Every day, in almost every way, overweight and obese people are the scape goat for all of society's ills, evils, failures, and problems.  News reports show us "fat porn", with close up shots of big butts, bulging bellies, thunder thighs, and triple chins.  Hands lifting oversized, greasy ev… Read full post »

Discrimination in all its forms is bullying.  Clan mentality- whether based in religion, gender, race, or attitude- perpetuates this bullying by creating classes of people in order to have allowed discrimination.  Clan mentality is the opposite of democracy, as it always chooses self over o… Read full post »

The awakened life is not as fleeting as the clouds we might associate with its image.  Surely, representation of one sitting in reflection, repose, connection involves images of the sun moving up from the horizon, or moving down into the horizon, clouds passing, maybe the eyes are closed and a l… Read full post »

Kathy's post on friendship, and the difficulties of navigating this world of creating new connections in an old habit (self) has me and others thinking.  Those of us who post on here, in blogs or comments, are often introspective types.  I could probably write an advice column on "How to ha… Read full post »

If the GOP really wanted to ally itself with women's interests- and, let's be honest, their husband's- they'd forget all this birth control shenanigans and focus on ending menopause.  You heard me right.  Guaranteed slam dunk in the election. 

Menopause is that "middle period" of life… Read full post »

I have long wondered about the importance (or lack thereof) in ascribing authenticity to something.  Authentic.  

I think the first time I questioned it was probably about 15 years or so ago, living in Santa Fe, working in the restaurant world, when the Balsamic Wars were starting.  Au… Read full post »

The last few months have been fantastic for me economically.  I say this to compare to the previous months, which were fairly devastating, and the previous years, which followed patterns of ebb and flow.  I had had a booming practice before, but much smaller scale and entirely self directed… Read full post »

Oh, finally the truth is out!  Everyone is waging a war on women: the GOP, Obama, Congress, Susan G Komen, Planned Parenthood, the Catholic Church, the Mormon Church, other churches, Warren Jeffs, Hollywood, Tucker Max, the media, Islam.... everyone but Oprah and your mother.  

Personally,… Read full post »

My older step daughter has moved in.  It didn't start this way.  I don't know when it will end.  Hmmmm. 

A few weeks ago when, after over a year of suggesting she try finding work in our area of the city, she finally realized she was getting nowhere at all.  It… Read full post »

How do you explain Arizona?  Nancy Hicks Marshall tackles the intricacies and politics of Arizona legislation, immigration rights and civil liberties in her new novel, A Dry Hate (Odio Seco).  Based in modern day Phoenix, this fictional account brings us closer to understanding the layered… Read full post »

All of use are someone else's children.  Even as adults, when we cross that mysterious border between being a child and being a grown up, we are still the children of our parents.  We are also still subject to their opinions as to how we should live and love.  Some of… Read full post »

I am in love with my niece.  She turns three tomorrow and I get to celebrate her birthday with her.  I saw her just at Christmas, and although that was not the first time we have met, it is the first time she remembers meeting me.  For weeks she has been… Read full post »

How do we define class?  Certainly, anyone and everyone will have a different opinion of it.  You are born with it, or you are raised to culture it.  You are raised in it, you create it for yourself.  There is no such thing as class in the US, despite 4 centuries… Read full post »

Why all the fuss about  a woman's pelvic health?  The recent outrage against the Komen foundation was not about access to breast cancer screening- it was pairing preventative health care with reproductive freedom.  Financial concerns about the cost versus benefit of providing preventat… Read full post »

In what seems to be a mindboggling flurry of activity, the GOP members of congress have decided to spend their election year in office focusing on issues that have nothing to do with the economy and everything to do with creating oppressive government.  Somehow, through the sum total of the vari… Read full post »

Today I had a little bit of a wine hangover, as I was up late talking with a cuz of mine.  We'd been out for drinks and some food, and ended up back at my apartment talking family, work, life, relationship.  I rarely get to catch up with him, and almost… Read full post »

There is an evil and ugly flipside to this job recession and economic downtown.  There are people who have not lost their jobs, for good or bad, and many of them are overworked, underpaid and exhausted.  

I don't know people who are unemployed (save one, and his unwillingness to work… Read full post »

My sweetie is a handsome man.  I noticed him sitting at a party, by himself, thinking "Wow, he's handsome, he's probably married".  His two kids were there, and I didn't look around for a Mrs.  Instead, I mingled with others, and he walked across the room and sat next to me,… Read full post »

My friend's wife has not yet passed away, since my post not long ago.  I saw him today for coffee, it has been ages, and it was good to chat.  About that, about life, about work, about everything.  Free to speak, he picked me at the office and we just drove and… Read full post »

Sounds like a crazy matchup, but it can only happen in the multiverse that is my brain.  However, I know there are fans that are crazier than me, know more stuff, dieharder, and diligent.  I was feeling like I was getting sucked into the Downton Abbyss, this last week, watching so… Read full post »

Many people in America cry out for universal health care, pointing to the other countries that do it well.  We point out that the  % of GDP here is much higher than in other places, and that we spend well over twice what the next country (Canada*) spends, on average, per… Read full post »

The real issue that they keep not addressing is that health care should not be tied to employment.  Adding health insurance benefits tied to employment has been devastating for millions of people who cannot find work that offers benefits, or plans that cost more than many can afford to buy into.… Read full post »

The art of medicine includes balancing knowledge with wisdom, facts with compassion, and blending the scientific with the subjective.  I have yet to give anyone really bad news, but I have had to face a few times when there was a chance of really bad news.  Questionable bloodwork, a suspici… Read full post »

When does the right to life end?

The recent debacle with the Susan G Komen foundation and the (now resigned) vice president, Karen Handel, highlighted some of the major dilemmas that go on in the political versus scientific arena.  The split between SGK and Planned Parenthood has probably had so… Read full post »

Atheists are popping up more and more in the news these days.  For the most part, it seems that a small but steadily growing stream of press is addressing the growing presence of unreligious, non believing members of our society who are outspoken and demanding their equal rights.  This is j… Read full post »