Archive for August, 2005
Happy News
Sunday, August 28th, 2005Between the hurricane, Iraqi unrest over their constitution, the unbridled rage over our presence in Iraq by some, psycho serial killers, medications that kill and maim, oil prices topping $70, and the sad news of Brad and Jennifer, it seems that good news is hard to come by.
While musing on this, I searched Google news for good news. The results came up empty.
Our society seems consumed by studying pathology instead of studying what works. Happiness ceased to be hip some time ago. Contentedness confused with apathy.
Normal everyday joys and surprising joys too, get scant attention–watching your childs face beam with pride as she does “the pencil” off the diving board, hearing the baby laugh when tickled under the collar bone, sharing a nerdy joke, reading about animals coming back from extinction, hearing an inspiring sermon, talking on the phone to a long-distance friend, watching the full moon cross the sky and pour light through the windown onto your pillow, getting lost in the sound of the thunder and lightening and rain pounding on the roof, watching the trees blow, ducking so the radiant blue dragon-fly doesn’t clip your head.
Every day is filled with magic and wonder that goes unnoticed and unvalued.
It seems to me that these moments don’t support some side’s agenda. They occur without posturing. They can’t be forced. These moments come to you and you must be open to be aware of them.
I’m tired of Rush Limbaugh and Rosie O’Donnell. I’m tired of Al Sharpton (and Franken, too) and Pat Robertson. I’m tired of the shrieking on all sides. It seems that everyone is looking through their filter, seeing what they want to see, but that’s not enough–everyone has to agree with them or else.
That’s not to say the topics being argued aren’t important–they are important. And somewhere in the mess there are right answers. But are they more important than the good news that we ignore?
My blog contributes to the cacophony, I suppose. I would love for you all to help me here. Saturdays will be from now on, dedicated to Good News alone. Email me your happy stories, funny jokes and inspirations.
We all need happy news.
Katrina Komin’
Saturday, August 27th, 2005
Most of the time urgent weather forecasts annoy. For example, Houston is hot. During the summer it is really, really hot. Every summer seems to surprise our intrepid weather reports. They screech by the time late August arrives and, surprise, it’s still hot.
But even the boy who cried wolf eventually got eaten by the real thing. When I read about a 72 year old New Orleans lady say that she wasn’t leaving because she couldn’t afford a ticket and where would she go? I got shudders.
Eventually, a hurricane will blast New Orleans. Pinched between Lake Ponchatrain and the Gulf, she will drown under eight to twenty feet of water. The damage to houses in neighborhoods less than a mile from me that were under eight feet of water still are not the same after Tropical Storm Allison. They are never the same. The neighborhoods are destroyed and disgusting.
Katrina will hurt wherever it hits. People need to GET OUT NOW. Leave now before things get crazy tomorrow. And the complacent people of New Orleans need to realize that this time they just may get eaten.
Feedback: Post About Sex
Saturday, August 27th, 2005
Well, I got feedback. Two incisive comments, really. A dude from Newfoundland suggested “if you really want people to come, you could talk about sex. it’s always been a hot topic” and a dudette suggested that ” instead of bitching about peace protests why don’t you go downtown and enlist.”
So, sex or enlist in the army. Hmmm….. Since enlisting in the army really isn’t an option for me at the moment being old, feeble, and motherly (not that I didn’t feel primal rage and wished I could march down and enlist after 9/11), I guess that leaves sex as a “hot topic”.
Where to start?
- How about mating rituals of monkeys, our nearest dearest ancestors? Read more here.
- How about the number of children from married people (used to be sex had something to do with this–now with IVF and turkey basters, well). Learn more here.
- How about how often Europeans who drive cars who have the most sex? Turns out that those old guys who drive the red Porche–they are compensating for something. Learn more here.
- Does frequency of intercourse correspond with sex life satisfaction? Find the answer here.
- What happens when you have unprotected sex? Not just babies. Find out about STIs (Sexually Transmitted Infections) like Herpes, Warts, Chlamidia, Syphyllis, HIV and lots more fun stuff here.
- Insecure about your sex life? Fear that everyone is having sex more than you? Confirm your fears here and here.
- Want to know why your wife has lost interest in sex? Find out here.
- Want to know why your husband has lost interest in sex? Find out here. Or just take it from me: HE’S HAVING AN AFFAIR!!!
So that sums up my “sex” post. Let me know if you like it or not.
1000 Hits Are Coming
Friday, August 26th, 2005Hey Ya’ll! Wouldn’t it be cool if the blog passed 1000 this weekend? I’m no Glenn Reynolds, but Hey! I’m working on it.
Pass the blog around people. Give me feedback. Thank you all so much!
Conservatives in Higher Ed
Friday, August 26th, 2005Won’t find many for many reasons. Read more here and here. Thank you Jim Lundgren at The Volokh Conspiracy.
Topics I’m Concerned About & Time Wasters
Friday, August 26th, 2005Here are topics I care about (in no particular order):
- Iraq, their Constitution, Democracy & Islam (is it possible), Sharia law as a basis for Democracy, etc.
- Embryonic Stem Cells
- Hurricanes (will people start leaving Florida? Sheesh!)
- EU–their currency, in-fighting and course for the future
- Neuroeconomics–studying the brain to find out what we’ll buy (I believe that huge strides in emotional research are coming down the pipe due to Functional MRIs and corporate giants heavily contributing to studies to understand more about motivation.)
- Inflationary pressure and the housing market
- Trade pressure and the stock market
- Dollar value and the economy
- Illegal immigration and effects on the economy
Things I’m bored with:
- Judge Roberts–dudes a blank piece of paper. Ho hum. MSM can’t seem to wrap the collective mind around a boring guy.
- Lance Armstrong–doping or no doping or WHO CARES it was 1999 and the French have it in for him.
- Cindy Sheehan–angry lady cloaking her politics in her son’s death. Yuck. Done.
- Celebrities and their silly, superficial opinions.
- Hand-wringing over box-office receipts being off. Snooze! Get used to it guys. It’s called HOME THEATER.
- Oil prices. They get high enough we’ll be biking to work and walking to the grocery store (we live close enough. Isn’t that nice?) It’s called supply and demand. People will buy gas-saving cars. Need will drive innovation. Everyone is happy.
- The Housing Bubble. Oy vey. Yup people will get spanked ‘cuz pigs get eaten. Own fault.
I’ll add to the list later.
Update: Time Waster–Pat Robertson who falls into the celebrities category just the other direction.
Airplane Food
Friday, August 26th, 2005
Over the past few years (since the advent of kids), my pre-airplane-travel regimen includes stopping by the local deli and bringing a very nice lunch for me and my travel partners on the plane. Airplane food gets a bad rap for good reason. Now, British Airways is having “hygiene problems” with their food.
It was bad enough that the food made you sick in a manner of speaking–now it actually does. Read more here.
I have a BRILLIANT idea free to all airlines. (Continental, American, Northwest, Delta, United, Southwest) Since lots of us book online and pick our seats even, why not include a $10 extra fee for lunch? Let us order a known brand deli sandwich (Boars Head comes to mind–go to the site the food looks goooood), the kind of Frito-Lay chips we want, a side of fresh fruit and have it automatically linked to some sort of caterer. Have it delivered that day at the gate in a lunch box. No extra or wasted food. No food for people who won’t pay. Good food for those who want it.
Logistical nightmare no doubt, but this is America for heavens sake. I know this is possible!
Fetus Pain Again
Friday, August 26th, 2005The unbiased scientists published by the American Medical Journal regarding fetal pain not existing until the 29th week of gestation failed to disclose interesting credentials. Read them here and here. Do you think a former lawyer of NARAL would have a stake in the results of the study?
Remember, too, that 30% of studies are reversed. More studies conflict. Read more here.
Between bias and ignorance (there is lots we don’t know), there is considerable risk in taking almost any study at face value.
Mood and Emotions and Temperment
Friday, August 26th, 2005Believe it or not, neuropsychologists and other mind people, have yet to figure out the concept of mood. At first look, moods are simple. We say things like: “I’m in a bad mood” or “I’m in a great mood” or “Nothing can bother me today” (a subconscious challenge to all bosses, it seems), etc.
But moods are not so simple. While emotions are our inward feelings coming out (showing on our face or physiology with increased heart beat), moods seem to be the back-drop upon which emotions play out.
For example, I might wake up and end argue with my spouse about whose turn it is to empty the dishwasher. Still fuming, the drive to work does nothing to calm me. On this angry-mood back drop, my friend tells me the most exciting news. After years of trying she is now pregnant and everything is great! Under normal circumstances, I would be jumping up and down with delight, giving hugs, and offering a free lunch. This day though, it seems that I must force myself to be happy.
The opposite can happen too. Feeling great, I go to work and hear that there will be lay-offs. Ugh. I should be more worried, but I just can’t muster it today. My co-workers look at me like I’m some kind of loon.
And then we have our temperment. Moms will swear a baby is born happy, a “prickly pear”, quiet, shy, etc. My experience confirms this. My kids have changed little since birth. One was quiet and determined. One was shy and screamed bloody murder in strangers faces. One was active and jovial. They are still young. Science, too, confirms that people gel around 25 years old tempermentally. We change little over time and cement as we get older. This is not a bad thing. Can you imagine marrying someone who morphed from a quiet homebody into the life of the party? Big temperment changes like that might cause problems.
The bottom line? Emotions do not spontaneously occur in a vacuum. Our temperment and mood often form the stage setting for the emotional display. A bleak dark day is unlikely to produce a zippy response to teasing. More likely, the bad-mood Betty will be sarcastic or sullen.
And here is where character comes into play. We may feel bad. We may well have been wronged. Our character, though, determines how we convey our feelings. Do we transfer our irritation instead of dealing with the source? Do we justify our bad attitude when we have the ability to change it?
We may be born a certain way, we may experience irritating conflicts, we may even be angry, but we can always choose to behave in a way that honors another person.
Week 1 Past Wisdom Tooth Removal
Thursday, August 25th, 2005Just an update. A week blinks by in Dr. M’s super spaz world. The tooth crater has filled in some, but the stitch still hangs on. The Dentist told me it would come out around 10 days, so we’ll see.
Grogginess gone. Busy-ness back. Feeling no pain. Hoping that I never have to have dental work again. Ever. I am just that big of a wimp.
