I’ve been following the swine flu scare quite closely, having long been interested in infectious diseases that have spread widely, causing the great pandemics of history. One of the reasons I went back to grad school recently to study biology was because of my concern over the devastation wrought by HIV-AIDS. I wanted to know…
Hillary and Bill Clinton gave great speeches at the DNC — rousing, intelligent, persuasive, and most of all, generous. They were both more gracious to the Obama campaign than I could have been….but fortunately I’m not in the business of politics. Usually, I’m not particularly interested in politics or politicians, almost all of whom I…
Joe Biden? Ok, he’s a nice guy, and experienced, but… Biden the plagiarist? Biden, whose own attempts to win the nomination have been greeted with yawns from the voters in the past? Biden, the Clarence Thomas enabler from the Anita Hill hearings? Way to go, Barack — is this seriously going to get you the…
Oops, today is the big one. My 40th birthday was all about celebration (a trip to Bermuda). My 50th was fun, too, if a little more downbeat because 50 sounded a bit daunting. Now, as time seems to move faster (is there a law of relativity that applies?) with every decade, I have hit the…
As a lover of the country of Turkey, I’ve been following the recent tug of war between the secular forces and the elected parliamentary leaders of the AKP (Ak Partesi), which includes members who are observant Muslims. Both Prime Minister Erdogan and President Gul are AKP members, although Gul’s prospective presidency nearly caused a military…
Overheard in Guild Wars: (an online MMO) General Chat: Obama the Healer: Monk looking for group for mission. Team chat: Hillary the Warrior: Cool, there’s a healer LFG. Add him. We need a healer for this dungeon. Team chat: CampaignMan: He looks like a noob. No elite armor. Prolly never done the mission before. General…
Like many women of a certain age (i.e., menopausal), I have experienced the insidious outward creep of my waistline. It’s been awhile since I was last able to fit into my “skinny jeans,” as the girls from Sex and the City named those pants you can’t bear to throw away. But, to my own honest…
Every time I start meditating again, I wonder why I ever stopped. Over the years, meditation has proved to be the best strategy I’ve ever found for reducing stress and anxiety. Not only is it very relaxing, but meditation seems to ramp up my creativity as well. I have had some truly visionary experiences while…