Heaven Help Me

I'm no angel, but I've spread my wings a bit.  ~ Mae West

Heaven gets a lot of press. As well it should and most of the time, heaven is portrayed as a place of good. Harps and clouds and happy thoughts. But maybe there's just a little bit more to heaven. Something sinister.  That’s right, I said it. Sin.is.ter.

You’ve heard it. Hell (ha), you may have even said it. I know I’ve said it at least once. But I never really stopped to think about the implications of it. Sure, it’s innocent enough, meant to comfort. You know what I mean, about how your loved ones are looking down on you. Making sure, you’re “safe”, watching over you. Whatever that means.

Am I the only person in the world that gets the wiggins from that? Can you imagine toiling on this Earth. Being good. Living a moral life only to get to heaven and have to spend all your time looking back here! Checking up on everyone to make sure they stay out of trouble. I don't know about you, but man I will be one pissed off lady if that’s what my eternity is reduced to.

Can you imagine an eternity of watching the unfolding of boring lives when the entire universe lies at your feet? The people you can meet. Ghandi, Jesus, the grandfather that squandered the family fortune! I know a few people that have been waiting to meet that son-of-a-biscuit-eater. Besides, it's not as if you can affect anything directly. Right? Cause if you can, and my dead relatives haven't, I am going to open up a giant can of whoop-ass when I get up there, especially on Dad! Hear that Jimbo? You are going to be one sorry dude when I get there.

How do I know that I’ll be meeting all these awesome people in heaven? How do I know there not in that other place? Well, I have my thoughts on who belongs there and, well, since this is my blog I’m going to share them with you. Hell, in my estimation, is reserved for the truly evil and heinous. Nicolae Ceaușescu, Ted Bundy, Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden. War criminals. You know like Dick Cheney-level evil.

All kidding aside, I do want there to be an afterlife. Honestly, I want there to be more than one. I’d hate to think that this is all we get. This short time. This taste of the extraordinary. This struggle and turmoil. This uncertainty. I know one thing. Heaven better be spectacular. Wild horses, dancing til dawn spectacular. Full-on rave spectacular. Fall in love with your soul mate spectacular.

Hey, Saint Pete! Are you paying attention? I’ll be up there sooner or later and I expect a room with a view. One that faces away from Earth. K. Thanks!

How the hell do they do it?

Click on the picture to make it bigger. This will blow your mind!

Copy and Paste

OK, folks I have a bee in my bonnet this morning and I’m not going to be able to move along until I get this little rant out of my system.

Facebook is awesome. The internet is awesome. It is also forever. By that I mean, once it’s out there, even for a second, there’s a digital record of it somewhere. Screen grabs, caches, ether. Like the stone thrown or the word spoken, it’s irretrievable.

Do me a favor.

Hell, do yourself and your friends a favor. 

Before you copy and paste anything, Google it. Seriously, it takes like 2 seconds. Try to verify it. A little fact-checking never hurt anyone.

The little kid with cancer – fake.

Facebook starting to charge a fee – fake.

Pepsi and the pledge – fake.

There are the posts that read like a fundamentalist wish list; or the one where we make prison conditions worse because private nursing home facilities care more about profit than they do patients. Oh, let’s not forget the one where we should be following the lead of Afghanistan and North Korea to inform our decisions (that one already inspired a rant).

Read, really read, like with critical reading skills and ask yourself a couple of questions. The first being, “Does this even make sense?” Follow-up with, “Do I agree with this statement in it’s entirety?” Maybe you can even ask yourself, “Do I want this to be associated with my name?”

I’ve recommended items that I don’t necessarily agree with but I agree that they need to be seen and debated. I’m not talking about differing opinions or opposing politics. I’m talking about things that are factually incorrect or contain false equivalences or outright lies.

Everything – and I mean everything – you post becomes part of your digital DNA. Once you post it, you have effectively co-signed it. Not a part of it, not the spirit of it.

It.

All of it.

In it’s entirety.

Wretched Refuse

"...Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" ~ Emma Lazarus

I'm appalled at what passes for immigration discussion in this country. Illegal Immigration is a chronic and systemic problem that cannot and will not be solved simply by building a goddamn fence across the border and deporting people we pick up in random traffic stops.

I'm about to share with you a report produced by Oxfam America that, in my opinion, should make each and everyone of us sick. Sick to our collective soul.

It's not a short document but one that should be required reading.  Click here to go to Oxfam America's website. Click on the "A State of Fear" link to read the report.

What Your Personal Trainer Really Thinks

Guest blogger Kat Barrett NSCA-CPT tells us how it really is... 

When people find out what I do, the first thing they always ask me is, "What's the best way to lose weight/gain muscle/make my arms bigger/run faster/lose my belly/perk up my arms, boobs, butt?" This question is shortly followed by, "This is what I'm doing now. Do you think it will work?" What they're really asking for is not my advice. They're asking for "the magic bullet." A secret nugget of information that will gain instant results with minimum work. I'm here to tell you that doesn't exist. That's right, folks. There is no magic bullet. I'm sorry.

No guts? No glory? Yup, pretty much. Results do not happen instantly, and that is the number one reason why workout plans fail. People expect to do one round of the latest fad workout, and wake up with a body like Cindy Crawford or Matthew McConaughey the very next day.  It doesn't work like that. The best "exercise guru" advice that will undoubtedly achieve the results you seek are:

1. Hard work
2. Commitment
3. Discipline
4. Common sense

Okay, okay, I know what you're thinking, "You get paid $100 an hour just to tell me that?!?!?! Are you kidding me?!?!?" Well, no, of course not. I have spent years with my nose buried in exercise science books and sports medicine journals, paired with countless hours in training facilities applying that science to athletes and clients. I get paid for that. But in all seriousness, all of my knowledge and experience will do diddly squat if you don't have those 4 crucial elements when starting an exercise program.

It's actually a very simple concept. Consider it this way. Your child has decided they want to become a classical violinist and would like to play as a soloist at Carnegie Hall some day. Great. Fabulous. You run out and buy the little tyke the best Italian violin your money can buy, and hire the best violin teacher in town for your would-be virtuoso. For the first week, mini-YoYo-Ma can't put the violin down. By week 2, they are looking forward to their lesson but they aren't playing 8 hours a day anymore because by the end of last week's squeak-fest, their fingers became blistered and bloody. Week 3 rolls around and you begin to notice the Xbox is receiving more playing time than the violin. By the time you hit week 4, you have to duct tape the violin to the kid's hand to get him/her to touch, let alone PRACTICE the instrument. After some stomping, some tears, and a few whines, your child tells you, "This is a lot of work and it's too hard and it's no fun and I'm not any good! I QUIT!" An awkward phone call is made to the violin teacher, and the dream of Carnegie Hall is placed in the attic to be sold at a later date on Ebay.

Okay, that was a slight dramatization, but I can pretty much compare this to 80% of the people I've ever met that have joined a gym and/or hired a trainer, and failed to meet their goals.

So here is my honest advice on these 4 points for anyone looking to start working out and reach a set of goals.

1. Hard Work - Face it and stop lying to yourself. Exercise can really suck. You sweat. You breathe hard. You ache afterwards. The old school of thought is that if none of those things are happening, you're not doing it right. Unfortunately, that's true, but it's really not as sado/masochistic as it sounds! You need to stimulate your body beyond its current state of comfort and ability to yield a result. Hey, I don't make the rules of exercise science. I just reinforce them.

2. Commitment - "No! Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try." ―Yoda. Sage advice from a Jim Henson Muppet. Most people say they will try to workout X number of times a week, but there's always an excuse as to why it doesn't happen. The dog had a stomach ache. Your favorite NCIS repeat was on. Whatever. Listen to Yoda! Don't try to workout. Workout!

3. Discipline - This could also fall under the realm of commitment, but I'm speaking in terms of other lifestyle choices here. If you make the commitment to start working out to change your body and your health, you must adapt the rest of your lifestyle, as well. Lifestyle choices greatly impact exercise results. Dietary habits, alcohol consumption, and lack of sleep are the main culprits in this area. Power walking for 30 minutes does not give you permission to eat a double stack cheeseburger with french fries, drink a case of beer, and stay up all night. You know what you should be doing. It's just a matter of making the smarter choice for yourself. Which leads me into the last point.

4. Common Sense - Again, it's a simple concept of choosing cheesy french fries or a baked potato and salsa. It also is as simple as, "If it hurts, don't do it." I'm not talking about feeling the burn from muscle fatigue. I'm talking about real, genuine pain from a sprained ankle. And lastly, don't over do it! Trainers love when we get new clients that come to us with fresh enthusiasm and drive, but we don't love it when that drive sends them to excessively workout in the first week to the point where they are 1) too sore to blow their noses and 2) so miserable from being sore, they never want to workout again. Ease into it! Working out for a physical goal is a journey that takes time. I can't stress enough, it doesn't happen overnight!

So there you have it. The secrets to washboard abs, bikini-ready buns, and bulging biceps are NOT found in top secret exercise moves. The secret to running a faster mile or losing that extra 5 pounds is not found in the brand or color of shoes on your feet. Train your brain! What you really need to get yourself where you want to be is found in between your ears.

Kat and her fabulous advice can be found on facebook at: Kat Barrett Fitness

America - Union Made

Growing up, there were few things more important to Dad than solidarity with his union brothers and sisters. If there was a strike on, we participated. Didn't matter who; didn't matter where. Migrant farmers, teachers, nurses, teamsters. The union is a brotherhood. A family. It was unity. And it mattered. A lot.

The union was Dad's religion. He believed in it's power and it's purpose. He understood that without them, the poor had no chance. No hope. No future. He would be absolutely livid at what's happening in this country. Honestly, I'm surprised he hasn't come up out of the grave and started knocking some heads together. He was that committed to the cause.

I'm disgusted at how much hate and vitriol has been thrown on unions and unionized employees starting with the two favorite targets: lazy municipal workers and lazy teachers. Do they exist. Yes. Are they the majority. Not even close. Unions are comprised of people. All kinds of people. Some of them lazy. Most, however, are hard working, conscientious people trying to make a living.

 

The Verizon strike isn't about health care or sick time or how many vacation days an employee gets. This is the final battle in the war against the middle class. A war on us. Our families. Our way of life. Our future.

If Verizon breaks their union, how long before your employer decides that you get too many holidays? How long until your employer decides that they won't contribute a dime to your health insurance? How long until your employer decides that you can do the work of two people?

 

We, the workers built this country and it's greatest companies. Without us, they have nothing. There's no industry. There's no wealth. There's nothing.

Unions set the standard. 

Unions matter.

Unions built the middle class and made it strong. Right now, the unions need the middle class to return the favor.

Right to Repair

I’m turning my blog over to Leslie A. Natale so she can explain the Right to Repair bill.

My husband and I own a small repair shop in Brockton, Massachusetts. Right to Repair is the name of legislation that protects the rights of car owners to decide where and how they have their vehicles serviced, whether at a new car dealer or an independent service facility. It also ensures that you and not the car company can decide where that vehicle is repaired and maintained. 

The Right to Repair bill is designed so that automakers do not have to divulge proprietary information. The Right to Repair will require the automaker’s to make available to the independent shop the key codes for diagnosing problems. By not allowing access to this information, the automakers force you, the consumer, to go to a dealer when you need to repair your car. That makes it more expensive for you.

Independent repair shops are small businessmen and women, mom and pop outfits, that can’t compete in an environment where they are deprived basic, necessary information relevant to their business. These shops are run by skilled mechanics that are able to work on any vehicle in the world.

Small business is the key to economic recovery. There are over 5 million firms in this country that employ people and almost 80% of them employ fewer than 10 employees.

We are job creators and we’re putting America back to work but we need your help. Please support the “Right to Repair” legislation by clicking on this link and adding your name to the petition.

America’s only as strong as her middle class. 

Thanks to Leslie for bringing this to my attention. Leslie and her husband own Quality Collision in Brockton, MA. Check out their Facebook page! Make sure you click the LIKE button for special offers!

Learn more about the Right to Repair and sign the petition!