Carried Away with Double Tasking

Last night I caught myself trying to balance my cell phone against my shoulder while brushing my teeth and trying to talk to my dad...as you can imagine, I wasn't able to do either task very well. I couldn't really TALK to my dad while I was brushing my teeth and trying to brush your teeth with your head leaning onto your shoulder while trying not to drop the phone isn't very effective either. Then I realized, what the heck am I doing? I am clearly getting a little too obsessed with trying to get things done efficiently, accomplish all the little tasks that build up, AND get into bed at a decent time. But as I think about it, the way our society is becoming, everywhere you look there are "time savers" that allow you to do lots, at once. This morning I walked out of my house to drive to work at 8:30am and watched a young woman walking her dog down the street while talking loudly on her cell phone to a friend about some problems she's having...the poor dog was was being starved of attention during his/hers one time of day she/he has to spend with his owner...I realized I wasn't getting to have a very quality conversation with my dad while trying to brush my teeth too. I often find myself checking e-mail while talking to my friends on the phone (or vice versa) and realize, why are we talking on the phone when we aren't really focusing on having a quality interaction? This has all been a reminder that I need to bring a little mindfulness back into my life and take the time needed to focus on important conversations AND tasks...like brushing my teeth, but doing them at the same time only jips them both.

I want clean air!

I can't wait for an end to this administration. This article discusses how the feds aren't letting California have stricter clean air standards than the federal laws. Not only is this a problem for California, but several other states were planning to follow California's lead and will also be unable to if this persists. The whole thing is even more ridiculous because California has a long history of having stricter standards--which really seem needed if we are to get out of the global warming mess. Read this short editorial from NYT about the topic:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/opinion/04tue3.html?th&emc=th

The Nutrition Question

Two articles today in the NYT focusing on fruit and vegetables (f & v), and the difficulty getting them to people.

First, this article discusses how the government's crazy subsidy programs make it so difficult for small f & v farmers to produce much:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/01/opinion/01hedin.html?th&emc=th

It is ridiculous how the government so overtly supports huge farms that grow subsidized products only (like corn). The subsidized products are mostly what goes into making crappy fast foods so cheap and healthier f & v so expensive.

The other article offers a cool idea to me in order to get more fresh fruit and veggies into the areas that need them most.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/01/opinion/01sat4.html?th&emc=th
In New York City, mayor Bloomberg is working to get green carts filled with fresh f & v into areas that need them most--low income areas without access to stores that carry much f & v. Also in those low income areas, little stores that carry some f & v usually charge a lot of money and people cannot afford them anyways.

A Play to See

A review on the play "Fences" by August Wilson from the Culture Lust blog at KPBS:
http://www.kpbs.org/blogs2/index.php/culturelust/comments/august_wilsons_fences_at_cygnet_theater/

My boyfriend and I saw this play about a week ago and both loved it. It is delightful to find a gem of a playhouse in San Diego (the Cygnet), and one that you can easily score 1/2 price tickets for and where all the seats are good ones (it's tiny). We've enjoyed all of the productions we've seen there but "Fences" was one of the best. I am not always a big fan of plays; I find them to often be drawn out and too long and not entertaining enough to hold my attention. This play was on a very apt topic to those of any generation and race. The characters were each incredibly well acted and had enough depth to keep you engaged and concerned about what was going on. I highly recommend seeing this play; it is playing through March 2nd so hurry!

A Compelling Compulsion to...Read

I had a really bad night's sleep the other night...the reason for it is that I was reading one of those books that is just impossible to put down...The Road by Cormac McCarthy. The story is devastating and disturbing so certainly not the easiest material to be reading late into the dark of night, but I just couldn't stop myself...I had this feeling like I just need to read the whole thing, right now, regardless of it being time to be sleeping. This happens to me every now and then with that certain type of book. The book, by the way, is fabulous, it sucks you into the amazing connection and fight for survival between a father and his young boy. Luckily, the book is only just over 200 pages long and has large type so my plan is to wait until I have a few daylight hours to read and plow through, but not sure when that will be and I'm finding it hard to wait...

Persepolis

See it...

This was an excellent movie that I highly recommend as would, I believe, everyone else I saw it with. While the cartoon style of the movie might make you think this is not the movie for you (this is what I thought I must admit), take my word for it, you will love this movie--animation and all...it actually works really well because it allows attention to be drawn to aspects that you might otherwise not see. The story is fabulous and a great deal of the history of Iran is learned through watching Marjane's struggles...now I want to read the books.

Fast Food Battles

Very interesting article in today's NYT about a new law to take effect in New York City requiring restaurant chains to post calorie contents of foods in noticeable places. Apparently the head of the Obesity Society (whatever that is, I've never heard of it) says this rule could actually backfire causing people to overeat later in their day or making those foods more appealing as "forbidden fruits." He is against the law.
I do not agree with that guy--to put it bluntly. I think that his thinking underestimates the importance of giving people the information they need to make choices. Having the calorie contents available lets people start to become more aware of what they are putting into their body. They are not banned from still buying those foods--just as cigarette smokers still buy packages that have warning labels of how hazardous smoking is all over them. Having the calorie content of foods more available may also encourage these chain restaurant owners to be more embarrassed of the horrendous foods they sell to make themselves wealthy (while building up a huge obesity problem in society). Then maybe they will rethink having quadruple cheese burgers with bacon on the menu. They may also be more likely to atleast add more lower calorie and healthier options.
Read the article for yourself at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/16/business/16obese.html?th&emc=th