Odds and Sods - Happy Labor Day!

Left: Official grandchild of DEAD AIR, with properly patriotic Uncle Sam hat.



Enjoying my day off with some frozen blueberries and the LAW AND ORDER marathon. What are you doing to enjoy your holiday?


Cracker Lilo reports that FOCUS ON THE FAMILY had to lay off 75 employees. Too bad Dr Dobson wasn't one of them!

[Cutbacks] include a staffer at "Love Won Out," a conference series about "overcoming" same-sex attractions that Focus on the Family announced last month would be ceded to another religious organization.

"Love Won Out"? Sounds like it should belong to our side.

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I spend a great deal of my time at work attempting to locate appropriate and digestible foods for certain people to eat. There is a book for these folks titled What to Eat when you Can't Eat Anything, and they aren't kidding with that. Meowser writes more on this topic:

My shrink (who’s not autistic) told me that a couple of years ago, she was having Gut Issues herself. So she, following the advice of a nutritionist who believed in the “systemic candidiasis” gut theory, went on a dietary regime for two years that was not only gluten and casein free, but also low carb. (So much for being vegetarian on a diet like that, huh?) The idea was that those nasty yeasties would have nothing to yeasty-feast on and would eventually die off and go away. She was already quite thin and wasn’t interested in weight loss, and she did eat small amounts of potatoes, brown rice, and oatmeal, enough that she wouldn’t go into ketosis. And she ate as much protein, fat, and non-starchy vegetables as she wanted, lots and lots of each of those, so didn’t go hungry. And, she said, “My gut issues cleared right up.” She’s now back to eating much more omnivorously, with no problems.

Now, think about what a diet like that would consist of. Or, more to the point, think of everything you’d have to eliminate. Obvs, no baked goods, no fruit (!), no pasta, no white rice, probably no alcohol, no desserts — and most especially, no chocolate. For two years. Are your coffee beans broken? I can’t do that. Yeah, there’s an end in sight and I wouldn’t have to do it forever, but would it feel that way? Besides, how do you stick to something like that and never fall off? I don’t have a lot of confidence that there wouldn’t be recidivism, especially living with two skinny men (one an extremely active 18-year-old) who heart their carbs and would be very cranky not having them in the house unless it was a matter of life and death for me, or at least a matter of my being able to work versus not being able to.

I say, go for it. But then, I am still fond of my Calorie Restriction and Meowser thinks I shouldn't!

If you try a diet, no matter how wacky, and you FEEL GOOD? Stay with it. You have found a gem, The Secret, the veritable Holy Grail...gluten-free or meat-free or raw or however bizarre it might be, do it. I hate to sound like an old hippie, but here it is: Listen to your body.

I think so many of us have simply forgotten how to do that. Modern life isn't engineered that way; immediate gratification, Starbucks and M & Ms tend to be the quick panacea for our overworked souls and psyches.

I constantly slip up, but I get back up and try again. I am still attempting to achieve the 50-75% Raw Food Thing. When all is said and done, I just feel better when I eat more raw foods.

Yesterday, fabulous Tamara brought me a basket of vegetables that she grew herself. It was beautiful and scrumptious, and her generosity was so greatly appreciated, especially as I once again try to bring back the raw to my diet. THANK YOU, DEAREST TAMARA!!!

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Gilbert Shelton is following me on Twitter! I am thrilled! HI GILBERT!

Never underestimate the power of a good Stealie avatar!

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Best spiritual blog is Kelly's wonderful KIKIPOTAMUS THE HOBO, which you should be reading every day if you seek grace in small things.

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Kittywampus writes about Sarah Palin's almost-son-in-law, Levi Johnston, telling tales in Vanity Fair. As I said on her blog, call me a cynical parent, but I don't believe anything disaffected teenagers say. Period.

Probably, First Dude (Todd Palin) went to sneak ONE beer in the garage, and Levi transforms this fact into Melodramatic Teenage Narrative: Sarah makes him drink all his beers in the garage!

Uh-huh. I think you all know how much I dislike Palin, but: been there and done that. I have to sympathize with her on this one, God help me. I can't imagine that Levi could put the bong down long enough to pay attention to anything too important.

Smells like Teen Spirit!

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And finally, your DEAD FROM CUTENESS for this round... meet Renegade Evolution's new adorable babies: Sharon and Ozzy!

Warning, terminal cuteness awaits.