bloggie blog

From Scientific American’s daily podcast comes this health (and dating) tip. Glow from Eating Well Judged Healthy-Looking: “Eat fruits and vegetables if you want your face to advertise your fitness.”

Thought I’d post that, now that I’m feeling better about food. I got food poisoning late Monday night last week. The symptoms are bad but only last 24 hours … except that they take several days to really go away.

I’m hungry for carotenoids now. Off to eat some carrots.

Some words of wisdom from Don Miguel Ruiz:

Be Impeccable With Your Word
Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

Don’t Take Anything Personally
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.

Don’t Make Assumptions
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

Always Do Your Best
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.

My family has been working towards improving my sister Cynthia’s health. She has MS and has tried for many years to find treatments to relieve her symptoms. Last month we rented a hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) chamber for her. I was skeptical that this would help, but it made a difference. She is regaining lost vision, and is retaining more in her short-term memory. It’s fair to say that I can hear the improvements during our phone calls.

Taking a chance, I asked a bunch of friends if they could donate. Most didn’t donate, and that’s as I expected. Times are tough! There are so many worthy causes! I get it! But a few people have been able to donate and have been amazingly generous in their giving. I am blown away. Thank you, David. Thank you, Dossy. Thank you, Linda. Thank you, Lewis. Thank you, Quincy, Mass! And the list goes on. Your generosity amazes me.

This morning my youngest sister Emily wrote with the news that the fundraising efforts have paid off to the point where the HBO chamber is being bought today.

Thank you, friends. My family thanks you. I thank you. Thank you.

(Donations are still accepted! Leave me a note if you’d like to help. There will be an ongoing trickle of ancillary costs that will add up.)

It’s time to get a little political. We need healthcare reform desperately, of that I am sure. If you disagree with some of the specifics that are being promoted, that is okay, I’m not convinced the current proposals are the best thing. But I am sure that the status quo must be improved, that change is necessary. If you are one of the millions of angry have’s who don’t see that … walk a mile, that’s all I’m saying. Freelance for a while, get sick just when you change jobs. You have no idea.

Time for a few videos. I decided not to embed these, just be sure to click through and watch.

First, one from The Daily Show. Fast forward to 3:13 to see a student at the University of Colorado in Boulder who complains to President Obama on behalf of all those poor private enterprises who can’t possibly compete against a public institution. Dude, you’re enrolled at a public institution! I don’t see a problem with our public-private way of education. My suggestion to the student: transfer to a private college before the irony and guilt lead you to harm yourself. My suggestion to Obama: open up cans of whoopass on douchebags like him.

Here’s another great video, from CNN. A woman says Nazi something or other in a town hall meeting in Massachusetts, and Rep. Frank rightly tells her off. Comparing the bringing of death to the Jews with the bringing of health to the needy should be insulted even more vigorously. I don’t always agree with Barney Frank, but good for him on this occasion.

There are so many other stories out there if you just listen. One guy paid for insurance for decades without using it, got an illness, lost his job and kicked out of his insurance. What is insurance for? Hello! So very, very wrong. As for the Democrats’ current plans, there are occasionally some thoughtful rebuttals out there, but not from the loudmouths on radio nor the TV pundits nor the angry townhall yellers.

One more video, from Dana Gould for Real Time with Bill Maher, whose last 30 seconds ends with the observation that the haves are pissed and angry and obsessed with Hitler, and the have-nots are well-behaved and grateful. Mandatory viewing.

I went downtown for an audition today, and decided to take the subway. As it turns out, the escalator at the Civic Center stop was out of order. The entrance there is a whopping 105 steps straight up — which is kind of awesome. There may be other staircases in LA with about the same number of steps, but the ones I’ve found have landings, turns and other distractions. This is one-hundred and five steps straight up (albeit divided into 5 groups of 21 with a slightly longer step between groups).

First of all, let me say that I believe in stairs. I take the stairs whenever I can, and I go for walks. When I’m weak, I take the escalator walking. Taking stairs over taking the elevator is one of the keys to health that merits greater promotion: I secretly suspect that if Americans started doing this as they went about their business, it would provide greater health benefit than, say, free gym memberships to everybody over 30. I can just feel our collective BMI dropping a point or two.

Anyway, I observed that 105 steps in a row turns into a mental thing. It can mess you up — especially if you’re thinking about it! Try it. Walking a long, straight staircase and counting or marking rhythm is a fascinating mental exercise in concentration — or the lack thereof! I recommend the mental experiment next time you’re near Temple & Hill in downtown LA.

(Google Maps link to satellite view of the opening of this subway entrance.)

The 11 Best Foods You Aren’t Eating

This is one of the most popular articles on the NYT site. So far this year, I’ve had 4 of the 11 foods I supposedly am not eating. (I’ll let you guess which ones.) Check ’em out!