This is the full Michael J Fox interview with Katie Couric on CBS as well as Keith Obermann's piece on Rush Limbaughs comments (including footage from Limbaugh's radio broadcast)
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=2129742n
http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=0d1a3a94-99eb-46b8-8920-baeb9b40b195&f=00&fg=copy
I am a Democrat and I think that is because I was raised a Democrat. It's all that I was taught. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but now as an adult I find that voting strictly along party lines is not always in my best interest.
Over the past 10 years, I've come to vote based on the issues, not party lines. Michael J. Fox rallys for both Democrats and Republicans. In this interview, he makes mention of Arlen Spector from a Republican from Pennsylvania as being "his guy" and also Mike Castle, a Republican Congressman from Delaware that also supports stem cell research. I voted for Castle as I campaigned for Democratic Senator Tom Carper and will continue to do so as long as Mr. Castle continues to be the best choice to represent my political views.
Towards the end of the interview there is a clip of a response ad. In it, Patricia Heaton (Everyone Loves Raymond) comments on how low income women could be seduced by big checks. I qualify as low income, but that does not mean that I will do anything for money. As an infertile woman, any embryo I create is invaluable to me. She also describes egg extraction as being an extremely complicated, dangerous and painful procedure. I don't know if Ms. Heaton knows from experience, but I do. I have gone though the egg retrieval process. The egg extraction is not that complicated, a needle is guided via ultrasound into the abdomen and the eggs are extracted from the surface of the ovaries. I was completely sedated and not aware during the procedure, so I did not feel a thing. After the procedure my stomach was tender in some spots, but it was nothing severe. As far as danger, there can be complications with any medical procedure no matter the complexity. In truth, I experienced more complications after having my wisdom teeth extracted.
Personally, the most painful part of the procedure was the fact that it was not successful. The loss and pain of infertility and not being able to have a family trumps the minimal physical stresses of invitro. If I can never create life, I would settle for being able to save one. It is why I am an organ donor. I would never offer a viable embryo, as long as there's a chance that it could become my son or daughter. But in the case non-viable embryos, I would prefer that they not be discarded or considered to be medical waste. Unfortunately I was never asked about it. It pains me even more now to know that there may have been something I could have done to help others and was unaware. I'm sure there are women and men who would not want their embryos used in any fashion and I think they have every right to say no. But for the people who want to do so, there should be a system in place to facilitate it.
This isn't just about Parkinson's, this medical research offers hope to people suffering from a number of ailments including Alzheimer's, spinal cord injuries, and ALS. Treatment and/or cures may be 15 years off, but to me, that's all the more reason not to delay any longer.
This whole debate has brought me to this conclusion: I will support politicians regardless of party affiliation, that support my beliefs so that my beliefs are represented and my voice is heard.
There are a number of questions raised on both side, investigate them, ask questions and make informed decisions. Read up on ALL the issues, decide what's important to you and vote based on the best candidate. Doesn't matter if its Democrat, Republican or Independent. Go to 'get to know you' meetings for the oposition, read policies, check out how they've voted in the past. You may come away with renewed faith in your candidate or a change of heart. Its more work, but we will all be better represented and our country will be better off in the long run.
Be in the know and then go vote on November 7th, then start researching for 2008.
Friday, October 27, 2006
Thursday, August 24, 2006
If it looks like a bigot....
What the hell are the powers that be over at the Survivor offices thinking?
The next season plans to divide the contestants by race for the compettition (like the world isn't divided enough) keeping blacks, whites, Latinos and Asians separate.
The show has made statements that Survivor is a social experiment and that this just adds another layer and that it was in response to claims that survivor is diverse enough.
Give me a flippin break!!! Add more people of color, religions, or sexual orientation, but don't use a clearly separtist, bigoted format and then try to spin doctor the racism away. I for one, am not that stupid. The whole separate but equal line didn't work the 1st time around.
Survivor need to have its butt kick off our island... hell, our planet.
Shame on them, CBS and Jeff Probst...
The next season plans to divide the contestants by race for the compettition (like the world isn't divided enough) keeping blacks, whites, Latinos and Asians separate.
The show has made statements that Survivor is a social experiment and that this just adds another layer and that it was in response to claims that survivor is diverse enough.
Give me a flippin break!!! Add more people of color, religions, or sexual orientation, but don't use a clearly separtist, bigoted format and then try to spin doctor the racism away. I for one, am not that stupid. The whole separate but equal line didn't work the 1st time around.
Survivor need to have its butt kick off our island... hell, our planet.
Shame on them, CBS and Jeff Probst...
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Loving My Heritage
Okay so this is not what it seems. I am referring to www.myheritage.com and their celebrity face recognition software.
I had read an article on MSN about the site and went to see what all the hubbub was about.
You upload a photo (which is no doubt sent to the FBI for processing) and then their uber nifty face recognition software maps your face to the celebrities in their database. You get a list of 10 celebs (with their photos along side yours) and the percentage of matching facial characteristics.
You can submit multiple photos for recognition if you want to get a larger sampling.
Okay so I wasn't going to submit a photo, I already know who people say should play me in a TV movie of the week. But then another friend posted his results (which were hilarious - from Robin Gibb to Yogi Berra) and I just had to know.
My matches were:
1. Jennifer Lopez
2. Tyra Banks
3. Michelle Rodriguez
4. Ashley Judd
5. Jessica Alba
6. Natalie Wood
7. Rachel Corrie
8. Halle Berry
9. Eva Longoria
10. Jada Pinkett Smith
Now while I don't really look like most of these people while I'm moving and breathing (though I have gotten the JLo comparison before) there are many similarities in the still photos. Same cheeks, similar noses and or eyes...
Anyway, its a fun exercise and hey, anything to make the FBI's job easier....
I had read an article on MSN about the site and went to see what all the hubbub was about.
You upload a photo (which is no doubt sent to the FBI for processing) and then their uber nifty face recognition software maps your face to the celebrities in their database. You get a list of 10 celebs (with their photos along side yours) and the percentage of matching facial characteristics.
You can submit multiple photos for recognition if you want to get a larger sampling.
Okay so I wasn't going to submit a photo, I already know who people say should play me in a TV movie of the week. But then another friend posted his results (which were hilarious - from Robin Gibb to Yogi Berra) and I just had to know.
My matches were:
1. Jennifer Lopez
2. Tyra Banks
3. Michelle Rodriguez
4. Ashley Judd
5. Jessica Alba
6. Natalie Wood
7. Rachel Corrie
8. Halle Berry
9. Eva Longoria
10. Jada Pinkett Smith
Now while I don't really look like most of these people while I'm moving and breathing (though I have gotten the JLo comparison before) there are many similarities in the still photos. Same cheeks, similar noses and or eyes...
Anyway, its a fun exercise and hey, anything to make the FBI's job easier....
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Bad Dreams
Ever have a dream so real, you had to make sure it didn't happen... or wasn't going to?
I had a dream the other night about a girlfriend of mine. In the dream we were still living at the apartment complex where we 1st met. We've both moved a couple of times since then in the real world. My dream wasn't set in the past, it was current day, only we'd never moved.
The basics of the dream were that we'd been to a product party (like tupperware or something) and our orders had arrived. We were really excited and wanted to take them into our respective abodes and tear the packges open.
It was a warm summer day and there were a number of neighbors and friends milling about. The doors to our 2nd floor garden style apartments were side by side as we ran up the stairs we could still hear one another pretty easily.
As I neared the top, I heard my friend say oh noooooo kinda low and I stopped in my tracks. Then she frantically started repeating 'take it out' 'take it out' 'take it out'. Then the screaming started.
I all my life I've never heard such pain and horror blended into one cry. I was frozen on the stairs, paralyzed with fear.
Everyone that was nearby started running toward the screams and trying to help. I caught faint 'oh dear gods' and other exclaimations as they saw whatever it was that happened. I never felt more sick and afraid. I couldn't move, I couldn't do anything.
The screaming was increasingly unitelligible and boardered on insanity. Suddenly the screams traveled down the stairs, she was running out the door clutching what must have been her hand. My heart stopped beating in that moment and I couldn't bear anymore and I wrenched myself awake.
It was 4:11 am and I was a wreck. Literally shaking and could not go back to sleep.
What was I supposed to do? Convince myself it was just a dream and that I was being silly or call her and make sure she was okay? Well at 4 in the morning, calling (no matter how well intentioned) might be frowned upon. So I opted to get online (she's a night owl) and see if she was there, which she wasn't and instead sent the following email:
re: are you okay?
color me crazy.... had a bad dream and just wanted to check in on you...
When she called me at the crack of dawn I nearly jumped through the roof with joy. Of course she wanted to know what I had dreamed and I really didn't want to tell her the horrible things that had been in my head. It was bad enough that I had to be freaked out by it. But she's into dreams and their meanings so I eventually relented.
I know I'm weird, but I felt so much better after, saying out loud chased the boogie man back into the closet.
I had a dream the other night about a girlfriend of mine. In the dream we were still living at the apartment complex where we 1st met. We've both moved a couple of times since then in the real world. My dream wasn't set in the past, it was current day, only we'd never moved.
The basics of the dream were that we'd been to a product party (like tupperware or something) and our orders had arrived. We were really excited and wanted to take them into our respective abodes and tear the packges open.
It was a warm summer day and there were a number of neighbors and friends milling about. The doors to our 2nd floor garden style apartments were side by side as we ran up the stairs we could still hear one another pretty easily.
As I neared the top, I heard my friend say oh noooooo kinda low and I stopped in my tracks. Then she frantically started repeating 'take it out' 'take it out' 'take it out'. Then the screaming started.
I all my life I've never heard such pain and horror blended into one cry. I was frozen on the stairs, paralyzed with fear.
Everyone that was nearby started running toward the screams and trying to help. I caught faint 'oh dear gods' and other exclaimations as they saw whatever it was that happened. I never felt more sick and afraid. I couldn't move, I couldn't do anything.
The screaming was increasingly unitelligible and boardered on insanity. Suddenly the screams traveled down the stairs, she was running out the door clutching what must have been her hand. My heart stopped beating in that moment and I couldn't bear anymore and I wrenched myself awake.
It was 4:11 am and I was a wreck. Literally shaking and could not go back to sleep.
What was I supposed to do? Convince myself it was just a dream and that I was being silly or call her and make sure she was okay? Well at 4 in the morning, calling (no matter how well intentioned) might be frowned upon. So I opted to get online (she's a night owl) and see if she was there, which she wasn't and instead sent the following email:
re: are you okay?
color me crazy.... had a bad dream and just wanted to check in on you...
When she called me at the crack of dawn I nearly jumped through the roof with joy. Of course she wanted to know what I had dreamed and I really didn't want to tell her the horrible things that had been in my head. It was bad enough that I had to be freaked out by it. But she's into dreams and their meanings so I eventually relented.
I know I'm weird, but I felt so much better after, saying out loud chased the boogie man back into the closet.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Does This Blog Make Me Look Fat?
I am overweight
Obese.
I filled out one of those online charts for height/weight, blah, blah, blah, and it said I was headed for heart attack city. Can I just say how much those charts suck?
I am a curvy size 12 and I get looked at... guys try to pick me up... but still I am obese.
I walk... I do pilates... I eat okay.... but still I am obese.
The most amazing part is that I used to be a size 18, I wonder what catagory I was in then.
The chart wants me to be what I'm guessing will be a size 3 ... and that will be healthy.... no butt, no boobs, built like a 12 year old boy. Yeah whatever!
This the real world.. so you tell me, does this blog make me look fat?
Obese.
I filled out one of those online charts for height/weight, blah, blah, blah, and it said I was headed for heart attack city. Can I just say how much those charts suck?
I am a curvy size 12 and I get looked at... guys try to pick me up... but still I am obese.
I walk... I do pilates... I eat okay.... but still I am obese.
The most amazing part is that I used to be a size 18, I wonder what catagory I was in then.
The chart wants me to be what I'm guessing will be a size 3 ... and that will be healthy.... no butt, no boobs, built like a 12 year old boy. Yeah whatever!
This the real world.. so you tell me, does this blog make me look fat?
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Life Is Too Short
I don't know how things like this happen. We're young and we're not supposed to die now. We're supposed to get grey and wrinkly and have wistful trips down memory lane and long for days gone by.
My friend Buddy and I we're no lie, like peanut butter and jelly. We met when he came in to my company for an interview and we both knew the moment we met that we were already friends.
Buddy loved to dance. For about a year we went clubbing twice a month at this little club in Delaware called the renaissance (sadly no longer open). Every so often we'd hit Woody's in Philly for a change of pace. We were amazing dance partners, perfect heights, totally intuitive and comfortable. We even had our own song, "Alway Be My Baby'" by Mariah Carey. When it got played we would scream and run for the dance floor and then ham it up (ala Fred & Ginger) as we belted it out to each other. Other patrons usually moved a foot away from us at that point :)
He eventually left our company for greener pastures and moved to NY and though we saw each other a bit less, we still talked and got together when ever we could and let me tell you, the dancing in NY was fab (hello, um... Can you say Shampoo?)
Fast forward a few years and a few jobs later, Buddy moved to sunny Florida where he had family. Now here's the toughie, its not so easy to pick up and run to FL to hang. Grrrr. I really needed to get a private jet....
For the last few years we didn't get to see each other face to face. All of our contact was via the phone and we slipped into a once every couple of months to check on each other, and every holiday and birthday. The calls were always marathons to tell each other every little thing that had happened since the last time we talked.
Last year in October I went to Florida for vacation and had plans to see Buddy. It was a pretty big deal, cause I wanted to introduce him to my new beau (who's family has a place down there) Buddy of course wanted to give him the once over and make sure he was good enough for me (blah gotta love the big brother act). But the universe in its infinite wisdom decided to throw a hurricane at me and due to some evacuations, I had to end my vacation early (by about half) and go home without seeing Buddy. So we planned to try again later this year....
But now that will never happen.
Buddy had been in the hospital for a month with double pneumonia when he died and a couple of weeks later a friend of his was going through his phone and found an entry for 'kitty kat' (his um pet name for me). No one realized it was me, it was a private thing between us. He did a corny Pepi la pue accent and would always greet me with "ello kitty kat"... Don't ask. Fortunately the friend called me anyway.
Now my Buddy is gone and even though we ended every phone call with 'love you' it still doesn't seem like enough. He knew I loved him and I know he loved me but I still wish I could have told him one more time.
Buddy had been with me through rough break-ups, new loves, moving, quitting smoking, gaining weight, losing weight, infertility treatments, starting my own business, getting married, getting separated... Through 14 years of life's ups and downs.
The moral here... Even if you're divided by a continent or ocean. Do everything you can to keep in touch and see your friends. Tell them how much they mean to you and never assume that there will be a 'next time' you just never know where life will take you. I imagine every day is the last... Is there someone that you would want to see or talk to... Well.. what are you waiting for?
My friend Buddy and I we're no lie, like peanut butter and jelly. We met when he came in to my company for an interview and we both knew the moment we met that we were already friends.
Buddy loved to dance. For about a year we went clubbing twice a month at this little club in Delaware called the renaissance (sadly no longer open). Every so often we'd hit Woody's in Philly for a change of pace. We were amazing dance partners, perfect heights, totally intuitive and comfortable. We even had our own song, "Alway Be My Baby'" by Mariah Carey. When it got played we would scream and run for the dance floor and then ham it up (ala Fred & Ginger) as we belted it out to each other. Other patrons usually moved a foot away from us at that point :)
He eventually left our company for greener pastures and moved to NY and though we saw each other a bit less, we still talked and got together when ever we could and let me tell you, the dancing in NY was fab (hello, um... Can you say Shampoo?)
Fast forward a few years and a few jobs later, Buddy moved to sunny Florida where he had family. Now here's the toughie, its not so easy to pick up and run to FL to hang. Grrrr. I really needed to get a private jet....
For the last few years we didn't get to see each other face to face. All of our contact was via the phone and we slipped into a once every couple of months to check on each other, and every holiday and birthday. The calls were always marathons to tell each other every little thing that had happened since the last time we talked.
Last year in October I went to Florida for vacation and had plans to see Buddy. It was a pretty big deal, cause I wanted to introduce him to my new beau (who's family has a place down there) Buddy of course wanted to give him the once over and make sure he was good enough for me (blah gotta love the big brother act). But the universe in its infinite wisdom decided to throw a hurricane at me and due to some evacuations, I had to end my vacation early (by about half) and go home without seeing Buddy. So we planned to try again later this year....
But now that will never happen.
Buddy had been in the hospital for a month with double pneumonia when he died and a couple of weeks later a friend of his was going through his phone and found an entry for 'kitty kat' (his um pet name for me). No one realized it was me, it was a private thing between us. He did a corny Pepi la pue accent and would always greet me with "ello kitty kat"... Don't ask. Fortunately the friend called me anyway.
Now my Buddy is gone and even though we ended every phone call with 'love you' it still doesn't seem like enough. He knew I loved him and I know he loved me but I still wish I could have told him one more time.
Buddy had been with me through rough break-ups, new loves, moving, quitting smoking, gaining weight, losing weight, infertility treatments, starting my own business, getting married, getting separated... Through 14 years of life's ups and downs.
The moral here... Even if you're divided by a continent or ocean. Do everything you can to keep in touch and see your friends. Tell them how much they mean to you and never assume that there will be a 'next time' you just never know where life will take you. I imagine every day is the last... Is there someone that you would want to see or talk to... Well.. what are you waiting for?
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Such a slacker!
Okay so I haven't posted to my blog for quite sometime. I have plenty of drafts of things I wanted to say but never really finished. So instead of letting another day go by, I am posting something dangit!
hopefully this will jumpstart things and there will be more to come :)
hopefully this will jumpstart things and there will be more to come :)
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Pretty in Pink
In exploring more of my feminine side. I have started gravitating toward the color pink.
I had always though that it wasn't a commanding color. I am partitial to black. I feel strong and mysterious in black.
I bought a cropped pink short sleeve sweater, one of those ones with the tie at the bust and I felt pretty. I never really thought about how it feels to feel pretty. Let myself blush and be feminine. So I am going with it and trying it on for size for a while.
I had always though that it wasn't a commanding color. I am partitial to black. I feel strong and mysterious in black.
I bought a cropped pink short sleeve sweater, one of those ones with the tie at the bust and I felt pretty. I never really thought about how it feels to feel pretty. Let myself blush and be feminine. So I am going with it and trying it on for size for a while.
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