Paper Tigers

photo via press kit at papertigersmovie.com

Last night I had the opportunity to screen the new documentary Paper Tigers. Directed by Jamie Redford, this film delves into the lives of several students at Lincoln High, Walla Walla's alternative high school. In the last five years, the school has shifted to a model of non-punitive discipline structure that works with a trauma-informed staff and administration who are armed with research about Adverse Childhood Experience(s) (ACEs) and the affect that living in an environment of chronic stress and compound trauma has on the brains of children. It followed several students over the course of a year, graduating in 2013. It is astounding to me the differences that have been the result of this pardigm shift over such a short period of time. Watch the trailer by clicking here.

Coming from a child welfare background, it was already a subject that was interesting to me, and I've been a bit of a docu-junkie lately watching almost every documentary available on Netflix revolving around our penal system, drug wars, food insecurity, substance abuse, immigration...all of which seem to tie back into generational poverty and stress. As one documentary ends and I go to choose the next, I find myself thinking about all of the social implications, but then not sure of concrete ways I could apply what I've just seen to my own environment. After finishing last night, it was almost more overwhelming because it is my environment that I just spend the last two hours watching. I lay in bed with my mind turning over ideas and thinking about the kids and teachers in the film (Hey! She went to bootcamp with me; hey! I know her!).

So, back to what we can do. Immediately. Without special training. Be kind to each face you see walking around town. Give grace freely and without patronism, even when you know a person, you don't know all that they struggle with. Know someone that works at Lincoln? Support them. They're willingly taking on an enormous emotional load by working with a high-risk student body. You can love the kids and your work, but it still takes a toll. Donate to the attached Health Center- they have a wishlist with items as easy as picking up an extra box of band-aids or granola bars the next time you go grocery shopping. They also have an extensive list of volunteer opportunities for everything from spring cleaning at the clinic to stuffing envelopes for mailers to volunteering your time as a healthcare provider or mental health professional. I hope that the list of ways we can support only grows from here.

The only misgiving I had about it was that a lot of the shots were of the most barren parts of town (empty railroad tracks, highway underpasses, etc). I totally understand why this was done from a theatric/cinematic standpoint, but I felt like in order to get a full picture of the community, it's almost more dramatic to see the stark contrast between wealth and poverty in this little town, and that they all exist within blocks of each other, often within the same block. It makes the work that Lincoln High is doing so well even more important.

If you didn't get a chance to attend the screening (both showings were sold out), I know that there are several people interested in organizing screenings and I hope to take on organizing one for later this fall. After a few months, it will be released to the educational sector and then in Spring of 2016, it will be released for individual purchase on platforms like iTunes and Amazon. There is so much to be said about this topic and the film that I can't even seem to gather my thoughts. It's a great conversation starter, and I know it will result in more schools in the nation making a shift to this model where they can. I hope that in our community it raises awareness, and support of, the amazing things that can result from tireless educators, counselors, law enforcement and healthcare providers who are a source of unwavering support and stability to the kids who need it the very most.

Mr. Sporleder, Lincoln's principal, has since retired and is working with the Children's Resilience Initiative 'Resilience Trumps Aces' and travels for speaking engagements and education throughout the country. The results from Lincoln's implementation of the trauma-aware protocols have gained national attention.

During the Q & A last night, Mr. Redford said that Paper Tigers' follow-up Resilience is in the works, and it sounds like it'll be another good one to watch.

iText

Living in 2014, it's not news to anyone that texting while driving is no bueno. Would it surprise you to know that it is just a dangerous as driving while intoxicated? Likely not if you've read a newspaper or listened to a newscast, or even seen a Facebook forward about the latest tragedy caused by a driver who was distracted by their phone. (Coincidentally, I saw this article on Facebook today)

But, I know that there are many, many people still glued to the screen, when they should be glued to the road. I know this because I see them every day, but also because I've been guilty of it myself. With a full schedule and too many commitments, driving down the road something will pop into my head and 'if I don't do it right now. I'll forget about it!'  Rolling up to a stop sign and sitting there that second longer than necessary so I can tap out a quick note to myself, glancing over to see what x had to say in the text that just popped up because 'What if they need something from me right now?!', any task that just takes a few seconds so it wouldn't really be a distraction because I'd be able to look back at the road in a jiff...it's not as if I did it flying down the freeway, or while negotiating heavy traffic, or with a Keystone cracked open in my lap (although one could argue that drinking Keystone is a crime, driving or not), so that makes it all better, right? Right?

Believe me, I know how it sounds. 'Hi. My name is Sara, and I'm an iAholic.' 

One of the awesome parts of having a tendency to be anxious is that you get to spend chunks of your day letting worst case scenarios play out in your head...what if I got into an accident while I was texting? What if somebody died because I was so self-important that I thought anyone would need something from me so urgently that I couldn't wait to look at a text until I got home in about three miles? 

Then, my mind went a step further...forget all of the horrible guilt and damage, what would actually happen to me (legally) in a worst case scenario? What would my kids and husband do if I had to go to prison because I answered a text? Just so's you know, the sentencing guideline for vehicular homicide in the state of Washington (RCW 56.61.520) for a first-time offender driving recklessly is 51-68 months, and for driving with disregard is 21-27 months. The thought of missing that much of my kids' lives alone turns my stomach. It has to stop. Immediately. As in, cold turkey.

It's not something that people talk about a lots because we all know that it's completely irresponsible. Just writing this post was hard because I'm sure people will judge me for being careless, but being a (kind of) good Catholic girl, I find relief in confession. And gratitude that I'm writing this post as a 'what if' and not a cautionary tale. Anyone else care to 'fess up and commit to quit?

Hot For Teacher

Okay, I will admit before I even start that the title of this post is totally inappropriate given the serious nature of the topic, but I couldn't think of anything that was more fitting, so there you have it.

Here's the deal; we've all had that teacher or student teacher that we thought was so cute, right? The vast majority of us just think of it as a harmless crush that we think of fondly as we grow up and see what real relationships are all about. But what about those kids whose reality is so much different? For the girls and boys whose affection for their teacher puts them in the position to be victimized, it's a tragedy indeed. I heard today that the very object of my student crush had 'been busted' for sexual abuse, which involved allegations of sexual relationships with at least four students.

I just felt sad. Sad for those girls whose vulnerability was capitalized on, sad for his wife and family who have to be humiliated by this revelation of a man that they obviously didn't really know (or, if they did were just as culpable) and, selfishly, sad that my fond memories of this person are now dashed. At first I looked online to find out if it was in the allegation stage, what the actual charges were, etc and it became more and more clear that this was for real. The guy was my facebook friend for crying out loud! Correction, was my facebook friend because it appears he's no longer on it. Shocking, I know.

Last week he pled guilty to charges which are much less severe than the original charges, leading me to believe it was a plea bargain, which also leads me to believe that he has a lot to lose if they were to go to trial. The whole thing just makes me sick to my stomach. But what made it even worse was that when I started to enter his name into google, numerous hits instantly pre-filled.

As I read some of the entries, I thought that it was crazy how the information age has really just given another platform for the town crier. I don't care about his feelings in this, because his choices to have relations with his students that were not only morally and ethically wrong but also illegal, take away a bit of his rights to privacy, but the victims, the families of the victims and his family now have one more (actually hundreds more) venues in which their veracity is questioned, their dignity taken away and their humiliation by association compounded.

He was being discussed on websites from Bad Bad Teacher to Telonu (neither of which I'd ever heard of before), but what was even more apauling to me were the number of people who were not at all hesitant to blame the victims. 'They were coming on to him, and he was confused.' 'I know him and those tram-I mean girls should have just kept their legs together.' Really? In 2010, we're really still defending a 37 year-old man's (a married man and father I might add) sexual relations with children? Someone said 'Maybe if they were like 12, I would understand, but these girls were old enough to know better!' Really? Were they old enough to vote? To live on their own without a judge being involved? Join the military? To have a credit card in their own name? To rent a car? To give sexual consent? There is a reason our government has established the age at which we become adults. Most people are out of high school at that point and are naturally in a stage of life when they need to be making independent decisions. Until then, they are children and deserve our protection.

Every adult has the responsibility to protect children, whether legally obligated to do so or not.

A Little Lift

A little something to start your day on the right foot...and maybe a bit of a dare as well.

Tea for You

Yesterday, President Obama signed into law what most think will be a good first step toward overhauling the largest and most expensive institution in our nation; health care. What seems to most (and when I say most, I'm saying it because health care reform was a major platform upon which Obama got elected by the majority of Americans) to be a positive step toward taking care of our own, has been under harsh scrutiny and has endured a lot of false propaganda by it's opponents.

I would say that the vast majority of those that support health care reform would freely admit that this is not a perfect first step, but it is the best step that could be taken right now. Do we need tort reform? Absolutely. Should we look at starting to cover only evidence-based procedures? Maybe. Should we take the hardest look at the devastatingly huge amount of money that we spend on end-of-life care by coming to terms with our fear of the idea of losing a loved one? Probably. But, all of those things will take a long time, overcoming social mores and the pressure that family members feel to make a 'good' decision, or to prolong the inevitable. I'm proud of this first step, and I look forward to the progress that can be made from it.

Click here to see a very abbreviated list of some of the benefits we can expect to see from the health-care bill. I like that it cites its sources for each reason...although number 7 is not cited, so I'm inclined to believe it's a looser number.

I thought this video was interesting, keeping in mind that it was obviously edited; but since it was edited to my own political slant I, of course, like it. Even though it will take a good chunk of an afternoon, I've decided that I will sit and read the whole bill so that I do understand...I would hate to feel as unprepared to defend my position as these folks obviously were if put on the spot.

A Lump Of Coal Is The New Black

I would like to preface this post by saying that I am by no means downplaying the importance of ensuring gynecological health. Nor am I saying that screening for cervical cancer is not a serious matter. I religiously attend my annual exam, and have never complained about it. It's a whopping fifteen minutes of my time each year.

I do, however, have to say that whoever is behind CBS' new PSA campaign maybe needs to re-think the delivery. If you haven't yet seen the commercials in which Mr. Suave actor tells you the something special you can do for 'your woman' this year is to schedule her pap smear, then I've included it in the post for you. I can only imagine men across America as they innocently look at their wives and say..."Baby, I gave you the gift of life. Not even Santa can bring that." There's even a version for Hannakuh...does that mean you have to get eight pap smears?

I'm pretty sure most men wouldn't be too jazzed if their woman slipped an appointment card for a colonoscopy or prostate exam into their stockings instead of Guitar Hero. But that's just my humble opinion. How about I'll schedule my annual exam all by myself...I'm a big girl.

Shine On, Happy Family!

I've had the opportunity to try an awesome baby/toddler food line, HappyBaby, at a couple of venues, and was really excited to see that they are currently one of three finalists out of over 4,000 entries in the American Express/NBC Shine a Light contest to win $100,000 in grant money and marketing support. They were nominated for being a business that has shown dedication to customer service, innovation and a commitment to improving their local and global community.

When we were at Baby Loves Disco in Boston, they (along with Stonyfield Farms and some others) provided snacks and samples. Following my visit there, I'd offered to post about them because Charlie loved the food. In addition to great microwave-able meals like Mac and Cheese with veggies snuck in, they had puffs that were in the same size package as the Gerber puffs, but their container held about 40% more and had a LOT less sugar. Plus, from the couple I snuck, they're pretty tasty! They come in Banana, Apple and Greens. Julie at HappyFamily was happy to send me a couple of containers to try, as they're not yet widely available in our area. I wasn't able to try a lot of the other entrees because the stores right around me weren't carrying them yet.

One of the reasons I'm asking that people vote for HappyBaby in the Shine a Light is that the money and support will enable them to place their product in a lot more venues, letting babies across the nation in on the secret: baby food doesn't have to taste bland and nasty...it can be really good and good for you.

It only takes a moment to vote, and you have to register your information but I'm thinking that's because they don't want one person coming back to vote multiple times. Please take the time to support a company that is working hard to support and feed families in a positive and socially responsible way. You have until October 16th, but if you're anything like me...you'd be better to click over right now before you put it off until 'tomorrow' which will end up being October 17th before you know it!

Here's what they have to say for themselves:

HAPPYBABY organic baby foods launched on Mother’s Day 2006 with 5 products in 5 small NYC stores. The business is the brainchild of a social entrepreneur who wanted to make a difference using business, support sustainable agriculture, provide our children with the best start to instill eating habits for a healthy happy life, and simultaneously provid basic nutritional needs for less fortunate children simply trying to survive. Today, the innovative business has 26 products, always organic, formulated with leading pediatricians and nutritionists for optimal nutrition using the best ingredients nature offers, and can be found in over 5,000 stores nationwide with a loyal following.

The company’s ability to innovate is responsible for its great success. They care. HAPPYBABY pioneered a new movement in baby food with a line of sustainable organic home-style meals as an alternative to the processed jarred foods that had not been improved since the 1930’s. They were the first organic baby food to incorporate DHA, the essential fatty acid needed for brain development and used a sustainable vegetarian source. HAPPYBELLIES cereal was the first baby food to use probiotics which defend against the development of food allergies, asthma, and eczema while supporting digestive wellness. Their HAPPYPUFFS were the first organic puffed snack for baby as a low sugar alternative to the artificial products on the market. HAPPYMELTS are the first product to combine pre and probiotics in a truly healthy yogurt snack for tots. Their HAPPYBITES line encourages kids to eat their veggies by sneaking them into familiar flavors. Most recently, the company is the first to use the supergrain, Salba, the planet’s most nutritious grain.

HAPPYBABY has created a tight-knit community of its own with its Community Marketing Specialist Program whose actions positively impact local communities nationwide. These 50 moms support the mission to give babies the very best and work to educate parents about why organic is important for their baby’s delicate immune system, demonstrate how to make fresh foods, and simply get the word out. The global community is impacted in a truly unique way by the company’s very special partnership with the heroic nonprofit, Project Peanut Butter, that works to feed a starving child in Africa for an entire day based on each unit sold by HAPPYBABY!

Customer relationships are paramount to a company that exists to make babies and parents happy. The founding team personally responds to all questions, directs medically related questions to its experts, and really listens to the feedback and suggestions from parents in order to continuously improve. They further believe that being a resource for education and wellness is their duty.

HAPPYBABY ‘s philosophy is highlighted in their new book, HAPPYBABY co-authored by revered pediatrician Dr Sears, provides parents with affordable green parenting options to raise their own healthy happy babies in an environmentally friendly way.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I hope that if you didn't get to see the speech, you'll take the time to watch it; either here, on youTube, or the multitude of other places it's bound to wind up. The only thing I cut out was the applause at the beginning.

In an age when information is at our fingertips, it's always a little alarming to see how many people choose to comment on, and get riled up about, something that they've not yet seen or heard from the horse's mouth so to speak. As a student of history I remember my lessons well; I value primary sources as the go-to, then I move on to secondary sources to get perspective (i.e. the political pundits and newcasters, bloggers like myself and the guys you blab with at the coffee shop who saw it for themselves).

An informed public is what, as J reminded me, makes a democracy successful. Arm yourselves with knowledge and then, if you still feel the same way you did, argue to your heart's delight.

I Play My Music In The Sun

Where have I been?!

Usually on top of all that is odd and must-be-followed in Hollywood, it was completely off my radar that Joaquin Phoenix and brother-in-law Casey Affleck may be setting up one of the biggest hoaxes since, well, ever! Tonight I was watching my Netflix copy of Two Lovers (which was, by the way, fantastic) and saw in the Special Features only a brief blurb of an interview with a scruff-tastic Phoenix professing this to be his last film. WHAT?!!

I immediately dropped the remote and got my google on to find that the web lines have been buzzing with concerns, prophesies and, most dangerously I think, by-proxy diagnoses, since February when he held this bizarre interview on Letterman:



But there's hope; his Two Lovers co-star Paltrow had this to say about it:
Hopefully Sundance will shed some light on all of this next year. Either it's the best orchestrated hoax we've ever seen, or this is one crash and burn that will all be caught on tape...no black box required.

Gather 'Round Y'All!

It seems like every time I turn around, I'm getting another email to join a social networking site. So far, I've briefly had, but never used and later cancelled, a mySpace account, am obsessed with maintaining a facebook profile and all the fun that goes with it, and tweet occasionally.

When I got the notice from MomCentral about a new site called Gather.com, I was wondering what was different about it. I'm not big on have 1,000 different sites to maintain, but I was intrigued by this one.

My main focus in using Facebook has been to reconnect with friends from the past, and keeping up with what they're doing now. But what if you want to start looking for others who share your interests, views, challenges and dilemmas? Sure, there's meetup.com, but that's all about getting together in person. What if you just want a quick message board, or ways to chat with people all over the country? Trying to go green on a budget and need cleaning solutions? Want a quick recipe, or ways to cope with your crazy toddler while cloth diapering your infant? How about discussing the newest in thriller fiction, or terrace gardening?

Gather.com has created a vibrant and diverse social networking community where you can meet some amazing people who are, you guessed it, gathered together around shared interests and unique passions. Gather hosts thousands upon thousands of groups and conversations on topics ranging from how to cope with your rambunctious toddler to creating a thriving organic garden; from books that you’ll want to stay awake all night reading to the latest pilates moves; and from cooking without recipes to taking the challenge of creating movie reviews in Haiku (tougher than you’d think!).

Does this still sound like it might be something you've already got an account with? Well, here comes the difference...wait for it...

On Gather you earn points for the content you contribute to the site, which can be redeemed for gift cards to stores like Home Depot, Gap, and Target, and even for PayPal cash. In an effort to encourage a free-flow of ideas, the more recipes, tips, stories and advice you share with others in the community, the more points you earn. Now that’s a great incentive!

*I wrote this review while participating in a blog and giveaway campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Gather. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Cross-posted at Sexandtheknitty

Smash, Bang, Crash!

Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood by Koren Zailckas

My review

So far, there are a couple of reasons I really like Smashed. (I'm only 30+ pages in, so bear with me.) First, she's exactly my age, so when she's talking about things that happend in highschool, etc, it's kind of fun to see the social parallels, but secondly,she's from New England. I'm more than a little obsessed with all things New England since I'm a transplant. (I've watched The Departed and the Dennis Lehane movies more times that I can count). Her bio says she grew up in the 'suburbs of Boston', but when she's talking about a girl who goes to her regional high school andsays "Billie lives in the bordering town of Clinton..." I gasped in excitement, because that's just up the road!

It's a bio that I'm hoping doesn't turn out to be bogus like that of James Frey.

From the inside flap:

"Koren's story is that of thousands of girls like her who are notalcoholics-yet-but who routinely use booze as a shortcut to courage, asstand-in for good judgement, and a bludgeon for shyness.

A crucial book for any young woman who grew up under the allure of booze, orfor anyone who is concerned about someone locked in a pattern of dangerousdrinking, *Smashed* is eye-opening, wise, utterly gripping and destined tobecome a classic."

I wanted to read it before sending it off to my 15 year-old niece as a'cautionary tale' (yep, I'm *that* aunt) and have found that it's really good, frank, and I think that most parents would benefit from reading it even if your kids aren't there yet.

She says in her preface "I grew up in the Northeast, a white, middle-class teenager among other white, middle-class teenagers, which plunks me down in one of the highestdemographics of underage drinkers..." and...

"I am fourteen, which is the norm these days, when the mean age of the firstdrink for girls is less than thirteen years old." *

*Devon Jersild, *Happy Hours; Alcohol in a Woman's Life, 96.

Even though the 'times are different' it hasn't been all THAT long since I was in high school, but I feel like I've forgotten a lot of the nuance. Oh yeah, and I never drank in high school.

I'll post more when I finish the book...

Jon and Kate Plus Hate

Last night, I salaciously tuned into the Season 5 opener of Jon and Kate Plus 8 on TLC. While I'd occasionally watched the show before, I never could watch an entire season just because I'm not great lately at following weekly shows. With the current tabloid frenzy over the did he/she or didn't they, I couldn't resist.

I shudder to think what people would say about me were cameras in my home to capture all my parenting moments from the fab to the flubs, but you'll note that the airwaves are void of the hit show J and Sally Plus 2, so I felt relative comfort in my urge to judge.

I expected a great show full of juicy stuff to blog about, but turns out; it was just sad. When it's a real couple, divorce is just not entertaining. We're not talking about Jerry Springer quality foibles; just a couple who've had five (well, really, almost ten counting the twins but two kids is not eight) looooong years of raising two sets of multiples.

The episode was centered around the sextuplets fifth birthday. Kate, as usual, treated Jon like a ninth child which had always really made me angry before. Unfortunately, this time it came hot on the heels of me wanting to crawl out of my skin because J was doing the kids' bath and bed routine...and he failed to do it in my order! Hmmm...multiply that annoyance by 4, and add in an even more type-A personality and I'm not so far from Kate after all.

I remember once when I was getting ready to go somewhere and I was, in detail, telling J the kids' routine. He said to me "Why don't you just type up a little folio like you would for a baby-sitter?" Totally missing the sarcasm, I brightly said "Okay!" Forgetting that each parent has their own style is just too easy.

Kate has been on the road a lot lately due to book tours and speaking engagements, which led to Jon quitting his job to stay at home with the kids full-time about two years ago. As he said in the show last night, he feels like choices were made for him. Kate has made statements that make it obvious that she feels guilt about being gone so much, which I'm sure is exacerbated by her perfectionist tendencies when she knows that things are being done just so.

She made the best statement last night that I think all working moms, or moms in general really, should take to heart; Are my kids happy, healthy, safe and loved? If all four of those are a yes, then things are good (not a direct quote, but just how I can remember her saying it.)

For a long time, Kate has sat in the love seat clutching the side away from Jon as if mass destruction would result from her falling into the center and touching him, so the tension in their marriage has obviously been a-brewin'.

Back to the crux, though. I remember watching last night and thinking...Five. Five! They'll be in Kindergarten this year, or maybe next depending on how their birthdays fall. That means half or full-days with ALL EIGHT children in school.

Surely they've got royalty money and other savings that would allow them to just use the first year to take care of themselves? I set out to write a biting post, but really it was just too sad to see these two people in such a bad place. I hope that they can seek private counseling or whatever will help take them back (or forward, since you can't really ever go back) to a place where they can love and appreciate each other. Most likely this will not happen while they are being filmed in their home. I hope that some exec at TLC sees that they're marriage is more important than ratings and they don't offer the family a Sixth Season after they fulfill their contractually obligated fifth.

One thing, though. I swear that if that smarmy-ass Dr. Phil comes onto their show to have an even more public three-ring circus of a therapy session, I will boycott TLC. Sadly, I know I'm helping to fuel the dilemma of ratings, as I'll be tuning in for sure this season. Who can turn their eyes away from a 10 person pile-up? Especially when eight of them are children?

Hey! That's My Trike!

There's a Facebook group dedicated to a cyclist in Boston. Tri-cyclist Louie Evans to be exact. He rides his trike all around Boston and you can hear him coming from a ways away...why? Because he's constantly yelling. There's speculation that he's saying "move" or just making a siren noise to warn others that he won't be stopping.

In late 2006, his trike got stolen and a group of college students and a bike store got together a benefit called "Hey! That's My Trike!" (a cover of Ethan Hawke's band Hey, that's my bike! in Reality Bites?) in order to replace his trike so he could keep on truckin'.

(In the first video, the poster said that the 'shooter' is Louie's room-mate)





And here's an article from The Boston Globe about the fundraiser, and Louie with comments by members of the community:

Local cyclist Mike Lewis, reflecting as he stopped by the bike shop on a recent afternoon, said even his headphones could not drown out the warning cry of the iconic tricyclist as he was walking on Newbury Street last month.
"All of the sudden, I saw a pair of orange flags sticking out over the heads of the people walking and everybody kind of leaning back and getting out of the way, and here he comes," he said. "It makes you smile and it makes you laugh, because it's Louie."

Who says cities are cold, impersonal places?

In Memorium

Today we were at Stop-n-Shop picking up a few things for dinner and our produce for the week and, upon exiting, I saw an elderly VFW member handing out the paper poppies I remember getting in grade school when our neighbor (and VFW member) Jim Kauffman used to visit our classroom prior to Memorial Day weekend.

This man saw me with my two boys in the cart, heading back to the car and asked if they'd gotten their flower yet. I politely declined for Charlie, as he'd just choke on it, but said that H would love one. I slipped my donation into the plastic canister and H palmed his flower as the man explained that they were made by wounded soldiers at the VA Hospitals. Almost as an afterthought, he said "Our country doesn't ever really learn from our past. These little boys you've got here...someday they'll grow up..." he didn't have to finish the sentence.

I thanked him for the flower and for his service to our country and headed out into the sticky New England heat. While the comment made a bit of a lump in the pit of my stomach, the flower and what it symbolizes were a great opportunity for me to give a basic explanation of Memorial Day to H, and to remember for myself that it's not just bar-b-ques and beaches.

I hope you'll take the time to thank someone in the Armed Forces, no matter your politics, as you enjoy the extra day of R and R the weekend.

In Flander's Field

by Col. John McCrae

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow,

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky,

The larks, still bravely singing, fly,

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago,

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved and now we lie,

In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe

To you, from failing hands, we throw,

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us, who die,

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow,

In Flanders Fields.

Truth, Lies and VideoPoker

I realize I'm several years behind the times, but last night I finally watched the Al Gore documentary An Inconvenient Truth, just a few days after watching Who Killed the Electric Car?. While I still feel like Gore has a little 'smarmy politician' in his presentation, I really liked the simplicity of it. It was really the first time I'd been given, okay the first time I'd wanted to be given, an explanation of what global warming really is, how it works and, finally, what we can do in our daily life, and through small choices to help stem our planet's rising temperature.

I think that I felt good that I'm already doing a lot of the things they suggested to do my part, although there is so much more I could be doing, I feel good at what I currently am.

Example: I no longer drive an extra 20-30 minutes so that H will fall asleep in the car on our way home from the morning's activities...I just go home and cross my fingers that he'll take a nap there. So far, it's just resulted in an earlier bedtime. Progress, no?

I think the thing that struck me the most is that of all of our technological advances, why don't we have cars that are able to get the gas mileage of almost every other developed nation? I think the thing that will have to happen is to start giving tax penalties to people who purchase a huge vehicles without having an actual function for it. I'm not talking about the family of 4+ that has a full or mid-size SUV or van, or the rural person who owns a truck. I'm thinking of the more egregious craziness known as The Hummer (which, incidentally came out at the same time GM pulled the electric car and the State of California was sued for demanding higher efficiency cars). It always makes me chuckle a little to see the 'off-road' demo section at a Hummer dealership because, really, when do these guys ever take their Hummers off-road? But I digress...

When I see the tiny little hybrid or electric cars, all I can think of is "They wouldn't stand a chance (in an accident)." Until the majority of the cars on the road are smaller, I don't think I'd feel safe in a tiny little car whose parts are made of lighter and lighter materials in order to boost gas mileage with reduced environmental impact. I know that's talking out both sides of my mouth, but the tiny hybrid car will most likely be my last step in eco-friendliness. Reduce the number of miles I drive that aren't 'necessary'? Sure. Reduce my safety and that of my children on the road...no thanks.

The sad thing is, I know that I'm not the only person who feels that way, but who's going to take the first steps to downsizing their space on the road? It's like we're all just eighth-grade boys kind of waiting for the other person to make the first move...put your arm around her already!

In Who Killed the Electric Car, one of the interviewees made a great statement rebutting the concerns that the Electric cars were so much more expensive, stating that there are no boundaries in the air from a poor community to a rich one. So, even if the more affluent people are the ones able to afford the cars, it will have a positive effect on everyone.

Hey, all you Richie Riches...would you mind buying a Prius instead of a Hummer? Thanks! Okay, problem solved. So, can I can keep driving the Freestyle guilt-free now?

Speaking of...

Kicking the habit. Yesterday when I was making sure that I hadn't been duped again by J and his friend Ty about the origins of 'cold turkey' and 'kick the habit' (I learned the hard way when they burst out laughing as I repeated the fun party fact they'd shared with me to a crowd of people that Carson Daily was a Navy SEAL in Desert Storm...or not), I found this interesting article from 2004 about a surgical procedure being performed in China that is reported to 'erase the memory' of drug use and it's enticement from the mind of chronic users. How do they do this, you may be asking yourself? Oh, they drill a hole in their head. No, they're not drilling into the patient's brain, but they drill a hole in the skull that's 1 cm in diameter. There was only one hospital in China performing the procedure to the tune of about $4,000 US dollars using an encephalic stabilizer that they'd imported from the US for $34.88 million.

I wasn't able to find any further information, or answers to the questions people posed in the comments, and the information is over 5 years old, so who knows if they even perform it anymore. At the time of the article's publication, there had been 18 surgeries carried out, with only one of the patient's relapsing. It is thought that the patient's relapse was due to social pressures after they reunited with their prior circle of friends.

I guess the research and development team on this one took the term 'I need it like I need a hole in my head' a little too literally, eh?