Shipwrecked & Comatose

When Charles married Diana I was 11 years old and more than eager to wake up early and see the festivities.  I have always loved weddings and certainly one of that magnitude was an extremely exciting event for me.  This was like a fairytale - a real prince was marrying his new princess.  What could be more beautiful? Or maybe not.  Being a member of royalty doesn't guarantee you a happy marriage in the real world. Will I watch the wedding of William and Kate?  Chances are if I'm awake I will turn on the news and take a gander.  I'd like to see the procession (horses!) and her dress.  I don't have any intention of hanging on every word. So many thoughts have gone through my head about this wedding, about why we care so much, and about the future of the monarchy that I really had to blog about it.  I have a few different topics on my brain. Fairytales Is this wedding a fairytale?  I keep hearing it referred to as such.  Let's sto...

What the heck is a “core”? Well, I know it’s the part of an apple you eat around and toss. It’s also the part of the tomato you cut out. It’s the ball we believe is at the center of the earth and it’s made of iron and nickel. Do we have a body part called a core? If so, what is it? According to my Core Rhythms DVDs, the core is the band of muscles above the hips, front and back: Rectus abdominus, obliques, and the erector spinae muscles. Kevin’s P90X DVDs has a core workout that seems to involve the entire torso as it contains exercises like pushups, which also engage pectorals, biceps, and triceps. Certain faddish exercise classes I have taken (whose name I will not mention for fear of offending its devotees) are obsessed with the word “core” and seem to focus mostly on the front of the body: rectus abdominus, obliques, hip flexors, and some hip adductor and abductor. The back muscles are hardly engaged at all as much of the work is done lying on the floor. The idea that...

The national deficit is rising. State deficits are rising. I’m not a math expert, but I understand why it happens. The government spends more money than it collects. There are two solutions. The first is to collect more revenue. The other is to stop spending. The most palatable solution for your average shmoe is to simply spend less and not raise taxes. It seems so simple. No one wants to pay more taxes, so let’s just cut everything. Everyone has to make a sacrifice. We all agree that sacrifices must be made. The problem is that everyone feel s that everyone else needs to make a sacrifice. “Don’t make me give up my benefits or pay taxes. That’s for the people who don’t deserve what they get.” In Wisconsin the governor decided that the highest income residents of the state were making too much of a sacrifice. They needed a break, so he gave them a giant tax cut. The next thing he knew he was faced with a giant budget shortfall. No one said the wealthiest state residents should c...