Being Healthy is Not Just a Trend

For a long time I think the majority of the population considered "being healthy" a fad.

Low fat, no fat, low carbs, etc., were looked at as short-lived games for folks trying to create some kind of counter culture. Then it was Yoga, Pilates, McDonald's Apple Dippers and Whole Foods stores. What? We are all supposed to run or bike or at least walk for 30 minutes 3 times a week?? But, at some point the trend grows from a small group of different-thinkers and just engulfs the majority because the undeniable truth of it completely overwhelms us.

Smoking is one of those things that I think happened exactly like that. Smoking was cool for about 2000 years. Well, at least in modern times, actors and politicians and your parents smoked. And then some people started whispering that smoking might kill you. But that was probably just some hippies out in California, right? But then people were protesting that restaurants separate smoking sections or that smokers should refrain from lighting up directly outside a building's entrance in every state. Of course there was tons of guffawing from both sides--some folks felt like non-smokers should just get over it, and then multiplying statistics about second hand smoke and deaths from lung cancer surfaced. At some point...we all just agreed that smoking wasn't good for us--that it wasn't just a health nut trend to quit. Its just plain smart.

Rita Rubin blogs about these truths everyday on the USA Today Health blog "A Better Life". This is the place where you can get straightforward news from a journalist who knows whats up in the world of health and who actually writes about topics of general interest (HIV, The Tomato scare, alcoholic energy drinks and birth control to name a few from the last week or so).

Getting healthy and knowing about health issues isn't trendy--its mandatory. Keep up the good work Rita.

Weekend Snapshot.

Blogger drinks margarita from sweet Slurpee Straw.

Blogger enjoys delightful iced coffee though killer metal hot pink Slurpee straw.

Blogger relaxes on Sunday night, revising articles, drafting a short form piece, sporting a Rosetta Stone T-shirt and sipping ice cold tap water from the most bitchin' straw on earth.

Theres No Politically Correct Way to Say This

Thank Chocolate there are Brits out there who truly respect tradition! I'm glad to see that the Doody family, at least as of 2003, were still enjoying one of the island nation's true delicacies:

"The nation knows that the Cornish pasty, Yorkshire pudding, haggis and fish and chips are great British dishes, but all too often the faggot is left off that list," said Janet Doody.

What?

Did she say "faggot"?

Yes, in this strange but true article from the BBC the Doody family from Wolverhampton was crowned The Faggot Family in a national competition. Doesn't the teen aged son look ELATED?

(Post Script: What could make this article better than the fact that their last name is Doody? Haha, I just can't stop typing Doody.)

Thanks to Lara for the link. A truly good find.

Dupont Lives Up To its Reputation

Several times a week I pass through the Dupont Circle Metro station and NOT ONCE has anyone ever told me they could get someone to meet me for sex. Apparently it happens all the time:

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - A Metro station manager and a Metro custodian were arrested on prostitution charges after an undercover transit police investigation found they arranged sexual trysts for money from inside the Dupont Circle Metro station.

At one point the employees used the Metro loudspeaker system to facilitate an illicit sexual arrangement, according to police who arrested the pair last week. Sharon Waters, a Red Line station manager, told an undercover police officer at the Dupont Circle station June 4 that she could arrange meetings with local prostitutes for him, according to court documents. The officer returned to the station at 11:45 p.m. June 11 and met with Waters, who told him she was organizing a “sex” party in the Washington area for a $100 cover charge, court records show.

Yeah. Its happening. In Dupont. And I wasn't propositioned even once.

Whats wrong with me? (Feel free to answer in comments.)

Check out the full article here. Props to Life Student for the link.

The Summer of 400

Those of you who enjoy Thatmakesmenervous for its non sequiturs and completely arbitrary content know that it isn't a blog that displays (or is meant to display) any sort of literary writing. But you all may also know that I'm more than half way through an MA in writing, so I should have developed some skilz to show for it, right?

So, fans, here it will be: I'm teaming up with an old friend (the honorable K. Hula) to explore short form writing this summer, and because she's currently in Japan (and then I believe Chicago and Boston over the next 6-8 months) we have decided a deadline oriented blog might be the answer for us.

Look for some cross-genre short form writing (all pieces 400 word or less) on our new blog at wedoitin400.blogspot.com. We shall begin posting on Monday. Are you ready for this?

Old Kids on the Block (really creative, right?)

I love NKOTB, in fact this is a billboard I got all inappropriately excited about in Times Square last month. I had to take a picture.

But Lyrics like this: "I was like, 'Hey girl can I get your number?'" from one of their new songs "Summertime" kiiiiinda turn me off.

If you haven't seen it:

Can't we just go back to the old days?

Are these guys too old to be a Boy Band?

(Just FYI--these are the New Kids' birth years: Jonathan: 1968, Donnie: 1969 Danny: 1969, Jordan: 1970, Joey: 1972)

Thanks to Lara for the embedding help. I dont know why youtube hates me so much.

Hard Times for Cyclists (especially in SS)

Have you ever been out riding your bike and somehow lose a bike path or lane from right under your tires? Maybe it becomes a parking lane, or a sidewalk. Maybe it just flat out disappears. Its not just you, it happens all over the world, and some folks from The Slate got out there to document some of the stupid bike lanes cyclists encounter.

Come on local DOTs! You can't just placate cyclists by painting on some wonky lines hither and thither about a city! I always worried that it was just me who couldn't follow paths. Luckily this video (embeded below) shows one reason why I have a hard time riding in my (not-so-bike) friendly neighborhood of Silver Spring, MD.

Have you had any nasty bike lane experiences?