Peanut Butter and Jelly Lunch

How about that as a new title to your segment that you call “Power Lunch”.  Let's face facts there is no power in your lunchtime reporting.  Or how about atrophy lunch? You couldn't lift a 10 lb. dumbbell.   Point is that when are you going to stop reporting nonsense.  There is no interest in most of your stories on any of your segments.  You are worse than ESPN filling us with stats that mean NOTHING.  Here is one you reported this past Friday.  The Dow on it's way to the 5th out of 6th week gain.  Is that really news?  Especially during the day?  When are you going to get new writers?  How about giving us reporters that have the gift to give us real news not useless information and drivel.  The stock market collapsed and you are still doing business as usual.  No change in your programming and you continue to have people like Suze Orman do a show about personal finance.  She couldn't advise a groundhog whether to ignore his shadow or not! Kramer there is another nut job. The world according to Kramer??  I would listen to what Garp has to say first than what that idiot reports.

You are not guilty on all counts there are times when you do report news that is heartfelt and newsworthy but come on people wake up, the world has changed and you keep reporting things like "the market is acting spooky today" AYKM! Spooky????  I see that that goof ball with the glasses is gone from your show, you know the guy that told those life insurance agents before we hit bottom that the only reason they were talking about life insurance was because the market was down.  How about if you did a story about market value versus book value?  Don't you think that might be a useful story?  People need to have both in their lives. Money they can count on when their market values are in the dumper.  I see your program at the gym and the biggest laugh I get is when you have up to 8 talking heads and no one is saying anything!

Yoga For Anxiety

My ex-wife as I might have told you is a Yogi. But leave all notions of what you might think that is at the front door. Jane Engels McQueen is one helluva teacher in this her second vocation, Yoga.  She has thousands; yes thousands of hours teaching Yoga and with a particular specialty for those with structural limitations of the back, neck and knees and makes what might seem impossible, possible.  She has a private practice in her home in Malverne where she also teaches at a facility called the Yoga Polarity Center. You can find their website here: http://www.yogapolarity.com/

Of course I dressed inappropriately because I didn’t take the time to read Jane’s memo about the event. I just assumed that it would be a seminar that I would be a taking notes on. I must have had my head up my butt in a pose that has yet to be described. In any case it was one part lecture and four parts actively participating. Jane has a way of speaking what we are thinking but don’t’ often verbalize and standing on ceremony is not in any way in her methodology. 

So what did I learn? One thing was for sure I recognized that I breathe so shallowly that it is a wonder that with all the cardio workouts I do I am not more out of breath than I am. I have experienced breathing exercises before but never took them seriously enough to actually put them into practice. After this class I have started and the rippling effects are starting to take hold right away.  I have noticed that as an avid spinner wherein I am breathless most of the ride I am starting to actually catch my breath and that in turn has made my anaerobic portions of the ride that much more powerful. I hope that makes sense and it might stand to reason that if I am taking in more oxygen via nose breathing rather than mouth breathing that a more oxygenated blood supply allows me a more powerful cardio workout.  

Yoga was always a mystery to me and now after Jane’s seminar it is starting to become de-mystified. Which is saying a lot because I felt like some of the poses were virtually impossible for me because twisting myself into a pretzel was I thought reserved for people in the circus not me. Now that Jane has given me a more relaxed version of what Yoga can mean to me I am starting to feel comfortable as to some of the huge benefits it can afford me.  

I will be on the lookout for more from this Yogi and please give a look at her center’s website you might find something for you. 

Line In the Sand

How can life be so certain and you still have no idea where you are going? And then with a twist of fate your life becomes so uncertain yet you definitely know where you are going. An interesting enigma to be sure and although the certainty of life is an illusion the direction we set our minds to is just like drawing a line in the sand.  

Indian Summer

Summer has been reprised and my thoughts turn to the beach even at this late date.  The summer went by too quickly for my taste and as my deepest tan since 1968 begins to fade I long for the warmth of the sun once more.  We have a dose of Indian summer this weekend and even though we are compelled to dress as if it was fall we for at least a day or two can don our short sleeved shirts and even our cutoffs once more and take a last dip in the rays of the sun because before long winter time will be nigh. 

Stuck on 2:30

Wouldn’t it be nice to have time stand still? Especially when we are enjoying the moment of serenity or that pink cloud that seems to fly past in the blink of an eye.  I watched such a clock this week and found it fascinating allegory to witness time passing and yet standing still. The second hand swept in its usual arc around the dial while the minute hand stood stock still freezing the time that read 2:30. A great time too 2:30 it always gives you time to finish what’s needed to be done before the bewitching 5 o’clock chime brings a halt to the business day in most circles. 

If time could stand still what would we do in the 25th hour?  Would we scurry about finishing errands that we have put off?  Would we sleep an extra hour or just luxuriate in bed with our loved one?  Would we take that time to visit the gym we have been promising ourselves since time immemorial?  How about reading, writing or maybe meditating? I would like to think that I would try listening to my heart and explaining the translation to my brain the words and emotions that I have conveniently held in abeyance for some moment in time that never seems to queue itself.  So often my grey cells get the better of good judgment and keep me asleep to a quickening pulse that is alerting me to the tasks at hand.  

What would we really do if time stood still?  Would we let the tasks that normally transpire in the 24 allotted to just take more time to do and use up the hour as if it became part of the landscape and missed the opportunities it would present us with? We can ponder this fantasy ad infinitum because of course it will never be but it might give us pause for thought of compressing some of our other blank spaces into times filled with experiences that bring us to our knees and give thanks for the other 23.  

Stuck on 2:30.  A great time for reflection about a time well spent.  

  

Variety is the Spice of Life

In the beginning there always seems to be the hope and the feeling that because someone is loved our own feelings of love will find a way to link our heart to their heart.  A compelling sexual attraction is the common thread that makes us believe in our love even though a wearing away of that dynamic can wash away the emotion of love with it. 

What is it then that keeps us in love with all the key elements: passionate sex, touch, healthy codependence, trust, our own personal freedom, loyalty, confidence, comfort, excitement, and visceral reactions that make us sigh? It takes just as many attributes to keep what we first are blessed with and still maintain the intimacy we all long for.  Some elements that might be important are never to be condescending, never withholding sex, never using words as a weapon, never expect that the other should know what we are thinking, and never do alone what being done together would bring us closer to one another. 

Having common interests although important are simply not enough to keep that blue flame from being extinguished. Nonetheless if we don’t do things together we become isolated and lethargic and the things that we found exciting become work and eventually what made us click turns out the love light and the silent but deadly storm has us seeking comfort in the arms of another. 

The archetype of marriage assumes too many unstated rules that are never clearly communicated and wind up on the cutting room floor when one partner decides to edit part of the script without consulting the other. Monogamy is the most assumed of these unspoken Cardinal Rules and when it is breached the other is ostracized and labeled depraved or a slug that needs to be squashed. Monogamy is thought of always as devotion but too often it is a way to possess another in ways that if averages don’t lie just don’t work for many. Yes it can work for some but it is becoming more and more rare that we humans can have sex with just one person. Whether that is sad or not seems not to matter because it is often true. Ducks do it but just about every other species uses sex for a host of reasons that don’t necessarily include love and devotion.

An open marriage works for some but even here the calculated risk of performing acts of biological intimacy with others requires explicit rules that must be agreed to in advance because deviance from those specifics must not be changed ad hoc lest jealousy, insecurity and fear consume the relationship emotionally.   

Is the key to maintaining longevity in love having the ability to bring in someone else into the boudoir? I asked one strange woman what did she attribute to her long success with her husband? She said: Lots of sex!  Is it that simple? It just might be because when you do it often enough it might be the practice that keeps us paying attention to our partner in ways that can make familiarity something that keeps us from being unfaithful.  Variety is the spice of life as the old cliché goes and now it might be the prime ingredient that cuts down on the divorce rate.     

The Text Message Part II

Now it is important to propose the antithetical point of view of the text message and there are at least two camps.  The first being the establishment which has now dubbed the new acronym: DWT or driving while texting. Police in some states can hand out fines of $150.00 and this new fine has served to be a great source of revenue for state coffers.  Of course this is not mentioning the severe danger that DWT presents. Even at a light when you think you have time it is not safe and if caught you will receive the same fine. It is a compulsion that we must resist and yours truly is a major offender. The statistics in my age category find that only 2% of guys like me text while driving. And insurance companies will look at your text time stamps and compare it to when an accident occurs. 

The second opposing view is that the text message can lead to disjointed confabs, misunderstanding of what is said and more importantly how it is interpreted. We can easily add emotions to words that the texter never intended and arguments and hurt feelings can ensue.  These are but two and I am sure there are more opposing views to the text message but you get the idea. Part III is up next and you might be surprised what I have uncovered here.