Indigo Requiem
Unto my wilding heart
Healthy, young, unsure
You came.
Taxing skill and delicacy
Pleading, probing, strong
You grew.
Within my distraught life
Bounding, brave, independent
You lived.
Taken from my hearth
Capricious, incomplete, unfettered
You left.
8.30.2004
8.27.2004
I hate to say it,...BUT
According to this report, the government has finally made a decisive and positive step towards reconfiguring the "Food Pyramid" and for the folks who are blind followers this may be the first step on the road to decreased obesity and healthier lifestyles in the US. How many times have you been in public and been absolutely awestruck by the magnitude of an ass, belly or bosom?? For me, it doesn't happen rarely enough. Coming from generations of weight-challenged and obese relatives, I have been hyper-conscious of my health, weight and fitness. At times I have been obsessive, and at others adopted a manner of blissful unawareness; and I must say that my body has suffered in each instance.
I note in this article that not only are refined grains relegated to the "Don't Eat" list, but that the words "moderation" and "balance" are emphasized. YEA!!! HOORAH!! Nobody wants to go on the bean diet just to lose that extra 100#'s of gut...regardless of the fact that is asking just too much of the average American. So here's the governemental endorsement to kick just one measley item off your daily intake...white bread (Boo, thumbs down to refined grains!). You'd be amazed what cutting out bread does to your waistline, butt, and multiple chin.
Don't get me wrong...butter tortillas rock my world, a smoked turkey sandwich on sourdough is heavenly, and I do love my vices (glug,glug, puff,puff) - just not EVERY day, EVERY meal. When did eating become the center of our universe?? We structure everything around consuming: "Hey, let's do lunch!" "Why don't we discuss it over dinner?" "What did YOU have for breakfast?"...and so on. It's apparent that we as a culture have adopted eating as our backdrop for everything from casual socializing to executive decisions. When was the last time you heard someone suggest, "Hey, let's meet at the gym and discuss it there." "Take a walk with me, I'd like to know more about you." or "Let's take a 10 minute calisthenics break."
I've been an unconventional eater and exerciser for some time now and as such am used to the queer looks and snide queries, but I feel good. Walking outside the lines can be lonely and uncomfortable, but you do it long enough and people start to look and point. Then suddenly they want to know what's going on over there. And, hopefully, you can drag a few over and they can discover for themselves. After all, isn't it about self discovery and feeling good?!
I note in this article that not only are refined grains relegated to the "Don't Eat" list, but that the words "moderation" and "balance" are emphasized. YEA!!! HOORAH!! Nobody wants to go on the bean diet just to lose that extra 100#'s of gut...regardless of the fact that is asking just too much of the average American. So here's the governemental endorsement to kick just one measley item off your daily intake...white bread (Boo, thumbs down to refined grains!). You'd be amazed what cutting out bread does to your waistline, butt, and multiple chin.
Don't get me wrong...butter tortillas rock my world, a smoked turkey sandwich on sourdough is heavenly, and I do love my vices (glug,glug, puff,puff) - just not EVERY day, EVERY meal. When did eating become the center of our universe?? We structure everything around consuming: "Hey, let's do lunch!" "Why don't we discuss it over dinner?" "What did YOU have for breakfast?"...and so on. It's apparent that we as a culture have adopted eating as our backdrop for everything from casual socializing to executive decisions. When was the last time you heard someone suggest, "Hey, let's meet at the gym and discuss it there." "Take a walk with me, I'd like to know more about you." or "Let's take a 10 minute calisthenics break."
I've been an unconventional eater and exerciser for some time now and as such am used to the queer looks and snide queries, but I feel good. Walking outside the lines can be lonely and uncomfortable, but you do it long enough and people start to look and point. Then suddenly they want to know what's going on over there. And, hopefully, you can drag a few over and they can discover for themselves. After all, isn't it about self discovery and feeling good?!
8.26.2004
Trivial Pursuit
I pride myself on knowing useless bits of drivel, trivia and biological detail; however, when this simple question was asked in my office today, I drew a blank. So, in honor of senseless knowledge cravers everywhere I bring you...
Do cashews have shells?
Do cashews have shells?
The Blue Jay
Emily Dickinson
No brigadier throughout the year
So civic as the jay.
A neighbor and a warrior too,
With shrill felicity
Pursuing winds that censure us
A February day,
The brother of the universe
Was never blown away.
The snow and he are intimate;
I've often seen them play
When heaven looked upon us all
With such severity,
I felt apology were due
To an insulted sky,
Whose pompous frown was nutriment
To their temerity.
The pillow of this daring head
Is pungent evergreens;
His larder -- terse and militant --
Unknown, refreshing things;
His character a tonic,
His future a dispute;
Unfair an immortality
That leaves this neighbor out.
No brigadier throughout the year
So civic as the jay.
A neighbor and a warrior too,
With shrill felicity
Pursuing winds that censure us
A February day,
The brother of the universe
Was never blown away.
The snow and he are intimate;
I've often seen them play
When heaven looked upon us all
With such severity,
I felt apology were due
To an insulted sky,
Whose pompous frown was nutriment
To their temerity.
The pillow of this daring head
Is pungent evergreens;
His larder -- terse and militant --
Unknown, refreshing things;
His character a tonic,
His future a dispute;
Unfair an immortality
That leaves this neighbor out.
8.25.2004
Welcome to Fantasy Island......In Hell!!
Scenario...
Woman is freakishly afraid of scorpions because she thinks they can leap like fleas, tails extended stinger end first to poke out unsuspecting eyes. Many have assured her that scorpions CANNOT, in no uncertain terms, leap ginormous distances. Still and yet, she is wary, brandishing a hammer or large mallet during her nightime excursions. She meets friend (supposed "friend") who jokingly brings up possibility of scorpions farting. Now she has method by which scorpions can attack her maliciously while flying through air via methane propulsion.
THANKS!
Woman is freakishly afraid of scorpions because she thinks they can leap like fleas, tails extended stinger end first to poke out unsuspecting eyes. Many have assured her that scorpions CANNOT, in no uncertain terms, leap ginormous distances. Still and yet, she is wary, brandishing a hammer or large mallet during her nightime excursions. She meets friend (supposed "friend") who jokingly brings up possibility of scorpions farting. Now she has method by which scorpions can attack her maliciously while flying through air via methane propulsion.
THANKS!
Talkin' 'bout my g-g-g-generation...
I am SO diggin' this new radio station in DFW...100.3 Jack FM. Dating myself by admitting so, but not able to contain my delight at finding some tunes that rarely repeat, make me jive, and let me sing super loud while driving. It's the Tom Cruise "Freefalling" episode in real life. Additionally, I thank this format for reminding me of songs, left way in the background of my highschool mind, which I can now add to my roster of fun cycle music. What a reward to see a room full of cyclers gulping for breath and hoping this tyrrany will stop and then hearing the first few bars of "Black Betty" and ramping it up again because there is something tangible and inherently solid in this epoch of music.
Yea!...I love being my age!
Yea!...I love being my age!
8.24.2004
Killing Me Softly
Grandma is in the hospital...for the third time in 8 months with the same complaint. She and Grand-daddy raised me from a little sprout to a fourth grader with grand intentions and big dreams.
My Grandma has always been heavy. I've seen pictures of her before the birth of my mother and aunt in which she is a tall, rather Amazonic and attractive woman. However, when I came to know her, she was, as most Grandma's are (except for the little wispy ones) a cushy, cozy, plumpy woman who could make everything all good even when Grand-daddy was threatening me with the flyswatter. "Claude, you are not going to hurt this child!!" as I cowered behind her massive buttocks. I never taunted Grand-daddy from there as I knew he would eventually find me outside of Grandma's protective sphere and give me a sound "whippin'" with the swatter...fly guts and all.
Need less to say, I love...love dearly, my Grandparents, but they are very different people in many respects, a few quite integral, from the person I grew up to be. We differ in our faith, as well as our perceptions of the world and how it functions. These can be chalked up to generational differences. The most important rift is that concerning health, fitness and nutrition.
Can't remember if I have discussed this here, but a brief synopsis would be that I adhere (as best I can) to a tradition of fitness and nutrition that I feel will increase my productive years, help maintain mental stability, clean my colon of debris, and generally make me a more pleasant person to be around. I strive to stay away from manufactured chemicals that are being passed off as health remedies, in particular antibiotics. I won't force my lifestyle on you, but I will expound at length at the slightest provocation.
In light of this, my mother and I have been working on my Grandparents for several years to convince them that these dietary changes will not only help them lose weight (sorely needed. Grandma's hips span a yard), but will act to reverse the symptoms of mature onset diabetes (which they both have), can only be helpful in reversing Grand-daddy's heart disease (for which he has had two multiple bypass surgeries and countless arteriograms), and could certainly aid in Grandma's staggering diverticular erosions for which she is now in her third visit to grand old Mother Frances.
All of that withstanding, the continued hospitals visits, hemorhages, calls in the night, and unexpected visits to East Texas are beginning to take their toll. All of this preventable if she would exercise (just get out of the Barcalounger), and quit eating white bread. However, she, phobically afraid of doctors, surgery and all things medical, repeatedly tortures herself with ambulance rides, countless needle sticks and threats of colonectomies if she doesn't get her act together. We, her family, agonize over these incidents wishing we knew that magic combination of words to tell her so that she would stop slowly killing herself.
I want to be as loving and supportive as I possibly can, yet I am resigned to being ignored and feeling helpless in the wake of her obstinacy. I love her so immensely and I loathe her for her willful negligence.
Maybe the husbands, wives, children, and grandchildren of heavy chronic smokers feel this way.
My Grandma has always been heavy. I've seen pictures of her before the birth of my mother and aunt in which she is a tall, rather Amazonic and attractive woman. However, when I came to know her, she was, as most Grandma's are (except for the little wispy ones) a cushy, cozy, plumpy woman who could make everything all good even when Grand-daddy was threatening me with the flyswatter. "Claude, you are not going to hurt this child!!" as I cowered behind her massive buttocks. I never taunted Grand-daddy from there as I knew he would eventually find me outside of Grandma's protective sphere and give me a sound "whippin'" with the swatter...fly guts and all.
Need less to say, I love...love dearly, my Grandparents, but they are very different people in many respects, a few quite integral, from the person I grew up to be. We differ in our faith, as well as our perceptions of the world and how it functions. These can be chalked up to generational differences. The most important rift is that concerning health, fitness and nutrition.
Can't remember if I have discussed this here, but a brief synopsis would be that I adhere (as best I can) to a tradition of fitness and nutrition that I feel will increase my productive years, help maintain mental stability, clean my colon of debris, and generally make me a more pleasant person to be around. I strive to stay away from manufactured chemicals that are being passed off as health remedies, in particular antibiotics. I won't force my lifestyle on you, but I will expound at length at the slightest provocation.
In light of this, my mother and I have been working on my Grandparents for several years to convince them that these dietary changes will not only help them lose weight (sorely needed. Grandma's hips span a yard), but will act to reverse the symptoms of mature onset diabetes (which they both have), can only be helpful in reversing Grand-daddy's heart disease (for which he has had two multiple bypass surgeries and countless arteriograms), and could certainly aid in Grandma's staggering diverticular erosions for which she is now in her third visit to grand old Mother Frances.
All of that withstanding, the continued hospitals visits, hemorhages, calls in the night, and unexpected visits to East Texas are beginning to take their toll. All of this preventable if she would exercise (just get out of the Barcalounger), and quit eating white bread. However, she, phobically afraid of doctors, surgery and all things medical, repeatedly tortures herself with ambulance rides, countless needle sticks and threats of colonectomies if she doesn't get her act together. We, her family, agonize over these incidents wishing we knew that magic combination of words to tell her so that she would stop slowly killing herself.
I want to be as loving and supportive as I possibly can, yet I am resigned to being ignored and feeling helpless in the wake of her obstinacy. I love her so immensely and I loathe her for her willful negligence.
Maybe the husbands, wives, children, and grandchildren of heavy chronic smokers feel this way.
8.23.2004
The "J" Report, Episode 7...Mortal Sins
J stays! After calling on several zoos, rehab facilities and education programs, apparently a domesticated Blue Jay in pristine condition is just not wanted or needed. Feh!!!! So, I got out the scissors, clipped his primaries, cleaned the guano and ordered him a roomy cage. He'll live out his little birdy life in the lap of avian luxury attended by his winsome mistress and stuffing in as much BBQ as he can tolerate.**
Even after the clippage, J has proved to be an Olympic leaper and flutterer. He still manages to ascend to the highest shelf of the etigére, tip the Huichol ceremonial hat off its coconut head, cleverly deposit foodstuffs in the corners, bury tomatoes and corn in the ficus pot (should be a lovely garden there come next spring), and fling potting soil to the four corners of the living room and beyond. You just gotta love a bird weighing in at a mere couple hundred grams that can create such torments in his territory.
Of late, he has been begging Sterling for food. To which Sterling replies with a dignified huff and fluff. He has been marauding Sterling's cage. He has knocked two pictures off the wall and has destroyed a whole pod of garlic, distributing the papery thin casing to each and every wet spot he comes across, thus effectively super-gluing the wisps to counters, faucets and sinks. He discovered on Sunday that **ears are exceptional BBQ/food storage units**. And, that eyes are quite sparkly and whimsically peckable.
He dive bombs the shower spray and delights to sit on my eye-liner pencil as I apply my face. Soon he will poop on my sonic toothbrush, raid my underwear drawer and be caught lounging on the bed, toddy in hand, smoking jacket sashed, ordering birdy porn.
That's my J. Donations accepted via PayPal: ipoinc2003
Even after the clippage, J has proved to be an Olympic leaper and flutterer. He still manages to ascend to the highest shelf of the etigére, tip the Huichol ceremonial hat off its coconut head, cleverly deposit foodstuffs in the corners, bury tomatoes and corn in the ficus pot (should be a lovely garden there come next spring), and fling potting soil to the four corners of the living room and beyond. You just gotta love a bird weighing in at a mere couple hundred grams that can create such torments in his territory.
Of late, he has been begging Sterling for food. To which Sterling replies with a dignified huff and fluff. He has been marauding Sterling's cage. He has knocked two pictures off the wall and has destroyed a whole pod of garlic, distributing the papery thin casing to each and every wet spot he comes across, thus effectively super-gluing the wisps to counters, faucets and sinks. He discovered on Sunday that **ears are exceptional BBQ/food storage units**. And, that eyes are quite sparkly and whimsically peckable.
He dive bombs the shower spray and delights to sit on my eye-liner pencil as I apply my face. Soon he will poop on my sonic toothbrush, raid my underwear drawer and be caught lounging on the bed, toddy in hand, smoking jacket sashed, ordering birdy porn.
That's my J. Donations accepted via PayPal: ipoinc2003
8.21.2004
8.20.2004
This one, too...
I did the Spirit Guide too. The bird is definitely apropos, however when I received Reiki training in Mexico and my spirit was opened allowing my personal spirit guide to appear to me, it was a dog. Specifically, my black labrador, India, who at the time was not dead, but definitely in decline. Discuss amongst yourselves.
P.S. You know this is just for fun, right??
Hummingbird Spirit Calls To You!
Hummingbird
represents optimism and sweetness.
Being able to roll with the punches is an attribute
of Hummingbird.
Hummingbirds's Wisdom Includes:
Ability to heal by using light as a laser from
mouth
Endurance over long journeys
Ability to fly into small places to heal
Joy
Happiness
Love
Messenger, stopper of time.
P.S. You know this is just for fun, right??
Hummingbird Spirit Calls To You!
Hummingbird
represents optimism and sweetness.
Being able to roll with the punches is an attribute
of Hummingbird.
Hummingbirds's Wisdom Includes:
Ability to heal by using light as a laser from
mouth
Endurance over long journeys
Ability to fly into small places to heal
Joy
Happiness
Love
Messenger, stopper of time.
What a Surprise...
I don't know if this really fits...maybe my exterior persona, but not exactly the interior unless I am just fooling myself and not ready to accept my invicibility...
You are Long-wang!
Mythological Background: Yes, the dragon represents
everything you think of when you think of a
dragon - fearsome and invincible. Also, it is
greatly respected just because of that fact.
The dragon has a very protective aspect to it.
Even Jupiter reminds you of intense smashing
power. The dragon is almost always surrounded
by rain-bearing clouds and fog; and the
appearance of its constellation always signals
rainfall and lightning. It's also a symbol of
authority worn by the nobility and the imperial
class. Japanese Name: Seiryuu.
Which Chinese Mythological Being Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
You are Long-wang!
Mythological Background: Yes, the dragon represents
everything you think of when you think of a
dragon - fearsome and invincible. Also, it is
greatly respected just because of that fact.
The dragon has a very protective aspect to it.
Even Jupiter reminds you of intense smashing
power. The dragon is almost always surrounded
by rain-bearing clouds and fog; and the
appearance of its constellation always signals
rainfall and lightning. It's also a symbol of
authority worn by the nobility and the imperial
class. Japanese Name: Seiryuu.
Which Chinese Mythological Being Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
8.19.2004
Damp Thoughts
Drizzle patters, slaps and plops outside. Grey clouds ooze dusky light into my bedroom where I am entombed in my aquatic bower. Birds are quietly murmuring to the rain. All is heavy, pregnant with humidity and the fecundity that precipitation imports. My book beckons and the tea kettle hoots. Somehow I am sanguine on this freakish August day. Life is swelling, burgeoning in my small world and there is promise of lives yet to come. Blissfully light, I move through this weighty day.
8.18.2004
Of Late...
Sometimes it is important to step back and be selfish. Yep, take just one moment for me. And I'm talking about an impulsive, frivolous moment...not an, "Aw, just hit the snooze button one more time" moment. For me it is usually an impulse buy at Central Market in the floral department. A week ago, as I was shopping on a Tuesday night and not wanting to, I came to the check-out and noticed that bunches of beautiful roses were on sale. Not just the icky roses that were full-on and oocky colors. But, good roses...buds, vibrant and unusual colors. The attendant told me they were promoting roses the month of August and they would be on sale every Tuesday.
What a gimmick! I'm hooked.
What a gimmick! I'm hooked.
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