Non-Toxic Adhesive Removal

Lately I've been reading a lot of articles about the hundreds of uses for coconut oil. It is heralded as a non-toxic remedy for anything from acid reflux to cellulite, diaper rash to yeast infections. The most interesting use was for adhesive removal. You know, peel the label off a glass jar and what's left is the icky, sticky residue from the toxic glue. In the past I have purchased toxic, chemical-based removers and donned fashionable masks, goggles and gloves. Now, coconut oil doesn't come cheap so I don't know if I'd want to use it a lot for adhesive removal but I thought I'd give it a try just to see if it works. So I spread the coconut oil over the sticky stuff and let it sit for 24 hours. It did nothing. Still icky and sticky.

A friend of mine mentioned peanut butter should also do the trick. Hmmm...is it the oils? I just so happen to have a small jar of incredibly cheap peanut butter I bought years ago for rodent bait.

It smells less like peanut butter and looks more like shortening, but I figured mice, rats, and opossums might like it. There is no way I'd ever eat it. The ingredients are: peanuts, sugar and/or dextrose, hydrogenated vegetable oil (rapeseed and cottonseed), salt. Yes, people really eat this and pretend it's food. The expiration date on this jar is 05-06-08 and I keep it on hand should I ever discover unwanted crawlspace roommates again. Over the years when I see it sitting on the highest shelf in the laundry room I constantly think I should throw that away. I'm glad I didn't now!

I generously frosted the icky-sticky jar with peanut butter and sat it on the counter. How long do I wait? I had no idea so I left it there for a few days. On the third day I took a paper towel and wiped. It all came off including the sticky stuff! Hooray!

Newly inspired, I took all my recycled sticky jars out of their storage and frosted them with peanut butter for some experimentation. The stink of the fake peanut butter was nauseating so I wrapped them in plastic bags.

At 12 hours, the sticky stuff didn't come off at all. At 36 hours, most of it came off but not all. Three days more of it came off but on some jars small dots of sticky was still left. Perhaps that is where it was thickest? Since I'm in the experimenting mood, I decided to try the coconut oil again leaving it on the jar for three days. It all came off!

Hooray! 

Another non-toxic substitute for toxic chemical products!

Who needs chemicals anyway???

R.I.P. Toshiba, My Darling

Today I lovingly carried my very heavy Toshiba television set to the garbage truck, positioned myself to chuck her in, and stopped short just at the edge. I couldn't do it. I started to feel weepy.

My Toshiba television has accompanied me on my life's journey for twenty years, witnessing the highs and keeping me sane through the lows.  She spent her first years with someone else who eagerly passed her to me in order to upgrade to a higher standard of technology. I have no idea how long my friend had her, but I felt like I won the lottery as 19 inches was a whole lot bigger than 12 inches. I sold my hand-me-down 12-inch television set in a yard sale later that year.

Unfortunately after twenty plus years of use, the picture started acting strange about a year ago. The bottom half of people's bodies became stunted and out of proportion making them look like gnomes. Still I persevered. I could still see the picture so what do I care if Brad Pitt looks extra short? Then last week the unthinkable happened: the sound started going in and out. Drats. Why can't our possessions last forever? Especially if they were free?

Last December during the Christmas sales I prepared for the worst and started shopping. I purchased a Samsung flat screen. It was the very first television purchase I have ever made. (Thank you to everyone who supplied me with hand-me-downs throughout my whole adult life.)

First, it stunk of offgassing chemicals. The whole living room stunk. The stand was wobbly and the remote didn't work if my DVD player was anywhere near the TV. The motion speed was horribly nauseating. The sound didn't work unless it was turned up to the highest level and even then it was tinny. Disgusted with new technology I opted to return the newbie and settled happily on my old, but trustworthy Toshiba praying she would last forever. Fast forward to March and with no sound I knew it was over. I can tolerate gnomes starring in all movies, but not being able to hear what they are saying is a deal breaker.

March is supposedly the month one should buy televisions as it's this time of year when the new models are arriving and the stores lower the prices on the older models. Besides there are no materialistic holidays during this time and stores are doing their darnedest to tempt customers. I headed back to the store only this time I was armed with information from my past purchasing experience. Motion speed, screen size, and sound were important, but look at that price! A whopping $30.00 less than last year. I bought the more expensive model with the better features.

Happy to say not only is my new Vizio cheaper than it was last year, but it doesn't stink like the Samsung did and it actually works. Also planning ahead to tiny living AND because of EMF worries, I purchased the smaller 32 inch size. I still worry about the radiation that might be wafting through my living room, but I have not noticed any negative effects.

Hooray! I am one step further away from technological impairment.

As I looked into the garbage truck hole, I yelled at the garbage man, "This is HARD!!!" He thought I meant it was too heavy, when in fact, I felt like crying and couldn't bring myself to dump my sweet TV into that cold, dirty garbage truck and watch her shatter. He rushed to my side and helped as tears welled in my eyes. I looked away as I heard the glass hit the metal.  Although I was tempted to run back to my house and cry in my pillow, I decided I needed to look. I needed the closure as if I were at an open-casket funeral. She laid there amidst the garbage, her screen staring at me accusingly. Well...not really, but I still felt sad.

R.I.P. Toshiba TV. Thank you for years of entertainment and joy.

February Movie Reviews

*****  Outstanding, will watch again
****    Good
***      OK
**        Eh
*          Vomit

Amy was about Amy Winehouse. What an amazing talent. Seems like all the celebrity pushed her over the edge, but she grew up with all kinds of mental issues. Too bad she wasn't able to tell people no and walk away before it was too late. The movie was a little long and the dialogue often difficult to understand. I liked it her lyrics were displayed on the screen when they showed performance or recording footage. Awesome song writer and singer. She sure had some BIG HAIR! ***

The Boy Next Door  I don't like Jennifer Lopez at all. For any reason. She travels on a public airplane with an attack dog and then blames the flight attendant for getting bit. I think the perfume she wears and promotes need to be renamed ENTITLED. The previews of this movie looked good. It wasn't boring, just frustrating. It's about a woman who sleeps with the neighbor kid. Once. Once is more than enough, and she can't help it because she's weak and brainless. I know he's one hunk of a kid, but adults should have some self-control. Once, twice, a hundred times - HOW can any teacher be that stupid? It's not totally far fetched since there are so many high school teachers who sleep with their students. Unfortunately, this student is a psychopath in every sense of the word. And Jennifer is stupid in every sense of the word. One thing I never understand...and I know this is just a Hollywood gimmick designed to add more suspense, but why is it when the woman attacks the bad guy and hits him over the head, why does she leave him there to regain consciousness a few seconds later so he can try to kill her again? If you are going to defend yourself, ladies, hit him repeatedly until his skull is crushed completely and he is absolutely, undeniably DEAD so there is no way he can get back up.  Jennifer was just too wimpy and whiny in this movie. **

Brothers has an all-star cast with Tobey MaGuire, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Natalie Portman, among others, about a solider who's helicopter goes down in Afghanistan, is captured by renegade terrorists, tortured for months, has to do some very bad stuff to survive, and is presumed dead. First, if there is no body, no one should assume anyone is dead. He returns to his family with some serious PTSD and his reentry into civilized society doesn't go well. It was OK, sometimes a little slow, and a little depressing, but the performances were very good. ***

Deliverance with Burt Reynolds, Jon Voight, Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox about city slickers canoeing down a river before it's destroyed by a dam. I recently read Burt Reynold's autobiography and he spends a chapter talking about the making of this movie, the stunts, the dangers, and his memories. It was his breakout movie, his first critically acclaimed role. I saw the movie years ago and the only part I remember is the "squeal like a pig" scene. Hardly a forgettable moment. Interesting story. Definitely a man's movie: macho mountaineers conquering nature, surviving the wilderness against all odds. Made in the 1970s, there were times the dialogue and performances were a little melodramatic, but I forgot how stunningly gorgeous Burt Reynolds was in his heyday! ***

Far From the Madding Crowd is a Thomas Hardy romance set in 1800s about an independent, single woman who has dashing men throwing themselves at her. Of course she falls for the roguish young officer who treats her like garbage. The romantic novel plot was irritating, but the English countryside scenery was gorgeous. Predictable, as well. I've never liked romances. ***

Fifty Shades of Grey I tried reading the book. It was ghastly. I think I lasted through two chapters before I threw it across the room. The movie wasn't any better. It had promise at the start when they filmed it in black and white (grays) - all of Grey's employees were wearing shades of gray, the Seattle rain was pouring gray, Grey selects a tie from a checkerboard display of gray ties. It was a really nice visual and they should have stuck with that. Filming parts of the movie or the whole thing in tones of gray would have made it visually interesting. The main character was brain dead just like in the book. How can anyone be that socially inept? And sorry to say, Ian Sommerhalder would have been the perfect Christian Grey. He has the arrogance, smart-ass attitude, and stunning good looks that would have made me not even notice the horrible dialogue. Ian's eyes are tantalizing unlike the beady, insane looking eyes of the actor who got the part. I did, however, watch it through to the end although with moments of fast forward. It was difficult, but I wanted to find out if she comes to any sense whatsoever, gives up on him because he's a mess, or if they do the romantic cliche and fall into each other's arms and ride off in the sunset for some serious counseling. It was a weird movie that did nothing but irritate me. **

Flashdance    Maybe I should call it Flashback? 1980s classic with Jennifer Beals in her ripped sweatshirts, army jackets, and work boots. I saw the DVD in the library and couldn't resist. I used to LOVE this movie. I must have seen it about ten times in the theaters.  I played the soundtrack so much I warped the record (remember vinyl records...HA!). It was an addiction. It would always motivate me to exercise so it was a good addiction. I wanted to dress like Jennifer Beals, dance like Cynthia Rhodes, live in a loft, and ride my bike in the city to work. My adult dreams with girl power because girls CAN be welders. So...the movie still has great dancing and outstanding photography, but not-so-good acting. Beals wasn't hired for her acting experience. Oh well. I probably shouldn't give it a five but I have seen it way too many times in my life to not be honored in some way. *****

Kill Me Three Times is a strange Australian movie about a lot of people who want each other dead. It stars Simon Pegg as a hitman. That alone makes it a comedy worth watching. He's been hired to kill a cheating wife although that isn't apparent right away. Someone else gets to her first, then the grieving boyfriend jumps into the mix, along with the crooked cop, then the sleazy husband, then the cheating wife drags herself up from over the cliff. The twists are delightful as is Pegg's dry sense of humor. There is a Quentin Tarantino flair for satirical violence complete with gushing waterfalls of slow motion blood splatter every time someone gets shot. The 1960s spy movie soundtrack sets the tone. It was strangely fun. **** 

The Loft was a really interesting who-done-it about a murder that takes place in a bachelor pad owned by five married men. It twists, it turns and I had no idea who done it. And then when I think I knew who done it, they didn't do it! It was good, although I wasn't sure I liked all the jumping around. I prefer linear plots that start and end. I do really like Karl Urban who is a newbie actor and Rachael Taylor, one of my favorite actresses who is great in everything she does. ****

Maps to the Stars was about strange, mentally ill entitled yet homicidal people in Hollywood all intertwined in craziness with tormented visions of dead mothers and dead children. Totally bizarre but with an all-star cast. **

Princess Ka'iulani was about an Hawaiian princess in the 1800s. It didn't take long before the excruciatingly, embarrassing performances and sappy, poorly-written dialogue made me puke with disgust. I turned it off at around 15 minutes. *

San Andreas It's been a long time since I've seen a disaster film. It had really awesome special effects with buildings disintegrating before your eyes. California was finally breaking off and dropping into the ocean as predicted. Fun, but a little unrealistic. The first scene where the car goes over the embankment, flips over a few times, slams into a couple rocks, and the driver lives? I expected her to squeal, "Just kidding!" Not only does she live but she can even climb out of the car when the Rock shows up with his helicopter to save her. Or the Rock driving a high speed boat (that he conveniently found waiting to be used) at full speed through water littered with pieces of buildings. I definitely would have slowed down but I am not a superhero. Oh well. Fun doesn't require realism. ***

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel with an all-star cast of old people and a sequel to the first The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel made me want to go to India and wear cool, cotton clothing in bright colors. This sequel was a little too commercial compared to the last movie. I liked the first a lot with it's commentary on growing old and themes of dying/living, but this one was a little too flashy with loud music, too many relationships with old people hooking up (weird), and the dialogue was staged and unnatural. Richard Gere looked like he was uncomfortable in every scene. ***

Self/Less is a sci-fi thriller about an incredibly wealthy old man (Ben Kingsley) who is dying and buys another body. He buys Ryan Reynolds's body. Nice. If he doesn't take the anti-rejection medication, he has vivid flashbacks of the body's former life. He eventually he figures out contrary to what the scientists told him, they didn't grow Ryan Reynolds's body in a lab, but killed a military guy with a wife and a kid in order to harvest the body. It was very interesting, great acting and never a dull moment. ****

The Stoning of Soraya M. is a story about the disgusting patriarchal practices of stoning women in Muslim cultures. How fucking barbaric! I get so sick of hearing about these archaic religious beliefs that allow men to do whatever they damn well please. It's so hard to believe this still goes on today! And I don't understand why Muslim women are so compliant. In the movie they obediently walk to the execution site. Don't they put up a fight?  I would have gone berserk and the armed guards would have had to shoot me. I think that would be a much less painful way to die. I would have at least tried to poke out the conniving husband's eyes or ripped his balls off with my bare hands. The woman just waited obediently and then walked obediently. It just infuriates me. Good movie although a difficult subject. I had a difficult enough time with the male dominant sleazy, backstabbing, plotting storyline, but I couldn't stomach much of the actual stoning. I fast-forwarded through that scene. ****

The Visit was about two teenage kids visiting the grandparents they never met. The constant theme was old people are different. And because they are old, we need to be patient with their strange behaviors and forgiving of unusual idiosyncrasies. It's written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan who tends to make beautiful films although bordering on horror. The previews made it look really interesting, but when I received the DVD it looked too much like a B-rated horror movie. I almost didn't watch it. I don't do horror movies, but I figured there must have been a reason I thought it looked good. It was brilliant. The scenery and photography were beautiful. All the actors were outstanding, but the two kids were really amazing. There are some thriller moments designed to make one jump out of their skin, but also some laugh out loud scenes as well usually involving the thirteen year old boy. The tagline reads What Jaws did for sharks and Psycho did for showers, The Visit will do for grandparents. LOL. ****

The Woman in Gold is about the restitution of the famous Gustave Klimt painting stolen by the Nazis from a Jewish family in Austria. Helen Mirren plays the lead role of Maria Altmann and she is spectacular, as usual. Ryan Reynolds is the lawyer and the movie is filled with celebrities. Wonderfully filmed with flashbacks that look like real footage from the 1930s. Excellent story, exceptional cast, perfectly performed. It's so difficult finding good movies these days, let alone outstanding movies. This was a pleasure. *****

The Perfect Diet (For Me)

I've been asked about my diet and what I eat. After perusing the too many posts I've written on what I eat, how I eat, how it's changed and what does/doesn't work, I realized I really don't have a clear list of foods and practices. Granted, this is because with all the dietary experimenting I do in hopes of discovering the secret to perfect health, the list gets tweaked all the time. (I'm tweaking it as I speak....) However, this is my basic diet followed by the "rules."

Meat:  Cod, salmon, beef, chicken, lamb, turkey, chicken liver, oysters, tuna

Fruits:  Apples, oranges, avocados, lemons, pears, grapefruit, limes, coconut, grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, plums, prunes, cherries

Vegetables:   Lettuce, spinach, arugula, dandelion greens, onions, garlic, peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, celery, squash, peas, green beans

Herbs and Spices: Oregano, basil, cilantro, thyme, black pepper, Himalayan or Celtic sea salt

Nuts: Almonds

Oils and fats: Olive oil, coconut oil, butter, avocados

Other:  Coconut milk, peppermint tea

Notes:

Do not overeat. It creates inflammation and stress on your body triggering autoimmune responses. Eat every two hours to avoid blood sugar fluctuations.

Eat 80% fresh produce (if possible), 20% meat and everything else. Must have a little protein with every meal to stabilize blood sugar.

All food must be organic and fresh. No canned, packaged or processed food.

All meat must be grass-fed, organic or wild-caught. I stay away from canned meats but on occasion I eat tuna. I buy only gluten free, wild caught tuna. Don't trust big-box grocery stores even if they claim it's healthy. Find a food co-op or source you can trust.

Stay away from pork and shellfish because they are toxic. I cheat with oysters but only because I've been told they are the cleanest shellfish and I live in the oyster capital of the world. I don't eat them often, and I don't have problems when I do.

No grains of any kind.

No gluten. Watch for hidden gluten in makeup, body products/lotions, chap stick, hamburger, spices, canned anything including tuna, supplements and thyroid medications.

No dairy.

No sweeteners of any kind including high glycemic fruits: dried fruit, mangoes, bananas, papayas, etc. as they are just as bad.

No high starch vegetables: potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes

Avoid or rotate goitrogens like broccoli, kale, cauliflower, or Brussel sprouts as they decrease your thyroid function. I rotate these things and cook them as cooking decreases the goitrogenic effect.

No mushrooms or fungi.

No legumes like peanuts, beans, lentils. (Fresh green peas and green beans are fine.)

Avoid lectins like tomatoes, cashews, beans, peanuts, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, bananas. Remove peels from fresh fruit (apples) and if I cheat with potatoes or sweet potatoes, remove the peels. This decreases the amount of lectins.

Drink as much water as possible with the goal of reaching the required number of ounces (your weight x .67 = number of ounces per day). Preferably clean water with natural minerals like artesian water. This is important for detoxification and hydration. 

Yes, now and then I cheat. And I pay for it. Sometimes.

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: A Survival Guide

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: A Survival Guide is a manual for MCS by Pamela Reed Gibson. I remember many years ago when I first became chemically sensitive participating in surveys for this author's research. The copy I finally found is the second edition and was published in 2006.

It's incredibly complete covering everything from statistics, causes, food toxins, medical treatments, alternative therapies, identity loss, support options, and disability among other subjects detailing every aspect of one's affected life. The chapter on therapy is entitled, "If You Weren't Crazy Before You Got MCS, You Are Now." LOL!

The appendix, which is about as thick as the book, cites all her research statistics, This is fascinating and very detailed. Other parts of the appendix list helpful references including healthy options for products.

It's a must-have reference especially for newbies trying to figure out how to live with chemical sensitivity.

You're NOT Crazy and You're NOT Alone

The title of this post should be the mantra of everyone with MCS, however, it just happens to be the title of the latest book on Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. Unlike most other Hashimoto's books that explain in detail what is happening, how it is happening and why it is happening, this one refreshingly addresses the emotional and mental challenges faced by those diagnosed with this debilitating condition.

Naturally I was skeptical. I was anticipating another dry, scientific consumer health book. Yeah, I know about the TSH labs and the T3/T4 conversion and the adrenal connection and the five hundred supplements I should be taking. I even know about the miracle diet. When one has years of first-hand experience with Hashimoto's and has read nearly every book on the subject, finding new information is rare. Most books say the same thing over and over again boring me to tears. I'm very happy to say I actually learned something new with this book and it was surprisingly entertaining! Thank you Stacey Robbins!

Author Stacey Robbins is writing from her own personal experience and right away claims she's not a doctor nor a scientist. She doesn't even pretend she has any authority on the subject other than her years of suffering. She is sharing and that's all. I love people who share! Her writing style is conversational and at times hilarious. The text is broken into short digestible paragraphs and more often single sentences with double-spaced lines for conversational emphasis. It's rather creative and makes the book really easy to read. It feels fun and her stories are often charming, but I have to admit I felt irritated by the style at times. She often babbles and constantly says, "But I digress..."  I also didn't care for the constant references to religion and often found myself skipping over anything that looked like God talk. I skipped over most of the chapter on supplements. Still, overall I liked it anyway. She confesses dietary challenges, weight gain, bathroom traumas, child abuse, crippling exhaustion, and bad doctor experiences. Commiseration is easy and more times than not I was overwhelmed with the feeling finally someone who understands me! Hence the title, You're Not Crazy and You're Not Alone. It doesn't matter if I know thousands of people out there have MCS or Hashimoto's, I always think I am alone with my experiences. I'm really not!

Here are the highlights I found especially enlightening:

She calls bad doctors "Orange Cones". You know, the construction cones that are put out to warn and protect you from dangerous situations. LOL Her advice on how to handle bad doctors...go around them! They are only obstacles on our paths to finding quality information. "Orange Cones don't do the work. They simply point to you, in their bright orange color to 'Go around.'" She suggests as a path to forgiveness to take them "out of the "The Asshole Who Didn't Help Me" category and put them in the "Orange Cone" category". She's heavy on forgiveness which I also found a bit irritating.

Fettuccine Alfredo is a "formula for weapons of mass destruction."

"If you eat that way with Hashimoto's and it's not your last meal, you'll kinda wish it were."

Most people with Hashimoto's have been abused as children and experienced love patterns of rejection.

Perfectionism is a side effect of child abuse, but it is a form of self-rejection.

Most people with Hashimoto's were in a car accident or experienced whiplash just before they were diagnosed. Hmmm...now that is interesting.

People with Hashimoto's don't like water. Sometimes it makes them sick. Consequently, dehydration is a common problem and contributes to EMF sensitivities. Anxiety is a symptom of dehydration.

People with Hashimoto's have severe mitochondrial dysfunction. Our cells aren't working optimally and that makes exercise difficult. Mild exercise is good; strenuous exercise is a trigger for an autoimmune response and it weakens the immune system.

She talks about walking as the perfect exercise for Hashi's people, but she says resist the urge to run. "Let go of romantic notions of what looks good." (Too bad I didn't read this book before I got the bright idea to jog last year! It might have saved me a whole lot of misery.)

Synthroid (thyroid medication) has gluten in it! WHOA!

Flappy, wiggly underarms are a symptom of hypothyroidism and adrenal fatigue! She calls them "lunch lady arms". HA! That's probably not a nice thing to say, but I thought it was funny.

Soy pulls iodine from your thyroid.

People come into your life to give you gifts of information.

She uses bentonite clay for cleansing especially if you eat something bad and need it expelled quickly.

Jin Shin Jyutsu is a Japanese modality of healing, or energy work. It sounds fascinating and I already believe our bodies are total health systems. I need to do some research into this...

She's big into gratitudes. I like people who focus on being grateful.

A lot of her information is directly related to MCS and at times thought I was reading a book on chemical sensitivity. I believe it's all related anyway.

HOORAY!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Hibernation

SPRING IS HERE! I write this post every year at the same time when the weather stops freezing and the garden springs to life. Hibernation is over. HOORAY!

Snowdrops

Daffodils sprouting

Primroses - although a little ragged, still cheerful

Mixed green pallet garden is STILL growing!

Does anyone know what this plant is? It's in the mixed green garden, tastes hot, maybe a type of mustard?

I need a whole packet of seeds for this one...I love it!

HAPPY SPRING!

Life is Short

Kelly McGarry, famous competitive mountain bike rider, died. He was only 33 years old. Life is short. For many, REALLY short. Too short.

Although this has very little to do with chemical sensitivity, it reminded me we need to appreciate each day as it comes even if we are not feeling up to speed or downright miserable. It reminded me to be cognitive of each moment. No matter how our life presents itself, it'll go by fast regardless.

In my former life I used to ride a mountain bike. I was never really very good at it. My first experience was with people who promised they would take us on a beginner trail. I say "us" because I was with two other beginners, my good friend and his adult daughter. The trail was anything but beginning...or maybe it was, but it was absolutely frightening with sand pits, cliffs, ledges, and poisonous snakes. For snake encounters - big, fat rattlesnakes lying in the sun across the trail - we were instructed to ride very fast so the snake wouldn't know what hit him and by the time the snake figured it out, we'd be gone. Hmmm... 

After a least an hour of horrifying torture and physical exhaustion, my friend's daughter ended up crashing in the middle of the desert. Miles away from civilization. She was so pissed off with our "trainers" and the experience she refused to get back on the bike and started walking. Or rather hobbling defiantly. Someone had to wheel her bike behind her. I survived, but not without too many bruises and a whole lot of pain that took a long time to heal. After that experience, I became far more selective of mountain biker companions. With time I got better at it, but I found it more fun to go to the competitions and watch the professionals sail effortlessly over the trails that nearly killed me. 

Anyway, just reminiscing about year's past and my former life. For those of you with energy, mountain biking would be a fairly non-toxic outdoor activity, but it's not without risks. Death being one of them.

Here is video footage of Kelly McGarry. The camera is on his helmet and he does a few flips at the Red Bull Rampage. And he won SECOND place (you can see where he misses the trail at one point). Whoa! It's totally frightening.

January Movie Reviews

***** Loved it, watching it a second time or will watch it a second time
****   Excellent
***     OK
**       Tolerable, but blah
*         Horrible, probably turned it off before the end it was so bad

Cinderella is the latest rendition of the classic fairy tale with Lily James in the lead role. It's pretty much Disney's cartoon come to life with a few modern tweaks. There is even a rat named Gus-Gus, a weird digital rendition of a real animal. The writers did a movie mash-up attempting to re-create the perfect fake fairy tale extracting the best bits from Cinderellas past (sans music). The computer-generated landscapes are beautiful and the unnatural Jane Austen dialogue with the over-the-top performances promise lots of tragic swooning and throwing oneself on the fountain to cry. I do like that everyone had an authentic English accent. Cate Blanchett is an outstanding evil stepmother and the stepsisters are priceless. The best bit of modernization is when Cinderella looks at her new shoes and asks, "They're made of glass?" The platinum blonde Helena Bonham-Carter looking like a psychotic fallen angel says, "Yeah. And you'll find them really comfortable." LOL. The dance choreography was ATROCIOUS and every time Cinderella threw her head back I thought she was having a seizure. I did like the new ending. Although the theme was "courage and kindness" instead of kindly inviting the evil steps to live in the palace, they end up running away with the scheming duke never to return again. "You have never been and never will be my mother." Awesome. Kids would love it especially the little girls with all that dress swishing (borrowed from the Rogers & Hammerstein's adaptation). ***

Departures is a Japanese film about a cellist. When the orchestra dissolves, he becomes unemployed, directionless, and moves with his wife back to his dead mother's house in his hometown. Needing work, he answers an ad for a mysterious job that pays a lot of money and doesn't require any experience. He assumes it's in the travel industry since the job description briefly states the applicant would be assisting in "departures." Misspelled, it should have read "departed". It's for a funeral "professional." Japanese families traditionally would wash and prepare the body of their loved one for burial in preparation for the next life. When modern families stopped this practice, businesses developed to provide these services. The ritual is very beautiful and spiritual. The movie is at times very sweet and sentimental with a bit of slapstick-like comedy thrown in for fun especially when he's being trained and he's scared to death of dead people. LOL! Great photography and scenery. I don't like reading subtitles, but it was a great story. I like movies about death.****

Dog Day Afternoon is a 1975 movie based on a true story about two dimwits who rob a bank. They aren't the only numbskulls in the story - the police and FBI show up and it becomes more like a scene from a Keystone Cops movie. I kept screaming, "AH! NO WAY!" as in no one could be that stupid! Everything goes wrong for the bank robbers and they end up inside a bank with hostages trying to figure out how to make a clean, but impossible escape. Al Pacino is SO YOUNG and he does an outstanding job playing an incredibly stupid person from Brooklyn. The movie was nominated for a bundle of Academy Awards and Golden Globes, but received only one for writing. I've never really had any interest in seeing this movie before and had I trusted my instincts, I wouldn't have missed much. **

Indefinitely Polar Bear is about a father of two little girls who is bipolar. He can't quite keep a job and after a nervous breakdown can't quite function at all so the family becomes destitute while he's institutionalized and then transferred to a half-way house. His wife decides she needs to go to New York for a business degree so she can get a better job and has him move in with the girls. He's unmistakably crazy, sometimes it's not so good, but most of the time he excels at fatherhood if only by accident. The bipolar is a little stressful to watch as is the nonstop smoking, but Mark Ruffalo is one of my favorite actors. ***

Joe stars Nicholas Cage as a trailer-trash nonstop smoking/drinking redneck who cavorts with prostitutes, poisons trees for a living, has a bad temper, has encounters with other bad tempered rednecks, and owns something that looks like a pitbull. In fact, everyone in the whole movie has a vicious, barking dog which is indicative of the neighborhood's social class. There is one dog in the movie Joe doesn't like, ""THAT DOG IS AN ASSHOLE!!" LOL. He goes home, gets his pitbull and releases it on the other dog. Jeez. Lots of child abuse, poverty, and general tragedy. I must be really bored, but I have to admit the performances were exceptional. ***

Jurassic World  Well! That was thrilling!!  Twenty years after the tragedy at Jurassic Park and humans haven't learned a thing. With lots of commentary on corporate greed, it is clear bigger, better and scarier is what the American public NEEDS. Too much is never enough and we've been desensitized. If money is to be made (and yes, it must be made) we need to be very afraid. With advances in science and newer technology the owners of this new, improved dinosaur theme park feel all is safe enough for 20,000 visitors to wander around freely among killing machines. Naturally, everything goes very wrong when one of their latest "assets" escapes and goes on a murderous rampage. The special effects were outstanding. Those dinos looked and acted real especially the one in the lake-sized tank. Not as much blood as one would expect since dinos swallow humans whole. Nice. But it still seemed too violent for a PG-13 rating. I didn't like the Hollywood love story. Poorly written, cheesy, horribly cliche and a little goofy. Perhaps it was written for the violent-hungry but humor-addicted kids in the audience? They could have done without it. The performances weren't always good with too much overacting and melodrama. What really bothered me was Bryce Dallas Howard's brilliant white outfit. I would think the blaze of white would have made her a tasty morsel right off the bat. She ran through the whole movie in matching heels. In the last scene, she was still wearing those heels?! There is no way she wouldn't have lost one or both in the muck. Maybe she was supposed to be a King Kong damsel flashback? Still, it was fun. Definitely not boring. *****

Madame Bovary is the 2014 version of the classic cautionary tale of excess. Poor Emma, living in the most beautiful countryside you've ever seen (I so love France! The scenery didn't disappoint!), in an adorable stone cottage, surrounded by a beautiful autumn-colored forest, wearing the most gorgeous dresses imaginable, with a kind, loving and cute husband at her side, and men who constantly tell her she's beautiful....but bored out of her mind. I would love her life! She's so ungrateful. The performance of the main character (Mia Wasikowska) was lacking. She just wasn't believable. At least they should have cast someone who could do an accent. Although I normally really like Ezra Miller in anything, this period piece just didn't suit him, but the dashing Logan Marshall-Green as the Marquis was scrumptious. Yum. Yes, I would also have thrown myself at his feet and begged him to take me in his arms. It was the anticipation of raunchy sex and her ultimate suicide that kept me watching. I expected a really spectacular death. Not so much. She did run through some really spectacular scenery and then die in a really spectacular dress, but that was it. And the sex wasn't that raunchy. It gets  *** for costuming, gorgeous scenery, and that sexy man.

Mona Lisa Smile is about a subversive art history professor (Julia Roberts) at the very traditional Wesley College who challenges the archaic roles of women in the 1950s. Great cast and performances. Wonderful costumes, and outstanding soundtrack. I grew up with the music and I majored in art history in college so it made my heart sing. Superb chick flick. *****

Serena stars Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper as Smoky Mountain timber owners in 1929. The sets were realistic and gorgeous, costuming perfect, and wonderful performances. Lots of interpersonal drama and beautiful scenery. However, I didn't see the point of the story. I'm still trying to wrap my head around some of the symbolism and Lawrence running around in her underwear in a logging camp in the 1920s was anything but realistic. The pace was a little slow with scenes drawn out too long. ***

Stepmom  The mother (Susan Sarandon) does everything to sabotage the relationship between her children and her ex-husband's girlfriend (Julia Roberts), the stepmother-to-be. The spoiled kids are encouraged to be rude, and the stepmother is trying but inexperienced in the ways of evil children. Then the mother gets cancer. I haven't seen this movie for about twenty years, but I cried all the way through both times especially at the end. I've always had a love/hate relationship with the story. First, my mother found out she was dying right about the time my father married a nasty, evil, self-centered woman half his age. My mother didn't really like the stepmother which was clear, but unlike Julia Roberts, I think my stepmother deserved her wrath. I also resent the little girl in the movie who was constantly belligerent and when her mother tells her she's going to die, the little girl starts screaming at her and accusing her of lying to her because she didn't tell her immediately. I'm thinking, You nasty little brat...at least your mother told you at all! So although I cry all the way through it being a little too close to home, the movie is a contradictory challenge. *****

Stone is about an almost retired parole officer (Robert De Niro) dealing with an arsonist inmate (Edward Norton) who is clearly sociopathic, conniving, manipulative, and doing everything in his power to get out of prison early. Every time I see Edward Norton in a movie I am amazed. What an outstanding, mesmerizing actor who becomes totally possessed by his character. This time he is a despicable who murdered his grandparents and he's as scary as they get. Great movie about the psychological demons of people. ****

When the Game Stands Tall. I absolutely HATE football movies anyway, but there was a bit of death in it so I thought maybe it would be interesting. Then they mix it up with praying football coaches who are teaching bible study in a high school class, God this, God that. Good God! Sorry, God doesn't give a rat's ass if you win a football game. I've never understood the football culture. What a total waste of energy. *

Winter's Bones stars Jennifer Lawrence as the seventeen-year old sister of two small children and the daughter of a crank cooker who disappears before his court date. Unfortunately he put the family home up as bail and if he doesn't show, his mentally ill wife and three children will be homeless. As it is they can't afford to eat and live in squalor. His daughter searches the hillbilly hills for him, but people don't like the questions she's asking. It's a dark, cold and depressing movie about lowlifes, but the performances are outstanding. ****

A Year and Change is about a family of dysfunctional people who drink too much, do stupid things, getting in fights continuously, and go to jail. The main character is trying to change, but fails miserably every step of the way. The acting wasn't great and a story about ignorant, degenerate, low class people too stupid to do anything right is always irritating. I think watching movies about lowlifes is my theme this month. *

Jay DeFeo, The Rat Bastard

The Rat Bastard Protective Association was an artist collective in San Francisco in the 1950s–1960s. Members included Bruce Conner, Wallace Berman, Joan Brown, Art Grant, David Haselwood, Alvin Light, Fred Martin, Michael McClure, Manuel Neri, Bob Branaman, Carlos Villa, and Jay DeFeo.

Jay DeFeo's signature work is a painting called The Rose, formerly titled Deathrose and The White Rose. 

It's a 128 x 92 inch monstrosity that originally weighed around 1,850 pounds. After adding steel reinforcements and supports to the framing, it now weighs around 3,050 pounds. Whoa! It took a total of seven years to complete although her process which is less painterly than sculptural included scrapping the paint down to the canvas and starting over numerous times. Along with house paint, her materials list includes wood scraps, stones, beads, wire, mica, and pearls.

Jay working on her masterpiece.

Six years into the process she was evicted from her apartment and had to have it transported to the Pasadena Art Museum for storage where she continued to work on it. The moving company had to cut a hole in her apartment wall and lift it out.

See Jay out on the ledge in black watching.

It was purchased by the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1992 after sitting in storage for nearly thirty years.

Why am I writing a post on a California artist from the 1960s?

I think working on your life's masterpiece for seven years and then sending it way must be traumatic anyway, but she became very depressed and disappeared from the art scene for three years. I read the whole time she was working on the Deathrose (aptly named), the lead (white) paint was making her very sick to the point where her teeth were falling out! She was painting it in her studio which also functioned as her apartment, breathing it day in and day out. It probably took three years for all the toxins to clear from her body and I'm sure she spent much of that time in bed sleeping or in the bathroom puking. She died from lung cancer.

I think there are far more stories about chemically-sensitive artists than we know. Entertainment that is deadly. I guess I should re-think my house paint paintings, but I've tried and I can't stop myself.

I should write a book about this...

Iridology

Years ago when I worked for a health food store my co-worker friend was into iridology. It was a fun game when work got boring we'd look into each other's eyes to determine how unhealthy we truly were. 

The only thing I remember from that experience was she kept telling me I needed a colon cleanse. It just made me giggle. It seems if there is a muddy-colored ring around your pupil, your colon is congested. Here is the chart from the iridology master Dr. Bernard Jensen:

See the colon squiggle around the pupil?

You can find an updated, color chart for purchase HERE  or a Pinterest reference HERE  or just search "iridology chart Jensen" and a variety of chart styles will appear.

According to Wikipedia, iridology is an alternative medicine technique whose proponents claim that patterns, colors, and other characteristics of the iris can be examined to determine information about a patient's systemic health. Practitioners match their observations to iris charts, which divide the iris into zones that correspond to specific parts of the human body. Iridologists see the eyes as "windows" into the body's state of health.

Years later I worked for an outstanding old-school naturopath, he used to walk up to us, poke our livers, look at our hands, and into our eyes. I called them "party tricks", but he could tell exactly how we were feeling that day or what we needed to do to feel better.

It's been years since I've given any thought to iridology and the other day on a whim I wondered how my eyes were doing. I have vague memories of dark spots (bad things!) in the bottom section of my iris, and of course, my congested colon. So I put on my glasses and with flashlight in hand I flipped on the bathroom light and peered wide-eyed into the mirror. Hmmm...my colon is no longer congested. Probably all that healthy food I eat. One dark, rust-colored dot. I ran to the computer, found Jensen's chart, and looked for the area around two o'clock in the iris of my right eye (it's all backwards on the charts if looking in the mirror)....

THYROID! Go figure. Even though I've been feeling great, there is definitely something wrong with my thyroid! But only in my right eye. Left eye is fine.

Interesting...

Unfortunately I don't know enough about iridology. Does this mean the thyroid gland on my right side the only one having problems?  Also, there is much more to it than reading dark dots as the texture, color and patterns indicate various health issues as well. It would be fascinating to study. I wonder if people can make a living being an iridologist? The sclera (white of the eye) and all it's blood vessels also holds secrets to your systemic health, but that's way out of my knowledge base.

I tried taking a photo of my eye but I couldn't get it in focus nor without the shadow caused by the camera. The results made me laugh until I had tears running down my cheeks:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire, or, Please Pass the Stupid Chicken

Do you trust the word organic? How do you know if it's truly organic? Or grass-fed? Or gluten-free? If the label says they don't use antibiotics or steroids, how does one really know if this is true?

A couple years ago while on my vacation road trip, I found a product clearly labeled gluten-free. I was excited. When eating on the road, selection is limited. I bought it, jumped in the van, and headed back out on the road. Lunchtime couldn't arrive soon enough and eager to eat a new gluten-free product I almost didn't bother looking at the tiny print. It was labeled as gluten-free because ONE ingredient was gluten-free. But what about that wheat flour on the ingredients list? I later found out if only ONE ingredient is gluten-free, the manufacturers can legally label it gluten-free. HOW IS THAT LEGAL?

I've had a lot of people tell me they can't tell the difference between organic food and conventional food. To them it all tastes the same. A few people have told me they think organic produce tastes better. Maybe. My problem is I feel lousy if I eat conventional food. I'll never forget the severe intestinal cramps I got from eating conventional watermelon. I thought my insides were imploding. Same with conventional raisins and Brussel sprouts. It makes me wonder if all these people who have been diagnosed with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) are just reacting to the pesticides and poisons? Dietary advice includes NOT eating most fresh fruits and vegetables. Hmmm...

So what am I supposed to think if my clearly labeled organic, natural, no artificial ingredients, raised without antibiotics chicken gives me unbearable migraines and nausea? I think most people would blame it on anything else, but I know better. So is this false advertising? How can I prove it?

I bought this chicken at another co-op, one not known for it's impeccable standards. My co-op doesn't sell this brand. It wasn't the first time I bought Stupid Chicken, and not the first time I had migraines and nausea right after eating it that lasted all night, but I was blinded by the sale price. So what does "air-chilled" mean? Is that code for gassed? Chemically-induced refrigeration? What am I missing? The labeling is misleading.

During the same visit to the co-op with questionable standards I also bought a small container of bulk Kalamata olives. The fact they tasted wonderful, better than my own co-op's olives, should have been a clue. I had nightmares and strange, vivid dreams all night. The ingredients include olives, water, salt, oil. Hmmm...what kind of oil? Crude oil? Pennzoil? Sometimes I'm just too trusting. Just because it's being sold in a co-op as a bulk product doesn't mean it's safe.

And then there is Simple Truth Grade B Maple Syrup. My co-op was closed on New Year's Day so I went to the local big-box grocery store. They had a bottle of this grade B maple syrup for sale in their "health" department. Ingredients: organic maple syrup. The label looked fine. I get it home, pour a little out. It's too light in texture and color to be real Grade B which is raw, unprocessed, organic maple syrup. This has the consistency of corn syrup. I stick my finger in it. It tastes like corn syrup! So what is this? Did they cut real Grade B maple syrup with something else? Can they claim it to be Grade B if only a small portion of it is Grade B? Or did they process it just a little and they are lying?

Aren't there labeling laws in our country? It irritates me to no end we can't trust money-hungry companies to tell the truth and their best practices include screwing over the customer for a few extra bucks. But organic is the new catch word. Like natural, it means nothing. For anyone who is chemically sensitive, it's a experiential learning process with dire consequences and lots of wasted money.

Chemical sensitivity is expensive!

The Year End Assessment, or, What an Awesome Year!

Happy New Year! 2015 came and went. Fast. Did it go as quickly for you as it did for me? It's now time for reflection and personal assessment. I've been doing this every year since 1987 and it's always an interesting learning experience.

GOOD STUFF:

1) My blog...which serves as therapy, community, and entertainment.

2) My house...with it's newly stained fence, crazy painted porch, and outstanding garden. I'm so thankful to have a safe place to live (relatively speaking) that provides lots of fun and entertainment!

3) ZIPPY! After years of shopping, I finally found and bought a car that's more like a large dog that doesn't bark, poop, stink, have fleas or beg. It goes where I want, when I want. Very obedient and oh so cute! My gratitude is overwhelming.

4) My polka dot chair and table...makes me feel like a party is always at my house. Next year I plan to paint more polka dots! On everything!

5) I FEEL WONDERFUL! My health has improved by leaps and bounds. I rarely have any noticeable fatigue and I have enough energy for life. I finally found the secret: stick to the diet, no cheating, and no overeating as that also creates inflammation and taxes the thyroid. As Dr. Kharrazian says, "It's not just what you eat, it's HOW you eat."  Hooray for progress!

6) My fragrance-free friends, both online and offline. THANK YOU FOR KEEPING ME SANE.

7) Money. I love money. With energy comes money. With money comes security. With security comes less stress. With less stress comes better health. With better health comes happiness. Money is good.

Hmmmm?

Re-Friending. This was both fantastic and traumatizing so it's under neutral or questionable or hmmmm?. Reconnecting with old friends at first was really fun and exciting! I love finding out what people have done with their lives. With so much catching up to do, most of them emailed consistently at the beginning. We laughed until we cried. We confessed mistakes and regrets. We shared life goals and health challenges. It was nice reconnecting with my former life and wonderful to have pen pals...for a short time.

Peopling my life isn't without challenges. One friend only wanted to send me short headlines of self-centered drama every couple weeks without shared conversation. "My Son's Back in Prison." "My Daughter is a Meth Addict." "My Brother is Dead."  If it wasn't so disturbing it might have been entertaining.  It ended up just being exhausting as I kept wanting to fix her life, but I realized after a while there was no solution to any of it. Another old friend did the same thing. She never emailed, but if I emailed her in hopes of inspiring her to email, her excuses were surgery, family problems, and then finally cancer. Then she'd post photos of herself with friends shopping at the mall looking quite healthy and unstressed. Hmmm?

Some refused to email at all. One kept sending me her email addresses repeatedly with "I look forward to our reconnection" and that was it. Right around the time of my high school reunion, several ex-friends followed me on Facebook in lieu of friending because I have that option blocked. When I wrote to them to tell them I really don't do Facebook, but I'd love to hear from them and catch up via email, they immediately un-followed me and disappeared. LOL! So much for the value of ex-friendship. Do they really want to connect or am I just a Facebook number, a trophy, someone who will tell them they are beautiful when they post their daily selfie? I don't know if all the disappointment was worth it. Nearly all reconnections eventually disconnected with the confession they really don't like to email. Oh well....

Email communication was great, but I didn't stop there! A few of the new ex-friends made an effort to visited or we went places for fun! It was so glorious not to feel so isolated. So grateful for human contact I let my guard down and stopped reminding people they need to be fragrance free. One by one encounters became toxic with people walking into my house saturated in stinky laundry detergent, on-the-road bathroom hand soap, or some unidentified stink. Some people just didn't get it or couldn't smell it so they had no clue.

Aside from the stress and frustration it caused, I viewed this as a opportunity to practice patience. For someone who is perpetually impatient and irritable as a side-effect of chemical poisoning, this has been quite a challenge. I resisted the urge to scream at them, HOW CAN YOU BE SO THOUGHTLESS? I avoided the impulse to sarcastically berate them in writing, HOW CAN YOU BE SO STUPID? I abstained from being disrespectfully unfriendly, ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME? I took a step back (and out of their air space) in each instance and let the anger wash over me and reminded myself these people don't deal with stinky poisons on a daily basis like I do.  I taught myself how not to burn bridges with my vile tongue. I was so thankful for people who wanted to visit and TRY to be fragrance-free I took too many risks. As a consequence I'd be forced to go to bed for hours if not days feeling so ill I couldn't function. It's been a great learning experience. YES! I can be around real people and not kill anyone, but it's exhausting. It's easier to be a hermit. There is a reason I've exiled myself out in the middle of no where - a place people do not want to visit. It's less tempting and less compromising. I've kind of given up on the search for new friends...for now...and I'm thankful for my isolation.

Anyway, yes, some set backs, but I prefer to concentrate on the positive experiences. People can make life really enjoyable!

BAD STUFF:

1) Health care and mystery pain. Too many useless, expensive doctors wanting to do too many unnecessary, expensive tests with no answers and no solutions. I got really tired being quoted $1300 for labs only to be told after I complained loud enough that, OH! there is a discount and I guess we can give that to you for only $500. What is with these two-tiered health care costs? If they think they can get away with it, they will. I finally self-diagnosed myself and things have been improving. Whether my self-diagnoses are accurate is anyone's guess, but my assumptions can't be worse than the ignorant opinions of doctors with dollars signs in their eyes who all contradicted each other!

2) Useless insurance coverage. My insurance decided I wasn't paying enough money through the health care exchange and refuse claims without telling me. Nine months later one of my doctors contacted me to let me now this is what they were doing. When finally questioned, they said it's not their job to communicate with the customer as the customer should call them if there is a problem. Of course, they were taking the money I was paying, just not providing the service according to my contract. I wrote to anyone who mattered included every political representative in my area voicing my displeasure with the health care system demanding an apology from the insurance company. I was immediately informed by the powers-that-be I WAS paying the correct amount and after a month of bureaucratic bullshit, the insurance company sent a written apology and resumed service. The apology was really surprising! Needless to say, they are no longer my insurance company. When are we getting single payer insurance coverage? This corporate sleaziness has got to go.

However, for 2015, the Good far outweighs the Bad. It's been an excellent year!

New Year's Resolutions: Vote for the presidential candidate who supports universal health care (that's NOT Hillary!), maybe next year I'll finally get to move, and NO DOCTORS if I can possibly help it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I wish everyone much joy and happiness in 2016.