tricky disorder with some tricky issues surrounding it. Issue #1 is obviously vaccines. The original report linking vaccines to autism has been thoroughly discredited, not only by many of the people who wrote it, but also by further studies and meta-analysis of studies. However, because of people like Dr. Oz - who handled the subject miserably on his show - this issue will never be put to bed.

The organization Autism Speaks has divided against itself over the issue: with limited funds available, should still more money be poured into the vaccine question, or is it time to move on and fund other aspects of research?

Dr. Oz and pediatrician Dr. Bob Sears both said on the show that they used a “delayed” vaccination schedule, although there is no evidence this prevents autism. Just as many kids develop autism on the delayed vaccine schedule as on the regular schedule. However, with the delayed schedule, young children do not receive their shots when they are most at risk.

In fact, a patient of Dr. Sears did not receive his MMR shot, he contracted the measles, and he was responsible for an outbreak in San Diego that ultimately lead to the exposure of 839 people and 11 more cases of measles (all in unvaccinated children). Four children contracted the measles in Dr. Sears’s waiting room. One baby, too young to be vaccinated, was hospitalized - at a cost of $15,000. Another 48 children who were too young to be vaccinated had to be quarantined for several weeks.

Dr. Sears said online it “doesn’t actually matter” if the child was his patient. His thoroughly inadequate response: “Fortunately, all cases passed without complications, as is usually the case with measles.”  

No complications?  Illnesses, hospitalization, untold anxiety, quarantines, lost work days for parents, and medical expenses apparently mean nothing to him. Measles can cause brain swelling and pneumonia, and is not a benign disease. A measles outbreak in 1990 resulted in the deaths of three children.

For more information on the Sears-related outbreak, please see the excellent summary at http://justthevax.blogspot.com/2010/12/ho-how-did-i-miss-this.html

New York Times ran an article about “vaccine skeptics” called “Public Health Risk Seen as Parents Reject Vaccines.” Dr. Bob Sears is quoted as saying he didn’t think vaccinating children is a “critical public health issue.” What do they teach at Georgetown University School of Medicine?

Dr. Wilbert Mason responded to the article, saying, “We would not be having a debate about vaccines at all if people realized the tremendous costs in suffering and human life we incurred before vaccines became available… This is a free country but we should all feel some responsibility to our fellow citizens and their children.”

 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/21/us/21vaccine.html

stakkida:

time to be a cat.