February 07, 2010
Motorcycle Jacket!
A good motorcycle jacket never goes out of style. But sometimes, it runs out of practicality. As a Wellesley student, I bought a Wilson's Leather Thinsulate Motorcycle Jacket. At the time, I used the tiny pouch for my lighter (which I imagine was its original design intent). Nowadays, I see that as the perfect place to hold onto keys. Alas, there is no use for a Thinsulate jacket in Los Angeles.
But a lambskin version, made by hand, in the United States? Clearly this is the jacket I've been waiting for these past ten years to replace my old love. Schott's Women's Lamskin Perfecto Jacket is my heart's new desire.
New consumer lust found in the Sunday NYT Style Section Pulse column, by Karin Nelson.
Posted by cj at 11:57 PM | Comments (0)
November 16, 2009
In Honor of Loud Mouth Broads: Tripping Down 80s Memory Lane at the Academy
This evening, my boyfriend took me to a television academy event, honoring four sitcoms of the 80s: Cheers, Night Court, Designing Women, and Murphy Brown.
It's always fascinating to listen to artists speak about their craft. I've been fortunate enough to accompany Chung to several Academy events, and I always leave invigorated about the world, where creativity flows in torrents. Of course, there is the flip side to it - peaking behind the current forces you to recognize the talent of the show creators and confront the fact that your favorite actors might not be the articulate genius you thought he was when he was reading someone else's lines.
These were the shows of my childhood. Some I watched more than others. (You'll forgive me, as I was four when Cheers premiered.) With so many people on the stage, everyone was getting a little antsy as the moderator meticulously drilled the cast and crew of Cheers. Ted Danson spoke about how many actors read for the part of Sam Malone and said he's convinced he won the role because his reading partner was Shelley Long. The creators, Glen Charles & Les Charles, discussed their inspiration: after working on Taxi, they wanted to create a work-placed comedy set in a space the viewers would want to hang out at.
The moderator then talked to the Night Court crew, since their show as the next to get on the air. Reinhold Weege took the opportunity to hold court and wax poetic on The Way Things Used to Be. He readily admitted that he's basically had two jobs: working on Barney Miller and creating Night Court. (Would that we all had such luck!)
Charlie Robinson told a great tale. He was a guard at Mattel when his agent booked him for 9 episodes of Buffalo Bill. So he went into his manager's office and asked for time off. Once the eps were in the can, he went back to work as a guard. Agent called him again and said they wanted to shoot 9 more eps of Buffalo Bill. So he again went to his boss and got time off for the shooting. As soon as he was done with the acting, he went straight back to his guard duty at Mattel headquarters. When his agent called to let him know he got the role on Night Court, he went into his boss' office and the guy said "you ain't coming back here."
Markie Post was also on the panel and spoke about the experience, agreeing with previous speakers about the family feel. Plus, she and Larroquette were two of the Sam and Diane rejects from Cheers casting, so it worked out for all of them.
At this point, Linda Bloodworth-Thompson interjected to wax poetic about Markie's talent. Well, sort of. In a way only she can. Linda said Markie's talent is often under-estimated because she's so hot. At some point, the moderator caught up with her and asked her about creating Designing Women.
Her primary motivation was two-fold: tell a real story about the South and put four articulate women on the air. She was in the middle of pitching Columbia when the chairmen of CBS called and asked her to come down for a meeting. The heads of CBS loved the idea and asked "where do they work?" She through out the idea that they were decorators, someone else suggested the title of the show and away they went. She explained she was able to create deeply feminist shows because it was a different era: studio chiefs enjoyed having characters who were loud mouth broads. Nowadays, the airways are full of rape and murder victims. If you're not fuckable, you don't exist as a female on screen.
Linda's words were very jarring, and definitely beyond the ability of the moderator to contain. I fear I'm not doing her justice with my poor memory and lack of notes.
After she spoke, the Murphy Brown crew had a chance in the spotlight. And honestly, it was a bit of a let down. Murphy Brown was a seminal part of me growing up: she was a figure I could idolize and in some way relate to: hyper-articulate, takes no guff, and is funny to boot. Alas, Candace Bergen wasn't there. The creators spoke about how she grew into the role. And they came from a very regimented school of production: writers had a week to develop a story idea, two weeks to write a first draft, and one more week for the second draft. They were able to explain that the reason only the first season is available on DVD is that the songs are too expensive. That was the excuse used with La Femme Nikita, and it's now all available. I think they simply lack the strong inside motivation to get it done.
What I'm failing to fully articulate is the way Linda's speeches simply took my breath away. In the midst of this celebration of the past, she pointed out the current dearth of meaty female roles and the utter lack of depth to the women allowed on screen. She denounced stupid jokes and the iterative nature of most shows on screen. She spoke about the fact that good story-telling never goes out of style, whether its on t.v., film, or in a book. No matter how small people's attention spans seem with new technology, they'll always be willing to stop for a good story. But she's not sure studios are willing to make the space for real, quality, innovative shows. And then she threw in some ageism by saying writers today are so young they don't have any experience to draw from (though she included a caveat that some young writers are talented, just not most of them). And she ended the evening by denouncing the recent Wellesley grads in their $700 shoes who come to give her notes.
Oh, Linda, you had me with you up until you threw my sisters under the bus.
Chung insisted we muddle around afterward to speak with Linda. It was an awkward confluence of industry folks eager to press their cards into her hand. She was quite gracious, but also clearly not the person to talk to about getting a job: she doesn't haven't anything in production right now (HBO killed her last series without airing it) and her assistant handles her meetings. But she did seem happy to lend an ear to the aspiring writers and actors in the audience. Eventually, Chung interjected himself to announce that I was a Wellesley grad. She made a comment about being friends with the former First Lady (which just sounded odd because who refers to the Secretary of State as the Former First Lady?) and when I explained that I'm also a feminist peace activist, she understood that I got the over-arching point of her diatribes.
A couple of parting snapshots with Joe Regalbuto and Kelsey Gramer and we left.
Posted by cj at 10:29 PM | Comments (0)
November 15, 2009
Light, Dark, Emotions, Will
I recently made a very simple observation and am wondering why it took me so many weeks to do so. My office recently moved from a brightly lit suite to a dimly lit warehouse. I thought my change in productivity was solely due to physical changes - I went from an office with an ergonomic chair to a completely not ergonomic mini-cubicle in a high traffic area. Yes, the physical surrounding are troubling. But it's the lack of light that really gets to me.
By the end of the day, I simply am not the same person I was when I walked in. Apparently, my neurons may be dying. Well, now that I can articulate the cause of my melancholy, I must use my strong will to work past it.
Add this to the list of reasons I can't wait to get a dog. S/he'll be joining me in January, when I return from my trip to India for a peace conference. So much to do: must figure out where to find him/her, and most importantly - what to name him/her. I've always had male dogs, so I'm not sure how I'd do with a girl pup. Oh yes, and preparing for that peace conference is also on my to-do list.
Posted by cj at 07:39 PM | Comments (0)
November 07, 2009
The Act of Will
I'm sure it's clear to the two people who read this blog that I have been silent for months at a time. I continue to be a student of culture, but without the discipline to put my thoughts to paper. Additionally, the things that pull me closest to paper are brought forth by my weekly sojourns in a sanctuary and I've feared those weren't my thoughts to share.
Well, no more. The rebbetzin encouraged us to share our love of Ohr Hatorah with family and friends, and this is the primary place for me to express my ecstatic appreciation of all things cultural.
Brief background: I grew up at a conservative shul in the Valley. I learned to sing and to daven there. And my rabbi, the one who taught me for my confirmation, committed suicide. There's more I could say about my troubled relationship with organized Jewry, but I'll leave it there for now.
Rabbi Finley leads Ohr Hatorah with an eye towards explaining spiritual psychology, to prepare oneself as a receptacle for the Divine. His teaching is grounded in a neo-Hasidic interpretation of Kabbalah.
Experiencing Shabbat at Ohr Hatorah can be the most enlightening, soul expanding experience of your life. Or, if you choose to focus on the oddities, it can leave you feeling terribly isolated.
The rabbi is in the midst of teaching about Roberto Assagioli's The Act of Will. Last week, he suggested that anyone interested in purchasing the book, look for it on addall.com, which is a bookstore search engine. Through AddALL, I found a used copy and it arrived on Friday.
The best thing about studying Assagioli is that it isn't difficult to read his writing. Unlike Abraham Joshua Heschel's God in Search of Man, this book is written in perfectly modern language. It's theme can be overwhelming; but the map to a coherent existence that it offers is priceless. Some of us yearn for a deeper existence and a life of meaning must be pursued consciously. By understanding the qualities of will, the types of will, and using will to harmonize our sensations, feelings, impulses, imagination, thoughts, and intuition we can lift ourselves to a higher realm of consciousness.
Assagioli's Relationship Between Self, Will and Other Psychological Functions
Today's study session focused on this diagram, along with his egg diagram as maps to self awareness that can lead to a life of consciousness, where you reflect and expand your core truth rather than swaying with the winds of modern life.
I've only scratched the surface of the subject (I'm only on page 33 of the book), but it feels profoundly true and a helpful instruction manual for living a life of virtue. Here are some definitions, gleaned from the book:
Repression: implies unconscious condemnation or fear (or both!) and the consequent endeavor to prevent the repressed material from emerging from the unconscious to consciousnessPerhaps when I have finished the book, or the rabbi finishes his series of study sessions on this topic, I'll be able to offer a more comprehensive description of the act of will.Endurance: It has been found that refusal to accept suffering can often create neurotic conditions, while generous acceptance of unavoidable suffering leads to insight, growth, and achievement.
Initiative, Courage, Daring: This quality has two roots: one is the recognition that full and lasting security is fundamentally an illusion. The other incentive toward courage is the enhancement and stimulation given by danger, by risk.
In the meantime, think about this: what core values define you? How do you actively emanate these values on a daily basis? Do you work daily to live a life of consciousness?
Here's hoping I slow down long enough to breathe deeply and internalize these teachings each day.
Posted by cj at 05:01 PM | Comments (0)
September 05, 2009
500 Days of Summer
More than a showcase of brilliant talent, this movie features an engaging script and leaves the viewer with hundreds of conversations.
Yes, 500 Days of Summer features great actors. But the amazing thing is how it combines belly laughs with pathos. The movie kept my mind engaged from the moment I sat down. And its themes continue to reverberate through me in a powerful way.
As the trailers say, it's not a love story. But I'm sure I'm not the only one who has lived the lives of both of the main characters: being loved when you're casually involved, and loving more deeply and more profoundly than your mate can withstand.
Ultimately, it led me back to a very basic question: how do you know when you've found The One? At what point does your mind stop being fearful of Giving Up Independence and fall deliciously and unequivocally into I Am A Better Person Traveling This Path With You Now and Always?
And also, p.s.: how much of our Dreams should we give up for Economic Reality? How much of our life's work should be spent on our life's passion? This is dangerous territory to tread on.. it can make you question everything about your life. Or it can reaffirm the choices you've made.
On the other hand, my friends have had different reactions to the movie. Some lose sleep worrying about Tom. Others get angry at Summer. Ultimately, the breadth of our reactions is a testament to how well the film was written and how important it is to see it.
500 Days of Summer IMDB entry
500 Days of Summer Rotten Tomatoes entry
Posted by cj at 05:02 PM | Comments (1)
July 08, 2009
the floodgates of information
I used to engage with the world by sifting through news and commenting on it throughout the day. Back before I settled into a marketing career, I had the time, energy, and passion to Make My Opinion Known. On everything from Nic and Jessica to the so-called Axis of Evil.
These days, I find that I'm stuffing so much information into my day that I barely have time to breathe, let alone regurgitate it in a meaningful way.
I spend at least an hour a day reading marketing news: from e-newsletters to my Twitter feed to the articles found on my Twitter trail. Half the time, I bookmark the articles without reading them, assuming that at some magical point in the future, I'll have the time and head space to read it all. On top of that, I've got my daily work deliverables, eating, etc.
I wish I wasn't such an information junkie. Then, instead of using every new channel to gather more nuanced understanding of the world around me, I would take the time to contribute to the overwhelming flood of nonsense.
Take Twitter. I have absolutely no idea why so many people choose to write about their evening runs, their daily coffee breaks, and other diarrhea of the mouth. Do they really think I care? Do they ever stop to wonder who has time to read all this nonsense? It's bad enough I hear about headaches in FB status updates. People: leave the detritus of your life for the people who have to listen (e.g. your significant other and closest friends).
On FB, entertain me with amusing links or funny witticisms you found during the course of the day. Stop telling me what decade you're like, what nail polish color reflects your personality, and the rest of the nonsense. (Obviously, not a big fan of quizzes.)
On Twitter, Less Is Definitely More. Shireen, aka @digitalsista, has a ton of great insight to offer on social media strategy. But almost every day I think about un-following her because I just don't care to listen into snippets of a conversation begun offline that are really just the flotsam and jetsam of one woman's life. Maybe I'm too persnickety, but I want Twitter to be edited blogging: really only tell me things that I must know, not everything you can fit into 140 characters.
Not that I'm really one to talk. I feel like I update my Twitter accounts less often than my blogs. Why? Well, there's this little thing called Work. And not wanting to blab confidential client information. And, oh yes, Work. I'm more likely to post myparentsjoinedfacebook.com on my FB status than Twitter because, well, do I really need to show the whole world that I followed a link from my "work" Twitter account to a Time article that led me to the most hysterical tribute to family faux pas ever (before leaving work)? And to think, because of the floodgate that is a Twitter feed, I felt bad that I couldn't figure out who to attribute that link to.
I'm losing steam before getting to the point. I want to learn how to turn off the information flow and turn on my engagement with the web. I've lost my blog reading habits over the years of learning how to be a marketer and I doubt many people know who I am in the blogosphere or any other sphere of the web. I'm not really one of those "Connector" types sought after by marketers, unless you think about the diverse communities I touch via the WILPF sisterhood.
Pet Peeve of the Week: Market researchers describing millennial women as "post-feminist" and Gen X-ers as "Riot Grrls." These damn boxes you cram us into are getting quite suffocating.
Not sure I wound up at a point, but if you could help me learn to unsubscribe from industry e-newsletters and carve out time for my own writing in between watching E True Hollywood Stories, So You Think You Can Dance, and strategizing / executing integrated marketing, I'd really appreciate it.
Posted by cj at 10:25 PM | Comments (0)
June 24, 2009
Realizing How Public the Internet Really Is
This morning, I listened to one of the two free social media webinars that I registered for and advertised to my coworkers. This one was by David Meerman Scott who also spoke at the all-day MarketingProfs Digital Marketing World Conference I attended on April 1.
Five minutes into the webinar, I realized he was giving the same presentation. I tweeted the following:
cminster: listening to @dmscott sm webinar. Same schpiel he gave at MarketingProfs digital marketing conference on April 1. Disappointed #vocus
4 seconds later on my twitter reel, the following popped up:
kevinbehringer @cminster Completely agree. I think I've seen this presentation a few times on a few different webinars
This frightened me, because I had no idea who the guy was (I don't follow him). He found my post because I had used the hashtag #vocus. People attending webinars follow the crowd commentary using these hashtags. I knew about this in theory, but had never seen it in action.
Around 3:30 this afternoon, the following tweet popped up in my account:
dmscott @cminster similar presentation as mprfs sorry
This was so weird to me. Having the presenter of a webinar apologize directly to me? It also startled me, because I'm used to feeling like I'm in a cocoon at my desk, only seeing work, not having random people I've never met talk at me.
I originally sent the above information to my coworkers. I work with an incredible group of talented marketers. Like most of the world, they haven't had time to follow every fad or emerging technology. They're too busy doing their jobs. Plus, we have a sister agency that deals with social media as their core competency.
Right. So I'm sure many people have already experienced how Twitter smashes the walls and creates a sense of intimacy across the interwebs. Lest you think I've found a new way to make best friends with the world, read this WSJ article by Julia Angwin.
Posted by cj at 07:44 PM | Comments (0)
June 21, 2009
Moving Beyond Emotions By Falling into Film
There's nothing that puts life in perspective as beautifully as art.
We remember and learn through narratives in a way that cannot be duplicated by tables, graphs, or rational logic.
And so, the world continues to turn. Despite our best efforts to stop and get off.
I have been the "ideal" Netflix customer for four months. I held onto the same two disks for four months, never watching them, never returning them, and never canceling my membership. Then one day I sent them off in the mail and got The Savages and Lars and The Real Girl in return.
On Friday, I watched Lars and The Real Girl. I'm only sad I didn't see it before attending a random awards ceremony, where the writer of that poignant piece was honored. (Nancy Oliver also wrote for Six Feet Under and writes for True Blood.)
It took a long time, and many splendid reviews, before I could decide that I needed to see a movie about a man and his blow up doll. And I'm glad I did.
Tonight, I saw The Savages. Honestly, I'm not clear what I thought it was. I really had no idea I was consigning myself to watching someone's life go from retirement community to nursing home to death in two hours. It's been awhile since I saw an indie flick, full of freeze frames on empty sets, pacing that feels as slow as real life, and ugly characters who are difficult to like.
I have to say, if I hadn't looked at the Rotten Tomatoes entry, I would never believe anyone calling that film a comedy. Then again, now I know why I put it on my queue to begin with: because I vaguely remembered it as a happy indie. I'm sure many viewers had the same reaction I did; it made me question whether I had spent enough time with my grandma when she was in nursing homes as I could have or should have. It made me remember how lucky I was that Elsie was mostly there towards the end of her life, even if she wasn't the same person she was before her stroke.
[Don't read this is you don't like spoilers], my favorite part of the movie was when the neurotic sister kicked her married lover to the curb. I can understand the pull of a married man, but an ongoing relationship with someone who is not even legally allowed to be completely yours is difficult for me to reconcile in my mind. I cast no judgment on others, but I personally have found some simple rules to live by: if I do anything in my present or future that couldn't be shared with my mom, it's not something I should be doing. Obviously, I can't change the past, but for the present, it's a solid moral line I dare not cross.
In any event, the best thing I can say about the Savages is that it forced me to spend 2 hours not thinking about myself or the Twilight series (which I finished today) or my apathy towards political activism (which I'm sure will dissipate soon), so it served it's purpose well.
Will I ever watch it again? Only if you paid me a lot of money. On the other hand, I could watch Lars and the Real Girl again. In the end, a good movie needs to both speak to an essential truth and be palatable enough for multiple viewings.
Posted by cj at 09:44 PM | Comments (0)
June 20, 2009
the detritus of my mind
These last few weeks have been difficult. I can't place my finger on when it started or why it wont end, but I've been in a funked out place of trauma and incompetence for what seems like forever. Sometimes, it feels like the only person who noticed my shift in moods is my boyfriend. Not that the prevailing winds of my moods should direct the world.
Really, I've been gasping for perspective. I've been trying to remind myself that I'm doing okay: that I'm getting enough done at work, to stop thinking about all the things I could be doing faster if my head was screwed on properly, and to remember that my deliverables have been met.
But just as I started to work my way out of my fear of work, my personal world crashed in around me. I'm shell shocked at the losses. I find it difficult to move beyond profound grief. Facing the cold hard reality of the shifting sands of relationships is petrifying. I thought some things were sacred. I thought blood was a bond that couldn't be broken. I had no idea how tenuous human connections really are.
One thing is for certain: I am determined to stop pushing away the love that is in my life. Though some people choose to live without me, others are very definitely here. And I have to stop fearing the future and embrace the present. There is soul-expanding love in my life and instead of questioning its depth or longevity, I must make myself open to the present presence of this exquisite present.
Posted by cj at 03:26 PM | Comments (0)
May 09, 2009
MS Roundtable from the Nancy Davis Foundation
My mom and I went to the MS Roundtable discussion at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza today. The following are my notes from the discussion. I did not take short-hand from all speakers.
Introductory Remarks
Nancy Davis: If something is not working for you, you owe it to yourself to read, research and talk to other MS patients.
Dr. Hauser: MS is one of the great mysteries of medicine. Number of MS cases has increased, with the frequency getting greater over the last 100 years. This increase largely, maybe entirely, affects women. There are inherited and environmental factors that lead to this disease. Environmental factors may be more important than inherited ones.
There are 3 new technologies that are helping to fight MS:
- Molecular biology: soon we'll have a blood test to determine whether patients are at risk and how MS will behave in an individual (based on the disease's biomarker).
- Imaging
- Computers and Information Technology: we're using these to help understand what is triggering MS in the environment
Dr. Les Weiner: In California, we're excited about stem cells. There are still federal laws that impede stem cell research. It is a step forward that the new administration understands we need science not only as an engine of the economy, but for our wellbeing. There are currently 12-14 phase 3 trials for new MS medication and some of these are pills. [As opposed to the normal treatment regimen which involves injecting medication through long needles.]
Dr. Kaplan: Thoughts, behavior and feelings are an important aspect of disease management. MS can cause clynical depression because of inflammation affecting the brain. Suicide is the third leading cause of death with MS. Yet, there is hope because depression is the most treatable symptom of MS. The brain can healt itself if you shut off the inflammation. The federal government is funding MS research at 10%, meaning that 9 out of 10 research grant requests are denied. This is why the Nancy Davis Foundation and other private funding sources are so desperately needed.
Dr. Howard Weiner: We're conducting a national history study, following 1,000 patients to find out why some patients do well and why some patients don't do well. We're looking for the signatures of individual patient. There is a potential for blood tests for what stage you're at and whether you'll enter the progressive stage. Five oral therapies are in stage 3 trials. We're trying to develop non-toxic oral therapies. And there is a very good chance for a happy, fulfilling life with MS.
Dr. Waubant, pediatric MS specialist: The youngest patient had symptions at 1.5 years old. We're working to understand better why some patients develop symptoms younger, maybe environmental and this will help understanding MS in general.
Dr. Bourdette: We're working to understand why nerve factors die in progressive MS. We believe there is an energy failure in the never fibers: mitochondria become non-functioning. Our particular target is to use MRI to measure the amount of ATP in brains of people with MS compared to healthy brains.
Answering Questions from the Audience
Will stem cells help create a new generation of medicine for MS?
Dr. Les Weiner: My answer is yes, with no real data to support my answer. This is a hostile environment for stem cells to enter. It is a promising field, but a difficult area to be certain about. We have to be slow in developing trials because you don't want to cause cancer. Brain tumors are a potential side effect of stems cells. We're optimistic that we'll be able to make stem cells from skin rather than embryonic origin. We have to go slowly in developing stem cell therapy because of the need for safety precautions.
Is a cure just around the corner?
Dr. Howard Weiner: There are three definitions of curing:
- Halt the progression of the disease. Treatments currently allow many people to live a normal life. Not everyone, but all of us have patients who are healthy. It is important to treat MS and treat it early, at the first signs of disease.
- Rebuild the nervous system: treat people so they get better. Rebuilding myelin sheath. This is the next frontier.
- Did scientists find a cure for polio? No, we figured out a way to prevent polio rather than curing it. We have programs now trying to prevent MS. We're using blood tests to identify kids at risk to try to treat them so that they never come down with MS.
How do you deal with family members who are over-bearing in their desire to help you with your MS?
Families mean well, but are more frightened than you are. Educate yourself and educate your family and they'll get sick of learning about it.
How do you feel about mega doses of Vitamin D, e.g. 50,000 IUD?
Low serum vitamin D levels increase the risk of getting MS. Most people don't need more than 1,000-2,000 IUD/day. Vitamin D turns down the activity of the immune system.
Nancy Davis: I read, talk, and educate myself about MS. Embracing it, understanding what to do. Live every single day to its fullest. Don't put something off that you can do today. I have MS, but MS doesn't have me.
Dr. Waubant: pregnancy is safe and decreases the risk of progression of the disease. Knowing this taught us the role of hormones in regulating the disease. Up to three months after delivery, there is an increased possibility of symptoms. Breast feeding may decrease the risk of exacerbation.
Dr. Kaplan: Reviewing blood samples of depressed patients, their white blood cells were twice as aggressive as normal rates. Therefore, its important to treat depression to ensure that white blood cells stay at normal levels. A number of studies are being done to determine what drugs protect neurons. SSRIs and lithium (anti-depressants) stimulate neuron production. There are medications that worsen moods: e.g. steroids can cause moods to up or down. It's important to treat those mood swings, either with talk therapy, medication, or a combination of the two.
Dr. Howard Weiner: Optic neuritis is vision loss due to inflammation of the optic nerve. Can be seen in the retina, therefore inflammation is happening where there's no myelin. This may show that MS attacks substances in the brain other than myelin. We are researching a biomarker to determine whether people with optic neuritis will go on to have MS within the next year.
Dr. Waubant: In the months before becoming pregnant, you should stop taking MS medication. In children after age 11 or 12, symptoms are the same as in adults. In younger children, there are other symptoms, including difficulty thinking, drowsiness, and milder symptoms that are often ignored.
MS survivors: Several have used homeopathic doctors to treat the symptoms of MS. Restrictive diets and visual healing have also helped. It is proven that a low fat diet is an anti-inflammatory diet. Fish oil has anti-inflammatory effects. Currently, they are initiating trial of a vegetarian diet as a way of treating MS. De-stressing your life is the best thing you can do.
Nerves are activated through excercise. You need to protect and use your nerves. Even people who have difficulty walking. Excercise causes neurogenesis and is an anti-depressant. It is crucial to keep your wiring active and excercise is good for your brain.
Symptoms of lime disease and MS seem similar. Are they connected?
They are not related. There is no direct connection. But it should be ruled out during diagnosis, because it can imitate MS.
Sometimes, there is a connection between MS and other auto-immune diseases. Psoriasis and thyroid disease can track with MS. Children of people with MS have an extremely low risk of getting the disease.
The earlier the treatment of MS the better. When you're stable, you should have an MRI once a year. When you're changing medication, you should have an MRI once every 3-6 months.
Of all the medication out there, there is a drug for rheumatoid arthritis that can trigger MS. No other drugs have been shown to trigger MS.
Posted by cj at 04:28 PM | Comments (0)
May 07, 2009
The Bridge: Boldly Bursting Ear Drums
Just came back from seeing "Star Trek." While the movie is brilliant and I hope everyone sees it, the experience was worse than sub-standard.
It started with the commercials coming on twice as loud as you'd expect any theatre sound. My friend complained twice and was twice told they couldn't possibly change the sound level, but don't worry the movie would not be as loud.
I couldn't tell you what the 30 pre-movie commercials were about, because my mind could only focus on the loss of hearing being caused by the insane volume.
The movie was at a nominally better sound level, but only nominally. It was as if The Bridge at Howard Hughes Center was trying to recreate Star Tours (the shaking seat Star Wars Disneyland ride) by jostling me from the inside out.
We stayed until the end of the credits (sorry, nothing happens) and on our way out, complained again to the children who had no purpose but to block the entrance / exit to the theater. This time, they decided to respond to our backs "you should stay home in your living room." What fabulous customer service! This for an over-priced small theater (aka "director's screening").
The woman at the customer service desk claimed the sound level on the movie was mandated by its distributor. Yeah, maybe they mandated that you make your Imax screenings at that sound level, but what movie producer in his right mind wants to ruin the hearing of his audience? And further, it ain't like the distributor is in your audience -- if your paying customers complain about something, you either fix the problem or you lose the customer. It's that simple. Between the obnoxious "service" and the stale popcorn, there is no way I'll be walking back into The Bridge anytime soon.
Check out Nimoy's appearance on the Today Show. (RT @AnnCurry Would not blame Leonard Nimoy if he asked for a restraining order restricting me to another another galaxy after this.)
Posted by cj at 10:10 PM | Comments (0)
April 27, 2009
Mad Men: The Academy Forum
Tonight, I went to a forum featuring the cast and creator of Mad Men at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. They started the evening with a clip reel (not bad) and then showed us the entire final ep of season 2. Can I just say I did not trek all the way to NoHo on a school night to watch t.v.?
The moderator had too much Jeffrey Lyons gushing and not enough substantive questions. Seeing the actors was a real treat. January Jones, Betty Draper, is super, super skinny. Jon Hamm is as handsome in person as he is on screen (I was so nervous, I took shaky camera pics of him and Chung). Christina Hendricks, the red-head, has poise for days, curves that never end, and a surprisingly skinny face.
I don't feel like I learned anything. Except that the reason there was a strong Catholic story line through season 2 was because Matthew Weiner's rabbi complained that none of the characters had a connection to G-d after season 1. Also, while the actors have an intense interest in the period, they are reticent to predict anything about their characters and have a lot of trust in the writers. This makes sense since the writers research the minutae of the time (sometimes to the detriment of the show's pacing).
Nevertheless, it was fun to see the cast in person. They're shorter than I expected. Vincent Kartheiser has a weird goofball need for attention, but I was able to genuinely shock him when I thanked him for bringing my life to the screen (really, on more than one level. I do work in account in an advertising firm and well...we'll leave it at that).
Posted by cj at 10:49 PM | Comments (0)
April 09, 2009
Scatalogical Budgets
Consumer Reports agrees: Costco toilet paper is a great buy. A family of 3 could save $130 every year by using it.
Posted by cj at 06:07 AM | Comments (0)
March 28, 2009
Being an MSM Writer
I'm attending an interesting round table on writing for the MSM at the Women, Action, and the Media conference.
I once worked with the creator of the NYT Style section and now I'm hearing from a former editor of the same. And I have to admit, it's often the first section I read in my Sunday print subscription.
Check out some live blogging about it at the WILPF blog.
Posted by cj at 09:22 AM | Comments (0)
March 27, 2009
Shaq: a real Twitter
I absolutely love this quote:
"It's 140 characters. It's so few characters. If you need a ghostwriter for that, I feel sorry for you."
It's the best part of this NYT article on Twittering. I know eventually I need to sign up to follow someone's Tweets, but honestly I still feel like it is the world's biggest waste of time.
Posted by cj at 12:42 PM | Comments (0)