American Horror Story: Asylum
I shouldn't like FX's second season of American Horror Story. I'm sensitive to negative portrayals of people with mental illness and can't stand when emotional and personality disorders are associated with violence and horror. But this is a hard show for me to...
NaNoWriMo 2012
National Novel Writing Month 2012 is almost over. This has been my first time doing it and in just a few more days of wild-eyed typing, I'll hit the 50,000-word goal which will make me a winner. What do I win? It's kind of like a marathon: if you complete the...
Shopping ON a major holiday?
Dear Americans, Please don’t shop on Thanksgiving Day. It only encourages big corporations to make their employees miserable on the one day every American should be able to relax. There's a nasty trend of stores beginning their Black Friday sales on the evening...
How Long Would Your Dog Let You Do This?
I understand that all dogs have different levels of tolerance for close human contact. Ozzie seems to have no limit. He lets me lie on top of him like this for quite a while. He lets me use him as a leg rest (when we lie on the futon sofa) for hours. I also understand...
Uncomfortable with the New Me
Previous post on my fatness. I'm fatter these days, but also happier. I've kicked my harsh inner critic out of the driver's seat and am treating myself gently and kindly. I'm not restricting food, I'm not eating for emotional reasons and I feel physically great: more...
National Novel Writing Month
We are now ten days into National Novel Writing Month, also called NaNoWriMo. Each year during this month, thousands of people from all over the world take a stab at producing a 50,000-word draft of a novel in just four weeks. Since November has 30 days, that means...
Make Friends with Red and Blue
Several months ago National Public Radio did a story on how divided our country has become socially and politically. The story described the way Americans lived in centuries past: more towns where rich and poor attended the same church, more daily interaction between...
Gratitude
President Obama is re-elected! If I believed in a god, I'd thank It.
Hate Exercise? Don’t Do It
We are such a self-punishing culture. Americans, especially women, often try to achieve ideal health or appearance in truly painful ways. While there's no getting around the pain of laser treatment or pelvic exams, there are many ways that we hurt ourselves completely...
Better Digestion
One stunning side effect of my recent achievements in self-nurturing and loving myself is that my digestion has improved. I've struggled with self-loathing behaviors and low self esteem my whole life, but my digestion only started having real problems a few years ago....
I’m Writing an Ebook
November is National Novel Writing Month (commonly called NaNoWriMo). Each year thousands of people take a shot at producing 50,000 words between November 1st and 30th. This year I'm joining in. What do you do when you find yourself the owner of a dog who does such...
Thriller Flash Mob in Rogers Park
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Xanfn1tozo&feature=youtu.be I DID IT! I was in my first flash mob ever! On Sunday morning I did the Thriller dance sequence at the Glenwood Farmer's Market (in Chicago, IL USA) with about 25 other people who did this for...