Blog I Just Found

I commend to you  Ta-Nehisi Coates. A friend sent me one of his blog posts on the Ron Paul newsletters a few weeks ago, and I've been reading him ever since.

This is a good piece on why calling Obama a "food stamp president" has racist overtones:
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/01/because-there-is-no-racism/251554/

And I always swoon for a blogger who gives a shout-out to Middlemarch, one of my all-time favorite novels:
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/12/into-the-canon-middlemarch/250588/

Take A Breath

Heaven knows I am a silly creature. A mentor of mine sent me a link to this video, and I thought it was so good. Especially for this time of year, when we hunker down and seem to want to chase down and clasp what we think, feel, and believe. It's a little new agey, but that won't kill you. The video is almost ten minutes and it will be time well spent.

Miami!

So, beloved and I went to Miami this past weekend to celebrate his birthday and to get some SUN.

I had been to Miami once before for my friend Joel's destination birthday. That time, we stayed in South Beach and it was fantastic. Even though a love affair (because I am fancy, that's what I call my dating episodes) was breaking down at the very moment of my trip, I still had just an awesome time. Mostly it was because of the other people at the destination birthday party, but partly, it was the place.

Every place has its own look and feel—we all know this. But when you like a place, its feel and look take on a resonance that feels strangely profound. When we drove across the bridge to get to Miami Beach (where we stayed), that look and feel and smell all came flooding back, and I was anxious that Beloved (who had never been) would experience it as much as I did.

MiamiMiamiMiami. Where do I start? The art deco mess. The neon. The fake breasts. The sun. The warmth. The outfits.

Being a breast girl, I'll start with the fake breasts. I was terrible at spotting them, but Beloved was excellent. "There," he'd say, then, "there, there, and there." I'd be scanning his line of vision to see if I could figure out what he was talking about, and boy, did I ever. Magnificent. Scary. Artful.

Do you, perchance, have anything in your closet left over from the '80s? Pull it out and put it on! Too tight? There is no such thing. Too loud? Don't be absurd. And pair whatever you have with the highest heels you can find—I'm not talking regular high heels, I'm talking about the shoes you pass by in the shops and say to your friend, "who the fuck can walk in those?" Women in Miami, that's who. When they EXERCISE.

You will get great service in Miami. It may be due to the economic downturn, but everyone is so nice. And they are genuinely grateful for tips. So refreshing, amongst the fake breasts.

If you're into cars, you will love Miami. And if you're not (like me), you'll still be enthralled. Lamborghinis, Ferrari (is that plural already?), and Bentleys abound—as well as many other vehicles the like of which you won't see anywhere else.

People watching is incomparable. Women wearing clothes two sizes too small, men strutting around, sans shirts and chest hair, older men with very young women, men dressed as women, women dressed like empresses. It is all there. But in a different way than you'd find in New Orleans. It's MIAMI.

Oh, and the food is great, too. Seafood (which I guess is safe now?), Cuban fare—damn good grub.

All this, my friends, I experienced all this in one short weekend, and most of the time we spent on the beach, while our server Fred gallantly fetched things for us, like frozen grapes (my favorite).

Miami cures what ails you in January (or February), or ever!

<Cue Miami Vice theme song...and recall how the bongo drums were in cadence to that woman's bouncing breasts...you remember...>

Book Recommendation: Diary of Provincial Housewife

I absolutely adore this book. If you enjoyed "Bridget Jones's Diary," you'll be keen to see this precursor. It's just a delight, written with a very deft touch. Even though so much has changed for women since this book was written, it shows how so much has stayed the same: worries about finances, what to wear, if you're doing what you should, when you should &etc....

Here's a longer review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74826460

A quick read, and perfect for this time of year. Treat yourself or your favorite woman with this gem!

Exercise Plan, Episode Two: Who the Hell Am I?

 

See episode one here.

I hope you're getting used to your mental activity. While you're still thinking, I thought I'd bore you with my general approach and who the hell I am.

My general approach is one of wellness. I'm not going to harangue you or try and make you feel guilty: you know what frenemy is the best one to provide you with that type of thing. And if that's what motivates you, go for it (but maybe see a therapist to find out why). I think you should exercise because it promotes wellness. It makes your body feel better. That's it. It's not because exercise makes you industrious, or a more well-rounded person, or more interesting, or a better person, or smarter. Exercise does none of those things. It can, however, make you feel better.

I'm normal weight. Not thin, not fat. I run half-marathons. I run them in under 2 hours. I can run close to 8-minute miles for about 10 miles, but that's my top speed. My most comfortable running speed is about a minute slower. I don't run marathons because even though I have very sound reason to believe I have the stamina, I don't think I could run one fast enough to qualify for Boston. Until I can devote the time and energy to doing that, then I'll hold off. If that doesn't tell you everything you need to know about my psyche (in this regard, at least), nothing will. I do Pilates and yoga and I've recently started lifting weights. My friend Keosha has also just introduced me to something I like to call "hell in a one-hour bottle," but which is called DC Combat Labs.

I am obsessed with food and my weight in the norm of American (or maybe Western) women. I hate it, but it's true. I often think of all that psychic energy wasted on planning to work out, getting out of working out, planning what to eat, trying to eat more—and it truly makes me sad.

I work out 3 or 4 times a week, unless I'm feeling very bad (i.e., gaining weight) and then I try and up it to 6 or 7 times a week but usually still settle in at 3 or 4 times a week and just feel guilty about it. Despite this, I know that I should exercise for wellness and because it makes my body feel good. But I'm flawed, okay?  I also walk a great deal.

I am totally self-taught. Beloved is a triathelete and a marathoner so has given me excellent tips on how to improve my running times and training practices. But otherwise, I'm as clueless as can be.

So why NOT listen to me?

Book Opinion: The Storm of War

Please note: my posts on what I think about books are merely reflections of my opinion. I don't fact-check because I am lazy, but I do my best to write accurately.

I just finished the mammoth The Storm of War by Andrew Roberts. Roberts is a British historian, and this book covers the Second World War. I've read several books on WWII, as well as books covering other wars, but I'm no historical expert. Still, I give this book a very enthusiastic cheer. As many reviews have noted before this, Roberts has the uncanny ability to present the "telling detail" and his depictions of battles are often riveting. In some respects, this history does remind me of the gripping Stalingrad and The Fall of Berlin: 1945, both excellent, and both by Antony Beevor.

Roberts takes the whole of WWII, unlike the Beevor books, which makes it all the more difficult to keep context and defray reader fatigue. But Roberts does both. His grip on the Soviet side of the war is the best I've seen in a book of this type. His take on the war in the Pacific is a bit less comprehensive, but still solid. His bias as a Brit—which may perhaps explain his lesser interest in actions in the Pacific—are generally obvious and therefore serve to make the book more interesting rather than irritating.

A big book and a good book to curl up around on a cold night with a fire going.

Starting an Exercise Plan

Last week, according to Science, most people dropped their New Year's resolutions. How sad, yet reasonable. The human brain, after all, can accommodate only 10% change at any given time (source: Science). Too often, NY resolutions center on big life changes.

Because most resolutions center on weight loss/exercise increase, and because I have the winter blahs, I've decided to entertain myself and possibly help someone out (but probably not) put forth a completely expert-free exercise plan. Because I have to start somewhere, I am going to presume you're starting from scratch. If you're already exercising, you may find what I write helpful anyway.

To begin: start small, and start in your head. Exercising is 90% mental. So for now, start thinking about what physical activities you do. This could be walking to your car, walking around the grocery store, anything. Just think about what you're doing now, and how you feel.

Then, start thinking about why you want to exercise and/or lose weight. When you're thinking, end every thought with, "all exercise will do is solve my exercise problem."

So:

"I want to exercise because I need to lose weight: all exercise will do is solve my exercise problem."

I want to exercise because I want to look good at the beach: all exercise will do is solve my exercise problem."

I want to exercise because I feel really self-conscious walking around: all exercise will do is solve my exercise problem."

Sound crazy? It isn't. Though you can definitely point out it doesn't make sense, it is, nonetheless, true.

That's it.  Think about what I wrote above for at least a week. And write down any thoughts if you want—but only if you want to.