Category Archives: Links of Note

Soap No More

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A few days ago, Lin asked me if I had read the latest post on Amy Hadley’s blog, because he said it was interesting (as in weird, I think). Well, I had read it, because I check her blog for new posts religiously, because I still miss seeing her every morning when I turn on the local news. I didn’t find it weird at all that Amy and her husband have given up using soap. I hadn’t announced it to my husband (or anyone yet), but a couple months ago, I too gave up bathing with soap.

It probably seems insane to give up soap. I’ll admit, when I decided to stop using soap, I thought it was crazy and wasn’t going to work either, but I was at the end of my rope. I’ve been dealing with a skin condition for the last six months or so. I’m allergic to the world, so I always have some kind of skin condition, but this one was more annoying and more awful than usual. It was really bringing me down, and so I had spent some months trying all manner of cleansers and soap and other ointments and creams to make it go away … with no success. In fact, it just seemed to get worse and worse, to the point where even I –the person who hates dealing with the world of healthcare– had considered seeking medical help with it. There are few things short of immediate death that get me to see a doctor (what with not having money or health insurance).

I have a habit of splashing water on my face every time I wash my hands, because it feels good, and if I am washing my hands, there’s probably a reason … and I probably already touched my face with the hands I had determined needing washing. What I began to notice was my skin problem seemed better after just washing my face with water a few times a day. This got me thinking, so I stopped using soap on my face except when showering. That was when I noticed that no matter what soap I used on my face in the shower, the skin problem was always worse after a shower. I stopped using soap on my face at all. My skin problem started to get better.

Then I started on this major art project, and bathing became a task I had to do but felt like time wasted that could be devoted to getting some art done. I cut my shower time in half and just started jumping in the shower to rinse off when I felt the need (or was having one of those awful middle-aged hot flash moments). No soap, just water. After a couple of weeks, I noticed something amazing. The skin all over my body felt and looked better. Dry spots I have been battling for ages went away. Blotches that had been around so long I determined they were now permanent vanished. Cuts and scrapes and bug bites healed more quickly. Also, I wasn’t dirty, and I didn’t smell or feel gross, because I wasn’t gross. Soap, it would appear, is not necessary for cleanliness.

Now I suppose should I find myself being terribly grubby and filthy or having gotten into something truly disgusting I will probably use soap to clean up, but how often in our modern lives do most of us really get terribly dirty with anything more than dust and sweat, both of which wash off skin easily? Well, most of us don’t. We sit at desks or in other air conditioned environments, and the worst thing we get on ourselves is food, dust, and sweat, yet most of us hop in the shower daily and scrub down with a number of soap products to get squeaky clean. To me, that now seems like a waste of money as well as exposures to chemicals we really don’t need to expose ourselves to on a daily basis … chemicals, which in my case at least, seemed to be causing more problems than they were solving.

Sans soap during bathing, I have also given up pouring tons of moisturizer on every square inch of my skin every day. I find I don’t need them anymore. My skin isn’t dry like it used to be. Since nothing else in my life has changed, it does feel like it was the soaps –all those “moisturizing” soaps– causing my skin to be dry. So now not only am I saving some cash by not buying all those special soaps for sensitive dry skin, I’m saving money not buying gallons of pricey moisturizers as well.

My skin seems happier for all the changes to my bathing routine. Seriously, it’s looking better than it has in my entire adult life. My skin problem hasn’t completely cleared up yet, but it’s about a thousand times better, and it seems like in a couple more weeks, it will be a thing of the past. I couldn’t be more pleased, and it was such a simple change to make (though it is a little scary to give up soap, seeing as it seems like such an insane thing to do).

Like Amy, I haven’t given up shampoo yet. I would love to do so. I have friends who have, and their hair is fabulous. But they all have short hair, and the transition from shampooing to not shampooing does require a stage where your hair feels awful as the natural oils equalize and do what they are supposed to do. I have very long hair, and this transition stage is going to be a bit longer for me, and I hate the feeling of having gross hair. I have cut back to only using shampoo once a week or when my hair is really, really dirty (like after sweating in the garden out in the heat), but someday I will make a real effort to stop using shampoo. Maybe this winter when I’m not outside getting sweaty and covered in dirt. It’s going to be more difficult than giving up soap, but I think my hair and skin will be happy about the lack of those chemicals in my life too. Eventually. Once that annoying dirty-feeling hair stage passes. LOL!

So there you have it … something I have been doing I didn’t think to tell you about. I gave up soap, and I am a happier skin-owner for it. I would suggest everyone try it, especially people who have problems with their skin. Might not work for everyone, but it helped with some long-term problems I was having, and maybe you’ll be surprised that it helps your skin issues too!

Now if I can just solve the twenty-hot-flashes-a-day problem, my life would even more awesome. I kid you not, hot flashes SUCK.

About Right

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New meme thing buzzing around the journal and blogging world … I Write Like! Using a representative sample of ten of my more long-winded blog posts, I am apparently a blend of Edgar Allen Poe and James Joyce in my writing style. Those were the only two that ever came up. Even more interesting is that Poe came up when the post was some late-night emotional whining and Joyce came up when I was ranting about society at large. No idea what metrics they used to determine this, but I can’t say I disagree. Poe and Joyce are two of my favorite authors. I am certain I have been influenced by them.

I write like
Edgar Allan Poe

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

I write like
James Joyce

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Unknown Becomes Known

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Two years ago, I tried to identify this weedy (but pretty plant) growing in my front yard, and I never really gave up trying to find out what it was, but there are only so many photos of purple flowers I can look at before I lose interest.

Click pics for larger view!
Unknown Plant
Unknown PlantUnknown Plant

At the time of the original post, a regular reader and friend said she had something similar to it, and hers was a “Ruellia Brittoniana Katie Purple” … and so I spent a lot of time looking at different varieties of Ruellia. I have yet to find any varieties that look exactly like the ones in my yard. There are so many varieties! But I am prepared to declare the weedy (but pretty) plants trying to take over my yard some variety of Ruellia, and this one in particular is a very close match. Everything matches up except the leaves on mine have a bit of a ruffle to them, but that could be because the conditions in Texas when I took that photo were excessively harsh and drought-like. I haven’t looked at them closely lately, but the ones invading the bed in front of the house don’t seem to be as ruffled this year.

So at long last, the unknown plant will now be known as Ruellia Nudiflora … Violet Wild Petunia. They also get to continue invading my yard. Even though they aren’t fabulous for walking around on barefoot, and whenever water gets on the seed pods they propel the seeds out so explosively it hurts to get hit by them, they ARE pretty, and they grow well with no care at all. I think this summer I’ll gather some of the seeds and try to get them started in the far end of the back yard. There are worse weeds to have than wild petunias, and these things do seem to choke out all other weeds (as well as carpet grass, unfortunately).

To the Source of the Matter

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Yesterday, all my various forms of communicating with the world all threatened to explode from the amount of outraged being transmitted through them from various friends and family members. I haven’t been spending a great deal of time online keeping up with the world lately, so I can’t say I am exactly in the loop on what’s been going on out there. If I were to take the Tweets, emails, and whatnot at face value, I would have had to assume that overnight on July 4th, the United States of America became a very efficient fascist state. Naturally, I rarely take anything anyone says at face value, so I sat at the computer and did the research entirely too many other people couldn’t or didn’t want to do … including the TV journalist that set off the whole outrage moment.

The first things I found on the subject I am about to discuss were yet more people (bloggers) running around in circles pulling out their hair and wailing. Then I ran across the propagation of the story to lesser news sources where there was yet even more hair pulling and wailing. All of it was from sources I wouldn’t trust, even if they told me my life depended on it. Therefore, I went to the source of the matter and ignored all the mouths frothing in outrage. I also engaged my brain, which many people seem to not care to do these days. Much more fun to run around in circles, pulling hair and wailing, I guess.

Before I get to the heart of the matter at hand, let me just state for the millionth time to always, ALWAYS look carefully at the source of your information, and never, NEVER take any news source’s word for anything as utter truth. We used to be able to trust journalists to not be biased or have motivations beyond providing facts, but those days are long past. It sucks that average human beings have to dig a little deeper than turning on the TV to get accurate news, but that’s the world we live in now. No one news source is ever 100% trustworthy. Not my local newspaper. Not the New York Times. Not any of the TV news channels (aside from my local News 8 which rocks).

Not even Anderson Cooper on CNN can be trusted to not say things without a basis in fact or to not take a fact and expand it into delusional territory. He often plays fast and loose with his facts (and lack thereof), and if he can create added drama and excitement by stretching the truth (to increase ratings) or asking ridiculous rhetorical questions, he most certainly will. He’s only slightly better at being a journalist than Geraldo Rivera. I haven’t decided yet if Cooper is evil or stupid, but I do know I don’t trust him to tell me anything other than election returns without verifying it elsewhere immediately after it leaves his lips.

Anderson Cooper was the source of yesterdays outbreak of outrage among almost every last one of my right-wing and left-wing friends, family members, and other associates yesterday with his pronouncement of a 65 foot (20 meter) area around boats and booms working on the oil cleanup in the Gulf into which journalists must ask permission before entering as being a suspension of First Amendment rights. Some people jumped on the outrage bandwagon immediately. Some people jumped on the outrage bandwagon only after the story had trickled down to the most ridiculously biased and nonfactual news sources available (the story having taken on all new epic proportions of craziness at that level). I got links to them all from everyone who failed to take a moment to either engage their brains or to check the source material from the actual source (the Coast Guard).

I will now ask some questions which I hope will assist people in putting on their thinking caps and behave rationally:

How close can journalists (or average citizens) get to a burning building with or without asking for permission? How close can they get to a chemical spill (on land)? A train wreck? A plane crash? A condemned building? A murder or suicide scene? Any situation involving teams of people cleaning up a mess of some sort? Ever noticed journalists (or average citizens) in all these situations aren’t just wandering around wherever they like asking everyone around them all manner of questions and are generally behind barricades or police tape or helicopters or sitting in an air conditioned rooms getting their information from an official person involved with the situation?

Now ask yourself, why would this be any different because the disaster and resulting clean up is happening on water and not dry land?

I do not have a problem with there being a 65 foot zone around the booms and boats working to clean the oil out of the water. I have no problem at all with journalists, bloggers, and other crazy people being told to keep a distance back without asking for permission to get closer, and it’s really a small distance … a few feet further than it is from home plate to the pitcher’s mound on a baseball diamond. I can take some great photos of anything at that distance, and my camera hardly compares to what one would hope a professional news organization has on hand. Also, the people on the boats are working, don’t work all day and night, and why not speak to them when they aren’t busy trying to clean up oil, a job I am certain is easier without a bunch of people not helping clean up the oil tooling around in boats getting in the way and causing other problems (such as propellers ripping booms and boom lines or getting oil on their boats and spreading it outside the area). Imagine you are at work trying to get something done and there are a hundred people following hot on your tail all day asking questions, taking photos, and generally getting in the way. Wouldn’t seem terribly helpful or useful, would it?

I haven’t noticed any lack of coverage or access for journalists since this “suspension of First Amendment rights” in the Gulf. In fact, later the very same day, Anderson Cooper was flying around with the Coast Guard and reporting from all the same locations he’s been reporting from since he got there, as has every journalist in the area. Obviously, someone asked for permission and received it. So ask yourself why Cooper set the outrage wagon in motion in the first place. Could it be that outrage attracts eyeballs, and eyeballs attract advertisers, and it all adds up to good ratings for Anderson Cooper? Yes, yes it could very well be that.†

Now for some facts:

The Captains of the Port for Morgan City, La., New Orleans, La., and Mobile, Ala. , under the authority of the Ports and Waterways Safety Act, has established a 20- meter safety zone surrounding all Deepwater Horizon booming operations and oil response efforts taking place in Southeast Louisiana.

Vessels must not come within 20 meters of booming operations, boom, or oil spill response operations under penalty of law.

The safety zone has been put in place to protect members of the response effort, the installation and maintenance of oil containment boom, the operation of response equipment and protection of the environment by limiting access to and through deployed protective boom.

In areas where vessels operators cannot avoid the 20-meter rule, they are required to be cautious of boom and boom operations by transiting at a safe speed and distance.

Permission to enter any safety zone must be granted by the Coast Guard Captain of the Port of New Orleans by calling 504-846-5923.
–source

While a handful of sporadic instances have occurred where members of the media were turned away from certain areas by private entities, local law enforcement or non-leadership personnel, the constant stream of images on television and the robust amount of information available is testament to the fact these instances are the exception, not the rule.”

“Last week Coast Guard Captains of the Port in the region put in place limited, small waterside safety zones around protective boom and those vessels actively responding to this spill. This was required due to recent instances of protective boom being vandalized or broken by non-response vessels getting too close. These 20-meter zones are only slightly longer than the distance from a baseball pitcher’s mound to home plate. This distance is insignificant when gathering images. In fact, these zones, which do not target the press, can and have been opened for reporters as required.?? It is unfortunate that the safety zones are needed at all, but the responsibility of officials is to wage the most effective and safest response possible while best supporting factual and open reporting. That will continue until BP caps its leaking well and the cleanup is complete.”††
–source

Now if you are still feeling outraged and angst-filled and believe we are living in a fascist state, please go back to the beginning of this post and read it again –and again, if necessary. The First Amendment has not been suspended in the Gulf. The press has not been banned. The disaster and clean up out on the water is being treated exactly as a disaster and clean up would be treated on dry land. Get off this particular outrage bandwagon and find something factual to fuel your need for some outrage. There’s plenty of stuff to be outraged about without letting the talking heads, fake journalists, and frantic bloggers work you into a frothing mess over nothing.

Footnotes
  1. † And if you believe any outlandish thing you read on a web site that says prostate cancer can be cured by consuming baking soda or rotten teeth can be regrown by eating eggshells and putting comfrey on the tooth, I’m afraid I can’t help you. You’re going to have to figure out that’s not a reliable source on your own, though I will warn that consuming too much baking soda can cause a number of serious health issues, and never EVER use comfrey internally, not even just in your mouth, if you like having a liver. And really … Congress got together and passed a new law to suspend the First Amendment not only on a Sunday night but on the 4th of July? The only time I have seen our Congress move that quickly on anything, it involved a woman in a vegetative state. [↩]
  2. †† Oh look, they used my baseball measurement too! It was the first thing I could think of that most people in the USA could relate to easily enough –even non-sporty me has stood on a pitcher’s mound a few times. [↩]

Must See!

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“This is Why I Will Never Be an Adult” is so hilarious and awesome (and me), I’m actually going to make a tiny little post to the blog to share just that link. Then I may go get dressed, have another cup of coffee, and attempt to be an adult today. I expect to be only moderately successful, which will be an improvement over most days. LOL!

I love Hyperbole and a Half. Always funny!

25 Old Sexist Ads

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Most of these print ads are from the age of my youth. This is the crap I grew up seeing in magazines and newspapers, and yes the concept that women were stupid, silly things incapable of doing anything other than cook, clean, and have (post-douching) sex with men was pervasive throughout society. Heaven forbid they drive a car!† Luckily, I had adults of both sexes in my youth who felt girls could grow up to do or be anything they wanted to do or be.

While the ads are really, really offensive to most people’s sensibilities today (at least I would hope so), there are a few comments about them that rankle.

These were appropriate for the era in which they were written. How does that equate to sexist, since this was the norm at that time?

So during the era of slavery, I guess it wasn’t racist to enslave people because of skin color? Really?! Just because something is the “norm” during a particular time period doesn’t excuse it. Slavery/racism was wrong then and wrong now, just as sexism was wrong then and wrong now. Ugh.

Aaaah the vintage days. I wish we were still back to these days. (For the record as well… I am a 26 y/o female. Not a male or even old enough to remember these days. But I do think they were better.)

I’m old enough to remember those days. I do not want to go back. Neither would this young thing, if she was capable of looking beyond the nostalgia of men opening doors for women and bringing them flowers. Yes, to the uneducated and those who were there to live in the middle of it, those days can seem nice, but they weren’t … not for women, anyway. Grow up, little girl.

And there was a whole argument about “women and children first” being a bad thing, and using the Titanic as an example. All I have to say about that is … today, in my jeans, t-shirt, and comfortable shoes, I am as capable of saving myself as a man of my stature and build, but put me in the clothing women wore on the Titanic, and yes, someone better be helping me into a life boat before they jump in themselves. Women were long held back by expected clothing choices, and it made it really easy to see them as being the weaker sex, when the reality was their damn clothing often made doing anything physical almost impossible, if not dangerous.††

Then I had to stop reading, because really … stupid sexist people are stupid and sexist. It’s better now than it was when I was a kid and young women. Not perfect, but better. Men and woman both have a long way to go, baby.

Footnotes
  1. † And this concept is still with us in an all-too-strong way. Even my dear husband feels very strongly that females behind the wheels of cars are worse drivers just because they are female. Trust me, I point out his sexism every time he mentions it. Females suck no more or less at driving than men. Stupid people are stupid, regardless of gender. [↩]
  2. †† I can personally tell you why women in the olden days swooned so much. Wearing a historical corset for an entire day while walking around and living life, any measure of excitement or the slightest bit of physical exertion and well, I began to feel faint … because breathing is freaking HARD. So, not weaker, just being held back by clothing. I breath just fine when not wearing a metal cage around my ribs. It really wasn’t all that long ago that a woman wearing pants was seen as scandalous. I know, hard to imagine in the day and age of ubiquitous jeans wearing. [↩]

OMG! Awesome!

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Formula One racing is coming back the the USA … and straight to Austin!!! It’s true, Austin is totally going to be the spot in the USA for Formula One racing!

Bernie Ecclestone, President and CEO of the Formula One Group stated: “For the first time in the history of Formula One in the United States, a world-class facility will be purpose-built to host the event. It was thirty years ago that the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix™ was last held on a purpose-built permanent road course circuit in Watkins Glen, NY (1961-1980), which enjoyed great success. Since then, Formula One has been hosted by Long Beach, Las Vegas, Detroit, Dallas and Phoenix all on temporary street circuits. Indianapolis joined the ranks of host cities in 2000 when they added a road course inside the famed oval. Lewis Hamilton won the last Formula 1 United States Grand Prix™ in 2007, signaling the end to eight years at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This however, will be the first time a facility is constructed from the ground up specifically for Formula One in the US.”

Can’t wait to see the “world class facility” as well as the racing! I am not a fan of NASCAR (at all), but I love, love, love Formula One racing. I am so excited it’s going to be coming to Austin and will be here for at least the next ten years. I’m hoping the tickets won’t be too expensive, but I will have to go. It’s been forever since I’ve seen a really fun car race, and Formula One is REALLY fun!

Though the story did list a bunch of fun facts about Austin, and there’s one I have to point and laugh at.

-desirable year-round climate, with an average annual temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 Celsius)

Anyone reading that is going to think Central Texas is like California or Hawaii where it’s just pleasant all the time. Ha. Ha ha ha ha ha! Some people are going to be unpleasantly surprised. Sure, that may be the average annual temperature, but we achieve it by having weeks on end of temperatures over 100ºF and then just enough really freaking cold nights during the winter to bring the average down. Seriously, it’s not really THAT pleasant here. LOL!

I’m going to go do a happy dance in the kitchen while making tonight’s pizza, because Formula One is coming to town next year!!! Yippee!

Long Center on CNN

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The Long Center for the Performing Arts is, at the moment, my favorite structure in Austin. It’s a stunning example not only of gorgeous functional architecture but also of recycling the old into the new. Recently, the Long Center and it’s construction was featured on CNN, and it’s a fascinating glimpse at the effort that went into reworking the old and tired Palmer Auditorium into our new 21st century landmark and performing arts arena. Take a look!

Laughter at the Long Center

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The story of a doll maker, a mechanical girl, and two young lovers was brought to life in grand form last night by Ballet Austin and The Austin Symphony Orchestra, and I can honestly say I have never laughed as hard at the ballet as I did while watching Coppélia. Absolutely delightful!

I don’t want to give too much of the story away, because I believe the tale is one best encountered without much background. All I will say about it is that it’s the story of young love run aground by the presence of a lovely life-sized doll and then recovered by a spunky young girl determined to have her man. To say much more about it could spoil the plot which is craftily told by the slapstick humor, character acting, and miming of the dancers. I intentionally avoided reading too much about Coppélia before attending the show last night, because I enjoy encountering stories fresh and without any preconceived notions of what to expect. With ballet, this sometimes leads to me missing important plot points or misunderstanding twists in the storyline, but this was not the case with Coppélia. Ballet Austin tells the story so clearly, one would have to be blind not to “hear” it.

While The Austin Symphony Orchestra played, the curtain rose to reveal a small village some hundreds of years ago. The set design, which remained constant and unchanging throughout the performance was marvelous! It didn’t take much imagination to transport oneself to this village containing a local tavern, a doll maker’s shop, and the home of sweet and feisty Swanilde … and the dancing, as always, was superb. Over these years I have seen this troupe perform everything from the most classic of classical ballets such as The Nutcracker to truly experimental works choreographed by Director Stephen Mills himself, and in every case, the performances were flawless. Last night’s performance of Coppélia was also flawless and beautiful with the added joy of also being hilariously funny! I’d expect nothing less from such a world-class troupe. They always deliver masterful performances.

If you have a hankering to see some great dancing, hear fantastically performed music, and laugh harder than you might imagine you could at the ballet, catch this weekend’s performance of Coppélia at the Long Center. You won’t regret it. In fact, since this weekend is Mother’s Day, take your mom to the Sunday afternoon performance! She’ll love it! It’s a very accessible ballet for kids or first-time ballet goers too, and I guarantee without a doubt, you will walk out with a huge smile on your face and laughter in your heart. Go see it while you can!

Mother’s Day Weekend at the Long Center
Ballet Austin Concludes its Season with Coppélia
Classical Ballet’s Greatest Comedy: The Story of Boy Meets Doll

WHO: Ballet Austin
Choreography: Arthur Saint-Léon
Music: Léo Delibes
Musical Accompaniment: The Austin Symphony Orchestra
WHAT: Coppélia
WHEN: May 7-8 at 8 p.m., May 9 at 3 p.m.
WHERE: The Long Center for the Performing Arts, Michael & Susan Dell Hall
701 W. Riverside Dr.
TICKETS: $27-77, by calling 512.476.2163 or visit Ballet Austin

Furthermore, if you’ve never been to the Long Center before, you will be awed by the architecture and surrounding grounds. While I will admit to still missing the old green dome of the Palmer Center somewhat, the Long Center is a masterpiece of design and a shining gem in the heart of Austin. I’ll be going back soon with something more powerful than my phone camera to snap a few hundred photos in such a beautiful location. There’s really no better place to see the beauty of Austin’s changing skyline.