:'(

Kewl: NPR Article

What the fuck am I looking at NOW? This is unacceptable.

Toaster waffles with sweetened condensed milk.

GO!

A very close friend of mine is down in Florida looking after his dad who is in the hospital. His dad has been pretty sick for years now: diabetes, has had a couple of strokes, etc. He had a minor heart attack, I'm not sure if this is his first or not and he's on a respirator. Overall, it's pretty bad, to the point where it's unknown if he will pull through.

I'm all the way up here. I have texted offering any help needed and have sent a couple small things to cheer him up (I think I sent over jeffg's puppy blog) and generally let him know I'm thinking about him.

I'm sure some of you have been in the same position as my friend. What actions have friends taken that really helped things be less awful for you?

Okay, so the title is a little sensationalist, but I was reading an article about a school in Ohio targeting racist Halloween costumes. Here is one of the articles: Clickie

I think most people would agree that dressing up as an "illegal alien" or a "terrorist" is pretty blatantly awful, but in comments of one of the blogs I read, they were debating about the geisha costume. Some people didn't see how it was a problem for non-Japanese people to wear it as a costume, as it's a real thing. Other people said that it was racist. Can a Korean person wear a geisha costume? Can a white person ever wear blackface, even if it's that their all-time favorite movie character is Jules from Pulp Fiction?

Personally, I think if the intent is to simply represent someone of a different race or culture without making fun of it, it should theoretically be okay. It'd be nice to see the racial boundaries simply fall away. In reality, though, it may be awfully hard to convince others what your intentions are.

This is the lamest reason for bringing it up, but I've been presently made aware that Kelly Osborne is calling Christina Aguilera a fat c-word because Christina used to call Kelly fat. Who gives a shit, outside of the fact that it's weird to me that someone who used to have weight problems is being a bitch. I'd expect her to have sympathy.

Then I just started thinking about all of the comment wars about weight on the internets and wanted to get some respectful, nonanonymous opinions about it.

I have been a bit chunky before. My weight tends to yo-yo a bit anyway, but always in the healthy range for my height. For a time there, I was not, though. And for me, personally it was something I did ultimately have control over. I was a very depressed person at the time so I had zero motivation, but it's pretty easy for me to tip the eaten calorie to burned calorie ratio in my favor.

That being said, I am pretty educated about food, compared to the normal person. I grew up in a home that cared about nutrition and how to eat right. So even when I was poor, I knew how to make nutritious meals for myself for relatively little. I also have had a car and access to grocery stores. Some people live in food deserts, meaning that the only source of food in their neighborhoods are convenience stores and fast food restaurants.

What is your experience with weight or your opinion about it?

I think it goes without saying, be respectful here, okay? Please? :)

Holy shit they are so comfortable. Me and Danny Glover, yo.



He got the trail-running ones, I think. I got these ones. They're for both street and trails.



In all seriousness I don't know if anyone here runs, but I'm going to take up barefoot style running. I got major shin splints training last year and this apparently alleviates it. I'll keep you posted as to whether this sucks or not, for anyone who is interested. I'm hoping they aren't too cold for winter.

So...Google it if you don't know what I am talking about. For those of you who do, what do you think about this? I think it's kind of baloney that there are people saying that other people should shut up and are whiners. I, for one, find it refreshing that people are finally saying enough is enough and doing something with conviction. I stand by that on principle alone. Frankly, I give credit to the Tea Party, as much as I can't stand their ideals, for at least having the ability to mobilize people to some extent. And I'm glad people with different values are finally starting to match that compassion. I think this is what America is all about, and we sort of lost that the past 30-40 years.

Am I doing this right?