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Showing posts with the label Index A

At a Crossroads and Ordering the Number 1

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At every crossroads on the path that leads to the future, tradition has placed 10,000 men to guard the past. – Maurice Maeterlinck I’m experiencing an identity crisis – nothing serious, just stuck at a crossroads, particularly about this blog. Sometimes I want to rebrand (again), but to what? While “Life is a Brand” and its matching domain name are not exactly exciting, the search engines seem to like it, at least to the extent that they haven’t sent this blog to the cyberspace version of Siberia. I have some great candidate domains, but their themes seem too confining – for example, WhyIWrite.com . At the moment, it has its own site, but once one has discussed why one writes, what is left? How many times can I discuss my process for writing? More important, “Who cares”? Bleh. Meanwhile, the “Why I Write” blog is essentially inactive – not good for ranking on the search engines, borne out by its current search engine location (Cyber Siberia). For rebranding ...

Anatomy Class (by Jerry Siegel)

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(To My Freshmen, with Apologies to Northrop Frye) Ah. There it is: A still-living poem. Some critic or teacher must have Done this to it. Put it on the table, boys. Gently, now. Check for vitality, Analyze the theme, Examine its metaphors, Lay bare the quivering imagery And expose the throbbing Thought. Let’s see that history. Two hundred years old? No wonder it seems in Rough shape. As you can see, the relevance is clearly herniated. Diction? Grossly inefficient. Impossibly high allusion level. There! Between the varicose values. Just as I suspected! A great mass of dense meaning Complicated by a massively conscious rhythm. There’s nothing to be done about it. Hopeless – Not a chance of reconstructing this one Into useful lyrics Or a slogan. Close it up And send it off To the anthology. ____________________ (A found poem, written sometime in the mid-1970’s, by a young professor)

Another Bush in the Works???

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Fool me once, Shame on you; Fool me twice, Shame on me; Fool me thrice? Hell, NO!

About Aunt.Sexy...

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Aunt.Sexy ____________ We give advice by the bucket, but take it by the grain. – Tom Stoppard _____________________ Aunt.Sexy, lovelorn columnist extraordinaire, offers her two cents about matters of the heart, although she expands her words of wisdom beyond mere romantic matters. Aunt.Sexy takes the agony out of “Agony Aunt” and injects sexy, flirty, and slightly racy fun into the advice biz – not your parents’ syndicated newspaper “Tsk, Tsk” columnist. In her approach to advice, she slants slightly risqué, but never profane or triple X – her suggestions may seem shocking to some, tame to others, which pretty much places her point of reference in media res , perhaps veering slightly left, but always with good humor and a touch of snark. She offers advice to the living, the dead, the real, and the downright fictional. For what it’s worth. For more information about receiving advice from Aunt.Sexy

An Anniversary Blast from the Past

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Anita Siegel, my late mother-in-law, was a one-of-a-kind lady, with a sharp wit, cosmic sense of humor, and a great love of family and friends. She could be a pain in the posterior, and we argued a lot, but here's the thing: I felt comfortable around her, enough to be able to spar with her. In a very real sense, she was, in my adult years, a mother to me. She was good to us, and I miss her tremendously. One year, she sent us the above anniversary card, which I found during the Great 2012 Cleanup of the Siegel Household. Sweet, huh? Inside the card: I miss those hilarious moments she gave to us, but when we discover these little blasts from the past, she reminds us that she's never very far away--and always in our hearts:

A Down Day Today and Memoir Madness: Driven to involuntary commitment

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Jennifer Semple, Age 19 (1970) One year after she was released from the institution ______________________ Some personal issues have come up today, and I don't know what to do about them. Unfortunately, I can't do anything about them because they apply to me only indirectly, so I'll just have to continue worrying and fretting. Perhaps I should just jump on the treadmill and work out feelings that way. Or maybe work on my book Memoir Madness: Driven to involuntary commitment ; yes, I have changed the title from I, Driven: memoir of involuntary commitment --the new title came to me in a dream, and it just seems to fit. However, I need to do a bit of tweaking to the text itself. I just love the multiple meanings of "madness"--craziness, anger, and mania, all of which are contained in my memoir. The I, Driven title has never been, in my view, a satisfactory one, more like a placeholder until a better title came along, and so it has. The old titl...

A Beautiful Day of Babies and Baseball...

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Jennifer with baby Henry (twin Owen was asleep) ____________________________ Any pitcher who might throw at me should know I'm not giving up my day job or trying to get anyone else's job. I just can't think of anything cooler than being one of the boys of summer! --Garth Brooks Yesterday was like a holiday; we went to Mark's (my brother-in-law) for crabs, ham, fruit salad watermelon, and babies, both new and older. We saw two-year Sean for the first time since 2009 (other than on Facebook)--how he has grown, and so smart, too! Lots of blond hair and big brown eyes. In the above photo (sorry about the poor quality; it's a cell phone image), I'm holding a very content and happy Henry. I later held Owen, but no pic of that. Owen is smaller of the two, but other than that, they are identical twins, perhaps mirror image! Cute as buttons. Later, Jerry and I met Harvey and Charlie in Baltimore for the O's game; Unfortunately, the St. Louis Cardinals soundly beat th...

Asking the Right Questions

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Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers. --Tony Robbins We are not likely to find the best answers unless we ask the right questions. Yesterday, my first interview with a naturally thin person (Harvey Rapp) was a real eye opener; I literally stumbled upon, by accident, some interesting facts about slim people. Serendipity. Of course, an interview with one person does not prove anything definitive, but this particular interview revealed some of the "secret" questions I should be adding to my questionnaire. Without my having asked--because I was unaware of the right questions--Harvey offered some stunning insights. To find out, you'll have to read the interview . We have two groups of people: those who struggle with weight and food issues and those who don't. And there is often a lack of understanding between the two groups, which can cause conflict. For example, I can't tell you how often I have heard these ...

An Open Letter to My Friends Who Have Recently Lost Weight

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Lile Ordev and Jennifer Semple Siegel Skopje, Macedonia, an awesome outing on Kale, a fortress March 2010 ______________________________ In human relationships, kindness and lies are worth a thousand truths. --Graham Greene Dear Friends, Be kind to your former self. Love her, love him. Don't be so hard on that person who decided to take matters seriously and lose weight and gain a healthier body. Remember, it was that brave person who made an important decision to spend a significant amount of money and admit publicly that he or she needed help. Do you remember that day so many months ago, how tentative you felt about going to the center and how it all seemed so difficult and impossible? Do you remember hiding in the back of the room, trying not to be noticed? Well, you came back the next week, and the next week, and the next week... You have made it this far and it was because of your strong fatter self that you are still here. So instead of dissing him or ...

A Difficult and Inconvenient Truth...

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If we lose love and self respect for each other, this is how we finally die. --Maya Angelou This is a difficult truth to accept: The more weight I lose, the better strangers treat me. I wish it weren't so because while this better treatment might benefit me personally, this suggests that our culture has much work to do in terms of accepting difference on all fronts. And that saddens me. I don't want to be privileged over someone else just because I'm thinner (or younger, prettier, etc.). Privilege ought to be earned, through accomplishments and good deeds, not because of superficial features, such looks, race, age, or size. As I continue to slim down, I'm going to keep this thought firmly in mind and treat all people with the respect they deserve. It would be so easy to forget where I started; this post is my reminder. Peace and respect to all.

"An Apple a Day Keeps the Food Police Away?"

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Everyone who wants to do good to the human race always ends in universal bullying . --Aldous Huxley I hate overweight, because it implies that there's a weight standard I should be adhering to. --Camryn Manheim The other day, Dr. Oz had some "experts" on his show who believe that fat children are "abused" and should be taken away from their parents and placed in foster care. Really? Are we getting so ridiculous here in the U.S. that we are going to hunt down overweight children and penalize their parents? Call in the Fat Police? Arrest parents? Set up government orphanages and boarding schools for overweight kids? Look. I agree that good eating habits begin at home, and, perhaps, parents need some refresher courses in proper nutrition, but even to suggest that children should be removed from their homes because of excess weight is just beyond the pale. I mean, does Children's Social Services remove kids because their parents smoke cigarettes...

A Buddha Prayer (from the Pali Canon)

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Fritz Perls based The Gestalt Prayer from Buddha's teachings: Do not hark back to things that passed, And for the future cherish no fond hopes; The past was left behind by thee, The future state has not yet come. But who with vision clear can see The present which is here and now Such wise one should aspire to win What never can be lost or shaken.

Thought for the Day--April 14, 2011: An Orange a Day Keeps the Appetite at Bay...

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A man ought to carry himself in the world as an orange tree would if it could walk up and down in the garden, swinging perfume from every little censer it holds up to the air. --Henry Ward Beecher The versatile orange is not only perfumy, tasty, and sweet, but it may also help keep your appetite in check. For the last few days, I have been eating an orange with my regular breakfast (flatbread, lean ham, egg white omelet, a slice of non-fat cheese), and I have noticed that I am able to go longer (over 4 hours!) before getting hungry for lunch. I'm usually hungry within 3 hours, so this is major! I had heard that citrus fruits were good appetite suppressants, but I never really believed it before. Of course, other factors may be in play, such as my insulin resistance working itself out, so I'm not ready to assert definitively that oranges have been responsible for this positive change. But it's certainly worth a try! Eat oranges, my cyber friends.

“Ask Bug” is Now Aunt.Sexy!

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Aunt.Sexy _____________ If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. —Maya Angelou For more information: About Aunt.Sexy Dear Aunt.Sexy Thank you!

Thought for the Day, April 6, 2011: "After Apple-Picking" (Robert Frost, 1874-1963)

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My long two-pointed ladder’s sticking through a tree Toward heaven still, And there’s a barrel that I didn’t fill Beside it, and there may be two or three Apples I didn’t pick upon some bough. But I am done with apple-picking now. Essence of winter sleep is on the night, The scent of apples: I am drowsing off. I cannot rub the strangeness from my sight I got from looking through a pane of glass I skimmed this morning from the drinking trough And held against the world of hoary grass. It melted, and I let it fall and break. But I was well Upon my way to sleep before it fell, And I could tell What form my dreaming was about to take. Magnified apples appear and disappear, Stem end and blossom end, And every fleck of russet showing clear. My instep arch not only keeps the ache, It keeps the pressure of a ladder-round. I feel the ladder sway as the boughs bend. And I keep hearing from the cellar bin The rumbling sound Of load on load of apples coming in. For I have had too much Of apple-pic...

Got 0? The Apple and "Improv"

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Photo by Abhijit Tembhekar from Mumbai, India ________________________ I'm beginning my series of "Got 0?" articles with the versatile apple. If you love apples, then embarking upon a lifestyle change can be easier and certainly much more satisfying with this 0 points food in your arsenal. The Apple must surely be a worldwide favorite, given its great number of varieties. If you hang out in the produce aisle of the grocery store, you will notice more space devoted to the apple than any other fruit or vegetable. Varieties of apples with concise descriptions While the above list seems fairly comprehensive, I did not see a recent discovery that I made. About a month ago, an unusual variety called "Jazz" caught my eye. At $2.49 a pound, I wasn't about to fill a bag full of them, but I was game to try one ($1.54!!!). This variety not only looked different, but it also smelled unlike the other varieties, more like a perfumy honey. Being an avid Jazz fan, I also l...

Thought for the Day--March 30, 2011: Arrival in St. Petersburg

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We arrived in St. Petersburg, about 30 minutes late, due to "Weather." We flew into Tampa--a bumpy flight all the way. Evidently, we got in just in time because later flights were delayed and even canceled. We grabbed a bite to eat (Broiled Grouper, asparagus, and orzo--very good and within the Weight Watchers program). Then I rushed to the Board meeting (late), where I, president of the newly formed Creative Writing Committee, gave a report about what is on the agenda for tomorrow evening. In other words, not much to report yet. It looks like this is going to be an interesting conference, although the rough weather is supposed to continue tomorrow. By 10:30 p.m., it was pouring outside, so we took a taxi to our hotel (although it is only 9 blocks from the conference hotel). Off to bed. I'm very tired--I hope to sleep well because I have lots to do tomorrow. Later!

Thought for the Day--March 25, 2011: Avoiding Haters

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There are always going to be people who hate you just because you're fat. In fact, I just ran across a website in which a hater rants on and on about fat people and how "stupid" they are. I won't give a link here because I give very little validity to haters, whether they hate based upon race, ethnic group, age, size, etc.; I also have very little respect for haters who hide behind aliases and private domain name registrations, which this particular pinhead has done. It's easy to throw petards at others when you're running an anonymous site and don't have to account for your words. One simple piece of advice: don't engage haters by responding to their rants; like internet trolls, they feed upon the flames of other people's angry responses, which keeps them in the media light, fanning the flames of their hate even more. If you don't fan the flames, haters eventually crawl back into obscurity, where they belong. Before getting into a snarkfest wi...

Thought for the Day--March 20, 2011--Avoiding Bigots

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Bigotry, unfortunately, can come in all sizes, shapes, color, ages, and ethnic groups. Better to surround yourself with a rainbow of people who can bring positive energy into to your life and avoid those who hate others just because they are fat, skinny, black, white, etc. Fat discrimination seems to be the last bastion of institutionalized prejudice; some day, it will change, but for now, just be the best possible person that you can be and try to educate those who would judge you unfairly, for example, "All fat people are lazy. You are fat; therefore, you are lazy." If you can't educate such numpties, then it's best to avoid them. Also, don't resort to reverse bigotry to judge thin people unfairly. For one thing, you don't know how hard that person may work to maintain his/her shape. Even so, most thin people are well-meaning, even if the don't always get how difficult it can be to lose and maintain weight loss. Happy Sunday!

Thought for the Day--March 18, 2011: Avoiding "Pressure Feeders"

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Totally avoiding pressure feeders can be difficult, if not impossible, but you can lessen the damage they can cause to your efforts. A "pressure feeder," a friend, family member, or co-worker who knows you are trying to make health and dietary changes, insists on sabotaging your efforts by pushing treats and junk food at you. They will insist that you must try what they offer and will try to guilt you into giving in: "Oh, you're so thin now; surely a little bite won't hurt..." "I made this just for you..." "You're much too thin already; you need to fatten up a bit..." If you don't want to eat the treat, simply politely decline. All too often, however, pressure feeders will make a big deal of your diet and may even poke fun at your efforts and blow it all out of proportion. The best tactic: change the subject ("How about those Orioles...?"). If this person insists on hammering on this subject, politely ignore him or he...

Memoir Madness: Driven to Involuntary Commitment