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Exercise Suppresses Appetite By Affecting Appetite Hormones
http://www.the-aps.org/mm/hp/Audiences/Public-Press/Archive/08/40.html
BETHESDA, Md. (Dec. 11, 2008) − A vigorous 60-minute workout on a treadmill affects the release of two key appetite hormones, ghrelin and peptide YY, while 90 minutes of weight lifting affects the level of only ghrelin, according to a new study. Taken together, the research shows that aerobic exercise is better at suppressing appetite than non-aerobic exercise and provides a possible explanation for how that happens.
This line of research may eventually lead to more effective ways to use exercise to help control weight, according to the senior author, David J. Stensel of Loughborough University in the United Kingdom.
The study, “The influence of resistance and aerobic exercise on hunger, circulating levels of acylated ghrelin and peptide YY in healthy males,” appears in the online edition of The American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, published by The American Physiological Society. The authors are David R. Broom, James A. King and David J. Stensel of Loughborough University, and Rachel L. Batterham of University College, London.
Treadmill versus weight lifting
There are several hormones that help regulate appetite, but the researchers looked at two of the major ones, ghrelin and peptide YY. Ghrelin is the only hormone known to stimulate appetite. Peptide YY suppresses appetite.
Ghrelin was discovered by researchers in Japan only about 10 years ago and was originally identified for its role as a growth hormone. Only later did its role in stimulating appetite become known. Peptide YY was discovered less than 25 years ago.
In this experiment, 11 male university students did three eight-hour sessions. During one session they ran for 60 minutes on a treadmill, and then rested for seven hours. During another session they did 90 minutes of weight lifting, and then rested for six hours and 30 minutes. During another session, the participants did not exercise at all.
During each of the sessions, the participants filled out surveys in which they rated how hungry they felt at various points. They also received two meals during each session. The researchers measured ghrelin and peptide YY levels at multiple points along the way.
They found that the treadmill (aerobic) session caused ghrelin levels to drop and peptide YY levels to increase, indicating the hormones were suppressing appetite. However, a weight-lifting (non-aerobic) session produced a mixed result. Ghrelin levels dropped, indicating appetite suppression, but peptide YY levels did not change significantly.
Based on the hunger ratings the participants filled out, both aerobic and resistance exercise suppressed hunger, but aerobic exercise produced a greater suppression of hunger. The changes the researchers observed were short term for both types of exercise, lasting about two hours, including the time spent exercising, Stensel reported.
“The finding that hunger is suppressed during and immediately after vigorous treadmill running is consistent with previous studies indicating that strenuous aerobic exercise transiently suppresses appetite,” Stensel said. “The findings suggest a similar, although slightly attenuated response, for weight lifting exercise.”
Focus on active ghrelin
Previous studies have been inconclusive about whether exercise decreases ghrelin levels, but this study may help explain those mixed results, according to the researchers.
Ghrelin comes in two forms, acylated and non-acylated. The researchers measured acylated ghrelin, also called active ghrelin, because it can cross the blood-brain barrier and reach the appetite center in the brain. Stensel suggests that future research concentrate on active ghrelin.
While the study showed that exercise suppresses appetite hormones, the next step is to establish whether this change actually causes the suppression of eating.
NOTE TO EDITORS: To interview Dr. Stensel, please contact APS Communications Office at dkrup@the-aps.org. To listen to an interview with Dr. Stensel, go to www.lifelines.tv and click on Episode 16.
Funding: School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Loughborough University.
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Exercise
Friday, February 27, 2015
Jenise Harmon Therapist
5 Tips for Helping a Depressed Friend or Loved One
February 23, 2015 • By Jenise Harmon, LISW-S, Depression Topic Expert Contributor
When someone is depressed, he or she may struggle to communicate with those closest to him or her. It can be confusing and at times frustrating, too, to love someone with depression. It’s not always easy to help and give what is needed.
Sadly, the reaction of many people is to say simplistic and dismissive things like, “Just pray more,” or, “You just need to think yourself into a better place.” Suggestions and statements such as these undermine the experience of people who are struggling with depression.
Another thing people often do but shouldn’t: compare pain. A person I worked with in therapy once told me her nurse (in a psychiatric hospital) said she should feel happy her problems aren’t more severe. The nurse proceeded to talk about her husband dying and leaving her a widow with two young children to support.
No doubt, there’s good intention lurking beneath some of the things people say to those experiencing depression. Good intention, though, does little to ease pain.
If you’re in a position to help or support a person with depression, here are some positive things you can do:
Ask what you can do to help. The person with depression might say that your quiet company would be helpful, or perhaps the person wants a compassionate ear, someone to just listen. Be open and generous. Maybe the person needs a ride to an appointment or someone to pick up a prescription.
If the person is unable to communicate his or her needs, offer some specific ideas. Ask if the person would like to get out of the house, or if you can come and keep him/her company. Offer to take the person’s kids for a couple of hours. See if he or she needs something picked up from the store. When people are depressed, sometimes the most basic activities (such as grocery shopping or meal planning) can seem like huge, insurmountable tasks.
Listen without judgment. Don’t mention that your aunt Gladys has cancer and is worse off than he or she is. Don’t use the phrase, “Well, at least …” Allow your friend to voice any hurt or despair. If you don’t know what to say, simply say, “I love you and I’m sorry you’re in pain.”
Ask if the person has suicidal thoughts or feelings. This can be extremely hard to do, as it might feel like you’re being invasive. But many people’s lives have been saved because someone had the courage to ask. If the person acknowledges being suicidal, offer to take him or her to the hospital and/or let the person’s family/therapist/doctor know. Feeling suicidal and being alone is a dangerous combination. Just sitting and being with the person, even if it’s just reading a book or the newspaper while he or she rests, could mean the world. For more information on helping a person with suicidal ideation, see this recent article.
Love the person. Love the person with words, with touch, with your presence. When people are depressed, it can feel as if no one truly cares about them. Let the person know that he or she matters to you. If appropriate, be specific as to why.
If you have loved ones, family, or friends who seem stumped by how to interact with a depressed person—perhaps even you—consider sharing this article with them. Let them know you understand it’s difficult to know how to handle a person experiencing depression, and that these ideas might be helpful.
Relationships are tricky. Some people are more natural than others at helping people with depression, but everyone is capable of compassion and empathy. If you’re present and available, you’re going a long way toward lending support.
© Copyright 2015 by Jenise Harmon, LISW-S, therapist in Columbus, Ohio. All Rights Reserved.
Mediterranean Diet
Mediterranean diet: A heart-healthy eating plan
The heart-healthy Mediterranean is a healthy eating plan based on typical foods and recipes of Mediterranean-style cooking. Here's how to adopt the Mediterranean diet. By Mayo Clinic Staff
If you're looking for a heart-healthy eating plan, the Mediterranean diet might be right for you. The Mediterranean diet incorporates the basics of healthy eating — plus a splash of flavorful olive oil and perhaps even a glass of red wine — among other components characterizing the traditional cooking style of countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea.
Most healthy diets include fruits, vegetables, fish and whole grains, and limit unhealthy fats. While these parts of a healthy diet remain tried-and-true, subtle variations or differences in proportions of certain foods may make a difference in your risk of heart disease.
Benefits of the Mediterranean diet
Research has shown that the traditional Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of heart disease. In fact, an analysis of more than 1.5 million healthy adults demonstrated that following a Mediterranean diet was associated with a reduced risk of death from heart disease and cancer, as well as a reduced incidence of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends the Mediterranean diet as an eating plan that can help promote health and prevent disease. And the Mediterranean diet is one your whole family can follow for good health.
Key components of the Mediterranean diet
The Mediterranean diet emphasizes:
Eating primarily plant-based foods, such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts
Replacing butter with healthy fats, such as olive oil
Using herbs and spices instead of salt to flavor foods
Limiting red meat to no more than a few times a month
Eating fish and poultry at least twice a week
Drinking red wine in moderation (optional)
The diet also recognizes the importance of being physically active, and enjoying meals with family and friends.
Focus on fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains
The Mediterranean diet traditionally includes fruits, vegetables and grains. For example, residents of Greece average six or more servings a day of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables.
Grains in the Mediterranean region are typically whole grain and usually contain very few unhealthy trans fats, and bread is an important part of the diet. However, throughout the Mediterranean region, bread is eaten plain or dipped in olive oil — not eaten with butter or margarine, which contains saturated or trans fats.
Nuts are another part of a healthy Mediterranean diet. Nuts are high in fat, but most of the fat is healthy. Because nuts are high in calories, they should not be eaten in large amounts — generally no more than a handful a day. For the best nutrition, avoid candied or honey-roasted and heavily salted nuts.
Choose healthier fats
The focus of the Mediterranean diet isn't on limiting total fat consumption, but rather on choosing healthier types of fat. The Mediterranean diet discourages saturated fats and hydrogenated oils (trans fats), both of which contribute to heart disease.
The Mediterranean diet features olive oil as the primary source of fat. Olive oil is mainly monounsaturated fat — a type of fat that can help reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels when used in place of saturated or trans fats. "Extra-virgin" and "virgin" olive oils (the least processed forms) also contain the highest levels of protective plant compounds that provide antioxidant effects.
Canola oil and some nuts contain the beneficial linolenic acid (a type of omega-3 fatty acid) in addition to healthy unsaturated fat. Omega-3 fatty acids lower triglycerides, decrease blood clotting, and are associated with decreased incidence of sudden heart attacks, improve the health of your blood vessels, and help moderate blood pressure. Fatty fish — such as mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna and salmon — are rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Fish is eaten on a regular basis in the Mediterranean diet.
What about wine?
The health effects of alcohol have been debated for many years, and some doctors are reluctant to encourage alcohol consumption because of the health consequences of excessive drinking. However, alcohol — in moderation — has been associated with a reduced risk of heart disease in some research studies.
The Mediterranean diet typically includes a moderate amount of wine, usually red wine. This means no more than 5 ounces (148 milliliters) of wine daily for women of all ages and men older than age 65 and no more than 10 ounces (296 milliliters) of wine daily for younger men. More than this may increase the risk of health problems, including increased risk of certain types of cancer.
If you're unable to limit your alcohol intake to the amounts defined above, if you have a personal or family history of alcohol abuse, or if you have heart or liver disease, refrain from drinking wine or any other alcohol.
Putting it all together
The Mediterranean diet is a delicious and healthy way to eat. Many people who switch to this style of eating say they'll never eat any other way. Here are some specific steps to get you started:
Eat your veggies and fruits — and switch to whole grains. Avariety of plant foods should make up the majority of your meals. They should be minimally processed — fresh and whole are best. Include veggies and fruits in every meal and eat them for snacks as well. Switch to whole-grain bread and cereal, and begin to eat more whole-grain rice and pasta products. Keep baby carrots, apples and bananas on hand for quick, satisfying snacks. Fruit salads are a wonderful way to eat a variety of healthy fruit.
Go nuts. Nuts and seeds are good sources of fiber, protein and healthy fats. Keep almonds, cashews, pistachios and walnuts on hand for a quick snack. Choose natural peanut butter, rather than the kind with hydrogenated fat added. Try blended sesame seeds (tahini) as a dip or spread for bread.
Pass on the butter. Try olive or canola oil as a healthy replacement for butter or margarine. Lightly drizzle it over vegetables. After cooking pasta, add a touch of olive oil, some garlic and green onions for flavoring. Dip bread in flavored olive oil or lightly spread it on whole-grain bread for a tasty alternative to butter. Try tahini as a dip or spread for bread too.
Spice it up. Herbs and spices make food tasty and can stand in for salt and fat in recipes.
Go fish. Eat fish at least twice a week. Fresh or water-packed tuna, salmon, trout, mackerel and herring are healthy choices. Grill, bake or broil fish for great taste and easy cleanup. Avoid breaded and fried fish.
Rein in the red meat. Limit red meat to no more than a few times a month. Substitute fish and poultry for red meat. When choosing red meat, make sure it's lean and keep portions small (about the size of a deck of cards). Also avoid sausage, bacon and other high-fat, processed meats.
Choose low-fat dairy. Limit higher fat dairy products, such as whole or 2 percent milk, cheese and ice cream. Switch to skim milk, fat-free yogurt and low-fat cheese.
Ballerina Diary
Your Best Body: The Food Diaries
Four pros reveal everything they ate for a day.
By
Published in the June/July 2011 issue.
Complexions' Patricia Hachey
Photo by Steve Vaccariello
Dancers are mad scientists of nutrition: They know what every bite will do to their bodies and are constantly adjusting the formula. We asked four professional dancers to tell us exactly what they had to eat on a given day and why. These aren’t menus that were carefully crafted by a nutritionist. They’re the actual food that fits into each dancer’s hectic schedule, giving her the energy she needs—and the treats she’s earned.
Patricia Hachey
Company dancer, Complexions Contemporary Ballet
Performance day on tour in Lucca, Italy
9:15 am Complimentary breakfast at Hotel Universo:
• Multivitamin and vitamin D
• One glass of orange juice
• One cup of coffee
• Granola and yogurt topped with fresh kiwi
• One hard-boiled egg with salt and pepper
3:00 pm Snack after class at the Teatro Del Giglio:
• One Kashi GoLean Chocolate Caramel Protein & Fiber Bar
• One tangerine
5:00 pm Mid-rehearsal snack:
• One big handful of raw almonds
• One pear
7:00 pm Dinner break at the theater before the show:
• Yogurt with müesli
• One hard-boiled egg
• One banana
10:30 pm During the second intermission:
• A shot of honey
11:45 pm Dinner at a restaurant in Lucca:
• Fresh bread drizzled with olive oil
• Insalata classico: lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, fresh Parmesan with olive oil and balsamic vinegar
• Gnocchi al pesto
• One glass of house red wine
Late night snack at the hotel:
• Two pieces of dark chocolate
Hachey is a vegetarian, so making food choices that will sustain her high activity level, particularly while on tour, is a constant challenge. She chooses hearty plant-based foods like granola and müesli to keep her feeling full for longer. She meets her protein quota with snacks like eggs, almonds and protein bars. “A vitamin supplement was recommended by my doctor because there are important vitamins usually found in fatty fishes or certain meats, which I no longer eat,” she says.
A dancer on tour is often a scavenger; you never know when and where you will find the kinds of foods you need. The fruit, nuts and hard-boiled eggs Hachey snacked on for most of the day were lifted from the complimentary breakfast buffet at the hotel. The Complexions dancers call their food stashes their “bodegas.” Included in Hachey’s bodega stash was a packet of honey (which she’d also swiped at breakfast). She ate it during the second intermission to give herself a shot of natural sugar to push through the rest of the show.
Jennifer Robinson
Corps dancer, Ballet West
Two-performance day of Sleeping Beauty
9:00 am Breakfast at home:
• One cup of organic, no-sugar-added oatmeal with maple syrup
• Two clementines
1:00 pm Lunch before the first show at the theater:
• One chocolate mint Zone bar
• An 8-oz O.N.E. coconut water with a splash of pink guava
3:30 pm Mid-show snack:
• Two homemade sugar cookies (baked by dancer Aaron Orlowski’s mom)
5:30 pm Snack at home before the second show:
• One banana
• One Orgain vanilla protein shake
7:30–10 pm During second show:
• One 12-oz lemon/lime Gatorade
11:00 pm After-performance celebration at the theater:
• One glass of champagne
11:30 pm Reward dinner at home:
• One grilled cheese sandwich and a medium Coke from Crown Burger
• One cup of double-churned (half fat) vanilla ice cream with M&M Minis on top
In order to sustain herself during a day with multiple performances, Robinson eats foods that will keep her full without making her feel sick or bloated. Instead of sitting down for complete meals, she snacks lightly throughout the day. Coconut water contains natural electrolytes and is a favorite of hers to help her push through dancing in Salt Lake City’s high altitude. “I don’t like straight coconut water,” she says, “but there are options with splashes of mango, pineapple or guava that taste great.”
These two performances of Sleeping Beauty were the last of the company’s Valentine’s Day weekend run, so a treat was in order. “I try to make healthy but enjoyable food choices,” says Robinson, who feels that her hard work at both dancing and eating right earns her a trip through the drive-through once in a while as a reward.
Ariana Lallone
Departing principal dancer, Pacific Northwest Ballet
Performance day of Cinderella
8:45 am Breakfast at home:
• One small glass of cherry cider
• One cup of coffee with cream
• One bowl of cereal with a banana
12:30 pm Snack after class:
• One KIND protein bar
3:00 pm Lunch at home:
• One grilled cheese sandwich with tomato and a handful of potato chips
• One glass of seltzer with juice
• One chocolate chip cookie
6:00 pm Pre-performance:
• One decaf green tea with lemon
7:30 pm During performance:
• One banana
10:30 pm Dinner at a restaurant:
• Steak salad with wild greens, basil, tomato and stilton vinaigrette
• Bread with white bean spread
• Seltzer with lemon
Daily vitamins at home:
• Mutivitamin, calcium and omega-3
Lallone admits that knowing what is right to eat for her body has been a long, ever-changing process throughout her career. Bananas and protein bars have become staples because of their portability and nutritional benefits. As a plus, the potassium in bananas keeps her muscles from cramping.
But Lallone’s most critical food choice is that she eats organic whenever possible. “The quality of the food is just as important as what you’re eating,” she says. Since revamping her diet in 2005 to include mostly organic foods, Lallone has felt an increase in stamina and more energy.
Eating organic doesn’t mean she’s only nibbling on rabbit food. Lallone’s routine pre-performance meal for years has been a grilled cheese with tomato, potato chips and a chocolate chip cookie. “I eat a lot more when I’m performing because it’s a longer day,” she says. The grilled cheese provides her with carbs and protein needed to sustain her, but doesn’t have any spice or flavor that could upset her stomach.
Kathleen Breen Combes
Principal, Boston Ballet
Rehearsal day
8:30 am Breakfast at home:
• One toasted wheat bagel with butter
• One glass of water
9:00 am On the way to class:
• One cup of coffee
11:15 am In the studio after class:
• One banana
• Water
1:30 pm Mid-rehearsal snack:
• One organic chocolate chip granola bar
2:45 pm Lunch at the studio:
• Caesar salad
• Diet Snapple lemon iced tea
• Baby carrots
• Popcorn
5:30 pm Mid-rehearsal snack:
• Homemade trail mix
6:30 pm End of the rehearsal day:
• Coconut water
8:30 pm Dinner at home:
• Chicken breast marinated with lemon and rosemary
• One baked potato with mixed peppers, tomatoes and onions
• One Coke
10:30 pm Late-night snack:
• One Ghirardelli milk chocolate and caramel square
• Chamomile tea
“I’m a miserable person, not to mention a terrible ballerina, when I’m hungry,” says Combes, who always keeps a handful of snacks in her dance bag. Among them is a Tupperware container of her homemade trail mix, which she prepares with mixed nuts, dried fruit, pretzels and a few M&M’s. Combes tries to eat to sustain her energy, snacking throughout the day so she doesn’t fill up too much before a difficult rehearsal. But that doesn’t mean she goes without treating herself. “I love chocolate,” she says, “and I do feel like I deserve something sweet at the end of a long day.”
Twist the Bloat Away
When you’re running from class to class or rehearsal to performance, setting aside time to digest after squeezing in a meal isn’t always a high priority. The result? Bloating. Help your body out with a little yoga, specifically, a twisting pose. “In a twist, the internal organs related to digestion actually receive a little squeeze, encouraging them to do their work,” says TaraMarie Perri, founder of Mind Body Dancer, a yoga program for dancers. She recommends trying the revolved triangle pose (if your body is already warm):
1. Stand with the right leg forward and the left leg back. Make sure the front leg’s knee and toes face forward and the back leg is slightly turned out.
2. Inhale, reaching the left arm up and the right hand on the right hip.
3. On the exhale, tip forward with a long spine, keeping both feet firmly planted on the ground. Take the left hand to the floor on the outside of the right foot. Extend your right hand to the ceiling, twisting the spine. Take about three to five breaths.
4. Come out of the pose on an exhale, and switch sides.
Swimmers Eat
10 Foods Swimmers Should be Eating
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6/17/2014
by Jill Castle, MS, RDN
The mystery behind what to eat is never-ending, partly because miracle foods are constantly surfacing while other foods fall from grace. When it comes to the growing swimmer, what to eat is important for growth and development, and also for athletic performance. Many children and teens in today’s world are missing out on calcium, vitamin D, fiber and potassium. Teens and athletes in general may be at greater risk of nutrient deficiencies if they skip breakfast, snack on nutrient-poor foods and use diets to control their weight.
Given this, here are 10 foods that will keep your nutrient intake high and your risk for deficiency low:
Mixed nuts.Nuts: All nuts are chock-full of healthy fats, fiber, protein, magnesium and vitamin E. Use them to top yogurt or cereal, or just grab a handful on the way to practice.
Seeds: Similar to nuts, seeds are full of fiber, healthy fats, magnesium and vitamin E. Eat them like you would nuts.
Ready-to-eat cereals: Cereal is fortified with nutrients such as folic acid, iron and vitamins A and E, making them a good source for these micronutrients. Have it for breakfast, snack, or dinner in a pinch, but beware of choosing cereal with too much sugar. Cereals with less than 8 or 9 grams of sugar per serving are best.
Orange Juice (Small)100% orange juice: Increasingly, you can find calcium and vitamin D- fortified OJ. Orange juice is naturally a good source of folic acid and vitamin C. Don’t guzzle it though! Orange juice can be a significant source of calories when more than a cup and a half is consumed daily.
Beans: Magical indeed! Full of fiber, protein, iron, zinc and magnesium—find ways to fit beans into your weekly (or daily) diet. Roast them for a crunchy snack, top a salad or burrito, or throw them in with diced tomatoes for a hearty pasta dish.
Low-fat cheese: An easy snack or serve it mixed into casseroles, pasta and in sandwiches. Low-fat cheese is full of calcium, potassium, and protein.
Greek Yogurt (Small)Low-fat yogurt: “Nutrient-rich” is an understatement! Yogurt is a good source of calcium, vitamin D, potassium and protein. Go for Greek varieties if you are looking for extra protein. It’s great as part of a meal, as a snack, or dessert.
Low-fat milk or soymilk: Dairy milk is a natural source of calcium, potassium, protein and vitamin D. If soymilk is your go-to, make sure it is fortified with calcium and vitamin D. Many athletes use flavored milk (chocolate milk) for a post-workout recovery drink.
Dark-green leafy vegetables: These veggies like kale, spinach and collard greens offer iron and calcium. Pair these veggies up with foods high in vitamin C, or serve with meat to maximize the absorption of iron from the vegetables.
Orange fruits and vegetables: Loaded with vitamins C, E, A, and potassium, these help your immune system stay healthy.
How many of these foods are you getting on a regular basis?
Jill Castle, MS, RDN is a childhood nutrition expert and co-author of Fearless Feeding: How to Raise Healthy Eaters from High Chair to High School (www.fearlessfeeding.com). She is the creator of Just The Right Byte (www.justtherightbyte.com), and is working on her next book for young athletes, called Eat, Compete & Grow. She lives with her husband and four children in New Canaan, CT. Questions? Contact her at Jill@JillCastle.com.
Investigating Patient Abuse
CRANSTON, R.I. — The apparent physical abuse of three patients with profound disabilities last year at the state-run Eleanor Slater Hospital triggered investigations by federal and state health officials and has prompted an investigation by state police.
One of the three unidentified patients apparently was abused by the insertion of a foreign object into his rectum, according to documents obtained by The Providence Journal in response to a request made under Rhode Island’s Access to Public Records Act.
All three of the patients are unable to speak, and at least one has severely limited movement, placing them among the ranks of the most fragile people for whom the state is responsible.
Article
Domestic Abuse Punished
Law Wan-tung, 44, was found guilty earlier this month of assaulting Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, 24, who cleaned her house and lived in a closet in her apartment for eight months. During the trial, Ms. Erwiana recounted the various ways she said Ms. Law abused her, including shoving a vacuum cleaner tube into her mouth, fracturing two of her teeth with a blow to the face, putting her on a diet of bread and rice and forcing her to urinate into a plastic bag or bucket to avoid dirtying the toilet.
Article
Building American Slave Museum
“Like everyone else,” John Cummings said a few days earlier, “you’re probably wondering what the rich white boy has been up to out here.”
He was driving around the Whitney in his Ford S.U.V., making sure the museum would be ready for the public. Born and raised in New Orleans, Cummings is as rife with contrasts as the land that surrounds his plantation. He is 77 but projects the unrelenting angst of a teenager. His disposition is exceedingly proper — the portly carriage, the trimmed white beard, the florid drawl — but he dresses in a rumpled manner that suggests a morning habit of mistaking the laundry hamper for the dresser. As someone who had to hitchhike to high school and remains bitter about not being able to afford his class ring, he embodies the scrappiness of the Irish Catholics who flooded New Orleans in the 19th century. But as a trial lawyer who has helped win more than $5 billion in class-action settlements and a real estate magnate whose holdings have multiplied his wealth many times over, Cummings personifies the affluence and power held by an elite and mostly white sliver of a city with a majority black population.
Article
Emily Nagoski
Apparently we still haven’t learned our lesson about what happens when we pathologize normal sexual functioning.Article
Steinbeck said it Best
A writer out of loneliness is trying to communicate like a distant star sending signals. He isn't telling or teaching or ordering. Rather he seeks to establish a relationship of meaning, of feeling, of observing. We are lonesome animals. We spend all life trying to be less lonesome.
-Steinbeck
-Steinbeck
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Eyes and Ears
When you photograph you get a photographer's eyes. When you are being a detective you get detective's eyes. When you play music you get musician's ears. When you write you get writer's ears. When you paint you get painter's eyes.
Crazy Delicious Soup-Gloop
I retrieved a container from my freezer labeled eggplant tomato sauce but when it defrosted this was not what I found. I took a few bites and it was good. I threw it in my crock pot and added more things from my fridge; leftover brown rice, 16 bean soup, crushed tomatoes, splashes of red wine, 6 corn tortillas; cubed, frozen chicken; cubed, and water. It simmered for a while and it was a great Mexican style spicy thick soup-gloop.
Free at Last
LOS ANGELES — William Taylor III, once a lifer in state prison for two robbery convictions and the intent to sell a small packet of heroin, was savoring a moment he had scarcely dared to imagine: his first day alone, in a place of his own.
“I love the apartment,” he said of the subsidized downtown studio, which could barely contain the double bed he insisted on having. “And I love that I’m free after 18 years of being controlled.”
“My window has blinds, and I can open and close them!” he exclaimed to visitors the other day, reveling in an unaccustomed, and sometimes scary, sense of autonomy.
Mr. Taylor, 58, is one of more than 2,000 former inmates who were serving life terms under California’s three-strikes law, but who were freed early after voters scaled it back in 2012. Under the original law, repeat offenders received life sentences, with no possibility of parole for at least 25 years, even if the third felony was as minor as shoplifting.
[...]
For his first night in his new home, he said, he would cook oatmeal and have a fruit cup. And then, he said, he was going to soak in a hot bath for the first time in nearly two decades.
Article
Noreen Riols
Noreen Riols – wow
Noreen Riols is a hell of a lady. First of all, she is 87, and she spoke with great elegance, grace and clarity for over ten minutes with no notes.
Secondly, this woman used to train spies during the Second World War.
The stories that she told were absolutely incredible. She was originally going to join the Wrens (the Navy) because they had nice hats, but because she was able to speak in four languages to an interviewer (which she mentioned as if it were nothing), she was recruited to the SOE.
She never told anyone her story until 2000, and her own mother never knew that she had worked there.
I can’t sum her story up like I can the others, because she worked there for four years. And because it involves so many people, and was so emotional and intense, I don’t want to pretend that I have done it justice. I will just bring up three stories that touched me.
1. One of the first things that she did was to work in Baker Street on sabotage operations. One evening she was speaking to a man who was about to go out to work in France, and he was a radio operator: the most dangerous job of all. Those men’s life expectancy was four weeks. This man and her were good friends (“nothing more than that – he was so old: over thirty!”), and near the end of the night he pulled out a velvet box and gave it to her.
Inside was a little necklace. As you can imagine, Riols tried to give it back; she felt bad about taking something so valuable from someone that she didn’t know very well.
But the man who gave it to her was a Jew. And he said to her, “my wife is dead, my children is dead: my whole family is dead. If I don’t give it to you, who shall I give it to? I want someone to be able to look at it. I want to know that someone is thinking about me back home.”
And he never came back.
2. After this, she was moved down to the New Forest, where she spent the majority of the War. Her job there, along with three other women, was to ‘work with’ the men at the final stage of training, who were going to the “spy school” in a place called Buley (I don’t know how to spell it). By ‘work with’, I mean that they would track them down in the local towns (Bournemouth or Southampton) and try to get them to break their cover. Most of them, she said, succeeded. One told her that he was a toothpaste salesman (which she pooh-poohed, because no one used toothpaste in the War – but it was enough).
She recalled one Dane who was extremely good looking and with whom she was having tea in a hotel in Bournemouth. In front of us, she sighed, and then she told us that this man broke his cover and told her who he was. And weeks later, back in London, he and their joint boss (whom she nicknamed Willibanks) were sitting in a room, and WB called her in. And as soon as the Dane saw her, his face clouded over with shock, then fear, then anger, and he stood up, spat at her, and said, “you bitch!”
3. Nearer the end of the war, Riols met a man with whom she fell in love, and who fell in love with her. Their romance was like the clicking of two parts together, and within three months they were thinking about marriage. He was an excellent saboteur, and had been on a number of dangerous missions. He was the top spy of the department, and he was being sent on one final mission.
Riols described their last meeting before he went off. Because they weren’t married and didn’t live together, their parting consisted of lunch together in a restaurant, and then she walked him to the bus stop. They didn’t even say goodbye properly, because of course, there were people around. But as she walked into the office, she turned around, and she saw that he was standing there looking straight at her – as if he was trying to fix the image of her in his mind; something to cling onto while he was away.
But he never came back.
At the end of her talk, one or two people clapped, but she quickly interjected, “Oh no! Please, don’t applaud me! Don’t clap for me – clap for those who… who didn’t come back.”
She received a standing ovation.
Sufi Proverbs
Before we can learn, we need to learn how to learn, and before we can learn how to learn we need to unlearn.
If you pick up a bee due to kindness, you will learn the limitations of kindness.
When a pickpocket sees a saint, all he sees are his pockets.
Freedom is the absence of choice.
We cannot steal the fire. We must enter it.
When the heart weeps for what it has lost, the spirit laughs at what is has gained.
He who tastes, knows.
Gazing at Icicles
Yesterday the sun was out and Lily and walked to the North End and all around the less traveled streets. It felt great to have a real big long walk like we usually do until the deep snow bumped us off our routine. We both got very muddy in the process but it was worth it. I enjoyed gazing at all of the gigantic icicles dangling off roofs like monster teeth. When we got home I washed Lily in the yellow tub after taking out all of the shovels and brooms. She is so tolerant it hurts. She puts up with all of this and a brushing, all for a cookie.
Still on the Trail Mix
In college when I ran out of money I lived on trail mix because it was healthy and I could charge it at the school bookstore. I still live on trail mix but this time I make it myself. We buy wholesale at bakers supply (many pounds of) raw sunflower seeds, dark raisins and raw almonds.
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