7.14.2010

Cooking For the Stubborn Diabetic

I started a blog because I can't control my husband. He eats horribly and considers it his God-given American right to do so. He also thinks recycling is communist, but I've given up on that one.

"The communists lost, honey. I don't think we need to worry about them anymore."

"That's OK. I am willing to sacrifice myself for the greater good."

So now you have an idea of the kind of obstacle I am up against. My efforts at keeping his health intact must be surreptitious. And tasty.

And then it occurred to me: I can't be the only person in the United States who is facing this problem. There has to be others. So I started Cooking for the Stubborn Diabetic, mostly to vent and to share little tricks to get vegetables into his gullet.

Cooking for the Stubborn Diabetic is not about optimal diets for the diabetic. It is about what you can con him into eating. And if it doesn't beat the junk food, you lose. You take whatever victories you can find.

7.09.2010

Tenleytown - Road Kill for the Middle Class

The beauteous Spring has gone in Tenleytown, Washington DC. Once again, the sidewalks are filled with the discards of college students who would rather throw out a perfect condition couch than haul it to its next location.

Lucky for us.

This year we got an office chair on wheels, jeans and a cute lacy sleeveless top. The goodies this year were a little thin. The sofas and entertainment centers weren't in the greatest shape. Textbooks were lying in cardboard boxes on the most obscure topics. "Love and the Llama" ?? We can all be thankful that it wasn't us that paid for that tripe. Or for the stuff being left behind.

Initially this was going to be a post about the stupidity of these college students leaving absolute garbage behind on the streets of DC. What are they thinking, I was prepared to ask.

In the interests of research, I looked in a paper bag that had been there most of a week. Jeans! They look like they could fit me! And what's this? A stretchy brown top with lace trim. Lovely V neck on it, too.

And as quickly as that, I am pleased as punch that I live in a place where consumer road kill is available to anyone.

7.05.2010

Michael Steele is the Vuvuzela of Republican Party Politics

Witness the vuvuzela: it is hard to ignore, it makes a lot of noise, it does not contribute positively to the overall game and it is difficult to eliminate.

The same applies to Michael Steele. He is hard to ignore because of his position as head of the Republican National Committee. Combine that with his salient news analysis on our purpose in Afghanistan and how it's all President Obama's fault, and you have an attention-getting dynamo.

Michael Steele makes a lot of noise because people are always putting microphones in front of his face. And once the microphones are there, he insists on talking. Once he has spoken into a microphone, video of that event is rebroadcast all over the world. To be fair, though, I don't think that anyone outside of the United States really cares. But we care, and that's what counts.

Accusing President Obama of bringing us into a war that was started by a President from his own party allows Michael Steele to be a distraction from the idiot leanings of the Republican party in Congress right now. Things like blaming the unemployed for being lazy instead of the lack of jobs causing the unemployment springs to mind. Just as the vuvuzela is a constant distraction from the World Cup game going on in front of the fans, Michael Steele is a distraction from the serious missteps of his party.

Finally, Michael Steele is tough to purge. How many times has he outraged his own party by now? And he is still there. That's impressive staying power. Instead of everyone going on about how Michael Steele is awful at being the RNC chair, let's find out what he is doing right. It's got to be pretty good.

7.02.2010

Every Teenage Girl Should See This Video

Every teenage girl should see this

Wow! Talk about the fight against eating disorders. Dove soap is getting down and dirty against the beauty industry.

When I was younger, I spent hours trying to reach the ideal I saw in magazines. No one knew then that it wasn't possible.

I spent three weeks in Saudi Arabia after the first Gulf War. Saudi Arabia does not permit pictures of women unless they are completely covered. During that time, for the first time since second grade, I started to feel OK about my body and how I looked. And I felt thin.

After coming back to the United States, seeing all the photos of how women were supposed to look in advertisements, my old obsessions with weight came back. But I never forgot how great it was to feel OK, if only for that little while.

Econo-Girl has shared a link to a video with you. To view the video or to reply to the message, follow this link:

http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=574238624&k=5XA5ZVQYQT6G6BDASBYUSWPTU6BAXU6LRSHX&oid=1488358297001

7.01.2010

Twitter is Over Capacity - Could it be the World Cup?

I am trying to do some professional twittering and the service is over capacity. In a way, I think the World Cup and Twitter and both symptoms of the information revolution. The monopoly of data is broken. We can no longer have what we know and watch dictated by a small group of white, male editors. The freedom YouTube is that anybody with a small, cheap camera can publish a message internationally at no cost. And once that is done, there is no way to stop the message. And that is power.

That kind of power has always existed. The difference in the information revolution is that power has shifted downward to everybody in the world with access to the Internet and digital cameras. Granted, it's not everybody. Yet. But it will be, eventually.

The World Cup is finally getting some notice by Americans. I credit that to our increased connection to the rest of the world through the Internet. Twitter is overloaded with tweets, I'm guessing, from World Cup followers and fans. Twitter has enabled immediate information dissemination of the one event that interests most people in the world. There is no way to control that message.

Now President Obama has authorized a cut off switch for the Internet in the event of a cyber attack. I see where he's coming from. A well-aimed cyber attack would seriously hurt our economy. Remember, the aim of the 9-11 hijackers was to take out the American economy. It is American economic power that the terrorists target.

But what if there wasn't a terrorist attack? Or there was one and, out of fear, the Administration didn't open the Internet back up again? How would we keep our journalists honest? Who among us believes in the integrity of corporate journalism when The National Enquirer is a serious contender for a Pulitzer prize? Not me.

AMAZING Genuine Marriage Proposal



Found ANOTHER great marriage proposal on YouTube. It's touching, tongue in cheek, witty and charming. Not as good as my cousin's, Johanna, but still pretty good.

BEST MARRIAGE PROPOSAL, EVER!!! Scott Haro and Johanna Williams



Scott Haro made this video as part of a proposal to Johanna Williams, the most beautiful girl in the entire family. Seriously, she looks like a supermodel. It's jaw-dropping.

The entire video exudes love, romance, commitment and very original thinking. You got to hand it to a guy who comes up with such a great way to say "I love you." Great job, Scott. The joy in the marriage proposal is apparent.