the girl with the dragon tattoo

 i keep reading the words "gratuitous violence" in connection to this book and the two that followed.  it is a brutal and disturbing theme and it is certainly violent.  but i am perplexed.  is the argument that Larsson could have implied violence and made his point?  is the violence he describes too real or too graphic?  is it gratuitous because people find it unbelievable?  is it because a woman rapes a man?

I think I like this

But I do wonder if "churches" without "god" will have the same sort of
political and evangelical motivation.

Blue Hawaii

With two random peeps obstructing the view.

grrrrr

driving in this city is making me nuts.  i am starting a new blog  and on that blog i am going to post the license plate numbers and possibly photos of every bad drive i come across in a day.  actually maybe not every one.  that would require that i quit my job in order to blog.  but a lot of them. check it out here.

high heel drag race

Only in dupont!

The Sunny Side of Swine Flu

Rachel's Goma Web Log: The Sunny Side of Swine Flu

the swine flu really sucked. but it is true we hung out and wore fantastic designer swine flu masks.  i will miss you. Rwanda and Ethiopia are only 1000-1500 for flights!!

Navy vs Wake flyover

A recruiter's dream.

This may be more addicting the second time around

My first blog was in 2005. The little "archive" on the side bar tells
me posted 142 times that year. The next year slipped to 34 and
progressivly less each year since. I clearly loved it that first year
but it got hard to make time. I just learned that I can post via text
and email on my iPhone. This is fantastic. 2010 if not 2009 will be
a 150 post year.

Sent from my iPhone

fight or flight

so our bodies naturally go into fight/flight when there is danger or high stress. i recently heard that some of us actually live in a constant state of fight/flight and that we have physiological reactions because of this. for example, we stop using our full lung capacity to breath. as infants we breath deeply into our bellies and exhale fully using much more lung capacity. once we begin to experience the stress of life and fight/flight kicks in we eventually stop breathing fully and only use the top portion of our lungs. as we get older this becomes normal and we don't even remember how to do the full belly breathing. as a result toxins can sit in the bottom of our lungs because they are never worked.

what are the mental effects of being locked in fight/flight? if you spend your youth in a negative home environment or being bullied your physical and mental state must adapt to protect you. how do you break free? I can teach myself the deep belly breathing and release the toxins from my lungs. but how do i teach myself to get out of my own head? how do you release the toxins of your past?

overheard in a coffee shop

blond girl: i was thinking about those students. you know the ones from that really peaceful place in asia.

guy who wants to sleep with her: oh yeah? i am not sure which one you mean.

girl: thailand? no maybe cambodia? hmmm. i can't think of it.

guy: what is there?

girl: really peaceful people and they like use rocks for chalkboards.

guy: maybe you will think of it soon.

girl: yeah. i just can't remember. maybe indonesia? or china? i mean i think the dali lama or some guy who is peaceful is there... TIBET!! it must be Tibet. You know and they are super poor and love peace but the Chinese hate them.

guy: oh yes. Tibet.

girl: i was thinking about them and their rock chalkboards and then i was thinking about anna in her dorm room. what a difference it is for them when anna is always like "oh my god i wonder what i am going to wear tonight."

guy: yes, what a difference.

girl: i mean can you imagine like she went to private school and had all this help to get into private college and all i can think is they like had rocks for chalkboards.

guy: yes very interesting

the joys of urban living

today i was a casualty of police pepper spray (i was not the intended target i just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time). of the many joys of urban living, this one comes highly recommended. not only does pepper spray burn like crazy, it also makes you feel blind for about 30 seconds and activates all the mucousy parts of your face. what this means is that while you are attempting to rip your eyes out, your skin is burning, snot and tears are pouring out of your eyes and nose and you are damn near hyperventilating because you don't know how to make it stop. and in my case it is all happening on the metro platform where being blind is a major disadvantage.

luckily i had a water bottle and i dumped water all over my face, not really cause i thought the burning would stop but because i had more snot on my face than a pre-school has on its walls. it was horrible. my eyes were red for about 45 minutes and they burned for about 4 hours. now i only have a headache. but boy am i excited for my next metro ride.

Last House on the Left

I was just visually assaulted by a preview for a movie titled Last House on the Left. The preview was so horrifying that I went straight to the internet and looked it up. I read all about the 1972 version and how the 2009 version is a remake. I am struggling to understand why this movie was made once let alone twice!!

i went to the astrologer....

and he told me my future. he also told me my past. the weird part was he didn't speak english and asked me no questions before he started. so based on my birthday, my palm, and my tarot reading he pretty much told me everything i had ever suspected and a couple things that shocked me about myself. for 20$ i would do it again. as an added bonus the guy happened to work at the "reclining buddah" temple so i saw that too.

is it bad that i want to go just so i can make fun?

i was going to write a mean spirited post that pretty much bashed anyone who actually believes that "most dinosaurs were reasonably small-the size of a sheep or a pony" and could therefore ALL fit on the ark. then i realized i don't really need to to bash these people. the pictures make it pretty clear they are crazy.

conservative is relative

i brought the black one piece. i will be wearing the "ladies swimming costume". i guess it could be worse. I could be wearing the Burqini.

more tid bits

~ the donkey left. now there are two dogs and a goat. i think the chickens were eaten

~ butter here is really tasty but the tea is lipton which i don't understand

~ bananas are the size of a tall shot glass but very yummy

random bits of info

~ today i had the best thai chicken soup. it seemed weird cause this isn't thailand

~ there is a donkey outside my window. two houses over there are chickens on the roof

~ five calls to prayer a day but the only ones i ever hear happen to be at midnight and 5 am

Help cure breast cancer

This year, I'll be participating in a very special event, the Breast Cancer 3-Day.

I'll walk 60 miles over three days with thousands of others. The net proceeds will support breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment through Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund.

I've agreed to raise at least $2,200 in donations. So I need your help. Would you please consider making a donation? You can give online at www.The3Day.org. Just follow the link below to visit my personal fundraising webpage and make a donation. You can also call 800.996.3DAY to donate over the phone.

According to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, approximately 200,000 American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, and nearly 40,000 will die from the disease. Breast cancer can hit at any age. My mother and my closest friend are survivors of breast cancer. That's why I'm walking 60 miles. To do something bold about breast cancer. To walk for a cure. I hope that you'll share this incredible adventure with me - by supporting me in my fundraising efforts.

Thank you in advance for your generosity!


P.S. Ask your employer if they will double your donation through a matching gift program!

Click here to visit my personal page. Or click the title of this post.

my celebrity look alikes

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Help me pick a boot!! Leave a comment on the one you like.