Shoes, Ships, and Sealing Wax

I didn't forget the super foods

I've been busy with crap at work (bad) and playing with my new toy (a 3.4 GHz Pentium 4 with a gig of RAM and a 250 GB hard drive just begging to be filled up with digital pictures of waterfowl...good). I haven't forgotten the super food project, though. In fact, I picked up a copy of SuperFoods Rx, the book by ophthalmologist Steven Pratt that I think coined the "super food" phrase.

(I thought the fact that Pratt is an ophthalmologist was a little funny at first, but he actually makes the point that some effects of poor diet show up in the skin and eyes before somebody ends up with cancer or having a stroke.)

Anyway...good book. I saw several of the studies I was finding doing my literature searches cited, which made me feel good about my ability to navigate the National Library of Medicine. It was scholarly and scientific enough to convince me that the advice is sound, but it was also quite accessible. This is one (along with Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy and Nutrition for Women) that I'll lend to people who aren't as geeky as I, like my mom or my grandma.

Anyway, since Dr. Pratt wrote a perfectly good book, I'll not bother with full summaries of the rest of the foods...if you are dying to read about them and can't find a copy at the libray, e-mail me and I'll send you mine. But I will finish the list (from the SuperFoods Rx web page; with a few edits of my own)

• Beans – lower cholesterol, combat heat disease, stabilize blood sugar, reduce obesity, relieve hypertension and lessen the risk of cancer.
• Broccoli – boosts the immune system, lowers the incidence of cataracts, supports cardiovascular health, builds bones and fights birth defects.
• Oats – lower cholesterol, reduce the risk of coronary heart disease & Type II diabetes, high in fiber and protein.
• Oranges – support heart health and prevent cancer, stroke, diabetes and a host of chronic ailments.
• Pumpkin – helps lower the risk of various cancers (lung, colon, bladder, cervical, skin, and breast) and supplies nutrients necessary for healthy, youthful skin.
• Wild Salmon - lowers the risk of heart disease and cancer.
• Soy – helps prevent cardiovascular disease, cancer, and osteoporosis, and helps relieve menopausal and menstrual symptoms.
• Spinach – decreases the chance of cardiovascular diseases, a host of cancers, age-related macular degeneration and cataracts.
• Tomatoes – lower the likelihood of cancer, raise the skin’s sun protection factor and seem to play a role in preventing cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.
• Turkey – a healthy protein source, extremely low in fat, and provides multiple nutrients which help build a strong immune system.
• Walnuts – reduce the risk of developing coronary heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
• Yogurt – promotes strong bones and a healthy heart, another health promoting protein source, a great source of calcium, probiotics promote GI health.

And I already covered tea and blueberries.

Really, the bottom line of the recommendations in SuperFoods Rx isn't that different from most of the other nutrition books I've read, or from the new USDA guidelines. The only reason I keep reading this stuff is that every few months, when I'm sick of cooking and backsliding into carryout, I need a kick in the pants.

But I'm not drinking that nasty tea.

Hockey news

No, not that. I'm trying to keep in mind that hockey does not necessarily mean the NHL.

So here's a hockey story that has nothing to do with owners and unions:

Woman Plays In Men's Pro Hockey Game

Angela Ruggiero would be happy to put off her preparation for the next Olympics for another shot at playing in a men's professional hockey match.

The two-time Olympian became the first woman to make more than a token appearance at a position other than goalie in a U.S. men's professional hockey game, playing defense and getting an assist Friday night for the Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League.

Oh yeah:

Seconds after being checked on her third shift of the night, Ruggiero responded by slamming a Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees player into the boards.

I never thought I'd be saying this, but I wish I was in Tulsa so I could see some hockey.

I stumped the IRS

I was working on my taxes yesterday. I don't mind doing my taxes...people think this is kind of sick, but I sort of enjoy reading through the publications to figure out how to apply the rules to various situations.

Besides, some of the stuff is just funny. Like, reading Publication 525 (Taxable and Nontaxable Income), I learned:

If you receive a bribe, include it in your income.

and

Illegal income, such as money from dealing illegal drugs, must be included in your income on Form 1040, line 21, or on Schedule C or Schedule C-EZ (Form 1040) if from your self-employment activity.

likewise

You must include kickbacks, side commissions, push money, or similar payments you receive in your income on Form 1040, line 21, or on Schedule C or Schedule C-EZ (Form 1040) if from your self-employment activity.

and

If you steal property, you must report its fair market value in your income in the year you steal it unless in the same year, you return it to its rightful owner.

But you know what I couldn't figure out? I couldn't figure out how, or if, money I get from Victor should be reported. See, I own the house, make the mortgage payments (and therefore deduct the interest on my taxes) and pay the utilities. Every month he gives me money that we've been calling rent, although we don't have a formal rental agreement, and I've been reporting it as other income from a not-for-profit rental. But in browsing Pub. 525 yesterday, I noticed that reimbursement for expenses from riders in a car pool is not considered to be income. Seems like reimbursement for household expenses is analogous, and I was wondering if I've been paying taxes I don't need to.

I searched the IRS web page for over an hour. I was thinking...our situation is hardly unique, but I couldn't find anything regarding unmarried cohabitating couples or roommates sharing expenses. So I called the 800 number, and talked to two very friendly IRS people who ultimately gave up on trying to interpret the situation.

It was funny, really. Neither IRS person actually came out and said "You are a sap, if you hadn't told us, we'd never have known you were getting this money," but they both suggested that most people wouldn't have thought to consider it income. But since I asked, now somebody higher up that the Saturday phone bank people will be giving me a ruling some time next week.

Wanna bet on what they'll decide? (Keeping in mind that gambling winnings are also income that need to be reported on Line 21 of your 1040, although you can dedut your gambling losses from the amount of the winnings if you itemize...)

Today's good thing

Today at work we had a small lunch party. The occasion: a co-worker gets to stop taking tamoxifen, the drug she's been on for the five years following her breast cancer treatment.

We asked the waitress to make a big deal when they brought her dessert. Something got lost in translation, and the staff came out singing the birthday song. And we realized that it wasn't completely inappropriate.

I'm doing a poor job of telling the story, but it was a good lunch, a really happy lunch. We all ended up a little teary when the guest of honor talked about how much our support meant to her. I was thinking...by the time I met her she was already a year beyond chemo; I didn't know until the next summer's Race for the Cure that she was a survivor. I can't take any supporter credit...but I realized that she's still wearing the LiveStrong bracelet I gave her last July. Little gesture here, acknowledgement there, next thing you know, you made a difference.

Just like her hug and thanks today made a difference to me.

I have shoes.

When my niece was learning to talk, she often came out with those short declarative sentences that really made no sense in the context of what was going on. One evening in the car, she said to Victor "I have shoes."

He answered "I have feet."

Now she's in first grade and has no recollection of that "conversation." And she really doesn't understand why Victor occasionally asks her "Do you have shoes?"

I'm pretty sure little kids think adults are idiots.

Whattya know

Blue cheese can get moldy.

(Moldier?)

Bring it on, Mother Nature

We are supposed to get snow today.* I'm ready. I have soup ingredients for the Crock Pot, I have books and magazines, I have epic DVDs. I have a new hard drive to install. I have taxes to do.

Actually, I don't think the 4-8 inches and 24 hours inside is going to be long enough. I need a blizzard and a week stuck at home.**

*Yeah, yeah. I don't want to hear from Chicagoians and North Dakotaians and Saskatchewanians about how we can't deal with snow in Washington. Sure we can...we stay inside until it's gone. I maintain that it's the snow culture clash between northerners and southerners that causes the snow problems here in the middle of the mid-Atlantic.

**I'm just kidding about the blizzard thing, Mother Nature!

If it makes you happy

I'm just finally getting around to reading last week's Time. (At some point I surpassed a day late and a dollar short, and now I'm more than a week behind...)

Anyway, it was a particularly good cover story on the "Science of Happiness." One article in particular, The Biology of Joy, does a really good job of what I talked about a few days ago: presenting scientific information in a way that's very interesting and accessible to the lay reader without dumbing it down.

One of the interesting studies reported in the article:

In a series of studies begun in 1998, psychologist Robert Emmons of the University of California at Davis has found further evidence that happy people are better at health maintenance. Emmons randomly assigned 1,000 adults to one of three groups. The first group kept daily journals of their moods and rated them on a scale of 1 to 6. The second group did that and listed the things that annoyed or hassled them throughout their day. The third group kept a journal but added an activity that has repeatedly been shown to improve one's sense of satisfaction with life: they were asked to write down every day all the things for which they were grateful.

Despite being assigned randomly, the last group not only had the predicted jump in their overall feelings of happiness, says Emmons, but were also found to spend more time exercising, be more likely to have regular medical checkups and routinely take preventive health actions like wearing sunscreen. Overall, the "gratitude" group were promoting better health. "They rate themselves as more energetic, more enthusiastic, more alert," Emmons reports. In short, keeping the diaries contributed to their physical and emotional well-being.

I've been making a concerted (if very uneven) effort to be more positive over the last few years. I'm not sure if it's because I'm fighting my natural inclinations, or because I live in a culture where stress, pressure, and cynicism are honored, but it isn't easy. So I'm thinking that the "write down things for which you are grateful" idea might be a good exercise.

My first thought after that thought was "Cool, an excuse to go to the office supply store for a new notebook!" (I love office supplies. I used to be ashamed to admit this fetish, but I've found so many others who share it.) Then I realized...I'm already blogging pretty much daily. I could add it to my blog. It might offset some of the bitching and whining, for that matter.

So I figured I might as well start now, with things I'm grateful for today:

Arriving home to find my neighbor shoveling my sidewalk.

A perfectly ripe avocado.

People driving sanely and safely in the snow.

Computers. This one sounds goofy...but I'm starting to shop for a new PC, because the 20 gig hard drive on this one is full, and the processor is a bit sluggish, and I can't upgrade the memory any further. And I was thinking...wow, when I bought my first PC, it had a 20 MB hard drive that I was sure I'd never fill. And really...the technology is just magic to me, and it's there, better all the time, just waiting for me to call an 800 number. That's really pretty damn cool. And it allows me to start my gratitude list without going to the office supply store...oh, wait.

I love this data!

Effects of Moderate Alcohol Consumption on Cognitive Function in Women

...to be published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine, and concluding:

Our data suggest that in women, up to one drink per day does not impair cognitive function and may actually decrease the risk of cognitive decline.

Es schneit

I took German from junior high through college. I was never a good speaker...my accents is terrible...but for awhile I could do a pretty good job of reading, say, a newspaper. That ability is long gone (use it or lose it, I guess) and all that remains is the basic vocabulary and the childish phrases we repeated over and over in seventh grade. Every class that first semester we went through a sing-song list: the day of the week, what the next day would be, the weather.

Heute ist Mittwoch. Morgen ist Donnerstag. Es schneit.

Es schneit means "It is snowing."

I like that one, because when you say it out loud, it kinda sounds like a curse.

And now that I'm not in seventh grade, it is.

Not exactly a super food

Woman Eats Six-Pound Hamburger

There was a time when I'd have said "Yes, I do want fries with that!"

Now, I just shudder...

Those Lock Monsters have our number...

From Saturday night, I own Kin a logo:

Today we lost to Manchester, who luckily for me aren't represented in the Jamboree. The boys are not exactly burning up the Atlantic conference...sigh.

Static

This is a test.

Blueberries

When I was a kid, I wouldn't eat vegetables. My concerned mother asked the pediatrician what to do; he, unconcerned, told her to give me a multivitamin. That's what we learned about food then too...it was how you got your vitamins and minerals. (And carbohydrates made you fat. I laugh about that as a current [if fading now] fad, because I remember my mom using bread with slices as thin as paper when she was on diets in the '70's.)

I've come to terms with the fact that things I learned in school are no longer true, or at least not the whole truth.

Current research indicates that there's more to an orange than vitamin C, and that chewable cartoon characters probably aren't a reliable substitute for a good salad. Phytonutrients or phytochemicals in plants supply significant benefits. (The USDA has a good phytonutrient FAQ; I was going to write something, but why reinvent the wheel?)

So for this super food thing...what makes these foods super, as opposed to just healthy, is that they are particularly good sources of a compound or compounds that appear to have some specific benefits. From what I'm reading, this makes quite a bit of sense.

Take blueberries. They've been hailed as nutritional wonders for several years; I have a pamphlet from the North Carolina Blueberry Council (picked up at a highway rest stop in 2002) that says "This colorful treat deserves a blue ribbon for nutrition." But I prefer my nutritional information from more scientifically-based sources. The evidence suggests (and I'm being lazy today and working from a database I get through work, so I'm not citing a bunch of actual papers) that blueberries:

-prevent eye disease (macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy) and varicose veins.
-are possibily effective for treating hemorrhoids and reducing platelet aggregation.
-have animal or in vitro data supporting their use as an anti-inflammatory, in cancer, and to lower cholesterol.

Blueberries may also help keep you sharp as you get old, particularly if you are a rat. (I saw this in several studies, but just as an example: Reversals of Age-Related Declines in Neuronal Signal Transduction, Cognitive, and Motor Behavioral Deficits with Blueberry, Spinach, or Strawberry Dietary Supplementation).

Funny thing about keeping rats, you really can observe the changes as they age, because in a 2-3 year lifespan, it happens pretty fast. (One of the reasons they make good lab models, actually.) And I want these guys moving and thinking as long as possible. So...

...they get their blueberries.

Almost like work

Actually researching posts, like I need to do for super food, takes a lot more time than just typing whatever happens to come to mind when I sit down at the computer. And while I really do enjoy the research, after spending the day at a computer researching, well, I just couldn't do it again for several more hours once I got home.

Speaking of whatever comes to mind: I thought of a reason to have kids. If you have kids, when you realize too late that there's not a spare roll of toilet paper, you can holler for them to bring one. And even better, you can blame them for not putting a new package of toilet paper in the bathroom when they started the last roll. Yep, have kids, and there's always someone to blame besides yourself.

Still, even though they won't accept blame or fetch toilet paper, I'd rather have rats.

Since I don't have a real entry, I'll do another in the series of rat face close ups:

Tea time

(I originally started with a disclaimer, but it got long, so I stuck it in the extended entry below.)

The first super food I'm looking at is actually a drink: tea.

(I can't stand tea. I wish I liked it. I like the ritual, the little pots, dunking the tea bags...but yuck. And I found out Down South that anyone who doesn't like "cold ice tea" is regarded with great suspicion.)

Tea is made from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant; steamed leaves are used for green tea and the leaves that are oxidized are black tea. I've seen it called the most widely used beverage in the world (although I suspect water ranks higher), and one of the things that has caught the interest of researchers is that areas of the world with high green tea consumption (like China and Japan) have lower rates of cancer than are seen in the west.

This brings us to some epidemiologic studies. For example (and I pulled these from a PubMed search):

Green tea consumption enhances survival of epithelial ovarian cancer.

Our study investigates whether tea consumption can enhance the survival of patients with epithelial ovarian cancer, a prospective cohort study was conducted in Hangzhou, China. ...

We conclude that increasing the consumption of green tea post-diagnosis may enhance epithelial ovarian cancer survival.

Zhang M, Lee AH, Binns CW, Xie X. (2004)

and from 1997:

Green tea consumption and the risk of pancreatic and colorectal cancers.

An inverse association with each cancer was observed with increasing amount of green tea consumption, with the strongest trends for rectal and pancreatic cancers. For men, compared with non-regular tea drinkers, ORs among those in the highest tea consumption category (> or = 300 g/month) were 0.82 for colon cancer, 0.72 for rectal cancer and 0.63 for pancreatic cancer, with p values for trend being 0.38, 0.04 and 0.04, respectively. For women, the respective ORs for the highest consumption category (> or = 200 g/month) were 0.67, 0.57 and 0.53, with the respective p values for trend being 0.07, 0.001 and 0.008. Our findings provide further evidence that green tea drinking may lower the risk of colorectal and pancreatic cancers.

Ji BT, Chow WH, Hsing AW, McLaughlin JK, Dai Q, Gao YT, Blot WJ, Fraumeni JF Jr.

and

Tea consumption and the reduced risk of colon cancer -- results from a national prospective cohort study.

This study examines the relationship between tea consumption and colon cancer risk in the US population. ...

This study suggests an inverse association between colon cancer risk and habitual tea consumption.

Su LJ, Arab L. (2002)

But you can also find

Tea consumption and risk of bladder and kidney cancers in a population-based case-control study.

This study offers only minimal support for an inverse association between tea consumption and bladder or kidney cancer risk.

Bianchi GD, Cerhan JR, Parker AS, Putnam SD, See WA, Lynch CF, Cantor KP. (2000)

and

Consumption of black tea and cancer risk: a prospective cohort study.

This investigation does not support the hypothesis that consumption of black tea protects against four of the major cancers in humans; a cancer-enhancing effect was not evident, either.

Goldbohm RA, Hertog MG, Brants HA, van Poppel G, van den Brandt PA. (1996)

So there you have it: tea may protect against cancer. Or not.

I work with chemists, so I know there's more to tea than tea. For example, there's this polyphenol in tea, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (called EGCG for short), that has been examined on its own, away from the "How many cups of tea did you drink a day when you were smoking cigarettes after you'd been diagnosed with cancer?" studies. Looking at people is great, but how about what goes on in vitro?

Treatment of epigallocatechin-3-gallate inhibits matrix metalloproteinases-2 and -9 via inhibition of activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases, c-jun and NF-kappaB in human prostate carcinoma DU-145 cells

The inhibition of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in DU145 cells by EGCG is mediated via inhibition of phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and p38 pathways, and inhibition of activation of transcription factors c-jun and NF-kappaB. EGCG may play a role in prevention of invasive metastatic processes of both androgen-dependent and -independent prostate carcinoma.

Vayalil PK, Katiyar SK (2004)

Okay, I'm not going to pretend that I actually know what that means. Here's my extemely basic version of the gist of it and similar studies:

You take cancer cells and stick them on a petri dish where they keep growing. If you add this chemical, EGCG, the cells stop growing. Ergo...maybe having lots of EGCG in your body stops cancer cells from getting out of hand and that's why people who drink lots of tea don't die of cancer.

(In between the studies of humans and the studies in glass there are animal studies...rats, mice, and hamsters either being fed tea or getting shots of EGCG. The results seem to be pretty much the same, so I won't quote any more here.)

There are actually a bunch of chemicals in tea (epigallocatechin, Pheophytins A and B, catechin, et al) that may affect the body. Some studies are looking at anti-inflammatory action that may be good for the cardiovascular system. Something in tea may kill bacteria that builds up in the mouth, so tea drinkers have fewer cavities.

So it looks like tea may actually be pretty good for you.

I'd drink it all the time...if it didn't taste so nasty.

Here's my "super food" post disclaimer (or why you shouldn't believe anything I say anyway.):

There are a lot of reasons why (to use the article I cited yesterday as an example) "Oleic acid, the main monounsaturated fatty acid of olive oil, suppresses Her-2/neu (erbB-2) expression and synergistically enhances the growth inhibitory effects of trastuzumab (HerceptinTM) in breast cancer cells with Her-2/neu oncogene amplification" becomes Olive oil 'is cancer key' when it hits the newspaper.

There is a risk that the scientific studies as presented in the popular press end up over-simplified, and with conclusions drawn that were never meant to be drawn. Reporters usually aren't scientitists, and often scientists aren't spectacular at dumbing things down enough for lay people. You can lose some subtle but significant nuance in the process. (Science communication was actually my area of study in school, but I'm certainly not great at it. All it really got me was an appreciation for how tricky it is.)

So when reading about the findings of health studies, one should not just leap at the diet fad of the month. One of the best guides to interpreting studies I've read is in Walter Willett's Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy. I'd quote from it, but I can't find my copy. (Probably because I lent it to somebody...I've pressed this book on lots of people, because I think it is very good.)

Anyway...as I've started reading up on the super foods, I'm finding lots of specific studies cited, and I'll probably end up citing them too, especially when I can get my hands on the actual papers. Essentially I'm reading this stuff from two angles...I'm reliving my science reporter days, and I'm trying to decide what to have for lunch. But I am not trying to come across like an expert, nor am I telling anyone else what to eat, and I apologize in advance if I sound like I am.

Super foods

I am such a geek that I was excited about today's release of the new Dietary Guidelines. I was actually checking the site over and over all morning, hoping they'd be posted before the press conference...and if it weren't for our firewall, I'd have watched the press conference. That is pretty damn geeky.

And the thing is, I knew what the guidelines were going to say:

Consume a variety of nutrient-dense foods and beverages within and among the basic food groups while choosing foods that limit the intake of saturated and trans fats, cholesterol, added sugars, salt, and alcohol.

and

Engage in regular physical activity and reduce sedentary activities to promote health, psychological well-being, and a healthy body weight.

So I don't know why I was so excited. More interesting was the news that researchers have figured out that oleic acid is the component of olive oil that seems to protect against tumors. (You can read the entire journal article, in fact, to see how, if you understand things like "Oleic acid, the main monounsaturated fatty acid of olive oil, suppresses Her-2/neu (erbB-2) expression and synergistically enhances the growth inhibitory effects of trastuzumab (HerceptinTM) in breast cancer cells with Her-2/neu oncogene amplification." Which I don't. But I think it is very generous of the journals to allow free access to articles like this, which have very widespead public interest.)

Anyway, my basic understanding is that the oleic acid suppresses the activity of a gene that is associated with aggressive breast tumors. The fact that food is really just a collection of chemicals and that we are walking-around reactor vessels is, well, cool. (I said I was a geek!) And that chemical reaction thing leads me to think about so-called "super foods."

(Does anyone else remember a tv commercial with Homer Simpson explaining the "so-called sooooooper donut"?)

Anyway, over the last few months, I think every magazine I read has had an article on super foods, foods that are expected to have health benefits beyond their mere known nutrient composition.

And this is a really long set-up for a coming attraction...I'm going to look into this sooooooper food thing, because it will give me something to blog about (and maybe some dinners.)

And it's either that or more rat pictures.

Aw, shucks

I really didn't intend to draw my birthday out over an entire week. But today I looked from my work to find my whole group in my office doorway, creating a fire hazard with open flames:

They special-ordered a goose cake.

And in case that wasn't enough chocolate (again, timing!!), they made me brownies. Rat-decorated brownies:

And yes, giving someone a surprise party a week after her birthday does indeed ensure that she will be surprised.

I don't always love my job, but the people...you can't beat the people.

I hope they bought some cookies

Girl Scout Saves Home from Big Fire

Yay, kid.

And just in case the homeowners were ungrateful swine, I picked up the slack. For the first time in ages I had a Girl Scout knock on the door yesterday, and in sales, as in comedy, timing is everything. Instead of a token box of Thin Mints for the office, I (still in the throes of cravings) said "Gimmie a case of Samoas!"

Look at this little face...

Victor is posting rat pictures on Fridays now. I think any day is a good day for rat pictures, but to really appreaciate 'em, you need to zoom in:

And on the 14th day of Christmas

...I accepted the fact that Christmas is over and I took down the tree.

I always hate taking down the tree. Oh, I know that next Christmas will be here before I know it (in fact, I will admit this: when I went to put the tree up this year, the stand was actually still in the living room. It was shoved under an armchair in the corner, but at some point during the summer when I saw it I thought "I'm gonna need that in four months and it's been up here for eight, why bother putting it away now?") but I'm way too sentimental about things. I think the Buddhist philosophy of impermanence appeals to me because I realize how much suffering I put myself through wanting to keep everything the way it is...but merely understanding that all is transitory doesn't make me shrug off loss, even of a dead tree.

(And speaking of dead trees, they will still drip sap. You can use olive oil to get pine sap off a laminate floor, but if you do use olive oil to remove sap, when you get up, keep in mind: you have just oiled the floor. )

Loss is actually on my mind about more than my tree, actually, because I had to go to a memorial service this morning. The deceased was the husband of a woman with whom I work.

I mentioned Walt Starling's passing the other day. I had an e-mail today from a friend of his...the guy had been Googling and found my blog entry. He shared some personal reflections, which I quite appreciate, and told me that the funeral was standing room only.

I've been to a few very small funerals and to some pretty large ones. There seems to be comfort when the funeral director needs to bring in extra chairs. And I have no doubt that, had I not gone today, my co-worker would not have looked around saying "Where's Nic?" But my sister and I were talking about this...it's just how we were raised. You go.

And after I go, I admit it...I end up wondering who's going to show up at my funeral. Which is a shorthand for "examining my life and values and how I live and how I'll be remembered," and I can only admit that I'm self-centered enough to leave someone else's funeral thinking about mine because the nice gentleman who wrote to me about Walt Starling told me that he was doing the same thing.

Names

From MSN: The top 10 baby names of 2004 (vs. 2003)

Girls' names

Emma (Emily)
Madison (Emma)
Emily (Madison)
Kaitlyn (Hannah)
Hailey (Hailey)
Olivia (Sarah)
Isabella (Kaitlyn)
Hannah (Isabella)
Sarah (Olivia)
Abigail (Abigail)

Boys' names

Jacob (Jacob)
Aidan (Aidan)
Ethan (Ethan)
Ryan (Matthew)
Matthew (Nicholas)
Michael (Joshua)
Tyler (Ryan)
Joshua (Michael)
Nicholas (Zachary)
Connor (Tyler)

I'm intrigued by the ebb and flow of name popularity. None of those names (well, except Michael) were terribly common among my peers, but in talking to my friend last night, trying to remember the identity of a kid in a 4th grade class picture, we realized that every third boy were knew was named Mark.

Then I remembered that the Social Security Administration has a fun web page of baby names, so for comparision I looked up 1969:

Lisa
Jennifer
Michelle
Kimberly
Maria
Melissa
Amy
Mary
Elizabeth
Karen

Michael
David
John
Robert
James
William
Richard
Christopher
Mark
Brian

you know...normal names.

I admit, there's a name on the 2004 list that I don't think I've ever heard: Aidan. So I Google'd it...a saint, apparently. But I was still wondering, why the sudden popularity?

A few clicks later, and I have a theory. People aren't naming their sons after the saint, they're naming their kids after a Sex in the City character.

About last night

Yeah, I learned I shouldn't blog under the influence, even if the influence is just hormones. That was pretty whiny. I am feeling better today (thank you, Ted!). And did you know that Trader Joe's sells chocolate-covered peanut butter filled-pretzels?!?

Don't think. It can only hurt the ballclub.

It was a low-key birthday, which is fine. I prefer it that way...I'm too shy to be the center of attention. I'm still scarred from the year we had dinner in a Mexican restaurant and they made me wear a giant sombrero when the staff sang "Happy Birthday," although I did get a free flan. And it was a Tuesday, so the restaurant wasn't exactly crowded. But still.

But still, I didn't hear from my parents, which surprised me. That's what I get for forgetting their anniversary every year, I guess. And I was feeling like crap, so we didn't go out to dinner. The feeling like crap has been going on for three days, actually. Sunday night I had wicked, wicked heartburn and then intense pain in my left shoulder. As I was lying there awake (because it hurt too bad to sleep) I was musing...heartburn and pain down the left arm, aren't those signs of a heart attack? But I reasoned: I'm young, my cholesterol is all of 140, even my blood pressure is back to normal. I have zero risk factors for a heart attack. Plus I'd be embarassed to call an ambulance, because it'd wake the neighbors.

When I was still alive on Monday I figured it probably wasn't a heart attack, but the pain was unrelenting. No sleep Monday night. On Tuesday I finally said screw it and took Tylenol PM to knock myself out, but today I have felt hungover and out of sorts. (I at least have a theory, via a vegetarian friend, for the pain...she said that after several months of not eating meat, my body was producing less stomach acid. After a week of eating like I did over the holidays, I'd put my body back in meat-digesting mode, and my "detox" effort is probably confusing things. Oh, and she assured me that left-arm pain goes with indigestion, or so they told her friend in the ER when he thought he was having a heart attack.)

So maybe I should go get a cheeseburger. I did have a Snickers today, which is a bad sign that I'm pms-ing. Normally I'm indifferent to chocolate (Really. I know that's a rare thing in a woman, but it's true.) and for years I was also immune to cravings, but since I've been on the hormone therapy for the endometriosis, I will occasionally be gripped by a need to for Snickers bars, even if it means selling beloved family members. (In a pinch, chocolate-covered pretzels will do.)

So I'm pms-y, and in pain, and I'm another year older with nothing to show for it. And an old buddy of mine called tonight because he'd tracked down a guy we went to school (grade school, junior high, high school) with. I haven't seen guy #2 in eighteen years. Turns out he's a oncologist at a little place in New York called, what was it, oh, Memorial Sloan-Kettering.

Which is awesome, and I'm not surprised...this guy was smart (and was already busting his ass) when we were 12. And he's married with three adorable little girls.

Now, I don't want to be a doctor, nor do I want three kids regardless of cuteness, but somehow this was the final thing today that made me feel like a huge thirty-six-year-old failure. Somehow I don't see myself sending back a picture of my 17 rats and a note that I only loathe my job some of the time.

So I'm thinking depressing things, and pulling out an old yearbook I see the autograph from a friend who didn't make it to 36, successful or otherwise, because he shot himself when we were 20. And imagining him as he should be now (slightly rounder in the face, with three little girls in Christmas dresses) is crushingly sad. And for some reason I remember that January 4 when we were in seventh grade, the year we had every class together except first period, when he got into each class before I did and wrote "Happy birthday Nic" on the chalkboard.

My heartburn and shoulder aren't as bad tonight, but now I'm thinking that if I'm going to sleep tonight I'll need to find a way to stop thinking.

Walt Starling

Walt Starling (like Eddie Gallaher) was a voice I grew up with. He did traffic reports on the radio, and the funny thing is, my sister and I listened to him (really listened and paid attention) long before we could drive.

I heard that Walt Starling passed away today, only 52 years old, after a battle with colon cancer. I was reading the tribute page set up by the Friends of Walt Starling to support his family in paying their medical bills, and those pictures brought back memories...like evening drive times. I can still hear DJ John Bodnar say "You made it, it's fiiiiive o'clock," which meant dad would be home from work soon. And I remember Bodnar's jokes about Walt Starling in his "cute little blue flight suit," and the clip from Walt's broadcast that WASH used in commercials: "Golly, look at that mess."

Walt Starling got me to call the Cabin John Bridge by its new and respectful name (American Legion) and taught me the importance of alternate routes.

When Captain Dan, the WMAL traffic reporter, came to visit my elementry school (even landing his helicopter on our field), I was underwhelmed. "I like Walt Starling," I told my teacher.

The last I'd heard about him before news of his illness was during the sniper attacks in 2002, when I read a Baltimore Sun story about how he posted "Thou Shalt Not Kill" signs at the scenes of the murders.

It's been years since Walt was on the air, and I never actually met the man, but it's funny how local media figures become part of your life. I was very sad to hear the news today, and I send my condolences to his family.

Not in ourselves, but in our stars

Of course I don't believe such silliness...

...but for people born on January 4: "Collecting all sorts of recipes may be right up their alley."

Wow, that's uncanny.

And then there's this:

"Capricorn governs the knees, bones and skin, so its subjects may be liable to fractures and strains of the knees and other defects of the legs. "

Ah ha, that explains why I have terrible knees.

But then this says:

"Tenacious, logical and endowed with the capacity to work hard and long, you rarely hesitate to grasp opportunities for advancement or promotion. "

Bwwwaaa haaaa haaa haaa haaa.

Sure, once I get off the couch.

Top hits of January 4, 1969

CASH BOX TOP 100 SINGLES
Week ending January 4, 1969

1 I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE
Marvin Gaye-Tamla
2 WICHITA LINEMAN
Glen Campbell-Capitol
3 STORMY
Classics IV-Imperial
4 I LOVE HOW YOU LOVE ME
Bobby Vinton-Epic
5 I’M GONNA MAKE YOU LOVE ME
Diana Ross & Supremes & Temptations-Motown
6 ABRAHAM, MARTIN AND JOHN
Dion-Laurie
7 LOVE CHILD
Diana Ross & Supremes-Motown
8 CLOUD NINE
Temptations-Gordy
9 FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE
Stevie Wonder-Tamla
10 CINNAMON
Derek-Bang

Wow, music was good back then. I have a lot of these, though not on 45 (for the most part...I do have a single of Abraham, Martin, and John). The rest of the top 100 is in the extended entry (and there are a few I don't recognize, but only a few.) Contrast with, say, 1987 (my God, that music sucked). And I just looked at the current Billboard Top 50, and the only song on the whole chart I have ever even heard was Back When by Tim McGraw, and that's because I was riding in my mother's car.

I'll stick with 1969.

The rest of the good stuff:

11 SOULFUL STRUT
Young-Holt Unlimited-Brunswick
12 GOING UP THE COUNTRY
Canned Heat-Liberty
13 HOOKED ON A FEELING
B.J. Thomas-Scepter
14 BOTH SIDES NOW
Judy Collins-Elektra
15 TOO WEAK TO FIGHT
Clarence Carter-Atlantic
16 WHO’S MAKING LOVE
Johnnie Taylor-Stax
17 SON-OF-A PREACHER MAN
Dusty Springfield-Atlantic
18 IF I CAN DREAM
Elvis Presley-RCA Victor
19 SEE SAW
Aretha Franklin-Atlantic
20 I STARTED A JOKE
Bee Gees-Atco
21 CRIMSON AND CLOVER
Tommy James & Shondells-Roulette
22 BELLA LINDA
Grass Roots-Dunhill
23 LO MUCHO QUE TE QUIERO (The More I
Love You)
Rene & Rene-White Whale
24 PAPA’S GOT A BRAND NEW BAG
Otis Redding-Atco
25 A RAY OF HOPE
Rascals-Atlantic
26 TILL
Vogues-Reprise
27 CHEWY CHEWY
Ohio Express-Buddah
28 EVERYDAY PEOPLE
Sly & Family Stone-Epic
29 WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN
Brooklyn Bridge-Buddah
30 SHAME, SHAME
Magic Lanterns-Atlantic
31 (There’s Gonna Be A) SHOWDOWN
Archie Bell & Drells-Atlantic
32 THIS IS MY COUNTRY
Impressions-Curtom
33 STAND BY YOUR MAN
Tammy Wynette-Epic
34 SCARBOROUGH FAIR
Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66-A&M
35 HEY JUDE
Wilson Pickett-Atlantic
36 MY FAVORITE THINGS
Herb Alpert & Tijuana Brass-A&M
37 MAGIC CARPET RIDE
Steppenwolf-Dunhill
38 HEY JUDE
Beatles-Apple
39 TOUCH ME
Doors-Elektra
40 I CAN’T TURN YOU LOOSE
Chambers Brothers-Columbia
41 THOSE WERE THE DAYS
Mary Hopkin-Apple
42 READY OR NOT HERE I COME (Can’t Hide
From Love)
Delfonics-Philly Groove
43 BABY LET’S WAIT
Royal Guardsmen-Laurie
44 CALIFORNIA SOUL
5th Dimension-Soul City
45 THE GIRL MOST LIKELY
Jeannie C. Riley-Plantation
46 CROSSTOWN TRAFFIC
Jimi Hendrix Experience-Reprise
47 ISN’T IT LONELY TOGETHER
O.C. Smith-Columbia
48 ELECTRIC STORIES
4 Seasons-Philips
49 I’VE GOTTA BE ME
Sammy Davis, Jr.-Reprise
50 KENTUCKY WOMAN
Deep Purple-Tetragrammaton
51 ARE YOU HAPPY
Jerry Butler-Mercury
52 LITTLE ARROWS
Leapy Lee-Decca
53 AMERICAN BOYS
Petula Clark-Warner Bros.-7 Arts
54 A MINUTE OF YOUR TIME
Tom Jones-Parrot
55 VANCE
Roger Miller-Smash
56 BLUEBIRDS OVER THE MOUNTAIN
Beach Boys-Capitol
57 BUILD ME UP BUTTERCUP
Foundations-Uni
58 ROCKIN’ IN THE SAME OLD BOAT
Bobby Bland-Duke
59 THIS MAGIC MOMENT
Jay & Americans-United Artists
60 FEELIN’ SO GOOD (S.k.o.o.b.y-D.o.o.)
Archies-Calendar
61 RAINBOW RIDE
Andy Kim-Steed
62 YOU GOT SOUL
Johnny Nash-JAD 3
63 TIT FOR TAT (Ain’t No Taking Back)
James Brown-King
64 HANG ’EM HIGH
Booker T. & MG’s-Stax
65 SOUL SISTER, BROWN SUGAR
Sam & Dave-Atlantic
66 ELOISE
Barry Ryan-MGM
67 CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’
Bobby Womack-Minit
68 SHE’S A LADY
John Sebastian-Kama Sutra
69 YOU SHOWED ME
Turtles-White Whale
70 SWEET CREAM LADIES, FORWARD MARCH
Box Tops-Mala
71 DOES ANYBODY KNOW I’M HERE
Dells-Cadet
72 CAN I CHANGE MY MIND
Tyrone Davis-Dakar
73 I PUT A SPELL ON YOU
Creedence Clearwater Revival-Fantasy
74 MALINDA
Bobby Taylor & Vancouvers-Gordy
75 IF I ONLY HAD TIME
Nick DeCaro-A&M
76 TRAGEDY
Brian Hyland-Dot
77 CONDITION RED
Goodees-Hip
78 BABY, BABY DON’T CRY
Smokey Robinson & Miracles-Tamla
79 PROMISES, PROMISES
Dionne Warwick-Scepter
80 FLY WITH ME
Avant-Garde-Columbia
81 BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC
Andy Williams-Columbia
82 NOT ON THE OUTSIDE
Moments-Stang
83 LONG LINE RIDER
Bobby Darin-Direction
84 DADDY SANG BASS
Johnny Cash-Columbia
85 THINGS I’D LIKE TO SAY
New Colony Six-Mercury
86 NOBODY
Three Dog Night-Dunhill
87 GOODNIGHT MY LOVE
Paul Anka-RCA Victor
88 PUT YOUR HEAD ON MY SHOULDER
Lettermen-Capitol
89 RAMBLIN’ GAMBLIN’ MAN
Bob Seger System-Capitol
90 THE BEGINNING OF MY END
Unifics-Kapp
91 MAY I
Bill Deal & Rhondels-Heritage
92 IF IT WASN’T FOR BAD LUCK
Ray Charles & Jimmy Lewis-ABC/TRC
93 I CAN’T HELP IT (If I’m Still In Love With You)
Al Martino-Capitol 2355
94 PEOPLE
Tymes-Columbia
95 WILL YOU BE STAYING AFTER SUNDAY
Peppermint Rainbow-Decca
96 I’M INTO LOOKIN’ FOR SOMEONE TO LOVE ME
Bobby Vee-Liberty
97 THE THOUGHT OF LOVING YOU
Crystal Mansion-Capitol
98 GAMES PEOPLE PLAY
Joe South-Capitol
99 RAIN IN MY HEART
Frank Sinatra-Reprise
100 POOR SIDE OF TOWN
Al Wilson-Soul City

Trash Talk

Woo hoo! That's my little Pirate logo all over the place at Kin's Kouch today, as Portland beat his Lowell Lock Monsters.

I kinda like Lowell, though. I have family there (it's my grandmother's hometown), and the head coach was a favorite player of mine back in the day.

(Wow, do I suck at trash talk or what?)

I'm missing hockey. Yeah, it was easy to play the holiday festivities this year, without having to work around games, and I probably watched more football than usual. But what am I going to do in February, watch Nascar?

Victor gave me a Jose Theodore tuque for Christmas, the one he (Theodore, not Victor) wore in that outdoor game last season. It's not that I'm a giant Habs fan, but I've always admired their rich tradition. If you tell me to picture a generic hockey sweater, the bleu, blanc et rouge would surely come to mind. And flipping through the catalog that came with the hat, I found myself thinking "If we don't survive leauge contraction, maybe I'll become a Canadians fan..."

Sigh.

Happy New Year

I could be introspective, reflecting back on the past year and what I learned, how I changed...and thanks to blogging, I was actually able to scroll back through the past year. And I found...I'm not actually particularly different than I was this time last year, so forget introspection.

And I also found that last year's resolutions are pretty much this year's resolutions, so forget looking ahead.

I can say, in spite of how many of my posts in the last 12 months were rants and whining and worrying, 2004 wasn't a bad year. And I don't know if I can credit my new habit of eating Hoppin' John on January 1, but it's been a long time since I had a bad year. And really, my worst year (layoff/divorce/multiple funerals) was completely survivable and, in retrospect, got me where I am now. I'm grateful for a lot of things.

I'd been thinking about this today when I saw a bumper sticker that said "The most important things are not things."

The semanticist in me wanted to argue, but I also get the point, and I like it.

So this New Year's I'm just going to revel in how lucky I am and how much I love and appreciate my family and friends. I wish everyone a peaceful, healthy, and happy 2005.