February 2011
67 posts
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Waseem Wagdi, Egyptian protester. Egyptian... →
Very moving video. Big things are happening in the world these days.
January 2011
78 posts
2 tags
“I guess each of us, at some time, finds one person with whom we are compelled...”
– Glen Cook
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Review: Essential Family Guide to Borderline...
The Essential Family Guide to Borderline Personality Disorder by Randi Kreger
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A very concise and informative read for families of those with borderline personality disorder. In the same vein as Stop Walking on Eggshells: Taking Your Life Back When Someone You Care about Has Borderline Personality Disorder, it provides clear strategies and insight for interacting with a...
Medicare Backs Away From End-of-Life Discussions -... →
The Times reports today that doctors will not be reimbursed by Medicare for discussions about end-of-life care. The original proposal, included in early versions of the health care law, was criticized by conservatives who believed it would lead to the creation of “death panels.”
Riiiiight. God forbid there be any planned, organized discussion about end of life that is reimbursed by a...
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Ugly underwear can ruin your day - USA Today →
Don’t forget to put on your sexiest underwear today. It could change the day. ;)
Jokes aside, I feel kind of frumpy and boring when I have my oldest, rattiest underwear on, and I feel awesome when I’m wearing favorite, best-fitting pair. Feeling good in the clothes you’re wearing in general is seriously such a boost.
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“Break open your personal self
to taste the story of the nutmeat soul.”
– Rumi, “The Dumb Experiment” (January 30th in A Year With Rumi)
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New Lives for 'Dead' Suburban Malls →
Failed malls offer an unparalleled opportunity to bring services to suburban neighborhoods, Ms. Dunham-Jones says. “The idea is to demolish a dead mall and build the downtown area a suburb never had,” she said. “Three or four stories of apartments above the retail on the ground floor, providing an option where people can walk to most of their daily needs. And they have more opportunities for...
Wonder Woman on TV Lives Again...on NBC? →
This whole thing just feels like making up a female superhero and using the Wonder Woman name to ride on some pre-existing superhero coattails. Take Wonder Woman, change her outfit, change who she is and what she does in major ways, and do you really even have Wonder Woman anymore?
A night of “revamped” Wonder Woman followed by The Cape sounds absolutely awful.
Behind Walmart Plan, Some Healthy Business Logic :... →
Wooooooooo! Walmart is going to have healthier food now. This will completely negate any really horrendous business practices and mistreatment of employees.
I still feel incredibly dirty when I walk in to a Walmart (which is not very often). It would take a lot for me to feel differently at this point.
When Sleep Apnea Masquerades as Dementia -... →
This article covers something that can be overlooked… A lot of things can masquerade as dementia, including sleep apnea and often depression. Even if a patient has dementia, additional symptoms of depression or poor sleep can greatly increase the severity and frequency of cognitive symptoms, and treating depression and other issues outside of a primary dementia diagnosis can often make a...
day 7 - lust. seven love secrets.
1. I love to look at my husband’s beard, but don’t like that it’s so scratchy.
2. I feel sexier than I have in years.
3. Waking up together with no agenda on a Saturday or Sunday morning is one of my favorite things.
4. I both love and detest that my husband is sometimes smarter than me.
5. No one has ever seen the real “us,” because we keep that just for us, and...
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Reviews: Catching Fire, Mocking Jay (Hunger Games...
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins My rating: 5 of 5 stars I think this might have been my favorite book of the trilogy, looking back now. The aftermath of the first book was just so intense, and there was a moment, when I realized what was going to happen during the second half of the book, that I actually put my Kindle down and hollered, “WHY?!?!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?” and cried...
State of the Web by Oatmeal.com →
So awesome sauce I can’t even stand it. I love the Facebook and Groupon sections extra much.
day 6 - gluttony. seven guilty pleasures.
1. Sinful food (even on WW, I splurge on the good stuff).
2. Hot showers.
3. iPhone games.
4. Expensive shampoo and conditioner.
5. Trash television.
6. Gossiping on the treadmill at the gym.
7. Smutty books.
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Link to avoid if considering pregnancy someday →
Phrases like “sudden major internal hemorrhage” are not things you want to think about when engaging in the “baby negotiation” with your husband.
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The United States of My Brain
Okay. So, after this conversation, I looked up some maps and did some sketching on my iPad, and THIS is a rough look at the U.S. in my brain:
Here’s what happens when I try to quiz myself with a blank map:
It is decidedly possible that geography is my all-time worst subject.
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Geography is a bugger
So, Jim and I just got in an argument (after our debate about Golden Girls and Empty Nest ended) because I was insisting that Arkansas is in Eastern time zone. (It’s not.)
As we both began frantically searching google to prove each other wrong, I quickly unearthed proof of how wrong I was, courtesy of a color-coded map of the United States.
Turns out, there are a SHITLOAD of states that...
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Things that were awesome about tonight's run
I felt like crap, and the minute I started running, I felt better.
That was the BEST overall pace rate I have run in 2011, possibly ever.
During the steady/run portions of that workout, I got up to 11:19 min mile.
When you’ve been running in subzero wind chill for a week, 30 degrees feels AWESOME (seriously).
Sometimes I treat running like a chore, only to later feel like it was a...
What Your 16-Hour Workday Says About You!
jessiechar:
You’re a really hard worker
Your time is poorly managed
You don’t know what to do with your life
Your boss knows you’re gullible
At least 40% of your diet consists of pre-packaged food
You send out work emails at inappropriate hours
You have no perspective on life
You don’t sleep enough for proper brain function
You have very little self-respect
Your salary should be higher,...
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day 5 - greed. seven worldly material desires.
1. Gadgets.
2. Beautiful leather handbags.
3. Expensive shampoos.
4. Air conditioning.
5. Really nice pens.
6. Nice clothing (now that I can stand to look at myself in it).
7. Money.
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Dear ER Staff,
FYI: The phrase “bazaar behavior” is not a psychiatrically useful description. Clinically, going to your town’s yearly street fair and buying homemade jellies and crocheted pot holders does not warrant inpatient psychiatric care.
Sincerely,
A social worker who can spell
Ps. “Aggitation” is not a word. That’s just silly.
“Never regret. If it’s good, it’s wonderful. If it’s bad, it’s experience.”
– Victoria Holt, British author and pen name for Eleanor Hibbert
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day 4 - sloth. seven things you neglect to do.
1. Clean.
2. Meditate.
3. Call.
4. Reply.
5. Use the good camera.
6. Moisturize.
7. Check.
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day 3 - wrath. seven things that piss you off.
1. Intentional helplessness.
2. Smoking in public, and/or while pregnant.
3. People who claim to be “pro-life” but are actually anti-abortion supporters of the death penalty.
4. Help-rejecting complainers.
5. Passive aggressiveness.
6. Refusal to use turn signals.
7. Driving below the speed limit in the fast lane.
day 2 - envy. seven things you lack and covet.
1. A completely tone and fit body.
2. Air conditioning.
3. The desire to run 10 miles every morning (I will always be a low key runner).
4. Coordination (I am quite a clumsy person).
5. A newer Macbook or Macbook Air (mine is several years old and making bad noises).
6. Thick, cooperative hair.
7. _________ and ____________ within my ______ (that’s a private one).
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Jared Lee Loughner may plead insanity. How do... →
To prove insanity in court, defense attorneys must demonstrate that their client’s mental illness prevented him from understanding the wrongness of his criminal undertaking at the time of the offense. (This standard is stricter than merely showing the defendant generally cannot not tell right from wrong.) They must also show a clear connection between the defendant’s delusions and the crime he...
7 tags
Steve Jobs' liver transplant: Did he game the... →
I hear you, Steve. We’re all pulling for you. It’s your life and your family. But that liver wasn’t yours. Somebody died to make it available. And other people who aren’t billionaires may have died on waiting lists so you could have it. What was your cancer situation when you got the transplant? Has the cancer returned? You owe us some answers.
This article is HORRIBLE. No, Steve Jobs does not...
Study: Alzheimer's risk spikes 157% with heavy... →
So, even if you don’t get disgusting lung cancer, you increase your risk of living a long and confused life. QUIT SMOKING, people.
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day 1 - pride. seven great things about yourself.
1. I’m an intelligent person.
2. I’m passionate, and not just about one thing.
3. I’m stubborn. (This can be a fault, but at times it’s a huge asset for a social worker.)
4. I have a good sense of humor and I appreciate humor in others.
5. I’m unabashedly geeky, nerdy, and still a girl.
6. I haven’t lost my creative nature, despite a clinical career outside...
7 Deadly Sins
threeties:
Because _____ (whatever reason you imagine I have)
day 1 - pride. seven great things about yourself.
day 2 - envy. seven things you lack and covet.
day 3 - wrath. seven things that piss you off.
day 4 - sloth. seven things you neglect to do.
day 5 - greed. seven worldly material desires.
day 6 - gluttony. seven guilty pleasures.
day 7 - lust. seven love secrets.
4 tags
Supporting a child showing the first signs of... →
Early intervention and treatment is CRUCIAL during a first psychotic episode. It can mean a world of difference in the long term and there are a lot of areas around the country developing programs to support patients having their first psychotic episode and educate families and loved ones about how to help ensure a newly mentally ill person has the best chance possible at a functional life.
6 tags
Natasha Bedingfield - "Strip Me" →
When this tune pops up on the playlist when I’m running, I feel like I have suddenly been transported into some sort of “transforming into a badass” montage in some really amazing chick flick, and I happen to be the chick in the flick becoming the badass. Rawr.
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Day 10: 1 confession
Inspired by threeties.
I took back some crucial personal power recently, and it felt like a lightbulb going off. The simple “aha!” of turning the corner to find yourself suddenly on the right track, with the right people in your life, and the right boundaries (or sometimes, lack thereof), and the right amount of past experience… It changes everything.
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Day 9: 2 items you’d grab in a fire
Inspired by threeties.
Doing non-material / material, with the assumption that Jim is able to get himself out.
1. Mae / purse (slightly cheating since it has multiple things in it)
2. Makai / external hard drive
9 tags
Panera's New & Sucktacularly "Improved" Chicken...
Dear Panera,
Prior to last week, your chicken noodle soup was one of my favorite low-point (WeightWatchers-friendly) soups on the menu. Those delicious, thick noodles in a substantial, flavorful broth that also boasted numerous carrots and hearty chunks of chicken… it was a really great soup.
Then you went and “improved” it, if a person can call runny broth with 3-4 thin egg...
7 tags
"Don't blame the parents of Jared Loughner" - USA... →
Maureen Linke: Don’t blame the parents of Jared Loughner http://usat.ly/haTYdi
This is a really great write-up by someone who apparently has dealt with a mentally ill child and has experienced the difficult position in which parents of the severely mentally ill can find themselves. It’s not as simple as “They must have been terrible fucking parents because of what their son has...
2 tags
Day 8: 3 turn ons
Inspired by threeties.
1. Eyes - Jim has adorable, mischievous boy eyes. I love eyes.
2. Intelligence - Outsmart me and you’ve got me, even if I’m also irritated. ;)
3. Strong hands - One of the first pics I have of Jim are of his hands. I love good hands.
mental_floss on tumblr: The Story That Will Never... →
mentalflossr:
Gadsby by Ernest Vincent Wright
Some might call Gadsby a “love” story. But Ernest Vincent Wright wouldn’t have used that word. Instead, he described his novel as a story of “strong liking” and “throbbing palpitation.” That’s because in 1939, Wright gave himself one restriction: He…
Golden Globes Liveblog
Random musings during the Golden Globes festivities… Refresh for new updates at the commercial breaks.
11:00 pm
Can’t believe I’m still up this. I’ve only seen one of the films nominated for best film.
Congrats to the folks who made The Social Network. I still want to see it and haven’t. Will make a point to do so. That was a very nice acceptance speech.
...
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Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was a pretty amazing book, very much in the same vein as The Handmaid’s Tale and other classic dystopic fiction. It was a quick read (largely because I couldn’t put it down from the moment I started reading it), and I am absolutely dying to read the second volume in the trilogy. The female lead character was brilliantly...
Day 7: 4 turn offs
Inspired by threeties.
1. Smoking. It’s freaking gross.
2. Ignorance (which generally covers all forms of bigotry and prejudice).
3. Drama addicts who always have to have conflict.
4. Violence.
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Shit my husband says, part 38573
Jim: A paino in the asso, YOU are-o.
Me: What??
Jim: Perhaps you didn't understand me. I was speaking Spanish.
Me: Uh, WOW.
30 Day Challenge →
thosewhosaveus:
Day 01 - Your current relationship, if single discuss how single life is.
Day 02 - Where you’d like to be in 10 years.
Day 03 - Your views on drugs and alcohol.
Day 04 - Your views on religion.
Day 05 - A time you thought about ending your own life.
Day 06 - A photo…
I’m going to be doing this in February for fun, because I love stuff like this.
Day 6: 5 people who mean a lot to you →
Inspired by threeties.
In no particular order:
1. Jim
2. Laura
3. Insert all important family here, to avoid favoritism or bad feelings
4. Amanda
5. Kristen